Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, Fifth Earl of Ickenham, better known as Uncle Fred, is back “to spread sweetness and light” wherever he goes. At the request of Lord Emsworth, Uncle Fred journeys to Blandings Castle to steal the Empress of Blandings before the ill-tempered, egg-throwing Duke of Dunstable can lay claim to her. Disguised as the eminent nerve specialist Sir Roderick Glossop, and with his distressed nephew Pongo in tow, Uncle Fred must not only steal a pig but also reunite a young couple and diagnose various members of the upper class with imaginary mental illnesses, all before his domineering wife realizes he’s escaped their country estate.

Winner of the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for her second novel The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai is one of the most talented writers of her generation. Now available for the first time as a Grove Press paperback, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard--Desai's dazzling debut novel--is a wryly hilarious and poignant story that simultaneously captures the vivid culture of the Indian subcontinent and the universal intricacies of human experience. Sampath Chawla was born in a time of drought into a family not quite like other families, in a town not quite like other towns. After years of failure at school, failure at work, of spending his days dreaming in tea stalls, it does not seem as if Sampath is going to amount to much--until one day he climbs a guava tree in search of peaceful contemplation and becomes unexpectedly famous as a holy man, sending his tiny town into turmoil. A syndicate of larcenous, alcoholic monkeys terrorize the pilgrims who cluster around Sampath's tree, spies and profiteers descend on the town, and none of Desai's outrageous characters goes unaffected as events spin increasingly out of control.

This is the story of Joao, an uninspiring country boy who moves to a slum in the city with his drunken father and falls for amiable prostitute named Charity.This is the story of Joao, an uninspiring country boy who moves to a slum in the city with his drunken father and falls for amiable prostitute named Charity.All João ever wanted was to be of some use. All he ever wanted was to belong. And far away from the molesting lick of the sun, where his brothers and sisters toil upon the arid earth, in a dank café in the very worst part of town, and working as a barrista, João will himself, inside the sediment of a city, at the bottom of a ceramic cup.And a minister, a chef, and a whore, they will all taste him on their lips, long after he is gone.

Monty Bodkin's pursuit of Gertude Butterwick is temporarily interrupted by his encounter with silver-screen siren Miss Lotus Blossom, who sees in him a means of restoring relations with her idol, the novelist Ambrose Tennyson. But Monty is not the only one with problems. Ambrose's brother Reggie has money troubles and Ikey Llewellyn is struggling with difficulties which would tax anyone's ingenuity, let alone his limited brain power. When the paths of these men collide, the ensuing plot complications produce a vintage Wodehouse farce involving London, New York, Hollywood and translatlantic liners. A delicious period piece from 1935.

“What is it?” mum asked us. “Don’t you know I am busy in the kitchen?”“MUM, THERE ARE LEGS IN HERE!” we cried out. “Legs?” she nervously replied. “DAD’S LEGS ARE DANGLING THROUGH A HOLE IN THE CEILING!” we told her, as we watched dad's legs thrash about adjacent our bedroom ceiling light.After Nathan is dumped by his girlfriend, he encounters a strange Taoist priest, and has many interesting debates throughout the night, but the next morning he finds that he has been transported fifteen years into the future. A revolutionary technology enables people to live and work in cyber space. People no longer want or need to drive cars, fly overseas, take drugs, smoke, eat junk food or worry about casual sex, because they can now do all of these things in a digital paradise. Nathan has a difficult time adjusting to the new world order. During a night out in a bar in cyber space a group of people attack a pretty girl and her mates. Nathan helps the girl fight off her attackers and discovers that he not only has super fighting skills but the girl he saved is Mary, the most wanted terrorist in the world. Now Nathan’s life is in turmoil. He has to decide whether to help the government destroy the terrorist organization that is responsible for the threat of global warming returning, or assist Mary in destroying the digital world that could ultimately lead to the end of humanity. The line between right and wrong is no longer clear and Nathan possesses the ultimate power to change the future. This story blends adventure, Kung-Fu and gun battles, and a heart-wrenching romance all mixed together in a new science fiction romance like you have never read before. Experience Nathan’s happiness, sadness, self-discovery and the struggle between life and death in this astonishing futuristic world.

All the kids from Wayside School had to spend 243 days in horrible schools while Wayside was closed to get rid of the infestation of cows! Now the kids are back and the fun begins again on every floor. Miss Mush has prepared a special lunch of baked liver in purple sauce and it is pet day on the 30th floor. There are dogs and cats and frogs and skunks and an orange named Fido, causing a terrible commotion. But the biggest surprise of all is that Mrs Jewls is expecting a baby and a substitute teacher is coming, and everyone knows what that means . . . Wayside School is going to get a little stranger. When a substitute teacher is called to stand in for Mrs Jewls, it can mean only one thing - strange things are going to happen at Wayside School. Enjoy all the fun in this enormously humorous and quirky book introducing a younger audience to Louis Sachar's famously dry wit.

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.   Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 from Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, she’s flying back to New Jersey solo, and someone who sounds like Sasquatch is snoring in row 22. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. The FBI, the fake FBI, and guns-for-hire are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying. Only one other person has seen the missing photograph—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back. Over at the Bail Bonds Agency it’s business as usual—until the bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke, Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their “largest” FTA yet, lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment, and everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?!   Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii.  And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It’s complicated. From the Hardcover edition.

Eoin Colfer has made millions of fans around the world with his much-loved character, Artemis Fowl, the star of his hugely best-selling series. Now, in a beautifully written novel that is already breaking records in his native Ireland, Colfer introduces readers to a lovable but troubled heroine, who has been given the opportunity for a special kind of redemption. Meg Finn is in trouble-unearthly trouble. Cast out of her home by her stepfather after her mother's death, Meg is a wanderer, a troublemaker. But after her latest stunt, finding a place to sleep is the least of her worries. Belch, her partner in crime, has gotten her involved in the attempted robbery of an elderly man, Lowrie McCall. And things go horribly wrong. After an accidental explosion, Meg's spirit is flung into limbo, and a race begins between the demonic and the divine to win her soul. Irreverent, hilarious, and touchingly hopeful, The Wish List takes readers on a journey of second chances, where joy is found in the most unexpected places.

Tom Angleberger's latest, loopiest middle-grade novel begins when M'Lady Luggertuck loosens her corset (it's never been loosened before!), thereby setting off a chain of events in which all the strict rules of Smugwick Manor are abandoned. When, as a result of "the Loosening," the precious family heirloom, the Luggertuck Lump (quite literally a lump), goes missing, the Luggertucks look for someone to blame. Is it Horton Halfpott, the good-natured but lowly kitchen boy who can't tell a lie? Or one of the many colorful cast members in this silly romp of a mystery.

When a politician is unjustly accused of criminal misconduct, a paranormal investigator attempts to prove it was the work of a devious doppelganger."Let It All Hang Out" was a 1967 hit by the Hombres.The fantasy series “Tales of the Dreamer Witch” features the space adventures of Sandra Nox, also known as The Dreamer Witch, who has escaped the tyranny of the interstellar Palladian Empire and has been fighting for her freedom ever since. Story 1 (Theft of a Myth): Sandra Nox arrives on the primitive planet Phaon, where she earns a reputation as an excellent gladiator; yet, she soon draws to a close that promising career in order to pursue a much more important goal.Story 2 (Distant Planet): In this adventure Sandra Nox visits a frozen planet, in search of an ancient item which is believed to provide extraordinary mental and physical abilities. This time, however, she is obliged to enter into an alliance with her worst enemy.Story 3 (Descent to the Nether Zone): In this story, the Dreamer Witch follows her beloved Arion into the nightmarish Nether Zone, in search of a holy gem that can save worlds -in this case, Arion's world.Story 4 (A Ship Called Destiny): This time Sandra Nox wants to investigate about an interstellar slave trade taking place on the isolated planet Offir. For this reason, she goes aboard a weird ship that was never bound to cross the oceans.Story 5 (Beyond Heaven): This is the last time Sandra meets her beloved Arion, in a magic land beyond space and time.

If you’re one of those crying-to-your-shrink-cause-your-childhood-was-SO-hard type of people, you should probably read #1 New York Times Bestselling author Mick Foley’s fiction debut, Tietam Brown, for a reality check. Even if you’re not one of them, stop your whining and pick up the damn thing anyway. Atietam “Andy” Brown is a seventeen year-old with a busted hand, and a missing ear. He’s arrived at his father’s house to start life anew after being raised alternately in foster homes and juvenile detention centers where his life hung by a thread on more than one occasion. With this fresh start in hand he hopes he’s got a shot at completing his childhood like a normal kid. But when he realizes that his father’s favorite activities are naked beer-guzzling weight lifting, and sleeping with his classmate’s mothers, well, let’s just say his prospects for the future are once again dimmed. That is, until he finds out that Terri, the hottest cheerleader in school, likes him. (Nice work, Andy!) Funnier than professional wrestling and smarter than nuclear physics, Tietam Brown is sure to pin you for a three-count to your reading chair. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Art Blakely moved his family to Devon to escape his debts but when his dream new start went horribly wrong he decided to move to London. He thought he had it all planned out. What he hadn't reckoned with was having to use four vehicles that were mostly illegal or unroadworthy and the removal driver had a broken leg.The convoy broke up on the M5 when most of them were arrested. Hilarious but true.THE MOVE is a true story of a family in crisis and how they coped or often didn’t cope. Art Blakely’s small plumbing business had been made bankrupt and there was a repossession order on his house. After hiring a huge removal lorry Art and his family packed up their home and fled Crawley and the bailiffs hoping for a dream life in glorious Devon. Hoping their creditors wouldn’t find them they rented a bleak cottage on the edge of Dartmoor. It wasn’t long before Art lost his job when the Victorian attitude of the employers finally got to him. Nine months on, now penniless, cold, starving and jobless their dream new life had become a living nightmare. Their only option was to move house again. This time they were moving to London. With no money for moving costs, Art put together a team of willing if inept, house movers. A friend, who owned a removal lorry, the only expert on the team, turned up with his broken leg in a plaster cast. It was a set back but it wasn’t going to change Art’s plan to lead a convoy of four clapped out or illegal vehicles up the M5. Before long they became separated as one by one they got pulled over by the police. Now Art Blakely’s entourage including two dogs and a couple of guinea pigs were spread out over four counties. Filled with extraordinary incidents and ridiculous people, THE MOVE will move you to tears and have you laughing out loud.

Britain's best-loved comic genius Stephen Fry turns his celebrated wit and insight to unearthing the real America as he travels across the continent in his black taxicab. Stephen's account of his adventures is filled with his unique humour, insight and warmth in this beautifully illustrated book that accompanies his journey for the BBC1 series. 'Stephen Fry is a treasure of the British Empire.' - The Guardian Stephen Fry has always loved America, in fact he came very close to being born there. Here, his fascination for the country and its people sees him embarking on an epic journey across America, visiting each of its 50 states to discover how such a huge diversity of people, cultures, languages, beliefs and landscapes combine to create such a remarkable nation. Starting on the eastern seaboard, Stephen zig-zags across the country in his London taxicab, talking to its hospitable citizens, listening to its music, visiting its landmarks, viewing small-town life and America's breath-taking landscapes - following wherever his curiosity leads him. Stephen meets a collection of remarkable individuals - American icons and unsung local heroes alike. Stephen starts his epic journey on the east coast and zig-zags across America, stopping in every state from Maine to Hawaii. En route he discovers the South Side of Chicago with blues legend Buddy Guy, catches up with Morgan Freeman in Mississippi, strides around with Ted Turner on his Montana ranch, marches with Zulus in New Orleans' Mardi Gras, and drums with the Sioux Nation in South Dakota; joins a Georgia family for thanksgiving, 'picks' with Bluegrass hillbillies, and finds himself in a Tennessee garden full of dead bodies. Whether in a club for failed gangsters (yes, those are real bullet holes) or celebrating Halloween in Salem (is there anywhere better?), Stephen is welcomed by the people of America - mayors, sheriffs, newspaper editors, park rangers, teachers and hobos, bringing to life the oddities and splendours of each locale. A celebration of the magnificent and the eccentric, the beautiful and the strange, Stephen Fry in America is our author's homage to this extraordinary country.

It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not... Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan's earlier life in which - remarkably - he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century.

What would you do if your best friend was: 1. Imaginary? 2. An oversize blue chimp in surfer shorts? (Potentially embarrassing, but hey, no one else can see him . . . right?) 3. Proposing a plan to help you improve your life? 4. Did we say imaginary? 5. Driving you crazy?!?! Now you have an idea of what Willie Ryan’s life is like when he meets Dodger. It’s the beginning of a lot of trouble—and a friendship you’ll never forget!