Description: Pratchett (Small Gods) has won an ardent following with his tales of Discworld and his particular brand of comedic fantasy. This latest installment, however, is unlikely to widen his readership. It's circle time on the Discworld; portentous round depressions are showing up everywhere, even in bowls of porridge. Worlds are weaving closer to one another, with unpredictable results. Only the three wacky witches, formidable Granny Weatherwax, crusty Nanny Ogg and scatterbrained Magrat Garlick, can ensure that the worst does not happen: the return of the elves. Trouble is, almost everyone else in the kingdom of Lancre is eager to welcome the "lords and ladies" back. They've forgotten that elves are nasty creatures who live only to torture their prey?humans especially. It's a tempting premise, but underdeveloped by Pratchett, who relies too heavily on his trademark humor, veering into the silly and sophomoric, to fuel the early portions of this fantasy. Only in the last third of the novel does he strike a successful balance among action, imagination and comedy. There is much fun to the tale once the smiling, sadistic elves actually appear, befuddling the townfolk with their beauty and illusion. An earlier arrival would have done much to strengthen this uneven novel.

Description: In the middle of the night at the Museum of Volterra, young archeologist Fabrizio Castellani is immersed in his work - research into the famous Etruscan statue known as The Shade of Twilight. Completely engrossed, he is startled by the phone ringing. An icy female voice warns him to abandon his work at once. A series of gruesome killings shortly follow, throwing the people of Volterra into a panic. The victims - all involved in the descration of an unexplored tomb - have been torn to pieces by a beast of unimaginable size. Fabrizio is in charge of excavating this Etruscan tomb. What is hiding inside the enigmatic statue? What lies behind the bloodthirsty rage that has lain in wait for all these centuries? What tragedy is hidden behind the inscription? Will Fabrizio manage to unravel these secrets without being sucked into the spiral of violence himself?

Description: The award winning British actress Anna Massey CBE reads a collection of highly entertaining fairy stories and folk tales written by The Brothers Grimm. These stories, including Cinderella and Rapunzel are not the predictable yarns about Unicorns and magic, they are definitely somewhat darker! Brought to life by Anna’s wonderful talent for creating original voices, these original versions of the classic Fairy Stories are not only surprising – they’re really rather shocking.

Description: William has just received the best present of his life - an old, real-looking stone and wooden model of a castle, with a drawbridge, a moat, and a finger-high knight to guard the gates. It's the mysterious castle his housekeeper has told him about, and even though William is sad she's leaving, now the castle is his! William can't wait to play with the castle - he's certain there's something magical about it. And sure enough, when he picks up the tiny silver knight, it comes alive in his hand! Sir Simon tells William a mighty story of wild sorcery, wizards, and magic. And suddenly William is off on a fantastic quest to another land and another time - where a fiery dragon and an evil wizard are waiting to do battle....

In 1860, a very strange event took place: Benjamin Button was born. While a baby’s birth may not seem like anything out of the ordinary, Benjamin’s was indeed remarkable, for he was born an old man. Complete with a long beard and white hair, the infant Benjamin is already talking with his father on the day he makes his debut in the world. Realizing that he is actually aging in reverse, Benjamin relies on dyeing his hair and shaving his beard during his childhood and youth to try and appear at least close to his biological age. No matter how well he might hide his secret, however, Benjamin knows that life will always be very different for him. As he grows older (and younger), he meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman, Hildegarde, who happens to be attracted to older men. Benjamin and Hildegarde marry and are happy—but only for a time. As Hildegarde grows older, Benjamin’s increasingly young heart yearns for freedom. Will this very strange man ever be able to find happiness even as he goes through life backwards? An odd and intriguing fable, this 1922 tale is one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most unusual and memorable.

Description: In An Army at Dawn, Rick Atkinson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, provided a dramatic and authoritative history of the Allied triumph in North Africa. Now, in The Day of Battle, he follows the strengthening American and British armies as they invade Sicily in July 1943 and then, mile by bloody mile, fight their way north toward Rome. The Italian campaign's outcome was never certain; in fact, Roosevelt, Churchill, and their military advisers engaged in heated debate about whether an invasion of the so-called soft underbelly of Europe was even a good idea. But once under way, the commitment to liberate Italy from the Nazis never wavered, despite the agonizingly high price. The battles at Salerno, Anzio, and Monte Cassino were particularly difficult and lethal, yet as the months passed, the Allied forces continued to drive the Germans up the Italian peninsula. Led by Lieutenant General Mark Clark, one of the war's most complex and controversial commanders, American officers and soldiers became increasingly determined and proficient. And with the liberation of Rome in June 1944, ultimate victory at last began to seem inevitable.

Description: THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is a wonderfully moving fable that addresses the meaning of life, and life after death, in the poignant way that made TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE such an astonishing book. The novel's protagonist is an elderly amusement park maintenance worker named Eddie who, while operating a ride called the 'Free Fall', dies while trying to save a young girl who gets in the way of a falling cart that hurtles to earth. Eddie goes to heaven, where he meets five people who were unexpectedly instrumental in some way in his life. While each guide takes him through heaven, Eddie learns a little bit more about what his time on earth meant, what he was supposed to have learned, and what his true purpose on earth was. Throughout there are dramatic flashbacks where we see scenes from his troubled childhood, his years in the army in the Philippines jungle, and with his first and only love, his wife Marguerite. THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is the perfect book to follow TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE. Its compellingly affecting themes and lyrical writing will fascinate Mitch Albom's huge readership.

Description: The fourth and last volume in Churchill's famous account spans 1815 to 1901. It closes when the British Empire is at its peak, with a staggering one-fifth of the human race presided over by the longest reigning monarch in British history: Queen Victoria. In America he assesses the position of the "Great Republic" from slavery and secession to its position as a world superpower. He charts the rise of Germany and the unification of Italy and examines the situation in the Balkans in 1878, all of which had a deep impact not only on the war he was soon to fight, but on the geography of the European continent today.

Description: The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring - and until now, untold - story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work. After risking the hazardous journey across the Atlantic, these Americans embarked on a greater journey in the City of Light. Most had never left home, never experienced a different culture. None had any guarantee of success. That they achieved so much for themselves and their country profoundly altered American history.