National Network for Equitable Library Service

"This collection of four of F. Scott Fitzgerald's most memorable short stories begins with 'The curious case of Benjamin Button,' in which the protagonist is born an old man and ages in reverse until he becomes a baby, and then finally vanishes from the earth"--Publisher's website.

This group of four classic stories from the 19th century includes works that appear in many collections of European literature. Offering tantalizing revelations and unforgettable characters, these tales have delighted readers ever since they were first published. In Stephen Crane's The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky, glowing newlyweds find an unexpected ally on the dusty streets of an American frontier town. Ill-fated Christmas gifts cross paths in O.Henry's touching The Gift of the Magi.

In the first ever short story by Retired Delta Force officer Brad Taylor, the stakes couldn' t be higher as operator Pike Logan goes after the first Taskforce target leading a team he can' t fully trust. Commissioned at the highest level of the U.S. government, and designed to operate outside the bounds of U.S. law, a new counter-terrorist unit known as the Taskforce has just been formed, but not fully tested. Until now.

In retired Delta Force officer Brad Taylor' s latest adrenaline-fueled short story, Pike Logan and his fellow Taskforce operators face a team of ruthless modern-day pirates with a devious plan that leaves them fighting for their very survival. On leave after a particularly critical and dangerous mission with the Taskforce-- a top secret counterterrorist unit that operates outside the bounds of US law-- operators Knuckles and Brett have joined Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill in Charleston, South Carolina.

In his bestselling and lavishly praised first book of stories, Adam Haslett explores lives that appear shuttered by loss and discovers entire worlds hidden inside them. The impact is at once harrowing and thrilling. An elderly inventor, burning with manic creativity, tries to reconcile with his estranged gay son. A bereaved boy draws a thuggish classmate into a relationship of escalating guilt and violence. A genteel middle-aged woman, a long-time resident of a psychiatric hospital, becomes the confidante of a lovelorn teenaged volunteer.

From C. J. Box, the New York Times -bestselling author of the Joe Pickett novels, comes a thrilling book of suspense stories about the Wyoming he knows so well-- and the dark deeds and impulses that can be found there. Over the course of eighteen books, C. J. Box has been consistently hailed for his brilliant storytelling and extraordinary skills at creating character, suspense, and a deep sense of place. All of those strengths are in the ten riveting stories-- three of them never before published-- that make up Shots Fired .

A collection of ten short stories, previously published online, that illuminate the life of the enigmatic, flashy, and flamboyant High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane, a character in The Mortal Instruments series.

This collection of eleven stories spans virtually the whole of Tolstoy's creative life. While each is unique in form, as a group they are representative of his style, and touch on the central themes that surface in War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Stories as different as "The Snowstorm", "Lucerne", "The Diary of a Madman", and "The Devil" are grounded in autobiographical experience. They deal with journeys of self-discovery and the moral and religious thought that characterizes Tolstoy's works of criticism and philosophy.

Holiday stories and traditions enchantingly reimagined-with an insightfully satirical twist. Featuring five stories new to this collection, plus seven previously published stories, now all collected together for the first time. From the award-winning author of Crosstalk. No one could ask for a better present than a collection of Connie Willis Christmas tales. These are amazing stories, representing all the best of the Connie Willis experience: true Christmas gifts to her many fans. They are full of humor, absurdity, human foibles, tragedy, joy and hope.

THE FUTURE IS OURSELVES The world is rapidly changing. We surf future-shock every day, as the progress of technology races ever on. Increasingly we are asking: how do we change to live in the world to come' Whether it's climate change, inundated coastlines and drowned cities; the cramped confines of a tin can hurtling through space to the outer reaches of our Solar System; or the rush of being uploaded into cyberspace, our minds and bodies are going to have to drastically alter.