. . a beautifully wrought hymn of praise to readers and book-lovers in the most sacred of places, the libraries where we find both." --Cassandra King, author of the best-selling novels The Sunday WifeWHEN ADELE COVINGTON becomes an author in her sixties, she goes on a book tour to speak to the Friends of the Library groups in ten small towns in her home state of Mississippi. Chasing her personal demons through the Christ-haunted South of her childhood, Adele befriends an eclectic group of wounded people and decides to tell their stories. From Eupora to Meridian, from a budding artist with an abusive husband to a seven-year-old with a rare form of cancer, each story contains elements of hope and healing and honors the heart, soul, and history of the Magnolia State.

    When her father becomes ill, plunging her family into debt, she reluctantly agrees to meet Madeleine, the madam of a high-end escort service. Catering to the most powerful men in D.C., Caroline can make more money in one night than in a month at her part-time college job. And no one has to know. All she has to do is follow the madam’s ten simple rules. A riveting story of D.C.’s red-light underworld and the life of a modern courtesan, Ten Rules for a Call Girl is fascinating and addictive. Includes an excerpt from Allison Leotta’s new novel, Discretion!

    That is, until Fox 8 develops a unique skill: He teaches himself to speak "Yuman" by hiding in the bushes outside a house and listening to children's bedtime stories. The power of language fuels his abundant curiosity about people—even after "danjer" arrives in the form of a new shopping mall that cuts off his food supply, sending Fox 8 on a harrowing quest to help save his pack.

    Here is a novel all about one bookshop and its resident cats, Stomper and Buglit; and about Kris, a 12-year-old boy who apprentices in the shop. Kris is a little bit like the cats: he’s a foster child getting used to a new family, and the cats are in the bookshop being fostered for the local shelter. Stomper and Buglit are a little bit like Kris: they get into trouble, have some wild adventures, and find out just what family really means. This is the first book in the Turning Pages series of used bookshop novels.Unlike some novels that have a used bookshop setting, Shelve Under C has the shop, its owners, its apprentice, its customers and, especially, its cats as the beating heart of this fuzzy beast. Come inside and breathe in the wonderful book smells of leather and paper and cloth. Pet the resident foster cats (and maybe take one home!). Sit near the sunny windows on one of the comfy chairs to read all afternoon. Or flip through the new arrivals and rare books and browse all of the books, old and new, in the loads of bookcases in No Page Unturned's several packed rooms.The main stars of this book are Stomper and Buglit. That's what they would tell you, anyway. Stomps is a grump, but he may have a tender middle. Bug is new to the bookshop. She misses her former owner, but Mrs. O'Malley is making her life less lonesome and Buglit, in return, is becoming very important to the bookshop owners in some funny and surprising ways. Kris is trying hard to fit into his new foster family, but even after several months he still feels like an outsider. He becomes an apprentice at the bookshop, where he gradually finds a way to fit back into his own world as well as into his foster family's. Shelve Under C is a little bit squishy. It's also funny, with hints of rockabilly, wild storms, doggy bucking broncos, catnip capers, near-deadly chicken salad sandwiches, and . . . books! No need to knock -- the door is open, so come on in, grab something to read, and get comfy on the big, red sofa.

    Discriminated against because of his breed, he is greeted with cruelty from nearly every avenue. Though all he desires is a loving home, he finds himself in the clutches of abusive villains. Despite being broken by hunger and abuse, he takes a second chance at joining a family when a kind musician offers him a helping hand. In a struggle for acceptance, Lucky the pit bull is confronted with his greatest fear and is threatened with losing what he loves the most.Will his heroic efforts secure him the life of simplicity and happiness he’s always wanted? Or will he be turned out of the house because of social bias? Discover what fate lies ahead of our canine narrator in this emotional story filled with struggles and triumphs.

    Propelled by a terrific instinct for storytelling, and concerned with the convolutions of modern love and the importance of place, this collection is about the battlefields-and fields of victory-that exist in seemingly harmless spaces, in kitchens and living rooms and cars. Set mostly in the American West, the stories feature small-town lawyers, ranchers, doctors, parents, and children, and explore the moral quandaries of love, family, and friendship. A ranch hand falls for a recent law school graduate who appears unexpectedly- and reluctantly-in his remote Montana town. A young father opens his door to find his dead grandmother standing on the front step. Two women weigh love and betrayal during an early snow. Throughout the book, Meloy examines the tensions between having and wanting, as her characters try to keep hold of opposing forces in their lives: innocence and experience, risk and stability, fidelity and desire.Knowing, sly, and bittersweet, Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It confirms Maile Meloy's singular literary talent. Her lean, controlled prose, full of insight and unexpected poignancy, is the perfect complement to her powerfully moving storytelling.

    A collection of science fiction stories written by acclaimed author Poul Anderson.Poul Anderson is best known for sci-fi adventure stories in which larger-than-life characters succeed gleefully or fail heroically. Anderson's also famous for writing 'Call Me Joe' (not included in this volume) which featured the premise of a paralyzed man whose mind is remotely controlling an alien body. This same theme also appears in James Cameron's 2009 movie "Avatar" – similar enough that some reviewers are calling for Anderson to receive some form of credit.Included in this volume:Story One: Duel on SyrtisBold and ruthless, he was famed throughout the System as a big-game hunter. From the firedrakes of Mercury to the ice-crawlers of Pluto, he'd slain them all. But his trophy-room lacked one item; and now Riordan swore he'd bag the forbidden game that roamed the red deserts ... a Martian!Story Two: SecurityIn a world where Security is all-important, nothing can ever be secure. A mountain-climbing vacation may wind up in deep Space. Or loyalty may prove to be high treason. But it has its rewards...Story Three: The Valor of Cappen VarraWe have said that there are many and strange shadows, memories surviving from dim pasts, in this fantastic universe of ours...Story Four: Industrial RevolutionEver think how deadly a thing it is if a machine has amnesia—or how easily it can be arranged…Story Five: The Sensitive ManOne man stood between a power-hungry cabal and world mastery--but a man of unusual talents...These are the original and unabridged versions of these classic science fiction treasures. A must-have for fans of classic sci-fi!

    Things are never what they seem and people are seldom what you THINK them to be if all you base it on is what your eyes see and not what your soul knows. There’s a fine line between destiny and duty, but when both are blended with love, who knows what miracles can occur at Christmas.

    This edition contains important lessons on the nature of friendship and love, the importance of belief in the future, and the value of respect for oneself and others, and much more.

    This animal will become one with you. Their heart and soul, and yours, will somehow join. Without words you both instinctively know what the other’s needs are, and you will live to take care of them. This is the true story of my "Heart" dog, Eclipse. Originally written as a way of expressing my grief over her loss, it was meant to be read only by myself. She was such an amazing girl, that I felt her story needed to be shared. All proceeds from this book will be donated to animal rescue. Please do not feel that this book is one that will make you cry throughout. Yes, tears may be shed. (Nothing wrong with that. It saves you money on eye drops) Eclipse's story will also bring many smiles to readers of her story. It's hard for one to hear of the joy she brought to the world and not be touched by it. This amazing rescued golden retriever came into my life at seven years of age, with cancer. She was used for breeding, and then went to a second owner. I had the honor of being her third, and “Forever Home!” She was to become a registered therapy dog, who worked in Hospice and nursing home settings. This book gives concrete examples of her amazing nature, what I consider to be her philosophy of life, and the absolutely tremendous difference she made in the lives of those she met, including myself. You will read of such heart touching moments, as when she attended wakes, memorial services, and even a funeral mass. You will even get to meet Mozart. Yes, he lived with Eclipse! After reading this book my hope is that you will start to live your life like a Golden Retriever.....Minus the shedding of course, which could make you a bit unpopular. {At the end of January 2014 I edited the book slightly by gettng rid of the typos. Now there are no messtakes.....Well, maybe some :-) Also available as of late November 2014....A new book...."Saving Cinco"

    They have been sentenced to twenty years in Glenculloch, a remote prison for the most hopeless of criminals. The rumours say that it is run by a woman who thinks she's God. A woman who decides what is ugly, and what is beautiful. A woman who decides who lives, and who dies... A short story exclusive from bestselling author Amanda Prowse.

    But when they spot a huge chocolate bar growing from the top of a tree - then another, and another - it is the beginning of a real-life, outdoor quest!

    A small collection of short stories, sold as part of the boxed set "One Hundred and Forty Five Stories in a Small Box: Hard to Admit and Harder to Escape, How the Water Feels to the Fishes, and Minor Robberies"

    

    Like how sometimes the best way to catch a mouse that’s right in front of you is to back up before you pounce.So notes Prudence, the irresistible brown tabby at the center of Gwen Cooper’s tender, joyful, utterly unforgettable novel, which is mostly told through the eyes of this curious (and occasionally cranky) feline.When five-week-old Prudence meets a woman named Sarah in a deserted construction site on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, she knows she’s found the human she was meant to adopt. For three years their lives are filled with laughter, tuna, catnaps, music, and the unchanging routines Prudence craves. Then one day Sarah doesn’t come home. From Prudence’s perch on the windowsill she sees Laura, the daughter who hardly ever comes to visit Sarah, arrive with her new husband. They’re carrying boxes. Before they even get to the front door, Prudence realizes that her life has changed forever.Suddenly Prudence finds herself living in a strange apartment with humans she barely knows. It could take years to train them in the feline courtesies and customs (for example, a cat should always be fed before the humans, and at the same exact time every day) that Sarah understood so well. Prudence clings to the hope that Sarah will come back for her while Laura, a rising young corporate attorney, tries to push away memories of her mother and the tumultuous childhood spent in her mother’s dusty downtown record store. But the secret joys, past hurts, and life-changing moments that make every mother-daughter relationship special will come to the surface. With Prudence’s help Laura will learn that the past, like a mother’s love, never dies.Poignant, insightful, and laugh-out-loud funny, Love Saves the Day is a story of hope, healing, and how the love of an animal can make all of us better humans. It’s the story of a mother and daughter divided by the turmoil of bohemian New York, and the opinionated, irrepressible feline who will become the bridge between them. It’s a novel for anyone who’s ever lost a loved one, wondered what their cat was really thinking, or fallen asleep with a purring feline nestled in their arms. Prudence, a cat like no other, is sure to steal your heart.Praise for Love Saves the Day   “Prudence [is a] sassy but sensitive feline heroine.”—Time“Unforgettably moving . . . a hard one to put down.”—Modern Cat   “If you are the Most Important Person to a cat, you will hold them much tighter by the book’s end. If you don’t have a cat, Prudence will have surreptitiously lured you into the danger zone: Falling in love with a cat because they need family, too.”—The Vancouver Sun  “Cooper brings readers a fictional tale that cat lovers will treasure. . . . This book will make most readers laugh and cry, and probably lead them to wonder more often what, exactly, their pet is thinking.”—Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star  “The interspersed viewpoints . . . enrich Cooper’s sensitively told novel that unravels a story (based on actual events) about a century-old tenement building—and the inhabitants therein. That story ultimately serves as the basis to understanding the emotional subtexts of these authentic, well-drawn characters.”—Shelf Awareness