Washoe County Library System

#1 New York Times–bestselling authors: Get to know the ruthless, mysterious FBI agent, “one of thrillerdom’s most exciting and intriguing series leads” (Booklist).
 
Acclaimed as “a modern-day Sherlock Holmes” (Associated Press) with a brilliant mind, a cultured manner, and a dark edge, Special Agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast has calmly looked evil in the face throughout the...

In this profile, the bestselling author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series recounts the creation of his popular Botswanan sleuth.
 
In 1998, Mma Precious Ramotswe made her debut in Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The Plain Dealer hailed the novel as “One of the best, most charming, honest, hilarious and life-affirming books to appear in years.” Decades and many...

The stories we read as children shape us for the rest of our lives-- but it's never too late to discover that transformative spark of hope that children's classics can ignite within us. Perkins invites us to explore the promise of seven timeless children's novels, and shows how they provide mirrors to our innermost selves, and open windows to other world. She shows that reading (or re-reading) these books as adults can help us build virtue, unmask...

"A definitive biography of a twentieth century gay author whose work has recently been rediscovered and enjoys a cult following. One of the most iconoclastic twentieth-century American novelists, James Purdy penned original and sometimes shocking works about those on the margins of American society, exploring small towns, urban life, failure, alienation, sexuality, and familial relations. In his own life, Purdy was a compelling if eccentric figure,...

Dive into the timeless tales of gods and heroes in this bestselling A-to-Z encyclopedia detailing classic myths and legends—perfect for curious readers and academics alike.

Edith Hamilton's mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman and Norse myths that are the keystone of Western culture-the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the...

A wickedly witty field guide to bookstore customers by the curmudgeonly shop owner and author of Confessions of a Bookseller. Shaun Bythell knows them all—from the "Person Who Doesn't Know What They Want (But Thinks It Might Have a Blue Cover)" to the "Parents Secretly after Free Childcare." The business of books has never been funnier.

In a tradition that runs from R. M. Williamson's Bits from an Old Bookshop in 1904 to Jen Campbell's

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"It's no secret that millions of American teenagers, caught up in social media, television, movies, and games, don't read seriously-they associate sustained reading with duty or work, not with pleasure. This indifference has become a grievous loss to our standing as a great nation--and a personal loss, too, for millions of teenagers who may turn into adults with limited understanding of themselves and the world. Can teenagers be turned on to serious...

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From one of our most iconic and influential writers, the award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking: a timeless collection of mostly early pieces that reveal what would become Joan Didion's subjects, including the press, politics, California robber barons, women, and her own self-doubt.

With a forward...

World-renowned folklorist Maria Tatar reveals an astonishing but long buried history of heroines, taking us from Cassandra and Scheherazade to Nancy Drew and Wonder Woman. How do we explain our newfound cultural investment in empathy and social justice? For decades, Joseph Campbell had defined our cultural aspirations in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, emphasizing the value of seeking glory and earning immortality. His work became the playbook for...

The acclaimed actor chronicles his work in Hollywood, his two marriages, and his journey through personal calamities, bad decisions, encounters with legends, and moments of joy to become the flawed but happy middle-aged man he is today.