Books with author Claire Watkins

The extraordinary debut collection from the Guggenheim Award-winning author of the forthcoming Gold Fame Citrus Winner of the 2012 Story Prize Recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2013 Rosenthal Family Foundation Award Named one of the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" fiction writers of 2012 Winner of New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award NPR Best Short Story Collections of 2012 A Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and Time Out New York Best Book of the year, and more . . . Like the work of Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson, Richard Ford, and Annie Proulx, Battleborn represents a near-perfect confluence of sensibility and setting, and the introduction of an exceptionally powerful and original literary voice. In each of these ten unforgettable stories, Claire Vaye Watkins writes her way fearlessly into the mythology of the American West, utterly reimagining it. Her characters orbit around the region's vast spaces, winning redemption despite - and often because of - the hardship and violence they endure. The arrival of a foreigner transforms the exchange of eroticism and emotion at a prostitution ranch. A prospecting hermit discovers the limits of his rugged individualism when he tries to rescue an abused teenager. Decades after she led her best friend into a degrading encounter in a Vegas hotel room, a woman feels the aftershock. Most bravely of all, Watkins takes on – and reinvents – her own troubled legacy in a story that emerges from the mayhem and destruction of Helter Skelter. Arcing from the sweeping and sublime to the minute and personal, from Gold Rush to ghost town to desert to brothel, the collection echoes not only in its title but also in its fierce, undefeated spirit the motto of her home state.

The extraordinary debut collection from the Guggenheim Award-winning author of the forthcoming Gold Fame Citrus Winner of the 2012 Story PrizeRecipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2013 Rosenthal Family Foundation AwardNamed one of the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" fiction writers of 2012Winner of New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction AwardNPR Best Short Story Collections of 2012 A Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and Time Out New York Best Book of the year, and more . . . Like the work of Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson, Richard Ford, and Annie Proulx, Battleborn represents a near-perfect confluence of sensibility and setting, and the introduction of an exceptionally powerful and original literary voice. In each of these ten unforgettable stories, Claire Vaye Watkins writes her way fearlessly into the mythology of the American West, utterly reimagining it. Her characters orbit around the region's vast spaces, winning redemption despite - and often because of - the hardship and violence they endure. The arrival of a foreigner transforms the exchange of eroticism and emotion at a prostitution ranch. A prospecting hermit discovers the limits of his rugged individualism when he tries to rescue an abused teenager. Decades after she led her best friend into a degrading encounter in a Vegas hotel room, a woman feels the aftershock. Most bravely of all, Watkins takes on – and reinvents – her own troubled legacy in a story that emerges from the mayhem and destruction of Helter Skelter. Arcing from the sweeping and sublime to the minute and personal, from Gold Rush to ghost town to desert to brothel, the collection echoes not only in its title but also in its fierce, undefeated spirit the motto of her home state.

The stories in Battleborn all unfold in Watkins's home state of Nevada, from down south in Nye County and Las Vegas, to Reno, Lake Tahoe, and the Blackrock Desert, the site of Burning Man. We are introduced to a very specific small town America, to those homes and lives off the highway - the ones travellers and writers usually drive past on their way to somewhere else.While the locations are ordinary, the characters and Watkins' telling of their lives are anything but. There is the man who finds a cache of letters, pills and a photograph abandoned by the side of the road and as he writes to the man he imagines left them behind, reveals moving truths about himself ('The Last Thing We Need'); the man in late middle age who finds a troubled, pregnant teen dying in the desert and, through her, begins to dream of regaining the family he lost ('Man-O-War'); the brothers caught in the early days of the gold rush ('The Diggings'); and the sisters unable to comfort each other following their mother's suicide ('Graceland'). And there is the first story ('Ghosts, Cowboys'), a semi-autobiographical account of a troubled - and famous - family history.

Like the work of Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson, Richard Ford, and Annie Proulx, Battleborn represents a near-perfect confluence of sensibility and setting, and the introduction of an exceptionally powerful and original literary voice. In each of these ten unforgettable stories, Claire Vaye Watkins writes her way fearlessly into the mythology of the American West, utterly reimagining it. Her characters orbit around the region's vast spaces, winning redemption despite - and often because of - the hardship and violence they endure. The arrival of a foreigner transforms the exchange of eroticism and emotion at a prostitution ranch. A prospecting hermit discovers the limits of his rugged individualism when he tries to rescue an abused teenager. Decades after she led her best friend into a degrading encounter in a Vegas hotel room, a woman feels the aftershock. Most bravely of all, Watkins takes on – and reinvents – her own troubled legacy in a story that emerges from the mayhem and destruction of Helter Skelter. Arcing from the sweeping and sublime to the minute and personal, from Gold Rush to ghost town to desert to brothel, the collection echoes not only in its title but also in its fierce, undefeated spirit the motto of her home state.

Get set for a stupendous survey of the dazzlingly dramatic science that makes you, the world and the whole Universe. Meet the Brainwaves, hilarious little mischief-makers who are about to take your child on a spectacular scientific adventure; from the bubble, fizz and bang behind chemistry to the brute force of physics. The Brainwaves will shrink down to atomic level to explore the most basic building blocks of science; examine light, sound and heat waves; and prepare for some shocking revelations about electricity. With fantastic pages packed with amazing phenomena to learn about - from radio waves to nanotechnology, - timelines, fabulous facts and things to find, your child will discover everything they ever wanted to know about science!

Perfect for getting ahead at school or just stimulating children's interest, this groundbreaking series of workbooks leaves the competition in the dust, with exciting subjects, 48 full-color pages, a turn-and-learn info wheel, and special carrying folders. Never before have there been workbooks with so many opportunities for fun and interactive learning! This book helps kids take their knowledge of dinosaurs to the next level, from their domination of the earth to their sudden extinction.

Kate and Joe ought to be a perfect match. They're both obsessed with movies. They definitely fancy each other. And they never stop talking. But it's never that simple, is it? This is what they don't tell you about love in the movies: (one) You never know what's going on in the other person's head, never, not even when they're telling you; (two) which you know already, because you're not necessarily telling them what's going on in your head either; (three) and most of the time you're not sure what's going on in your head anyway; (four) most important of all, keep in mind, all the time, that you don't get 'happily ever after' when you're seventeen, you don't get anything 'ever after', not yet.

Summer isn’t turning out the way Molly planned…Looking forward to six weeks in sunny southern France kept Molly going all through exam revision. But she didn’t count on the loneliness.Communicating in a language that’s not your own is hard.Living with someone else’s family is weird.And spoilt, moody Léa would rather spend her time with a neverending stream of boys than bother with Molly.Maybe Molly needs to stop focusing on Léa and find a boy of her own?Review by The Worm Hole: "It’s just gorgeous. There is a plot but it lingers in the background, humming in the flowers. There are characters and they’re important, but it’s the whole that you will take away from you. To say this is the perfect summer read isn’t an understatement." (This review is for an earlier edition.)

It's that weird limbo summer when school's over for ever and everything you've ever known is ending but nothing new has started yet...LILY's split up with the boyfriend she was planning to spend the summer with.SIMON's plans to travel are scuppered when his mother has a freak accident.So they agree to be each other's substitute best friend. And when Simon gets Molly a job in his mother's tearoom, Gingerbread & Cupcake, they soon have other things to worry about as business takes a dive.Can they save the tearoom?Possibly.And might they be falling in love?Of course not. Because you can't start anything new, not this last summer.By the author of WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT LOVE IN THE MOVIES

Experience heart-pounding rescues with real-life heroes! Here is a compelling guide to the exciting world of the emergency rescue services. Dramatic full-color photographs of real incidents, equipment, clothing, and rescue techniques offer insight into the dangerous work of the heroes who risk their lives to save others. See the protective clothing that firefighters wear, the first rescue vehicles, how animals can save people's lives, and what equipment an ambulance carries. Learn how to survive until help arrives, about the work of international aid organizations, how passengers were rescued after the Titanic sunk, and how people survive in times of war. Discover how rescuers locate people in collapsed buildings, why radio became essential for rescue services, how mountain rescue teams operate, what happens when a plane crashes, and much, much more.