The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We've Lost in a World of Constant Connection


Michael Harris - 2014
    What does this unavoidable fact mean?For future generations, it won't mean anything very obvious. They will be so immersed in online life that questions about the Internet's basic purpose or meaning will vanish.But those of us who have lived both with and without the crowded connectivity of online life have a rare opportunity. We can still recognize the difference between Before and After. We catch ourselves idly reaching for our phones at the bus stop. Or we notice how, mid-conversation, a fumbling friend dives into the perfect recall of Google.In this eloquent and thought-provoking book, Michael Harris argues that amid all the changes we're experiencing, the most interesting is the one that future generations will find hardest to grasp. That is the end of absence-the loss of lack. The daydreaming silences in our lives are filled; the burning solitudes are extinguished. There's no true "free time" when you carry a smartphone. Today's rarest commodity is the chance to be alone with your own thoughts.

Dot.Bomb: My Days and Nights at an Internet Goliath


J. David Kuo - 2001
    David Kuo saw it all: the sky's-the-limit optimism, the hundreds of millions spent in a giddy grab for market share, the investors slavering to be inside, the belief that there really were new rules. He also saw what happened when wretched excess and ego-driven blunders forced gravity to reassert itself and when, ultimately, Wall Street demanded results. His book, alive with hilarious incidents and colorful characters, is destined to become a touchstone of the dot-com era.

Hell Was Full


Branson Reese - 2020
    A group of raccoons gnaw on God’s severed head; a man brags to his friend about driving a Transformer out of its own funeral; a toaster revolts against its master. These are just some of the scenes in the pitch-black world of Hell Was Full, the popular webcomic that blends the bleak and the absurd into a delicious dadaist cocktail.

Displaced: A Memoir


Esther Wiebe - 2020
    In the span of her early childhoodthrough adulthood, Esther takes you on a journey of unspeakable losses, survival,resilience and strong family bonds.For Esther, the youngest of fourteen siblings born into a conservative Mennonite Colony in the heart of South America, everyday life revolves around rules, routine and monotonous chores on a family farm without so much as electricity and running water. As she sees it, her childhood is normal and ordinary. That is until one catastrophic day when everything changes. Suddenly, eleven-year-old Esther must leave behind everything she’s ever known.This is the true, heartbreaking account of growing up in a Mennonite family and theharrowing events that eventually lead to her and her three youngest siblings’ dramatic escape to Canada. Everything Esther has ever known about her identity is left behind as she struggles to find a place for herself in a new country, a new culture, and a new language.

At Home by the Sea


Pam Weaver - 2021
    And when their father’s temper flares up, Izzie knows the girls are better off on their own.   But when a handsome Italian chef moves to Worthing and offers Izzie a job in his cafe, she is forced to choose between her responsibilities and her desires. Then her mother resurfaces, and Izzie discovers there’s more to her abandonment than meets the eye.   Will Izzie be able to come to terms with the past in order to pursue the future she deserves?

All That Followed: A story of cancer, kids and the fear of leaving too soon


Emma Campbell - 2018
    This is a deeply felt memoir about motherhood, survival and learning to live for whatever life throws at you." CLOVER STROUD, author of The Wild OtherAn extraordinary story of facing life s multiple (!) trials with love, resilience and courage, told in Emma s warm, funny and unflinchingly honest style. AMY McCULLOCH, author of Jinxed and The Potion DiariesWith four children (three of them triplets!) and a relationship break-up to contend with, some things get a little lost in the mix. Like symptoms. Emma Campbell bravely and honestly offers heartfelt thoughts on what happens when cancer becomes an unwelcome guest at an already crowded party. She shares her own terror and pain, mixed with the heartwarming and unexpected. The extraordinary kindness of people and the gritty detail of battling a life-threatening illness, all while being a single mum to four children. She opens up about her angels and demons, losing and then finding love again, a constant fear of death mixed with the joy and relief of living, the anxiety of cancer returning - then facing it when it does. This book has grown from Emma's blog Me And My Four. Eager to share with her followers in more detail, the secrets, the fears, the triumphs and the terrors that she faces each day, in a life as unpredictable as your own...www.meandmyfour.com

Mafiaboy: How I Cracked The Internet And Why Its Still Broken


Michael Calce - 2008
    After 2 months and hundreds of hours of wiretapping, the FBI and RCMP staged a late-night raid to apprehend the most wanted man in cyberspace—a 15-year-old kid, Mafiaboy. 8 years later, Mafiaboy, a.k.a.Michael Calce, has ignored requests from every major media outlet in North America and has not told a word of his story—until now. Using his experience as a cautionary tale, Calce takes the reader through the history of hacking and how it has helped make the internet the new frontier for crime in the 21st century.

In the Matter of Michael Vogel


Drew Yanno - 2013
    At first, the townspeople accept the initial ruling of an accidental drowning, despite the fact that the boy's body wasn’t discovered when the lifeguards searched the pool earlier in the day after his sister reported him missing. However, when an autopsy reveals an unanticipated result, it sets in motion a search for a killer, in a town unaccustomed to murder. The story is told from the perspective of three members of the community: a twelve year old boy with a future he hopes to avoid; a sheriff with a past he longs to forget; and a forty year old bachelor with a secret he wants desperately to protect. Their stories all come together in a stunning and heart-stopping conclusion that helps to provide each of them a measure of redemption.Librarian please note:This is an alternate cover edition. The original ISBN numbers are:ISBN10 - 0615757588ISBN13 - 9780615757582

Open to the Spirit: God in Us, God with Us, God Transforming Us


Scot McKnight - 2018
    Scot McKnight answers these questions and more in this comprehensive examination of what the Bible says about this divinely important, but often confusing member of the Trinity. This is the third work in a three-part series examining some of the supernatural components of the Christian faith. Scot's The Heaven Promise examines the afterlife. The Hum of Angels elucidates the Bible's teaching on God's supernatural messengers and protectors. Now, The Holy Spirit examines the most mysterious member of the Trinity. Scot blogs at Patheos, a large multi-perspective blog format. It serves many influential voices from many faith and non-faith traditions. Scot's blog draws primarily a Christian readership; one that is looking for intellectual engagement and thoughtful analysis of Scripture, Theology, and Culture.

Dark Territory


Leo J. Maloney - 2018
    Maloney delivers a lightning-fast thriller that puts America’s top operatives on a collision course with Russia’s deadliest weapon . . .   DARK TERRITORY   The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest rail line in the world. But for Dan Morgan’s daughter Alex, it could be the shortest trip of her life—and the last. After taking out a sadistic North Korean officer, she boards the train to make her escape. But she’s not the only passenger with a hidden agenda. Dan Morgan has two choices: save his daughter before fighter jets blow up the train. Or stop a madman from annihilating the world. Either way, this train ride is a one-way ticket toward disaster—and the last stop is World War III . . .   Praise for Leo J. Maloney and His Novels    “The new master of the modern spy game.” —Mark Sullivan   “Everything a thriller reader wants.”—Ben Coes   “Dan Morgan is one of the best heroes to come along in ages.” —Jeffery Deaver   ”Fine writing and real insider knowledge.”—Lee Child    “Everything a thriller reader wants.”—Ben Coes   “A ripping story!”—Meg Gardiner   “Rings with authenticity.”—John Gilstrap

Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World


James Ball - 2017
    The year saw two shock election results, each of which has the potential to reshape the world: the UK's decision to leave the EU, and the elevation of Donald Trump to the office of U.S. President. The campaigns highlighted many of the same issues in their home countries: social division, anger at the elite, anti-immigration sentiment, and more―but more than anything, they heralded an unprecedented rise of bullshit.

The Parkhurst Years: My Time Locked Up with Britain’s Most Notorious Criminals


Bobby Cummines - 2017
    An Irish prisoner stepped forward and slipped a blade into my hand. I felt the ice cold metal and pressed it against the governor’s cheek. I thought to myself: would they ever release me after this?’ Bobby Cummines was only 28 when he passed through the grim gates of Parkhurst, Britain’s Alcatraz, as a category-A prisoner with a host of crimes to his name. Joining the most notorious gangsters and criminals of the day – from the Krays, the Yorkshire Ripper and Charles Bronson, to high ranking members of the IRA – nothing could have prepared him for the brutal regime, violent convicts, vindictive screws and riots on the inside. It’s the story of Britain’s most hellish prison, from one of its hardest inmates.

The Amazon Echo Dot User Guide: Newbie to Expert in 1 Hour!: The Echo Dot User Manual That Should Have Come In The Box


Tom Edwards - 2016
     From the Number 1 Best Selling authors in Computers and Technology, this clear and concise guide will show you how to get the very best from your new Amazon Echo Dot. Step by step instructions will take you from newbie to expert in just one hour! About the Authors: Tom and Jenna Edwards are the Amazon Tech authors behind the Number 1 Best-selling e-books 250+ Best Kindle Fire & Fire HD Apps and All-New Fire 7 User Guide: Newbie to Expert in 2 Hours!

The Moments


Natalie Winter - 2019
    Moments that make us who we are. But what if they don't unfold the way they're supposed to...?What if you get on the wrong bus, or don't speak to the right person at a party, or stay in a job that isn't for you? Will you miss your one chance at happiness? Or will happiness find you eventually, when the moment is right?Meet Matthew and Myrtle. They have never really felt like they fitted - in life or with anyone else. But they are meant to be together - if only they can find each other.A powerful and emotional story about missed chances, interwoven lives and the moments that define us.

The Lost Secret of Ireland: Completely unforgettable and uplifting Irish fiction (Starlight Cottages Book 2)


Susanne O'Leary - 2021
    When she moved from Paris to a beautiful coastguard cottage on the sea, she wanted peace and quiet and the space to grieve after her mother’s death. She never imagined that her mother’s eccentric best friend Lucille would insist on moving in to keep her company.With Lucille by her side, Ella finds herself laughing more than she has in years and it soon becomes clear that Lucille has her own reasons for coming to Sandy Cove: she wants Ella to help her move to her own little cottage by the sea. But then Lucille’s son Rory comes to town and her dream is under threat: he wants her in Tipperary, where she can safely grow old in their family home. Ella admires Lucille’s sense of adventure but she can’t help but wonder if Rory is right. Especially when she sees the rickety old cottage Lucille intends to buy and realises that the real reason she wants to escape could turn Rory’s life upside down.As Ella and Rory get closer, sharing a moment under the stars that feels meant to be, Ella finds herself caught between the man she is falling for and the loyalty she has to Lucille. Ella knows that she must convince Lucille to tell her family the truth, but it may force them to leave her and Sandy Cove for good…