Take-off: almost a ton of inert matter transformed by the pilot as it lifts off the runway into a thing of spirit and beauty. Take-off: lifting one's shadow off the earth, entering a new element where movement is the very condition for existence, for, as the author observes, "in life, to choose the wrong wife or the wrong lift is conventionally viewed as being matters of varying gravity, but in piloting an aircraft an act of petty oversight, due to the obvious but decisive fact that in flight there can be no stopping, could be fatal."Whether he is reliving his first solo flight or a frightening experience as he pilots a light aircraft through storm clouds, his training and his instincts constantly at odds, or the mysterious loss of an airliner on an internal flight, or the brief, adrenaline-charged lives of Italian torpedo-bombers in World War Two, Del Giudice focuses on the edge of experience in which a person learns to take nothing, but... Views: 41
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Harmony McLain and Whispering Moutain series'. Sanford Colston left his hometown of Saints Roost to hire its school a new teacher—but instead found himself stuck at the Dallas train station, robbed of the clothes off his back. It was clear to Ford that this thief wasn't your ordinary outlaw—and he was right. Hannah was a beautiful woman on the run, desperate for a disguise that would help her escape her dangerous past. But when fate forced their paths to cross again, Ford couldn't let Hannah get away twice. Ford wanted to help his charming young bandit, but didn't know how—until she had a most exciting idea. Hannah could hide in Saints Roost. Back in the strict little town, Hannah made quite a first impression...and, with Ford at her side, learned that sometimes life offers second chances... Views: 41
Widely known as an original and graceful writer, Roger Angell has developed a devoted following through his essays in the New Yorker. Now, in Let Me Finish, a deeply personal, fresh form of autobiography, he takes an unsentimental look at his early days as a boy growing up in Prohibition-era New York with a remarkable father; a mother, Katharine White, who was a founding editor of the New Yorker; and a famous stepfather, the writer E. B. White.Intimate, funny, and moving portraits form the book's centerpiece as Angell remembers his surprising relatives, his early attraction to baseball in the time of Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio, and his vivid colleagues during a long career as a New Yorker writer and editor. Infused with pleasure and sadness, Angell's disarming memoir also evokes an attachment to life's better moments. Views: 41
This latest collection of horror fiction dares the reader to taste the forbidden fruits of wickedness and desire, and to discover that true terror is best served ripe on the vine. Contributors include Edward Lee, Bentley Little, and J.N. Williamson. Original. Views: 41
Code name: JetTwenty-eight-year-old Jet was once the Mossad's most lethal operative before faking her own death and burying that identity forever.But the past doesn't give up on its secrets easily.When her new life on a tranquil island is shattered by a brutal attack, Jet must return to a clandestine existence of savagery and deception to save herself and those she loves. A gritty, unflinching roller-coaster of high-stakes twists and shocking turns, JET features a new breed of protagonist that breaks the mold.Fans of Lisbeth Salander, SALT, and the Bourne trilogy will find themselves carried along at Lamborghini speed to a conclusion as jarring and surprising as the story's heroine is unconventional. Views: 41
A wrongfully imprisoned storyteller spins stories from his jail cell that just might have the power to save him—and take down his jailers too. Arrested on accusations of witchcraft and treason, Chant finds himself trapped in a cold, filthy jail cell in a foreign land. With only his advocate, the unhelpful and uninterested Consanza, he quickly finds himself cast as a bargaining chip in a brewing battle between the five rulers of this small, backwards, and petty nation. Or, at least, that's how he would tell the story. In truth, Chant has little idea of what is happening outside the walls of his cell, but he must quickly start to unravel the puzzle of his imprisonment before they execute him for his alleged crimes. But Chant is no witch—he is a member of a rare and obscure order of wandering storytellers. With no country to call his home, and no people to claim as his own, all Chant has is his wits and his apprentice, a lad more interested in... Views: 41
WILD WEST WEDDINGSWITH ONLY FORTY-EIGHT HOURS TO LASSO THEIR MATES--IT'S A STAMPEDE...TO THE ALTAR!He had power, success, his two sons--but no woman. So when Trace McKendrick found out Uncle Max had arranged for him to be reunited with his long-lost bride and longtime love, he didn't know if he should thank the old coot in the great beyond--or curse him!Susannah Hart had devastated Trace when she walked out on him. But now, after separate marriages and a couple of kids each, she nearly destroyed him. Because Trace only had to do basic math to figure out that one of Susannah's boys was also his.... Views: 41
A classic Jill Barnett Christmas novella of love and laughter.When wealthy financier D. L. Stewart's finds an injured woman in the snow in front of his New York City mansion, he has no idea she is the fair Lillian, a big-hearted and somewhat inept fallen angel, sent back to teach him what Christmas is really about. But Lilli has her work cut out for her. D.L. is a wounded and cynical soul, a man who is an expert at not feeling anything, and who believes he can buy anything and anyone. Can one loving, soft-hearted angel really change this damaged man who has a heart of solid stone? For readers of Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux. Views: 41
Reviewers have called it "powerful" and "brilliant." Newly released for its 25th anniversary edition, Jack Engelhard's novel Indecent Proposal has found its place alongside such classics as Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Indecent Proposal remains one of the most widely-read and discussed novels around the world, due to the strong writing and riches that include a moral dilemma for the ages. The novel was translated into more than 22 languages, and Hollywood produced a mega-hit movie based on this book starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. The novel stands as a remarkable achievement from a great and legendary novelist. Though Hollywood only skimmed the surface of Engelhard's masterpiece, the theme is eternal, even biblical - temptation! The plot has riveted the world's readers and moviegoers. A destitute couple tries their luck in an Atlantic City casino. The wife, Joan, is utterly gorgeous. She attracts the attention of an oil rich sultan who can... Views: 41
In this naughty novel of magic and mayhem, Maya continues her quest to India. A quest to find out more about her dangerous paranormal powers. She and Marique spenddays on a paradise beach in Goa, but there is trouble with evil men at a Full Moon Party. Now fleeing Indian police, they continue Maya's quest on a road trip north into the Himalayas and Nepal. Views: 41
Winner of the 2014 Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry, selected by Naomi Shihab NyeInspired by thrift store knit sleeves, punk rock record sleeves, and, of course, print book sleeves, Angela Sorby explores how the concrete world hails us in waves of color and sound. She asks implicitly, "What makes the sleeve wave? Is it the body or some force larger than the self?" As Sorby's tough, ironic, and subtly political voice repeatedly insists, we apprehend, use, and release more energy than we can possibly control. This collection includes two main parts—one visual, one aural—flanking a central pastoral poem sung by Virgilian sheep. Meant to be read both silently and aloud, the poems in The Sleeve Waves meditate on how almost everything—like light and sound—comes to us in waves that break and vanish and yet continue. Views: 41
The questions, discussion topics, and author information that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading of The Golden Compass . We hope that this guide will help you to navigate - alongside the story's young protagonist, Lyra Belacqua - Philip Pullman's richly imagined universe, populated by armored bears, gyptians, witches, and human beings, whose dæmons are never far from their side. Dæmons are one of the most striking, charming, and powerful images in The Golden Compass . These spirit-creatures, which seem like physical representations of the human soul, can change form to reflect the myriad of emotional states their humans go through as children. But in adulthood, each dæmon settles into the animal form that best reflects the inner nature of its human counterpart. It is in this unusual and imaginative creation that Pullman turns his sharpest mirror back onto his readers, helping us to imagine our own souls as precious, living extensions of ourselves that we can love, challenge, or even betray. The Golden Compass is a complex story that turns on a simple word: 'Dust.' This Dust does not gather in the unswept corners of Jordan College, Lyra's Oxford home. Rather, this Dust seems to reveal - or perhaps contain - the thing that makes each human being a unique creature. The concept of Dust provokes fear in some; others realize that mastery over Dust could be the source of great power. Although she does not quite realize it, Lyra - along with her dæmon Pantalaimon - finds her life inextricably entangled with the exploration of Dust. And as her understanding of Dust and her mastery over a mysterious tool called the alethiometer increases, the dangerous journey that she seems destined to make takes some astounding twists and turns. Views: 41
