The characters on the 'Ship of Fools' - a ship that's going nowhere very fast - bicker and struggle for attention: telling tales that bounce off one another to form a compendium of interrelated stories.

    They demand that Hollywood depict Muslims in a positive light—“just one movie where we're not these two-dimensional al Qaeda stereotypes.” But Damon's concerned they're playing into that same terrorist paradigm, thereby furthering the neoconservative perception of Islam.Meanwhile, Ayyub embarks on a mission to rid the taqwacore scene of a Muslim pop-punk band called Shah 79. Along the way, he makes himself invisible, escapes punk-eating zombies in a mosque off the desert highway, and runs into some psychobilly jinns. Things turn existential when Ayyub finds himself face-to-face with his creator—no, not Allah, but the author.This riotous journey of enlightenment reads like a religious service for teenagers on Halloween. But it isn't all raucous fun; written into his own novel, the author finds he is at the mercy of his creation.

    With the bride and groom at loggerheads and the guests in uproar, it is a million miles away from the rest and relaxation she'd been hoping for.And then suddenly, in the middle of the mayhem, she comes face-to-face with Nick, the man she walked out on just a few months earlier.How can Ailsa help get the wedding back on track when she and Nick can’t stop arguing? But if they do, she might remember why she fell in love with him in the first place - and then there really would be trouble.

    She worries about her children, her dead parents, African elephants, the bedroom rituals of “happy couples”, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and how to hatch an abandoned wood pigeon egg. Is there some trick to surviving survivalists? School shootings? Medical debts? Franks ’n’ beans?A scorching indictment of America’s barbarity, past and present, and a lament for the way we are sleepwalking into environmental disaster, Ducks, Newburyport is a heresy, a wonder—and a revolution in the novel.It’s also very, very funny.

    The official story was that the Roswell crash was a balloon. But the real story is that Project Bluebook became Project Blueprint and helped start WWIII. Tex Murphy has never been good at staying out of trouble . . . and this time he's in for lots of trouble

    With him go the last vestiges of their childhood, and soon after both move away to start their separate adult lives. Corwin sets off on a fifteen-year itinerant tour of rainless, war-torn countries while Morwenna leads a quiet (some might say anti-social) life as a bookbinder in east London.When their beloved grandfather, Matthew, grows ill, the pull of home is too strong to resist and they find themselves back in the family house in Devon, drawn to the map, their grandfather’s life’s work.Over the past fifty years, Matthew has meticulously painted every important event in the family’s life on top of an ordnance survey chart. Part record and part legend, the map has been a subject of fascination to Morwenna and Corwin for as long as they can remember. But is there a deeper meaning hidden among the tiny pictures of shipwrecks, asps and farting devils, and could it lead them closer to what really happened to their father all those years ago?

    The walking wounded. These are the stories of ordinary people.

    Mike Byrne wants to know who framed him for murder. The NYPD want Byrne locked up. The US Secret Service want Byrne dead. Detective Jenni Martinez just wants her gun and her badge back. Mike Byrne has three days to stop a deadly game that will bring America to its knees - and he's just been set up. Full description

    Each night, Sisi, Ama, Efe, and Joyce stand in the windows of Antwerp’s red-light district, promising to make men’s desires come true—if only for half an hour. Pledged to the fierce Madam and a mysterious pimp named Dele, the girls share an apartment but little else—they keep their heads down, knowing that one step out of line could cost them a week’s wages. They open their bodies to strangers but their hearts to no one, each focused on earning enough to get herself free, to send money home or save up for her own future.Then, suddenly, a murder shatters the still surface of their lives. Drawn together by tragedy and the loss of one of their own, the women realize that they must choose between their secrets and their safety. As they begin to tell their stories, their confessions reveal the face in Efe’s hidden photograph, Ama’s lifelong search for a father, Joyce’s true name, and Sisi’s deepest secrets—-and all their tales of fear, displacement, and love, concluding in a chance meeting with a powerful, sinister stranger.On Black Sisters Street marks the U.S. publication debut of Chika Unigwe, a brilliant new writer and a standout voice among contemporary African authors. Raw, vivid, unforgettable, and inspired by a powerful oral storytelling tradition, this novel illuminates the dream of the West—and that dream’s illusion and annihilation—as seen through African eyes. It is a story of courage, unity, and hope, of women’s friendships and of bonds that, once forged, cannot be broken.

    Each casebook reprints documents relating to a work's historical context and reception, presents the best critical studies, and, when possible, features an interview with the author. Accessible and informative to scholars, students, and nonspecialist readers alike, the books in this series provide a wide range of critical and informative commentaries on major texts. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is arguably the most important novel in twentieth-century Latin American literature. This Casebook features ten critical articles on Garcia Marquez's great work. Carefully selected from the most important work on the novel over the past three decades, they include pieces by Carlos Fuentes, Iris Zavala, James Higgins, Jean Franco, Michael Wood, and Gene H. Bell-Villada. Among the intriguing aspects of the work discussed are its mythic dimension, its "magical" side, its representations of women, its relationship with past chronicles of exploration and discovery, its portrayals of Western power and imperialism, its astounding diffusion throughout the globe and the media, and its simple truth-telling, its fidelity to the tangled history of Latin America. The book incorporates several theoretical approaches--historical, feminist, postcolonial; the first English translation of Fuentes's renowned, oft-cited, eight page meditation on the work; a general introduction; and a 1982 interview with Garcia Marquez.

    It is a seekers journey towards finding greatness within. This wonderfully crafted fable is about finding the direction you are destined to head in and creating the life of your dreams. License to Live tells the tale of a successful corporate guru who enrolls herself in a seminar by one of the finest success coaches in the world. His radical training methods take her on a life-changing odyssey. A seven day seminar spread over three countries, puts her onto a journey where she is forced to look within and be her own teacher and guide, something she had done so well for others but missed doing for herself. Full of wisdom, wit and spiritual insights, you collect lessons that will change the way you lead your life forever. Discover within this fast paced fable : * Surviving people you don’t understand * Solving situations you seem to have no control over * Finding greatness in your daily choices * Listening to your own voice – following your own path * Taking responsibility of your life and creating a worthwhile mission * Creating a future without fear and doubt entering it * Putting your past behind and standing tall in the present * Living in the present and creating your life anew one moment at a time * Putting an end to your fake helplessness.

    A city bred woman. An accidental marriage. And falling in love...Priya Shankar's life has been planned by her high-achieving mother even before her birth.Things always went by the rigid plan, except three years ago when Priya had met a gorgeous man during her trip to Vegas. A wild, passionate weekend was followed by an impulsive marriage and a hasty divorce.And now, on the verge of accepting the proposal from a man hand-picked by her mother, Priya found out that her divorce hadn't gone through! And that she must make a secretive trip to a small village in India to find the man she had married and have him sign on the divorce papers again.The problem? Arjun Pratap, her accidental husband, doesn't want a divorce! And worse, he's even challenged that within a month, he would change her mind.With stolen kisses in the wide open fields, adventurous tractor rides and camping under the stars--can she resist the sexy farmer who is determined to use every bit of his wicked charms to make her stay married to him?ACCIDENTAL HUSBAND is a lighthearted, hot, sweet & passionate standalone romance.***BOOK EXCERPT***"Arjun. You should sleep here on this big bed. I can--" Before she could finish, he got up and crashed next to her. His weight made her roll towards him. And the moment she made contact, he held her and rolled her on top of him.She was stunned for a few seconds. "I meant for us to switch beds, Arjun! Not for you to join me here!"She tried to roll away from him, but his arms held her hostage. Even in the dark, she could see the white flash of his teeth as he grinned."Stop bending the rules so much. You already kissed me thrice even though I said no touching.""Look who's counting," he teased.Her cheeks heated, and she wanted to snap back. But slowly, she stopped struggling when she felt his hand moving in slow circular motions. Even though her body was thrumming with awareness, there was a sense of ease and comfort lying on top of him.His phone beeped from somewhere, making him sigh. "All right. I've got to go now. So, if you'll give me my morning kiss, I'll be on my way."All of her sleepy and lazy contentment vanished at that statement. "What morning kiss?"Her heart began to pound in sudden anticipation, and she was sure he could feel it as she was lying on top of him."Oh. Did we not discuss that rule? I thought we did." From his devilish grin, it was obvious he was putting on an act."We didn't discuss any such rule." She was supposed to sound stern, but her voice came out breathless once again."Well, I must have forgotten. So, let's add that now. All married couples do it." He pulled her up until their heads were aligned together.She tried to resist. "I don't think it's needed. It's a bad idea.""I disagree. It's a great idea. How else can a married couple stay bonded through their busy lives? I would have preferred good afternoon and good night kisses too, but I'll settle for a daily good morning kiss for now."Before she could say anything, he held her waist and rolled them until she was lying underneath him. All thoughts vanished at seeing the intent look on his face as he came closer. She held her breath, waiting.

    It is the story that is inspiring children across India to work towards saving the tiger and the countrys rapidly dissapearing forests. When Aditya attempts to lay his hands on the diary of a ruthless tiger poacher, little does he know the events his action will trigger. His ill-fated endeavour plunges Vikram and Aarti into a thrilling adventure that climaxes at the magnificent game park of Ranthambore. Ranthambore Adventure also narrates the story of the tiger, Genghis. Brimming with tiger-lore, it traces the moments of Genghiss life-from his birth as a fluffy, helpless ball of fur -to his emergence as a proud and powerful predator. But vicious, greedy humans infiltrate his kingdom, seeking his skin and bones... About the Author: Deepak Dalal Deepak Dalal chucked up a career as a chemical engineer to write stories for children. He lives currently in Pune with his wife, two daughters and several dogs and cats. He enjoys wildlife, nature and the outdoors. The Sahyadri Hills of Pune are a short journey from his home. When not at his desk writing, he is either trekking their slopes or cycling their valleys.

    From falling in love to overcoming adversity, celebrating a new born or learning to live with dignity: here is a book to inspire and to thrill through life's most magical moments. From William Shakespeare to Carol Ann Duffy, our most popular and best loved poets and poems are gathered in one essential collection, alongside many lesser known treasures that are waiting to be discovered. These are poems that help you to see the miraculous in the commonplace and turn the everyday into the exceptional - to discover, in Kipling's words, that yours is the Earth and everything that's in it.

    After a brief, all-consuming romance he abruptly rejects her, sending her into a tailspin of jealous obsession and longing. If he ever comes back to her, she resolves to hang onto him and his love at all costs, even if it destroys her… Part breathless confession, part lucid critique, Acts of Desperation renders a consciousness split between rebellion and submission, between escaping degradation and eroticizing it, between loving and being lovable. With unsettling, electric precision, Nolan dissects one of life’s most elusive mysteries: Why do we want what we want, and how do we want it? Heralding the arrival of a stunning new literary talent, Acts of Desperation interrogates the nature of fantasy, desire, and power, challenging us to reckon honestly with our own insatiability.