They are first-hand accounts told by an old, tired physician who has survived three decades in this odd, but exciting world of life and death. They are heartwarming, heart-wrenching, hilarious or fascinating. This book is for anyone interested in the inner belly of the Human Being. There is much to be learned and felt here. Beware, this book is not for everyone, and you may begin laughing at inappropriate times—or even develop nightmares.

    In a concealed room beneath the twisting stairs of the Queen Anne lies the Catalain Book of Secrets, the repository of the wisdom the Catalain women have gathered since the beginning of time.Ursula Catalain, current keeper of the Book of Secrets, is content to concoct spells in her garden cottage until the ghost of the man she murdered appears at her door in a new form. His return pulls Jasmine, Ursula's daughter, back into the fold. Once the most powerful of the Catalains, Jasmine foreswore her gift to bury a shameful secret.The ghost of the murdered man also calls home Katrine, Jasmine's sister, who's been banished for fourteen years. Finally able to return to Faith Falls and the beloved Queen Anne, Katrine must claim the Catalain power she's spent her whole life running from if she is to save her mother and sister from the murdered man's curse.Told in a majestic mosaic of strong women's voices, The Catalain Book of Secrets weaves together alchemy, hope, tragedy, and true love to spin a tale in the style of Garden Spells, Eva Luna, and Practical Magic.

    John Mandel's Station Eleven and Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood.In this prequel to Eric Barnes's acclaimed cli-fi novel The City Where We Once Lived, six sets of characters move through a landscape and a country just beginning to show the signs of cataclysmic change.A father and his young children fleeing a tsunami after a massive earthquake in the Gulf. A woman and her husband punishing themselves without relent for the loss of both their sons to addiction, while wildfires slowly burn closer to their family home. A brilliant investor, assessing opportunity in the risk to crops, homes, cities, industries, and infrastructure, working in the silent comfort of her office sixty floors up in the scorching air. A doctor and his wife stuck in a refugee camp for immigrants somewhere in a southern desert. Two young men working the rides for a roadside carnival, one escaping a brutal past, the other a racist present. The manager of a chain of nondescript fast-food restaurants in a city ravaged by the relentless wind.While every night the news alternates images of tsunami destruction with the baseball scores, the characters converge on a city where the forces of change have already broken—a city half abandoned, with one part left to be scavenged as the levee system protecting it slowly fails—until, in their vehicles on the highway that runs through it, they witness the approach of what looks to be just one more violent storm.

    Not yet.Ireland, 1848. Fourteen-year-old Rosaleen watches her mother die. Her country is reeling from the great potato famine, which will ultimately kill more than one million people. Driven by a promise and her will to survive, Rosaleen flees her small coastal town.She eventually arrives in America at the birth of the industrial revolution and is filled with hope and a new sense of independence. Yet the more Rosaleen becomes a part of this new world, the more she longs for a community she lost and a young man she can’t forget.Through a series of both heartwarming and tragic events, Rosaleen learns that she can’t outrun the problems that come along with being Irish. And maybe, she doesn’t want to.

    Sixteen months into their marriage, one day Allison goes home to their apartment and discovers that during her two-hour absence Cameron has moved everything out, cut off all services, withdrawn all the money in their bank account, and served her divorce papers. From a powerless, abandoned immigrant bride to a confident woman in command of her own destiny, 99 Fire Hoops, A Memoir tells the story of how Allison’s choice to break the Chinese cultural expectation for women to submit to men’s will allows her to create her own destiny.

    Featuring programs and resources available throughout the U.S. and Canada"An authoritative and comprehensive overview of the benefits of energy-efficient homes." ---Kirkus ReviewsLive in a Home that Pays You Back lights the way for enjoying a home that is healthier, more comfortable, saves money, and reduces your carbon footprint. Whether you are planning to build, buy, or retrofit a home, award-winning author Anna DeSimone takes you on a virtual tour through the home of the future. A practical reference guide that can be used for years to come, this illuminating book uncovers every part and parcel of the sustainable home, with precise explanations and infographics, plus hundreds of resources for further exploration. You'll have fun exploring the world of renewable energy, such as solar photovoltaics, wind power, geothermal energy, hydro-electric power, and biomass fuels. You'll learn how "positive energy" puts money in your pocket through incentives such as net metering, net billing or renewable energy certificates--a tradeable commodity with cash value.This eye-opening book takes a look at the health benefits of living in an energy-efficient home, and includes guidance about water safety, biological pollutants and environmental toxins. Everything you need to know about energy scores, building certifications, and the home building options for net zero, net zero ready, passive homes, pre-fab, modular, log and timber, and more. Mortgage financing chapter covers down payment assistance, national energy-efficient loan programs, borrower qualification incentives, and how to roll in the cost of an energy retrofit into your mortgage.The path to zero can be taken in small steps. This book prepares you and your household to make informed decisions for implementing energy-efficient technologies according to your needs and budget. And you'll enjoy many kinds of payback, every step of the way.Book includes a directory of rebates and incentives by Canadian province and U.S. state. Available in paperback and e-book.

    Four perfect beach reads in one convenient bundle!

    When night shift paramedic Thomas Archer uncovers a secret that could upend the mayor's career, O'Toole is set on silencing him, and sends Eamon Conroy, a brutal former cop, to ensure the truth remains under wraps.But O'Toole doesn't stop there. With bribes, buried secrets, and personal attacks, he wreaks havoc on Archer's life in an attempt to save himself. Archer's troubles continue to mount when domestic terrorist and militia member Gerald Knak, who blames Archer for his wife's recent death, sets in motion a deadly plan for revenge.With two forces of evil aligned against him, Archer doesn't stand a chance. But things aren't always what they seem--and he may just have a few tricks up his sleeve in a last gambit to get out alive.

    As the Battle of Britain begins, the women of the Air Transport Auxiliary carry out the dangerous task of ferrying warplanes to RAF airbases. But for the ATA detachment sent to the base at Scotney, it’s not only in the skies that they’re a target—it seems a killer is stalking them on the ground…On the day pilot Lizzie Hayes arrives in the quiet village, one of her new comrades is found murdered. One of the few women in Britain with a psychology PhD, Lizzie thinks she can use her skills to help identify the killer among the military staff and local villagers, but DI Jonathan Kember isn’t convinced. When a second pilot is murdered, Lizzie’s profile of the killer comes into sharper focus—attracting anonymous threats against her own life.With Kember’s investigation stalling and events at the airbase becoming ever more sinister, Lizzie’s talents are given a chance. But can she and the still-sceptical Kember work together to find the killer before Lizzie becomes the next victim?

    The power to control law enforcement, politicians at the highest levels, the judicial system as a whole. To have what you want when you want it, whatever it is. All you have to do is kill someone . . . before someone kills you. MEMBERS of THE CIRCLE don’t have to imagine such a life. They live it. The liberation of being both hunter and hunted. The salvation that comes with such freedom. A chance to feel truly alive. A chance to savor each precious moment. Because in THE CIRCLE any moment could be your last. DOUGLAS GOODWIN isn’t rich. He isn’t powerful. What could the sacred society of THE CIRCLE possibly want with him—just a regular guy with a regular job leading a regular life? What would drive them to coerce a young man who has always valued integrity over hedonism into their midst? And why would Doug agree to submersion in a world of secrecy and murder? It’s unthinkable. THE HARSH REALITY? Doug has been inducted into an institution where friends become enemies overnight, loyalty is a nothing more than a punchline, and conscience is a burden. Where he will be hunted and expected to hunt other members to their death. With no escape from THE CIRCLE’s ubiquitous influence and domination. HOW FAR WILL DOUG GO? How much will he sacrifice to preserve his way of life? Will he be swayed by the money, the women, the power? Or will THE CIRCLE consume him, as it has hundreds of others before him, and leave nothing but another nameless corpse in its wake?

    In this village lives a cat named Bijou. But she’s no ordinary house cat; her ancestors were mousers on Viking longships, and their blood runs through her veins. Since her battle skills are hardly needed in this modern age, however, she spends her energies running the Fox Burrow Pet Inn with her human, Spencer, and her assistant, Skunk, a mentally negligible Pomeranian. Together, the happy trio has created a safe haven for their four-legged guests.But when Eddy Line, a handsome baker from California, comes to the inn―along with his piglet and pit bull puppy―everything changes. Spencer falls for Eddy, Bijou is unhappy with the sudden changes to her clan, and the townspeople are anything but welcoming; in fact, threats are made against Eddy when he buys the town’s historic firehouse in order to open a bakery.Then a shocking murder/dognapping occurs on the night of the bakery’s grand opening, and Bijou finds herself thrust into a tangled mystery. To solve it, she will have to summon her inner Viking―and fight tooth and claw for her new clan.

    It is indexed alphabetically, chronologically and by category, making it easier to access individual books, stories and poems. This collection offers lower price, the convenience of a one-time download, and it reduces the clutter in your digital library. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography. Table of Contents The ExplorerThe HeroThe Land of PromiseThe Land of the Blessed VirginLiza of LambethThe MagicianMoon and SixpenceOf Human BondageThe Trembling of a LeafAppendix:W. Somerset Maugham BiographyAbout and Navigation

    Her crusade has cost her everything: Her apartment, friends, relationships, and any hope of promotion. And for what? Readers don’t care, her boss and workmates pity her, and the billionaire bro-ciopaths she writes about continue to fail upwards. But when two of her highest profile subjects are killed on the same night, their deaths staged as gruesome public suicides, Lou’s work is suddenly and violently thrust into the spotlight. Blamed for the deaths, fired from her job, and pursued by vengeful trolls who have already attacked her mother, Lou has only one chance of survival: To find the killer obsessed with her work, and stop them before anyone else dies. Or perhaps not. Because the more Lou discovers about the ingenious killer's past, and their methods, the more she becomes determined to help them succeed. PRAISE FOR PAUL BRADLEY CARR“For a cautionary tale, everyone cites Paul Bradley Carr.” – THE SUNDAY TIMES“A testament to the virtues of debauchery… uproarious and brilliant.” – WIRED“Carr has made a reputation as one of the feistiest writers on the beat. His [public] spats are legendary, as are his bust-ups with former employers.” – THE GUARDIAN“The more things that go wrong for Paul, the better a writer he becomes. It’s like the grey goo that he feeds off.” – MIKE BUTCHER, TECHCRUNCHUtterly endearing. Completely addictive reading.” – PAPERBACK CHOICE, THE PRESS ASSOCIATION“The columnist [and] enfant terrible has been summarily sacked from practically every outfit he’s worked for, including companies he started.” – ZDNET“Like James Bond, Paul symbolises a freedom man would sell his own sister to achieve.” – LOADED MAGAZINE“There’s no denying that he’s an idiotic, irresponsible chancer – qualities that make him an unpredictable travel companion, but put his story-telling skills in first class.” – SCOTTISH DAILY RECORD“Makes me want to vomit for all the right reasons.” – MIL MILLINGTON, AUTHOR, THINGS MY GIRLFRIEND AND I HAVE ARGUED ABOUT“Just because Paul Carr is a raging asshole doesn’t mean he’s not right.” – ADAM PENENBERG“The most irritating and self-satisfyingly smug person I have ever met. Annoyingly, he is also the funniest.” – ZOE MARGOLIS, AUTHOR, GIRL WITH A ONE TRACK MIND“Commenting on Paul Carr is beneath my dignity. He’s absurd.” – MATT TAIBBI

    Thomas, Virgin Islands – as a paradise. But when his best friend is murdered and the case quickly buried by local police, Boise realizes how far paradise has fallen.With the aid of Dana Goode, a local reporter investigating the kidnapping of a real estate mogul’s daughter, Boise goes on the hunt for his friend’s killer. But he’ll find more than he bargained for – much more. Because in the once-sleepy island city of Charlotte Amalie, sun, sand, and surf have been replaced by madness, mayhem, and murder – and his friend’s death was just a warm-up.Going home again can literally be murder – especially when your home has changed from Heaven on Earth… to a Dark Paradise.#1 Bestseller in Hard-Boiled Fiction."Dark Paradise is the kind of island murder mystery that easily keeps the reader captivated, guessing, on their toes, and wanting more!" -- Jersey Girl Sizzling Book ReviewsDark Paradise is the first book in the hardboiled Boise Montague series by bestselling author Gene Desrochers. Readable as part of the series or a standalone story, Dark Paradise is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly, and Nick Sullivan looking for their next addictive beach read. Click “Buy Now” and grab your copy today!

    Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Winner Best Southern Fiction. A sweeping, moving historical novel set before the Civil War about secrets, freedom, and the power of love.Growing up in the Deep South during the years leading to the Civil War, two young girls find freedom on a hillside overlooking Westland, an Alabama plantation. Essie Mae, an intuitive, intelligent slave girl, and Evie Winthrop, the sheltered, imaginative dreamer and planter’s daughter, strike up a secret friendship that thrives amidst the shadows of abuse.Told from the viewpoint of four women: Katherine Winthrop, kind mistress and unexpected heiress to her father’s small, cotton plantation; Delly, her sassy and beloved house slave; Essie Mae, her slave girl; and Evie Winthrop, Katherine’s only child, Essie’s Roses tells of forbidden relationships flourishing in secret behind Westland’s protective trees and treasured roses.After scandal befalls Westland, Evie and Essie, aged nineteen, travel to Richmond, Virginia, to escape their abusive pasts. There, they face the gross indecencies and divisions leading to the War Between the States. Though the horrors of slavery and discrimination prompt action, Evie and Essie’s struggles lie within. The secrets they hold and the pain of the past lead them away from one another and back home again.A story about a black slave who frees a white woman, Essie’s Roses reveals the diverse meanings of freedom, the significance of a dream, and the power of love. In their efforts to save each other, will the women of Westland find the true freedom they desire?"Impressively well written from beginning to end, Essie's Roses is an inherently absorbing and skillfully presented read, establishing author Michelle Muriel as an exceptionally talented novelist." -Midwest Book Review "...tremendously impressive debut novel ... A richly moving reading experience." -Historical Novel Society