"The next stop in Dokja’s journey is Chungmuro, where the scale of the scenario is far greater than anything his group has faced so far. Making matters worse, the whole place is controlled by the predatory Landlord Coalition that makes the thugs in Geumho station look like a joke. Between the various opposing factions and daily monster attacks, the station is one enormous powder keg, and Dokja holds the torch! But while he is preoccupied with this complex chess board, another key player is nowhere to be seen. With Junghyeok’s disappearance, Dokja is forced to consider a chilling question—if the main character of this universe dies, what happens to the rest of the world?"
"An electrifying journey through the history of rock and roll, told through the lives of fifteen iconic drummers and their percussion rivals—from John Bonham and Charlie Watts to Ringo Starr and Questlove.
Rock and roll thrives on rhythm, but the drummers who drive that pulse often stay in the shadows. In Backbeats, acclaimed music historian John Lingan brings these unsung heroes into the spotlight, delivering a fascinating journey through six decades of rock history.
Lingan's deep research and vivid storytelling explores the lives of fifteen pathbreaking drummers and their fellow timekeepers—men and women who together laid down the beat of an era. From Bernard Purdie's legendary work with Aretha Franklin to Dave Grohl's funk- and punk-indebted swing for Nirvana, these drummers redefined what was possible in pop music. Iconic figures like Ringo Starr, whose inventive style transformed the Beatles, and Charlie Watts, the steady backbone of the Rolling Stones, take center stage. But Lingan doesn't stop there—he also shines a light on groundbreaking, underappreciated talents like Maureen Tucker of The Velvet Underground, whose minimalist beats rewrote the rulebook, and Sam Lay, a pivotal figure in rock's evolution from the blues.
Packed with insider stories and exclusive interviews—from Robert Plant's reflections on Led Zeppelin's legendary sessions to superstar recording engineer Steve Albini's behind-the-scenes accounts—Backbeats offers an eye-opening glimpse into some of rock's most unforgettable moments, including the seismic shift of Dylan going electric at Newport, James Brown's explosive creation of funk in the late sixties, and the birth of LA thrash metal in the early eighties.
More than just a tribute to an unrecognized group of virtuosos, this book is a love letter to the art of drumming itself. Backbeats shows how these remarkable artists not only kept the beat but drove rock and roll forward. It's a must-read for any music lover, offering a fresh and thrilling perspective on a story we only thought we knew."
"A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by celebrated bestselling author Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere, and series editor Nicole Lamy.
The Best American series, launched in 1915, is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction, and it is the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.
Celeste Ng—Puschcart Prize winner and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere—selects twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published this year."
"IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU WILL SURVIVE.Kill each other within the time limit or die. It’s just another evening commute on the train, until the passengers are given an order they can’t disobey. Utter chaos ensues, but ordinary office worker Dokja Kim only feels an unsettling calm. He knows exactly how this will play out! The subway car, the passengers’ reactions, even the bizarre creature that suddenly appears to oversee this sadistic scenario...everything is straight out of his favorite story, an online novel so obscure he is its sole reader. And as the only one who knows where the plot is headed, Dokja must use his knowledge to survive the oncoming apocalypse!"
"USA TODAY BEST SELLER!
She's read every romance…except her own.
"Clever and delightful; a standout in the genre." - ⭐KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW
"A must-have flirtation-via-tropes tale with all the swooning and joy readers want in a love story." - ⭐SCHOOL & LIBRARY JOURNAL STARRED REVIEW
"Susan Lee has written an ode to all romance readers. It's the kind of book I've been wanting to read for decades: a love letter to love stories and an instant favorite!"-Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis
Irene Park loves romance novels-so much so she's made a career of them as an online book reviewer with a massive following. But Irene's real life dating story? Non-existent.
So when she starts her freshman year of college, she sets her sights on finding true love using the one thing she really understands…romance book tropes.
If only it were that easy.
Enter Aiden Jeon, Irene's online book review rival and biggest nemesis. When Aiden challenges her to see who can find love-by-trope first, he becomes the one person standing in her way to getting everything she wants both professionally and personally, too.
So when the competition takes an unexpected turn, forcing the two of them to have to partner in the ultimate trope, fake dating, Irene is not prepared for everything she believed about romance, and Aiden, to flip on its head.
As Irene tackles the challenges of college life, struggles to figure out what she really wants for herself, all while trying to win the race for love, Irene realizes the answers may not be found in a romance novel. Happily Ever Afters seem so easy on page.
But for Irene to find her ultimate HEA, she'll have to get her nose out of the book and become the main character of her own story.
Perfect for fans of:
"
"Even after the credits roll, life goes on.In his second year of high school, Makoto Tsukishima learns he has only twelve months left to live. There’s just one thing he wants to do before he goes: tell Tsubasa Minami how he feels about her. He knows it won’t—can’t—lead to anything, and she invites him to join the filmmaking club. Soon, the two of them begin to feel a connection, but time is running out. Conflicted yet determined to spare Tsubasa the truth, Makoto decides to put a certain plan into action…"
"In this charming rom-com filled with Chinese traditions and a family curse, an herbalist fake dates a star musician-perfect for fans of Helen Hoang and Jasmine Guillory.
Chinese herbalist Chryssy Hua Williams never actually believed in the Hua family curse. But after Break-Up #9, Chryssy stopped laughing. Now she and her aunties run a special healing retreat center for the broken-hearted. After all, there's nothing a proper cup of herbal tea can't fix...but Chryssy's innocent run-in with celebrity cellist and bad boy Vin Chao has everyone brewing about a different kind of tea. So he offers her a deal: they'll fake-date, he'll "break" her heart (and increase ticket sales), and in return, he'll promote her business.
It's like Chryssy's whole cursed love life has been leading up to this moment. But all it takes is one kiss-and a whole lot of unexpected chemistry-to land both of them in hot water . . . "
"Inspired by Chinese myths of ancient dragon gods and threads of fate, Katrina Kwan's dazzling fantasy debut is a propulsive adventure perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Hannah Whitten.
At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running—even if that means ignoring the past-due notices—and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he's parlayed into a side career: he was born with the ability to see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he's ever seen that's gray and fraying.
But Sai's ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother's doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle cure, Sai is pretty sure he's being scammed. When the medicine actually works—and the terrifying, ruthless emperor catches wind—Sai is thrust into the search for a dragon long thought extinct that will lead him into the throes of a brewing war and deep into foreign lands, facing down challenges both magical and mortal on an unexpected adventure. And for the very first time, as his own thread of fate begins to move, he may be able to solve the mystery of his Fated One at the other end of the line."
""Moody and mesmerizing, The Body Next Door takes readers on a twisty, creepy, and compelling ride through family dysfunction and betrayal."
-Darby Kane, internationally bestselling author of The Engagement Party
They buried their secrets, but not deep enough…
Hannah McCullough's life is far from perfect, but you'd never know it by looking at her. Instead, you'd see a beautiful young mother wholly devoted to her two children and a docile wife utterly besotted with her self-made millionaire husband, Allan. You'd see the designer clothes she wears, the luxury car she drives, the dewy-eyed au pair she employs.
You wouldn't see the dark secret she carries.
But when a construction crew unearths the body of a young girl near the McCulloughs' vacation home on Orcas Island, Hannah has no choice but to confront her past. She wonders how much Allan knows about the victim and the apocalyptic cult she was connected to. Meanwhile, Allan can't seem to understand why his beautiful young bride, as polished and pristine as the collectible artifacts in his glass case, would threaten their fairy-tale lifestyle by digging too deep, in places she knows she shouldn't.
As the police investigation into the gruesome discovery deepens, the facade of Hannah's picture-perfect marriage starts to crumble, and she soon finds herself on a dire hunt for answers. And Hannah's search takes an unexpected turn after she crosses paths with three strangers with shocking secrets of their own.
"
"A "lyrical and introspective" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) historical novel in verse about a Chinese teen who immigrates to the United States with his family and endures mistreatment at the Angel Island Immigration Station while trying to navigate his own course in a new world.
Tai Go and his family have crossed an ocean wider than a thousand rivers, joining countless other Chinese immigrants in search of a better life in the United States. Instead, they're met with hostility and racism. Empowered by the Chinese Exclusion Act, the government detains the immigrants on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay while evaluating their claims.
Held there indefinitely, Tai Go experiences the prison-like conditions, humiliating medical exams, and interrogations designed to trick detainees into failure. Yet amid the anger and sorrow, Tai Go also finds hope—in the poems carved into the walls of the barracks by others who have been detained there, in the actions of a group of fellow detainees who are ready to fight for their rights, in the friends he makes, and in a perceived enemy whose otherness he must come to terms with.
Unhappy at first with his father's decision to come to the United States, Tai Go must overcome the racism he discovers in both others and himself and forge his own version of the American Dream."
"Take a step. Take a bow. Look around, how far you've come.
For an immortal, the mortal world has little to offer them. Except, perhaps, perspective.
Descent from the Mountain is a short story set in the A Thousand Li universe. This story can be read as a stand-alone. There are no spoilers for later works and the short story does not include individuals from the main series."
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