There are more than ten million copies of Tony Abbott's bestselling series in print. Are you in on the secret? Eric and his friends are on a mission! They must uncover the meaning of the treasure of the Orkins: A silver snowflake that cannot melt. Together, the kids travel to the ice fields of northern Droon. But the journey is long and dangerous. The kids' enemies are on their trail, and they'll stop at nothing to get the treasure. . . . Views: 142
#1 New York Times bestselling author Laurie Notaro isn't exactly a domestic goddess—unless that means she fully embraces her genetic hoarding predisposition, sneaks peeks at her husband's daily journal, or has made a list of the people she wants on her Apocalypse Survival team (her husband's not on it). Inspired by Victorian household manuals, Notaro chronicles her chronic misfortune in the domestic arts, including cooking, cleaning, and putting on Spanx while sweaty (which should technically qualify as an Olympic sport). Housebroken is a rollicking new collection of essays showcasing her irreverent wit and inability to feel shame. From defying nature in the quest to making her own Twinkies, to begging her new neighbors not to become urban livestock keepers, to teaching her eight-year-old nephew about hobos, Notaro recounts her best efforts—and hilarious failures—in keeping a household inches away from being condemned. After all, home wasn't built... Views: 142
The Truth About Death," the title novella of this virtuosic collection, is a masterpiece of sardonic humor that confronts Death head on and emerges bloody but unbowed. Simon, an undertaker, embalms his own father and faces his own death. Louisa, Simon's mother, makes peace with her husband over his dead body in a cooler in the basement of the funeral home. Simon contemplates the mystery of death over a plate of spaghetti cacio e pepe in Rome with an Italian undertaker. The dog, Maya—who works as a greeter at the funeral home where she comforts those who are grieving hardest—eventually makes the truth about death known to Elizabeth, Simon's wife. New Yorker cartoons keep the family laughing during the most difficult months, Elizabeth decides to show her own cartoons (included here), to the New Yorker cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff, at his office in New York. The serious issues cleverly addressed in The Truth About Death are touched... Views: 142
Ellen gets a big shock when her double appears out of the bathroom mirror. But Mirror-Belle is a double with a difference! She is a princess, and a very mischievous one at that. Join magically mischievous Mirror-Belle as she comes popping out of Ellen's mirror to sweep her into a variety of hilarious escapades - from causing mischief with their furry friends to having fun at Halloween and taking the princess test. You can always guarantee that wherever Mirror-Belle goes, trouble will follow. From the much-loved author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson, and illustrated by Lydia Monks - perfect for newly independent readers. Views: 142
Now a successful principal of a city school in Wellington, New Zealand, Karla Spicer is called in to help as a Change Principal at Tuckett Area School in a remote South Island district. This small school takes pupils from Year I to 13 but has a falling roll in the high school section, an apathetic principal, Don Trow and a divided board of trustees. The Ministry of Education is considering closing the high school section and downgrading the school to take just primary pupils (Year 1 - 8) pupils.Karla and her husband Ryan move south and begin to cure the school's problems. Ryan is a computer programmer who finds that the school is heavily in debt because Don Trow is faking online accounts and is betting on an Russian casino. He has run up huge debts and they want their money. By running down the PTA account he has paid off most of these debts but had not taken into account huge interest rates, nor the fact that the casino is run by an international terrorist... Views: 142
There is no detective like Ian Rankin's Detective Inspector John Rebus, a man The New Yorker calls "the ideal sleuth." Brilliant, irascible and frequently frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, John Rebus has made the dark places of Edinburgh his home for over two decades. THE BEAT GOES ON collects all of Ian Rankin's Rebus short stories for the first time, including two never-before published tales written specifically for this collection. From his beginnings as a young Detective Constable in "Dead and Buried," right up to his dramatic, but not quite final, retirement in "The Very Last Drop," Rebus shines in these stories, confirming his status as one of crime fiction's most compelling, brilliant, and unforgettable characters. In these gripping, fast-paced tales, the legendary Scottish detective investigates the sinister cases that are his specialty, including a gruesome student death, the brutal murder of a woman at the crux of... Views: 141
In this mesmerizing romance, a woman out of time falls in love with a man for whom time is running out."Kent combines time travel, mystery, and romance in a delightful sequel to Persistence of Memory that's easily accessible for new readers." —Publishers Weekly Starred ReviewIn Winona Kent's novel Persistence of Memory, Charlie Lowe, a young widow in Stoneford, England, was accidentally transported back to 1825, where she fell in love with Shaun Deeley, a groom employed at Stoneford Manor. They are only back in the present for seemingly a breath before a piece of wartime shrapnel sends them tumbling back through time to 1940, the height of the Blitz. There, they discover pieces of Charlie's past that counter everything she thought she knew about herself.Charlie and Shaun have decisions to make—do they interfere in time's progress to save a man? Do they put their own future at risk by doing nothing? And how much time do these two... Views: 141
A controversial bestseller from one of Norway's most intelligent and highly-regarded novelistsWhen a dispute over her parents' will grows bitter, Bergljot is drawn back into the orbit of the family she fled twenty years before. Her mother and father have decided to leave two island summer houses to her sisters, disinheriting the two eldest siblings from the most meaningful part of the estate. To outsiders, it is a quarrel about property and favoritism. But Bergljot, who has borne a horrible secret since childhood, understands the gesture as something very different – a final attempt to suppress the truth and a cruel insult to the grievously injured. Will and Testament is a lyrical meditation on trauma and memory, as well as a furious account of a woman's struggle to survive and be believed. Vigdis Hjorth's novel became a controversial literary sensation in Norway and has been translated into twenty languages. Views: 141
Freedom's Slave is the exhilarating end to Heather Demetrios's Dark Caravan Cycle—a modern jinni fantasy-adventure trilogy, which Publishers Weekly called "an intricate and smartly written story," perfect for fans of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone series and Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.After three long years in exile, Nalia is ready to return to her homeland and sit on the throne that is rightfully hers. But the gods might have other plans. Forced to endure untold horrors on the journey to Arjinna, Nalia learns that it will take more than cutting down the tyrant Calar to get her crown.Meanwhile, Raif's return to Arjinna as the commander of the revolution against Calar and her army isn't as smooth as he'd hoped. Though he has more soldiers than ever before, his love for Nalia is losing him the trust of his comrades . . . and the war. But little does the resistance know that insurrection is brewing among Calar's own ranks—and from the one... Views: 141
