Safekeeping: Some True Stories From a Life

Safekeeping: Some True Stories From a Life

Abigail Thomas

Biographies & Memoirs

A stunning new way to celebrate the small moments that make up a life. In flashes of vivid prose — sometimes in pieces only one page long — Abigail Thomas breaks up the notion of what is "memoir" to tell us some true stories from her life: about love and upheaval, mistakes and loyalties, adventures and domesticities; marriage and motherhood at a very young age; a second husband who becomes both an ex and a dear friend in need; a smart-mouthed sister who helps her get through hard times; the many shades of feminine power and female rage; the changing face of desire. Safekeeping is a book in which white space speaks as eloquently as what is revealed. Openhearted and effortlessly funny, these brilliantly selected glimpses of the arc of a life are, in the age of too much confession, a welcome breath of fresh air. From the Hardcover edition.
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Forest of the Pygmies

Forest of the Pygmies

Isabel Allende

Literature & Fiction / Biographies & Memoirs / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Alexander Cold and Nadia Santos reunite for their final adventure in Isabel Allende's celebrated trilogy. This time they are heading to the blazing plains of Kenya, where Alex's grandmother Kate is writing an article about the first elephant-led safaris in Africa. Days into the tour, a Catholic missionary approaches the camp in search of companions who have mysteriously disappeared. As the group investigates, they discover a clan of Pygmies and a harsh world of corruption, slavery, and poaching. Alexander and Nadia must trust in the strength of their totemic animal spirits as they launch a spectacular struggle to restore freedom to the Pygmies and return leadership to its rightful hands.
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Definitely Not Him (Single at Thirty #1)

Definitely Not Him (Single at Thirty #1)

Whitney G.

Romance / Biographies & Memoirs / Literature & Fiction

All I wanted for my 30th birthday was an epic night to remember…Instead, I got knocked up by my boss. Okay, wait. Before you start judging me (I can see you), I didn’t know he was my boss at the time. All I knew was that he was the sexiest man I’d ever seen in my life, complete with a deep British accent and lips that owned me for hours in bed. Yet, when he ASSumed he was getting a second round after insulting my “cracker box” apartment, I kicked him out, hoping I’d never see him again. Until four weeks later… That’s when I realized I was ‘late,’ when twenty different pregnancy tests revealed a truth I didn’t want to believe. And just when I thought I’d have to spend another four weeks searching for him, he waltzed through the company’s doors, and my supervisor announced that he was our new CEO. That’s not even the worst part about this situation, though. Not even close. Turns out, this man was harboring a secret on the night we first met, and the next eight months were about to get far more complicated than I could ever imagine… ‘Definitely Not Him’ is a sexy, standalone ‘single at 30’ story.
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The Suicide Run: Five Tales of the Marine Corps

The Suicide Run: Five Tales of the Marine Corps

William Styron

Literature & Fiction / Biographies & Memoirs

The Suicide Run collects five of William Styron’s meticulously rendered narratives based on his real-life experiences as a U.S. Marine. In “Blankenship,” Styron draws on his stint as a guard at a stateside military prison at the end of World War II. “Marriott, the Marine” and “The Suicide Run”—which Styron composed as part of an intended novel that he set aside to write Sophie’s Choice—depict the surreal experience of being conscripted a second time, after World War II, to serve in the Korean War. “My Father’s House” captures the frustration of a soldier trying to become a civilian again. In “Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco,” a soldier attempts to exorcise the dread of an approaching battle by daydreaming about far-off islands, visited vicariously through his childhood stamp collection.   Perhaps the last volume from one of literature’s greatest voices, The Suicide Run brings to life the drama, absurdity, and heroism that forever changed the men who served in the Marine Corps.
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A Donkey a Stablehand and an Empire

A Donkey a Stablehand and an Empire

David Heyman

Biographies & Memoirs

Will civilisation collapse with a donkey on the throne? Carson Barker certainly doesn't think so, and appoints himself into the unenviable role of imperial translator.However, it isn't going to be an easy ride. With assassins, blood-thirsty fishmongers and furious homemakers around every corner, each seeking to be the first to kill the new regent and seize the throne for themselves, Carson finds himself squarely in the firing line by association.Little do they know this is no ordinary donkey, and the future of the Empire, possibly even the world, rests on Carson's ability to keep this extraordinary animal alive.Will he manage to save his ass? Find out in the witty and action-packed book one of the Three Crowns series.
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Pompeii Fire

Pompeii Fire

Sharon E. Cathcart

Historical Fiction / Literature & Fiction / Biographies & Memoirs

AD 79 Drusilla was the woman of his dreams. Suetonius swore his eternal devotion to the merchant's daughter. A gladiator's word is his bond. Present Day Classics professor Damiano De Luca feels ridiculous in the gladiator costume he wears after losing a bet, and seeing Stephanie Marlowe waiting in line outside the Pompeii Archaeological Park makes him feel even worse. She's gorgeous ... and looks so familiar. Without thinking, the handsome Italian addresses Stephanie in the old tongue: "Salve, Drusilla." Her reply? "Salve, Thraex." Through untold disaster in the recesses of time and up to the present day, Dom and Stephanie must discover the truth about Pompeii Fire.
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The Possessed

The Possessed

Witold Gombrowicz

Biographies & Memoirs / Literature & Fiction

In The Possessed, Witold Gombrowicz, considered by many to be Poland's greatest modernist, draws together the familiar tropes of the Gothic novel to produce a darkly funny and playful subversion of the form. With dreams of escaping his small-town existence and the limitations of his status, a young tennis coach travels to the heart of the Polish countryside where he is to train Maja Ochołowska, a beautiful and promising player whose bourgeois family has fallen upon difficult circumstances. But no sooner has he arrived than the relationship with his pupil develops into one of twisted love and hate, and he becomes embroiled in the fantastic happenings taking place at the dilapidated castle nearby. Haunted kitchens, bewitched towels, conniving secretaries and famous clairvoyants all conspire to determine the fate of the young lovers and the mad prince residing in the castle. Translated directly into English for the first time by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, The Possessed is a comic...
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Vet in Harness

Vet in Harness

James Herriot

Biographies & Memoirs / Nonfiction / Short Stories

The Yorkshire dales have never seemed more beautiful for James - now he has a lovely wife by his side, a partner's plate on the gate and the usual menagerie of farm animals, pets and owners demanding his constant attention and teaching him a few lessons along the way. All of the old Darrowby friends are on top form - Siegfried thashes round the practice, Tristan occasionally buckles down for finals and James is signed up for a local cricket team. 'He can tell a good story against himself, and his pleasure in the beauty of the countryside in which he works is infectious' The "Daily Telegraph" 'Full of warmth, wisdom and wit' The "Field" 'It is a pleasure to be in James Herriot's company' "Observer "
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Have a Little Faith: A True Story

Have a Little Faith: A True Story

Mitch Albom

Biographies & Memoirs / Literature & Fiction / Sports

In Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom offers a beautifully written story of a remarkable eight-year journey between two worlds--two men, two faiths, two communities--that will inspire readers everywhere. Albom's first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, Have a Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an eighty-two-year-old rabbi from Albom's old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy. Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he'd left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor--a reformed drug dealer and convict--who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof. Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Albom observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat. As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Albom and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers, and histories are different, Albom begins to recognize a striking unity between the two worlds--and indeed, between beliefs everywhere. In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor's wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the rabbi's last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself. Have a Little Faith is a book about a life's purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man's journey, but it is everyone's story. Ten percent of the profits from this book will go to charity, including The Hole In The Roof Foundation, which helps refurbish places of worship that aid the homeless.
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Once a Princess

Once a Princess

Sherwood Smith

Fantasy / Literature & Fiction / Biographies & Memoirs

Sasha’s mother, Sun, was once swept away from a Ren Faire to another world by a prince—literally—but there was no happy ending. Sun’s prince disappeared, and a wicked king took the Khanerenth throne. In the years since, Sasha and Sun have been back on Earth and on the run. Mom and daughter don’t quite see eye to eye on the situation—Sasha wants to stand and fight. Sun insists her prince will return for them one day; it’s safer to stay hidden. Then Sasha is tricked into crossing the portal to Khanerenth. She’s more than ready to join the resistance, kick some bad-guy butt, and fix the broken kingdom. But…is the stylish pirate Zathdar the bad guy? Or artistic, dreamy Prince Jehan? Back on Earth, Sun is furious Sasha has been kidnapped. Sun might once have been a rotten princess, but nobody messes with Mom! Product Warnings This title contains a kick-butt mother-daughter team, a wicked king, a witty pirate with an unfortunate taste for neon colors, inept resistance fighters, a dreamy prince who gallops earnestly hither and yon, and a kick-butt princess in waiting. Swashbuckling in a magic world—L.A. style!
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Time of Daughters I

Time of Daughters I

Sherwood Smith

Fantasy / Literature & Fiction / Biographies & Memoirs

In a time of change and danger, peace sparks to war, and sons become daughters...It's nearly a century after the death of Inda, the unbeatable Marlovan commander. Danet and Arrow, content in their arranged marriage, just want to live in peaceful obscurity and raise their family. But when a treaty sends them to the royal city to meet the heir to the throne, they discover that peace is fragile, old enemies have long memories, and what you want isn't always what you get. By the time they learn that you can't go back again, events ignite a conflagration that no one could have foreseen—except for the ghosts who walk the walls in the royal city.This is the first part of the Time of Daughters dulogy, an epic story of politics, war, family and magic in the beloved world of Sartorias-deles.
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A Thousand Pieces of Gold

A Thousand Pieces of Gold

Adeline Yen Mah

Biographies & Memoirs

In this poignant memoir the New York Times bestselling author of Falling Leaves, Adeline Yen Mah, provides a fascinating window into the history and cultural soul of China. Combining personal reflections, rich historical insights, and proverbs handed down to her by her grandfather, Yen Mah shares the wealth of Chinese civilization with Western readers. Exploring the history behind the proverbs, she delves into the lives of the first and second emperors and the two rebel warriors who changed the course of Chinese life, adding stories from her own life to beautifully illustrate their relevance and influence today.
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Fillets of Plaice

Fillets of Plaice

Gerald Durrell

Outdoors & Nature / Biographies & Memoirs / Science

Durrell's hilarious and warm My Family and Other Animals (1957) began a trio of reminiscences of his life growing up with a slightly dotty family—the overbearing and omniscient Larry; the affectionate and loving siblings, Margot and Leslie; and, of course, the overburdened and patient Mother—on the island of Corfu in the 1930s, when a pound could buy a villa and life was conducted as a series of riotously high (and sometimes low) adventures. But what shines through these five vignettes is the author's engagement with and immense affection for animals in all their forms. From fish to fowl, from lizards to little water fleas (daphnia), Durrell's eye is acute and his prose is tart. You can read this book for the humor alone (for he did perceive his family as some rare and rarefied species), but between the lines you can discern the makings of a world-class naturalist and a cultivated and engaging writer.
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Close to Home

Close to Home

Alice Pung

Biographies & Memoirs / Fiction / Young Adult

A BRILLIANT COLLECTION FROM ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S LEADING WRITERS Close to Home brings together Alice Pung's most loved writing, on topics such as migration, family, art, belonging and identity. Warm, funny, moving and unfailingly honest, this is Alice at her best – an irresistible pleasure for fans and new readers alike. In 2006, Alice Pung published Unpolished Gem, her award-winning memoir of growing up Chinese-Australian in Melbourne's western suburbs. Since then, she has written on everything from the role of grandparents
to the corrosive effects of racism; from the importance of literature to the legacy of her parents' migration from Cambodia as asylum seekers. In all
of this, a central idea is home: how the places we live and the connections we form shape who we become, and what homecoming can mean to those who build their lives in Australia. 'Most people have an idea of home as a place of comfort and safety. But it is more than that....
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The Quiet Boy

The Quiet Boy

Ben H. Winters

Humor / Biographies & Memoirs / Historical Fiction

From the bestselling author of Underground Airlines and Golden State, this sweeping legal thriller follows a sixteen-year-old who suffers from a neurological condition that has frozen him in time—and the team of lawyers, doctors, and detectives who are desperate to wake him up.In 2008, a cheerful ambulance-chasing lawyer named Jay Shenk persuades the grieving Keener family to sue a private LA hospital. Their son Wesley has been transformed by a routine surgery into a kind of golem, absent all normal functioning or personality, walking in endless empty circles around his hospital room. In 2019, Shenk—still in practice but a shell of his former self—is hired to defend Wesley Keener's father when he is charged with murder . . . the murder, as it turns out, of the expert witness from the 2008 hospital case. Shenk's adopted son, a fragile teenager in 2008, is a wayward adult, though he may find his purpose when he investigates what...
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