Excerpt: ...green, but a few were splashed with yellow or veined with red or lined with silver. Everywhere they covered trees and bushes and low-growing ground plants, growing here in clusters, and there singly or in pairs. The fairies swung themselves far out on the branches to admire their handiwork. "Now you must be busy," they said to the leaves. "In the daytime you must help the roots to gather food for yourselves and all the family Views: 263
Inner Lives of Cultures, The“These days, we do not lack information about other societies and countries” writes Eva Hoffman, in her introduction to this illuminating collection of essays. But why, we must ask, does this unprececedented level of knowledge not translate into greater understanding?Spurning the sound byte, glossy guide or shallow schematic, an international group of thinkers and writers set out on a much more vital journey leading us through the Innner Lives of Cultures. In these 10 revealing essays about Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Romania, Russia and Uzbekistan, we enter, through empathy and imagination ‘into the subjective life of another culture – its symbolic codes, its overt beliefs and implicit assumptions’. Often, they suggest, it is the experience of emmigration or displacment which is the key: it reveals most sharply to us not only how culture shapes our human enviroment but also the inner landscapes of the self which perceives it. In an opening essay, ‘Barbarism, Civilisation, Cultures’, Tzvetan Todorov, argues forcefully that without this much-prized knowledge of what ‘culture’ is, we may increasingly fail to become what he calls “a civilised person: one who is able, at all times and in all places, to recognise the humanity of others fully”. This is an urgent and indispensible book for our world now. Views: 263
Librarian Tori Sinclair would do anything for her new circle of friends-including throw a birthday bash for a fellow sewer's daughter. While the party is a hit, self-important pageant mom Ashley Lawson leaves the ladies wanting to permanently shut her high maintenance mouth. But when Ashley turns up dead, Tori and the girls need to figure out who really murdered the monster mom, before the finger-pointing causes their friendship to unravel.Read Elizabeth Lynn Casey's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community. Views: 263
An all new Jak Phoenix space adventure, set before the events of the first novel! Jak and Baxter are asked to pull off a seemingly simple grab – for a big payout. Unfortunately, shady dealings frequently end in space shenanigans.The story revolves around a simple phrase, ‘Love one another.’ Of how complex it became when benevolent aliens, only thirty-six, stranded on our planet sought help from us humans to refuel their ship to save their civilization. Aliens who believed in one almighty and benevolent God. Aliens whose society flourished on a firm and deeply rooted abidance to their God’s greatest tenet, ‘Love God and one another.’ Of how ‘helping and loving each other’, deeply etched in the alien’s nature and character, clashed with human’s attitude to seek power, by whatever means, that when pushed to a corner, the ‘everyone for himself’ mentality in human’s prevail. In contrast, the aliens would rather die than rise at other’s expense. This irrational behavior, this instinct for survival is inherent in us humans. The aliens, faced with such inherency, went their way to get help as they advocated, ‘help and love one another.’ Wary of the temptation to humans to acquire the power one can hold in their technology, the aliens pushed on to save their civilization through this prevailing human attitude. Thus, the story in four episodes, four points in time, four scenarios.An excerpt from the novel best describes the alien’s predicament through Amo Obib’s, the Alien leader, dilemma. A dilemma that holds true to us intelligent humans today when he concluded: “In all the years I observed humans, I never understood them. Power, greed, and mistrust are things that shaped their destiny. Never in history have they thought of themselves as one, Earthlings. Countries, races, tribes, families, and even within their own family, they compete against each other. I do not understand,” he paused, as he struggled to make sense of it. “It’s sad for it is within the Human’s power to make this planet a wonderful place to live. If they only knew the value in loving and helping each other, they could make their world a paradise.”Accessed for its story, a professional concluded, “This is a formulaic and unique sci-fi novel that fans of aliens, philosophy, and sociology will find engaging.” A conclusion drawn as embedded within the story are philosophical, theological, and sociological issues. Issues true thousands of years ago as it is today! Issues that will make one pause and consider. It will make you wonder and think. Views: 263
I created this eBook from a
collection of short stories converted from .pdf, HTML and .txt files I had
archived from a few years ago; or in the case of Hell Island, that I downloaded
from the internet. I have taken these files, converted, re-formatted them and
adjusted them to better suit an eBook reader.
I “test” my final epubs on a Nook
Color and an iPad2 to ensure the best possible reading experience; however, not
all eReaders are the same and don’t always display epubs in the same way as
others. This is especially true when it
comes to the Table of Contents (ToC), images within the epub and the display of
the book cover.
If you find errors, or run into any
difficulty with this (or any other of my epubs), please feel free to contact me
through Bolt.
Finally, it is my sincerest wish
that you have the best possible reading experience with this or any epub I have
created.
Flyboy707
October,
2011
Views: 263
A murderer shoves a prince to his "death."An assassin legally kidnaps a terrified boy.A ruling lord orders an atrocity so devastating it will change the course of history.So begins this highly original and engaging epic fantasy, a story of love, family trust, sworn promises and hard-earned friendships, in which two boys must put aside their childhood understanding of the world and accept their own incredible power to do right. Views: 263
Twelve year old Karen is battling cancer. Her parents have divorced, and Karen must rely on her younger brother, Porter to help with her daily needs. She reaches out to her elderly neighbor, Eddy, for help, but soon discovers that Eddy is not so easily persuaded to help their struggling family. A Dove for Eddy follows Karen, Porter, and Eddy's healing journey.A Dove for Eddy has received honorable mentionin The Write Helper's 4th Annual Novel Beginnings 1st Chapter Contest 2011.The author has designated a portion of the proceeds from the sale of A Dove for Eddy to Samaritan's Purse; a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Twelve-year old Karen is battling Cancer. Her parents have divorced, and her father has been transferred back to Chicago leaving their small family all alone in downtown St. Louis. The mounting medical bills have forced her parents to work long hours leaving Karen’s younger brother, Porter, as Karen’s only care giver. Karen wishes that they had a normal, uncomplicated life, but since she cannot change the circumstances, she takes on the task of finding someone who will help her struggling family. She reaches out for assistance, but in her high crime neighborhood, this is not an easy task. After carefully observing her neighbors, Karen reaches out to Mrs. McGrath (Eddy) who she has deemed as their only trustworthy neighbor. However, Eddy is an elderly recluse, with her own unique set of problems including paranoia and a germ phobia. Karen soon discovers that Eddy is not so easily persuaded to venture from the safety of her home. A Dove for Eddy follows Karen, Porter, and Eddy's healing journey. Views: 263
Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience. Views: 262
A hard-boiled, epic fantasy tale of war and heroism. A beleaguered band of soldiers, slaves and trappers, hold an old fort against a barbarian foe. In so doing they hope to buy time and stall an invasion that would see their friends and comrades destroyed. Redoubt is a gripping , darkly witty riff on the age-old story of men fighting against the odds.After a short and bloody war on foreign soil, the Expeditionary Army of Ashkent is preparing to return home. Captain Jon Forge and his company, however, are assigned one more task – to oversee a workforce of enslaved Bantusai tribesmen as rebuild a remote and long-abandoned bridge. With construction already underway, a band of fleeing trappers brings news of a fast-approaching barbarian horde and the Captain quickly realises that his de facto commander, the devious Duke Burns, has sent him and his men into a deadly trap. Views: 262
Meet Ballard and Sandrine, the eponymous protagonists of Peter Straub's extraordinary, deeply unsettling new novella. The two are lovers, widely separated in age but bound together by a common erotic obsession. Their story, which takes place over a period of twenty-five years, is set primarily within the various incarnations of a mysterious yacht making its endless way down the Amazon River. Their journey encompasses moments of beauty and horror, mystery and revelation, pleasure and pain, culminating in the vision of an astonishing--and appalling--apotheosis. Views: 262
Strawberries.Delicious, tasty, juicy strawberries.What could possibly go wrong...?This short story anthology is comprised of eight suspenseful and horrifying tales, composed for a special one-week fiction event on the blog, "The Leaky Pencil". These stories centre around the theme of Madness. Not one of the stories approaches this theme in the same way, and each has something unique to say.Features eight outstanding new tales by: Laurita Miller, Richard Godwin, Angel Zapata, Benjamin Sobieck, Sean Patrick Reardon, Erin Cole, Lily Childs, and Chris Allinotte. Views: 262
Food, obsession, heartbreak. Three stories. (These stories first appeared in the literary magazines Quarterly West, Tatlin's Tower and VerbSap.)To overcome your fear, you must first face it. Someone is out to destroy Greg Robertson and everyone he has ever loved. After an accident leaves his teenage daughter depressed and distraught, Greg will do anything to make her happy again, including hiring a bodyguard to protect her. Olivia Cummings lost both her fiance and her cousin in a deadly avalanche. She has vowed never to set foot on a ski hill again. But now, working as a bodyguard with Marshall Security, Olivia must face her greatest fears to save Greg and his daughter. Something about Olivia's determination strikes a chord in Greg, but will she be the salvation he needs, or will he be her destruction? Views: 262
Lori, an agent of SOESFOL (Search Out and Establish Sentient Forms of Life) visits Prism, a popular tourist destination, to track down planet pirates and rescue aliens, if she can find and talk to them.Note: This story is a reprint; it was published most recently in the WomanScapes anthology in 2006; and there is a sequel, Hot Yellow Planet. Views: 262
