. . 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

    I’m pregnant.’ After eight years together, Lil Bailey thought she’d already found ‘the one’—that is, until he dumped her for a blonde twenty-something colleague. So she does what any self-respecting singleton would do: swipes right, puts on her best bra and finds herself on a first date with a handsome mountaineer called Max. What’s the worst that can happen?Well it’s pretty bad actually. First Max ghosts her and then, after weeing on a stick (but mostly her hands), a few weeks later Lil discovers she’s pregnant. She’s single, thirty-one and living in a thimble-sized flat in London, it’s hardly the happily-ever-after she was looking for.Lil’s ready to do the baby-thing on her own—it can’t be that hard, right? But she should probably tell Max, if she can track him down. Surely he’s not that Max, the highly eligible, headline-grabbing son of Lord and Lady Rushbrooke, currently trekking up a mountain in South Asia? Oh, maybe he wasn’t ignoring Lil after all…

    But everything he writes has something to do with smoking; X20 (the title refers to the number of cigarettes in a pack) is the result -- a crisp, funny, and devastatingly stylish debut from an extraordinary new talent.In the first throes of withdrawal, Simpson writes in tense fits and starts, obsessing over lost loves and how cigarettes both blessed and doomed these relationships. As his ability to concentrate without cigarettes improves day-by-day, he reexamines his friendship with Dr. Barclay, a scientist forever on the verge of developing a safe cigarette, and with Julian Carr, an old friend and now a flack for a cigarette company.In Thank You for Smoking, Christopher Buckley gave us the tobacco company flacks. In Cigarettes Are Sublime, Robert Klein took on the actual cigarettes. In X20, Richard Beard presents the smoker himself, facing the same dilemma millions of smoking and ex-smoking Americans face every day: Gregory's life has been shaped by, even built from, his relationship with cigarettes. What, without them, now?

    gt. grandmother who ran away with her coachman and came to American. When Catharine decides to write a book based on the woman's life, her own life undergoes some dramatic changes. Danger and discovery, a lost love and secrets from her own past become entwined with the events of the long ago.

    Here, in the lap of a timeless civilization, they find a fellow seeker in historian Geeta. Together, the trio begin a thrilling odyssey of discovery, which spans continents and cultures, challenges life-long religious and scientific truths and puts their lives in grave danger. They are horrified to learn that they are mere puppets, their fate controlled by an all-seeing sinister villain, who yearns to "cleanse" the world and create a new order. As they connect the dots, they join forces with an Afghan professor, a British archaeologist and an American General. Finally, a mind-bending, unpredictable climax which stuns the world's brightest minds... Even as it answers many questions, it throws up new ones.Based on two years of research, The Evolution Cradle is an unputdownable book, which blurs the lines between reality and imagination, ancient and modern, fact and faith. Breathless in its pace, the rollercoaster narrative is packed with non-stop action, escapes and chases, thrills and chills, and edge-of-the-seat twists and turns. It continues to haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.

    It's also about the values that keep America together---the simple solutions ordinary people find to keep their small communities strong.Trooper Sam Neely is fresh out of the State Police academy and finds himself assigned to the dullest backwater town he's never heard of. Things heat up quickly in Eden, U.S.A., however, when Ed Harris, the banker, finds his wife in bed with his best friend, Hayden Elkins. Ed picks up a shotgun, escorts them both to the door, and tells friend Hayden, "Guess what? She's yours!""I've got a wife, Ed," says Hayden."Now you have two. . . ."Forced to take his paramour to live under his own roof (after all, they had only intended to share an afternoon of delight, not to leave their spouses), Hayden suddenly finds himself the butt of every joke in town. That's where things start to spin out of control.Before long, Elijah Murphy, the town drunk, and the snooping widow next door, to whom he'd exposed himself, are falling in love; sleazy Sheriff's Deputy Delmar Clay is about to get a butt-full of birdshot for the pictures he's been snapping of young couples getting hot and heavy in parked cars; and the Barrow Boys are out of jail and looking for trouble. Soon, Neely finds that managing the crises in the sticks is a full-time job, and it takes a whole community---from the compassionate local magistrate to the new female preacher---to keep things from exploding big-city style.

    George's, befriends her. But even as their relationship develops, so too does another: Sheba has begun an illicit affair with an underage male student. When the scandal turns into a media circus, Barbara decides to write an account in her friend's defense—and ends up revealing not only Sheba's secrets, but also her own.

    Reminiscent of the works of Carol Shields, this quirky, humorous, beautifully told novel breathes new life into the age-old conundrum that is love.

    . . When Natalie Shelton thinks back to how things were before the car accident, she remembers a great marriage. She and her husband, Zack, seem as strong and dependable together as the houses he builds. They live in Portland, Oregon, and Natalie is co-owner of a successful accounting firm. They're happy, she's almost sure of it.Yet as Natalie lies trapped in a coma, unable to communicate though aware of everything around her, she realizes that her husband is hiding something. Zack has always been reticent about his past, which she attributed to an unhappy childhood. Now the strange calls he's receiving, the apologies when he thinks she can't hear him, and her fragmented memories from the morning of the accident suggest a deeper secret.When she finally awakens, Natalie is determined to find out the truth. Sorting through clues as her brain heals, she realizes she has a rare opportunity--to reexamine the life she's made and the man she's made it with. But as answers come to light, she faces surprising, heartrending decisions, as well as a danger that could upend her world once again, as Zack's past finally catches up with them . . .

    As Donnie's business thrives and their daughter, Stasha, plans her wedding, Laura longs for new possibilities. Could the dreams God planted in her heart years ago like to become an artist still be part of her purpose? Is there a new life of faith on the other side of this struggle? This story about a womans longing for meaning will resonate with readers of all ages.

    A beautiful older woman named Peggy greets her and invites her to stay, on the house's usual conditions: she has ninety-nine nights to turn her life around. With nothing left to lose, Alba takes a chance and moves in. She soon discovers that this is no ordinary house. Past residents have included Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Parker, who, after receiving the assistance they needed, hung around to help newcomers - literally, in talking portraits on the wall. As she escapes into this new world, Alba begins a journey that will heal her wounds - and maybe even save her life. Filled with a colorful and unforgettable cast of literary figures, The House at the End of Hope Street is a charming, whimsical novel of hope and feminine wisdom that is sure to appeal to fans of Jasper Fforde and especially Sarah Addison Allen.

    • Stories beyond the digest and tidbits you may not know • The book's impact and its important to read • And more! What other readers are saying: "You can read it before you read the novel or after you read it as a supplement to the actual book." "Very concise and helpful for our Book Club." "It is full of story information, interesting facts about the novel and the author as well." "This overview gave me an idea of what the book covers. From it, I have been able to decide whether or not to purchase the book." "The Digest helped clarify the historical background. Beautifully written and deeply moving." Our promise: Reader’s Companions bring you immaculate study materials on literature at exceptionally low prices that do not compromise on quality. These are supplementary materials and does not contain any text or summary of the book. 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

    wants what Jackie O had ...Unhappy with her looks, her life, and her empty marriage, Louise Canova needs help -- and she finds it in a secondhand bookstore. A forty-year-old encyclopedia of style titled Elegance, this slim volume by formidable French fashion expert Madame Dariaux promises to transform even the plainest of women into creatures of poise and grace. It is a fairy godmother in print, an A-to-Z manual with essential advice that Louise vows to take to heart. But within its pages lie not only clues from her past, but also powerful lessons for the future. And as the old Louise gives way to the stunning new, she's about to find out that there's more to every life than what appears on the surface ... and that everything, even elegance, has its price.

    President of Delta Gamma sorority, she's aced her major--sociopolitical jewellery design--and is on the verge of becoming Mrs. Warner Huntington III. Too bad Warner, bound for Stanford Law, dumps her with the explanation he needs a more "serious" woman at his side. Faced with this unexpected reversal of fortune, Woods doesn't get depressed, she gets busy.Thanks to a creative application video and a demand for "diversity" at Stanford Law, Elle gets admitted. Soon she's packing her convertible--as well as her pet Chihuahua "Underdog"--and heading north, determined to win back her man. Smart, fast, and funny, Legally Blonde proves how much fun blondes really can have!

    H recalls when he himself was sixteen—his godson’s age—as they search for the site of H’s life-altering friendship with a boy named Finn. Finn lives alone on an isolated slip of land and follows no rules: he spends his days swimming, fishing, and collecting driftwood for his tiny beach hut. H, on the other hand, is an upper-class boarding school boy stifled by monotony and endless rules. They meet by chance on the beach, and H is immediately awed by (and jealous of) Finn’s way of life. They strike up an unlikely friendship but the gap between their lives becomes difficult to bridge, and before long the idyll that nurtured their relationship is shattered by heart-wrenching scandal. Meg Rosoff was formerly a YA author, but her work transcends categorization and we are delighted to bring it to adult readers for the first time. What I Was is a timeless, enthralling story destined to become a classic.