Ashley Bell

Dean Koontz

Bantam

Bibi Blair is a fierce, funny, dauntless young woman whose doctor says she has one year to live. She replies, We ll see. Her sudden recovery astonishes medical science. An enigmatic woman convinces Bibi that she escaped death so that she can save someone else. Someone named Ashley Bell. But save her from what, from whom? And who is Ashley Bell? Where is she? Bibi's obsession with finding Ashley sends her on the run from threats both mystical and worldly, including a rich and charismatic cult leader with terrifying ambitions. Here is an eloquent, riveting, brilliantly paced story with an exhilarating heroine and a twisting, ingenious plot filled with staggering surprises. Ashley Bell is a new milestone in literary suspense from the long-acclaimed master.

The Relic Master

Christopher Buckley

Simon and Schuster

A compelling and hilarious adventure featuring a sixteenth-century relic hunter and his best friend, Albrecht Durer, who conspire to forge the Shroud of Turin. The year is 1517. Dismas is a relic hunter: one who procures authentic religious relics for wealthy and influential clients. His two most important patrons are Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony and soon-to-be Cardinal Albrecht of Mainz. While Frederick is drawn to the recent writing of Martin Luther, Albrecht pursues the financial and political benefits of religion and seeks to buy a cardinalship through the selling of indulgences. When Albrecht's ambitions increase his demands for grander and more marketable relics, Dismas and his artist friend Durer conspire to manufacture a shroud to sell to the unsuspecting noble. Unfortunately Durer's reckless pride exposes Albrecht's newly acquired shroud as a fake, so Albrecht puts Dismas and Durer in the custody of four loutish mercenaries and sends them all to steal Christ's burial cloth (the Shroud of Chambery), Europe's most celebrated relic. On their journey to Savoy where the Shroud will be displayed, they battle a lustful count and are joined by a beautiful female apothecary. It is only when they reach their destination that they realize they are not alone in their intentions to acquire a relic of dubious legitimacy.

Power of Reading: From Socrates to Twitter

Frank Furedi

Bloomsbury USA

Eminent cultural and social historian Frank Furedi presents an eclectic and entirely original history of reading. The very act of reading and the choice of reading material endow individuals with an identity that possesses great symbolic significance. In ancient Rome, Cicero was busy drawing up a hierarchy of different types of readers. Since that time, people have been divided into a variety of categories--literates and illiterates, intensive and extensive readers, or "vulgo "and discreet readers. In the 19th century, accomplished readers were praised as "men of letters," while their moral opposites were described as "unlettered." Today, distinctions are made between cultural and instrumental readers and scorn is directed toward the infamous "tabloid reader." Power of Reading explores the changing meanings attributed to the act of reading. Although it has a historical perspective, the book's focus is very much on the culture of reading that prevails in the 21st century. It is a fascinating insight into understanding the post-Gutenberg debates about literacy in a multimedia environment with such a strong emphasis on the absorption of information. Taking a cue from George Steiner, Furedi argues vigorously for the restoration of the art of reading--every bit as important as the art of writing.

Reviving America: How Repealing Obamacare, Replacing the Tax Code and Reforming the Fed Will Restore Hope and Prosperity

Steve Forbes

McGraw-Hill Education

Conservative icon Steve Forbes returns with his most powerful and provocative ideas yet. The United States has been through one of the most tumultuous decades in recent history. Polls show people on both sides of the ideological divide believe that the country has gone off track. If something isn't done quickly, Americans face a bleak future continuing decline and disarray in a world that grows ever more dangerous. Steve Forbes, two-time candidate for the GOP presidential nomination and Forbes Media Chairman, explains how today's malaise has been caused by years of Obama's destructive policies, a broken tax system, and the Federal Reserve's Soviet-style controls over credit and money.The problems are challenging. But Forbes tells us that, with the right policies, the country can bounce back faster than people think.

Bear and Bunny

Daniel Manus Pinkwater and Will Hillenbrand

Candlewick Press

From the inimitable Daniel Pinkwater comes a funny and disarmingly sweet tale of two forest friends musing on the nature of a good pet. The bear and the bunny are friends who like to wander in the woods, look for things to eat, sing songs, and talk things over. One day, the bunny asks the bear, "Why do we not have some kind of pet?" Well, the bear is not sure what a pet is. So the bunny explains that it's an animal that you take care of and feed, and one that loves you. But a pinecone is not the right pet for a bear and a bunny. And a caterpillar is nice, but it may not be very much fun. After a much-needed nap in the forest, will these two find their perfect pet? Beloved author Daniel Pinkwater and masterful illustrator Will Hillenbrand return with another charming and humorous story starring the sweetest of friends, a bear and bunny.

Nellie Belle

Mem Fox and Mike Austin

Beach Lane Books

Meet Nellie Belle, a loveable pup who has fun, fun, fun everywhere she goes in this picture book from the author of Baby Bedtime and Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug.  On the beach, in the yard, even in the park in the dark Nellie Belle always has fun. But what's the "most" fun of all? Why snuggling in bed with her best friend Ted, of course With terrific rhyme, sweet characters, and a cozy ending, this picture book from Mem Fox is just right for reading aloud to little ones. And illustrator Mike Austin's darling dog makes it especially irresistible.

Sweet Pea and Friends: The Sheepover

John & Jennifer Churchman

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Meet the adorable orphan lamb Sweet Pea and discover why her true story has become a picture book phenomenon and enchanted readers of all ages One cold winter night, Sweet Pea the orphan lamb becomes very sick. Everyone in the farmyard is worried about her Under the watchful care of Farmer John, Laddie the sheepdog, and Dr. Alison the mobile veterinarian, she slowly recovers. Dr. Alison tells Sweet Pea she can have a sleepover to celebrate as soon as she is well again. When the day finally comes, her closest friends Sunny, Prem, and Violet join her in the greenhouse for a fun and imaginative "SheepOver" celebration. This charming story of caring and friendship by farm owners John and Jennifer Churchman, brought to life with John's entrancing photo-illustrations, will enchant readers young and old. In the words of one of her many fans, "Sweet Pea brings a calming, authentic joy to my life that makes me laugh, cry and gives me hope that all is well in the world. Everyone needs a little Sweet Pea in their lives."