Gork, the Teenage Dragon

Author: Gabe Hudson
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0375713417
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 417

Book Description
A TODAY Show Pick • A love story, a fantasy, and a coming-of-age story, Gork the Teenage Dragon is a wildly comic, beautifully imagined, and deeply heartfelt novel that shows us just how human a dragon can be. “Charming and wildly imaginative.”—BuzzFeed “The fun is in the gonzo, sci-fi fantasy details. . . . Hudson seems to be taking cues from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels and Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, with perhaps a smattering of Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Campbell and Mark Twain.” —San Francisco Chronicle Gork is the nerdiest dragon at WarWings Military Academy. He has a giant heart and tiny horns. His nickname is Weak Sauce. Today before his high school graduation, he must ask a female dragon to be his queen. The result is a rollicking quest for true love on the most madcap day ever known to a high school senior – dragon or otherwise. Along the way, Gork gets help from his best friend Fribby, a fierce female robot dragon who is brilliant, snarky, and totally obsessed with death; and Athenos II, his sentient spaceship who carries a shocking secret from his childhood. Ultimately, Gork will have to lock horns with his evil grandfather, Dr. Terrible. Can a quest for true love make a hero out of a dragon?

Dear Mr. President

Author: Gabe Hudson
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307425460
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 123

Book Description
A bracing amalgamation of devastating humor and brilliant cultural observation, in which Gabe Hudson fearlessly explores the darker implications of American military power. "Weird, wonderful, and worrisome.” —The Washington Post Book World “Dear Mr. President is a war book like no other. It’s as if Salvador Dali had rewritten All Quiet on the Western Front.” —USA Today Everybody’s Gulf War Syndrome is a little bit different. Or so believes Larry, who returns home from Desert Storm to find his hair gone and his bones rapidly disintegrating. Then there’s Lance Corporal James Laverne of the US Marines, who grows a third ear in Kuwait. And in the audaciously comic novella “Notes from a Bunker Along Highway 8,” a Green Beret deserts his team after seeing a vision of George Washington, only to find a new calling—administering aid to wounded Iraqi civilians; he’s hindered only by the furtive nature of his mission and an unruly band of chimpanzees.

Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too

Author: Jomny Sun
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062821229
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
The illustrated story of a lonely alien sent to observe Earth, where he meets all sorts of creatures with all sorts of perspectives on life, love, and happiness, while learning to feel a little better about himself—based on the enormously popular Twitter account. Here is the unforgettable story of Jomny, an alien sent to study Earth. Always feeling apart, even among his species, Jomny feels at home for the first time among the earthlings he meets. There is a bear tired of other creatures running in fear, an egg struggling to decide what to hatch into, a turtle hiding itself by learning camouflage, a puppy struggling to express its true feelings, and many more. The characters are unique and inventive—bees think long and hard about what love means, birds try to eat the sun, nothingness questions its own existence, a ghost comes to terms with dying, and an introverted hedgehog slowly lets Jomny see its artistic insecurities. At the same time, Jomny’s curious presence allows these characters to open up to him in ways they were never able to before, revealing the power of somebody who is just there to listen. Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too is also the story behind the widely-shared and typo-filled @jonnysun twitter account. Since the beginning, Sun intentionally tweeted from an outsider’s perspective, creating a truly distinct voice. Now, that outsider has taken shape in the character of Jomny, who observes Earth with the same intelligent, empathetic, and charmingly naïve voice that won over his fans on social media. New fans will find it organic, and old fans will delight at seeing the clever words that made them fans in the first place. Through this story of a lost, lonely and confused Alien finding friendship, acceptance, and love among the animals and plants of Earth, we will all learn how to be a little more human. And for all the earth-bound creatures here on this planet, we will all learn how sometimes, it takes an outsider to help us see ourselves for who we truly are.

Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks

Author: Ethan Gilsdorf
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0762766786
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

Book Description
An amazing journey through the thriving worlds of fantasy and gaming What could one man find if he embarked on a journey through fantasy world after fantasy world? In an enthralling blend of travelogue, pop culture analysis, and memoir, forty-year-old former D&D addict Ethan Gilsdorf crisscrosses America, the world, and other worlds—from Boston to New Zealand, and Planet Earth to the realm of Aggramar. “For anyone who has ever spent time within imaginary realms, the book will speak volumes. For those who have not, it will educate and enlighten.” —Wired.com “Gandalf’s got nothing on Ethan Gilsdorf, except for maybe the monster white beard. In his new book, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, Gilsdorf . . . offers an epic quest for reality within a realm of magic.” —Boston Globe “Imagine this: Lord of the Rings meets Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.” —National Public Radio’s “Around and About” “What does it mean to be a geek? . . . Fantasy Freaks andGaming Geeks tackles that question with strength and dexterity. . . . part personal odyssey, part medieval mid-life crisis, and part wide-ranging survey of all things freaky and geeky . . . playful . . . funny and poignant. . . . It’s a fun ride and it poses a question that goes to the very heart of fantasy, namely: What does the urge to become someone else tell us about ourselves?” —Huffington Post

A Life of Adventure and Delight

Author: Akhil Sharma
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393285359
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 114

Book Description
A Life of Adventure and Delight delivers eight masterful stories from dazzlingly original and critically acclaimed author Akhil Sharma. Hailed as a storyteller whose fiction is “a glowing work of art” (Wall Street Journal), Akhil Sharma is possessed of a narrative voice “as hypnotic as those found in the pages of Dostoyevsky” (The Nation). In A Life of Adventure and Delight, Sharma delivers eight masterful stories that focus on Indian protagonists at home and abroad and that plunge the reader into the unpredictable workings of the human heart. A young woman in an arranged marriage awakens one day surprised to find herself in love with her husband. A retired divorcé tries to become the perfect partner by reading women’s magazines. A man’s longstanding contempt for his cousin suddenly shifts inward when he witnesses his cousin caring for a sick woman. Tender and darkly comic, the protagonists in A Life of Adventure and Delight deceive themselves and engage in odd behaviors as they navigate how to be good, how to make meaningful relationships, and the strengths and pitfalls of self-interest. Elegantly written and emotionally immediate, the stories provide an intimate, honest assessment of human relationships between mothers and sons, sons and lovers, and husband and wives from a dazzlingly original, critically acclaimed writer.

What We Lose

Author: Zinzi Clemmons
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735221723
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
A National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree NBCC John Leonard First Book Prize Finalist Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalist Named a Best Book of the Year by Vogue, NPR, Elle, Esquire, Buzzfeed, San Francisco Chronicle, Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Post, The A.V. Club, The Root, Harper’s Bazaar, Paste, Bustle, Kirkus Reviews, Electric Literature, LitHub, New York Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Bust “The debut novel of the year.” —Vogue “Like so many stories of the black diaspora, What We Lose is an examination of haunting.” —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker “Raw and ravishing, this novel pulses with vulnerability and shimmering anger.” —Nicole Dennis-Benn, O, the Oprah Magazine “Stunning. . . . Powerfully moving and beautifully wrought, What We Lose reflects on family, love, loss, race, womanhood, and the places we feel home.” —Buzzfeed “Remember this name: Zinzi Clemmons. Long may she thrill us with exquisite works like What We Lose. . . . The book is a remarkable journey.” —Essence From an author of rare, haunting power, a stunning novel about a young African-American woman coming of age—a deeply felt meditation on race, sex, family, and country Raised in Pennsylvania, Thandi views the world of her mother’s childhood in Johannesburg as both impossibly distant and ever present. She is an outsider wherever she goes, caught between being black and white, American and not. She tries to connect these dislocated pieces of her life, and as her mother succumbs to cancer, Thandi searches for an anchor—someone, or something, to love. In arresting and unsettling prose, we watch Thandi’s life unfold, from losing her mother and learning to live without the person who has most profoundly shaped her existence, to her own encounters with romance and unexpected motherhood. Through exquisite and emotional vignettes, Clemmons creates a stunning portrayal of what it means to choose to live, after loss. An elegiac distillation, at once intellectual and visceral, of a young woman’s understanding of absence and identity that spans continents and decades, What We Lose heralds the arrival of a virtuosic new voice in fiction.

The Mythology of Supernatural

Author: Nathan Robert Brown
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101517522
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 203

Book Description
A look into the paranormal legends, lore, mythology, and monsters featured on the hit television show Supernatural. From angels to demons, The Mythology of Supernatural explores the religious roots and the ancient folklore of the otherworldly entities that brothers Sam and Dean Winchester face on the hit television show Supernatural—and that have inhabited the shadows of human imagination across countless cultures and centuries.

Meddling Kids

Author: Edgar Cantero
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385542003
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 357

Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Freaky pleasure...it scratches a nostalgic itch for those who grew up on Saturday morning Scooby-Doo cartoons and sugar-bombed breakfast cereal" --USA Today "Deliriously wild, funny and imaginative. Cantero is an original voice." --Charles Yu, author of How to Live in a Science Fictional Universe With raucous humor and brilliantly orchestrated mayhem, Meddling Kids subverts teen detective archetypes like the Hardy Boys, the Famous Five, and Scooby-Doo, and delivers an exuberant and wickedly entertaining celebration of horror, love, friendship, and many-tentacled, interdimensional demon spawn. SUMMER 1977. The Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in Oregon’s Zoinx River Valley) solved their final mystery and unmasked the elusive Sleepy Lake monster—another low-life fortune hunter trying to get his dirty hands on the legendary riches hidden in Deboën Mansion. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids. 1990. The former detectives have grown up and apart, each haunted by disturbing memories of their final night in the old haunted house. There are too many strange, half-remembered encounters and events that cannot be dismissed or explained away by a guy in a mask. And Andy, the once intrepid tomboy now wanted in two states, is tired of running from her demons. She needs answers. To find them she will need Kerri, the one-time kid genius and budding biologist, now drinking her ghosts away in New York with Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the club. They will also have to get Nate, the horror nerd currently residing in an asylum in Arkham, Massachusetts. Luckily Nate has not lost contact with Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star who was once their team leader . . . which is remarkable, considering Peter has been dead for years. The time has come to get the team back together, face their fears, and find out what actually happened all those years ago at Sleepy Lake. It’s their only chance to end the nightmares and, perhaps, save the world. A nostalgic and subversive trip rife with sly nods to H. P. Lovecraft and pop culture, Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids is a strikingly original and dazzling reminder of the fun and adventure we can discover at the heart of our favorite stories, no matter how old we get.

Dare to Inspire

Author: Allison Holzer
Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
ISBN: 0738285730
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 287

Book Description
"Dare to Inspire shows how to spark and sustain exponential growth." --Shawn Achor, New York Times bestselling author of Big Potential and The Happiness Advantage Inspiration is a most critical resource to be managed in modern work. The problem is that the power of inspiration often feels fleeting. But what if you could design your own way to be inspired at work on a regular basis? What if you could make your own inspiration last? Rooted in 18 engines of inspiration that emerged from interviews with leaders across different industries, Dare to Inspire shows how to supercharge inspiration for yourself, your team, and your organization. Each chapter offers tools, strategies, and examples of how to make inspiration happen and last. Through stories of pioneers in business, health, education, and other industries, readers learn how to effectively use the engines to spark inspiration, along with specific practices to sustain it. Dare to Inspire features Chef Wes Avila, the founder of L.A. sensation Guerrilla Tacos, who was inspired to revolutionize his industry; crowdfunding pioneer Charles Best, who founded DonorsChoose to meet the challenge of connecting teachers in need with donors interested in supporting educational programs; and many others. This will be a vital book for anyone interested in creativity, success, achievement, and happiness.

Return to Zero

Author: Pittacus Lore
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062493841
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 395

Book Description
All bets are off in this third and final book in the epic New York Times bestselling Lorien Legacies Reborn series! This fast-paced, action-packed adventure—which is set in the world of I Am Number Four—is perfect for fans of the Darkest Minds series and the X-Men franchise. After the battle in Switzerland, the Fugitive Six find their allegiances torn, dividing them into two factions. Taylor, Kopano, and Nigel return to the Academy with Nine, but nothing is the same. As fear and resentment of the Human Garde continues to grow, the United Nations decrees that all humans with Legacies must be implanted with inhibitors. So our heroes will have no choice but to rebel. And with the Foundation still at large, Isabela, Caleb, and Ran have decided to join forces with their former foes Einar and Five to hunt them down. But when a new threat is revealed, the group may find itself painfully outmatched. Facing capture or annihilation from all sides, the only hope the Human Garde have for survival is to stand together once and for all to fight back against their true enemies. Return to Zero is the epic conclusion to the story of the Garde that began with the worldwide phenomenon I Am Number Four.