Search results for ""author weird"

“A love letter to fandom, friendship, and the stories that shape us, Eliza and Her Monsters is absolutely magical.”—Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times–bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she’s worked for begins to crumble.Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl meets Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona in this acclaimed novel about art, fandom, and finding the courage to be yourself. “A must-have.”—School Library JournalIn the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, anonymous creator of a popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. With millions of followers and fans throughout the world, Eliza’s persona is popular. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves her digital community. Then Wallace Warland transfers to her school and Eliza begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart. With pages from Eliza’s webcomic, as well as screenshots from Eliza’s online forums, this uniquely formatted book will appeal to fans of Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. The paperback edition includes bonus material and never-before-seen art from the author.Young Adult Library Services Association Best BookBest Fiction for Young Adults Top TenKirkus Best Book Texas Tayshas Pick

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Mako still can’t figure out what’s up with Sakurai. When they’re alone together, she seems so happy, and she’s always teasing – and getting right up into his personal space! But lately, she’s blushing about it even more than he is. Could it be that she’s not just teasing? Does she really…like him?! Series Overview: Mako can’t figure out what’s up with Sakurai. She’s always talking to him, asking weird questions, and getting REALLY close! Doesn’t she think he’s going to get the wrong idea? Or could it be that…she likes him? No way! But…maybe?

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Mr Pattacake thinks the medieval fun day is going to be perfect. He’s made all sorts of weird and wonderful dishes– what could possibly go wrong? But, as usual, nothing ever goes smoothly for Mr Pattacake. He finds himself in a mess when problems strike and a ride on a runaway horse has Mr Pattacake clinging on for dear life. Will he manage to save the day this time? The Mr Pattacake series tells the stories of an eccentric chef and his cat, Treacle, who are always getting themselves into sticky situations. Readers aged 5+ will love following this world of food and adventure.

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Just thirty, with a well-paid job, no love life and a terrible attitude, the anti-hero of this grim, funny novel smokes four packs of cigarettes a day and writes weird animal stories in his spare time. A computer programmer by day, he is tolerably content, until he's packed off with a colleague - the sexually-frustrated Raphael Tisserand - to train provincial civil servants in the use of a new computer system Houellebecq's first novel was a smash hit in France, expressing the misanthropic voice of a generation. Like A Confederacy of Dunces, Houellebecq's bitter, sarcastic and exasperated narrator vociferously expresses his frustration and disgust with the world.

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It's a very busy morning on Treacle Street, and Hettie is waiting at the bus stop on the way to her Invention Workshop. Hettie really hopes that the bus won't be late today - she MUST make it to the Workshop in time for the big reveal of her latest invention! Whoever can be in all these weird and wonderful vehicles? Lift the flaps to find out! Young readers will delight in the busyness and enticing detail of the vehicles on Treacle Street, filled with characters that we have come to know and love.Other books in the Treacle Street lift-the-flap series by Kate Hindley:Marcel's Parcels Prima's Missing Bunnies Where's William's Washing?

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The Little Book of Oxfordshire is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no one will want to be without. Here we find out about the most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters and literally hundreds of wacky facts (plus some authentically bizarre bits of historic trivia). Combining essential facts with little-known, weird and often hilarious trivia, it is an essential purchase for all lovers of the county. Colourful characters and the general mayhem of Oxford history flow through the pages like the iconic Thames, Isis and Cherwell rivers. Dip in and celebrate!

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Filled with bite-size facts and amazing original illustrations, the Small and Mighty range is the ultimate pocket-sized collectible series for young readers who can't get enough of their favourite topic.In The Small and Mighty Book of the Human Body, readers can learn all about the weird and wonderful human body, discovering everything from how we see, smell and taste to how our muscles work. Packed full of interesting facts and information about the body, as well as fun, highly detailed illustrations, this book will answer any questions a curious mind might have about exactly how the body works.

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"Readers and comics fans who prefer their sci-fi full of weird creatures, complicated world building, lots of action, and protagonists with heart will find plenty to like in this series. Hand to fans of Brian K. Vaughan's Saga (2012) or Jonathan Hickman's Manhattan Projects (2012)." -BooklistIn this second volume of the hit series, the Anarchist League of Scientists dives further into the Onion construct of reality than ever before, jumping wildly through worlds of wonder, fantastic beauty, and cosmic horrors. Beset on dangers from without and within, the team must learn to be a family if they're ever to survive and find their way home again.

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Dive down into the ocean in a submarine. Journey into an underwater world and meet the creatures who live there, from the huge orca that swims near the surface, to the weird eel that lurks in the deep. Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a compelling non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The series includes 36 titles which are all phonically decodable, with some high-interest topic words to develop vocabulary and impart knowledge. The imaginative approach and variety of intriguing topics mean there are books to interest every child. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every reader to the right book.

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Dispatches from the everyday adventures of two regular women in New York. An Atlantic Edition, featuring long-form journalism by Atlantic writers, drawn from contemporary articles or classic storytelling from the magazine’s 165-year archive.Welcome to Lizzie and Kaitlyn’s New York: Join two regular women as they recap small parties, weird dinners, and aimless evenings. Highlights include taking the Q train to Coney Island, an Uber to eat Garbage Plates, and a walk to a Crown Heights birthday party. Eclectic and endlessly funny, these dispatches invite you to get together and go nowhere with nobody all that famous.

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Is it science...or strange and ghostly?Asim's new town is freaking him out! There are weird noises at night, eerie lights, and now an evil tree that is growing way faster than it should. he's sure there's something supernatural going on.His friend Rokshar believes that everything can be explained by science. But even she's worried when the tree takes control of their teacher! It's starting to look like an evil spirit straight out of Guyanese folklore is to blame. Can Asim and his friends save their teacher--and the town--from the ghost tree? Find out...if you dare! It's a new spooky series based on ghost stories from Guyana.

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The penultimate Scott Pilgrim full-color hardcover edition is here! There are many questions in Scott Pilgrim's terrible little life. First of all, why did he have to turn twenty-four? Secondly, why do robots keep trying to kill him? And why is Sex Bob-omb falling apart? Why is Ramona acting so weird? And finally, why won't these brilliant and deadly Japanese twins leave him alone? Scott Pilgrim will find the answers to these questions... or die trying! Featuring exclusive bonus content and previously unpublished extras you won't find anywhere else in the Universe!

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'A dream! I learnt something new and fascinating on every page' Lucy Mangan 'If you love words, the weird and the wild, I guarantee you'll crouch over this book like a dragon over gold' Meg Clothier 'Endlessly fascinating' - the Spectator Many of the animals we encounter in everyday life, from the creatures in our fields to those in our fantasies, have remained the same since medieval times - but the words we use, and the ways we describe them, have often changed beyond recognition... Old English was spoken over a thousand years ago, when every animal was a deor. In this glittering Old English bestiary we find deors big and small, the ordinary and the extraordinary, the good, the bad and the downright baffling. From walker-weavers (spiders) and grey-cloaked ones (eagles) to moon-heads and teeth-tyrants (historians still don't know!), we discover a world both familiar and strange: where ants could be monsters and panthers could be your friend, where dog-headed men were as real as elephants and where whales were as sneaky as wolves. From the author of The Wordhord comes another delightful dive into the realm of Old English - words and creatures that will change the way you see the world.

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"A must-read for anyone who has ever fought their own battles with both fitting in and being themselves." ~Shannon Schuren, author of Where Echoes LieSmart and athletic, Ben Snyder is ready for middle school. But his super picky eating, which has never been a big deal before, is about to take him down. Suddenly everybody’s on his case about what he’s eating and what he’s not—his old friends, his new friends, his weird lab partner, the girl he’s crushing on, and a bully—and Ben finds himself in social free fall, sliding toward the bottom of the middle school food chain. Even worse, there’s an upcoming three-day class trip to a colonial campsite. Knowing he can’t handle the gag-worthy menu, Ben prepares for the outing like it’s a survival mission. Armed with new and unexpected information about his eating habits that could change everything, he sets out with three tactical goals: impress the girl, outsmart the bully, and avoid every single meal. But when his plans go sideways and epic hunger threatens to push him over the edge, Ben must decide how far he will go to fit in and if he has the courage to stand out.

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From Philip K. Dick Award-nominated author M.T. Hill, The Breach is a unique science fiction mystery set in the dangerous underground world of the urban exploration scene. Freya Medlock, a reporter at her local paper, is down on her luck and chasing a break. When she’s assigned to cover the death of a young climber named Stephen, she might just have the story she needs. Digging into Stephen’s life, Freya uncovers a strange photo uploaded to an urban exploration forum not long before he died. It seems to show a weird nest, yet the caption below suggests there’s more to it. Freya believes this nest – discovering what it really is and where it’s hidden – could be the key to understanding the mysteries surrounding Stephen’s death. Soon she meets Shep, a trainee steeplejack with his own secret life. When Shep’s not working up chimneys, he’s also into urban exploration – undertaking dangerous ‘missions’ into abandoned and restricted sites. As Shep draws Freya deeper into the urbex scene, the circumstances of Stephen’s death become increasingly unsettling – and Freya finds herself risking more and more to get the answers she wants. But neither Freya nor Shep realise that some dark corners are better left unlit.

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How The Body Works is a fascinating exploration of the weird and wonderful processes that occur within the human body, often without us knowing. Understand how our bodies keep us alive and thriving and get to the bottom of such niggling questions as why we get dizzy, why we get butterflies in our stomachs, and why we get jetlag! How The Body Works is a bold and accessible visual guide to every aspect of how the human body and brain works, combining the science of human anatomy books with beautiful images. Enjoy this enlightening resource that covers everything from skin to bone and even the psychology of dreams and emotions.

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Torrid Romance is a great, kitschy collection of early romance comics by a legendary comicbook creator. Vanguard's Wally Wood Classic series follows the best-selling Wally Wood: Strange Worlds and Wally Wood: Eerie Crime & Horror with an all-new collection of Golden-Age Romance comics by the Hall of Fame co-creator of Mad, Weird Science, and Daredevil. These rare and valuable stories have NEVER appeared in any book. This massive collection costs less than a single issue of the original, early-1950's collector's-item comics! Each edition (HC,PB) has a unique cover.

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On his last day before retirement, Mr. Frank is sewing the most wonderful outfit of his long career. Who could it be for? In all his years working as a tailor, Mr. Frank has made all kinds of clothes. From the practical uniforms of the 1940s to the wild and weird designs of the 1960s and 1970s, he has seen (and sewn) just about everything. But today’s project is especially close to Mr. Frank’s heart. With its use of textiles and sensitive period detail, Irene Luxbacher’s artwork is the perfect complement to her understated text. The result is a story that children and grandparents can share with equal delight.

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"The four main characters in Pickle's Progress seem more alive than most of the people we know in real life."—Richard RussoMarcia Butler's debut novel, Pickle's Progress, is a fierce, mordant New York story about the twisted path to love.Over the course of five weeks, identical twin brothers, one wife, a dog, and a bereaved young woman collide with each other to comical and sometimes horrifying effect. Everything is questioned and tested as they jockey for position and try to maintain the status quo. Love is the poison, the antidote, the devil and, ultimately, the hero."Pickle's Progress is a Weird — But Secretly Sweet — Journey."—npr

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Bristol's history is packed with peculiar customs and curious characters. This book explains why the vicar in one church goes on an annual trek to peer down a manhole; why captains of industry sing an eighteen-verse song in memory of Queen Elizabeth I; and how the Flower of Bristol got its name. You will meet some unusual contraptions, like the bed with in-built exercise equipment, or the thrashing machine for naughty boys. You will also discover why a public clock still runs to Bristol time. This compendium of the weird and wonderful will surprise even those Bristolians who thought they really knew their city.

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Don't miss this rare collector’s edition of the uplifting #1 New York Times bestseller from Matthew Gray Gubler.Rumple Buttercup has five crooked teeth, three strands of hair, green skin, and his left foot is slightly bigger than his right.He is weird.Join him and Candy Corn Carl (his imaginary friend made of trash) as they learn the joy of individuality as well as the magic of belonging. This keepsake edition is the perfect gift for kids (and grown-up kids), and features all new cover art, a ribbon bookmark, plus a special note from Matthew and Rumple.

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A spooky, quirky adventure of curses and magic, perfect for fans of Malamander and A Place Called Perfect.Welcome to Barrow. A spooky old town filled with strange birds, terrible floods and cursed by the infamous Barrow Bogwitch... When Lewis and his family move to Barrow, he doesn't think much of the stories at first. Until weird things start happening at midnight. Realizing they are in grave danger, Lewis and his new friend Moira must unearth old secrets and follow clues to break the curse. But the Bogwitch is stirring again...and she has eyes everywhere."Halpin knows how to weave a thrilling story" Lancaster Guardian

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Notions of what is scandalous vary from age to age, but our fascination with all things outrageous remains the same. Whether the sexual disgraces of the Victorian era or the political outrages of modern times, the shocking and the immoral never cease to cause a stir among the masses. Bestselling partnership Ed Rayner and Ron Stapley return with their latest collection of fascinating historical facts, this time about weird and wonderful scandals throughout the ages. From the sexual scandals of the Victorian music halls, the trial of Oscar Wilde and the adventures of Ned Kelly to the hanging of Ruth Ellis and even the shooting of Tony Martin, this book is a must for all those interested in the history of scandal.

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Summer break is about to get weird. After their parents disappear, twins Nick and Tesla are sent to live with their Uncle Newt, an eccentric inventor with his very own science lab. Soon, the young sleuths find themselves investigating a mysterious family right in their own neighbourhood. As they race to uncover the truth, Nick and Tesla must build a bottle rocket launcher, a 9-volt battery burglar alarm, and an electromagnet picker-upper to save the day. Now in paperback, the first book in the popular Nick and Tesla series features laugh-out-loud jokes, fun illustrations, and five DIY science projects with step-by-step instructions for readers to try at home.

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Welcome to The Nothing to See Here Hotel! A hotel for magical creatures run by Frankie Banister and his parents. ‘Exuberant story and witty illustrations, this is my kind of book!’ Chris Riddell ‘Giggles guaranteed’ Nick SharrattFrankie Banister and his family are preparing to celebrate Grandad Abraham’s 175th birthday – an occasion that’s going to be even more HONKHUMPTIOUS now that Abe’s ghost has showed up! When the unexpected spook reveals a secret UNDERWATER wing of the hotel that’s been hidden away for years, the Banister’s decide there’s only one thing for it … a whopping welcome home bash in the spectacular BRINY BALLROOM. But memories aren’t the only things waiting at the bottom of the ocean. Secrets and sea monsters are lurking in the shadows, and is everything as it seems with Grandad Abraham’s ghost? Or is there something fishy going on? Book your stay at The Nothing To See Here Hotel in this fabulously funny series by bestselling author Steven Butler, with a host of weird and wonderful characters brought to life with Steven Lenton's brilliant illustrations!PRAISE FOR THE NOTHING TO SEE HERE HOTEL series: 'This book is so good you won't blunking believe it!' Tom Fletcher 'Hilariously funny and inventive, and I love the extraordinary creatures and the one thirty-sixth troll protagonist...' Cressida Cowell 'A rip-roaring, swashbuckling, amazerous magical adventure. Comedy Gold.' Francesca Simon ‘This hotel gets five stars from me’ Liz Pichon 'A splundishly swashbungling tale of trolls, goblins and other bonejangling creatures. Put on your wellies and plunge into the strangest hotel you will ever encounter. This is a hotel I hope I never find! Wonderfully, disgustingly funny.' Jeremy Strong ‘What a fun hotel! Book me in immediately!’ Kaye Umansky

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'See!...The woods are alive! Already the Great Ones are there, and the dance will soon begin! The salve is here! Anoint yourself and come!' One of the greatest writers of the strange and weird, Algernon Blackwood evolved from a teller of ghost stories to a pioneering master of such emergent fictional modes as cosmic horror and nature Gothic. In tales whose settings range from the eerie North Woods of Canada to the mysterious sands of the Egyptian desert, Blackwood blurs the boundaries between human and nonhuman, living and dead, beckoning the reader into strange borderlands where alien forces lurk, waiting for the chance to break through into our world. This new selection of Blackwood's shorter fiction constitutes the most comprehensive critical edition of his work to date. Included here are such undisputed classics as 'The Wendigo', 'The Willows', and 'Ancient Sorceries', as well as two superbly unsettling novellas, 'The Man Whom the Trees Loved' and 'A Descent into Egypt', and ten other stories short and long, drawn from collections spanning Blackwood's long writing career. Aaron Worth's introduction and notes situate these tales in the context of Blackwood's own upbringing in an evangelical Victorian household, as well as in relation to such topics as late-imperial British history and the emergence of modern ecological thought. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Develop new skills (card tricks!), make fun things (a water balloon launcher!) and learn crazy-cool facts with this hands-on activity book for ages 8 to 12Do you want to find out weird-but-true facts like how to safely enter a black hole or what to do if you meet a mythological monster? Interested in hitting a dizzying ping-pong trick shot or performing mind-blowing magic that’ll amaze your friends? Think it’d be fun to make the ultimate paper airplane or an insane water balloon launcher? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right book! The editors of Popular Mechanics put together this incredible, super-cool collection of did-you-know facts, super-fun projects and astounding skills for curious kids who like to discover stuff, build things, goof around a lot — and sometimes make a big mess in the process. (Don’t tell your parents that last part!) On these totally non-boring pages you’ll discover:Weird facts about pets…like the wild thing that happens when a dog shakes itself dry! The most incredible things ever built…like a 50-foot tall robot!Hilarious tricks and pranks to pull on your friends…if you dare! How to have a million-dollar idea and how to get on Jeopardy! Pro secrets for throwing a curveball and shooting a 3-pointer! How to contact aliens! Plus, even more awesome stuff! (More awesome than talking to aliens? Really? Yes, really!) Are you ready? Pick up this book and let the adventures begin!

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Introduced by Patricia Lockwood: Gothic tales from the mistress of the weird behind frogman-romance Mrs Caliban for fans of Shirley Jackson, Lucia Berlin and Patricia Highsmith.'Wonderful.' Margaret Atwood'Genius.' Patricia Lockwood'Remarkable.' Joseph Heller'Perfect.' Max Porter''Immensely skillful'. Ursula K. Le Guin'Tender, erotic, singular.' Carmen Maria Machado'Still outpaces, out-weirds, and out-romances anything today.' Marlon James'One of the greatest short story writers we have.' The Times'You are in masterly hands as Ingalls lures you into a swamp of violence and magic.' Sunday TimesAfter a one-night-stand with the Angel Gabriel, a monk is transformed into a pregnant woman.Lost in the fog, two visitors are lured into a ruined candlelit mansion.A wife confiscates her husband's homemade sex doll, only to demand her own.Great-aunts warn of the deadly skin of the pearlkillers.Rachel Ingalls' incomparable novellas are masterpieces: surrealist, subversive, tragicomic. Prepare to meet what lurks beneath .'Macabre, fantastic and haunting . . . One of the most brilliant practitioners of American Gothic since Poe . . . Read her at your peril.' Independent'Fables whose unadorned sentences belie their irreducible strangeness . . . In her vision of intimacy and interdependence, you're simply not safe until everybody else is dead . . . Brilliant.' New Yorker'Resists definition . . . Her work combines subtlety and horror, magic and stark realism, Greek tragedy and happily-ever-afters . . . Rare and fine. ' Guardian'Idiosyncratic, haunting, masterly . . . A modern fabulist making myths which explode into strangeness.' Observer

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Founders of the phenomenally successful publishing company Lonely Planet, Tony and Maureen Wheeler have produced travel guides to just about every corner of the globe.Lonely Planet Publications was born in 1973 when the Wheelers self-published a quirky travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. This was quickly followed by what soon became the backpackers' bible, South-East Asia on a Shoestring. Going boldly where no other travel publisher had ventured, they catered to a new generation of independent, budget-conscious travelers long before the advent of mass tourism.Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story is a unique mix of autobiography, business history and travel book. It traces Tony and Maureen Wheeler's personal story as well as the often bumpy evolution of their travel guide business into the world's largest independent travel publishing company.Not surprisingly, after thirty years in the business, the Wheelers have an unrivaled set of anecdotes which they share in Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story. They have been hassled by customs, cheated by accountants, let down by writers, banned in Malawi, berated for their Burma guide and had books pirated in Vietnam. Tony has been gored by a cow in Benares, declared dead around the world in an assortment of gruesome and greatly exaggerated accounts and their company has been accused of the "Lonely Planetization" of the world.Through it all, from the heady days of discovery in the '70s to the rocky patch after the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Wheelers' passion for the planet and traveling hasn't diminished and comes shining through in this enthralling travelogue. But above all, their memoir reveals the spirit of adventure that has made them, according to the New York Daily News, "the specialists in guiding weird folks to weird places."

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The creators of Brains On!, the award-winning science podcast for kids, introduce readers to a fact-filled and humorous look at the weird and wonderful world of microbes!It's show-and-tell day, and Dominique can't wait to introduce her awesome pets to the class. They're more helpful than dogs, cuddlier than gerbils, and way smarter than lizards. They're her...MICRO-PETS!As Dominique takes her classmates on a tour through her microbiome, they'll meet some face mites, hang with feet fungi, and visit the fart factory-powered by bacteria in her intestines!

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LET’S GET NECROMANTICManablue, once a legendary vampiress and Queen of the Night, lost pretty much all her powers and got stuck working at a convenience store on Earth. All kinds of shenanigans have gone down since then, but after regaining her powers of regeneration, Manablue finds herself with the weird problem of needing to dispose of her own dead body. Several of her own dead body, in fact. Luckily, she has her loyal minions and a long-suffering yakuza dude to help her get it done!The cute and unnecessarily lewd adventures of one extra-unfortunate vampire reach their end in this hilarious concluding volume!FINAL VOLUME

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The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies. When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation – Recoletta’s top-secret historical research facility. When a second high-profile murder threatens the very fabric of city society, Malone and her rookie partner Rafe Sundar must tread carefully, lest they fall victim to not only the criminals they seek, but the government which purports to protect them. Knowledge is power, and power must be preserved at all costs…File Under: Science Fantasy [ Thriller | Society in Ruins | Fully Booked | New and Weird ]

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A genuinely funny and original novel about mental illness, growing up and parental breakdown from much-loved comedienne Jo Brand.Alice is five, and convinced she needs five personalities to cope. Her family, tucked in a cottage in deepest Herefordshire, are a bit weird. Her mother Gina is obsessed with the weatherman on the local news and when she climbs naked onto the roof with Alice's pet guinea pig in her arms, she is whisked off to the local psychiatric hospital. Keith, Alice's father, tries to keep calm, but his patience is severely tested by his in-laws. The only thing that gives Alice's hope is her love for Morrissey of The Smiths...

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Twenty years ago Scott Crane abandoned his career as a professional poker player and went into hiding, after a weird high-stakes game played with Tarot cards. But now the cards - and the supernatural powers behind them - have found him again.Crane's father killed gangster Bugsy Siegel in 1948 to become the Fisher King, and to keep that power he is determined to kill his son. Now Scott Crane must cross the Mojave Desert to his father's Perilous Chapel in Las Vegas, and take up the cards again for one last poker duel. And the stakes are the highest he's ever played for ... his soul.

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*With a foreword from Gerald Durrell* In 1947, returning to the UK with two young children to support, Margaret Durrell starts a boarding house in Bournemouth. But any hopes of respectability are dashed as the tenants reveal themselves to be a host of eccentrics: from a painter of nudes to a pair of glamorous young nurses whose late-night shifts combined with an ever-revolving roster of gentleman callers leading to a neighbourhood rumour that Margo is running a brothel. Margo's own two sons, Gerry and Nicholas, prove to be every bit as mischievous as their famous Uncle Gerald - and he himself returns periodically with weird and wonderful animals, from marmosets to monkeys, that are quite unsuitable for life in a Bournemouth garden.

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BEWARE: Rampaging Mutant Dino-Hamster! Fans of My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish and The Terrible Two will be scrambling to get their hands on this hilarious classroom comedy. When a mysterious growling hamster appears at the back of his class, Sam knows just what to call him: Hamstersaurus Rex. Sam tries to protect Hammie from an overzealous Hamster Monitor, and from the meanest bully in the history of Horace Hotwater Middle School. The bully isn’t afraid of some weird little class pet. But maybe he should be. Hamstersaurus Rex is no ordinary hamster.

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Bestselling illustrator Britta Teckentrup explores the world of bugs in a sumptuously illustrated paperback edition. There are bugs everywhere! Some of them live in jungles, some of them underwater, and some certainly live in your house. There are Bugs Everywhere is the second in a series of non-fiction books from Britta Teckentrup. Young readers will learn where in the world all sorts of animals can be found and all the weird and wonderful things about them that they never imagined were true. With an added search-and-find element, this is non-fiction with spark and personality from a much-loved illustrator.

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A stunning debut novel about that uncertain summer after high-school graduation. Emily has finally finished high school in the small town where she has lived her whole life. At last, she thinks, her adult life can begin. But what if you have no idea what you want your new life to look like? What then? While Lincoln gets ready to go backpacking in Australia, Melissa packs for university on the east coast, and a new guy named Tyler provides welcome distraction, Emily wonders whether she will end up working forever at Pamela’s Country Catering, cutting the crusts off party sandwiches and stuffing mushrooms. Is this her future? Being known forever as the local girl whose mother abandoned her in the worst way possible all those years ago? Visiting her spacey grandmother, watching nature shows on TV with her dad and hanging out with Robert the grocery clerk? Listening to the distant hum of the highway leading out of the town everyone can’t wait to leave? With poetic prose and a keen eye for the quirks and ironies of small-town life, Jane Ozkowski captures the bittersweet uncertainty of that weird, unreal summer after high school — a time that is full of possibility and completely terrifying at the same time. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

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Find Your Daily Peace and Relax Your Mind With TheLatestKate’s Art Therapy ActivitiesA gently supportive and encouraging coloring book by Kate Allan, creator of TheLatestKate and author of You Can Do All Things, perfect for those dealing with anxiety.Soothing art therapy from an empathetic source. In You Deserve Nice Things, Kate draws strengths from her own struggles with depression and anxiety. Each design gently argues against negativity that can come from low self-esteem and helps you on your journey towards managing anxiety. Experience real anxiety relief through art therapy activities. Each page of the You Deserve Nice Things coloring book offers a supportive animal friend with a message of comfort, understanding, and mindfulness. Find inner peace and tranquility while coloring these uplifting, cute animals.Inside, you’ll find: 96 coloring pages, full of inclusive illustrations suitable for all ages and skill levels. A collection of fun and sweet drawings that sparkle with comfort and provide anxiety relief Stress-relieving art therapy activities that will help you find relaxation from the daily grind of life If you enjoyed coloring books that help with managing anxiety like Amazing Dogs: Adult Coloring Book or Mindfulness Coloring Book for Adults, you’ll love You Deserve Nice Things. Check out Kate Allan’s affirmation books You Can Do All Things, You’re Strong, Smart and You’ve Got This and It’s Your Weirdness that Makes You Wonderful, as well as her Thera-Pets card deck!

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'Intoxicating' Jeff VanderMeer, author of Annihilation'Barrett's brilliant second novel plummets headlong into a darkly funny tale' Mail on SundayBridget Jones meets Twin Peaks in this black comedy about a woman's retreat to a remote Australian town and the horrors awaiting her.It wasn't just the bad breakup that turned Eleanor Mellett's life upside down. It was the cancer. And all the demons that came with it.One day she felt a bit of a bump when she was scratching her armpit at work. The next thing she knew, her breast was being removed by an inappropriately attractive doctor, and she was subsequently inundated with cupcakes, besieged by judgy support groups, and the ungrateful recipient of hand-knitted sweaters from her mum.Luckily, Eleanor finds that Talbingo, a remote little town, needs a primary-school teacher. Their Miss Barker upped and vanished in the night, despite being the most caring teacher ever, according to everyone. Unfortunately, Talbingo is a bit creepy. It's not only the communion-wine-swigging priest prone to rants about how cancer is caused by demons. Or the unstable, overly sensitive kids, always going on about Miss Barker and her amazing sticker system. It's living alone in a remote cabin, with no phone service or wifi, wondering why there are so many locks on the front door, and who is knocking on it late at night.Riotously funny, deeply unsettling, and surprisingly poignant, Shirley Barrett's The Bus on Thursday is a wicked, weird, wild ride for fans of Maria Semple, Stephen King and Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. And when have those three writers ever appeared in the same sentence?

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This remarkable and highly imaginative novel takes the reader into the fascinating world of Highlow, a fantastical land inhabited by Sorx, Qorx and other magical creatures. Join Holly and Jack in their frantic search for their friend Podge in a world built on prime numbers. While desperately trying to save Podge, Holly and Jack find themselves in Highlow. Lost and scared, they meet a kindly Qorx who hatches a rescue plan in which they must enter the weird and wonderful town of Qorxville. But their hopes are dashed at every turn. With time running out, they try to escape. After a fierce battle, a terrible disaster occurs. Can Holly and Jack rescue Podge or will they be trapped forever in this strange parallel universe?

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FINALIST! 2019 IEEE William and Joyce Middleton Electrical Engineering History Award This biography of Oliver Heaviside profiles the life of an underappreciated genius and describes his many contributions to electrical science, which proved to be essential to the future of mass communications. Oliver Heaviside (1850 -1925) may not be a household name but he was one of the great pioneers of electrical science: his work led to huge advances in communications and became the bedrock of the subject of electrical engineering as it is taught and practiced today. His ideas and original accomplishments are now so much a part of everyday electrical science that they are simply taken for granted; almost nobody wonders how they came about and Heaviside's name has been lost from view. This book tells the complete story of this extraordinary though often unappreciated scientist. The author interweaves details of Heaviside's life and personality with clear explanations of his many important contributions to the field of electrical engineering. He describes a man with an irreverent sense of fun who cared nothing for social or mathematical conventions and lived a fiercely independent life. His achievements include creating the mathematical tools that were to prove essential to the proper understanding and use of electricity, finding a way to rid telephone lines of the distortion that had stifled progress, and showing that electrical power doesn't flow in a wire but in the space alongside it. At first his ideas were thought to be weird, even outrageous, and he had to battle long and hard to get them accepted. Yet by the end of his life he was awarded the first Faraday Medal. This engrossing story will restore long-overdue recognition to a scientist whose achievements in many ways were as crucial to our modern age as those of Edison's and Tesla's.

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Nick and his family are forced to leave Earth in order for him to keep his cat, Horace - because all pets are now banned, as they use up badly needed resources. They settle on Plowman's Planet, where they discover a variety of strange and wonderful alien lifeforms.But not all of these weird lifeforms are benevolent - and the family is involved in a series of increasingly dangerous mishaps. Can Horace and Nick manage to outwit the Wub, the Werjes, the Trobes - and the most dangerous of all, the Glimmung?Philip K. Dick's only children's book, first published after his death, brings together many of his most famous alien creations in one gently humorous tale.

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There are many more states of matter than just solid, liquid, and gas. Examples include liquid crystal, magnet, glass, and superconductor. New states are continually, and unexpectedly, being discovered. Some states, such as superconductor, can act like Schrödinger's cat and exhibit the weirdness normally associated with the quantum theory of atoms, photons, and electrons. Condensed matter physics seeks to understand how states of matter and their distinct physical properties emerge from the atoms of which a material is composed. A system of many interacting parts can have properties that the parts do not have. Water is wet, but a single water molecule is not. Your brain is conscious, but a single neuron is not. Such emergent phenomena are central to condensed matter physics and also occur in many fields, from biology to computer science to sociology, leading to rich intellectual connections. When do quantitative differences become qualitative differences? Can simple models describe rich and complex behaviour? What is the relationship between the particular and the universal? How is the abstract related to the concrete? Condensed matter physics is all about these big questions. The materials in silicon chips, liquid crystal displays, and magnetic computer memories, may have transformed society, but understanding them has transformed how we think about complex systems. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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Fans of Undead Girl Gang and The Babysitters Coven will love Breakup from Hell, a witty YA rom-com with a supernatural twist, starring horror novel obsessed Mica Angeles, who discovers the guy she fell for comes straight out of one of her beloved books.Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?Clever, hilarious, and steeped in supernatural suspense, Breakup from Hell will keep you hooked until the last page.

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Joel Lane (1963-2013) was one of the UK’s foremost writers of dark, unsettling fiction, a frank explorer of sexuality and the transgressive aspects of human nature. With a tight focus on the post-industrial Black Country and his home city of Birmingham, he created a distinct form of British urban weird fiction. Scar City is one of the final collections put together before his death in 2013 – with his home city of Birmingham as their nucleus, these are intense, haunting and often painful stories from a master of the short form. WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY NICHOLAS ROYLE

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The weird, fetid, familiar discomfort of family is front and centre in these short stories of all the ways we remain a mystery to each other.The mysteries of kinship (families born into and families made) take disconcerting and familiar shapes in these refreshingly frank short stories. A family is haunted by a beast that splatters fruit against its walls every night, another undergoes a near-collision with a bus on the way home from the beach. Mothers are cold, fathers are absent—we know these moments in the abstract, but Adaui makes each as uncanny as our own lives: close but not yet understood.

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Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Shinoy downloads the Chaos Crew app on his phone, a glitch in the system gives him the power to summon his TV heroes into his world. With the team on board, Shinoy can figure out why weird things are happening in Flat Hill. Is the dastardly red-eyed S.N.A.I.R., a Super Nasty Artificial Intelligent Robot, causing all the trouble or is it something else? It’s a normal day in Flat Hill, so why is there a baby T-Rex in Shinoy’s back garden? The T-Rex has come through a time loop created by the evil S.N.A.I.R. and just wants to get back home to prehistoric Further Earth. Can Shinoy communicate with him, and get him back to safety? This exciting title is part of the Shinoy and the Chaos Crew series by Chris Callaghan. Lime/Band 11 books have longer sentence structures and a greater use of literary language. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

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