Modern Fiction

These are just a few of the people who tell their stories in Modern Love, Revised and Updated, featuring dozens of the most memorable essays to run in The New York Times “Modern Love” column since its debut in 2004. Some of the stories are unconventional, while others hit close to home. Some reveal the way technology has changed dating forever; others explore the timeless struggles experienced by anyone who has ever searched for love.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious young scientist, is consumed by a fanatic desire to create a living being. He fashions an eight-foot-tall creature and succeeds in animating him, but, horrified by his visage, perceives his creation to be a monster and frightens him away. The monster, wandering in search of human companionship, is spurned and repulsed by all he approaches and learns to hate and to kill.

A journey through the life of Swami Vivekananda is a study of the Indian civilization, its ethos and value system. Not only did his message of tolerance, based on knowledge, make him an exemplary spokesperson of the country, but his life's mission of creating an order of monks who dedicated their lives for others made him a prophet and a leader. His teachings continue to be relevant even today, especially in the light of the prevailing intolerance and fanaticism in the nation, and the increasing turmoil in the world.

Ian Dunross, the current tai-pan of the illustrious yet financially troubled Struan empire, is racing to undo the damage his predecessor left behind and to once again stand on stable ground. And he’ll do whatever it takes—including striking a hard-fought deal with an American millionaire. But his rival, Quillan Gornt, has other plans. Suddenly caught in a dubious plot involving Soviet spies, Hong Kong’s criminal underground, and the hostile takeover of his company, Dunross holds nothing back in the fight for the Noble House.

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.

Like the creation myths they supersede, the revelations of science are seared into our collective imagination through storytelling. From Archimedes' bath to Newton's apple, vivid accounts of scientific discovery help us understand the principles behind each theory, and add to the larger narrative of how the universe works, and how we came to be here. This anthology draws out and distils science's love of narrative from a wide range of scientific disciplines, weaving theory into very human stories.

Indy Zimmerman has a new stalker who won't leave her alone, no matter what she says to him. Never mind the fact that he's one of the most popular guys at school - she's positive Bryant Bailey is only trying to appease his own conscience after pretty much destroying her life. But when Bryant doesn't back down and insists on having some sort of bizarre friendship with her, his magic works, and her walls slowly start to crumble. He's not her type. She's never been into guys like Bryant, but then again, she's never really known anyone quite as stubborn, or caring.

She's my friend's sister, and I know she's always had a crush on me. It makes me uncomfortable. When she came back to Boston to take care of her dying father, I made sure she had a job in my tech company. According to her boss, she's an introverted software genius. According to my girlfriend, she's plain and boring. According to her brother, she has no social life and is damaged. The worst part of the story? She overhears me saying I think she has no curves, no fashion sense, and was hired as a favor to her brother. All true at the time!

Cassie Carl believes she has it all. On the cusp of achieving her professional goals and soon to marry the man of her dreams - the handsome, kind, and loving Stefan Van Allen - it seems she's found the life every woman dreams of. When Cassie's wealthy fiancé brings Peyton in to do a renovation on their home before the big engagement party, sparks fly, leaving both Cassie and Peyton to question everything they thought they already had. What happens when the thin veil of perfection becomes riddled with holes?

Once upon a time.... There is a girl with skin as fair as ivory and hair as black as night. She was the apple of her father's eye, but now that he has died, someone wants to dip that apple into poison. Advised to flee, Ivory escapes her elite world in New York City and stumbles into a place she didn't know existed. A modern-day princess, afraid and lost on the dark streets, running for her life. Ivory White has no one to call, nowhere to turn. All she has is a random number scrawled on a torn napkin. She calls. He answers.

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.

Galapagos takes the listener back one million years to AD 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galapagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, totally different human race. Kurt Vonnegut, America's master satirist, looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry - and all that is worth saving.

My favorite hobby is infuriating Elliot Miles. Just the sight of my boss’s handsome face triggers my sarcasm. God knows how he earns his Casanova reputation—if a million women want him with his personality, what the heck am I doing wrong? Disgusted with my love life, I join a dating app under a fake name. I start chatting to a man named Edgar. He’s not my type and lives on the other side of the world, but we hit off a friendship, laugh and confide in each other. But lately things are getting weird at work. Elliot’s being...attentive.

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.

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates—a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name. But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident.

City of Time and Magic sees Xanthe face her greatest challenges yet. She must choose from three treasures that sing to her; a beautiful writing slope, a mourning brooch of heartbreaking detail, and a gorgeous gem-set hat pin. All call her, but the wrong one could take her on a mission other than that which she must address first, and the stakes could not be higher. Xanthe must follow the treasure that will take her to him if he is not to be lost forever.

The Story of Civilization emphasizes presenting world history as a thrilling and compelling narrative. Within each chapter, children will encounter short stories that place them directly in the shoes of historical figures, as they live through legendary battles and invasions, philosophical debates, the discovery of new inventions and sciences, and the exploration of the world. Volume III: The Making of the Modern World continues the journey where Volume II left off amidst the Renaissance, quickly diving into the history-altering events of the Reformation.

From a woman who marries into a family of volatile wizards to a couple fleeing a gang of love-hungry cupids, from a girl who seeks sanctuary in the form of a graceful goose to the disgruntled superhero Captain Housework, listeners will revel in the many twists and turns of fortune in these fantastical fairy tales and lush parables. Even hardened vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake gets blindsided by the disturbing motives of her clients in the new "Those Who Seek Forgiveness" and in "The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death."

Drag superstars Trixie Mattel and Katya have long captivated fans with their stunning looks, onscreen chemistry, and signature wit. In Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood, the pair channels that energy into an old-school etiquette guide for ladies. In essays, conversations, and how-to sections, Trixie and Katya will advise listeners on beauty and fashion and tackle other vital components of a happy home, such as money, self-love, and friendship; sharing advice and personal stories in high-concept fashion.