The Strange Library

The Strange Library
Author: Haruki Murakami
Publisher: Knopf
Total Pages: 97
Release: 2014-12-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0385354312

From internationally acclaimed author Haruki Murakami—a fantastical illustrated short novel about a boy imprisoned in a nightmarish library. Opening the flaps on this unique little book, readers will find themselves immersed in the strange world of best-selling Haruki Murakami's wild imagination. The story of a lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plotting their escape from a nightmarish library, the book is like nothing else Murakami has written. Designed by Chip Kidd and fully illustrated, in full color, throughout, this small format, 96 page volume is a treat for book lovers of all ages.


Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami
Author: Matthew C. Strecher
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 155
Release: 2016-03-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9463004629

Japanese writer Haruki Murakami has achieved incredible popularity in his native country and world-wide as well as rising critical acclaim. Murakami, in addition to receiving most of the major literary awards in Japan, has been nominated several times for the Nobel Prize. Yet, his relationship with the Japanese literary community proper (known as the Bundan) has not been a particularly friendly one. One of Murakami’s central and enduring themes is a persistent warning not to suppress our fundamental desires in favor of the demands of society at large. Murakami’s writing over his career reveals numerous recurring motifs, but his message has also evolved, creating a catalogue of works that reveals Murakami to be a challenging author. Many of those challenges lie in Murakami’s blurring of genre as well as his rich blending of Japanese and Western mythologies and styles—all while continuing to offer narratives that attract and captivate a wide range of readers. Murakami is, as Ōe Kenzaburō once contended, not a “Japanese writer” so much as a global one, and as such, he merits a central place in the classroom in order to confront readers and students, but to be challenged as well. Reading, teaching, and studying Murakami serves well the goal of rethinking this world. It will open new lines of inquiry into what constitutes national literatures, and how some authors, in the era of blurred national and cultural boundaries, seek now to transcend those boundaries and pursue a truly global mode of expression.


Quantum Computing in Action

Quantum Computing in Action
Author: Johan Vos
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2022-03-22
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1638350949

Quantum computing is on the horizon and you can get started today! This practical, clear-spoken guide shows you don’t need a physics degree to write your first quantum software. In Quantum Computing in Action you will learn: An introduction to the core concepts of quantum computing Qubits and quantum gates Superposition, entanglement, and hybrid computing Quantum algorithms including Shor’s, Deutsch-jozsa, and Grover’s search Quantum Computing in Action shows you how to leverage your existing Java skills into writing your first quantum software, so you’re ready for the quantum revolution. This book is focused on practical implementations of quantum computing algorithms—there’s no deep math or confusing theory. Using Strange, a Java-based quantum computer simulator, you’ll go hands-on with quantum computing’s core components including qubits and quantum gates. About the technology Quantum computing promises unimaginably fast performance for tasks like encryption, scientific modeling, manufacturing logistics, financial modeling, and AI. Developers can explore quantum computing now using free simulators, and increasingly powerful true quantum systems are gradually becoming available for production use. This book gives you a head start on quantum computing by introducing core concepts, key algorithms, and the most beneficial use cases. About the book Quantum Computing in Action is a gentle introduction to the ideas and applications of quantum computing. After briefly reviewing the science that makes quantum tick, it guides you through practical implementations of quantum computing algorithms. You’ll write your first quantum code and explore qubits and quantum gates with the Java-based Strange quantum simulator. You’ll enjoy the interesting examples and insightful explanations as you create quantum algorithms using standard Java and your favorite IDE and build tools. What's inside An introduction to the core concepts of quantum computing Qubits and quantum gates Superposition, entanglement, and hybrid computing Quantum algorithms including Shor’s, Deutsch-jozsa, and Grover’s search About the reader For Java developers. No advanced math knowledge required. About the author Johan Vos is a cofounder of Gluon, a Java technology company. He is a Java Champion and holds an MSc in Mining Engineering and a PhD in Applied Physics. Table of Contents PART 1 QUANTUM COMPUTING INTRODUCTION 1 Evolution, revolution, or hype? 2 “Hello World,” quantum computing style 3 Qubits and quantum gates: The basic units in quantum computing PART 2 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND HOW THEY RELATE TO CODE 4 Superposition 5 Entanglement 6 Quantum networking: The basics PART 3 QUANTUM ALGORITHMS AND CODE 7 Our HelloWorld, explained 8 Secure communication using quantum computing 9 Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm 10 Grover’s search algorithm 11 Shor’s algorithm


Libraries in Literature

Libraries in Literature
Author: Alice Crawford
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2022-09-30
Genre: English literature
ISBN: 0192855735

Unashamedly a book for the bookish, yet accessible and frequently entertaining, this is the first book devoted to how libraries are depicted in imaginative writing. Covering fiction, poetry, and drama from the late Middle Ages to the present, it runs the gamut of British and American literature, as well as examining a range of fiction in other languages--from Rabelais and Cervantes to modern and contemporary French, Italian, Japanese, and Russian writing. While the tropes of the complex catalogue and the bibliomaniacal reader persist throughout the centuries, libraries also emerge as societal battle-sites where issues of personality, gender, cultural power, and national identity are contested repeatedly and often in surprising ways. As well as examining how libraries were deployed in their work by canonical authors from Cervantes, Shakespeare, and Swift to Jane Austen, George Eliot, and Jorge Luis Borges, the volume also examines in detail the haunted libraries of Margaret Oliphant and M. R. James, and a range of much less familiar historic and contemporary authors. Alert to the depiction of librarians as well as of book-rooms and institutional readers, this book will inform, entertain, and delight. At a time when traditional libraries are under pressure, Libraries in Literature shows the power of their lasting fascination.


Writing Journeys across Cultural Borders

Writing Journeys across Cultural Borders
Author: Elena V. Shabliy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2021-10-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1666900354

Narratives of journeys, voyages, and pilgrimages often guide readers to questions about humanism and humanity from a holistic perspective. The chapters in this volume explore narratives of both real and imagined journeys and examine their religious, psychological, psychoanalytical, philosophical, educational, and historical implications. What emerges is an understanding of narratives of journeys across cultural borders as powerful educational tools that can model and contribute to meaningful dialogue with other states, cultures, and civilizations.


Black Moon Rising (The Library Book 2)

Black Moon Rising (The Library Book 2)
Author: D. J. MacHale
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2018-09-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1101932600

“I'm not sure anyone does suspense quite like D. J. MacHale.” —James Dashner, bestselling author of the Maze Runner series The next fast-paced, thrilling adventure from bestselling author D. J. MacHale! Marcus is an agent of the Library—a place filled with tales that don’t have endings. Mysteries that won’t be solved until Marcus and his friends Theo and Lu step in to finish them. Before it’s too late. Because mysterious accidents are disturbing a middle school in Massachusetts. Windows shatter for no reason. Bleachers collapse at a pep rally. Most of the students think they’re just having a string of bad luck, but Marcus suspects something a lot more dangerous. Something like witchcraft. When the black moon rises, this story must come to an end . . . one way or another.


A Place That Matters Yet

A Place That Matters Yet
Author: Sara Byala
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 343
Release: 2013-06-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 022603044X

A Place That Matters Yet unearths the little-known story of Johannesburg’s MuseumAfrica, a South African history museum that embodies one of the most dynamic and fraught stories of colonialism and postcolonialism, its life spanning the eras before, during, and after apartheid. Sara Byala, in examining this story, sheds new light not only on racism and its institutionalization in South Africa but also on the problems facing any museum that is charged with navigating colonial history from a postcolonial perspective. Drawing on thirty years of personal letters and public writings by museum founder John Gubbins, Byala paints a picture of a uniquely progressive colonist, focusing on his philosophical notion of “three-dimensional thinking,” which aimed to transcend binaries and thus—quite explicitly—racism. Unfortunately, Gubbins died within weeks of the museum’s opening, and his hopes would go unrealized as the museum fell in line with emergent apartheid politics. Following the museum through this transformation and on to its 1994 reconfiguration as a post-apartheid institution, Byala showcases it as a rich—and problematic—archive of both material culture and the ideas that surround that culture, arguing for its continued importance in the establishment of a unified South Africa.


How to Plot Your Novel

How to Plot Your Novel
Author: Shane Millar
Publisher: Tagline Publishing
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2022-07-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1915192145

Struggling to outline your novel? Discover a simple, 9-step system for creating powerful plots that will hook readers and keep them engaged in your story! Are you a new author planning your first novel, but don’t know where to start? Perhaps you’re an experienced author who’s hit a story snag, and can’t figure out how to get past it? Maybe you need to sell more books, and you’re worried your plot isn’t pulling its weight? Packed to the brim with useful tips and examples from fiction, How to Plot Your Novel introduces you to 9 Key Story Beats that will help you pen punchy plots that hook readers and keep them flipping pages into the early hours. In How to Plot Your Novel, you’ll discover: - Why mapping out your key story beats ahead of time is important - How to hook readers into your story from the first sentence - Why you should destroy your main character’s everyday world - How to avoid a “saggy middle” and keep readers engaged - How to end your novel with a show-stopping showdown readers will remember - And more… How to Plot Your Novel is the tool you need to plan a compelling plot and keep readers engaged in your stories. If you like practical advice, real-world examples, and a sprinkling of cheeky humour in your writing guides, then you’ll love this powerful book for creating plots guaranteed to delight readers. Scroll up and click buy now to plot your novel today!