Short Stories by Kurt Vonnegut (Study Guide): Harrison Bergeron / EPICAC / 2BR02B / Welcome to the Monkey House / Miss Temptation / Report on the Barnhouse Effect


Books LLC - 2010
    Chapters: Harrison Bergeron, Epicac, 2br02b, Welcome to the Monkey House, Miss Temptation, Report on the Barnhouse Effect, All the King's Horses, Who Am I This Time?, Deer in the Works. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: "Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical, dystopian science fiction short story written by Kurt Vonnegut and first published in October 1961. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the story was re-published in the author's collection, Welcome to the Monkey House in 1968. In the story, social equality has been achieved by handicapping the more intelligent, athletic or beautiful members of society. For example, strength is handicapped by the requirement to carry weight, beauty by the requirement to wear a mask and so on. This is due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the United States Constitution. This process is central to the society, designed so that no one will feel inferior to anyone else. Handicapping is overseen by the United States Handicapper General, Diana Moon-Glampers. Harrison Bergeron, the protagonist of the story, has exceptional intelligence, strength, and beauty, and thus has to bear enormous handicaps. These include headphones that play distracting noises, three hundred pounds of weight strapped to his body, eyeglasses designed to give him headaches, a rubber ball on his nose, black caps on his teeth, and shaven eyebrows. Despite these societal handicaps, he is able to invade a TV station, declare himself Emperor, strip himself of his handicaps, then dance with a ballerina whose handicaps he has also discarded. Both are shot dead by the brutal and relentless Handicapper General. The story is framed by an additional perspective from Bergeron's parents, who are w...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=18941

The Bell Tolls for No One


Charles Bukowski - 2015
    An informative introduction by editor David Stephen Calonne provides historical context for these seemingly scandalous and chaotic tales, revealing the hidden hand of the master at the top of his form.Born in Andernach, Germany, and raised in Los Angeles, Charles Bukowski published his first story when he was twenty-four and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five. His first book of poetry was published in 1959; he would eventually publish more than forty-five books of poetry and prose. He died of leukemia in San Pedro, California on March 9, 1994.David Stephen Calonne is the author of several books and has edited three previous collections of the uncollected work of Charles Bukowski for City Lights: Absence of the Hero, Portions from a Wine-Stained Notebook, and More Notes of a Dirty Old Man.

The Merciful Angel of Death


Lawrence Block - 2012
    The first novel, The Sins of the Fathers, appeared in 1975, and A Drop of the Hard Stuff - the 17th and most recent - was published in 2011. Over the years Scudder has also been featured in 11 short works of fiction. The Merciful Angel of Death is the fifth of these; it frst appeared in 1993 in The New Mystery, Jerome Charyn's anthology of stories by members of the International Association of Crime Writers.The story was written during the depth of the AIDS epidemic, and reflects its time.The Merciful Angel of Death is included in The Night and the Music, my collection of all 11 Matthew Scudder short stories, available for Kindle or in handsome trade paperback form.

The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales


H.P. Lovecraft - 1940
    P. Lovecraft's greatest contribution to supernatural literature: a series of stories that evoked cosmic awe and terror through their accounts of incomprehensibly alien monsters and their horrifying incursions into our world. The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales collects 23 of Lovecraft's greatest weird tales, including "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Colour out of Space," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Shadow over Innsmouth," and "The Shadow out of Time." It also features six collaborative "revisions" through which Lovecraft expanded the scope of his dark mythology.In these stories, monstrous entities traverse the gulfs of time and space and humankind cowers in fright at the havoc they wreak. The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales is your passport to realms of unimaginable horror.Contents:1. Dagon2. Nyarlathotep3. The Nameless City4. Azathoth5. The Hound6. The Festival7. The Call of Cthulhu8. The Colour out of Space9. History of the Necronomicon10. The Curse of Yig11. The Dunwich Horror12. The Whisperer in Darkness13. The Mound14. At the Mountains of Madness15. The Shadow over Innsmouth16. The Dreams in the Witch House17. The Man of Stone18. The Horror in the Museum19. The Thing on the Doorstep20. Out of the Aeons21. The Tree on the Hill22. The Shadow out of Time23. The Haunter of the Dark

Tales of the Alhambra


Washington Irving - 1832
    At first sight, he described it as "a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen." Irving was preparing a book called A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada, a history of the years 1478–1492, and was continuing his research on the topic. He immediately asked the then-governor of the historic Alhambra Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving's celebrity status. Aided by a 17-year old guide named Mateo Ximenes, Irving was inspired by his experience to write Tales of the Alhambra. Throughout his trip, he filled his notebooks and journals with descriptions and observations though he did not believe his writing would ever do it justice. He wrote, "How unworthy is my scribbling of the place." Irving continued to travel through Spain until he was appointed as secretary of legation at the United States Embassy in London, serving under the incoming minister Louis McLane. He arrived in London by late September 1829.

Stone Barrington Adventures


Stuart Woods - 2012
    Lucid Intervals Strategic Moves Bel-Air Dead

Murder House: Part One


James Patterson - 2015
    7 Ocean Drive is a multimillion-dollar beachfront house in the Hamptons, but its beautiful exterior hides a horrific past. This house was the setting for a series of depraved killings that have never been solved. Neglected, empty and rumoured to be cursed, it's known as the Murder House, and locals keep their distance. Detective Jenna Murphy has moved to the area to escape her troubled past and rehabilitate a career on the rocks. But when a Hollywood power broker and his mistress are found dead in the abandoned Murder House, Jenna becomes involved in a case that at first seems open and shut, but reveals more secrets than she could possibly imagine.As more bodies surface and Jenna is drawn deeper into the dark history of No. 7, she must risk her own life to expose the truth – before the Murder House claims another victim.

P.N. Elrod Lunch Time Reading Omnibus


P.N. Elrod - 2011
    Elrod's picked 15 of her favorite short works for this multi-genre collection spanning 15 years of publication.Also included is a never before published VAMPIRE FILES story, featuring her urban fantasy vampire PI, Jack Fleming!Each story has been polished afresh for this anthology, with pages of new material added.More information -- and previews of the stories! -- may be found at her website vampwriter-dot-com.Titles:1. A Night at the (Horse) Opera (Vampire Files, Fleming)2. The Breath of Bast (Vampire Files), Ecsott)3. Bossman (Original mystery, no vamps)4. Slaughter (Vampire Files, Fleming & Gordy)5. The Devil's Mark (Original historical vampire)6. You'll Catch Your Death (Vampire Files)7. Izzy's Shoe-In (Historical mystery introducing Izzy DeLeon, fearless girl reporter)8. The Quick Way Down (Vampire Files, Fleming and Gordy)9. The Scottish Ploy (Original romance/mystery)10. Grave-Robbed (Vampire Files, Fleming)11. The Company You Keep (Vampire Files, Gabriel Kroun)12. Death in Dover (Jonathan Barrett before he got vamped, historical mystery)13. Drawing Dead (ALL NEW VAMPIRE FILES, Fleming)14. King of Shreds and Patches (Hamlet from a different point of view, mystery)15. Fugitive (Science fiction/space opera)16. BONUS STORY! The Wind Breathes Cold (Quincey Morris: Vampire)

The Hammer of God: A Father Brown Mystery


G.K. Chesterton - 2009
    Chesterton's humble priest detective, Father Brown.

Regia Occulta


Dan Abnett - 2013
    Aided by local officials and using arcane methods of detection, Eisenhorn must decipher the secret of the Regia Occulta and stop the bestial killer before it strikes again.The prose edition of one of the stories in the Thorn And Talon audio drama.

Arabian Nights: The Marvels and Wonders of The Thousand and One Nights, Volume 1 of 2


Jack D. Zipes
    First introduced into the West in 1704, the stories of The Thousand and One Nights are most familiar to American readers in sanitized children's versions. This modern edition, based on Richard F. Burton's unexpurgated translation, restores the lushness of the original Arabic. Here are the famous adventures of Sinbad, "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," and "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp." Here too are less familiar stories, such as "Prince Behram and the Princess Al-Datma," a delightful early version of The Taming of the Shrew, and "The Wily Dalilah and her Daughter Zaynab," a hilarious tale about two crafty women who put an entire city of men in their place. Intricate and imaginative, these stories-within-stories told over a thousand and one nights continue to captivate readers as they have for centuries. "Arabian Nights: The Marvels and Wonders of The Thousand and One Nights, Volume 2 of 2, Adapted By Jack Zipes"

The New Testament Translated From the Original Greek, With Chronological Arrangement of the Sacred Books, and Improved Divisions of Chapters and Verses.


Anonymous - 2009
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

George R. R. Martin: Short Stories, Volume 1


George R.R. Martin - 2003
    Martin was born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed. Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93. Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West. Volume 1 of "George R. R. Martin: Short Stories" contains the Hugo, Locus Poll and Nebula Award? Winning "Sandkings," and more excellent short science fiction and fantasy.

Gaspar Ruiz


Joseph Conrad - 1906
    The wars of South American independence against Spanish rule are the framework of this extraordinary adventureAn enthralling novel of Gaspar’s inspirational rise from obscurity to light. Remarkable for its irony, it marvellously presents man’s capacity for self-deception. Attention-grabbing!Excerpt:That voice, senores, proceeded from the head of Gaspar Ruiz. Of his body I could see nothing. Some of his fellow-captives had clambered upon his back. He was holding them up. His eyes blinked without looking at me. That and the moving of his lips was all he seemed able to manage in his overloaded state. And when I turned round, this head, that seemed more than human size resting on its chin under a multitude of other heads, asked me whether I really desired to quench the thirst of the captives.

Candide and Other Stories


Voltaire - 1759
    First published in 1759, it was an instant bestseller and has come to be regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. What Candide does for chivalric romance, the other tales in this selection--Micromegas, Zadig, The Ingenu, and The White Bull--do for science fiction, the Oriental tale, the sentimental novel, and the Old Testament. The most extensive one-volume selection currently available, this new edition includes a new verse translation of the story Voltaire based on Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale: What Pleases the Ladies and opens with a revised introduction that reflects recent critical debates, including a new section on Candide.