Bird Cloud is the name Annie Proulx gave to 640 acres of Wyoming wetlands and prairie and four-hundred-foot cliffs plunging down to the North Platte River. On the day she first visited, a cloud in the shape of a bird hung in the evening sky. Proulx also saw pelicans, bald eagles, golden eagles, great blue herons, ravens, scores of bluebirds, harriers, kestrels, elk, deer and a dozen antelope. She fell in love with the land, then owned by the Nature Conservancy, and she knew what she wanted to build on it a house in harmony with her work, her appetites and her character, a library surrounded by bedrooms and a kitchen. Proulx's first work of nonfiction in more than twenty years, Bird Cloud is the story of designing and constructing that house—with its solar panels, Japanese soak tub, concrete floor and elk horn handles on kitchen cabinets. It is also an enthralling natural history and archaeology of the region—inhabited for millennia by Ute, Arapaho and Shoshone Indians— and a family history, going back to nineteenth-century Mississippi riverboat captains and Canadian settlers. Proulx, a writer with extraordinary powers of observation and compassion, here turns her lens on herself. We understand how she came to be living in a house surrounded by wilderness, with shelves for thousands of books and long worktables on which to heap manuscripts, research materials and maps, and how she came to be one of the great American writers of her time. Bird Cloud is magnificent.

Dear Reader: When Chessa is kidnapped by Ragnor of York, Cleve sets out to rescue her. After all, he's the one who negotiated her marriage to William of Normandy, and his word is on the line. When a storm blows Chessa and her kidnappers onto Hawkfell Island, outrageous complications set in. In the third novel of this Viking trilogy, Cleve of LORD OF RAVEN'S PEAK and Chessa of LORD OF HAWKFELL ISLAND first meet when Chessa is the princess of Ireland and Cleve has no kindle memories of his native Scotland, Cleve's goal becomes to return to Loch Ness to claim his inheritance. But first, there is Chessa to be rescued and handed over to her rightful groom. When Cleve arrives at Hawkfell Island, he learns that Chessa not only refuses to marry Ragnor of York, she won't consider William of Normandy either. She wants to marry him! Her strategies to bring this about anticipates Machiavelli by 600 years. Chessa and Cleve may be bullheaded, but they're no match for Ragnor of York, who will have you laughing at his abominable anties. One thing about Ragnor, he never knows when to say when. All the characters from the first two Viking novels are back, all five years older now --- but not necessarily wiser --- and ready to stick their oars in Cleve's and Chessa's problems. And you'll have these questions answered: Is Cleve's father really a master sorcerer? Is there truly a Loch Ness monster? Do enjoy. Let me know which of the three Viking novels you like best. Catherine Coulter (The Author)

Mercenary Kate Daniels knows all too well that magic in post-Shift Atlanta is a dangerous business. But nothing she’s faced could have prepared her for this… Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar… Kate’s father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power. A Witch Oracle has predicted that if Kate marries the man she loves, Atlanta will burn and she will lose him forever. And the only person Kate can ask for help is long dead. The odds are impossible. The future is grim. But Kate Daniels has never been one to play by the rules…

Jay na Thalang is a demanding, driven genius. He doesn’t know how to stop or even slow down. The instant he lays eyes on Maria Lopez, he knows that she is a sexy distraction he can’t afford. He’s done his best to keep her at arm’s length, and he’s succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Maria has always been cautious. Now that her once-tiny, apocalypse-centered blog is hitting the mainstream, she’s even more careful about preserving her online anonymity. She hasn’t sent so much as a picture to the commenter she’s interacted with for eighteen months—not even after emails, hour-long chats, and a friendship that is slowly turning into more. Maybe one day, they’ll meet and see what happens. But unbeknownst to them both, Jay is Maria’s commenter. They’ve already met. They already hate each other. And two determined enemies are about to discover that they’ve been secretly falling in love…

FEEDBACK is a full-length Newsflesh novel which overlaps the events of New York Times bestseller Mira Grant's classic Feed and follows a group of reporters covering the Democratic side of the Presidential campaign.* There are two sides to every story...* Mira Grant creates a chilling portrait of an America paralyzed with fear. No street is safe and entire swaths of the country have been abandoned. And only the brave, the determined, or the very stupid, venture out into the wild. Step inside a world a half-step from our own in this novel of geeks, zombies, politics and social media.

He's Playing Games Though Rylann Pierce tried to fight the sparks she felt for billionaire heir Kyle Rhodes the night they met, their sizzling chemistry was undeniable. But after being stood up on their first date, Rylann never expected to see him again. So when she finds herself face-to-face with Kyle in a courthouse nine years later, she's stunned. More troubling to the beautiful assistant U.S. attorney is that she's still wildly attracted to him. But She's Making The Rules Just released from prison, Kyle Rhodes isn't thrilled to be the star witness in a high-profile criminal case—but when Rylann comes knocking at his door, he finds she may be the one lawyer he can't say no to. Still as gorgeous and sharp-tongued as ever, she lays down the law: she doesn't mix business with pleasure. But Kyle won't give up on something he wants—and what he wants is the one woman he's never forgotten.

Jessica Darling is getting the hang of seventh grade -- finally! While her old BFF, Bridget, is busy talking (nonstop) about her new boyfriend, Burke, Jessica tries to fit in with her new friends, Sara, Manda, and Hope. The IT List instructions from her sister, Bethany, and an epic slumber party may help Jessica secure her spot in the cool clique, but does she even want it? Megan McCafferty's It List series introduces readers to Jessica Darling, an unabashedly brainy seventh grader who stays true to herself, even if it means being (totally not) cool.

In this touching, wryly humorous sequel to Revenge of the Snob Squad, readers are reunited with sixth-grade misfits Jenny, Max, Prairie, and Lydia as they cook up an outrageous plan to ignite a romance between Prairie and the object of her affection, Hugh Torkerson (otherwise known as 'Tork the Dork'). A science lab rat, a set of embarrassing glamour photos, and a mysteriously disappearing notebook all play a part in this scheme, but the results may attract more attention than Snob Squad planned.

From New York Times bestselling author Chris d'Lacey comes the final installment in this action-packed paranormal adventure series full of mystery, alternate realities, thrills, and chills. Although Michael Malone has completed two missions for the secretive UNICORNE agency, he is still far from finding his missing father. But when he is asked to investigate a scale of a dragon -- the very same artifact his father researched before he disappeared -- Michael realizes he's closer than ever to unlocking the truth. Soon, he learns that his father is lost in an alternate reality, and Michael is the only one with the power to save him. The deeper Michael ventures into his father's past, however, the harder it becomes to distinguish ally from enemy. Now, Michael must embark on his most dangerous mission yet. What deadly trials will he face in his attempt to rescue his father? And worse, does his father even want to be found?

It is the late 18th century and Sicilian nobleman Vitello Scarpia finds himself penniless and in disgrace on the streets of Rome. After leaving his home in pursuit of a military career, his fiery passion has seen him expelled from the Spanish royal guard and left to seek his fortune in Italy; a fortune inseparably bound to the Pope, whose rule is put in question by the French Revolution. Scarpia enrolls in the papal army and is soon taken up by a countess eager to have a handsome young officer at her side. She introduces Scarpia into Roman society, and he is both enthralled and agitated by its mix of religiosity, sophistication, decadence, and intrigue. Then, on a mission to Venice, he meets the gifted, beautiful singer Floria Tosca. And as the armies of revolutionary France advance into Italy, and war and revolution engulf the whole peninsula, these two lives become entwined. Steeped in factual detail and exploring the lives--part historical, part fictional--of figures from Puccini's famous opera, Scarpia shines a light into dusty corridors of history and dark corners of the human soul.

Stacey has been hired for a week-long baby-sitting job in New York City! Everything would be perfect if only her boyfriend Robert weren't acting so strangely. He's never at the places he says he'll be. Plus, he's been doing a lot of things without her. Stacey is becoming suspicious. Could Robert be seeing another girl? Stacey leaves for NYC feeling uneasy about her relationship with Robert. And while baby-sitting in the city is a blast, Stacey has a lot of thinking to do. Is this the end of Stacey + Robert?

Dora: A Headcase is a contemporary coming-of-age story based on Freud’s famous case study-retold and revamped through Dora's point of view, with shotgun blasts of dark humor and sexual play. Ida needs a shrink . . . or so her philandering father thinks, and he sends her to a Seattle psychiatrist. Immediately wise to the head games of her new shrink, whom she nicknames Siggy, Ida begins a coming-of-age journey. At the beginning of her therapy, Ida, whose alter ego is Dora, and her small posse of pals engage in "art attacks." Ida’s in love with her friend Obsidian, but when she gets close to intimacy, she faints or loses her voice. Ida and her friends hatch a plan to secretly film Siggy and make an experimental art film. But something goes wrong at a crucial moment-at a nearby hospital Ida finds her father suffering a heart attack. While Ida loses her voice, a rough cut of her experimental film has gone viral, and unethical media agents are hunting her down. A chase ensues in which everyone wants what Ida has.

Trapped in a forgotten city, bound by secrets, Ellie and Bealomondore must enlist the dragons of the watch to find freedom. Ellie knows exactly where she is going. She just wants to experience the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding, then settle into a simple life with a country husband. With too many choices, Bealomondore’s future is a tangle of possibilities. He is respected, well-known, and admired among the elite of Chiril, but Wulder demands he narrow his focus and follow his Creator, one step at a time. Both Ellie and Bealomondore’s plans are thwarted when they find themselves lost in an isolated city. As they discern the needs of a group of wild children and a very old man, clues began to surface and a bigger picture is revealed. With the help of the dragons of the watch, can the two tumanhofers find the way out—and perhaps discover their connection to something greater than themselves? From the Trade Paperback edition.

From New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke—an atmospheric, coming-of-age story set in 1952 Texas, as the Korea War rages. On its surface, life in Houston is as you would expect: drive-in restaurants, souped-up cars, jukeboxes, teenagers discovering their sexuality. But beneath the glitz and superficial normalcy, a class war has begun, and it is nothing like the conventional portrayal of the decade. Against this backdrop Aaron Holland Broussard discovers the poignancy of first novel and a world of violence he did not know existed. When Aaron spots the beautiful and gifted Valerie Epstein fighting with her boyfriend, Grady Harrelson, at a Galveston drive-in, he inadvertently challenges the power of the Mob and one of the richest families in Texas. He also discovers he must find the courage his father had found as an American soldier in the Great War. Written in evocative prose, The Jealous Kind may prove to be James Lee Burke’s most encompassing work yet. As Aaron undergoes his harrowing evolution from boy to man, we can’t help but recall the inspirational and curative power of first love and how far we would go to protect it.

It's 1944, W.W. II is raging. Jayna's big brother Rob is her only family. When Rob is called to duty on a destroyer, Jayna is left in their small town in upstate New York with their cranky landlady. But right before he leaves, Rob tells Jayna a secret: they may have a grandmother in Brooklyn. Rob found a little blue recipe book with her name and an address for a bakery. When Jayna learns that Rob is missing in action, she's devastated. Along with her turtle Theresa, the recipe book, and an encouraging, ghostly voice as her guide, Jayna sets out for Brooklyn in hopes of finding the family she so desperately needs.

In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen--terrified, but intrigued--is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.

VICTORIA AND FALCON SAIL IN HOT PURSUIT OF MARCUS TYRONE, THE ONLY MAN ALIVE WHO CAN REVEAL THE GREATEST SECRET OF THE CIVIL WAR. BUT WILL THEY REACH HIM IN TIME? A handsome rogue whose recklessness and courage had made him a fortune as a blockade runner, Marcus Tyrone had no scruples when it came to getting what he wanted, especially when it was a woman. Exquisite and deliciously tempting, the woman he could not resist was an ice goddess. She smiled for no man, but in Tyrone's arms she melted trembled, sizzled with yearning that only a daring captain could satisfy. He'd touched her deeply, exposed a passion she'd never suspected, only dreamed of... and unmasked a woman whose secrets rivaled his own. The web of intrigue that had brought Tyrone to the island of Port Elizabeth finally held him fast, as did the woman he loved without illusions. He longed to confide in her, possess her, bind her to him in any way he could--but he was haunted by the agony in her eyes. The end of one trail meant another's beginning, but would the sins of the past deny them their precious dream?

From the creator of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore and The Guardians of Childhood comes an grand adventure of valor, friendship, and a look into the mysterious world of favorite toys.In the secret realm of toys, there are many mysteries. There is the Code of the Toys, which is as ancient as childhood. There's also the magic of becoming a child's favorite, the highest honor in the Toy World. Made by hand by Billy's mother, Ollie is a special toy, "a toy who will matter." He becomes Billy's best friend, confidant, pal, and yes, Billy's "favorite." But there are villains in the Toy World, and Zozo, the clown king, is the most feared. He and his toy henchman (the Creeps) have sworn to steal and imprison favorite toys until they forget their children and become forever lost. When Ollie is toynapped, Billy must rescue his beloved favorite from Zozo's subterranean lair in the old Carnival Place, past the park, through...

Florian Bates—the only kid on the FBI Director's speed dial and several international criminals' most wanted lists—must save his friend from being framed for a crime he didn't commit in this hilarious third novel in the Framed! series.Middle school is hard. Solving cases for the FBI is even harder. Doing both at the same time, well that's just crazy. But that doesn't stop Florian Bates! Along with his best friend, and Watson to his Sherlock, Margaret, Florian's making the case that kids can do anything. When Florian and Margaret's FBI supervisor, Marcus Rivers, is accused of a crime, it's up to this mystery solving duo to jump into action and clear his name, because Marcus is more than their boss—he's family. The case involves one of Marcus's first investigations for the FBI and a Russian spy ring. However, when the spy they are chasing learns what they're up to, the tables are turned, and Marcus finds himself implicated in a variety of...

Three thousand years before, the monstrous Dark had sprung from loathsome underground lairs to destroy most of humanity. Now they were again ravening and ruining in their blood-hunger. Only a few thousand people had managed to find refuge in the ancient fortress Keep of Renweth.There, even the magic of the wizard Ingold Inglorion could offer them little hope against the Dark.To defeat the savage horror, they must gain help from the Hidden City of Quo, to which all other wizards had been summoned. But Ingold could not pierce the walls of illusion that separated Quo from the world.With his student, Rudy Solis, the old wizard set out to cross two thousand miles of dangerous desert to the City of Wizards.What he might find there he could not know -- and dared not guess!

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.