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Arrhythmia

Novel

The novel is set in a busy Montreal hospital in 1999. Joelle, a secretary at a hospital, worries that her marriage is failing as her husband Marc continuously shows signs of distraction. Marc, who also works at the hospital, becomes obsessed with Ketia, a 19-year-old nurse. They become dear friends and eventually develop feelings towards each other; they make love in Ketia's car. Ketia lies to her family about her liaison with Marc, knowing that they would not approve. During this Joelle's former abusive boyfriend Emile arrives at the hospital with cancer. Joelle's best friend Diane, who is a whiz at crossword puzzles, is dating and living with her Muslim boyfriend, Nazim. Diane does not realize that Nazim has never told his family in Morocco about her. Nazim soon receives a letter from his sister Ghada, saying that she is coming to see him in Canada. Soon after Marc reveals to Joelle that he will be moving out of their home. Joelle learns of his liaison with Ketia. Nazim also reveals to Diane that his sister is coming and he doesn't want to reveal the truth, so Diane goes to stay with Joelle to help her cope while Ghada comes to town. It is revealed that Ketia's affair with Marc resulted in her becoming pregnant. Ketia does not want to reveal this to Marc let alone anyone else, however she eventually reveals the truth to her younger sister Gabrielle. They both know that their mother would not approve of her pregnancy. Marc finds out about Ketia's pregnancy through rumors at the hospital, and tells Joelle the truth. Ketia continues to avoid Marc as she does not want him to find out the truth; little did she know that rumors had already done that for her. Ketia worries about what she will do, as her mother will not support her choices to keep the baby. This leads to Ketia getting an abortion. Marc attempts to find Ketia and tell her that he knows and fully supports her, however other nurses tell Marc that what he is doing is sexually harassing Ketia by continuously following her, during which they reveal that Ketia terminated her pregnancy. With Marc now knowing all of this information, he returns to Joelle and asks for a second chance, which she declines. Joelle reveals that she is filing for divorce. Diane moves back to her apartment with Nazim, who sent Ghada back home without ever mentioning a word of her.

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I Didn't Mean to be Kevin

Caleb J. Ross

Literary fiction

Jackson Jacoby lives a life of abandonment. His father died when he was young. He and his mother suffered a falling-apart when Jackson was only ten. He lives alone in a studio apartment, uses the delivery truck he drives for his snack-vending job as his personal mode of transportation, and has just two friends: one of whom, Creg Deja, is a kindred without a mother or a father. Jackson’s hatred for his job is a common point of conversation between him and Creg. After a particularly heated discussion one afternoon in a Laundromat, Jackson retires to his apartment to browse classifieds ads in search of a new job, but instead comes across a plea, disguised as a want-ad for day laborers, from an abandoned mother begging for her runaway son to return home. Drunk and confused after a night out, Jackson dials the phone number unwittingly beginning a phone relationship with the mother. The next morning, feeling bad about misleading the mother, Jackson visits his other friend, his Uncle Marve. Jackson respects Uncle Marve more than he respects most people. He's a cryptic man, full of stories and hatred for Jackson’s mother (“The mother needs the kid, the kid needs the mother. Take out the ‘need’ from either pair and you’ve got either a woman who considers her son an obstacle, like in your case, or you’ve got a boy who is just floating around without roots.”). Via the morning’s discussion, Jackson’s hatred for his real mother is rekindled. He decides to continue his ruse with the fake mother despite moral hesitation. Creg spends his days at a Laundromat searching Spanish TV programs for his lost mother. She left him when he was a child, citing her desire to become a Spanish soap opera star. In return for his TV time, the owner of the laundry, Luisa, employs Creg to destroy surrounding Laundromats in order to obliterate competition. Jackson joins him on one of these errands which ends with police chasing them and only Jackson escaping. Afraid of the law and with no substantial reason to stay in Veranda, Jackson embarks on a journey to Delaware, home of the runaway’s mother. Along the way, he meets a variety of characters, and to them he repeats a certain story: that of his theft of a cauliflower ear from a B.W.P beef plant worker named Marion Garza. Jackson boils with pride by this story, from meeting the man years ago at a truck stop diner, all the way to the hows and whys of Jackson stealing the ear. He tells of a plan he made with a truck stop prostitute named Gina; that they were going to travel the county stealing abnormal body parts and selling them to tourist trap human parts museums. Very few of the strangers believe his stories. As he nears Delaware, he meets and befriends many people, two of whom, Bradley and Robert, especially interest him considering their similar situation: neither have a mother. Taken by Jackson’s story of his road trip to Delaware they join him and venture eastward. They arrive at the specified church where a will reading for the runaway’s grandfather is to take place, but they find only a room full of men, ages roughly eighteen to forty. The crowd waits hours for the will reading but after too long, the boys disperse, leaving only Robert, Bradley, and Jackson. Upset, they track the mother down, and discover that she had been planting the want-ad pleas in random newspapers throughout the country in hopes that her son might find one. Instead, she lured three motherless, hopeful boys. The ruse upsets everyone. The three of them—Jackson, Bradley, and Robert—part ways. Jackson returns to Veranda, stopping along the way at a tourist trap called Pen’s Maze, a snow labyrinth that melts during the spring. He steals an ear from the curator, hoping to feel vindicated by the proof of a real ear (after accepting that Marion Garza’s cauliflower ear was a fake). Instead, he feels nothing. Upon reentering Veranda Jackson passes on visiting the park in which Uncle Marve usually sat—it being full of cameras and news vans—and heads instead to Luisa’s Laundry to tell Creg of his journey. But he discovers that Creg, who is always at the laundry, is not there. After slight pleading, Luisa admits that Creg left for Mexico to find his mother. The TV, normally tuned to Spanish stations, instead broadcast the local news; a story of a local man found dead whom Jackson recognizes as Uncle Marve. Via a note found with the body police investigators discover hundreds of pounds of metal hidden in the park. Jackson remembers one of the many things Uncle Marve taught him: “Who am I without the war? Who is your Marion Garza without BWP? Who are you without Marion Garza? An old man, a sad Mexican, a lost little boy.” Validation, he learns, is something universally desired and universally needed.

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Nine Inches

Colin Bateman

2011-10-13

Crime Fiction, Black comedy

The four-year-old son of Jack Caramac, a shock jock radio broadcaster and old friend of Dan Starkey, is kidnapped for one hour and returned unharmed. Starkey, now a self-styled "upmarket private eye", is hired to investigate the kidnapping and ascertain who might have been behind it – a significant task given the number of people offended by Caramac's illustration of the crime and corruption prevalent throughout Belfast. Starkey's investigations lead him to the Miller brothers, officially the Chiefs of Staff for the Ulster Volunteer Force, although viewed by Starkey as merely a group of Shankill Road thugs intent on pedalling drugs across Belfast. The Millers have been attempting to evict a widow named Jean Murray from her house and Starkey intervenes, hoping his knowledge of their drug operation would dissuade any repercussions. Starkey's interference leads to the Murray's house being burnt down with Jean still inside.

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Chowringhee

Mani Shankar Mukherjee

1962

Sankar named his novel Chowringhee as the novel is set in Chowringhee, a neighborhood in Calcutta, in the mid-1950s. The narrator, Shankar, an ambitious young man who is previously a secretary of an English barrister, becomes unemployed as the Barrister dies all on a sudden and begins selling wastepaper baskets door to door. As he takes rest in a neighborhood park, reminiscing about his past and fearful of what awaits him in future, a friend of his passes by, who is shocked by Shankar's descent into poverty. He tells Shankar that he can find him a job at the Shahjahan Hotel, one of the city's oldest and most venerable hotels, as the hotel manager is one of his clients. Shankar is soon befriended by Sata Bose, the hotel's chief receptionist, and after a brief stint as a typist, Shankar becomes Bose's main assistant and close confidant. The manager, Marco Polo, likes him as well, and young Shankar is given more responsibilities by both men. The story of the novel spins around the guests, entertainers, and frequent visitors of the Shahjahan, but several members of the hotel staff get equal importance in Shankar's narrative. We learn about the seamy underside of the elite of Calcutta, whose greed, shady deals, and shameful behaviors are initially shocking to our naïve young man, but he soons become jaded and disgusted by them. The poverty of working and jobless Calcuttans is vividly portrayed, as those not in the upper echelon are only one stroke of bad luck away from living in the streets or in dilapidated hovels. Love is a central theme, amongst the guests and workers, with often tragic results.

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The Life

Novel

The Life traces the life story of Dennis Keith, now obese, mentally unwell and living in retirement village with his mother. A young would-be biographer arrives one day and begins to teases out his past. The story is told in different strands, one being reflections by Dennis (often in a variety of styles – first person, then third person) and also present day conversations with the biographer. Dennis is a poor gold coast kid who is mysteriously found and adopted by his mother "Mo" Keith. Dennis and his stepbrother Rod become obsessed with surfing at an earlier age. They prove to be talented and daring surfers and soon develop a reputation. They start entering competitions and eventually enter the nascent pro circuit all the while descending into heavy drug use. Dennis stumbles into an intermittent relationship with a singer Lisa Exmire. Lisa is found murdered and eventually charges are laid. Dennis drug use escalates and he drops out of the pro circuit. The novel concludes by revealing the truth about Dennis's family, the murder and biographer.

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The Wanderers

Richard Price

Novel

Richie Gennaro is the 17-year-old leader of the Wanderers, an Italo-American youth gang in the Bronx in 1962. His girlfriend is Denise Rizzo. Richie’s friends in the Wanderers are Joey Capra, Buddy Borsalino, Eugene Caputo and Perry LaGuardia. At the beginning of the book a broad range of events and characters describe the zeitgeist. In addition to the protagonists many characters appear only once. At first “gang-business” is on focus: rivalry with other gangs in the neighborhood who come from different cultural and/or ethnical backgrounds. This rivalry is determined by prejudice and machismo. But there is also competition in terms of sports such as football and bowling. And above all it’s about being cool and to have sex for the first time. But it’s a cumbersome road. Toward the end of the book the events focus more and more on the protagonists and their problems and challenges of growing up – every one in his own way. Eugene joins the marines after watching, without interfering, his girlfriend, Nina, being raped. Perry’s father had died several years ago. Now his mother dies and suddenly he is on his own. Living with his aunt in Trenton, New Jersey, becomes unbearable for him, so he decides to go to Boston and sail to sea. After the situation escalates Joey flees from his violent father and joins Perry. And Buddy impregnates his girlfriend, Despie, on their very first date and has to face the challenges of a 17-year-old husband and father. The serious side of life is catching up, the gang is falling apart and Richie is staying behind.

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Child of Fortune

Norman Spinrad

The book is presented as an autobiographical tale, CHILD OF FORTUNE, A Historie of the Second Starfaring Age by Wendi Shasta Leonardo, and it includes an introduction written by the fictional narrator. Adolescents in the Second Starfaring Age are expected to embark on a journey of self-discovery called a wanderjahr, "the eternal journey from childhood to maturity through the wondrous and terrible chaos of the region between." The wanderers are known as "Children of Fortune", and their culture contains elements of the carnivalesque and 1960s flower Children. The waderjahr is typically a fairly long journey that only ends when the wanderer adopts her adult name (her freenom) and chooses her life's work. Some never complete this rite of passage, and remain Children of Fortune their whole lives. The novel is the story of Wendi Shasta Leonardo's wanderjahr. The story begins when Wendi, known by her childhood name Moussa, leaves her home planet, Glade, with only a return ticket home, a small amount of spending money, and a sex-enhancing ring. She travels to the planet-sized city of Edoku, where she quickly burns through all her money, and becomes a mendicant. She is adopted by a group of Children of Fortune known as the Gypsy Jokers. Moussa falls in love with the leader of the Gypsy Jokers, Pater Pan, who teaches her the art of ruespieling (story-telling) and gives her the name Sunshine. After the abrupt disappearance of Pater Pan, Sunshine leaves Edoku with a wealthy Child of Fortune named Guy Vlad Boca. They sample the hedonistic life of the Honored Passengers aboard the interstellar Void Ships and eventually arrive on the planet Belshazaar. On Belshazar, there is a large forest known as the Bloomenwald, which is the source of a plethora of naturally occurring psychedelic drugs. The trees use intoxicants to induce mammals to perform pollination duties, and many Children of Fortune are trapped by the forest ecosystem. Through her force of will, Sunshine is able to lead a group back to reality. This becomes the basis for her first original composition as a ruespieler, "The Pied Piper of the Bloomenwald". Sunshine's tale attracts the attention of an author who convinces her to go find Pater Pan, so that the story will have an ending. Sunshine finds Pater Pan addicted to the Charge, a kind of electronic drug. As he is dying, she experiences his entire life story in a kind of ecstatic vision. Sunshine ends her wanderjahr and adopts the freenom Wendi Shasta Leonardo.

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Dead End in Norvelt

Jack Gantos

2011-09-13

Dead End takes place during the summer after the American schoolboy Jack Gantos fires his father's war trophy, a Japanese sniper rifle. As punishment he must stay in the house except as sent by his mother to help their elderly neighbor Miss Volker write obituaries and a history column for the town newspaper. Among other things, that work uncovers a murder mystery. Jack "learns snippets of American history that he has never been taught in school", some indirectly and some by Miss Volker's pointed explanations.

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My French Whore

Gene Wilder

Set towards the end of WWI, in 1918, it tells the story of a shy young railway employee and amateur actor from Milwaukee, named Paul Peachy. Having realised that his wife no longer loves him, Paul enlists as a private in the U.S. Army and boards ship for the trenches of France. Peachy finds temporary solace in friendship amid horrors of war, but is soon captured by the enemy Germans in No Man's Land. His only chance of survival is to impersonate one of the enemy's most famous spies (as a child of immigrants, he is a fluent German speaker). As the urbane and accomplished spy Harry Stroller, Peachy is feted as a hero by the German top brass and gains access to a previously unimagined world of sumptuous living. But his new role also reveals inner reserves of courage and ingenuity he never knew he possessed, as the mounting suspicions of his German hosts force Peachy into ever more outrageous deceptions. In this atmosphere of smoke and mirrors, Paul Peachy falls in love with Annie, a beautiful French courtesan, who seems to see through his artful disguise. The ending is a surprise of twists and clever plotting.

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The descendants

Kaui Hart Hemmings

2007

Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors were financially and culturally progressive–one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state’s largest landowners. Now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control: Ten-year-old Scottie is a smart-ass with a desperate need for attention, and seventeen-year-old Alex, a former model, is a recovering drug addict. Matt’s charismatic, thrill-seeking, high-maintenance wife, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat-racing accident and will soon be taken off life support. The Kings can hardly picture life without her, but as they come to terms with this tragedy, their sadness is mixed with a sense of freedom that shames them–and spurs them into surprising actions. Before honoring Joanie’s living will, Matt must gather her friends and family to say their final goodbyes, a difficult situation made worse by the sudden discovery that there is one person who hasn’t been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair, quite possibly the one man she ever truly loved. Forced to examine what he owes not only to the living but to the dead, Matt takes to the road with his daughters to find his wife’s lover, a memorable journey that leads to both painful revelations and unforeseen humor and growth.

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Madonna: Like an Icon

Lucy O'Brien

2007-08-27

Biography

The biography is divided into three parts. The first part is named Baptism and tells about Madonna's birth in Detroit, Michigan, her early childhood, her time in New York, and her dance degree. It also talks in detail about the release of her first three studio albums—Madonna, Like a Virgin and True Blue—her marriage to actor Sean Penn, and also her foray into films. The middle part, named as Confession, starts from the Like a Prayer era onwards where Madonna has become a global superstar. It continues up to the release of the erotic coffee table book called Sex, and the commercial disappointments that she faced. The third part is called Absolution, and starts with Madonna giving birth to her daughter Lourdes. It continues with the release of Ray of Light in 1998 and subsequent four studio albums, her worldwide concert tours, her marriage to Guy Ritchie and controversies surrounding her adoption from the African country, Malawi. It ends with the release of Madonna's 2008 album, Hard Candy, and the singer reaching the age of fifty.

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City of God

Paulo Lins

1997

Autobiographical novel, Crime Fiction

City of God is set in a city renowned for its natural beauty. The novel follows the lives of gangsters and petty criminals living in the Favela. The novel is set from the 1960s through to the 1980s. At the beginning the money made by the delinquents is essentially gained through hold-ups. As the years progress into the 70’s, cocaine begins to make a large appearance in the criminals lives, the focus now turns to drugs both dealing and consuming vast amounts. Due to the increase in drug lords money becomes guns and with guns come power and so evolves large conflicts over who has the ultimate control over drug dealing in the Favela, resulting in gang wars. The law does not apply throughout the novel the power is held by the criminals and drug lords who effectively govern the Favela. The police are interested in how well the gangs are doing for their own gain, due to the lack of government involvement and the low wages the police get paid, the police are easily corrupt.

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The Demigod Diaries

Rick Riordan

2012-08-14

Fantasy, Young adult literature, Short story

The Demigod Diaries contains four new stories with character interviews, illustrations of Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez and a first ever seen picture of Thalia Grace (it also contains a picture of Hal who is a new character in the first story), puzzles, and a quiz. The four stories include: * Thalia's, Luke's, and Annabeth's adventures before the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series began * A first-person narrative from Percy's viewpoint as he and Annabeth complete a task given by Hermes regarding his staff which happens a month after the end of The Last Olympian and before Percy went missing in The Lost Hero * A story involving Jason, Leo, and Piper during their time spent at Camp Half-Blood between The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune It also includes a short story by Riordan's son, Haley Riordan, revolving around one of the demigods who fought for Kronos during the Second Titan War and survived the battle in Manhattan.

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Belenggu

Armijn Pane

The novel begins as Sukartono (Tono), a Dutch-trained doctor, and his wife Sumartini (Tini), residents of Batavia (modern day Jakarta), are suffering a marital breakdown. Tono is busy treating his patients, leaving no time for him to be with Tini. In response, Tini has become active in numerous social organisations and women's groups, leaving her little time to deal with household work. This further distances Tono from her, as he expects her to behave like a traditional wife and be waiting for him at home, with dinner ready, when he returns from work. One day, Tono receives a call from a Miss Eni, who asks him to treat her at a hotel. After Tono arrives at the hotel where Eni is staying, he discovers that she is actually his childhood friend Rohayah (Yah). Yah, who has had romantic feelings for Tono since childhood, begins seducing him, and after a while he accepts her advances. The two begin furtively meeting, often taking long walks at the port Tanjung Priok. When Tini goes to Surakarta to attend a women's congress, Tono decides to stay at Yah's house for a week. While at Yah's, Tono and Yah discuss their pasts. Tono reveals that after he graduated from elementary school in Bandung, where he studied with Yah, he attended medical school in Surabaya and married Tini for her beauty. Meanwhile, Yah was forced to marry an older man and move to Palembang. After deciding that life as a wife was not for her, she moved to Batavia and became a prostitute, before serving as a Dutchman's mistress for three years. Tono falls further in love with Yah, as he feels that she is more likely to be a proper wife for him; Yah, however, does not consider herself ready for marriage. Tono, a fan of traditional kroncong music, is asked to judge a singing competition at Gambir Market. While there, he discovers that Yah is also his favourite singer, who sings under the pseudonym Siti Hayati. At Gambir, he also meets with his old friend Hartono, a political activist with the political party Partindo, who enquires about Tini. On a later date, Hartono visits Tono's home and meets Tini. It is revealed that Tini was romantically involved with Hartono while the two of them were in university, where Tini surrendered her virginity to him; this action, unacceptable in traditional culture, made her disgusted with herself and unable to love. Hartono had made the situation worse by breaking off their relationship through a letter. When Hartono asks her to take him back, Tini refuses. Tini discovers that Tono has been having an affair, and is furious. She then goes to meet Yah. However, after a long talk she decides that Yah is better for Tono and tells the former prostitute to marry him; Tini then moves back to Surabaya, leaving Tono in Batavia. However, Yah feels that she would only ruin Tono's respected status as a doctor because of her history. She decides to move to New Caledonia, leaving a note for Tono as well as a record with a song recorded especially for him as a way of saying goodbye. On the way to New Caledonia, Yah pines for Tono and hears his voice calling from afar, giving a speech on the radio. Tono, now alone, dedicates himself to his work in an attempt to fill the void left in his heart.

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Wisdom's Daughter

H. Rider Haggard

Fantasy

As Holly points out, the story is told from She’s perspective, and since She claims to have lived for over two thousand years, since Ancient Egypt, there is no way to compare her story with any other sources, or witnesses. She Who Must Be Obeyed says that she was Arabian, by birth; and, given the name Ayesha. Although, in the introduction, Sir H. Rider Haggard, links the name Ayesha to Mohammed's wives, and Arabic or Arabic names, (Arabic: عائشة‎, Āʾisha), stating that it should be pronounced "Ash/ -ha"; A·ye·sha/ äˈ(y)ēSHə/, is perhaps more common. She claims that her natural beauty and wisdom was so great, it caused wars between the princes, who wanted to marry her. She says that while this was at first a great source of pride among her Father’s people, they soon began to resent her, and spread vicious rumours that she was cursed. Ayesha leads her Father’s people into victory, and revels in the battle; but, the women envy her, and the men lust after her. So, she decides to go into hiding, with her tutor, an Egyptian priest; rather than be turned over to the approaching armies of Pharaoh. She tells about travelling through the ancient world, encountering all the major artists, who want her to model for them; as well as philosophers, and religions of the time, from Ancient Greece and fledgling Ancient Rome to Palestine and Jerusalem. Finally, they return to Egypt, where once again, her beauty and wisdom become a source of contention. She swears an oath of celibacy, to serve Isis the Goddess of the Spirit of Nature, and turn away from Aphrodite the Goddess of Love. But, soon a Greek soldier of fortune, Kallikrates, formerly employed by the Pharaoh comes to her, for sanctuary. He takes an oath to serve Isis; but, the Pharaoh’s daughter pursues him; and, seeing the way Ayesha looks at him, she determines to destroy her, as a rival. The Princess mocks Ayesha’s prophecies as mere parlor tricks. She goads her Father into giving Ayesha away, as a sex slave, to one of his allies. Repeatedly, Ayesha is in danger; but, even in the midst of fire and battle, Isis and her followers save her from ruin and rape. Ayesha’s fame grows so great, that she is called “Isis Come To Earth” and “Wisdom’s Daughter”. Finally, the King of Kings, of the Persian Empire, comes to see her. He laughs that anyone would be afraid of what must be an old hag, as Isis’s Priestess. He spits on Isis’s statues, and burns the old gods. However, again her beauty, which the King glimpses beneath her veil; betrays her; and, he determines to rape her, with the rest of the country. Isis saves her; and, they escape, to reunite with her old Captain, Kallikrates, and the Princess. Ayesha is inspired that Isis wants to rebuild her cult and usher in a new Golden Age, in the world, through herself. She is led to the hidden kingdom of Kor, in Africa, to begin. Once there, Ayesha meets her former tutor, who has been guarding The Flame of Eternal Life, which will make a person young and powerful, for as long as the world endures. He passes this one last mystery onto Ayesha, warning her of its temptation to her vanity. The Princess mocks Ayesha’s fading youth; and feeling ashamed, in front of Kallikrates, Ayesha determines to break her oaths, and make herself and him both immortal, to rule the world, like Gods, by stepping into The Flame. This way she feels she will be as "Isis Come To Earth", indeed. But, "Wisdom's Daughter" is Fortune's Fool, and falls by Love's Folly. Kallikrates is afraid when he sees Ayesha, in her preternatural beauty, after she has bathed in The Flame; and, dies. The others either flee in terror or are killed, overwhelmed by her beauty. Aphrodite laughs at her, and Isis. Now, Ayesha cannot die, or her will be opposed. She is as terrible, beautiful, and deadly as lightning. After Kallikrates' death, the Princess flees, urging Leo’s ancestors to revenge themselves on She, through the artifacts, she passes down, which Holly and Leo find, in the first book, She: A History of Adventure. Ayesha is doomed to wait, in Kor, for his return, through the centuries, becoming weary of the world. She has learned everything the world and Nature has to offer; but, still she must wait, for love and redemption.

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The Twilight of Briareus

John Middleton Murry, Jr.

1974

Science Fiction

Briareus Delta becomes a supernova only about 130 light-years from Earth. While admiring the aurora it produces, the comprehensive-school English teacher Calvin Johnson meets one of his students, Margaret Hardy. Dazed after a tornado caused by the supernova, Calvin and Margaret are mysteriously compelled into a joyless sex act. Calvin learns that Margaret and many other sixteen-year-old girls then slept around the clock and longer, with strange dreams. A few months later, it appears that no human pregnancies have started since the supernova. Calvin and others face the possibility of the extinction of humanity. Although most scientists are baffled, the retired zoology professor Angus McHarty speculates that some powerful entities have made use of the supernova to try to "take over" humanity, and conceptions are not occurring because at a deep level people prefer extinction to losing human identity. The people who slept, mostly girls, are becoming known as "Zeta mutants" after a new "zeta" rhythm observable in their brainwaves. Sometimes their minds "meld" together, and they can have visions, which seem to be precognitive. They tend to accept events as they come—"the pattern must fulfill itself." At least some of the girls among them feel compelled to have sex with Calvin, but he resists. Researchers are taking Zetas into custody because it appears that they can become pregnant, but Calvin escapes with help from the Zetas' sympathisers. It transpires that the Zeta research project produced no viable babies, and most of the subjects were killed or suffered mental damage. A remorseful world begins to treat the remaining Zetas well. Calvin proves to be a "diplodeviant", one of very few people whose zeta and alpha rhythms are in phase. McHarty suggests that the Zetas have largely joined the take-over by the "Briarians" and that the diplodeviants, who are less fatalistic than most Zetas, have the deciding vote in whether humanity as a whole will accept it. Calvin meets Margaret again and they become lovers. The children conceived just before the supernova, the "Twilight Generation", prove to be Zetas who share feelings and clairvoyant visions even more strongly than their elders. Most of them are brought to a centre in Geneva that is run along humanitarian lines. The supernova has disrupted the Gulf Stream and Britain's climate is becoming frigid, causing most of its inhabitants to leave. Calvin and Margaret move to Geneva for a few years. Calvin and Margaret have visions of a certain farm in England, which they feel they have to find. After an arduous trip to Lincolnshire (where the snow is not quite yet melting in June), they find the farm in the possession of a teen-aged orphan, Elizabeth, and her cousin, Tony. Elizabeth is perhaps the only Twilighter who is the child of a Zeta; Calvin reaches the conclusion that she is also the only female diplodeviant. Tony and Margaret fall in love, and then Calvin and Elizabeth do likewise. Elizabeth becomes pregnant. Spencer, a mystically and religiously inclined Zeta who had lived at the farm, returns to it. Calvin has increasingly explicit visions and then conversations with the "Briarians". He learns that he is called upon to choose between the old humanity with its struggles and the group consciousness and blissful life offered by the Briarians. Spencer compares Calvin's role to Christ's. Spencer's postscript tells how, as Elizabeth is in labour, feral dogs attach the farm. Calvin takes a shotgun to deal with them, and it fires, killing him. Spencer concludes that Calvin intentionally sacrificed his life, as he knew this action was the only one both old humanity and the Zetas and Briarians could accept. The baby is born. At this moment, Zetas become able to conceive, and the world's rebirth begins, guided by the spiritual powers of the new generation.

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The Black Box

Michael Connelly

Crime Fiction

"Bosch will tackle a 20-year-old cold case" which took place during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

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Der Wehrwolf

Hermann Löns

Novel

The Thirty Years' War is at its height and the peasantry suffers under countless marauders, which roam the lands. The main protagonist Harm Wulf, a peasant, already lost his family in the first years of war and becomes the defending Wulf (wehrender Wulf) by defending a hill fort and its surrounding carr, where some local peasants hide from the pillaging hordes. Harm Wulf gathers more and more allies until 121 men are in the Alliance of the Wehrwolf. When peace is finally restored is Harm Wulf an old and grim man.

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Suspicion

Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Inspector Hans Bärlach, at the end of his career and suffering from cancer, is recovering from an operation. He witnesses how his friend and doctor Samuel Hungertobel turns pale and becomes nervous when looking at a photograph in a magazine he is reading. The person pictured is the German Dr Nehle who carried out horrific experiments on prisoners in the concentration camp Stutthof near Gdansk and is believed to have committed suicide in Chile in 1945. Hungertobel explains that his colleague Fritz Emmenberger, who was in Chile during the war, closely resembles Dr Nehle. Bärlach suspects that Nehle and Emmenberger either changed roles during their time in Chile or happen to be the same person. A close friend of Bärlach's is the Jew Gulliver who fell victim to Nehle's experiments in Stuffhof. Gulliver visits Bärlach and they talk through the night. In the morning, Bärlach is convinced that Dr Emmenberger, who is now leading a famous private clinic in Zurich, committed the crimes under the false name of Dr Nehle. He decides to sign himself into Emmenberger's clinic under the false name of Kramer in order to put the suspect under pressure. In the clinic, Bärlach can indeed identify Dr Emmenberger as the man who committed those terrible crimes. However, the cancer has weakened him and he loses all control, being consistently drugged under Emmenberger's supervision. All hospital staff proves to be blindly committed to Emmenberger whose plan it is to brutally murder Bärlach under the pretense of an operation. Bärlach is saved in the nick of time when Gulliver steps in, murders Emmenberger and leads Bärlach out of the dubious clinic to be reunited with his friend Hungertobel in Bern.

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Who Killed Zebedee?

Wilkie Collins

Detective fiction, Short story

"Who Killed Zebedee?," opens with a direct address to the readers by an otherwise unnamed narrator. On his deathbed, our narrator, a Roman Catholic, feels compelled to make a confession to the readers about his involvement in an unsolved murder case back when he was still a young police constable in London. The recounting of the death of Zebedee opens with a distraught young woman, Priscilla Thurlby, the cook at the Zebedee's boarding house, rushing into the police station with a blood-curdling scream. Priscilla informs the skeptical assembly that, "A young woman has murdered her husband in the night!" While the police initially believe the young woman to be intoxicated, they eventually visit the boarding house to find that a young, married man has been stabbed in the back with a knife. The police immediately begin an inspection of the scene of the crime. The lodgers of the boarding house are interviewed, all of whom prove to be eccentric, however, during the interviews, the young constable and his fellow officers become increasingly suspicious of Mr. Deluc, a smarmy cigar agent, who had made repeated amorous advances towards Mrs. Zebedee. Unfortunately, this suspicion is confounded by Mrs. Zebedee, who is positive she has killed her husband in her sleep. A sleepwalker, Mrs. Zebedee had read a story about a young woman who had murdered her husband in her sleep before falling asleep on the night her husband was murdered. The police suspect the real answer might hinge on the half-inscribed knife, "To John Zebedee-" still wedged in Zebedee's back, but a preliminary search reveals nothing. After several false leads, interest in the case wanes, until the police and the public abandon the case entirely. Finally, the young constable is the only one left with a vested interest. Over the course of the investigation, the constable falls in love with Priscilla Thurlby, and proposes marriage. Priscilla rejects him on the basis of their both being working class and unable to afford a marriage. The constable become convinced that if he can solve the case, they can have their marriage and so Priscilla acquiesces and invites him home to her village to meet her family. On the way to Priscilla's country home, the constable is detained by an incompetent railroad station attendant and ends up temporarily stranded in the town of Waterbank. As he waits for the next train, he notices a shopfront, James Wycomb, Cutler etc., and begins to wonder whether the London police have fully exhausted all cutlers in their investigation. The discovery the constable makes inside brings the case to its dramatic conclusion.

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Charon's Claw

Robert Anthony Salvatore

The story begins in the year 1463 DR with a meeting of the Xoralarrin House of Menzoberranzan. Ravel is the second boy and spellspinner of the house. He is a former apprentice of Gromph. While studying with him he discovered the Skull Gem containing the soul of Arklem Greeth and learns of the recently rediscovered Gauntlgrym. House Xoralarrin has more mages than any other house in the city but chafes under the rule of House Baerne and the House Barrison Del' Armgo. At this meeting are Brach'Thal - a mage of diminished power since the Spellplauge and Ravel's older brother and father, Matron Mother Zeerith Xoralarrin, and Jaerth the house weapon master. Ravel proposes the plan to take Gauntlygrym as their own and establish a new drow city with them as the rulers. The plan is approved and Ravel is to lead the expedition along with Brach'Thal, Jaerth, Saribel (a young priestess), and Berellip (an older and more powerful priestess, and he is given a budget to hire mercenaries. Once out of the city the expedition force assembles. Nearly 100 mercenaries are composed mostly of houseless rogue drows, a drider named Yerrininae and his twenty warriors, and a host of goblin slaves. However, Tiago Baerne is among the drow mercenaries. Tiago is a lizard rider, a powerful warrior on his way to becoming house weapon master, and the grandson of Dantrag Baerne. Meanwhile in Menzoberranzan, Gromph has a conversation with Andzrel Baerne (the current weapon master of the house) that Ravel's expedition has not gone unnoticed and that it goes according to the wishes of Matron Mother Quenthal Baerne. Andzrel is upset that his second - Tiago, has been sent on the journey without his approval. After being dismissed by the wizard, Gromph reflects on one more making the journey to Gaunltgrym, Gol'fanin: a master drow blacksmith. Drizzt and Dahlia begin their journey back to Neverwinter. Drizzt wonders if Dahlia is manipulating him and is not altogether displeased by this idea, reminding himself there is much he does not know about her. Close by, Effron spies on them unnoticed and prepares the Shadovar mercenaries of Cavus Dun for an ambush on the two with the desired result being Drizzt's death and Dahlia's capture. The force consists of Jermander-leader and swordsman, Ratsis-spider tamer, Parbid and Afafrenfere- warrior monks and friends, Amber Gristle O' Maul (Ambergris)- dwarven priestess, Bol- a large tiefling warrior, Horrible- a silent female warrior, and Shifter- a powerful Shadovar mage. In Neverwinter Herzgo Alegni proclaims that Jelvus Grinch to be the head of the White Guard formed by the people of Neverwinter. And that he will lead the Black Guard composed of Shadovar. Jelvus and the citizens of Neverwinter want him gone now that the threat of Sylora Salm and the Thayans has been defeated. Herzgo declares himself the ruler of Neverwinter by threat of violence and Jelvus and the others reluctantly agree. Arunika, the succubus, and her partner Brother Anthus strive to find a way to weaken Herzgo's rule while waiting for the eventual return of the Aboleth Sovereignty. Arunika goes to the site of the Dread Ring to find the lich Valindra Shadowmatle and instead finds her imp familiar Invidoo and a zombie Sylora bent in half unable to walk. Invidoo wants his freedom from service and Arunika will grant it to him if he can find a replacement for himself who is familiar with Drizzt. Artemis Entreri comes to the outskirts of Neverwinter where Herzgo and more importantly Charon's Claw are. Faced with the reality of becoming the sword's slave once again Artemis turns around and heads back towards Drizzt and Dahlia, effectively choosing sides in the conflict to come. Effron's mercenary force ambushes Drizzt and Dahlia who are separated by the Shifter's magic. Parbid and Afafrenfere attack Drizzt; but Drizzt is able to kill Parbid with a shot from Taulmaril the Heartseeker. Dahlia is trapped by Ratsis's spiders and has to fight Bol and Horrible at a disadvantage. She is able to kill Bol which enrages Horrible to lethal frenzy. The Shifter is forced magically knock her over and Ambergris stealthily uses her magic to kill Horrible. In the confusion Ambergris knocks out Afafrenfere and carries him off. Fully ensnared Dahlia is defenseless until Artemis arrives killing one spider and Jermander. Guenhwyvar kills the other spider and both the Shifter and Ratsis flee. This battle has the result of Drizzt, Dahlia, and Artemis joining forces and traveling to Neverwinter together. It is also the beginning of a bond between Dahlia and Artemis because of the pain they have shared at the hands of Herzgo. It is a bond Drizzt doesn't understand or appreciate and it only deepens with time. Ravel and the expedition force continue on to Gauntlgrym encountering minor enemies along the way. However, a power struggle begins to develop between the priestesses, Ravel and his mages, and Tiago as to whom is in charge. Eventually they reach Gauntlgrym and defeat the dwarf ghosts guarding the city due in large part to the efforts of Ravel. Tiago then puts his support behind him, giving him the upper hand over his two priestess sisters. Amber Gristle arrives in Neverwinter. Aruinka plots for a way to increase Herzgo's power in the region until he has gained too much and draws the attention of the Waterdeep lords thereby clearing the way for the Aboleth Sovereignty to return. Herzgo asks Draygo Quick for more warriors but only receives a hundred. Herzgo confronts Effron about his attempt to capture Dahlia without his permission. Drizzt, Dahlia, and Entreri attempt to sneak into Neverwinter through the sewers. They are confronted by a pack of snakes and finally the mother snake. Which turns out to be a young Aboleth hiding in the sewers spying on Neverwinter. Dahlia and Entreri are both hypnotized but Drizzt is able to resist and eventually the three of them kill it and in the process free a half dozen other slaves. Ravel and the rest claim the forge of Gauntlygrym and begin the process of reactivating it. Brach'Thal though greatly diminished in power is instrumental in this as he is a master of controlling elementals. The force then begins the process of clearing out the rest of the city and activating the rest of the forges. Herzgo learns of the three companions in the sewers from Invidoo's imp replacement. Herzgo meets them on the bridge and uses Charon's Claw to immediately enslave Artemis once again who then turns on Drizzt. This leaves Herzgo free to battle Dahlia and Effron is free as well to fight all three. Drizzt manages to summon Guenhwyvar who then pursues Effron keeping him busy. Finally Drizzt who is fighting at a disadvantage against Artemis leaves himself wide open and challenges Artemis to ask himself, is he a slave of the sword or a free man? This enrages Artemis who uses his anger to resist the sword and moves in on Herzgo. Dahlia is losing her fight against Herzgo and leaps over the side of the bridge. Artemis tries to strike him but is stopped by Charon's Claw. Although he can resist the mental intrusion he can't overcome the physical pain it inflicts on him. Just as Herzgo is about to finish him off Dahlia returns in the form of a giant crow, thanks to her magical cloak, and pecks out one of Herzgo's eyes causing him to drop Charon's Claw. Realizing the battle is lost he tries to escape through a shadow gate but is tackled by Guenhwyvar and they both go through the gate. Jelvus Grinch and Arunika then lead a revolt against the Shadovar. Glorfathel a Cavus Dun mage goes to report the loss of this battle to Draygo Quick. Entreri and Dahlia join the revolt and begin to kill Shadovar. Effron flees for the Shadowfell. Drizzt retrieves Charon's Claw. He also tries to recall Guenhwyvar but can't. Entreri then asks Drizzt to destroy Charon's Claw which would kill him as well, only they don't know how. In the aftermath of the battle Ambergris heals their wounds and tells Drizzt that Arunika may know something of Guenhwyvar's status. Drizzt speaks with her and learns that the statue and Guenhwyvar are no longer connected. The three then decide to head to Gauntlgrym as the primordial there offers the best chance of destroying the sword. It is revaled that Herzgo didn't die and is now charged with the recovery of Charon's Claw by Draygo Quick and that a second failure will not be tolerated. On their way to Gauntlgrym they are attacked by Shadovar but are able to repel the attack. All the while Entreri's and Dahlia's bond continues to grow. This causes feelings of distrust, anger, and jealousy in Drizzt. Most of this is brought on by Charon's Claw attempting to fight back. After the attack Glorfathel orders Ambergris and Afafrenfere to follow them as their location would be worth a great deal to Herzgo. Upon entering Gauntlgrym the Shifter approaches Drizzt and offers to give back Guenhwyvar (who has been captured by Draygo Quick) in exchange for Charon's Claw. As tempting as it is Drizzt knows he could never make that deal. The drow force continues erecting defences and the Shadovar teleport in to the city to intercept the three companions. Ambergris and Afafrenfere also enter and pass the tombs of Bruenor and the throne of Gaunltgrym. Ambergris is very respectful and reverent to both. Soon the three companions and the Shadovar begin to fight. The sword continues to urge conflict between Drizzt and Artemis but Drizzt is able to overcome it and regain control. As the three try to gain entry both sides are ambushed by the drow. All three are hit by sleeping poison crossbow darts, but before they fall asleep Artemis yells out that they are agents of Bregen D'aerthe. Drizzt and Artemis are able to convince the drow that they are agents of Jarlaxle. The drow then retreat to the lower tunnels leaving the three of them behind in the upper levels. The drow also decide to leave the city for now as they were not prepared for conflict with the Nethrese but intend to return with a more powerful force. Brach'thal doing his best to help the primordial as it grants him power is given a lava elemental by the primordial to aid him. It is also revealed that Gol'fanin has been working on a sword and shield of great magical power for Tiago. But with the new threat will not have enough time to complete them. The drow retreat except for Brach'thal as the battle between primordial elementals, Shadovar, and the three companions intensifies. Herzgo prepares to meet the three companions and sends Ambergris, Afafrenfere, Glorfathel, and Effron to stop them from escaping. Ambergris then betrays them by throwing Glorfathel into the lava pit, and stunning Afafrenfere with magic, and attacking Effron. Meanwhile Dhalia and Entreri engage Herzgo's remaining forces, allowing Drizzt to slip by, confront and kill Brach'Thal, and get to the primordial pit. As the battle has become lost Herzgo tells Effron to retreat and is about to do so himself when Drizzt throws Charon's Claw into the pit. The sword reaches out to Herzgo and begs him to save it. This slight delay is all Dahlia needs to launch an attack with the power to kill Herzgo. Drizzt actually faked throwing the sword away in attempt to stall Herzgo. Dahlia continues to brutalize the dead body of Herzgo when Effron calls out to his father. He then screams at Dahlia that this is the second time she tried to kill him and that he will kill her, his mother. They then confront Ambergris about her being here, in Neverwinter, and the initial ambush in the forest which she admits to all. When asked about the stunned Afafrenfere she replies that he isn't so bad. With nothing left standing in their way, Drizzt throws Charon's Claw into the pit expecting to kill Artemis Entreri as well. The sword is destroyed but for some reason Artemis lives. In the Shadowfell, Effron with Draygo Quick's blessing begins to plot his revenge on Dahlia. Afafrenfere attempts to attack Drizzt but Ambergris stops him and then places a geas on him so that he cannot ever attack Drizzt. Tiago realizing that all the opposition has left Gauntlgrym and urges Gol'fanin to return to the forge and complete his work on the sword and shield he began. At the entrance to Gauntlygrym, Ambergris reveals that the geas was a fake but Afafrenfere will be no problem. Drizzt finds himself trusting and liking Ambergris. In the throne room Pwent returns to life as an undead vampire. Invidoo's replacement imp is revealed to be Druzil who is working for Errtu whose hundred years of banishment are almost over and is plotting his revenge on Drizzt. Back in the forge room Gol'fanin reveals to Tiago that the drow he thought was an agent of Bregen D'aerthe was actually Drizzt Do'Urden. And that the sword and shield he is forging will give him the power to become house weapon master but the head of Drizzt would make him a legend.

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Der Schimmelreiter

Theodor Storm

1888

The novella tells the story of Hauke Haien, allegedly related to the author by a schoolmaster in a small town in Northern Frisia. Hauke is the son of a farmer and licensed surveyor, and does his best to learn his father's trade. He even learns Dutch so he can read a Dutch print of Euclid's work on mathematics and geometry. Over time, he becomes very familiar with the dykes along the local coast, and begins to wonder if it would not be better to make them flatter on the sea side so as to reduce their windage during floods. When local Deichgraf Tede Volkerts fires one of his hands, Hauke applies for the job and is accepted. He soon becomes a great help for Volkerts, which makes Ole Peters, the senior hand, dislike him. Tensions rise even more when Hauke begins to show interest in the Deichgraf's daughter, Elke. Hauke even proposes marriage, but she wants to wait. After the unexpected deaths of both Hauke's and Elke's fathers, the people of the village must chose a new Deichgraf. Hauke is actually already doing the work, but does not hold the necessary lands required for the position. However, Elke announces that they are engaged, and that he will soon hold her family's lands as well. With the traditionalists satisfied, Hauke becomes the new Deichgraf. However, the people soon start talking about his white horse, which they believe is a resurrected skeleton that used to be visible on a small island, but is now gone. Meanwhile, Hauke begins to implement the changes to the form of the dykes that he envisioned since childhood. However, during a storm surge several years later, the older dykes break and Hauke has to witness Elke and their daughter, Wienke, being swept away by the water. In agony, he drives his white horse into the sea, yelling, "Lord, take me, spare the others!" The novella ends with the schoolmaster recounting that after the flood, the mysterious horse skeleton was once again seen lying on the small island off the coast. Hauke Haien's dyke still stands, and has saved many lives in the hundred years since its creator's tragic demise. And the older ones in the village say that, on stormy nights, a ghostly rider on a white horse can sometimes be seen patrolling the dyke. * Hauke Haien, the main character, based on mathematician and astronomer Hans Momsen * Elke Haien (née Volkerts), the old dyke master's daughter, and Hauke's wife * Wienke Haien, Hauke and Elke's mentally challenged daughter * Tede Volkerts, Elke's father, and dyke master prior to Hauke * Ole Peters, the old dyke master's senior hand, and Hauke's rival * The Schoolmaster, a man from the town who tells the story to the author a hundred years later

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The Last Girl

Stephan Collishaw

Historical fiction, Fiction

Steponas Daumantas, an elderly poet, walks the streets of Vilnius photographing young women with their babies. He becomes obsessed with one particular woman, Jolanta, and strikes up a friendship with her. Jolanta gives him a manuscript that her husband has written, and Daumantas promises to look at it and possibly show his publisher, but looses it when he gets drunk. As his friendship with the young woman deepens he can no longer hold back the memories that have been bubbling up for years. Svetlana is an ethnic Russian living in poverty in the back streets of Vilnius's Old Town. She does bits of washing for Daumantas and, when she encounters him drunk one night, saves a manuscript he leaves behind. Svetlana struggles to earn some money to send her son to England to work, while trying to survive with her brutal husband Ivan. She befriends a young prostitute, Ruta, and has memories of her own she does not wish to recall. Daumantas grows up in a small village close to Wilno and has early ambitions of being a poet. He falls in love with a local Jewish girl, Rachael. When Rachael rejects him he goes to university in Wilno. Some years later he sees Rachael again on the streets of Wilno with her Jewish husband. In 1939 the Communists invade Poland and hand back Wilno to the Lithuanians. Lithuanian thugs roam the streets; but that is nothing compared to what happens when the Germans invade. As the life is slowly choked from the Jewish population in the Vilna ghetto Rachael makes a desperate demand of Daumantas: take her child and save it.

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From This Wicked Patch of Dust

Sergio Troncoso

2011-09

Novel

In the border shantytown of Ysleta, Texas, Mexican immigrants Pilar and Cuauhtemoc Martinez strive to teach their four children to forsake the drugs and gangs of their neighborhood. The family’s hardscrabble origins unite them to survive, but soon the children adapt to their new home, reject their traditional religion and culture, and struggle to remain together as a family. The novel spans four decades. As a young adult, daughter Julieta travels to Central America, becomes disenchanted with Catholicism, and converts to Islam. Youngest son Ismael, always the bookworm, is accepted to Harvard but feels out of place in the Northeast, where he meets and marries a Jewish woman. The other boys--Marcos and Francisco--toil in their father’s old apartment buildings, serving as cheap labor to fuel the family’s rise to the middle class. Over time, Francisco isolates himself in El Paso. Marcos eventually leaves to become a teacher, but then returns, struggling with a deep bitterness about his work and marriage. Through it all, Pilar clings to the idea of her family and tries to hold it together as her husband’s health begins to fail. This backdrop is shaken to its core by the historic events of 2001 in New York City, which send shockwaves through this newly American family. Bitter conflicts erupt between siblings, and the physical and cultural spaces between them threaten to tear them apart. Will their shared history and once-shared dreams be enough to hold together a family from Ysleta, this wicked patch of dust?

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The Democratic Paradox

Chantal Mouffe

2000

The eponymous paradox of democracy that this collection of essays deals with is the internal conflict within modern democracy that is created by the union of two separate strands of political thought: the tradition of Classical Liberalism and the tradition of Democratic Theory, forming the institution of Liberal Democracy. Mouffe sees Radical Democracy as a means for continuing to sustain the balance between the values of liberalism and democracy. This balance is accomplished through the agonistic practice of valuing and sustaining dissent in the democratic process as a more important goal than consensus. This point is where Radical Democratic theory diverges from both Habermas and Rawls, as it contradicts Habermas's quest for rational consensus and Rawls's project for political liberalism. Mouffe describes the importance of the radical democratic alternative in a 2009 interview, saying that "The aim of a pluralist democracy is to provide the institutions that will allow them to take an agonistic form, in which opponents will treat each other not as enemies to be destroyed, but as adversaries who will fight for the victory of their position while recognising the right of their opponents to fight for theirs. An agonistic democracy requires the availability of a choice between real alternatives."

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Beautiful Creatures

Margaret Stohl

2009-12-01

Fantasy, Young adult literature, Romance novel

Beautiful Creatures is set in fictional Gatlin, South Carolina. The novel is told by protagonist Ethan Wate, who lives with his writer father and housekeeper Amma who is “more like [Ethan’s] grandmother”. The story begins on the first day of Ethan’s sophomore year when he wakes up from a recurring dream he has been having about a girl he does not know. That morning he finds a “creepy—almost hypnotic”, song called "Sixteen Moons" on his iPod and also notices the smell of rosemary and lemon. At school Ethan find out there is a new girl this year, which is surprising because Gatlin “hadn’t had a new girl in school since the 3rd grade”; Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood is the town shut-in and is often compared in the novel to the character Boo Radley from To Kill A Mocking Bird. Ethan later hears Lena playing "Sixteen Moons" in band. When Ethan drives home he almost runs over Lena, who is standing on the road in the middle of the storm looking for someone to help with her broken down car. When Ethan notices she smells like lemon and rosemary he realized that Lena is the girl from his dreams. He soon learns that Lena is a Caster, a person who can use magic, and that on her sixteenth birthday she will be claimed for either Light or Dark. Ethan tries to find a way to save Lena from going Dark and solve the mystery of how he is connected to Lena. At the same time Lena is trying to handle the whole town turning against her: “we don’t take kind to strangers [in Gatlin].” Lena and Ethan discover that they are connected through years of Gatlin and Caster history.

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Beautiful Chaos

Gary Russell

Fantasy, Speculative fiction, Young adult literature, Romance novel

After returning home, more strange things are starting to occur in the small town of Gatlin. Horrific storms, sweltering heat, and hordes of locusts are tearing Gatlin apart as the couple attempts to make sense of the long term effects Lena's Claiming. Not even Lena's family is immune to the strange occurrences in town, as their powers begin to go haywire. Meanwhile Ethan is beginning to forget many things from his past and daily life and has began to dream again, but not of Lena.

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Kaytek the Wizard

Janusz Korczak

The book depicts a schoolboy who gains magic powers. At first, Kajtuś acts as a selfish child, using his power for mischief. Eventually, he becomes dissatisfied with himself, and leaves his home town, where he acquires a reputation as a troublemaker. On his travels, he meets Zosia, a girl who uses her magical power for good. Together, they fight an evil wizard, and Kaytek chooses the path of a good mage. The book contains some gaps, including one of the chapters, which were sections that were crossed out because they were too frightening to children.

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The Hydrogen Sonata

Iain Banks

The Gzilt, a civilisation that almost joined the Culture 10,000 years before the novel, have decided to sublime, having had a referendum on the subject and voted in favour of it. Within the novel it is stated that several things happen once a civilisation has made such a decision: strange objects called Presences appear, Scavenger species (less technologically advanced species wishing to claim the departing species' technology) arrive, and if any other civilisation has kept anything quiet with regard to that civilisation it is custom to reveal it to the subliming civilisation before they depart – a setting of the record straight for advanced civilisations. One such species, called the Zidhren, have quite a large secret. They planted the Book of Truth, which the Gzilt revere – and it is implied that the religion made the Gzilt refuse to join the Culture in the past. However, the Zidhren themselves have long since sublimed as a species, meaning the remaining Zidhren – the Zidhren-Remnant – are left to deliver the message. However, when they try to do so the Gzilt warship that meets them decides to keep it quiet, by destroying the Zidhren-Remnanter ship. Meanwhile The Culture has sent ships to both wish the Gzilt well, as they have always been on good terms with the Gzilt, and to keep an eye on the scavenger species arriving. The Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath (called Mistake Not... for most of the book) – a ship whose name, classification and actions in the book suggest it is some sort of military berserker – has been assigned to meet the Liseiden, one such scavenger species, and notices the destruction of the Zidhren-Remnanter ship even though it is quite far away. Unfortunately for those who wish to keep the truth about the Book of Truth secret, the Gzilt warship had spyware implanted in it, which sent a message to the Gzilt 14th Regiment about the Book of Truth's truth. As a consequence of this, the 14th Regiment calls Lieutenant Commander Vyr Cossont out of reserve status. However, this spyware has been detected, and the Home Regiment of the Gzilt go to the Gzilt who effectively controls Gzilt civilisation, Banstegeyn, asking for permission to destroy the 14th Regiment, which he gives. It was also he who spearheaded the move for Gzilt civilisation to sublime, and does not want anything to stand in the way of the sublimation. Cossont is taken to the 14th Regiment's high command, and tasked with finding out if the Book of Truth really is a Zidhren plant. To do this, she must speak to the oldest Culture citizen still alive, one Ngaroe QiRia, who she has met before. Just before she can depart on this mission though the high command is attacked by the Home Regiment, Cossont narrowly escapes, and is picked up by the Mistake Not... Unfortunately, the same ship that destroyed the 14 Regiment's high command has also realised that Cossont has escaped, and pursues her. While she does make contact with Ngaroe Qiria, it turns out that he has wiped his mind of all memory of the Book of Truth, keeping one copy of the events coded into his eyes, which he has had amputated by an individual called Ximenyr who resides at an event called the Last Party, which has been going on for a number of years and will end when the Gzilt sublime. Cossont arrives at the Last Party and goes to where Ximenyr is staying, but the Colonel aboard the Gzilt warship following them takes a squad of robots (called Arbites by the Gzilt) with him and attacks the last party, causing many deaths. However Cossont still manages to recover the eyes, and the real truth about the Book of Truth is confirmed, but only to The Culture. After the Mistake Not... persuades the warship not to attack it, and to help the survivors of the Last Party, it confers with other Culture ships taking an interest in the Gzilt sublimation, and they decide to keep the truth about the Book of Truth secret. The time of the Gzilt sublimation then arrives, and most of the Gzilt sublime – some 99.99%. Cossont is one of the few that do not (for a sublimation to work, all of a species has to sublime within the same hour, and any biological trying to do so on its own will 'evaporate' into the realm of the sublime), and manages to finish what she was trying to do all along, which was play the eponymous Hydrogen Sonata, a challenging piece of atonal music.

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Fifty Shades of Grey

E. L. James

2012-03-05

Fifty Shades of Grey follows Anastasia "Ana" Steele, a 22-year-old college senior who lives with her best friend Katherine Kavanagh; Katherine writes for their college's student paper. Because of illness, Katherine persuades Ana to take her place and interview 27-year-old Christian Grey, an incredibly successful and wealthy young entrepreneur. Ana is instantly attracted to Christian, but also finds him intimidating. As a result she stumbles through the interview and leaves Christian's office believing that it went badly. Ana tries to console herself with the thought that the two of them will probably not meet each other again. However she is surprised when Christian appears at the hardware store where she works. While he purchases various items including cable ties and rope, Ana informs Christian that Katherine wants photographs to go along with her article about him. Christian leaves Ana with his phone number. Katherine urges Ana to call Christian and arrange a photo shoot with their photographer friend Jose Rodriquez. The next day Jose, Katherine, and Ana arrive at the hotel Christian is staying at, where the photo shoot takes place and Christian asks Ana out for coffee. The two talk over coffee and Christian asks Ana if she's dating anyone, specifically Jose. When Ana replies that she isn't dating anyone, Christian begins to ask her about her family. During the conversation Ana learns that Christian is also single, but is not "a hearts and flowers kind of guy". This intrigues Ana, especially after he pulls her out of the path of an oncoming cyclist. However, Ana believes that she is not attractive enough for Christian, much to the chagrin of her friend Katherine. After finishing her exams Ana receives a package from Christian containing first edition copies of Tess of the d'Urbervilles, which stuns her. Later that night Ana goes out drinking with her friends and ends up drunk dialing Christian, who informs her that he will be coming to pick her up because of her inebriated state. Ana goes outside to get some fresh air, and Jose attempts to kiss her but is stopped by Christian's arrival. Ana later leaves with Christian, but not before she discovers that her friend Katherine has been flirting with Christian's brother Elliott. Later Ana wakes to find herself in Christian's hotel room, where he scolds her for not taking proper care of herself. Christian then reveals that he would like to have sex with her. He initially says that Ana will first have to fill out paperwork, but later goes back on this statement after making out with her in the elevator. Ana later goes on a date with Christian where he takes her in his helicopter to his apartment. Once there, Christian insists that she sign a non-disclosure agreement forbidding her to discuss anything that they do together, which Ana agrees to sign. He also mentions other paperwork, but first takes her to a room full of BDSM toys and gear. There Christian informs her that the second contract will be one of dominance and submission and that there will be no romantic relationship, only a sexual one. The contract even forbids Ana from touching Christian or making eye contact with him. At this point, Christian realizes that Ana is a virgin and agrees to take her virginity without making her sign the contract. The two then have sex. The following morning Ana and Christian once again have sex, and his mother, who arrives moments after their sexual encounter, is surprised by the meeting, having previously thought Christian was homosexual because she had never seen him with a woman. Christian later takes Ana out to eat, and he reveals to her that he lost his virginity at fifteen to one of his mother's friends and that his previous dominant/submissive relationships failed due to incompatibility. They plan to meet up again and Christian takes Ana home, where she discovers several job offers and admits to Katherine that she and Christian have had sex. Over the next few days Ana receives several packages from Christian. These include a laptop to enable the two of them to communicate, since she has never previously owned a computer, and a more detailed version of the dominant/submissive contract. She and Christian email each other, with Ana teasing him and refusing to honor parts of the contract, such as only eating foods from a specific list. Ana later meets up with Christian to discuss the contract, only to grow overwhelmed by the potential BDSM arrangement and the potential of having a sexual relationship with Christian that is not romantic in nature. Because of these feelings Ana runs away from Christian and does not see him again until her college graduation, where he is a guest speaker. During this time, Ana agrees to sign the dominant/submissive contract. Ana and Christian once again meet up together to further discuss the contract, and they go over Ana's hard and soft limits. Ana is spanked for the first time by Christian; the experience leaves her both enticed and slightly confused. This confusion is exacerbated by Christian's lavish gifts, and the fact that he brings her to meet his family. The two continue with the arrangement without Ana having yet signed the contract. After successfully landing a job with Seattle Independent Publishing, Ana further bristles under the restrictions of the non-disclosure agreement and the complex relationship with Christian. The tension between Ana and Christian eventually comes to a head after Ana asks Christian to punish her in order to show her how extreme a BDSM relationship with him could be. Christian fulfills Ana's request, beating her with a belt, only for Ana to realize that the two of them are incompatible. Devastated, Ana leaves Christian and returns to the apartment she shares with Katherine.

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The Family Corleone

Edward Falco

2012-05-08

Crime Fiction

The novel, set in the Great Depression, tells the story of how Vito Corleone rose through the criminal underworld to become the most powerful Don in New York. Vito pushes Sonny to be a businessman, but Sonny — 17 years old, impatient and reckless — wants something else: to follow in his father's footsteps and become a part of the real family business. It also shows the upbringing of Luca Brasi and how Tom Hagen became the Corleones' consigliere.

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Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 4: The Siege

Helen Dunmore

2004-05-01

Speculative fiction, Fantasy, Historical novel

==Receptio

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The Casual Vacancy

J. K. Rowling

2012-09-27

Fantasy, Tragicomedy, Fiction, Black comedy

The novel is split into seven parts, the first depicting the aftermath of the death of local Pagford Parish Councillor, Barry Fairbrother, who suffers an aneurysm in the car park of a local golf course. The inhabitants of the town share the news with their friends and relatives and chaos ensues. The problem arises in deciding whether local council estate "The Fields" (which includes methadone rehabilitation clinic, Bellchapel) should remain as part of Pagford, or instead join local city Yarvil. After the election date is announced, the children of those who are standing for election decide to make damaging posts on the Parish Council online forum. Andrew, son of Simon Price, is the first person to do so, operating under the name "The_Ghost_Of_Barry_Fairbrother" and informing everyone that his father had bought a stolen computer. Sukhvinder (who, like Andrew, learns about hacking in ICT class) follows, posting that her mother, Dr. Parminder Jawanda, was in love with Barry. Thirdly, Fats Wall posts, claiming his adoptive father Cubby (a Deputy Headteacher) molested a child. Finally, in a desperate attempt to relieve the guilt weighing on him for costing his father his job, Andrew confides in Simon and posts that Council leader, Howard Mollison, is having an affair with his business partner Maureen. Howard's son, Miles Mollison, is the winning candidate, much to the displeasure of his wife, Samantha, who confesses she no longer loves him, only to eventually reconcile. Another focus of the novel is the traumatic life of Krystal Weedon. Krystal lives in The Fields with her mother Terri who is a prostitute and heroin addict and brother Robbie. Social-worker Kay is determined for Terri to stop her drug-use and take responsibility for the care of Robbie, however, Terri relapses and her drug-dealer Obbo rapes Krystal. Spurred on to start a family elsewhere, Krystal has unprotected sex with Fats in an attempt to become pregnant. It is during one of these instances that Robbie runs away from the pair in a park, eventually falling and drowning in a river, despite Sukhvinder's attempt to save him. Krystal is so distraught she commits suicide by taking a heroin overdose, the novel culminating with her funeral.

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Infected

Scott Sigler

The book follows several characters as they deal with an alien invasion on the microscopic level. The narration is primarily through the perspectives of Perry Dawson, an ex-football player with an anger problem, and Margaret Montoya, an epidemiologist with the CDC that is investigating a strange disease that turns seemingly normal people into murderers.

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Raboliot

Maurice Genevoix

1925

The novel is set in the country-side around Lamotte-Beuvron and Brinon-sur-Sauldre, and deals with the relationship between landowners and poor people in the years after World War I.

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The Racketeer

John Grisham

The book is about a federal judge's murder and an imprisoned lawyer who has inside knowledge on the details of the murder. Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered. Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five. Who is the Racketeer? And what does he have to do with the judge’s untimely demise? His name, for the moment, is Malcolm Bannister. Job status? Former attorney. Current residence? The Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland. On paper, Malcolm’s situation isn’t looking too good these days, but he’s got an ace up his sleeve. He knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and he knows why. The judge’s body was found in his remote lakeside cabin. There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies: Judge Fawcett and his young secretary. And one large, state-of-the-art, extremely secure safe, opened and emptied. What was in the safe? The FBI would love to know. And Malcolm Bannister would love to tell them. But everything has a price—especially information as explosive as the sequence of events that led to Judge Fawcett’s death. And the Racketeer wasn’t born yesterday . . . Nothing is as it seems and everything’s fair game in this wickedly clever new novel from John Grisham, the undisputed master of the legal thriller.

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Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

Patrick Robinson

2007-06-12

Non-fiction

At the beginning of the book, Marcus Luttrell describes his childhood and his training to prepare for the Navy SEALs with Billy Shelton. After joining the U.S. Navy and completing SEAL training, Luttrell describes his posting in Afghanistan, in the Hindu Kush mountains of the Kunar province. With him are the rest of SEAL Team 10, except Shane E. Patton, for whom Danny Dietz was substituted. Their mission, Operation Red Wings, was to stake outside a village and capture or kill a leading Taliban member thought to be allied with Osama Bin Laden. One night in June 2005, while hiding out, the team encountered three Afghanistan shepherds, including a boy. The team debated sparing or killing the three shepherds but after a vote, Luttrell had to make the decision. To uphold the Rules of engagement, Luttrell let the shepherds go. About an hour later, the four SEALs were surrounded by more than a hundred Taliban warriors. The two parties engaged, the odds drastically against the SEALs, all of which died saving Luttrell. The New York Times sums up the story: "Mr. Luttrell was the only one of four men on the mission to survive after a violent clash with dozens of Taliban fighters. Eight members of the SEALs and eight Army special operations soldiers who came by helicopter to rescue the original four were shot down, and all aboard were killed. Mr. Luttrell was then rescued by a group of Afghan Pashtun villagers who harbored him in their homes for several days, protecting him from the Taliban and ultimately helping him to safety." The theme of hospitality as understood by the Pashtun culture is a central theme to the plot and attempts to validate the release of the shepherds.

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A Conspiracy of Friends

Alexander McCall Smith

2011-05-01

Fiction

The story is set in a fictional housing unit in London nicknamed Corduroy Mansions, and details the lives of the inhabitants of the large Pimlico house and others. The main characters are Barbara Ragg, Basil Wickramsinghe, Berthea Snark, Caroline Jarvis, Dee Binder, Eddie French, Freddie de la Hay, Jenny Hedge, Jo Partlin, Marcia Light, Oedipus Snark, Terence Moongrove, and William French. The chapters for this book in The Telegraph ran from 13 September 2010 until 17 December 2010.

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Bring Up the Bodies

Hilary Mantel

2012-05-08

Historical fiction, Literary fiction

Bring Up the Bodies begins where the previous novel finished. The King and Master Secretary Thomas Cromwell are the guests of the Seymour family at Wolf Hall. The King shares private moments with Jane Seymour, and begins to fall in love with her. His present queen, Anne Boleyn, has failed to give him a male heir and, as rumours of her infidelity spread, the King seeks a way to be rid of her, and marry the new object of his affections. Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell owe their current high status to each other. They become pitted against each other, as Cromwell seeks to find a legitimate excuse to expel her from the King's court. Cromwell, master politician, uses Anne's fall from grace as a chance to settle scores with old enemies.

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Finale

Becca Fitzpatrick

2012-10-23

The book follows Nora and Patch, a teenaged girl and an angel that have fallen in love with each other. As Patch is a fallen angel, their relationship is frowned upon by many and Nora's own heritage and destiny means that the two of them should be enemies. As the obstacles in their path seem to grow larger and more numerous, the two must find a way to be together and overcome the odds.

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De vierde man

The novel is a frame narrative: a writer named Gerard recounts the events that happened years before to his friend, Ronald. The story is as follows. Gerard, after a speaking engagement in the town of V., in the southern Netherlands, has a brief affair with a woman named Christine, with whom he spends the night. After seeing a photograph of her boyfriend, Herman, he becomes infatuated with him. Later, he spends a weekend house-sitting for Christine (during this time he picks up a young man named Laurens and has sex with him in Christine's bed) and opens a little chest reminiscent of a coffin, with a key he recognizes from a dream he had earlier. The box contains documents proving that Christine is three times widowed, and another dream he had comes to mind, in which an old man sang a tune asking who would be the fourth man. He leaves the house in a panic; later he hears that Herman was horribly mutilated after an accident in Christine's car.

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Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure

James Patterson

2012-08-06

Young adult literature

The prologue is Angel's vision of Max's death.The book starts off with Max and her Flock preparing to go to school while they live in Oregon in a house Nino Pierpont gave them. Max is watching T.V. until it stops working. Iggy fixes it. The reporters are talking about a new group called the 99 Percenters who are quickly growing into a powerful group. They don't know what their purpose is. Dylan comes in and Max snaps at him telling him that they will be late. Dylan points out that Max is still in her pajamas. At school, a teacher tells Dylan to capture Fang so they can perform tests on him. Dylan refuses to do so. The teacher tell him that they will kill or hurt Max if he doesn't which scares Dylan. Meanwhile, Fang and his group go out and are attacked by Erasers. Fang thinks one of the Erasers is Ari (but turns out to be his clone). Fang, Holden, Ratchet and Maya fight while Kate and Star refuse to. They reveal they are on the Erasers' side. Ari wounds Maya and she dies in Fang's arms. Angel has a vision of this while she is in a lab. However, she thinks it is Max who died. When she hears Fang tell his group Maya is dead, she feels relieved. Then she feels guilty about it. She is operated on and realizes that Jeb and Dr. Martinez are working for the 99 Percenters. The whitecoats clip her wings and make her go blind. Afterwards, Fang leaves Ratchet and Holden. He hears the Voice in his head telling him to go to Max. He goes to an Internet cafe and searches 'Maximum Ride'. He finds out that Max is going to a private school called Newton in Oregon. His wing is injured so hitchhikes there. Two guys from the 99 Percenters push him off a cliff but he survives. Meanwhile, Max and Dylan are having a date in a treehouse that Dylan built. Their candlelit dinner is interrupted by Nudge, Iggy and Gazzy spying on them. Their Voices have told them to record everything so they have a video camera which they filmed Max and Dylan's kiss with. Max is angry so she kicks the table causing the candle to fall over. This sets fire to the tree and the treehouse. Once the Flock gets to safety she apologizes to Dylan saying that the treehouse was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen. Dylan tells her that she's the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. An alarm goes off that night and the Flock see Fang coming. Max and him reconcile making Dylan very angry. Fang tells them about a comment on his blog saying that a kid knows where Angel is. They go to where he said Angel was. Earlier in the book, Angel describes how smoke filled the building and they left her clamped to the table. The rest of the Flock sees the fire. Once it dies down they go inside the building to search for Angel. They find the dead bodies of whitecoats in a circle suggesting they knew what was going to happen. They see Mark again who has some sort of disease and jumps out of the window onto the broken concrete and dies. They find Angel and go back to Oregon. Dylan watches Fang and Max kissing from miles away. He is angry and goes into the town causing destruction to store banners, electric wires etc. The Flock sees this on T.V. and Max goes out to find him. She can't find him. At night the alarms go off again. The Flock runs out thinking that it is Dylan. However, it is Jeb, Ari and a hundred other Erasers. Jeb tells them that Fang has to die as he has a gene which is the next link to immortality and scientists will try to hunt him down to get it. Max refuses to let that happen and knocks out Jeb. Dylan comes in and kills Ari which kills all the Erasers as they are connected. He then tries to kill Fang and almost succeeds until Max begs him not to. He then leaves. Dr.Martinez comes and explains that she was brainwashed by Jeb and Nino Pierpont will take all of them to a safe place in his jet. They bring Jeb along and leave him in the plane under guard when they get to the tropical island. All of them have their own treehouse (including Total and Akila who share one) which was designed to suit their personality. They also see other enhanced kids who live there. Dr.Martinez explains that a deadly disease called H8E has been released to kill all the humans. The bird-kids are immune to it and the others who are on the island are safe because precautions have been set up to prevent the disease from coming. If it did happen, there are underground caves that they can go into and live in until the disease dies out. Iggy and Ella see each other again and kiss. Fang and Max are kissing on top of a tree when Dylan comes down. They are both furious to see him. He says that he saw something large that he can't describe from above and everyone has to go down to the caves. Max and Fang refuse to believe him. He then says that he will tell everyone else to leave and then come back up there and if Max decides to stay and die he will do the same. Max sees the people going down into the caves. She sees her flock and tells them to stay. Only Angel hears her. She says they have to go. Max disagrees. Angel says that Max should listen to her because Max always listens to the Voice. She reveals that she is the Voice. Max says that she will go die with the humans. Fang tells Max that whatever the outcome, they'll face it together. Dylan tells Max that after he gets everyone to safety, he will come back to her, even if it means that he will die with her; he tells Max that the only way he wants his life to end is with her.. Angel is upset and flies away.Then the sky explodes making it very hot. Max thinks they are going to die but they don't. They then see a giant tsunami. Fang and Max say they love each other and they kiss multiple times and the water then swallows them. In the first epilogue, Max is talking to the reader. She says that she is the luckiest girl in the world because she died in the arms of the person she truly loved. She says that she knows the reader is wondering, like she is wondering whether she was supposed to save the world or was it a lie. She wonders whether her life was a metaphor for what we're all supposed to do with our lives, that we can't leave anything up to fate or chance or for someone else to clean up. Or whether it was a lesson that you have to seize the day and hold on to your loved ones. She hopes that in the end her life meant all of those things. She says she hears Fang calling her from far away and she doesn't know what's next but she's ready to see. She tells the reader to save their own world. In the second epilogue, Max is underwater but she thinks she is dead. She hears singing that sounds like 'strangled whales'. It feels good. She sighs with relief. She then realizes that she is breathing, alive and underwater. Dylan pulls her out. Fang and Angel are also there. The island has been broken into many smaller charred islands. Dylan and Fang go search for other entrances to the caves as the entrance the people used to get into is underwater. Angel enters Dr. Martinez's thoughts and says that they are monitoring satellite connection all over the world from inside the cave and whole countries may be covered in water, ash or flame. Max looks at the island while she is sitting with Angel. Half of it is underwater and the other half is covered in high cliffs. She says that she and the others were made for this. They were made to survive. Fang comes back and Max says she loves him. They fly off hand in hand. She tells the reader that this is the time of Maximum Ride.

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The Bourne Imperative

Robert Ludlum

2012-06-05

Thriller, Spy fiction

:For a more detailed background of the main character, see Jason Bourne. The man Jason Bourne fishes out of the freezing sea is near death, half-drowned and bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. He awakens with no memory of who he is or why he was shot-and Bourne is eerily reminded of his own amnesia. Then Bourne discovers that the Mossad agent named Rebeka is so determined to find this injured man that she has gone off the grid, cut her ties to her agency, and is now being stalked by Mossad's most feared killer. Do the answers to these mysteries lie back in southeast Lebanon, in a secret encampment to which Bourne and Rebeka escaped following a firefight weeks ago? The complex trail links to the mission given to Treadstone directors Peter Marks and Soraya Moore: find the semi-mythic terrorist assassin known as Nicodemo. In the course of Bourne's desperate, deadly search for a secret that will alter the future of the entire world, he will experience both triumph and loss, and his life will never be the same. Now everything turns on the amnesiac. Bourne must learn his identity and purpose before both he and Rebeka are killed. From Stockholm to Washington, D.C., from Mexico City to Beijing, the web of lies and betrayals extends into a worldwide conspiracy of monumental proportions.

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Family

The Family focuses on three brothers from the Gao family, Juexin, Juemin and Juehui, and their struggles with the oppressive autocracy of their feudalistic family. The idealistic, if rash Juehui, the youngest brother, is the main protagonist, and he is frequently contrasted with the weak eldest brother Juexin, who gives in to the demands from his grandfather and carries on living a life he does not want to live.

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Heaven

V. C. Andrews

1985-10-15

Gothic fiction, Young adult literature, Fiction

Heaven Leigh Casteel is a fourteen year old girl living in poverty with her rather large and discontented family, in a shack in the hills of West Virginia. Her father, Luke, is still haunted by the memory of his first wife who died giving birth to Heaven and never speaks to Heaven. He is rarely home and his wife, Sarah, struggles to take care of Heaven and her half-siblings—Tom, Fanny (who is very pretty and somewhat promiscuous), and Keith and Jane. The Casteel family is looked down upon by the rest of the town, often referred to as "the hill scum". Despite their poverty, Heaven and Tom work hard at school, with Heaven hoping to become a school teacher when she is older. During this time, Heaven begins to develop a relationship with a local boy, Logan Stonewall. Meanwhile, Luke spends most of his time in a local brothel, where he eventually contracts syphilis, causing Sarah's next child to be born dead. Heaven's grandmother passes away the same day. The stillbirth is the last straw for Sarah, who had always hoped giving Luke a "dark-haired boy" like himself would finally make him love her. Sarah disappears, leaving a note which implies she has committed suicide. Luke is nowhere to be found, so the children are left to fend for themselves. Logan offers to help them, but Heaven is too proud to admit that they are struggling. Heaven misses a lot of school, since she now has to be mother to the family, take care of the shack and her frail, somewhat senile grandfather. Whenever things look bleak, Luke shows up with food to save the day, but his attempts to make money fail, and eventually, he comes up with a plan to sell his children for $500 apiece. Keith and Jane are first bought by a nice couple, but Heaven is devastated at what is happening. Shortly after, the local preacher is interested in buying Heaven but Luke persuades him that the younger sister, Fanny, is much more suitable for his household. Then a farmer comes for Tom, and Heaven can barely take it as Tom was her closest and best friend. Heaven's brothers and sisters are all sold before her, leaving her alone. It seems as though Luke may actually want to keep Heaven, as one night (thinking she is asleep), he comes to her and strokes her hair, muttering how soft and beautiful it is. Heaven feigns sleep, and is confused as to why he is finally showing an interest. Then she hears her grandfather interrupt Luke, asking what he is doing in an upset voice. Luke seems defensive and says Heaven is his, and he can do what he wants, but Luke's father tells him no, and that he needs to send Heaven away. Heaven does not understand or realize what Luke's intentions were, and feels everyone is rejecting her now. A few days later, Heaven is sold to a couple named Kitty and Cal Dennison. Kitty is controlling, obsessed with cleanliness, and though kind to Heaven at times, she often seems to hate Heaven and treat her like a maid. Kitty's husband Cal suffers from constantly being sexually teased and tormented by his wife. Kitty sometimes becomes violent and beats Heaven. Her cruelty is later revealed to be caused by the fact that Kitty once was in love with Luke and almost had his child. When Luke brought Heaven's mother back to town, she attempted a home abortion, which went badly wrong and meant that she lost her ability to have children. Because of this, Kitty sees Heaven both as a release for her anger towards Luke, and as the daughter she was never able to have, causing Kitty to be almost schizophrenic in her treatment of Heaven. Cal and Heaven develop a close relationship as a result of their suppression, but this ultimately leads to Cal pressuring Heaven to have sex with him. Heaven thinks this means that Cal loves her. She gives in, partly because she longs for affection and partly because she feels sorry for Cal over the way Kitty treats him. Although she is overcome with guilt and shame afterwards, the feeling of being needed by Cal is so important to her that she cannot say no to him. Kitty becomes sick (later revealed to be breast cancer) and the three go back to Kitty and Heaven's hometown of Winnerrow to seek aid from Kitty's family. After meeting Kitty's family, especially Kitty's mother, Heaven begins to understand Kitty's behaviour and she starts to pity her. While in her hometown, she is reunited with her siblings Tom (who she has missed terribly) and Fanny. Fanny seems happy with the preacher and his wife, but she is also distant to Heaven and seems to be avoiding her. Heaven tries to avoid Logan because she is afraid that he will somehow know what she has done with Cal just from looking at her but her attempts are thwarted after he catches up to her and begs her to see him. She gives in and agrees to meet him the next day early in the morning. However, when she goes back to Kitty's mother house, Cal is waiting for her and tries to kiss her. Heaven pushes him away but Kitty's younger sister, Maisie, sees him with his hand on Heaven's breast. Maisie quickly tells her family about what she saw, and it rapidly spreads through the town. The next day, after she finishes taking care of Kitty, Heaven goes to meet Logan and they spend the day together but Logan cannot keep what he heard to himself and confronts Heaven. Although she is actually the victim in the situation, Heaven feels so guilty about her part in the 'seduction' that she does not deny it. Too young to understand that this was not Heaven's fault, Logan feels betrayed and runs away from her. After she walks back into town, Heaven goes to the hospital to find Kitty awake and in a better mood. Kitty then tells Heaven that her father was there looking for her to apologize for everything and that he seemed like a different man. He also wanted to give her two choices: she can live with him and his new wife or try to find her mother's family and live with them, if they will accept her. Unable to forgive her father for the way he treated her and for selling his other children, Heaven decides to go and find her mother's family. Tom tells Heaven that he is going to live with Luke and his new wife, as the farmer Tom lives with is horrible to him and this is his chance for a better life. Cal takes Heaven to the airport so she can travel to her mother's family; once he gets her there, he hurries off. Tom shows up with Fanny, who reveals she is pregnant by the preacher and that is why she couldn't talk to or see Heaven—she has to stay hidden, and the preacher and his wife are going to pretend it is their baby. She hugs Heaven and tells her she loves her, then hurries back to her "home" with Tom before she is discovered missing. While Heaven is waiting for her plane, she reads in the newspaper that Kitty has died. She thinks of how Cal drove her all the way to the airport and didn't even mention Kitty's death or that they were now free to live together: he wants to start a new life and she is not part of his plans. Heaven is furious and hurt by his actions, thinking that after all he said about how much he loved her, he dumped her at the first opportunity, abandoning her just like Luke. All she can do now is hope she finds peace and love with her mother's family.

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Dark Angel

V. C. Andrews

1986-11

Gothic fiction, Young adult literature

After the events of Heaven (the first book in The Casteel Series), Heaven Casteel finds herself in the care and custody of her grandparents, the wealthy Tony and Jillian Tatterton, who live at Farthinggale Manor. Heaven dreams of a wonderful new life - of new friends, a good school, beautiful clothes and, most importantly, love. She wishes to make her family name respectable, find her brothers and sisters, and have a family once again. Conflict with her newfound grandparents soon arises, however. Her grandmother Jillian is vain and selfish, while her step-grandfather, Tony, veers from being dignified and generous to being controlling and domineering. The only person Heaven can talk to is Tony's brother, Troy, who suffers from depression. While Heaven is given everything she wants, fine clothes, a fine education and the support to go to college, she is still unhappy due to the stipulation that Tony has made: if Heaven sees her family again, Tony will stop all support to her. Heaven does not try to see Tom and Fanny, but she does continue to write them letters, and continues her efforts to find Jane and Keith. After a time, Troy and Heaven fall in love, become lovers, and plan to marry. Tony is thrilled, but Jillian is troubled. Heaven decides to see her family and lies to Tony about going to New York. Heaven arrives in Washington D.C. and finds Jane and Keith living happily with their adoptive parents—they are upset to see Heaven and tell her to go away, which breaks Heaven's heart. Fanny is living in a boarding home in Nashville, Tennessee and is poor and may be prostituting herself. Fanny reveals that she was forced to give her baby, named Darcy to Reverend Wayland Wise, the baby's father. To keep her quiet, Wayland and his wife gave her some money to leave town and to never return. Fanny reveals that she longs to have Darcy back and Darcy is all she can think about. Fanny threatens to tell Tony and Jillian that Luke was cruel and unfaithful to Leigh, and that Leigh lived in squalor and poverty with him, unless Heaven gets Darcy back for her. Tom, on the other hand, is living happily with Luke and Luke's young wife, Stacie, and helping at the circus now owned by Luke. Tom tells Heaven that Luke has turned his life around, and he and Stacy have a new baby boy named Drake. When Heaven arrives in West Virginia, she encounters her first love, Logan. Logan is still angry and hurt over the revelation of her sexual relationship with her adoptive father, Cal (from the previous book), but at the same time he seems to still care about her. Heaven pays a visit to Rev. Wise and attempts to buy Darcy Back for Fanny. Heaven realizes that she a lot more like Luke than she ever admitted. Rev. Wise tells Heaven that she knows that Darcy will be better off if Fanny is not in her life, and Heaven reluctantly agrees, and hurt and heartbroken, returns to the family cabin. A huge storm comes through, and Heaven becomes sick, with Logan nursing her back to health. It is a few weeks before she can return to Boston. Heaven returns to Boston to learn that that Troy is sick, partly due to thinking Heaven abandoned him. However, shortly after seeing him, she goes to Tony and they have a discussion where he tries to persuade Heaven to break her relationship with Troy (even going so far as to bribe her with money). Heaven refuses to leave Troy, which forces Tony to reveal his shameful past: He believes she is not Luke's daughter but his, as he raped her mother (though Tony says Leigh willingly continued the relationship after that). Heaven had lied to Tony when she first arrived about her age, saying she was a year younger than she actually was (not wanting them to know that Leigh married Luke the day she met him and got pregnant right away). But Tony realizes with the new date of Heaven's birth that Leigh must have been pregnant when she ran away. And if Tony is Heaven's father, then Troy is Heaven's uncle. Heaven still declares her love for Troy and intends to be with him, but Troy flees the Tatterton estate after Jillian reveals the truth to him. He leaves Heaven a note explaining this, and tells Heaven to confront Jillian about what really happened to Leigh. Once she does, Jillian loses her sanity. Despite the revelation of who her father is and the loss of Troy, Heaven remains with the Tattertons. Heaven attends college and graduates. Tony invites Keith and Jane to her graduation party, and they embrace her. They both explain that the sight of Heaven brought back the memories of their poor, difficult life in the Willes, and they were afraid she was coming to take them back there. Heaven is ecstatic to have them back in her life. After some traveling, when Heaven returns to Boston, she is told by a distraught Tony that Troy died as the result of a horse riding accident at the ocean while she was away. She moves to Winnerrow and lives in the newly renovated cabin of her youth. She becomes a respected teacher, and bleaches her black hair to resemble the silvery blond of her mother. When she receives an invitation to the circus owned by Luke Casteel, she decides that it is finally time to go see him. Wanting to have him realize his beloved Leigh is alive in her, she dresses in the dress Leigh was wearing when she first met Luke (given to her by her grandmother, Luke's mother, when she was young). But when Luke sees Heaven, she looks so much like her mother that he thinks she really is Leigh. He is completely distracted and a tiger he was guarding gets loose. Tom rushes in to save the animal trainer but Tom is mauled to death, and Luke is badly injured. Heaven is devastated by the death of Tom. She visits Luke in his hospital bed and tells him that she is sorry for everything that went wrong between them but flees before he can reply. Logan is there for her in the dark days after Tom's death and they become close again. Months after Tom's death, Heaven's grandfather dies. Luke lets Heaven know that she will always be welcome with his family. Heaven and Logan make plans to marry, but first Heaven feels they must go to Boston and see her real father Tony.

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Gates of Paradise

V. C. Andrews

1989-06

Gothic fiction, Young adult literature

A novel about Annie Stonewall, the daughter of Heaven Casteel Tatterton Stonewall and Troy Tatterton (though no one knows Troy is Annie's father except Heaven). After being orphaned by an car crash that kills her mother and the man that she thought was her father, Tony Tatterton steps in and takes her to Farthinggale Manor to assist in her recovery. However, he does not keep Annie's best interests at heart since he cuts her ties to her family with the exception of Drake Casteel.

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Shelter

Harlan Coben

2011-09-15

After Mickey Bolitar moves in with his uncle, Myron Bolitar, his new girl friend disappears and he will stop at nothing to find her. The book begins with Mickey walking in front of his neighbours house. The women living there walks out and tells him that his father is alive. Mickey believes the lady is crazy because he was present at his fathers death.

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Fire Season

Jane Lindskold

Stephanie Harrington and her treecat, Climbs Quickly, must help another treecat clan during the dangerous fire season on Stephanie's new home planet of Sphinx. She must also contend with those who wish to use the fire season to their advantage to destroy the treecats and free the planet for complete development.

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The Third Lynx

Timothy Zahn

2007

Science Fiction

The story starts with former government agent, Frank Compton, meeting a young man who drops dead at his feet. Compton finds a ticket to a strange, interstellar train called the Quadrail. During Compton's ride on the Quadrail he falls asleep, and wakes up in the custody of the spiders, the operators of the Quadrail. The Spiders explain to Compton their worries of a weapon of mass destruction, which may be able to bypass their Quadrail security. Compton agrees to help, and is given a pass for the Quadrails and they assign him a traveling companion named Bayta, who has a strange talent for being telepathic in her communication to the Spiders. Frank Compton discovers the power behind the Quadrail system: an ancient civilization called the Chawyn. On the course of his travels on the Quadrail, he learns of the existence of the Modhri: the equally ancient enemy of the Chahwyn. The Modhri has its mind bent on controlling the galaxy.

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The Birth of Plenty

William J. Bernstein

The Birth of Plenty is an history of the world expressed in economic terms. Bernstein argues that in order to prosper, a country must possess four main attributes: property rights, the scientific method, capitalism and an effective communications infrastructure. After establishing these as the basic requirements for economic success, the book examines the historical progress of a number of countries both with and without these attributes. Bernstein further argues that the four attributes are a necessary precursor to democracy.

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Remote Control

Andy McNab

1997

Thriller, Fiction, Suspense

The series follows the character of Nick Stone, an ex-military man who previously worked for the SAS, British Intelligence, and an American agency. Stone now works as a paid mercenary, willing to work in even the most difficult circumstances. The series has Stone dealing with assassination, political intrigue, as well as human rights, white slavery, and prostitution.

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Telegraph Avenue

Michael Chabon

Set during the summer of 2004, the novel' main plotline concerns Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe. Archy is black, Nat is white and Jewish. The two have been the proprietors of Brokeland Records, a brick-and-mortar store located in North Oakland, on Telegraph Avenue, for twelve years. Their used vinyl business, never very strong, is threatened with extinction by ex-NFL superstar Gibson Goode's planned construction of his second Dogpile Thang megastore two blocks away. They feel betrayed because their local city councilman, Chandler Flowers, has suddenly switched sides, and now supports Dogpile. A major subplot concerns their wives Gwen Shanks (who is heavily pregnant with her first) and Aviva Roth-Jaffe, who are partners in Berkeley Birth Partners, a midwifery business. A home birth goes a little bit wrong, the mother is rushed to the hospital, and the attending physician, after taking care of the mother, insults Gwen in a racially tinged matter. She blows up, and the doctor has the hospital start procedures to drop Gwen and Aviva's hospital privileges. A third plotline concerns Luther Stallings, Archy's father. Luther had been an actor in a few blaxploitation films in the 70s, including the lead role in the two Strutter films. But personally he had never been part of Archy's life, and Archy wants nothing to do with him. Luther has been in and out of jail and on and off drugs since his acting career ended, has been clean for over a year, and he keeps himself fighting trim. He is involved with his former co-star Valetta Moore, who played Candygirl Clark. Her noted taglines "Do what you got to do" and "Stay fly" still resonate with characters in the novel. Luther had been best friends with Chandler in the old days. Their friendship came to a sudden end, after Luther abetted Chandler in the murder of a drug dealer. Luther is trying to exploit his knowledge in order to finance the making of the third Strutter film. A fourth plotline concerns Julius Jaffe, Nat and Aviva's 14-year old son, and his new best buddy, Titus Joyner, who has shown up from Texas after his grandmother died. Titus, it turns out, is Archy's long lost son. His arrival is pretty much the last straw in Gwen's strained relationship with Archy. Setting up a gig for a fundraiser for an obscure Illinois politician Barack Obama, running for U.S. Senate, Archy learns of the death of local music legend Cochise Jones—Archy's spiritual father—from his Hammond organ falling on him, and Archy fills in. Obama is very impressed with the performance, and tells Gwen he admires Archy's obvious dedication to doing what he loves, purple suit and all. Gwen takes those words to heart, and resolves to stand up for herself. The first stand she takes is to walk out on Archy. The funeral for Jones is held in the store. Plans are made, people get drunk, and the stage is set for the shaking up everyone's future.

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The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family

Matt Groening

1997-11-12

{| class="wikitable" |- !Seasons covered !Book title |- |1–8 |The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family |- |9–10 |The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued |- |11–12 |The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Still Continued |- |13–14 |The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued Yet Again |- |1–20 |Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1-20 |}

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Under Wildwood

Colin Meloy

2012-09-25

Prue McKeel, having rescued her brother from the Dowager Governess at the conclusion of the first novel, returns to her normal daily life of school and daydreaming. She finds her mind drifting back to Wildwood as she becomes increasingly bored with her studies. Meanwhile, dark events are transpiring in the Impassable Wilderness. A long, cold winter coupled with political discord fueled by an organization calling itself the "Bicycle Coup" have put Wildwood's residents on edge. Assassins are lurking in the forest's shadows, their intentions and motives unknown, while an industrial tyrant plots to exploit the natural resources of this magical world. With Wildwood once again under threat by dark forces, Prue returns to the Impassable Wilderness and teams up with her friend Curtis to bring unity to a land once again divided by conflict. This time though, they'll have to journey into the mysterious caverns and tunnels beneath the Impassable Wilderness.

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Transfer of Power

Vince Flynn

2000-06-01

Thriller, Fiction

The reader first meets Rapp while he is doing a covert operation in Iran and he discovers a possible terrorist attack planned for the nations capital to happen in the near future. Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., Anna Reilly is starting her first day as a White House correspondent for NBC. It also so happens to be the day where the terrorist, using the a secret entrance and take over the White House and hold it hostage. The president, who barley escaped the hostage situation remains trapped in the unfinished bomb shelter. With the vice president using this opportunity as commander in chief to glorify his political career being lenient towards the terrorist demands, Rapp must find a way to fight the terrorist from the inside of the White House. It is here where he saves Anna Reilly from being raped by one of the terrorist and their relationship, which will be seen throughout the later books begins. It comes time that several Navy SEAL's who sneak into the White House and eliminate the terrorist, save the hostages and the president. The leader of the terrorist group manages to escape the White House while detonating the strategically placed explosives. He is later found in South America only to be killed by Rapp.

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Decoded

Jay-Z

2010-11-16

Autobiography

The book follows very rough chronological order, while switching from current stories to his story of growing up in the Marcy projects. The autobiographical portion focuses on not only his story of drug dealing, fights, and the beginnings in rap, but also his reflections on those times in his life and how they shaped who he is an artist and how artists were shaped by such experiences. Jay-Z explains the stresses of the rap industry and the celebrity life, while also trying to put it in perspective. He illustrates this point by explaining that when he and Puff Daddy were being charged with assault there were hundreds of cameras outside the courthouse of Puff Daddy’s trial and the courthouse where the perpetrator of the World Trade Center bombing was being tried was empty. Along with the narrative, there is also a substantial portion of the book dedicated to Jay-Z’s opinions and reflections, which are often illustrated with stories. Jay-Z expounds on his relationship with Barack Obama and his involvement in politics, as well as his thoughts on the Hurricane Katrina. Jay-Z reflects on his life and especially his beginnings. He explains that he still considers himself a hustler, despite being a corporate billionaire now as founder of Roc-A-Fella Records. He continues and describes the comparisons between drug dealing, rapping, and boxing and how his life in the streets has molded who he is and no matter how he lives now, he still acknowledges his roots. The book contains lyrics to thirty-six songs with some songs having only part of the song. Along with the lyrics, are annotations and footnotes that Jay-Z writes to explain the lyrics to the reader. The explanations range from just explaining what a “brick” is to in depth analysis and explanation of lines that underscore the points that Jay-Z makes in his writing.

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America Again: Re-becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't

Stephen Colbert

2012-10-02

Colbert addresses topics including Wall Street, campaign finance, energy policy, eating on the campaign trail, and the United States Constitution.

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Poor Folk

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

1846

Epistolary novel, Speculative fiction

Makar Devushkin and Varvara Dobroselova are second cousins twice-removed and live across from each other on the same street in terrible apartments. Devushkin's, for example, is merely a portioned-off section of the kitchen, and he lives with several other tenants, such as the Gorshkovs, whose son dies and who groans in agonizing hunger almost the entire story. Devushkin and Dobroselova exchange letters attesting to their terrible living conditions and the former frequently squanders his money on gifts for the latter. The reader progressively learns their history. Dobroselova originally lived in the country, but moved to St. Petersburg (which she hates) when her father lost his job. Her father was very violent after losing his job and her mother became severely depressed. Her father dies and they move in with Anna Fyodorovna, a landlady who was previously cruel to them but at least pretends to feel sympathy for their situation. Dobroselova is tutored by a poor student named Pokrovsky, whose drunken father occasionally visits. She eventually falls in love with Pokrovsky. She struggles to save a measly amount of money to purchase the complete works of Pushkin at the market for his birthday present, then allows his father to give the books to him instead, claiming that just knowing he received the books will be enough for her happiness. Pokrovsky falls ill soon after, and his dying wish is to see the sun and the world outside. Dobroselova obliges by opening the blinds to reveal grey clouds and dirty rain. In response Pokrovsky only shakes his head and then passes away. Dobroselova's mother dies shortly afterwards, and Dobroselova is left in the care of Anna for a time, but the abuse becomes too much and she goes to live with Fedora across the street. Devushkin works as a lowly copyist, frequently belittled and picked on by his work colleagues. His clothing is worn and dirty, and his living conditions are perhaps worse than Dobroselova's. He considers himself a rat in society. He and Dobroselova exchange letters (and occasional visits that are never detailed), and eventually they also begin to exchange books. Devushkin becomes offended when she sends him a copy of "The Overcoat", because he finds the main character is living a life similar to his own. Dobroselova considers moving to another part of the city where she can work as a governess. Just as he is out of money and risks being evicted, Devushkin has a stroke of luck: his boss takes pity on him and gives him 100 rubles to buy new clothes. Devushkin pays off his debts and sends some to Dobroselova. She sends him 25 rubles back because she does not need it. The future looks bright for both of them because he can now start to save money and it may be possible for them move in together. Devushkin finds himself liked by even the writer Ratazyayev, who was using him as a character in one of his stories because of his sad condition. Even the Gorshkovs come across money because the father’s case is won in court. With the generous settlement they seem to be destined to be perfectly happy, but the father dies, leaving his family in a shambles despite the money. Soon after this, Dobroselova announces that a Mr. Bykov, who had dealings with Anna Fyodorovna and Pokrovsky’s father, has proposed to her. She decides to leave with him, and the last few letters attest to her slowly becoming used to her new money. She has Devushkin find linen for her and begins to talk about various luxuries, leaving him alone in the end despite the fact that his lot was improving. The story ends with a final letter from him: a desperate plea for her to come back to him or at least write from her new life.