Now in paperback, a romantic love story by the great Brazilian writer Lóri, a primary school teacher, is isolated and nervous, comfortable with children but unable to connect to adults. When she meets Ulisses, a professor of philosophy, an opportunity opens: a chance to escape the shipwreck of introspection and embrace the love, including the sexual love, of a man. Her attempt, as Sheila Heti writes in her afterword, is not only “to love and to be loved,” but also “to be worthy of life itself.” Published in 1968, An Apprenticeship is Clarice Lispector’s attempt to reinvent herself following the exhausting effort of her metaphysical masterpiece The Passion According to G. H. Here, in this unconventional love story, she explores the ways in which people try to bridge the gaps between them, and the result, unusual in her work, surprised many readers and became a bestseller. Some appreciated its accessibility; others denounced it as sexist or superficial. To both admirers and critics, the olympian Clarice gave a typically elliptical answer: “I humanized myself,” she said. “The book reflects that.”

Seven years after the events of The Shadow Dragons, John, Jack and Charles are finally able to return to their beloved Archipedlago of Dreams. But even as their return is celebrated by old friends, new concerns shadow the reunion, namely the threat of Echthroi, the primordial Shadow, but, perhaps even worse, the apparent splintering of Time itself. Now, the Caretakers must fight against their most fearsome enemy ever and attempt to restore Time. They must journey through a forgotten door from the destroyed Keep of Time in order to seek out the Dragon's Apprentice. If they fail, it will mean the end of both of the worlds. But success will carry its own price - a price that may be too high even for the Caretakers to bear.

In 'The Apprentice Writer' Julian Green provides vivid glimpses of the world of the Parisian literary salons in the twenties and thirties and weaves in portraits of the major figures in American and Continental letters whom he knew personally.

In 1986, Andy Hoffman quit an engineering job, declined acceptances for graduate school at Harvard and Berkeley and accepted a carpenter's job in Nantucket. Unbeknownst to him, he had entered the world of high-end custom building. Within four years, he was supervising the construction of a 29,000 square-foot mansion on a 180-acre estate in Fairfield County Connecticut. This is a book about his personal and professional growth along that journey, from apprentice to builder through the tutelage of a seasoned and hard-nosed builder. It describes how uniquely high-end homes are built for select clients, a glimpse into the lives of the blue-collar workers, architects, engineers and clients that come together to make these projects a reality. At its core, this is a coming-of-age story, a celebration of the pursuit of creative impulses and a story about defying the "rules" and finding a personal calling in life.

A colorful, magical tale set during the height of the Ottoman Empire, from the acclaimed author of The Island of Missing Trees (a Reese's Book Club Pick) Chosen for Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall’s “Reading Room” Book Club In this novel, Turkey’s preeminent female writer spins an epic tale spanning nearly a century in the life of the Ottoman Empire. In 1540, twelve-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota’s help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history. Yet even as they build Sinan’s triumphant masterpieces—the incredible Suleymaniye and Selimiye mosques—dangerous undercurrents begin to emerge, with jealousy erupting among Sinan’s four apprentices. A memorable story of artistic freedom, creativity, and the clash between science and fundamentalism, Shafak’s intricate novel brims with vibrant characters, intriguing adventure, and the lavish backdrop of the Ottoman court, where love and loyalty are no match for raw power.

An Economist Book of the Year An October 2014 Indie Next Pick An enthralling literary debut that evokes one of the most momentous events in history, the birth of printing in medieval Germany—a story of invention, intrigue and betrayal Youthful, ambitious Peter Schoeffer is on the verge of professional success as a scribe in Paris when his foster father, the wealthy merchant and bookseller Johann Fust, summons him home to corrupt, feud-plagued Mainz to meet “a most amazing man.” Johann Gutenberg, a driven and caustic inventor, has devised a revolutionary—and to some, blasphemous—method of bookmaking: a machine he calls a printing press. Fust is financing Gutenberg’s workshop, and he orders Peter to become Gutenberg’s apprentice. Resentful at having to abandon a prestigious career as a scribe, Peter begins his education in the “darkest art.” As his skill grows, so, too, does his admiration for Gutenberg and his dedication to their daring venture: printing copies of the Holy Bible. But when outside forces align against them, Peter finds himself torn between two father figures—the generous Fust and the brilliant, mercurial Gutenberg, who inspires Peter to achieve his own mastery. Caught between the genius and the merchant, the old ways and the new, Peter and the men he admires must work together to prevail against overwhelming obstacles—a battle that will change history . . . and irrevocably transform them all.