A quintessential American family is pulled apart by war and the rapidly changing tides of society in Jack Kerouac's captivating first novel Published seven years before his iconic On the Road, Jack Kerouac's debut novel follows the experiences of one family as they navigate the seismic cultural shifts following World War II. Inspired by Kerouac's own New England youth, the eight Martin children enjoy an idyllic upbringing in a small Massachusetts mill-town. Middle son Peter, a budding intellectual and promising athlete, most strongly feels the lure of the future. When war breaks out, the siblings' lives are interrupted by military service; their parents must sell their house after the family business goes bankrupt; and Peter, eager to see the world, voyages overseas as a Merchant Marine. After returning home, Peter is drawn to the kinetic energy of New York City and the progressive, bohemian ideas springing from its denizen young poets, writers, and... Views: 67
When residents in a highly-religious small town have horrible near-death experiences and wake up with burnt skin, they believe they went to hell and that God has abandoned them. Matters get worse when a local Satanic cult emerges and wins over many residents. Will Chantress be able to stop Kyle, the antichrist, from destroying the world's religions? Views: 67
Loving a cyborg isn’t easy! The timing couldn’t be worse for Jay and Tyler to take the next step. Tyler’s secrets come back to bite him, his destitute ex shows up on his doorstep and someone is manipulating her behind the scenes. Then Tyler’s family is threatened, forcing Jay to confront a ghost from her past. And this time, the weapon chosen to take Jay out really could be the death of her. Views: 67
Probably the most famous thief of all fiction, Raffles was a man-about-town and famous cricketer by day and a master burglar by night. When they were first issued at the turn of the century, these stories rivaled the popularity of Sherlock Holmes and established the prototype for The Saint, James Bond, and the other gentleman-rogue figures of popular fiction. Raffles has been called "the greatest cracksman in the literature of roguery" by the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, while Ellery Queen has described Raffles as the "inspiration for the whole school of devil-may-care adventurers on the borderlines of the law, not least the eponymous James Bond." E. W. Hornung was friendly with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and married his sister. Hornung took his brother-in-laws detective pair, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and reincarnated them on the wrong side of the law as Raffles and Bunny, who pursued the business of getting a living by the entirely logical method of stealing it. Conan Doyle wrote in his autobiography: "I think I may claim that his famous character Raffles was a kind of inversion of Sherlock Holmes, Bunny playing Watson. He admits as much in his kindly dedication. I think there are few finder examples of short-story writing in our language than these, though I confess I think they are rather dangerous in their suggestion. I told him so before he put pen to paper, and the result has, I fear, borne me out. You must not make the criminal a hero." Views: 67
A first love shouldn't bloom so fierce, you know? It shouldn't be like a fist forever clutched around the heart muscle... I didn't realise how bad I had it until he reappeared... Singer-poet Gemma Weekes turns to prose with this dazzling first novel about love, set between London and New York one hot, sticky summer. Eden is locked in a state of mid-twenties adolescence -- directionless, insecure and hopelessly obsessed with her first love. When Zed, the object of her affection, swoops into town, 'flash in every line of his body', spitting gangster rap and the most beautiful boy she's ever seen, she knows she must have him back. Paralysed by lust, Eden hangs out at Zed's gigs, squeezes into mini dresses and drops as many hints as a girl can without losing her dignity, but with no result. Zed's more interested in Max -- a blonde with perfect bone structure and as white as toothpaste. But is Max the real reason these two can't get it together? As the story unfolds, glimpses of... Views: 67
Good Friday on the Rez follows the author on a one-day, 280-mile round-trip from his boyhood Nebraska hometown of Alliance to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where he reconnects with his longtime friend and blood brother, Vernell White Thunder. In a compelling mix of personal memoir and recent American Indian history, David Hugh Bunnell debunks the prevalent myth that all is hopeless for these descendants of Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, and Sitting Bull and shows how the Lakota people have recovered their pride and dignity and why they will ultimately triumph.What makes this narrative special is Bunnell's own personal experience of close to forty years of friendships and connections on the Rez, as well as his firsthand exposure to some of the historic events. When he lived on Pine Ridge at the same time of the American Indian Movement's seventy-one-day siege at Wounded Knee in 1973, he met Russell Means and got a glimpse behind the barricades.... Views: 67
18th Century Europe: It is an age when superstition is beginning to give way to the force of human reason, and no man so fully embodies the spirit of the times as Dr. Erasmus Darwin. Thinker, healer, and explorer of the bizarre and the seemingly supernatural, no mystery can stand for long against Darwin’s enlightened analysis. And there are far more mysteries than history knows… For Erasmus Darwin’s world is filled with oddities that most cannot believe: from unknown beings lurking just outside the boundaries of civilization, to anomalies that even the greatest natural philosophers will be hard-pressed to explain, to mysterious deaths that give rise to fears of malevolent sorcery. And when the renowned Dr. Darwin is called upon to heal a man dying of an ailment that seems impossible, he has no idea that it is the beginning of a quest that will lead him to the darkest corners of Europe, and a stunning encounter with the most famous inhabitant of a certain Scottish loch… Views: 67
She'll never abandon the landChronically low cattle prices and her father's skyrocketing medical bills may have forced Jessie Weaver to sell the ranch that's been in her family since the mid-1800s, but no way will she let developers wreak havoc with her glorious Montana mountains. So she writes conservation restrictions into the deed of sale--even though that means taking a huge loss in land value.Even though Guthrie Sloane, her boyfriend, thinks she's dead wrong and it will mean the end of them as a couple.He'll never abandon herHotheaded and old-fashioned, Guthrie may have disagreed with Jessie's dreams for her land and stormed off to Alaska in protest, but no way can he quit her. Views: 67
MY UNCLE AND MY FATHER. I USED TO BE ABLE TO TELL THEM APART. NOT ANYMORE. BECAUSE THEY'RE BOTH THE SAME. THEY BOTH WANT TO DESTROY ME. Views: 67
Erotica/Romance. 51068 words long. Views: 67
