Some live boring. Some even die boring. Fred managed to do all three, and when he woke up as a vampire, he did so as a boring one. Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort.One fateful night – different from the night he died, which was more inconvenient than fateful – Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos that is the parahuman world, a world with chipper zombies, truck driver wereponies, maniacal necromancers, ancient dragons, and now one undead accountant trying his best to “survive.” Because even after it’s over, life can still be a downright bloody mess.

    Critics internationally have lauded the band’s brain trust, Robert Pollard, as a once-in-a-generation artist. Pollard has been compared by The New York Times to Mozart, Rossini, and Paul McCartney (in the same sentence) and everyone from P. J. Harvey, Radiohead, R.E.M., the Strokes, and U2 has sung his praises and cited his music as an influence. But it all started rather prosaically when Pollard, a fourth-grade teacher in his early thirties from Dayton, Ohio, began recording songs with drinking buddies in his basement. James Greer, an acclaimed music writer and former Spin editor, enjoys a unique advantage in having played in the band for two years. This personal connection grants him unparalleled insight and complete access to the workings of Pollard’s muse.

    Just to see what would happen, he placed a whimsical ad in a local London paper. It said, simply, "Join Me." Within a month, he was receiving letters and emails from teachers, mechanics, sales reps, vicars, schoolchildren and pensioners--all pledging allegiance to his cause. But no one knew what his cause was. Soon he was proclaimed Leader. Increasingly obsessed and possibly power-crazed, Danny risked losing his sanity and his loyal girlfriend. But who could deny the attraction of a global following of devoted joinees?A book about dreams, ambition, and the responsibility that comes with power, Join Me is the true story of a man who created a cult by accident, and is proof that whilst some men were born to lead, others really haven't got a clue.

    He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother’s wedding. He mops his sister’s floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn’t it? In his newest collection of essays, David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives — a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is another unforgettable collection from one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today.--davidsedarisbooks.com

    He had to die to meet the (monster) girl of his dreams.Jack is a survival expert who wakes up after an avalanche on a snow-covered mountain, and has to fight for survival every inch of the way.Then he meets Lelia, a beautiful monster girl from a tribe of women who need Jack’s help.They need protection…They need a warrior…And more than anything, they need a man.Jack’s about to give them everything they want.

    Incorporating sources from history, literature, magazines, and cinema, as well as her own witty anecdotes, Smith has created an engaging, informative guide to modern style.

     Anyone can have the same healthy, balanced lifestyle and a closer connection to their food—whether you live in a house in the suburbs, a farmhouse in the countryside, or an apartment in the city. The Homegrown Paleo Cookbook shows you how. With over 100 seasonal Paleo recipes, guides to growing your own food and raising animals, and inspiring how-tos for crafts and entertaining,The Homegrown Paleo Cookbook is a guide not just for better eating, but for better living—and a better world.

    Fifteen years later they have two young daughters, live in a beautiful London townhouse and seem like they have it all. But one day, Pete leaves for work and never comes home. In a note Kate discovers, he confesses that he’s been unhappy for a long time and that he’s met someone else.Distraught, Kate later learns that he has left everything, including his mobile phone, behind and sets out to learn the truth about her husband’s disappearance. But is she prepared for what she will learn?When nothing is as it seems, who can you trust?

    at any cost. His determination is legendary, as well as his unwillingness to toe the corporate line.When the persistent publicist and the stubborn captain butt heads, it's hard enough to crack the ice. But they may end up melting it instead...

    What Garrison Keillor did for Lake Wobegon and Jan Karon did for Mitford, Gail Fraser has done for Lumby - a town so heartwarming and endearing, you'll be forever transported. An engaging cast of characters populates Lumby, a one-moose town in the Pacific Northwest where pigs literally fly and goats invade the bank vault, a dog runs for mayor (and wins!) and Sheriff Dixon keeps a gentle watch over all the quirky goings-on. Arousing the suspicions of the townsfolk of Lumby, Pam and Mark Walker, a couple of "East Coasters" purchase the community's fire-ravaged and neglected monastery, intent on converting it into a historic inn and regaining its Historical Register status.With the aid of the sometimes helpful, often humorously hapless local tradespeople, the Walkers begin their renovation project, while trying to unravel the town that is Lumby. Facing the open hostility from the cranky old newspaper publisher, the newcomers attempt to 'fit in' and piece together the mysteries of the benefactor who leaves unsolicited checks in old journals and the flamingo in their front yard with a flair for fashion. It doesn't take them long to realize that the local paper, The Lumby Lines, provides many of the answers. The daily "Sheriff's Complaints" column reveals many of the town's foibles and benign mayhem, and introduce Pam and Mark to some of the more colorful locals, while the young reporter of the weekly, "What's New Around Town" feature longs to land the big "expose," but somehow never gets it right. Despite the setbacks that occur, Pam and Mark's commitment to the inn and the town never sways.As the previous tenants of the monastery assist the Walkers in learning its history, the intrigue builds and romance blossoms, and they unknowingly discover long-hidden relationships which lead to unexpected reconciliations. Joining in the annual Lumby Raft Race ensues, Pam and Mark find themselves in the middle of a near disastrous scenario, and the people of Lumby learn the true nature of their newest residents.The Lumby Lines paints a picture full of laughter and love that readers will take to their hearts--and conjures up magic in an everyday place called Lumby.

    He was making his presence known to my wolf and I. He was marking his territory and learning it carefully. I swallowed hard. When his nose reached the crook of my neck where my pulse beats a low throaty growl rumbled from his chest and then his hand trailed up my arm sending a spark down to my core. No words were spoken. It was just his nose and lips trailing from my neck to my jaw. When he got to my ear he spoke in a low raspy voice. "You're mine, ma cherie." His accent was prominent as he spoke huskily. He then nipped my earlobe before licking it gently and pulled back.°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°Rejection has never been sweeterFor Patience, life gets interesting when rejection by the one fated to be yours throws you into the yearly Hunting Game in hopes to find your chosen.

    Then there is the appalling, yet utterly lovable, Lewis Miner, class of '89---a.k.a Teabag---who did not pan out. Home Land is his confession in all its bitter, lovelorn glory.

    Ethan Jarlewski and five co-workers whose surnames begin with "J" are bureaucratically marooned in jPod, a no-escape architectural limbo on the fringes of a massive Vancouver game design company. The jPodders wage daily battle against the demands of a boneheaded marketing staff, who daily torture employees with idiotic changes to already idiotic games. Meanwhile, Ethan's personal life is shaped (or twisted) by phenomena as disparate as Hollywood, marijuana grow-ops, people-smuggling, ballroom dancing, and the rise of China. JPod's universe is amoral, shameless, and dizzyingly fast-paced like our own. Praise for JPod: "JPod is a sleek and necessary device: the finely tuned output of an author whose obsolescence is thankfully years away."-New York Times Book Review"It's to [Coupland's] credit that in JPod he's still nimble enough to take the post-modern man-too young for Boomer nostalgia and too old for youthful idealism-and drown his sorrows in a willful, joyful satire that revels in the same cultural conventions that it sends up."-Rocky Mountain News "It's time to admire [Coupland's] virtuoso tone and how he has refined it over 11 novels. The master ironist just might redefine E. M. Forster's famous dictate 'Only connect' for the Google age."-USA Today "Zeitgeist surfer Douglas Coupland downloads his brain into JPod."-Vanity Fair

    Without it, there would be no great art, no advances in science and technology, and no extreme sports. Without it, we'd also be deprived of the many insights into human nature that we get out of witnessing other people do shockingly imprudent things and then try to rationalize them. Stuck Up! capitalizes on this human capability of coming up with creative applications for everyday (and not-so everyday) items way beyond their designated uses, and features 100 X-ray images of foreign objects inserted into human bodies, accidentally or on purpose."It was a million-to-one shot, Doc.""My hands were full.""I fell."These and many other ludicrous excuses are what emergency room doctors hear every day from patients who check in with various items inserted where the sun don't shine, stuck in various orifices, or ingested in other ways.How exactly did that cell phone end up there? Was it on vibrate? And is the rectum truly the best place to store your bronzed baby shoes? It is at least somewhat understandable to find a rectal thermometer in its intended place, but how about your six-year-old daughter's Barbie doll?Start browsing this hilarious collection of images – you'll be surprised at the patients' creativity and the medical information provided. And: Don't try this at home.…

    Each story goes off like a tiny depth charge in the mind, leaving you with the trace memory of some new urban myth - comic, absurd and disturbingly true.