The Forest, Part 1 of 2


Edward Rutherfurd - 2000
    . . A sprawling tome that combines fact with fiction and covers 900 years in the history of New Forest, a 100,000-acre woodland in southern England . . . Rutherfurd sketches the histories of six fictional families, ranging from aristocrats to peasants, who have lived in the forest for generations. . . . But the real success is in how Rutherfurd paints his picture of the wooded enclave with images of treachery and violence, as well as magic and beauty.”–The New York Post

Edith Wharton: 14 Great Novels


Edith Wharton - 2014
    Included are also links to free audiobook verions of the novels.Edith Wharton was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927, 1928 and 1930.Wharton combined her insider's view of America's privileged classes with a brilliant, natural wit to write humorous, incisive novels and short stories of social and psychological insight. She was well acquainted with many of her era's other literary and public figures, including Theodore Roosevelt. Novels included: •The Touchstone, 1900•The Valley of Decision, 1902•Sanctuary, 1903•The House of Mirth, 1905•Madame de Treymes, 1907•The Fruit of the Tree, 1907•Ethan Frome, 1911•The Reef, 1912•The Custom of the Country, 1913•Bunner Sisters, 1916•Summer, 1917•The Marne, 1918•The Age of Innocence, 1920 (Pulitzer Prize winner)•The Glimpses of the Moon, 1922 Free audiobooks available for: •The Touchstone, 1900•The Valley of Decision, 1902 - not available as audiobook at this time•Sanctuary, 1903•The House of Mirth, 1905•Madame de Treymes, 1907•The Fruit of the Tree, 1907•Ethan Frome, 1911•The Reef, 1912•The Custom of the Country, 1913•Bunner Sisters, 1916•Summer, 1917 - not available as audiobook at this time•The Marne, 1918•The Age of Innocence, 1920 (Pulitzer Prize winner)•The Glimpses of the Moon, 1922Enjoy!

Peace on Earth: An Irma Saves Christmas Novella


Maia Ross - 2019
    Surrounded by seasonal joy - and way too many stuffed Yuletide beavers - at the island house her family has owned for generations, she's all set for the perfect holiday.But when a young friend asks for help with figuring out a financial snafu, her perfect day is in jeopardy. Can Irma - a woman with a yen for strong tea, cardio, and a well-oiled gun - find a thief before the festive season kicks off, or will Christmas be ruined?Peace on Earth is a 30,000 word holiday novella, and is the first book in the forthcoming Beaver Island Mystery series.

Where or When


Anita Shreve - 1993
    He is entranced by her image, flooded by memories of their teenage summer together, and utterly conpelled to make contact with her again. Charles sends Sian a letter, knowing all the while that "from the very first sentence of the very first note there was nothing innocent about it." Sian writes back - she is now a poet living with her husband and small child on an onion farm in Pennsylvania. She is intrigued that Charles has sought her out after so many years but wary of where their correspondence might lead. For Charles, troubled by financial woes, on the verge of losing his home, and concerned about the security of his family, the letters become a secret obsession and another source of instability in his already complicated life. Despite their reservations, the power of Charles and Sian's attraction leads them to meet again . . . and again. As Charles understands it, "for the two of them, eros is linked with time. It is the very urgency of time he dreads, the sense that their minutes together are short and numbered, that he must say what he has come to say before she leaves, that gestures and words cannot be wasted." Anita Shreve takes the classic theme of "Romeo and Juliet" and gives it an unusual twist: two lovers struggle against formidable odds, reaching across a lifetime to reclaim what they once lost. In doing so, they set in motion a tumultuous series of events that moves inexorably to a shocking conclusion.

The Eagle and the Tiger


Tim Davis - 2015
    The deceptive, crooked path that led him to today began a few months back. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, nineteen-year old Fleming was a professional baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox. His successful first year in the minor leagues was waylaid when he received his draft notice. Through a series of misadventures, he ended up enlisting for four years in an elite unit called the A.S.A. or Army Security Agency; the army’s equivalent to the N.S.A. or the National Security Agency. Once in the army, Fleming learned that the recruiter had manipulated him with a host of untruths. Then, to his dismay, he learned that the army had lost his orders and he was placed in an infantry unit. Once in Vietnam, Platoon Sergeant, Levine questioned Fleming and dragged out of him the sad story of how he had enlisted for four years and ended up in an infantry unit. He became the butt of the platoon’s jokes and underwent vicious ribbing by the other platoon members. That day, the platoon was ordered back to their base camp: L.Z. English. Before leaving, they endured a mortar attack and then a ground probe. Fleming’s foxhole mate was critically wounded. Fleming did everything he could to save the man but his wounds were too severe and he died in Fleming’s arms. Repulsed by the ordeal, Fleming was left wondering if he could endure a whole year of this. Twelve-year old Van Phan Duc and his two friends twelve-year old Hoi Anh Vanh and Dan Tri Quang lived happily in their village until the day a N.V.A. invaded and forced them to join their struggle and fight the invading Americans. They were then assigned to a Viet Cong unit where they met Sergeant Chi, the man who would train them to be soldiers for the revolution and lead them into battle. Three American soldiers had been captured. Chi ordered the three boys to participate in brutally torturing the Americans. Dan embraced the torture and it turned him into a brutal fighting machine, much to Chi’s satisfaction. On the other hand, Hoi was repulsed by the events and a part of him died that day. He performed the torture but it wasn’t to Chi’s satisfaction. Van, a devout Buddhist, was also repulsed. He realized that life, as a soldier was three hundred and sixty degrees opposite of Buddha’s spiritual path. The 173rd’s area of operations was the Central Highlands. The 173rd’s home base was in and around the town of Bong Son, but they patrolled all over the province of Binh Dinh. For the next few months, Fleming and Van’s units met on numerous occasions. The first time they engaged each other in combat was in a simple ambush that lasted only two minutes. Both men were left repulsed by the carnage that could take place in only two minutes. Right after the ambush, Fleming’s company was deployed in a battalion-sized operation located in the Dak To mountain range. It was an area where numerous North Vietnamese soldiers infiltrated into South Vietnam from neighboring Cambodia and Laos. Fleming’s company was dropped into an area far from Dak To and the men were forced to march (hump) to their final destination. During the trek, they had to carve their way through impenetrable jungle and cross leach infested rivers to reach their destination, all the while suffering under Vietnam’s oppressive heat. Van’s Viet Cong unit was sent to the Dak To mountain range to do battle with Fleming and his company. Months passed with Van and Fleming’s units constantly meeting. Both men had similar personalities. Both men overcame their initial shock at war’s brutality and became highly competent soldiers who bravely fought the enemy. Both men were ultimately made into squad leaders. Both men continued to hate the war, yet were entrapped in the insanity that was war. They both recognized what war was—a brutally insane series of events where lives were lost and where dreams died.

Bridge of Sighs: A Short Story of the Bubonic Plague


Laura Morelli - 2016
    But as the Black Death reaches its hand into his uncle’s workshop, young Tonino is faced with making a choice to survive. From the author of THE GONDOLA MAKER and MADE IN VENICE comes a short tale of pestilence, Venetian artisanship, and the will to live.

The Sheriff's Son


William MacLeod Raine - 1917
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

A Tangled Mercy


Joy Jordan-Lake - 2017
    Haunted by unanswered questions and her own uncertain future, she flees to Charleston, South Carolina, the place where her parents met, convinced it holds the key to understanding her fractured family and saving her career in academia. Kate is determined to unearth groundbreaking information on a failed 1822 slave revolt—the subject of her mother’s own research.Nearly two centuries earlier, Tom Russell, a gifted blacksmith and slave, grappled with a terrible choice: arm the uprising spearheaded by members of the fiercely independent African Methodist Episcopal Church or keep his own neck out of the noose and protect the woman he loves.Kate’s attempts to discover what drove her mother’s dangerous obsession with Charleston’s tumultuous history are derailed by a horrific massacre in the very same landmark church. In the unimaginable aftermath, Kate discovers a family she never knew existed as the city unites with a powerful message of hope and forgiveness for the world.

The Body


Stephen King - 1982
    Ray Brower, a boy from a nearby town, has disappeared, and twelve-year-old Gordie Lachance and his three friends set out on a quest to find his body along the railroad tracks. During the course of their journey, Gordie, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio come to terms with death and the harsh truths of growing up in a small factory town that doesn’t offer much in the way of a future. A timeless exploration of the loneliness and isolation of young adulthood, Stephen King’s The Body is an iconic, unforgettable, coming-of-age story.

Gym Rat & The Murder Club: Two New Stories (Kindle Single) (Crime Fiction Academy Presents...)


Lawrence Block - 2016
    Not quite what he expected, and not for the faint of heart.Founded in 2012, The Center for Fiction's Crime Fiction Academy is the first ongoing program exclusively dedicated to crime writing in all its forms. Hone your skills with bestselling crime fiction authors Alison Gaylin and Jason Starr. Attend master classes with crime fiction greats like Mary Higgins Clark, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Linda Fairstein, Nelson DeMille, Michael Connelly, Lisa Unger, and many more. Students receive a Writers’ Studio membership with access to our extensive circulating collection, and have the opportunity to read their work to an audience filled with editors, agents, and publishing professionals at our seasonal Crime Fiction Slam. Not in New York? Check centerforfiction.org for information about our online classes.

The Bookshop on the Corner


Rebecca Raisin - 2014
    The meet-cute, the passion, the drama and the gorgeous men! Now this wouldn’t have been such an issue if she hadn’t been the owner of the only bookshop in Ashford, Connecticut.Ever since her close friend Lil, from The Gingerbread Café, had become engaged she had been yearning for a little love to turn up in her life. Except Sarah knew a good man was hard to find – especially in a tiny town like Ashford. That was until New York journalist, Ridge Warner stepped into her bookshop…Love could be just around the corner for Sarah, but will she be able to truly believe that happy-ever-after can happen in real-life too!

The Counterfeit Candidate


Brian Klein - 2021
    Their bodies are burned and buried in the Reich Chancellery garden, above the Führer's bunker.Buenos Aires, 9th January, 2012Three audacious thieves carry out the biggest safe depository heist in Argentine history, escaping with more than one hundred million dollars' worth of valuables. Within hours, an encrypted phone call to America triggers a blood-soaked manhunt as the thieves are tracked down, systematically tortured, then murdered.San Francisco, 18th January, 2012Senator John Franklin, hailed as the 'Great Unifier', secures the Republican Presidential nomination and seems destined for the Oval Office. Despite the sixty-seven year interval and a span of thirteen thousand miles, these events are indelibly linked.Chief Inspector Nicolas Vargas of the Buenos Aires Police Department and Lieutenant Troy Hembury of the LAPD are sucked into a dark political conspiracy concealing an incredible historical truth stretching from the infamous Berlin bunker to Buenos Aires and to Washington, which threatens the very heart and soul of American democracy.

Eden Hall


Veronica Heley - 2004
    Now the fate of many people depends on what she will do with it. At the age of four, Araminta 'Minty' Cardale was exiled from Eden Hall on the wings of a scandal. Twenty years later, summoned by her half-sister, she has returned to see her dying father. But her hopes of a warm family welcome are shattered, and she is rejected once again. Making a place for herself in the village at the gates of Eden Hall, Minty begins to learn the truth about her father and her long-dead mother. She has yet to understand the threat she represents to family members who care only for money, power, and self-advancement, or the hope she offers to the community she is growing to love. And there are some who will do anything to prevent her finding out until it's too late. Thankfully, Minty has friends to stand by her, and, in this modern Cinderella story, she find an unlikely and unpredictable champion. At stake are the soul of her father on his deathbed---and the future of the entire village.

My Man Jeeves and Other Early Jeeves Stories


P.G. Wodehouse - 2011
    G. Wodehouse's most beloved character, Jeeves. This collection brings together all the stories found in the book "My Man Jeeves" as well as four other early stories. Contained in this volume you will find the following hilarious tales: Leave it to Jeeves, Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest, Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg, Absent Treatment, Helping Freddie, Rallying Round Old George, Doing Clarence a Bit of Good, The Aunt and the Sluggard, Extricating Young Gussie, Jeeves Takes Charge, Jeeves and the Chump Cyril, and Jeeves in the Springtime.

Visions of Distant Shores: An Andre Norton Collection


Andre Norton - 2010
    In most of Norton's works, alienated outsiders undertake a journey through which they realize their full potential. Many planets in the books are Earth-like places, where humans can live without special protection, and have extensive flora and fauna which are described in considerable detail and often have substantial bearing on the plot.On February 20, 2005, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, which had earlier honored her with its Grand Master Award in 1983, announced the creation of the Andre Norton Award, to be given each year for an outstanding work of fantasy or science fiction for the young adult literature market, beginning in 2006. Nobody today is telling better stories of straight-forward interstellar adventure.Included in this volume:Book One: Storm Over Warlock - Stranded on the alien world of Warlock, Shann Lantree's expedition camp has been wiped out by the Throgs, beings so alien that humans have yet to communicate with them. Lantree must quickly learn how to survive under harsh conditions while being chased by the Throgs -- and how to distinguish the real from the dreamed when he meets the mysterious Wyverns. A satisfying and mature novel which readers will seize upon if they want to enjoy a good adventure story...Book Two: Star Born - When the oppressive global dictatorship of Pax took over Earth they put a stop to space exploration. Still, a few rebels escaped in the sleeper ships to found free new colonies -- or perish in the attempt. Those few colonists that reached inhabitable worlds were cut off for centuries, and in that isolation and freedom they developed the mysterious mental powers that "civilization" had all but destroyed...Book Three: Star Hunter - Somewhere on the jungle world of Jumala, there was a man in hiding--a man whose mind had been reconditioned with another's brain pattern and for whom there was a fabulous reward. Star Hunter is a thrill-packed account of that other-worldly game of hide-and-seek between a man who did not know all his own powers and an interstellar safari that sought something no man had a right to find...Book Four: Plague Ship - A fast-moving suspense tale, full of unusual detail and unexpected turns. Several highlights make the book really shine: the sunset gorp hunt on the reefs of an oily sea; a raid on an asteroid's emergency station; and a landing in the Big Burn, resulting in an encounter with the mutant life-forms that reside there...Book Five: Voodoo Planet - Dane Thorson of the space-trader 'Solar Queen' found himself embroiled in a desperate battle of minds between the rational science of the spaceways and the hypnotic witchcraft of the mental wizard that ruled the Voodoo Planet...Book Six: The Gifts of Asti - Varta, the last priestess of Asti, lives alone with Lur, a telepath of the lizardfolk, in Asti's isolated mountain retreat. Decadent Memphir has long since drifted away from the austere paths of Asti, and now the barbarians of Klem are sacking the city, and the smoke of its burning drifts up to the temple...Book Seven: The People of the Crater - "Send the Black Throne to dust; conquer the Black Ones, and bring the Daughter from the Caves of Darkness." These were the tasks Garin must perform to fulfill the prophecy of the Ancient Ones--and establish his own destiny in this hidden land!This are the original and unabridged versions of these tales.