The book is written about events in the life of the Chalice, describing her actions and emotions. It begins with the Chalice, and the rest of the Circle, welcoming a new Master. The Chalice must be the first to greet the new Master, and give him a special cup to drink. The reason for a new Master is that the old one, and the former Chalice, died in a fire, which was caused by some of their own actions, a few months earlier. The now-dead Master was concerned only with his own pleasure and power, and neglected his duties to his demesne. Seven years before the story begins, the Master sent his brother away, to join the priests of Fire. The brother had been concerned about the demesne, and opposed the Master''s ways. When the older brother died, the Grand Seneschal sent for the younger brother, asking that he become the new Master. The brother is welcomed by the Circle, and the people of the demesne, but has changed, physically and mentally, so that he can hardly interact with the people of the demesne at all. Mirasol, the Chalice, was a peasant, living by herself in a cottage within walking distance of the House of the demesne, but having nothing to do with its inhabitants, until, to everyone''s surprise, she was chosen as Chalice. She raises bees, left to her by her dead parents. The bees are special. For a period of time, they produced so much honey that Mirasol couldn''t take care of it. They are larger than normal bees, they seem to understand the Chalice, and protect her, and they produce special types of honey. The Chalice has had no training for the job. She has read every manuscript she can find that tells her what a Chalice must do, and how, but there is a lot she doesn''t know. She thinks that the rest of the Circle, especially the Grand Seneschal, believes that she was a bad choice. She performs her job as best she can, operating from what she has read, and from her intuition, in deciding what vessel to use, and what to put in it, for each occasion. She mixes honey with the various drinks she offers to people involved in ceremonies of the Circle, or to pour out. This use of honey is new. It has never been used this way before. The Chalice (and most of the people of the demesne) very much want the new Master to succeed—they need a competent Master. He wants to succeed, himself, for the sake of the demesne. That is why he left the training for the priesthood, an unprecedented act, to return. He knows that the demesne needs a competent Master, one from the demesne itself. The Chalice learns of this, and also learns that the Master believes that she should continue as Chalice. Eventually, the Chalice learns that the Grand Seneschal, also, wants her, and the new Master, to succeed. The Overlord does not want this. Since the Master has no heir, he appoints one, who will do his bidding, rather than act for the good of the demesne, if he becomes Master. The Overlord arranges things so that the Master seems to have insulted him, and orders the Master, and the heir, to hold a single combat. The Chalice comes to realize, with the help of the Grand Seneschal, that, should the Master be killed in combat, the heir will not only succeed to the Mastership, but will marry her. She does not want either of these things to happen. During the seven days between the supposed insult and the time of the combat, the Chalice repairs as many of the earthlines of the demesne as possible. (She later learns that the Master has been helping her in this.) On the day of the combat, she returns to the House, to see that the Master will be forced to fight with swords, and has decided that his demesne would be better off if he was killed. But the Chalice''s amazing bees have something to say about this. They blanket the combatants, kill the heir, and transform the Master back to near normalcy. Many of the bees die in the process. The Overlord departs in defeat. Some of the Circle resign their positions, because they haven''t supported the Master. By the end of the book, it is clear that the Chalice and the Master will marry, and everyone live happily every after.

Chalice

The book opens with Meyer Landsman, an alcoholic homicide detective with the Sitka police department, examining the murder of a man in the hotel where Landsman lives. Beside the corpse lies an open cardboard chess board with an unfinished game set up on it. Landsman calls his partner, half-Tlingit, half-Jew Berko Shemets, to help him investigate further. Upon filing a report on the murder at police headquarters, Landsman and Berko discover that Landsman''s ex-wife Bina has been promoted to commanding officer of their unit. Landsman and Berko discover that the victim was Mendel Shpilman, the son of the Verbover rebbe, Sitka’s most powerful organized crime boss. Mendel was believed by many to be the Tzadik ha-Dor, the potential messiah, born once in every generation. As Meyer continues to investigate Mendel''s murder, he discovers that the supposed "chosen one" had taken a flight with Naomi, Landsman''s deceased sister. He follows Naomi''s trail to a mysterious set of buildings with an unknown purpose, set up in Tlingit territory by Jews. Landsman flies there to investigate; he is knocked out and thrown in a cell, whose walls have graffiti in Naomi''s handwriting. The naked and injured Landsman, after a crazed escape attempt, is rescued by a local Tlingit police chief, Willie Dick, who reunites him with Berko. They discover that the mysterious complex is home to a paramilitary group who plan to build a new Temple in Jerusalem. This involves destroying the Dome of the Rock. The American government, led by an evangelical Christian Zionist, has provided support. As Landsman and Berko follow up on this lead, a news report reveals that the Dome has been bombed. American agents apprehend the detectives and offer them permission to stay in Sitka after the reversion if they agree to keep quiet about the plot they have uncovered. Landsman says that he will and is released. Landsman reunites with Bina, frustrated by his failure with the Shpilman case. He keeps going over the chess board in his head, and suddenly realizes that it''s not an unfinished game but a puzzle, and that he had seen the same position from the perspective of the other player in Berko''s father, Hertz Shemetz''s house. Landsman and Bina track down Hertz, and he confesses to killing Mendel at Mendel''s own request. Landsman contacts an American newsman with the story. The book ends with Bina and Landsman reunited and ready to face their future wherever they may land in the Diaspora. The book contains a great deal of comic relief. The creative and playful use of the Yiddish language (for example, cops call a gun a "sholem" – literally a "peace") is an ongoing feature. The juxtaposition of the culture of the shtetl (the Jewish village of eastern Europe) on the Alaskan landscape is also playful and amusing.

The Yiddish Policemen''s Union: A Novel

Rosie Richardson works in marketing at a publisher''s, when she starts dating Oliver Merchant, and falls in love with him. Oliver is the host of the TV show called SoftFocus where they tackle mostly cultural and political topics. Their relationship is formed by his erratic behaviour, like one day telling her he loves her and then not calling for days. When Rosie has to go to Nambula on a business trip, the poverty and general environment shock her into the realisation that she wants to spend her life doing something meaningful. So she breaks up with Oliver and leaves to go to Nambula and work at a refugee camp, organised by Sustain. Four years later, she''s running the camp and feels attracted to a new doctor, Robert O''Rourke. Unfortunately, rumours about a locust invasion spread and about the shipping of food that will be late. So Rosie decides that she has to take matters into her own hands. She flies back to England and gets in touch with Oliver and his circle of famous friends to raise funds. After some convincing, the stars and Rosie fly to Nambula for a one hour fundraising show. In the meantime, Oliver tries to get back together with Rosie, who refuses him. After they handle some catastrophes, the show airs and is a full success. Food is delivered, the stars fly back and Rosie gets together with O''Rourke.

Cause Celeb

The novel’s protagonist, the “crap artist” of the title, is Jack Isidore, a socially awkward tire regroover obsessed with amateur scientific inquiry since his teens. He catalogs old science magazines, collects worthless objects, and believes disproved theories, such as the notions that the Earth is hollow or that sunlight has weight. Broke, Jack eventually moves in with his sister’s family in a luxurious farm house in suburban California. On the farm, Jack happily does housework and cares for livestock. He also joins a small apocalyptic religious group, which shares his belief in extra-sensory perception, telepathy and UFOs and believes the world will end on April 23, 1959. However, most of his time is dedicated to a meticulous “scientific journal” of life on the farm, including his sister’s marital difficulties. Jack’s sister, Fay Hume, is a difficult and subtly controlling woman who makes miserable everyone close to her, especially her misogynist husband Charley. Fay has an extramarital affair with a young grad student named Nat Anteil while Charley is in a hospital recovering from a heart attack. After Jack reports this to Charley, the latter plots to kill Fay. Charley kills Fay''s animals and then commits suicide, realising that Fay has led him to do this. However, his will stipulates that Jack will inherit half the house, and Fay must buy her brother out, although Jack has used his half of the money to replace the slaughtered animals. Nat and his wife Gwen divorce, and Nat decides to stay with Fay. When the end of the world doesn''t occur on the predicted date, Jack decides to seek psychiatric assistance.

Confessions of a Crap Artist

The protagonist and narrator is Lucy, a self-confessed tomboy that is considered one of the guys with her masculine haircut and attitude. She gets on well with her father but is frequently separated from him for months on end when he works in Canada. Her relationship with her mother is easy-going provided she keeps the house tidy. Her mother''s lenience even allows her daughter to drive her car, even when she is too young to apply for a license. As Lucy turns 14, she becomes more in tune with her sexuality and her family dynamics. She develops a type of friends with benefits relationship with her best friend Kenny. She also ditches her toyboy image, embraces make-up and grows out her hair. She begins to realise that her parents marriage is not as solid as she had imagined. She realises that her father''s extended stays abroad are not typical of other fathers. Furthermore she realises that her mother does not pine for her father as much as she does herself. In fact, her allegiance to her father is tested when she discovers her mother is enjoying a romance with a colleague. She pro-actively seeks sexual satisfaction after she is left with a void when Kenny has to move away. She also begins to realise that there is more to her father''s extended stays in Canada than she had previously imagined.

As Cool As I Am

Paul has moved to Miami with his mother Laura, 47 years old. They moved there, to a small apartment, following his parents'' divorce. Paul''s father has a new family now, and his name is Greg. Paul attends a new school where his mother is a secretary. Paul must suffer as a social outcast in the rich kid''s private school Gate. Coming in as a sophomore, he is branded as a loser. Though the life of a social outcast is a perilous, tough life, he meets one friend: Belinda (Binky) Lopez-Nande. She is similar to him in the social tree: a lowly outcast. The two manage to live, but just barely. Meanwhile, the fact that his father left him with his mother still stings, and while he never returns his calls, Paul persists in trying. Then, on one miraculous day, the popular, star athlete rich kids, led by the famous Charlie Good, invite him on a mailbox bash. Charlie and his followers, Gray St. John and Randy Meade (St. John and Meat) allow Paul a shot at joining them. Paul agrees and goes with them, and though he respects his neighbors, he decides to bash some boxes. The next day, at school Paul waves to Charlie, but receives nothing in return. Charlie continues to ask Paul to do worse and worse things in order to retain his friendship, leading to the dramatic conclusion - bombing the school.

Breaking Point

The second book in the Aunt Jane''s series picks up where the first left off. The eccentric and down-to-earth millionaire John Merrick decides to take his three beloved nieces &mdash; Patsy Doyle, Elizabeth de Graf, and Louise Merrick &mdash; on a tour of Europe. The parents of the three girls react variously, but don''t oppose the trip; Mrs. Merrick, Louise''s mother, wants to accompany them as chaperone, a prospect that Uncle John rejects out of hand. Still, Mrs. Merrick allows her daughter to go; she wants to separate Louise from Arthur Weldon, the young man who has been courting her. (The social-climbing Mrs. Merrick is desperate for Louise to land a rich husband. Weldon''s father is a wealthy railroad magnate, but the father and son are in a clash of generations and the elder Weldon threatens to disown the younger). Uncle John and the three cousins embark for Europe, and make new acquaintances aboard ship. Among them is a somewhat sinister and mysterious man called Victor Valdi, who combines "refinement and barbarity" in his manner. Patsy goes out of her way to draw him out of his sullen silence, to "make him talk and ''be sociable''." The tourists reach Italy, where they witness an eruption by Vesuvius and cope with the public''s fears and a layer of ash in the streets of Naples. They consider a detour, but decide to carry on intrepidly. They encounter a local aristocrat, the Count of Ferralti, who fancies Louise &mdash; though the clever Uncle John quickly realizes that he is only a pretend nobleman. John warns Louise of the young man''s pretense, but otherwise allows the acquaintance, especially when Ferralti proves a courageous help in a near-disaster on the road. At Taormina, the travelers meet Victor Valdi again; he appears more sinister and mysterious than ever in his native element, where he is called "Il Duca." There is much talk of the danger of "brigands" in Sicily &mdash; though the local people cheerfully insist that "There are no brigands" in Sicily, an ironic refrain that winds through the book. Quickly enough, both Uncle John and Ferralti are waylaid by Valdi, who is the chief local brigand, and makes a living for his family and followers by kidnapping tourists and holding them for ransom. Uncle John learns the ways of Valdi''s curious establishment, which includes his ruthless mother and his daughter Tato, who masquerades as a boy to serve as her father''s henchman. After initial resistance, Uncle John reconciles himself to paying the ransom for his life and freedom; but his nieces and friends are unwilling to yield to bandits, and stage a bold and effective rescue of Uncle John and Ferralti. It is revealed that the false Count Ferralti is actually Arthur Weldon; he has come to Europe in disguise to be with Louise. Uncle John lets the two young people continue to see each other, as long as there is no talk of marriage yet. (News has arrived that Weldon''s father has died in a railway accident, and that Arthur is now a wealthy heir.) The Americans are surprised a few days later, when Valdi and Tato appear at their hotel. While Tato was acting as the go-between in the ransom plot, the girl and Patsy had become something like friends; with typical generosity of spirit, Patsy does not blame the girl for the actions of her family. Now, Valdi asks the Americans to take Tato under their charge for a time; Valdi is trying to leave brigandage behind and take up an honest life. The cousins naively accept Tato, and enjoy dressing her in a new wardrobe and teaching her manners. They are surprised again when Tato absconds with the ransom cash ($50,000 of Uncle John''s money and $30,000 of Weldon''s); the girl leaves a cheerful but mocking letter behind her, explaining the ruse. Having learned their lesson, the travelers complete their tour through Italy, Switzerland, and France, and gratefully return home.

Aunt Jane''s Nieces Abroad

The novel alternates perspectives between H.G. Wells and a character initially identified only as "Stevenson." In the first chapter, Stevenson copulates with a prostitute in a 19th century London alley and then murders her. In the next chapter, Wells is introduced showing off his brand new time machine to a group of men including Stevenson. When police arrive to announce that they have identified Jack the Ripper as Stevenson, Stevenson uses the time machine to escape, and Wells follows him. Wells finds himself in the future and befriends a young bank teller named Amy Robbins. Robbins is unaware of Wells''s identity and 19th century provenance and believes him to be just a quirky old-fashioned gentleman. As Stevenson murders several women, Wells pursues him while hampered by a love affair with Robbins, to whom he does not dare tell the truth. When Wells is finally forced to confess to Robbins who he is and what he is really doing, she terminates their relationship. But Stevenson targets her next, and Wells rescues her and incapacitates Stevenson in a dramatic climax.

Time After Time

The final novel in the original Flambards trilogy opens in the middle of the First World War with Christina, now a widow, returning to Flambards. Flambards has greatly deteriorated since she left with Will, and is almost in ruins. As distraction from her grief over Will''s death and the news that his brother Mark has been reported missing and presumed dead, Christina sets herself the tedious and difficult task of restoring the farm. She not only wishes to restore the house and grounds but also a semblance of her old life, the people, horses and hounds. Finding she is pregnant with Will''s baby, Christina adopts Mark and Violet''s six-year-old son ''Tizzy'' Thomas, along with an original Flambards bitch called Marigold and a nervy five-year-old bay thoroughbred called Pheasant. Eventually she persuades Dick to come back to work on the farm and things slowly begin to go smoothly, until the reappearance of Mark. Christina''s joy quickly turns to anxiety and apprehension as Mark tells her that if she wishes to remain at Flambards, she must marry him. But Christina fears Mark become like his father, and when she finds she has feelings for Dick, her confusion increases as she still loves Will.

Flambards in Summer

The richness of the Treasure Valley, high in the mountains of Stiria or Styria, southeastern Austria, is lost through the evil of the owners, the two elder, "Black Brothers," Hans and Schwartz, who in their foolishness mistreat Southwest Wind, Esquire, who in turn floods their valley, washing away their "liquid assets," and turning their valley into a dead valley of red sand. This personified wind has the power to keep things this way through his influence with other winds that had caused the valley''s unique fertility. Forced into a trade other than farming Hans and Schwartz become goldsmiths. They cruelly melt their younger brother Gluck''s prize heirloom, a golden mug, which consists of the head of a golden bearded man. This action releases the King of the Golden River for Gluck to pour out of the crucible as a finely dressed little golden dwarf. The Golden River is one of the high mountain cataracts, that surround the Treasure Valley. Gluck fancies that it would be good if that high majestic river would actually be what it appears in the setting sun, a river of gold. The dwarfish king disagrees with Gluck, but offers a proposition: if someone were to climb up to the source of the river and throw into it at least three drops of "holy water," it would become for that person only a river of gold. That person must do it on his first and only attempt or be overwhelmed by the river to become a black stone. Hans and Schwartz desire to take the challenge, duel each other with the result that Schwartz is thrown into jail for disturbing the peace. Hans, who had the good sense to hide from the constable, steals holy water from the church and climbs up the mountains to the Golden River. He has a hard time of it on a glacier and gets away without his provisions and only his flask of holy water. Overcome with thirst Hans is forced to drink from this flask, knowing that only three drops are all that''s needed. Along the path, Hans comes across three prostrate individuals dying of thirst, a puppy, a fair child, and an old man. Hans satisfies his own thirst while denying the three needy individuals. The "demeanor" of the surroundings of his journey turns bleak and inauspicious, climaxing in Hans being transformed into a black stone once he has hurled the holy water flask into the Golden River. Gluck secures the release of his brother Schwartz, who, buying his holy water from a "bad priest," eventually fares likewise, spurning in his turn the fair child, the old man, and his brother Hans lying prostrate in his path. The Golden River then acquires another black stone around which to rush and wail. Gluck takes a turn at climbing the mountain. He encounters first an old man walking down the mountain trail who begs water from the flask. Gluck allows him to drink, leaving only a third of the holy water. He then encounters a fair child, lying by the road, whom he allows to drink all but a few drops. Following these unselfish acts, Gluck''s path is made bright and pleasant making him feel better than he had in his whole life—no doubt, due to his kindness. He then comes across the prostrate puppy, whom he gives the final drops of the holy water. The puppy turns into the King of the Golden River, who tells Gluck the fate of his two brothers and, thereupon, shakes three drops of dew from a lily into Gluck''s flask to throw into the river. Gluck does this, and the Golden River forms a whirlpool where it travels underground and emerges in the Treasure Valley, which then becomes lush and fertile once more. Gluck the new owner is a wealthy man, who never turns away the needy from his door. Ever afterward, though, the people show and tell travelers the tale of the two black stones in the Golden River, known as The Black Brothers.

The King of the Golden River

Life is a memoir covering Keith Richards''s life, starting with his childhood in Dartford, Kent, through to his success with the Rolling Stones and his current life in Connecticut. His interest in music was triggered by his mother, Doris, who played records by Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine and Louis Armstrong, and his maternal grandfather, Augustus Theodore Dupree, a former big band player, who encouraged him to take up the guitar. In his teens he met up with Mick Jagger, who he had known in primary school, and discovered that they both shared a love of blues music. In the early 1960s Richards moved into a London flat, shared with Jagger and Brian Jones. Together with Bill Wyman, Ian Stewart and Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones were founded in 1962, playing gigs at Ealing Jazz Club and the Crawdaddy Club. The book chronicles Richards''s career with the Stones since 1962, following their rise from playing small club gigs to stadium concerts, Richards''s drug habits, his arrests and convictions. His relationships with a number of women, including Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull, Ronnie Spector and Patti Hansen, whom he married in 1983, are covered in detail. The often difficult partnership between Richards and Jagger is referred to throughout the work and coverage of this has caused much media interest. Throughout the work, much attention is given to Richards'' love of music, his style of playing and chord construction. His non-Stones projects, such as the X-Pensive Winos and recording with the Wingless Angels in Jamaica, as well as collaborations with Chuck Berry and Gram Parsons amongst others are covered in some detail.

Life

In the not-too-distant future, a cold war threatens to turn hot. Colonization of Mars seems to be mankind''s only hope of surviving certain Armageddon. To facilitate this, the American government begins a cyborg program to create a being capable of surviving the harsh Martian environment: Man Plus. After the death of the first candidate, due to the project supervisors forgetting to enhance his brain''s ability to process sensory input to cope with the new stimuli he is receiving, Roger Torraway becomes the heart of the program. In order to survive in the thin Martian atmosphere, Roger Torraway''s body must be replaced with an artificial one. At every step he becomes more and more disconnected from humanity, unable to feel things in his new body. It is only after arriving on Mars that his new body begins to make sense to him. It is perfectly adapted to this new world, and thus he becomes perfectly separated from his old world, and from humanity. The success of the Martian mission spurs similar cyborg programs in other spacefaring nations. It is revealed that the computer networks of Earth have become sentient, and that ensuring humanity''s survival will guarantee theirs as well. In the end, the network is puzzled...it appears that something else was behind the push to space, a mystery even to the machines.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Chalice

By Robin McKinley

The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel

By Michael Chabon

Cause Celeb

By Helen Fielding

Confessions of a Crap Artist

By Philip K. Dick

As Cool As I Am

By Fromm, Pete

Breaking Point

By Alex Flinn

Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad

By L. Frank Baum

Time After Time

No Author Listed

Flambards in Summer

By K. M. Peyton

The King of the Golden River

By John Ruskin

Life

By James Fox

Man Plus

By Frederik Pohl