One Kick

One Kick

Chelsea Cain

Mystery & Thrillers / Biographies & Memoirs / Nonfiction

From the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell thrillers: The first in a nail-biting new series featuring Kick Lannigan, a young woman whose complicated past has given her a very special skill set. Famously kidnapped at age six, Kick captured America’s hearts when she was rescued five years later. Now, twenty-one, she finds herself unexpectedly entangled in a missing child case that will put her talents to the test. Trained as a marksman, lock picker, escape artist and bomb maker by her abductor, Kick could not return to the life of the average young girl after her release. So, in lieu of therapy, she mastered martial arts, boxing, and knife throwing; learned how to escape from the trunk of a car, jimmy a pair of handcuffs, and walk without making a sound—all before she was thirteen. Kick has trained herself to be safe. But then two children go missing in three weeks, and an enigmatic and wealthy former weapons dealer approaches her with a proposition. John Bishop uses his fortune and contacts to track down missing children. Not only is he convinced Kick can help recover the two children—he won’t take no for an answer. With lives hanging in the balance, Kick is set to be the crusader she has always imagined herself. Little does she know that the answers she and Bishop seek are hidden in one of the few places she doesn’t want to navigate—the dark corners of her own mind. A heart-stopping, entertaining thrill ride, One Kick announces the arrival of a blistering new series by a stunning talent in the thriller realm.**
Read online
  • 111
The Journey Back

The Journey Back

Johanna Reiss

Children's Books / Biographies & Memoirs

The moving sequel to the Newbery Honor book, The Upstairs Room. After years of hiding from the Nazis during World War II, Annie is told the war is over and she must return home. Despite all odds she has survived the war, but can she save her family from being ripped apart when she returns back to her war-ravaged town. In this fascinating autobiographical account, Johanna Reiss shows us that sometimes real courage isn't displayed in battle, it's displayed by a thirteen-year old learning to survive in the aftermath of war.
Read online
  • 111
Whispers of Betrayal

Whispers of Betrayal

Michael Dobbs

Literature & Fiction / History / Biographies & Memoirs

Wayward backbencher Tom Goodfellowe makes his third appearance in the new novel of treachery at the highest levels from the bestselling author of House of Cards. Colonel Peter Amadeus is an old soldier with a grievance. He wants an apology from the Prime Minister. But this Prime Minister does not believe in apologizing for anything. For Amadeus it becomes a matter of honour – and retribution. Soon London is a city under siege, its lifelines cut. Then comes his ultimatum: the Prime Minister must resign – or London will be destroyed. Only one man stands between the capital and disaster – Tom Goodfellowe, a backbench MP who can't even sort out his own life, let alone save the lives of others. He is a man torn between ambition, honour and love – with the fate of London slipping swiftly through his fingers.
Read online
  • 110
The Last Lion

The Last Lion

William Manchester

History / Politics / Biographies & Memoirs

Spanning the years of 1940-1965, THE LAST LION picks up shortly after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister-when his tiny island nation stood alone against the overwhelming might of Nazi Germany. The Churchill conjured up by William Manchester and Paul Reid is a man of indomitable courage, lightning fast intellect, and an irresistible will to action. THE LAST LION brilliantly recounts how Churchill organized his nation's military response and defense; compelled FDR into supporting America's beleaguered cousins, and personified the "never surrender" ethos that helped the Allies win the war, while at the same time adapting himself and his country to the inevitable shift of world power from the British Empire to the United States. More than twenty years in the making, THE LAST LION presents a revelatory and unparalleled portrait of this brilliant, flawed, and dynamic leader. This is popular history at its most stirring.
Read online
  • 110
Broken Monsters

Broken Monsters

Lauren Beukes

Literature & Fiction / Biographies & Memoirs / Science Fiction & Fantasy

From Arthur C Clarke award-winning author Lauren Beukes comes an unsettling yet compulsive new thriller. Broken city, broken dreams ... In the city that's become a symbol for the death of the American dream, a nightmare killer is unravelling reality. A terrifying new thriller from Lauren Beukes, award-winning author of The Shining Girls. Detective Gabi Versado no longer believes in justice. She's seen too much stupidity, corruption and just plain badness. But never anything like this. And now it's bleeding into her life.He was a broken man. The dreams which once fueled his ambition have curdled inside him - dreams of recognition, love and family. But now he has new dreams - dreams of flesh and bone made monstrously beautiful.Detroit is the decaying corpse of the American Dream. Motor-city. Murder-city. Now a killer with the touch of an artist is turning it into the worst kind of nightmare ... Praise for Broken Monsters: "Reading Lauren Beukes is like watching a fireworks display. Her sentences pop, fizz and explode across the page; leaving you oohing and ahhing with your mouth open"Michael Robotham, author of Watching You"I unhesitatingly urge you to buy it and read it now!" James Ellroy, author of American Tabloid "A genuinely unsettling-in all the best ways-blend of suspense and the supernatural makes this a serial-killer tale like you've never seen . . . A truly terrifying horror story." Kirkus (starred review) "What Beukes is doing here is using the conventions of the cop novel . . . to do something incredibly clever and incredibly interesting. The plot is slippery and strange, and the tension and the weirdness build and build, to a climax like nothing you've ever read-not in crime fiction, not in literary fiction, not anywhere" Ben H. Winters, author of The Last Policeman "Engrossing, thought-provoking and powerful." Sci-Fi Now  "The wildly talented Lauren Beukes has created a darkly majestic jewel of a novel ... Part harrowing thriller, part urban-Grimm's fairytale, but always filled with a deeply affecting humanity, Broken Monsters is the kind of book you'll find yourself pressing into the hands of everyone you know so they can experience it too." Megan Abbott, author of The Fever and Dare Me "Red Dragon meets The Wire. . . . Beukes is a supremely talented author" Library Journal "Beukes is a novelist of unflinchingly keen eye and ambitious ideas. Her love of the cityscape is palpable in her work, and her social commentary biting... This is no Red Dragon - this is something more sinister and beautiful than that." Zoe Hinis, The Book Armada "Seamlessly fuses the unbridled ingenuity of Stephen King with the master craftsmanship of Michael Connelly's police procedurals. Broken Monsters is an unabashedly contemporary thriller, fresh in its approach and narrated with the stylish prose we've come to expect from Beukes." Simon McDonald, WrittenBySime "Beautiful, horrifying, thrilling, and most impressive of all, possessed of a deep and remarkable compassion. I wish I'd written it." Ivy Pochoda, author of Visitation Street "Lauren Beukes is a marvel. Broken Monsters is a brilliant genre-defying thriller that breathes humanity and compassion for its rich, complex characters even as it gives you a hair-raising, nail-biting ride through gritty inner-city Detroit. A must-read." Alice LaPlante, author of Turn of Mind
Read online
  • 110


Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom

Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom

Sylvia Plath

Poetry / Biographies & Memoirs / Literature & Fiction

Never before published, this newly discovered story by literary legend Sylvia Plath stands on its own and is remarkable for its symbolic, allegorical approach to a young woman's rebellion against convention and forceful taking control of her own life. Written while Sylvia Plath was a student at Smith College in 1952, Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom tells the story of a young woman's fateful train journey.Lips the color of blood, the sun an unprecedented orange, train wheels that sound like "guilt, and guilt, and guilt": these are just some of the things Mary Ventura begins to notice on her journey to the ninth kingdom."But what is the ninth kingdom?" she asks a kind-seeming lady in her carriage. "It is the kingdom of the frozen will," comes the reply. "There is no going back."Sylvia Plath's strange, dark tale of female agency and independence, written not long after she herself left home, grapples with mortality in motion.
Read online
  • 110
Happier at Home

Happier at Home

Gretchen Rubin

Nonfiction / Biographies & Memoirs / Health, Mind & Body

In the spirit of her blockbuster #1 New York Times bestseller The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin embarks on a new project to make home a happier place. One Sunday afternoon, as she unloaded the dishwasher, Gretchen Rubin felt hit by a wave of homesickness. Homesick—why? She was standing right in her own kitchen. She felt homesick, she realized, with love for home itself. “Of all the elements of a happy life,” she thought, “my home is the most important.” In a flash, she decided to undertake a new happiness project, and this time, to focus on home.And what did she want from her home? A place that calmed her, and energized her. A place that, by making her feel safe, would free her to take risks. Also, while Rubin wanted to be happier at home, she wanted to appreciate how much happiness was there already.So, starting in September (the new January), Rubin dedicated a school year—September through May—to making her home a place of greater simplicity, comfort, and love. In The Happiness Project, she worked out general theories of happiness. Here she goes deeper on factors that matter for home, such as possessions, marriage, time, and parenthood. How can she control the cubicle in her pocket? How might she spotlight her family’s treasured possessions? And it really was time to replace that dud toaster.Each month, Rubin tackles a different theme as she experiments with concrete, manageable resolutions—and this time, she coaxes her family to try some resolutions, as well. With her signature blend of memoir, science, philosophy, and experimentation, Rubin’s passion for her subject jumps off the page, and reading just a few chapters of this book will inspire readers to find more happiness in their own lives. ReviewPraise for *The Happiness Project*“Once you’ve read Gretchen Rubin’s tale of a year spent searching for satisfaction, you’ll want to start your own happiness project and get your friends and family to join you. This is the rare book that will make you both smile and think—often on the same page.” –Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive"A friendly, approachable, and compulsively readable narrative that will not only make you want to start your own happiness project but will also make you want to invite Rubin out for a cup of coffee." –San Diego Union-Tribune "For those who generally loathe the self-help genre, Rubin's book is a breath of peppermint-scented air. Well-researched and sharply written." –The Cleveland Plain Dealer "The Happiness Project made me happier by just reading it." –Bookpage “An enlightening, laugh-aloud read…Filled with open, honest glimpses into [Rubin’s] real life, woven together with constant doses of humor.” –*Christian Science Monitor “Whether you devote a day or a year, The Happiness Project can give you the tools to find lasting fulfillment.” –Psychology Today “Gretchen's compelling voice, great stories, and first person-perspective…make the book simply irresistible.” –Bob Sutton, Stanford Professor and author of Weird Ideas That Work  “A cross between the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, *seamlessly buttressed by insights from sources as diverse as psychological scientists, novelists, poets, and philosophers, Gretchen Rubin’s book is one that readers will revisit again and again as they seek to fulfill their own dreams for happiness.” –Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of HappinessReviewPraise for *The Happiness Project*“Once you’ve read Gretchen Rubin’s tale of a year spent searching for satisfaction, you’ll want to start your own happiness project and get your friends and family to join you. This is the rare book that will make you both smile and think—often on the same page.” –Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive"A friendly, approachable, and compulsively readable narrative that will not only make you want to start your own happiness project but will also make you want to invite Rubin out for a cup of coffee." –San Diego Union-Tribune "For those who generally loathe the self-help genre, Rubin's book is a breath of peppermint-scented air. Well-researched and sharply written." –The Cleveland Plain Dealer "The Happiness Project made me happier by just reading it." –Bookpage “An enlightening, laugh-aloud read…Filled with open, honest glimpses into [Rubin’s] real life, woven together with constant doses of humor.” –*Christian Science Monitor “Whether you devote a day or a year, The Happiness Project can give you the tools to find lasting fulfillment.” –Psychology Today “Gretchen's compelling voice, great stories, and first person-perspective…make the book simply irresistible.” –Bob Sutton, Stanford Professor and author of Weird Ideas That Work  “A cross between the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, *seamlessly buttressed by insights from sources as diverse as psychological scientists, novelists, poets, and philosophers, Gretchen Rubin’s book is one that readers will revisit again and again as they seek to fulfill their own dreams for happiness.” –Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness
Read online
  • 109
Anthony Bourdain: The Last Interview

Anthony Bourdain: The Last Interview

Anthony Bourdain

Cooking, Food & Wine / Biographies & Memoirs

The brilliant intellect and candor of Anthony Bourdain is on full display in this collection of interviews from throughout his remarkable career, including interviews with Neil Degrasse Tyson and Trevor NoahAnthony Bourdain always downplayed his skills as a chef (many disagreed). But despite his modesty, one thing even he agreed with was that he was a born raconteur—as he makes clear in this collection of sparkling conversations. His wit, passion, and deep intelligence shine through all manner of discussion here, from heart-to-hearts with bloggers, to on-stage talks before massive crowds, to intense interviews with major television programs. Without fail, Bourdain is always blisteringly honest—such as when he talks about his battles with addiction, or when detailing his thoughts on restaurant critics. He regularly dispenses arresting insight about how what's on your plate reveals much of history and politics. And perhaps best of all, the heartfelt...
Read online
  • 108
The End

The End

Ian Kershaw

History / Biographies & Memoirs

From the preeminent Hitler biographer, a fascinating and original exploration of how the Third Reich was willing and able to fight to the bitter end of World War II. Countless books have been written about why Nazi Germany lost World War II, yet remarkably little attention has been paid to the equally vital question of how and why it was able to hold out as long as it did. The Third Reich did not surrender until Germany had been left in ruins and almost completely occupied. Even in the near-apocalyptic final months, when the war was plainly lost, the Nazis refused to sue for peace. Historically, this is extremely rare.Drawing on original testimony from ordinary Germans and arch-Nazis alike, award-winning historian Ian Kershaw explores this fascinating question in a gripping and focused narrative that begins with the failed bomb plot in July 1944 and ends with the German capitulation in May 1945. Hitler, desperate to avoid a repeat of the disgraceful" German...
Read online
  • 108
The Bedsitting Room

The Bedsitting Room

Spike Milligan

Biographies & Memoirs / Poetry / Literature & Fiction

Playscript for a work first staged in 1963, which was very surreal, even by the late great Spike Milligan’s standards. If you never saw the play, now’s your chance to find out what happened after Lord Fortnum changed into a Bedsitting Room as the result of a nuclear holocaust. And if you did see the play – well, you still want to find out.
Read online
  • 108
Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill

Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill

Gretchen Rubin

Nonfiction / Biographies & Memoirs / Health, Mind & Body

Warrior and writer, genius and crank, rider in the British cavalry's last great charge and inventor of the tank--Winston Churchill led Britain to fight alone against Nazi Germany in the fateful year of 1940 and set the standard for leading a democracy at war.Like no other portrait of its famous subject, Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill is a dazzling display of facts more improbable than fiction, and an investigation of the contradictions and complexities that haunt biography. Gretchen Craft Rubin gives readers, in a single volume, the kind of rounded view usually gained only by reading dozens of conventional biographies.With penetrating insight and vivid anecdotes, Rubin makes Churchill accessible and meaningful to twenty-first-century readers with forty contrasting views of the man: he was an alcoholic, he was not; he was an anachronism, he was a visionary; he was a racist, he was a humanitarian; he was the most quotable man in the history of the...
Read online
  • 107
183