When Trin was given the medallion as a child, he was told it was a talisman for hunters that could save his life. He'd never found the need to test the superstition until he is well into adulthood. When he does, however, it works in a way he could have never imagined.Part of the Blyssfully Abnormal Anthology; What happens when you take a group of writers, the most talented & twisted that you can find, and put them into one publishing house? They form into the strangest dysfunctional family we've ever seen. No one asked the question, but Charity found the answer. So she wondered, what would happen if she gave us a list of seemingly normal situations and asked us to give them our own unique twist? The answer is the Blyssfully Abnormal anthology, a collection of stories that gives the reader a peek into the somewhat abnormal minds that bring us together.In The Medallion when Trin was given the medallion as a child, he was told it was a talisman for hunters that could save his life. He'd never found the need to test the superstition until he is well into adulthood. When he does, however, it works in a way he could have never imagined. Views: 638
Returning to her hometown after college, Noelle is hired on at the local burger joint. But when strange occurrences plague the restaurant, she begins investigating the history of the town and discovers things aren't as idyllic as they seem and some secrets that should've remained buried.The small western town of New Smyrna has plenty of secrets to hide. Views: 638
The Great War has been stuck in stalemate on the Western Front for forty-seven years since 1914. Jimmy is a lonely private at the front, forced to battle from the enormous deathly wall that faces the Germans across no-man's land. Esme is the factory girl he met in Brighton. The girl he dreams of...The Great War has been stuck in stalemate on the Western Front for forty-seven years since 1914. Jimmy is a lonely private at the front, forced to battle from the enormous deathly wall that faces the Germans across no-man's land. Esme is the factory girl he met in Brighton. The girl he dreams of... Separated by the enormity of the war machine that surrounds them they write to each other, sharing their hopes and dreams of a better time... An epistolary novel set in an alternate history. Views: 638
"DELECTABLY ENTERTAINING. . . . An uproariously funny and at the same time hauntingly melancholy portrait of a college community in the Midwest."
--The New York Times
Nestled in the heart of the Midwest, amid cow pastures and waving fields of grain, lies Moo University, a distinguished institution devoted to the art and science of agriculture. Here, among an atmosphere rife with devious plots, mischievous intrigue, lusty liaisons, and academic one-upmanship, Chairman X of the Horticulture Department harbors a secret fantasy to kill the dean; Mrs. Walker, the provost's right hand and campus information queen, knows where all the bodies are buried; Timothy Nonahan, associate professor of English, advocates eavesdropping for his creative writing assignments; and Bob Carlson, a sophomore, feeds and maintains his only friend: a hog named Earl Butz. In this wonderfully written and masterfully plotted novel, Jane Smiley, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres, offers us a wickedly funny comedy that is also a darkly poignant slice of life.
"FAST, HILARIOUS, AND HEARTBREAKING . . . Not for a minute does Moo lose its perfect satiric pitch or its pacing. . . . Don't skip a page, don't skip a paragraph. It's going to be on the final."
--People
"SMART, IRREVERENT, AND WICKEDLY TENDER . . . Moo suggests a mix of Tom Wolfe's wit and John Updike's satiny reach . . . Engaging."
--The Boston Globe
"ENTERTAINING . . . Displays a wicked wit and an unerring eye for American foibles . . . Stuffed with memorable characters, sparkling with deliciously acid humor, Moo is a rare bird in today's literary menagerie: a great read that also makes you think."
--Chicago Sun-Times
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 638
As the blight spreads, destroying the land, Cara’s new subjects turn on her, and Brendan and Drake are no longer there to help her. The Darksiders thought she’d be pliable, or maybe even a miracle-worker, and it’s not as easy to scrub away Sadler’s influence as she thought.
But Scarlet isn’t her only priority any more, and once the ceremony to swear her in as regent is done, it’ll be time for Cara to join forces with the kings, find a way to stop the blight, and prove to the fae that she can be the leader they need.
It took a Darksider to steal the throne; it’ll take a faery queen to keep it. Views: 637
Featuring all of American author Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, this collection reveals the author’s contemplations on religion, morality, and fate, set against the backdrop of the American South. The collection contains O’Connor’s most famous works of short fiction, including “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” and reveals her many significant contributions to the Southern Gothic genre.
Though she met with only mild popularity during her short life, Flannery O’Connor’s short stories have since been recognized as important works of American literature, and the original anthology of her complete stories won the National Book Award for fiction in 1972, seven years after her death.
HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library. Views: 636
Shirley Jackson, author of the classic short story The Lottery, was known for her terse, haunting prose. But the writer possessed another side, one which is delightfully exposed in this hilariously charming memoir of her family's life in rural Vermont. Fans of Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Cheaper by the Dozen, and anything Erma Bombeck ever wrote will find much to recognize in Shirley Jackson's home and neighborhood: children who won't behave, cars that won't start, furnaces that break down, a pugnacious corner bully, household help that never stays, and a patient, capable husband who remains lovingly oblivious to the many thousands of things mothers and wives accomplish every single day."Our house," writes Jackson, "is old, noisy, and full. When we moved into it we had two children and about five thousand books; I expect that when we finally overflow and move out again we will have perhaps twenty children and easily half a million books." Jackson's literary talents are in evidence everywhere, as is her trenchant, unsentimental wit. Yet there is no mistaking the happiness and love in these pages, which are crowded with the raucous voices of an extraordinary family living a wonderfully ordinary life. Views: 636
'Washington Square is perhaps the only novel in which a man has successfully invaded the feminine field and produced work comparable to Jane Austen's,' said Graham Greene.
Inspired by a story Henry James heard at a dinner party, Washington Square tells how the rakish but idle Morris Townsend tries to win the heart of heiress Catherine Sloper against the objections of her father. Precise and understated, the book endures as a matchless social study of New York in the mid-nineteenth century.
'Washington Square has long been beloved by almost all readers,' noted Louis Auchincloss. 'The chief beauty of the novel lies in its expression--by background, characterization, and dialogue--of its mild heroine's mood of long-suffering patience. Everything is ordered, polite, still: the charming old square in the pre-brownstone city, the small, innocent, decorous social gatherings, the formal good manners, the quaint reasonableness of the dialogues. . . . James was the poet of cities: New York in Washington Square.' Clifton Fadiman agreed: 'It has extraordinary charm, deriving from an almost Mozartian combination of sweetness and depth.' Views: 636
'Powerless' Chapters 1-3: a retired hero is dragged from his self-imposed isolation when an old teammate is murdered by another power and he is tasked to find his killer.'Lord of Shadow': a small boy finds solace in the darkness.'Making Gods': two linguistics experts find an awkward romance over ancient carvings.'The Colours of Jupiter': a group of scientists investigate the nature of time.A collection of three short stories that will get under your skin plus the first three chapters of the superhero novel 'Powerless'.'Powerless' Chapters 1-3: a retired hero is dragged from his self-imposed isolation when an old teammate is murdered by another power and he is tasked to find his killer.In 'Lord of Shadow', a small boy becoming emotionally detached from his parents finds solace in the darkness.In 'Making Gods' two linguistics experts find an awkward romance over ancient carvings.In 'The Colours of Jupiter' a group of scientists undertaking a radical experiment to prove the nature of time end up discovering more about their own nature. Views: 636
The Lottery, one of the most terrifying stories written in this century, created a sensation when it was first published in The New Yorker. "Power and haunting," and "nights of unrest" were typical reader responses. This collection, the only one to appear during Shirley Jackson's lifetime, unites "The Lottery:" with twenty-four equally unusual stories. Together they demonstrate Jackson's remarkable range--from the hilarious to the truly horrible--and power as a storyteller. Views: 635
Flat Stanley and his family are on another adventure in this fifteenth book in the renowned Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures series. This time, the Lambchops are visiting the Big Apple! Stanley Lambchop has been invited to New York City to take part in an International Declaration of Friendship at the United Nations! But before anyone signs the declaration, the group goes on a whirlwind tour of New York City.What should be an adventure quickly turns scary when Stanley and his new friend Ian get separated from their group. But Stanley and Ian manage to find the fun in their situation, traveling around Manhattan: through the subway, across Times Square, and—finally—to the top of the Empire State Building.But at the end of the day, Stanley and Ian are still on the search to find their families and friends before it's time to sign the Declaration of Friendship. Will they meet up with their group before it's too... Views: 635
An unknown enemy wanted to take everything from us.GravesI'd spent all my forty-plus years paying for mistakes when I'd simply been human. Living in the shadow of my friend's happiness grew harder every day. I didn't mind being the odd one out. I didn't mind being considered the unlovable strait-laced-ish one to their mayhem. Acceptance after a lifetime of not measuring up was nice. I'd found my rhythm and my place among the weirdness of my unit. That was until Marcel Douglas, the new ego-maniac in Homicide, decided he had to pick apart every case I'd left behind.DouglasLeaving Chicago hadn't been in my plans, but my daughter needed me. I'd do anything to make her happy. When her mother was transferred overseas, I'd moved so my daughter could stay with her friends—the place she'd come to love. Being at the bottom of the hierarchy and earning respect didn't sit right with my pride. I wasn't afraid to admit that. And I'd made one hell of an enemy.... Views: 634
The end of the world as we know it, as seen through the eyes of an eleven year old little Australian girl hiding inside a pet shop.The Ipswich Poetry Feast is a citywide initiative aimed at commemorating this significant event through the introduction of an annual international poetry writing competition and events that aims to encourage young and aspiring poets, to provide an opportunity for poets to showcase their work, to raise community awareness of the creativity and skills in poetry writing and top romote Ipswich as a vibrant, culturally rich region. Views: 634
Jones is marooned when his ship crashes. Where is he? How will he survive? Katie is an archaeologist investigating a spectacular find in an English forest. How are these two characters from very different worlds linked? How will the majestic mammoths bring them together?NEW VERSION - 2013 Edit...A short science fiction story. Look out for more stories featuring Jones.Jones is usually a loner, a part-time, space faring freelance hit man. Finding himself marooned on a hostile beach he needs to use his ingenuity to survive in an environment inhabited by mammoths. Katie is a bright young archaeologist who has made a startling discovery in an English forest. These two disparate characters are thrown together, and find that their different worlds are inextricably linked by the past, the future and by the majestic mammoths.A short science fiction story. Look out for more stories featuring Jones.NEW VERSION - 2013 Edit... Views: 634
Boy meets girl after dark, at the conclusion of the circus... for a rendezvous both bitter and sweet.excerpt:“I got you a rum and coke,” he said, “without the rum.”She smiled again as her fingers enclosed the glass and he noticed for the first time her nails, long and perfectly rounded, the color of dark twilight sparkling with starlets.“Oh that’s okay,” she said, still smiling. “I don’t care as long as it’s cold and carbonated, and non-alcoholic.”She lifted the glass and he lifted the bottle and for a moment they watched each other drinking. He noticed the curl of hair dropping down like a long and delicate spring brushing each cheek. And then he noticed her darkly kohled eyes. “Would you like to play some pool?” He asked the question just to say something, and disengaged his eyes from her gaze to look over her left shoulder where the table stood. The triangle rack lay roughly centered upon a lit green velvet field next to the unmarked white ball. “I don’t know,” she said. “How good are you?”“I’m okay.”“Better than me, then; I’m not good at all.” Views: 633
