'I hate that wall. Everytime I go for a bike-ride Mum says, "Stay within the walls". So I ride around in circles, Like a circus animal. It's a prison. A prison for kids.' Dumb things become important when you're old. At least that's what Tom reckons like living in a guarded gate community, filling the three spare rooms with a bottle top collection or secretly belly dancing while everyone's out. When Tom meets Cleo the snake charmer, together they break-out, discover a bull that hasn't become a hamburger, visit Tom's forbidden grandfather and catch and boil yabbies by Murchison Creek. Another funny, quirky adventure about friendship, families and saving the world, from popular award-winning storyteller Steven Herrick. Views: 75
Samara has been given a full scholarship to Lupi Lucania Universitas Scholarium in Italy. It's a dream come true. The university is one of the best in the world, and she intends to make the most of it. What she doesn't count on is two very distracting brothers who have a different idea of advancing her education than she does.
Usually she-wolves come to the University with full knowledge of Lupine history and traditions. James and Jason will have to teach their little mate everything. Born to a human who refused to take her wolf mate permanently into her life, Samara is nothing like what the duo envisioned...and more than they ever hoped for. Views: 73
Everybody has their secrets. Who, for instance, is the hooded figure hiding in the bushes outside a young man's house? Why does the same stranger keep appearing in the background of a family's holiday photographs? What makes a woman stand mesmerized by two children in a school playground, children she's never met but whose names she knows well? All will be revealed . . . but at a cost. As Sophie Hannah uncovers the dark obsessions and strange longings behind the most ordinary relationships, life will never seem quite the same again. Views: 73
It is a delightful employment to discover and trace the operations of divine grace, as they are manifested in the dispositions and lives of God’s real children. It is peculiarly gratifying to observe how frequently among the poorer classes of mankind the sunshine of mercy beams upon the heart, and bears witness to the image of Christ which the Spirit of God has impressed thereupon. Among such, the sincerity and simplicity of the Christian character appear unencumbered by those obstacles to spirituality of mind and conversation which too often prove a great hindrance to those who live in the higher ranks. Many are the difficulties which riches, worldly consequence, high connections, and the luxuriant refinements of polished society, throw in the way of religious profession. Happy indeed it is (and some such happy instances I know) where grace has so strikingly supported its conflict with natural pride, self-importance, the allurements of luxury, ease, and worldly opinion, that the noble and mighty appear adorned with genuine poverty of spirit, self-denial, humble-mindedness, and deep spirituality of heart. But, in general, if we want to see religion in its most simple and pure character, we must look for it among the poor of this world who are rich in faith. How often is the poor man’s cottage the palace of God! Many can truly declare that they have there learned the most valuable lessons of faith and hope, and there witnessed the most striking demonstrations of the wisdom, power, and goodness of God. The character which the present narrative is designed to introduce to the notice of my readers is given from real life and circumstances. I first became acquainted with her by receiving the following letter, which I transcribe from the original now before me:— “Rev. Sir, “I take the liberty to write to you. Pray excuse me, for I have never spoken to you. But I once heard you, when you preached at --- Church. I believe you are a faithful preacher to warn sinners to flee from the wrath that will be revealed against all those that live in sin, and die impenitent. Pray go on in the strength of the Lord. And may he bless you, and crown your labour of love with success, and give you souls for your hire! “The Lord has promised to be with those whom he calls and sends forth to preach his word, to the end of time; for without him we can do nothing. I was much rejoiced to hear of those marks of love and affection to that poor soldier of the S. D. militia. Surely the love of Christ sent you to that poor man. May that love ever dwell richly in you by faith! May it constrain you to seek the wandering souls of men with the fervent desire to spend and be spent for his glory! May the unction of the Holy Spirit attend the word spoken by you with power, and convey deep conviction to the hearts of your hearers! May many of them experience the divine change of being made new creatures in Christ! “Sir, be fervent in prayer with God for the conversion of sinners. His power is great, and who can withstand it? He has promised to answer the prayer of faith, that is put up in his Son’s name. ‘Ask what ye will, it shall be granted you.’ How this should strengthen our faith, when we are taught by the word and the Spirit how to pray! Oh, that sweet inspiring hope! how it lifts up the fainting spirits, when we look over the precious promises of God! What a mercy if we know Christ and the power of his resurrection in our own hearts! Through faith in Christ we rejoice in hope, and look up in expectation of that time drawing near when all shall know and fear the Lord, and when a nation shall be born in a day. “What a happy time when Christ’s kingdom shall come! Then shall ‘his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ Men shall be daily fed with the manna of his love, and delight themselves with the Lord all the day long. Then what a paradise below they will enjoy! How it animates and Views: 73
The world's most famous detective returns in this ingenious, stylish, and altogether delicious mystery from the author of the instant bestseller The Monogram Murders ("I was thrilled" — Gillian Flynn)."What I intend to say to you will come as a shock..."With these words, Lady Athelinda Playford — one of the world's most beloved children's authors — springs a surprise on the lawyer entrusted with her will. As guests arrive for a party at her Irish mansion, Lady Playford has decided to cut off her two children without a penny . . . and leave her vast fortune to someone else: an invalid who has only weeks to live.Among Lady Playford's visitors are two strangers: the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard. Neither knows why he has been invited — until Poirot begins to wonder if Lady Playford expects a murder. But why does she seem so determined to provoke a killer? And why... Views: 73
"May Sarton ranks with the very best of our distinguished novelists. A Shower of Summer Days establishes once and for all her unmistakable authority." —The New York Times The Irish estate home Dene's Court has been empty for years—its icy visage, shuttered windows, and overgrown tennis court are a burden for its caretakers and a curiosity for the nearby townspeople. And so the announcement that Violet Dene Gordon and her husband, Charles, are on their way back from British Burma to settle in the long-dormant estate sends a ripple of excitement through the sleepy village. For Violet, Dene's Court stands as a monument to her childhood, but lingering doubts remain about whether she and Charles will be happy there. Adding complexity to the arrangement is the arrival of Violet's American niece, a college student named Sally who has been sent by her mother in an effort to put an ocean between the impetuous young woman and the object... Views: 72
As a little girl growing up in Boston, Miriam Bluestein fantasized about a life lived on stage, specifically in a musical. Get married, have a family—sure, maybe she’d do those things, too, but first and foremost there was her career. As a woman, she is both tormented and consoled by those dreams in her day-to-day existence with her family, including a short-tempered husband, a cranky mother, and three demanding children, one of whom, Ethan, shows real talent for the stage.It is through Ethan that Miriam strives to realize her dreams. As she pushes him to make the most of his talent, the rest of her life gradually comes undone, with her husband becoming increasingly frustrated and her other two children—Sam, a mass of quirks and idiosyncrasies, and Julie, hostile and bitter—withdrawing into their own worlds. Still Miriam dreams, praying for that big finale, which, when it comes, is nothing that she ever could have imagined.Broadway Baby marks the fiction debut of a nationally acclaimed award-winning memoirist and poet, “an acute observer of moments, people, art and language [who] packs even seemingly simple stories with many layers of meaning” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).About the AuthorAlan Shapiro is the author of ten volumes of poetry and two memoirs, one of which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has received a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, among other honors. He currently teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Find him online at www.alanshapiro.org. Views: 72
When Edgar Allan Poe’s only novella was first published in 1838, the reviews were slow in coming and dismissive when they arrived. The book’s failure left Poe in such dire financial straits that he even accepted a job at one of the magazines that had panned it. But The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket has since become one of his most influential works: Baudelaire translated it, Paul Theroux read it out loud to Jorge Luis Borges, Jules Verne wrote a sequel to it, H. P. Lovecraft drew on it in creating his own tales of the Antarctic . . .Ostensibly, it’s a classic adventure story about a young boy who runs away to sea and encounters all the classic scenarios: mutinies, storms, shipwrecks, ravenous sharks, hostile natives. And Poe drew on many contemporary accounts of exploration in the South Seas to give his story a sense of verisimilitude.But there are far deeper currents at work in the book than mere adventure: elements of the supernatural as they near the South Pole, evocations of the protagonists’ experiences at sea that rival Poe’s best tales of horror, and a disturbing ending that continues to stir debate.From the Trade Paperback edition.About the AuthorEDGAR ALLAN POE was born the son of itinerant actors in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809. A year after his birth, his father abandoned the family, and his mother died of tuberculosis. Poe was taken into foster care by John Allan, a successful merchant in Richmond, Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia for a year, but left after running up severe gambling debts, which led to an estrangement from his foster family. In 1827, while a private in the U.S. Army, he published his first book of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems. After his discharge, he pursued a literary career and found editorial jobs at a series of periodicals, including the Southern Literary Messenger, which serialized The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. He became well-known as a scathing critic, and his reviews earned him the epithet “Tomahawk Man.” In 1835, Poe secretly married his cousin Virginia Clemm, but despite nonstop writing—criticism, poetry, short stories, and experimentation with fictional genres, including the detective novel, which he virtually invented with the publication of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)—he received scant recognition for his efforts until the publication of “The Raven” in 1845. The poem’s instant popularity gave him new visibility in literary circles, but his personal situation remained plagued by poverty and drink, and the illness and ultimate death of Virginia in 1847. In 1849, he was found semiconscious outside a Baltimore tavern. Taken to the hospital, he lingered for four days but never recovered. On October 7, Poe died at the age of forty. Views: 72
Two weeks after the Kings Canyon massacre, the crew of the Arazura is splintering apart. Haunted by what she witnessed, Sydel makes a fraught connection with a mysterious newcomer, CaLarca, who teaches the young woman about her abilities, but harbors dangerous secrets about both their pasts. Brothers Renzo and Cohen must deal with the aftermath of their absentee father's sudden death, while their sister, Phaira, struggles with her drug addiction, grief, and the presence of a former advisory while traveling as a bodyguard. As pressure mounts to make an arrest in the Kings Canyon case, and as a separate, unidentified danger draws closer, the foursome must work through their deep-rooted issues, learn to trust each other, and come together in the wake of new enemies. Views: 72
French author Guy de Maupassant's second novel “Bel Ami,” charts the incredible rise to power of journalist Georges Duroy. It’s widely considered Maupassant's greatest achievement as a novelist. By manipulating a series of wealthy mistresses Duroy rises from a poor peasant family in Normandy to become one of the most successful men in Paris. Set against the background of the politics of the French colonization of North Africa, the novel explores society and it’s attitudes toward sex, wealth, and power. It also places journalism under the microscope as a pointed satire. Read this book and discover how little has changed from the late nineteenth-century to today, and see why “Bel Ami” is one of the finest French novels ever written. Views: 72
