These 13 stories by the author of The Invisible Man "approach the elegance of Chekhov" (Washington Post) and provide "early explorations of (Ellison's) lifelong fascination with the 'complex fate' and 'beautiful absurdity' of American identity" (John Callahan). First serial to The New Yorker. NPR sponsorship.

1 MOM2.5 KIDSZER0 ACHIEVEMENTSAn upcoming high school reunion provokes Holly Reese to reconnect with the person she used to be, the artist formerly known as Holly Dover. At the same time she reconnects with former boyfriend Alex Meyers. As the reunion e-mails mount, Holly regrets the person she's become: a boring housewife with boring hair who yells at her preschool kids, falls short of her husband's American dream, and lacks any personal achievements that she might casually mention to her former classmates. An age-old battle begins between Holly's long-forgotten dreams and her duty to her family. Flying versus Nesting. As with any battle, there will be winners and losers, and there will be casualties. But will there, in the end, be peace?

After this country's darkest day, can pilot Tris Miles fly her way home? Never forget… In September 2001, Tris Miles faces difficult choices. As Chief Pilot of Westin Charter Company, she’s mentoring Jannat, a brash young captain with limitless potential and a shocking secret. An offer to summit the peak of the pilot pyramid entices Tris to quit her job, but an old nemesis stands in her way. Meanwhile, Tris juggles the men in her personal life. A friend-with-benefits pushes for commitment. An ex-boyfriend returns, still in love with her. Unexpectedly, Tris develops new feelings for someone who is already dear to her. On September 11th, Tris and her crew depart Edinburgh for the United States. Just feet off the ground, they are mysteriously ordered back to the airport where they learn of a deadly terrorist attack on U.S. soil—using airplanes as bombs. When Tris discovers that her best friend was a passenger on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, her world is shattered. With a broken heart and her entire life up in the air, Tris doesn’t know where to turn. Can she find the courage to navigate her way home?

A USA Today Bestseller Inspired by fascinating, true, yet little-known events during World War II, The Long Flight Home is a testament to the power of courage in our darkest hours—a moving, masterfully written story of love and sacrifice. It is September 1940—a year into the war—and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around the Epping Forest home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her parents to influenza as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons with Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan—loyal, intelligent, beautiful—but none more so than Duchess. Hatched from an egg that Susan incubated in a bowl under her grandfather’s desk lamp, Duchess shares a special bond with Susan and an unusual curiosity about the human world. Thousands of miles away in Buxton, Maine, young crop-duster pilot Ollie Evans decides to join Britain’s Royal Air Force. His quest brings him to Epping and the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert mission to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Many will not survive. Those that do will bring home crucial information. Soon a friendship between Ollie and Susan deepens, but when his plane is downed behind enemy lines, both know how remote the chances of reunion must be. Yet Duchess will become an unexpected lifeline, relaying messages between Susan and Ollie as war rages on—and proving, at last, that hope is never truly lost. “Hlad adeptly drives home the devastating civilian cost of the war.” —Booklist

There is something for everyone in this collection of approximately 28 creative, original quilt designs based on the latest quick cutting and piecing techniques. The eclectic themes provide a source of nontraditional quilt designs for the quilter who wants to make a quilt that is different from all the rest. 150 color photos.

Original / British English Felix is not a happy bird. He comes from Brazil but he doesn't live there. He lives in New York in a cage. Then one day his cage opens and Felix says goodbye to New York. Can he find his family in Brazil again?

Annabel Tippens seems like an ordinary little girl, with short blond hair and very good manners. But Annabel is actually quite unusual. Instead of parents, she has Gloria, a tiny white dog who talks and wears a gold collar. Annabel never wonders why her life is different, until one day a cat named Belinda tells her the truth -- she′s not just a little girl, she′s half fairy! But now that she knows the truth, will her whole life have to change?

Home is where the heart is Dr. Merry Brenner needs to get home—she's promised the kids at her children's center. So it seems like fate that she runs into fellow Wolf Lake native and small-plane pilot Gage Carson in the middle of the crowded airport. Until their plane goes down, leaving them stranded! When help arrives, Merry's relief is mixed with dread. The bond the pair formed has left her wanting more. As someone who wants to put down roots, Merry knows a nomad like Gage is the last person she should fall for. Only now she's certain the home she's always wanted includes Gage…but will he stay?

From the author of In Her Shoesand the forthcoming Who Do You Lovecomes a story of a mother and two daughters rebuilding their lives ... Sylvie Woodruff has spent the last 30 or so years being the ideal politician's wife and raising two daughters. When her world crashes down around her after a painful, public betrayal, she retreats to her grandmother's rambling seaside home to wait for the scandal to blow over. Sylvie's eldest daughter, Diana, married out of friendship and respect, not love... then years later, finds herself falling for a most unsuitable man. When the affair ends badly, she sets off in search of a new beginning. Lizzie, Diana's younger sister, who caused her parents such heartache as a teenager, is finally getting her life together. When a summer fling leaves her pregnant, and her charming boyfriend turns violent, she too heads out of town.