Tales of Falling and Flying

Tales of Falling and Flying
Author: Ben Loory
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2017-09-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0143130102

“Mesmerizing and magical. . . . A stunning book.” —NPR.org “Short stories so imaginative — and yet so perplexingly familiar — they could have formed in a dream. . . . Taut, meticulously balanced and written in Loory’s direct, witty prose, his own stories take a page from Aesop: high-flying tales nonetheless boiled down to the essentials.” —The Los Angeles Times “Ben Loory’s stories are little gifts, strange and moving and wonderfully human. I devoured this book in one sitting.” —Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children A dazzling new collection of stories from the critically acclaimed author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for The Day Ben Loory returns with a second collection of timeless tales, inviting us to enter his worlds of whimsical fantasy, deep empathy, and playful humor, in the signature voice that drew readers to his highly praised first collection. In stories that eschew literary realism, Loory’s characters demonstrate richly imagined and surprising perspectives, whether they be dragons or swordsmen, star-crossed lovers or long-lost twins, restaurateurs dreaming of Paris or cephalopods fixated on space travel. In propulsive language that brilliantly showcases Loory’s vast imagination, Tales of Falling and Flying expands our understanding of how fiction can work and is sure to cement his reputation as one of the most innovative short-story writers working today.

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day
Author: Ben Loory
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2011-07-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101529288

“This guy can write!” —Ray Bradbury Loory's collection of wry and witty, dark and perilous contemporary fables is populated by people-and monsters and trees and jocular octopi-who are united by twin motivations: fear and desire. In his singular universe, televisions talk (and sometimes sing), animals live in small apartments where their nephews visit from the sea, and men and women and boys and girls fall down wells and fly through space and find love on Ferris wheels. In a voice full of fable, myth, and dream, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day draws us into a world of delightfully wicked recognitions, and introduces us to a writer of uncommon talent and imagination. Contains 40 stories, including “The Duck,” “The Man and the Moose,” and “Death and the Fruits of the Tree,” as heard on NPR’s This American Life, “The Book,” as heard on Selected Shorts, and “The TV,” as published in The New Yorker.

Falling Upwards

Falling Upwards
Author: Richard Holmes
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 567
Release: 2013-10-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0307908704

**Kirkus Best Books of the Year (2013)** **Time Magazine 10 Top Nonfiction Books of 2013** **The New Republic Best Books of 2013** In this heart-lifting chronicle, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling The Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet is a compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell. His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon rivalries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at least sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped from Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-71; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose) seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work. A seamless fusion of history, art, science, biography, and the metaphysics of flights, Falling Upwards explores the interplay between technology and imagination. And through the strange allure of these great balloonists, it offers a masterly portrait of human endeavor, recklessness, and vision. (With 24 pages of color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2011-09-27
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0316192147

The first book in the New York Times bestselling epic fantasy trilogy by award-winning author Laini Taylor Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

The Baseball Player and the Walrus

The Baseball Player and the Walrus
Author: Ben Loory
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2015-02-24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0698401816

A sweet and poignant story of friendship, from acclaimed short-story writer Ben Loory The baseball player has it all—money, fame, and success. But something is missing. He doesn’t know what it is until he goes to the zoo and sees a walrus. What a splendid creature! Surely it could bring joy to his life. With happiness just a walrus away, the baseball player sets out to create the perfect enclosure for his new friend. He’s even willing to give up his job to be with the walrus. But without a job, he won’t be able to afford his new friend’s care and keeping. And without the walrus, he won’t be able to smile. Luckily, there’s a compromise to be had and a walrus just waiting to be reunited with his resourceful friend.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves
Author: Julia Rawlinson
Publisher: eBook Partnership
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1913634310

As the autumn season sets in, Fletcher is very worried his beautiful tree has begun to loose all of its leaves. Whatever Fletcher attempts to do to save them, it's simply no use. When the final leaf falls, Fletcher feels hopeless... until he returns the next day to a glorious sight. A tender, uplifting tale about acceptance and hope for the future.'Captivating' Publishers Weekly'Preschoolers will love being in on the joke, even as they marvel at the bright petals that herald the astonishing beauty of spring' ALA Booklist

Retribution Falls

Retribution Falls
Author: Chris Wooding
Publisher: Spectra
Total Pages: 482
Release: 2011-04-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0345522583

Sky piracy is a bit out of Darian Frey’s league. Fate has not been kind to the captain of the airship Ketty Jay—or his motley crew. They are all running from something. Crake is a daemonist in hiding, traveling with an armored golem and burdened by guilt. Jez is the new navigator, desperate to keep her secret from the rest of the crew. Malvery is a disgraced doctor, drinking himself to death. So when an opportunity arises to steal a chest of gems from a vulnerable airship, Frey can’t pass it up. It’s an easy take—and the payoff will finally make him a rich man. But when the attack goes horribly wrong, Frey suddenly finds himself the most wanted man in Vardia, trailed by bounty hunters, the elite Century Knights, and the dread queen of the skies, Trinica Dracken. Frey realizes that they’ve been set up to take a fall but doesn’t know the endgame. And the ultimate answer for captain and crew may lie in the legendary hidden pirate town of Retribution Falls. That’s if they can get there without getting blown out of the sky.

Falling in Love with Hominids

Falling in Love with Hominids
Author: Nalo Hopkinson
Publisher: Tachyon Publications
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2015-07-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1616961996

An alluring new collection from the author of the New York Times Notable Book, Midnight Robber Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring, The Salt Roads, Sister Mine) is an internationally-beloved storyteller. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as having "an imagination that most of us would kill for," her Afro-Caribbean, Canadian, and American influences shine in truly unique stories that are filled with striking imagery, unlikely beauty, and delightful strangeness. In this long-awaited collection, Hopkinson continues to expand the boundaries of culture and imagination. Whether she is retelling The Tempest as a new Caribbean myth, filling a shopping mall with unfulfilled ghosts, or herding chickens that occasionally breathe fire, Hopkinson continues to create bold fiction that transcends boundaries and borders.

The Book of Flying

The Book of Flying
Author: Keith Miller
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2005-01-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1594480664

A gorgeously poetic tale of fantasy for adults, The Book of Flying is a beautiful modern fable and daring new take on the quest narrative. In Keith Miller's debut novel, our hero is Pico, a poet and librarian who is and forbidden to pursue the girl of his dreams - for she has wings, and Pico does not. When he discovers an ancient letter in his library telling of the mythical Morning Town where the flightless may gain their wings, he sets off on a quest. It's a magical journey and coming-of-age story in which he meets a robber queen, a lonely minotaur, a cannibal, an immortal beauty, and a dream seller. Each has a story, and a lesson, for Pico-about learning to love, to persevere, and, of course, to fly.

Between the Lines

Between the Lines
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2013-06-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1451635818

Told in their separate voices, sixteen-year-old Prince Oliver, who wants to break free of his fairy-tale existence, and fifteen-year-old Delilah, a loner obsessed with Prince Oliver and the book in which he exists, work together to seek his freedom.