Tam Lin

Tam Lin

PAMELA DEAN

Science Fiction & Fantasy

In the ancient Scottish ballad Tam Lin, headstrong Janet defies Tam Lin to walk in her own land of Carterhaugh . . . and then must battle the Queen of Faery for possession of her lover’s body and soul. In this version of Tam Lin Janet is a college student, "Carterhaugh" is Carter Hall at the university where her father teaches, and Tam Lin is a boy named Thomas Lane. The book is set against the backdrop of the early 1970s.
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The Liar

The Liar

Stephen Fry

Literature & Fiction / Biographies & Memoirs / Travel

The brilliant and outrageous debut novel from British actor, comedian, author, presenter, journalist and national treasure, Stephen Fry. Stephen Fry's breathtakingly outrageous debut novel, by turns eccentric, shocking, brilliantly comic and achingly romantic. Adrian Healey is magnificently unprepared for the long littleness of life; unprepared too for the afternoon in Salzburg when he will witness the savage murder of a Hungarian violinist; unprepared to learn about the Mendax device; unprepared for more murders and wholly unprepared for the truth. The Liar is a thrilling, sophisticated and laugh out loud hilarious novel from a brilliantly talented writer.
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Question Quest

Question Quest

Piers Anthony

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Youth is Wasted on the Young Being grown up is a drag . . . or so thinks Lacuna, one of the mischievous Castle Zombie twins. So she makes the Good Magician Grey an offer he can't refuse. Thirsty for a taste of the Elixir of Youth, she'll help him outwit the evil Com-Pewter if he'll send her to Hell (in a handbasket, no less) to find Humfrey, the missing sorcerer. And while there, she'll learn the True History of Xanth (simplified) and help rescue a blushing Rose from the demon X(A/N)th . . . with the help of a gorgon or two.
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The World Is My Home: A Memoir

The World Is My Home: A Memoir

James A. Michener

Historical Fiction / History / Biographies & Memoirs

Literary legend James A. Michener was “a Renaissance man, adventurous, inquisitive, unpretentious and unassuming, with an encyclopedic mind and a generous heart” (The New York Times Book Review). In this exceptional memoir, the man himself tells the story of his remarkable life and describes the people, events, and ideas that shaped it. Moving backward and forward across time, he writes about the many strands of his experience: his passion for travel; his lifelong infatuation with literature, music, and painting; his adventures in politics; and the hard work, headaches, and rewards of the writing life. Here at last is the real James Michener: plainspoken, wise, and enormously sympathetic, a man who could truly say, “The world is my home.” BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James A. Michener's Hawaii. Praise for *The World Is My Home  * “Michener’s own life makes one of his most engaging tales—a classic American success story.”—Entertainment Weekly  * “The Michener saga is as full of twists as any of his monumental works. . . . His output, his political interests, his patriotic service, his diligence, and the breadth of his readership are matched only by the great nineteenth-century writers whose works he devoured as he grew up—Dickens, Balzac, Mark Twain.”—Chicago Tribune “There are splendid yarns about [Michener’s] wartime doings in the South Pacific. There are hilarious cautionary tales about his service on government commissions. There are wonderful inside stories from the publishing business. And always there is Michener himself—analyzing his own character, assessing himself as a writer, chronicling his intellectual life, giving advice to young writers.”—The Plain Dealer “A sweepingly interesting life . . . Whether he’s having an epiphany over a campout in New Guinea with head-hunting cannibals or getting politically charged by the melodrama of great opera, James A. Michener’s world is a place and a time worth reading about.”—The Christian Science Monitor***
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Jessi's Wish

Jessi's Wish

Ann M. Martin

Children's Books / Young Adult

When Jessi volunteers to help supervise the Kids Can Do Anything Club, she meets nine-year-old Danielle. Danielle has a beautiful smile and a great sense of humor. But Danielle is no ordinary little girl. She has cancer. Jessi never met anyone like Danielle before. Even though she is very sick, Danielle is courageous and hopeful. She even has two wishes. The first is to go to Disney World. The second is to graduate from elementary school. Jessi knows she has to be strong for Danielle, and so she makes a very special wish of her own.
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The Ragwitch

The Ragwitch

Garth Nix

Science Fiction & Fantasy / Young Adult

As Julia and her brother, Paul, explore a deserted beach on Australia's northern coast, they find an enormous nest filled with the largest, strangest black feathers -- feathers that neither of them can identify. But there is something else in the nest, hidden among the feathers -- a small rag doll. When Julia cleans the doll off, it is more beautiful than any she has ever seen. Almost hypnotizingly beautiful. Indeed, this is no ordinary doll -- as Julia discovers when the doll absorbs Julia's spirit and takes over her body. In order to save his sister from the evil Ragwitch, Paul follows them on a harrowing journey across time into another dimension! There he must battle the Ragwitch and her forces of evil. If not, Julia will be lost....forever.
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The Reckoning

The Reckoning

Sharon Kay Penman

Literature & Fiction / Mystery

"Penman's characters are so shrewdly imagined, so full of resonant human feeling that they seem to breathe on the page." —San Francisco Chronicle* *"Never forget, Llewelyn, that the world's greatest fool is a Welshman who trusts an English king." His father's words haunt Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, who has been ruling uneasily over his fractious countrymen. Above all else, Llewelyn fears that his life and his own dream—of an independent, united Wales—might be lost to Edward I's desire to expand his English empire. Alive from the pages of history, this is the hauntingly beautiful and compelling tale of a game poised to play itself out to its bloody finale as English and Welsh cross swords in a reckoning that must mean disaster for one side or the other. For anyone who has ever wanted to experience the rich tapestry of British history and lore, this bold and romantic adventure must be read.
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Letters to Sartre

Letters to Sartre

Simone de Beauvoir

Literature & Fiction / Nonfiction / Politics

Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre formed one of the most famous literary couples of the twentieth century. Their relationship took on the quality of legend and served as a model of openness and honesty for countless men and women. Sartre was revered during his lifetime as a paradigm of the modern philosophe and intellectual, but since de Beauvoir’s death in 1986, her literary reputation has threatened to eclipse Sartre’s. Her work The Second Sex is, by any standard, one of the most important and influential books of the twentieth century. When these private and revealing letters were published in France in 1990, they caused a storm of controversy. Here de Beauvoir tells Sartre everything, tracing the extraordinary complications of their triangular love life. These letters reveal de Beauvoir not only as manipulative and dependent, but also as vulnerable, passionate, jealous, and committed. This reissue of a New York Times Notable Book will inspire philosophers, writers, and lovers of literature for decades to come.
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The Not-So-Jolly Roger

The Not-So-Jolly Roger

Jon Scieszka

Children's Books

Avast and belay, me hearties - it's lunacy on the high seas! It's the Time Warp Trio to the rescue! Only now they are rescuing their own adventure-loving hides. Blame Fred, or blame the mysterious magic of "The Book" - but whichever way you slice it, Blackbeard's got our accidental time travelers cornered, and he's about to slice them!
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Karen's Carnival

Karen's Carnival

Ann M. Martin

Children's Books / Young Adult

One day Karen, Hannie, and Nancy are board, bored, bored. They can't go roller-skating, and the playground is too far away. So Karen decides to have a carnival, with all kinds of games and prizes! What will the girls do with the money they make from their carnival? Hannie wants roller skates-but Karen can think of something even better.
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Hannah

Hannah

Gloria Whelan

Historical Fiction / Young Adult / Children's

Nine-year-old Hannah would do almost anything to go to school with all the other children in town. But Hannah is blind, and her parents keep her at home, where she is safe. Then Lydia Robbin, a strong-willed teacher, comes to town and convinces Hannah’s parents to send her to school. At first Hannah is overjoyed. But she soon learns that there are many obstacles—and people—that stand in her way. Hannah will need tremendous courage to prove to her classmates, her parents, and herself that Miss Robbin was right to believe in her. History Stepping Stones now feature updated content that emphasizes Common Core and today’s renewed interest in nonfiction. Perfect for home, school, and library bookshelves! From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Native Tongue

Native Tongue

Carl Hiaasen

Literature & Fiction / Outdoors & Nature / Nonfiction

"Ruthlessly wicked...Wonderful...His best book yet." ATLANTA JOURNAL & CONSTITUTION When the precious clue-tongued mango voles at the Amazing Kingdom of Thrills on North Key Largo are stolen by heartless, ruthless thugs, Joe Winder wants to uncover why, and find the voles. Joe is lately a PR man for the Amazing Kingdom theme park, but now that the voles are gone, Winder is dragged along in their wake through a series of weird and lethal events that begin with the sleazy real-estate agent/villain Francis X. Kingsbury and can end only one way.... BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Carl Hiaasen's Bad Monkey.
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