Modern Fiction

Emma Woodhouse's widowed father is an anxious man, obsessed with nutrition and the latest vitamins. He lives the life of a country gentleman in contemporary England, protectively raising his young daughters, Isabella and Emma. While Isabella grows into a young woman, marries a society photographer for Vogue at the age of 19, and gets down to the business of reproducing herself, Emma pursues a degree in interior design at university in Bath and then returns to set up shop in her home village.

Dispatched overseas — far, far overseas — we're in hot water. Again. Following in the footsteps of a long-lost king, we're on the road to the mysterious Vales of Wonder. The upside? It's a hot-bed of magickal marvels, the likes of which we've literally never seen before. The downside? Danger. Because who ever said adventure would be easy? Fortunately, we have help. One reviled but aggravatingly handy beast specialist: check. One world-famous, awe-inspiring, purple-clad troll scholar: check. One perambulatory, half-mad house with a crush on Jay: check.

Princess Elizabeth "Liz" of York isn't interested in a fairy tale life. Determined to use her elite platform to champion children's causes, she'd much rather raise awareness than find her prince. If only she could stop picturing one certain gardener with vivid hazel eyes.... When the relentless paparazzi invade her space, Liz's crush comes to her rescue and steals her heart. Tossing aside centuries of tradition for something real, she takes Roman's calloused hand and braces for the backlash. One member of the monarchy vows to keep the princess locked in her ivory tower.

Somebody thought it would be a great idea to send us to the Troll Court. Because somebody imagined I might be the perfect person to help with a certain wild and crazy plan of Their Majesties' concoction. They want to restore the lost city of Farringale. I can only say that I heartily approve. There is the tiny problem of how, of course; but who better to dig up the truth than the Society’s most colourful agents? Off questing we go, armed with a long list of questions, two winning smiles (well, three, if you count the Baron’s — and who wouldn’t?) and a certain Dappledok pup.

Of all of John Irving's books, this is the one that lends itself best to audio. In print, Owen Meany's dialogue is set in capital letters; for this production, Irving himself selected Joe Barrett to deliver Meany's difficult voice as intended. In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys – best friends – are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary and terrifying.

Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.

Read by the critically acclaimed actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. When Esther Greenwood wins an internship at a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther's life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into depression and eventually a suicide attempt as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take women's aspirations seriously.

On a secluded bluff overlooking the ocean sits a Victorian house, lavender with gingerbread trim, a home that contains a century’s worth of secrets. By the time Jane Flanagan discovers the house as a teenager, it has long been abandoned. The place is an irresistible mystery to Jane. There are still clothes in the closets, marbles rolling across the floors, and dishes in the cupboards, even though no one has set foot there in decades. The house becomes a hideaway for Jane, a place to escape her volatile mother.

In a world nearly identical to ours, the North won the Civil War, Ben Affleck is the sexiest man alive, and Russia never sold Alaska to the US. Instead, Alaska is a rough, beautiful country ruled by a famously eccentric royal family, and urgently in need of a bride for the crown prince. But they have no idea what they're in for when they offer the job to a feisty commoner, a girl who's going to need...The Royal Treatment.

After Maria Mast's abusive ex-boyfriend is arrested for being involved in sex trafficking and modern-day slavery, she thinks she and her son, Carter, can safely return to her Amish community. But the danger has only just begun. Someone begins stalking her, and they want blood and revenge.

Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course. In Jane Yolen's first full collection in more than 10 years, discover new and uncollected tales of beloved characters, literary legends, and much more. A Scottish academic unearths ancient evil in a fishing village. Edgar Allan Poe's young bride is beguiled by a most unusual bird. Dorothy, lifted from Kansas, returns as a gymnastic sophisticate. Emily Dickinson dwells in possibility and sails away in a starship made of light. Winner of the 2018 World Fantasy Award.

Geeky Ella Reyes is at the bottom of the totem pole at Westwood High. Her ultra-popular stepsisters refuse to be seen with her at school, and every day she comes home to a mountain of chores. Ella's only friend (and maybe crush) lives on the other side of her phone's screen. She and Baller929 know everything about each other, except their real names. When they have a chance to meet at her school's Halloween ball, Ella must figure out a way to get there without her stepmom or stepsisters finding out.

Sierra Cody is on fire. A rising star in women's professional downhill mountain bike racing, she has all the tools to become a world champion. All she needs to do is fully commit herself. Something far easier said than done. Dr. Kara Davies, a highly regarded and accomplished physician, is well on her way to achieving her dreams in chiropractic research. Commitment to her goals has never been an issue, but her personal life is a different story.

Discover the timeless wisdom of political strategy with Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince." This modern translation of the seminal work offers a fresh and accessible perspective on one of the most influential texts in political theory. Machiavelli's unflinching examination of power dynamics, leadership, and human nature has shaped the discourse on governance for centuries.

Listening to The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan can be a bit challenging. Not so with this new version that translates the original archaic language into simple, conversational English, allowing listeners of all ages to easily navigate the most popular Christian allegory of all time. The story chronicles the epic adventure of a man named Christian who leaves his home in the City of Destruction and begins a life-long quest to the Celestial City.

Victor Frankenstein, un jeune étudiant brillant, crée de toutes pièces un être à l'apparence humaine. Bien vite, il regrette son geste. En effet, la créature prend l'apparence d'un monstre sanguinaire qui ne pense qu'à semer la mort et le malheur sur son passage et qui persécute son créateur. Au travers de l'histoire de Victor Frankenstein et de son monstre, Mary W. Shelley nous pose la question de l'origine de la cruauté humaine. Le monstre de Frankenstein est rejeté par tous. Il aimerait avoir des relations avec les humains mais ceux-ci le fuient. Il devient alors violent et s'en prend aux personnes qu'il rencontre.

Frédérique Blanchet est une femme fonceuse et assumée. Photographe à ses heures, la technicienne en laboratoire rêve secrètement du jour où elle pourra vivre de sa passion. Toutefois, la peur de faire de mauvais choix la maintient malgré elle dans une réalité qui ne lui convient plus. Anthony Lemieux est un joueur de tennis professionnel qui, à la suite d’une grave blessure, a dû mettre fin à sa carrière. Depuis, il n’est plus que l’ombre de lui-même, cherchant sa place dans un monde qui ne lui apporte plus aucun plaisir.

1917. On a battlefield near the River Aisne, John lies in the aftermath of a blast, unable to move or feel his legs. Struggling to focus his thoughts, he is lost to memory—a chance encounter in a pub by a railway, a hot bath with his lover on a winter night, his childhood on a faraway coast—as the snow falls. 1920. John has returned from war to North Yorkshire, near another river—alive, but not whole. Reunited with Helena, an artist, he reopens his photography business and endeavours to keep on living.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) has influenced philosophers such as Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Oswald Spengler, George Grant, Emil Cioran, Albert Camus, Ayn Rand, Jacques Derrida, Leo Strauss, Max Scheler, Michel Foucault and Bernard Williams. His writings on aesthetics, language, truth, morality, cultural theory, history, nihilism, power, and the meaning of existence have exerted a vast influence on Western philosophy and intellectual history.

This epic novel by master writer James Clavell, loosely based on the Namamugi Incident and Anglo-Satsuma War that took place in the late 1800s, is a richly researched, panoramic view of Japan’s budding relationship with the Western powers, its sweeping societal changes, and the political upheaval that followed.