Download or read book Under Fishbone Clouds written by Sam Meekings and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2010-12-07 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Under Fishbone Clouds is a universal love story, a family saga, and a journey through Chinese history, myth, and culture. Following a young Chinese couple as their love grows, and is tested, during Mao's Cultural Revolution, this elegant debut novel provides a rare and personal glimpse into the birth modern China. When the Kitchen God is challenged by the Jade Emperor to fathom the workings of the human heart, he chooses to follow the life of Jinyi and his wife Yuying, from their blossoming love until their old age, in hope of finding an answer. The Kitchen God watches as the new government strictures split their family in two, living inside their hearts as they they endure the loss of two children, homesickness, and isolation, all while keeping alive a love that survives famine, forced labor, and even death. Weaving together the story of their life with China's recent political history, as well as traditional folktales and myths, the Kitchen God illuminates the most impenetrable aspects the human condition. Sam Meekings's remarkable debut novel showcases his luminous, poetic writing, as well as insights that belong to a writer twice his age. Part love story and part historical narrative, Under Fishbone Clouds carries the weight and beauty of a lifetime's achievement.

Download or read book The Book of Crows written by Sam Meekings and published by Polygon. This book was released on 2012-02 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a series of delicately interlaced stories, Sam Meekings' richly poetic and gripping second novel follows the journeys of characters whose lives, separated by millennia, are all in some way touched by the mysterious Book of Crows - a mythical book in which the entire history of the world - past, present and future - is written down.

Download or read book Chalktown written by Melinda Haynes and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002-06-04 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the heels of her Oprah-selected debut blockbuster "Mother of Pearl, " Melinda Haynes returns with a lush and deeply affecting story of redemption and renewal set in 1960s Mississippi.

Download or read book The Last Green Tree written by Jim Grimsley and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2006-11-28 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three hundred years after the Conquest, as the Great Mage rules over all humankind, the long peace is over as a mysterious and omnipotent force rises on the planet Aramen, where sentient trees keep human symbionts as slaves.

Download or read book Piranesi written by Susanna Clarke and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction World Fantasy Awards Finalist From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality. Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known. For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.

Download or read book Manazuru written by Hiromi Kawakami and published by Catapult. This book was released on 2017-11-01 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Startlingly restless and immaculately compact, Manazuru paints the portrait of a woman on the brink of her own memories and future. Twelve years have passed since Kei’s husband, Rei, disappeared and she was left alone with her three–year–old daughter. Her new relationship with a married man—the antithesis of Rei—has brought her life to a numbing stasis, and her relationships with her mother and daughter have spilled into routine, day after day. Kei begins making repeated trips to the seaside town of Manazuru, a place that jogs her memory to a moment in time she can never quite locate. Her time there by the water encompasses years of unsteady footing and a developing urgency to find something. Through a poetic style embracing the surreal and grotesque, a quiet tenderness emerges from these dark moments. Manazuru is a meditation on memory—a profound, precisely delineated exploration of the relationships between lovers and family members.

Download or read book In the Time of the Butterflies written by Julia Alvarez and published by Algonquin Books. This book was released on 2010-01-12 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, internationally bestselling author and literary icon Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies is "beautiful, heartbreaking and alive ... a lyrical work of historical fiction based on the story of the Mirabal sisters, revolutionary heroes who had opposed and fought against Trujillo." (Concepción de León, New York Times) Alvarez’s new novel, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, is coming April 2, 2024. Pre-order now! It is November 25, 1960, and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. It doesn’t have to. Everybody knows of Las Mariposas—the Butterflies. In this extraordinary novel, the voices of all four sisters--Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, and the survivor, Dedé--speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from secret crushes to gunrunning, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule. Through the art and magic of Julia Alvarez’s imagination, the martyred Butterflies live again in this novel of courage and love, and the human costs of political oppression. "Alvarez helped blaze the trail for Latina authors to break into the literary mainstream, with novels like In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents winning praise from critics and gracing best-seller lists across the Americas."—Francisco Cantú, The New York Times Book Review "This Julia Alvarez classic is a must-read for anyone of Latinx descent." —Popsugar.com "A gorgeous and sensitive novel . . . A compelling story of courage, patriotism and familial devotion." —People "Shimmering . . . Valuable and necessary." —Los Angeles Times "A magnificent treasure for all cultures and all time.” —St. Petersburg Times "Alvarez does a remarkable job illustrating the ruinous effect the 30-year dictatorship had on the Dominican Republic and the very real human cost it entailed."—Cosmopolitan.com

Download or read book Everything I Never Told You written by Celeste Ng and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-05-12 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year • A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • Winner of the Alex Award and the Massachusetts Book Award • Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Grantland Booklist, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Shelf Awareness, Book Riot, School Library Journal, Bustle, and Time Our New York The acclaimed debut novel by the author of Little Fires Everywhere and Our Missing Hearts “A taut tale of ever deepening and quickening suspense.” —O, the Oprah Magazine “Explosive . . . Both a propulsive mystery and a profound examination of a mixed-race family.” —Entertainment Weekly “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

Download or read book If I Say If written by Alistair Rolls and published by University of Adelaide Press. This book was released on 2014-06-23 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boris Vian is a rare phenomenon. Nothing short of a national treasure in France, he is hardly known overseas. In his lifetime, he divided literary opinion with masterpieces that failed to sell and best sellers that caused outrage, trials and even deaths, including his own. As an impresario, he became the figurehead of the jazz scene that marked the French left bank at the end of the Second World War and was responsible for bringing Duke Ellington and Miles Davis to France. As a musician, he played his trumpet against the advice of cardiologists, sang pacifist songs before audiences of outraged patriots and, in passing, created French rock ‘n’ roll. Posthumously, he became known for his theatre, film scripts and poetry as well as for his novels. And in May ’68 he became a revolutionary icon.

Download or read book The Secrets of Blueberries Brothers Moose and Me written by Sara Nickerson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-04 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "First published in the United States of America by Dutton Children's Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2015"--Title page verso.

Download or read book Fishbone s Song written by Gary Paulsen and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-09-27 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An orphan reflects on the lessons he was taught by the wise old man who raised him in this lyrical novel that reads like poetry from three-time Newbery Honor–winning author Gary Paulsen. Deep in the woods, in a rustic cabin, lives an old man and the boy he’s raised as his own. This sage old man has taught the boy the power of nature and how to live in it, and more importantly, to respect it. In Fishbone’s Song, this boy reminisces about the magic of the man who raised him and the tales that he used to tell—all true, but different each time.

Download or read book Things They Lost written by Okwiri Oduor and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-04-12 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a Most Anticipated Book by Vogue and Vulture “Alternately whimsical, sweet, and dark,” this astonishing debut novel about a lonely girl waiting for her mother “brim[s] with uncompromisingly African magical realism” (The New York Times). Ayosa is a wandering spirit—joyous, exuberant, filled to the brim with longing. Her only companions in her grandmother’s crumbling house are as lonely as Ayosa herself: the ghostly Fatumas, whose eyes are the size of bay windows, who teach her to dance and wail at the death news; the Jolly-Annas, cruel birds who cover their solitude with spiteful laughter; the milkman, who never greets Ayosa and whose milk tastes of mud; and Sindano, the kind owner of a café no one ever visits. Unexpectedly, miraculously, one day Ayosa finds a friend. Yet she is always fixed on her beautiful mama, Nabumbo Promise: a mysterious and aloof photographer, she comes and goes as she pleases, with no apology or warning. Set at the intersection of the spirit world and the human one, Things They Lost sets out a rich and magical vision of “girlhood as a time of complexity, laced with unparalleled creativity and expansion” (Vogue). Heartbreaking, elegant, and written in “giddily exuberant prose” (Financial Times), it’s a story about connection, coming-of-age, and the dizzying dualities of love at its most intoxicating and all-encompassing.

Download or read book The Tale of a No Name Squirrel written by Radhika R. Dhariwal and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solve riddles with Squirrel as he travels to the walled city of bees, the fireless tea plantation of mice, and treacherous desert full of tricksters in this beautifully written and creative debut adventure. Squirrel never expected to be anything other than a slave: the last animal slave in Bimmau. That is, until he is invited to a high profile wedding and takes a sip of the forbidden ceremonial wine, unlocking a mysterious riddle. The riddle reveals that there is a key which has the power to grant Squirrel his freedom (and a name!), but also could enslave anyone in Bimmau. Disastrous if it falls into the wrong hands! Squirrel and his friends find themselves in a race to find Brittle’s Key before the army of crows gets to him…and before the mysterious Colonel finds the key first.

Download or read book Carrie s War written by Nina Bawden and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-06-26 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Second World War air raids threaten their safety in the city, Carrie and her brother Nick are evacuated to a small Welsh village. But the countryside has dangers and adventures of its own - and a group of characters who will change Carrie's life for ever. There's mean Mr Evans, who won't let the children eat meat; but there’s also kind Auntie Lou. There's brilliant young Albert Sandwich, another evacuee, and Mr Johnny, who speaks a language all of his own. Then there's Hepzibah Green, the witch at Druid’s Grove who makes perfect mince pies, and the ancient skull with its terrifying curse... For adults and young people aged eight and over. Emma Reeves has created a stunning stage adaptation of Nina Bawden’s much loved classic account of life as an evacuee in the 1940s, which opened at the Lillian Bayliss Theatre in November 2006. This edition includes teachers' notes and activities for classes based on the play.

Download or read book The Book of Atrix Wolfe written by Patricia A. McKillip and published by . This book was released on 2024-02-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this classic fantasy novel from the late World Fantasy Award-winning author Patricia A. McKillip (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld), the human world and the realm of faerie dangerously intertwine through chaotic magic. Told in McKillip's stunning prose, The Book of Atrix Wolfe is the spellbinding legend of a reluctant mage, a powerful wizard, a beleaguered heir, fae royalty, and a nearly invisible scullery-maid. When the White Wolf descends upon the battlefield, the results are disastrous. His fateful decision to end a war with powerful magic changes the destiny of four kingdoms: warlike Kardeth, resilient Pelucir, idyllic Chaumenard, and the mysterious Elven realm. Twenty years later, Prince Talis, orphaned heir to Pelucir, is meant to be the savior of the realm. However, the prince is neither interested in ruling nor a particularly skilled mage. Further, he is obsessed with a corrupted spellbook, and he is haunted by visions from the woods. The legendary mage Atrix Wolfe has forsaken magic and the world of men. But the Queen of the Wood, whose fae lands overlap Pelucir's bloody battlefield, is calling Wolfe back. Her consort and her daughter have been missing since the siege, and if Wolfe cannot intervene, the Queen will keep a sacrifice for her own.

Download or read book The Robotic Process Automation Handbook written by Tom Taulli and published by Apress. This book was released on 2020-02-28 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has been around for about 20 years, it has hit an inflection point because of the convergence of cloud computing, big data and AI. This book shows you how to leverage RPA effectively in your company to automate repetitive and rules-based processes, such as scheduling, inputting/transferring data, cut and paste, filling out forms, and search. Using practical aspects of implementing the technology (based on case studies and industry best practices), you’ll see how companies have been able to realize substantial ROI (Return On Investment) with their implementations, such as by lessening the need for hiring or outsourcing. By understanding the core concepts of RPA, you’ll also see that the technology significantly increases compliance – leading to fewer issues with regulations – and minimizes costly errors. RPA software revenues have recently soared by over 60 percent, which is the fastest ramp in the tech industry, and they are expected to exceed $1 billion by the end of 2019. It is generally seamless with legacy IT environments, making it easier for companies to pursue a strategy of digital transformation and can even be a gateway to AI. The Robotic Process Automation Handbook puts everything you need to know into one place to be a part of this wave. What You'll Learn Develop the right strategy and planDeal with resistance and fears from employeesTake an in-depth look at the leading RPA systems, including where they are most effective, the risks and the costsEvaluate an RPA system Who This Book Is For IT specialists and managers at mid-to-large companies

Download or read book System Engineering Analysis Design and Development written by Charles S. Wasson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-11-16 with total page 882 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Praise for the first edition: “This excellent text will be useful to everysystem engineer (SE) regardless of the domain. It covers ALLrelevant SE material and does so in a very clear, methodicalfashion. The breadth and depth of the author's presentation ofSE principles and practices is outstanding.” –Philip Allen This textbook presents a comprehensive, step-by-step guide toSystem Engineering analysis, design, and development via anintegrated set of concepts, principles, practices, andmethodologies. The methods presented in this text apply to any typeof human system -- small, medium, and large organizational systemsand system development projects delivering engineered systems orservices across multiple business sectors such as medical,transportation, financial, educational, governmental, aerospace anddefense, utilities, political, and charity, among others. Provides a common focal point for “bridgingthe gap” between and unifying System Users, System Acquirers,multi-discipline System Engineering, and Project, Functional, andExecutive Management education, knowledge, and decision-making fordeveloping systems, products, or services Each chapter provides definitions of key terms,guiding principles, examples, author’s notes, real-worldexamples, and exercises, which highlight and reinforce key SE&Dconcepts and practices Addresses concepts employed in Model-BasedSystems Engineering (MBSE), Model-Driven Design (MDD), UnifiedModeling Language (UMLTM) / Systems Modeling Language(SysMLTM), and Agile/Spiral/V-Model Development such asuser needs, stories, and use cases analysis; specificationdevelopment; system architecture development; User-Centric SystemDesign (UCSD); interface definition & control; systemintegration & test; and Verification & Validation(V&V) Highlights/introduces a new 21st Century SystemsEngineering & Development (SE&D) paradigm that is easy tounderstand and implement. Provides practices that are critical stagingpoints for technical decision making such as Technical StrategyDevelopment; Life Cycle requirements; Phases, Modes, & States;SE Process; Requirements Derivation; System ArchitectureDevelopment, User-Centric System Design (UCSD); EngineeringStandards, Coordinate Systems, and Conventions; et al. Thoroughly illustrated, with end-of-chapter exercises andnumerous case studies and examples, Systems EngineeringAnalysis, Design, and Development, Second Edition is a primarytextbook for multi-discipline, engineering, system analysis, andproject management undergraduate/graduate level students and avaluable reference for professionals.