What happens when the town of Puamahara begins to profit from its legend and the astronomers discovering the Gravity Star predict an unthinkable future? Mattina Brecon, a New Yorker, arrives in Kowhai Street, Puamahara, where her painstaking study of her neighbours is interrupted by a new kind of cataclysmic event. Mattina finds herself in possession of a Kowhai Street that is without people, language or memory.This novel won the 1989 Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Ansett New Zealand Book Award. It was Janet Frame's last novel.

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are. Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined. Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power. source: annerice.com

Take the plunge. Dive into this classic from the singular mind of Edgar Allan Poe, who is widely regarded as the short story master of horror fiction. "The Fall .. " recounts the terrible events that befall the last remaining members of the once-illustrious Usher clan before it is -- quite literally -- rent asunder. With amazing economy, Poe plunges the reader into a state of deliciously agonizing suspense. It's a must-read for fans of the golden era of horror writing. "The Fall .." is one of Poe's best known short stories - if not the best. Librarian's note: this entry is for the short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher." Collections of short stories by the author, such as "The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales," can be found elsewhere on Goodreads.

Take the plunge. Dive into this classic from the singular mind of Edgar Allan Poe, who is widely regarded as the short story master of horror fiction. "The Fall .. " recounts the terrible events that befall the last remaining members of the once-illustrious Usher clan before it is -- quite literally -- rent asunder. With amazing economy, Poe plunges the reader into a state of deliciously agonizing suspense. It's a must-read for fans of the golden era of horror writing. "The Fall .." is one of Poe's best known short stories - if not the best. Librarian's note: this entry is for the short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher." Collections of short stories by the author, such as "The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales," can be found elsewhere on Goodreads.

Named a Best Book of the Year by:The Boston GlobeO, The Oprah MagazineHuffington PostThe A.V. ClubA Washington Post Notable BookAn NPR Great Read of 2013From the author of the novel Swamplandia!—a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize—comes a magical and uniquely daring collection of stories that showcases the author’s gifts at their inimitable best. Within these pages, a community of girls held captive in a Japanese silk factory slowly transmute into human silkworms and plot revolution; a group of boys stumble upon a mutilated scarecrow that bears an uncanny resemblance to a missing classmate that they used to torment; a family’s disastrous quest for land in the American West has grave consequences; and in the marvelous title story, two vampires in a sun-drenched lemon grove try to slake their thirst for blood and come to terms with their immortal relationship.

'A wonderful ramble beneath the boughs' Chris Packham'Brilliant and highly readable' John Wright'Spellbinding. A thrilling account' James Fox'Passionate, knowledgeable and immersive' Tristan GooleyStep into the woods, and discover the trees that made BritainAncient woods are Britain's richest rare fragments of our landscape that teem with life from soil to canopy. They live in our collective imagination as quiet places, best left pristine and untouched. But their story has always been one of interdependence with people. Now, as ever, these woods - including remnants of the primeval 'wildwood' - need the thoughtful intervention of humans to survive.With the benefit of over twenty years' experience rehabilitating ancient woodland - from the Lakes to the Peak District, by way of suburban London's hidden gems - Luke Barley brings us deep into this hidden world to reveal majestic oaks, freshly coppiced hazels, endangered limes, and the passionate individuals tending them for future generations. As modern woodlanders judiciously cut and fell, the flood of fresh light brings new life and hope to these irreplaceable natural jewels.With clear-sighted passion and lyrical prose, Barley reveals what we stand to gain, as individuals and as a society, by rekindling our ancient connection with these special places.

Alchemists sought gold in it. David Bowie refrigerated it to ward off evil. In the trenches of Ypres soldiers used it as a gas mask, whereas modern-day terrorists add it to home-made explosives. All the Fullers, Tuckers and Walkers in the phonebook owe their names to it, and in 1969 four bags for storing it were left on the surface of the moon. Bought and sold, traded and transported, even carried to work in jugs, urine has made bread rise, beer foam and given us gunpowder, stained glass, Robin Hood’s tights and Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring. And we do produce an awful lot of it. Humans alone make almost enough to replace the entire contents of Loch Lomond every year. Add the incalculable volume contributed by the rest of the animal kingdom and it might soon displace a small ocean. No wonder it gets everywhere. In Life of Pee Sally Magnusson unveils the secret history of civilisation’s most unsavoury and unsung hero, and discovers how our urine footprint is just as indelible as our carbon one.

Have you ever wondered what that 1 outlier would say when you see commercials and products boasting that 9 out of 10 doctors recommend something? Well here’s your answer.... Three doctors explore and explain the least recommended techniques and cures lurking in the darkest corners of medicine through the ages. Entertaining and informative, (and sometimes just plain gross), 1 Out of 10 Doctors Recommends examines the strangest and most unusual medical practices, including drinking your own urine to fight infection, using live eels to relieve constipation, and licking a patient’s head to diagnose cystic fibrosis. As licensed medical physicians who believe that humor is the best medicine, the authors decode the methods behind the seemingly mad science. Fascinating examples * the use of bee venom to treat herpes * infecting yourself with intestinal parasites to relieve allergies * “natural” ways to make your genitalia larger * how the insertion of a potato reportedly stops post-delivery bleeding * the effects of salt pork on a sore throat * the supposed benefits of “vampire facials”