After Glynn is transported to the world of Keltor, she is rescued by an Acanthan Windwalker named Solen, who despite his apparent indifference, is heavily involved in the complex politics of Keltor. Glynn pretends amnesia and slowly learns that the independent Isle of Darkfall and its sisterhood of soulweavers are falling out of favour with rulers in Keltor. Unfortunately, her athletic build, sense of honour and independence make her resemble the Myrmidons, amazon like women who are the sworn protectors of the soulweavers, who are also out of favour. Unbeknownst to Glynn, her twin sister Ember, in trying to save her from drowning was also transported into Keltor. She is rescued by the Soulweaver Alene and her Myrmidon protectors Feyt and Tareed, who harbours a nagging suspicions as to whether Ember is the "Unraveller" as predicted by Lanalor, the very first Holder(King) and the only male soulweaver. Ember is dying from a large tumour in the frontal lobe of her brain. She is half blind and does not have long to live. The entire plot is a result of Lanalor''s trickery in which the Unykorn/Firstmade was captured by the Chaos spirit so that Lanalor could be with his love, Shenavyre, who incidentally committed suicide when the Firstmade was imprisoned. Lanalor prophesized an Unraveller would come to rescue the Unykorn and free Keltor, although most Keltorians have lost faith in this prophecy. The arrival of strangers (People from Earth), Lanalor promised, would be a sign that the Unraveller would come one day. He gave the description by which the Unraveller would be identified: half blind yet seeing all (half blind), mark by visioning though without the Darkfall mark, lives yet sings the deathsong (dying), born yet not of the Song of Making (not from Keltor), gifted from the great water (from the portal in the water, thus washed up to shore) and crowned in bright flames (many take this as red hair) In an attempt to get currency to pay for a ship fare, Glynn is captured by members of the Draaka cult, who drug and enslave her. The Draaka cult preaches to the Chaos spirit though this is not known to all of Keltor. The Draaka seek to ultimately rule the world in Chaos. Glynn is saved from being a drugged drone by Bayard, a loyal Draaka follower who does not agree with the drug taking that the rest of the cult does, when her pet, the fienna, gets attached to Glynn. Bayard wanted Glynn as her servant instead of a drone as she believed that Glynn could help the fienna give birth to its final offspring (Glynn portrays herself as a Fomikan who came from an aspi breeder''s farm whose parents are disappointed with her, in order to survive). Through a vision, Ember saves the Holder''s life from an assassination attempt by Coralyn, who wants to put her other son Kalide on the throne. Her friend Bleyd is framed and tortured and a daring rescue attempt brings Ember face to face with the paradoxical manbeast Ronaall who predicts Ember''s death if she does not leave the Isle of Ramidan within the night with Bleyd. Ember''s tale ends with her smuggled on a ship heading to Darkfall so she can seek answers and healing for her ever-worsening brain tumour. Alene gives her own a''luwtha as a gift, the playing of the music to unlock her memory. Bayard falls overboard and drowns on the way to Ramidan and Glynn helps the fienna give birth, assisted by Solen, who she reunites with on a ship after his faked death. The mother fienna enhances Glynn''s latent abilities so that she can save the last offspring (the mother and 2 of 3 offspring die), and in doing so, helps fill the grey void in Glynn. She is now connected to the he-fienna. In the morning, as Glynn''s ship pulls into the harbour of Ramidan; unknowingly she watches Ember''s ship departing. The novel also interconnects characters on Earth to those in Keltor in "Segue" sections. These characters include Faye and Tabby (Implied mirrors of Feyt and Tareed), a mysterious comatose manbeast by the name of Ronaall, the male nurse who cares for the comatose man who also cared for Ember, a clarinet player and his comatose mother, a security guard, a policeman named Johnny, the blonde jogger who finds Wind''s suicide note and various others.

Darkfall

The Day Boy and the Night Girl begins by telling of a witch named Watho who, in her pursuit of complete knowledge, undertook an experiment to mold two people from birth by strictly controlling their environments. Watho convinced two expectant mothers to visit her castle. Lady Aurora (whose ambassador husband was away on business) was given spacious, sunlit rooms to stay in; she gave birth to a boy. The witch promptly whisked him away, sending his mother back to her home burdened with the lie that her son had died shortly after birth. The other woman (who had recently been widowed and become blind) Watho settled in windowless, tomblike chambers elsewhere in the castle. Vesper died in childbirth, leaving her daughter to the witch’s keeping. Watho did everything in her power to ensure that the boy Photogen grew up strong, able, and fearless. However, her foremost concern regarding the boy was that he should never see the night. Watho desired the opposite for the girl Nycteris, who knew no other world than the stony chambers she had been born in and no other light than that provided by the single dim lamp. It came about that Nycteris, in her sixteenth year, found her way out of these chambers into a night lit by a full-moon. Nycteris was filled with wonder at this glorious new light and the rest of nature; she returned to her rooms before daybreak, desiring to see the outdoors again and not wanting to spoil her chance by arousing Watho’s suspicions. Around the same time, Photogen (who spent his days hunting) one morning spied a big cat of some sort slinking off to the forest and took it in his mind to hunt this skilled hunter. As the sun went down, Photogen left to hunt the nocturnal beast, violating the witch’s constraint. Once darkness fell, Photogen was beset with terror. He came across Nycteris in one of her outings, and gathered some measure of comfort from the strange girl’s calm. She agreed to watch over him while he slept, and so it was that she was for the first time yet outdoors when the sun rose. Photogen regained his courage immediately; assuring Nycteris that there was now nothing to fear, he went on his way, despite her terrified pleas that he stay and protect her from the blinding light. Photogen (wishing to prove his courage) stayed up for another night, only to experience similar results. Photogen and Nycteris eventually learned to use their strengths to bear the other up through their weakness. In this way they were able to defeat the witch Watho. Photogen and Nycteris married; they continued to rely on and rejoice in each other’s strengths, to the point that Photogen came to prefer the night and Nycteris the day.

The Day Boy and the Night Girl

The book follows the lives of the swordfishing crew of the Andrea Gail and their family members before and during the 1991 Perfect Storm. Among the men boarding the Andrea Gail were Billy Tyne, Alfred Pierre, David "Sully" Sullivan, Michael "Bugsy" Moran, Dale "Murph" Murphy, and Bobby Shatford, each bringing their own intelligence, physical strength, and hope on board with them. The men were raised with the expectation that they would become fishermen. As "Sully" said, even before they had left for their long journey, "It''s the money&nbsp;... If I didn''t need the money I wouldn''t go near this thing." Much of the early part of the book gives detailed descriptions of the daily lives of the fishermen and their jobs, and is centered around activities at the Crow''s Nest, a tavern in Gloucester popular with the fishermen. The latter part of the book attempts to reconstruct events at sea during the storm, aboard the Andrea Gail as well as rescue efforts directed at several other ships caught in the storm, including the rescue by the Tamaroa of pararescuemen who were themselves caught in the storm. Lost from the New York Air National Guard HH-60 helicopter was TSgt. Alden "Rick" Smith. A week-long search off the South Shore of Long Island failed to find his remains. Surviving the helicopter crash were Maj. David Ruvola, Capt. Graham Buschor, SSgt. Jimmy Mioli and TSgt. John Spillane, the second pararescueman aboard. All six crew members of the Andrea Gail were missing, presumed dead. The ship and crew were never found. A few fuel drums, a fuel tank, the EPIRB, an empty life raft, and some other flotsam were the only wreckage ever found.

The Perfect Storm

In London, Pongo Twistleton is having money troubles, and his wealthy friend Horace Pendlebury-Davenport is in trouble with his girl, Pongo''s sister Valerie, for hiring Claude "Mustard" Pott to trail her during the Drones Club weekend at Le Touquet. Pongo resolves to call in the redoubtable Uncle Fred for assistance. Meanwhile at Blandings, Horace''s uncle the Duke of Dunstable, as well demanding eggs to throw at whistling gardeners, has taken it into his head that the Empress needs some fitness training, and Lord Emsworth needs help; in the absence of his trusty brother Galahad, he calls in the next best thing: Gally''s old friend Uncle Fred. Horace, having fallen out with his cousin Ricky Gilpin over Gilpin''s fiancee Polly Pott, daughter of Mustard, lands Pongo even further in the soup by being dressed as a Zulu rather than a Boy Scout during a round of the Clothes Stakes, run by Pott at the Drones. While Uncle Fred ponders how to get Polly into Blandings to court her prospective uncle-in-law, Emsworth gives them a chance by insulting Sir Roderick "Pimples" Glossop, who he was supposed to engage to analyse the increasingly loopy Duke of Dunstable. Fred seizes his chance, and heads down to Blandings posing as Glossop, with Pongo playing the role of his secretary and nephew, and Polly his daughter Gwendolyne. They meet Glossop on the train, but head him off, only to pass him into the hands of Rupert Baxter, now working for the Duke. Arriving at Blandings, they are met by Lord Bosham, who was conned out of his wallet by Uncle Fred the previous day. Baxter is sacked, having been seen at a ball by Horace, but is taken on again when Uncle Fred persuades Horace, and the Duke, that Horace is suffering delusions. Horace heads off for a rest-cure, and Baxter is left unable to reveal that he has seen through Fred disguise, having met the real Glossop before. Baxter, however, is put on his guard, and informs Lady Constance; she in turn has Bosham hire a detective to protect her jewels, and he of course selects Mustard Pott. Dunstable''s scheme to acquire the pig continues apace, and he calls in his strapping nephew to help, but when Gilpin asks for funds to buy an onion soup bar, thus enabling him to marry Polly, the two row and part. Dunstable ropes in Baxter instead. Uncle Fred, meeting Pott just after he has taken £250 from Lord Bosham at Persian Monarchs, takes the money off him, insisting it will help Polly marry wealthy Horace. Pott, meeting Gilpin at the The Emsworth Arms, tells him this story, and the enraged poet chases a fearful Horace back to the Castle. Fred gives the money to Pongo to pass on to Polly for Gilpin''s benefit, but she is spurned by him, and lets Pongo use the cash to pay off his debts. When Fred has reunited the couple, more money is required. Pott is persuaded to take it from Dunstable at Persian Monarchs, but the wily peer wins himself £300. Fred tries to get it back, but Dunstable has the pig, captured earlier by Baxter, hidden in his bathroom, and is keeping his room under lock and key. Having knocked out the vigilant Baxter with a Mickey Finn, Fred finally gains access to the room, Pongo having lured Dunstable away with a rendition of "The Bonnie Banks o'' Loch Lomond". He is caught by a shotgun-bearing Bosham, just as Pott drinks a second Mickey destined for Dunstable, and is locked in a cupboard. Valerie arrives, reunited with her man and hot for vengeance on the uncle that made her Horace think himself insane, and confirms Fred''s identity; Fred convinces all that Emsworth has become infatuated with Polly, and that he is there to put a stop to it. He takes Dunstable''s roll of cash to pay the girl off, insisting that his visit remain a secret to maintain the Threepwood dignity, and heads back to London with not only the money for Gilpin''s soup bar, but an extra fifty quid for himself to blow on a few joyous weeks in the city.

Uncle Fred in the Springtime

The Auditors of Reality are beings who watch the Discworld to ensure everything obeys The Rules. As Death starts developing a personality the Auditors feel that he does not perform his Duty in the right way. They send him to live like everyone else. Assuming the name "Bill Door", he works as a farm hand for the elderly Miss Flitworth. While every other species creates a new Death for themselves, humans need more time for their Death to be completed. As a result, the life force of dead humans starts to build up; this results in poltergeist activity, ghosts, and other paranormal phenomena. Most notable is the return of the recently deceased wizard Windle Poons, who was really looking forward to reincarnation. After several misadventures, including being accosted by his oldest friends, he finds himself attending the Fresh Start club, an undead-rights group led by Reg Shoe. The Fresh Start club and the wizards of Unseen University discover that the city of Ankh-Morpork is being invaded by a parasitic lifeform that feeds on cities and hatches from eggs that resemble snow globes. Tracking its middle form, shopping carts, the Fresh Start club and the wizards invade and destroy the third form, a shopping mall. When humankind finally thinks of a New Death, one with a crown and without any humanity or human face, it goes to take Bill Door. Death/Door, having planned for this moment for some time, outwits and destroys it. Having defeated the New Death, Death absorbs the other Deaths back into him, with the exception of the Death of Rats (and ultimately, the Death of Fleas). Death confronts Azrael, the Death of the Universe, and states that the Deaths have to care or they do not exist and there is nothing but Oblivion, which must also end some time. Death asks for and receives some time. He meets up with Miss Flitworth again and offers her unlimited dreams. She asks to go to the local Harvest Dance. They prepare and join the townspeople for a full night of dancing. As the sun is coming up, Miss Flitworth realizes she had died hours before the dance even started. Death escorts her through history to her old fiancé. Returning to the city of Ankh Morpork he meets up with Windle Poons, finally taking him to his just reward, whatever it is. At the end there is also a discussion between Death and the Death of Rats over what the Death of Rats should "ride", Death suggests a dog while the Death of Rats suggests a cat.

Reaper Man

Dexter Morgan leads a double life: a vigilante serial killer by night and a blood spatter analyst with the Miami Police Department''s forensics team by day. After the events of Dexter in the Dark, Dexter is eager to resume his hobby, but first must endure a honeymoon in Paris with his unsuspecting wife Rita. At an art gallery, Dexter and Rita are introduced to the concept of body parts being used as art by an avant-garde performance piece called "Jennifer''s Leg" in which the artist amputates her own limb. On returning home, Dexter finds that his relationship with his sister, Deborah Morgan, has become strained since she learned of his murderous pastime at the end of the first book. Deborah is a Sergeant detective in the Miami Police Department''s Homicide Unit and is torn between loyalty to her brother and their father (who trained Dexter to confine his murderous impulses to other killers, and taught him how to escape detection) and her duty as a police officer to arrest him. At work, Dexter is called to investigate a gruesome tableau on a local beach, where a pair of bodies have been mutilated and arranged in a display that parodies the state''s tourist trade. At home, Rita is concerned for her children, Cody and Astor, who appear withdrawn and different from normal children. Dexter knows that the two share his pathology (which he calls the Dark Passenger) and has promised to train them to kill those who "deserve it", as his adoptive father, Harry, trained him. Cody is enrolled as a Cub Scout, which Rita believes will help him to bond with normal children. Dexter believes it will help him learn how to pretend to be normal.

Dexter by Design

Authors of this book, Leonid Hurwicz and Stanley Reiter, helped found the field of mechanism design. This book provides a guide for those who would design mechanisms. A decentralized mechanism is a mathematical structure that models institutions for guiding and coordinating economic activity. Such institutions are usually created by administrators, lawmakers, and officers of private companies to achieve their desired goals. Their purpose is to achieve their desired goal in such a way that economize on the resources needed to operate the institutions, and that provide incentives that induce the required behaviors. In this book, systematic procedures for designing mechanisms that achieve specified performance, and economize on the resources required to operate the mechanism, i.e., informationally efficient mechanisms, are presented. Most of the book deals with the systematic design procedures which are algorithms for designing informationally efficient mechanisms. In the book, informationally efficient dominant strategy implementation is also studied.

Designing Economic Mechanisms

Wren Elessedil, a descendant of the legendary Jerle Shannara, was charged by the shade of the Druid Allanon to travel to the distant island of Morrowindl and find the Elves to return them to the Four Lands. The catch was that not one Elf had been seen in the Four Lands for more than a hundred years. No one in the Westlands knew of them---except, finally, the Addershag, who told Wren how to locate one. Tiger Ty, the Wing Rider, carried Wren Ohmsford and her friend Garth to the only clear landing site on the island of Morrowindl, where the Elves might still exist. A Splinterscat, Stresa, and a Tree Squeak, Faun, help her reach the city of Arborlon. The island has become a prison since demons began appearing. Only the magic of the Loden keeps Arborlon safe, but its power is failing, and if the Elves are not returned to the Westland soon, they will not survive. When Wren reached the Elves, she learns of her past and discovers that she is of true Elven blood, because the current Elf Queen, Ellenroh Elessedil, is her maternal grandmother. Nine companions, Aurin Striate, an acquaintance Wren and Garth befriend on their way into the city; Triss, Captain of Home Guard; Cort and Dal, Elven Hunters; Ellenroh Elessedil, current queen of the Elves; Eowen, the queen''s closest friend; Gavilan Elessedil, the queen''s nephew and Wren''s cousin; Wren; and Garth set out on a journey to the Westland. Ellenroh becomes fatally ill, and before she dies, she informs Wren that she is to inherit the Loden and become the Queen of the Elves after Ellenroh, though she was orphaned at birth and raised as a Rover. Upon Ellenroh''s death, Eowen reveals that the demons they are trying to avoid were created as an accident by Elves. She reveals that the elves succeeded in regaining their lost magic and to protect their nation from the Federation they created an army of replica elves, but that they became addicted to the magic and transformed into the demons. Wren leads the company with the Loden, but loses all her companions to the demons, Drakuls, and the Wisteron. Only Wren and Triss, Stresa, and Faun remain when the volcano on the island of Morrowindl erupts, destroying the island. Tiger Ty gathers the small company and flees Morrowindl, where Wren restores Arborlon to its original location in the Westland.

The Elf Queen of Shannara

Grover''s mommy tells Grover that she has a new job, much to Grover''s delight. The news remains upbeat to Grover when he learns he''ll have to move to "a place called Sesame Street." He, his mother, and best friend Minnie pack for the move. However, in bed that night, Grover is creeped out by his empty room, and starts to have regrets about the move. Grover experiences more shock on realizing that Minnie won''t be moving with him and his mother, to which Grover''s mommy consoles him with "after we are settled in our new home, Minnie may come to visit us." Grover has obvious apprehensions about the move, even when unpacking in his new room. He finds it smells "funny", and sounds "empty". Outside, on the steps of the apartment, he hollers "Hello, everybodee! Grover Monster is here. Where are my new friends?" Big Bird asks what the problem is, to which Grover replies, "I am crying because I do not have any new friends." Big Bird, a resident of the neighbourhood much longer than Grover, starts to cry with Grover, because he too has no "new friends". Of course, this is all a course of misunderstanding in the semantics of speech, as Grover means he has no friends at all, and Big Bird means that while he has friends, none are "new". The two meet and greet each other, and quickly become friends. Grover then meets Cookie Monster, Betty Lou, Bert, and Ernie. They all take him on a grand tour of the neighbourhood, stopping at Hooper''s Store, managed by David, and the Fix-it Shop, operated by Maria and Luis. They also stop at Oscar''s can, where a rather pippy Oscar the Grouch shakes hands with Grover, and at Big Bird''s nest. On returning to the neighbourhood soda shop, Grover invites everyone to come see his new room, then exclaiming "I think I am going to like it here on Sesame Street." On the last page, as Grover makes this statement to his friends, Minnie and her mother are coming around the bend of the street. In books following this, Grover and Grover''s mommy are back in the suburbs, likely somewhere in New Jersey.

When Grover Moved to Sesame Street

Portis’ novel is narrated by Mattie Ross, a thrifty, churchgoing older spinster distinguished by intelligence, independence and strength of mind. Speaking in 1903, she recounts the story of her adventures many years earlier, when, at the age of fourteen, she undertook a quest to avenge her father’s death at the hands of a drifter named Tom Chaney. She is joined on her quest by Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn and a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (pronounced "La-beef"). As Mattie''s tale begins, Chaney is employed on the Ross’ family farm in west central Arkansas, near the town of Dardanelle in Yell County. Chaney is not adept as a farmhand, and Mattie has only scorn for him, referring to him as "trash", and noting that her kind-hearted father, Frank, only hired him out of pity. One day, Frank Ross and Chaney go to Fort Smith to buy some horses. Ross takes $250 with him to pay for the horses, along with two gold pieces he always carried. He ends up spending only $100 on the horses. When Ross tries to intervene in a barroom confrontation involving Chaney, Chaney kills him, robs the body of the remaining $150 and two gold pieces, and flees into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) on his horse. Hearing that Chaney has joined an outlaw gang led by the infamous "Lucky" Ned Pepper, Mattie wishes to track down the killer, and upon arriving at Fort Smith she looks for the toughest deputy U.S. Marshal in the district. That man turns out to be Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, and although he is an aging, one-eyed, overweight, trigger-happy, hard-drinking man, Mattie is convinced that he has "grit", and that he is best suited for the job due to his reputation for violence. Playing on Cogburn''s need for money, Mattie persuades him to take on the job, insisting that, as part of the bargain, she accompany him. During their preparation, a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf appears. He too is tracking Chaney, and has been for four months, for killing a senator and his dog in Texas, with the hopes of bringing him back to Texas dead or alive for a cash reward. Cogburn and LaBoeuf take a dislike to each other, but after some haggling, they agree to join forces in the hunt realizing that they can both benefit from each other''s respective talents and knowledge. Once they reach a deal the two men attempt to leave Mattie behind, but she proves more tenacious than they had expected. They repeatedly try to lose her, but she persists in following them and seeing her transaction with Marshal Cogburn through to the end. Eventually she is jumped by Cogburn and LaBoeuf, who had hid themselves from view and LaBoeuf begins to spank Mattie. Mattie appeals to Cogburn and he orders LaBoeuf to stop. At this point Mattie is allowed to join their posse. Together, but with very different motivations, the three ride into the wilderness to confront Ned Pepper''s gang. Along the way, they develop an appreciation for one another.

True Grit

During the Oklahoma Land Run, Cissy and her parents arrive from the east to settle in Florence Town, a new settlement. Within a few days, it becomes apparent that a local railroad company wants to use the land for itself and attempts to purchase it from the people of the town. The townspeople don''t want to sell their land, and after falling foul of the railroad company, the director announces that no trains will stop at the town. Suffering hardship through having no railroad connection, the townspeople decide to make efforts - both legal and illegal - to stop the train that passes through their town. The story documents the life of Cissy as she grows and people in the town struggle to make some sort of living. Rumours of a young girl''s death under the wheels of a train sparked a sabotage of the railway removing a length of rail, and blocking the road crossing. Realising what damage to human life they might cause, the townspeople manage to reconstruct the track before the train comes through, thereby averting disaster. Deciding that they should take a more peaceful approach to persuading the trains to stop, the townsfolk hold a fair to show their community off to a trainload of passengers, hijacked by a group of the town''s men. Following the success of the Florence Fair, and the overwhelming response from the passengers pressuring the railroad company to stop ignoring Florence, trains begin to stop at the town after that, which allows the town to grow. To pay tribute to the town''s new start, and in a gesture of reconciliation towards the railroad company, it is renamed Olive, hence the "Olive Branch Line". The book may be partly influenced by the Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War, and is dedicated to the people of Enid, "who did stop the train".

Stop the Train

Joshua Shapiro, successful writer and pundit, lying in a hospital room, seems to have lost his wife and is in the middle of a sex scandal. Compelled to find meaning in his life, he reviews it from his youth to the present day. Joshua grew up as a Jew in the working class St. Urbain Street area in Montreal. His upbringing was unusual because his father was a boxer who had become a gentle crook and his mother was a strip-tease dancer. Embarrassingly, she strips for his friends as part of a Bar Mitzvah party for him. Joshua''s father is revealed to have a unique perspective on life, sex, and religion. A trip to Spain as a young man is the impetus that sparks a career as a journalist and writer. In England in a momentary lapse of reason, Joshua forges letters about a (fake) homosexual affair with a British writer to sell to an American university archive. He meets an upper-class Canadian married to a poser of a communist and steals her away to become his own wife. She is the daughter of a Canadian senator and Joshua''s key into a level of society of which he is quite contemptuous. In the meantime, Joshua''s childhood friends have become successful in their own right. They soon become targets of pranks as he settles various scores. Joshua''s conceited brother-in-law assumes a pivotal role in the novel as it is revealed that he is insecure and vulnerable. Neighbors in the wealthy cottage community around Lake Memphremagog lead him astray with dreadful consequences. Past indiscretions rear their ugly heads and Joshua must put together the shambles of his life.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Darkfall

By Isobelle Carmody

The Day Boy and the Night Girl

By George MacDonald

The Perfect Storm

By Sebastian Junger

Uncle Fred in the Springtime

By P. G. Wodehouse

Reaper Man

By Terry Pratchett

Dexter by Design

By Jeff Lindsay

Designing Economic Mechanisms

By Leonid Hurwicz

The Elf Queen of Shannara

By Terry Brooks

When Grover Moved to Sesame Street

By Jocelyn Stevenson

True Grit

By Charles Portis

Stop the Train

By Geraldine McCaughrean

Joshua Then and Now

By Mordecai Richler