Blind. Outcast. Accursed. From the meanest of beginnings, greatness will rise. Abandoned at birth by her parents, Auli-Ambar is seen as a child blighted by a callous talon-stroke of fate. A worthless burden. She is blind, severely disfigured, and fit only for the most menial tasks. Then, a simple act of kindness changes her life. Flown to the Halls of the Dragons, the painfully shy girl becomes a cleaner of Dragon roosts, and a helpless wanderer of the Dragon Library. Here, Auli is able to walk amidst the lore she is drawn to so profoundly. Touch it. Imagine worlds within scrolls. She thrills to the hallowed scents of knowledge, but aches for what blindness has forever denied her. In the cruellest of ironies, Auli discovers she possesses a magic that makes people and Dragons forget her very existence. This is disremembrance, the accursed power of loneliness. She can only despair. One will not forget. Deep amidst the forbidden racks of draconic scroll lore, where Auli-Ambar has unwittingly breached the protective wards, the young Dragon scholar, Arkurion the Mercury Blue, will discover her true gift and ignite its flame. Now, in the environs of a magical library overseen by the mighty Dragon Librarian Sazutharr, the extraordinary courage and integrity of a blind girl will finally be given the chance to blossom. Little did they suspect that the fate of all Dragonkind would rest in her hands.

In a fast-paced and funny adventure, Kit must use the magic of books to save the library—and its resident dragon—from a power-hungry tycoon. Kit Spencer can’t stand reading. She’d rather be outside playing and getting muddy than stuck inside with a book. But when her best friends, Josh and Alita, drag her to the local library, Kit makes an incredible discovery: she’s a wizard—and books are the key to her abilities. Unfortunately, a greedy businessman wants to tear down the beloved library, destroying all its magic. To make matters worse, there’s a sleeping dragon hidden there, and if she’s awakened, her wild power will wreak havoc. With the help of a friendly dragon-dog hybrid named Dogon, Kit and her companions will have to find a way to save the dragon in the library—and maybe the world! A humorous romp full of library enchantment, with a diverse cast of characters and dynamic illustrations.

Two thousand years in the future, the Dragon Librarians of Australica have just one means to hold their world together: kidnap every numerate person on their continent and rebuild their out-of-date, human-powered computer, the Calculor.

"Still want to go to school?" Theramar asks. Piccolo dreams of become an elite dragon mage. However, the Dragon School only takes the most gifted boys and all girls are sent to the Temple to become Priestesses. After being rejected by the school for her gender, Piccolo has a chance encounter with one of the school's Dragon Masters and Piccolo is granted permission to enter the Dragon Mage School, Cor'inthor. Upon entering Cor'inthor, Piccolo is constantly faced with gender prejudices and stinging ridicule from teachers and students, who do not want their traditions to change. Piccolo must continuously decide between allowing her own prejudices to dictate her action or push herself to achieve the higher ground and help those that are mean to her and her friends. Filled with dragons, monsters, and evil foes, this novel pits Piccolo against her deepest fears and her desire for self preservation. She must also, continually, decide between what is the right thing to do for herself and what is the morally right thing to do for others.

The fables of Aesop, with their lessons and morals about greed, violence, oppression, and mankind's short-sightedness, have--throughout time--always reminded us of our better selves and the importance of real virtues. This book is unusual as it is a hybrid, a fable-novel, in short, a book of fables (stretched into tales) with particular morals. There are three stories that are intertwined, and all of this takes in a post-apocalyptical world set in Australia. The book also humorously criticizes the endless superstitions that have held people back, either through the concepts of tradition, false hopes, and faith. And through the actions of the two main characters, Ritz and Triscuit, we can learn various aspects of wisdom. This novel is a chance for children to better understand the importance of compassion, and to truly understand the complexity of their own world.

Gay photographer, Pete, is catapulted into a world completely at odds with the tenets instilled in him during childhood as he explores his sexuality and experiences the cruelties and injustices of the world.

"Buddhism across Asia is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and spread of Buddhism in Asia. It comprises a rich collection of articles written by leading experts in their fields. Together, the contributions provide an in-depth analysis of Buddhist history and transmission in Asia over a period of more than 2000 years. Aspects examined include material culture, politics, economy, languages and texts, religious institutions, practices and rituals, conceptualisations, and philosophy, while the geographic scope of the studies extends from India to Southeast Asia and East Asia. Readers' knowledge of Buddhism is constantly challenged by the studies presented, incorporating new materials and interpretations. Rejecting the concept of a reified monolithic and timeless 'Buddhism', this publication reflects the entangled 'dynamic and multi-dimensional' history of Buddhism in Asia over extended periods of 'integration,' 'development of multiple centres,' and 'European expansion,' which shaped the religion's regional and trans-regional identities." -- Max Deeg, Cardiff University "Buddhism Across Asia presents new research on Buddhism in comprehensive spatial and temporal terms. From studies on transmission networks to exegesis on doctrinal matters, linguistics, rituals and practices, institutions, Buddhist libraries, and the religion's interactions with political and cultural spheres as well as the society at large, the volume presents an assemblage of essays of breathtaking breadth and depth. The goal is to demonstrate how the transmission of Buddhist ideas serves as a cultural force, a lynchpin that had connected the societies of Asia from past to present. The volume manifests the vitality and maturity of the field of Buddhist studies, and for that we thank the editor and the erudite authors. " -- Dorothy C. Wong, University of Virginia