It's Eleanor who starts the Friday nights. From her scruffy house in Fulham she observes two young women with small children, separate struggling and plainly lonely and decides to invite them in and see what happens. What happens is that these very different women, Eleanor, Paula and Lindsay, are joined by three more: Jules, Blaise and Karen. Together they make up one retired professional, one budding DJ, one frazzled wife, three mothers, three singletons and five working women. Slowly, gradually and despite vast differences in background and circumstance, a group forms: a sorority of sorts, and a circle of friends. It is only when Paula meets Jackson, an enigmatic, powerful and seductive man, that the bonds that have been so closely forged are put to the test; jealousies, rivalries, even infidelities threaten everything the women have between them, even their Friday nights. Harmony is eventually restored, but not without its price: Paula must confront some unsavory truths about her relationships; Karen must completely reevaluate her priorities in life; Blaise must meet new challenges; Eleanor must admit she needs help at home; Jules has some growing up to do; and Lindsay needs a little love in her life ... With wit and warmth, Joanna Trollope explores the complexities, the sabotages, and the shifting currents of modern friendship. From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 15
Louis Holland arrives in Boston in a spring of ecological upheaval (a rash of earthquakes on the North Shore) and odd luck: the first one kills his grandmother. Louis tries to maintain his independence, but falls in love with a Harvard seismologist whose discoveries about the earthquakes' cause complicate everything. Jonathan Franzen is the author of three novels: The Corrections, The Twenty-Seventh City, and Strong Motion. He has been named one of the Granta 20 Best Novelists under 40 and is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and Harper's. In Strong Motion, Louis Holland arrives in Boston in a spring of ecological upheaval (a rash of earthquakes on the North Shore) and odd luck: the first earthquake kills his grandmother. Louis tries to maintain his independence, but falls in love with a Harvard seismologist whose discoveries about the earthquakes' cause complicate everything. "Bold, layered . . . Mr. Franzen lavishes vigorous, expansive prose not only on the big moments of sexual and emotional upheaval, but also on various sideshows and subthemes . . . An affirmation of Franzen's fierce imagination and distinctive seriocomic voice . . . his will be a career to watch."—Josh Rubins, The New York Times Book Review"Ingenious . . . Strong Motion is more than a novel with a compelling plot and a genuine romance (complete with hghly charged love scenes); Franzen also writes a fluid prose that registers the observations of his wickedly sharp eye."—Douglas Seibold, The Chicago Tribune"Complicated and absorbing with a fair mix of intrigue, social commentary and humor laced with a tinge of malice."—Anne Gowen, The Washington Times"Strong Motion is a roller coaster thriller . . . Franzen captures with unnerving exactness what it feels like to be young, disaffected and outside mainstream America. There is an uncannily perceptive emotional truth to this book, and it strikes with the flinty anger of an early-sixties protest song."—Will Dana, Mirabella"Franzen is one of the most extraordinary writers around . . . Strong Motion shows all the brilliance of The Twenty-Seventh City."—Laura Shapiro, Newsweek"Lyrical, dramatic and, above all, fearless . . . Reading Strong Motion, one is not in the hands of a writer as a fine jeweler or a simple storyteller. Rather, we're in the presence of a great American moralist in the tradition of Dreiser, Twain or Sinclair Lewis."—Ephraim Paul, The Philadelphia Inquirer"With this work, Franzen confidently assumes a position as one of the brightest lights of American letters . . . Part thriller, part comedy of manners, Strong Motion is full of suspense."—Alicia Metcalf Miller, f1The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) "Wry, meticulously realistic, and good."—Entertainment Weekly"Franzen's dark vision of an ailing society has the same power as Don DeLillo's, but less of the numbing pessimism."—Details"Base and startling as a right to the jaw . . . [Franzen] is a writer of almost frightening talent and promise."—Margaria Fichtner, Miami Herald Views: 15
In her blazingly original and unforgettable debut novel Any Man, Amber Tamblyn brings to startling life a specter of sexual violence in the shadowy form of Maude, a serial female rapist who preys on men. In this electric and provocative debut novel, Tamblyn blends genres of poetry, prose, and elements of suspense to give shape to the shocking narratives of victims of sexual violence, mapping the destructive ways in which our society perpetuates rape culture. A violent serial rapist is on the loose, who goes by the name Maude. She hunts for men at bars, online, at home— the place doesn't matter, neither does the man. Her victims then must live the aftermath of their assault in the form of doubt from the police, feelings of shame alienation from their friends and family and the haunting of a horrible woman who becomes the phantom on which society projects its greatest fears,... Views: 15
From USA Today Bestselling Author M. Robinson I once read that every warrior hoped an honorable death would find him. I always went looking for mine, but not even the Reaper wanted me.I was trained to kill. I was trained to not ask why. To take orders and just march in line. Hooah motherfucker. Life or death.Ride or die.And I’m not only talking about the military. I’m talking about the life that led me on the road to nowhere.My life.I fought for my brothers. I fought for my family. I fought for my country. And I fought for her… Never realizing I might die for them too.** Views: 15
What Happens When You Give Away Your Man-card! What would you do if you found love...a love so unforgettable, you never wanted to let go. Even if it meant...becoming one's submissive. What if you could have the best of both worlds? The love that will burn forever...and the sex that is indescribable. What happens when this perfect world begins to crumble? This is the story of life, love, and amazing sex. Get lost in the dom/sub world of Ryan Rayner and Via Johnson. Just be sure to keep an extra pair of panties on hand... Views: 15
Julia Faber's Hawaiian-themed birthday bash is the talk of Abigail Adams Junior High, but one of the Beacon Street Girls doesn't get an invitation. Should the others be loyal to their slighted friend and miss the party of the year? And Maeve's got more than the party on her mind: She's in deep trouble in math class and afraid she may have to repeat seventh grade. It's no wonder the BSG are freaking out! Views: 15
In March 1985, Mal Duff led a new expedition to conquer Everest by the unclimbed north-east ridge.The last attempt by a Chris Bonington team had ended in failure and tragedy - with the deaths of two great climbers, Joe Tasker and Pete Boardman. Everyone knew the risks as well as the excitement of the challenge. In this extraordinary book, Greig chronicles not only the assault on the peak but also the complex inter-relationships of nineteen very different personalities living together. Views: 15
Originally conceived of by its Argentinian editors in 1937, and now published in English for the first time, this unusual and provocative volume is an omnibus collection. In addition to stories by Ballard, Poe, Saki, Max Beerbohm, Ray Bradbury, May Sinclair, de Maupassant and Julio Cortazar, there are shorter pieces, anecdotes, folkloric fragments, dreamlike moments. Most of the 79 selections are only a paragraph or two long, giving us brief passage into magical visions of the world culled from the work of an international array of authors of the past three centuries, including less well-known authors such as Santiago Dabove, Edwin Morgan and Niu Chiao. The keynote tale may well be Borges's own "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" in which an imaginary world, conjured up by manufactured documentation, ends up eroding our reality: reality is malleable, and imagination necessarily subverts and alters it. Views: 15
After losing his father in a mining accident, Crispin Constable has come to question many things in his life, all at the ripe age of twelve. What does it mean to be a man in a fatherless household? What is Mr. Duggan hiding in his safely guarded trunk? And most importantly, what is causing the thunderous ripping sound beneath the garden in the Constable’s very own backyard? Follow Crispin and the Constable siblings as they work to uncover the secrets Mr. Dick Duggan is hiding, the mystery surrounding their father’s death, and the terrifying truth of Rattleyard. Views: 15
Count Eduardo Cortes's fortune—and future at his beloved ranch—are in question. Tragedy, money woes and family pressure are now driving him toward a marriage of convenience. That is, until he encounters Bernadette Barron, wandering frightened and disheveled after a society ball.…Beneath the grime, it's clear Bernadette is beautiful and rich. But is she just another heartbreak waiting to happen or has Eduardo finally found the one woman who can save his ranch and heal his heart? The Spanish count can provide Bernadette with the title she needs—but can he return her feelings?Gazing into her husband's penetrating eyes, Bernadette sees not only his calculating ways but also his quick arousal to passion. Will their growing desire be enough to overcome the mounting challenges they face…and to claim the love she will not be denied?Review"Palmer demonstrates, yet again, why she's the queen of desperado quests for justice and true love."--Publisher's Weekly on Dangerous"The popular Palmer has penned another winning novel,a perfect blend of romance and suspense."-Booklist on Lawman"Palmer knows how to make the sparks fly...heartwarming."-Publishers Weekly on Renegade"Sensual and suspenseful."-Booklist on Lawless From the Inside FlapSavor the magic of New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer in a dazzlingly sensual story of turn-of-the-century Texas, of a man as enigmatic and forbidding as the sun-drenched land--and the woman who dares to cross into the uncharted territory of his heart.To Bernadette Barron, Eduardo Cortes was the enemy. A noble count with a sprawling ranch in the grand state of Texas, Cortes challenged her with dark, penetrating eyes that seemed to pierce her very soul. Could he see the burning truth: that she loved him? It is a secret Bernadette vows to keep--especially now that she is to become his wife. For theirs is a marriage bargain, pure and simple. He needs a rich wife to save his ranch; she needs a titled husband.Yet desire will turn a marriage of convenience into a passionate battle of wills, and change an innocent girl into a woman aware of her own powers of attraction. For it is love's fiery initiation that will make Bernadette aware of her own capacity for pleasure as well as her husband's skill at providing it. And it is the sheer force of her own love that will give her newfound strength to battle against the odds to claim a man and a love she will not be denied. . . . Views: 15
