This Thirtysomething Life


Jon Rance - 2011
    Meet Harry Spencer. History teacher, lover of snack food and terrified of growing up. However, when his wife Emily drops the P-Bomb, Harry is suddenly thrust into the role of expectant father. When he's tempted by the greener grass of an ex-girlfriend past, Harry has to make the most important decision of his life. Does he have what it takes to become a man, or will he succumb to the lure of adolescent fantasy?This is a love story about what happens after we've fallen in love, when we've swapped frolicking in the bed for cigarettes in the shed and Match of the Day for Mothercare. Brutally honest, laugh-out-loud funny and heart-warming, this is a diary about one man's bumbling journey on the road to adulthood.

Grumpy Old Wizards


John O'Riley - 2013
    Unfortunately, the killer covers his tracks very well and destroys virtually all trace of psychometric energy which makes the crime scene unreadable – even for a talent such as Josephine. By all rights, Josephine shouldn’t be forced to contend with this case. After all, she’s a retired eighty-four-year-old and she can hardly be blamed for having a beautiful body akin to a woman in her mid-twenties. It’s just one of the perks of being a rare category six. Josephine’s problems pile up to insurmountable odds as the killer grows stronger, Detective Riley pesters her for a quick resolution to this challenging case, and her obnoxious neighbor starts harassing her just because she looks too young to live in a retirement community.

This Eden


Ed O'Loughlin - 2021
    The closest he ever came to working in tech was when he rode a delivery bike for a food app in Vancouver. Yet when his coder girlfriend dies, he is inexplicably headhunted by a sinister tech mogul and transplanted to Silicon Valley. There, a reluctant spy named Aoife lures him into the hands of an enigmatic war-gamer who tricks them both into joining his quest to save the world.Hunted by government agents and corporate goons, and manipulated at every turn, Aoife and Michael find themselves in an intercontinental chase that takes them from California to New York, from the forests of Uganda to Jerusalem, Gaza, Alexandria, and Paris, and to a final showdown with the truth in Dublin.Propulsive and richly entertaining, This Eden updates the classic spy novel for a world under mortal threat from cyber-warfare, feral money, runaway technology, and a cynical onslaught on truth itself.

Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? the Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case


Hugo Bedau - 2004
    Few controversies continue to stir as much emotion as this one, andpublic confusion is often the result. This volume brings together seven experts--judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and philosophers--to debate the death penalty in a spirit of open inquiry and civil discussion. Here, as the contributors present their reasons for or against capital punishment, the multiple facets of the issue arerevealed in clear and thought-provoking detail. Is the death penalty a viable deterrent to future crimes? Does the imposition of lesser penalties, such as life imprisonment, truly serve justice in cases of the worst offences? Does the legal system discriminate against poor or minority defendants? Isthe possibility of executing innocent persons sufficient grounds for abolition? In confronting such questions and making their arguments, the contributors marshal an impressive array of evidence, both statistical and from their own experiences working on death penalty cases. The book also includes the text of Governor George Ryan's March 2002 speech in which he explainedwhy he had commuted the sentences of all prisoners on Illinois's death row. By representing the viewpoints of experts who face the vexing questions about capital punishment on a daily basis, Debating the Death Penalty makes a vital contribution to a more nuanced understanding of the moral and legal problems underlying this controversy.

Third-Class Ticket


Heather Wood - 1980
    Thus began a unique journey as forty villagers set off in a special third-class railway carriage to travel from the soggy plains of Bengal and the tropicana of the deep south to the alpine majesty of the Himalayas. Heather Wood was fortunate enough to share part of their trip and, with notebook open and pen in hand, she unobtrusively watched and recorded the villagers' experiences on this unprecedented Indian odyssey.

Island Escape


Diana Xarissa - 2013
    With the wedding cancelled, an unexpected opportunity to do some research on the picturesque Isle of Man seems the perfect escape. She can get away from all the sympathetic looks and gossipy remarks and focus on her career while nursing her broken heart.Finlo Quayle is the gorgeous owner of the island's only charter airline. William Corlett is the intelligent and sexy man who runs the Institute that is funding Katie's research. Katie finds herself being fought over by two very different men, both of whom attract her in very different ways.Now the only thing Katie is sure of is that she isn't going to let a ghost make any decisions about her love life for her.

Apocalypse Idaho


Rich Lundeen - 2015
    Strange things are happening on the empty streets of Rockwell, Idaho. People are disappearing, and there are shadows in places where there is nothing to create them. In this upside down world where unnatural creatures walk the earth, Johnny is left with difficult choices about who to trust and how to survive.This breakthrough novel will completely revolutionize the horror genre. Just kidding. It's really more of a vampire love triangle.

Every Earthly Blessing


Esther de Waal - 1992
    De Waal also looks at their understanding of core Christian concepts, such as sin, sorrow, salvation, and the cross. Written accessibly, this book is excellent for parish study as well as individual reading.

American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3


Larry Starr - 2006
    Using well-chosen examples, insightful commentaries, and an engaging writing style, this text traces the development of jazz, blues, country, rock, Motown, hip-hop, and other popular styles, highlighting the contributions of diverse groups to the creation of distinctly American styles. It combines an in-depth treatment of the music itself--including discussions of stylistic elements and analyses of musical examples--with solid coverage of the music's attendant historical, social, and cultural circumstances. The authors incorporate strong pedagogy including numerous boxed inserts on significant individuals, recordings, and intriguing topics; coverage of early American popular music; and a rich illustration program. Detailed listening charts explain the most important elements of recordings discussed at length in the text. The charts are complemented by two in-text audio CDs and--new to this edition--an iMix published at iTunes, which makes most of the songs immediately available to students and instructors. Features of the Second Edition * Integrates full color throughout * Provides more coverage of women artists, with new material on women in rock 'n' roll in Chapter 8 and a box on Queen Latifah in Chapter 14 * Reorganizes the discussion of post-1970s music: disco is now included with mainstream 70s pop, while hip-hop is treated in two chapters (12 and 14) in order to emphasize its significance and diversity * Adds new material on the recent alternative country music explosion * Includes new developments in music technology in the thoroughly revised concluding chapter * Offers revised and more vivid visual elements, including more than 100 new photos (most in full color) and an illustrated timeline * Provides redesigned listening guides, enhanced by an iMix published at iTunes (accessible at www.oup.com/us/popmusic) * Supplemented by a Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/popmusic (containing both student and instructor resources) and an Instructor's Manual and a Computerized Test Bank on CD * FREE with the purchase of this book: a 6-month subscription to Grove Music Online (www.grovemusic.com)--a $180 value Remarkably accessible, American Popular Music, Second Edition, is ideal for courses in American Popular Music, the History of Popular Music, Popular Music in American Culture, and the History of Rock 'n' Roll. Its welcoming style and warm tone will captivate readers, encouraging them to become more critically aware listeners of popular music.

Mission


Patrick Tilley - 1981
    A living, breathing, three-dimensional figure with a disconcertingly casual manner. Leo Resnick, a smart young Manhattan lawyer, and his girlfriend, Dr Miriam Maxwell, are confronted with this very reality. Leo's record of his encounter with The Man is fast-paced and thoughtful at the same time. Here Tilley showcases his ability to explore vast themes whilst creating a page-turning level of excitement. If you've ever looked up at the stars and wondered what it all means, this is the book you've been waiting for.

Surface


Jody Morse - 2012
    So, when Felicia runs into a girl six years later who looks just like the sister she thought she lost, she doesn’t know what to believe. Felicia soon comes to find out that the captivating singing she’d heard the night of her sister’s drowning may explain everything.

Into the Night Sky


Caroline Finnerty - 2014
    His friend Ella Wilde tries to be supportive but is herself in a fragile mental state – she has just been axed from her job as a TV presenter, having been caught shoplifting.Then eight-year-old Jack White walks into Conor’s bookshop and settles down on the floor to read. Jack likes Ben 10, Giant Jawbreakers and Ronaldo. He likes his dad (when he doesn’t shout) but he doesn’t like the bad bugs that are eating up his ma inside her tummy.Conor listens to the talkative boy but finds it hard to piece together what is really happening in his life. He is particularly mystified by Jack’s intense resentment of a woman called Rachel Traynor, not realising that she is a social worker assigned to Jack’s case and that Jack’s fate hangs in the balance.They must each learn the healing power of love, and the need to let the past go and turn to the future.

Anything For You


Marissa Finch - 2020
    Now eighteen years old, Ella is bright, kind and a cello prodigy headed for Juilliard. Nicolette can’t help but feel proud of the young woman her daughter’s become.Then Ella calls home one night. There’s been an accident. A classmate is dead. And Ella is the only one on the scene. To protect her daughter, Nicolette makes an unthinkable decision: hide the body, and ensure her daughter is kept out of the ensuing scandal.There’s only one problem. Someone knows what she did.And that person is going to make sure Nicolette pays.

It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks


James Robert Parish - 2007
    Offering many insights into the wacky world of Brooks and his many collaborators, as well as an intimate look into his successful marriage to the brilliant and beautiful actress Anne Bancroft, It's Good to Be the King might just be the most delightful, engaging, and entertaining biography you'll ever read.

The Making of Kind of Blue: Miles Davis and His Masterpiece


Eric Nisenson - 2000
    To this day, it remains the bestselling jazz album of all time, embraced by fans of all music genres. The album represented a true watershed moment in jazz history, and helped to usher in the first great jazz revolution since bebop.The Making of Kind of Blue is an exhaustively researched examination of how this masterpiece was born. Recorded with pianist Bill Evans; tenor saxophonist John Coltrane; composer/theorist George Russell; and Miles himself, the album represented a fortuitous conflation of some of the real giants of the jazz world, at a time when they were at the top of their musical game. The end result was a recording that would forever change the face of American music.Through extensive interview and access to rare recordings, Eric Nisenson pieced together the whole story of this miraculous session, laying bare the genius of Miles Davis, other musicians, and the heart of jazz itself.