Leave the World Behind


Book Description

Now a Netflix film starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans and Kevin Bacon. Written for the Screen and Directed by Sam Esmail. Executive Producers Barack and Michelle Obama, Tonia Davis, Daniel M. Stillman, Nick Krishnamurthy, Rumaan Alam A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! Finalist for the 2020 National Book Award in Fiction One of Barack Obama's Summer Reads A Best Book of the Year From: The Washington Post * Time * NPR * Elle * Esquire * Kirkus * Library Journal * The Chicago Public Library * The New York Public Library * BookPage * The Globe and Mail * EW.com * The LA Times * USA Today * InStyle * The New Yorker * AARP * Publisher's Lunch * LitHub * Book Marks * Electric Literature * Brooklyn Based * The Boston Globe A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong. From the bestselling author of Rich and Pretty comes a suspenseful and provocative novel keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood, race, and class. Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped—and unexpected new ones are forged—in moments of crisis. Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe. Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other?




Bunny


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Soon to be a major motion picture "Jon Swift + Witches of Eastwick + Kelly 'Get In Trouble' Link + Mean Girls + Creative Writing Degree Hell! No punches pulled, no hilarities dodged, no meme unmangled! O Bunny you are sooo genius!" —Margaret Atwood, via Twitter "A wild, audacious and ultimately unforgettable novel." —Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times "Awad is a stone-cold genius." —Ann Bauer, The Washington Post The Vegetarian meets Heathers in this darkly funny, seductively strange novel from the acclaimed author of 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and Rouge "We were just these innocent girls in the night trying to make something beautiful. We nearly died. We very nearly did, didn't we?" Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and seem to move and speak as one. But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon," and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus "Workshop" where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision. The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination. Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Vogue, Electric Literature, and The New York Public Library




Wolfed: Cursed By Love


Book Description

Following a trail of blood into the woods isn't the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but when I find an injured wolf, I can’t bring myself to leave him behind. That decision might end up being my last because when a pack of wolves tries to attack us, it looks like we won’t make it out alive. The next day when I wake up in my bed, it all feels like a dream… except for the bite mark on my arm and the fever. When a mysterious guy with searing blue eyes comes into my bar, hovering around me all night, I’m more than a little creeped out. He’s hot as sin, but also super possessive with legit stalker vibes. I’m convinced my instincts are right when I black out and then wake up in his arms, limp, feverish and dying. But it turns out I’m not dying, just a newly turned werewolf. And the guy from the bar? Well he thinks I’m his reincarnated soul mate, but if that’s true I’m screwed, because according to him that only leaves me with one choice: to drop dead on my twentieth birthday.




Last Chance Texaco


Book Description

A candid and colorful memoir by the singer, songwriter, and “Duchess of Coolsville” (Time). This troubadour life is only for the fiercest hearts, only for those vessels that can be broken to smithereens and still keep beating out the rhythm for a new song . . . Last Chance Texaco is the first-ever no-holds-barred account of the life of two-time Grammy Award-winner and Rickie Lee Jones in her own words (Hilton Als). It is a tale of desperate chances and impossible triumphs, an adventure story of a girl who beat the odds and grew up to become one of the most legendary artists of her time, turning adversity and hopelessness into timeless music. With candor and lyricism, she takes us on a singular journey through her nomadic childhood, her years as a teenage runaway, her legendary love affair with Tom Waits, and ultimately her longevity as the hardest working woman in rock and roll. Rickie Lee’s stories are rich with the infamous characters of her early songs—“Chuck E’s in Love,” “Weasel and the White Boys Cool,” “Danny’s All-Star Joint,” and “Easy Money”—but long before her notoriety in show business, there was a vaudevillian cast of hitchhikers, bank robbers, jail breaks, drug mules, and a pimp with a heart of gold, and tales of her fabled ancestors. This intimate memoir by one of the most trailblazing and tenacious women in music is filled with never-before-told stories of the girl in the raspberry beret, whose songs defied categorization and inspired American pop culture for decades. “A striking, distinctive self-portrait.” —The New York Times “Terrific . . . Jones is as fearless in prose as she is on stage.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Men leave, fame fizzles, family breaks your heart . . . but Jones knows a good story and how to tell it.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “[The] premiere song-stylist and songwriter of her generation.” —Hilton Als, Pulitzer Prize–winner and author of White Girls




Bursting Bubbles (Making Adversity Okay)


Book Description

This is a diary written from a mini nursing home during the initial COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne, Australia. Mark Miljons-Rostoks offers a personal, reflective, and emotional account of a young quadriplegic man searching for meaning amid the global pandemic. He details the realities of life in care and how he plans to re-establish an inspiring life. It’s one massive vent-fest. A rare glimpse is given into a life that not many people know about, understand or can even imagine. He does this by undertaking a writing challenge that explores almost every facet of his life intimately. He also reflects on his life highlights prior to illness, fumbles his way through understanding some personal dilemmas in the present, then explores his ambitions as he plans for a brighter future when quarantine lifts. The author also recalls how he became quadriplegic after getting sick during a backpacking holiday to Europe, and how despite not being able to move his limbs he is determined that he was put here to thrive—not survive. There are highs and lows, obscure ideas and confessions, revelations and humorous accounts, and blimey even some shocking truths exposed. But above all, a raw, robust, resilient human spirit shines through in the face of adversity.




I'm Trying to Reach You


Book Description

* The Believer Book Award Finalist * One of the Best Books of 2012 —BuzzFeed “I was in Zagreb the day that Michael Jackson died. When I heard the news, the first thing I thought was, That’s it. That’s the first line of my novel. ‘I was in Zagreb the day that Michael Jackson died.’” First Michael Jackson, then Pina Bausch. Next is Merce Cunningham. Gray Adams, a former dancer with the Royal Swiss Ballet at work on his dissertation at NYU, has a theory spurred by countless hours of YouTube-based procrastination: Someone is killing these famous dancers! (And he may bear an uncanny resemblance to Jimmy Stewart, circa Vertigo.) I’m Trying to Reach You is a moving and candid contemporary look at how we process grief, as well as how we love and communicate with one another. "A provocative novel... that blurs the boundaries between life and performance, dance, art, and viral video. The novel is also framed in the world of performance art and is itself its own kind of performance... and feels rightly reflective of a moment when dance is pushing the boundaries of what constitutes a performance space." —Slate




Yours Always, Kit


Book Description

He dunked his bun into it and I almost spilled my drink as he took a bite then licked his lips. I remembered that kiss against my truck. I thought about the sweet one by the generator. My mind moved to the mindblowing night we’d spent together after the bar. I wanted to feel him relax under my hands. I wanted to hear those noises he made. I wanted those shy yeses to reach my ears when I asked him if what I was doing was okay. Having said that, I wanted him to stick around so I could try and get to know him better. I should probably just focus on quiet movie time. I finished my soup and sat back with a sigh. His eyes were on me and I cocked my head in question. I could see his anxiety slowly climbing. “Close your eyes, Trap.” I smiled when he did and instantly relaxed. My lips found his and he leaned into it. I pulled back. “What do you need?” He kissed me again. “A shower.” I started to laugh. “So have one.” His grin made my heart kick. Why the hell had a shower almost sent him running? He stood and held his hand out to me. Oh. Taylor All it takes is a few moments of sitting on the deck with Kit and, suddenly, he’s all I can think about. It doesn’t take long to realize that someone in his past hurt him badly, but for some reason, he trusts me. Until he doesn’t. Every time we start to get close, the man runs and disappears. Now, the question is: am I willing to risk my heart in an attempt to heal his? Kit I can’t be loved. It’s not something I dwell on, it’s just something that is. I've learned the hard way that there’s something about me that drives people away. I’ve come to terms with it. It is what it is. So, I have a rule. I don’t go home with anyone I might ever see again. Then, I meet Taylor. The man just won’t leave my mind and the next thing you know, I’m finding my way back to him. I know one thing: I can’t give him what he wants even if it’s the one one thing I want too.




Chicago Blaze Volume 2


Book Description

Ready for more? Fall deeper into the world of the Chicago Blaze with books four through six in this hot, emotional hockey romance series. Book 4 - Knox Reese I’m done. Getting ditched at the altar is nothing compared to being humiliated there in front of three hundred shocked guests. Apparently I’m no good at spotting the signs your man’s a cheating liar. So I set off solo on my honeymoon to Hawaii, where I realize I’ve got this life thing down just fine on my own. Friendships and laughter? Yes. Adventures? Absolutely. But relationships? Hell no. Never again. Knox I’m a man of few words. My reputation as a moody prick is deserved, but only the handful of people who really know me see the man beneath the professional mask. I’m a protector. A warrior. That part is true. But the world doesn’t get to see the rest of me. And women don’t seem to mind my gruff exterior—my bed’s always warm. I’m content with life—loving it, even—or so I thought. But when I meet a beautiful pastry chef with a broken heart and a smile that softens me down to my soul, I realize I wasn’t really content at all before her. I only wish I had the words to let her know. Book 5 - Alexei Alexei I guess the party’s over—for now. When I wake up in the hospital after a DUI car crash, my new NHL team owner gives me an ultimatum – get sober or get packed for the minor leagues. So I talk the talk and go to rehab. I plan to breeze through, get sprung in 30 days or less and hit the road with my new team, the Chicago Blaze. All I have to do is charm my attractive, uptight rehab group leader into thinking I’ve changed—how hard could it be? Graysen I see right through Alexei Petrov. My calling to save addicts from themselves before they self-destruct is deeply personal. Alexei’s hot and successful, sure. But he’s not okay, and he’s got a lot of work to do before graduating from my group. No one’s ever tested my boundaries like he does, though. I fight my desire and keep things professional, because the stakes couldn’t be higher—it’s not just my job that’s on the line, but also his life. The deeper we fall, though, the more he makes me question the mantra I live by: never trust your heart to an addict. Book 6 - Easy Erik Nothing rattles me. Well…almost nothing. As the most even-tempered player on the Chicago Blaze, I take everything in stride – hockey, fame and life in general. No one knows that deep down, even I’ve got a trigger. She’s a tall brunette with a gorgeous smile and an iron will. The woman who crushed my heart long ago. I never plan to return to Greentree Falls, Wisconsin and lay eyes on Allie Douglas again - until suddenly, I’m left without a choice. Allie Somehow, I’m keeping it all together. Raising my nieces and nephew alone and working takes everything I’ve got and then some, but I get by. I don’t have time for love, and who needs a man, anyway? I gave up the love of my life a decade ago, and now he’s just a distant memory. Until one day, he comes back home. And once I see him, I’m not keeping it together anymore. Not even close.




Wild Thoughts


Book Description

Jake is new to town and determined, for once, to live a simple life. All he wants is to work his groundskeeper job, stay fit, make some friends, and find romance with his sexy, cat-loving hairdresser, Joline—and keep the secret that he’s ludicrously wealthy. When romance sparks between Jake and Joline, he thinks he’s got it all figured it out, that is until he discovers Joline has her own secrets. The truth is that she has more in common with her cats than Jake could ever guess. Jake soon discovers that his new life is nothing close to simple, and that his normal friends are anything but. Then, sabotaged by an old, jealous flame, Jake soon discovers just how it feels to be in touch with his wild, inner animal and he finds himself losing the love of his life. Can these lovers reconcile their true natures? Can there be harmony between the conflicting parts of themselves? Or will Jake’s quest to change his own animal instincts cause him to lose everything? Wild Thoughts is part romance, part paranormal fantasy. Erotic, compelling, and mysterious, the heat between these characters will keep you reading and wanting more.




The Loud Book!


Book Description

From the blare of an alarm clock in the morning to snores and crickets in the evening, simple text explores the many loud noises one might hear during the course of a day.