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Anything Goes

Review"Gossipy, fun and endlessly entertaining."  —The Daily Record"We always thought Torchwood star and accomplished West End actor John Barrowman would make the perfect boyfriend . . . But after reading his autobiography . . . consider us smitten."  —Modern Tonic"A charmingly lurid memoir."  —Daily Telegraph"For the many fans of Barrowman, both straight and gay, it will provide an example of an openly and confidently gay actor who has been working steadily in the business for nearly twenty years."  —AfterElton.com"Frank and unvarnished."  —OutAbout the AuthorCarol Barrowman, John’s sister, is a professor of English at Alverno College, Wisconsin, and a journalist.
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Sketches New and Old, Part 7.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is perhaps America\'s favorite author. A quick-witted humorist who wrote travelogues, letters, speeches, and most famously the novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), Twain was so successful that he became America\'s biggest celebrity by the end of the 19th century. Despite writing biting satires, he managed to befriend everyone from presidents to European royalty.  
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White House Autumn

After ten months of living in the White House, seventeen-year old Meg Powers knew she should be used to the pressures of life in the spotlight—but she wasn't. In addition to the usual senior year worries—college applications and Josh, her first serious boyfriend—Meg had to live up to what was expected from the President's daughter. She had to suppress her sense of humor and watch the way she dressed and spoke. And she had to try to have a normal relationship with Josh despite intrusions by reporters and secret service agents who followed her everywhere. Then, just when everything was already so difficult, a shocking attack on her mother makes life in the White House even more impossible. Meg, her father, and her two younger brothers find they must turn to one another for solace and support—while her mother's life hangs in the balance.
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The Penguin Complete Novels of Nancy Mitford

Available together for the first time in many years, and here in one edition, are ALL eight of Nancy Mitford's sparklingly astute, hilarious and completely unputdownable novels, with a new introduction by India Knight. Published over a period of 30 years, they provide a wonderful glimpse of the bright young things of the thirties, forties, fifties and sixties in the city and in the shires; firmly ensconced at home or making a go of it abroad; and what the upper classes really got up to in peace and in war.
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Old Enemies

In the Swiss Alps a teenage girl is thrown from a helicopter and her boyfriend is brutally abducted to Trieste, a city filled with undercurrents of past hatreds. Ruari, son of Irish media owner J J Breslin, is in desperate danger, at the mercy of ruthless kidnappers making impossible demands. His terrified mother contacts the only person she knows can help her son: Harry Jones, her former lover, who she walked out on many years ago. Now memories of their passionate affair, the guilt, hurt, anger and humiliation, come flooding back. Time is running out for Ruari and Harry, torn between his loyalties, is quickly drawn into a political game played for high stakes. Far higher than he realizes...Review"A thriller that is both nightmare vision and timely warning . . . Think Die Hard with a stiff upper lip."  —Financial Times"Explosive in every sense."  —Daily Mail"Shamelessly page-turning."  —Daily ExpressReview"Explosive in every sense." --"Daily Mail" 
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Chiang Kai-Shek

An in-depth biography of the towering 20th-century Chinese military and political figure who led the government, first on the mainland and then in exile in Taiwan, from the acclaimed New Yorker correspondent who lived in China when he was head of state In 1911, 24-year-old Chiang Kai-shek was an obscure Chinese student completing his military training in Japan, the only country in the Far East with a modern army. By 1928, the soldier who no one believed would ever amount to anything had achieved world fame as the leader who broke with Russia and released the newly formed Republic of China from Communist control. Emily Hahn's eye-opening book examines Chiang's friendship with revolutionary Sun Yat-sen and chronicles his marriage to the glamorous, American-educated Soong May-ling, who converted him to Christianity and helped him enact social reforms. As the leader of the Nationalist Party, Chiang led China for over two decades: from 1927 through...
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Such a pretty fat: one narcissist's quest to discover if her life makes her ass look big

Review“Screamingly funny —I lost ten pounds just from laughing! Jen Lancaster says everything you wish you could but wouldn’t dare. Exhilarating!”--Beth Harbison, author of Shoe Addicts Anonymous and Secrets of a Shoe Addict “Lancaster has tackled body image, health, and weight loss with the honesty, humor, and a sharp sense of self-awareness that has become her hallmark. For anyone who has ever choked down a teensy portion of flavorless pre-packaged food in joyless despair….Jen has been there, and is here to show the silly side and the empowering. You will cheer for her successes, commiserate with her setbacks, and split your sides laughing at both. Whether you cozy up to this book with a bowl of air-popped corn and a diet coke, or a box of Oreos and a vanilla shake, one thing is certain. It is a delicious and guilt-free delight from start to finish.”--Stacey Ballis, author of Room for Improvement and The Spinster Sisters “Jen Lancaster is like David Sedaris with pearls and a super-cute handbag.”—Jennifer Coburn, author of The Queen Gene “Carrie Bradshaw meets Barbara Ehrenreich.” —_Kirkus Reviews_ “She’s bitchy and sometimes plain old mean, but she’s absolutely hilarious.”—_Chicago Sun-Times_Product DescriptionA NOTE FROM JEN LANCASTER: "To whom the fat rolls…I'm tired of books where a self-loathing heroine is teased to the point where she starves herself skinny in hopes of a fabulous new life. And I hate the message that women can't possibly be happy until we all fit into our skinny jeans. I don't find these stories uplifting; they make me want to hug these women and take them out for fizzy champagne drinks and cheesecake and explain to them that until they figure out their insides, their outsides don't matter. Unfortunately, being overweight isn't simply a societal issue that can be fixed with a dose healthy of positive self-esteem. It’s a health matter, and here on the eve of my fortieth year, I've learned I have to make changes so I don't, you know, die. Because what good if finally being able to afford a pedicure if I lose a foot to adult onset diabetes?"
Views: 81

Webster

A cynical shelter dog learns to let down his guard and form a new animal family in this heartwarming and humorous friendship story from the author of Santa Paws.Webster is too cool to be scared. Or alarmed. Or even a tiny bit nervous. So what if no one will adopt him? He’s had it with people anyway. He’s going to be a loner. Not going to get too comfortable in this new shelter, even if the home-baked treats are good. Not going to get used to the nice soft bed. Not going to make friends, no matter how much he kind of likes Jack the Terrier and even Florence the bossy cat. Nope, he doesn’t need friends. Acquaintances are just fine. And the first chance he gets, he’s hitting the road and living life on the range, just like one of the stoic cowboys he’s decided to model himself after. But sometimes the best-laid plans (even those of a dog’s) have a way of backfiring. Will a tough pup like Webster find a home and family after all?
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Goodbye, Darkness

The nightmares began for William Manchester 23 years after WW II. In his dreams he lived with the recurring image of a battle-weary youth (himself), "angrily demanding to know what had happened to the three decades since he had laid down his arms." To find out, Manchester visited those places in the Pacific where as a young Marine he fought the Japanese, and in this book examines his experiences in the line with his fellow soldiers (his "brothers"). He gives us an honest and unabashedly emotional account of his part in the war in the Pacific. "The most moving memoir of combat on WW II that I have ever read. A testimony to the fortitude of man...a gripping, haunting, book." --William L. Shirer
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Golden State

A shocking vision of our future that is one part Minority Report and one part Chinatown. Lazlo Ratesic is 54, a 19-year veteran of the Speculative Service, from a family of law enforcement and in a strange alternate society that values law and truth above all else. This is how Laz must, by law, introduce himself, lest he fail to disclose his true purpose or nature, and by doing so, be guilty of a lie. Laz is a resident of The Golden State, a nation resembling California, where like-minded Americans retreated after the erosion of truth and the spread of lies made public life, and governance, increasingly impossible. There, surrounded by the high walls of compulsory truth-telling, knowingly contradicting the truth--the Objectively So--is the greatest possible crime. Stopping those crimes, punishing them, is Laz's job. In its service, he is one of the few individuals permitted to harbor untruths--to "speculate" on what might have happened in the commission of a crime. But the Golden State is far less a paradise than its name might suggest. To monitor, verify, and enforce the Objectively So requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance, recording, and record-keeping. And when those in control of the truth twist it for nefarious means, the Speculators may be the only ones with the power to fight back.
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The Guns of Navarone

Twelve hundred British soldiers are isolated and waiting to die on the small island of Kheros, off the Turkish coast. Their lives can be saved if only the long-range, large-caliber, and catastrophically accurate guns of Navarone are silenced before the British Royal Navy arrives.Manned by a mixed garrison of Germans and Italians, Navarone is a grim iron fortress perched high atop an island ringed by cliffs. Captain Keith Mallory and his small, handpicked team of saboteurs must scale the sheer cliffs and infiltrate the German base to blow up the massive guns.“Action sustained at high pitch. From the outset, there is a feeling of suspense . . . an insistently gripping tale."—Scotsman“Its strength comes from the speed of its narrative, its vivid creation of tensions, and its power in handling descriptions of action."—Evening Standard
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