Four acclaimed novels by “a born storyteller,” the New York Times–bestselling author of The Rules of Magic and The Dovekeepers (Entertainment Weekly). One of today’s most beloved authors of lyrical fiction with a touch of magic, Alice Hoffman boasts a body of work that has been praised by readers and critics from the very beginning. This collection includes her first novel, plus three more of her outstanding tales. Property Of: Hoffman’s debut about teenage girls in mascara and leather and their attraction to local toughs is “a remarkably envisioned novel, almost mythic in its cadences” (The New York Times). The Drowning Season intertwines the stories of two women named Esther: a granddaughter, who yearns to escape the Long Island shore and the coldness of the family matriarch; and her grandmother, who fled her abusive parents in Russia decades before. This novel “casts the spell of all great fairy tales. It takes daily life and transforms it into myth as we watch” (Chicago Sun-Times). Fortune’s Daughter: A New York Times Notable Book, this luminous novel of a restless young traveler and a fortune-teller with a secret is a tribute to the profound mysteries of motherhood and childbirth from a writer who, in the words of Amy Tan, “takes seemingly ordinary lives and lets us see and feel extraordinary things.” At Risk is a New York Times bestseller that “will leave few dry eyes” (Library Journal). In 1980s America, a family copes with their daughter’s terrifying AIDS diagnosis.

“Some novelists hold a mirror up to the world and some, like Haruki Murakami, use the mirror as a portal to a universe hidden beyond it.” —The Wall Street Journal A mind-bending new collection of short stories from the internationally acclaimed Haruki Murakami.The eight stories in this new book are all told in the first person by a classic Murakami narrator. From memories of youth, meditations on music, and an ardent love of baseball, to dreamlike scenarios and invented jazz albums, together these stories challenge the boundaries between our minds and the exterior world. Occasionally, a narrator may or may not be Murakami himself. Is it memoir or fiction? The reader decides. Philosophical and mysterious, the stories in First Person Singular all touch beautifully on love and solitude, childhood and memory. . . all with a signature Murakami twist.

The six stories in Haruki Murakami’s mesmerizing collection are set at the time of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, when Japan became brutally aware of the fragility of its daily existence. But the upheavals that afflict Murakami’s characters are even deeper and more mysterious, emanating from a place where the human meets the inhuman. An electronics salesman who has been abruptly deserted by his wife agrees to deliver an enigmatic package—and is rewarded with a glimpse of his true nature. A man who has been raised to view himself as the son of God pursues a stranger who may or may not be his human father. A mild-mannered collection agent receives a visit from a giant talking frog who enlists his help in saving Tokyo from destruction. As haunting as dreams, as potent as oracles, the stories in After the Quake are further proof that Murakami is one of the most visionary writers at work today.

"The Desert Sky Before Us is a marvel. A vital, profound story of the aftermath of loss, and of the terrors and illuminations of love." —R.O. Kwon, author of The IncendiariesFrom award-winning author Anne Valente comes this poignant and unforgettable literary novel of two estranged sisters—one, a former racecar driver and the other a recently-released prisoner—who embark on a road trip together to complete the scavenger hunt their mother designed for them before her death.When Billie is released from a correctional facility in Decatur, her sister Rhiannon is there to meet her, even though the two haven't seen each other in months. Painful secrets and numerous unspoken betrayals linger between them—but most agonizing is the sudden passing of their mother, a renowned paleontologist. Rhiannon and Billie must overcome their differences as they set off on a road trip west, following the breadcrumb-trail of their late...

"Oh, what a book this is! Hoffman's exploration of the world of good and evil, and the constant contest between them, is unflinching; and the humanity she brings to us—it is a glorious experience. The book builds and builds, as she weaves together, seamlessly, the stories of people in the most desperate of circumstances—and then it delivers with a tremendous punch. It opens up the world, the universe, in a way that it absolutely unique. By the end you may be weeping." —Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Olive Kitteridge "Alice Hoffman's new novel will break your heart, and then stitch it back together piece by piece. It's about love and loss, about history and the world today, about what happens when man goes against the laws of nature for good and for evil. It's my new favorite Hoffman book—and if you know how much I adore her writing, that's truly saying something." —Jodi Picoult, New York...

Named a Most Anticipated book of 2024 by TIME ∙ The New York Times ∙ Goodreads ∙ Entertainment Weekly ∙ Today.com ∙ Paste ∙ SheReads ∙ BookPage ∙ Woman's World ∙ The Nerd Daily and more!A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry. Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a...

Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva's feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever's history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there's more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.With McLemore's signature lush prose, Dark and Deepest Red pairs the forbidding magic of a fairy tale with a modern story of passion and betrayal.

FROM EXCITING ROMANCE AUTHOR C. TYLERSometimes, a little pain can lead to the greatest pleasure.Bay Hurst had given up on relationships, content to ‘ play' instead. So when she found the perfect partner at a BDSM club, she knew what to expect— here for a moment, gone the next.Six years later, that philosophy doesn' t hold as true.When handsome stranger Michele Sacchi boards the yacht she works on, Bay is suddenly thrust head first into an unexpected situation. They' ve met before and, more than that, he was her perfect playmate.Now the two must struggle with their desires as well as maintain a professional appearance, but there' s much more bubbling beneath the surface than even she realizes— and once they reach land, her world may erupt into chaos.

A single mother teaches high school literature, parents her young son, and fights through a day. 1 Day, a novelette, was first published by the literary journal Prick of the Spindle.A single mother teaches high school literature, parents her young son, and fights through a day. 1 Day, a novelette, was first published by the literary journal Prick of the Spindle.From 1 Day:"She thinks about making a new letter grade with the top paper on the stack and rolling a J, but she hasn’t smoked pot in a decade and she has a dependent relationship with her job and she doubts it’d be the responsible decision with Max asleep upstairs. She believes in free choice, but she hasn’t encountered it lately, and she’d prefer that her 4-year-old not spark up for a while yet. She gets a beer.She writes some things on some papers. Some advice on spelling, grammar, logic. She makes no suggestions about having worthwhile ideas, or pursuing worthwhile objectives. Spelling has rules, grammar has logic, logic has … She corrects ellipses use. She invents some new letters to write at the top of the first pages. Or rather borrows, a CH from Spanish, an Å from Danish, an Œ from Latin; she doesn't know how to invent a letter."

“Birthday Girl” is a short story written by Haruki Murakami. It appeared in Harper’s Magazine in July 2003, as well as in “Birthday Stories” – a collection of short stories personally selected and introduced by Murakami. I first referenced this story in a blogpost called What Would You Wish For last April, after a short but important and necessary trip to Singapore. I have been looking for the online version to share in here since. Here’s the story, on the birthday of the girl in the story, November 17. The story was told when she was (at least) 30. That makes her in my age bracket. Just that unlike her, my wish had come true. And I wish I wished for something else. You know what they say. Careful what you wish for.

**AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN eBOOK! ** In Barcelona, an aging Brazilian prostitute trains her dog to weep at the grave she has chosen for herself. In Vienna, a woman parlays her gift for seeing the future into a fortunetelling position with a wealthy family. In Geneva, an ambulance driver and his wife take in the lonely, apparently dying ex-President of a Caribbean country, only to discover that his political ambition is very much intact. In these twelve masterly stories about the lives of Latin Americans in Europe, García Márquez conveys the peculiar amalgam of melancholy, tenacity, sorrow, and aspiration that is the émigré experience.

Follow me as I cover a series of important business success ideas starting with Hiring. Are you hiring the wrong people most of the time? The goal of an organizational selection process is to add people to the organization (fill positions) who will benefit the organization. Likewise, a secondary goal must be to keep out any people who will harm the organization.The goal of an organizational selection process is to add people to the organization (fill positions) who will benefit the organization. Likewise, a secondary goal must be to keep out any people who will harm the organization. Another component of this involves assessing and differentiating applicants based on how much they can help (assessing qualifications and future potential). Any selection process also needs to be reliable and fair.When you select an employee, you are simply offering a prediction that this person selected will be successful as an employee and they will help your company. Furthermore, in any case where we need to identify current employees that are not helping the organization, there must be a valid mechanism in place for identifying and then removing these employees. So, why do we get this wrong so often?You’ll find that the success of almost any organization is highly correlated with the efficiency and effectiveness of its selection and retention processes.Are you hiring the wrong people most of the time?

“The beach-read master hooks us again."—People Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by BuzzFeed ∙ Paste Magazine ∙ Elle ∙ Southern Living ∙ SheReads ∙ Culturess ∙ Medium ∙ Her Campus ∙ Readers Digest ∙ Zibby Mag and more!A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.   Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.   They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.   Which is how they...