From the author of Paris to the Moon, a beguiling tour of the morals and manners of our present food mania, in search of eating’s deeper truths. Never before have we cared so much about food. It preoccupies our popular culture, our fantasies, and even our moralizing. With our top chefs as deities and finest restaurants as places of pilgrimage, we have made food the stuff of secular seeking and transcendence, finding heaven in a mouthful. But have we come any closer to discovering the true meaning of food in our lives? With inimitable charm and learning, Adam Gopnik takes us on a beguiling journey in search of that meaning as he charts America’s recent and rapid evolution from commendably aware eaters to manic, compulsive gastronomes

When winter hits Crozet, Virginia, it hits hard--and hangs on for months. Thats nothing new to postmistress Mary Minor Harry Haristeen and her friends, who keep warm with hard work, hot toddies, and rabid rooting for the University of Virginias womens basketball team at the old stadium affectionately dubbed The Clam. But the usual postgame high spirits are laid low when contractor H. H. Donaldson drops dead in the parking lot. And pretty soon word has spread that it wasnt a heart attack that did him in. It just doesnt sit right with Harry that one of her fellow fans-- perhaps even an acquaintance or neighbor sitting close by in the stands--is a murderer. And as tiger cat Mrs. Murphy is all too aware, things that dont sit right with Harry make her restless, curious, and prone to poking her not-very-sensitive human nose into dangerous places. So the animals start paying closer attention to what the people around them are doing--and theyre the first ones to realize when the next murder occurs.It seems obvious to Harry that the deaths are connected--and she intends to find out exactly how. Theres no shortage of suspects, considering that H.H. was a ladies man whod left a trail of broken hearts all over town--the most recent belonging to his wife-- and that the second murder victim was not very popular in Crozet.As the police launch their investigation, Harry picks up clues through savvy questioning of everyone she knows. But its the critters who are most attuned to trouble-- they scent something wicked wafting Harrys way on the tail of the next snowstorm. And as Harry draws closer to the truth about a brutal killer, Mrs. Murphy and her friends realize its up to them to make sure their intrepid mom lands on her feet

New scene from Shadow and Bone told from Genya’s point of view http://www.facebook.com/GrishaTrilogy?sk=app_212097992149339&app_data

This is a novella set in a post-apocalyptic version of London where the fauna of mirrors have rebelled against their imprisonment. It was originally published in 2002 as a limited edition book by PS Publishing

The anthology centres around a piece of the True Cross, allegedly stained with the blood of Christ, which falls into the hands of Geoffrey Mappestone in 1100, at the end of the First Crusade. The relic is said to be cursed and, after three inexplicable deaths, it finds its way to England in the hands of a thief. After several decades, the relic appears in Devon, where it becomes part of a story by Bernard Knight, set in the 12th century and involving his protagonist, Crowner John. Next, it appears in a story by Ian Morson, solved by his character, the Oxford academic Falconer, and then it migrates back to Devon to encounter Sir Baldwin (Michael Jecks). Eventually, it arrives in Cambridge, in the middle of a contentious debate about Holy Blood relics that really did rage in the 1350s, where it meets Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael (Susanna Gregory). Finally, it's despatched to London, where it falls into the hands of Elizabethan players and where Philip Gooden's Nick Revill will determine its ultimate fate

Martina tells it like it really is, and her unique, honest and compassionate style shines through in her latest novel. Jackie Jackson is preparing a party to welcome home her husband Freddie. Everyone is gathered at the party, including her sister Maggie. But after six years in prison, Freddie thinks he is the Essex equivalent to the Godfather. And he's going to make sure everyone knows it

He's a fallen angel. She's a rockabilly reporter. Together they must solve a deadly string of murders plaguing the mortal and the immortal worlds. Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was over fifty years ago when gumshoes hoofed the streets… and he was still alive. Now he's a Centurion, an angel who assists other murdered souls through their journey to the afterlife. But while Shaw might be an angel… he's no saint. Haunted by the mysterious events surrounding his own death, he seizes a chance to wreak some vengeance when he witnesses a deadly attack on journalist Katherine "Kit" Craig. Joining forces, the unlikely avengers take to the streets, hunting a killer whose trail of bodies stretches across Las Vegas and into an immortal netherworld. It is a dangerous trek that lead them into the darkest corners of Sin City and into the heart of an evil conspiracy extending beyond the lights of the Strip that could destory them both. But destruction isn't the only threat Griffin faces. The closer he gets to Kit, the more he finds himself bewitched by her mortal charms. Can he resist falling under her spell? And does he want to?

The eagerly awaited second novel from the author of the widely acclaimed debut mystery The Calling. DI Hazel Micallef is still recovering from back surgery when a report comes in that a body has been found in a nearby lake, snagged under several feet of water. But as DC Wingate says, the whole thing is way too eerie. The first installment of a story has just been published in the local paper: a passage that describes in detail just such a discovery. Real life is far too close to fiction for coincidence. The second novel featuring Hazel Micallef is a stunning and suspenseful exploration of the obsessive far reaches of love. It will confirm Inger Ash Wolfe as one of the best mystery writers there is

True love can last an eternity… but immortality comes at a price… On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae – Lanny – walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her… despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort. And as she begins to tell her story, a story of enduring love and consummate betrayal that transcends time and mortality, Luke finds himself utterly captivated. Her impassioned account begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same small town of St. Andrew, Maine, back when it was a Puritan settlement. Consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town's founder, Lanny will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep – an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for all eternity. And now, two centuries later, the key to her healing and her salvation lies with Dr. Luke Findley. Part historical novel, part supernatural page-turner, The Taker is an unforgettable tale about the power of unrequited love not only to elevate and sustain, but also to blind and ultimately destroy, and how each of us is responsible for finding our own path to redemption

A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing. When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

On the morning that marks the end of the world they have known, Molly and Neil Sloan awaken to the drumbeat of rain on their roof. A luminous silvery downpour is drenching their small California mountain town. It has haunted their sleep, invaded their dreams, and now, in the moody purple dawn, the young couple cannot shake the sense of something terribly wrong. As the hours pass, Molly and Neil listen to disturbing news of extreme weather phenomena across the globe. By nightfall, their little town loses all contact with the outside world. A thick fog transforms the once-friendly village into a ghostly labyrinth. And soon the Sloans and their neighbors will be forced to draw on reserves of courage and humanity they never knew they had. For within the misty gloom they will encounter something that reveals in a shattering instant what is happening to their world-something that is hunting them with ruthless efficiency

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. And what happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out

Beartrix  Potter(1866-1943) - is one of the most notable authors of children's literature. Fairy tales, those created by her about animals, which were self-illustrated with graceful and tender water colors, are notable for delicate lyricism and soft  humour.  For the whole world's children she has completed 23 books with her fairy-tales. This is one of them

A true-life Catch-22 set in the deeply dysfunctional countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, by one of the region’s longest-serving correspondents. Kim Barker is not your typical, impassive foreign correspondent--she is candid, self-deprecating, laugh-out-loud funny. At first an awkward newbie in Afghanistan, she grows into a wisecracking, seasoned reporter with grave concerns about our ability to win hearts and minds in the region. In The Taliban Shuffle, Barker offers an insider’s account of the “forgotten war” in Afghanistan and Pakistan, chronicling the years after America’s initial routing of the Taliban, when we failed to finish the job. When Barker arrives in Kabul, foreign aid is at a record low, electricity is a pipe dream, and of the few remaining foreign troops, some aren’t allowed out after dark. Meanwhile, in the vacuum left by the U.S. and NATO, the Taliban is regrouping as the Afghan and Pakistani governments floun­der. Barker watches Afghan police recruits make a travesty of practice drills and observes the disorienting turnover of diplomatic staff. She is pursued romantically by the former prime minister of Pakistan and sees adrenaline-fueled col­leagues disappear into the clutches of the Taliban. And as her love for these hapless countries grows, her hopes for their stability and security fade. Swift, funny, and wholly original, The Taliban Shuffle unforgettably captures the absurdities and tragedies of life in a war zone

From the goldmines of South Africa to the boardrooms of the City of London, from the risks of the casinos to the heady glamour of the London fashion world, the author continues the saga of a family’s fortunes

Neither Sir Tristram Shield nor Eustacie, his young French cousin, share the slightest inclination to marry one another. Yet it is Lord Lavenham's dying wish. For there is no one else to provide for the old man's granddaughter while Ludovic, his heir, remains a fugitive from justice

The descendants of the Oven house of Shannara had all completed their quests. Walker Boh had restored the Druid's Keep with the Black Elfstone. Wren had restored the missing Elves to the Four Lands. And Par had found what was quite possibly the legendary Sword of Shannara. But their work was not yet done. The Shadowen still swarmed over the Four Lands, poisoning all with their dark magic. And the leader of the Shadowen, Kimmel-Dail, was determined that the scions of Shannara would not share the knowledge that would end the sickness. For Walker, he would dispatch the Four Horsemen. For Wren, he sent an untrue friend. And for Par, he devised the most terrible fate of all. The charges given by the shade of the Druid Allanon were doomed to failure—unless the Shannara children could escape the traps being laid for them, and Par could find a way to use... the Sword of Shannara!

Frank Gruber’s amateur and usually unwilling sleuths — Johnny Fletcher, book salesman extraordinary, and Sam Cragg, his side kick — have a knack of getting into trouble. This is the third time and the trouble is even more desperate than in the hair raising days of THE FRENCH KEY and THE LAUGHING FOX. Thrown into jail for vagrancy in a little Minnesota town, Johnny and Sam wake up to find that one of their cell mates has been murdered in the night. That was bad enough, but the murdered boy was Tom Quisenberry, heir to the Quisenberry clock fortune. In the confusion, Johnny and Sam wasted no time breaking jail because they knew they would be charged with the murder. They did the only thing they could do; they started out to solve the murder to clear themselves. Working their way east, they went to the fantastic Quisenberry estate outside New York City, home of the remarkable Quisenberry family and of the Quisenberry collection of thousands of valuable clocks. They followed the erratic wanderings of the Talking Clock, the incredibly valuable item stolen from the collection. Johnny hoped that the answer to all their troubles would be found in what the Talking Clock said

Sam Tucker used his magic to save a friend — and woo a Sioux maiden

Talmage Powell (1920–2000) was one of the all-time great mystery writers of the pulp magazines (and later the digest mystery magazines). He claimed to have written more than 500 short stories, and we have no reason to doubt him — we are working on a bibliography of his work and have documented 373 magazine stories so far... and who knows how many are out there under pseudonyms or buried in obscure magazines? He wrote his first novel, The Smasher, in 1959. He went on to pen 11 more novels under his own name, 4 as “Ellery Queen,” and 2 novelizations of the hit TV series Mission: Impossible. Clearly, though short stories were his first love

At the Tango briefing Quiller got his orders. Orders that sent him on a bizarre undercover operation, a double-suicide mission in the Sahara. His assignment: find and destroy a mysterious downed aircraft before the world learns of its existence, before its cargo is disclosed, and before enemy agents destroy the plane and possibly Quiller along with it! "Breathless excitement mounting to a screaming crescendo…a real stemwinder…the action is fast and deadly!" (Publisher's Source)

The New Moral Order. A ferocious military dicatorship. A new, extreme detainment system in which the Tanks are the terrible instrument for a radical purge of society. Giovani Corte, a you man full of hopes, gets the long sought role of Keeper of Tank 9, where he will spend a whole year. And so he starts walking a new path – inexorable, clastrofobic, unreal – on the darkest corners of the human soul, towards the pitch-black heart of the horrors living both inside and outside us

"The Tanners is a contender for Funniest Book of the Year." — The Village Voice The Tanners, Robert Walser’s amazing 1907 novel of twenty chapters, is now presented in English for the very first time, by the award-winning translator Susan Bernofsky. Three brothers and a sister comprise the Tanner family — Simon, Kaspar, Klaus, and Hedwig: their wanderings, meetings, separations, quarrels, romances, employment and lack of employment over the course of a year or two are the threads from which Walser weaves his airy, strange and brightly gorgeous fabric. “Walser’s lightness is lighter than light,” as Tom Whalen said in Bookforum: “buoyant up to and beyond belief, terrifyingly light.” Robert Walser — admired greatly by Kafka, Musil, and Walter Benjamin — is a radiantly original author. He has been acclaimed “unforgettable, heart-rending” (J.M. Coetzee), “a bewitched genius” (Newsweek), and “a major, truly wonderful, heart-breaking writer” (Susan Sontag). Considering Walser’s “perfect and serene oddity,” Michael Hofmann in The London Review of Books remarked on the “Buster Keaton-like indomitably sad cheerfulness [that is] most hilariously disturbing.” The Los Angeles Times called him “the dreamy confectionary snowflake of German language fiction. He also might be the single most underrated writer of the 20th century….The gait of his language is quieter than a kitten’s.” “A clairvoyant of the small” W. G. Sebald calls Robert Walser, one of his favorite writers in the world, in his acutely beautiful, personal, and long introduction, studded with his signature use of photographs

Arianna Devlin is a high powered advertising executive with ambition and too much stress. Desperate for balance, she enrolls in a yoga school to teach her certain lessons. Breathe. Stay calm. Be in the moment. And ignore her sexy yoga teacher who is becoming a major distraction… Grant Madison runs a yoga school and lives by one code: don’t get involved with the students. But when Arianna walks into his studio, his resolve begins to crumble. He offers her a deal: a secret affair while in the studio, and the practice of tantric sex in the bedroom… But when lust turns into love, Arianna and Grant are forced to make a difficult choice. Can Arianna reject the career opportunity of a lifetime for the possibility of love? Can Grant ignore his past and take a chance on the future?

With the other two books in this series, James does an excellent job of conveying many of the lessons of large software project management and software design in a series of short, accessible anecdotes which can be easily digested by someone who is just coming to the field, or who doesn’t have the time and focus to really digest Brooks ("The Mythical Man-month") or Demarco/Lister ("Peopleware"). This set is concise and to-the-point, and a must have for the new project manager or project lead

What happens when a Chinese dragon meets an American tigress? Rowr! Discovering that she's a Tantric sex goddess has given Tracy Williams a new mantra: more, more, more... And the source of that divine revelation is her hunky Chinese-born erotica instructor. When her yin bumps up against his yang, she's literally communing with heaven. Now that he has awoken her inner power, Nathan Gao is obligated to bring Tracy to the sacred Hong Kong temple for a life of training and devotion. No matter how much he wants her for himself. But when he makes her choose--sex or love--is he ready for the consequences?

“A book to be plundered and raided.” — New York Times Book Review “A portal into a world of timeless travel literature curated by one of the greatest travel writers of our day.” — USA Today Paul Theroux celebrates fifty years of wandering the globe in this collection of the best writing from the books that have shaped him as a reader and a traveler. Part philosophical guide, part miscellany, part reminiscence, The Tao of Travel contains excerpts from the best of Theroux’s own work interspersed with selections from travelers both familiar and unexpected: Vladimir Nabokov Eudora Welty Evelyn Waugh James Baldwin Charles Dickens Pico Iyer Henry David Thoreau Anton Chekhov Mark Twain John McPhee Freya Stark Ernest Hemingway Graham Greene and many others “Dazzling. . Like someone panning for gold, Theroux reread hundreds of travel classics and modern works, shaking out the nuggets.” — San Francisco Chronicle

Catherine Coulter's sensational contemporary suspense novels "The Cove" and "The Maze" were gripping enough to establish Coulter firmly in the genre, hailed "Publishers Weekly". Now, with "The Target", Coulter again lays claim to the territory where romance and terror intersect. Hoping to escape unwanted celebrity in the aftermath of a notorious incident, Ramsey Hunt settles in the Rockies, determined to bury himself in the safety of a solitary existence. But his isolation is shattered when he stumbles upon a small girl unconscious in the high-altitude forest. When strangers pursue Ramsey to his private meadow in an attempt to kill him and the girl, he's mystified that anyone would wish her harm. And the child can't shed any light on the subject: she's mute. Molly Santana, the girl's mother, catches up with Ramsey and her daughter, mistaking her daughter's savior for a kidnapper. But soon Ramsey's real role becomes clear. With the strangers in pursuit, the trio flee to Chicago for sanctuary. Even there, however, the child's enemies prove as relentless as their motives are baffling. With an unexpected assist from FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock (last seen in "The Maze"), Molly and Ramsey begin to unravel the clues, and in the process they make an astonishing discovery as to the true nature of the target

The Twelfth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew. In the bitter winter of 1356 Matthew Bartholomew and his book-bearer Cynric accompany Brother Michael to Lincoln, so that Michael can be installed as a cathedral canon. Bartholomew is also on a personal quest, continuing his search for the beautiful Matilde. The Michaelhouse men find Lincoln an unholy place, riven by discord, with a Bishop seemingly unable to control the wild behaviour of his cathedral clergy, and with a sheriff happily accepting bribes to give him, if not Lincoln’s citizens, a peaceful life. They also find murder, and the reappearance of a holy relic that had been stolen more than twenty years earlier. Against their will, the Cambridge scholars are drawn into investigating the unnatural deaths, and the circumstances surrounding the provenance of the so-called Hugh Chalice, endangering both their lives and their souls as they are caught up in the maelstrom of corruption that courses through the ancient city. And through it all, Bartholomew continues his desperate hunt for the elusive Matilde …

Maybe there should be more lives than one — he longed for the lives he couldn’t have

"The forces of Light and Datk battle over Las Vegas in this very exciting series… Read at your own risk – it'll keep you up past your bedtime." – Charlaine Harris Vicki Pettersson returns with the second sign of the Zodiac! Joanna Archer has discovered the truth about her mysterious heritage to become a fully-fledged member of the supernatural Zodiac force, the Archer. Even as a mortal, Joanna Archer was nobody's idea of a victim. But now, infused with the power to alter the supernatural battle between Shadow and Light forever, what she's become is a target. And when a toxic virus invades the valley, so do all of her allies. It's up to Joanna to find the cure that will save them all, but in order to do so she'll have to embrace her Shadow side… even if it leaves her with nowhere to hide in an all-out battle with the demons of her past

Amid the turbulence of World War II, a young German woman finds a precarious haven closer to the source of danger than she ever imagined—one that will propel her through the extremes of privilege and terror under Hitler’s dictatorship… In early 1943, Magda Ritter’s parents send her to relatives in Bavaria, hoping to keep her safe from the Allied bombs strafing Berlin. Young German women are expected to do their duty—working for the Reich or marrying to produce strong, healthy children. After an interview with the civil service, Magda is assigned to the Berghof, Hitler’s mountain retreat. Only after weeks of training does she learn her assignment: she will be one of several young women tasting the Führer’s food, offering herself in sacrifice to keep him from being poisoned. Perched high in the Bavarian Alps, the Berghof seems worlds away from the realities of battle. Though terrified at first, Magda gradually becomes used to her dangerous occupation—though she knows better than to voice her misgivings about the war. But her love for a conspirator within the SS, and her growing awareness of the Reich’s atrocities, draw Magda into a plot that will test her wits and loyalty in a quest for safety, freedom, and ultimately, vengeance. Vividly written and ambitious in scope, The Taster examines the harrowing moral dilemmas of war in an emotional story filled with acts of extraordinary courage

Three friends go on a foodie road trip to the Scottish Highlands and Islands to celebrate their pending retirement, expecting stunning scenery, great food, fine wines, and a chance to reminisce about the good old days. When they somehow secure a reservation at a remote and extremely exclusive restaurant set on a private island in Loch Broom, they know they’re in for a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience. The question is: what is on the menu? Because all is not as it seems. One of the three friends is a killer, one is a liar, and one will do whatever it takes to survive

Teen-aged Tod goes in search of his missing older brother. He takes a job as a cabin boy, and later stoker on a freighter out of San Francisco bound for Genoa. An interesting story because of the vividly realistic portrayal of life aboard tramp freighters in the inter-war years. Also interesting is the treatment of drug addiction in the days when it wasn't so painfully common

The incredible story of the Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist and the woman he loved. Lale Sokolov is well-dressed, a charmer, a ladies’ man. He is also a Jew. On the first transport from Slovakia to Auschwitz in 1942, Lale immediately stands out to his fellow prisoners. In the camp, he is looked up to, looked out for, and put to work in the privileged position of Tätowierer – the tattooist – to mark his fellow prisoners, forever. One of them is a young woman, Gita, who steals his heart at first glance. His life given new purpose, Lale does his best through the struggle and suffering to use his position for good. This story, full of beauty and hope, is based on years of interviews author Heather Morris conducted with real-life Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov. It is heart-wrenching, illuminating, and unforgettable

Granny Catchprice runs her family business (and her family) with senility, cunning, and a handbag full of explosives. Her daughter Cathy would rather be singing Country & Western than selling cars, while Benny Catchprice, sixteen and seriously psychopathic, wants to transform a failing auto franchise into an empire—and himself into an angel. Out of the confrontation between the Catchprices and their unwitting nemesis, a beautiful and very pregnant agent of the Australian Taxation Office, Peter Carey, author of Oscar and Lucinda, creates an endlessly surprising and fearfully convincing novel