Book picks similar to
"Freedom" Under Socialism by Ela Brzezinski


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The Winter Guest


Pam Jenoff - 2014
    The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor. Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn’t be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day.Then Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village, wounded, but alive. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam—a Jew—but Helena’s concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Defying the perils that render a future together all but impossible, Sam and Helena make plans for the family to flee. But Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices have sparked in Ruth, culminating in a singular act of betrayal that endangers them all—and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate across continents and decades.Originally published in 2014. Look for Pam Jenoff’s new novel, The Woman with the Blue Star, an unforgettable story of courage and friendship during wartime.Read these other sweeping epics from New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff.The Lost Girls of ParisThe Orphans TaleThe Diplomat’s WifeThe Kommandant’s GirlThe Last Summer at Chelsea BeachThe Ambassador's Daughter

Rituals for Every Day


Nadia Narain - 2018
    Nadia and Katia have learned, through years of practice, that simple rituals can help you press the pause button on the pace of modern life. In Rituals for Every Day they share their easy-to-follow advice, step by step.Let rituals bring you back to yourself.

Fante


Dan Fante - 2011
    Long before his father achieved literary recognition for Ask the Dust or The Road to Los Angeles, and before Dan had conceived his novels 86’d, Chump Change, and Mooch, their difficult relationship as father and son evolved in a household where love and literary artistry were often overshadowed by emotional violence. Fante is the story of Dan’s struggle to find his own voice amidst the madness of his family’s dark inheritance, a memoir of his escape from his own vices and his eventual return to Los Angeles to embrace the man—and the calling—that once had driven him away.

The Book of Aron


Jim Shepard - 2015
    He and a handful of boys and girls risk their lives by scuttling around the ghetto to smuggle and trade contraband through the quarantine walls in hopes of keeping their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters alive, hunted all the while by blackmailers and by Jewish, Polish, and German police, not to mention the Gestapo.When his family is finally stripped away from him, Aron is rescued by Janusz Korczak, a doctor renowned throughout prewar Europe as an advocate of children’s rights who, once the Nazis swept in, was put in charge of the Warsaw orphanage. Treblinka awaits them all, but does Aron manage to escape — as his mentor suspected he could — to spread word about the atrocities? Jim Shepard has masterfully made this child's-eye view of the darkest history mesmerizing, sometimes comic despite all odds, truly heartbreaking, and even inspiring. Anyone who hears Aron's voice will remember it forever.

The Man in the Box


Thomas Moran - 1997
    Weiss into the barn loft. His box is one meter wide, three meters high, and four meters long. Hiding Dr. Weiss seems like an adventure to Niki. At first. But the family's secret weighs on them. Mrs. Lukasser becomes "nervous." Mr. Lukasser withdraws. Care and feeding of Dr. Weiss fall to Niki and a blind girl - Niki's best friend, Sigi. Niki and Sigi straddle two worlds. In their adolescent world, they are discovering the limits of adult life, and the possibilities of each other. In the secret world they share with Dr. Weiss, they have power - a life depends on them. That is both gratifying and bewildering. As the psychological state of Dr. Weiss ebbs and flows, Niki and Sigi are entranced by the stories of his worldly life in a Europe very different from their own. He shows them how to dream beyond their village, beyond the war. They are beginning to understand compassion and respect. And from the inside of his box, Dr. Weiss is gradually coaxing them into adulthood.

Solemnly Swear


Nancy Moser - 2008
    But was she simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? It's up to the jury to decide. Each member comes from a different background, but one in particular has a lot at stake by being on this jury. The circumstantial evidence against the accused piles up, yet Patti McCoy isn't the only one who has to deal with innocence and guilt. Or judgment.

The Other Eminent Men of Wilford Woodruff


Vicki Jo Anderson - 1994
    Every parent needs resources that will add to the spiritual roots, and to the moral foundation their children build their lives upon. As we are shown how God has inspired eminent people in their pursuit of excellence, we see how to find His guidance in our lives. When we plant in their hearts a view of history as a legacy to live up to, children are empowered to prepare for, and then perform, the missions God sent them to earth to accomplish.”

City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II's Kraków


George Weigel - 2015
    “Thus, in what follows, the story of Karol Wojtyła, St. John Paul II, and the story of Kraków are interwoven in a chronological pilgrimage through the life of a saint that reveals, at the same time, the dramatic history and majestic culture of a city where a boy grew into a man, priest, a bishop—and an apostle to the world.”With stunning photographs by Stephen Weigel and notes on the city’s remarkable fabric by Carrie Gress, City of Saints offers an in-depth look at a man and a city that made an indelible impression on the life and thought of the Catholic Church and the 21st century world.

The Best Polish Restaurant in Buffalo


William Kowalski - 2017
    A masterful blend of historical and modern fiction by a best-selling, award-winning author, THE BEST POLISH RESTAURANT IN BUFFALO chronicles a century of life in America for one humble Polish farm girl and three generations of her descendants in Buffalo, New York.

Bun in the Oven


Jamie Knight - 2019
    Jamie Knight promises to always bring you a happy ever after filled with plenty of heat. And never any cheating or cliffhangers!

Regular Sex ~ Issue 1 ~ The Commute (The Regular Sex Series)


Kitty French - 2016
     You could think of these stories as ultra filthy, no strings attached one night stands - perfect for those times when you just want to have a damn wild, sexy time and then walk away slightly bow legged with a satisfied smile on your face. Each story in the series is complete and unrelated to the next, a sensual lucky dip, because regular sex should never have to mean boring sex, right? In fact, the only thing that is regular about this series is that Kitty will release a brand new story EVERY Friday. A weekly dose, because, after all, regular sex is good for your health. Perfect bedtime reading, or for commuting to work, or to spice up your lunchtime. Just make sure that no one is reading over your shoulder… The Regular Sex series of half hour erotic reads from Kitty French ~ bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase wham, bam, thank you ma’am. EPISODE 1 - THE COMMUTE. ‘Is this seat taken?’ I look up, and just like that I’m done for. ‘Take me,’ I say, and then feel my cheeks glow, probably turning the same shade of dull ox-blood red as the faded upholstery of the seat he’s absently stroking as he watches me. He raises one brow a little as if he’s seriously considering my offer. ‘Take it,’ I correct myself and shoot him my best ‘aren’t I a goofy klutz this morning,’ smile, even though we both know that I’d meant exactly what I said, although it would have been wiser if the words had stayed inside my head. I’d just handed him the upper hand within three seconds of meeting him, a mistake I’d made several times before and vowed to learn from. That’s me all over though; keep on doing the same thing and expecting the results to be different, which even I can see is the action of an idiot. ‘I’m Stacy, newly crowned queen of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time,’ I say brightly, because he’s slid into the seat opposite mine and is still looking at me intently. His eyes are a curious sort of blue; they remind me of a pale turquoise cocktail I had on the beach in Ibiza last summer, or of soft, worn Levi’s begging to be unbuttoned by your lover. ‘Queen Stacy.’ He inclines his head formally. ‘I’m Jude, king of bad intentions.’ Click buy to find out just how bad Jude's intentions are - if you need a hint, they're VERY BAD indeed.

The Nanny


Max Hudson - 2018
     As a professional hockey player it shouldn’t be a hard task, but with his mother vetoing anybody she thinks Trevor will sleep with, it becomes more difficult. Until Nicholas Berchard walks into their life. Instantly bonding with Trevor’s daughter, Gabrielle, and charming Trevor’s mother, Nick is chosen as Gabrielle’s nanny. With his daughter growing attached and the late nights after hockey games bringing Trevor and Nick closer together, their relationship soon moves into dangerous territory. Teammates and family alike try to convince Trevor that sleeping with his nanny will only end in disaster, and though Gabrielle has had enough problems in her life with people abandoning her, Trevor can’t stop himself from this thing he and Nick are doing together. When everything falls apart and Trevor is left with a daughter who’s mad at him, teammates who are saying, “I told you so,” and a broken heart that’s still desperately in love with Nick, he’s gonna have to figure out a way to put his life back together. Even if that life doesn’t include Nick. Please Note: This book contains adult language & steamy adult activities, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. Novel, approx. 60,000 words in length. HEA (happy ever after ending). Does not end with a "cliffhanger." Themes include: establishing relationships, developing feelings, coming out, secrets and lies.

The Weather Factor


Erik Durschmied - 2000
    This title examines climatic devastation and the uncertainty that the weather brings.

A Day of Small Beginnings


Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum - 2006
    On the ground above her crouches Itzik Leiber, a reclusive, unbelieving fourteen-year-old whose fatal mistake has spurred the town's angry residents to violence. The childless Friedl rises to guide him to safety -- only to find she cannot go back to her grave. Now Friedl is trapped in that thin world between life and death, her brash decision binding her forever to Itzik and his family: she is fated to be forever restless, and he, forever haunted by the ghosts of his past. Years later, after Itzik himself has gone to his grave, his son, Nathan, knows nothing of his bitter father's childhood. When he begrudgingly goes to Poland on business, Nathan decides on a whim to visit his ancestral town. There, in Zokof, he meets the mysterious Rafael, the town's last remaining Jew, who promises to pass on all the things Itzik had failed to teach his son - about Zokof, about his faith, and about himself.

Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in a Complex World


Dennis P. Hollinger - 2002
    Provides a discussion of the foundations and methods in ethics and ways to apply a Christian worldview to a secular culture.