A homicidal barber. A hungry leopard and about a hundred frogs on the loose. Boys with a talent for pranks and jokes. Ruskin Bond???s fresh new school stories are a non-stop laugh riot. Mr Oliver, a history teacher, arrives in Simla with a train-load of hungry boys to start a new term at the Prep School. As he records the antics of the amazing characters there, and all that they get up to, we quickly realize that there is never a dull moment. A fire, a missing Headmaster, runaway students make sure not a day goes by when Mr Oliver has nothing to report in his diary. He writes about the eccentric teachers, the girls??? school next door and the lovely Anjali Ramola, whom he secretly admires. Laugh-out-loud funny, with a core of old-world charm that is trademark Bond, Mr Oliver???s Diary has stories and characters that have never appeared anywhere before. With his runaway wig, pet shrew and endearing dry wit, Mr Oliver is sure to become as well-loved as those other vintage Ruskin Bond characters, Uncle Ken and Rusty About The Author: Ruskin Bond???s first novel, The Room on the Roof, written when he was seventeen, won the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas (including Vagrants in the Valley, A Flight of Pigeons and Delhi Is Not Far), essays, poems and children???s books, many of which have been published by Penguin India. He has also written over 500 short stories and articles that have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1993 and the Padma Shri in 1999

    Within a balance of terror and innocence, he bears silent witness to ghosts of the dead and the cruelties of a teenage killer while local justice plays out in a community carved from legacies of coal mining and religion.

    Moments that make us who we are. But what if they don't unfold the way they're supposed to...?What if you get on the wrong bus, or don't speak to the right person at a party, or stay in a job that isn't for you? Will you miss your one chance at happiness? Or will happiness find you eventually, when the moment is right?Meet Matthew and Myrtle. They have never really felt like they fitted - in life or with anyone else. But they are meant to be together - if only they can find each other.A powerful and emotional story about missed chances, interwoven lives and the moments that define us.

    The guide presents the major debates that surround these works as they develop, from Martin Esslin's early appropriation of the plays as examples of the Theatre of the Absurd, to recent poststructuralist and postcolonial readings by critics such as Steven Connor, Mary Bryden and Declan Kiberd. Throughout, Boxall clarifies and contextualizes critical responses to the plays, and considers the difficult relationship between Beckett and his critics.

    After losing her job when the Garmin factory shuts down, Nonie is left with major money issues—as in, she has none. Desperate, she has to turn to the one place she’s avoided working since dropping out of college--her family’s funeral home.It wasn’t that Nonie feared the dead. In fact the opposite was true. She sees them—literally, and had been seeing the dead ever since she can remember. She tried telling her parents about it when she was a child, but they’d vehemently dismissed it to imaginary friends, so she’d stopped talking about it. There were only two people who actually knew Nonie’s secret and knew she was the real deal. One was Buggy Mouton, her best friend since kindergarten, and the other was Guy Skinard, whom Nonie considered her one true love since the day she’d laid eyes on him in high school. Buggy now worked at MeeMaw’s Café off of Main in Clay Point, and Guy, as usual, remained ever at her side—the only difference being he’d died in a freak boating accident nine years ago. Still the prankster even in death, Guy loved causing chaos, especially with men Nonie occasionally dated. She could only imagine what mayhem he might stir up while mirroring her at the funeral home and mingling with the newly departed.Only hours into the first day of her new job, pandemonium engulfs the funeral home, and much to Nonie’s surprise, it has nothing to do with Guy. It’s brought on by the family they’re serving. Seventy-two–year-old Dover Fontenot, the Major of Clay Point, dies in a car accident after indulging in a little extra-curricular activity—only the activity wasn’t with his wife , Hazel. And when Dover’s mistress, Anna Mae Turner, shows up at the funeral home for the visitation hell’s gates rip open and Broussard’s Funeral Home suddenly turns into a geriatric war zone.Amidst the flying hairpieces, canes and curses, Nonie’s best friend, Buggy, decides to drop by the funeral home with news she can’t wait to share. A cable network in New Orleans wants to put together a paranormal investigation team and have them check out purported haunted locations in Louisiana. For every location with solid filming potential, each member of the team gets a five hundred dollar pay check. And Buggy knows without question that if anyone can sniff out the ‘restless’ dead, it’s Nonie.Knowing nothing about paranormal investigation, but lured by the sound of the adventure and the dollar signs circling through her head, Nonie agrees to become part of the Boo Krewe, the name Buggy has formally given the makeshift team.The lure of money may be one thing, but what Nonie doesn’t realize is that occasionally the dead, so excited that someone can actually see and hear them, decide to follow her home, into her bed—the bathroom—the shower. And adding to this new-found frustration, Nonie barely finishes her first investigation when she gets a visit from Anna Mae Turner—the mayor’s former mistress—now dead, as well, and harassingly insistent that Nonie bring her killer to light.Nonie quickly learns that the ‘gift’ she’s carried since birth is really a giant wart on the butt of life—and no amount of Compound W is going to make it go away!

    Kabuliwala2. The Parrot's Training3. The Rat's Feast4. Atonement5. The Nuisance6. Wish Fulfilment7. The Runaway8. Shiburam9. The Scientist10. The Invention of Shoes11. A 'Good' Man12. Return of the Little Master

    fantasy graphic fiction novel

    His quest, at the age of twenty, was to photograph the quiet mysterious culture, meet a beautiful Japanese woman and find The Tao (the way). He took great photographs, fell in love with an extraordinary Japanese woman and found an old man willing to teach him the way, the truth and the narrow gate. Over the next forty years Isaiah finds a path of unconditional love and faith through lessons of pain and redemption, loss and victory. Be transformed by a journey into traditional Japan, a mystical land of tea ceremonies, Japanese gardens, rich culture and unexpected spiritual revelations.

    It was only with the discovery of Casanova and the Devil’s Doorbell, written by his late valet Jacques del Rosso, that historians realized we need to reappraise his mature years. Casanova, it turns out, was more spirited and more enterprising than history has given him credit for.Jacques’ journal faithfully recounts the intrigues and dalliances therein that occurred in the times just preceding the French revolution – and Casanova’s role. The memoir appears to be a compilation of the highlights of their adventures together during the years 1787 to 1793, a tumultuous time in history. Casanova was nearing the age of seventy, but, as you will see, age posed no barrier to his dauntless pursuits.The memoir was found lying in a hidden vault in the Palazzo Malipiero in Venice, a known haunt of Jacques and Casanova. It is not for those who are faint- hearted or for those who are set on judging works and men by modern day standards of political correctness. For readers who can suspend their moral high ground and enjoy the hijinks of one of history’s great rogues, a rollicking read awaits.

    She found out she not only needed God but wanted Him. In what came as a total shock, she found peace, purpose, and incredible healing.She can't not share because in this crazy world, who couldn't use a little more of all that?There are stories in this book she wasn't going to tell. Why did she? She had to share her indiscretions in order for people to see the power of redemption.But the coolest thing about this book isn't the miraculous story God made out of Elizabeth's life; it's that He wants to do the same for everyone else.When you walk in your destiny, nothing can stop you from influencing your world.How do you do that? Let this book show you.

    He and his three children are lost in their grief...until Sophie walks unexpectedly into their lives. Having left her native Czechoslovakia, Sophie has discovered the land which seemed so bright with promise is far from her dream. A highly educated woman, Sophie now finds herself keeping house for Alec and his family.How can Sophie find peace in her new job? Will God use her gentle spirit to help heal Alec's broken heart?25 years after its initial release comes this exquisite silver anniversary edition of Lori Wick's bestselling classic, Sophie's Heart (over 350,000 copies sold worldwide).Get swept up anew in Sophie and Alec's love story with this beautifully designed keepsake version of one of the most beloved Christian romance novels of all time.

    PAUL PIONEER PRESS & DISPATCHBeautiful, but poor, Lisa Sarr, has always dreamed of making a splash in Palm Beach. With the aid of the gang queen of Palm Beach society, she may finally make it. And Lisa will show the rich, handsome, and powerful that they are no match for her guts street smarts, and determination to win--no matter what.

    I could barely put the book down until its equally heart-wrenching and heart-warming ending. A wonderful, smart and funny book - I know readers will absolutely love it' Louise Fein, bestselling author of People Like UsThe Willows have been through a lot. Louise has devoted her life to caring for her disabled youngest daughter. Pete works abroad, almost never seeing his loved ones. And their eldest, Eliza, is burdened by all the secrets she's trying to keep from her overloaded family.Meanwhile, Patience observes the world while trapped in her own body. She laughs, she cries, she has opinions and knows what she wants. But those who love her most - and make every decision about her life - will never know.Or will they? When the Willows are offered the opportunity for Patience to take part in a new gene therapy trial to cure her Rett syndrome, they face an impossible dilemma. Are the very real risks worth the chance of the reward, no matter how small?'An extraordinary novel about love and hope and family and what happens in the space between the words. I adored it' Kirsten Hesketh, author of Another Us

    Standing in her way? The Coalition-a secret church organization tasked with the responsibility of taking care of these types of incidents quickly and quietly and by any means necessary. Jennifer decides to file a lawsuit against the priest and the church and seeks out an attorney, Zachary Blake, who handled her late husband's industrial death case. However, through an unfortunate series of events, Zachary has gone from the penthouse to the poorhouse, working out of a dingy one-room office, handling traffic cases. Although Jennifer has misgivings, she reluctantly retains him and, together, they embark on a "David vs. Goliath" legal battle against an organization hell-bent on thwarting their efforts. Zachary hires an investigator, the infamous Micah Love, who travels to Ohio, where he discovers that two families have disappeared after an encounter with the same priest-and the one person who may provide some answers has died under mysterious circumstances. Religion, law, betrayal, mystery, intrigue, faith, and love converge in Michigan for the trial of the century. Will Zachary resurrect his troubled career and obtain the justice Jennifer seeks for her kids? Or will the church and the Coalition and its mysterious leader prevail in covering up the decadent acts of the priest and circumvent justice once again? Will the truth prevail?

    It captures the dominance of a colonial power over the region that began with the entry of the Portuguese about four hundred years ago. The novel is a graphic description of the displacement of this strongly-rooted community which saw its resurrection in a new area. In the course of its narrative, the novel traces the gradual changes in the structure of the family that moved from a closely knit joint family of the bygone era to the nuclear family. It also deals with the factors that are responsible for the change in value systems of individuals in the wake of such paradigm shifts. With its vast canvas, it remarkably weaves fiction with myth and history, peppered with cultural details and linguistic nuances. The narration in Swapna Saraswatha progresses in the form of an epic detailing the story of nine generations spread over a period of two hundred and fifty years from 1510 to about 1760. It encompasses more than a hundred and fifty characters which include Hindus, Muslims, Christians, chieftains, traders, farmers, priests and black magicians, and covers a range of themes spread across folk tales, legends, armies, myths and a sprinkling of history.