We Are What We Pretend To Be

Kurt Vonnegut's first and last works come together for the first time in print, in a collection aptly titled after his famous phrase, We Are What We Pretend To Be.

“Vonnegut is George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer . . . a zany but moral mad scientist.”—Time Mother Night is a daring challenge to our moral sense. American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? In this brilliant book rife with true gallows humor, Vonnegut turns black and white into a chilling shade of gray with a verdict that will haunt us all. “A great artist.”—Cincinnati Enquirer “A shaking up in the kaleidoscope of laughter . . . Reading Vonnegut is addictive!”—Commonweal

You can fool some of the people all of the time—but wouldn’t you rather really know what you’re talking about? Why are conservatives on the “right” and liberals on the “left”? What is an archetype? Most people drop these and other cultural references in conversation all the time without really knowing much about them. But with this witty, information-packed book, you can quickly bone up on the actual facts behind the multitude of data, events, and words that come at you each day—and that you’ve been casually bandying about without really understanding. Here are invaluable explanations of a wide range of topics that are assumed to be common knowledge, from deciphering newsspeak (What is a spin doctor?) to psychobabble (What’s the difference between the ego and the id?) to cyberlingo (What is cyberlingo?); from the supposedly obvious (What makes cholesterol good or bad?) to the deceptively simple (What is a formula race car?). Perfect as a quick reference tool, for browsing, or simply for sharing impressive, newfound knowledge with family and friends, this handbook will endow you with genuine cultural literacy in just a few hours of fun-filled reading.

What happens when a young woman is accidentally caught up in a dangerous murder investigation, having merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Lacey Farrell, a rising star on the Manhattan real estate scene, is witness to a murder - and to the final words of the victim. The dying woman is convinced her attacker was after her dead daughter's journal, which Lacey gives to the police, but not before making a copy for herself. It's an impulse that later proves nearly fatal. Placed in the witness protection programme and sent to live in Minneapolis, Lacey must assume a fake identity, at least until the killer can be brought to trial. There she meets Tom Lynch, a radio talk-show host whom she tentatively begins to date - until the strain of her deception makes her break it off. Then she discovers the killer has traced her whereabouts. Armed with nothing more than her own courage and clues from the journal, Lacey heads back to New York determined to uncover who is behind the deaths of the two women… before she is the next casualty. A terrifyingly chilling bestseller from the internationally adored author of DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL

The #1 New York Times bestselling (mostly true) memoir from the hilarious author of Furiously Happy. “Gaspingly funny and wonderfully inappropriate.”—O, The Oprah Magazine When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it. In the irreverent Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments—the ones we want to pretend never happened—are the very same moments that make us the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing, yet wonderful moments of our lives. Readers Guide Inside

DIVAn examination of how monster narratives and horror stories serve as allegories for anxieties about captialism in American popular culture./div

From the author of We Are the Ants comes “another winner” (Booklist, starred review) about a boy who believes the universe is slowly shrinking as the things he remembers are being erased from others’ memories. Tommy and Ozzie have been best friends since the second grade, and boyfriends since eighth. They spent countless days dreaming of escaping their small town—and then Tommy vanished. More accurately, he ceased to exist, erased from the minds and memories of everyone who knew him. Everyone except Ozzie. Ozzie doesn’t know how to navigate life without Tommy, and soon he suspects that something else is going on: that the universe is shrinking. When Ozzie is paired up with the reclusive and secretive Calvin for a physics project, it’s hard for him to deny the feelings developing between them, even if he still loves Tommy. But Ozzie knows there isn’t much time left to find Tommy—that once the door closes, it can’t be opened again. And he’s determined to keep it open as long as possible.

Adams offers up this "Dilbert" collection exploring themes of sloth and corporate indifference. Dilbert, Dogbert, and the rest tackle corporate indolence, avarice, and pretense one strip at a time, from the neighboring cubicle whistler to the guy who's always just too busy to lend a hand.

“I love this series to pieces and so should you.”—Marie Lu, bestselling author of Warcross The third book in Rae Carson’s award-winning and New York Times–bestselling trilogy! In the deeply satisfying conclusion, seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen Elisa travels into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny. Perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce and Brandon Sanderson. The champion must not waver. The champion must not fear. The gate of darkness closes. Elisa is a fugitive. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves, and they await her at the gate of darkness. Her country is on the brink of civil war, her own soldiers ordered to kill her on sight. Elisa will lead her loyal companions deep into the enemy’s kingdom, a land of ice and snow and vicious magic, to rescue Hector and win back her throne. Her power grows with every step, and the shocking secrets she will uncover could change the course of history. Don’t miss The Empire of Dreams, Rae Carson’s action-packed return to the world of The Girl of Fire and Thorns!

If it were up to Mattie Markham, there would be a law that said your family wasn't allowed to move in the middle of the school year. After all, sixth grade is hard enough without wondering if you'll be able to make new friends or worrying that the kids in Pennsylvania won't like your North Carolina accent. But when Mattie meets her next-door neighbor and classmate, she begins to think maybe she was silly to fear being the "new girl." Agnes is like no one Mattie has ever met -- she's curious, hilarious, smart, and makes up the best games. If winter break is anything to go by, the rest of the school year should be a breeze. Only it isn't, because when vacation ends and school starts, Mattie realizes something: At school Agnes is known as the weird girl who no one likes. All Mattie wants is to fit in (okay, and maybe be a little popular too), but is that worth ending her friendship with Agnes?