Set in contemporary China, Beijing Smog is a novel about deception. It is about the power of online ridicule and rumour in a society where truth and reality are about as clear as the thick smog, beneath which corrupt politicians struggle for power, spies stalk cyberspace, and a bubble economy is about to burst. It is the story of an image, which is posted online as a joke, goes viral, and ends up threatening the ruling Communist Party, which doesn't have a sense of humour. It is built around three characters. A 21-year-old Chinese blogger who lives mostly in a virtual world beyond the screen of his smartphone, and who first posts the image; a delusional British businessman, still selling the China Miracle even as it crumbles around him, and an American diplomat chasing cyber spies. Their individual stories collide as the image takes on a life of its own in a bizarre and threatening way for them all – but mostly for the Party. Ian Williams' cyber thriller takes readers from...

Now children can claim for their very own the puddle-wonderful (mudluscious) world where buds know better than books don't grow, where little itchy mousies with scuttling eyes rustle and run and hidehidehide, and the ree ray rye roh rowster shouts rawrOO. Cummings's poetry more than that of any other major American poet keeps faith with childhood. These twenty poems were selected by him and published privately in 1962. Hist Whist combines the original twenty poemes enfantins with the first appearance of the beautiful and evocative line drawings of the young California artist David Calsada. His sensitive pen has captured the spirit of Cummings's poems in its detailed rendering of a world that only poets and children can see.

A radiant new memoir from artist and writer Patti Smith, author of the National Book Award winner Just Kids“God whispers through a crease in the wallpaper,” writes Patti Smith in this moving account of her life. A post–World War II childhood unfolds in a condemned housing complex where we enter the child’s world of the imagination. Smith, the captain of her loyal and beloved sibling army, vanquishes bullies, communes with the king of tortoises, and searches for sacred silver pennies.The most intimate of Smith’s memoirs, Bread of Angels takes us through her teenage years where the first glimmers of art and romance take hold. Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan emerge as creative role models as she begins to write poetry then lyrics, ultimately merging both into the songs of iconic recordings such as Horses, Wave, and Easter.She leaves it all behind to marry her one true love, Fred Sonic Smith, with whom she...

The Cross of Redemption is a revelation by an American literary master: a gathering of essays, articles, polemics, reviews, and interviews that have never before appeared in book form. James Baldwin was one of the most brilliant and provocative literary figures of the past century, renowned for his fierce engagement with issues haunting our common history. In The Cross of Redemption we have Baldwin discoursing on, among other subjects, the possibility of an African-American president and what it might mean; the hypocrisy of American religious fundamentalism; the black church in America; the trials and tribulations of black nationalism; anti-Semitism; the blues and boxing; Russian literary masters; and the role of the writer in our society. Prophetic and bracing, The Cross of Redemption is a welcome and important addition to the works of a cosmopolitan and canonical American writer who still has much to teach us about race, democracy, and personal and national identity. As Michael Ondaatje has remarked, “If van Gogh was our nineteenth-century artist-saint, Baldwin [was] our twentieth-century one.”

Nicholas thought he had lost all he had until he has to loose yet more: in return he is given purpose to his life, and that means he’ll probably die.Granny Which Witch's original whopper as related to the author by the groom who certainly should know better than any.Some people are more than they seem. Some are much worse. Some people are exactly as they appear, and they're often the worst sort.The groomsman is convinced by Lady Who the Enchantress to lead a rabble in arms for the purpose of throwing off the shackles of vampiric tyranny. All goes better than could have been expected until he is appointed to find new royalty to replace them.If you read Flat Fax and the Book of Doors and wondered whatever happened to the little piggies, read about the Hampires. But don't look in the mirror.

It all began with a necklace, made of glistening pink cowrie shells. A long, long necklace that had taken Cherry days – weeks – of careful, painstaking work. It was nearly complete, and Cherry was determined not only that it would be the longest necklace she had ever made, but that it would be fit for a giant! But the end of the summer holidays had arrived. "You've only got today, Cherry," said her mother. "Just today, that's all." Cherry didn't mind, a day would be enough – she only needed a few more shells after all. So, amidst the taunts of her older brothers, she set out to search for them. Then the clouds grew dark and the waves grew large, and as the storm blew in, Cherry realized, to her horror, that she was cut off from the shore. From then on, events began to take a decidedly dark turn. And one from which there was no turning back...

A gripping biography by the author of Brave New WorldThe life of Father Joseph, Cardinal Richelieu's aide, was a shocking paradox. After spending his days directing operations on the battlefield, Father Joseph would pass the night in prayer, or in composing spiritual guidance for the nuns in his care. He was an aspirant to sainthood and a practising mystic, yet his ruthless exercise of power succeeded in prolonging the unspeakable horrors of the Thirty Years' War. In his masterful biography, Huxley explores how an intensely religious man could lead such a life and how he reconciled the seemingly opposing moral systems of religion and politics.

A special reissue of a bestselling Australian classic from award-winning author Steven Herrick.Jack and Annabel have been dating for two years. With high school over they're about to start university – until Jack decides to chuck it all in.I think you and Annabel should get out of hereas fast as possible. Have a year doing anythingyou want. My going-away present is enough moneyto buy a car – a cheap old one, okay? You'll have towork somewhere to buy the petrol, and to keep going.But go.No destination in mind, Jack and Annabel leave town and discover themselves in a place they never knew existed.An inspiring verse novel about the pursuit of dreams and the realities of life, A Place Like This was shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year: Older Readers and New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards and commended in the Victorian Premier's Literary Award Sheaffer Pen Prize for Young Adult Fiction.'A story as crisp and fresh as an apple, as sweet and sharp as life itself.'...

In the late 1970s Ondaatje returned to his native island of Sri Lanka. As he records his journey through the drug-like heat and intoxicating fragrances of that "pendant off the ear of India, " Ondaatje simultaneously retraces the baroque mythology of his Dutch-Ceylonese family. An inspired travel narrative and family memoir by an exceptional writer.

If there's a problem in school, there's no substitute for the world-saving substitute teachers of the S.O.S.! This is the fourth book of this hilarious, highly illustrated early chapter book series.It's Spring Break! Milton Worthy and his family are off on a vacation to Super Fun World. It's a week filled with roller coasters, rides, and fried food—and no super-sub missions for seven whole days.Everything is going according to plan until Milton gets stuck looking after Noah—part-time classroom pet, full-time evil mastermind—who has an entirely different kind of getaway in mind.Will Milton be able to figure out Noah's latest plot for world domination before it ruins his family's fun time?HarperChapters build confident readers one chapter at a time! With short, fast-paced books, art on every page, and milestone markers at the end of every chapter, they're the perfect next step for fans of I Can Read!