The book opens with a scene of a seabird flying through the clouds. It falls out of the sky with exhaustion and crashes through a window, dying, where it is found by a strange golem-like creature. Then later that day in the other side of Orokos in the Ghetto''s, the two protagonists, Rail and Moa, are sent on a mission to steal from the hideous creatures called Mozgas. They sneak through a large building and find a small box with different sorts of treasure within. Rail also finds an artifact that is known to be Fade-Science. They manage just to escape from the Mozgas and report back to the obese thief mistress Anya-Jacana. Rail debates about whether to give her the Fade Science but chooses not to. They depart and leave for their small living place. Anya-Jacana sends a small group of boys, led by her favourite Finch, to get the artifact off them. They arrive soon enough and Rail and Moa are trapped. Moa then puts the artifact on her finger and manages to fall through the wall behind them. She pulls Rail through just as the gang enters. They discover the artifact can open ''doors'' though solid objects. As Rail and Moa escape, they meet a golem named Vago. He had escaped from his own master after getting beaten. The three proceed to discover the truth behind their unjust society.

Storm Thief

Juan is born into slavery in Seville, Spain in the early 1600s, and after the death of his mother when he is just five years old he becomes the pageboy of a wealthy the painter Diego Velazquez. Diego has a wife, Juana de Miranda, and two little girls, Francisca and Ignacia. Juan''s main job is to help his master with his painting, preparing the colours, washing the brushes, etc. However, Juan learns to paint as well, but since slaves in Spain are not allowed to practice any of the arts, his master cannot teach him how. Soon, two apprentices, Cristobal and Alvaro join the household to learn from Diego. Juan, whose opinions do not differ from his master and his family''s, dislikes Cristobal, but finds Alvaro pleasant enough. However, Cristobal is a much better painter than Alvaro. Some time later, Diego receives a message from the King of Spain, saying that he has been invited to paint His Majesty''s portrait. Thus, he and his family are given permanent living quarters in the palace itself, so they move there, along with Juan and the two apperentices. Juan also accompanies Velazquez to Rome for a portrait of Pope Innocent X, and the portraits of many other Italian noblemen.

I, Juan de Pareja

In this third of the Borrowers series, the Clock family begins living in the house of a human boy named Tom. The borrowers find that they will starve because Tom and his uncle are moving away. They need to leave but Tom''s pet weasel or ferret is outside the door. Luckily, the animal still has the bell that Tom put on it, but they know they cannot outrun such a swift animal. Just when things are looking grim, Spiller returns via a secret passage: he has come through the drains underneath the house. Spiller says that he has not told the rest of the borrowers about the drains because they never asked. While deciding where to go, Spiller tells them that they might go to Little Fordham which is actually a replica village. The place has been a bit of a legend with all Borrowers: a whole village made for Borrower size residents with plenty of food from the visiting big people. Spiller lets them stay in one of his hide out places, a tea kettle, while he goes and investigates the matter for them. During the waiting period, the rain comes down and causes the kettle to be put adrift downstream. The Clocks decide that their best chances are to hope that Spiller will realize what has happened and find them. For the most part there aren''t many frightening adventures, but they lose the kettle some time after it gets stuck in some trash. But while still on the river, Mild Eye, the gypsy who nearly caught them before, discovers them. The Clock family is trapped; none of them can swim.

The Borrowers Afloat

John can be a meanie only because he has been untouchable since his parents'' divorce six years ago, and Marisol, who has recently come out as a lesbian, meet through their interests in writing zines, into which they pour their life stories. John arranges coffee dates that occur over several Saturdays, thus getting to know Marisol, and becoming friends. After Marisol tells John that she likes him, he is very surprised. No one had ever told him that they liked him, and he falls in love with her. Marisol doesn''t know how to let him down, without losing her new best friend. Throughout the story, John and Marisol try to keep their friendship intact through writing zines together. As the story begins, John wonders what it would be like to meet one of his favorite zine writers, Marisol. From her personal biography, she describes herself as a "Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian." John meets Marisol at a magazine rack on a Saturday when he asks her for coffee. Over time they start to spend more time together and she teaches him the ways of the zine writer. While John is spending time with his divorced father, he starts to ask questions about Al, the man his mother is marrying. John gets angry and throws a tantrum. Seemingly childish, the outburst becomes a topic for his writing, which he asks Marisol to read, instead of discarding it as he usually would have. Reflecting more on his life, John begins to understand his sexual orientation. This sudden embrace of his heterosexuality starts to give John ideas about his future with Marisol. Planning for the upcoming junior prom, John is thinking of taking Marisol. Marisol is aware that John only wants to go as friends, but is confused at John''s desire to parade his heterosexuality to his friends. When John tries to kiss her, Marisol refuses. She yells at him, announcing that she is strictly lesbian, and that she thought he understood. Regretting his actions, John assumes he will never see Marisol again. To his surprise, Marisol calls him and she does not seem mad. She asks him to a zine conference on the shore of Cape Cod, next to the Bluefish Wharf Inn. Marisol tells him that this is the chance to express his feelings about the situation at hand to his parents, so he does. John writes letters to his mother and father, mails his father''s to him, leaves his mother''s on the table, and heads to the bus station for Marisol. One long bus ride later, they arrive at the conference surrounded by cabins and writers. John sees one of his favorite writers, Dianna Tree. As the weekend passes, Dianna and John develop a relationship while Marisol is off partying. Dianna sings a song for John called "Hard Love." After the convention ends, Marisol plans to go live in New York with her friends, Jane, Sarah, and B.J. John is completely taken aback by Marisol''s plans. He tries to talk to her before she leaves but, running short on time, she hurries away. John is left to sort through his relationship with his parents and finish his last year of high school.

Hard Love

Muna has never seen his father, and only knows that he is a samurai with a chrysanthemum tattoo on his shoulder. He meets a likable ronin named Takanobu on a ship which Muna was hiding on. Later on, after Muna and Takanobu have gotten off the ship, they are in the city and go exploring. Muna loses track of where Takanobu goes, and eventually gets lost. At night, Muna still isn''t able to find Takanobu and is wandering around when a girl finds him and invites Muna in for supper. Later on Muna learns that the girl''s name is Akiko and is the daughter of a sandal-maker. After supper, Muna stays the night. Finally, Muna finds Takanobu asleep next to a fence. As Takanobu takes care of Muna, he finds him a job cleaning stables. But one New Years a fire occurs at the Red Dog where Takanobu met Muna and sent him to do an errand. On the errand, he is told by someone that a man named "Plum Face" is dead, who was a person Muna knew. He is also told that Takanobu is "dead." Muna faints from the noxious fumes of the fire and is badly burnt, unable to wake up. Later on, Muna is found by a man named Fukuji, who is the master swordsmith of the capital. Muna stays with Fukuji, doing house chores and other "women''s work". One day when Muna was outside, he saw a man dressed as a monk who seemed to be following exactly what he did. When Muna pulls a trick on the man, he finds out that he is Takanobu. Takanobu is happy to see Muna again, and asks him to do one favor. Takanobu wants Muna to steal a sword from Fukuji and give it to him. He convinces Muna to give him the sword by saying that he is Muna''s father. But when Muna brings the sword to Takanobu, he says he wouldn''t give it to Takanobu unless he said he was Muna''s father. When Takanobu didn''t answer, Muna attacked. Muna runs away to the woods, and eventually buries the sword in front of a neglected shrine. At the same time, Fukuji, who woke up, wonders where Muna has gone. Suddenly, a visitor comes to Fukuji and tells him that he is Muna''s father. Fukuji realizes that the visitor is Takanobu. When Takanobu who never died claims that he is Muna''s father, Muna must choose between fulfilling his "father''s" wishes or proving his loyalty to Fukuji.

The Sign of the Chrysanthemum

Jim (his surname is never disclosed), a young British seaman, becomes first mate on the Patna, a ship full of pilgrims travelling to Mecca for the hajj. Jim joins his captain and other crew members in abandoning the ship and its passengers. A few days later, they are picked up by a British ship. However, the Patna and its passengers are later also saved, and the reprehensible actions of the crew are exposed. The other participants evade the judicial court of inquiry, leaving Jim to the court alone. The court strips him of his navigation command certificate for his dereliction of duty. Jim is angry with himself, both for his moment of weakness, and for missing an opportunity to be a ''hero''. At the trial, he meets Charles Marlow, a sea captain, who in spite of his initial misgivings over what he sees as Jim''s moral unsoundness, comes to befriend him, for he is "one of us". Marlow later finds Jim work as a ship chandler''s clerk. Jim tries to remain incognito, but whenever the opprobrium of the Patna incident catches up with him, he abandons his place and moves further east. At length, Marlow''s friend Stein suggests placing Jim as his factor in Patusan, a remote inland settlement with a mixed Malay and Bugis population, where Jim''s past can remain hidden. While living on the island he acquires the title ''Tuan'' (''Lord''). Here, Jim wins the respect of the people and becomes their leader by relieving them from the predations of the bandit Sherif Ali and protecting them from the corrupt local Malay chief, Rajah Tunku Allang. Jim wins the love of Jewel, a woman of mixed race, and is "satisfied... nearly". The end comes a few years later, when the town is attacked by the marauder "Gentleman" Brown. Although Brown and his gang are driven off, Dain Waris, the son of the leader of the Bugis community, is slain. Jim returns to Doramin, the Bugis leader, and willingly takes a fatal bullet in the chest from him as retribution for the death of his son. Marlow is also the narrator of three of Conrad''s other works: Heart of Darkness, Youth, and Chance.

Lord Jim

To Have and to Hold is the story of an English soldier, Ralph Percy, turned Virginian explorer in colonial Jamestown. Ralph buys a wife for himself - a girl named Jocelyn Leigh - little knowing that she is the escaping ward of King James I, fleeing a forced marriage to Lord Carnal. Jocelyn hardly loves Ralph - indeed, she seems to abhor him. Carnal, Jocelyn''s husband-to-be eventually comes to Jamestown, not knowing that Ralph Percy and Jocelyn Leigh are man and wife. Lord Carnal attempts to kidnap Jocelyn several times and eventually follows Ralph, Jocelyn, and their two companions - Jeremy Sparrow, the Separatist minister, and Diccon, Ralph''s servant - as they escape from the King''s orders to arrest Ralph and carry Jocelyn back to England. The boat that they are in, however, crashes on a desert island, but they are accosted by pirates, who, after a short struggle, agree to take Ralph as their captain, after he pretends to be the pirate "Kirby". The pirates gleefully play on with Ralph''s masquerade, until he refuses to allow them to rape and pillage those on board Spanish ships. The play is up when the pirates see an English ship off the coast of Florida. Ralph refuses to fire upon it, knowing that it carries the new Virginian governor, Sir Francis Wyatt, but the pirates open fire, and Jeremy Sparrow, before the English ship can be destroyed, purposefully crashes the ship into a reef. The pirates are all killed, but the Englishmen (and woman) are rescued by the Governor''s ship. Ralph is put on trial on board the ship as a pirate, after Lord Carnal tells the Governor that he ordered the destruction of the ship, but Jocelyn, having come to love Ralph, speaks for him. Her words are so persuasive that the Governor believes her and frees Ralph. They return to Virginia, though Ralph is forced to remain in a gaol - King''s orders. Ralph is lured into a trap, though, by Lord Carnal and is subsequently captured by Indians - but not before putting up a fight and seeing Lord Carnal terribly wounded. The brother of Pocahontas, the Indian Nantauquas, rescues him and Diccon, but only to inform them that all the Virginian Indians plan to massacre the Jamestown settlers. As they are on their way back to Jamestown, Diccon is shot and killed by a hostile Indian, and Ralph is left alone to brave his way back. Returning to the colony, he gives his information, only to be told that Jocelyn had made her way to the forest in search of him after his absence was noticed, with Jeremy Sparrow, and that they had not been found. It is also discovered that Lord Carnal has taken poison and will die within a week. Jamestown is saved, thanks to Ralph''s almost-too-late warning, and after things are stabilized, Ralph goes in search of Jocelyn and the minister. After a long and seemingly fruitless search, Nantauquas himself, though he had turned traitor, leads Ralph to where Jocelyn is staying. The two are reunited, and at the end of the story intend to go to England, where Jocelyn''s lands have been restored to her and they can finally live in peace. To Have and to Hold was revised and edited by Josh and Sarah Wean for the four-hundredth anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. It is sold in this edition by the Christian company, Vision Forum Inc.

To Have and to Hold

Nanny Pendergast, the middle-aged Scottish woman who is the driving force behind "El Mico", may not be the typical criminal mastermind. Nevertheless, she and her two young charges, Jeremy and Dominic Silk, have made El Mico the most potent underworld force in North Africa, filling the void left when Modesty Blaise disbanded The Network. El Mico has just achieved its greatest triumph, the clandestine theft of an object of immense value. And El Mico has also suffered its greatest setback; Bernard Martel, one of their top lieutenants, has double-crossed them and stolen the object. Modesty happens to be present when an El Mico assassin tries to kill Bernard Martel, and both Modesty and Willie Garvin are present when Jeremy Silk succeeds in killing him at Modesty''s house in Tangier. For Modesty and Willie this signals the start of two parallel quests: To find "the object" and to rescue the beautiful young Tracy Martel, Bernard''s wife, who is being held captive as a harem girl in the isolated palace called Xanadu, high in the Atlas Mountains. First Modesty figures out where Bernard Martel has hidden "the object", and she and Willie retrieve it. But then Modesty and Willie are captured by El Mico and find themselves imprisoned in Xanadu. All they have to do now to rescue Tracy Martel is to survive several coliseum-style fights to the death and escape from captivity and free Tracy from the harem and steal a jeep and flee down a slow twisting mountain road with a helicopter full of armed men in hot pursuit.

The Xanadu Talisman

Kilgore Trout is a widely published, but otherwise unsung and virtually invisible writer who, by a fluke, is invited to deliver a keynote address at a local arts festival in distant Midland City. Dwayne Hoover is a wealthy businessman who owns much of Midland City, but is mentally unstable and is undergoing a gradual mental collapse. Kilgore arrives in Midland City and, by happenstance, piques the interest of Dwayne. A confused Dwayne demands a message from Kilgore, who hands over a copy of his novel. Dwayne reads the novel, which purports to be a message from the Creator of the Universe explaining that the reader - in this case Dwayne - is the only individual in the universe with free will. Everyone else is a robot. Dwayne believes the novel to be factual and immediately goes on a violent rampage, severely beating his son, his lover, and nine other people before being taken into custody. While Kilgore is walking the streets of Midland after Dwayne''s rampage the narrator of the book approaches Kilgore. The narrator tells Kilgore of his existence, the narrator lets Kilgore be free and to be under his own will.

Breakfast of Champions

The novel''s setting is the border of Herefordshire, in England, and either Brecknockshire, or Radnorshire, in Wales (there are Black Hills near both). In the early pages we are told the border runs through the very farmhouse: One of the windows looked out over the green fields of England: the other looked back into Wales... Culturally the central characters are Welshmen, with the surname Jones. The story is told through the technique of flashback, and portrays the lives of twin brothers, Lewis and Benjamin Jones, on their isolated upland farm called The Vision. The twins develop a bond that is shown throughout the novel as very special. Lewis is portrayed as the stronger or dominant twin, whereas Benjamin is the more intuitive one, both in appearance and in the tasks which he does around the house. He seems to be constantly drawn to his mother&#39;s side while she is alive. Lewis is the one who wants to break free but Benjamin is forced into the army at the time of the Great War. His efforts are frustrated by his family ties and the indefinable, unbreakable tie to the land. Chatwin also tells the reader of the brutality involved in farming at the time in this area. Amos, the father of the two twins, shows how his day-to-day job has brutalised his once caring and loving attitude, and we see this later in the novel when he hits his wife Mary on the temple with the book she is reading - Wuthering Heights. A jealous man, Amos attacks his wife with the very material that shows her intelligence; he feels threatened by this, feeling that the man is supposed to be the head of the family in all things, and he feels anger because of his limited education. On the Black Hill is a novel which portrays themes such as unrequited love, sexual repression and confusion, social, religious and cultural repression, hate and the historic social values of that era, as is shown when Amos finds out that his daughter Rebecca has become pregnant by an Irishman. His religious fanaticism, social pressure, economic forces and an inability to express love results in him throwing her out of the household, and she is not mentioned in the novel again until the latter part.

On The Black Hill

Makar Devushkin and Varvara Dobroselova are second cousins twice-removed and live across from each other on the same street in terrible apartments. Devushkin''s, for example, is merely a portioned-off section of the kitchen, and he lives with several other tenants, such as the Gorshkovs, whose son dies and who groans in agonizing hunger almost the entire story. Devushkin and Dobroselova exchange letters attesting to their terrible living conditions and the former frequently squanders his money on gifts for the latter. The reader progressively learns their history. Dobroselova originally lived in the country, but moved to St. Petersburg (which she hates) when her father lost his job. Her father was very violent after losing his job and her mother became severely depressed. Her father dies and they move in with Anna Fyodorovna, a landlady who was previously cruel to them but at least pretends to feel sympathy for their situation. Dobroselova is tutored by a poor student named Pokrovsky, whose drunken father occasionally visits. She eventually falls in love with Pokrovsky. She struggles to save a measly amount of money to purchase the complete works of Pushkin at the market for his birthday present, then allows his father to give the books to him instead, claiming that just knowing he received the books will be enough for her happiness. Pokrovsky falls ill soon after, and his dying wish is to see the sun and the world outside. Dobroselova obliges by opening the blinds to reveal grey clouds and dirty rain. In response Pokrovsky only shakes his head and then passes away. Dobroselova''s mother dies shortly afterwards, and Dobroselova is left in the care of Anna for a time, but the abuse becomes too much and she goes to live with Fedora across the street. Devushkin works as a lowly copyist, frequently belittled and picked on by his work colleagues. His clothing is worn and dirty, and his living conditions are perhaps worse than Dobroselova''s. He considers himself a rat in society. He and Dobroselova exchange letters (and occasional visits that are never detailed), and eventually they also begin to exchange books. Devushkin becomes offended when she sends him a copy of "The Overcoat", because he finds the main character is living a life similar to his own. Dobroselova considers moving to another part of the city where she can work as a governess. Just as he is out of money and risks being evicted, Devushkin has a stroke of luck: his boss takes pity on him and gives him 100 rubles to buy new clothes. Devushkin pays off his debts and sends some to Dobroselova. She sends him 25 rubles back because she does not need it. The future looks bright for both of them because he can now start to save money and it may be possible for them move in together. Devushkin finds himself liked by even the writer Ratazyayev, who was using him as a character in one of his stories because of his sad condition. Even the Gorshkovs come across money because the father’s case is won in court. With the generous settlement they seem to be destined to be perfectly happy, but the father dies, leaving his family in a shambles despite the money. Soon after this, Dobroselova announces that a Mr. Bykov, who had dealings with Anna Fyodorovna and Pokrovsky’s father, has proposed to her. She decides to leave with him, and the last few letters attest to her slowly becoming used to her new money. She has Devushkin find linen for her and begins to talk about various luxuries, leaving him alone in the end despite the fact that his lot was improving. The story ends with a final letter from him: a desperate plea for her to come back to him or at least write from her new life.

Poor Folk

Steph Landry has been the target of jokes since sixth grade when she spilled a red Super Big Gulp on Lauren Moffat''s white D&G skirt. In response, Lauren coined the phase "Don''t be such a Steph Landry" to ensure she never lived it down. Steph has since been content to hang out with her best friends Jason and Becca, but as she enters eleventh grade, she wants more out of high school. Luckily she finds a copy of an old book titled none other than How to be Popular when cleaning out Jason''s grandmother''s attic. The book is full of useful tips. She follows the book''s advice and begins the school year with flat ironed hair and a new attitude. Steph is determined to be confident and enthusiastic about school. She sits with new people at lunch and organizes a talent auction. Steph does not anticipate Lauren being so angry about her attempt to join the popular crowd or that Jason would be so hurt that she is leaving him behind. As her popularity grows, Steph is forced to make difficult choices about who and what is truly important to her.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Storm Thief

By Chris Wooding

I, Juan de Pareja

By Elizabeth Borton de Treviño

The Borrowers Afloat

By Mary Norton

Hard Love

By Ellen Wittlinger

The Sign of the Chrysanthemum

By Katherine Paterson

Lord Jim

By Joseph Conrad

To Have and to Hold

By Mary Johnston

The Xanadu Talisman

By Peter O''Donnell

Breakfast of Champions

By Kurt Vonnegut

On The Black Hill

By Bruce Chatwin

Poor Folk

By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

How to Be Popular

By Meg Cabot