Fairy Tale Paradox


Book Description

A small cryptic ugly looking book hidden away in a small hill station when found by Megha turns her life around. Difficult to decipher at first the book begins to speak to her in ways she could never have imagined. What do the poems mean? Who wrote them? Why does the poet remain anonymous? She begins to understand the poems and her own life through the suffering poet who wrote them. The world is viewed through the cynical and warped sight of the poet as he deals with conformity, love, ambition, death and his reason for being alive. His battle against the great tree and his desire to have his wings again.




The Story Paradox


Book Description

Storytelling, a tradition that built human civilization, may soon destroy it Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling, the very tradition that built human civilization, may be the thing that destroys it. In The Story Paradox, Gottschall explores how a broad consortium of psychologists, communications specialists, neuroscientists, and literary quants are using the scientific method to study how stories affect our brains. The results challenge the idea that storytelling is an obvious force for good in human life. Yes, storytelling can bind groups together, but it is also the main force dragging people apart. And it’s the best method we’ve ever devised for manipulating each other by circumventing rational thought. Behind all civilization’s greatest ills—environmental destruction, runaway demagogues, warfare—you will always find the same master factor: a mind-disordering story. Gottschall argues that societies succeed or fail depending on how they manage these tensions. And it has only become harder, as new technologies that amplify the effects of disinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, and fake news make separating fact from fiction nearly impossible. With clarity and conviction, Gottschall reveals why our biggest asset has become our greatest threat, and what, if anything, can be done. It is a call to stop asking, “How we can change the world through stories?” and start asking, “How can we save the world from stories?”




The Princess Paradox


Book Description

Jaded by fairy tales, twenty-five-year-old Nora Roseberry has written off the probability that Prince Charming will come rescue her. Which is great. She's not interested in being saved. But fate is about to step in, offering this "damsel in distress" a shot at happily ever after.When Nora takes her love life into her own hands by placing a want-ad in the local newspaper, she's shocked when roguish neighbor Aidan O'Neill comes-a-courtin'. Aidan's not the kind of prince who needs relationship help--evidenced by the sheer volume of maidens crossing his threshold. Besides, he doesn't go for women like her. He dates knockouts. But his flirtatious manner and dimples-to-die-for are sure making her consider the possibility of becoming his princess. Which is why Nora is more than a little disappointed when Aidan reveals he answered the ad for his brother, Finn. Unsure of what fate has in store, Nora figures 'what the hell?' and agrees to the blind date.She quickly finds out Finn is everything fairy tales promised and more. Romantic, sincere, and ready to commit, he's totally husband material. And Nora knows she's on her way to her fairy tale ending--just when Aidan seems to have decided to change his ways and pursue Nora himself. Talk about crappy timing. With magic in the air and two handsome heroes vying for her attention, Nora will need to make a choice. Prince Charming or Prince-Damn-He's-Charming?Happily ever after is about to get messy.




The Paradox Hotel


Book Description

“Time travel, murder, corruption, restless baby dinosaurs, and a snarky robot named Ruby collide in this excellent, noir-inflected, humor-infused, science-fiction thriller.”—The Boston Globe An impossible crime. A detective on the edge of madness. The future of time travel at stake. From the author of The Warehouse . . . ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, Kirkus Reviews January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder. Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past. Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls. None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see. On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims. January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders. There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once. But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own. At once a dazzlingly time-twisting murder mystery and a story about grief, memory, and what it means to—literally—come face-to-face with our ghosts, The Paradox Hotel is another unforgettable speculative thrill ride from acclaimed author Rob Hart.




Paradox in Oz


Book Description

"...A delightful novel, well written, very much in the mood of Baum's original series, illustrations & all."--Piers Anthony, author of the Xanth Series. "A satisfying synthesis of Baum's classic style & Einhorn's modern, joyfully inventive excursions into the absurd."--Arthur Kopit, playwright. "Paradox in Oz" by Edward Einhorn is a sequel to Baum's Oz series, honoring the 100th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz," appropriate for all ages & beautifully illustrated by Eric Shanower. Watch out, Harry Potter!--here comes "Paradox in Oz," a stupendous, full-length fantasy brimming with magic & time travel. Ozma, girl ruler of Oz, must restore the enchantment that keeps her people young. A lovable but puzzling Parrot-Ox carries Ozma back through time to seek the source of the enchantment. Ozma meets strange versions of her closest friends in an alternate timestream--Glinda, the Wizard, the Cowardly Lion, even Ozma herself! Readers will thrill with amazement as Ozma uncovers the final jaw-dropping secret. This book ends with a bang!




The Paradox Twins


Book Description

The Paradox Twins is a copyright infringing biographical collage that exists on the Internet, pieced together by an unknown auteur. Named for the famous thought experiment, it concerns estranged twin brothers who reunite at their father's funeral to discover they no longer look alike. Haunted by the past (and possibly the future), they move into their father's house to settle his affairs, only to reignite old rivalries and uncover long-hidden secrets, most of which involve the young woman who lives next door. An epistolary work comprised of excerpts from various memoirs, novels, screenplay adaptations, and documents of public record, The Paradox Twins is an experimental, sci-fi ghost story about the scariest, most unknowable quantity there is-family. PRAISE FOR THE PARADOX TWINS "Chaplinsky takes a famous physics paradox and brings it back down to earth, using it to rethink the ways in which families relate and interrelate and disintegrate. A collage that assembles itself into a sneaky whole in which it's not always easy to tell what the truth is." -Brian Evenson, author of Song For the Unraveling of the World "As confirmed by The Paradox Twins, Joshua Chaplinsky is one of a handful of American novelists creating the literature of the future: dazzling, original and subversive." -Steve Erickson, author of Zeroville and Shadowbahn "Like a coy, uncanny hybrid of J.G. Ballard and John Carpenter, the Oulipo and the Bizarro, The Paradox Twins is an engrossing and digressive trip through birth and back, stuffed from end to end with mystic weirdness and meta-gags with style to spare." -Blake Butler, author of Alice Knott and 300,000,000




A Problematic Paradox


Book Description

Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in this wild, warm-hearted, and hilarious sci-fi adventure about a brainy young girl who is recruited for a very special boarding school. Nikola Kross has given up on living in harmony with her classmates and exasperated teachers: she prefers dabbling in experimental chemistry to fitting in. But when her life is axially inverted by a gang of extraterrestrials who kidnap her dad and attempt to recruit her into their service, she discovers he's been keeping a world of secrets from her--including the school for geniuses where she's sent for refuge, a place where classes like Practical Quantum Mechanics are the norm and where students use wormholes to commute to class. For Nikola, the hard part isn't school; it's making friends, especially when the student body isn't (entirely) human. But the most puzzling paradox of all is Nikola herself, who has certain abilities that no one understands--abilities that put her whole school in greater danger than she could have imagined.




The Wintertime Paradox


Book Description

Twelve incredible Doctor Who stories for the long winter nights featuring an exclusive extra story in the Time Lord Victorious arc! Christmas can mean anything . . . For Missy, it's solving murders in 1909. For a little girl in Dublin, it's Plasmavores knocking at the door. For Davros, it's a summons from the Doctor, who needs the mad inventor's help. The perfect collection for the bleakest - and sometimes brightest - time of the year, these are the tales for when you're halfway out of the dark . . . The perfect collection for the bleakest - and sometimes brightest - time of the year, these are the tales for when you're halfway out of the dark . . . Written by popular children's author, and lifelong Doctor Who fan, Dave Rudden, author of Twelve Angels Weeping. 'The perfect balance between tenderness and humour and terror and imagination - like the show at its very, very best' - Guardian 'The comforting yet thrilling vibe of a Doctor Who Christmas special TIMES TWELVE' - Deirdre Sullivan 'A fascinating tale' - Screenrant




The Prosperity Paradox


Book Description

Clayton M. Christensen, the author of such business classics as The Innovator’s Dilemma and the New York Times bestseller How Will You Measure Your Life, and co-authors Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon reveal why so many investments in economic development fail to generate sustainable prosperity, and offers a groundbreaking solution for true and lasting change. Global poverty is one of the world’s most vexing problems. For decades, we’ve assumed smart, well-intentioned people will eventually be able to change the economic trajectory of poor countries. From education to healthcare, infrastructure to eradicating corruption, too many solutions rely on trial and error. Essentially, the plan is often to identify areas that need help, flood them with resources, and hope to see change over time. But hope is not an effective strategy. Clayton M. Christensen and his co-authors reveal a paradox at the heart of our approach to solving poverty. While noble, our current solutions are not producing consistent results, and in some cases, have exacerbated the problem. At least twenty countries that have received billions of dollars’ worth of aid are poorer now. Applying the rigorous and theory-driven analysis he is known for, Christensen suggests a better way. The right kind of innovation not only builds companies—but also builds countries. The Prosperity Paradox identifies the limits of common economic development models, which tend to be top-down efforts, and offers a new framework for economic growth based on entrepreneurship and market-creating innovation. Christensen, Ojomo, and Dillon use successful examples from America’s own economic development, including Ford, Eastman Kodak, and Singer Sewing Machines, and shows how similar models have worked in other regions such as Japan, South Korea, Nigeria, Rwanda, India, Argentina, and Mexico. The ideas in this book will help companies desperate for real, long-term growth see actual, sustainable progress where they’ve failed before. But The Prosperity Paradox is more than a business book; it is a call to action for anyone who wants a fresh take for making the world a better and more prosperous place.




In a Town Called Paradox


Book Description




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