The Sum and Total of Now


Don Robertson - 1966
    Funny, sarcastic, touching, and, yes, nostalgic, this is a novel of character to be enjoyed by all ages.--"Library Journal."

Leaving Orbit: Notes from the Last Days of American Spaceflight


Margaret Lazarus Dean - 2015
    But in a time of austerity and in the wake of high-profile disasters like Challenger, that dream has ended. In early 2011, Margaret Lazarus Dean traveled to Cape Canaveral for NASA's last three space shuttle launches in order to bear witness to the end of an era. With Dean as our guide to Florida's Space Coast and to the history of NASA, Leaving Orbit takes the measure of what American spaceflight has achieved while reckoning with its earlier witnesses, such as Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Oriana Fallaci. Along the way, Dean meets NASA workers, astronauts, and space fans, gathering possible answers to the question: What does it mean that a spacefaring nation won't be going to space anymore?

City Sticks


A.H. Sewell - 2015
    It was a sample (and not even the correct file - it was an old rough draft that was saved under a new title), and Goodreads will not take it down. The Amazon link directs to the correct, and full, edition. "She is lost, but the world is too. It is a perfect circle.For life is, but a dream /// is not."- "Seeing Ghosts/A Perfect Circle" excerptA. H. SewellCopyright 2015

For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut


Scott Carpenter - 2003
    Scott Carpenter was America's fourth man in space, his 1962 three-orbit mission in a tiny Mercury capsule closely paralleling that of John Glenn's previous mission. But that's where the similarities end: a malfunctioning navigational system caused Carpenter to splash down, dangerously, some 250 miles off-target, and Glenn's fame would somehow forever eclipse that of all seven of his fellow original astronauts combined. This memoir, penned in conjunction with Carpenter's daughter Kris, oddly distances itself from Carpenter's life through use of a third-person narrative (only the astronaut's calm account of his perilous mission is delivered directly in his voice), a device that ultimately echoes the more personal distances Carpenter endured in his own fateful, if troubled, journey toward the stars. While Carpenter may have been able to trace his lineage back to the Plymouth colony of the 1630s, his immediate family seemed shattered. His research-chemist father was successful but absent, his mother often a bedridden invalid. Carpenter's journey to the Mercury program after a Rocky Mountain childhood and a stint on lumbering Naval patrol planes is one of the more unlikely of the original astronaut class, and he offers up his own perspectives on what has become a compelling body of American folklore (thanks largely to Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff and the memoirs of other participants). While the account of NASA's infancy seems quaint, its officialdom often comes off as nothing short of cutthroat, perhaps inspiring the pioneering spaceman to the book's final adventures exploring a distinctly different frontier--the bottom of the ocean--as part of the Navy's endurance-minded SeaLab program. --Jerry McCulley

The Legend of Wrath


Elaine Waters
    They all address the same broken man.For committing an atrocity, Raiden received a divine curse. It would take years of wandering in isolation before he earned the Moon Goddess' forgiveness. Along with that came a mate; one with the spirit of a thousand suns that burned as intensely as Raiden's wrath.Join the Moon Goddess as she watches the tempting sparks between the mates evolve to passionate flames.Book 1 of the Deadly Sins series. This is where it all began.

Ten Poems to Say Goodbye


Roger Housden - 2012
    But while the selected poems in this volume may focus upon loss and grief, they also reflect solace, respite, and joy.  A goodbye is an opportunity for kindness, for forgiveness, for intimacy, and ultimately for love and a deepening acceptance of life as it is rather than what it was. Goodbyes can be poignant, sorrowful, sometimes a relief, and—now and then—even an occasion for joy.  They are always transitions that, when embraced, can be the door to a new life both for ourselves and for others. In this inspiring and consoling volume, Housden encourages readers to embrace poetry as a way of enabling us to better see and appreciate the beauty of the world around and within us.

Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible: A Reader's Guide


Linda Wagner-Martin - 2001
    A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question. The books in the series will all follow the same structure:a biography of the novelist, including other works, influences, and, in some cases, an interview; a full-length study of the novel, drawing out the most important themes and ideas; a summary of how the novel was received upon publication; a summary of how the novel has performed since publication, including film or TV adaptations, literary prizes, etc.; a wide range of suggestions for further reading, including websites and discussion forums; and a list of questions for reading groups to discuss.

Love In Rewind: The Complete Series: Three Book Bundle


Tali Alexander - 2016
     In Tali Alexander's best-selling trilogy, the lives of six individuals become entangled in betrayal and deceit as the truth about their pasts threaten their futures. As secrets come tumbling forth, Lives suffer and hearts break Leaving nothing, But FOOLS To drown in the wake. Enjoy this thrilling, suspenseful, and romantic ride through the decades and across two continents as Alexander pulls you into a world of passion, desire, betrayal, and redemption. Get ready to fast forward your way through Love in Rewind, Lies in Rewind, and Lost in Rewind. Only the past will tell you what the future holds...

Take my heart, forever...


Arpit Agrawal - 2016
    "Meet Siddhartha, a good lawyer but a bad human.Meet Rahul, a good human but a bad doctor.And meet Shuchi, a good human and an exceptionally well doctor.Shuchi tries to make a good human out of Siddhartha and a good doctor out of Rahul, but a bomb blast transforms their lives.Read this revolutionary tale to know how Siddhartha will get a unique PIL passed in the courtroom and Rahul will perform a life changing surgery, to save the girl they love.”

Guiding Light: Jonathan's Story


Julia London - 2007
    When his true love Tammy Winslow died saving his life, Jonathan Randall had only one reason left for existing: his baby daughter Sarah. But Sarah's great-grandfather, powerful millionaire Alan Spaulding, was obsessed with bringing her up himself. Faking his death, Jonathan fled Springfield, leaving only his mother Reva Shayne aware he and Sarah were still alive. After being on the run for months, Jonathan comes to the sleepy town of Tourmaline, California, with no intention of staying. But ten-month-old Sarah seems strangely happy here, and Jonathan himself feels an inexplicable pull toward the town. It's almost as if Tammy's ghost were whispering to him that he should stay for a while. But life is hard for a bad boy trying to turn good, until a local young woman comes into his life. Aubrey Cross isn't quite sure what attracts her to this stranger in Tourmaline. Perhaps it's his dark good looks; perhaps it's because she too has always felt as if she doesn't belong in Tourmaline, even though her father is the popular town sheriff. Aubrey alone knows that this pillar of the community is in reality a sadistic abuser. And, of course, with a past like Jonathan's, it's no surprise that life doesn't stay peaceful in Tourmaline for long. Sheriff Zeke Cross is sure there are some secrets buried, and he's not going to rest until he uncovers them. Can Reva protect Jonathan and Sarah before they're discovered by the dangerous Alan Spaulding? Featuring some of Guiding Light's favorite characters, Jonathan's Story is the passionate tale of how Jonathan may have finally found a second chance for true love...but who knows better than Jonathan how quickly everything you love can be ripped away from you?

By Chance


Diana W. - 2017
    One night when Zoe's cousin invites her out to stop moping, live a little, and have some fun; fate steps in with both feet and offers up a remedy. West Jameson is a typical ladies man, who is out for a good time, has no clue what it means to be in a relationship or in love. But one memorable one night stand, for both good and bad reasons, sends Zoe and West down a spiraling path neither one of them has anticipated. Take this journey with these two as they discover that love isn't always easy but it's worth it. Chances are never given, they're taken...& sometimes love happens purely...By Chance

Helltown: A Horror Novel


Stephen Bentley - 2015
    It's nothing like the suburb you might live in . . . Unless, that is, an insane, Listerine-guzzling Realtor sold you your house? Or perhaps your postman happens to have a disturbing relationship with his claw hammer? A grieving Dan LaBarbara knows something is different in Helltown as soon as he comes back home. Yeah, sure, the town always been a little off. You can feel that about the place, like if you stepped into a house whose only occupants were freshly murdered corpses in an upstairs bedroom. But this is something else entirely. Standing in his little brother Barbie's basement workshop, holding one of those dioramas Barbie's been building since the accident, the ones that seem to move when you hold them, Dan can feel Barbie's terror. Barbie must know something is coming, something big, something evil. He's trying to warn Dan in the only way he knows. Why else would Barbie build a diorama depicting a man-sized version of a cartoon rabbit with bloody teeth about to devour a trembling teenager? Why else would he spend so much time crafting an intricate model of Death standing over a pimply teenager in the school library? And let's not even talk about that little model of the mob of undead surrounding the massive tower of vicious black spines behind the high school. Hilltown has a story to tell, and the lonely brain-damaged man who builds magical dioramas in his basement workshop has been telling it all along. As the evil closes in around them, Dan and his new love interest Jessica must do the impossible: save everyone one in Hilltown before it's too late.

A Dopeman & His Shawty


Tina J. - 2019
    The relationship is perfect from the outside looking in, but what happens when secrets come to light and ends their future? Kenji decides seven years is a long time for things to just end; however, after hearing some of the vile actions his ex committed, he can no longer salvage anything. Sadly, like most ex’s, Robin is in denial and refuses to let any woman take him from her. Nyana Simpson has gone through a lot in her youth, but she made it. As an adult, she’s living her life carefree, and nothing can bring her down. She has a job, and her own place but the loneliness creeps in making her feel as if no one can love her. She comes in contact with a man who couldn’t possibly desire her, the same way she desires him. What happens when one family member brings them together, and another is desperately trying to keep them apart? Sade is living in a nightmare she can’t wake up from. With no help in sight, she decides to transfer her job and start over. Unfortunately, the nightmare follows her, and things go from bad to worse. Somehow, her knight and shining armor appears, but can he save her when he’s dealing with his own nightmare? Sade has to do something to save her life, but what happens when her life is no longer her own and the person responsible decides to show her there’s no way out?

The Little Girl Who Was Forgotten by Absolutely Everyone (Even the Postman)


Katy Towell - 2005
    Yes, even the postman. She has everything a child could want, but not the one thing every child - and every grownup, too - needs. Love. Desperate for a friend, Emmeline makes a wish upon a magical star. It is a wish that will change the lives of everyone she knows forever.

Violent Graduation


John Hindmarsh - 2021
    The risk to his friends at the academy is the hidden price. His challenge is how to balance the risks.The final stage of his training is a shakedown cruise on an old minesweeper, barely able to achieve FTL entry and exit.Midway through their cruise, the minesweeper collides with an ancient alien wreck, ripping the sides off the starship. Jack’s team of bots help seal the combined wreck to prevent air loss. Ghost, a nanolife form from the alien wreck, provides assistance.Jack and his girlfriend, Sofia, are the only survivors, and air, food, and supplies are critical.The countdown of days to survive is ticking.No wonder the Royal Family are angry.And there’s still a price on Jack’s head.