Laura

Chicago, Illinois, 1974. A blizzard rips through this tough, mid-western city; yet its icy fingers cannot touch the warmth of a tiny hospital room where newly made mother and child rest in their cocoon of glowing happiness.

And she shall be named Laura. After much deliberation chain-smoking Winstons and basking in the flickering aura of the television set, the parents decide on this name. They're big fans of the Dick Van Dyke show.

Reading interests: Fiction, linguistics, astronomy, science fiction, art, crafts, cookbooks, travel memoirs, women's studies.

Moxyland (Paperback)

By Lauren Beukes

$23.00

ISBN-13: 9781770095670
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Jacana Media, 4/2009

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These two superb Urban Fantasy novels have been out for a few months now, but I just discovered them and had to write a review to declare how much I love them! Written with dark wit and great style, these dystopian stories set in South Africa will blow you away with their galloping plots and fascinating characters. I read tons of science fiction and I haven’t read anything so good since I was captivated by Emma Bull’s War For the Oaks. Lauren Beukes has turned me into a rabid fan-girl!

Zoo City (Mass Market Paperback)

By Lauren Beukes

$7.99

ISBN-13: 9780857660558
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Angry Robot, 12/2010

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That Mad Ache: A Novel/Translator, Trader: An Essay (Paperback)

By FranCoise Sagan, Douglas R. Hofstadter

$14.95

ISBN-13: 9780465010981
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Basic Books, 5/2009

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A thoughtful, passionate account of an intense love affair that fizzles out quickly...but we enjoy the ride! The flip side of this book has an excellent essay on the process of translation by Douglas Hofstadter.

The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God (Paperback)

By Carl Sagan

$18.00

ISBN-13: 9780143112624
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Penguin (Non-Classics), 11/2007

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This engrossing book printed posthumously contains Sagan's Gifford Lectures on the relationship between science and religion. My favorite section is the question and answer portion towards the end of the book. Always kind, always diplomatic, Carl Sagan shows us what a truly thoughtful debate about religion can be like.

The Sparrow (Paperback)

By Mary Doria Russell

$15.00

ISBN-13: 9780449912553
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ballantine Books, 9/1997

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If you have to send a group of people to a newly discovered planet to contact a totally unknown species, whom would you choose? How about four Jesuit priests, a young astronomer, a physician, her engineer husband, and a child prostitute-turned-computer-expert? That's who Mary Doria Russell sends in her new novel, The Sparrow. This motley combination of agnostics, true believers, and misfits becomes the first to explore the Alpha Centuri world of Rakhat with both enlightening and disastrous results. . . . Vivid and engaging . . . An incredible novel."

Paper Illuminated: Includes 15 Projects for Making Handcrafted Luminaria, Lanterns, Screens, Lampshades, and Window Treatments (Paperback)

By Helen Hiebert, Ben Fink

$19.95

ISBN-13: 9781580173308
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Storey Books, 9/2001

A candle, a light bulb, or natural daylight illuminating a translucent sheet of paper can create surprises by casting a shadow through holes onto another surface, illuminating a subtle pattern in the paper, or showing off a batiked design. As the popularity of handmade paper grows, this unique book takes the paper crafter beyond stationery, cards, and journals to innovative designs for using colored and textured paper to make striking three-dimensional home furnishings: luminaria, lanterns, room divider screens, sconces, lampshades, nightlights, window shades, and more..

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Mass Market Paperback)

By Susanna Clarke

$9.99

ISBN-13: 9780765356154
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books, 8/2006

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At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England's history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England--until the reclusive Mr. Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight. Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.

The Shipping News (Paperback)

By Annie Proulx

$16.00

ISBN-13: 9780671510053
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner, 6/1994

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When Quoyle's two-timing wife meets her just desserts, he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the starkly beautiful Newfoundland coast, where a rich cast of local characters and family members all play a part in Quoyle's struggle to reclaim his life. As Quoyle confronts his private demons -- and the unpredictable forces of nature and society -- he begins to see the possibility of love without pain or misery.