They celebrate the wonders of nature and explore the nature of love and friendship.

    When research suggests how to harness brain evolution, a hunt ensues for a missing link―one that allows to design humans with skills that prodigies of old would have envied.As germline engineering and biological enhancement have become routine, ancient doubts have emerged under new guises: Who are we? Is there a purpose to life? Why is there so much suffering? When faith and science fail to answer these questions, personal greed and national interest quickly fill the void. But gene selection is expensive, and many are excluded from its benefits. The stage is set for tribalism and social discontent on a scale without precedent, and those caught in the fray, whether by choice or by chance, must play roles not always to their liking in the struggle of all creatures against the arbitrariness of existence.

    But when a quiet tragedy and an unwelcome letter interrupt Toby's sedate existence, he needs his housemates to find some direction in their lives. Leah Pilgrim has watched the tenants of the house over the road for several years, and when the owner of 31 Silversmith Road asks her for advice, he opens the door not only to the eccentric building across the street - but to five lives in various stages of turmoil. Can Toby and Leah help these misfits to grow up, move on and move out? And in doing so, can they make their own dreams come true? Hidden : A trail of blood winding through a squalid flat in Margate leads DCI Dave Gosworth to the body of Jacqui Jennings, her skull smashed with a chisel. For Dave it is just the start of a long and puzzling case...Forty miles away in South London a young single mother named Melanie Stenning is blissfully unaware of Jacqui's life and death. But that trail of blood will one day lead straight to her door - with terrifying repercussions. For Melanie is about to fall in love with a stranger...Fourteen months later, Melanie has a new husband, a new baby and a new home on the isolated Kent coast. But when her seven-year-old daughter Poppy disappears, she is forced to question everything in her new life, including the man she loves. Because DCI Dave Goswrth has come knocking - with some chilling questions... The Two Mrs Robinsons: Anna lives with Oliver Robinson and their 3-year-old son Charlie. They met when she worked as a waitress at his restaurant; he had recently separated and she was a shoulder to cry on. But friendship turned to love. Now she juggles motherhood with part-time work and she couldn't be happier. Or perhaps she could? Oliver has never divorced his first wife Eve who is everything Anna is not. Eve insists on making herself part of their lives and her demands soak up much of their time and income. Anna understands that Oliver needs to support his two teenage children, but why should they keep Eve too? The situation looks set to grumble on indefinitely unless someone or something shakes it up. And something does - it's called Fate. Oliver is killed in a car crash, leaving both women shattered. How will they react to this appalling tragedy? Will it drive them further apart, or force them to cut their losses and pull together for the sake of their children and their futures?

    Born in Lebanon in 1883, Kahlil Gibran's groundbreaking philosophy and simple yet eloquent poetry made him a figure of international renown. His writings have been translated into more than twenty languages, and his reflections on the nature of humanity continue to bring joy and inspiration to millions.This beautiful and accessible book is infused with Gibran's timeless and provocative truths, touching on subjects as diverse as love, friendship, beauty, wealth, sorrow, ambition, and destiny. A thoughtful gift for all milestone occasions-graduations, birthdays, anniversaries-and for every age group, this remarkable collection will provide a lifetime's worth of wisdom. "To be closer to God, be closer to people."

    It covered jazz, of course, but it also included Davis’s ruminations on race, politics and culture. Fascinated, Hef sent the writer—future Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Alex Haley, an unknown at the time—back to glean even more opinion and insight from Davis. The resulting exchange, published in the September 1962 issue, became the first official Playboy Interview and kicked off a remarkable run of public inquisition that continues today—and that has featured just about every cultural titan of the last half century.To celebrate the Interview’s 50th anniversary, the editors of Playboy have culled 50 of its most (in)famous Interviews and will publish them over the course of 50 weekdays (from September 4, 2012 to November 12, 2012) via Amazon’s Kindle Direct platform. Here is the interview with the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand from the March 1964 issue.

    When the cyborg arrives, she senses a worthy and dangerous opponent--one that's been dead for 800 years...

    On the mound is 32-year-old Sam Ward--it's his last chance to justify all he has sacrificed for this ultimate start. Behind the plate is aging umpire Ernie Kolacka, who has reasons to use his position to fix the game.

    . . A sprawling tome that combines fact with fiction and covers 900 years in the history of New Forest, a 100,000-acre woodland in southern England . . . Rutherfurd sketches the histories of six fictional families, ranging from aristocrats to peasants, who have lived in the forest for generations. . . . But the real success is in how Rutherfurd paints his picture of the wooded enclave with images of treachery and violence, as well as magic and beauty.”–The New York Post

    At an age when most babies are cooing "Mama, " Popo was speaking in complete sentences. He was reading college textbooks when he was still too young for nursery school. Popo may just be the smartest human being on Earth. And he spends all his time listening to the radio . . . to white noise that comes drifting down from the sky like stardust. Chill Bent is a two-time loser with a hair-trigger temper. After the death of Popo's mother, the ex-con assumes responsibility for his nephew, vowing to protect the boy from a government eager to strip away his African-American heritage and exploit his genius like a natural resource. Together, Popo and Chill are about to embark on an extraordinary journey into the farthest reaches of the mind and the soul . . . a journey you will never forget. In this stunning new speculative fiction short story by the bestselling author of Blue Light, part of an interconnected collection of stories called Futureland, a young African-American genius searches for God with the tools of cutting-edge science. Look for the complete volume of Futureland, available now.

    One thousand plus pages of contemporary romance set in the heart of country music. Ever thought a dream might pass you by? Nineteen-year old CeCe Mackenzie is determined to make her dreams come true. She heads for Nashville with not much more to her name than a guitar, a Walker Hound named Hank Junior and an old car she'd inherited from her grandma called Gertrude. But when Gertrude ends up on the side of I-40 in flames, Nashville has never seemed farther away. Help arrives in the form of two Georgia football players headed for the Nashville dream as well. When Holden Ashford and Thomas Franklin stop to offer CeCe and Hank Junior a ride, fate may just give a nod to serendipity and meant to be. Because while CeCe is chasing after her dream, she might find love as well. "Amazing and heartfelt! I couldn't stop reading! From the beginning till the end I was captured. Its like I know the characters personally. And to experience their passion of music is phenomenal. The dilemmas they go through is so realistic and easy to relate to. Definitely recommending this series!" - A. Mandy. "Sweet, easy, wonderful. Inglath Cooper draws you in with her words and her amazing characters. It is a joy to pick up these books. There is just the right amount of love and romance with the perfect dose of reality. The dialogue is relatable and you just fall in love with the story. Highly recommend you buy the box set. You won't want to wait a second to pick up the next book!" - Ready2Read. "I love this new series. Each installment is well written, great characters and plot. I can't wait for the next book in this series and will re-read this whole series again and again." - JoanneW.

    The collection includes a foreword and historical notes about each of the books. This volume is sure to delight any fan of Alcott's fiction. Included are:Little WomenGood WivesLittle Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo's BoysJo's Boys and How They Turned OutAn Old-Fashioned GirlEight CousinsRose in BloomThis material was NOT merely scanned from an ink-and-paper book, like many Kindle e-books are. All e-books offered by Di Lernia Publishers are hand-edited and checked for spelling and punctuation errors.

    The inspiration to write a work of art arises from the unconscious, full of ideas that the very author may have been unaware of. “The Little Prince for Grown-ups” gets to the roots of some of Antoine Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince, using mythology and Jungian psychology concepts to expose some of its buried treasures. As in the book of Saint-Exupéry, the crash that leads the pilot to land in the Sahara desert becomes the beginning of a self-knowledge journey. Exupéry himself, or rather, Antoine, is the protagonist of this journey, and his companions are the blonde boy with the scarf around his neck and the Wise Old Man. In addition, there are many stories from the Bible as well as Gnostic texts, and Greek mythology.. Despite being based on Jungian ideas, no psychology knowledge is required to the read the book.

    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

    His philosophy directly inspired Napoleon Hill, James Allen, Wallace D. Wattles, and Elbert Hubbard. Today's inspirational leaders, like Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Rhonda Byrne, and Oprah Winfrey, are equally indebted to Emerson. "We are the Builders of Our Fortunes" is the first-ever collection of Emerson's essential writings on success. In these ten essays, Emerson will teach you: How to develop your inner genius; How the power of thought shapes our world; How the universe responds to our every action; Why wealth is a spiritual phenomena; Why economies rise or fall; What defines human greatness; and much more. Includes an introduction by Charles Conrad, who also selected "Emerson's Keys to Success" after each chapter.

    From steamy Los Angeles to post-apocalyptic Reno, Cèsar's getting deeper into preternatural trouble by the moment. A collection of four New York Times bestselling author SM Reine's books. Included are Shadow Burns, Deadly Wrong, Ashes and Arsenic, and Once Darkness Falls. ABOUT SHADOW BURNS When more than a dozen people die at a retirement home, the official story is carbon monoxide poisoning. Cèsar Hawke is convinced the reason is less mundane and more infernal. But that’s his job. As an agent working for the Office of Preternatural Affairs, he’s always looking for supernatural answers to deadly questions. Isobel Stonecrow agrees to help him find the truth. With her powers of necrocognition, she can speak to the dead and get the real story. But when they return to the crime scene, they find a lot more than cadavers. They find a nightmare that they can’t escape—a nightmare from Isobel’s past, which even she can’t completely remember thanks to the contract that signed away her soul. Cèsar will have to disinter Isobel’s secrets to save her. He’ll learn who Isobel used to be, what she’s done, and the price she paid…no matter how deadly the knowledge might be. ABOUT DEADLY WRONG Isobel Stonecrow’s life has an expiration date: One month, two weeks, four days, and six hours remaining. Not that she’s counting. When she signed a contract giving her soul and memories to a demon named Ander, she didn’t expect that she would ever have to face termination. But now Ander is dead and she’ll be following suit if she can’t find a way to dissolve the deal. Too bad she can’t remember anything from the time before she signed the contract. Fritz Friederling, a billionaire demon hunter who owns several businesses in Hell, isn’t ready to give up on Isobel. But she isn’t sure that working with Fritz is better than dying. She doesn’t know much about her past life, but she knows that she signed Ander’s contract for a reason—and that getting away from Fritz was a significant part of it. Escaping her contract means remembering the life that she chose to forget. And it means trusting Fritz Friederling, who Isobel fears might be the biggest danger of all… ABOUT ASHES AND ARSENIC Agent Cèsar Hawke is in his element when he’s investigating magical crime. And with his boss out of town, Cèsar gets to pick which cases he works on. He’s bent on doing nothing involving demons, zombies, or fallen angels this time. Instead, he’s going to find the witch who used magic to rob a bank. Easy stuff. Cèsar plans to catch the perp before his boss gets home. But when he digs into the robbery, he finds much more than missing money. He also finds a deadly turf battle between two covens and a trail of bloody violence. A trail that leads directly to his brother, Domingo Hawke. Domingo wants Cèsar’s help taking down his enemies. Forget that Cèsar works for the Office of Preternatural Affairs, forget allegiances, forget pesky “contracts” and “conduct.” Domingo is calling in a favor and the Hawke family is too tight to refuse. Blood is the most powerful ingredient in any witch’s spell, after all… ABOUT ONCE DARKNESS FALLS The worst case scenario has happened: Reno NV has fallen to d