Search results for ""Author Weird"

Essex is a place where you learn to expect the unexpected. If you know where to look, thereʼs history and mystery at every turn, and this book is here to help you find it all. It brings you stories of strange places with weird names, mystery buildings that make no sense until you know their history, bizarre legends, forgotten facts, lost villages, unknown islands, spirits and ghosts, witches and smugglers. Who knows, for example, the part played by Essex in the colonisation of America? Or that a town in Essex was once the capital of England? Did you know that Captain Cook was married in Essex prior to setting out on his voyages of discovery? Or that legend has it that the story of Saint George slaying a dragon might have begun on Essex soil? All this and more is described by writer and photographer John Wade in Illustrated Tales of Essex. In it he reveals that Essexʼs people and places of the past are a million miles away from the modern-day reality-TV view of the county.

Read more less

An extraordinary tale of madness, genius and obsession, discover the true story of the two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary - and literary history!The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, begun in 1857, was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand of those words. But when the committee insisted on honouring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, a millionaire and American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane . . . charged with murder!_____________________'A weird and wonderful story of an eccentric friendship, and a slice of history' Sunday Times'What a revelation. Beautifully told and awe-inspiring' Daily Mail'Simon Winchester could not have told it better . . . a splendid book' Economist 'Masterful . . . one of those rare stories that combine human drama and historical significance' Independent

Read more less

I WAS BORN, SEPTEMBER 1985, IN THE VORTEX OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE OF NEW YORK: THERE WERE FEW RULES OF LIFE AND ZERO CONTRAINTS ON BEHAVIOUR. IF YOU WERE NOT ECCENTRIC, YOU WERE WEIRD.It was a tenement building at the centre of the drug-addled, punk-edged, permanent riot that was iO''s corner of the Lower East Side of New York City in the ''80s and 90''s. There iO grew up - or rather scrabbled up - under the broken wing of a fiercely protective, yet wildly negligent mother.Rhonna was a showgirl, actress, dancer, poet. A widow by police murder, she was also an addict. She doted and obsessed over iO, yet lacked an understanding that a child needs food and sleep and safety.Unfolding in animated, crystalline prose, an emotionally raw, devastatingly powerful memoir of one young person''s extraordinary coming of age - a tale of gender and identity, freedom and addiction, rebellion and survival in the 1980s and 1990s, when punk poverty, heroin and art collided

Read more less

Part of a new six-volume series of the best in classic horror, selected by award-winning director Guillermo del Toro.American Supernatural Tales is the ultimate collection of weird and frightening American short fiction. As Stephen King will attest, the popularity of the occult in American literature has only grown since the days of Edgar Allan Poe. The book celebrates the richness of this tradition with chilling contributions from some of the nation's brightest literary lights, including Poe himself, H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and-of course-Stephen King. By turns phantasmagoric, spectral, and demonic, this is a frighteningly good collection of stories.S. T. Joshi is a freelance writer, scholar, and editor whose previous books include Documents of American Prejudice; In Her Place: A Documentary History of Prejudice against Women; God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong; Atheism: A Reader; H. L. Mencken on Religion; The Agnostic Reader; and What Is Man? And Other Irreverent Essays by Mark Twain.

Read more less

Meet Olga, the amazing child scientist who LOVES animals (because they are super-cute)! Olga and the Smelly Thing from Nowhere is jam-packed with fun: vibrant illustrations, word bubbles, quirky humor, olgamus facts, and plenty of excitement for readers who love making discoveries and meeting new friends. Olga is a charming combination of independent, curious, and smart-making her the coolest girl scientist around-perfect for fans of Dork Diaries and Captain Underpants. When Olga crosses paths with a weird creature and becomes the first kid to discover the species olgamus ridiculus, she is ecstatic! What does an olgamus eat? How does it poop? Why does its burp sound like the word rubber? With her trusty observation notebook and the help of a librarian, a shopkeeper, and some friends, Olga sets out to do science-learning the facts about her smelly, almost-furry pal and searching for him when he goes missing. The scientific method is the best way to discover anything!

Read more less

Lower Rhumbsford is a city far removed from its glory days. On the banks of the great River Rhumb, its founding fathers channelled the river's mighty flow into a subterranean labyrinth of pipes, valves and sluices, a feat of hydraulic prowess that would come to power an empire. But a thousand years have passed since then, and something is wrong: the pipes are leaking, the valves stuck, the sluices silted, and the once-torrential Rhumb has been reduced to a sluggish trickle. The fortunes of the Locke family, descendants of the city's most celebrated engineer, are similarly reduced. In a once-fashionable quarter of the once-great city, siblings Samuel and Briony Locke are about to be drawn into a web of ancestral secrets and imperial intrigues, as a ruthless new power arises... Reviews for A Clockwork River: 'Exuberant isn't often a word you'd apply to fantasy novels, but A Clockwork River rushes along at a pace to match the waterway at its heart' SFX 'Delightfully weird and clever' Grimdark Magazine 'Oh, just plunge into this "hydro-punk" fantasy novel, will you' The Times

Read more less

THE EPIC NEW THRILLER BEGINS. The creator of the number one bestselling SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT series returns with the story of a girl on the run from everything she loves… and the monsters that await her. For anyone who ever thought their parents were monsters… Amber Lamont is a normal sixteen-year-old. Smart but insecure, she spends most of her time online, where she can avoid her beautiful, aloof parents and their weird friends. But when a shocking encounter reveals a horrifying secret, Amber is forced to go on the run. Killer cars, vampires, undead serial killers and red-skinned, horned demons – Amber hurtles from one threat to the next, revealing the terror woven into the very fabric of her life. As her parents close in behind her, Amber’s only chance rests with her fellow travellers, who are not at all what they appear to be… Witty, action-packed and heart-stoppingly thrilling, Demon Road will take you on an epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America.

Read more less

One winter, Dervla Murphy, the four-footed Hallam (the mule) and her six-year-old daughter Rachel explored 'Little Tibet' high up in the Karakoram Mountains in the frozen heart of the Western Himalayas - on the Pakistan side of the disputed border with Kashmir. For three months they travelled along the perilous Indus Gorge and into nearby valleys. Even when beset by crumbling tracks over bottomless chasms, an assault by a lascivious dashniri, the unnerving melancholy of the Balts - the heroic highland farmers who inhabit the area - and Rachel's continual probing questions, this formidable traveller retained her enthusiasm for her surroundings and her sense of humour. First published in 1977, "Where the Indus is Young" is pure Murphy. 'The grandeur, weirdness, variety and ferocity of this region cannot be exaggerated,' she writes of the sub-zero temperatures, harsh winds and whipping sands that they faced. However much the region may have changed due to current day political situations her descriptions of the mountain splendour and cultures she explores are appropriately timeless.

Read more less

The wackiest road trip in history comes to an action-packed conclusion in book five of the New York Times bestselling Genius Files series. When we last left our heroes, twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald were in Roswell, New Mexico, and they had just seen a strange beam of light. Now their cross-country road trip is about to take a detour that's out of this world-literally! Once the twins get their feet back on the ground, they embark on the final leg of their trip, which will take them from the Hoover Dam all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Chased by nefarious villains, the twins will be trapped with a venomous snake, pushed through a deadly turbine, and thrown into a volcano. And craziest of all, their parents might finally believe them! With the real-kid humor that has earned him millions of readers around the world and featuring facts and photographs from the weird-but-true locations in the story, this fifth and final book in the Genius Files series is the most thrilling adventure yet.

Read more less

This is an action-packed book for children who love fish and sea animals, with over 100 sensational stickers. Simple child-friendly captions on interactive pages present informative facts about a wide variety of fish and sea life. With fun themes to explore, children will enjoy spotting the differences and similarities between them, as they decide which sticker belongs where. The 100 stickers are reusable so that children can repeat the process time and again, and even use them to make their own sticker books and games. Beautifully illustrated in great detail, children will jump at the chance to learn about these amazing creatures and how weird and wonderful the world under the sea truly is. • Explore some of the world’s most intriguing fish, from the spectacular Red Lionfish and the Giraffe Catfish to the Giant Oceanic Sunfish and the Pelagic Worm. • Have fun reading about all kinds of fish and marine life, such as the fastest swimming fish, the Pacific Sailfish, which can reach speeds of over 100km/62mph!

Read more less

A selection of weird and wonderful stories from the pages of Doctor Who Annual, featuring the first six Doctors and their companions.Jon Culshaw, Frazer Hines, Dan Starkey, Louise Jameson and Nicola Bryant read a selection of exuberant and colourful tales from the legendary Doctor Who Annual, a Christmas stocking treat from the 1960s to the 1980s.In Terror on Tiro the First Doctor endures a punishing journey across an alien landscape in order to find his friend. Follow the Phantoms takes the Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria to a land where the boundaries of time are blurred.The Third Doctor and Jo find themselves catapulted into The House That Jack Built, and then Sarah falls under the influence of The Sinister Sponge. The Fourth Doctor and Leela encounter The Crocodiles from the Mist, and the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough join forces with the Brigadier to tackle a threat posed by The Nemertines. In Beauty and the Beast the Sixth Doctor and Peri enjoy the delights of an idyllic world - until they discover an uncomfortable truth beneath the surface. Take a nostalgic journey through time with these vintage Doctor Who adventures!

Read more less

Open, honest and upbeat, this book gives personal insight into both the ups and downs of an Asperger relationship. Seeking to challenge the bad press that people with Asperger Syndrome (AS) get as partners, Sarah and Keith tell their story of how they are making it work - and also how they got it wrong - with disarming frankness and humour.When Sarah and Keith met in 2003 neither knew much about Asperger Syndrome. Sarah thought Keith was `weird' and couldn't work out why; and Keith thought Sarah was obsessed with diagnosing him with something-or-other. Difficulties ensued that brought the relationship to an end. Slowly, however, they each built up their knowledge of AS and in the meantime developed a mutual understanding, mutual acceptance and a desire to be together again.This personal account is supplemented with professional knowledge and anecdotes gained from Sarah's work with adults with AS - a career which started as a result of her experiences with Keith. She swears that she didn't take her work home with her! It is inspiring reading for couples in Asperger relationships as well as for counselling professionals.

Read more less

This series of stunning illustrated texts demonstrates the stories behind some of nature's greatest phenomena. In 'Habitats', find out about the most extreme ecosystems from around the world, and the weird and wonderful things that exist within them. With contents covering diverse environments and their inhabitants, from the gargantuan trees of the temperate rainforests to the great grazers that occupy tropical grasslands, this book is a wonderful way to learn about a range of habitats. Key information is presented in accessible chunks and accompanied by stunning panoramic illustrations, whilst infographic panels offer the reader memorable bite-sized facts. All animals included in the text are also featured on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. With an interest range of 9-11 years, this book is ideal for children in late-KS2 who are looking to learn more about nature and environments. Contents: - Tropical Rainforest- Temperate Rainforest- Desert - Mountains- Brush and Scrubland- Rivers and Lakes- Temperate Grassland- Tropical Grasslands- Temperate Forest- Forests of Eurasia- The Tundra- The Arctic

Read more less

''A delight'' Dara O Briain''A witty, smart writer who has a great talent'' Bill GatesWhy are most gases invisible, odourless and tasteless? Why do some poison us and others make us laugh? And why do some power our engines while others make drinks fizzy? In It''s a Gas, Mark Miodownik masterfully reveals an invisible world through his unique brand of scientific storytelling.Taking us back to that exhilarating and often dangerous moment when scientists tried to work out exactly what they had discovered, Miodownik shows that gases are the formative substances of our modern world, each with its own weird and wonderful personality.We see how seventeenth-century laughing gas parties led to the first use of anaesthetics in surgery, how the invention of the air valve in musical instruments gave us bicycles, cars and trainers, and how gases made us masters of the sea (by huge steamships) and skies (via extremely flammable balloon

Read more less

'He is in a category of one. You can't believe that a person like this stalks the earth. A complete original and an amazing person' MARINA HYDE'A visionary masterpiece' JOHN GRAY, NEW STATESMANThe long-awaited memoir by the legendary filmmaker and celebrated author. Told in Werner Herzog's inimitable voice, this is the story of his epic artistic career, as inventive and daring as anything he has done before.Hauling a steamship over a mountain in the jungle; walking from Munich to Paris in the dead of winter; descending into an active volcano; living in the wilderness among grizzly bears - Werner Herzog has always been intrigued by extremes of human experience. Here, he illuminates the influences and ideas that have driven his creativity and shaped his unique worldview.Herzog's life matches the drama of his famous films: the boy growing up in poverty in a small village in the Alps after the Second World War; the teenager travelling the world in search of adventure that almost cost him his life; the director trying to calm his leading actor Klaus Kinski in the Amazonian jungle. And along the way, Herzog tells of ordinary people with extraordinary stories: rural labourers, circus acrobats, child soldiers.Every Man for Himself and God Against All is at once a personal record of one of the great self-invented lives of our time, and a masterpiece that will enthral fans old and new. In a hypnotic swirl of memory, Herzog untangles and relives his most important experiences and inspirations, telling his story for the first and only time.*A New Statesman Book of the Year 2023*---Praise for Werner Herzog's previous books:'Has the eerie power of the best fairytales. It hits you with the force of dreams' HELEN MACDONALD'Surely the strangest, strongest walking book I know ... only Herzog could have written this weird, slender classic' ROBERT MACFARLANE'Herzog's writing bristles with the same eerie and uncompromising energy as his films' GUARDIAN

Read more less

Just Maria is the story of Maria Romero, a blind sixth-grader who is trying her hardest to be normal. Not amazing. Not inspiring. Not helpless. Not weird. Just normal. Normal is hard enough with her white cane, glass eyes, and bumpy books, but Maria’s task is complicated by her neighbor and classmate JJ Munson, an asthmatic overweight oddball known in the halls of Marble City Middle as a double-dork paste-eater. When JJ draws Maria into his latest hare-brained scheme—a series of public challenges to prove their worth as gumshoes for his Twinnoggin Detective Agency—she fears she’s lost her last chance to go unnoticed. When a young girl goes missing on the streets of Marble City, Maria’s new-found confidence is tested in ways she never anticipated. Use your cane and your brain, and figure it out . . . Aimed at middle-grade readers, Just Maria explores difference and disability without resorting to the saccharine and engages universal themes about the price of popularity and the meaning of independence.

Read more less

The instant New York Times bestseller from visionary storyteller Ransom Riggs!Weaving the familiar with the peculiar, this stunning tale of loss, triumph, friendship and magic, will remind readers everywhere that true heroes are made, not bornand when you're never the chosen one, sometimes you have to chooseyourself. Seventeen-year-old Leopold Berry is seeing weird things around Los Angeles. A man who pops a tooth into a parking meter. A glowing trapdoor in a parking lot. A half-mechanical raccoon with its tail on firethat just won't leave him alone. Every hallucinatory moment seemsplucked from a cheesy 1990s fantasy TV show called Max's Adventures in Sunderworldand that's becausethey are.Not a good sign. In the blurry weeks after his mother's death, a young Leopold discovered VHS tapes of its one and only season in a box headed for the trashand soon became obsessed. Losing himself in Sunder was the best way to avoid two things: grieving his mother and being a chronic disappointmen

Read more less

Why are Popsicles softer than ice? What makes bananas turn brown? Why does the Moon seem to change shape? How do whales use sound to "see"? Figure out the answers for yourself with these totally cool activities and experiments about the wonders of astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics. Janice VanCleave's 203 Icy, Freezing, Frosty, Cool, and Wild Experiments guarantees hours and hours of fascinating, hands-on, safe, low-cost science fun. Try these awesome projects at home or in the classroom: make your own astrolabe and measure the altitude of the stars, transform dishwashing liquid into intricate crystal formations, and use Gummi Bear candy to study how water is absorbed. Each experiment includes an illustration and simple step-by-step instructions. Look for these other bestselling Janice VanCleave books 200 Gooey, Slippery, Slimy, Weird, and Fun Experiments 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, and Incredible Experiments 202 Oozing, Bubbling, Dripping, and Bouncing Experiments Children Ages 8-12

Read more less

First collection from the 2004 Pearson Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens Plays: 1 brings together four of the early plays from the winner of the 2002 Pearson Best New Play Award. Since Bluebird in 1998, Stephens has gained recognition for humane plays that display a sharp observation and compassionate response to the lives of ordinary people in urban locations. Bluebird: Cabbie Jimmy overhears the weird, wonderful and violent tales of his passengers he confronts his past and his estranged wife. 'A rough gem of a play' - The Times Christmas: One night in an East end pub, four men confront their past and brace themselves for an uncertain future. 'Beautifully crafted' - What's On Herons: The disturbing story of one teenager on a violent estate in London, which saw Stephens nominated for an Olivier Award for Most Promising Playwright in 2001. Port: One woman's struggle to cope with and finally escape her life in Stockport. (Winner of Pearson Award for Best New Play.) 'A brilliant writer of immense imagination with an acute observation of people's foibles' - Independent

Read more less

This is an in-depth look at chelonians, the shelled reptiles that have existed since the time of the dinosaurs. Features: a fascinating fact-filled journey through the amazing world of turtles, tortoises and terrapins; looks at all the most weird and wonderful species, from those with necks like snakes and noses like pigs to those with shells as flat as pancakes; special feature pages focus on the giant tortoises of the Galapagos and Aldabra Islands, vicious snapping turtles, the nests of the green turtle, rare chelonians, and more; and, ideal reading for 8- to 12-year-olds. From vast oceans and remote islands to the searing heat of the desert, turtles and tortoises have adapted to almost every environment. There are hundreds of different species of this group of reptiles - known as chelonians - which range in size from the enormous leatherback sea turtle to the tiny speckled Cape tortoise, which is small enough to fit in your hand. Informative, lively text complements more than 180 beautiful images, making this a fascinating reference guide for use both at home and in the classroom.

Read more less

The bestselling Joshua Tree National Park guidebook for two decades!Over 200 five-star reviews for previous editionsJoshua Tree National Park boasts some of California's most dramatic desert scenery. From the weird and wonderful Mojave Desert to the vast and stark Sonoran Desert, Joshua Tree National Park: The Complete Guide reveals the park’s highlights and hidden gems.Whatever your interests—hiking to the top of Ryan Mountain, rock climbing the Wonderland of Rocks, watching golden sunsets from Keys View—Joshua Tree National Park: The Complete Guide puts the best of Joshua Tree National Park at your fingertips.Over 100 gorgeous color photos showcase the park's best destinations. Fascinating chapters on History, Geology, Ecology, and Wildlife reveal the story behind the scenery. More than 20 detailed maps guide readers on the park’s best hikes. An indispensable guide for outdoor adventurers and travelers on a budget, Joshua Tree National Park: The Complete Guide is the only guide you'll need!

Read more less

This definitive sourcebook for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game provides tons of new character options for all seven “core” player character races, from archetypes that allow elf characters to explore their connection to nature and magic, to feats and spells that let a dwarf character carry on the legacy of his multi-generational clan, or a gnome explore her connection to the First World or delve deep into her weird obsessions. Additionally, the Advanced Race Guide offers meaty sections on a dozen “spotlight” races that make interesting and exciting player character options, such as goblins, aasimar, tieflings, dhampyrs, drow, the elemental races from Bestiary 2, and several others, and, for the first time, allows players to create and play characters like merfolk, grippli, duergar, stryx, and every other appropriate monster currently in the Pathfinder game. Lastly, the Advanced Race Guide includes an extensive section that allows players and GMs to build their own custom races, either to emulate more powerful creatures that already exist in the game or to create wholly original characters unique to their campaign.

Read more less

The Midlands by is the second collection by Tony Williams, following his much-acclaimed debut The Corner of Arundel Lane and Charles Street in inimitable and lyrical style. Beginning in the Midlands themselves, with the 'unfound grave of a Mercian king under wurzels, new housing and out-of-town Asdas', his poems compose a tragi-comic paean to vanishing hinterlands and fine-tuned weirdness, to domestic relics, to dog walks, dust and phantoms.Williams' absolute delight in word play and tomfoolery belies a darker, stranger undertow between rhyme and reasoning. Strange forces are at work in the heartlands, where we find ourselves travellers in perpetual motion, stopping only to gather our disappointment at the OK Café on the A1 and wonder if our 'boots might rise from the earth and pursue' us.Tony Williams is a poet and short-story writer based in North-East England. His first full collection, The Corner of Arundel Lane and Charles Street, was published by Salt in 2009 and was shortlisted for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize and the Portico Prize for Literature. He teaches creative writing at Northumbria University

Read more less

For fans of Rebecca Stead and Jennifer L. Holm, this is an atmospheric summer beach read for middle school readers. Twelve-year-old Shayne Whittaker has always spent summers on the Maine coast, visiting her grandmother Bea and playing with her BFF Poppy. Both Shayne and Bea are treasure seekers, in their own ways: Bea trolls flea markets and garage sales for valuable finds, while Shayne revels in golden memories of gorging on lobster rolls, searching for sea glass, and weaving friendship bracelets with Poppy. This summer, though, everything has changed. Poppy would rather talk about boys than bracelets, and Bea's collecting mania has morphed into hoarding. Only Linc, the weird boy next door who is obsessed with the Civil War, seems to care about her. Turns out Linc's coveting a treasure of his own. What begins as the worst summer of Shayne's life becomes the most memorable as she learns when to hang on, when to let go, and how to find treasures in unexpected places.

Read more less

A romance of convenience between two college women soon becomes the real thing.Shy Miwa has always dreamed of finding love, but living in small-town Japan made finding the right match difficult—especially since she likes girls! Even going away to college didn’t seem to help, until one day her outgoing classmate Saeko suggests they might as well start dating each other since it’s not like either of them has other options.Miwa finally feels like she’s getting the hang of the new shape her relationship with Saeko has taken. It’s hard to switch from being girlfriends to friends, but her growing connection with Tamaki has been a great distraction. Except now things with the cute underclassman have started to feel weird, and Miwa isn’t sure she’s brave enough to ask why. Will her second relationship fizzle out before it even starts?

Read more less

An empowering new series from the cyclist who runs Shred-Girls.com is guaranteed to give readers an adrenaline rush--and the confidence girls gain from participating in sports!It''s time to ride and save the day!Lindsay can''t wait to spend her summer break reading comics and watching superhero movies--until she finds out she''ll be moving in with her weird older cousin Phoebe instead. And Phoebe has big plans for Lindsay: a BMX class at her bike park with cool-girl Jen and perfectionist Ali. Lindsay''s summer of learning awesome BMX tricks with new friends and a new bike turns out to be more epic than any comic book--and it''s all leading up to a jumping competition. But some of the biker boys don''t think girls should be allowed to compete in BMX. Now it''s up to Lindsay, Jen, and Ali to win the competition and prove that anyone can be great at BMX.

Read more less

Frog and Toad meet Elephant & Piggie meet Bill & Ted on this wonderfully strange and funny adventure of two best friends. Prepare for some dreamy moon magic! When Ant dreams of her Mama Ant sending a message to visit her ant cousins who live on the moon, Dog is eager to join the fun. Hat is more than a little skeptical. But Hat's friends won't leave him behind, and they'll overcome any obstacle to get there. As the trio make their way to the moon, they discover that big dreams aren't impossible, especially when new friends provide help along the way. Dreams, jokes, and curiosities abound when this daringly weird dynamic duo (plus Ant!) embark on a wonderfully strange and unendingly funny adventure to make it to the moon just in time to enjoy a picnic UPON the lunar eclipse itself-before it disappears from right beneath their checkered blanket! Can you imagine anything more magical?

Read more less

The magical world of Welsh mythology deserves to be better known outside its homeland, with its cast of heroes and tricksters, animals that can talk and change shape, and magicians and witches who can bring disaster or triumph to the people in their paths. Enchanted Wales is an invitation to voyage through the key stories of Welsh mythic literature, exploring not just their medieval texts but also their ancient roots, which can be glimpsed in sculptures, carvings and other artefacts from at least a thousand years earlier. These stories are more than epic entertainments: they allow us to explore our deepest questions about life and death, war and peace, and good and evil, secure in the knowledge that a skilful storyteller will guide us safely to the end of the tale. On this journey, you will encounter severed heads that speak, birds that can tell the future, cauldrons with magical properties, quests that are as intricate and exciting as the Labours of Hercules, and ghostly underworlds where strange and frightening things happen to the humans who visit them. Enter these pages, and prepare to discover a weird, wonderful and Narnia-like world of dreams – the world of enchanted Wales.

Read more less

The magic of Xanth was useless in Mundania—until Dor tried honesty!Dor was having troubles growing up to be the next Magician-King of the magic Land of Xanth. He wanted no part of running the Kingdom. But now the Good King Trent was leaving on a trade mission to non-magical Mundania, home of such weird beasts as horses and bears, so Dor had to take over as King for a week.A week passes. No Trent. Then three weeks. King Trent still hasn't returned. Surely, something terrible had happened; he was apparently held captive in some foul dungeon, unable to escape. Dor was left with the burden of ruling—and with Irene, who was entirely too willing to be his Queen!His only hope was to enter Mundania and free King Trent. But how could it be done without the powers of magic? Nevertheless, he started forth bravely—together with Irene, a golem, a centaur, and a young ogre—heading for the far south of Xanth.The entrance to Mundania, of c

Read more less

When wild magic starts causing trouble at the park, wizard Kit and her friends investigate—and find themselves on another journey to save the world. A lively and witty sequel to The Dragon in the Library.Kit may be the youngest wizard ever, but she sure doesn’t feel like the best wizard. Her magic just keeps going wrong, and other weird stuff is happening, too: talking animals, exploding fireballs, and a very strange new arrival in the local park. Even Dogon (the half dog, half dragon) is droopy! So Kit and her two best friends—animal-whispering Alita and studious Josh—set off with Faith the librarian to investigate this wild magic that’s causing so much commotion. Their journey takes them to a Scottish loch, where they meet an eco-conscious wizard and some very grumpy mermaids (careful, they pinch!). But the danger is greater than they imagined, and it will take everybody’s help to set things right again. This action-packed adv

Read more less

When wild magic starts causing trouble at the park, wizard Kit and her friends investigate—and find themselves on another journey to save the world. A lively and witty sequel to The Dragon in the Library.Kit may be the youngest wizard ever, but she sure doesn’t feel like the best wizard. Her magic just keeps going wrong, and other weird stuff is happening, too: talking animals, exploding fireballs, and a very strange new arrival in the local park. Even Dogon (the half dog, half dragon) is droopy! So Kit and her two best friends—animal-whispering Alita and studious Josh—set off with Faith the librarian to investigate this wild magic that’s causing so much commotion. Their journey takes them to a Scottish loch, where they meet an eco-conscious wizard and some very grumpy mermaids (careful, they pinch!). But the danger is greater than they imagined, and it will take everybody’s help to set things right again. This action-packed adv

Read more less

The Believer is the weird and chilling true story of Dr. John Mack. This eminent Harvard psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer risked his career to investigate the phenomenon of human encounters with aliens and to give credibility to the stupefying tales shared by people who were utterly convinced they had happened.Nothing in Mack's four decades of psychiatry had prepared him for the otherworldly accounts of a cross-section of humanity including young children who reported being taken against their wills by alien beings. Over the course of his career his interest in alien abduction grew from curiosity to wonder, ultimately developing into a limitless, unwavering passion.Based on exclusive access to Mack's archives, journals, and psychiatric notes and interviews with his family and closest associates, The Believer reveals the life and work of a man who explored the deepest of scientific conundrums and further leads us to the hidden dimensions and alternate realities that captivated Mack until the end of his life.

Read more less

John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin moustache, and a cardboard sign that reads 'I'm Not Psycho', he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and treacherous drivers. But who should we be more worried about, the delicate film director with genteel manners or the unsuspecting travelers transporting the Pope of Trash? Along the way, Waters fantasizes about the best and worst possible scenarios: a friendly drug dealer hands over piles of cash to finance films with no questions asked, a demolition-derby driver makes a filthy sexual request in the middle of a race, a gun-toting drunk terrorizes and holds him hostage, and a Kansas vice squad entraps and throws him in jail. So what really happens when this cult legend sticks out his thumb and faces the open road? Laced with subversive humour and warm intelligence, Carsick is an unforgettable ride with a wickedly funny companion - and a celebration of America's weird, astonishing, and generous citizens.

Read more less

''Maybe it was the sense that the poles of her world had lost their charge. The poles imposing order, dividing sense from nonsense, reality from unreality, love from hate, Mark from Clarissa. That they were all falsely opposed repetitions of the same delusion. That the house she lived in was just an optical illusion in the light of an undifferentiated unknown.'' Jacky ''The Beetle'' McKenzie is, if you ask her, the most sensible and rational person in the world. Unfortunately, her ordinary and the rest of the world''s ordinary don''t mix. To the rest of the world, she is belligerent, weird, obsessive, angry and volatile. Always, in the background, husband Mark and girlfriend Clarissa have one eye on each other, both asking the same question - which of them will she push too far first? Which of them will abandon her, and which will be left to pick up the pieces? A Scarab Where the Heart Should Be invites us into the mind of one of the world''s few true individuals as she embarks on her

Read more less

A fantasy of the familiarly absurd, ‘Love & Light & Marzipan’ is a story that takes on all the big stuff: Identity, how all things connect and not being able to find the marmalade. Following a freak accident, Henry Salmon, a young vicar, possessed by the consciousness of Trone Scorges, an alien explorer, goes into a coma. In order to save Henry’s life, Trone and his companions are forced to intervene, but when the accident is revealed to be just one of many events that should not have occurred, they are required to correct the anomalies in time, that they themselves are responsible for. Unused to the vagaries of causality, they encounter baffling features of human existence such as freewill, coincidence and cotton buds , whilst simultaneously and unintentionally becoming more humanised in the process. It eventually becomes apparent that in order to fulfil their obligations to their human hosts, sacrifices must be made, as the worlds of the predictably ordinary and amazingly weird fight it out over who gets the last biscuit… ‘This is somebody who can actually, really, really write with a flourish - with a curlicue!’ - Mark Kermode

Read more less

Physics doesn't just happen in a lab - it happens in the kitchen, in your bath, in a car! This award-winning title by television presenter and writer Richard Hammond shows you how.From explanations of phenomena like electricity to details about composition of atoms and their charge, All About Physics is crammed with interesting facts and fascinating experiments.Join a thrilling high-energy journey through space, time, and beyond and find out about the forces that make our world what it is. Experience some "light" reading about waves and the electromagnetic spectrum, get stuck into friction, and feel the heat with temperature. You can also find out the answers to age-old scientific questions such why the sky is blue, and more obscure conundrums like why golf balls have dimples.With rich illustrations, concise and simple text, and a glossary of the most common terms, All About Physics takes you on a fun journey while you learn about the invisible, the unexplained, and the downright weird!

Read more less

It's 1977. Ike and Lucy, the kids of Senator Charlie and Margaret Marder, are grown up-and in trouble.US Marine Ike has gone AWOL after a military operation gone horribly wrong. Now he's off the grid, working on the pit crew of the moody stunt master Evel Knievel and hanging in the roughest dive bar in Montana. His sister Lucy has become the star reporter of a brand-new Washington, DC tabloid breaking stories about a serial killer and falling in with the wealthy, shady British family that owns the newspaper. As they deal with the weirdness and menace of the time-celebrities, cults, the rise of tabloid journalism, the death of Elvis Presley, the Summer of Sam, and a time of national unease-Ike and Lucy soon realize that their worlds are not only full of compromises and bad choices, but danger. As their lives begin to spiral out of control, they also spiral towards one another. And the decisions they make could mean life and death not only for them-but also their beloved parents.

Read more less

From computer games to figurines and maid cafes, men called “otaku” develop intense fan relationships with “cute girl” characters from manga, anime, and related media and material in contemporary Japan. While much of the Japanese public considers the forms of character love associated with “otaku” to be weird and perverse, the Japanese government has endeavored to incorporate “otaku” culture into its branding of “Cool Japan.” In Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan, Patrick W. Galbraith explores the conflicting meanings of “otaku” culture and its significance to Japanese popular culture, masculinity, and the nation. Tracing the history of “otaku” and “cute girl” characters from their origins in the 1970s to his recent fieldwork in Akihabara, Tokyo (“the Holy Land of Otaku”), Galbraith contends that the discourse surrounding “otaku” reveals tensions around contested notions of gender, sexuality, and ways of imagining the nation that extend far beyond Japan. At the same time, in their relationships with characters and one another, “otaku” are imagining and creating alternative social worlds.

Read more less

Available for the first time in trade paperback, the third of five volumes collecting the complete fiction of William Hope Hodgson, an influential early twentieth-century author of science fiction, horror, and the fantastic. William Hope Hodgson was, like his contemporaries Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen, one of the most important, prolific, and influential fantasists of the early twentieth century. His dark and unsettling short stories and novels were shaped in large part by personal experience (a professional merchant mariner for much of his life, many of Hodgson’s tales are set at sea), and his work evokes a disturbing sense of the amorphous and horrific unknown. While his nautical adventure fiction was very popular during his lifetime, the supernatural and cosmic horror he is most remembered for only became well known after his death, mainly due to the efforts of writers like H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, who often praised his work and cited it as an influence on their own. By the latter half of the twentieth century, it was only his weird fiction that remained in print, and his vast catalog of non-supernatural stories was extremely hard to find. Night Shade Books’s five-volume series presents all of Hodgson’s unique and timeless fiction. Each volume contains one of Hodgson's novels, along with a selection of thematically-linked short fiction, including a number of works reprinted for the first time since their original publication. The third book of the five-volume set, The Ghost Pirates and Other Revenants of the Sea, collects more of Hodgson’s nautical fiction, including his 1909 novel The Ghost Pirates. The Complete Fiction of William Hope Hodgson is published by Night Shade Books in the following volumes:The Boats of the “Glen Carrig” and Other Nautical AdventuresThe House on the Borderland and Other Mysterious PlacesThe Ghost Pirates and Other Revenants of the SeaThe Night Land and Other RomancesThe Dream of X and Other Fantastic Visions

Read more less

New for 2020! Join the 750,000 listeners of the Sawbones Podcast as Dr Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin humorously discuss centuries of medical myths, mishaps and mayhem, including modern day medicine and pandemics.Newly revised and updated for 2020, this new Paperback edition of the bestselling Sawbones Book gives you a fascinating, horrifying, funny and memorable tour through centuries of medical experimentation and practice (and sometimes malpractice). Learn about trepanation, the COVID-19 pandemic, Norovirus, Chickenpox, Diabetes, and more, all inspired by Sawbones 300+ podcast episodes. Wondering whether eating powdered mummies might be just the thing to cure your ills? Tempted by those vintage ads suggesting you wear radioactive underpants for virility? Ever considered drilling a hole in your head to deal with those pesky headaches? Probably not! But for thousands of years, people have done things like this—and things that make radioactive underpants seem downright sensible! In their hit podcast, Sawbones, Sydnee and Justin McElroy breakdown the weird and wonderful way we got to modern healthcare . . . and some of the terrifying detours along the way. Every week, Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin amaze, amuse, and gross out (depending on the week) hundreds of thousands of avid listeners to their podcast, Sawbones. Consistently rated a top podcast on iTunes, with over 15 million total downloads, this rollicking journey through thousands of years of medical mishaps and miracles is not only hilarious but downright educational. While you may never even consider applying boiled weasel to your forehead (once the height of sophistication when it came to headache cures), you will almost certainly face some questionable medical advice in your everyday life (we’re looking at you, raw water!) and be better able to figure out if this is a miracle cure (it’s not) or a scam. Table of Contents: Part 1: The Contagious Quarantine The Deadly Parade Detox The Black Plague Pliny the Elder The Man Who Drank Poop Parrot Fever Part II: The Unnvering The Resurrection Men Opium An Electrifying Experience Weight Loss Charcoal Erectile Dysfunction Spontaneous Combustion Trepanation The Doctor Is In Part III: The Gross Mummy Medicine Mercury The Guthole Bromance A Piece of Your Mind The Unkillable Phineas Gage Phrenology Robert Liston Urine Luck! Radium Humorism The Straight Poop The Doctor Is In Part IV: The Weird The Dancing Plague Curtis Howe Springer Smoke 'Em if You Got 'Em A Titanic Case of Nausea Arsenic Paracelsus Honey Self-Experimentation Homeopathy The Doctor Is In Part V: The Awesome The Poison Squad Bloodletting Death by Chocolate John Harvey Kellogg Vinegar Polio Vaccine The Doctor Is In

Read more less

From cubed wombat poop to mantis shrimp eyesight, impress your friends with More True Facts That Sound Like Bull$#*t!Learn the weirdest things about planet earth with this hilarious guide to all things bizarre. Challenge your friends, puzzle your family, and troll social media with true-or-false questions sure to stump even the most experienced fact guru. The perfect gift for trivia experts and internet searchers alike, with 500 odd-but-true facts to choose from, you’ll become a weird trivia master in no time.Put your game face on, and prove once again that you are the real know-it-all! Gather your friends and family 'round (again!) and get ready to learn more wild and crazy trivia and facts such as: How long did the shortest war in history last? True or False? There was once a mustache strike in France. Are babies born crying with an accent? True or False? a dentist invented cotton candy. Is cheese the most widely shoplifted food in the world? Stump everyone with More True Facts That Sound Like Bull$#*t!

Read more less

Mindful Cute Animal Drawings With Words of EncouragementKate Allan’s You Can Do All Things combines wisdom, humor, and beautiful, whimsical artwork that can be your daily companion when you feel anxious, inadequate, and overwhelmed.” ―Susyn Reeve, Author of Heart Healing#1 Best Seller in Mental Health, Depression, and Women ArtistsYou Can Do All Things is a collection of knowing-yet-supportive cute animal drawings from The Latest Kate. This woman artist’s thoughtful words of encouragement and unique drawings help you to be mindful, to take care of yourself, and to nurture your self-esteem.Daily meditations to bring encouragement to get you through the day. Mental health, depression and anxiety are all topics that affect everyone. Calming and supportive, the cute animal illustrations in You Can Do All Things are also candidly personal about the internal problems many of us face in this world.Inspirational, gentle drawings that sparkle with comfort. The Latest Kate's inventive pairing of whimsical colors and friendly, smiling cute animals is the spoonful of sugar that makes the heavy subject matter approachable and non-threatening. You Can Do All Things is a welcome addition to any bookshelf or art wall, and its messages are equally applicable to adults and children. Anxiety sucks, but you don’t! This book will show you how to get through the worst of it.In this book you’ll find: Beautiful, whimsical, and colorful art with cute animals Kind words of encouragement A how-to guide to dealing with anxiety and depression Tips for times you feel inadequate, overwhelmed, or down on yourself If you loved Loading Penguin Hugs, Gmorning, Gnight!, 365 Days of Art, or Affirmators!, then you’ll love You Can Do All Things. Don’t miss Kate’s bestselling card deck Thera-pets and other books by this gifted artist; It’s Your Weirdness that Makes Your Wonderful;You're Smart, Strong and You Got This; and I Like You.  

Read more less

From cubed wombat poop to mantis shrimp eyesight, impress your friends with More True Facts That Sound Like Bull$#*t!Learn the weirdest things about planet earth with this hilarious guide to all things bizarre. Challenge your friends, puzzle your family, and troll social media with true-or-false questions sure to stump even the most experienced fact guru. The perfect gift for trivia experts and internet searchers alike, with 500 odd-but-true facts to choose from, you’ll become a weird trivia master in no time.Put your game face on, and prove once again that you are the real know-it-all! Gather your friends and family 'round (again!) and get ready to learn more wild and crazy trivia and facts such as: How long did the shortest war in history last? True or False? There was once a mustache strike in France. Are babies born crying with an accent? True or False? a dentist invented cotton candy. Is cheese the most widely shoplifted food in the world? Stump everyone with More True Facts That Sound Like Bull$#*t!

Read more less

"Nochita shimmers with humor and delight, she burns with stark raving intelligence."--Mary Gaitskill "In Nochita, Dia Felix builds an extraordinarily rich and inventive language to carry the kaleidoscopic point of view of her young protagonist. What a pleasure to open a book and find such exuberant and committed artistry. A stunning debut."--Janet Fitch "There is a way some writers say hello on the first page that gets me excited to be in their conversation. Nochita has it with teeth!! I love this book and the weird strong eye it has on the world, melting clothes off bodies with a creme brulee torch. Nochita is quite the dance to read through, kind of like shaking a bad morning off and realizing you really love this world. Makes me smile, like Dia Felix writes, 'I think I can latch on to this machine now."' BUY THIS BOOK, don't just stand there reading my fucking blurb!!"--CAConrad, author of The Book Of Frank Daughter to a divorced new age guru, Nochita wanders through the cracks of California's counter-culture, half feral child, half absurdist prophet. When tragedy strikes she is sent to live with her father, a working-class cowboy with a fragile grasp on sobriety and a dangerously mean fiancee. Stuck with adults chillingly unable to care for her, Nochita takes to the streets, a runaway with nothing to run from, driven forward by desperation, hope, and an irrepressible wonder. Nochita is a poetic novel dazzling in its detail, stylistically daring, by turns hallucinatory, darkly funny, and brutally real. At its heart is the singular voice of Nochita, tender and fierce, alone and alive and utterly unforgettable. Dia Felix is a writer and filmmakerand an award-winning digital media producer for museums (SF Exploratorium, Museum of Arts and Design). She currently teaches and mentors teens in experimental documentary filmmaking. She is the founder and editor of Personality Press. Born and raised in California, she currently lives in New York. Nochita is her first book.

Read more less

SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEARThe truth about being a rugby player from the horsey's mouth.This book is not just about how a psychiatrist called Humphrey helped me get back on my horse and clippity-clop all the way to the World Cup semi-final in Japan. It's the story of how a fat kid who had to live up to the nickname Psycho grew up to play and party for over a decade with rugby's greatest pros and live weird and wonderful moments both in and out of the scrum. That's why I'm letting you read my diary on my weirdest days. You never know what you're going to get with me. From being locked in a police cell to singing Adele on Jonathan Ross (I'll let you decide which is worse), being kissed by a murderer on the number 51 bus to drug tests where clipboard-wielding men hover inches away from my naked genitalia, melting opponents in rucks, winning tackles, and generally losing blood, sweat and ears in the name of the great sport of rugby. This is how (not) to be a rugby player.

Read more less

Expand your mind with this amazing book of incredible information about our weird and wonderful world.Dive into a world of fascinating facts and cool comparisons about our world, from the very bottom of the ocean - which is as deep as 29 Empire State buildings - to the planets of the solar system, and everything in between!Do you know which flower is taller than a human? Or how many Earths could fit inside Jupiter? Or if it is true that we only use 10% of our brains? Whatever the topic, this fact-tastic compendium will uncover the story behind the weirdest wonders of our world - from intriguing animals and astounding nature, to the mysteries of science, history, geography, the human body, and more!I Can't Believe It! is stuffed full of fantastic facts, cool visual comparison, and myth-busting true-or-false questions. You truly won't believe what you're reading!A compilation of favourite stories from the four best-selling DK titles It Can't be True!, True or False?, Strange but True, and It Can't Be True! 2, this is the ultimate companion for any fact-hungry child.

Read more less

*Little Badman and friends return in a second hilarious and action-packed adventure, for fans of David Baddiel and David Walliams*Praise for Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties:'Wildly over the top and satisfying' The Observer New Review Children's Book of the Month'This book is bonkers but proper funny- it's Drake meets James Bond' Match of the Day Magazine________ 'You've probably heard of me, right? Little Badman. No? Oh. Well . . . doesn't Matter. You will do one day. I'm gonna be big.'I'm Humza Khan, the greatest eleven-year-old rapper Eggington ever had. I've also faced deadly alien slugs, killer aunties and double maths. But now, I (and my best friend Umer I guess) face something even scarier - my dad! He's pretty fed up with us being naughty, so he's sending us away . . . to school. But this is not ordinary school. This is a special summer school in Pakistan, and man something weird is going on - someone has been messing with time!I may have to save the world again . . .

Read more less

Against the background of Montrose's campaign of 1644-5, this spirited novel centres on one of Scott's most memorable creations - Sir Dugald Dalgetty of Drumthwacket. This hard-headed Aberdonian contrasts tellingly with the weird and passionate Highland feud in which he becomes perilously entangled, as the narrative moves from Dalgetty's unflinching encounter with the Duke of Argyll, to his dramatic escape from Inveraray Castle, to the battle of Inverlochy. "The Edinburgh Edition respects Scott the artist by 'restoring' versions of the novels that are not quite what his first readers saw. Indeed, it returns to manuscripts that the printers never handled, as Scott's fiction before 1827 was transcribed before it reached the printshop. Each volume of the Edinburgh edition presents an uncluttered text of one work, followed by an Essay on the Text by the editor of the work, a list of the emendations that have been made to the first edition, explanatory notes and a glossary ! The editorial essays are histories of the respective texts. Some of them are almost 100 pages long; when they are put together they constitute a fascinating and lucid account of Scott's methods of compostion and his financial manoeuvres. This edition is for anyone who takes Scott seriously." Times Literary Supplement

Read more less