London Under is a wonderful, atmospheric, imaginative, oozing short study of everything that goes on under London, from original springs and streams and Roman amphitheaters to Victorian sewers, gang hideouts, and modern tube stations. The depths below are hot, warmer than the surface, and this book tunnels down through the geological layers, meeting the creatures, real and fictional, that dwell in darkness--rats and eels, monsters and ghosts. When the Underground's Metropolitan Line was opened in 1864, the guards asked for permission to grow beards to protect themselves against the sulfurous fumes, and named their engines after tyrants--Czar, Kaiser, Mogul--and even Pluto, god of the underworld. To go under London is to penetrate history, to enter a hidden world. As Ackroyd puts it, "The vastness of the space, a second earth, elicits sensations of wonder and of terror. It partakes of myth and dream in equal measure."From the Hardcover... Views: 9
A finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, this bestselling collection from master storyteller Sherman Alexie tackles love, loss, basketball—and everything in betweenThe characters that populate the lyrical and affectionate tales in Ten Little Indians battle stereotypes and navigate the crossroads of culture in life off the reservation. Richard, the narrator of “Lawyer’s League,” grows up in Seattle the son of “an African American giant who played defensive end for the University of Washington Huskies” and “a petite Spokane Indian ballerina.” Estelle Walks Above (née Estelle Miller), the mother of the narrator in “The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above,” studies her way off the Spokane Indian Reservation and into the University of Washington, and goes on to both enjoy and resent the company of the white women of Seattle—who see her as a shamanic genius, and look to her for guidance on everything from sex and fashion to spirituality and politics.These and the other stories in Ten Little Indians run the gamut from earthy humor to sobering emotional truth, mapping the outer reaches of the human heart.This ebook features an illustrated biography including rare photos from the author’s personal collection. Views: 9
Victorian hack Hector Mortlake and his trusty valet Cuthbert are at it again. This third outing takes them to the Scottish Highlands - but that's just the start. A mysterious portal and a ghostly gang of ghouls threaten to separate the pair for good. With a host of new characters and their craziest story yet, Hector and Cuthbert deliver high adventure and shameless innuendo in equal measure. Fans of William Stafford's inimitable style will not be disappointed. Views: 9
1857: On an extended visit to her cousins in London, country girl Lizzie struggles to adapt to her new life of stiff manners and formal pastimes at No. 6 Chelsea Walk. And her dream of becoming a gardener is certainly frowned upon. But like her elder cousin, who wants to defy her middle-class upbringing and become a nurse, Lizzie has the strength of will to act against stifling Victorian conventions. And the chance to visit the newly opened Kew Gardens presents her with the ideal opportunity to start working towards her grand ambition... Adele Geras has previously been shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book Award and Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal. "Dramatic stories with a real sense of atmosphere." - The Guardian Views: 9
Following the success of his award-winning memoir There is a Season (2004) and his bestselling novel Red Dog, Red Dog (2008), Patrick Lane felt his celebrated poetry career might be at an end and published his Collected Poems in 2011. But the process of revisiting his collected poetic works rekindled his first love and launched him on a new phase of poetry composition that resulted in this impressive and distinctive new book.Honest and self-aware, Washita evokes some of the most inexpressible experiences a human being can undergo: the loss of a parent, the breakdown of a body, the perversion of nature, the acquiring of wisdom. In "Hard-Rock," a boy begins to understand that his father will die: "His lungs created elaborate cathedrals from quartz dust, / a crystal symphony playing Mahler under water." In "Submission," a speaker struggles with losing his sight, capable only of expressing himself through metaphor. But amid this darkness sparks an... Views: 9
The #1 Kids' Video Game! Lightning Rod Faces the Cyclops Queen is the third book in an ongoing Mask of Power series of original novels set in the Skylanders universe. These all-new stories feature favorite characters from all the Skylanders games. Views: 9
