This Days Madness justifiably earns its title of madness, because there is no other way to describe or rationalize what happens to Frankie, an eight year old orphan black girl entrusted to the care of Tom, a white man and the owner of Doub Circus in which Frankie performs as the WORLDS YOUNGEST TRAPEZIST. This Days Madness is a quasi-tragedy in which the gods and poetic justice are absent. For, Frankies unrelenting tragic suffering is created by an evil-meaning group of people, who kidnap her, only to set her up for ruin. The story lures the reader in with the jovial mood created by the circus. But then, Frankie is torn from her circus family and they are chased out of town. Frankie is sent to an orphanage, where she is stripped of her circus name and becomes Thomasena. Her life becomes a nerve-wrecking and pathetic saga of erased identity, smothered truth, stolen innocence and crushed ambition. Her final hopes for rescue are dashed when Tom Doub dies. Frankie is forced to adjust to life in a hostile environment where she is treated like a parolee from jail. Despite her brilliant performance in school and upright behavior in the community, fate and events conspire to bring her down in shame. Frankie is raped and impregnated by a rich white college student who would have nothing to do with her when she goes looking for him in New York.. where she starts a new life. Phanuel Akubueze Egejuru, Professor of English, Loyola University New Orleans

Jacques Derrida writes (in Deconstruction and Criticism)of The Madness of the Day that it is a story whose title runs wild and drives the reader mad.la folie du jour, the madness of today, of the day today, which leads to the madness that comes from the day, is born of it, as well as the madness of the day itself, itself mad..La folie du jour is a story of madness, of that madness that consists in seeing the light, vision or visibility, to see beyond what is visible, is not merely 'to have a vision' in the usual sense of the word, but to see-beyond-sight, to see-sight-beyond-sight..The story obscures the sun.with a blinding light.

"Recurited into a covert military team by the mysterious and powerful man known only as the Veteran, Robin realizes that he has entered an entirely new world of danger when his first assignment takes him to the Middle East where he and his new teammates engage an enemy of unimaginable horror - flesh eating demons! Back home, the battle continues as the Teen Wonder comes face to face with the inexplicable resurrection of his former girlfriend ever as the city of Bludhaven suffers an attack by the supremely powerful, supremely deadly OMACs. Can the mystical super-heroes of Shadowpact save Robin and his newfound allies? Or will this be his final battle?" -- p. 4 of cover.

The New York Times bestselling finale to the Age of Madness trilogyfinds the world in an unstoppable revolution where heroes have nothing left to lose as darkness and destruction overtake everything. Chaos. Fury. Destruction. The Great Change is upon us . . . Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds. With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies . . . while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance. The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver's ruthless plan are slowly being drawn together . . . "No one writes with the seismic scope or primal intensity of Joe Abercrombie." —Pierce Brown For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out: The Age of Madness A Little Hatred The Trouble With Peace The Wisdom of Crowds The First Law Trilogy The Blade Itself Before They Are Hanged Last Argument of Kings Best Served Cold The Heroes Red Country The Shattered Sea Trilogy Half a King Half a World Half a War

The Nobel Prize–winning “master of the bizarre plunges the reader into a world of tortured imagination” in this four-novella collection (Library Journal). In this startling quartet of his most provocative stories, the multiple prize-winning author of A Personal Matter reaffirms his reputation as “a supremely gifted writer” (The Washington Post). In The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away, a self-absorbed narrator on his deathbed drifts off to the comforting strains of a cantata as he recalls a blistering childhood of militarism, sacrifice, humiliation, and revenge—a tale that is questioned by everyone who knew him. In Prize Stock, winner of the Akutagawa Prize, a black American pilot is downed in a Japanese village during World War II, where the local children see him as some rare find—exotic and forbidden. In Aghwee The Sky Monster, the floating ghost of a baby inexplicably haunts a young man on the first day of his first job. And in the title story, a devoted father believes he is the only link between his mentally challenged son and reality. “[A] remarkable book.” —The Washington Post “Ōe is definitely one of the Modern Masters.” —Seattlepi.com

The creator of the worldwide bestselling coloring books is back with a new book to unlock that inner creative lurking in us all, a guide that encourages comfort, pushes us to experiment, and above all, empowers us to discover joy in our own lives In 30 Days of Creativity, colorist Johanna Basford takes you on a journey of imaginative prompts and inspiring ideas that will kick-start your creativity. A mix of whimsical doodle pages, expert artistic advice, and simple step-by-step drawing guides, the book celebrates the things that bring us comfort and joy, from scrumptious ice cream cones to flourishing potted plants. And of course, there's plenty of pages to color when you find yourself in flow and want to remain in the creative bubble a little longer. For those of us who struggle to make time for self-care, the prompt to pick up your book each day will soon become a creative habit that allows a little calm into your life.

Enter the Kafkaesque world of America’s famous but notorious Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where returning soldiers seek a new start to the rest of their lives. Can they overcome the traumas of war, and military service, if they are also at war with the VA? The answer is both No – government bureaucracy can be as formidable a foe as that on any battlefield or in the barracks – and Yes, given veterans’ willingness to face the demons of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), drug addiction and other military-related traumas with the help of fiercely committed social workers, psychologists and healthcare experts. Andrea Plate, author and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, spent 15 years working with America’s wounded warriors. From battlefield to bedside to group talk-therapy, she exposes the human face of war, up close and personal, and some of the most remarkably resilient souls who survived it.

Dr. Gabriella Mondini, a strong-willed, young Venetian woman, has followed her father in the path of medicine. She possesses a singleminded passion for the art of physick, even though, in 1590, the male-dominated establishment is reluctant to accept a woman doctor. So when her father disappears on a mysterious journey, Gabriella's own status in the Venetian medical society is threatened. Her father has left clues -- beautiful, thoughtful, sometimes torrid, and often enigmatic letters from his travels as he researches his vast encyclopedia, The Book of Diseases. After ten years of missing his kindness, insight, and guidance, Gabriella decides to set off on a quest to find him -- a daunting journey that will take her through great university cities, centers of medicine, and remote villages across Europe. Despite setbacks, wary strangers, and the menaces of the road, the young doctor bravely follows the clues to her lost father, all while taking notes on maladies and treating the ill to supplement her own work. Gorgeous and brilliantly written, and filled with details about science, medicine, food, and madness, The Book of Madness and Cures is an unforgettable debut.