Now two of her top-selling works have been brought together for the first time in an outstanding volume that shines with moving storytelling that celebrates Ireland, its people, and the journey of life itself. Circle of Friends is the heartwarming tale of two girls: Benny Hogan and Eve Malone, friends from the time they're in school together. Off to the university in Dublin to begin a new life and face new challenges, they help and support each other in a world that can bring them great new riches, expanded friendships, and also betrayal of the worst kind. In the Copper Beech, the children of the village of Shancarrig grow up without much obvious excitement, but there's far more there than meets the eye. The mysteries and adventures behind closed doors in a small town shape the children's futures and the life of the town in this moving novel of a country town in Ireland.

    Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 22. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Gods, Demons and Others is a collection of short stories by R. K. Narayan adapted from Indian history and mythology, including epics like The Ramayana and The Mahabharatha. In this book, Narayan provides both vitality and an original viewpoint to ancient legends. Gods, Demons and Others is a collection of ancient tales from India's complex history and mythology presented in their traditional setting, albeit with Narayan's urbane and affectionate, satirical style, bereft of any didactic interludes. The selection of stories includes only those that center on outstanding personalities who transcend the boundaries of time and age. The book consists of 15 stories. LavanaThe story of Lavana, an asura from the Ramayana. ChudalaThe story of a king trying to attain self realisation. YayatiThe story of Yayati, an asura king. DeviThe story of the Goddess Devi, responsible for all, in Hindu mythology. ViswamitraStory of Viswamitra, one of the most revered rishis of ancient India, who attains enormous power but stays unsatisfied until he realizes that the power should not be used for self-gratification. ManmataStory of Manmata, the cupid of Indian mythology. RavanaStory of the asura king Ravana, Rama's nemesis in the Ramayana. ValmikiStory of Adi Kavi Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana who is said to have discovered the first loka that set the base for Sanskrit poetry. DraupadiStory of Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas in the Mahabharatha. NalaThe story of how Nala a pure and righteous king is corrupted by a demon and thereby s...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=2352047

    Now two of her classic novels have been combined in one magnificent volume, offering incontrovertible proof why this unparalleled dreamspinner is one of the most beloved and successful authors of our time. With wealth, a beautiful home, a caring, supportive husband, and two wonderful children, Mallory Keswick's life is a constant joy -- until her spirit is brutally tested, forcing her to discover new reserves of courage and strength when violent tragedy leaves her with nothing more to lose and . . . Everything To Gain In Venice, a chance encounter between a fearless television war correspondent and a lovely, unhappily married glass designer from New York leads to unanticipated affection, irresistible passion, and . . . A Secret Affair Two classic novels in one volume!

    For Eva Thompson and Justine Andrews, the 1970s was a magical time and North Brookfield, MA was a magical place. Eva, the introvert who found happiness in the pasture with her beloved horse, Smoky, wanted to be left alone. Justine, the spitfire who spent summers with her family in Eva's hometown, wanted a friend. Together, the unlikely duo forged a friendship that would span decades.Each summer, Justine returned for three months, reuniting the girls and reigniting their sense of mischief and adventure. Together, they come of age in the era of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. Until one fateful night. What happened to Eva when her car broke down on a deserted country road? And, what will the fiery-tempered Justine do if she finds out?The adventures, growing pains, joys, and sorrows of Eva and Justine will draw you in, keep you riveted, and make you root for Justine as she begins to uncover Eva's secret. How far would you go to avenge your best friend?"A funny, spirited story that is bursting with 1970s nostalgia. Justine and Eva's summer teenage escapades tickled my memory, and their devoted friendship touched my heart." - Shelle Sumners, author of Grace Grows

    After a lifetime spent utterly devoted to her soul mate and their marriage, Elaine is now tetherless, faced with widowhood and all the decisions that come with it, not least of which is what to do with her rambling, now-empty family home. Anxious to console their mother in her time of grief, Elaine's four grown children urge her to put everything on hold and spend some healing time with them. But visiting each unique and complicated child opens Elaine's eyes to the fact that the children she raised have become adults she hardly knows: Sarah, who abandoned Western life for an orthodox enclave in Jerusalem; Lisa, Sarah's accomplished twin and polar opposite, who will do anything for a child of her own; Peter, trapped in a hollow marriage in California; and Denis, the youngest, who just wants Elaine to accept his gay lifestyle.As Elaine tries to bridge the physical and emotional miles, her eyes are opened to the startling truths of her own family, and what she must do to come to terms with her kids' lives—and a future that's completely, wonderfully…hers.

    

    The Great Khan, Attila, overlord of the Scythian and Germani hordes is no more.The lands of Rome lie in ruin, razed by the Scourge of God.From the ashes of civilization a new power is destined to emerge. Warriors whose fearsome reputation would remain for more than a thousand years.On the plains of Pannonia a boy is born. A boy destined to shape history.Meet Ragnaris, the son of no man.

    Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King - A 30-minute Summary of the Novel Inside this Instaread Summary: Overview of the entire bookIntroduction to the Important people in the bookSummary and analysis of all the chapters in the bookKey Takeaways of the bookA Reader's Perspective Preview of this summary: Part1Chapter 1Down-on-his-luck, Augie Odenkirk helps homeless Janice Cray care for her baby as they wait in the early morning fog for a job fair. A gray Mercedes plows into the crowd. Augie, Janice and the baby are among the victims.Part 2Chapters 1-3About a year after the Mercedes crash, Retired Detective K. William Hodges watches more grubby reality shows, fails to enjoy his beer, and thinks, again, of shooting himself. The arrival of the mail distracts him. A letter, allegedly from the driver of the killer Mercedes, stuns him. The writer brags about killing eight and wounding many. He says that he got off sexually at he drove into the crowd. He wore a condom and used bleach to get rid of any DNA. He wore a hair net under a clown mask for the same reason. He knows Hodges is miserable and hopes the letter cheers him up. He gives Hodges a website where they can talk, including a username: kermitfrog19.Chapters 4-6Hodges wonders if he should turn the letter over to his former partner, Pete Huntley. He believes the writer is the killer because he knows inside information about the condom and the bleach. The idea of using this letter, and chats on line, to catch the killer gives Hodges a reason to live.Chapter 7-9Hodges analyzes the letter and sees that the writer has several identifying traits, including misusing perk for perp and peppering his words with an image of a smiley face. The same smiley face was glued onto the steering wheel of the Mercedes. Hodges calls Pete and makes a lunch date....

    F. Freedman presents The Obstacle Course, a coming-of-age story that recounts the adventures of a colorful, profane, street-smart, and appealing fifteen-year-old boy growing up in 1957 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Roy Poole has to be smart because he is almost always on his own. His father is a drinker, womanizer, and wife-beater. His mother can't cope with her husband or her children; Roy copes by running with his own gang, whose escapades sometimes border on the criminal. And this young man is eminently available when the girls come after him, which is often. But there is another side to Roy. He builds model ships and regularly hitchhikes to Annapolis to run the Naval Academy's grueling obstacle course. For Roy Poole's one ambition in life, his consuming dream, is to become a midshipman. One day, like a gift from heaven, Roy meets a retired admiral who also builds model ships. The admiral is immediately attracted to the youngster, and he becomes almost a second father to the boy. Admiral Wells arranges for Roy to be admitted to a military prep school that sends most of its graduates to the Naval Academy. And then, suddenly, Roy's innocence brings about an explosion in this exotic world he has entered. Embittered and lost, Roy strikes out blindly for parts unknown. And on that adventure, particularly in an encounter with members of a black church, people that he, a Southerner in the fifties, has never known except as stereotypes, he begins the process of understanding that offers him a chance for his own redemption. This powerful and gritty coming-of-age novel will evoke memories of Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn. It also bears comparison to the novels of Pat Conroy. Best of all, The Obstacle Course confirms Freedman's talent for telling a compelling story in a full and rich original voice that marks him as a novelist with a limitless future.

    The grown-ups fight, steal, get drunk, get arrested, and then give you a hard time for taking drugs.

    When Rudy loses his job cleaning jets at the airport, his sanity and his marriage threaten to follow. While his wife, Inez, secretly saves her pennies and plots an escape, his coworker Wylie, a bartender at LAX, is about to receive the surprise of his life. Meanwhile, Wylie’s brother, Logan, freshly released from jail, tries desperately to stay out of trouble while traipsing through a minefield of temptation. And Logan’s daughter Jewell is nursing a heart broken once by an unfaithful girlfriend and again by a father who can’t seem to stick around. Though they don’t know it, these five people are headed toward an explosive event that will have consequences for them all.Deftly weaving suspense, humor, and revelation, Slipstream is a rich human drama with the breathless pace of a thriller and the soul of classic noir.Also available as a Books on Tape AudioBook and as an eBookFrom the Hardcover edition.

    Betrayal. Assassination. Rome, 133 b.c. Gaius Marius is back from war in the West. They fought for the peace and prosperity of Rome, but the legions return to find the Eternal City far less peaceful and prosperous than they had hoped. People are starving, homelessness abounds, war after war has overtaxed the legions. And the revolutionary tribune, Tiberius Gracchus, thinks he has a solution for everything. Political parties are developing, the people are up in arms, the senate is enraged. And Tiberius is at the center of it all. Before Marius has a chance to reacclimate to civilian life, he’s thrust into this political upheaval in Rome. His allegiances are put to the test as Rome is almost brought to the brink of civil war. For the first time in the history of the Republic, blood will be shed in the forum.

    

    Years of suppressed heartbreak and disappointment overwhelm her and the fine thread of sanity finally snaps. Consequently, having thrown the entire contents of her house onto the street, she's found by the police, lying on her back under a Christmas tree with an empty bottle of Port and a half-eaten lump of Stilton. Charlotte needs to claw her way back from the brink and start again. But can she build a bigger, brighter, and better existence this time around? "The Defrosting of Charlotte Small" is wonderfully observed and genuinely funny, mining the glorious seam of black humour that is fast becoming Annabel Giles' trademark.

    About a guy and his punk band. Who start out shitty, but persevere, and eventually become pretty popular. If I mentioned that Ben Foster is better known as Ben Weasel from Screeching Weasel, you'll get a much more nuanced idea about what this book is about, and certainly, what this novel MIGHT be based upon. Regardless, it's a great, rollicking read. Whether or not it's entirely true, or entirely false, anyone with any knowledge of 90s punk in America will recognise large chunks of this. And anyone with any interest in, appreciation of, or experience of being in a band, breaking up with a girl, or punk rock, will thoroughly enjoy. It's that good. Though why he had to kill off his guitarist and best friend at the end I'll leave to his shrink to fathom...