Explore the sprawling network of culture to discover the incredible ways in which ideas connect to shape the world we see today. These mind-blowing essays dig down to the roots of stories, myths and literary genres, travelling from art to politics to history to folklore, and from high to popular culture and back again. Through an intricate web of sidenotes, embark on a voyage of discovery from the unluckiest book ever made to Viking horned helmets to the sex life of vampires …. or from mermaids frolicking in the margins to the ancient Amazons to the power of Amazon and on to Utopia and Atlantis … This is western culture as you’ve never seen it before.
“Humorously entertaining. . . subtly thought-provoking. . . . Pratchett’s Discworld books are filled with humor and with magic, but they're rooted in—of all things—real life and cold, hard reason.”—Chicago Tribune Bumbling wizard Rincewind and hapless tourist Twoflower have survived a host of misadventures . . . only to face annihilation as a red star hurtles towards the Discworld in this gloriously funny second installment in Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series (also the second book in the Wizards collection) It’s just one of those days when nothing seems to go right—and a most inopportune time for the first tourist ever to set foot in Discworld—accompanied by the carnivorous Luggage—to extend his already eventful vacation, even if it’s not quite by choice. A monstrous red star is on a direct collision course with the Discworld and the future appears uncertain at best. Discworld needs a hero to save it from total destruction. Unfortunately, it’s got the bumbling Rincewind, still recovering from the trauma of falling off the edge of the world. The alternative couldn’t be much worse. . . . The Discworld novels can be read in any order, but The Light Fantastic is the second book in the Wizards collection. The other books in the collection include: The Color of Magic Sourcery Eric Interesting Times The Last Continent Unseen Academicals
As seen in the Publishers Weekly African-American Titles for Young Readers feature! Will Teresa Find Fame But Lose Her Soul? It's 1913 and vaudeville is America's most popular form of entertainment. Thousands of theaters across the country host vaudeville troupes. In Brattleboro, Vermont, fifteen-year-old Teresa LeClair--who has a "voice like a nightingale"--remembers the thrill of singing onstage as a child. But her parents have given up life on the road, and her father has decided that Teresa, blessed with perfect pitch, should drop out of school and work in the tuning rooms of the organ factory. Determined to escape the life her father wants for her, Teresa wins an amateur singing contest in Brattleboro's opera house and steals away on the night train to New York. She hopes to become a star on Broadway's "Great White Way," but has no idea of the challenges that lie ahead. There she runs into Pietro Jones and his father, talented African American dancers. Teresa and Pietro become competitors as well as unlikely friends. At a time when young black men could be lynched for simply looking at a white girl, Pietro understands, better than Teresa, the danger of their relationship. Teresa's quest to find her voice onstage and in her life, far from the support of her family, takes place against a complex racial backdrop of American history.
Abigail Gray is a dance instructor whose life tragically ends at the age of thirty-four. She is welcomed to the other side--in a room of pure white--by her guardian angel, a brown book with gold accents, a movie screen, and a remote control. With no recollection of her death, the reel commences as Abbey and her guardian angel, Michael, focus on her last year on Earth. In this year, we follow a journey of newfound love with a man named Jason, as well as a magical friendship with the spiritual intuitive who owns the town's apothecary shop. Acting as a mentor, this prestidigitator helps Abbey decipher the dreams that have been haunting her sleep since the day she bought the 'must have' picture of a dancing couple, an item she found at the local antique shop. He also teaches her the importance of living her life's truth. As the reel of Abbey's life plays out, she and Michael embark on this visual journey together, while Michael carves a wooden sculpture and offers her heavenly wisdom about life's fragility, opportunity, and purpose. "Inspirational ... a perfect blend of spiritual and earthly wisdom woven through a poignant love story." Christine Duminiak, certified grief recovery specialist, author of Heaven Talks to Children "As we follow Abbey's journey, we cannot help but pause for thought about our own personal beliefs and question the purpose of our own lives. The words of the author display a deep understanding of spiritual philosophy." Alison Baughman, numerologist, author of Get His Number! "In a story playfully sprinkled with fascinating trivia and spiritual wonder, Tracy Glassey explores the power of all the connections and influences we don't even realize are there, and in the process conveys a great deal of wisdom and practical life lessons." Ralph Marston, Greatday.com
This thorough and self-contained introduction to modern optics covers, in full, the three components: ray optics, wave optics and quantum optics. Examples of modern applications in the current century are used extensively.
Seven tightly interwoven narratives. Three harrowing hours. One fateful day that changes everything. Delaware, the morning of April 19. Senior Skip Day, and April Donovan’s eighteenth birthday. Four days after the Boston Marathon bombing, the country is still reeling, and April’s rare memory condition has her recounting all the tragedies that have cursed her birth month. And just what was that mysterious gathering under the bleachers about? Meanwhile, in Nebraska, Lincoln Evans struggles to pay attention in Honors English, distracted by the enigmatic presence of Laura Echols, capturer of his heart. His teacher tries to hold her class’s interest, but she can’t keep her mind off what Adrian George told her earlier. Over in Idaho, Phoebe is having second thoughts about the Plan mere hours before the start of a cross-country ploy led by an Internet savant known as the Mastermind. Is all her heartache worth the cost of the Assassins’ machinations? The Light Fantastic is a tense, shocking, and beautifully wrought exploration of the pain and pathos of a generation of teenagers on the brink—and the hope of moving from shame and isolation into the light of redemption.
The book that inspired the Academy Award–winning short film, from New York Times bestselling author and beloved visionary William Joyce. Morris Lessmore loved words. He loved stories. He loved books. But every story has its upsets. Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds. But the power of story will save the day. Stunningly brought to life by William Joyce, one of the preeminent creators in children’s literature, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a modern masterpiece, showing that in today’s world of traditional books, eBooks, and apps, it’s story that we truly celebrate—and this story, no matter how you tell it, begs to be read again and again.
Prepare to be transported to the edge of the world in Bradley Sides' affecting and haunting debut collection of magical realism short stories, Those Fantastic Lives and Other Strange Stories. In Sides' tender, brilliantly-imagined collection, a young boy dreams of being a psychic like his grandmother, a desperate man turns to paper for a miracle, a swarm of fireflies attempts the impossible, scarecrows and ghosts collide, a mother and child navigate a forest plagued by light-craving monsters, a boy's talking dolls aid him in conquering a burning world, and a father and mother deal with the sudden emergence of wings on their son's back. Brimming with our deepest fears and desires, Sides' dazzling stories examine the complexities of masculinity, home, transformation, and loss. Bradley Sides is an exciting new voice in fiction, and Those Fantastic Lives, which glows with the light of hope and possibility amidst dark uncertainties, will ignite imaginations.
