United States

Billy Budd, Sailor is a novel by American writer Herman Melville, first published posthumously in London in 1924. Melville began writing the work in November 1888, but left it unfinished at his death in 1891....

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl....

From the infinitely inventive author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe comes a deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play....

In a small Southern town where loyalty to family and to "your people" carries the weight of a sacred oath, defying those unspoken rules can be a deadly proposition....

JARED - If I had a dollar for every time Banner Morales made my heart skip a beat...The heart everyone assumes is frozen over. Her anger is...arousing. Every glare from those fire-spitting eyes, every time she grits her teeth, gets me...well, you know....

For a young woman coming of age in sixteenth-century Guatemala, safeguarding her people’s legacy is a dangerous pursuit in a mystical, empowering, and richly imagined historical novel....

They took the kingdom, they took his own destiny. But he is willing to wage a war, against the whole world if need be, to bring everything back....

Drawing upon everyday incidents, common situations, and rural imagery, Robert Frost fashioned poetry of great lyrical beauty and potent symbolism. His language is simple, clear, and colloquial, yet dense with meaning and wider significance....

Promises are meant to be kept. Especially a promise like this. Jack Widow is submarine-watching near Kitsap Naval Base, outside Seattle, when he runs into an old friend.

Interweaving the fate of the remnants of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati's compelling novel creates a passionate portrait of an emerging America....

I keep things simple with the women I meet. Charm her, enjoy her, discard her, and repeat. Once she hears my family name her focus is on the size of my wallet and she can't be trusted....

"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel....

A stunning story of love, betrayal, and family, set against the backdrop of a changing Taiwan over the course of the twentieth century.

Nearly thirty years ago, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.

In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss....

As a wave of murders grips Southern California, an unlikely pair must untangle the mysterious patterns of an elusive killer. A propulsive new series by New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado.

When Meg shows up at her mother's door, she has no idea how to break the news to her. She's come home from France, pregnant. At just nineteen years old, this wasn't where she saw her life going....

From Pulitzer-prize winning Wall Street Journal columnist and New York Times bestselling author Peggy Noonan, a masterclass in how to see and love America.

The Kingston Trio’s folk song “Tom Dooley” tells the story of the murder of Laura Foster, a simple country girl involved with returning Confederate soldier Tom Dula....

In the dawn of history, a valiant people forged a pathway from an old world into a new one....

S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways.

A man returns to the town where a baffling murder took place 27 years earlier, determined to get to the bottom of the story....

Patricia Campbell's life has never felt smaller. Her ambitious husband is too busy to give her a goodbye kiss in the morning, her kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she's always a step behind on thank-you notes and her endless list of chores....

What happens when six middle-aged sisters with a party planning business buy a cursed plantation? Add one ghoul, the Queen of Voodoo, and a dash of unlocked dormant magic and find out....

Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Jeremy Irons' perceptive reading illuminates the poetry of T. S. Eliot in all its complexity....

My family's roots run deep, and my responsibilities are clear. My family and Rhodes Hotels, my family business. As a father first, I've always put my daughter above everything, living in a carefully maintained world close to my ex-wife, ensuring peace. I never expected to fall in love again and find the kind of passion I had with Aurora. I thought it would be easy, but when I introduced her to my daughter, it shattered the delicate balance of my life, forcing me to make regrettable choices that hurt the only woman I ever loved.

For a quarter century, Peggy Noonan has been thinking aloud about America in her much-loved Wall Street Journal column. In this new collection of her essential recent work, Noonan demonstrates the erudition, wisdom and humor that have made her one of America’s most admired writers. She calls balls and strikes on the political shenanigans of recent leaders and she honors the integrity of great Americans, ranging from Billy Graham to the heroes of 9/11.

“These are dangerous stories. The kind that warp reality and threaten to change the world” warns guest editor Hugh Howey in his introduction. The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2024 promises a treasure trove of audacious characters, daring worldbuilding, and twisted realties. A sibling duo of supernatural hitmen. A traveling spellbreaker and his trusty alligator mount. Superheroes registering for work. Sentient spaceships with an AI-human interface grow up together with their human pilots.

Detective Arias hunts for a murderer on a liberal arts campus that prides itself on its progressive curriculum but is rife with jealousy, racial and sexual tensions, and a hierarchy as real and destructive as a medieval fortress. DJ Arias, good at his job because he sees the worst in people, is challenged by the college community, a neighborhood recluse, and a young Latino gardener he sent to jail ten years ago for a hit-and-run accident.

There is something about the number 3. The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two. Whatever history and culture says WE think 3, a hat-trick of stories, is a great number to explore themes and literary avenues that classic authors were so adept at creating.

Prohibition is in full swing, and the glamorous life of upper-class Kansas City is everything Rose (Luna) Lane ever hoped it would be. Being married to her best friend isn’t so bad either, considering their agreement to keep their real love lives out of the public eye. However, try as she might to continue her life of anonymity, her popularity as a land developer’s wife—and as a successful club owner—draws even more attention to her personal endeavors. Soon, the balancing act between the life of Luna and Rose becomes a full-time job itself, making visiting home harder than ever before.

“There have never been as many exquisitely built stories in existence than there are now,” proclaims guest editor Lauren Groff in her introduction. This abundance led to a volume of robust stories with the nerve to push against narrative expectations. The Best American Short Stories 2024 boasts a collection of twenty stories that “buzz with their own strange logic.” Daring and resonant, the stories in this volume invite in Groff “a feeling that both the author and I were simultaneously discovering something together.”

In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong.

“Imparting some piece of yourself—any part—is arduous and warrants some kind of commendation,” writes guest editor Wesley Morris in his introduction. Both personal and personable, the essayists in this volume use their own vulnerability to guide listeners on excursions that unfold on uncomfortable edges. From contemplating the nuances of memory to exploring the complexities of family, romance, gender identity, illness, and death, Morris’s selection of essays presents a roundup of the thinkers who masterfully grapple with the issues of our time.

Avalee Elvis prides herself with being able to fix just about anything. . . except her past. Unable to put the puzzle of her life together, she pours heart and soul into making neglected places whole again. As the owner of Lowcountry Lost, Avalee spends her days in hot-pink Carhartt overalls and a tool belt reclaiming Lowcountry properties. Making them beautiful again releases the deep sigh that soothes the hurt she holds.

A soul-warming love story, nestled in an inspiring tale of the American Dream and an Indian Dream shattered by the evils of globalization—that pays homage to a generation of immigrants who held their heads low so one day, their children lift could theirs high.

Una hija descubre la grieta en su familia: sus padres están separados y la casa en la que crecen ella y sus hermanos se va poblando de recuerdos. En junio de 2006, el padre de Karina —la protagonista de esta historia— encabeza una lucha popular para que el gobierno de Oaxaca caiga y se haga justicia. Una lucha que trae consigo el estigma de la cárcel. Una lucha que deja una ciudad en llamas. A la par de lidiar con el abandono paterno y la persecución social, Karina intenta descubrir quién ha sido y quién es ahora como mujer.

I have been in a low depression, partly due to the fact that I read Disability's summary of my condition, and it made me feel week, unable, and unworthy. It made me feel like all of my hopes and dreams are just grandiose overly optimistic fantasies. But they aren't. These 42 poems remind me of the abilities I do have. So I publish them for you, so you will drink in their optimism and feel better about your suffering, as all is not lost for either me nor you.

Après quelques années passées à Atlanta, Toya Gardner, une jeune artiste afro-américaine, revient dans la petite ville des montagnes de Caroline du Nord d'où sa famille est originaire. Déterminée à dénoncer l'histoire esclavagiste de la région, elle ne tarde pas à s'y livrer à quelques actions d'éclat, provoquant de violentes tensions dans la communauté. Au même moment, Ernie, un policier du comté, arrête un mystérieux voyageur qui se révèle être un suprémaciste blanc. Celui-ci a en sa possession un carnet dans lequel figurent les noms de notables de la région.

"Cos'è giusto? Se si vuole una cosa è giusto prendersela. Se si vuole fare una cosa è giusto farla". Sesso facile, cocaina, feste sempre più trasgressive, auto di lusso, rock a tutto volume: a Los Angeles i giovanissimi che frequentano l'ambiente patinato degli studios cinematografici hanno tutto e non desiderano più niente. In un mondo illuminato dai bagliori spettrali dei videoclip e svuotato di ogni sentimento, Clay, Blair, Daniel e Julian, biondi e abbronzati, esplorano le pieghe infernali del "paradiso" californiano in un crescendo di immoralità e devastazione interiore che presto sconfina nell'orrore.

When We Were Everything traces the delicate, tangled threads of relationships that define us. Through a series of deeply personal poems and stories, these pieces capture the bittersweet essence of youth, the complexities of love, and the unvarnished reality of growing up. This collection is a journey through the heart—reflecting on past loves, missed connections, and the enduring search for meaning in a world that never stops moving. Perfect for listeners who appreciate introspective, character-driven writing that speaks to the soul.

Melanie Jenkins, newly single and desperate for change, swaps her ER scrubs for a stethoscope and a one-way ticket to Crazy Town. Her destination? The mansion of Rhonda Miltmore—hypochondriac extraordinaire and self-appointed Cupid. Enter Brent Miltmore: Wall Street titan with an emotional portfolio in dire need of diversification. When he takes a tumble (literally), guess who becomes his reluctant caretaker? Yep, his childhood nemesis.

The Sisters of Blue Mountain Beach is a gripping tale revolving around the lives of three remarkable women who suddenly go missing in the devastating aftermath of a ferocious hurricane on Florida's renowned 30A.

Détroit, fin des années 1970. Hannah et Wes Jarrett forment l'une des familles les plus en vue de l'élite blanche et bourgeoise. Mais entre les galas caritatifs et les déplacements d'affaires, ils se croisent à peine et n'ont plus en commun que leurs deux enfants, choyés par la gouvernante. Par ailleurs, des gros titres abominables font la une des journaux : des cadavres de garçons sont retrouvés nus, sans vie, comme exposés au public. Par un meurtrier dont on ne sait rien, et que les médias s'empressent de nommer Babysitter.

Try as he might, Junius "Little Whit" Whitman can't unsee the busted foundation of his father's holy roller faith. All in one night, he's watched a man die in the middle of a prayer service, a tornado level a neighboring town, and his parents' marriage incinerate above him. Even though he doubles down on his efforts to believe, Whit enters young adulthood searching for a faith he can hold onto.

Si vous avez aimé L'Anomalie, vous adorerez La Mesure ! " Il est difficile d'imaginer le monde d'avant, dans lequel elles n'existaient pas. Quand elles sont apparues au mois de mars, personne ne savait quoi faire de ces petites boîtes étranges arrivées avec le printemps. Sur chacune d'elles était inscrit un message simple : "La mesure de votre vie se trouve à l'intérieur'. " À partir de ce moment-là, tout a changé. Celles et ceux qui ont ouvert leur boîte ont découvert une cordelette, plus ou moins longue.

Heart of the Book: Poetically capturing life while living in a poetic universe. Poetry is the source of my creativity and my life is the arena in which I share. The stories of my life and things relating to it are captured within.

Under the shadow of gray clouds, three children venture into the woods, where they spot the corpse of an old man on a scaffold. Suddenly a wild figure emerges, with long fingernails and tangled hair. It is the Hattak fullih nipi foni, the bone picker, who comes to tear off rotting flesh with his fingernails. Only the Choctaws who adhere to the old ways will speak of him. The frightening bone picker is just one of many entities, scary and mysterious, who lurk behind every moment of this spine-tingling collection of Native fiction, written by award-winning Choctaw author Devon A. Mihesuah.

Often, when speaking of what he has called the poetic operation of language, Scott Cairns has characterized that event as our “glimpsing an indeterminate, inexhaustible enormity within a discrete space.” This is the poet's continuing fascination with lacunae, those spaces, those openings that offer more within than appearances can register from outside the ostensible covert of their terms. Cairns is here focused upon how an image, a word, or—in the case of the Theotokos—a womb can contain the uncontainable.

Nestled between the smoky, rolling peaks of Southern Appalachia lies the town of Brevard, North Carolina. When Chris Avery's family moves to Brevard in the early 1970s, Chris quickly becomes immersed in a world untouched by the mire of life outside the mountains.