Best books by genre: Comics & Graphic Novels

When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not. And she'll have to choose between the two werewolves in her life-whether she wants to or not.

THE INDUSTRIAL ORPHAN ASYLUMWhen the prefectoral axe of the Baron Haussmann hewed its way through theFaubourg St. Germain in order to create the boulevard to which thisaristocratic centre has given its flame, the appropriation of privateproperty for public purposes caused to disappear numerous ancientdwellings bearing armorial devices, torn down in the interest of thepublic good, to the equalizing level of a line of tramways. In the midstof this sacrilegious upheaval, the Hotel de Montgeron, one of the largestin the Rue St. Dominique, had the good fortune to be hardly touched bythe surveyor's line; in exchange for a few yards sliced obliquely fromthe garden, it received a generous addition of air and light on that sideof the mansion which formerly had been shut in.The Duke lived there in considerable state. His electors, faithful inall things, had made of their deputy a senator who sat in the Luxembourg,in virtue of the Republican Constitution, as he would have sat as a peerof France had the legitimate monarchy followed its course. He was agreat lord in the true meaning of the word: gracious to the humble,affable among his equals, inclined, among the throng of new families, totake the part of the disinherited against that of the usurpers.In Mademoiselle de Prerolles he had found a companion animated with thesame sentiments, and the charitable organization, meeting again at theDuchess's residence, on the day following the revival of 'AdrienneLecouvreuer', to appoint officers for the Industrial Orphan Asylum, couldnot have chosen a president more worthy or more devoted.Besides such austere patronesses as Madame Desvanneaux and her daughter,the organization included several persons belonging to the world offashion, such as Madame de Lisieux and Madame de Nointel, whose influencewas the more effective because their circle of acquaintance was moreextensive. The gay world often fraternizes willingly with those who areinterested in philanthropic works.The founders of the Industrial Orphan Asylum intended that theinstitution should harbor, bring up, and instruct as great a number aspossible of the children of infirm or deceased laborers.The secretary, M. Andre Desvanneaux, churchwarden of Ste.-Clotilde, aswas his father before him, and in addition a Roman count, had justfinished his address, concluding by making the following doublestatement: First, the necessity for combining all available-funds for thepurchase of the land required, and for the building of the asylum itself;second, to determine whether the institution could be maintained by theannual resources of the organization."I should like to observe," said the Duchesse de Montgeron, "that thefirst of these two questions is the only order of the day. Not countingthe purchase of the land, the architect's plan calls for an estimate offive hundred thousand francs in round numbers.""And we have on hand--" said the Comtesse de Lisieux

ALEXANDRE-PHILIPPE-REGNIER DE MASSAMARQUIS DE MASSA, soldier, composer, and French dramatist, was born inParis, December 5, 1831. He selected the military career and received acommission in the cavalry after leaving the school of St. Cyr. He servedin the Imperial Guards, took part in the Italian and Franco-German Warsand was promoted Chief of Squadron, Fifth Regiment, Chasseurs a Cheval,September 10, 1871. Having tendered his resignation from active service,he was appointed a lieutenant-colonel in the territorial army February 3,1880. He has been decorated with the Legion of Honor.The Marquis de Massa is known as a composer of music and as a dramaticauthor and novelist. At the Opera Comique there was represented in 1861Royal-Cravate, written by him. Fragments of two operas by him wereperformed at the Paris Conservatory of Music in 1865, and in 1868. Thelist of his principal plays follows: 'Le Service en campagne, comedy(1882); La Cicatrice, comedy (1885); Au Mont Ida, Fronsac a La Bastille,and La Coeur de Paris, all in 1887; La Czarine and Brouille depuisMagenta (1888), and La Bonne Aventure--all comedies--1889. Together withPetipa he also wrote a ballet Le Roi d'Yvetot (1866); music by CharlesLabarre. He further wrote Zibeline, a most brilliant romance (1892) withan Introduction by Jules Claretie; crowned by the Academie Francaise.This odd and dainty little story has a heroine of striking originality,in character and exploits. Her real name is Valentine de Vermont, andshe is the daughter of a fabulously wealthy French-American dealer infurs, and when, after his death, she goes to Paris to spend her colossalfortune, and to make restitution to the man from whom her father won atplay the large sum that became the foundation of his wealth, certainlively Parisian ladies, envying her her rich furs, gave her the name ofZibeline, that of a very rare, almost extinct, wild animal. Zibeline'sAmerican unconventionality, her audacity, her wealth, and generosity, setall Paris by the ears. There are fascinating glimpses into the drawing-rooms of the most exclusive Parisian society, and also into the historicgreenroom of the Comedie Francaise, on a brilliant "first night." The manto whom she makes graceful restitution of his fortune is a hero of theFranco-Mexican and Franco-Prussian wars, and when she gives him back hisproperty, she throws her heart in with the gift. The story is aninteresting study of a brilliant and unconventional American girl as seenby the eyes of a clever Frenchman.Later came 'La Revue quand meme, comedy, (1894); Souvenirs et Impressions(1897); La Revue retrospective, comedy (1899); and Sonnets' the sameyear.

Edgar Beecher Bronson (1856-1917) was a Nebraska rancher, a West Texas cattleman, an African big-game hunter, a serious photographer and starting late in life, an author of fiction and personal memoirs. He was a nephew of famed abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. Formerly a reporter for the New York Tribune, Bronson headed west in 1877 to learn the cattle business under the directive of Clarence King - first director of the United States Geological Survey and owner of large mining and cattle operations in the American West. Bronson worked for one season in Wyoming before starting his own ranch with 716 cows with calves. Bronson chose Sioux County, Nebraska for the site of his first ranch. His works include: Reminiscences of a Ranchman (1908), The Red- Blooded Heroes of the Frontier (1910), In Closed Territory (1910), The Vanguard (1914) and The Love of Loot and Women (1917). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all - vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them.

But Bianca fell in love with Lucas - a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school.

O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

Mars Girl is reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut's early satire ... It's a bizarre, satirical romp that offers a glimpse into the media and politics of a future that is probably nearer than most would like to admit

Adam Maxwell's first collection of short stories is inventive, funny, dark, and hugely entertaining. Effortlessly fusing pop culture, gunplay, and simians, Dial M For Monkey contains a vibrant mixture of short stories - and short-short stories including 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' which featured in McSweeney's Internet Tendency.

In this classic novel by a beloved author, Polly OUKeefe's visit to her grandparents' farm in Connecticut becomes an extraordinary experience as she encounters old friends and mysterious strangers and finds herself traveling back in time to play a crucial role in a prehistoric confrontation.

Fall Love tells the intertwined stories of four twenties-something artists and professionals adrift in the bad old pre-AIDS New York of 1980. From a summer of love through an autumn of deceit and regret, we follow the lives of Althea, Jeanne, Paul, and Bryce from self-sacrifice to self-knowledge.