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The Lost Worlds of 2001
Arthur C. Clarke - 1971
Clarke was published in 1972 by Signet as an accompaniment to the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey.The book itself consists in part of behind-the-scenes notes from Clarke concerning scriptwriting (and rewriting), as well as production issues. The core of the book, however, is contained in excerpts from the proto-novel and an early screenplay that did not make it into the final version.Alternative settings for launch preparation, the EVA scene where astronaut Frank Poole is lost, and varying dialogues concerning the HAL 9000 unit are all featured in the book. Also included is the original short story The Sentinel on which 2001 is loosely based.
Crapalachia: A Biography of a Place
Scott McClanahan - 2013
Crapalachia is a portrait of these formative years, coming-of-age in rural West Virginia.Peopled by colorful characters and their quirky stories, Crapalachia interweaves oral folklore and area history, providing an ambitious and powerful snapshot of overlooked Americana.
Still Life With Bottle: Whisky According to Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman - 1994
Illustrated throughout in full color.
The English Novel: An Introduction
Terry Eagleton - 2004
Lawrence and James Joyce.Distils the essentials of the theory of the novel.Follows the model of Eagleton's hugely popular Literary Theory: An Introduction (Second Edition, 1996).
Missing Time
Budd Hopkins - 1981
In INTRUDERS Budd Hopkins explored the shocking truth about the contact between earthling and alien: that human beings are temporarily abducted and taken aboard UFOs. But Hopkins could not have told the stories of those victims without first having discovered the one experience common to all who report alien encounters -- the phenomenon known as "missing time."MISSING TIME tells how the people who have experienced abductions retained no memory of them -- all traces of the trauma were effectively erased from their memory. Yet, under hypnosis, many abductees were able to recall in vivid, convincing detail, the harrowing experiments that left mysterious scars on their bodies, the eerie interiors of UFOs where they were held captive, and the astonishing faces of their alien hosts.The stories of seven victims of these otherworldly intruders are told here -- in detail at once dispassionate and dramatic, fully supported by scientific documentation. They are stories that could belong to anyone: your neighbors, your loved ones, even you.
Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen
Fay Weldon - 1984
By turns passionate and ironic, "Aunt Fay" makes Alice think--not only about books and literature, but also life and culture.
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002
Dave EggersEric Schlosser - 2002
For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 is a selection for young people of the best literature from mainstream and alternative American periodicals: from the New Yorker, Jane, Rolling Stone, Zyzzyva, Vibe, The Onion, Spin, Epoch, Time, Little Engines, Modern Humorist, Esquire, and more. Dave Eggers has chosen the highlights of 2001 for this genre-busting collection that includes new fiction, essays, satire, journalism -- and much more. From Eric Schlosser on french fries to Elizabeth McKenzie on awful family to Seaton Smith on how to "jive" with your teen, The Best American Nonrequried Reading 2002 is the first and the best.
Broken Bulbs
Eddie Wright - 2007
He wants to be something. When a mysterious young woman named Bonnie offers assistance by injecting seeds of inspiration directly into his brain, Frank finds himself involved in a twisting mystery full of addiction, desperation and self-discovery. Broken Bulbs, a novella by Eddie Wright, tells the story of the lengths one young man will go in the pursuit of "somethingness." "...a brilliant and stunningly original work, by far the best novel I read in 2008." - Alternative Reel "Philip Dick would be proud." - POD People A great addition to a genre that has never existed before." - Self-publishing Review "...the absolute perfect spot-on portrait of the mind of an addict." - LL Book Review
Readings about the Social Animal
Elliot Aronson - 1973
Organized to illustrate the major themes of Elliot Aronson's The Social Animal, this collection of classic and contemporary readings explores the most important ideas, issues, and debates in social psychology today.
Big Machine
Victor LaValle - 2009
Until one day a letter appears, summoning him to the frozen woods of Vermont. There, Ricky is inducted into a band of paranormal investigators comprised of former addicts and petty criminals, all of whom had at some point in their wasted lives heard The Voice: a mysterious murmur on the wind, a disembodied shout, or a whisper in an empty room that may or may not be from God.Evoking the disorienting wonder of writers like Haruki Murakami and Kevin Brockmeier, but driven by Victor LaValle’s perfectly pitched comic sensibility, Big Machine is a mind-rattling literary adventure about sex, race, and the eternal struggle between faith and doubt.
My Salinger Year
Joanna Rakoff - 2008
At twenty-three, after leaving graduate school to pursue her dreams of becoming a poet, Joanna Rakoff moves to New York City and takes a job as assistant to the storied literary agent for J. D. Salinger. She spends her days in a plush, wood-paneled office, where Dictaphones and typewriters still reign and old-time agents doze at their desks after martini lunches. At night she goes home to the tiny, threadbare Williamsburg apartment she shares with her socialist boyfriend. Precariously balanced between glamour and poverty, surrounded by titanic personalities, and struggling to trust her own artistic instinct, Rakoff is tasked with answering Salinger’s voluminous fan mail. But as she reads the candid, heart-wrenching letters from his readers around the world, she finds herself unable to type out the agency’s decades-old form response. Instead, drawn inexorably into the emotional world of Salinger’s devotees, she abandons the template and begins writing back. Over the course of the year, she finds her own voice by acting as Salinger’s, on her own dangerous and liberating terms. Rakoff paints a vibrant portrait of a bright, hungry young woman navigating a heady and longed-for world, trying to square romantic aspirations with burgeoning self-awareness, the idea of a life with life itself. Charming and deeply moving, filled with electrifying glimpses of an American literary icon, My Salinger Year is the coming-of-age story of a talented writer. Above all, it is a testament to the universal power of books to shape our lives and awaken our true selves.
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
David Eagleman - 2009
In one afterlife, you may find that God is the size of a microbe and unaware of your existence. In another version, you work as a background character in other people’s dreams. Or you may find that God is a married couple, or that the universe is running backward, or that you are forced to live out your afterlife with annoying versions of who you could have been. With a probing imagination and deep understanding of the human condition, acclaimed neuroscientist David Eagleman offers wonderfully imagined tales that shine a brilliant light on the here and now.
Rude Astronauts
Allen M. Steele - 1993
In Steele’s universe, the stars are cold, space is big, and it’s the normal people who make things interesting.
Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English Since 1939
Anthony Burgess - 1984
Mothers and Daughters
Jill Norman - 1999
Each author has collaborated with her own daughter on their story, inspired by real-life experiences. These tales reveal the dynamics of family, the bonds of love and the woman-to-woman heritage passed down from one generation to the next. "Mothers And Daughters" is a book to be cherished by mothers and daughters alike for years to come.