And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage--tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground. Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree. --Alix Wilber

    If you have not yet bought the original copy, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial summary from aBookaDay. SPECIAL OFFER $2.99 (Regularly priced: $3.99) Mark Watney is a dead man walking. As a member of the Ares 3 Mars mission, he landed with five crewmates for an assignment meant to be a month long. Then the storm came, and the crew was forced to evacuate. Watney, presumed dead by the rest of his team, was left behind. Watney made it through the storm, but with communications wiped out, he has no way of telling Earth that he’s alive. Even if he did, outfitting a mission to collect him would take years. He’s run the numbers, and the odds are literally impossible. On Earth, and on the ship Hermes, friends and strangers alike grieve for a fallen hero, while alone on an alien planet where even the smallest mistake means certain death, the man they mourn struggles to survive. Read more.... Download your copy today! for a limited time discount of only $2.99! Available on PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. © 2015 All Rights Reserved

    Her first bike was stolen in Bulgaria, she was knocked down by a buffalo cart in India and battled with a parasitic illness in Malaysia. These were some of the challenges she had to deal with, but above all, what stood out for Ann was the depth of human kindness she experienced throughout her travels.

    You live in a shitty flat in Detroit with a cupboard of stale coffee, a few bottles of light beer in the fridge, and a shoe box of pot that has probably been cut with cat shit. And until this week you have been slouching your way through life and pissing on anything meaningful. But that's all about to change. You are now given a final chance to make something out of this life, if only you can survive this one week.

    She claimed the police had inserted a stick inside her… Swaranpreet realised that she had been cruelly violated; He spoke a single sentence but repeated it twice in chaste Punjabi: ‘Please give me a turban? I want nothing else…’ These are voices begging for deliverance in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination in October-November 1984 in which 2,733 Sikhs were killed, burnt and exterminated by lumpens in the country. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay walks us through one of the most shameful episodes of sectarian violence in post Independent India and highlights the apathy of subsequent governments towards Sikhs who paid a price for what was clearly a state-sponsored riot. Poignant, raw and most importantly, macabre, the personal histories in the book reveal how even after three decades, a community continues to battle for its identity in its own country.

    From flights over Antarctica to carrying a spare fifth engine beneath the wing, award-winning aviation writer and airline pilot, Owen Zupp, has detailed the varied journeys of the magnificent Boeing 747. Click below to buy this book and share the journey.

    However, shit happened and I was somehow summoned. However, in some strange twist of fate, I was no longer needed and disposed of, but that’s okay because I didn’t want to be a summoned hero to begin with. My new beginning may have been abruptly cut short, but even so, that is fine. There is a path I’m much more interested in. Mwuhahaha! Cough cough cough. Though, my sinister laugh may still need some practice.

    But Yvonne Bonner's adventurous, dramatic, and romantic spirit will be taken advantage of by her half-brother, Rex. And soon she will be overflowing with something much stronger and greater.After their father's death, Rex asks Yvonne to leave Paris and live at his ranch in Colorado to go undercover as a spy on his mysterious rival, Logan.With her initial attraction to Logan, a man who is only known by his first name, she finds that her affection goes much deeper than that. Unaware of the danger she is in due to Logan's dark secret, Yvonne finds herself torn between her love for Logan and obligation towards her brother.But when all secrets come to light, will her new-found faith be able to lead her to the right path or will she once again be lost?If you like fast-paced, clean romance, "A Hidden Light Within" is a stand-alone Christian Historical Romance Novel you won't be able to put down.Start reading now to discover Yvonne's inspirational romantic story!

    An omnibus edition of the last three Conan novels by Robert Jordan, author of the bestselling Wheel of Time series

    Hooja considers Tantri an epitome of loyalty, never realising that the man is a blackguard who has set his sights on the throne. Tantri devises plan after plan to eliminate Hooja and become the new king, but Hooja is incredibly lucky (or perhaps Tantri is incredibly unlucky). Not only do his plans not succeed, they often boomerang with physically disastrous consequences for the Mantri.

    Morgan is a new kind of male hero, imperfect and uncertain, who—like his favorite football team—is fumbling forward into uncertainty. The 2013 Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get lucky. But as his emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by the suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex. Clown will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta. Like others in that distinguished group, Robert Steven Williams delivers a painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time. "Williams has written a terrific novel. His book pulls back the curtain on male masculinity--showing us what a guy really goes through when dealing with the difficult mess of his beloved spouse's infidelity and the ensuing divorce. Williams' characters give us the real-deal: a gut wrenching and often humorous look, showing us the everyday horrors of what it's like to start all over again as one approaches middle age." - Suzan-Lori Parks, winner Pulitzer Prize for Drama "Robert Steven Williams has written a novel of tremendous honesty, humor, and insight. His story of Chuck Morgan, cast adrift on the rocky shoals of dating when his wife of twenty years suddenly leaves him, does for men what Bridget Jones's Diary did for women." - Joy Johannessen, editor for Alice Sebold, Amy Bloom, Michael Cunningham and My Year as a Clown "When we first meet Chuck Morgan, he's broken, twisted and confused. And that's what makes him so interesting. Like other intriguing literary heroes, he is at his best after life has knocked him to the ground, forcing him to find a new way to be strong again; damaged maybe, but more confident this time, with a kinder, more open heart." - Jimmie Dale Gilmore, The Flatlanders

    

    

    Save over half off the cover price on three runaway international hits: The Incident Season 1, The Incident Season 2, and Balls Deep. THE INCIDENT: Where do you run when even the good guys want you dead? Special Agent Sam Jameson is having a bad week. People are trying to kill her.
 
That would be business as usual in the counterespionage world, except that it’s the good guys who have her in the crosshairs. Why are the DC Metro police trying to kidnap her? Do her bosses at Homeland want her in a body bag, too? And why does everyone she talks to seem to end up in the morgue? Will a ruthless mercenary, a hapless American traitor, and a dead man’s cryptic clue hold the key to Sam’s survival? As the noose tightens around her neck, Sam must uncover a brutal and deadly conspiracy before she becomes its next victim. BALLS DEEP: Peter Kittredge is middle-aged, unassuming, bisexual, and frequently — perpetually, one might say — bombed out of his mind. He also found a dead man in his own bed, and he managed to accidentally stab a CIA agent. Twenty-seven times. Oops. How will the rest of the week unfold? Interview with author Lars Emmerich Q - So, what makes Sam Jameson and Peter Kittredge special? A - It's a mix of things, really. When I set out to write these books, I wanted to create something that mirrored exactly the kind of books I like to read. My top picks are usually espionage and private detective novels, any of the thousands of thrillers and mysteries best sellers, and, of course, books featuring classic pulp heroes. I also like heroes with problems and villains who are frighteningly human, maybe a little too much like us. The Sam Jameson and Peter Kittredge books are a mix of these genres. The series focuses on the mystery and thriller / espionage genre overall, with a couple of themes borrowed from financial thrillers thrown in for good measure, a healthy dose of the stuff that makes political thrillers great, and a serial killer novel or two to keep things interesting. Why such a mixing of themes? Because life isn't monolithic and book genres are arbitrary. There's murder in spy novels and there's espionage in political conspiracy thrillers. Overall, the series are designed to keep you turning the pages. I've done my best to make sure there's never a dull moment, and I think the characters' chutzpah and attitude makes for good entertainment. But I'm probably a little biased. And in Peter's case, his sexuality is obviously a strong part of his character, as is his distinctive personality. Q - So, why should readers give these books a try? A - Because the Sam Jameson and Peter Kittredge books are fast, fun thrill-rides that never let up! Ultimately, readers who enjoy a blazing pace, characters with depth and distinctive voices, and a plot that twists and turns all the way to the end will enjoy this series. Peter Kittredge Espionage and Suspense Thrillers Series eBook Categories: - LGBT and female Espionage Thrillers - LGBT and female Suspense Thrillers - Gay spy novel / female spy novel - LGBT Mystery Series / female mystery series - LGBT and female Crime Thrillers - LGBT and female Private Investigator Series - LGBT and female Political Thrillers - LGBT and female Conspiracy Thrillers &lt

    He was the fourth of six children born to Jeremiah and Martha (Butler) Beech. Both of his grandfathers were veterans of the American Revolutionary War. When Jedediah was 11 years old, his father moved the family across the Appalachian Mountains to the western foothills near Maryville, Tennessee, to start a new life on the wild and exciting frontier. It was there that Jedediah’s saga began.