Penguin readers easystarts - 200words
The police are looking everywhere for a spy. Simon Simple is so busy trying to start a holiday romance with Samantha that he doesn't see what is in front of his nose ...

Simon heard a woman scream, then a gunshot. There was another shot and the sound of glass breaking. Simon fell to the floor and crawled towards the kitchen. Rocky was in there barking and jumping at the kitchen door. Simon held Rocky in his arms to keep him quiet, then he listened. A car door opened and closed, then drove quickly away.

• COVER: The End of Prosperity? - A noted historian looks at parallels between this financial crisis and 1929 and shows what must be done to avoid Depression 2.0
• HEALTH & MEDICINE: The Forgotten Plague - Tuberculosis is an ancient killer, and emerging strains are deadlier than ever. Award-winning photographer James Nachtwey captures the crisis
• TECHNOLOGY: The Klutz's Companion - If you're looking for the ideal laptop, this one has many cool features — including indestructibility
• PEOPLE: 10 Questions for Simon Pegg - The British star arrives in the U.S. in How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. Simon Pegg will now take your questions

Alice and Jewel have been best friends since grade school. Together, they don’t need anyone else, and together they blend into the background of high school. Invisible. To Alice, Jewel is the opposite of invisible. Jewel is her best friend who goes to Indie concerts and art shows with her. Jewel scoffs at school dances with her. Alice is so comfortable around Jewel that she can talk to him about almost anything. But she can’t tell him that she likes the cool, popular Simon. And then Simon asks her to the school dance the same day that Jewel kisses her for the first time. Still, she can’t say no to Simon. He seems like the easy choice, the one she’s attracted to, the one she’s ready for. But will it mean losing Jewel? In a bright debut novel set against the lively backdrop of Seattle, Alice must learn the difference between love and a crush, and what it means to be yourself when you’re not sure who that is yet.

Ms. Gallagher writes an honest book about the internal struggles of an insecure girl. We all have that same insecurity inside of us and can understand what Alice has to figure out on her own. Definitely a book that everyone can relate to from some point in their lives.

Simon Montefiore - Young Stalin
read by James Adams
What makes a Stalin? Was he illegitimate? Was his mother whore or saint? Was Stalin a Tsarist agent or Lenin's chief gangster? Was his most notorious heist planned during his stay in London? Was he to blame for his wife's death? If he really missed the 1917 Revolution, how did he emerge so powerful?
Born in poverty, scarred by his upbringing, exceptional in his studies, this charismatic but dangerous boy was hailed as a romantic poet and trained as a priest but found his mission as fanatical revolutionary. He became the mastermind of bank-robberies, protection-rackets, arson, piracy and murder yet he was, uniquely, part-intellectual, part-brigand. Surprisingly, he is also revealed as a scandalously prolific lover, leaving a trail of mistresses (varying from schoolgirls to noblewomen) and illegitimate children.