Enjoying India: The Essential Handbook


J.D. Viharini - 2010
    It will give you the knowledge to navigate this unfamiliar land with ease. Enjoying India offers a wealth of insights into India's culture and style of functioning, covering many important topics that are either dealt with superficially or omitted altogether by other books. Whether you are in India for business or pleasure, this is the one book you need to experience the best of India. Acquire the skills, understanding and confidence you need to: * Stay safe and healthy * Communicate successfully * Understand how yes can mean no * Avoid cultural blunders * Deal with Indian bureaucracy * Accommodate special needs * Bargain effectively * Get a seat on a fully booked train * Use your computer safely * Cope with Indian plumbing * and much, much more . . .

The United States of Australia: An Aussie Bloke Explains Australia to Americans


Cameron Jamieson - 2014
    Written for Americans, but equally amusing to anyone visiting the shores of the Great Southern Land, this book examines the relationship between Australia and the U.S., including how Australians view their American cousins. The author has plenty of experience of working and dealing with Americans. He is married to an American nurse and has lived his life within the massive cultural influence that America has shared with Australia since the Second World War. The author’s stories are brimming with empathy and jokes for his American audience. The book is written from the opinion of an Aussie Bloke and the easy-to-digest chapters are just long enough to leave the reader smiling and well informed.Topics include Blokes and Sheilas, Bloody Foster’s, Dangerous Creatures, Talking to Dogs, The GAFA, Speaking Strail-yun and Working for the Queen. Confused? You won’t be after reading this book!

The Manaslu Adventure: Three hapless friends try to climb a big mountain


Mark Horrell - 2012
    When they returned the next year, they were met with sticks and stones, stripped naked and sent home with red cheeks.Mark Horrell and his two friends Mark and Ian shared a dream to climb an 8,000m peak, but it seemed the gods were against them too. They had made no fewer than eight attempts without success (though they had managed to return with their clothes on).With towering ice walls, monsoon rainstorms, arm-twisting crevasses and – most dangerous of all – welcoming teahouses ready to entrap them, would it be different this time?

Land's End to John O'Groats: The ride that started it all


Sean Conway - 2012
    What followed was one of the most adventurous months of his life as he faced cold nights, rainy days and a lot of time on his own. "If I had not done this ride then I probably wouldn't be where I am today. Every adventure cyclist needs to cycle around Britain. There is just so much to experience." 46,000 words. 200 pages.

Queen of Thieves: Books 1-3


Andy Peloquin - 2018
    The ultimate girl-power series were Ilanna must deal with betrayal, murder, cruelty, and wicked intentions... and survive. Child of the Night Guild - Book One Viola, a child sold to pay her father's debts, has lost everything: her mother, her home, and her identity. Thrown into a life among criminals, she has no time for grief as she endures the brutal training of an apprentice thief. She has only one choice: steal enough to pay her debts. The cutthroat streets of Praamis will test her mettle, and she must learn to dodge the City Guards or swing from a hangman's rope. A sadistic rival apprentice, threatened by her strength, is out for blood. What hope does one girl have in a world of ruthless men? Thief of the Night Guild - Book Two A cunning thief of unrivaled ingenuity, Ilanna is determined to secure her freedom. Commanding a crew of pickpockets, bounty hunters, poisoners, and assassins, Ilanna schemes to disgrace the Duke. She must survive blackmail, a bloodthirsty rival syndicate, and enemies within her own House to claim her spoils: vengeance for the deaths of her friends and gold to buy independence. But all Ilanna's skill may not suffice to protect the one person who matters most: her son. Queen of the Night Guild - Book Three Ilanna has lost everything: her friends, her home, her family, her dreams of freedom. All that remains is a burning desire to find the bastards who burned down her city and tried to kill her. But a traitor hides among the ranks of the Night Guild, poisoning her friends and allies with lies. Cast out and condemned to death, Ilanna has no choice but to turn to old enemies to save not only her life, but her Guild and city in the process. Enjoy this limited edition set - read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited.

Alone In The Wind: A Journal of Discovery in 'The Summer of 88'


Charles Schiereck - 2015
     1988 would prove to be the worst drought since the ‘dustbowl’ of the 1930’s.  Yellowstone would burn,  Ronald Reagan would shake his fist at the 'Evil Empire', and the author, oblivious to it all, hit the road and never looked back. That trip would consume the entire summer, logging over twelve thousand miles from sea to sea and back.  “Alone In The Wind” is the account of that trip, with pictures, maps, historical & geographical notes, and rolling narrative. A few selected excerpts: The early evening sun is bright red and except for wind slapping the tents, all is quiet.  Other campers are talking in subdued tones.  The  scene has a timeless quality I can’t explain.  Maybe it’s how I’d picture an Oregon Trail  camp.  Everybody too exhausted to do more than whisper, anticipating the day ahead, trying to forget the ones behind. Kurt Vonnegut might have written that the Custer annihilation occurred solely to provide me with a ranger to give advice on the coming storms.  That irony rattled around in my helmet for the next forty miles. Chewing mindlessly I stare at passing trucks with red eyes.  This has been an endless, grueling day.  A far cry from the mystical experience that other writers claim.  The bone numbing reality of motorcycle touring is exhaustion, dehydration, disorientation. Vacant eyes seem to be nothing more than rubber stoppers that keep my liquefied brains from spilling out over my face. Carved out by the tides, the cave is probably underwater for most of the day.  At the entrance is a rock with a well-formed depression at the top.  Without thinking I dump both bottles of Atlantic Ocean into that shallow basin, move deeper into the cave and sit.  There’s a lot on my mind, and it all seems to be demanding immediate attention.  The mission will be accomplished.  The oceans will unite.  It will take a few hours, and I won’t be here to see it, but this is a better way.  Letting the sea take it on its own terms seems more fitting. Heat was the real problem.  Both the heat of a western summer day and the heat thrown off an air-cooled engine that's being pushed to its limits.   While it was never transcendental, the passage was always very real, very immediate, and unforgettable.  Thinking back to the other riders that I met, it seemed the same for them as well.  They were all worn down with fatigue and loneliness - while at the same time brimming over with confidence and satisfaction. I won't forget them.

The Glassblower's Apprentice


Peter Pezzelli - 2013
    Fabio Terranova is a brilliant dancer. Young, handsome, and enormously talented he is desperate to leave his little hometown in the mountains of central Italy. With dreams of one day making his mark on Broadway and Hollywood, he has made plans to travel to Milan to enter a dance competition he hopes will be his springboard to fame and fortune in America. All is set until the eve of his departure when a night of wild celebration with his friends ends in tragedy. Left broken in body and spirit, his dreams of dancing shattered by the events of that night, Fabio descends into bitter darkness. Fearing for her son, his mother, Liliana, makes a fateful decision. She sends Fabio across the ocean to live with her uncle, Rick Vitale, who runs a small glassmaking operation in a quaint New England village. Rick lives in solitude, his own reasons for abandoning Italy years earlier long shrouded in mystery. He takes Fabio in and sets about teaching him the art of glassblowing. Relentlessly driven, ever laboring by the searing heat of the furnace, Fabio learns to create dazzling works of glass. The endless hours of toil, however, provide him no solace and he remains tormented by the past, a past he can't bear to face. Now, with the days growing short and the darkness of winter closing in, it is up to Rick to show his nephew the way back to the light. But it is a long journey through the deepest chambers of the heart, one that Fabio must ultimately make on his own if he is to learn that the best days of his life may yet lie ahead...

Forever England


David Luddington - 2014
     Following an unfortunate encounter with Spanish gin measures and an enthusiastic estate agent, retired special effects engineer Terry England is the proud owner of a nearly completed villa in a new urbanisation in Southern Spain. Not quite how he’d intended to spend his enforced early retirement Terry nevertheless tries to make the best of his new life. If only the local council can work out which house he’s actually bought and the leaf blowers would please stop. Terry finds himself being sucked in to the English Expat community with their endless garden parties and quests for real bacon and Tetley’s Tea Bags. Of course, if it all gets too much he can always relax in the local English Bar with a nice pint of Guinness, a roast beef lunch and the Mail on Sunday. With a growing feeling that he might have moved to the ‘Wrong Spain’, Terry sets out to explore and finds himself tangled in the affairs of a small rustic village in the Alpujarras. It is here where he finds a different Spain. A Spain of loves and passions, a Spain of new hopes and a simpler way of life. A place where a moped is an acceptable means of family transport and a place where if you let your guard down for just a moment this land will never let you go again. Forever England is the tale of one man trying to redefine who he is and how he wants to live. It is a story of hope and humour with an array of eccentric characters and comic situations for which David Luddington is so well known and loved. "Overall, this is a very warm and funny book. It is filled with wonderful characters and many laugh out loud moments." book-reviewer.com "Genuinely funny, with many laugh out loud moment..." Matt Rothwell - author of Drunk In Charge Of A Foreign Language

Best RV Tips from RVTipOfTheDay.com


Steven Fletcher - 2013
    No matter if you use your RV just a few weekends and holidays a year or make it your full time home, you will find tips that will make your RV travels easier, safer and more enjoyable. You'll find tips that will save you time and money. You will find tips on getting your mail while traveling, internet access, boondocking, and work camping. You'll learn how to save money on camping fees just by choosing where to stay and staying longer. You will get tips on how you can customize your RV to make your home.Chapter TitlesRV Care & Maintenance TipsRV Boondocking – Dry-Camping – Overnighting TipsRV Camping TipsRV Park Reservation & Check-In ChecklistsRV Travel & Destination TipsRV Driving TipsRV Lifestyle TipsWork Camping TipsRV Accessories TipsRV Battery TipsRV Holding Tanks & Toilet TipsRV Fresh Water System TipsRV Electrical System TipsRV Refrigerator TipsMiscellaneous RV TipsTips for RVing With Dogs This book includes over 400 tips. You pay pennies for tips that can save you hundreds of dollars.About the Editors: As most folks do, we started out tent camping. In the late 1970s we ventured across the country from northern California to western Pennsylvania and back through Washington and Oregon in Steven’s boxy old 1965 Chevy van.   Those were the days, my friends. That trip had a lasting effect and over time we realized we were destined to be full time RVers. In 1995 we sold our house and a Recreational Vehicle became our home. An RV has been our home every since.

Bleed Through


Heather Atkinson - 2012
    Beth Moorhouse flatlines after a devastating car crash in the north of England. Simultaneously in Afghanistan Liam MacIntyre is almost killed when his army truck hits a landmine, the blast stopping his heart. Both are brought back after crossing over. Recovering from debilitating injuries, lost in fevers and delirium they experience vivid dreams that bleed through into their reality, making them yearn for a past lost to them. From the sixteenth century massacre of Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland through eighteenth century Venice and finally to Flanders in World War One they both dream of the lives they shared together, each one cut short by Beth’s young and violent death. In each incarnation Liam‘s death shortly follows her own when he finds himself unable to go on without her, but not before avenging himself on the one who took her life. Resolved to discover the meaning behind these dreams Beth visits a gifted psychic who reveals that her murderer in each dream is a dark entity who has latched onto Beth and her soulmate with the sole purpose of destroying their happiness. She must find her love in this life and break this fatal pattern if she is to avoid another brutal death. Liam and Beth set out, determined to find one another by retracing the steps of their shared pasts. But their reunion is like a flare, drawing the dark soul to them and the race against time itself begins to save Beth from her inevitable fate. Bleed Through is a tale of love enduring centuries, sweeping through some of the most memorable events in European history and is the age old battle between good and evil.

This is Gail


Gail O'Brien - 2016
    In 2008, inspirational surgeon Chris O'Brien published his bestselling memoir of his battle with brain cancer, NEVER SAY DIE. But he wasn't the only person in the O'Brien household with a powerful story to tell. Since Chris passed away in 2009, his wife Gail has gone on a journey of her own: from a busy surgeon's wife and mother of a picture-perfect family to a widow in her mid-50s, grieving not only her husband but also her son Adam, who died as a result of epilepsy a short time after Chris's death. Yet in the midst of her grief, Gail discovered resolve and strength deep within herself. When Chris was alive, Gail was the woman behind the great man. But after his death, she stepped forward to make her own mark on the world. While coming to terms with both a public and private loss, Gail took on Chris's legacy as steward of the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse cancer centre, navigating the often bruising politics of boards and committees to ensure his vision was realised. She also went back to work as a physio after being out of the workforce for 20 years, while still holding her shattered family together. She reinvented herself and found that she could survive and even thrive in a world without her soul mate. A moving, inspiring, deeply poignant and often joyous story of family, love and loss - and ultimately, about finding your purpose in the world.

Stepping Wild: Hiking the Appalachian Trail with Mingo


Phill Grounds - 2015
    How hard could it be? Having more experience than most, who attempt the over two thousand mile hike, Phill decided to go for it. Little did he know, trouble was waiting for him. He did not hike to “find himself,” nor out of inspiration nor desperation. The five month journey tested his strength, endurance, courage and caused more pain than expected. How hard could it be? The answer to that is here in “STEPPING WILD.” What could go wrong, did! The experience was exhilarating and terrifying. A hike, over two thousand miles, is filled with highs and lows, humor and grief, and obstacles that could break any man. The Appalachian Trail, a true American treasure, attracts thousands of hikers each year, like moths to a flame. Phill was drawn to that challenge. His troubles began before he ever saw the trail. With determination and grit, he made his way northbound from Georgia to Maine. New skill sets were acquired as Phill, trail name “Mingo”, faced dangerous situations and errors brought on by his own overconfidence. This was Mingo’s hike, one that should have never been possible. It was a hike that should not be forgotten.

Shot and a Ghost: a year in the brutal world of professional squash


James Willstrop - 2012
    

Birnbaum's 2016 Walt Disney World: The Official Guide


Birnbaum Guides - 2015
    This updated edition of Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Resort takes readers through Disney's biggest resort with ease and flair and includes the most accurate, current information on prices and attractions. What's new in 2016:• The brand-new Frozen attraction, scheduled to burst onto the Epcot scene in 2016,whisks guests on a chilly trip to meet Anna, Elsa, and Olaf. • Our coverage of Disney's Hollywood Studios includes the inside scoop on plans for new Star Wars-themed additions and other shows and attractions.• Experience new shows and attractions, including the Magic Kingdom's popular new parades:Festival of Fantasy and Move It! Shake it! Dance and Play It!• Fastpass+is Walt Disney World's advance reservation system for theme park shows and attractions. We offer tips and strategies for making the most of this free service.• Downtown Disney has morphed into Disney Springs, a bustling waterside enclave teeming with new dining, shopping, and recreational activities. • Our newly-expanded dining chapter details each and every restaurant, and includes menu updates, a "best of wow restaurant roundup", and specialized indexes.• The 2016 Guide has more photos than ever, including brand-new photo hunts for each of the World's four theme parks. Can you find them all?• Baffled by WDW's magic band? Don't be! We give the scoop on maximizing the potential of the band.• A wave of new entertainment has hit World Showcase: we'll tell you where to see new acts featuring lumberjacks, Celtic folk musicians, and flag wavers.• Disney's Polynesian Village resort has been renewed and revitalized, thanks Disney Vacation Club. • Checkout our bonus chapter featuring "Land and Sea vacation" planning advice, perfect for pairing a Disney Cruise with a visit to Walt Disney World.

Tuk-Tuk to the Road


Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent - 2007
    With white knuckles and ringing ears you'll have stepped out at the end and vowed to take a regular taxi next time. But one summer Jo Huxster and Ants Bolingbroke-Kent decided to drive a tuk tuk that little bit further – to Brighton, a mere 12,561 miles away. Their mission: to raise £50 000 for the mental health charity Mind.Tuk Tuk to the Road is the inspirational story of the ultimate road trip – the countries they traverse, the people that help them, the nail-biting border crossings, the extremely friendly policemen… Every detail of their record-breaking tukathon is chronicled in colourful and often hilarious detail.Twelve countries, two continents, one earthquake and the odd snapped accelerator cable later, this is the entertaining, honest, and above all, remarkable story of two girls who proved that with a little bit of determination, anything is possible.