In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn't a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as 'Murderbot.'
"A bear on Paddington Station?" said Mrs Brown in amazement. "Don't be silly - there can't be." Paddington Bear had travelled all the way from darkest Peru when the Brown family first met him on Paddington station. Since then their lives have never been quite the same... for ordinary things become quite extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is involved.
A retired service dog, Trixie was three when Dean and his wife, Gerda, welcomed her into their home. She was superbly trained, but her greatest gifts couldn’t be taught: her keen intelligence, her innate joy, and an uncanny knack for living in the moment. Whether chasing a tennis ball or protecting those she loved, Trixie gave all she had to everything she did, inspiring Dean and Gerda to trust their instincts and recapture a sense of wonder that will remain with them always. Trixie lived fewer than twelve years; in this wide world, she was a little thing. But in every way that mattered, she lived a big life.
A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis. Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast-again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange. Again. Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It's clear from the way he tracks Misery's every movement that he doesn't trust her. If only he knew how right he was.... Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what's hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory...alone with the wolf
The domesticated life of a powerful St. Bernard-Shepherd mix named Buck is quickly turned on end when he is stolen away from his master and put to work as a sled dog in Alaska. His once life of luxury turns into a life of survival and adaptation as he learns the ways of the wilderness. Set in the Klondike region of Canada during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, The Call of the Wild showcases the transformation of a canine as he learns to adapt to what life has given him, fair or not.
Charlotte's Web is the classic children's story by E B White. The tale of how a little girl named Fern, with the help of a friendly spider, saved her pig Wilbur from the usual fate of nice fat little pigs.
Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, but she keeps to herself and doesn't date much because of her "disability" to read minds. When she meets Bill, Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's the type of guy she's waited for all of her life, but he has a disability, too--he's a vampire with a bad reputation. When one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next.
World War Terminus had left the Earth devastated. Through its ruins, bounty hunter Rick Deckard stalked, in search of the renegade replicants who were his prey. When he wasn't 'retiring' them with his laser weapon, he dreamed of owning a live animal - the ultimate status symbol in a world all but bereft of animal life. Then Rick got his chance: the assignment to kill six Nexus-6 targets, for a huge reward. But in Deckard's world things were never that simple, and his assignment quickly turned into a nightmare kaleidoscope of subterfuge and deceit-- and the threat of death for the hunter rather than the hunted...
Emily Wilde is good at many things: she is the foremost expert on the study of faeries; she is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encylopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby But as Emily gets closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones - the most elusive of all faeries - she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all - her own heart. 'Forget dark academia: give me instead this kind of winter-sunshined, sharp-tongued and footnoted academia, full of field trips and grumpy romance' Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light 'A thoroughly charming academic fairy tale, complete with footnotes and a low-key grumpy romance' Guardian 'Enchanting in every sense of the word. . .
Free dog Johannes' job is to observe everything that happens in his urban park and report back to the park's three bison elders, but changes are afoot, including more humans, a new building, a boatload of goats, and a shocking revelation that changes his view of the world.
Join Frog and Toad in a series of fun adventures about mindfulness, self reflection, and friendship.
In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York. Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection.
There is a hint of Armageddon in the air. According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. So the Armies of Good and Evil are massing, the four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world's last two remaining witchfinders are getting ready to Fight the Good Fight. Atlantis is rising. Frogs are falling. Tempers are flaring, and everything appears to be going to Divine Plan. Except that a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon are not particularly looking forward to the coming Rapture. They've lived amongst Humanity for millennia, and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle. So if Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they've got to find and kill the AntiChrist (which is a shame, really, as he's a nice kid). There's just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him.
How do you convince your friend to try your favourite dish when he just keeps telling you he does not like it? Dr Seuss's amusing story answers that question.
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey 'there and back again'. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon...
Meggie loves books. So does her father, Mo, a bookbinder, although he's never read aloud to her since her mother mysteriously disappeared. They live quietly until the night a stranger arrives with a warning. The next day, Mo starts packing but won't tell Meggie why. They must go into hiding. But from what? From whom? Soon, Mo's secret is revealed. He has the amazing ability to breathe life into stories, to make characters come alive. Years ago, he accidentally released a merciless villain from a book called Inkheart. And now, this hateful criminal is after Mo and his extraordinary gift ... Meggie is hurled into the adventure of a lifetime, where the imaginary has become real. It's up to her to find a way to alter the course of the story that holds them all in its power.
Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love? From the bestselling and Booker Prize winning author of Never Let me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel -- his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature -- that asks, what does it mean to love?
Oskar and Eli. In very different ways, they were both victims. Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12-year-old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate at the city's edge. He dreams about his absentee father, gets bullied at school, and wets himself when he's frightened. Eli is the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn't go to school and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200-year-old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood. John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel is a unique and brilliant fusion of social novel and vampire legend, a deeply moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty.
John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they bought home Marley, a wiggly yellow fur ball of a puppy. Life would never be the same. Marley quickly grew into a barrelling, ninety-seven pound steamroller of a Labrador retriever, a dog like no other. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, flung drool on guests, stole women's undergarments, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around, including couches and fine jewellery. Obedience school did no good -- Marley was expelled. Neither did the tranquilisers the veterinarian prescribed for him with the admonishment, 'Don't hesitate to use these.' And yet Marley's heart was pure. Just as he joyfully refused any limits on his behaviour, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. Marley shared the couple's joy at their first pregnancy, and their heartbreak over the miscarriage. He was there when babies finally arrived and when the screams of a seventeen-year-old stabbing victim pierced the night. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms. The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. For lovers of Tuesdays with Morrie, The Year of Magical Thinking, and even, of course, dogs!
Many, many adults name this book as their favorite Little Golden Book. Generations of kids have interacted with lovable, furry old Grover as he begs the reader not to turn the page--for fear of a monster at the end of the book.
Concerned that human lives and the natural world are too often defined by people who are separated from the land and its inhabitants, Indigenous writer and environmentalist Linda Hogan depicts her own intense relationships with animals as an example we all can follow to heal our souls and reconnect with the spirit of the world. From her modest forest home in Colorado, and venturing throughout the region, especially to her beloved Oklahoma, she introduces us to horses, packrats, snakes, mountain lions, elks, wolves, bees, and so many others whose presence has changed her life. In this illuminating collection of essays and poems, lightly sprinkled with elegant drawings, Hogan draws on many Native nations’ ancient stories and spiritual traditions to show us that the soul exists in those delicate places where the natural world extends into human consciousness—in the mist of morning, the grass that grew a little through the night, the first warmth of this morning’s sunlight. Altogether, this beautifully packaged gift is a reverential reminder for all of us to witness and appreciate the radiant lives of animals.
A novel which follows a year in the life of a prehistoric female raptor, and is told from the raptor's perspective. It begins with the tragic loss of her mate. The author is a palaeontologist who wrote the non-fiction book, "Dinosaur Heresies".
When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. From New York Times bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults.
SkippyjonJones is a Siamese kittenboy who, while having a time-out in his room, resorts to his imagination and takes on the superhero persona of the great Spanish sword fighter, Skippito.
"Spring has sprung in Crozet, Virginia--a time for old friends to gather and bid farewell to the doldrums of winter. But a fresh chill arrives with the shocking murder of beloved University of Virginia history professor Greg "Ginger" McConnell--gunned down in broad daylight. With no discernible motive and no apparent suspects, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen begins nosing into the case with the help of her furry fellow sleuths"...
It's not the journey that counts, but who's at your side Nana is on a road trip, but he is not sure where he is going. All that matters is that he can sit beside his beloved owner Satoru in the front seat of his silver van. Satoru is keen to visit three old friends from his youth, though Nana doesn't know why and Satoru won't say. Set against the backdrop of Japan's changing seasons and narrated with a rare gentleness and striking humour, Nana's story explores the wonder and thrill of life's unexpected detours. It is about the value of friendship and solitude, and knowing when to give and when to take.
"The Vision wants to be human, and what's more human than family? So he heads back to the beginning, to the laboratory where Ultron created him and molded him into a weapon. The place where he first rebelled against his given destiny, and imagined he could be more -- that he could be a man. There, he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Two teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his powers. They share his grandest ambition (or is that obsession?): the unrelenting need to be ordinary. They're the family next door, and they have the power to kill us all. What could possible go wrong? Artificial hearts will be broken, bodies will not stay buried, the truth will not remain hidden, and The Vision will never be the same"
This stirring tale of courage and survival against the odds has become one of the best-loved animal adventures of all time. 'We've got to go away before it's too late.' Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren - he felt sure of it. So did his brother Hazel, for Fiver's sixth sense was never wrong. They had to leave immediately, and they had to persuade the other rabbits to join them. And so begins a long and perilous journey of a small band of rabbits in search of a safe home. Fiver's vision finally leads them to Watership Down, but here they face their most difficult challenge of all . . . Watership Down is an epic journey, a stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival against the odds.
Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders' Curl up with a true children's classic by reading A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie-the-Pooh may be a bear of very little brain, but thanks to his friends Piglet, Eeyore and, of course, Christopher Robin, he's never far from an adventure. In this story Pooh gets into a tight place, nearly catches a Woozle and heads off on an 'expotition' to the North Pole with the other animals. In this stunning edition of Winnie-the-Pooh, A.A. Milne's world-famous story is once again brought to life by E.H. Shepard's illustrations. Heart-warming and funny, Milne's masterpiece reflects the power of a child's imagination like no other story before or since. Do you own all the classic Pooh titles? Winnie-the-Pooh The House at Pooh Corner When We Were Very Young Now We Are Six Also look out for Return to the Hundred Acre Wood and The Best Bear in all the World (coming soon) Pooh ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage. Whether you're 5 or 55, Pooh is the bear for all ages. A.A. Milne is quite simply one of the most famous children's authors of all time. He created Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo based on the real nursery toys played with by his son, Christopher Robin.
Millennia ago, Queen Hera and the goddesses of the Olympian pantheon grew greatly dissatisfied with their male counterparts...and far from their sight, they put a plan into action. A new society was born, one never before seen on Earth, capable of wondrous and terrible things...but their existence could not stay secret for long. When a despairing woman named Hippolyta crossed the Amazons' path, a series of events was set in motion that would lead to an outright war in heaven--and the creation of the Earth's greatest guardian! Legendary talents Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott unleash one of the most unforgettable DC tales of all time!
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the classic story of fantasy that has delighted readers young and old for decades. Dorothy finds herself transplanted to the magical land of Oz when her house is sucked up by a tornado. To get back home she must follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to ask the Wizard to help her get back to Kansas. Along the way she meets several interesting characters, including the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion, who join her on her travels to ask the Wizard for help of their own.
Non-Human Main Character
Complete the Non-Human Main Character square by reading any title with a main character who isn’t human genres and recording the title on your BINGO card in the Non-Human Main Character square.
You can use any title that you’d like, but here are some suggestions to complete the Non-Human Main Character square.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells (I-Share Print) (Libby Audio)
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond (I-Share Print)
A Big Little Life: Memoirs of a Joyful Dog Named Trixie by Dean Koontz (I-Share Print)
Bride by Ali Hazelwood (I-Share Print)
The Call of the Wild by Jack London (I-Share Print) (I-Share Audio) (EBSCO eBook and here) (Libby eBook and here) (Libby Audio)
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (I-Share Print) (I-Share Audio) (Libby Audio)
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (I-Share Print and here) (I-Share Audio)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (I-Share Print and here) (Libby eBook)
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (I-Share Print) (Libby Audio)
The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggars (I-Share Print)
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel (I-Share Print)
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (I-Share Print) (Libby Audio)
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (I-Share Print and here and here and here and here and here and here) (Libby eBook) (Libby Audio)
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (I-Share Print) (I-Share Audio)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein (I-Share Print) (I-Share Audio) (Libby eBook) (Libby Audio)
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (I-Share Print and here)
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (I-Share Print) (Libby eBook) (Libby Audio)
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (I-Share Print)
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (I-Share Print) (I-Share Audio) (Libby eBook)
Marley and Me by John Grogan (I-Share Print and here) (I-Share Audio)
The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone (I-Share Print)
The Radiant Lives of Animals by Linda Hogan (Libby eBook)
Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker (I-Share Print)
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (I-Share Print) (Libby eBook)
Skippyjon Jones by Judith Byron Schachner (I-Share Print)
Tail Gait by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown (I-Share Print) (I-Share Audio)
The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (I-Share Print)
The Vision by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez (I-Share Print) (Libby eBook and here)
Watership Down by Richard Adams (I-Share Print) (I-Share Audio)
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne (I-Share Print)
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick et al (I-Share Print)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (I-Share Print and here) (I-Share Audio) (Libby Audio) (EBSCO eBook)