Slow Horses (Slough House, #1)

Mick Herron

The first book in CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning British espionage series starring a team of MI5 agents united by one common bond: They've screwed up royally and will do anything to redeem themselves. London, England: Slough House is where the washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what's left of their failed careers. The "slow horses," as they’re called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated here. Maybe they messed up an op badly and can't be trusted anymore. Maybe they got in the way of an ambitious colleague and had the rug yanked out from under them. Maybe they just got too dependent on the bottle—not unusual in this line of work. One thing they all have in common, though, is they all want to be back in the action. And most of them would do anything to get there─even if it means having to collaborate with one another. River Cartwright, one such “slow horse,” is bitter about his failure and about his tedious assignment transcribing cell phone conversations. When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the Internet, River sees an opportunity to redeem himself. But is the victim who he first appears to be? And what’s the kidnappers’ connection with a disgraced journalist? As the clock ticks on the execution, River finds that everyone has his own agenda.

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Feeling This Way

Ben Esqueda

In the spirit of his debut, Intoxicated Heart, Ben Esqueda returns with a fresh, moving collection of poems. From the crushing pain of loss to the elation of new love to the struggle of forging your own path, the messages in this book are ubiquitous, but also distinctly personal to the reader. Feeling This Way is a tender portrayal of growth and self actualization.

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Six of Crows

Leigh Bardugo

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly job that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone... A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

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Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything

Julia Baird

From the bestselling author of Phosphorescence comes a beautiful and timely exploration of that most mysterious but necessary of human grace.Grace is both mysterious and hard to define. It can be found, in part, when we create ways to find meaning and dignity in connection with each other, building on our shared humanity, being kinder, bigger, better with each other. If, in its crudest interpretation, karma is getting what you deserve, then grace is the forgiving the unforgivable, favouring the undeserving, loving the unlovable.But we live in an era where grace is an increasingly rare currency. The silos we consume information in are dotting the media landscape like skyscrapers, and the growing distrust in media, politicians and public figures, have in some ways choked our ability to cut each other slack, to allow each other to stumble, to forgive one another.So what does grace look like in our world, and how do we recognise it, nurture it in ourselves, and express it, even in the darkest of times?From award-winning journalist Julia Baird, author of the acclaimed national bestseller Phosphorescence , comes Bright Shining , a luminously beautiful, deeply insightful and most timely exploration of grace.

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I Eat the Stars: How to Live Fully and Beautifully in a Collapsing World

Sarah Wilson

From New York Times bestselling author Sarah Wilson comes a deeply moving, wise guide to finding joy and meaning in a world that seems to be falling apart It’s hard to escape the feeling that something is deeply wrong . . . that life has become precariously off-balance. We are hit hourly with headlines about catastrophic wildfires, unprecedented flooding, record heat waves, collapsing democracies, AI and nuclear threat, rising economic inequality, widespread unrest, and more. In I Eat the Stars, Sarah Wilson argues we are undergoing what every complex civilization before us has—systemic collapse. So how do we continue to live as sensitive humans amidst such a tumultuous shift? What does life look like when the systems we rely on deteriorate? Should we be having kids? How do we make financial decisions? Should we be prepping? And, most importantly, how do we avoid succumbing to doom and despair? In I Eat the Stars, Sarah Wilson delves into these pressing questions. Drawing on many years of research and wisdom gained from more than 200 conversations with philosophers, poets, game theorists, and spiritual leaders, Wilson takes readers on an intimate journey as she lays out a path for living fully, meaningfully, and beautifully through these troubled times. Our predicament, she argues, is ultimately an urgent call to us all to relish what is valuable to us—to eat the stars—and to return to our humanity once again. I Eat the Stars empowers readers to move beyond panic, doom, and despair. With her warm, incisively intelligent, wise, and down-to-earth voice, Wilson creates a space for readers to confront their fears and anxieties about an uncertain future, guiding them toward one rooted in truth, hope, justice, creativity, community, and to step up as “warriors” and meet the moment. We are in what we were warned about for decades. But from a crisis comes stunning possibility.

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Illuminae: The Illuminae Files 01

Amie Kaufman

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra — who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents — including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more — Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

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Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and Things That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark

Julia Baird

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ‘This book is beautiful … Julia Baird has been to the tough edges and gives us light. She writes like a dream.’ MATT HAIG ’Utterly captivating and magical.’ JULIA BRADBURY ‘Luminous and deeply comforting’ KATHERINE MAY Julia Baird’s intimate study of phosphorescence is full of wisdom and joy; a roadmap for rediscovering our inner light after the darkest of times. We now know just how much we should treasure the times when we feel happy, content and at peace. When we feel this way we seek out life’s experiences with a sense of optimism and hope. But how do we move forward with life now that everything has changed? Now that we appreciate just how fragile and fleeting these feelings can be? Is it possible to access a light – our own source of phosphorescence – that can sustain us in this brave new world? In this wise and inspiring book, bestselling author Julia Baird reflects on her encounters with phosphorescence, a luminescent phenomenon found in the nature, and how she was able to cultivate her own ‘inner light’ in the face of a life-threatening illness. When we spend time in nature, humble ourselves to the mystery of the world, and recognise the ‘soothing power of the ordinary’, we are able to discover hidden sources of strength and resilience. It is these experiences that sustain us, help us place one foot in front of the other and cultivate our own essential light which will light our path in good times and bad.

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Slow Horses (Slough House, #1)

Mick Herron

The first book in CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning British espionage series starring a team of MI5 agents united by one common bond: They've screwed up royally and will do anything to redeem themselves. London, England: Slough House is where the washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what's left of their failed careers. The "slow horses," as they’re called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated here. Maybe they messed up an op badly and can't be trusted anymore. Maybe they got in the way of an ambitious colleague and had the rug yanked out from under them. Maybe they just got too dependent on the bottle—not unusual in this line of work. One thing they all have in common, though, is they all want to be back in the action. And most of them would do anything to get there─even if it means having to collaborate with one another. River Cartwright, one such “slow horse,” is bitter about his failure and about his tedious assignment transcribing cell phone conversations. When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the Internet, River sees an opportunity to redeem himself. But is the victim who he first appears to be? And what’s the kidnappers’ connection with a disgraced journalist? As the clock ticks on the execution, River finds that everyone has his own agenda.

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