Modern Fiction

What does a girl do after she discovers her fiancé is a cheating bastard? In my case, I performed the ritual implosion of all scorned women. I drowned my sorrows in cases of white wine, wallowed in gallons of ice cream, and ignited a bonfire to burn away every damn remnant of his existence. Six months later, the only result was a permanent impression of my ass on the couch. Adventure Dating, my friends dared. I thought they were crazy, but I’m not one to back down from a challenge, so I signed up for the entire four-week deal. That’s where I saw him. Lucas Cummings.

Between school events and teaching spin classes, Jen finds herself fully immersed in sports mom competitiveness. These parents seem perfectly unassuming, until their kids start to wrestle, and they become raging pubescent monsters. Learning to navigate this new world while fielding calls from the principal because of Max’s newfound misogynistic behavior, Jen steels herself for the indignities of middle-school life—with her loyal spin class attendees and her bossy four-year-old granddaughter giving her the strength she needs to press on.

Erin cleans Mr. Morris's house twice a week to pay her tuition. The reclusive ex-soldier intimidates her, but she can't help but feel sympathy for him. Then, she walks in on him touching himself, and she has much darker, much more sensual feelings.

In her scenic hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Anne is comfortable focusing on her successful career: filling her late mother’s shoes as town councilor and executive director of her theater company. She certainly keeps busy as the all-around wrangler of eccentric locals, self-centered family members, elaborate festivals, and the occasional attacking goose. But the more she tries to convince herself that her life is fine as is, the more it all feels like a show—and not nearly as good as the ones put on by her theater company.

Our hero, Arky Levin, has reached a creative dead end. An unexpected separation from his wife was meant to leave him with the space he needs to work composing film scores, but it has provided none of the peace of mind he needs to create. Guilty and restless, it is almost by chance that he stumbles upon an art exhibit that will change his life.

In this new novel, beloved best-selling author Elizabeth Berg weaves a beautifully written and richly resonant story of a mother and daughter in emotional transit. Helen Ames - recently widowed, coping with loss and grief, unable to do the work that has always sustained her - is beginning to depend far too much on her 27-year-old daughter, Tessa, and is meddling in her life, offering unsolicited and unwelcome advice. Helen’s problems are compounded by her shocking discovery that her mild-mannered and loyal husband was apparently leading a double life.

Ten years ago only Flynn Carsen, the last of the Librarians, stood against an ancient criminal organization known as The Forty. They stole the oldest known copy of The Arabian Nights by Scheherazade, and Flynn fears they intend to steal Aladdin's fabled lamp. He races to find it first, before they can unleash the trapped malevolent djinn upon the world. Today Flynn is no longer alone. A new team of inexperienced Librarians, led by Eve Baird, their tough-as-nails Guardian, investigates an uncanny mystery in Las Vegas.

In 1719 Elizabeth Goose published a collection of rhyming spells as a children's book, creating a spell book of terrifying power. The Librarian of that age managed to dispose of all copies of the book except one, which remained in the possession of Elizabeth Goose and her family, temporarily averting any potential disaster. Now, strange things are happening around the world.

Wherever he goes, the Dreamseller enchants, stirs up trouble, and inspires his listeners to search for the most important thing: the heart of the human soul. Every person he meets is someone who has abandoned their dreams and is struggling through life: a professor who has stopped pursuing his passions; a lonely alcoholic with no family; the elderly who have lost their zest for life. Through his wisdom, the Dreamseller helps them to look into their silent hearts and get to the root of their unhappiness.

Slide "Further Under the Duvet", get yourself comfortable, and let Marian take you places you've never been before. Places like the Irish air-guitar championships, a shopping trip to Bloomingdales with a difference, and Cannes with a chronic case of Villa-itis. Along the way you'll encounter knicker-politics, fake tans, sticky-out ears and passionate love affairs both with make-up and Toblerones.

23 stories, all unabridged, from a diverse group of star writers and readers. A truly memorable collection with a wide appeal. Includes "The Years Midnight" by Helen Simpson, read by Harriet Walter; "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful Morning" by Haruki Marukami, read by Walter Lewis; "Bablady" by A. S. Byatt, read by Roslaind Eyres; "Hotel des Vaoyaguerus" by William Boyd, read by Martin Jarvis; and "Who?" by Fay Weldon, read by Julie Christie.

A suspicious death at the Koenig Estate has everyone talking. Stormy Day was there when it happened, and she alone holds the key to solving the mystery. With a little help from her friends, including those on the police force, everyone's favorite small-town sleuth, Stormy Day, won't stop until justice is served.

When Cass is asked by her father to take on a rare photography project in the Caribbean islands, she really can't see a reason to say no. But she soon discovers she has more on her plate than photographs, as the remote island has just been hit by a severe hurricane, leaving mass destruction in its wake. And then she meets Ranulph who it turns out is a bit of an expert in finding the rare rock carvings her father wants her to photograph. Ranulph insists they must first help the locals in clearing the island and re-building it before they begin their own expedition.

Pilfered pegasi, magic marauders, and a cursed clock ticking down to a Celtic Armageddon. Could things get any worse for this irreverent, gun-slinging druid master?

Isabella Astley, a true Victorian lady who was born into one of England’s finest noble houses, wants to control her own destiny. But with a mother who is willing to marry her off to the highest bidder, her future seems to be a life of misery.

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.

The painting that’s kept Dorian Gray flawless for over a century is beginning to fall apart, rotted by his life of reckless decadence. Desperate, he seeks out the only person who might be able to save him: a talented young painter descended from Dorian’s first love. Baz may have the same magical gift as her ancestor, but she’s vowed never to paint anyone’s likeness again. Haunted by the memory of the terrible price her talent can exact, she swears she will not be swayed—not even by the seductive words dripping like venom from the lips of the most beautiful man she’s ever met.

It is the late 1920's, the era of Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh, and Al Capone, and Walt is a Saint Louis orphan rescued from the streets by the mysterious Hungarian Master Yehudi, who teaches Walt to walk on air. The vaudeville act that results from Walt's marvelous new abiltiy takes them across a vast and vibrant country, where they meet and fall prey to sinners, thieves, and villains, from the Kansas Ku Klux Klan to the Chicago mob.

An allegorical story of World War I set in the trenches in France and dealing ostensibly with a mutiny in a French regiment.

On August 10, 1632, five men in flowing black robes convened in a somber Roman palazzo to pass judgment on a deceptively simple proposition: that a continuous line is composed of distinct and infinitely tiny parts. With the stroke of a pen the Jesuit fathers banned the doctrine of infinitesimals, announcing that it could never be taught or even mentioned. The concept was deemed dangerous and subversive, a threat to the belief that the world was an orderly place, governed by a strict and unchanging set of rules.