Mary and O’Neil frequently marveled at how, of all the lives they might have led, they had somehow found this one together. When they met at the Philadelphia high school where they’d come to teach, each had suffered a profound loss that had not healed. How likely was it that they could learn to trust, much less love, again?
Justin Cronin’s poignant debut traces the lives of Mary Olson and O’Neil Burke, two vulnerable young teachers who rediscover in each other a world alive with promise and hope. From the formative experiences of their early adulthood to marriage, parenthood, and beyond, this novel in stories illuminates the moments of grace that enable Mary and O’Neil to make peace with the deep emotional legacies that haunt them: the sudden, mysterious death of O’Neil’s parents, Mary’s long-ago decision to end a pregnancy, O’Neil’s sister’s battle with illness and a troubled marriage. Alive with magical nuance and unexpected encounters, Mary and O’Neil celebrates the uncommon in common lives, and the redemptive power of love. Views: 651
A Breath of Fiction is a unique collection of 200 stories, each made up of exactly 200 words. The stories range in mood from serious to enigmatic to poignant to silly. Some closely examine ordinary moments that might easily be overlooked. Others open a window to the fantastic and to the impossible. But all of the stories are concerned with what it means to experience life.A Breath of Fiction is a unique collection, since each of the 200 stories contained in the volume is made up of exactly 200 words. The stories range in mood from serious to enigmatic to poignant to silly. Some stories closely examine ordinary moments that might easily be overlooked in the course of a day or a lifetime. Other stories open a window to the fantastic and to the impossible. But all of the stories are concerned with what it means to experience life. The beauty of these very short stories, grouped into twelve different thematic categories, is that a reader may choose to read as much or as little as they choose at a time. Since these stories were originally posted online (on the blog also titled A Breath of Fiction), they are meant to be accessible for a brief moment of reading, or for a complete immersion in the variety of stories and experiences presented in these pages. Views: 650
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Lincoln in the Bardo and the story collection Tenth of December, a 2013 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction. In a profoundly strange country called Inner Horner, large enough for only one resident at a time, citizens waiting to enter the country fall under the rule of the power-hungry and tyrannical Phil, setting off a chain of injustice and mass hysteria.An Animal Farm for the 21st century, this is an incendiary political satire of unprecedented imagination, spiky humor, and cautionary appreciation for the hysteric in everyone. Over six years in the writing, and brilliantly and beautifully packaged, this novella is Saunders' first stand-alone, book-length work—and his first book for adults in five years. Views: 650
In the small town of Moscow, TN everything is calm and friendly until some new neighbors move to town. Jade and Janine Hawthorne, two suspicious acting sisters, move in and everything starts to change. A group of close friends experience something that changes their lives forever, even uncovering something unexpected.Jeffery considered himself a pretty good guy. He never bothered anybody and he never bothered to get involved. One day he witnesses a terrible event and does nothing. That lack of action may cost him.This short story deals with the subject of indifference, something we are all guilty of at one time or another, and what it may cost us. Views: 650
Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written.
Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and surgeon, Stephen Maturin, sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy — and a treacherous disease which decimates the crew.
The ingredients of a wonderfully powerful and dramatic O’Brian novel are heightened by descriptive writing of rare quality. Nowhere in contemporary prose have the majesty and terror of the sea been more effectively rendered than in the thrilling chase through an Antarctic storm in which Jack’s ship, under-manned and out-gunned, is the quarry not the hunter. Views: 650
This book is my account of my investigation into The Secret Society of the Great Pumpkin, a frightening annual Corps of Cadets Halloween tradition at Texas A&M University. Active Duty US Marine sergeant instructors assigned to Texas A&M play a cat and mouse game with cadets to stop The Great Pumpkin. If they can ever stop The Great Pumpkin just once, the tradition dies.Disclaimer: My story is laced with gobs of profanity. My heavy use of swear words is very likely to be offensive to meemaws, church ladies, and a bunch of men too.While it’s true that US Marines commonly spoke with profanities 20 years ago, I have a sense they use profanity less so today.The Secret Society of the Great Pumpkin is a real and secret society of the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University. You will never find one former cadet or student or faculty who will admit they’ve ever heard of it or they know anything about it. To talk about it is to bring forth the curse of The Great Pumpkin and find yourself haunted and ostracized by Aggies for the rest of your life. No Aggie would want that.This book is my account of my investigation into The Secret Society of the Great Pumpkin, a frightening annual Corps of Cadets Halloween tradition at Texas A&M University. Views: 650
Set in Bath, England, Love of Grace and Angels is the tale of a delusional stalker who believes he has fallen in love, and those lives touching his.For thirty-two year old stalker, Ricardo Mancini, obsession has become an addictive force, so when he crosses paths with an unhappy but beautiful woman, she instantly fills him with desire. While he relishes her attractive good looks, it is the inner beauty he sees that hooks him. But is it possible for a stalker to truly fall in love, when facts must always be forced to fit the fantasy? When infatuation drives every emotion? Another encounter will also affect Ric, as the entire Saturday morning sees a collision of lives that will begin to test resolve. Views: 650
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours comes an original, thrilling novel set in the universe of Star Trek: The Next Generation!The past returns to haunt Captain Jean-Luc Picard—a crime he thought long buried has been exposed, and he must return to Earth to answer for his role in a conspiracy that some call treason. Meanwhile, the U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to apprehend pirates who have stolen vital technology from a fragile Federation colony. But acting captain Commander Worf discovers that the pirates' motives are not what they seem, and that sometimes standing for justice means defying the law.... Views: 650
Muse is a young cat whose mind has a special power, but she feels trapped living her life as a stray in the big city. Her heart yearns for the countryside. She embarks on a powerful journey with friends at her side who teach her about love, loss, redemption, and most importantly, the joy of finding a home.Muse is a young cat whose mind has a special power, but she feels trapped living her life as a stray in the big city. With no memories of her kittenhood, she is haunted by dreams of the countryside, and she begins to wonder if the country is her real home.Two other stray city cats befriend Muse, and each of them has its own journey to make as well. Together, they embark on an adventure to discover what it means to be home, to find peace, to experience joy, love, loss, and acceptance, and to experience a wild ride along the way.Will Muse's unique abilities help or hinder her on her quest? Will she find the dream she's looking for? Views: 650
"Polk Salad Annie, the gators got your granny." And more. A tale of lust and cruelty in a backwater settlement along the Trinity River.A scandalous moment of surrender to Marcus Fairweather, Earl of Sheldon and May Thorne is riddled with guilt: all despite the fact her debauched husband’s passions are sated anywhere but in the marital bed. Worse, when Squire Thorne is brutally murdered, her legacy is determined by a clause in her late husband’s will. Thus wedlock to his lawyer, a man of zealous moral and religious bent is utterly abhorrent to her. Nonetheless, the lawyer is of mind to enact the clause in haste, and his ardent advances are somewhat intense and unsettling. But who shot Squire Thorne poses a mystery – the lawyer, the earl, or a strange intruder who steals nothing? In the aftermath of death a long-held family secret is finally revealed, and when a shadowy figure looms in her moonlit bedchamber, she fears the outcome... Views: 650
This near-future political satire about the election of a new president argues that socialism and populism will eventually give rise to chaos and disaster. Authored by Ingersoll Lockwood—around whom conspiracy theories concerning the sci-fi/fantasy character Baron Trump now abound—1900; or, The Last President is notable for both its clairvoyance and its reflection on the social movements and political climate of its time. Views: 650
