Library New Items

"A deliciously witty and inspiring memoir by One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz about her decade in a cult and her quest to break free. In the early 2000s, after years of hard work and determination to breakthrough as an actor, Bethany Joy Lenz was finally cast as one of the leads on the hit drama One Tree Hill. Her career was about to take off, but her personal life was slowly beginning to unravel. What none of the show's millions of fans knew, hidden even from her costars, was her secret double life in a cult. An only child who often had to fend for herself and always wanted a place to belong, Lenzfound the safe haven she'd been searching for in a Bible study group with other Hollywood creatives. However, the group soon morphed into something more sinister--a slowly woven web of manipulation, abuse, and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz began to give away her autonomy, ultimately relocating to the Family's Pacific Northwest compound, overseen by a domineering minister who would convince Lenz to marry one ofhis sons and steadily drained millions of her TV income without herknowledge. Family "minders" assigned to her on set, "Maoist struggle session"-inspired meetings in the basement of a filthy house, and regular counseling with "Leadership" were just part of the tactics used to keep her loyal. Only when she became a mother did Lenz find the courage to leave and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help of a One Tree Hill superfan), she finally managed to escape the family's grip and begin to heal from the deep trauma that forever altered her relationship with God and her understanding of faith."-- Provided by publisher.

"Every Arc Bends Its Radian is an existential detective novel about a private investigator who flees New York City for Colombia after a personal tragedy and finds himself entangled in a young woman's strange disappearance--which may be connected to one of the world's most ruthless criminal organizations"-- Provided by publisher.

"This new stand-alone from the former Writer Laureate of Alaska and author of the acclaimed Cecil Younger series introduces an amateur sleuth with an ax to grind-and a child to save. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, retired marine biologist Delphine is on the brink of throwing in the towel. She has outlived her PI husband and feels like a burden to her son and his growing family. One night, while contemplating how to go on, Delphine witnesses a woman and her young child being victimized by her apparent boyfriend. When Delphine later discovers the woman has gone missing, she embarks on a quest to track her down and help her and the child. What begins as a chance encounter balloons into an at-once zany and heartfelt rescue mission across the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, Delphine encounters the dregs of humanity-grappling with schemers, kidnappers, and murderers-as well as its joys. With the help of a few friends, a retired PI, and a queer biker gang, Delphine becomes determined to stop the bad guys from getting away with it . . . knowing full well it may be her last hurrah. While Big Breath In stands alone, longtime Straley fans will recognize the characteristic wit, heart, and contemplation of life that threads through every one of his books-and discover a new heroine to fall in love with"-- Provided by publisher.

"In Tang dynasty China, Empress Wu - seductive, ambitious and vindictive - rules with an iron fist. Her premier minister, Judge Dee Renjie, is honored to be trusted by her. But when she orders him to carry out an urgent investigation into the disappearance of disgraced poet Luo Binwang, he can't see why the matter is of such vital importance. Luo Binwang joined a doomed uprising against Her Majesty, and vanished after the final, bloody battle. Is he missing - or dead? Either way, now that the rebellion has been mercilessly quashed, what harm could a poor, elderly poet do? Traveling out of the great capital of Chang'an, accompanied by his loyal manservant Yang, Judge Dee launches a painstaking investigation, in the hopes of achieving what the empress' secret police could not. But the journey is marred by ill omens, and with death and disaster following his every step, Judge Dee soon begins to wonder if the empress trusts him as much as he thought . . ." -- Provided by publisher.

Timothy Snyder has been called "the leading interpreter of our dark times." As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political collapse and mass killing. As a public intellectual, he has turned that knowledge toward counsel and prediction, working against authoritarianism here and abroad. His book On Tyranny has inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom. Now, in this tour de force of political philosophy, he helps us see exactly what we're fighting for. Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means--and this is leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state power: We think we're free if we can do and say as we please, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isn't so much freedom from as freedom to--the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible. On Freedom takes us on a thrilling intellectual journey. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences coming of age in a time of American exceptionalism, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes--the habits of mind--that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. We come to appreciate the importance of traditions (championed by the right) but also the role of institutions (the purview of the left). Intimate yet ambitious, this book helps forge a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity, and grace.

"When Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala investigate a mass stranding of aquatic life in the Indian Ocean, they accidentally uncover a much deeper mystery. A strange figure soon steals NUMA's findings, forcing a high-speed chase-someone really didn't want them examining those dead whales. But who, and why? A cryptic text through the NUMA satellite network makes things still stranger: these odd phrases and numbers look like NUMA codes. But who could be tantalizing the crew with such specific knowledge of their tech? Are they being helped by an old friend, or lured into a trap by a traitor who knows a little too much about NUMA's inner workings? Kurt, Joe, and even Max, the agency's supercomputer, will have to investigate like never before as they decrypt data, infiltrate a cult of cloned men, and prepare for a battle on two very different planes: one physical; one digital. The aquatic stranding was just the beginning of a sinister plan concocted by a mind more brilliant than any they've ever faced--the mind of a machine. A new, terrifying world order is being plotted. First marine ecosystems will be devastated, then the entire globe's...Unless the NUMA crew can stop this code of desolation"-- Provided by publisher.

A lush and twisted dark fairy tale suffused with witchcraft, dark secrets and bitter revenge from the award-winning author. Exquisite, haunting and at times brutal, readers of Naomi Novik and Erin Morgenstern will be entranced. Asher Todd comes to live with the mysterious Morwood family as a governess to their children. Asher knows little about being a governess but she is skilled in botany and herbcraft, and perhaps more than that. And she has secrets of her own, dark and terrible -- and Morwood is a house that eats secrets. With a monstrous revenge in mind, Asher plans to make it choke. However, she becomes fond of her charges, of the people of the Tarn, and she begins to wonder if she will be able to execute her plan -- and who will suffer most if she does. But as the ghosts of her past become harder to control, Asher realizes she has no choice. From the award-winning author of All the Murmuring Bones, dark magic, retribution and twisted family secrets combine to weave a bewitching and addictive tale.

Sixteen-year-old ghostalker Ropa works alongside Sir Callander to prevent the return of the dreaded Tall Man, who aims to merge the worlds of the living and the dead.

"A centuries-long curse is no match for rom-com shenanigans when a medieval knight is brought to life in modern-day Chicago. Forgotten by time and abandoned by hope, Sir Griffin de Beauford's existence stretches out before him. Cursed by a ruthless enchanter to see, hear, and think, but never to move or speak, Griffin suffers the long, lonely centuries trapped in stone...until an unexpected kiss from a fair maiden breathes new life into his soul-and his body. Emily Porter, a recently divorced conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago, is charged with the restoration of a statue of a medieval English knight. Breaking curses was not part of the job description. And yet, here he is, the man of her dreams come to life, resplendent in shining armor as he joyously barrels into priceless antiquities...and goes on to dismantle her defenses, wreak havoc on her senses, and tempt her to believe once more in happy-ever-afters. But the modern age tries Griffin's patience and pride, and Emily is a prime suspect in the investigation of the missing sculpture. In a complicated world, can they find their way to a fairytale ending?"-- Provided by publisher.

"Parents in Recovery is a guidebook for mothers and fathers navigating parenting with a sober lifestyle. Focal points include family systems, self-care, socializing and recovery pride. Each chapter integrates research, voices of parents and addiction treatment experts, parent recovery wisdom suggestions and the author's past journal accounts"-- Provided by publisher.

"This authoritative, easy-to-use photographic reference to over 300 species of invertebrate pollinators in the American West will introduce readers to the creatures that feed our flowers, protect our ecosystems, and power our agriculture"-- Provided by publisher.

Those Days in December chronicles the interwoven narrative of two dissimilar people bound together in the vast lands of the Southwest. This historical novel traces the changing times as reflected in the real lives of Clem Humphry (1856-1943) and Maria Lucia Gonzales (1872-1966) in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, as remembered by Lucia in her old age. In 1891, the young schoolteacher marries the widower--who had three young daughters--near Trinidad, Colorado. With this marriage Lucia broke with family tradition by marrying outside her culture and religion. During the 1880s, Clem had been Range Superintendent for the 2.5 million acre New Mexico branch of the Prairie Cattle Company. Her married life with Clem--a true man of the old West: cattle rancher, businessman, prominent citizen, politician, and some said murderer--took them from place to place in a never-ending search for wealth and fame, the wealth and fame that once was his during the late 1800s. Their journeys brought heartbreak and yet resilience to them both, while Lucia's work as a midwife and curandera sustained her, as did her enduring faith.

"Do laundry right the first time with The Laundry Book, the ultimate reference guide for all things laundry. If you're like most people, laundry is a never-ending chore that you want to spend as little time, effort, and money on as possible, and no one has ever properly taught you how to tackle this chore. Laundry influencer Zach Pozniak and his father, Jerry Pozniak, owners of the luxury dry-cleaning company Jeeves New York and fabric-care experts break down this tedious task into playful and easily digestible pieces for a straightforward, easy-to-navigate book that can live in the laundry room and make doing laundry even enjoyable."--Amazon.com.

"River of Renewal tells the remarkable story of the Klamath Basin, a region of the Pacific Northwest spanning the Oregon-California border. Indian reservations are at the headwaters, along the estuary, and across the major tributary of the Klamath River. In this place that has witnessed, since the Gold Rush, genocide, war, and conflicts over resources, myths of the West loom large, amplifying differences among inhabitants of a land united by water and divided by people. Yet when faced with ecological catastrophe, farmers, tribes, and other regional stakeholders forged a consensus that led to the largest dam removal and watershed restoration project in history. The only history of the entire Klamath Basin, River of Renewal tells the stories of the region's diverse communities and stakeholders, including the government agencies that manage most of its land. Based on author Stephen Most's original research and interviews with tribal leaders, ranchers, farmers, fishermen, forest managers, and others, River of Renewal is a political as well as an environmental history, one that underscores the power of commitment to a place and the vital importance of traditional knowledge in ecological stewardship. It offers an indispensable resource for anyone who wishes to better understand the peoples of the Klamath Basin and their extraordinary accomplishment of bringing about the removal of the four hydroelectric dams that harmed their cultures, economies, and environment for a century"-- Provided by publisher.

"Rebecca Little and Colleen Long are journalists and childhood friends who both experienced pregnancy losses past 20 weeks. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, they searched desperately for information to help them process what they had been through. But they found nothing. So, Rebecca and Colleen began to research. Diving deep into the history, culture, and science around pregnancy loss, they discovered that the helplessness and loneliness they felt was not a coincidence. Over the past several decades, American culture has been placing more and more emphasis on the rights and life of the fetus--at the cost and well-being of the mother. Politics, history, racism, misogyny, capitalism, and medicine have been working separately and together to choke off grief related to pregnancy loss. In their first book, I'm Sorry for My Loss, Rebecca and Colleen weave together deep research into laws, pop culture, medicine, and history with powerful personal narratives to offer readers a comprehensive sociological look at how pregnancy loss came to be so stigmatized and what a system of more compassionate care could and should look like"-- Provided by publisher.

A collection of twenty essays, poems, and other works that capture and celebrate modern Native American experiences, highlighting the depth and complexity of Native American identity, resiliency, and joy.

"The first book dedicated to the contemporary Diň artist, featuring 80 stunning tapestries and essays exploring her life and legacy. Discover the unique weaving traditions of the Navajo Nation in this joyous celebration of Indigenous art and history. A fifth-generation weaver, DY Begay's transformative tapestries reflect her family tradition, her Diň identity, and the natural beauty of the Navajo Nation reservation where she grew up. The first book devoted to Begay's career, Sublime Light reveals the evolution of her work with 80 gorgeous tapestries created between 1965 and 2022. To fully reveal her life and influences, the book draws on Begay's journals, family photographs, and imagery from the Tselani, Arizona landscape that inspires her work. Begay first learned to weave watching her mother and grandmother process wool from the family sheep herd using tools made by male relatives and working at their looms. Over the years, she pushed her creativity and began combining her ancestral weaving techniques with modern design, as well as blending colors historically used in Navajo weaving with unconventional dyes made from fungi, food, and non-native flowers. Much of Begay's deeply personal work pays homage to Navajo land-- its red-streaked cliffs, indigo sunrises, dreamy desert tones--as well as her extraordinary lineage. On every page, Sublime Light enchants"-- Provided by publisher.

In the years immediately after the Civil War, tens of thousands of former slaves deposited millions of dollars into the Freedman's Bank. African Americans envisioned this new bank as a launching pad for economic growth and self-determination. But only nine years after it opened, their trust was betrayed and the Freedman's Bank collapsed. Fully informed by new archival findings, historian Justene Hill Edwards unearths a major turning point in American history in this comprehensive account of the Freedman's Bank and its depositors. She illuminates the hope with which the bank was first envisioned and demonstrates the significant setback that the sabotage of the bank caused in the fight for economic autonomy. Hill Edwards argues for a new interpretation of its tragic failure: the bank's white financiers drove the bank into the ground, not Fredrick Douglass, its final president, or its Black depositors and cashiers. A story filled with both well-known figures like Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Jay and Henry Cooke, and General O. O. Howard, and less well-known figures like Dr. Charles B. Purvis, John Mercer Langston, Congressman Robert Smalls, and Ellen Baptiste Lubin. This book can be used to understand the roots of racial economic inequality in America.

"On March 17, 2005, Spamalot debuted on Broadway to rapturous reviews for its star-studded creative team, including creator Eric Idle, director Mike Nichols, and stars Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez, John Cleese, and more. But long before show was the toast of Broadway and the winner of three Tony Awards, it was an idea threatening to fizzle before it could find its way into existence. Now, in The Spamalot Diaries, Eric Idle shares authentic journal entries and raw email exchanges--all featuring his whip-smart wit--revealing the sometimes bumpy but always fascinating path to the show's unforgettable run. In the months leading up to that opening night, financial anxieties were high with a low-ceiling budget and expectations that it would take two years to break even. Collaborative disputes put decades-long friendships to the test. And the endless process of rewriting was a task as passionate as it was painstaking. Still, there's nothing Idle would change about that year. Except for the broken ankle. He could do without the broken ankle. Chronicling every minor mishap and triumph along the way, as well as the creative tension that drove the show to new heights, The Spamalot Diaries is an unforgettable look behind the curtain of a beloved musical and inside the wickedly entertaining mind of one of our most treasured comic performers"-- Provided by publisher.

"From legendary and award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel, a baking book of more than 40 simple dessert recipes paired with heartwarming stories celebrating life's sweetest moments"-- Provided by publisher.

Media coverage tends to sensationalize the fight over how trans kids should be allowed to live, but what is incredibly rare are the voices of the people at the heart of this debate: transgender and gender nonconforming kids themselves. For their groundbreaking new book, journalist Nico Lang spent a year traveling the country to document the lives of transgender, nonbinary, and genderfluid teens and their families. Drawing on hundreds of hours of on-the-ground interviews with them and the people in their communities, American Teenager paints a vivid portrait of what it's actually like to grow up trans today.

Super hero WordGirl and her monkey sidekick fight crime using her superhero strength and her colossal vocabulary,

"Introduces 16 new vocabulary words and reinforces their meanings in a variety of fun and interesting contexts ... Words featured in this DVD include recycle, excess, coincidence, perplexed, motivate, and more!"--Container

Can coming home bring redemption? Or at least a measure of peace? Recently released from prison, Blake Alvares returns to the only place she ever felt safe, the now derelict Maine town in which she harbored as a teen. Determined to conceal her secrets and losses, she soon finds herself dragged into others' lives when she takes a job on a boat owned by a notorious young lobsterman. Leland Savard is nearly broke, trying to support himself and 9-year-old Quinnie as he wrestles with a dangerous family legacy. Though his choice to hire Blake raises local eyebrows, Leland and those around Blake are quickly surprised and jarred by how much they come to rely on her. At the same time, Blake stumbles into love from unexpected places. When Leland's rash actions place her and Quinnie in peril, Blake feels forced to run again-only to discover the past is never more than a few steps behind her. On her quest for home, Blake must confront a daunting question: where does she belong?

"It's 1913 when Mina, the young and carefree daughter of a Jewish merchant, roams into a forest on the edge of the Baltic Sea looking for mushrooms. Instead, she encounters a gang of unruly, charismatic Bolsheviks - an adventure that will become the stuff of familial lore for generations to come. Intending to save them from further corruption, and in an act that forever changes the trajectory of their family's life, Mina and her eldest brother Jossel, board a ship to England. There, the threat of a different war looms large. When World War I hits, Jossel is sent to the front, where he keeps a severely wounded soldier in his unit alive until morning by telling him tales - including that his sister Mina, will marry him if he survives. The soldier lives and asks for Mina's hand, their marriage uniting two growing trade dynasties. But over time, Mina and Jossel will learn that not everyone in their family has survived the wars and pogroms, even as they and their offspring struggle to build new lives in Liverpool in the midst of ever-shifting discriminations. Based on the author's own family history and legends, The Story of the Forest is a remarkable record of family lore and a meditation on the power of stories to ground us, particularly in the face of life's inevitable losses - told with a keen wit and a sharp eye to the charms and the foibles of family by masterful British novelist Linda Grant." -- Provided by publisher.

In the hot summer of 1994 in Fife, teenage Cora Mowat struggles with her small-town life and uncertain future while dealing with her mother's new, enigmatic boyfriend, Gunner, a one-eyed shoplifter with hidden secrets, and seeking to escape her circumstances after a tragedy strikes.

Traces the history of a Mende burial song brought by slaves to the rice plantations of the Southeast coast of the United States over two hundred years ago, and preserved among the Gullah people there. In the 1930s a pioneering Black linguist, Lorenzo Turner, recognized its origin, and in the 1990s scholars Joe Opala and Cynthia Schmidt discovered that the song was still remembered in a remote village in Sierra Leone. Dramatically demonstrates how African Americans retained links with their African past, and concludes with the visit of the Gullah family which had preserved the song to the Mende village, where villagers re-enact the ancient burial rites for them.

In Jos, Nigeria, Dareng Pamson is slowly winning back the trust of his pregnant wife after his infidelity shook their marriage. When a young Muslim woman comes in out of the rain looking for work in Dareng's auto repair shop, Dareng cautiously agrees, against his better judgment. She's passionate and willing to learn. Besides, it's time he started doing things differently. After being back in her hometown for only a week, Murmula Denge finds who she's looking for: Dareng, the Christian man whose coldhearted ambition and greed shattered her family. At first, she wants only to destroy his tenuous peace by introducing chaos. Until Murmula realises that for true closure and justice, she must go to extremes. Blood for blood.

"The London suburb of Croydon, 1964: Helen Hansford is unmarried and in her thirties. Something of a disappointment to her middle-class parents, she's an art therapist at the Westbury Park psychiatric hospital, where she has been having a rebellious love affair with her colleague Gil, a dashing but married doctor. One spring afternoon they receive a call about a disturbance at a derelict, vine-covered Victorian house a few miles up the road. There the police find a mute, thirty-seven-year-old man called William Tapping, his hair and beard down to his waist. It appears he lives in the old house with his elderly, frail aunt, who expires as soon as she's admitted to the hospital. No one knows why William has been shut away for decades, unseen by neighbors, with only his two now-deceased aunts for company. Westbury Park becomes his refuge. When it emerges that William is not only sane but a talented artist, Helen comes to see him as something of a personal project. But as she tries to solve the puzzle of the Hidden Man's past, Helen's own carefully constructed life of secrets begins to unravel..."-- Provided by publisher.

Texas oil executive Mac is dispatched by his crackpot boss to a remote seaside village in Scotland with orders to buy out the town and develop the region for an oil refinery. But as business mixes with pleasure, Mac finds himself enchanted by both the picturesque community and its oddball denizens, and Texas starts to feel awfully far away.

West Texas. A boy who, after his sister is kidnapped by a violent killer known only as Cut Throat Bill, enlists a fierce bounty hunter named Reginald Jones who becomes the leader of the group of outcasts searching for the stolen girl.

Six months after the frightening rampage and the cursed videotape that left so much death and terror, Rachel and her son start a new life in a small Oregon town. But when a crime scene includes an unmarked tape, she knows the violence has not ended.

It Ends With Us, the first Colleen Hoover novel adapted for the big screen, tells the story of Lily Bloom, a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business. A chance meeting with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid sparks an intense connection, but as the two fall deeply in love, Lily begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents' relationship. When Lily's first love, Atlas Corrigan, suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with Ryle is upended, and Lily realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future.

"The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize finalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Galileo's Daughter crafts a luminous chronicle of the most famous woman in the history of science, and the untold story of the many remarkable young women trained in her laboratory who were launched into stellar scientific careers of their own. "Even now, nearly a century after her death, Marie Curie remains the only female scientist most people can name," writes Dava Sobel at the opening of her shining portrait of the sole Nobel laureate decorated in two separate fields of science--Physics in 1903 with her husband Pierre and Chemistry by herself in 1911. And yet, Sobel makes clear, as brilliant as she was in the laboratory, Marie Curie was equally memorable outside it. Grieving Pierre's untimely death in 1906, she took his place as professor of physics at the Sorbonne; devotedly raised two brilliant daughters; drove a van she outfitted with X-ray equipment to the front lines of World War I; befriended Albert Einstein and other luminaries of twentieth-century physics; won support from two US presidents; and inspired generations of young women the world over to pursue science as a way of life. As Sobel did so memorably in her portrait of Galileo through the prism of his daughter, she approaches Marie Curie from a unique angle, narrating her remarkable life of discovery and fame alongside the women who became her legacy--from France's Marguerite Perey, who discovered the element francium, and Norway's Ellen Gleditsch, to Mme. Curie's elder daughter, Irène, winner of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. For decades the only woman in the room at international scientific gatherings that probed new theories about the interior of the atom, Marie Curie traveled far and wide, despite constant illness, to share the secrets of radioactivity, a term she coined. Her two triumphant tours of the United States won her admirers for her modesty even as she was mobbed at every stop; her daughters, in Ève's later recollection, "discovered all at once what the retiring woman with whom they had always lived meant to the world." With the consummate skill that made bestsellers of Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, and the appreciation for women in science at the heart of her most recent The Glass Universe, Dava Sobel has crafted a radiant biography and a masterpiece of storytelling, illuminating the life and enduring influence of one of the most consequential figures of our time"-- Provided by publisher.

"A groundbreaking look at the life and art of one of the most influential and modern painters of the late nineteenth century and founder of the Impressionist movement. Drawing on thousands of never-before translated letters and unpublished sources, this new biography reveals dramatic new information about the life and work of one of the late 19th century's most important painters. Despite being mocked at the beginning of his career, and living hand to mouth, Monet risked all to pursue his vision, and his early work along the banks of the Seine in the 1860s-70s would come to be revered as Impressionism. In the following decades, he emerged as a celebrated leader of the new painting in one of the most exciting cultural moments in Paris, before withdrawing to his house and garden to paint the late Water Lilies, which were ignored during his lifetime and would later would have a major influence on all 20th century painters both figurative and abstract. This is the first time we see the turbulent life of this volatile and voracious man who was as obsessed by his love affairs as he was by nature. He changed his art three times when the women at the center of his life changed with a nod to the behavior of such painters as Picasso. His closest friend was Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau but Proust as well as Zola, Renoir, Pissarro and Manet were also a part of his life. Brilliant and absorbing, this biography will forever change our understanding of Monet's life and work"-- Provided by publisher.

"Ina Garten, the author of thirteen best-selling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and the cultural icon whose face has launched a thousand memes, shares her personal story with readers hungry for a seat at her table"-- Provided by publisher.

A political freedom fighter who paid the ultimate price for his convictions recounts his political career, the many attempts on his life and the lives of the people closest to him and the relentless campaign he and his team waged against an increasingly dictatorial regime.

In 1973, Harlan Ellison announced the third and final volume of his unprecedented anthology series, but it was never completed. Now, six years after Ellison's passing, science fiction's most famous unpublished book is here. It includes thirty-two never-before-published stories, essays, and poems by a diverse range of science fiction writers, including: Max Brooks, Edward Bryant, Cecil Castellucci, James S. A. Corey, Howard Fast, Patricia Hodgell, Dan Simmons, Robert Sheckley, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Mildred Downey Broxon, and Cory Doctorow

"Anthony Horowitz selects and introduces the best mystery stories from the past year, under the auspices of the world's oldest mystery fiction specialty bookshop. From a pool of over 3,000 considered stories published last yea--anything that touched on crime, mystery, and suspense, from venues as disparate as The Strand Magazine, Dark Yonder, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, The Bellevue Literary Review, and more--these are the very best, selected by series editor Otto Penzler and guest editor Anthony Horowitz. The tales included cover a range of styles, highlighting the diversity of subjects and forms comprising the genre we call mystery fiction. Featuring a mixture of household names, masters of the short form, and newcomers to the field, the collection offers a variety that promises something for every reader. And it's all capped off by a vintage story from the first half of the previous century, sourced directly from the rare book room at the Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest mystery fiction specialty store in the world."

"A young woman living alone is found dead in her home when the police do a routine welfare check. Detectives O?Toole and Starker barely begin investigating when an older couple is found bound and murdered. Are the murders related? With little to go on, they appeal to other agencies and learn that similar crimes are being committed further up the coast. What do all these victims have in common? As clues emerge reflecting a calculated murder scheme, the detectives fear the worst and seek help from multiple law enforcement agencies in more than one state.."--Publisher's description.

"The annual Shady Palms Corn Festival is one of the town's biggest moneymakers, drawing crowds from all over the Midwest looking to partake in delicious treats, local crafts, and of course, the second- largest corn maze in Illinois. Lila Macapagal and her Brew-ha Cafe crew, Adeena Awan and Elena Torres, are all too happy to participate in the event, though their fun is cut short when their wager on who can make it through the corn maze fastest ends with a dead body in the middle of the maze and an unconscious Adeena next to the body, clutching a bloody knife. With her best friend and business partner the main suspect in the murder, Lila and her crew put on their sleuthing caps yet again to find the killer who framed Adeena and show them what happens when they mess with a Brew-ha..."-- Provided by publisher.

"At the dawn of the twentieth century in Paris, Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula's killer, works as a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. But no one realizes how abnormal she is. Sam is a channel into the minds of monsters: a power that could help her solve the gruesome deaths plaguing turn-of-the-century Paris--or have her thrown into an asylum. Sam finds herself assigned to a case with Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the criminal mastermind and famed nemesis of Sherlock Holmes and a notorious detective whom no one wants to work with on account of her previous partners' mysterious murders. Ranging from the elite clubs of Paris to the dark underbelly of the catacombs, their investigation sweeps them into a race to stop a Beast from its killing rampage, as Hel and Sam are pitted against men, monsters, and even each other. But beneath their tenuous trust, an unmistakable attraction brews. Is trusting Hel the key to solving the murder, or is Sam yet another pawn in Hel's game?"--Blurb.

"A collection of short stories featuring the adventures of the bard Corwyn Danther"-- Provided by publisher.

"Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics. He can summon butterflies with a song or turn someone's hair pink by snapping his fingers. Though such minor charms don't earn him much respect, anything more elaborate always blows up in his face, and so Leo vowed long ago never to use powerful magic again. That is, until a mishap with a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime rival, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo's complete opposite-respected, exceptionally talented, and absolutely insufferable. The only thing they can agree on is that revealing the curse between them would mean the end of their respective magical careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To break the curse, they will have to uncover the true depths of Leo's magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and-much to their horror-work together. Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them"-- Provided by publisher.

"With her magic reclaimed and her role in the community of Chernograd restored, Kosara's life should finally be back to normal--but, of course, things can't possibly be that simple. She is now in possession of twelve witch's shadows, which belonged to a series of young, magically powerful women lured into the deadly marriage with the Zmey that Kosara only narrowly escaped as a young woman. Holding them may grant her unprecedented power, but that doesn't mean they're always willing to do her bidding. Across the wall in Belograd, Asen chases the only lead on his latest case, one of several unsolved witch murders, even against the orders of his direct superior and the mayor. He's convinced the smuggling kingpin Konstantin Karaivanov is behind them, and follows his trail to an underground monster auction--which leads him right back to Chernograd. There, sinister events follow one after another: snow falls in midsummer, a witch with two shadows is found dead, monsters that should only appear during the Foul Days have been sighted, and cracks appear in the sky that only Kosara seems able to see. The barrier between worlds thins... and Kosara can't help but feel her actions are the cause"-- Provided by publisher.

"In this smart and swoony adventure rom-com, a journalist and a movie star find themselves teaming up to cover up a murder...and falling for each other in the process. When freelance journalist Khin Hlaing is assigned by Vogue to get a scoop on Tyler Tun, Hollywood's hottest movie star, she's determined to succeed. Tyler has returned home to Myanmar to shoot his latest film, and if Khin's able to get an exclusive, there may well be a permanent position waiting for her at Vogue Singapore. Tyler has a very private life and doesn't show any sign of letting down his walls for Khin. But then one night on set, a man follows Khin into the park. When he threatens her, Tyler steps in and things escalate fast. Khin knows they can't go to the police, even if this was self defense. And when she learns that this man seems to have targeted her specifically, she needs to do everything she can to find out why. As Khin and Tyler work together to hide their secret and find out more about her attacker, they grow closer and Tyler finally starts opening up. But now the idea of writing the article gives Khin an uncomfortable morality-related guilt. Before long, everything hangs in the balance. Will they get away with murder? Can Khin get the exposé she needs for her dream job? And is she willing to risk Tyler's trust in the process?"-- Provided by publisher.

"Two exes find themselves stuck at the same house for Christmas in this holiday romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn't Date. It's been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, and she's doing more than okay. Sure, her single mother never checks in, but she has her strings ensemble, the Rosalind Quartet, and her life in New York is a dream come true. As the holidays draw near, her ensemble mate Sloane persuades Charlotte and the rest of the quartet to spend Christmas with her family in Colorado--it is much cozier and quieter than Manhattan, and it would guarantee more practice time for the quartet's upcoming tour. But when Charlotte arrives, she discovers that Sloane's sister Adele also brought a friend home--and that friend is none other than her ex, Brighton. All Brighton Fairbrook wanted was to have the holliest, jolliest Christmas-and try to forget that her band kicked her out. But instead, she's stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers-which proves to be difficult when Sloane and Adele's mom signs them all up for a series of Christmas dating events. Charlotte and Brighton are soon entrenched in horseback riding and cookie decorating, but Charlotte still won't talk to her. Brighton can hardly blame her after what she did. After a few days, however, things start to slip through. Memories. Music. The way they used to play together--Brighton on guitar, Charlotte on her violin--and it all feels painfully familiar. But it's all in the past and nothing can melt the ice in their hearts... right?"-- Provided by publisher.

"Grandparents hold the keys to the mysteries of the past. They carry the treasures of stories and times long gone, of secrets and family histories. Weekend visits and summers on the Mississippi with their grandparents, Jane and Roy Bode, shaped the lives of Kathy and Karen. They uncovered surprises, learned to fish and bake, and created memories that would sustain them for a lifetime. Marbles in a Fishbowl invites readers to journey through time and experience the vivid moments of a bygone era against the rich backdrop of the great river. Grandchildren rarely get a chance to explore the early lives of their grandparents; this book pays homage to Roy and Jane Bode as people and as children."-- from Amazon.com