The Barn Owls Wondrous Capers

Set in 18th century Calcutta, the second city of the Empire is teeming with scandalous gossip and rumour. Abravanel Ben Obadiah Ben Aharon Kabariti, Sephardic Jew from Syria and trader in novelties, befriends the British officers and the local elite by day and records their escapades at night.

In the heart of Lutyens' Delhi sits Jehangir Rangoonwalla, enlightened dispenser of tea, wisdom, and second-hand books. Among his customers are Brighu, a postmodern Ibn Batuta looking for obscure collectibles and a love life; Digital Dutta who lives mostly in his head, torn between Karl Marx and an H1-B visa; and the newly-married Shintu, looking for the ultimate aphrodisiac in the seedy by-lanes of old Delhi. Played out in the corridors of Connaught Place and Calcutta, the story captures the alienation and fragmented reality of urban life through an imaginative alchemy of text and image.

A Homeric tale of a man's journey to the centre of the earth in search of the mythical river Saraswati, this graphic novel is set against the fictitious yet ever-so-real Water Wars of Delhi. It is a dystopian landscape where neighbourhoods fight brutal battles against each other and even victory must end in defeat.

Reproduction of the original: Lancashire Folk-Lore by John Harland, T.T. Wilkinson

"The Worm Ouroboros" by Eric Rücker Eddison is a classic fantasy novel that transports readers to the enchanting world of Mercury, where two rival kingdoms, Witchland and Demonland, engage in a timeless struggle for power and supremacy. Set against a backdrop of epic battles, intricate political intrigues, and mythical creatures, the novel follows the adventures of heroes and villains alike as they navigate a landscape fraught with magic and danger. Eddison's rich prose and vivid imagination create a captivating tale that explores themes of honor, loyalty, and the eternal conflict between good and evil. A timeless masterpiece of fantasy literature, "The Worm Ouroboros" continues to enchant readers with its immersive world-building and compelling storytelling.

Why was the appreciation of gardens considered a symbol of Victorian aristocracy? Why do the Japanese find it easy to power-nap in public spaces? Why did Charles Baudelaire ascribe Samuel Taylor Coleridge's restless nocturnal wanderings to a pathological dread of returning home? Why is a tense Gurgaon CEO hitting anxiety-laden golf balls into the night? Why was an obscure ninth-century Arab scholar's library confiscated? And what do any of these mean for the average person immersed in the 'daily decathlon' of life? Employing a philosopher's mind and an artist's eye, Banerjee takes us to still places in a moving world, the place where two rivers (do ab) meet and forests write themselves into history.

The novel follows a boy from the Spessart named Simplicius in the Holy Roman Empire during the 30 Years War as he grows up in the depraved environment and joins the armies of both warring sides, switching allegiances several times. Born to an illiterate peasant family, he is separated from his home by foraging dragoons and is eventually adopted by a forest hermit. He is conscripted at a young age into service, and from there embarks on years of foraging, military triumph, wealth, prostitution, disease, travels to Russia, and countless other adventures.

A classic novel with a time-tested model for how to raise a happy, well-educated family “Do you know that being a stranger is the hardest thing that can happen to anyone in all this world?” ― Gene Stratton-Porter, Laddie: A True Blue Story Laddie: A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton-Porter is a charming fictionalization of the author's own childhood. Featuring a loving family on a small farm, this delightful novel should not be missed. This Xist Classics edition has been professionally formatted for e-readers with a linked table of contents. This eBook also contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.