In spring 2002, following the fall of the Taliban, Åsne Seierstad spent four months living with a bookseller and his family in Kabul.
For more than twenty years Sultan Khan defied the authorities—be they communist or Taliban—to supply books to the people of Kabul. He was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned by the communists, and watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. He even resorted to hiding most of his stock—almost ten thousand books—in attics all over Kabul.
But while Khan is passionate in his love of books and his hatred of censorship, he also has strict views on family life and the role of women. As an outsider, Åsne Seierstad found herself in a unique position, able to move freely between the private, restricted sphere of the women—including Khan’s two wives—and the freer, more public lives of the men.
It is an experience that Seierstad finds both fascinating and frustrating. As she steps back from the page and allows the Khans to speak for themselves, we learn of proposals and marriages, hope and fear, crime and punishment. The result is a genuinely gripping and moving portrait of a family, and a clear-eyed assessment of a country struggling to free itself from history.' to 'This mesmerizing portrait of a proud man who, through three decades and successive repressive regimes, heroically braved persecution to bring books to the people of Kabul has elicited extraordinary praise throughout the world and become a phenomenal international bestseller. The Bookseller of Kabul is startling in its intimacy and its details—a revelation of the plight of Afghan women and a window into the surprising realities of daily life in today’s Afghanistan.' Views: 2 601
The Dirty Duck is a pub in Shakespeare's beloved Stratford, and in this pub Miss Gwendolyn Bracegirdle of Sarasota, Florida, fresh from a performance of As You Like It, takes her last drink. A few minutes later she is slashed ear to ear, the only clue: two lines from an unknown poem printed across a theater program. The razor-happy murderer, it seems is stalking a group of rich American tourists. And Scotland Yard Superintendent Richard Jury, just passing through Stratford for a glimpse of the intriguing Lady Kennington, instead takes a crash course in the bloodier side of Elizabethan verse. Views: 2 457
Jaxon Montgomery is a woman hunted. Trained by the Special Forces, honed by a traumatic childhood, she is a policewoman with an undisputed reputation. She meets her match when she is set up to be murdered by an enemy. Hunted on all sides, she can only turn to the mysterious stranger who seems more dangerous than any other she has ever known.He ran with the wolves…Materialized from the mists…Hijacked the very heavens to his whims… Views: 2 374
by Lee Child , Dick Hill (Narrator) Skilled, cautious, and anonymous, Jack Reacher is perfect for the job: to assassinate the vice president of the United States. Theoretically, of course. A female Secret Service agent wants Reacher to find the holes in her system, and fast - because a covert group already has the vice president in their sights. They've planned well. There's just one thing they didn't plan on: Reacher. Views: 2 318
A formidable Scottish knight used to getting his way, Earl Hugh Dulonget of Hillcrest has gotten himself into a bind. His uncle's will clearly states that Hugh must marry— yet he has just insulted his would-be bride by calling her a peasant! Now he must do whatever it takes to win back the fair Willa . . . Everyone has advice, it seems. His comrades-in-arms believe gifts and baubles will earn her love. The old witch who was her guardian wants Hugh to crawl back to Willa on his belly. And his castle priest suggests he read De Secretis Mulierum, a book on the secrets of women. But Hugh knows only one sure way to overcome her reluctance: he must convince Willa that his passion and devotion are not only what she needs, but what she wants more than anything else in the world. Views: 2 291
Kel has finally achieved her lifelong dream of being a knight. But it’s not turning out as she imagined at all. She is torn between a duty she has sworn to uphold and a quest that she feels could turn the tide of war. . . .
“Unrelentingly realistic in its depiction of the horrors of war . . . Pierce provides exquisite details of the weaponry, topography, and culture of her world, and her control of a voluminous cast of characters is masterful.”
—VOYA
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 2 183
Doctor Thorne by Anthony TrollopeDoctor Thorne by Anthony TrollopeDoctor Thorne by Anthony TrollopeSon of a bankrupt landowner, Frank Gresham is intent on marrying his beloved Mary Thorne, despite her illegitimacy and apparent poverty. Frank\'s ambitious mother and haughty aunt are set against the match, however, and push him to save the family\'s mortgaged estate by making a good marriage to a wealthy heiress. Only Mary\'s loving uncle, Dr Thorne, knows the secret of her birth and the fortune she is to inherit that will make her socially acceptable in the eyes of Frank\'s family - but the high-principled doctor believes she should be accepted on her own terms. A telling examination of the relationship between society, money and morality, Dr Thorne (1858) is enduringly popular for Trollope\'s affectionate depiction of rural English life and his deceptively simple portrayal of human nature. Views: 2 141
Never before has the world seen such a Princess.
Nor have her own subjects, for that matter. But Genovian politics are nothing next to Mia's real troubles. Between canceled dates with her long-sought-after royal consort, a second semester of the dreaded Algebra, more princess lessons from Grandmere, and the inability to stop gnawing on her fingernails, isn't there anything Mia is good at besides inheriting an unwanted royal title? Views: 2 101
In this delightful and dazzling erotic novel, MaryJanice Davidson creates an alternate contemporary world nearly identical to ours in which Russia never sold the Alaskan territory to the United States. Instead, Alaska has won its independence and established itself as a constitutional monarchy. . . and now, the King of Alaska badly needs a bride for his son and heir. . . The country of Alaska is as forbidding as it is beautiful. And the royal family is as rough-around-the-edges as they are coolly civilized. Other royal families may find them shocking, but after all, in this wilderness kingdom, being a crack shot and expert trapper is just as important as knowing your salad fork from your dessert fork. Unfortunately, when the rest of the royals find you mildly savage, marrying off your royal brood can be a royal pain. King Alexander II is desperate. Why, he'd settle for any girl. A commoner. An American, even! Stranded tourist Christina Krabbe is American, and a commoner, but she has zero interest in enduring a royal wedding, producing royal heirs, and becoming Queen of Alaska. . . until she gets a good look at Prince David. He may be a bit unruly--actually, the words untamed and slightly dangerous come to mind--but Christina's no delicate flower herself. And when His Highness discovers Christina can give as good as she gets, he's Prince Charmed, if not quite charming. But can a wild man Prince and a modern American girl make a life together? And will the palace still be standing when the dust clears? Views: 2 021
Hope believed Wolfe was dead, but he was only waiting for the right time to claim her. The scientist who created him, Hope's mother, has forced his hand. She wants her creation back, and she wants any children he may breed on her daughter. He is a man whose DNA was altered, infused with the genetic code of the wolf. His unique genetic makeup has created a male unlike any other and will make itself known in the most surprising ways. Now Hope must convince her mate she hasn't betrayed him, and they must defeat the plans of a scientist gone mad. Views: 1 981
Lauren is a successful doctor with a healthy attitude toward sex, unashamed of her proclivities as a sexual dominant. She wants love and a family, but she's beginning to believe there is no Mr. Right willing to stand by her in sickness and health. . . and be cuffed, stripped, and smacked with a riding crop. Then her friend Lisette invites her to spend a long weekend on a private island. It turns out Lisette can't come with her, but Lauren opts to go anyway, with no one for company but Joshua, the island caretaker, and his visiting friend, Marcus. Though both men are beautiful, it is Joshua that catches Lauren's attention, and not just because Marcus prefers men. Something in Josh's stormy eyes calls to her. When Marcus facilitates a game of submission and control between the three of them that will last throughout the weekend, Lauren embraces the opportunity. Josh overwhelms her with his willingness to submit to her body's desires, but her heart wants to get to the secrets behind those eyes. She is going to have to tear down his defenses and make him give her everything. And this is one Mistress who doesn't take no for an answer. . . Views: 1 821
From "A Knight in Shining Armor" to "The Mulberry Tree, " Jude Deveraux's bestsellers sparkle with stunning originality, heartfelt wit, and adventurous passion. Now, this superb storyteller mixes the flavor of a classic fairy tale with a very modern love story -- set in a town locked in the shadows of an abiding evil -- in this imaginative new novel. "Forever..."
Darci Monroe overcame a childhood of neglect with an ebullient spirit, a positive attitude...and extraordinary determination. Now the resourceful young woman, hired as Adam Montgomery's personal assistant, devotes more than just professional attention to this devastatingly handsome millionaire. But one thing bars Adam from accepting Darci's love: he is intent on discovering the secret of his parents' disappearance, for she possesses the otherworldly abilities needed to help him fight a terrifying mistress of the dark arts. What Darci ends up offering is a gift greater than Adam ever hoped for, for Darci loves with all her heart, and all her soul, forever... Views: 1 785
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER On the road, on a hot Arizona night, Dylan O’Conner is overpowered by a stranger who injects him with an unknown substance. All he’s told is that he’s the “carrier,” not of a disease but of something wondrous that will transform his life in remarkable ways—if it doesn’t kill him in the next twenty-four hours. Now Dylan, his autistic brother, Shep, and another “carrier,” a young woman, are swept into a desperate search for the shattering truth of what they are and what they might become. But first they must elude those sent to destroy them. Their only chance to survive is to discover the meaning of the messages that Shep, with precious time running out, begins to repeat, about a man who does his work by the light of the moon. Views: 1 621
When Reverend Josiah Crawley, the impoverished curate of Hogglestock, is accused of theft it causes a public scandal, sending shockwaves through the world of Barsetshire. The Crawleys desperately try to remain dignified while they are shunned by society, but the scandal threatens to tear them, and the community, apart.
Drawing on his own childhood experience of genteel poverty, Trollope gives a painstakingly realistic depiction of the trials of a family striving to maintain its standards at all costs. With its sensitive portrayal of the proud and self-destructive figure of Crawley, this final volume is the darkest and most complex of all the Barsetshire novels. Views: 1 458
