Alan Jacobs

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

In recent years, cultural commentators have sounded the alarm about the dire state of reading in America. Americans are not reading enough, they say, or reading the right books, in the right way.In this book, Alan Jacobs argues that, contrary to the doomsayers, reading is alive and well in America. There are millions of devoted readers supporting hundreds of enormous bookstores and online booksellers. Oprah's Book Club is hugely influential, and a recent NEA survey reveals an actual uptick in the reading of literary fiction. Jacobs's interactions with his students and the readers of his own books, however, suggest that many readers lack confidence; they wonder whether they are reading well, with proper focus and attentiveness, with due discretion and discernment. Many have absorbed the puritanical message that reading is, first and foremost, good for you--the intellectual equivalent of eating your Brussels sprouts. For such people, indeed for all readers, Jacobs offers some simple, powerful, and much needed advice: read at whim, read what gives you delight, and do so without shame, whether it be Stephen King or the King James Version of the Bible. In contrast to the more methodical approach of Mortimer Adler's classic How to Read a Book (1940), Jacobs offers an insightful, accessible, and playfully irreverent guide for aspiring readers. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of approaching literary fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and the book explores everything from the invention of silent reading, reading responsively, rereading, and reading on electronic devices.Invitingly written, with equal measures of wit and erudition, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction will appeal to all readers, whether they be novices looking for direction or old hands seeking to recapture the pleasures of reading they first experienced as children.

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

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William Shakespeare

A. H. Bullen

Oversized Hardcover (4 to 6 lbs)

The Complete Works

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C. S. Lewis

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

An encyclopedic selection of quotes from the complete published works of C. S. Lewis, arranged alphabetically, including never-before-published photos.

The Quotable Lewis

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Jason Lisle

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Resolving the Origins Debate

Have you ever had trouble defending the Bible to Atheists or Skeptics? Have you wished that your Biblical education was stronger so you could refute the untruths that Evolutionists claim to be fact? This book is a complete guide to defending the Christian Faith. It emphasizes the defense of the Bible's account of Creation in the book of Genesis and is built on techniques that have been developed over many years, and through many presentations.

Ultimate Proof of Creation

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Kelly James Clark

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

The Spiritual Journeys of 11 Leading Thinkers

Eleven leading philosophers, including Basil Mitchell, Mortimer Adler, Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff and Richard Swinburne, describe why they have embraced Christian belief and offer fascinating insights into their individual spiritual journeys. Edited by Kelly James Clark.

Philosophers Who Believe

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William H. Armstrong

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Civics

The classic guide for the college-bound student on how to acquire and maintain good study skills. Originally published in 1956, but just as useful and relevant today, this book covers everything from developing a vocabulary to taking tests and using libraries.

Acquiring and maintaining good study skills is, as the author says, hard work. But it is also the only way to succeed. William H. Armstrong was himself a teacher (as well as author of the Newbery Medal-winning novel Sounder) and this book comes from his own experience in the classroom. Only a teacher would make the observation, "It is paradoxical that listening is the easiest way to learn but the hardest study skill to master."

Chapters includes Learning to Listen, The Desire to Learn, Getting More From What You Read, Putting Ideas in Order, Letting Mathematics Serve You, How to Study Science, and Tests and Examinations.

Armstrong wants all students to develop successful habits. As he writes, "The beginning of success is interest. Being interested is the basic obligation that is necessary for success in whatever work you do." Work is always necessary for success but Amstrong's guidance and insight will make the work much less hard and much more rewarding.

Study Is Hard Work

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Timothy Keller

Kathy Keller

A Year of Daily Devotions in the Book of Proverbs

From pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller comes a beautifully packaged, yearlong daily devotional based on the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs is God’s book of wisdom, teaching us the essence and goal of a Christian life. In this 365-day devotional, Timothy Keller offers readers a fresh, inspiring lesson for every day of the year based on different passages within the Book of Proverbs. With his trademark knowledge, Keller unlocks the wisdom within the poetry of Proverbs and guides us toward a new understanding of what it means to live a moral life. God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life is a book that readers will be able to turn to every day, year after year, to cultivate a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with God. This makes a perfect companion to Keller’s devotional on the Psalms, The Songs of Jesus.

God's Wisdom for Navigating Life

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Tom Hanks

Some Stories

The actor Tom Hanks's first work of fiction.

Uncommon Type

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Anna Kendrick

"A collection of whimsical autobiographical essays by the Academy Award-nominated actress and star of Up in the Air recounts memorable milestones from her New England upbringing to the blockbuster films that have made her one of Hollywood's most popular actresses, "--Baker & Taylor.

Scrappy Little Nobody

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Leigh Ryan

Lisa Zimmerelli

English

The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors discusses the needs of writing tutors as both teachers and scholars, helping you establish your tutoring techniques and reflect on your teaching philosophies.

The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors

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Jennie Allen

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts

Place of publication from publisher's website.

Get Out of Your Head

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Neale Donald Walsch

An uncommon Dialogue

Neale Donald Walsch has changed the way millions of Americans think about God. His Conversations with God series, book 1, book 2, and book 3, have all been New York Times bestsellers--book 1 for over two years. The essence of Neale Donald Walsch's message lies at the heart of faith--the sacred place in every person, where he stands alone with his God. Walsch urges each of us to forge our own unique relationship with God, a God who is everywhere and speaks to us in all we do. It is up to us to stop and listen. It is up to us to respond . . . to begin the conversation. And a conversation is the first step, just as in any relationship, in establishing trust, in building friendship, in creating communion. In Friendship with God, Neale Donald Walsch shares the next part of his journey, and leads us to deepen and strengthen our own bonds with God. He honors our heart's desire: a closer connection, richer and fuller. A friendship with God.

Friendship with God

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Sarah Shoemaker

"A CRACKING-GOOD READ!"--People, Best New Books A deft and irresistible retelling of Charlotte Brontë's beloved classic Jane Eyre--from the point of view of the dashing, mysterious Mr. Rochester himself. For 170 years, Edward Fairfax Rochester has stood as one of literature's most complex and captivating romantic heroes. Sometimes cruel, sometimes tender, Jane Eyre's mercurial master at Thornfield Hall has mesmerized, beguiled, and, yes, baffled fans of Charlotte Brontë's masterpiece for generations. But his own story has never been told. We first meet this brilliant, tormented hero as a motherless boy roaming Thornfield's lonely corridors. On the morning of Edward's eighth birthday, his father issues a decree: He is to be sent away to get an education, exiled from all he ever loved. Young Edward's journey will take him across working-class England and the decadence of continental Europe before he lands on the warm, languid shores of faraway Jamaica, where his inheritance lies. That island, however, holds secrets of its own, and Edward soon grows entangled in morally dubious business dealings and a passionate, whirlwind love affair with the town's ravishing heiress, Bertha Antoinetta Mason. Eventually, in the wake of a devastating betrayal, Edward must return to England with his increasingly unstable wife to take over as master of Thornfield. And it is there, on a twilight ride, that he meets the stubborn, plain young governess who will steal his heart and teach him how to love again. MR. ROCHESTER is a sweeping coming-of-age story and a stirring tale of adventure, romance, and deceit. Faithful in every particular to Brontë's original yet full of unexpected twists and riveting behind-the-scenes drama, this novel will completely, deliciously, and forever change how we read and remember Jane Eyre.

Mr. Rochester

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Sarah Waters

“Oliver Twist with a twist…Waters spins an absorbing tale that withholds as much as it discloses. A pulsating story.”—The New York Times Book Review The Handmaiden, a film adaptation of Fingersmith, directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Kim Tae-Ri, is now available. Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a "baby farmer," who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home. One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum. With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways...But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.

Fingersmith

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Francine Prose

A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them

In her entertaining and edifying New York Times bestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and tricks of the masters to discover why their work has endured. Written with passion, humour and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart – to take pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breathtaking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; to look to John le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue and to Flannery O’Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail; to be inspired by Emily Brontë’s structural nuance and Charles Dickens’s deceptively simple narrative techniques. Most importantly, Prose cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which all literature is crafted, and reminds us that good writing comes out of good reading.

Reading Like a Writer

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Emma Cline

A Novel

THE INSTANT BESTSELLER • An indelible portrait of girls, the women they become, and that moment in life when everything can go horribly wrong NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • NPR • The Guardian • Entertainment Weekly • San Francisco Chronicle • Financial Times • Esquire • Newsweek • Vogue • Glamour • People • The Huffington Post • Elle • Harper’s Bazaar • Time Out • BookPage • Publishers Weekly • Slate Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence. Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award • Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize • The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • Emma Cline—One of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists Praise for The Girls “Spellbinding . . . a seductive and arresting coming-of-age story.”—The New York Times Book Review “Extraordinary . . . Debut novels like this are rare, indeed.”—The Washington Post “Hypnotic.”—The Wall Street Journal “Gorgeous.”—Los Angeles Times “Savage.”—The Guardian “Astonishing.”—The Boston Globe “Superbly written.”—James Wood, The New Yorker “Intensely consuming.”—Richard Ford “A spectacular achievement.”—Lucy Atkins, The Times “Thrilling.”—Jennifer Egan “Compelling and startling.”—The Economist

The Girls

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Stephen King

Now an HBO limited series starring Ben Mendelsohn!

Evil has many faces...maybe even yours in this #1 New York Times bestseller from master storyteller Stephen King.

An eleven-year-old boy's violated corpse is discovered in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City's most popular citizens--Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon have DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying details begin to emerge, King's story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.

The Outsider

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Barack. Obama

A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making--from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post * Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times * NPR * The Guardian * Marie Claire In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency--a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation's highest office. Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune's Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective--the story of one man's bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of "hope and change," and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama's conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.

A Promised Land

873ab9b7-1688-42d6-a2d5-aaf32a51f858

James Comey

Truth, Lies, and Leadership

In his book, former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an unprecedented entry into the corridors of power, and a remarkable lesson in what makes an effective leader. Mr. Comey served as director of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, appointed to the post by President Barack Obama. He previously served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the U.S. deputy attorney general in the administration of President George W. Bush. From prosecuting the Mafia and Martha Stewart to helping change the Bush administration's policies on torture and electronic surveillance, overseeing the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation as well as ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, Comey has been involved in some of the most consequential cases and policies of recent history.

A Higher Loyalty

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Walter Wangerin

One of Wangerin's most beloved works, Miz Lil & the Chronicles of Grace leads readers on two parallel journeys: one a series of tales from Wangerin's youth as he reveals his descent into human sinfulness, the other a chronicle of his awakening to the great grace of God through relationship with his congregation while pastor of an inner city church. In this series of alternating stories, Wangerin's staggering facility with language is at its most vibrant. Witty, sharp, rollicking, and unexpected, his prose crackles with life and hard-won insight. Characters like Miz Lil, Grandpa Storck, and Jolanda Jones are rendered unforgettable by his vivid writing and their unmistakable humanity. Miz Lil and the Chronicles of Grace is a book shot through with emotional weight, and Wangerin's steady hand carries us through the wasteland of the human heart and lands us squarely in the grace and mercy of God.

Miz Lil and the Chronicles of Grace

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Rachel Wilkerson Miller

How to Start and Keep the Planner, to-Do List, and Diary That'll Actually Help You Get Your Life Together

Organize your life, record what matters, and get stuff done! What the heck is a dot journal? It’s a planner, to-do list, and diary for every aspect of your life: work, home, relationships, hobbies, everything. Early adopter Rachel Wilkerson Miller explains how to make a dot journal work for you—whether you find the picture-perfect examples on Pinterest inspiring or, well, intimidating. You decide how simple or elaborate your journal will be, and what goes in there: Lists of your to-dos, to-don’ts, and more Symbols that will make those lists efficient and effective Spreads to plan your day, week, month, or year Trackers for your habits and goals (think health, money, travel) Accouterments such as washi tape, book darts, and more!

Dot Journaling--A Practical Guide

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In this new memoir by National Book Award-winning author Walter Wangerin, Jr., he invites the reader into the past to experience his loss of faith as a young seminarian, his struggle to find a place for his chosen vocation amid an ocean of doubts, and his eventual renewal in the arms of an inner-city church called Grace. With his inimitable style and keen eye for detail, Wangerin remembers his own story and gives it to us as an everlasting testament to the faithfulness of God.

Everlasting Is the Past

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Rupi Kaur

"A collection of poetry and prose about survival, about the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity"--Amazon.com.

Milk and Honey

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Magnus Magnusson

The Story of a Nation

A vivid, comprehensive history of Scotland ranges from its earliest Stone Age settlers, through the influence of the many invaders--Romans, Picts, Vikings, and the English--on the country, to recent movements to promote Scottish independence from Britain, documenting the political, cultural, economic, and other forces that have shaped the nation. Reprint.

Scotland

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Hannah Smith

Browse by categories

Alan Jacobs

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

William Shakespeare; A. H. Bullen

The Complete Works

C. S. Lewis

The Quotable Lewis

Jason Lisle

Ultimate Proof of Creation

Kelly James Clark

Philosophers Who Believe

William H. Armstrong

Study Is Hard Work

Timothy Keller; Kathy Keller

God's Wisdom for Navigating Life

Tom Hanks

Uncommon Type

Anna Kendrick

Scrappy Little Nobody

Leigh Ryan; Lisa Zimmerelli

The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors

Jennie Allen

Get Out of Your Head

Neale Donald Walsch

Friendship with God

Sarah Shoemaker

Mr. Rochester

Sarah Waters

Fingersmith

Francine Prose

Reading Like a Writer

Emma Cline

The Girls

Stephen King

The Outsider

Barack. Obama

A Promised Land

James Comey

A Higher Loyalty

Walter Wangerin

Miz Lil and the Chronicles of Grace

Rachel Wilkerson Miller

Dot Journaling--A Practical Guide

Walter Wangerin

Everlasting Is the Past

Rupi Kaur

Milk and Honey

Magnus Magnusson; Magnus Magnusson

Scotland

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