For what better time than Christmas, that most family-oriented of holidays, to read stories written by authors honored as winners of the John Newbery Medal for their contribution for literature for children? This collection comprises stories by authors today's children know and love, from E.L. Kongsburg and Nancy Willard to Beverly Cleary. It also contain stories by writers familiar to their parents and, perhaps, to their grandparents, from Ruth Sawyer and Rachel Field to Lois Lenski, Eleanor Estes, and Madeleine L'Engle.Some of these stories are humorous. Childen will laugh at the antics of Ramona Quimby in "Ramona, the Sheep Suit, and the Three Wise Persons" and at Eliot Miles's Christmas wish in E.L. Kongsburg's "Eliot Miles Does Not Wish You a Merry Christmas Because..." Others of the collection recall the christmases of years past, as in "Once in the Year" by Elizabeth Yates and "The Hundred Dresses" by Eleanor Estes. And others, like Madeleine L'Engle's "A Full House," remind us again of the true meaning of Christmas.This is a collection to savor and to read aloud. It's a book that can be read by the fire, on the beach, in the car on the way to Grandmother's house, or on any available lap. Most of all, it's a book for sharing and for celebrating the joys of Christmas.A portion of the royalties from this book will be donated to the American Library Association, administrators of the John Newbery Medal.

    He’s taken sf to places it’s never been (Snow Crash, Anathem). He’s reinvented the historical novel (The Baroque Cycle), the international thriller (Reamde), and both at the same time (Cryptonomicon).Now he treats his legion of fans to Some Remarks, an enthralling collection of essays—Stephenson’s first nonfiction work since his long essay on technology, In the Beginning…Was the Command Line, more than a decade ago—as well as new and previously published short writings both fiction and non.Some Remarks is a magnificent showcase of a brilliantly inventive mind and talent, as he discourses on everything from Sir Isaac Newton to Star Wars.

    At the urging of Whorl’s religious leader, Patera Silk, the people left the ship for an uncertain future on Blue – a world already inhabited by the inhumi, blood-drinking aliens who take human form.Now The Book of the Short Sun carries the story forward to the years after the great exodus, to let Horn, narrator of the earlier work, tell his own story.Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves on Blue, though crime, pollution and poverty have become so rampant in the city of New Viron that he is called upon to find Patera Silk. Horn must go to the still-orbiting Whorl and convince his old friend and mentor to return to Blue, for the legendary hero is the only one who can restore order and lead them to prosperity. But Horn isn’t even sure Silk still lives.Setting sail in a small boat, the aging Horn embarks on a long and difficult journey across the planet, trying to get to the Whorl. With the undine Seawrack, his adopted inhumi son, Krait, and his eldest son, Sinew, Horn makes it to the last working lander – only to be highjacked to the jungles of Green, where the inhumi imprison the passengers as slaves. There, he encounters the mysterious alien Neighbors who were once native to Blue, but whom the inhumi have all but exterminated. Horn joins their fight for freedom, is fatally wounded… and finds himself on another world, wearing a different body.As his inability to find Silk weighs heavily on his mind, Horn is further tormented by the fact that his new body bears a striking resemblance to the lost Caldé. In the end, he will have to answer a troubling question: has he truly failed in his sworn task, or has he become the very man he sought?Includes:On Blue's WatersIn Green's JunglesReturn To The Whorl

    Redefined.Martin H. Ehrengraf, dapper and diabolical, may be Lawrence Block's darkest creation. He's the defense attorney who never sees the inside of a courtroom, because all his clients are innocent - no matter how guilty they may seem. Some even believe themselves to be guilty: They remember pulling the trigger, or wiring the dynamite to their spouse's car, or holding the bloody blade. But things have a way of working out when Martin Ehrengraf is on the case. Evidence turns up, incriminating someone else. More murders occur, with the same M.O. And the gate of the jail cell opens, and the accused walks free.But be careful - hiring Martin Ehrengraf comes with a price. A high price, one that comes due even if he appears to have done nothing on your behalf. And you'd better be prepared to pay...Here at last are the complete exploits of Martin Ehrengraf: a dozen delicious tales of vice and villainy including one - ''The Ehrengraf Fandango'' - that is appearing for the first time anywhere. It's a 12-course meal of sinister surprises, exquisitely prepared and served simmering hot by the greatest living master of mystery fiction.

    In A Time for New Dreams he breaks new ground in an unusual collection of linked essays, which address such diverse themes as childhood, self-censorship, the role of beauty, the importance of education and the real significance of the recent economic meltdown.Proving that 'true literature tears up the script' of how we see ourselves, A Time for New Dreams is provocative and thought-provoking. In an intriguing marriage of style and content, the concise but perfectly formed essays in this collection push the parameters of writing whilst asking profound questions about who we are and the future that awaits us.

    In the Daily Mail Angela Huth called "Good Evening, Mrs Craven" 'my especial find' and Ruth Gorb in the "Ham & High" contrasted the humour of some of the stories with the desolation of others: 'The mistress, unlike the wife, has to worry and mourn in secret for her man; a middle-aged spinster finds herself alone again when the camaraderie of the air-raids is over ...'

    This book is a collection of her most personal and inspirational speeches, given over the course of a year and a half, on the Obama's historic journey to the White House. In her own words, Michelle Obama talks about her beliefs, her upbringing, and her values.

    Uniquely among the fighting forces of the Imperium, all the warriors of this organisation are female. Clad in ceramite power armour and armed with an awesome array of wargear, they fight with fanatical fervour for the glory of the Emperor, scourging both xenos and heretic alike with bolter and flamer. This omnibus collects together James Swallow's two classic Sisters of Battle novels, 'Faith & Fire' and 'Hammer & Anvil', along with the prose version of the audio drama 'Red & Black' and a new short story 'Heart & Soul', both available in print for the first time.CONTENTSFaith & FireHammer & AnvilRed & BlackHeart & Soul

    SpaceshipPiper in the Woods

    "Wired" magazine sent him to Singapore to report on one of the world's most buttoned-up states. "The New York Times Magazine" asked him to describe what was wrong with the Internet. Rolling Stone published his essay on the ways our lives are all "soundtracked" by the music and the culture around us. And in a speech at the 2010 Book Expo, he memorably described the interactive relationship between writer and reader.These essays and articles have never been collected-until now. Some have never appeared in print at all. In addition, "Distrust That Particular Flavor" includes journalism from small publishers, online sources, and magazines no longer in existence. This volume will be essential reading for any lover of William Gibson's novels. "Distrust That Particular Flavor" offers readers a privileged view into the mind of a writer whose thinking has shaped not only a generation of writers but our entire culture.

    Moving from memories of her gentle grandfather to her uncanny ability to attract stray animals, Siddons' intimate stories of her family are graced with the same poetic lilt and vibrant detail that have so wonderfully served her novels. For all those who know and love her works of fiction, John Chancellor Makes Me Cry is a glorious and thoroughly entertaining treat.

    Whether you pursue traditional or indie publishing success, you need to know the pitfalls and traps that undermine many writers' careers. In this WMG Writer's Guide, USA Today bestselling author and former publisher Dean Wesley Smith addresses the ten most damaging myths that writers believe in modern publishing. Topics Include: Right vs. Wrong Writing Speed Rewriting Agents Books as Events Quality Writing to Trends Making Money Writing is Hard Career Killers

    Seventeen of them had not developed interstellar travel. Those were destroyed by the species that did reach the stars. That space-faring eighteenth decimated the human colony on the Semi-Autonomous World Troy. A Marine Force Recon platoon sent to investigate is wiped out almost to the last man. In reaction, the North American Union assembles the largest army seen since the major wars of the 20th Century. A Marine Corps Combat Force is sent to "kick in the door," backed up by a four-division Army corps to take the planet back. The initial landing is unopposed. It isn't until the fleet carrying the Army corps is approaching Troy that the enemy strikes, with devastating effect.

    The author relates his own life experiences to offer a view of contemporary Native American life.

    Now a single volume brings together the full range of his work: monologues from A Prairie Home Companion, stories from The New Yorker and The Atlantic, excerpts from novels, newspaper columns. With an extensive introduction and headnotes, photographs, and memorabilia, The Keillor Reader also presents pieces never before published, including the essays “Cheerfulness” and “What We Have Learned So Far.”   Keillor is the founder and host of A Prairie Home Companion, celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2014. He is the author of nineteen books of fiction and humor, the editor of the Good Poems collections, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.