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When Sherwood Smith was eight years old, a girl named Clair walked into her dreams, bringing hints of a world where girls could adventure, live on their own, and best of all, didn't have to grow up.
Clair traveled about looking for girls who needed a home. She even came to Earth, where she found CJ, who did not fit. CJ found herself not only taken to another world to live, but she became the princess - Clair's "left hand splat." One of her jobs as princess was to write down their records. Another was to serve as leader for the girls when Clair was busy learning to become queen.
The girls had jobs, too, using their imaginations and their wits to foil villains who tried to take a kingdom away from a mere girl. From the shadowy Kwenz, a powerful mage with a very wicked past, to the usurper Glotulae and her son Prince Jonnicake, who in their ridiculous way were just as determined to boot Clair out, there were plenty of chances for adventure. And mystery, like why did kids from... Views: 520
For those who read Standup Guys: A Generation of Laughs, I thank you and warn you that the prose of Date of the Dead is entirely different. If you enjoy absurdist humor and you're not a zombie traditionalist then you should enjoy Date of the Dead.For those who read Standup Guys: A Generation of Laughs, I thank you and warn you that the prose of Date of the Dead is entirely different. If you enjoy absurdist humor and you're not a zombie traditionalist then you should enjoy Date of the Dead.Its a "boy meets girl" tale but the girl hates boy. After meeting zombies and seeing people get eaten alive, she hates him even more. The story is housed in a twisted logic and is filled with severely bent characters who try to survive the deadly NYC streets by utilizing New York Times employees, a marching band andsacrificial Arabic ululation singers. This quirky writing style is not for everyone, especially the sane. Views: 519
Lola has a mind of her own and a love for books. With the help of Grandpa Ed and the support of her mother and friends, she learns how to use her determination to right a wrong at school. Views: 517
Another remarkable collection of poetry from one of America's masters of the medium. The first part gathers together poems of love and nostalgic memory, while Part II portrays confrontations inherent in a racist society. Views: 515
It's time. In the dead of night something comes for Connor True.Connor is as ready as he'll ever be. He knows there is no escape from his future and each passing day brings him closer to the moment of Abiku's arrival. However his sister Alicia has a plan: If Connor and Laura are no longer together then the future will be different and the demon may not even come. But even as Alicia starts to sow the seeds of discontent Connor learns the real threat may come sooner than anyone expected... Views: 515
In this book for young readers, Felix learns about the DreamWorld from his mother: a place where you can do anything and go anywhere. With a child's eye for the absurd, he explores this land with his best friends, a robot and a dinosaur.In this book for young readers, Felix learns about the DreamWorld from his mother: a place where you can do anything and go anywhere. With a child's eye for the absurd, he explores this land with his best friends, a robot named Hobart and a dinosaur named Drusus. Felix and his friends fight a dragon, meet a unicorn, and learn that the DreamWorld offers surprises Felix could never have imagined while awake. Views: 513
McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer.
Nearly a decade ago Frank McCourt became an unlikely star when, at the age of sixty-six, he burst onto the literary scene with Angela's Ashes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of his childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Then came 'Tis, his glorious account of his early years in New York.
Now, here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City. His methods anything but conventional, McCourt creates a lasting impact on his students through imaginative assignments (he instructs one class to write "An Excuse Note from Adam or Eve to God"), singalongs (featuring recipe ingredients as lyrics), and field trips (imagine taking twenty-nine rowdy girls to a movie in Times Square!).
McCourt struggles to find his way in the classroom and spends his evenings drinking with writers and dreaming of one day putting his own story to paper. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents. McCourt's rocky marriage, his failed attempt to get a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Dublin, and his repeated firings due to his propensity to talk back to his superiors ironically lead him to New York's most prestigious school, Stuyvesant High School, where he finally finds a place and a voice. "Doggedness," he says, is "not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect or charm, but still the one thing that got me through the days and nights."
For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to redemption -- and literary fame -- is an exhilarating adventure. Views: 510
Hired to kill a killer, a discreet murderer tracks down the beautiful but deadly Thamesis. But what is the secret of her fatal allure? And in the end, who will assassinate who?Who is the beautiful and mysterious Thamesis, born from the dirty waters of London's mighty river? Why does death persue those who love her? What is the secret of her fatal allure?When a discreet murderer is hired to kill her, the preternatural enigma of her life begins to unfold. But when two assassins are set against each other, who will assassinate who? Views: 509
The bestselling author of Blaze presents a heart-pounding account of the world's greatest nuclear disaster, based on sources not available before the fall of the Soviet Union. Read's enthralling account is filled with acts of courage--and also bumbling confusion, secrecy, lies, and coverups. Read spent many months in Russia interviewing hundreds of survivors and experts. Photographs. 3 maps. Views: 509
Oisín Mahoney is an American Army vet in his 70s who is asked to lead a group of young grand-nieces and grand-nephews on a walk through the hills of California's Central Coast. Walking toward a setting sun, their destination is a place called The Museum of Rain, which may or may not still exist, and whose origin and meaning are elusive to all. In one of his most elegiac stories, Eggers gives us a beautiful testament to family, memory, and what we leave behind. Views: 509
Poet, writer, performer, teacher, and director Maya Angelou was raised in Stamps, Arkansas, and then moved to San Francisco. In addition to her bestselling autobiographies, beginning with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she has also written a cookbook, Hallelujah! The Welcome Table; five poetry collections, including I Shall Not Be Moved and Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?; and the celebrated poems “On the Pulse of Morning,” which she read at the inauguration of President William Jefferson Clinton, and “Amazing Peace,” which she read at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C., in December 2005.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 508
A young woman seeking Romance, Love and Comfort decided to try the internet when the local scene failed to produce her Prince Charming on a white horse. She knew the risks, or so she thought. This particular nightmare nobody could have warned her about or even thought of. She did find her prince and she had a fairy tale ending to her quest. But she traveled a very scary road in order to get there.Maureen had decided to explore the world of internet dating in order to find someone to love and to love her in return. It was not an unrealistic expectation and many people had used this route successfully. This time, this young and inexperienced woman would be subjected to a world class nightmare, one few could ever dream of or even imagine. She was drawn into this dark world by experts and Cupid's arrows in this case were far more sinister. The handsome prince that she had sought was now more elusive than Unicorns. One day however he did come - he had even crept through a forest full of wild animals and bears in order to rescue her. This was certainly no fairy-tale, but she did survive it. Once her nightmare had ended, Maureen would now use this horrendous experience to help others who were victimized in one form or another. She had been down a very scary road in trying to find happiness and someone to love - but she had found it. Her life would be forever changed now that she had found her Unicorn. They were quite rare, but she now knew they really existed - and hers was named Paul. Every woman should have one - but not all of them did unfortunately. Maureen now wanted to help other women find the happiness she had in one way or another. Having been through the pain that she had endured- she wanted to alleviate that agony in others. Soon she would be given such an opportunity to do just that – and with a man beside her who truly adored her too. She had found her pot of gold at the end of this rainbow - she had at last found the happiness she was so desperately looking for. Hopefully she could now help other women to find theirs also. Views: 507
Twelve thousand years ago, they came. They descended from the sky amid smoke and fire, and created humanity and gave us rules to live by. They needed gold and they built our earliest civilizations to mine it for them. When they had what they needed, they left. But before they left, they told us someday they would come back, and when they did, a game would be played. A game that would determine our future.
This is Endgame.
For ten thousand years the lines have existed in secret. The 12 original lines of humanity. Each had to have a Player prepared at all times. They have trained generation after generation after generation. In weapons, languages, history, tactics, disguise assassination. Together the players are everything: strong, kind, ruthless, loyal, smart, stupid, ugly, lustful, mean, fickle, beautiful, calculating, lazy, exuberant, weak. They are good and evil. Like you. Like all.
This is Endgame.
When the game starts, the players will have to find three keys. The keys are somewhere on earth. The only rule of their Endgame is that there are no rules. Whoever finds the keys first wins the game. Endgame: The Calling is about the hunt for the first key. And just as it tells the story of the hunt for a hidden key, written into the book is a puzzle. It invites readers to play their own Endgame and to try to solve the puzzle. Whoever does will open a case filled with gold. Alongside the puzzle will be a revolutionary mobile game built by Google’s Niantic Labs that will allow you to play a real-world version of Endgame where you can join one of the lines and do battle with people around you.
Will exuberance beat strength? Stupidity top kindness? Laziness thwart beauty? Will the winner be good or evil? There is only one way to find out.
Play.
Survive.
Solve.
People of Earth.
Endgame has begun. Views: 507
A selection of short stories by Michael Bryson, showcasing the author's disparate reach and contemporary voice.After reading a newspaper article about his viciously murdered neighbor, Businessman Carter Lowe becomes inexplicably paranoid that something similar could happen to him or his wife, Tracy. After seeing a masked man armed with a knife frequently across town, he comes face to face with his worst nightmare, and it too, is in a mask. Views: 506