This is a book about a writer, Islamic fundamentalism, mythmaking, and international literary politics. It is the story of Taslima Nasreen, a former medical doctor and protest writer who shot to international fame in 1993 at the age of thirty-four after she was accused of blasphemy by religious fanatics in Bangladesh and her book Shame was banned. In order to escape a warrant for her arrest, the controversial writer went underground and, as the official story has it, fled to the West where she became a human rights celebrity, a female version of Salman Rushdie. Taslima Nasreen's name almost became a household word in 1994, when she was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament, and she was feted by presidents, chancellors, mayors, and famous writers and intellectuals around Europe for two years. She is still remembered and widely admired as a modern-day feminist icon who fought the bearded fundamentalists in her own country and whose life was in danger. This is the official story that most people are familiar with, and the one that is widely believed by Taslima supporters around the world. However, as The Crescent and the Pen reveals, in the style of a literary detective tale, the true story behind the international campaign to save Taslima has bever been told until now. Following on the trail of Taslima, Deen questions the reasoning behind the international crusade to save her, in the process debunking much of the current thinking that has shaped Islam into the new global enemy. She discovers that the story of what really happened to Taslima is a fascinating labyrinth where memory and myth have merged, the tale having acquired a life of its own with a hundred different authors.

One reluctant witch. One hot Irishman. One epic battle to save magic from extinction. When Skye Williams receives news of her estranged mother’s death, she must go to Ireland to claim her inheritance. But when she arrives in the tiny village of Derrydun, she isn’t prepared for what she finds nestled amongst the rolling hills of the Emerald Isle. Lumped with her mother's crystal shop, a moody goth girl for an employee, and a crumbling cottage, selling up sounds like a great plan…until she sees the hot Irishman she’s been crushing on turn into a fox. Thrust into a world she never knew existed, Skye discovers she’s a witch, like her mother before her, but it comes with a heavy price. She is the last of her coven, the Crescent Witches, and is on her own with a terrible burden. Witches are being hunted—and Skye might be the only one who can stop magic dying out…before it’s gone forever. The Crescent Witch Chronicles is a series stuffed full of Irish charm, myth and mayhem. Come on an adventure fraught with danger and forbidden romance...and the ultimate battle to save magic before it's gone forever. Keywords: fae, witch, romance, shapeshifter, urban fantasy, urban fantasy witches, paranormal, paranormal romance, irish mythology, free

Maera and Vikrant are close - really close - and everyone thinks it will only be a matter of time before they become ‘a couple’. But Vikrant has a past which haunts him and he won’t let go. He makes a decision which changes everything but the what-ifs still remain. They say the past is history but what if they’re repeating it? A tale of love, loss and finding life, ‘Under the Crescent Moon’ is a story to move the soul and offer hope to the heavy-hearted. Fast paced, set in today’s times, it brings together the everyday stumbles of relationships - heartbreaks, lost friendships, strained filial bonds and death.

“Full of rich language that is reminiscent of an old fairy tale. . . . [a] spine-chilling, creative work [and] a well-wrought fantasy.” —School Library Journal (starred review) Following a mysterious incident that leaves her feverish and sopping wet, Triss awakens to a world that’s eerily off-kilter. Her memories are muddled, her sister despises her, and when she brushes her hair, out come crumbled fragments of leaves. Is she going mad? Or has she endured a nightmarish chain of events? Is this related to the illnesses she’s had since her brother died in the Great War? And why is she so hungry? In her search for the truth, Triss ventures from the shelter of her parents’ protective wings into the city’s underbelly. There she encounters strange creatures whose grand schemes could forever alter the fates of her family, in an unnerving tale of one girl’s struggle to confront her darkest fears. “Few authors can evoke a twinned sense of terror and wonder better . . . Vivid, frightening, and inventive, with narrative twists and turns. . . . A piercing, chilling page-turner.” —Booklist (starred review) “Nuanced and intense.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Quiet but elegant prose moves the story seamlessly from an effectively creepy horror tale to a powerful, emotionally resonant story of regret and forgiveness.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review) “Gorgeously written and disconcerting . . . Hardinge delves deeply into the darker side of family life.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Cuckoo Song transcends its teen-reader designation. The psychological and historical nuances . . . will mesmerize older readers as well.” —BookPage

Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502 – 1550) was renowned throughout Renaissance Europe as a draftsman, painter, and publisher of architectural treatises. The magnificent tapestries he designed were acquired by the wealthiest clients of the day, up to and including rulers such as Emperor Charles V, King Francis I of France, King Henry VIII of England, and Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici of Tuscany. At the same time, Coecke was remarkable not only for the complexity and unparalleled quality of his tapestries, but also for his fluency in various media: this lavishly illustrated volume examines the full range of his work, from tapestry and stained-glass window designs to panel paintings, prints, drawings, and architectural treatises. Though only forty-eight when he died, Coecke was one of the greatest Netherlandish artists of the sixteenth century. His paintings and drawings, initially wrought in the style of the Antwerp Mannerists, evolved through his enthusiastic response to Italian Renaissance design, and influenced generations of artists in his wake. This comprehensive study explores Coecke’s stylistic development, as well as his substantial contribution to the body of great Renaissance art in Flanders. Featuring twenty monumental tapestries, along with many of their cartoons and preparatory sketches, plus seven paintings, additional drawings, and printed matter—many of them newly photographed for this volume—Grand Design provides a thorough reappraisal of Coecke’s work, amply justifying the high regard in which Coecke’s work was held and its wide dissemination long after his death.

Grab a pen and get tangled up in hours of relaxation anywhere! Now in an all-new format, Beckah Krahula's best-selling book One Zentangle a Day is reconfigured into this beautiful gift package, including an informational book and companion sketchpad featuring prompts and drawings to get your started. Find everything you need to experiment with the playful and inspiring world of tangle art, an incredibly soothing and relaxting way to create beautiful works of art. Each mark is called a "tangle" and you combine various tangles into patterns to create "tiles" or small square drawings. With meditation and focus on small strokes, your simple marks combine to create beautiful, detailed drawings in no time.