A stone wall divides the property line between two farms circa 1920, it has been there for generations, and is falling down. No one remembers who owns it and both think the other should fix it. Hate runs deep between the two farms. A young woman of the family comes to live on one side, and begins to melt the tension, or so she thinks. Excerpt from The Wall Between, the Howe and Webster farms adjoined, lying on a sun-flooded, gently sloping New Hampshire hillside. Between them loomed the wall. It was not a high wall. On the contrary, it is formidable as the result of tradition rather than of fact. For more than a century it had been an estranging harrier to neighborliness, to courtesy, to broad-mindedness; a barrier to friendship, to Christian charity, to peace. The builder of the rambling line of gray stone had long since passed away, and had he not acquired a warped importance with the years, his memory would doubtless have perished with him. All unwittingly, alas, lie had become a celebrity. Views: 116
The heat is on for Alyx Cruz as she struggles to find a balance between work and play... After a wild semester, the sisters of Beta Gamma Pi are worried that Alyx's partying is ruining their reputation on campus. When Alyx receives devastating news about her mom, and learns that because of her low grades her scholarship is on the line, she needs help fast. That's where tutor Cody Foxx comes in, a handsome grad student who's going to get Alyx through the challenges ahead—in school and out. But as director of the school play, Cody wants something in return: for Alyx to audition. It's going to be a year of hard work and tough emotions, but as Alyx faces her greatest fears, she just may get her act together in more ways than one... Views: 116
THE MEETING OF BOSEPHUS AND HORATIO "Oh, \'twas down in the woods of the Arkansaw,And the night was cloudy and the wind was raw, And he didn\'t have a bed and he didn\'t have a bite,And if he hadn\'t fiddled he\'d a travelled all night." BOSEPHUS paused in his mad flight to listen. Surely this was someone playing the violin, and the tune was familiar. He listened more intently. "But he came to a cabin and an old gray man,And says he, \'Where am I going? Now tell me if you can——\'" It was the "Arkansaw Traveller" and close at hand. The little boy tore hastily through the brush in the direction of the music. The moon had come up, and he could see quite well, but he did not pause to pick his way. As he stepped from the thicket out into an open space the fiddling ceased. It was bright moonlight there, too, and as Bosephus took in the situation his blood turned cold. In the center of the open space was a large tree. Backed up against this tree, and looking straight at the little boy, with fiddle in position for playing, and uplifted bow, was a huge Black Bear! Bosephus looked at the Bear, and the Bear looked at Bosephus. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he roared. "I—I am Bo-se-Bosephus, an\' I—I g-guess I\'m l-lost!" gasped the little boy. "Guess you are!" laughed the Bear, as he drew the bow across the strings. "An-an\' I haven\'t had any s-supper, either." "Neither have I!" grinned the Bear, "that is, none worth mentioning. A young rabbit or two, perhaps, and a quart or so of blackberries, but nothing real good and strengthening to fill up on." Then he regarded Bosephus reflectively, and began singing as he played softly:— "Oh, we\'ll have a little music first and then some supper, too,But before we have the supper we will play the music through." "No hurry, you know. Be cool, please, and don\'t wiggle so." But Bosephus, or Bo, as he was called, was very much disturbed. So far as he could see there was no prospect of supper for anybody but the Bear. "You\'ll forget all about supper pretty soon," continued the Bear, fiddling. "You\'ll forget about your supper—you\'ll forget about your home—You\'ll forget you ever started out in Arkansaw to roam." "My name is Horatio," he continued. "Called Ratio for short. But I don\'t like it. Call me Horatio, in full, please." "MAYBE YOU CAN PLAY IT YOURSELF." "Oh, ye-yes, sir!" said Bo, hastily. "See that you don\'t forget it!" grunted the Bear. "I don\'t like familiarity in my guests. But I am clear away from the song I was singing when you came tearing out of that thicket. Seems like I never saw anybody in such a hurry to see me as you were. "Now the old man sat a-fiddling by the little cabin door,And the tune was pretty lively, and he played it o\'er and o\'er;And the stranger sat a-list\'ning and a-wond\'ring what to do,As he fiddled and he fiddled, but he never played it through." Bo was very fond of music, and as Horatio drew from the strings the mellow strains of "The Arkansaw Traveller" he forgot that both he and the Bear were hungry.... Views: 116
The secret to instant height? Stand on a box.Want to make your money go further? Roll it down a hill.The answer to smelly feet? Wear a clothes pin on your nose.Eleven-year-old Johnny Swanson is in business. He's raking in the money with his advertising scams and his advice columnist persona, who offers advice on absolutely anything in return for a shilling. But his money-making schemes are getting him in too deep with the wrong kinds of people. Everything is spiralling out of control, and now his own mother is in mortal danger. There's only one thing to be done: Johnny must assume another role as undercover detective!In the spirit of Roald Dahl, this is a funny and delightful story with a satisfying mystery, a wonderful cast of characters, and an unlikely but completely likeable hero.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 116
Henrik Magnusson is supposed to be immortal, but a mysterious ailment leaves
the vampire king near death, and not even the blood of the Proffered, human virgins
trained to serve the elite, can sustain him. Then he rescues a beautiful young woman
from his enemies, and is filled with blood lust and desire he hasn’t felt for centuries.
Photographer Kaira Sorenson’s life takes a nightmare turn when she’s attacked by
blood-thirsty creatures—and saved by a vampire. She should be afraid of Henrik, but she
can’t deny her intense attraction to this regal, enigmatic being—nor the fact that her
blood may be his only salvation. Now she must decide if she’s willing to be his
forever... Views: 115
From the bestselling author of Crossing Oceans comes a powerfully moving story that tests the limits of love’s forgiveness. Like many marriages, Eric and Kyra Yoshida’s has fallen apart slowly, one lost dream and misunderstanding at a time, until the ultimate betrayal finally pushes them beyond reconciliation. Just when it looks like forgive and forget is no longer an option, a car accident gives Eric the second chance of a lifetime. A concussion causes his wife to forget details of her life, including the chasm between them. No one knows when—or if—Kyra’s memory will return, but Eric seizes the opportunity to win back the woman he’s never stopped loving. Views: 115
Now a major motion picture starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Billy Nighy, and Dev PatelWhen Ravi Kapoor, an overworked London doctor, reaches the breaking point with his difficult father-in-law, he asks his wife: “Can’t we just send him away somewhere? Somewhere far, far away.” His prayer is seemingly answered when Ravi’s entrepreneurial cousin sets up a retirement home in India, hoping to re-create in Bangalore an elegant lost corner of England. Several retirees are enticed by the promise of indulgent living at a bargain price, but upon arriving, they are dismayed to find that restoration of the once sophisiticated hotel has stalled, and that such amenities as water and electricity are . . . infrequent. But what their new life lacks in luxury, they come to find, it’s plentiful in adventure, stunning beauty, and unexpected love.Review“[Deborah] Moggach has served us a treat with this novel. Moving, sincere, funny.”—Independent on Sunday“Underneath the ironies, [The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel] is a book about remembering—too late, or not too late—how to be alive.”—The Times Literary Supplement“Classic Moggach: funny, touching, and . . . full of colours and visual details.”—*The Daily TelegraphAbout the AuthorDeborah Moggach is the author of sixteen successful novels, including the bestselling Tulip Fever, and two collections of stories. Her screenplays include Pride and Prejudice, which was nominated for a BAFTA. She lives in North London. Views: 115
Twenty years ago, Claire Maloney was the willful, pampered, tomboyish daughter of the town's most respected family, but that didn't stop her from befriending Roan Sullivan, a fierce, motherless boy who lived in a rusted-out trailer amid junked cars. No one in Dunderry, Georgia--least of all Claire's family--could understand the bond between these two mavericks. But Roan and Claire belonged together...until the dark afternoon when violence and terror overtook them, and Roan disappeared from Claire's life. Now, two decades later, Claire is adrift, and the Maloneys are still hoping the past can be buried under the rich Southern soil. But Roan Sullivan is about to walk back into their lives....By turns tender and sexy and heartbreaking and exuberant, A Place to Call Home is an enthralling journey between two hearts--and a deliciously original novel from one of the most imaginative and appealing new voices in Southern fiction. Views: 115
