Portable Audio Device (PAD) #1 Book Summaries
1776: In this stirring audiobook, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence, when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper. Boone’s Lick: Boone's Lick is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry's triumphant return to the kind of story that made him famous - an enthralling tale of the 19th-century West. McMurtry brings his unique blend of historical fact and sheer storytelling genius to the Cecil family's arduous journey from Boone's Lick, Missouri, to Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming. Fifteenyear-old Shay describes the journey that begins when his Ma, Mary Margaret, decides to hunt down her elusive husband, Dick, to tell him she's leaving him. Dark Tort: Goldy Schulz has a lucrative new gig, preparing breakfasts and conference-room snacks for a local law firm. It's time-consuming, but Goldy is enjoying it, until the night she arrives to find Dusty, the firm's paralegal, dead. Mayflower: From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a 55-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound. Prey: In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles (micro-robots) has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive. It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour. Every attempt to destroy it has failed. And we are the prey. Skinny Dip: When Chaz Perron's wife discovers that he is running a scam, he pushes her overboard from a cruise liner. Unlucky for Chaz, Joey survives clutching a bale of Jamaican pot. Rescued from the Atlantic by a former police officer, Mick Stranahan, she decides not to report him but instead haunt and taunt him, with Mick's help, by playing dead. As a result, Chaz becomes increasingly erratic and inept, a fact noticed by his ruthless and cold-blooded coworkers. Also, the six-time-married Mick rediscovers the thwarted romantic in him, believing that the seventh time might be the charm. The Greatest Western Stories: The most renowned American authors in Western fiction are brought together in one bang 'em-up, shoot-it-out collection! Titles include: "War Party" by Louis L'Amour; "At Yuma Crossing" by Brian Garfield; "Sweet Cactus Wine" by Marcia Muller; "No Room at the Inn" by Bill Pronzini; "Gun Job" by Thomas Thompson; "The Tin Star (High Noon)" by John M. Cunningham; "One Night at the Medicine Trail" by Chad Oliver; "The Guns of William Longley" by Donald Hamilton; "Mago's Bride" by Loren D. Estleman; "Timberline" by Owen Wister. The Kite Runner: Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable and beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara - a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him. The Stolen Child: Seven-year-old Henry Day is kidnapped and renamed "Aniday" by changelings, ageless beings who inhabit the woods near his home. The changelings also leave behind one of their own, who flawlessly impersonates Henry except for one noteworthy detail: the new Henry is a prodigiously talented pianist. Both Aniday and Henry settle comfortably enough into their new existences, but both are haunted by vague memories of their former lives. Undead and Unreturnable: Though she's the vampire queen, Betsy Taylor is much more like a princess. In MaryJanice Davidson's novels, this high-maintenance monarch is finally coming to terms with her new status. They say Christmas is a time for friends and family. But with a half-sister who's the devil's daughter, an evil stepmother, a fiend living in her basement, assorted spirits and killers running amok, and a spring wedding to plan with the former bane of her existence, Eric Sinclair, Betsy is not sure she'll survive the holidays. Oh, right. She's already dead. Unnatural Exposure: The body of an elderly woman is found dismembered in a Virginia landfill. Kay Scarpetta initially believes the clues mirror that of a serial killer she's tracked before. But upon further investigation, she discovers puzzling pox-like erruptions on the woman's body that, perhaps, point in another direction. When the killer contacts her via e-mail, Scarpetta enlists the aid of her computer-savvy niece, Lucy, to help track this monster through cyberspace. Learning that the Virginia victim was exposed to a high-tech virus that might unleash an epidemic, Scarpetta realizes she's dealing with a sophisticated mind. Teens: Avalon High: Avalon High seems like a typical high school, attended by typical students: There's Lance, the jock. Jennifer, the cheerleader and Will, senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy. But not everybody at Avalon High is who
they appear to be, not even, as new student Ellie is about to discover, herself. What part does she play in the drama that is unfolding? What if the bizarre chain of events and coincidences she has pieced together means, tragedy is fast approaching Avalon High? Worst of all, what if there's nothing she can do about it? Twilight: Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife, between desire and danger. A Hat Full of Sky: Tiffany Aching, the boldest heroine ever to swing a frying pan against the forces of evil, is beginning her apprenticeship in magic. She expects to work hard, learn spells, and become a witch. She doesn't expect to find herself doing chores, caring for the careless, and trying to outthink an ill-tempered nanny goat. There must be more to witchcraft than this! But as Tiffany pursues her calling, an insidious, disembodied creature pursues Tiffany. When it strikes, neither Mistress Weatherwax (the greatest witch in the world) nor the six-inch-high Wee Free Men (the greatest thieves in the world) can save her. Children: Antarctic Antics: Celebrate the slips and slides and swims and glides of delightful penguins in poetry and song. The Chronicles of Narnia: For the past 50 years, The Chronicles of Narnia have transcended the fantasy genre to become part of the canon of classic literature, loved by both children and adults. Now, some of the most noted actors of our time have come together to read these seven extraordinary works: The Magician's Nephew: Narnia...where the woods are thick and cool, where the Talking Beasts are called to life, a new world where the adventure begins. Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to...somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis, before they finally return home The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Narnia...the land beyond the wardrobe door, a secret place frozen in eternal winter, a magical country waiting to be set free. Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Lion Aslan, they realize they've been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell. The Horse and His Boy: Narnia...where horses talk, where treachery is brewing, where destiny awaits. On a desperate journey, two runaways meet and join forces. Though they are only looking to escape their harsh and narrow lives, they soon find themselves at the center of a terrible battle. It is a battle that will decide their fate and the fate of Narnia itself. Prince Caspian: Narnia...the land between the lamp-post and the Castle of Cair Paravel, where animals talk, where magical things happen, and where the adventure begins. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are returning to boarding school when they are summoned from the dreary train station (by Susan's own magic horn) to return to the land of Narnia, the land where they had ruled as kings and queens and where their help is desperately needed. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: Narnia...where anything can happen (and most often does) and where the adventure begins. The Dawn Treader is the first ship Narnia has seen in centuries. King Caspian has built it for his first voyage to find the seven lords, good men whom his evil uncle Miraz banished when he usurped the throne. The journey takes Edmund, Lucy, their cousin Eustace, and Caspian to the Eastern Islands, beyond the Silver Sea, toward Aslan's country at the End of the World. The Silver Chair: Narnia...where the owls speak, where evil weaves a spell, where sorcery enslaves the land. Narnia is in peril, and only Eustace and Jill can help. Along with Puddlegum, a gloomy but valiant Marsh-wiggle, they are sent by the mighty lion Aslan to find Prince Rilian, heir to the throne. Their quest leads them past hungry people-eating Giants, and deep into the dark underground. But the true test for this noble band of friends comes when they face an evil witch and her deadly enchantments. The Last Battle: Narnia...where the last king makes a stand and sad farewells turn to joy, where the Adventure begins again. The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia only in time of greatest need, and that time is now. The great Lion Aslan, the heart of Narnia, is missing. An impostor roams the land in his place, enslaving Aslan's loyal creatures and spreading treachery and lies. Only King Tirian and his small band of loyal followers are left to fight the last battle in this magnificent ending to The Chronicles of Narnia.