The universally respected NPR journalist and bestselling memoirist Scott Simon makes a dazzling fiction debut. In Pretty Birds, Simon creates an intense, startling, and tragicomic portrait of a classic character–a young woman in the besieged city of Sarajevo in the early 1990s.In the spring of 1992, Irena Zaric is a star on her Sarajevo high school basketball team, a tough, funny teenager who has taught her parrot, Pretty Bird, to do a decent imitation of a ball hi...

From the beloved host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, moving tales of the marvelous animals who have crossed his path.Scott Simon’s household does not make much distinction between humans and other animals. Whether two-legged or four-, flesh-covered, fur-covered, feathered, or gilled—everyone is family. Today, Simon lives with the haiku-writing and absolument charmant French poodle Daisy and the daringly audacious foster cat Gato Blanco. But th...

What would YOU sacrifice for family?Cam is content with his new life on Lewis, happily married and working as an active member of the community. As life settles into a kind of mundanity, Cam learns a shocking truth: someone he loves may still be alive. Compelled to embark on a monumental journey, he discovers the true value of family and loyalty in a bleak and challenging world."The Liminal Space" is the second novel in the Antipodes series. This series asks, “If we had the...

In this warm, funny, and wise new book, NPR’s award-winning and beloved Scott Simon tells the story of how he and his wife found true love with two tiny strangers from the other side of the world. It’s a book of unforgettable moments: when Scott and Caroline get their first thumb-size pictures of their daughters, when the small girls are placed in their arms, and all the laughs and tumbles along the road as they become a real family.Woven into the tale of Scott, Caroline, and the t...

Would YOU be chosen?After a global outbreak that threatens to decimate the planet, Australian scientists select a group of highly skilled young people to establish a sustainable island community built on the modern values of equity, diversity, and inclusion.Lonely and homesick, Cam Mackintosh overcomes his anxiety and finds belonging, passion, and friendship in his new life before his dreams are suddenly ripped from his grasp. Sent hurtling on a journey of discovery, he fin...

Princess of Mycenae, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, sister of the sacrificed Iphigenia and the cursed Orestes. Electra is forced to flee her home after witnessing the shocking revenge-murder of her father, by her mother, on his return from the Trojan War. Life beyond the palace is frightening, and the scandalous behaviour of her foreign companions disturbs her, but she needs the help of the Trojan Cassandra, and her two lovers, to survive. Driven by her own desire for vengeance, E...

"Returning to the small town where he crash-landed in 1963, Ishmael Jones is in search of answers. But his investigation is derailed by a brutal murder.“I think something very bad and very dangerous has come to your little town, Inspector....”As long-buried memories from his hidden past begin to resurface, Ishmael Jones and his partner Penny feel compelled to return to the small country town where Ishmael crash-landed in 1963; the place where his memories began. Norton Hedl...

"Ishmael Jones knows all there is to know about solving mysteries. Together with his love and partner in crimes, Penny Belcourt, he specializes in cases of the weird and uncanny.Lucas Carr went to Glenbury Hall, an old country manor house turned hotel. He signed in at reception, took his key, and went upstairs to his room. But he never got there. Somehow he vanished along the way, with not a single clue to suggest what might have happened to him.Lucas belonged to the same m...

From the founder of Scare Your Soul, this self-help guide will help you find the courage to embrace all of life's uncertainties so that you can live a more elaborate life of your dreams.Like a muscle, courage grows stronger the more you exercise it. Scare Your Soul will not only teach you how to exercise courage–it will guide you in taking small, boundary-pushing actions to expand your comfort zone.Combining research on positive psychology...

Rather than long lessons or isolated grammar drills, this audiobook approaches Spanish through short mystery stories built around repeated exposure and listening practice. The material is aimed at beginners who want to become more comfortable with spoken Spanish while gradually absorbing useful vocabulary and sentence patterns.The stories are intentionally concise, usually lasting between three and five minutes. That shorter format makes repeated listening easier and helps learners...

"As breezy and meaningful as one of his trademark songs as readers learn about the man by the company he kept and the heroes he worships." — Booklist"For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business, the best exponent of a song. He excites me when I watch him. . . . He moves me. He's the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more." —Frank SinatraTony Bennett was one of our most vibrant musicians ever...

From the beloved host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday**, moving tales of the marvelous animals who have crossed his path.**Scott Simon’s household does not make much distinction between humans and other animals. Whether two-legged or four-, flesh-covered, fur-covered, feathered, or gilled—everyone is family. Today, Simon lives with the haiku-writing and absolument charmant French poodle Daisy and the daringly audacious foster ca...