Sue Murdock searches for redemption throughout the novel. Her father repeatedly laments his inability to relate to his daughter. Sue rejects his assistance because she believes he is trying to control her. She has a stormy relationship with Jerry Calhoun, who, perhaps because he is profoundly naive and not particularly bright, is unable to understand her. Jerry clings to quaint notions of Southern honor and is respectful of the power and authority Bogan Murdock represents. Therefore, Sue can never be happy with him. Sue rejects Jerry and soon finds herself with Slim Sarrett, a writer with a room full of pseudo-intellectual friends. Sue falls for Slim, who rejects honor and power in a way Jerry never could. In the end, however, nothing about Slim is real: he is a dedicated liar, deceitful to the last detail. As Sue discovers the depths of his lies &mdash; about his past and sexuality &mdash; she also discovers that he is not even, in fact, a particularly talented writer. After rejecting Slim, and his artist''s pose, she falls into a tepid relationship with Sweetwater. Sweetwater is a cynic, unlike Jerry, and a realist, unlike Slim. Sweetwater is also profoundly honest and struggles to maintain true to himself. Sweetwater falls in love with Sue, but she never loves him in return. One can read Sue to represent the Southern lower class, abused and controlled for generations. Who can help the lower class escape its shackles? Not the lower class man who tastes a bit of success and abandons his class to serve selfish interests, as Jerry does. Not the intellectual, the artist, who poses at everything and is unable to fight for anything. The seduction is great, but the reward is small. Perhaps the honest man, Sweetwater''s labor organizer, can save the class he to raise up even as he is betrayed and rejected by it. Perhaps Sue knows that Sweetwater''s realism and devotion to cause can save her, but she is little interested in it.

At Heaven''s Gate

The plot concerns the marriage of Michael Anton and Pauline Barclay, who meet when he tends to her bloodied brow in his family''s grocery store, located in a primarily Eastern European conclave in Baltimore, in December 1941. They marry after Michael is discharged from the Army with a permanent injury caused by a deliberate shot from someone he assaulted. Michael and Pauline settle in a small apartment above the store, but their widely different temperaments and expectations quickly create dissension in the relationship. He is repressed, controlling, and quiet; she is loud, emotional, and romantic. At Pauline''s insistence, they move to the suburbs, where they raise three children: Lindy, George and Karen. Lindy runs away to San Francisco in 1960 and becomes involved in the growing drug culture. Eight years later, her parents retrieve Pagan, their three-year-old grandchild, while Lindy detoxes in a rehab community. The slowly-crumbling marriage finally dissolves when Michael leaves Pauline on their 30th anniversary. For Michael, convinced that he and Pauline didn''t have the faintest idea what they were doing when they married or how to conduct a marriage (that they were "amateurs"), divorce is a salvation. For Pauline, it''s a tragedy that leaves her in despair.

The Amateur Marriage

Bobby Pendragon and Vo Spader, the Traveler from Cloral, arrive on First Earth (New York City, 1937) shortly after the death of Bobby''s uncle, Press Tilton, greeted by bullets from gangsters that Saint Dane has hired. They then meet the First Earth Traveler, who saved them from the gangsters. He is a bell captain at the Manhattan Tower Hotel named Vincent Van Dyke nickname "Gunny". Bobby and Spader become employed as bellhops there, and investigate the ties between First Earth''s Turning Point, rival crime godfathers Max Rose and Winn Farrow, and the Nazi party. The critical connection is revealed to be the Hindenburg zeppelin. To understand its significance, Bobby and Gunny visit Third Earth, in the year 5010. The Traveler of Third Earth, Patrick, accesses a computer that predicts the future in which they save the Hindenburg: industrial spies working for Max would lead to the Nazis developing an atomic bomb and disastrously winning World War Two. Bobby and Gunny return to First Earth, only to find that Spader and Rose have gone ahead, seeking to stop Winn Farrow from shooting a firework rocket into Hindenburg. Bobby flown to the LZ-129''s launch site by a female aeroplane pilot called Nancy Olsen (Jinx), who has been his friend and client at the Hotel. Once parachuting from the aeroplane, Bobby tracks down Max and Spader, who are seconds from departing to meet Max''s airship arrival. Bobby accompanies them, and with Third Earth foresight, manages to save the entire entourage''s lives. While on Third Earth, the young Traveler learns that Max Rose was destined to die on the same highway, on the same day, after crashing into a motorcycle cop. With Max unconscious and Spader, convinced stopping the Hindenburg will save First Earth, heading for the airfield, Bobby uses Max''s car to follow them. Spader, misunderstanding, tries to stop the rocket from launching; Gunny holds him back, but fails. Spader tries to save the Hindenburg on his own, but is stopped by Winn Farrow. Spader begs Bobby to save the Hindenburg. Looking up, Bobby sees the faces of those who will die in the explosion and is reluctant to let them die. Gunny again intervenes, holding him until the rocket launches and the zeppelin burns. After the whole incident is over, Bobby is upset that Spader''s emotions nearly got the better of him which almost lead to the destruction on all three earth territories. Bobby tells Spader to return to Cloral until he learns to control his emotions. Full of angst over his role in the tragedy, Bobby returns to his home on Second Earth (the 20th and 21st-centuries) for a pause in his Travels. After a week, he receives a call from Gunny, and meets him back at Bobby''s old house a few hours later. Gunny arrives in a limousine with an elderly man claiming to know Bobby''s great grandfather (unknowingly referring to Bobby when he was on First Earth), and explains how Uncle Press had died, describing how an accomplice (who the Gangster revealed to be Saint Dane) persuaded Tony, the gangster''s partner, into shooting a Tommy Gun into the flume. He states clearly that he never fired a bullet. He then gives Bobby his traveler ring which the gangster took from him on First Earth. Bobby thanks the gangster, and he and Gunny accompany the gangster down town to the flume. This is where "The Reality Bug" begins.

The Never War

The story is set in a research facility (known as the "farm") involving two groups of people. The first group contains several teenagers with IQs above 150. These teenagers (Greg, Mikki, Lesley, Gordon, Gretel, Katie and Chris) call themselves the "Think Tank". However, this group is merely a smokescreen for the real subjects of the research - five seven year-olds who are able to communicate telepathically, known as the "Babies". The Babies are called Pep, Ricardo, Ian, Rachael and Myriam. The Babies were all born around the same time in the same hospital. When the members of the first group are "contacted" by the Babies, they learn of the researchers'' exploitation, and, with the help of compassionate workers at the facility (Susan and Erik), investigate the reason for the Babies'' condition. The Babies need help as the head researcher, Larsen, will stop at nothing to solve the mystery. The Think Tank, as well as researcher Susan and young orderly Erik provide this help. They trick the head researcher, John Larsen, so they can escape. The story ends with the Think Tank six years into the future. They turned the think tank into ''Think Tank Inc.'', a company worth three million dollars. The Babies, Think Tank and newly married Erik and Susan all live together. The title, ''A Cage of Butterflies'' refers to the fact that Larsen and the research staff keep both the Babies and the think tank under constant supervision and keep them ''caged'' or ''prisoners'', since they do not allow them to move around freely.

A Cage of Butterflies

Things are going from bad to worse in the dilapidated kingdom of Ragbad; even the rag crop is failing. To top it all off (or not), King Fumbo''s head is blown away in a ferocious storm (with "ten thousand pounds of thunder"). Prince Tatters of Ragbag, and Grampa, a former soldier and the bravest man in the kingdom (population 27), set out to search for King Fumbo''s lost head, and a fortune to save the kingdom, and a princess to boot. They are joined by Bill, an iron weathercock from Chicago, who was brought to life by an electrical storm and blown to Oz. Meanwhile, in Perhaps City in the Maybe Mountains, the Princess Pretty Good has a problem: the prophet Abrog (also known as Gorba) foresees her marrying a monster if she does not marry in four days. (He suggests himself as her bridegroom.) When Pretty Good resists, Abrog kidnaps her and tries to transform her into a clod of earth; but since she is, in fact, more than just pretty good, as princesses go, Pretty Good turns into the beautiful flower fairy Urtha. Wide-ranging adventures&mdash;from Fire Island to Isa Poso to Monday Mountain &mdash; culminate in the location and restoration of King Fumbo''s head. Dorothy (with the help of Percy Vere the forgetful poet) manages to restore order. Prince Tatters ends up married to Princess Pretty Good &mdash; which is pretty good for him.

Grampa in Oz

Though he concedes that history provides evidence of actual conspiracies, Kay argues that farfetched and paranoid conspiracies are gaining adherents at an increasing rate in the United States. In the book, he charts a history of 20th century conspiracy theories including groups such as the John Birch Society. Though much of the book focuses on the 9/11 Truth movement Kay also discusses conspiracy theories about the Bilderberg Group, vaccination, and Reptilians. Kay attempts to define the factors that cause people to believe in conspiracies. He attributes some of the popularity of conspiracy theories to the influence of postmodern academic theories, such as deconstruction. He also blames what he sees as the liberal belief that "society is divided into victims and oppressors". In addition to political explanations, Kay also writes about psychological factors. He argues that many people prefer explanations for disasters which feature expansive conspiracies because it is more difficult to cope with the underlying incompetence or vulnerability at the root of such events. While writing the book, Kay interviewed several figures in the 9/11 Truth movement, such as Alex Jones and Michael Ruppert. Kay classifies promoters of conspiracy theories into different groups, including those he refers to as "cranks" and "firebrands". He defines a "crank" as a person who seek to expose conspiracies as an engrossing mission to fill their lives. He claims this type of person is usually drawn to conspiracy theories after a mid-life crisis.

Among the Truthers

Phileas Fogg is a mysterious British gentleman who lives with his valet Passepartout at No. 7 Saville-Row in Burlington Gardens during the latter half of the 19th century. Unbeknownst to his peers, he is also the immortal foster child of a race of humanoid aliens known as the Eridani. A man of great intellect and affluence, Fogg enters into a wager with a fellow Eridanian citing that he can circumnavigate the globe in exactly eighty days. Although witnesses feel that his claim is little more than the boasting of a rich eccentric, Fogg is in fact undertaking a secret mission on behalf of his Eridanian colleagues. Along with Passepartout, Fogg begins a quest to find a piece of stolen alien technology – a teleportation device that had recently fallen into the hands of the Eridani''s rivals, an alien race known as the Capellas. His journey brings him face to face with the infamous sea scourge Captain Nemo, a Capellan agent who is also known in British circles by his nom de guerre – James Moriarty. The two combatants match wits with one another at several key locations, including the mysterious ghost ship known as the Mary Celeste. The journey climaxes with a final battle at Fogg''s home in London, mere moments before meeting the deadline required to win his world-spanning wager.

The Other Log of Phileas Fogg

The play is in two acts, set in Wishwood, a stately home in the north of England. At the beginning, the family of Amy, Dowager Lady Monchensey are assembling for her birthday party. She is, as her doctor later explains, clinging on to life by sheer willpower: :...........I keep Wishwood alive :To keep the family alive, to keep them together, :To keep me alive, and I keep them. Lady Monchensey''s two brothers and three sisters are present, and a younger relation, Mary, but none of Lady Monchensey''s three sons. Among other things they discuss the sudden, and not to them wholly unwelcome, death at sea of the wife of the eldest son Harry, the present Lord Monchensey. Neither of the younger sons ever appears, both being slightly injured in motoring accidents, but Harry soon arrives, his first appearance at Wishwood for eight years. He is haunted by the belief that he pushed his wife off the ship. In fact Harry has an alibi for the time, but whether he killed her or not he wished her dead and his feelings of guilt are the driving force in the rest of the play. Lady Monchensey decides that Harry''s state warrants the discreet observation of the family doctor, who is invited to join the party, ostensibly as a dinner guest. Mary, who has been earmarked by Amy as a future wife for Harry, wishes to escape from life at Wishwood, but her aunt Agatha tells her that she must wait: :...........You and I, Mary :Are only watchers and waiters, not the easiest role, Agatha reveals to Harry that his father attempted to kill Amy while Harry was in her womb, and that Agatha prevented him. Far from being grateful, Amy resented and still resents Agatha''s depriving her of her husband. Harry, with Agatha''s encouragement, announces his intention to go away from Wishwood, leaving his steady younger brother John to take over. Amy, despairing at Harry''s renunciation of Wishwood, dies (offstage), "An old woman alone in a damned house", and Harry and his faithful servant, Downing, leave.

The Family Reunion

Miranda is sixteen and concerned with being sensible, while Cassandra, nine years and eleven months, likes and believes in magical things. Miranda is outnumbered in this family, because Professor Aisling lectures on mythology and legends at his university, and believes in mysterious and magical things too. But some of the members of the university think that it is nonsense to teach about myths and legends, because magical and mysterious things cannot be dissected, weighed and measured. One member in particular, Mr. Bilgewallow, takes delight in tormenting Professor Aisling, who wishes, and dreams, of a ship that would take him to the worlds where he might find the creatures of legend. One evening, his wish comes true. As he and his daughters walk along the river, they come across a curious little ship, with a crew of dwarfs and gremlins. One of the dwarfs introduces himself as Malachi, Captain of H.M.S. Basset. He says that it is Professor Aisling''s ship, conjured from his wishes and ready to sail on the "tides of inspiration." Aisling is astonished and delighted, and he and Cassandra waste no time in going aboard. Miranda needs a bit more coaxing. The Aislings set sail on a magical voyage where they meet a number of creatures from mythology that join them on board the ship. Included among these are the Harpies, who take over the galley, the Manticore, the Sphinx, the Minotaur and a dryad, complete with tree. Disaster strikes when Aisling becomes distracted by the potential of bringing back measurable proof for Bilgewallow and his ilk. He also insists on bringing the lovely but deadly Medusa on board, with predictable results for one of the crew. But through the help of his daughters and Medusa, he recovers his belief and his balance, as all of them must unite against the evil trolls who pursue him.

Voyage of the Basset

Lisa is facing 30, is three months away from ending her acrimonious divorce from Bryan, and is constantly rebuffing her child psychologist/writer mother, who questions her daughter’s life decisions. Marc, in between plugging his successful novel Goombah, is a star professor at the State College of New Jersey, which is poised to become a university. Nina and Tim Simon, a mixed couple and mutual friends, attempt to bring Lisa and Marc together at a party in Montclair, New Jersey on the very night that an Italian mob in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn murders Yusuf Hawkins, a Black teen. Nina and Tim have their matchmaking work cut out for them. Lisa and Bryan constantly wrangle over community property. Lisa, by some registration fluke, winds up in Marc’s class. A.J., Lisa’s militant friend, drives Lisa incessantly to prove her Blackness. Marc receives word that Michele, his ex-wife, is about to remarry, forcing him to re-evaluate his feelings for her. Demonstrations and hate crimes plague the campus and stress the college’s chancellor, who is fixated on seeing the college become a university. All these activities are interwoven with the charged political context of the New York City mayoral race, which ends in Democratic Party (United States) candidate David Dinkins beating Republican Party (United States) candidate Rudy Giuliani to become the city’s first Black mayor. When Lisa and Marc finally do become a couple, interpersonal conflicts, along with racist and prejudiced family and friends, an ambitious college chancellor, Michele, and a showdown at Lisa’s job threaten the union. Lisa, stressed, crashes her car on her way home and lapses into a coma. A bedside vigil ensues. Bryan agrees to the terms of the divorce. Marc decides to take a fellowship in San Diego. Lisa’s mother rushes to her. Lisa regains consciousness. She and her mother come to an understanding. On his way out of town, Marc visits Lisa, and they negotiate their way to love. On the way to San Diego, they marry in Las Vegas. Lisa is on the balcony overlooking La Jolla Cove at sunset. Marc returns home, and Lisa informs him that the EPT stick has turned blue...

Back to Life

Because there is so little room at the home where they live, Bramble Bellflower () decides that he and his family should move. He does not announce the plan until later, when the seven members come over to the other side of the hill and look at their new property. They do not know that Bramble has actually bought and remodelled the house, which is called The Berries. It will be eight days before the family settles in their new spot. But Periwinkle, one of Bramble''s five children, is deeply affected by the change of address; he is afraid he will miss his neighbour, Pimpernelle, and his old home, in the process. He finds his new room, which he will share with brother Dandelion, too large for his liking. Next day, Mistletoe, another young Bellflower, insists that the house''s fixing up be finished. He calls on his four siblings for the task, and they secretly set off to do it. However, when Papa enters to get a lost tool, he is dismayed at the mess they have made. Angrily, he and Aunt Zinnia send them back home, and the father cleans up after them. Soon, he announces that two strapping rams will carry the family''s furniture in carts; the Pedal Express will be involved as well. When the day comes, Bramble, Mistletoe, Poppy and the Bellflowers'' neighbours help out on the goods, while Zinnia and the other children wait for them at The Berries. By afternoon, everything is in place, but the bunnies find out that Periwinkle is nowhere in sight. Instead, the lonely child has set up a small canvas tent near the old home, close to a hazelnut grove. Knowing where Periwinkle possibly could be, Papa searches for him and eventually comes across the tent. Inside, he reminds his son that no one lives at the old Bellflower home any more. But, when Papa tells him of a housewarming at their new place, Periwinkle cheers up, and the two of them head back over the hill to join in the fun.

Family Moving Day

Ryan Azarcon lives in a fishbowl. He is the son of the infamous Captain Cairo Azarcon, of the deep space carrier ship Macedon and Songlian Lau, Austro Station''s head of publicity. Because of his combination of good looks and influential parents, Ryan is constantly watched by the media. After going to college for three years on earth and witnessing a horrifying terrorist attack related to the war between Earthhub and the striviiric-na in deep space, Ryan develops post traumatic stress disorder, drops out of school and returns to Austro, where he quickly begins doing drugs. However, when Captain Azarcon destroys the pirate ship Genghis Khan and begins to make peace with the striviiric-na, Ryan finds himself in danger. After a failed assassination attempt in a club on New Years Day which leaves many people dead or injured, Ryan finds himself trapped in his home for his own safety- at which point his father comes for him, taking him aboard his ship. Ryan is immediately caught in the middle of the war, the peace, and the effects thereof. The truth about his father''s mysterious past, as a protégé of the pirate captain of the Genghis Khan, Vincenzo Falcone emerges. Earthhub factions, particularly the Family of Humanity, are against the peace. This extremist group eventually has Ryan''s mother assassinated. The Macedon returns to Austro for her funeral, where another assassination attempt nearly kills Ryan. Captain Azarcon subjects Austro to martial law illegally to save him, and is forced to flee to the striviiric-na section of space. Ryan recovers on his father''s ship, where he comes to terms, somewhat, with who he is, who his father is, and his place in the war.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

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At Heaven's Gate

No Author Listed

The Amateur Marriage

By Anne Tyler

The Never War

By D.J. MacHale

A Cage of Butterflies

By Brian Caswell

Grampa in Oz

By Ruth Plumly Thompson

Among the Truthers

No Author Listed

The Other Log of Phileas Fogg

By Philip José Farmer

The Family Reunion

By T. S. Eliot

Voyage of the Basset

No Author Listed

Back to Life

By Wendy Coakley-Thompson

Family Moving Day

By Geneviève Huriet

Burndive

By Karin Lowachee