Modern Fiction

Zella has been faithful to the Program her entire life, never doubting Mother’s choice to keep her in isolation since birth. As the first “Child of the Lighthouse,” she’s always had a responsibility to be an example to the others—be grateful, be obedient. But after seventeen long years up in her lighthouse all alone, it’s getting a lot harder to push down her secret—and forbidden—dreams of living a normal life, no matter the risks she’s heard of. She secretly dreams of freedom.

Lavinia Brandon is quite the loveliest widow in Barsetshire, blessed with beauty and grace as well as two handsome grown-up children, Delia and Francis. So thinks their cousin, Hilary Grant, when he comes to stay and - like many before him - promptly falls for his fragrant hostess.

Originally appearing in 1922, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams captured generations of hearts. But times have changed. In order to connect with a new generation, this beloved tale must change too. Not everything is different though. In this updated edition, we still learn about the magic of love as one little stuffed animal is transformed.

At long last, a book of poetry for people who didn’t even know they liked poetry. And they’re in good company: author Lyndsay Rush didn’t know she liked it either. That is, until she embarked on an internet experiment under the Instagram username @MaryOliversDrunkCousin that turned into a body of work that struck a chord with women across the country; thanks to her signature wordplay, witticisms, and—against all odds—wisdom.

Gripping and compassionate, Land of Big Numbers traces the journeys of the diverse and legion Chinese people, their history, their government, and how all of that has tumbled—messily, violently, but still beautifully—into the present. Cutting between clear-eyed realism and tongue-in-cheek magical realism, Chen’s stories coalesce into a portrait of a people striving for openings where mobility is limited.

Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist, creates a living creature from body parts, only to be horrified by his monstrous creation. Rejected by society and seeking vengeance, the creature embarks on a path of destruction.

After the loss of her mother, a woman returns to the San Fernando Valley only to uncover a haunting secret about her childhood friend. A visiting professor at a charming but strange California liberal arts college must face her past in order to protect her son. A sister, lost in the woods, confronts the dangerous truth about her brother, her stepmother, and herself. Rose's dog Wolfie has died, and three seductive women offer to help return him to her. But only if she will pay the price.

Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James is a unique work in American philosophy. This collection of lectures James himself delivered at the dawn of the twentieth century has been a landmark in the development of the philosophical movement of pragmatism.

Med school dropout Lena is desperate for a job, any job, to help her parents, who are approaching bankruptcy after her father was injured and laid off nearly simultaneously. So when she is offered a position, against all odds, working for one of Boston’s most elite families, the illustrious and secretive Verdeaus, she knows she must accept—no matter how bizarre the interview or how vague the job description. By day, she is assistant to the family doctor and his charge—the sickly, poetic, drunken heir to the family empire, who is as difficult as his illness is mysterious.

New York Times best-selling author Jenna Blum has scored critical and commercial success with her novels Those Who Save Us and The Stormchasers. One of Oprah’s Top Thirty Women’s Writers, Blum has also taught creative writing at Boston University and master novel workshops for Grub Street Writers. Here Blum shares insights into the writing process and offers listeners the most important aspects of succeeding as an author.

On a sunny May morning in 1998 in Cortez, Colorado, three desperados in a stolen truck opened fire on the town cop, shooting him 20 times; then they blasted their way past dozens of police cars and disappeared into 10,000 square miles of the harshest wilderness terrain on the North American continent. Self-trained survivalists, the outlaws eluded the most sophisticated law enforcement technology on the planet and a pursuit force that represented more than 75 local, state, and federal police agencies with dozens of SWAT teams, U.S. Army Special Forces....

Beauty expert and influencer Jia Ahmed has her eye on the prize: conquering the internet today, the entire makeup industry tomorrow, and finally, finally proving herself to her big, opinionated family. She has little time for love, and even less time for the men in her private messages — until the day a certain international superstar slides into her DMs, and she falls hard and fast.

An inventive, satiric modern retelling of the classic fairy tale provides an incisive and biting commentary on the absurdities and complexities of modern life.

Jim Loney is a mixed-blood, of White and Indian parentage. Estranged from both communities, he lives a solitary, brooding existence in a small Montana town. His nights are filled with disturbing dreams that haunt his waking hours. Rhea, his lover, cannot console him; Kate, his sister, cannot penetrate his world. In sparse, moving prose, Welch has crafted a riveting tale of disenfranchisement.

After her troublemaker mother’s mysterious death, Kira fled her wealthy Texas town and never looked back. Now, decades later, Kira is invited to an old frenemy’s vow renewal celebration Though she is reluctant to go, there are things pulling her home. . . like chilled wine and days spent by the pool . . . like sexy Jack, her childhood crush. But more important are the urgent texts from her grandmother, who says she has something for Kira. Something related to her mother’s death, something that makes it look an awful lot like murder.

Geoffrey Braithwaite is a retired doctor haunted by an obsession with the great French literary genius, Gustave Flaubert. As Geoffrey investigates the mystery of the stuffed parrot Flaubert borrowed from the Museum of Rouen to help research one of his novels, we learn an enormous amount about the writer’s work, family, lovers, thought processes, health and obsessions. But we also gradually come to learn some important and shocking details about Geoffrey and his own life.

Scratch Sullivan just wanted to survive the apocalypse in peace...but when the undead bring their war right to his doorstep, it's time to ranger up and rain hell down on his enemies! It's been eight years since the bombs fell and the dead rose, and the world has become a very dangerous place. But unlike most folks, former Army Ranger Scratch Sullivan is getting by just fine. Sure, it's hell on earth, but Scratch seems to fit in. He makes his living by hunting the dead, vampires and zombies alike, with the odd revenant thrown in for good measure.

Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt's capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima's servitude - but her journey to true freedom was far from over.

מה קורה כאשר פו הדוב פוגש את וודי אלן? מה עשתה אליס על הספה של פרויד? איך הצליח עמנואל קאנט לפגוש את מרילין מונרו? האם אנו מבזבזים זמן או שהזמן מבזבז אותנו? מהי משנתו הפילוסופית של ארנולד שוורצנגר? מהו הקשר בין "מטריקס" ל"ארץ הפלאות"? איך חוגגים מסיבת לא יומהולדת? לכמה אדמה זקוק הרוזן טולסטוי? איך הפך סנדלר חולמני למלך צרפת? מדוע נזקק האסטרונום הטורקי לחליפת ארמאני? האם הנסיך הקטן מצא תשובה לשאלתו של ביאליק? האם יש משמעות לשאלות על משמעות? מהם הדברים החשובים באמת?

In many ways Niles should be as American as apple pie: raised by missionary parents, taught to respect his elders and be an honorable and upright Christian citizen dreaming of the good life on the sun-blessed shores of California. But Niles is also Japanese: reared in the aesthetics of Shinto and educated in the dance halls and backroom poker gatherings of Tokyo's shady underworld to steal, trick, and run for his life. As a gaijin, a foreigner - especially one with a gift for the artful scam - he draws suspicion and disfavor from Japanese police.