Science Myths

The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army. Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

In the third book in Rick Riordan's epic Norse mythology series, Magnus and his friends take a boat trip to the farthest borders of Jotunheim and Niflheim in pursuit of Asgard's greatest threat. Life preservers are mandatory for this wet, wild, and wondrous adventure.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

War is heck! Guido and Nunzio may not be the brightest bodyguards in the world - but they certainly are faithful. When Skeeve "the Great" asks them to join the army of Possiltum, the two thugs volunteer without question.... Except: Whose side are they on? Queen Hemlock's? The Mob's Fairy Godfather's? Skeeve's? The two baffled bodyguards barely have time to figure it all out - they've been handed government-issue crossbows, armored with leather skirts, and given combat orders by the dreaded drill sergeant Smiley! With war heroes like these...who needs enemies?

It's not easy being Apollo, especially when you've been turned into a human and banished from Olympus. On his path to restoring five ancient oracles and reclaiming his godly powers, Apollo (a.k.a. Lester Papadopoulos) has faced both triumphs and tragedies. Now, his journey takes him to Camp Jupiter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Roman demigods are preparing for a desperate last stand against the evil Triumvirate of Roman emperors. Hazel, Reyna, Frank, Tyson, Ella, and many other old friends will need Apollo's aid to survive the onslaught.

Many people believe that, at its core, biological sex is a fundamental, diverging force in our development. According to this familiar story, differences between the sexes are shaped by past evolutionary pressures - women are more cautious and parenting-focused, men seek status to attract more mates - re-created in each generation by sex hormones and male and female brains. This, in turn, is the basis of supposedly entrenched inequalities in our modern societies.

Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen - all of them - and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood - the blood of Olympus - in order to wake.

This unique treasury of in-world space tales takes listeners to the far reaches of the Star Wars universe...including to the remote outer rim world of Batuu from Galaxy's Edge.

Thor's hammer is missing...again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon - the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost, it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki - and the price he wants is very high.

In “You Just Need to Lose Weight,” Aubrey Gordon equips listeners with the facts and figures to reframe myths about fatness in order to dismantle the anti-fat bias ingrained in how we think about and treat fat people. Bringing her dozen years of community organizing and training to bear, Gordon shares the rhetorical approaches she and other organizers employ to not only counter these pernicious myths, but to dismantle the anti-fat bias that so often underpin them.

Hal and the Herons have done the impossible. This group of outsiders has beaten out the strongest, most skilled young warriors in all of Skandia to win the Brotherband competition. But their celebration comes to an abrupt end when the Skandians' most sacred artifact, the Andomal, is stolen - and the Herons are to blame. To find redemption they must track down the thief, Zavac, and recover the Andomal. But that means traversing stormy seas, surviving a bitter winter, and battling a group of deadly pirates.

Stephanie Kelton's brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country.

In response to an awful camp orientation video created by the god Apollo, Percy Jackson and other residents of Camp Half-Blood answer such questions as "what is this place?" and "do I get to keep the T-shirt?" Newbies can check out the section on the divine cabins, learn about magical landmarks, and consult the chapter on training arenas. But Camp Half-Blood Confidential explores much more than just the buildings and grounds.

On Madison Greene's 16th birthday, she inherits a mansion with sinister secrets. Sucked into a nightmare that spans the centuries, she must fight to save the ones she loves. Alexandre is an 18-year-old French aristocrat with arrogance and charm. A single kiss is all it takes to throw his life into danger, darkness...and the adventure of his life. Together, Maddy and Alex are drawn into the past - toward their destruction. The legend of the vampire has never been so gripping. Falling in love has never been so dangerous....

Belle wants more out of life than the small provincial town of Villeneuve can offer. There she stands out from the crowd with her unique point of view, her strong-willed independence, and her love of books. She longs for travel and adventure, for a life as exciting as the stories she reads. But when Belle's beloved father is taken prisoner by a beast in an enchanted castle, her path is forever changed.

We're used to thinking about the self as an independent entity, something that we either have or are. In The Ego Tunnel, philosopher Thomas Metzinger claims otherwise: No such thing as a self exists. The conscious self is the content of a model created by our brain - an internal image, but one we cannot experience as an image. Everything we experience is "a virtual self in a virtual reality." But if the self is not "real," why and how did it evolve? How does the brain construct it?

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

A darkly irresistible new fantasy set in the infamous Gomorrah Festival, a traveling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires.

“Look into the tiger’s eyes. I wish to show you lives different from your own,” Soma-Nandi tells the boy-king Tamar. When you join Tamar on his enchanted journey, you too can look into the tiger’s eyes. But beware, for along the way, nothing is as it appears to be: Forest creatures speak and populate hidden kingdoms, hacked-down vines regenerate before your very eyes, and holy men spring up from ant hills.

Snuggle up with Ariel, Cinderella, Tiana, and all your favorite princesses with this charming collection. Help Cinderella and the mice search for a sparkly ring. Dance the night away at Aurora's party. Drift to sleep as Tiana wishes on an evening star. Nineteen enchanting tales await to send you off to a dreamland of happily ever after.