Written to be read over a long commute or a short journey, they are original and exclusively in digital form. This is a poignant novella from Anita Brookner. 'I rather hope I shall die at the hairdresser's, for they are bound to know what to do. At least that is what I tell myself.' Solitude is a familiar burden for Elizabeth Warner. She lives in a basement flat near Victoria and leaves the house only to go shopping and to have her hair done - until a chance encounter at the hairdresser's brings unexpected change. At the Hairdresser's is a deeply moving, unflinchingly observed story about trust and betrayal by one of the greatest writers of contemporary fiction.

    Set in and around contemporary London, these nine stories explore both the blisses and irritations of domestic life. An ambitious teenager vows never to settle for any of the adult lives she sees around her. Two old friends get tipsy at a small cafe and end up revealing more than they intended. In a boutique so exclusive that entrance requires a password, a frazzled careerwoman explores the anesthetizing effect of highly impractical clothing. And in the mesmerizing title story, a mother of three takes life one day at a time, while pushing the ominous question of whether she wants to firmly to one side.

    Now, there's a reason to be. Lux and his younger brother Lunam enjoy the full freedom of the simple life and all the childhood adventures offered by growing up in a small village in a picturesque glen. Life is tranquil, peaceful, and just about perfect—except for one formidable fact... Every day is followed by night. And, with the night, comes the DARKNESS. Slowly shrouding the valley and relentlessly seeping into every nook and cranny on its nightly rampage, the darkness returns to feast on its victims. No man, woman, child, animal—or even, insect—is safe. The darkness consumes all; the darkness's hunger is never satisfied. When the sun falls from the sky, the villagers, young and old, must take to arms, guarding their homes, loved ones, and livestock with every ray of light they can muster. Even young Lux and Lunam are well-soldiered in their responsibilities to safeguard themselves and their parents during the nightly vigil, the nightly fight to live to see another day. It's always been this way—the truths and ritual passed down from generation to generation since ancient times. No one dares question why. Nothing can change the frightening fact of the lives of the villagers or emancipate them from their singular foe—nothing, except a child's imagination and a curiosity as immutable as the darkness's own appetite. There's just one truth guiding every man, woman, and child to strive to see another day: "Darkness Comes but Once a Night."

    He wrote some of his books under the pseudonyms Dod Grile and J. Milton Sloluck. Bierce's lucid, unsentimental style has kept him popular when many of his contemporaries have been consigned to oblivion. His dark, sardonic views and vehemence as a critic earned him the nickname, "Bitter Bierce. " Such was his reputation that it was said his judgment on any piece of prose or poetry could make or break a writer's career. His short stories are considered among the best of the 19th century, providing a popular following based on his roots. He wrote realistically of the terrible things he had seen in the war in such stories as An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Killed at Resaca, and Chickamauga. His works include: The Fiend's Delight (1873), Cobwebs from an Empty Skull (1874), Black Beetles in Amber (1892), Fantastic Fables (1899), Shapes of Clay (1903), A Son of the Gods, and A Horseman in the Sky (1907), Write It Right (1909) and A Cynic Looks at Life (1912).

    It springs spontaneously from the lofty hearts and makes its own way to unite with its generous reciprocators. At times, it becomes dry and seeks the abundance of a big-hearted lover. In other scenarios, the river gets frozen and looks for the warmth of a passionate soul. And in some cases, it may just be ready and waiting to leap forth from its humble abode. All it takes is just a little stroke of fate for that river to unleash itself and flow in its full glory.'Unleash That River' is an anthology of six short stories of love and contemporary romance.1) Keys: When Dhyey returns home to meet his mother after several months, he discovers that she has started sharing the house with a beautiful tenant, Nishita who not only holds the key to his house, but to his locked heart as well.2) Dot Every 'i' And Cross Every 't':Varun and Puja met for the first time through an arranged marriage proposal. However, in order to make sure that they are the ones who can really complement each other for the rest of their lives, they must take a step out of their comfort zones, and do something unprecedented and outright crazy.3) Why Not:Neel and Rashi both have miserably failed at their first romantic endeavor. Will they keep cursing their rotten luck and ask why? Or will they reclaim the charge of their lives to embrace the second chance and say why not?4) Immeasurable Nouns:Aditi and Kartik are the academic stars of their class and each other’s arch rivals. Aditi hates boys. But Kartik secretly loves her. To win her heart, he must wait for the right moment and make every move cautiously. One day, during an English class, that moment presents itself in its full bloom.5) Madly In Marriage:Swayam and Soniya have not left any stone unturned to avoid marrying each other. But their families see this union as a match made in heaven and are hellbent to see it through. 6) Hearts And Ice-creams:Tushar is obsessed with finding his childhood crush who disappeared out of his life without a clue. Fifteen years later, will he be able to move on or destiny has yet to play its last trick?

    The passions, ambitions, and pretensions, the cant and the pathos of the art world, artists, pseudo-artists, aficionados, and dilettantes—all are amply represented here in the midst of their foibles, grand affairs, and failures, drawn with great style and subtlety by a writer gathering her formidable powers. With the psychological precision of her early master Henry James and the practical wisdom and wit of her contemporary Edith Wharton, Cather shows us innocents seduced, sophisticates undone, marriages sundered, idealism compromised, and the rare soul uplifted by art.

    The 12 tales in this book vary in setting from a Polaris base in Scotland to a frail remnant of hippy "happiness" in Tasmania, and in subject-matter from male gynaecologists' interference with female organs to a rich woman confessing to the night sea that she has lied and cheated and "murdered".

    Celebrate the joy, love, and wonder of motherhood with these 101 stories from new moms.Share the excitement, the laughs, and the tears with other new mothers as you read their heartwarming, amusing, and inspirational stories about: the pregnancy countdown births, bodies, and babies becoming a new person — a mother! breastfeeding battles struggling with infertility adoption and other paths to motherhood the ups and downs of new motherhood great ideas for the sleep deprived moving on to the toddler years adding a second child and lots of funny stories for comic relief!

    First Lady Destiny Simms is hosting a NYE’s service at her church and invites Ashley, who she met by barging into her home during the Thanksgiving holiday. With nothing else to do, she decides to go.  It was there that she was inspired to make 2020 the best year of her life.  What she didn't expect is to run into Patrick Need. He looked different, or was he always that handsome? In this holiday short, Ashley is determined to lay the foundation of a promising year.  Will she allow fear to overpower her faith another year? Is she worthy of love after her divorce? Find out in "A New Year's Kiss"  This is a short story, so short that you can finish it one sitting. If you aren’t interested in reading a short, please do not download. Happy New Year from NAKO!

    But what the two of them discover is a secret that has been hidden from them their whole lives, a secret that once discovered changes both of them forever.The Last Patient is a story about regret, truth, and redemption.David Johnson, author of the best-selling Tucker series and The Woodcutter’s Wife brings us another of his trademark “books with heart.” The Last Patient is a book that will leave you thinking long after you’ve finished reading it.

    

    

    

    Then she is told that her father has hanged himself. His death brings back intense memories of her childhood and all that remains unspoken in her family. Zelda hides much from her mother, even the lover she would give anything to keep. With questions she can no longer ignore, Zelda for the first time begins to search for her father's truth and pieces together clues to his suffering. And by confronting her dark and disturbing memories, she opens up to intimacy with her family, with her lover, with herself.

    Or so believes Larry, who returns home from Desert Storm to find his hair gone and his bones rapidly disintegrating. Then there’s Lance Corporal James Laverne of the US Marines, who grows a third ear in Kuwait. And in the audaciously comic novella “Notes from a Bunker Along Highway 8,” a Green Beret deserts his team after seeing a vision of George Washington, only to find a new calling—administering aid to wounded Iraqi civilians; he’s hindered only by the furtive nature of his mission and an unruly band of chimpanzees. Together these narratives form a bracing amalgamation of devastating humor and brilliant cultural observation, in which Gabe Hudson fearlessly explores the darker implications of American military power.