A tour de force novel from the "wickedly talented" ( The Boston Globe) and "darkly funny" author of Misconception ( The New York Times Book Review).Finalist for the Philip K. Dick AwardIt is the afterlife. The end of the world is a distant, distorted memory called "the Age of Fucked Up Shit." A sentient glacier has wiped out most of North America. Medical care is supplied by open-source nanotechnology, and human ner...

Former sweethearts revisit their teenage love—and their conflicting memories of the past—in this "gem of a first novel" (Charles Bock, author of Beautiful Children).In between business in Iceland and home in Silicon Valley, Cedar Rivers has come to Albany, New York, to meet a woman he hasn't seen in twenty years. When he knew her, Kat was a cute proto-Goth with chipped black nail polish. Now she's a literary up-and-comer who has summoned him to vet her new...

This bookish history of Seattle includes essays, history and personal stories from such literary luminaries as Frances McCue, Tom Robbins, Garth Stein, Rebecca Brown, Jonathan Evison, Tree Swenson, Jim Lynch, and Sonora Jha among many others. Timed with Seattle’s bid to become the second US city to receive the UNESCO designation as a City of Literature, this deeply textured anthology pays homage to the literary riches of Seattle. Strongly grounded in place, funny, moving, and illuminating,...

For The New York Times #1 bestselling author Sue Grafton's PI Kinsey Millhone, danger comes with the job—but she never expects to find herself at the top of a hit man's list . . .The award-winning author's knockout series introduced detective Kinsey Millhone—and a hot new attitude—to crime fiction…**“Exceptionally entertaining...an offbeat sense of humor and a feisty sense of justice.”**—San Francisco Chronicle...

A biography elucidating the Academy Award–nominee's meteoric rise, his tragic end, and his legacy.At the dawn of the 1990s, a new crew of leading men—Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pitt—was rocketing toward stardom. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack. But behind Phoenix's talent and beautiful public face was a young man who had been raised in a cult by nonconformist parents, who was burdened with supporting his family from a young ...

**"A sparkling debut novel...a bittersweet tale about love, marriage, and the perils of fame." —**PeopleJulia and Joe Ferraro are living the good life in Manhattan now that Joe’s finally made it; he’s the star of a hit TV show and has just been nominated for a Golden Globe. Even better, Julia and Joe are still madly in love.Or so Julia thinks until the fateful evening when she accidentally hears a voice mail on Joe’s phone—a message left by a woman...

This story of a slacker who sets out to take the book-publishing world by storm is "a hilarious send-up of literary pretensions and celebrity culture." ( USA Today).Pete Tarslaw wants some fame and fortune and, perhaps most importantly, the chance to get back at his ex-girlfriend at her upcoming wedding. After listening to a vapid author prattling on during an interview, while nubile young women watch adoringly, he figures becoming a lite...

Candid, outspoken, laugh-out-loud funny essays from much-loved Samantha Bee, host of TBS's uproarious late-night show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, executive producer and writer of TBS's comedy television series The Detour, and former The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s Most Senior Correspondent.In I Know I Am, But What Are You? she shares her unique and irreverent viewpoint on subjects as wide-ranging as:BARBIE’S DREAM H...

***“*Wonderful." *—*Michiko Kakutani, New York TimesCelebrating the 20th anniversary of storytelling phenomenon The Moth, 45 unforgettable true stories about risk, courage, and facing the unknown, drawn from the best ever told on their stages**Carefully selected by the creative minds at The Moth, and adapted to the page to preserve the raw energy of live storytelling, All These Wonders features voices both familiar and new. Alongside Meg Wolitzer, John Tur...

Twenty of America's bestselling authors share tricks, tips, and secrets of the successful writing life.Anyone who's ever sat down to write a novel or even a story knows how exhilarating and heartbreaking writing can be. So what makes writers stick with it? In Why We Write, twenty well-known authors candidly share what keeps them going and what they love most—and least—about their vocation.Contributing authors include:Isabel ...

Three hilarious books in one from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author on marriage, motherhood, and the absurdities of suburban life.If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? is Erma Bombeck's timelessly witty look at the hidden side of married life.Motherhood captures one of the toughest jobs on earth with humor and heart.The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank is Bombeck's take on th...

Deceptively simple and surprisingly addictive, Not Quite What I Was Planning is a thousand glimpses of humanity—six words at a time.One Life. Six Words. What's Yours?When Hemingway famously wrote, "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn," he proved that an entire story can be told using a half dozen words. When the online storytelling magazine SMITH asked readers to submit six-word memoirs, they proved a whole, real life can be told this way too. The results are fascinating, hila...