New Arrivals
A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order
A Place for Everything is the first-ever history of alphabetization, from the Library of Alexandria to Wikipedia. The story of alphabetical order has been shaped by some of history's most compelling characters, such as industrious and enthusiastic early adopter Samuel Pepys and dedicated alphabet champion Denis Diderot. But though even George Washington was a proponent, many others stuck to older forms of classification--Yale listed its students by their family's social status until 1886. And yet, while the order of the alphabet now rules--libraries, phone books, reference books, even the order of entry for the teams at the Olympic Games--it has remained curiously invisible. With abundant inquisitiveness and wry humor, historian Judith Flanders traces the triumph of alphabetical order and offers a compendium of Western knowledge, from A to Z.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127041
At the Bottom of the Garden
Clara Woods is a killer--and perfectly fine with it, too. So what if she takes a couple of lives to make her own a little bit better? At the bottom of her garden is a flowerbed, long overgrown, where her late husband rests in peace--or so she always thought. Then the girls arrive. Lily and Violet are her nieces, recently orphaned after their affluent parents died on an ill-fated anniversary trip. In accordance with their parents' will, the sisters are to go to their closest relative--who just so happens to be Clara. Despite having no interest in children, Clara agrees to take them, hoping to get her hands on some of the girls' assets--not just to bolster her dwindling fortune, but also to establish what she hopes will be her legacy: a line of diamond jewelry. There's only one problem. Violet can see the dead man at the bottom of the garden. She can see all of Clara's ghosts...and call them back into existence. Soon Clara is plagued by her victims and at war with the gifted girls in her care. Lily and Violet have become a liability--and know far more than they should...
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127024
Out of Your Mind: The Biggest Mysteries of the Human Brain
Why do you love? Why do you lie? What makes you happy? Every single thought you have comes from one place: your brain. But what makes it tick? How much of it have we decoded, and how much of it remains an impenetrable mystery? Join best-selling author and online cartoonist Jorge Cham and neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin on a deep dive into the fascinating world of the human brain, in which they will explore questions such as: What is consciousness? Where is you in the brain? And do we have free will? All while illuminating everything we know (and DON'T know) about one of the most complex objects in the known universe. Think of it as conversation-ammunition for your next cocktail party, or a quick fascinating read while you're in the bathroom (don't worry, the chapters aren't that long). Centered around questions we all ask ourselves at some point but don't usually have answers to, Out of Your Mind is an illustrated book about the brain that isn't too brainy. Playful, accessible, and deeply insightful, it's the one brain book that's truly accessible and suitable for all brains.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127023
The Spamalot Diaries
On March 17, 2005, Spamalot debuted on Broadway to rapturous reviews for its star-studded creative team, including creator Eric Idle, director Mike Nichols, and stars Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez, John Cleese, and more. But long before show was the toast of Broadway and the winner of three Tony Awards, it was an idea threatening to fizzle before it could find its way into existence. Now, in The Spamalot Diaries, Eric Idle shares authentic journal entries and raw email exchanges--all featuring his whip-smart wit--revealing the sometimes bumpy but always fascinating path to the show's unforgettable run. In the months leading up to that opening night, financial anxieties were high with a low-ceiling budget and expectations that it would take two years to break even. Collaborative disputes put decades-long friendships to the test. And the endless process of rewriting was a task as passionate as it was painstaking. Still, there's nothing Idle would change about that year. Except for the broken ankle. He could do without the broken ankle. Chronicling every minor mishap and triumph along the way, as well as the creative tension that drove the show to new heights, The Spamalot Diaries is an unforgettable look behind the curtain of a beloved musical and inside the wickedly entertaining mind of one of our most treasured comic performers.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127020
The Amish Quiltmaker's Uninvited Guest
Swamped by family and farm responsibilities, he must find the perfect wife as quickly as possible, so he's shown up in Colorado--with "finding a wife" on his To-Do list! Esther's community has many women who could match his ever-growing requirements. Yet after a chance meeting, Menno keeps coming back to baker Joanna Yoder. Hard-working, honest, and forthright, she's distracting Menno from his search, opening his heart--but refuses to believe he's falling hopelessly in love with her... Happily busy inventing and selling delicious desserts, Joanna has no time for someone as ridiculously exacting as Menno. After all, what sort of man thinks choosing a wife is like picking a pie at the general store? But once she sees the surprisingly kind heart, doting father, and understanding man beneath his hard-to-please ways, she has second thoughts. With faith and genuine love, might the few things they have in common overcome the differences between them--and prove precious enough to risk a future together?
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127019
Fearless and Free: A Memoir
Josephine Baker took Paris by storm in the 1920s, dazzling audiences with her humour, beauty and effervescence on stage. She became an icon. Hemingway, Jean Cocteau, and Picasso admired her; Shirley Bassey adored her: 'I swear in all my life I have never seen, and probably never shall see again, such a spectacular singer and performer.' It was told she strolled the streets of Paris with her pet cheetah who wore a diamond collar. Later, as one of the most recognisable women in the world, she became a spy for the French resistance, her celebrity working as her cover. She was awarded the Légion d'Honneur for military service. After the war she became increasingly interested in civil rights. In 1963 she spoke at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King. All this from a girl born in Missouri to a poor single black woman and a white father she did not know. Flirtatious, funny, candid and this memoir gives us the wildly famous but elusive Josephine Baker telling her own story. Formed from a series of conversations with the French journalist Marcel Sauvage, over a period of more than twenty years, this book offers an entertaining insight into one of the most interesting and beguiling figures of the twentieth century.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127017
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew
For Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby no question about Jews is off-limits. They go there. They cover Jews and money. Jews and power. Jews and privilege. Jews and white privilege. The Black and Jewish struggle. Emmanuel asks, Did Jews kill Jesus? To which Noa responds, "Why are Jewish people history's favorite scapegoat?" They unpack Judaism itself: Is it a religion, culture, a peoplehood, or a race? And: Are you antisemitic if you're anti-Zionist? The questions--and answers--might make you squirm, but together, they explain the tropes, stereotypes, and catalysts of antisemitism in America today. The topics are complicated and Acho and Tishby bring vastly different perspectives. Tishby is an outspoken Israeli American. Acho is a mild-mannered son of a Nigerian American pastor. But they share a superpower: an uncanny ability to make complicated ideas easy to understand so anyone can follow the straight line from the past to our immediate moment--and then see around corners. Acho and Tishby are united by the core belief that hatred toward one group is never isolated: if you see the smoke of bigotry in one place, expect that we will all be in the fire. Informative and accessible, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew has a unique structure: Acho asks questions and Tishby answers them with deeply personal, historical, and political responses. This book will enable anyone to explain--and identify--what Jewish hatred looks like.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127009
The Story of a Heart
One summer day, nine-year-old Keira Ball was in a terrible car accident and suffered catastrophic brain injuries. As the rest of her body began to shut down, her heart continued to beat. In an act of extraordinary generosity, Keira's parents and siblings immediately agreed that she would have wanted to be an organ donor. Meanwhile nine-year-old Max Johnson had been in a hospital for nearly a year, valiantly fighting the virus that was causing his young heart to fail. When Max's parents received the call they had been hoping for, they knew it came at a terrible cost to another family--in what Clarke calls "the brutal arithmetic of transplant surgery." The act of Keira's heart resuming its rhythm inside Max's body was a medical miracle. But this was only part of the story. While waiting on the transplant list, Max had become the hopeful face of a campaign to change the UK's laws around organ donation. Following his successful surgery, Keira's mother saw the little boy beaming on the front page of the newspaper and knew it was the same boy whose parents had recently sent her an anonymous letter overflowing with gratitude for her daughter's heart. The two mothers began to exchange messages and eventually decided to meet. This is the unforgettable story of how one family's grief transformed into a lifesaving gift. Clarke relates the urgent journey of Keira's heart and explores the history of the remarkable surgery that made it possible, stretching back over a century and involving the knowledge and dedication not just of surgeons but of countless nurses and technicians, immunologists and paramedics. The Story of a Heart is a testament to compassion for the dying, the many ways we honor our loved ones, and the tenacity of love.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127008
When You Don't Know What to Pray: 100 Essential Prayers for Enduring Life's Storms
God longs to interact with us and help us with our burdens, but many of us struggle to translate our pain, desires, and hopes into words. In this book, internationally respected pastor and bestselling author Dr. Charles Stanley offers 100 heartfelt, powerful prayers that will transform your life and deepen your communion with Christ.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127007
Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy
In 2001 Mo Gawdat realized that despite his incredible success, he was desperately unhappy. A lifelong learner, he attacked the problem as an engineer would: examining all the provable facts and scrupulously applying logic. Eventually, his countless hours of research and science proved successful, and he discovered the equation for permanent happiness. Thirteen years later, Mo's algorithm would be put to the ultimate test. After the sudden death of his son, Ali, Mo and his family turned to his equation--and it saved them from despair. In dealing with the horrible loss, Mo found his mission: he would pull off the type of "moonshot" goal that he and his colleagues were always aiming for--he would share his equation with the world and help as many people as possible become happier. In Solve for Happy Mo questions some of the most fundamental aspects of our existence, shares the underlying reasons for suffering, and plots out a step-by-step process for achieving lifelong happiness and enduring contentment. He shows us how to view life through a clear lens, teaching us how to dispel the illusions that cloud our thinking; overcome the brain's blind spots; and embrace five ultimate truths. No matter what obstacles we face, what burdens we bear, what trials we've experienced, we can all be content with our present situation and optimistic about the future.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127006
Instant Anger Management: Quick and Simple CBT Strategies to Defuse Anger on the Spot
If you struggle with problem anger, you know how much it can hurt your relationships and get in the way of your happiness. When you're faced with a difficult situation or anger trigger, it's all too easy to get swept up in your emotions. That's why you need quick and immediate tools you can use in the moment--whenever anger takes hold. Based in proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Instant Anger Management is a take-anywhere guide for managing anger--whenever and wherever you are. Using quick and simple "try this" interventions--such as breathing, acceptance, and self-expression--you'll learn to stay grounded, identify your triggers, and balance your emotions. You'll also find tips and strategies to help you maintain a more positive outlook on life. Instant Anger Management is packed with skills to help you: express yourself in healthy ways; deal with frustration; find validation for your emotions; handle feelings of regret; and stop being defensive.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127005
The Great Hippopotamus Hotel
Precious Ramotswe takes on an interesting but sensitive case and learns valuable lessons along the way in this next installment of the beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB125762
My Darling Boy
A deliciously vengeful and sinister suspense novel, about two older women whose friendship cracks after one son murders the other.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB125765
Defense Protocol
Every word a president utters is weighed and examined, but none more so than when he is talking about Taiwan. That's why it's shocking that President Jack Ryan seems to imply that the US has no appetite for a war to protect Taiwan from the communist Chinese on the mainland. President Ryan is determined to protect the independence of the island nation, but he is determined that one slip of the tongue should not cost thousands of young soldiers, sailors and Marines their lives. Jack Ryan returns in a blockbuster novel of action, thrills and intrigue in the world created by master storyteller Tom Clancy.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB125767
Time of the Child
Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from the town. His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father's shadow, and remains there, having missed one chance at love--and passed up another offer of marriage from an unsuitable man. But in the Advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy's lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter's lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever. Set over the course of one December in the same village as Williams' beloved This Is Happiness, Time of the Child is a tender return to Faha for readers who know its charms, and a heartwarming welcome to new readers entering for the very first time.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB125772
Thorns, Lust and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn has mesmerised the English public for centuries. Her tragic execution, orchestrated by her own husband, never ceases to intrigue. How did this courtier's daughter become the queen of England, and what was it that really tore apart this illustrious marriage, making her the whore of England, an abandoned woman executed on the scaffold? While many stories of Anne Boleyn's downfall have been told, few have truly traced the origins of her tragic fate. In Thorns, Lust and Glory, Estelle Paranque takes us back to where it all started--to France, where Anne learned the lessons that would set her on the path to becoming one of England's most infamous queens. At the court of the French king as a resourceful teenage girl, Anne's journey to infamy began, and this landmark biography explores the world that shaped her, and how these loyalties would leave her vulnerable, leading to her ruin at the court of Henry VIII. A fascinating new perspective on Tudor history's most enduring story, Thorns, Lust and Glory is an unmissable account of a queen on the edge.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB125773
Private Label
Serene dreams of making couture dresses even more stunning than her mom's, but for now she's an intern at her mom's fashion label. When her mom receives a sudden diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, all that changes. Serene has to take over her mother's business overnight, dealing with ruthless investors who do not think a seventeen-year-old can run a fashion empire, while trying to figure out what happened with her dad in Beijing. He left before she was born, and Serene wants to find him, even if it means going against her mom's one request--never look back. Lian Chen moved from China to Serene's mostly white Southern California beach town a year ago. He doesn't fit in at school, where kids mispronounce his name. His parents don't care about what he wants to do--comedy--and push him toward going to MIT engineering early. Lian thinks there's nothing to stick around for, until one day, he starts Chinese Club after school . . . and Serene walks in.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB125866
Chinese Mythology: Legendary Tales of Heaven, Earth, Humanity, and Beyond
Step into the magical and rich world of Chinese mythology with tales of gods, goddesses, the Monkey King, the White Snake, and more in this gorgeous, fully illustrated collection of myths and fairy tales. Do you know how the world began? Or why there is wind and rain? Have you ever felt lucky and wondered where luck comes from? Are you curious about the unseen and unknown? People have been asking these questions for thousands of years, with different cultures coming up with different answers to explain the universe. The myths in Chinese Mythology date back to ancient China, where the Jade Emperor ruled from the Heavens alongside other deities, and when the world was filled with supernatural figures, including snake-women, animal tricksters, ghosts, demons, dragons, and more. Journey through the world's creation and the rule of heaven to the powerful shaping of earth and the rise of humanity in these stunning, exciting, and mystical tales from China, written by the author of A Kid's Guide to the Chinese Zodiac and illustrated in stunning, bright, magical pictures.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB126245
The Secret War of Julia Child: A Novel
Before she mastered the art of French cooking in midlife, Julia Child found herself working in the secrets trade in Asia during World War II, a journey that will delight both historical fiction fans and lovers of America's most beloved chef, revealing how the war made her into the icon we know now. Single, 6 foot 2, and thirty years old, Julia McWilliams took a job working for America's first espionage agency, years before cooking or Paris entered the picture. The Secret War of Julia Child traces Julia's transformation from ambitious Pasadena blue blood to Washington, DC file clerk, to head of General "Wild Bill" Donovan's secret File Registry as part of the Office of Strategic Services. The wartime journey takes her to the Far East, to Asia's remote front lines of then-Ceylon, India, and China, where she finds purpose, adventure, self-knowledge - and love with mapmaker Paul Child. The spotlight has rarely shone on this fascinating period of time in the life of ("I'm not a spy") Julia Child, and this lyrical story allows us to explore the unlikely world of a woman in a World War II spy station who has no idea of the impact she'll eventually impart.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB126255
Lost in Paris
Four years after being exiled to Paris for disgracing the family name, Alabama debutante Zoe Barlow is still reeling from the horror of her ejection. Still, she's managed to create a new family among fellow expats and artists, including Hadley and Ernest Hemingway. When a valise containing all of Ernest's writings goes missing, Zoe volunteers to help Hadley track it down. Unfortunately, the valise leads to two murders-- the train porter who stole the bag, and a young woman rumored to be Anastasia Romanov-- shot to death on the edge of a small village. With much more at stake than the missing manuscripts, Zoe risks everything she holds dear to find out who among her adopted family is a murderer.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB126259
The Voltage Effect
Scale" has become a favored buzzword in the startup world. But scale isn't just about accumulating more users or capturing more market share. It's about whether an idea that takes hold in a small group can do the same in a much larger one--whether you're growing a small business, rolling out a diversity and inclusion program, or delivering billions of doses of a vaccine. Translating an idea into widespread impact, says University of Chicago economist John A. List, depends on one thing only: whether it can achieve "high voltage"--the ability to be replicated at scale. In The Voltage Effect, List explains that scalable ideas share a common set of attributes, while any number of attributes can doom an unscalable idea. Drawing on his original research, as well as fascinating examples from the realms of business, policymaking, education, and public health, he identifies five measurable vital signs that a scalable idea must possess, and offers proven strategies for avoiding voltage drops and engineering voltage gains.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB126262
Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese food
Cook Fuchsia Dunlop explores the history, philosophy, and techniques of Chinese culinary culture. In each chapter, she examines a classic dish to reveal a distinctive aspect of Chinese gastronomy, whether it's the importance of the soybean, the lure of exotic ingredients, or the history of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Meeting food producers, chefs, gourmets, and home cooks as she tastes her way across the country, Fuchsia invites listeners to join her on an unforgettable journey into Chinese food as it is cooked, eaten, and considered in its homeland.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123728
The Horse: A Novel
Willy Vlautin explores loneliness, art, regret, and hard-won empathy in this poignant novel--his most personal to date--that captures the life of a journeyman musician unable to escape the tragedies of his past. Al Ward lives on an isolated mining claim in the high desert of central Nevada fifty miles from the nearest town. A grizzled man in his sixties, he survives on canned soup, instant coffee, and memories of his ex-wife, friends and family he's lost, and his life as a touring musician. Hampered by insomnia, bouts of anxiety, and a chronic lethargy that keeps him from moving back to town, Al finds himself teetering on the edge of madness and running out of reasons to go on--until a horse arrives on his doorstep: nameless, blind, and utterly helpless. Al hopes the horse will vanish as mysteriously as he appeared. Yet the animal remains, leaving him in a conundrum. Is the animal real, or a phantom conjured from imagination? As Al contemplates the horse's existence--and what, if anything, he can do--his thoughts are interspersed with memories, from the moment his mother's part-time boyfriend gifts him a 1959 butterscotch blonde Telecaster, to the day his travels begin. He joins various bands--all who perform his songs once they discover his talent--playing casinos, truck stops, clubs, and bars. He falls in love, and finds pockets of companionship and minor success along the way. Never close to stardom or financial success, he continues as a journeyman for decades until alcoholism and a heartbreaking tragedy lead him to the solitude of the barren Nevada desert. A poignant meditation on addiction, heartbreak, and the reality of life on the road in smalltime bands, The Horse is a beautiful, haunting tale from an author working at the height of his powers.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123711
On Palestine
On Palestine is Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe's indispensable update on a suffering region. What is the future of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement directed at Israel? Which is more viable, the binational or one state solution? Ilan Pappe and Noam Chomsky, two leading voices in the struggle to liberate Palestine, discuss these critical questions and more in this urgent and timely book, a sequel to their acclaimed Gaza in Crisis. Chomsky is a global phenomenon ... he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet. (The New York Times Book Review). Ilan Pappe is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian. (John Pilger). This sober and unflinching analysis should be read and reckoned with by anyone concerned with practicable change in the long-suffering region. (Publishers Weekly (on Gaza in Crisis)). Noam Chomsky is the author of numerous bestselling and influential political books, including Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, Interventions, Hopes and Prospects, Gaza in Crisis, Making the Future and Occupy. Ilan Pappe is the author of the bestselling The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, A History of Modern Palestine, and The Israel/Palestine Question. Frank Barat is a human rights activist and coordinator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123662
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: For Honor: A Novel
In 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union sent a convoy of nuclear missiles to Cuba. The crisis that followed almost triggered World War III. However, while all eyes were on the Caribbean, not all of the missiles were sent to Cuba. Several ships slipped from the flotilla and headed for a fishing village in a remote, frigid, northeastern Soviet frontier. There, a silo was constructed not far from Alaska. More than sixty years later, that silo and its lethal contents are intact. Now, Iranian scientists team with a Russian agent and his estranged, arms-smuggling father to bring those missiles to Tehran. When an intel officer at Op Center starts picking up hints of the deal, the government's off-the-grid unit must track the unknown actors - and try to decide whether they can count on data provided by an Iranian defector, a man who has more at stake than anyone realizes. At the same time, Op-Center sends a lone agent to Havana to try and find an aging revolutionary, a woman, who may hold the key to pinpointing the location of the silo. Complicating matters is a turf war between Op Center, the White House, and the FBI that threatens to compromise the investigation...as the time to act grows perilously short.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123661
Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders
The true account of the man who murdered his family in their New Jersey mansion--and eluded a nationwide manhunt for eighteen years. Until 1971, life was good for mild-mannered accountant John List. He was vice president of a Jersey City bank and had moved his mother, wife, and three teenage children into a nineteen-room home in Westfield, New Jersey. But all that changed when he lost his job. Raised by his Lutheran father to believe success meant being a good provider, List saw himself as an utter failure. Straining under financial burdens, the stress of hiding his unemployment, as well as the fear that the free-spirited 1970s would corrupt the souls of his children, List came to a shattering conclusion. 'It was my belief that if you kill yourself, you won't go to heaven," List told Connie Chung in a television interview. "So eventually I got to the point where I felt that I could kill them. Hopefully they would go to heaven, and then maybe I would have a chance to later confess my sins to God and get forgiveness.' List methodically shot his entire family in their home, managing to conceal the deaths for weeks with a carefully orchestrated plan of deception. Then he vanished and started over as Robert P. Clark. Chronicling List's life before and after the grisly crime, Death Sentence exposes the truth about the accountant-turned-killer, including his revealing letter to his pastor, his years as a fugitive with a new name--and a new wife--his eventual arrest, and the details of his high-profile trial.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123657
The Dark Wives
As New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's beloved Vera series explodes in popularity in print and on TV, this stunning eleventh book explores the web of secrets surrounding a young man's death. The man's body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up. DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being the disappearance of one of the home's residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence. Vera can't bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can't dismiss the possibility. Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie Bell, are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123656
The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023
Amor Towles selects the best mystery short stories of the year 2023, including tales by Andrew Child, Jeffrey Deaver, and T.C. Boyle.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123659
By Any Other Name: A Novel
A captivating novel about two women, centuries apart, fighting to be heard -- one of whom may be the real author of Shakespeare's plays -- from the New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here. As an undergraduate, Melina Green had a rare opportunity to have one of her first plays judged by famous theater critic Jasper Tolle, only to be publicly humiliated by a harsh and biased critique. Ten years later, her confidence as a playwright has never recovered, although she has just completed a work that she thinks is her best yet. It is based on the life of her ancestor Emilia Bassano, the first published female poet in England -- and rumored to be the "Dark Lady" of Shakespeare's sonnets -- but whom some scholars suspect may be the real author of a number of his plays. Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, and then her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits it to a festival under a male pseudonym. In 1581, the young orphan Emilia Bassano is being raised in the ways of English aristocracy by the Baron Willoughby and his sister. Her lessons on languages, reading, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling. But like most women of her day, she has no control over her fate, and is ripped from her old life and forced to become a courtesan to Lord Hunsdon, a man knighted by Queen Elizabeth as the Lord Chamberlain in charge of all theater in London. Though she has no other freedoms, and inspired by the work of the most brilliant playwrights of the time, she pseudonymously sets her own pen to paper to tell a story. Told in dual intertwining timelines, this sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. As Emilia alters the course of her life and therefore the course of the world, she blazes a trail. Centuries later, will Melina face the same terrible fate -- to have her work celebrated, but only at the price of letting another take credit?
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123719
The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy
No British monarch has had a tougher act to follow. Now, after seventy years of waiting and preparation, King Charles III is not just the head of the most famous family in the world. He is the custodian of a thousand-year-old institution that must redefine its place in the digital age while others insist on rewriting the past. With unrivaled access to the king, the royal family, and the court, leading royal authority Robert Hardman brings us the inside story on the most pivotal and challenging year for the monarchy in living memory. From the death of Elizabeth II through to the ancient spectacle of the Coronation, from the rise of a new Prince and Princess of Wales to the latest truth bombs from the Sussexes, this is the story of the making of a monarch.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123666
The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men who Keep Us Free
Pete Hegseth joined the Army to fight extremists. Then that same Army called him one. The military Pete joined twenty years ago was fiercely focused on lethality, competency, and color blindness. Today our brass are following the rest of our country off the cliff of cultural chaos and weakness. Americans with common sense are fighting this on many fronts, but if we can't save the meritocracy of our military, we're definitely going to lose everywhere else. The War on Warriors uncovers the deep roots of our dysfunction--a society that has forgotten the men who take risks, cut through red tape, and get their hands dirty. The only kind of men prepared to face the dangers that the Left pretends don't exist. Unlike issues of education or taxes or crime, this problem doesn't have a zip code solution. We can't move away from it. We can't avoid it. We have only one Pentagon. Either we take it back or surrender it altogether. Combining his own war experiences, tales of outrage, and an incisive look at how the chain of command got so kinked, this book is the key to saving our warriors--and winning future wars. The War on Warriors must be won by the good guys, because when the shooting really starts, they're the only ones who can save us.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123663
Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti were Gods on Earth
Two celebrated Egyptologists bring to vivid life the intriguing and controversial reign of King Tut's parents Akhenaten has been the subject of radically different, even contradictory, biographies. The king has achieved fame as the world's first individual and the first monotheist, but others have seen him as an incestuous tyrant who nearly ruined the kingdom he ruled. The gold funerary mask of his son Tutankhamun and the painted bust of his wife Nefertiti are the most recognizable artifacts from all of ancient Egypt. But who are Akhenaten and Nefertiti? And what can we actually say about rulers who lived more than three thousand years ago? November 2022 marks the centennial of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun and although "King Tut" is a household name, his nine-year rule pales in comparison to the revolutionary reign of his parents. Akhenaten and Nefertiti became gods on earth by transforming Egyptian solar worship, innovating in art and urban design, and merging religion and politics in ways never attempted before. Combining fascinating scholarship, detective suspense, and adventurous thrills, Egypt's Golden Couple is a journey through excavations, museums, hieroglyphic texts, and stunning artifacts. From clue to clue, renowned Egyptologists, John and Colleen Darnell, reconstruct an otherwise untold story of the magnificent reign of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123668
Reversing Alzheimer's: The New Toolkit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health
One of the foremost Alzheimer's dementia-care clinicians presents an individualized, step-by-step, whole-body, evidence-based approach to reversing and preventing cognitive decline, aiming to help people with dementia return to themselves and help those who are living in fear of developing dementia take good care of their current and future brain health.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123675
Ancient Remedies: Secrets to Healing with Herbs, Essential Oils, CBD, and the Most Powerful Natural Medicine in History
Draws on centuries of traditional Chinese, Ayurvedic, and biblical medicine to identify specific dietary choices, medicinal herbs, and mind-body practices for more than seventy common conditions, from hypothyroidism to autoimmune diseases. In Ancient Remedies, Dr. Axe explores the foundational concepts of ancient healing--eating right for your type and living in sync with your circadian clock. Readers will learn how traditional practitioners identified the root cause of each patient's illness, then treated it with medicinal herbs, mushrooms, CBD, essential oils, and restorative mind-body practices. What's more, they'll discover how they can use these ancient treatments themselves to cope with dozens of diseases, from ADHD to diabetes, hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, and beyond. Through engaging language and accessible explanations, Ancient Remedies teaches readers everything they need to know about getting, and staying, healthy--without toxic, costly synthetic drugs.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123685
Madoff: The Final Word
Some $68 billion evaporated during Bernie Madoff's epic confidence game. Two people were driven to suicide in the wake of the Ponzi Scheme's exposure. Others went to prison. But there has never been a satisfying accounting for how Bernie got away with so much, for so long. Until now. Richard Behar's relationship with Madoff began in 2011 with a simple email request from the inmate. By the time Madoff died in 2021, he had sent Behar more than 300 emails and dozens of handwritten letters, participated in some fifty phone conversations, and sat for three in-person jailhouse interviews--a level of access provided to no other reporter. Behar also established relationships with hundreds of regulators, prosecutors, FBI agents, investors, Wall Street experts, ex-employees of Madoff's, family members, school classmates, and others. The result is the final word on the criminal behind history's most enduring fraud--and on those who believed him, covered for him, or locked him up. Behar illuminates not only the fraud's origins--decades earlier than Madoff claimed in his confession--but also the complicity of investors, Wall Street insiders, family members, and some of the largest banks in the US and Europe. Shocking, infuriating, riveting (and at times absurdly funny), Madoff shows us how Bernie ensnared thousands of investors. As Behar's dogged reporting over the last fifteen years makes clear, however, there aren't many innocents left standing by the end of this tale. Just about everyone involved is guilty, at a minimum, of humanity's most consistent weakness: greed.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123637
A Panicked Premonition
In Victoria Laurie's latest Psychic Eye Mystery, Abby Cooper has one rule to follow: don't panic! Professional psychic and FBI consultant Abby Cooper is about to face a murder scene that will put all her powers to the test. Her husband, Dutch, has a side business providing security and building panic rooms for wealthy clients. One morning, one of Dutch's partners, Dave, goes missing ... Then two of Dutch's clients are found brutally murdered inside their brand-new panic room, and most of the evidence points to Dave as the killer. With the authorities racing to find and arrest him, Abby's got to use all her intuitive prowess to get to Dave first, discover the real killer, and save her husband's business. This is one case where Abby is positive there's far more to this mystery than meets her inner eye.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123638
Someone in the Attic
Anya is enjoying a relaxing bath when she hears a noise in the roof. Through the open bathroom door, she sees the attic hatch swing open, and a masked figure drops to the floor. Thirty seconds later, Anya is dead. ... Across town, Anya's old school friend Julia sees an online video of a masked figure climbing out of an attic. She suddenly realizes why the footage is eerily familiar: it was filmed inside her house in a luxury gated community, designed to keep intruders out. And now your worst fears are coming true. Why would a stranger target Julia? Unless of course, it's not a stranger at all.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123639
We Love the Nightlife
A dazzling and dark page-turner about a toxic female friendship finally coming to a head, set amidst the backdrop of London's exclusive nightclub scene. But these girls have an extraordinary history between them - they're vampires. London 1979. Two women with a deep love for disco meet one fateful night on the dance floor, changing the course of both their lives forever. Nicola, a beautiful and brooding vampire for nearly two centuries, can't resist fun-loving and feisty Amber from America, ultimately offering an eternity together where the glamour of nightlife always takes center stage. But not all is what it seems. Nearly fifty years later, after an unexpected betrayal, Amber wants out from under Nicola's thumb, but it won't be so simple to break up this festering friendship when she learns others have done the same - and wound up dead. Sensing Amber's restlessness and in one last play to keep her close, Nicola proposes they open a nightclub of their very own, hearkening back to their best days as dancing queens. Amber agrees but she's secretly hatching a dangerous escape plan. And if she fails...the party is over for good.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123640
Armed 'n' Ready
Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Nick Houston is as tough as they come, and he and his K-9, Saxon, are hot on the trail of a major illegal gun dealer. But his best lead-the beautiful owner of the Dog Park CafE, Andi Hardt--is not cooperating. Doesn't matter how sexy she is, or that his dog seems to be in love with her. She's a suspect and he won't cross that line. Ever. Andi Hardt sank everything into her dream business-the Dog Park CafE, a restaurant catering to dogs as much as people. Now everything is in jeopardy because of one extremely frustrating, incredibly hot state trooper. Like it or not, she's in Nick's crosshairs, and he's calling the shots. Her only option: cooperate, or lose everything she's worked so hard for. Nick and Andi are catapulted straight into the danger zone, forcing them to make life-altering choices, and face their desires. Risking his life for Andi is the easy part. Risking his heart is the toughest assignment Nick will face. Each book in the Federal K-9 series is STANDALONE: * Lock 'N' Load * Armed 'N' Ready.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123641
Baumgartner
Baumgartner's life has been defined by his deep, abiding love for his wife, Anna. But now Anna is gone, and Baumgartner is embarking on his seventies whilst trying to live with her absence. Rich with compassion, wit and Auster's keen eye for beauty in the smallest, most transient episodes of ordinary life, 'Baumgartner' is a tender late masterpiece of the ache of memory. It asks: why do we find such meaning in certain moments, and forget others?
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123642
Savannah
Cory Brannon, bitter at the failure of the Confederate Army at Chattanooga, takes part in a series of battles as the Army of Tennessee retreats slowly toward Atlanta ... by the end of August, Atlanta is lost ... and General Sherman's March to the Sea continues.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123643
Dirty Little Midlife Disaster
Sizzling-hot and seriously funny. Who said your forties couldn't be both? Katrina Viceroy is a recently divorced mother of two, and the proud new owner of a flat tire ... until leather-clad motorcycle hottie, Mac Blair, arrives to save the day. Mac is the exact opposite of Trina's ex-husband. He's got bad boy etched into every line of his muscular body, for one. Not to mention that gravelly, deep voice he uses to order her around. Things like, "Swing that pretty leg over my bike," and, "Hold on tight," and, "Here's my number; call me." When he's got her frazzled and panting, Mac just ... rides off. Honestly, the nerve! Apropos nothing, does anyone have a phone she can borrow? The old Trina would have ignored the phone number burning a hole in her pocket, but the new and improved (read: divorced) Trina? She's calling. Even if it ends up being a total disaster.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123644
Danielle: Chronicles of a Superheroine: A Novel, a Vision, a Parallel History, a Roadmap
Danielle, Chronicles of a Superheroine, tells the story of a precocious young girl who uses her intelligence and accelerating technology to solve humanity's grandest challenges.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123645
The Longest Night
Determined to rescue Desmond from the Shadow Land, Evie and her friends investigate the ghosts of the past in order to stop a sinister entity who is haunting the people of Ravenglass.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123646
Zhara
Forbidden from practicing magic and burdened by her responsibilities, Jin Zhara's life takes an unexpected turn when she becomes involved with the Guardians of Dawn, a group dedicated to fighting a demonic plague that is corrupting magicians.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123647
This Man Must Die
In the world of criminal lawbreakers in Laramie County, Lucien Clay was king. He terrorized the locals, robbed every business in the territory, and ruled the place with a merciless iron fist. Thankfully he's behind bars now -- along with a load of other lowlife prairie rats -- thanks to Laramie's new sheriff, Buck Trammel. Unfortunately, Trammel can only enforce the law while others specialize in working around it: namely, lawyers. And no lawyer is more crooked or corrupt than the belly-crawling snake Clay hired to get him out. By any means possible. Their breakout plan is simple: The lawyer will wait until midnight. Then he'll break in to the county jail to bust his client out. He'll scale the walls, kill the guards, ambush the deputies, and release the prisoner. There's just one catch: As soon as Clay is freed, the other convicts want out, too. Which sparks total chaos in the prison, creates a distraction for Clay -- and unleashes the worst blood-soaked night of murderous mayhem Buck Trammel has ever witnessed. And will never forget. If he survives.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123648
There are Rivers in the Sky
Sweeping across centuries, and stretching from Mesopotamia to London, this is an enchanting new novel by Booker Prize finalist Elif Shafak that conjures a trio of characters living in the shadow of one of the greatest epic poems (The Epic of Gilgamesh) of all time.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123649
The Lost Book of Bonn: A Novel
Germany, 1946: Emmy Clarke is a librarian not a soldier. But that doesn't stop the Library of Congress from sending her overseas to Germany to help the Monuments Men retrieve and catalog precious literature that was plundered by the Nazis. The Offenbach Archival Depot and its work may get less attention than returning art to its rightful owners, but for Emmy, who sees the personalized messages on the inside of the books and the notes in margins of pages, it feels just as important. On Emmy's first day at work, she finds a poetry collection by Rainer Maria Rilke, and on the title page is a handwritten dedication: "To Annelise, my brave Edelweiss Pirate." Emmy is instantly intrigued by the story behind the dedication and becomes determined to figure out what happened. The hunt for the rightful owner of the book leads Emmy to two sisters, a horrific betrayal, and an extraordinary protest against the Nazis that was held in Berlin at the height of the war. Nearly a decade earlier, hundreds of brave women gathered in the streets after their Jewish husbands were detained by the Gestapo. Through freezing rain and RAF bombings, the women faced down certain death and did what so few others dared to do under the Third Reich. They said no. Emmy grapples with her own ghosts as she begins to wonder if she's just chasing two more. What she finds instead is a powerful story of love, forgiveness, and courage that brings light to even the darkest of postwar days.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123650
Saved by the Matchmaker
Enya Shanahan's ill-fated marriage has left her with an annulment and a child on the way. Her father's solution is for her to marry again, and the local matchmaker knows just the man: Captain Sullivan O'Brien. Enya's heart is closed off to love in this marriage of convenience, but a greater purpose draws them together.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123651
House of Bone and Rain: A Barrio Noir
For childhood friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul, and Bimbo, death has always been close. Hurricanes. Car accidents. Gang violence. Suicide. 'Estamos rodeados de fantasmas' was Gabe's grandmother's refrain: 'We are surrounded by ghosts.' But this time is different. Bimbo's mom has been shot dead. Feral with grief, Bimbo has become unrecognizable, taking no prisoners in his search for names. Soon they learn Maria was gunned down by guys working for the drug kingpin of Puerto Rico. No one has ever gone up against him and survived.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123652
The Advice Column Murders
What's the couple next door really hiding? Vintage fashionista and amateur sleuth Charley Carpenter finds out in this engrossing cozy mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of The Book Club Murders. In a small town like Oakwood, Ohio, everyone knows everyone else's business--except for Charley Carpenter's standoffish new neighbors, who tend to keep to themselves. But behind closed doors, Paxton Sharpe's habit of screaming bloody murder at all hours of the day keeps Charley awake all night. Coupled with the stress of the increasingly delayed expansion of her shop, Old Hat Vintage Fashions, the insomnia is driving Charley crazy. Her only distraction? The local paper's irreverent new advice column, "Ask Jackie." Jackie's biting commentary usually leaves Charley and her employees rolling on the floor, but her latest column is no laughing matter. An oddly phrased query hinting at a child in peril immediately puts Charley on high alert. After arriving home to a bloodcurdling scream next door, she follows the noise into the basement and makes a grisly discovery: the body of Judith Sharpe's adult daughter. With Detective Marcus Trenault off in Chicago, Charley decides to take matters into her own hands. Convinced that the murder is connected to the desperate plea for help in "Ask Jackie," she embarks on a twisted investigation that has her keeping up with the Sharpes--before a killer strikes again.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB123654
The Storyteller of Casablanca
Morocco, 1941. Twelve-year-old Josie and her family fled Nazi-occupied France for Casablanca, where they awaited safe passage to America. Seventy years later, Zoe is a wife and mother living as an expat in an unfamiliar place. But when she discovers Josie's diary from the 1940s beneath the floorboards of her daughter's bedroom, Zoe enters the inner world of young Josie. 2021.
Book Length: 9 hours 19 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB107192
Home Front Girls
It's January 1943 when Rita Vincenzo receives her first letter from Glory Whitehall. Glory is an effervescent young mother from New England. Rita is a Midwestern professor's wife with a generous, old soul. These two women have nothing in common except one powerful bond: the men they love are fighting in a war a world away from home. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2013.
Book Length: 9 hours 13 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB107875
Black Food Stories, Art & Recipes from Across the African Diaspora
Collection of recipes, poetry, and essays from over one hundred people of African heritage from around the world. Topics are broken into the themes of Motherland; Migrations; Spirituality; Leisure and Lifestyle; Land, Liberation, and Food Justice; Black Women, Food, and Power; Black, Queer, Food; Radical Self-Care; and Black Future. Strong language. 2021
Book Length: 11 hours 49 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB105987
A Fifth of Tequila
Psychic Althea Rose is tired of fame, especially with the tabloid photographers who take photos of her in unflattering positions. Then she finds out a famous TV producer wants to sign her and Miss Elva to a reality show. Althea's life is complicated first by a rival psychic, and then by accusations of murder. Strong language and some violence. 2018.
Book Length: 5 hours 16 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB107407
Quicksilver
Raised in an orphanage, never knowing his parents, Quinn Quicksilver had a happy if unexceptional life--until the day of "strange magnetism." Now Quinn is on the run from government agents, and who knows what else, fleeing for his life. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2022.
Book Length: 10 hours 20 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB107115
The Magic School Bus Makes A Rainbow: A Book About Color
The ever-inquisitive kids in Ms. Frizzle's class ride on board the Magic School Bus into a white-light pinball machine to learn about the dazzling wonders of color and light. For grades K-3.
Book Length: 17 minutes
Digital Book Number: DBC16499
Miracles of South Carolina: True Stories of Grace in the Palmetto State
Miracles of South Carolina is for believers and skeptics alike. In these pages you will find true stories of grace, many told publicly for the first time. From a Providentially Inscribed Bible to a lakeside guardian angel to forewarnings, saving voices, and comforting visions.
Book Length: 3 hours 25 minutes
Digital Book Number: DBC16472
Miracles of the Upstate: True Stories of Grace in the South Carolina Upcountry
Miracles of the Upstate is for the skeptic as much as it is for the believer. Doubts plague us all, but here you will find a collection of true stories of the miraculous, told by those who experienced them. Right here, in the Upcountry. Robbie Boman's latest collection of miracle stories includes experiences from across the Upstate. They involve visions of the afterlife and the future, support from family already passed on, and visits by angels with messages of comfort. There are miraculous healings, moments of divine guidance, and answered prayers. Some accounts are small, others are so grand as to be almost unbelievable. Together, they can shake you to your core. Miracles of the Upstate holds proof that miracles occur. Unrated.
Book Length: 3 hours 38 minutes
Digital Book Number: DBC16477
Reunion on Edisto: An Edisto Island Mystery, Book 7
Edisto Beach Police Chief Callie Morgan has no desire to relive her senior year and the nightmare of a murder and a suicide that shook her high school to its core. But when the reunion committee convenes on Edisto Beach for a planning retreat, she has no choice. Every person on the committee could be a suspect in the unsolved murder, and one classmate, now a bestselling author, threatens to weave them into a tell-all true crime novel. Until she disappears the first night of the committee retreat. Callie must sort fact from fiction in a race against the clock to find a cold case murderer who may have just killed again. Contains some strong language.
Book Length: 10 hours 57 minutes
Digital Book Number: DBC16489
Lowcountry Boondoggle: A Liz Talbot Mystery, Book 9
Private investigators Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews thought they'd put Darius Baker's troubles to rest-then his recently discovered son ropes him into a hemp farm investment with his college buddies. When a beloved Charleston professor-and potential investor-is murdered, Liz and Nate discover Darius keeps the PIs on speed dial. A shocking number of people had reasons to want the genteel, bow tie wearing, tea-drinking professor dead. Was it one of his many girlfriends or a disgruntled student? Or perhaps Murray was killed because his failure to invest meant the hemp farm trio's dreams were going up in smoke? Though Liz's long-dead best friend, Colleen, warns her the stakes are far higher than Liz imagines, she is hell-bent on finding the no-good killer among the bevy of suspects. But will the price of justice be more than Liz can bear?
Book Length: 7 Hours 14 minutes
Digital Book Number: DBC16490