Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District–the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself. And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.

Pu Yi, a spoiled but lonely child emperor, learns to ride a bicycle with the help of his tutor, hoping it will impress his aloof father.

In the dark recesses of the province of Averoigne, where mists intertwine with legends, and night conceals secrets, vampires, witches, and ancient powers meet. In this tale full of intrigue and danger, heroes face a choice between light and darkness. Will love and courage be enough to survive this encounter in Averoigne?

"Markheim" is a dark tale of crime, mysteries, and the choices that shape our destinies. In an antique shop on Christmas Eve in London, Markheim commits a dreadful act – murder. But is it just an ordinary crime? Or is there something more hidden behind it? When a mysterious man appears in the shop, Markheim must make a decision that will change his life forever. Will he choose light or darkness?

"A Lodging for the Night: A Story of Francis Villon" is a gripping tale set in 15th-century Paris. Francis Villon, a poet and a poor master of arts, finds himself entangled in a web of crime and desperation on a snowy November night. After witnessing a murder committed by his companions, Villon grapples with fear and moral dilemmas as he navigates the treacherous streets of Paris in search of shelter. T

The Heathen is a short story by the American writer Jack London. It was first published in Everybody's Magazine in August 1910. In the story, two people, from different cultural and racial backgrounds, are the only survivors of a ship that encounters a hurricane in the Pacific, and they remain together. The narrator, a pearl buyer named Charley, is a cabin passenger on a schooner, the Petite Jeanne, sailing from Rangiroa to Tahiti with a Kanaka crew, at the end of the pearling season in the Paumotas. The boat, having eighty-five deck passengers, is overloaded.

The Wife of His Youth is a short story by American author Charles W. Chesnutt, first published in July 1898. It later served as the title story of the collection The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color-Line. That book was first published in 1899, the same year Chesnutt published his short story collection The Conjure Woman. The Wife of His Youth features an upwardly mobile, light-skinned mulatto man who is a respected member of the Blue Veins Society in a Midwestern city.

Settle down for this classic and well loved tale of The Snow Man by Hans Christian Andersen. A tale of a Snow Man who comes to life by a magical breeze and longs to be able to run.

This charming, funny and clever Christmas Holiday fantasy is narrated by Oscar nominated and Emmy Award Winning Special Makeup Effects Artist Edward E. French. Author Frank Richard Stockton, born April 5, 1834, was an American writer and humorist, best Remembered for his most famous fable, "The Lady, or the Tiger?" (1882), about a man sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's beloved daughter.

The God of His Fathers: Tales of The Klondyke. It was written by Jack London in the 1919 year. As a young man in the summer of 1897, Jack London joined the Klondike gold rush. From that seminal experience emerged these gripping, inimitable wilderness tales, which have endured as some of London's best and most defining work. With remarkable insight and unflinching realism, London describes the punishing adversity that awaited men in the brutal, frozen expanses of the Yukon, and the extreme tactics these adventurers and travelers adopted to survive.

Братья Гримм, Якоб и Вильгельм — немецкие лингвисты и исследователи немецкой народной традиции. Собирали фольклор и опубликовали несколько сборников под названием «Сказки братьев Гримм», которые стали весьма популярными. Они также считаются отцами-основателями германской филологии и германистики. Влияние сказок братьев Гримм было огромным, с первого же издания их чудесные истории завоевали любовь детской аудитории.

Embark on a captivating journey into the origins of human skin color with this thought-provoking audiobook. Through in-depth genetic studies and poignant narratives, it challenges conventional notions, revealing the intricate interplay of genetics, environment, and societal influences. From the diverse ethnic groups worldwide to the persecution of Albinos in Sub-Saharan Africa, it offers a compelling exploration of identity and diversity.

Short story written by Jack London The Son of the Wolf consists of a single man who is known as Mckenzie or "Scruff". The story tells of the hardships of what single men had to endure on the frontier. Often men would venture on journeys that may consist of months or even years just in order to find the right suitor. Scruff had been the toughest of the tough and had lasted the longest on the frontier without the company of a woman. This story connects with naturalism by showing that nature can be just as cruel as it can be forgiving if someone is alone on the frontier.

"The Alchemist" was a "validation" of Lovecraft's literary skills in the United Amateur Press Association, i.e., a literary text based on which the author's writing predispositions were assessed and a decision was made about whether to accept him into the said association or reject his candidacy.

In the dimly lit streets of Victorian London, where danger lurks beneath the veneer of elegance, Prince Florizel of Bohemia and Colonel Geraldine find themselves entangled in a web of mystery and deceit. Seeking thrills beyond the confines of their privileged lives, they stumble upon an enigmatic young man, heralding the existence of the clandestine Suicide Club.

Meet Harry Hartley, a young secretary entangled in a web of debts and intrigue when he embarks on a fateful mission to deliver a hatbox. With a tempestuous general, a frivolous lady, and a charming maid in the mix, Harry's adventure takes unexpected turns, leading him to a lost fortune and a chance at love.