alternate cover for ISBN 9781101947883From an award-winning science fiction writer (whose short story "The Story of Your Life" was the basis for the Academy Award-nominated movie Arrival), the long-awaited new collection of stunningly original, humane, and already celebrated short storiesThis much-anticipated second collection of stories is signature Ted Chiang, full of revelatory ideas and deeply sympathetic characters. In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and the temptation of second chances. In the epistolary "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people, but for all of reality. And in "The Lifecycle of Software Objects," a woman cares for an artificial intelligence over twenty years, elevating a faddish digital pet into what might be a true living being. Also included are two brand-new stories: "Omphalos" and "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom."In this fantastical and elegant collection, Ted Chiang wrestles with the oldest questions on earth--What is the nature of the universe? What does it mean to be human?--and ones that no one else has even imagined. And, each in its own way, the stories prove that complex and thoughtful science fiction can rise to new heights of beauty, meaning, and compassion.

From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, comes an unforgettable edge-of-your-seat mystery that is at once heartbreakingly tender and morally courageous about what it means to be human.Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it.Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but it’s only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is.Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date.

I know I'm not the only one who saw the trailer for the movie that will be coming out this year and knew I had to get my hands on the source material. I'm totally a newbie to graphic novels and manga. Aside from a brief obsession with Sailor Moon when I was a teenager, I'm woefully unfamiliar with all anime and under-read in all areas of manga. Picking up the Deluxe edition of Battle Angel Alita was sort of a leap of faith for me, but having read the first volume tonight I'm hopeful that this will end up an unexpectedly pleasant surprise for me this month! Volume 1, entitled Rusty Angel starts the reader off with a very, very soft introduction to the world as Alita is scavenged from a junkyard by a crafty repairman named Ido. This first volume seeks to introduce the readers only to the very surface of the world, the art style, and the characters. The scope of the world thus far remains centered around only what Alita is currently experiencing. She is a cypher through which the audience will continue to learn about the world.It makes for an extremely fast-paced read. It feels fresh and exciting, as there's really nothing to be confused by quite yet. The cover artwork for the volume definitely feels dated in comparison to some of the newer manga and comics I saw sitting on the shelf in the bookstore, but somehow it totally works here. It lends the story a gritty, retro feel that I'm totally into. There's a definite focus on introducing elements of the story through action as well, which I personally think is the best way of delivering information about the world. Through a number of battle scenes and their consequences, we the reader learn about Alita's capabilities, and the abilities of a number of other cybertronic characters that exist in the world. Technology is definitely key here, and I truly enjoyed some of the ways it is implemented in the various action sequences. Be wary though, this is definitely not for the faint of heart. There's a fair amount of gore in here, although frankly I think that's to be expected considering the title! My one qualm with this was that some of the dialogue felt a little stilted, especially in the second half, but otherwise I was totally invested.Can't wait to see where the story goes next!

Nora Grey can't remember the past five months of her life. After the initial shock of waking up in a cemetery and being told that she has been missing for weeks - with no one knowing where she was or who she was with - she tried to get her life back on track. Go to school, hang out with her best friend, Vee, and dodge mom's creepy new boyfriend.But there is this voice in the back of her head, an idea that she can almost reach out and touch. Visions of angel wings and unearthly creatures that have nothing to do with the life she knows.And this unshakable feeling that a part of her is missing.Then Nora crosses paths with a sexy stranger, whom she feels a mesmerizing connection to. He seems to hold all the answers...and her heart. Every minute she spends with him grows more and more intense until she realizes she could be falling in love. Again.

The third installment in the all-new series from the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.Friends can betray.Mothers can disappear.Visions can mislead.Certainties can unravel.

What is Un Lun Dun?  It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.  When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.

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