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Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Alison Weir's Mary Boleyn. In this vibrant biography, acclaimed author Alison Weir reexamines the life of Isabella of England, one of history’s most notorious and charismatic queens. Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-old daughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir to England’s throne was designed to heal old political wounds between the two countries, and in the years that followed she became an important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influence would come to last centuries. Many myths and legends have been woven around Isabella’s story, but in this first full biography in more than 150 years, Alison Weir gives a groundbreaking new perspective. Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more. RandomHouseReadersCircle.com
Views: 602

Operation Bunny

When Emily Vole inherits an abandoned shop, she discovers a magical world she never knew existed. But a fairy-hating witch, a mischievous set of golden keys, and a train full of brightly coloured bunnies are just a few of the surprises that come with it. With the help of a talking cat called Fidget and a grumpy fairy detective called Buster, it's up to Emily to get to the bottom of Operation Bunny.
Views: 602

Judith

Passionately, as other children collect shells, stamps or bus tickets, Judith collected kind words and kind looks dropped by Mother.Twelve-year-old Judith has been brought up in Europe by her mother, governess and highbrow uncles and aunts. She's had her hand held all the way through life – even though that hand has often been cold and distant. Now she's about to board a plane to England all alone to visit the father who abandoned her . . .Although instead of despising her distant father, Judith finds she really likes him. He treats her as an adult, his side of the family seem to enjoy her company and she finally receives the appreciation she's always craved from her mother. But is he really as wonderful as he seems?Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfield navigates through complicated family issues in this perceptive coming of age novel, Judith.
Views: 602

Three Days Before the Shooting . . .

NATIONAL BESTSELLER "[A]n extraordinary book, a work of staggering virtuosity. With its publication, a giant world of literature has just grown twice as tall."--Newsday From Ralph Ellison--author of the classic novel of African-American experience, Invisible Man--the long-awaited second novel. Here is the master of American vernacular--the rhythms of jazz and gospel and ordinary speech--at the height of his powers, telling a powerful, evocative tale of a prodigal of the twentieth century. "Tell me what happened while there's still time," demands the dying Senator Adam Sunraider to the itinerate Negro preacher whom he calls Daddy Hickman. As a young man, Sunraider was Bliss, an orphan taken in by Hickman and raised to be a preacher like himself. Bliss's history encompasses the joys of young southern boyhood; bucolic days as a filmmaker, lovemaking in a field in the Oklahoma sun. And behind it all lies a mystery: how did this chosen child become the man who would deny everything to achieve his goals? Brilliantly crafted, moving, wise, Juneteenth is the work of an American master. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Views: 602

The Outlier #4: Zappers

The world's #1 Big-Data Detective returns in another unrealistic adventure. This time there are disappearing dogs, cars that won't start, and people who have been partially electrocuted, perhaps by God. Part Freakonomics, part Sherlock Holmes, part Doctor Who, part somewhere on the spectrum and 100% completely absurd, The Outlier series continues with "The Outlier #4, ZappersThe world's #1 Big-Data Detective returns in another unrealistic adventure. This time there are disappearing dogs, cars that won't start, and people who have been partially electrocuted, perhaps by God. Part Freakonomics, part Sherlock Holmes, part Doctor Who, part somewhere on the spectrum and 100% completely absurd, The Outlier series continues with "The Outlier #4, Zappers, another Dillon Sharif Tall Tale.
Views: 602

Life: A User's Manual

In this ingenious book Perec creates an entire microcosm in a Paris apartment block. Serge Valene wants to make an elaborate painting of the building he has made his home for the last sixty years. As he plans his picture, he contemplates the lives of all the people he has ever known there. Chapter by chapter, the narrative moves around the building revealing a marvellously diverse cast of characters in a series of every more unlikely tales, which range from an avenging murderer to an eccentric English millionaire who has devised the ultimate pastime...
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The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 3: Second Variety

Many thousands of readers consider Philip K. Dick the greatest science fiction mind on any planet. Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in Dick's works has continued to mount and his reputation has been further enhanced by a growing body of critical attention. The Philip K. Dick Award is now given annually to a distinguished work of science fiction, and the Philip K. Dick Society is devoted to the study and promulgation of his works.This collection includes all of the writer's earliest short and medium-length fiction (including some previously unpublished stories) covering the years 1952-1955. These fascinating stories include Second Variety, Foster, You're Dead and The Father-Thing, and many others. "A useful acquisition for any serious SF library or collection." -- Kirkus "The collected stories of Philip K. Dick is awe inspiring." -- The Washington Post "More than anyone else in the field, Mr. Dick really puts you inside people's minds." -- Wall Street Journal
Views: 602

Wishin' and Hopin'

Wally Lamb, the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hour I First Believed, I Know This Much Is True, and She’s Come Undone, delivers a holiday treat with Wishin’ and Hopin’—an unforgettable novella that captures the warmth and joy of the holiday season. Poignant and hilarious, in a vein similar to Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story and David Sedaris’s The Santaland Diaries, Lamb’s Christmas tale focuses on a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello—a distant cousin of the iconic Annette!
Views: 601

41-Love

A darkly funny sports memoir about a mid-life crisis, exercise addiction, tennis, and how to grow up when you really, really don't want toAt forty-one, Scarlett Thomas was a successful novelist and a senior academic. She’d quit smoking, gotten healthier, settled down in a lovely house with a wonderful partner. She’d had all the therapy. Then her beloved dog died. Her parents started to get sick right around the time she realized she was never going to be a mother herself. For the first time in her life, maintaining her ideal weight had become nearly impossible. She was supposed to grow up, but she didn’t know how. So instead she decided to regress, to go back to the thing she’d loved best as a child but had inexplicably abandoned: tennis. Thomas knows she’s not the only person to have wondered whether throwing enough money and time and passion at something can make your dream come true. 41–Love is heartbreaking but...
Views: 601

Middle School: Escape to Australia

In this adventurous installment of James Patterson's bestselling Middle School series, everyone's favorite underdog hero Rafe Khatchadorian is headed to the dangerous wilds of Australia! Rafe isn't exactly considered a winner in Hills Village Middle School to say the least, but everything's about to change: he's won a school-wide art competition, and the fabulous prize is getting to jet off to Australia for a whirlwind adventure! But Rafe soon finds that living in the Land Down Under is harder than he could've ever imagined: his host-siblings are anything but welcoming, the burning temperatures are torturous, and poisonous critters are ready to sting or eat him at every step. So with the help of some new misfit friends, Rafe sets out to show everyone what he does best: create utter mayhem!
Views: 601

Taming the Star Runner

The classic YA story of a boy, a horse, and pursuit of a dream. TAMING THE STAR RUNNER written by celebrated novelist S.E. Hinton, now available as an eBook for the first time.With an absent mother and a domineering step-father, Travis uses his tough-guy exterior to hide his true passion: writing. After a violent confrontation with his step-father, Travis is sent to live on his uncle’s horse ranch - exile to a born-and-bred city kid. Angry and yearning for a connection, Travis befriends Casey, the horse-riding instructor at the ranch, and the un-tamable horse in her stable: the Star Runner. When a friend from the city visits with stories of other kids from the neighborhood facing jail time, Travis is more determined than ever that he needs to escape the life of juvenile delinquency he seems destined for. When the offer of a book deal comes through, Travis is hopeful that this is his chance to escape, if only his step-father will stop standing in the way of his dreams.From the author of THE OUTSIDERS, S.E. Hinton once again writes about what it feels like to be unaccepted, and the power in being true to yourself.“Hinton continues to grow more reflective in her books, but her great understanding, not of what teenagers are but of what they can hope to be, is undiminished.”—Kirkus ReviewsAn ALA Best Books for Young AdultsAn ALA Quick Pick
Views: 601

Shopgirl

Lonely, depressed, Vermont transplant Mirabelle Buttersfield, who sells expensive evening gloves nobody ever buys at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills and spends her evenings watching television with her two cats. She attempts to forge a relationship with middle-aged, womanizing, Seattle millionaire Ray Porter while being pursued by socially inept and unambitious slacker Jeremy. With more than 340,000 copies in print, Steve Martin's Shopgirl has landed on bestseller lists nationwide including: New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Filled with the kind of witty, discerning observations that have brought Steve Martin incredible critical success, this story of modern day love and romance is a work of disarming tenderness.
Views: 601