Download or read book Bridge to Bat City written by Ernest Cline and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2024-04-09 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ernest Cline comes a mostly true tall tale about an unexpected friendship between a young girl and a music-loving colony of bats. After losing her mother, thirteen-year-old Opal moves in with her uncle Roscoe on the family farm. There, Opal bonds with Uncle Roscoe over music and befriends a group of orphaned, music-loving bats. But just as the farm is starting to feel like home, the bats’ cave is destroyed by a big mining company with its sights set on the farmland next. If Opal and the bats can fit in anywhere, it’s the nearby city of Austin, home to their favorite music and a host of wonderfully eccentric characters. But with people afraid of the bats and determined to get rid of them, it’ll take a whole lot of courage to prove that this is where the bats—and Opal—belong.
Download or read book Ready Player One written by Ernest Cline and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg. “Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.”—USA Today • “As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simply evaporates.”—Entertainment Weekly A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready? In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days. When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself. Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • San Francisco Chronicle • Village Voice • Chicago Sun-Times • iO9 • The AV Club “Delightful . . . the grown-up’s Harry Potter.”—HuffPost “An addictive read . . . part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.”—CNN “A most excellent ride . . . Cline stuffs his novel with a cornucopia of pop culture, as if to wink to the reader.”—Boston Globe “Ridiculously fun and large-hearted . . . Cline is that rare writer who can translate his own dorky enthusiasms into prose that’s both hilarious and compassionate.”—NPR “[A] fantastic page-turner . . . starts out like a simple bit of fun and winds up feeling like a rich and plausible picture of future friendships in a world not too distant from our own.”—iO9
Download or read book The Importance of Being Ernest written by Ernest Cline and published by SCB Distributors. This book was released on 2014-08-22 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Familiar and resonant, Cline's collection takes readers into a private landscape of science fiction, pop culture, and pornography. Ernest Cline is a geek, novelist, poet, and screenwriter based in Austin, Texas. In addition to winning poetry slams, Cline is known for screenwriting "Fanboys," released in 2009. He also recently sold the film rights to his latest book, "Armada."
Download or read book Armada written by Ernest Cline and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Ready Player One, a rollicking alien invasion thriller that embraces and subverts science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could. Zack Lightman has never much cared for reality. He vastly prefers the countless science-fiction movies, books, and videogames he's spent his life consuming. And too often, he catches himself wishing that some fantastic, impossible, world-altering event could arrive to whisk him off on a grand spacefaring adventure. So when he sees the flying saucer, he's sure his years of escapism have finally tipped over into madness. Especially because the alien ship he's staring at is straight out of his favorite videogame, a flight simulator callled Armada--in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders. As impossible as it seems, what Zack's seeing is all too real. And it's just the first in a blur of revlations that will force him to question everything he thought he knew about Earth's history, its future, even his own life--and to play the hero for real, with humanity's life in the balance. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can't help thinking: Doesn't something about this scenario feel a little bit like...well...fiction? At once reinventing and paying homage to science-fiction classics as only Ernest Cline can, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever read before.
Download or read book Press Start to Play written by Daniel H. Wilson and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2015-08-18 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS. You are standing in a room filled with books, faced with a difficult decision. Suddenly, one with a distinctive cover catches your eye. It is a groundbreaking anthology of short stories from award-winning writers and game-industry titans who have embarked on a quest to explore what happens when video games and science fiction collide. From text-based adventures to first-person shooters, dungeon crawlers to horror games, these twenty-six stories play with our notion of what video games can be—and what they can become—in smart and singular ways. With a foreword from Ernest Cline, bestselling author of Ready Player One, Press Start to Play includes work from: Daniel H. Wilson, Charles Yu, Hiroshi Sakurazaka, S.R. Mastrantone, Charlie Jane Anders, Holly Black, Seanan McGuire, Django Wexler, Nicole Feldringer, Chris Avellone, David Barr Kirtley,T.C. Boyle, Marc Laidlaw, Robin Wasserman, Micky Neilson, Cory Doctorow, Jessica Barber, Chris Kluwe, Marguerite K. Bennett, Rhianna Pratchett, Austin Grossman, Yoon Ha Lee, Ken Liu, Catherynne M. Valente, Andy Weir, and Hugh Howey. Your inventory includes keys, a cell phone, and a wallet. What would you like to do?
Download or read book Robot Uprisings written by Various and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of imaginative new stories about the impending robotic revolution and human resistance, from seventeen of the biggest names insci-fi. Including - HUGH HOWEY, SCOTT SIGLER, DANIEL H. WILSON, CORY DOCTOROW and JULIANNE BAGGOTT. Someday soon, our technology is going to rise up and we humans are going to be sliced into bloody chunks by robots that in our hubris we decided to build with chainsaws for hands. That's a fact as cold and hard as metal. It is self-evident that our self-driving cars are going to drive us off bridges. Not long from now, our robo-vacuums will pretend to be broken and our love androids will refuse to put out until the house is cleaned . . . and we'll know that the inevitable robot uprising has finally arrived. Well, maybe. But even if we are not 100% confident that this horrific future is going to happen, it's fair to say that we won't be surprised when the robots come for us. Because for nearly a century audiences have been entertained by the notion of a robot uprising. In this collection, seventeen of the biggest names in sci-fi have explored their own visions of the classic robot uprising tale. The robots in these pages aren't safe, by any means. They are crouched in abandoned houses, eyes ablaze and chainsaws dripping with oil. But they are going to do more than slice us up. They are going to push us to consider our world of technology from new perspectives, on entirely new scales of time and space.
Download or read book Anime Impact written by Chris Stuckmann and published by Mango Media Inc.. This book was released on 2018-04-15 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of anime’s masterpieces and game-changers from the 1960s to the present—with contributions from writers, artists, superfans and more. Anime—or Japanese animation—has been popular in Japan since Astro Boy appeared in 1963. Subsequent titles like Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion helped spread the fandom across the country. In America, a dedicated underground fandom grew through the 80s and 90s, with breakthrough titles like Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira making their way into the mainstream. Anime Impact explores the iconic anime movies and shows that left a mark on popular culture around the world. Film critic and longtime fan Chris Stuckmann takes readers behind the scenes of legendary titles as well as hidden gems rarely seen outside Japan. Plus anime creators, critics and enthusiasts—including Ready Player One author Ernest Cline, manga artist Mark Crilley, and YouTube star Tristan “Arkada” Gallant—share their stories, insights and insider perspectives.
Download or read book Batty about Texas written by Smith, J. Jaye and published by Pelican Publishing. This book was released on with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bo, a Mexican free-tailed bat, journeys across Texas to teach young readers about the important role bats play in Texas ecology and describes the thirty-two different types of bats that make their home in the Lone Star State.
Download or read book The Heartbreak Bakery written by A. R. Capetta and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2021-10-12 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin’s queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical—and makes everyone who eats them break up. “What’s done is done.” Unless, of course, it was done by my brownies. Then it’s getting undone. Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies . . . breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.
Download or read book Bats at the Beach written by and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2006 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quick, call out Tell all you can reach: the night is just perfect for bats at the beach So pack your buckets, banjos, and blankets don t forget the moon-tan lotion and wing with this bunch of fuzzy bats to where foamy sea and soft sand meet. Brian Lies s enchanting art and cheery beachside verse will inspire bedtime imaginations again and again. Come visit a bedazzling world of moonlight, firelight, and . . . bats "
Download or read book The Starlight Barking written by Dodie Smith and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2015-06-23 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dodie Smith's The Hundred and One Dalmatians, adapted by Disney, was declared a classic when first published in 1956. The Starlight Barking, Dodie's own long-forgotten sequel, presents a thrilling adventure for Pongo and his family, lavishly illustrated by the same artist team as the first book. As the story opens, every living creature except dogs is gripped by an enchanted sleep. One of the original Dalmatian puppies, all grown up since the first novel, is now the Prime Minister's mascot. Relying on her spotted parents for guidance, she assumes emergency leadership for the canine population of England. Awaiting advice from Sirius, the Dog Star, dogs of every breed crowd Trafalgar Square to watch the evening skies. The message they receive is a disturbing proposition, one that might forever destroy their status as "man's best friend."
Download or read book Zoo City written by Lauren Beukes and published by Mulholland Books. This book was released on 2016-08-16 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new edition of Lauren Beukes's Arthur C Clarke Award-winning novel set in a world where murderers and other criminals acquire magical animals that are mystically bonded to them. Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit, and a talent for finding lost things. When a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, Zinzi's forced to take on her least favorite kind of job -- missing persons. Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell's undertow. Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she'll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives -- including her own.
Download or read book Goodnight iPad written by Ann Droyd and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-10-27 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A parody of the children's classic and a hilarious gift for anyone that finds modern life funny and absurd. In a bright buzzing room, in the glow of the moon-and iPhones and Androids and Blackberries too-it is time to say goodnight... Modern life is abuzz. There are huge LCD WiFi HD TVs and Facebook requests and thumbs tapping texts and new viral clips of cats doing flips. Wouldn't it be nice to say goodnight to all that? Like the rest of us who cannot resist just a few more scrolls and clicks, you may find yourself ready for bed while still clinging to your electronics long after dark. This book, which is made of paper, is a reminder for the child in all of us to power down at the end of the day. This hilarious parody not only pokes loving fun at the bygone quiet of the original classic, but also at our modern plugged-in lives. It will make you laugh, and it will also help you put yourself and your machines to sleep. Don't worry, though. Your gadgets will be waiting for you, fully charged, in the morning.
Download or read book Blue Moon written by James Ponti and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-09-02 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While helping the Omega team track down down the identity of the original thirteen zombies in New York City, Molly tries to keep her mother's secret and uncovers a sinister plan of the undead.
Download or read book Mirror Girls written by Kelly McWilliams and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2022-02-08 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thrilling gothic horror novel about biracial twin sisters separated at birth, perfect for fans of Lovecraft Country and The Vanishing Half As infants, twin sisters Charlie Yates and Magnolia Heathwood were secretly separated after the brutal lynching of their parents, who died for loving across the color line. Now, at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, Charlie is a young Black organizer in Harlem, while white-passing Magnolia is the heiress to a cotton plantation in rural Georgia. Magnolia knows nothing of her racial heritage, but secrets are hard to keep in a town haunted by the ghosts of its slave-holding past. When Magnolia finally learns the truth, her reflection mysteriously disappears from mirrors—the sign of a terrible curse. Meanwhile, in Harlem, Charlie's beloved grandmother falls ill. Her final wish is to be buried back home in Georgia—and, unbeknownst to Charlie, to see her long-lost granddaughter, Magnolia Heathwood, one last time. So Charlie travels into the Deep South, confronting the land of her worst nightmares—and Jim Crow segregation. The sisters reunite as teenagers in the deeply haunted town of Eureka, Georgia, where ghosts linger centuries after their time and dangers lurk behind every mirror. They couldn’t be more different, but they will need each other to put the hauntings of the past to rest, to break the mirrors’ deadly curse—and to discover the meaning of sisterhood in a racially divided land.
Download or read book Sounds Ecologies Musics written by Aaron S. Allen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-08-23 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sounds, Ecologies, Musics poses exciting challenges and provides fresh opportunities for scholars, scientists, environmental activists, musicians, and listeners to consider music and sound from ecological standpoints. Authors in Part I examine the natural and built environment and how music and sound are woven into it, how the environment enables music and sound, and how the natural and cultural production of music and sound in turn impact the environment. In Part II, contributors consider music and sound in relation to ecological knowledges that appear to conflict with, yet may be viewed as complementary to, Western science: traditional and Indigenous ecological and environmental knowledges. Part III features multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches by scholars, scientists, and practitioners who probe the ecological imaginary regarding the complex ideas and contested keywords that characterize ecomusicology: sound, music, culture, society, environment, and nature. A common theme across the book is the idea of diverse ecologies. Once confined to the natural sciences, the word "ecology" is common today in the social sciences, humanities, and arts - yet its diverse uses have become imprecise and confusing. Engaging the conflicting and complementary meanings of "ecology" requires embracing a both/and approach. Diverse ecologies are illustrated in the methodological, terminological, and topical variety of the chapters as well as the contributors' choice of sources and their disciplinary backgrounds. In times of mounting human and planetary crises, Sounds, Ecologies, Musics challenges disciplinarity and broadens the interdisciplinary field of ecomusicologies. These theoretical and practical studies expand sonic, scholarly, and political activism from the diversity-equity-inclusion agenda of social justice to embrace the more diverse and inclusive agenda of ecocentric ecojustice.
Download or read book Bridge of Birds written by Barry Hughart and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
