***Now an International Bestseller!***

"Distinctively Japanese musings on meaning and connection."—Observer

I'm starting a service... available for any situation in which all you want is a person to be there. Maybe there's a restaurant you want to go to, but you feel awkward going on your own.

Maybe a game you want to play, but you're one person short.

Or perhaps you'd like someone to keep a space in the park for your cherry blossom viewing party...

Shoji Morimoto was constantly being told by his boss, "It makes no difference whether you’re here or not," and that his presence contributed nothing to the company. Morimoto began to wonder whether a person who "does nothing" could still have actual value and a place in the world. Perhaps he could turn "doing nothing" into a service? With one tweet, Rental Person was born.

Rental Person provides a fascinating service to the lonely and socially anxious. This book details thousands of his true-life adventures:
Accompanying a divorcee to her favorite restaurant Waving goodbye to a client from the train platform Sitting in the courtroom during a client’s trial Supporting a client during a difficult surgery
Rental Person is dependable, nonjudgmental and committed to remaining a stranger, and the curious encounters he shares are revelatory about both Japanese society and human psychology.

In Rental Person Who Does Nothing, Morimoto chronicles his extraordinary experiences in his unique line of work and reflects on how we consider relationships, jobs and family in our search for meaningful connection and purpose in life.

Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In "A Temporary Matter," published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession. Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant. She is an important and powerful new voice.

Harry Angstrom was a star basketball player in high school and that was the best time of his life. Now in his mid-20s, his work is unfulfilling, his marriage is moribund, and he tries to find happiness with another woman. But happiness is more elusive than a medal, and Harry must continue to run--from his wife, his life, and from himself, until he reaches the end of the road and has to turn back....

The author writes: Franny came out in The New Yorker</EM< Zooey. Both stories are early, critical entries in a narrative series I'm doing about a family of settlers in twentieth-century New York, the Glasses. It is a long-term project, patently an ambitious one, and there is a real-enough danger, I suppose, that sooner or later I'll bog down, perhaps disappear entirely, in my own methods, locutions, and mannerisms. On the whole, though, I'm very hopeful. I love working on these Glass stories, I've been waiting for them most of my life, and I think I have fairly decent, monomaniacal plans to finish them with due care and all-available skill.

A novel of rare genius, The Man with the Golden Arm describes the dissolution of a card-dealing WWII veteran named Frankie Machine, caught in the act of slowly cutting his own heart into wafer-thin slices. For Frankie, a murder committed may be the least of his problems.

The literary critic Malcolm Cowley called The Man with the Golden Arm “Algren’s defense of the individual,” while Carl Sandburg wrote of its “strange midnight dignity.” A literary tour de force, here is a novel unlike any other, one in which drug addiction, poverty, and human failure somehow suggest a defense of human dignity and a reason for hope.

A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award. Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself?
Like all of Octavia Butler’s best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature’s strongest voices.

《河边的错误》收录了余华具有代表性的四部中篇小说，用平静的语言讲述残酷的故事。
这是一个亲人间相互残杀的故事：四岁的堂哥失手摔死了堂弟，叔叔失手踢死了侄子，哥哥将弟弟折磨致死，自己也受到惩罚……——《现实一种》
一个研究酷刑的大学老师在被红卫兵带去调查后离奇消失。多年之后，一个疯子的到来打破了小镇的平静，他用酷刑折磨自己……——《一九八六年》
一个水乡小镇的河边接二连三地发生杀人惨案，警察马哲奉命调查，却发现疑云重重，种种证据表明凶手竟是……——《河边的错误》
本书主人公是一个善良的地主，被认为是余华代表作《活着》的雏形。一行日本兵让地主王香火带路，王香火将计就计，与村民合力将日本人引入绝境……——《一个地主的死》

房价高、面积小、东西多、收纳少；节奏快、压力大、时间紧、想法杂……这些是都市人生活普遍面临的问题。但是，即使只有有限的空间，也希望住得舒适、快乐， 纵然蜗居在不大的房子，也有一颗追求高品质生活的心。
前万科副总建筑师逯薇，初次公开居住秘密，300余幅手绘，一目了然，轻松教你学会居住
逯薇认为，居住并非与生俱来的本能，而是需要学习和掌握的技能 。本书的重点是“家的收纳痛点”。匹配中国中小户型特点，逯薇针对玄关收纳、客厅收纳、厨房橱柜、洗面柜、衣帽间收纳等问题，逐一提出解决方案。其中“逯薇式客厅大柜”、“厨房一金二银三区”、“高低台面”等先进设计理念，广受读者的追捧和模仿，并深入影响龙头家居企业。在这本精美的绘本中，她将自己的居住哲学一笔笔画出，加上幽默风趣的文字，让读者一目了然，可以轻松愉快的方式快速掌握家居设计、整理收纳、购置家私等问题的诀窍和要领。三百多页的绘本，处处透着作者对打造更美好的居住环境的坚定态度。她毫无保留地将居住理念的精华部分放在这本书中，更有无数的居住“干货”，带给你超值的居住技巧，让你的“住商”在短时间内快速得到提升。是一本提升生活品质不可错过的好书。房子不必大，住好才是家。翻开这本书，从打造一个整洁温暖的家开始新的旅程！

★ 畅销70年，一本享誉世界的编剧写作宝典
★ 戛纳电影节最佳编剧奖得主、著名编剧梅峰推荐
★ 美国、英国等多国影视专业院校必读的指定教材
★ 独家收录：十位专业电影人原创万字导读
★ 启示伍迪·艾伦三次摘获奥斯卡原创剧本奖
★ 好莱坞一线编剧人手一本的案头工具书
★ 连年稳居亚马逊剧本写作类专业书籍TOP前10
★ 电影理论家大卫·波德维尔强烈推荐
★ 适用于电影电视、小说、新闻等多领域的文体写作
——————————
【内容简介】
《编剧的艺术》是一本论述编剧方法的名著。首版于20世纪40年代，作者挑战了亚里士多德的“情节首要”观念，提倡将写作的核心聚焦到变化丰富的人物之上。本书对国内外戏剧理论界影响深远，直到现在仍然是编剧们不可或缺的案头工具书。
全书按照戏剧写作的基本要素，分为“前提”“人物”“冲突”与“综述”四大章节。文中首创性地提出了“人物动机推进情节”的写作方法，并指出创作一部成功的剧作需要一个结构明晰的前提，具有生理、社会、心理三维度信息完备的人物，以及升级型冲突与冲突的预示。
书中大量引用《玩偶之家》《罗密欧与朱丽叶》《伪君子》等享誉世界的经典名作，巨细无遗地分析了这些作品的架构、人物的对话与冲突类型，为深度阐述一部剧作的成败提供了详实的例证。文中还加入了多个提问环节，追根溯源地解答了编剧们在写作过程中遇到的疑难。作者文风犀利，一气呵成，虽然全文旁征博引，但简明易懂，是一本具有很高文学价值的剧作论著，其方法也适用于电影电视、小说、新闻等多领域的文体写作。
——————————
【名人推荐】
创作一个剧本，只需综合考虑故事的前提、人物和冲突。《编剧的艺术》从戏剧的基本要素出发，深层剖析了戏剧结构的秘密。既有生动讲解，也有深度问答。是不可多得的剧作练习专业教材，也是一个智者洞见人性的观察总结。
——梅峰，编剧、导演
我始终认为这是所有编剧论著中无可取代的绝世经典！
——伍迪·艾伦，编剧、导演
拉约什·埃格里的《编剧的艺术》在20世纪50年代成为编剧们的随身读物，直到现在也被赞誉为不可或缺的案头指定书目。埃格里要求人物性格在戏剧进程里成长，还讲解了如何围绕这一过程来建构情节。
——大卫·波德维尔，电影学者
每一部电影都是通过角色和故事，来表现互相矛盾的价值观、视角和信仰之间所展开的一场辩论。埃格里先生在《编剧的艺术》一书中对此做出了令人信服的阐述。
——大卫·戴蒙德、大卫·韦斯曼，好莱坞一线编剧搭档、剧本写作顾问
我能说，关于《编剧的艺术》迷人之处在于，读完本书后， 包括我在内的任何人，都会明白为什么有些小说、电影、戏剧、短篇故事会如此无聊，另一些却是那样有趣。
——吉尔伯特·米勒， 美国戏剧家、电影导演、托尼奖得主

Winner of the 1999 Paterson Poetry Prize

Over the past decade, Billy Collins has emerged as the most beloved American poet since Robert Frost, garnering critical acclaim and broad popular appeal. Annie Proulx admits, "I have never before felt possessive about a poet, but I am fiercely glad that Billy Collins is ours." John Updike proclaims his poems "consistently startling, more serious than they seem, they describe all the worlds that are and were and some others besides."

This special, limited edition celebrates Billy Collins's years as U.S. Poet Laureate. Picnic, Lightning--one of the books that helped establish and secure his reputation and popularity during the 1990s--combines humor and seriousness, wit and sublimity. His poems touch on a wide range of subjects, from jazz to death, from weather to sex, but share common ground where the mind and heart can meet. Whether reading him for the first time or the fiftieth, this collector's edition is a must-have for anyone interested in the poet the New York Times calls simply "the real thing."

Why do some book covers instantly grab your attention, while others never get a second glance? Fusing word and image, as well as design thinking and literary criticism, this captivating investigation goes behind the scenes of the cover design process to answer this question and more.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
As the outward face of the text, the book cover makes an all-important first impression. The Look of the Book examines art at the edges of literature through notable covers and the stories behind them, galleries of the many different jackets of bestselling books, an overview of book cover trends throughout history, and insights from dozens of literary and design luminaries. Co-authored by celebrated designer and creative director Peter Mendelsund and scholar David Alworth, this fascinating collaboration, featuring hundreds of covers, challenges our notions of what a book cover can and should be.

Tragic tale of a retarded man and the friend who loves and tries to protect him. With illustrations from the movie starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise.

📬️一封来自群星的信，折射出未知的自己。
📬️波兰科幻大师莱姆代表作之一，匈牙利名导乔治•巴勒菲同名电影原著小说。
【编辑推荐】
🌟波兰科幻大师斯坦尼斯瓦夫•莱姆代表作，以诗意笔触和深邃哲思探讨人类与世界的本质。人类意外发现一段来自太空的中微子信号，这个信号也许代表了宇宙中存在智 慧生物。在解读这封来自太空的信件时，人类自身的多重面相反倒被展现得淋漓尽致。
🌟2018年被匈牙利导演乔治•巴勒菲搬上大荧幕。
🌟斯坦尼斯瓦夫•莱姆是波兰科幻作家、哲学家，以一己之力将波兰科幻提升到世界水平，被译成52种语言，畅销4000余万册。早在70年前就预言了互联网、搜索引擎、虚拟现实和3D打印的出现，直言人类将遭遇人工智能和信息爆炸的挑战。
🌟莱姆100周年诞辰纪念版，波兰驻华大使亲自撰写序言。
【内容简介】
机缘巧合之下，科学家发现了来自外太空的一封中微子信件，也许这正是智慧生物的象征。我们不知道发信人是谁，该如何解读这封信的内容呢？如果我们甚至无法确定是否存在发信人呢？《其主之声》围绕谜团展开的故事，比众多冒险小说都更扣人心弦，尤其与未知的较量，激发了对世界本质、人类本性和生命为何存在缺陷等基本问题的思考。
【媒体推荐】
莱姆有非常了不起的想象力，是真正独一无二的。莱姆的作品对人和宇宙的关系有着更深刻的描述，与美国的科幻小说相比，在文学上也更为精致，有着更为深远的意境，也给人带来更多的回味和思考。
——刘慈欣
如果我们找不到外星人，可能是因为我们对外星生命的理解，都以为他们是人。
——梁文道
莱姆总是能从核心处嘲弄我们的生活，他能把科技论文、民间故事、寓言、神话传说等都烹调在一起，并用幽默而力透纸背的荒诞语言和荒诞情节，返照我们的世界。
——吴岩
他是当今活跃的作家中最智慧、最博学、最幽默的一位。
——安东尼•伯吉斯
无论是语言的驾驭、想象力还是塑造悲剧角色的手法，都非常优秀，无人能出其右。
——库尔特•冯内古特
相比之下，我们疲惫的宇宙显得苍白无力。
——《华盛顿邮报》
与阿瑟•克拉克、艾萨克•阿西莫夫和菲利普•迪克比肩的科幻小说巨人。
——《纽约时报》

Unearthly and unexpected, the stories in Mouthful of Birds burrow their way into your psyche and don't let go. Samanta Schweblin haunts and mesmerizes in this extraordinary, masterful collection.
Schweblin's stories have the feel of a sleepless night, where every shadow and bump in the dark take on huge implications, leaving your pulse racing, and the line between the real and the strange blur.

A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She's not his mother. He's not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family.
Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale. One of the freshest new voices to come out of the Spanish language and translated into English for the first time, Samanta Schweblin creates an aura of strange psychological menace and otherworldly reality in this absorbing, unsettling, taut novel.

👾如果可以选择，是直面悲惨的现实，还是用致幻剂营造虚假幻象？
👾波兰科幻大师莱姆代表作之一，以科学幽默和辛辣讽刺勾画人类未来。
【编辑推荐】
🌟波兰科幻大师斯坦尼斯瓦夫•莱姆代表作，以科学幽默和辛辣讽刺勾画人类未来：如果可以选择，是直面悲惨的现实，还是用致幻剂营造虚假幻象？
🌟莱姆是波兰科幻作家、哲学家，被译成52种语言，全球畅销4000余万册，以一己之力将波兰科幻提升到世界水平。早在70年前就预言了互联网、搜索引擎、虚拟现实和3D打印的出现，直言人类将遭遇人工智能和信息爆炸的挑战。
🌟莱姆100周年诞辰纪念版，波兰驻华大使亲自撰写序言。
【内容简介】
伊扬•蒂赫去参加第八届未来学大会，讨论如何解决人类面临的种种难题，不料却误服致幻药物，穿越到一个未来幻象中。那里的人们消灭了贫穷与疾病，平安喜乐地生活着，可蒂赫却始终觉得有什么地方不对劲……
【媒体推荐】
莱姆有非常了不起的想象力，是真正独一无二的。莱姆的作品对人和宇宙的关系有着更深刻的描述，与美国的科幻小说相比，在文学上也更为精致，有着更为深远的意境，也给人带来更多的回味和思考。
——刘慈欣
莱姆总是能从核心处嘲弄我们的生活，他能把科技论文、民间故事、寓言、神话传说等都烹调在一起，并用幽默而力透纸背的荒诞语言和荒诞情节，返照我们的世界。
——吴岩
他是当今活跃的作家中最智慧、最博学、最幽默的一位。
——安东尼•伯吉斯
无论是语言的驾驭、想象力还是塑造悲剧角色的手法，都非常优秀，无人能出其右。
——库尔特•冯内古特
相比之下，我们疲惫的宇宙显得苍白无力。
——《华盛顿邮报》
与阿瑟•克拉克、艾萨克•阿西莫夫和菲利普•迪克比肩的科幻小说巨人。
——《纽约时报》