Accused of mocking the inviolate codes of Islam, the Persian poet and sage Omar Khayyam fortuitously finds sympathy with the very man who is to judge his alleged crimes. Recognising genius, the judge decides to spare him and gives him instead a small, blank book, encouraging him to confine his thoughts to it alone. Thus beginds the seamless blend of fact and fiction that is Samarkand. Vividly re-creating the history of the manuscript of the Rubaiyaat of Omar Khayyam, Amin Maalouf spans continents and centuries with breathtaking vision: the dusky exoticism of 11th-century Persia, with its poetesses and assassins; the same country's struggles nine hundred years later, seen through the eyes of an American academic obsessed with finding the original manuscript ; and the fated maiden voyage of the Titanic, whose tragedy led to the Rubaiyaat's final resting place - all are brought to life with keen assurance by this gifted and award-winning writer.

"A Japanese writer of genius."—Japan QuarterlySoseki Natsume is considered to be one of Japan's most beloved and respected authors. And Then is ranked as one of his most insightful and stirring novels.Daisuke, the protagonist, is a man in his twenties who is struggling with his personal purpose and identity as well as the changing social landscape of Meiji-era Japan. As Japan enters the Twentieth Century, ancient customs give way to western ideals, and Daisuke works to resolve his feelings of disconnection and abandonment during this time of change. Thanks to his father's wealth, Daisuke has the luxury of having time to develop his philosophies and ruminate on their meaning while remaining intellectually aloof from traditional Japanese culture and the demands of growing industrialization. Then Daisuke's life takes an unexpected turn when he is reunited with his college friend and his sickly wife. At first, Daisuke's stoicism allows him to act...

Revised Edition. Pairing up with Texas frontiersman Hank MacElrae, the inimitable Bostonian Hawk Banks sets off in quest of adventure on the Plains of Texas. A distinctly incompatible pair, the two manage to make their unlikely friendship work and, enduring all manner of unlikely events, they succeed in finding their way into the heart of Texas, becoming founding fathers of a new nation.Revised Edition. The seven month period from the fall of 1835 to the spring of 1836 was a pivotal period in the history of Texas. At the outset of the Texas Revolution settlers faced a myriad of life threatening dangers in this untamed region. This is the story of seven persons drawn into the revolution, forcing them to make choices that would forever change each of them and in so doing, alter the course of Texas history.Scotsman Hank MacElrae has brought his wife Julie and son Auggey to Texas to build a better life. Bostonian Hawk Banks has haphazardly joined the Texas Rangers under the erroneous impression that fighting Indians promises to be adventurous. Nate Tucker arrives in Nacogdoches from Kentucky, where he befriends the enigmatic horned toad named Mephistopheles. Francisco de la Garza is still in his teens when General Santa Anna sweeps into his village of Zacatecas and conscripts him into the Mexican Army that is headed for Texas. Antonia Perez has migrated from Monclova to San Antonio to escape the reaches of the Mexican government. Little do these seven settlers know that they are about to be swept into a revolution, one that will become the defining event in Texas history, and that each of them will play a pivotal role in the outcome.At the outset of hostilities Hank leaves Julie and Auggey behind and joins the Revolutionary Army of Texas. Hank is introduced to the enigmatic Hawk Banks, who is never boring, ever brilliant, living on the edge, and winning in the end - emerging as a revolutionary legend. The friendship that develops between Hank and Hawk is intricate, highly unorthodox, at times hilarious, and ultimately pivotal to the outcome of the Revolution.The harsh realities of life eventually affect each and every settler, as they are beset with revolutionary battles, run-ins with the infamous Comanche Buffalo Hump, and encounters with death and destruction on the plains of Texas. As the story rushes to the climactic conclusion, an intricate series of events brings the main characters together at the pivotal conflict of the Texas Revolution – the Battle of San Jacinto. Each settler will play a seminal role in the birth of a nation.

Nine-year-old Karl Anders Nilsson is the unwelcome foster child of an uncaring couple. Lonely and neglected, he yearns for simple things, things that many children already have: a warm, loving home of his own, someone to share his sorrows and joys with, and, most important, his real father.  Then, on October 15th, Karl Anders Nilsson simply disappears. Where has he gone? (Police are searching for him!) But Karl is far away from chilly Stockholm, in Farawayland, where he has found his father, who is none other than the King of that land. And now Karl faces a truly dangerous mission. Prophecies have foretold his coming for thousands of years. He, his new best friend Pompoo, and Miramis, his wonderful flying horse with a golden mane, must travel together into the darkness of Outer Land to do battle with Sir Kato, the cruel abductor of the children of Farawayland. Only a child of the royal blood can stop him....

“As our vision becomes more global, our storytelling is stretching in many ways. Stories increasingly change point of view, switch location, and sometimes pack as much material as a short novel might,” writes guest editor Elizabeth Strout. “It’s the variety of voices that most indicates the increasing confluence of cultures involved in making us who we are.” The Best American Short Stories 2013 presents an impressive diversity of writers who dexterously lead us into their corners of the world. In “Miss Lora,” Junot Díaz masterfully puts us in the mind of a teenage boy who throws aside his better sense and pursues an intimate affair with a high school teacher. Sheila Kohler tackles innocence and abuse as a child wanders away from her mother, in thrall to a stranger she believes is the “Magic Man.” Kirstin Valdez Quade’s “Nemecia” depicts the after-effects of a secret, violent family trauma. Joan Wickersham’s “The Tunnel” is a tragic love story about a mother’s declining health and her daughter’s helplessness as she struggles to balance her responsibility to her mother and her own desires. New author Callan Wink’s “Breatharians” unsettles the reader as a farm boy shoulders a grim chore in the wake of his parents’ estrangement. “Elizabeth Strout was a wonderful reader, an author who knows well that the sound of one’s writing is just as important as and indivisible from the content,” writes series editor Heidi Pitlor. “Here are twenty compellingly told, powerfully felt stories about urgent matters with profound consequences.”

The breakout book from "the funniest writer in America"—not to mention an official Genius—a trade paperback original and his first nonfiction collection ever. George Saunders's first foray into nonfiction is composed of essays on literature, travel, and politics. At the core of this unique collection are Saunders's travel essays based on his trips to seek out the mysteries of the "Buddha Boy" of Nepal; to attempt to indulge in the extravagant pleasures of Dubai; and to join the exploits of the minutemen at the Mexican border. Saunders expertly navigates the works of Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, and Esther Forbes, and leads the reader across the rocky political landscape of modern America. Emblazoned with his trademark wit and singular vision, Saunders's endeavor into the art of the essay is testament to his exceptional range and ability as a writer and thinker.

STRENGTH FROM LOYALTY (Lost Kings MC #3)by Autumn Jones LakeAs a dark cloud descends over Hope and Rock’s already precarious future, will a long-hidden secret of Hope’s push them both past the point of no return?Struggling attorney Hope Kendall loves her outlaw biker boyfriend Rochlan “Rock” North with all her heart, but the questionable activities his motorcycle club is involved in threaten her legal career.But does she even want this career anymore?As a near-death situation makes their professional differences seem insignificant, a cloud descends over their personal relationship’s already unsteady future.Even though Hope seems to have finally found her niche in the club as Rock’s ol’ lady, can she mingle in politics with neighboring clubs as well? A trip to the Lost Kings MC downstate charter will put her to the test.While Rock works hard to give Hope the honesty she craves without betraying his loyalty to his brothers, tension from outside forces threatens to push him to the brink. But it’s the one secret Hope has hidden all along that may finally drive them apart for good.

Richard Adams, the author of *Watership Down*, creates a lyrical and engrossing tale, a remarkable journey into the hearts and minds of two canine heroes, Snitter and Rowf. After being horribly mistreated at a government animal research facility, Snitter and Rowf escape into the isolation, and terror, of the wilderness. Aided only by a fox they call ''the Tod,'' the two dogs must struggle to survive in their new environment. When the starving dogs attack some sheep, they are labeled ferocious man-eating monsters, setting off a great dog hunt that is later intensified by the fear that the dogs could be carriers of the bubonic plague.

Lauren Stillwell is not your average damsel in distress. When the NYPD cop discovers her husband leaving a hotel with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But her revenge goes dangerously awry, and she finds her world spiraling into a hell that becomes more terrifying by the hour. In a further twist of fate, Lauren must take on a job that threatens everything she stands for. Now, she's paralyzed by a deadly secret that could tear her life apart. With her job and marriage on the line, Lauren's desire for retribution becomes a lethal inferno as she fights to save her livelihood--and her life. Patterson takes us on a twisting roller-coaster ride of thrills in his most gripping novel yet. This story of love, lust and dangerous secrets will have readers' hearts pounding to the very last page.

“As a little boy, I had a dream that my father had taken me to the woods where there was a dead body. He buried it and told me I must never tell. It was the only thing we’d ever done together as father and son, and I promised not to tell. But unlike most dreams, the memory of this one never left me. And sometimes…I wasn’t altogether sure about one thing: was it just a dream?”** When Augusten Burroughs was small, his father was a shadowy presence in his life: a form on the stairs, a cough from the basement, a silent figure smoking a cigarette in the dark. As Augusten grew older, something sinister within his father began to unfurl.  Something dark and secretive that could not be named.  Betrayal after shocking betrayal ensued, and Augusten’s childhood was over. The kind of father he wanted didn’t exist for him. This father was distant, aloof, uninterested… And then the “games” began. With "A Wolf at the Table", Augusten Burroughs makes a quantum leap into untapped emotional terrain: the radical pendulum swing between love and hate, the unspeakably terrifying relationship between father and son. Told with scorching honesty and penetrating insight, it is a story for anyone who has ever longed for unconditional love from a parent. Though harrowing and brutal, "A Wolf at the Table" will ultimately leave you buoyed with the profound joy of simply being alive. It’s a memoir of stunning psychological cruelty and the redemptive power of hope.

From NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton, known for her “deliciously addictive” (The Book Vixen) novels, this Cocktail series novella reunites readers with Caroline and Simon from the wildly successful Wallbanger. Simon and Caroline are back for another round of baking, banging, and big life changes. Settling in, but never settling down, Caroline has finally struck a balance between the professional and the personal. As one of the top interior designers in San Francisco, she travels all over Northern California between nook time with Simon. Perpetual globetrotter Simon has cut his frequent flyer miles in half over the last year, preferring to balance his professional and personal life, as well. The next step in their lives seems preordained—toasts, veils, and the aisle of rose petals. But when an accident on a photo shoot in Southeast Asia brings Caroline the most terrifying phone call she could ever imagine, she has to ask whether “till death do us part” is a more realistic prospect than faces most couples. It’s been a grand adventure, and Caroline and Simon wouldn’t go out without the best surprise ending ever. One part sexy, one part laughter, a dash of exotic locales, and one pink nightie, mixed with passion, and you’ve got Last Call. Served with a side of Clive. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Las...

What happens on the road can follow you all the way home. Austin Bishop is going home to face some difficult truths, but that doesn’t mean he can’t take the long way home. So rather than hop on a plane, he accepts a photography assignment that requires a cross-country drive. The road can be a lonely place, though, and when he spots a cute redhead leaning against a broken-down car, he stops to offer the stranded damsel a ride. Mari Smith has lost her job and her apartment, she’s moving back in with her parents, and now it looks like she’s without a car, too. When a sexy, dark-haired stranger stops to help, she’s utterly grateful. And utterly tempted to explore their sizzling chemistry. The fresh-faced Mari is so sweet, so smoking hot, so easy to be with, Austin finds himself spilling a shocking secret he’s been holding onto for the past year. But passion doesn’t fix everything. And Austin realizes he has some personal demons to vanquish before he and Mari can hope for a chance at forever. Warning: This book features a hero who knows exactly what he wants between the sheets and a redhead who isn’t scared to give it to him!