Strands of Sunlight

Strands of Sunlight
Author: Gael Baudino
Publisher: Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2013-12-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781480458895

In the conclusion of the Strand Novels, Natil, now living in modern Denver, must guide a small group of humans with elven blood toward their true destiny The powers of the Elves have lain dormant for half a millennium, but the immortal bloodlines are very much alive. In present-day Denver, sixteen people have felt their elven heritage stirring, their abilities as healers and seers manifesting and blossoming, and Natil, through unimaginable favor and grace brought forward in time, is there to shepherd them through their transformation. Told through interweaving narratives, Strands of Sunlight is the story of the reborn Elves, as well as that of TK, a troubled Vietnam veteran embroiled in a conflict with local drug dealers; Sandy Joy, a college student caught in the manipulative wiles of a fraudulent instructor; and Natil herself, struggling to bring about the final awakening of the elven blood. Strands of Sunlight is the final book of the Strand Novels. More about the Elves can be found in the story collection Spires of Spirit.

Strands of Starlight

Strands of Starlight
Author: Gael Baudino
Publisher: Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2013-12-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781480458840

In the first book of the epic Strand Novels, a victimized young woman sets out to avenge the wrongs committed against her and her elven protectors In the mid-fourteenth century, when the lands of Adria are replete with violence and intolerance, plot and counterplot, Miriam—an uncommonly gifted healer—is accused of witchcraft by the Inquisition, imprisoned, and tortured. After escaping, she is assaulted by Roger, baron of Aurverelle, who violates her and then leaves her for dead. Her salvation appears in the form of Varden, an Elf of Malvern Forest, whose magic first heals her, then provides her with the strength and stature she requires to pursue her revenge against those who have so grievously wronged her. Thus begins Miriam’s battle against her past, against her present, and even, in the end, against herself. Grand in scope and firmly grounded in the history of medieval Europe, Strands of Starlight is an engrossing and adventure-packed story of defeat and redemption, vengeance and compassion, and the power of a single individual to change the fates of countless others. Strands of Starlight is the first book of the Strand Novels, which continue with Maze of Moonlight and Shroud of Shadow.

Something New Under the Sun

Something New Under the Sun
Author: Alexandra Kleeman
Publisher: Hogarth
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2021-08-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1984826301

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A novelist discovers the dark side of Hollywood and reckons with ambition, corruption, and environmental collapse in “a darkly satirical reflection of ecological reality” (Time) LONGLISTED FOR THE JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Time, Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Vulture, Thrillist, Literary Hub “An urgent novel about our very near future, and a deeply addictive pleasure.”—Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies Novelist Patrick Hamlin has come to Los Angeles to oversee the film adaptation of one of his books and try to impress his wife and daughter back home with this last-ditch attempt at professional success. But California is not as he imagined. Drought, wildfire, and corporate corruption are everywhere, and the company behind a mysterious new brand of synthetic water seems to be at the root of it all. Patrick finds an unlikely partner in Cassidy Carter—the cynical starlet of his film—and the two investigate the sun-scorched city, where they discover the darker side of all that glitters in Hollywood. Something New Under the Sun is an unmissable novel for our present moment—a bold exploration of environmental catastrophe in the age of alternative facts, and “a ghost story not of the past but of the near future” (The New York Times).

The Sunlight Dialogues

The Sunlight Dialogues
Author: John Gardner
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
Total Pages: 722
Release: 2006
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780811216708

Vivid, compassionate, and often disturbing, this expansive novel is John Gardner's masterpiece.

In Sunlight and in Shadow

In Sunlight and in Shadow
Author: Mark Helprin
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 725
Release: 2012
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0547819234

Returning home after serving World War II to run his family business in New York, a paratrooper falls in love with a young heiress and actress he meets on the State Island ferry.

Brilliant

Brilliant
Author: Jane Brox
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2010-06-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 0547487150

This “superb history” of artificial light traces the evolution of society—“invariably fascinating and often original . . . [it] amply lives up to its title” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In Brilliant, Jane Brox explores humankind’s ever-changing relationship to artificial light, from the stone lamps of the Pleistocene to the LEDs embedded in fabrics of the future. More than a survey of technological development, this sweeping history reveals how artificial light changed our world, and how those social and cultural changes in turn led to the pursuit of more ways of spreading, maintaining, and controlling light. Brox plumbs the class implications of light—who had it, who didn’t—through the centuries when crude lamps and tallow candles constricted waking hours. She identifies the pursuit of whale oil as the first time the need for light thrust us toward an environmental tipping point. Only decades later, gas street lights opened up the evening hours to leisure, which changed the ways we live and sleep and the world’s ecosystems. Edison’s bulbs produced a light that seemed to its users all but divorced from human effort or cost. And yet, as Brox’s informative portrait of our current grid system shows, the cost is ever with us. Brilliant is infused with human voices, startling insights, and timely questions about how our future lives will be shaped by light

I'll Give You the Sun

I'll Give You the Sun
Author: Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2015-10-27
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0142425761

A New York Times bestseller • One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time • Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award • A Stonewall Honor Book The radiant, award-winning story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, Becky Albertalli, and Adam Silvera "Dazzling."—The New York Times Book Review "A blazing prismatic explosion of color."—Entertainment Weekly "Powerful and well-crafted . . . Stunning." —Time Magazine “We were all heading for each other on a collision course, no matter what. Maybe some people are just meant to be in the same story.” At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them. Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways . . . but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world. From the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere, this exhilarating novel will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

The Sunlight Pilgrims

The Sunlight Pilgrims
Author: Jenni Fagan
Publisher: Hogarth
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2016-07-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0553418882

The stunning new novel from the highly-acclaimed author of The Panopticon It's November of 2020, and the world is freezing over. Each day colder than the last. There's snow in Israel, the Thames is overflowing, and an iceberg separated from the Fjords in Norway is expected to drift just off the coast of Scotland. As ice water melts into the Atlantic, frenzied London residents evacuate by the thousands for warmer temperatures down south. But not Dylan. Grieving and ready to build life anew, he heads north to bury his mother's and grandmother's ashes on the Scottish islands where they once lived. Hundreds of miles away, twelve-year-old Estella and her survivalist mother, Constance, scrape by in the snowy, mountainous Highlands, preparing for a record-breaking winter. Living out of a caravan, they spend their days digging through landfills, searching for anything with restorative and trading value. When Dylan arrives in their caravan park in the middle of the night, life changes course for Estella and Constance. Though the weather worsens, his presence brings a new light to daily life, and when the ultimate disaster finally strikes, they'll all be ready. Written in incandescent, dazzling prose, The Sunlight Pilgrims is a visionary story of courage and resilience in the midst of nature's most violent hour; by turns an homage to the portentous beauty of our natural world, and to just how strong we can be, if the will and the hope is there, to survive its worst. - NPR “Best Books of 2016” – Family Matters, Identity & Culture, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Tales from Around the World

Klara and the Sun

Klara and the Sun
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2021-03-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593318188

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness” (The Associated Press). • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick! Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

A Moment in the Sun

A Moment in the Sun
Author: John Sayles
Publisher: McSweeney's
Total Pages: 1293
Release: 2011-10-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1936365707

It’s 1897. Gold has been discovered in the Yukon. New York is under the sway of Hearst and Pulitzer. And in a few months, an American battleship will explode in a Cuban harbor, plunging the U.S. into war. Spanning five years and half a dozen countries, this is the unforgettable story of that extraordinary moment: the turn of the twentieth century, as seen by one of the greatest storytellers of our time. Shot through with a lyrical intensity and stunning detail that recall Doctorow and Deadwood both, A Moment in the Sun takes the whole era in its sights—from the white-racist coup in Wilmington, North Carolina to the bloody dawn of U.S. interventionism in the Philippines. Beginning with Hod Brackenridge searching for his fortune in the North, and hurtling forward on the voices of a breathtaking range of men and women—Royal Scott, an African American infantryman whose life outside the military has been destroyed; Diosdado Concepcíon, a Filipino insurgent fighting against his country’s new colonizers; and more than a dozen others, Mark Twain and President McKinley’s assassin among them—this is a story as big as its subject: history rediscovered through the lives of the people who made it happen.