Recommendations based on "Lanny: A Novel"

THESE NEWCOMERS ARE DIFFERENT. THEY WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING.For fans of The Essex Serpent and The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock.‘By far my favourite book of of the year’ Guardian‘One of only two novels I've ever loved whose main characters are not human’ Barbara KingsolverOne cold night, two newcomers emerge onto the streets of 1899 New York, and it is never the same again.But these two are more than strangers to this land, they are strangers to this world. From the depths of folkloric history come Chava the golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi and Ahmad, a djinni, born in the ancient Syrian desert and trapped in an old copper flask released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop.Two companions who were never meant to be released, and never meant to meet. And when they do, their opposing natures will be sealed by a special bond, but one that is threatened by watching eyes, roaming owners and a misunderstanding world.A glittering gem of a novel, as spell-binding as it is compelling, The Golem and The Djinni asks us what we’re made of and how we can break free.

In Abilene, Texas, in 1908, Art Atchison Aimesworth, boy inventor and world explorer, enlists the aid of his sister and best friend on a quest to discover the truth about the mysterious Easter Bunny.

Brian Attebery's "strategy of fantasy" include not only the writer's strategies for inventing believable impossibiltes, but also the reader's strategies for enjoying, challenging, and conspiring with the text. Drawing on a number of current literary theories (but avoiding most of their jargon), Attebery makes a case for fantasy as a significant movement within postmodern literature rather than as a simple exercise of nostalgia. Attebury examines recent and classic fantasies by Ursula K. Le Guin, John Crowley, J.R.R. Tolkien, Diana Wynne Jones, and Gene Wolfe, among others. In both its popular and postmodern incarnations, fantasic fiction exhibits a remarkable capacity for reinventing narrative concentions. Attebery shows how plots, characters, settings, storytelling frameworks, gender divisions, and references to cultural texts such as history and science are all called into question the moment the marvelous is admited into a story.

The latest book in Alexander McCall Smith's entertaining and hilarious Professor von Igelfeld seriesProfessor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is not just any German professor - he is the author of that great work of scholarship, Portuguese Irregular Verbs. His eminence in language studies is widely recognised, even if it is rarely acknowledged by his colleague, Professor Detlev-Amadeus Unterholzer, author of a much less important work on the subjunctive. Their rivalry bubbles away under the surface, but is apt to come into the open if something unusual disturbs the calm waters of the institute in Regensburg in which they both work.One such event is the arrival from New Orleans of two visiting scholars. These ladies, Professor Pom Pom Boisseau, and her friend, Professor Alice Martinique, are both experts in the Provençal language as well as being keen bikers. When they choose to arrive on large, noisy motorbikes, Unterholzer is shocked, but von Igelfeld is rather taken with Pom Pom. In fact, he is very taken with her, even to the extent of going for a ride with her on her motorbike.Anybody can tell that this infatuation will lead to disappointment, if not worse. But for von Igelfeld, disasters often arrive in twos and threes. The great professor is invited to attend a student occasion in which the old habit of duelling rears its head. He is handed a sword...Von Igelfeld may suffer humiliation after humiliation, but at the end of it all there is the promise of a visit to Louisiana, a culinary paradise, where important research is being undertaken into communication among oysters.

Muffy is so sure that Francine cannot be nice for an entire week that she bets her Princess Peach watch on it, and now it is up to Francine to keep her temper.

As school trips go, this one is pretty awesome.When I was told we were going to London to study Living History, I thought they were joking. But here I am! Rafe Khatchadorian - global jetsetter!Now all I need to do is find a way of avoiding the school bully, getting Jeanne Galletta to talk to me, and try not to get lost in London.But things are never that simple. So fasten your seatbelts and hold on tight, because this could be a very bumpy flight.

London, 1840: Wagner's latest opera plays to packed houses while disgruntled workers gather in crowded pubs to eat ice cream and plan the downfall of the bourgeoisie. Meanwhile, the Pirate Captain finds himself incarcerated at Scotland Yard, in a case of mistaken identity.Discovering that his doppelgänger is none other than Karl Marx, the Captain and his crew are unwittingly caught up in a sinister plot that involves intellectual giants, enormous beards, and a quest to discover whether ham might really be the opium of the people.Includes, at no additional charge, The Wit and Wisdom of the Pirate Captain—a Major Philosophical Work.On the Matter of Love:If you're off to fight in a battle, snap a ship's biscuit in half and give your girlfriend the other half. When you meet again, they will match—like two halves of a single soul! Hopefully, this will stop her sleeping with other men.On Life in General:Life is like a big shanty. Everything will be fine so long as everyone sings in harmony. But if someone plays a duff note on the accordion or tries to break-dance at a sensitive bit, then there will be all sorts of trouble, mark my words.

The second short story set in Peter Newman’s incredible world of THE VAGRANT. 'It's a story that grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and refused to let go...' Fantasy Faction

As a result of an experiment with a chemistry set, three children smell very strongly of the food each detests the most--sauerkraut, corned beef and cabbage, and tomato soup--while the dog smells of apple pie.

Book 14 in the delightful 44 Scotland Street series, by worldwide bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith At the bottom of a sharply descending street - in the topographical sense - in Edinburgh's Georgian New Town, new residents have moved in to number 44 Scotland Street, joining the already well-known and much-loved denizens of that remarkable building. They appear to be a bit of a mystery, but so, too, do other things. What exactly did Sister Maria-Fiore, the aphorism-coining socialite nun, find on the No. 23 bus? Could it be the remains of a hitherto unknown Neanderthal, homo Watsoniensis? On the romantic front, long-suffering Stuart's hopes of kindling a new relationship are dashed, thanks to chino-wearing narcissist Bruce, effortlessly exercising his powers of charm. The Promised Land beckons for Bertie who is off to Glagow for a school exchange that takes him doon the watter. Back in Edinburgh, the Duke of Johannesburg's desire to learn a new language, involving his Gaelic-speaking driver Padruig, has gone horribly wrong; to be immersed in a language, it seems, can be a captivating linguistic mistake. And the patrons of Big Lou's cafe are in for a gastronomic treat. In other words, everything in Edinburgh is absolutely normal. 'Perfect escapism' Sunday Times, South Africa 'A vividly surreal cast of outlandish characters [and] McCall Smith's wonderfully wry delivery' Scottish Field