The Birmingham Library.exe

No description available.

From ghosts and otherworldly creatures to theoretical Boltzmann brains fashioning the universe at the big bang, Illuminations is exactly that—a series of bright, startling tales from a contemporary legend that reveal the full power of imagination and magic.

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common. Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties―successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women―his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke. Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

No description available.

Jim Murray is a legend and leading player on the world’s whisky stage. It is now over 20 years since he became the world’s first-ever full time whisky writer. And this 2018 edition of his Whisky Bible marks the 15th year of annual publication.

No description available.

Welcome to Kowloon Walled City: a dystopian townscape where the people are brimming with nostalgia, and where the past, present, and future converge. Amid the hidden emotions and extraordinary daily lives of the men and women working in its confines, a tale of romance begins to unfold for real estate agent Reiko Kujirai―one that feels as familiar as Kowloon itself…

I’m in love with him. With the sweltering afternoon sun beating down on her in an apartment room, Reiko Kujirai comes to a realization: In her heart is both a sense of nostalgia toward and romantic affection for her coworker Hajime Kudou. Reiko’s feelings, previously hidden away, are turning into a secret desire that might just carry a stunning truth about her world. If ever there was a picture-perfect love story…

“I don’t remember my past.” In the nostalgia-abundant dystopia of Kowloon Walled City, Reiko is now aware that many mysteries surround her very being. With life turned upside down, she confides in her friend Yaomay about her feelings for Kudou and more. But it’s not only Reiko who has secrets: what of the opportunistic Dr. Hebinuma? A sorrowful, pitiful, ideal love story moves to its next stage…

“I only have eyes for you.” Such is the message the sunflowers proclaimed in a city brimming with a nostalgia just like love. As ordinary life turns extraordinary, a question arises. What if, in fact, your love and life belong to another? Knowing nothing of her past, Reiko Kujirai makes a wish to become her “absolute self.” Successive secrets and deepening mysteries emerge in a relaxing, ideal love story…

“Kujirai B and I are different people, and Kujirai B has already passed away, it seems.” As Miyuki and Gwen continue to investigate, ominous remarks by Kudou conflict with his past love for Kujirai B. Is the reality unfolding before Kujirai A’s eyes the truth…or the absolute?

Guided by a desire to become her “absolute self,” Reiko Kujirai grows ever more interested in what lies beyond the crowded streets of Kowloon. Meanwhile, as the Generic Terra project steadily advances, the rift between Miyuki and Gwen remains stark. Unexplainable phenomena abound, as mysterious as the yearnings of the heart...

I’m the only lie. Reiko Kujirai faces a harsh realization―in this Kowloon, where nothing is certain, her falsehood is the one sure truth for Kudou. She is different yet the same. But when Kujirai tries to pull away, Kudou insists that she never leave. What could he be feeling, living alongside a woman who shares the face of his late fiancée? The more Kujirai learns, the less she understands…

Reiko Kujirai comes face-to-face with an uncomfortable reality: Does she not actually exist? The people of Kowloon―and Kowloon itself―are clearly there. She can feel, smell, and even taste…But doubt creeps in amid this city of mysteries. It hurts, but if Kudou is willing to stay by her side, maybe things will be okay…

Ordinary memories of a world where no one is at fault are sorrowfully reflected in Kujirai’s glasses. But what does Kudou think of the world...? What if Kowloon disappears? It doesn’t matter if it’s a tragedy, because the future absolutely is up to oneself. Beyond the emotions that are conveyed and the everyday life that passes by, the true form of Kowloon is revealed?!

Two ex-ugly ducklings struggle towards swandom in this cute and funny rom-com manga from the editorial team that brought you Life Lessons With Uramichi Oniisan. Two strivers debut their "new yous," but will their dread--or feelings for each other--drag them back down?!

Keisuke Shizuki's peaceful, average high school life is under constant threat. The cutest girl in his grade, Shizuka Kusunoki, won't leave him alone and as it turns out the very source of his pretty-girl-phobia, Ririsa Hebikawa, is attending this same high school, too! Between helping Kusunoki remedy her failed glow-up and dodging the unwanted attention their friendship brings, Shizuki's already got his hands full. Hebikawa reaches out to Kusunoki, but is her offer of friendship genuine...or is she hiding some ulterior motive?

Despite getting off to a rocky start, Kusunoki's friendship with Ririsa Hebikawa is going relatively well. Now that she's made her first female friend and her social skills are improving, high school swandom might really be within reach for this ex-ugly duckling. If only she were better at school--and a little less clueless... She invites Shizuki over for an at-home study session, which takes a bit more of a dramatic turn than she expected. All the while, Shizuki's high school dream life is facing ups and downs of its own. He runs into a combative new face…who claims to be Kusunoki's childhood friend!

Keisuke Shizuki might have been an outcast in middle school, but not anymore. The trauma of being rejected by his first crush left Keisuke with a phobia of pretty girls and the drive to remake himself and start high school fresh: new looks, new friends, new confidence. That is, as long as he avoids the cuties and anyone who knows anything about his past. Unfortunately for him, the prettiest girl at his new school just happens to be his former middle school classmate and another ex-outcast, Shizuka Kusunoki. Unlike Keisuke, Kusunoki still lacks the social skills to make the most of her new appearance--and she wants Shizuki's help. But helping Kusunoki will mean spending a lot of time around a beauty, and drawing some not-so-welcome attention...