Science Fiction/Fantasy. 57537 words long. Views: 41
Since the death of his wife seven years ago, documentary maker Aoyama has not dated anyone else. Now even his teenage son, Shige, thinks that he should remarry and his best friend Yoshikawa comes up with a plan: to hold fake film auditions from which, he can choose a new bride. Of the thousands who apply, it is a beautiful ballerina, Yamasaki Asami, who captivates Aoyama. Infatuated by her fragile nature and nervous smile, he ignores his increasing sense of unease, putting aside his doubts about his new love, until it may be too late... In Audition, Ryu Murakami delivers his most subtly disturbing novel yet, confirming him as Japan's master of the psycho-thriller. Views: 41
Cricket has been the heartbeat of Mike Hussey's life since the age of 12, about the time that he found it more comfortable to bat lefthanded than right. He adores the game, analyses it, researches it and respects it. Described as Bradmanesque, Hussey is the fastest batsmen ever to reach 1000 test runs, and he certainly knows a thing or two about how to put willow on leather. Since first donning the baggy green in early 2005, he has tormented opposition bowlers the worldover. Whether dashing English Ashes dreams at home or shining in oneday colours, Hussey is a batsman and cricketer of outstanding ability, versatility and class. But it wasn't always this way. Few at his first club, Perthbased Wanneroo, rated the skinny and shy teenager. Mike was terrified and doubtful himself when first picked for their A side. He knew he had to gain weight, get stronger and practise. So he did. A lot. Endless hours of training and thousands of balls later Mike was ready to step up and be... Views: 41
Summer just got a whole lot hotter… Summer Chase has already loved and lost once and she has no intention of going through that pain again. But when a hunky Camaro-driving P.I. shows up at her B & B looking for a room for the week, she sees something more than a hard-bodied guest. For the first time since her husband’s death, Summer’s sexual interest is awakening, and she’s not about to hit the snooze button! Gage Knight is a P.I. in desperate need of a vacation. His impromptu trip to Cape May, New Jersey, seems just what he needs to relax and unwind. But when he knocks on the door of Chase’s Bed & Breakfast and comes face to face with sexy owner, Summer Chase, relaxing drops to the bottom of his to-do list. Now all he wants is a tasty Summer treat, and he plans to take his time, savoring the curvaceous beauty one inch at a time. Question is…can she watch Gage drive off into the sunset when the week comes to an end? Warning: This story contains a hard-as-nails, ornery, demanding, tattooed PI eager to please, a widow ready to get back to the business of living and loving, and the kind of hot summer sex that you just might want to bookmark for later. Views: 41
A myth-blasting history shedding light on the tenuous relationship between Greece and Turkey todayFor almost 400 years, between the fall of Constantinople and the Greek War of Independence, the history of Greece is shrouded in mystery, distorted by Greek writers and begging the question: What was life really like for the Greeks under Ottoman rule? In this wide-ranging yet concise history, David Brewer explodes many of the myths about Turkish rule of Greece. He places the Greek story in wider, international context and casts fresh light on the dynamics of power not only between Greeks and Ottomans, but also between Muslims and Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic, throughout Europe. This absorbing account of a crucial period will ensure that the history of Greece under Turkish rule is no longer hidden.David Brewer is the author of The Flame of Freedom: The Greek War of Independence, 1821-1833. After studying Classics at Oxford University he divided his working life between teaching, journalism and business before dedicating himself to the study of the history of Greece."David Brewer's book is by far the best work that I have read on the Turkokrateia, the hidden centuries when what is now Greece was under the rule of the Ottoman Turks. His book is thoroughly researched and very well written, and it opens up for the general reader a fascinating and little known era of history. Highly recommended." -- John Freely"This is the story of seven centuries of Greek life before Greece became a modern, self-governing nation in the early nineteenth century, told for a new generation and from both the secular and religious viewpoints of the emerging nation. David Brewer writes with verve, a sharp eye for detail, and a finely balanced sense of the moral uncertainties involved in looking back into the past from the point of view of the early twenty-first century." -- Roderick Beaton, Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature, King's College London"Brewer's concise, sane, and independent assessment is a fine achievement...Greece: the Hidden Centuries scores high marks for its scope, its international frame of reference, and its objectivity. Brewer is the best sort of Philhellene, seeing the Greeks for what they are and as the product of their circumstances" -- John Psaropoulos, TLS Views: 41
It's December 23rd and Clara Dunphy is running around Oxford Street like a blue-arsed fly trying to buy presents. She wants to make Christmas perfect: it's a lifelong ambition. And a challenging one at the best of times, even without taking her sixteen guests - sorry, "loved ones" - and their varying degrees of social dysfunction into account. Meanwhile, something weird has happened to her marriage, and the ho, ho, ho is thin on the ground.Why does Christmas have such an emotional hold over us? Why does family stuff hit the peak of its madness on December the 25th? And is it okay to want more than you have, when what you have seems so enviable from the outside?A blackly funny, tender dissection of the meaning of love -- family love, sibling love, children love -- Comfort and Joy will make you laugh and cry. Views: 41
Charley Fairfax—heiress, theatrical producer, newlywed—has every intention of living happily ever after with her tall, dark, and sarcastic husband Jack. The only mysteries she faces are which play to choose for next season and how to decorate her dining room. But when Jack is hired to investigate a suspicious death at a San Francisco software company, it quickly be-comes clear that high-tech has some low-life elements. The only way Charley knows how to help Jack involves doing something no-body thought she would ever do. Charley needs to get a job. It might be a problem that Charley and her band of irregulars from the repertory theater learned every-thing they know about the workplace from a production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, but that doesn't stop them from going undercover to find a killer. And even though she's only had one day's training in corporate double-speak, Charley isn't worried. Faking it has always been her strong suit. Charley... Views: 41
She needed a husband--fast. He just wanted a few home-cooked meals. Let the great Texas wedding bargain begin! It was desperation that had Megan Ford proposing to solitary rancher Rick Astin. She promised to pay handsomely for an in-name-only marriage and swore their understanding would end in mere months, while secretly wishing it would last forever. As flattered as he was by the loveless offer, it was the thought of a spick-and-span home that had Rick agreeing to the charade. He told himself he had no interest in his new bride becoming a permanent part of his quiet life. And despite his body's cravings to make Megan truly his, Rick intended to honorably uphold his end of the deal. Until they sealed their bargain with a kiss... Views: 41
Though Laney DeGraff is a successful president of a family-owned bank on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, she can't seem to feel happy about anything. Then she meets Theresa Aguilar, a sleek, sexy lawyer, and is invited to join an exclusive group called the Pleasure Set, a privileged society of powerful women whose sexy goings-on remain steadfastly secret. Soon Laney finds out that what is really happening within the Pleasure Set is not only dangerous, it's lethal.Suddenly in too deep, Laney realizes that to leave the group would be deadly so she reaches out to Detective SandrineGirard, an honest cop with a flawed past, who arranges to have her go undercover in a delicate operation to not only catch a criminal but to save Laney from both career suicide and certain death. But the intense attraction that grows quickly between Laney and Sandrine threatens to expose them at the most critical juncture in the sting.Some people would kill to get into the Pleasure Set. But Laney... Views: 41
