A great collection of stories from the author of Fight Club. In 'Zombies', the best and brightest of a high school become tragically addicted to the latest drug craze: electric shocks from cardiac defibrillators. While in 'Tunnel of Love', a massage therapist runs the curious practice of providing 'relief' to dying clients. And in 'Excursion', Fight Club fans will be thrilled to find a side of Tyler Durden never seen before.
For years Chuck Palahniuk has reserved his best storytelling for his readings, often choosing to read a new short story instead of whatever novel he is supposed to be promoting. MAKE SOMETHING UP compiles these previously unpublished tails for the very first time, plus the Byliner social media insta-classic "Phoenix" and Palahniuk's most notable pieces from Playboy.
Jim Lobretto has been awake for 24 hours, he's out of gas, and he's craving cigarettes. He's irritable and eager to be home, so when he's stopped by the police all he feels is annoyance. However, his next cigarette, the one he smokes while he's waiting for the cop to get out of his car, will spark a traumatic accident and drag Jim into a chain of events which only promise unspeakable agony and pain.
Thomas Kilbride is a map-obsessed schizophrenic so affected that he rarely leaves the self-imposed bastion of his bedroom. But with a computer program called Whirl360.com, he travels the world while never so much as stepping out the door. He pores over and memorizes the streets of the world. He examines every address, as well as the people who are frozen in time on his computer screen. Then he sees something that anyone else might have stumbled upon--but has not--in a street view of downtown New York City: an image in a window. An image that looks like a woman being murdered. Thomas's brother, Ray, takes care of him, cooking for him, dealing with the outside world on his behalf, and listening to his intricate and increasingly paranoid theories. When Thomas tells Ray what he has seen, Ray humors him with a half-hearted investigation. But Ray soon realizes he and his brother have stumbled onto a deadly conspiracy. And now they are in the crosshairs.
Shortlisted for the Anthony, Nebula, Edgar, Shamus, and Gold Dagger Awards, best-selling author James Sallis is a master of the gritty crime drama. The Killer Is Dying tracks the fortunes of three men of vastly different ages, backgrounds, and ambitions. Though they never meet, a hired killer on his last job, a burned out detective, and a young boy plagued by nightmares have their lives intersect in compelling ways in the scorching metropolis of Phoenix, Arizona.
"Critically acclaimed author Keith Lee Morris'who has drawn favorable comparisons to Richard Russo and Richard Ford'delivers a stunning collection of stories. In these unforgettable tales of deep humanity, the flaws and strengths of young men are explored with remarkable clarity.
'Morris's prose is polished to transparency and proves surprisingly flexible in terms of tone ' marked by quiet authority and beautifully observed moments.''Publishers Weekly"
Read By: Kevin Orton, Jeffrey Brick, Tony Ward, Jodi Dick, Anthony Crep, Ken Marks
The fiction of Bonnie Jo Campbell has been honored with the Pushcart Prize, the AWP Award for Short Fiction, and Southern Review's Eudora Welty Prize. In this stunning collection'a National Book Award finalist'Campbell's
rural Michigan characters are both as jagged as rusty metal and as delicate as the light brush of fading dreams.
'Readers ' will feel salvaged and transformed by this gutsy book's fierce compassion.''Booklist, starred review
Picked by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the unknown wilds of the Louisiana Territory, Meriwether Lewis assembles a rugged team of adventurers, including co-captain William Clark-and a Newfoundland dog named Seaman. As hunter, retriever, and guard, Seaman becomes a trusted member of the Corps of Discovery. While the team tackles raging rivers and muddy shallows, Seaman is there-sharing their hunger and fatigue. Whether Indians threaten or grizzlies roar, he stands his ground. And through mountain peak or valley deep, Seaman remains a watchful friend and determined foe. Laurence Pringle-one of America's premier nonfiction writers for young people-has garnered critical acclaim for "turning natural history and science into page-turning reading" (Booklist). Relying on journal accounts, Pringle delivers a dog-centered narrative of the 8,000-mile Lewis and Clark expedition from its harrowing beginning to its triumphant end in 1806. To fill gaps in the historical record, Pringle imagines details of Seaman's vital role.
When the platypus was first discovered by Europeans in the 1800s, it was well-known by Australian Aborigines-but no one knew how to classify it. It lived in the water and laid eggs like a reptile, had a bill like a bird, and was furry and warm-blooded like a mammal. Scientists had to come up with a way to solve this and many other mysteries of nature. Alaskan Polar bears sleeping in hidden underground dens caused problems for researchers wanting to drill for oil without disturbing the bears. Find out how scientists used infrared imaging to see the caves beneath the snow. One type of parrot from southern Peru munches on dirt from a riverbank each morning. Learn how these birds (and some people) use dirt as part of their diet. And also learn how a special kind of bird in Africa actually leads villagers to one of the town's main food sources, honey. This collection of articles by Jack Myers, long-time chief science editor for Highlights for Children magazine, answers some of the most interesting questions science has explored.
Did you know there are over 400 different species of sharks? Did you know they have been on Earth much longer than humans, and even lived before the dinosaurs? Here you'll learn all about these fearsome kings of the ocean, including their eating habits and the basics of their anatomy. Sharks come in many sizes, from under a foot long to over 40 feet-and that's not even counting the long-extinct, 60-foot-long Megalodon shark. And while some have been known to bite people, they are usually quite content to hunt other sea creatures. There are many things we still don't know about sharks, but this is an excellent jumping-off point to discover more! Winner of the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award, author Laurence Pringle presents this masterful introduction to one of nature's most misunderstood, yet exciting, animals.
A wrangler for some 40 years, Willard Wyman landed two Spur Awards for High Country as Best Novel of the West and Best First Novel. Little more than a boy, Ty Hardin is apprenticed to a legendary packer even as the Great Depression takes its toll on American families.
Filled with real accounts of the devastating power of hurricanes, this book takes readers into the eye of the storm-where it may be calm, clear, and sunny, but surrounding you on all sides are black clouds and rampaging winds. Here, you'll come face-to-face with some of the greatest hurricanes in history through firsthand accounts from people who survived these destructive storms. You'll see the frightful sights and hear the roaring sounds these witnesses experienced during their harrowing ordeals.
Along the way, you'll also learn about the science of storms, including how they are formed and what conditions help them grow into such monsters. In particular, the category-five fury of Hurricane Katrina is fully documented. This exciting book from National Geographic features the stories of men, women, and children who have felt the awe-inspiring force of 190-mile-per-hour winds and lived to tell about it. Prepare to be astonished!
