Special edition of Paul Harding’s Pulitzer Prize–winning debut novel—featuring a new foreword by Marilynne Robinson and book club extras inside In this deluxe tenth anniversary edition, Marilynne Robinson introduces the beautiful novel Tinkers, which begins with an old man who lies dying. As time collapses into memory, he travels deep into his past, where he is reunited with his father and relives the wonder and pain of his impoverished New England youth. At once heartbreaking and life affirming, Tinkers is an elegiac meditation on love, loss, and the fierce beauty of nature. The story behind this New York Times bestselling debut novel—the first independently published Pulitzer Prize winner since A Confederacy of Dunces received the award nearly thirty years before—is as extraordinary as the elegant prose within it. Inspired by his family’s history, Paul Harding began writing Tinkers when his rock band broke up. Following numerous rejections from large publishers, Harding was about to shelve the manuscript when Bellevue Literary Press offered a contract. After being accepted by BLP, but before it was even published, the novel developed a following among independent booksellers from coast to coast. Readers and critics soon fell in love, and it went on to receive the Pulitzer Prize, prompting the New York Times to declare the novel’s remarkable success “the most dramatic literary Cinderella story of recent memory.” That story is still being written as readers across the country continue to discover this modern classic, which has now sold over half a million copies, proving once again that great literature has a thriving and passionate audience. Paul Harding is the author of two novels about multiple generations of a New England family: Enon and the Pulitzer Prize–winning Tinkers. He teaches at Stony Brook Southampton.

Move Over, Buffy! Tinker Not Only Kicks Supernatural Butt Shes a Techie Genius, Too! Inventor, girl genius Tinker lives in a near-future Pittsburgh which now exists mostly in the land of the elves. She runs her salvage business, pays her taxes, and tries to keep the local ambient level of magic down with gadgets of her own design. When a pack of wargs chase an Elven noble into her scrap yard, life as she knows it takes a serious detour. Tinker finds herself taking on the Elven court, the NSA, the Elven Interdimensional Agency, technology smugglers and a college-minded Xenobiologist as she tries to stay focused on whats really important her first date. Armed with an intelligence the size of a planet, steel toed boots, and a junk yard dog attitude, Tinker is ready to kick butt to get her first kiss. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). "Each and every character is fascinating, extraordinarily well-developed, and gets right under your skin. . . . A terrific, memorable story." ¾Julie E. Czerneda, author of In the Company of Others "Spencer takes her readers on a fast-paced journey into disbelief. [Her] timing is impeccable and the denouement stunning." ¾Romantic Times (four-star review) "This novel [Alien Taste] is keeper-shelf material." ¾BookBrowser "Wonderfully inventive . . . a fun protagonist." ¾Locus

Maximus Xanders, visionary of Atalatha and legendary Knight of Virtue, has just finished his greatest invention. Though known for his technological marvels in weaponry and strategies, his latest venture has a more personal touch. Built in secrecy, the innovation is spied by an unlikely guest. A trade is agreed upon: in exchange for silence on the matter, Maximus will tell a tale of his own meager beginnings. Decades earlier, when Maximus was a boy just reaching manhood, he longed for a different life. Living among the countryside, his family was everything, with the exception of a passion for tinkering. When his father brought home Charcoal, a stubborn, massive horse, Maximus could never have predicted the friendship that would form, or the bond that would be a part of him for the rest of his life.

In an alternate London where magical creatures are called Unnaturals and preserved in a museum, two teens find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger. Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her father’s museum, but as she gets older, the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals. As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.

"Tinker to Evers to Chance examines this pivotal moment in American history, when baseball became the game we know today. Each man came from a different corner of the country and brought a distinctive local culture with him: Evers from the Irish-American hothouse of Troy, New York; Tinker from the urban parklands of Kansas City, Missouri; Chance from the verdant fields of California's Central Valley. The stories of these early baseball stars shed unexpected light not only on the evolution of baseball and on the enthusiasm of its players and fans all across America, but also on the broader convulsions transforming the US into a confident new industrial society."--Page [4] of cover.

The Tinker's Wedding is a two-act play by the Irish playwright J. M. Synge, whose main characters are Irish Tinkers. This absurd play follows an Irish wedding in which Sarah Casey convinces Michael Byrne to marry her after purchasing a local priest's services with ten shillings and a tin can. Excerpt: "We should not go to the theatre as we go to a chemist's, or a dram-shop, but as we go to a dinner, where the food we need is taken with pleasure and excitement."

Encourage tinkering, curiosity, and creative thinking in children of all ages with these 55 hands-on activities that explore art, science, and more The creator of the highly popular creativity site for kids, Tinkerlab.com, now delivers dozens of engaging, kid-tested, and easy-to-implement projects that will help parents and teachers bring out the natural tinkerer in every kid—even babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. The creative experiments shared in this book foster curiosity, promote creative and critical thinking, and encourage tinkering—mindsets that are important to children growing up in a world that values independent thinking. In addition to offering a host of activities that parents and teachers can put to use right away, this book also includes a buffet of recipes (magic potions, different kinds of play dough, silly putty, and homemade butter) and a detailed list of materials to include in the art pantry.