The Light Eaters

Bestselling author Amy Tan, celebrated for The Joy Luck Club, invites you into her world of birding and natural wonder in The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Amidst the turmoil of 2016, Tan sought refuge in the simple beauty of her backyard, discovering solace in the visiting birds. What began as a quest for peace blossomed into a profound connection with nature, transforming her perspective and offering a window into the intricate lives of these creatures.

With wit, charm, and stunning original sketches, Tan chronicles her journey through daily observations and thoughtful reflections, revealing the hidden beauty that surrounds us. Featuring a foreword by David Allen Sibley, this inspiring book is more than just a guide to birds; it's a testament to the power of nature to heal, connect, and inspire hope in a chaotic world.

The world around us is alive with sensations we can barely imagine. In An Immense World, Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Ed Yong throws open the doors to the sensory experiences of other creatures, revealing the hidden dimensions that shape their realities.

Prepare to be astonished as you explore the scent-scapes of dogs, the electric fields sensed by fish, and the magnetic maps navigated by turtles. Discover that a crocodile's skin is as sensitive as a lover's touch, and that even simple scallops possess complex vision.

With humor, rigor, and a contagious sense of wonder, Yong invites us to journey beyond our human limitations, to truly see and feel the world through other eyes. An Immense World is not just a voyage to strange lands, but a profound exploration of the boundless possibilities of perception.

Take an illuminating journey into the life of the octopus, one of nature’s most intelligent and complex animals. Learn from an international bestselling author, the world's brightest octopus researchers, and vivid National Geographic photography to come closer than ever to these elusive creatures. The companion to the highly-anticipated National Geographic Disney+ special Secrets of the Octopus, narrated by Paul Rudd, this beautifully illustrated book explores the underwater world of the octopus—a creature that resembles an alien lifeform, but whose behavior has earned it a reputation as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet. This journey into the world of the octopus will reveal how the large and capable brain of these creatures occupies their whole body–not just their heads—and they can actually adjust their genetic makeup to respond to the demands of the environment. It will allow readers to watch them change shape and color in order to camouflage themselves more effectively than any other species. And it will divulge how octopus mothers give their all in order to bring forth a new generation. With this offering, acclaimed author Sy Montgomery—known, thanks to her bestselling book, as the “octopus whisperer”—returns to the species she knows and loves, offering current and compassionate stories about the scientists on the front lines of octopus research and conservation. For all animal lovers—and especially those drawn to this magical marine being—this will be a book to relish, for both its fascinating imagery and its charming storytelling.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits. “Thrilling . . . heartbreaking . . . uplifting . . . the fast-paced, emotionally charged story of one ambitious young woman, finding both her voice and her passion.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women “NASA? Space missions? The ’80s? This is a collection of all the things I love.”—Andy Weir, author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space. Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant. Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting listeners to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars.