The Torchlight List


Book Description

In today’s world it seems that everywhere we turn we are saturated with book recommendations from talk shows, magazines, radio shows, friends, and top ten lists. But which books are really the best, and what effects do the books we read have on our intelligence? The Torchlight List has the answers. A professor for over forty years, Jim Flynn was concerned when he saw that his students were reading less and less. He decided to compile a list of recommendations for them, which expanded to include two hundred titles that transport the reader into a magic realm of knowledge and imagination. The books must also shed light on human psychology, history, science, or philosophy: the concepts needed to comprehend the complexities of the modern world. The list, named in honor of Flynn’s uncle who read by torchlight onboard a ship during WWI, is divided by geographical area. Flynn offers a brief explanation on the history each book deals with and comments on the plots with humor and wit. He bets each reader that at least one of the five first titles will change his or her life. This is a book that will inspire you to reread books you love, and to discover and relish many new ones.




The New Torchlight List


Book Description

Writers' festivals, TV book shows, radio interviews, book clubs, TED Talks-today's novelists are a travelling roadshow. New books and their authors are thrown to the wolves, aka reviewers, to be savaged, praised to the skies, or sadly just ignored. In the midst of all this, how can the bewildered booklover decide what to read? Jim Flynn tackles the question head-on in this racy, funny, no-holds-barred book, the sequel to his bestseller The Torchlight List. Flynn spent 6 years reading nearly 400 books by modern authors, including many new works in translation. Are the authors who receive all the hype really the best? Who's worth reading and who's not? Readers will be shocked, surprised and sometimes enraged by Flynn's audacious opinions. Above all they will be inspired, as we have been at Awa Press, to try many new authors and read new work by authors we have loved in the past.




Daughter of the Salt King


Book Description

A 2021 Foreword INDIES Award Winner in Romance and Finalist in Fantasy A 2022 Benjamin Franklin Award Runner-Up in Best New Voice: Fiction “The heat and romance of the desert, the push and the pull of Emel’s desperation, and the magic and humanity of a caustic jinni make Daughter of the Salt King an irresistible ride.” —Amy Harmon, New York Times bestselling author “This riveting debut novel will leave readers eagerly awaiting Thornton’s future works.” —Booklist A girl of the desert and a jinni born long ago by the sea, both enslaved to the Salt King—but with this capricious magic, only one can be set free. As a daughter of the Salt King, Emel ought to be among the most powerful women in the desert. Instead, she and her sisters have less freedom than even her father's slaves . . . for the Salt King uses his own daughters to seduce visiting noblemen into becoming powerful allies by marriage. Escape from her father’s court seems impossible, and Emel dreams of a life where she can choose her fate. When members of a secret rebellion attack, Emel stumbles upon an alluring escape route: her father’s best-kept secret—a wish-granting jinni, Saalim. But in the land of the Salt King, wishes are never what they seem. Saalim’s magic is volatile. Emel could lose everything with a wish for her freedom as the rebellion intensifies around her. She soon finds herself playing a dangerous game that pits dreams against responsibility and love against the promise of freedom. As she finds herself drawn to the jinni for more than his magic, captivated by both him and the world he shows her outside her desert village, she has to decide if freedom is worth the loss of her family, her home and Saalim, the only man she’s ever loved. For readers who enjoy epic desert fantasies and forbidden romance like The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury, The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh, and Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.




Legends & Lattes


Book Description

An Instant New York Times Bestseller A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2022 A Library Reads Pick An Indie Next Pick A Goodreads Best Fantasy Choice Award Nominee The much-beloved BookTok sensation, Travis Baldree's novel of high fantasy and low stakes. *This new edition includes a very special, never-before-seen bonus story, 'Pages to Fill.'* After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone. But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed. “Take a break from epic battles and saving the world. Legends & Lattes is a low-stakes fantasy that delivers exactly what's advertised: a wholesome, cozy novel that feels like a warm hug. This is my new comfort read.”—Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.




Devil May Care


Book Description

Bond is back with a license to thrill. Forty-three years ago, Ian Fleming wrote his last great 007 adventure. Now, in Devil May Care, the world's most iconic spy returns in a Cold War story spanning the world's exotic locations. By invitation of the Fleming estate to mark the centenary of his birth, acclaimed novelist Sebastian Faulks picks up where Fleming left off, writing a tour de force that will electrify every James Bond fan. A fitting tribute to the Bond tradition, Devil May Care stands on its own as a triumph of witty prose and plenty of double-0 action. "In his house in Jamaica, Ian Fleming used to write a thousand words in the morning, then go snorkeling, have a cocktail, lunch on the terrace, more diving, another thousand words in the late afternoon, then more martinis and glamorous women. In my house in London, I followed this routine exactly, apart from the cocktails, the lunch, and the snorkeling." —Sebastian Faulks




The Story of Light


Book Description

From the origins of the earth to the exploration of the heavens, Ben Bova, a multiple winner of science fiction's Hugo Award, unveils the beauty and science of light. In accessible prose, he explains new discoveries in areas ranging from relativity and quantum physics to perspective and the Renaissance painters' use of light.




Fate & Philosophy


Book Description

"Jim Flynn examines the tough decisions we face and urges us to think philosophically, not be influenced by subconscious conditioning inherited from our parents, our religion, or any other influences. An introduction to philosophy, and a tour through modern science, from research on the workings of the human brain to deciphering the matter that makes up the universe"--Publisher information.




A River of Royal Blood


Book Description

Two sisters must fight to the death to win the crown in this first installment of a gripping, action-packed duology set in an ancient North African-inspired fantasy world. Now in paperback. Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of blood and marrow--a dark and terrible magick that hasn't been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago, thus beginning the Rival Heir tradition. Living in Raina's long and dark shadow, Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne--because in the Queendom of Myre only the strongest, most ruthless rulers survive. A River of Royal Blood is an enthralling debut set in a lush ancient North African inspired fantasy world that subtly but powerfully challenges our notions of power, history, and identity.




Goodnight Lion


Book Description

A magical bedtime story book for children. Lion is ready for bed, but first he wants to say good night to all his animal friends. Insert the magic flashlight between the pages to find Lion's friends in each night-time scene and watch children glow with delight! Repetitive, rhyming text to help young children learn rhythm and tone. Clever windows throughout reveal hidden animals when the flashlight is inserted. Includes a handy ribbon to keep the magic flashlight attached to the book. "This is a lovely read. As well as the cheery illustrations by Zhanna Ovocheva and the interactive element, the rhythmic text makes for a fun read aloud. It highlights how different the sky and surroundings are when it is night time." - Mamma Filz (Book blogger) "If you are after bedtime stories with the 'WOW factor' these are for you. Inside the books are cardboard 'torches' that help your child see extra things in the pictures. So clever and so exciting." - The SEN Resources Blog




A Book Too Risky to Publish


Book Description

"Freedom to debate is essential to the development of critical thought, but on university campuses today free speech is restricted for fear of causing offense. This book surveys the underlying factors that circumscribe the ideas tolerated in our institutions of learning"--