Book picks similar to
The Last Quiz Night on Earth by Alison Carr
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The Kurt Vetter Trilogy (The Reluctant Hero)
William Esmont - 2014
With Amanda's help, he uncovers a rogue CIA plot to detonate a nuclear bomb in Moscow. Meanwhile, the assassins who killed his brother launch an all-out hunt to silence him and anyone else who may thwart their plans.In a frantic sprint across Europe, Kurt and Amanda must stay one step ahead of the killers while racing against the clock to prevent the bomb from incinerating millions of innocent people.Book Two: PressedBruised and battered from a recent mission, ex-CIA analyst Kurt Vetter is pressed into service once again when hackers launch a devastating cyber-attack on the United States Strategic Early Warning System, nearly triggering a nuclear confrontation.When Kurt and his partner Amanda Carter investigate the security lapse, they discover that elements of a Russian sleeper cell have compromised the integrity of the National Military Command Center. To further complicate matters, Kurt and Amanda also learn that a Chechen arms dealer with a stolen nuclear warhead is about to start selling suitcase nukes to the highest bidder.With membership in the nuclear club poised to explode and the United States effectively blinded to the threat, Kurt and Amanda are the last line of defense before the world descends into anarchy.Book Three: Blood in the StreetsA routine trip to China turns disastrous for intelligence agent Kurt Vetter when a deadly series of attacks on civilian targets plunges the country into anarchy. Trapped in a disintegrating nation, Kurt and his team take to the war-torn streets of Beijing to locate a Chinese double agent who may know the truth behind the source of the violence.As the politicians in Washington struggle with how to respond to the imminent collapse of the United States' largest trading partner, the responsibility falls on Kurt to prevent the destruction of the modern global economy.When the conflict begins to spread beyond China's borders, Kurt and his team learn the threat is larger and more insidious than anyone could have imagined. If they don't act fast, the entire region, and perhaps the entire world may be draw into a conflict unlike any seen before.
100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theater
Sarah Ruhl - 2012
She has written a stunningly original book of essays whose concerns range from the most minimal and personal subjects to the most encompassing matters of art and culture. The titles themselves speak to the volume's uniqueness: "On lice," "On sleeping in the theater," "On motherhood and stools (the furniture kind)," "Greek masks and Bell's palsy."100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write is a book in which chimpanzees, Chekhov, and child care are equally at home. A vibrant, provocative examination of the possibilities of the theater, it is also a map to a very particular artistic sensibility, and an unexpected guide for anyone who has chosen an artist's life.
My Sister in This House
Wendy Kesselman - 1981
This extraordinary drama, produced to acclaim at the Actors Theatre of Louisville originally, and at NYC's Second Stage is about a celebrated 1930's French murder case, in which two maids sisters were convicted of murdering their employer and her daughter. This very cinematically structured work explores the motivations whi
Swimming to Ithaca
Simon Mawer - 2007
Shortly before Dee dies, she tells her son, Thomas, that she thinks her death is a punishment. Thomas, whose own emotional life is complicated, tries to piece together his parents' lives in order to make sense of his mother's words.
Swaying
Lucinda Blanchard - 2015
But you can't choose what you have... can you? Desire soon turns to obsession as Charlotte embarks on a difficult and controversial journey to sway the odds to have a girl. How far is she prepared to go, and at what cost?
Julie & Julia
Nora Ephron - 2008
Trying to find a challenge in her life, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' in one year, and to blog about it. As Julie begins to find her groove as a cook, and her voice as a writer, the project takes on a life of its own. The project provides the struggling young woman with her life's purpose, to her very pleasant surprise. Julia Child has an amazing love affair with her dashing husband, Paul, all while embracing life and French food. Julie lovingly celebrates the life of one of American food's most influential and beloved figureheads.
B-52 Remembrances
Philip Rowe - 2012
They are basically true essences of how it was back in the late 1950's in the Cold War days.
The Existential Worries of Mags Munroe
Jean Grainger - 2022
My twelve-year-old daughter frequently moans that Ballycarrick is the most boring town in Ireland.Nothing ever happens here.She’s right.And as the local police sergeant, this is something I’m delighted about.I’ve enough to worry about - the polar ice-caps, the evil monster that’s shrinking my trousers, not to mention the hot flushes - without having to be like one of those gritty Netflix cops, chasing criminals down alleyways and busting drug deals.So, life is calm and fairly predictable.Until something unthinkable happens in our sleepy backwater.A crime, but not like anything I've ever seen before.It's a complete mystery.And it's up to me to solve it.
The Sons of the Aristocracy: Boxed Set
Linda Rae Sande - 2016
In TUESDAY NIGHTS, boxer Michael Cunningham is more interested in building his fortune than finding a wife, but made a promise he would marry by his twenty-eighth birthday. Reminded of the deadline by his sister, Michael realizes he has much to do in the three weeks he has if he’s to propose to Olivia—or she’ll become his sister’s governess! With no time for courtship, banns, or wedding planning, his sister insists Michael ruin Olivia! Despite feeling affection for Michael since the day he rescued her from a rake, Olivia is still shocked—and ruined!—when he climbs into her bed. Once they're married, Michael is sure Olivia despises him, while she is sure he wandered into the wrong bedchamber that fateful Tuesday night. Will a week be enough time for Michael to court Olivia, to convince her of his affections? Or will he regret his last-minute efforts to keep his promise? Only time will tell… When Clarinda married the Earl of Norwick, she thought she was marrying the Fitzwilliam twin who courted her. But it was David's identical twin brother Daniel, the spare heir, who captured her heart with pink roses and delectable kisses. So when the rakish David made her his countess, the embittered Daniel left London to run the earl's estates in Sussex. With David's sudden death comes a reunion of the star-crossed lovers—and Clarinda's randy mother-in-law. Clarinda thinks Daniel despises her for being a fortune hunter—and because she's pregnant with what might be an heir to the earldom. Daniel knows Clarinda despises him, but can't remember what caused the row they had when they last spoke. Meanwhile, David's ghost is paying nocturnal visits to Clarinda while annoying Daniel with instructions to pursue his widow and pleas to discover who caused his untimely death. Who can be in mourning when twin brothers are causing so much trouble? Or is two times the romance worth a bit of sibling rivalry? Twins double the fun in THE WIDOWED COUNTESS. When Lady Julia and her friend Samantha notice an especially handsome groom from their vantage point of a second-story bedchamber window in Mayfield House, they decide the man would make the perfect gentleman. Julia accepts Samantha's challenge to transform the man in time for a ball. Little do they know Alistair Comber is already a gentleman. The estranged second son of an earl works in service in order to make good on a promise he made to a fellow soldier while he was an officer in the British Army. Alistair agrees to Julia's request that he learn how to bow, dance and dress like a gentleman in time for her mother's ball. After all, how hard can it be when MY FAIR GROOM is already a gentleman? How hard indeed!
The Seven Signs: Three Book Collection
D.W. Hawkins - 2018
Her family massacred, her home destroyed, she escapes with nothing but her mother’s heirloom and the desire for vengeance. When she’s found by Dormael, a Warlock of the Conclave, she learns that her mother’s keepsake—the very reason her family was killed—holds the power to unleash boundless destruction. Dormael and Shawna must flee for their lives before a vengeful enemy and guard against the deadly secret it seeks to unearth. Some secrets are best left buried, and vengeance must be pulled from the fists of the gods. With danger closing in around them, Shawna and Dormael are left with little choice. Will they escape, or will they drown beneath a tide of blood? From book two, The Knife in the Dark:Sanctuary beckons, but hides a deadly secret within. Dormael and D’Jenn bring a dangerous artifact home to the Conclave, hoping to answer the riddle behind an ancient mystery. But their homecoming only raises more questions as they discover an undercurrent of lies beneath the surface—lies that have been eating at the foundation of the Conclave itself, and subverting all they’ve sworn to uphold. Caught in a web of treachery, they must uncover the truth to free themselves, and keep an ancient weapon from falling into the wrong hands. To survive, Dormael and D’Jenn may have to sacrifice everything. With their home crumbling around them, they’re forced to make a dreadful choice. Will they navigate the waters of intrigue steeping the Conclave in turmoil, or be crushed by the cold heels of their enemies?From book three, The Old Man of the Temple:An archaic power awakens, but the shadows of antiquity conceal a terrible truth. Fugitives from the Conclave, Dormael and his friends flee with the armlet in their possession. Hounded by their former allies, they undertake a dangerous trek to an ancient ruin—a place where the only things older than the stones are the secrets buried beneath them. Pain and darkness wait in the halls of the dead, but something worse may be closing in from behind. With evil stirring, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Will Dormael and his friends uncover the mystery of the artifact, or be destroyed by those who wish its power for themselves? For Dormael, D’Jenn, and Shawna, failure could mean the destruction of everything they know. The war is just beginning, and the gods will weigh the price in blood.
A Purple Summer: Notes on the Lyrics of Spring Awakening
Steven Sater - 2012
That night, Sater came home and began writing the first lyric of Spring Awakening: "Mama Who Bore Me" - a lyric which still stands, verbatim, just as he first wrote it. Ten years later, in the wake of the enormous international success of this groundbreaking, multiaward-winning show, its original director, Michael Mayer, urged Sater to write notes explicating its famously evocative, poetic lyrics. In rich detail, Sater's notes address the literary sources and allusions of each lyric. He also writes feelingly of what prompted the songs over the course of the show's eight years of development. In so doing, Sater expands on his partnership with Sheik and his experiences with original cast members, Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff, now also known from Glee. These notes will prove invaluable for fans of the show, for all those interested in theater, and most especially for all the young performers who will play the roles and sing these songs.
The Woolgatherer
William Mastrosimone - 1986
Into her life saunters Cliff, a hard working, hard drinking truck driver. He is rough and witty and just as starved for love as she is. Produced to great success at New York's Circle Repertory, this delicate two-character drama starred Peter Weller and Patricia Wettig. The Woolgatherer features several excellent monologues. "Energy, compassion and theatrical sense are there."-The New York Times "[Mastrosimone] has a knack for composing wildly humorous lines at the same time that he is able to penetrate people's hearts and dreams."-Hollywood Reporter
Those Who Can’t, Teach
Haresh Sharma - 2010
As the teachers struggle daily to nurture and groom, the students prefer to hang out and “chillax”. With upskirting and Facebooking, griping and politicking, school takes on a whole new meaning as the colourful characters struggle to prove that those who can, teach.Written by Singapore’s most prolific playwright Haresh Sharma, Those Who Can’t, Teach was first staged by The Necessary Stage in 1990 to critical acclaim. Twenty years later, Sharma revisits this classic to revitalise it for the Singapore Arts Festival 2010, transforming it into a powerful portrayal of the pressures and challenges facing teachers (and students) in schools in the 21st century.“The play throws up questions on the roles of parents, students and teachers, but does not collapse into an impotent tirade against society. The script is joyous. The laughter is warmly wry, not caustic.” —The Straits Times“Those Who Can’t, Teach does much to do away with the stereotypes and fallacies of the teaching profession.” —The Business Times