Central Kansas Library System

"Lively, eclectic and surprising." — Minneapolis Star Tribune

Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, author of the enormously popular young adult series A Series of Unfortunate Events, takes over as editor for this volume. He will work with the students of 826 Valencia and 826 Michigan writing labs to compile new fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, and other category-defying gems, ensuring that "if you need to fall

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"Undeniably exquisite . . . The essays in the collection [are] meditations that reveal not only how science actually happens but also who or what propels its immutable humanity." — Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

"A stimulating compendium." — Kirkus Reviews

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author Deborah Blum selects the year's top science and nature writing from writers who balance

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This compilation collects the top twenty stories from the first decade (1997—2006) of The Best American Mystery Stories, selected and introduced by Otto Penzler. Contributors include Russell Banks, James Lee Burke, Brendan DuBois, Lou Manfredo, Ed McBain, Joyce Carol Oates, and many others.

Writing an essay is like catching a wave, posits guest editor Ariel Levy. To catch a wave, you need skill and nerve, not just moving water. The writers featured in this volume are certainly full of nerve, and have crafted a wide range of pieces awash in a diversity of moods, voices, and stances. Leaving an abusive marriage, parting with a younger self, losing your sanity to Fitbit, and even saying goodbye to a beloved pair of pants are just some...

In his introduction, guest editor James Patterson observes, "I often hear people lamenting the state of Hollywood ... If that's the case, I've got one thing to say: read these short stories. You can thank me later." Patterson has collected a batch of stories that have the sharp tension, drama, and visceral emotion of an Oscar-worthy Hollywood production. Spanning the extremes of human behavior, The Best American Mystery Stories 2015 features characters...

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. This special edition contains selections from the following 2015 editions: The Best American Essays edited by Ariel Levy The Best American Mystery Stories edited by James Patterson The Best American Science and Nature Writing edited by Rebecca Skloot The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Joe Hill The Best American...

The National Book Award—winning author compiles a "thought-provoking volume" of essays by Joyce Carol Oates, Oliver Sacks, Jaquira Diaz and others (Publishers Weekly). As Jonathan Franzen writes in his introduction, his main criterion for selecting The Best American Essays 2016 "was whether an author had taken a risk." The resulting volume showcases authorial risk in a variety of forms, from championing an unpopular opinion to the possibility of...

The Anthony Award–winning author presents a “highly readable” anthology featuring mysteries by Stephen King, Megan Abbott, Elmore Leonard and more (Publishers Weekly).
 
“What you’ll find in this volume are stories that demonstrate a mastery of plotting; stories that compel you to keep turning the pages because of plot and because of setting; stories that wield suspense like a sword; stories...

This anthology collects some of the year's best science and nature writing-from climate change to killer beetles, an exposé of nail salons, and more. As guest editor, Amy Stewart says in her introduction, "science writers get into the game with all kinds of noble, high-minded ambitions. We want to educate. To enlighten...But at the end of the day, we're all writers. We're just like novelists, memoirists, and poets. We're entertainers." The writers...

This collection gathers the best travel essays from The New Yorker, Harpers, GQ and more-featuring Paul Theroux, Alice Gregory, Dave Eggers and others. Why do I travel? Why does anyone of us travel? Bill Bryson poses these questions in his introduction to The Best American Travel Writing 2016, and though he admits, "I wasn't at all sure I knew the answer," these questions start us on the path of some fascinating explorations. While the various contributors...