Buddhism and Daoism played integral roles in the culture of imperial China. Learn about the origins of Chinese Buddhism, the monastic life in China, and the historic travels of the Buddhist monk Faxian. Then study the emergence of Daoism and its traditions of metaphysical exploration and the rustic, natural life, as seen in the works of Tao Yuanming, imperial China's first great poet.

The apocalypse proves a blessing in disguise for one lucky recluse, until a second survivor arrives with the threat of companionship.

"I haven't touched a human in three years. That seems like it would be a difficult task, but it's not. Not anymore, thanks to the internet. I am, quite possibly, the most popular recluse ever. Not many shut-ins have a 200-member fan club, a bank account in the seven-figure range, and hundreds of men lining up to pay for undivided attention. They get satisfaction, I get a distraction. Their secret desires are nothing compared to why I hide... my lust...

With more than 30 million copies of his works published in 37 languages, award-winning author Henning Mankell may be Sweden’s most accomplished novelist. Here he crafts the icy, atmospheric tale of Fredrik Welin, a disgraced surgeon living in exile on a small island. When Fredrik receives a surprise visit from a lover he abandoned decades earlier, he begins the difficult road to redemption.

Joshua Seigi is a celebrated but reclusive author. Young but in failing health, he reluctantly admits that he can no longer live alone and launches a search for an assistant. He is dissatisfied with everyone he meets until he encounters Alma. A young woman with synthetic-looking blond hair and pale, tattooed skin, she stirs something inside him. Unaware of her torturous past and the hatred that seethes within her, he has no idea that he is bringing...

A wickedly funny modern-day monster movie that will hold you in terror as it keeps you in stitches. A podcaster looking for a juicy story is plunged into a bloodcurdling nightmare after he travels to the backwoods of Canada and meets an eccentric recluse with a lifetime of adventures, and a disturbing fondness for walruses. When an American podcaster travels to Canada to interview a mysterious man, he is held captive by the man and learns about his...

In the midst of a dazzling and prolific career at the forefront of modern jazz innovation, Miles Davis disappears from public view for a period of five years in the late 1970s. Alone and holed up in his home, he is beset by chronic pain from a deteriorating hip, his musical voice stifled and numbed by drugs and medications, and his mind haunted my unsettling ghosts from the past.

"This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that's not quite true. At its heart, it's a love story, isn't it? Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex-movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island. I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time -- it caused a real stir in the tabloids,...

"Aaliya Sohbi lives alone in her Beirut apartment, surrounded by stockpiles of books. Godless, fatherless, childless, and divorced, Aaliya is her family's 'unnecessary appendage.' Every year, she translates a new favorite book into Arabic, then stows it away. The thirty-seven books that Aaliya has translated over her lifetime have never been read -- by anyone. After overhearing her neighbors, 'the three witches,' discussing her too-white hair, Aaliya...