Mark Twain once famously said "there was but one solitary thing about the past worth remembering, and that was the fact that it is past and can't be restored."Ê Well, over recent years, The British Library, working with Microsoft has embarked on an ambitious programme to digitise its collection of 19th century books.There are now 65,000Ê titles availableÊ (that's an incredible 25 million pages) of material ranging from works by famous names such asÊ Dickens, Trollope and Hardy as well as many forgotten literary gems , all of which can now be printed on demand and purchased right here on Amazon.Further information on The British Library and its digitisation programme can be found on The British Library website.

Ava Frick works second shift at the Texaco Gas Mart where, when business is slow, she reads Soren Kierkegaard and drops the I Ching. The other day she got five broken lines ( __ __ ) and one solid ( _____ ). Not a good omen!A little girl named An, struggles with her own loneliness and its effect upon her life by one day inviting another girl from school to the park for a picnic. The ensuing events devastate An.

A hobo determines to leave the life on the night train heading south.The interstellar war is in it's early years. Outmatched, two space fighters desperately try to defend the colony world from a Qwelleron destroyer. Unknown to all, they are being watched by a third party. This is a sample story from the book, "The Puppy of Doom and Other Stories".

A free Weather Warden short story.

(1939 translation)

Set in the present day, New Bridge to Lyndesfarne follows Kevin, a talented but lonely forty-something who is commissioned to design a second bridge between the Two Worlds. Accompanied by Tanji, his guide and interpreter from Lyndesfarne, Kevin inadvertently discovers a conspiracy to destroy the bridge which puts their lives in danger.A compilation of new adult and young adult contemporary and paranormal stories.There are moments in life that take you by surprise - an outcome you weren’t expecting, an instant connection with a virtual stranger, or those warm tingles of new love. No matter what happens, you are certain that you will never be the same. Step inside and join these best-selling authors as they offer you a glimpse into the hearts and minds of some of your favorite characters. From dystopian to paranormal to contemporary romance, this collection provides a taste of all that you love.Written by Anna Cruise, Carlyle Labuschagne, Charlotte Abel, C.L. Foster, Delphina Henley, E.L. Todd, Kelly Risser, Kristina Renee, N.L. Greene, Randi Cooley Wilson, Sharon Rose Mayes and Susan Burdorf

Bulays and Ghaavn try and stop a underworld shooting war. First they must get past a Martian Shadowcat, employ surprising combat techniques, and try and reason with Ghaavn's criminal mentor.A series planetary romance.Bulays and Ghaavn #4 (Martian Moon War, Part One)Back in the days when he ran the Anglican Youth Centre in Sydney’s Kings Cross, the Reverend Max Kingsley fell foul of gang boss Leonard Stanley d’Aratzio. Now, Lenny has an incurable cancer and wants to settle some accounts before he dies. When hit man, Mad Charlie Magro, crashes his car on the way to assassinate Kingsley, a team of undercover police is sent to the New South Wales country town of Arajinna. But Lenny is prepared to set up as many hits as it takes to get revenge against the man who helped put him in gaol. To reduce the risk to other people, Max decides to create a temporary residence in the vestry of the church. It is an anxious time for him and for his wife Judith who remains at Banabrook homestead.Meanwhile, Judith’s cousin, Tony Blake, is renovating a property on the river at Arajinna, where he lives with Emily, the mother of Judith’s half-sister Senator Caroline Blake. The renovations uncover evidence of earlier foul play in the district and Tony’s life is further complicated when he manages to get on the wrong side of the d’Aratzio family.While people in Arajinna go about their business, largely unaware of the dramas being enacted close by, the Blakes and the Kingsleys deal with death on several levels.

Sophia Pierce has suffered since her brother left, and is unsure if she will ever get over it. That is until her family decided to move to Wenham, Massachusetts.Immortal EmbraceBook One of the Embrace SeriesSophia Pierce has suffered since her brother left, and is unsure if she will ever get over it. That is until her family decided to move to Wenham, Massachusetts. Her and her siblings have been ordered to protect their little sister, and must return to High school. This is where Sophia finds her soul mate Nathanial and life as she knows it is about to change.As a vampire, Sophia has always kept to herself, but as a high school student will she learn to step out of her comfort zone a little? Sophia has found a best friend in a powerful witch and a love to call her own. That is until something tragic happens and blood is spilled. Will Sophia be able to resist the sweet scent of her beloved’s blood?This is Sophia’s story, a story of a girl who finds herself, love and everlasting friendship. The excitement of this story wraps mortals, vampires, witches, and shape shifters all into a romantic tale of young love, friendship, the meaning of family. The story of a girl who tries to finds herself when she thought it was all lost

Jet-packs, Dragons, Barbarians, Dinosaurs, Magic, Space-Ships, Chainsaws and Beards. This epic tale of hilarity, emotion and adventure is the true story of Grigor: The Destructionator!The five pieces of awesome are objects scattered around the universe that grant the wielder near ultimate power. If the Evil Lord gets them first then the Universe will be thrust into a nightmareish hell, if Grigor gets them first, there's a slim chance he can save everyone. But the pieces already have owners, will Grigor and his rag tag group of comrades (including an immortal legendary pirate and a man with chainsaws for arms) get the pieces first and save the world? Or will the Evil Lord plunge the universe into indomitable darkness forever?Before Grigor even realises that he's on an amazing adventure he has to face his day job as a Viking Bank Financier. This has it's own challenges, like Evil Zombie Ninjas and even worse, a visit from the Aduit Team.A hilariously ironic slant on the space opera and fantasy epic style. Un-like anything you will ever read.

While humans and alien Zhirrzh prepare for galactic war, a handful of individuals from both sides learn that the reason was all a misunderstanding. Both were mistaken. To avoid extinction for both their races, this band becomes the focus of a subtle dangerous force that intends overall destruction.

Marrying for money would save the career of a penurious young captain. But winning the daughter of The Wangler, an English tycoon, was a prospect to fear. Author John Ivor delights with this humorous account of bride-seeking in the early 1800s. The characters interact in an unusual, yet richly endowed, county mansion.If you were offered the chance to be totally irresistible, even to the most gorgeous boy you know, would you stop to think there might just be the tiniest bit of a catch?Well, I didn’t. And believe me, it wasn’t a tiny catch. It was the worst catch of all.See, it turns out the girl I thought was my best friend is a real, genuine freak.And I know that because now I’m one too.Yeah, I’m a freaking freak!

Mysterious events are happening in the soccer league the Boxcar children are playing in.

Valencio had long since given up hoping for freedom. It was impossible, the wizards too powerful, their spells too effective. The Kobi Fighters thought themselves undefeatable. They were wrong. A Change of Fortune is Book 2 of Valencio's Story.The Kobi family was in the habit of selecting beautiful girls, and an occasional boy, for use as sex slaves. Once they were too old to be much desired, they were instead used as subjects to teach spells to the Kobi boys. This had been Valencio’s ‘work’ for seven years now, after he’d tried to strangle his owner, Narzu-Han. All through Arabia and Asia, the world of wizards knew and feared the powerful Kobi family. Adil, Ahjmed, Yiko, Hicham and the young Fighter, Iyad – their very names struck terror. But they made a mistake when they tried to extend their territory to include the Western world. The great wizard, John Bellamy, was not renowned as a Fighter and seldom interfered in matters of law-keeping. Yet he was more powerful than any other. When John Bellamy interfered in the affairs of Kobis, things began to change.

The apostle John had taken dictation from God before, but this time he challenged the content of what his master was telling him to write. His followers would surely think he had gone mad.His Excellency Walter Brown, Ireland's first resident Ambassador to Turkey presented his credentials in September 1968. He delegated the business of finding a residence to his wife, a French Countess, Colette Coerduroi-Brown.It is left to Dennis O'Gorman, the mission's Third Secretary, to restrain the exuberance of the Countess and handle the negotiations. He becomes embroiled in Turkish politics, in a house that is considered to be haunted. Enter a murderer!Diligent, ambitious, often unlucky; Dennis is obliged to turn detective.Millicent, his fiancée in Limerick, disapproves. The Department in Dublin frowns.He is fed a diet of red herrings, washed down by undependable wine.Dennis perseveres.

What would you do if you were given three wishes? What would you wish for? Find out what happens when a bottle containing a smoking hot genie is given to Beth by a young trick-or-treater. Will she wish wisely or foolishly?Henry Peters hasn’t got much to boast about. He’s not showy, has average smarts, and he's definitely not a big-noter. Living in Christchurch suburbia with his wife, teaching overseas students in a private training establishment, he used to head the science department. Not now. He sought and missed out on a promotion to deputy CEO. He feels his wife’s disappointment in him. Then a 7.1 earthquake strikes the city damaging his old work premises. Suddenly, Henry’s in the light and people need his help. But no one knows his secret and, more importantly, he needs to make sure they stay in the dark.

Lets just start by saying, my poems are about life and my trysts with it. And for me this book is a collecction of all my little experiences with life. An entire account of 20 years of existence. Life in its various shades. The cheery ones and the gloomy ones. The yellows, the reds and the blues. Those unsaid tales, the unheard cries,the uncomprehended silence. This, is all of that.Lets just start by saying, my poems are about life and my trysts with it. And for me this book is a collecction of all my little experiences with life. An entire account of 20 years of existence. Life in its various shades. The cheery ones and the gloomy ones. The yellows, the reds and the blues. Those unsaid tales, the unheard cries,the uncomprehended silence. This, is all of that. Simply put these poems are a simple guy’s conversation with life.Who knows, It might be your story as well…

A beautiful young debutante meets a senseless and untimely demise. The eye witness account, retold from a peculiar perspective, leads to the question, could the tragedy have been prevented.The merchant vessel 'Persephone', fastest of her kind, is on a fairly routine run to the colonial world of Tanvella. En route, however, she encounters a derelict ship and then an unknown object which threatens to destroy her. Captain Duschelle and his crew must save themselves, and thousands of others, and reveal something deplorable, before they can hope to return home.

Anna is a young artist who dreams of travelling overseas. Anna has difficulty finishing an artwork for a friend and she seeks advice from her artistic mentor, an artist, who also happens to be her great-great aunt, Elspeth. Little does Anna know that Elspeth will leave an unusual and most unexpected bequest to her neice which will enable Anna to fulfill her travel dreams.Lightspeed is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF—and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.In our August 2012 issue, we have original fantasy by Kat Howard (“Breaking the Frame”) and Linda Nagata (“A Moment Before It Struck”), along with fantasy reprints by Wil McCarthy (“The Necromancer in Love”) and Delia Sherman (“Cotillion”).Plus, we’ll have original science fiction by 2012 Nebula Award-winner Ken Liu (“The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species”) and a collaboration between Caroline M. Yoachim and Tina Connolly (“Flash Bang Remember”), and SF reprints by io9’s Charlie Jane Anders (“Love Might Be Too Strong a Word”) and award-winning author Michael Swanwick (“Slow Life”).For our ebook readers, our ebook-exclusive novella is “A Separate War” by Joe Haldeman, and we have an excerpt of Kitty Steals the Show, the new Kitty Norville novel by bestselling author Carrie Vaughn.All that, plus our usual assortment of author and artist spotlights, and feature interviews with bestselling authors Kim Stanley Robinson and Seanan McGuire (a/k/a Mira Grant).

There are many powers in this universe that man was never meant to have. One day, though, one of these powers falls to us, to a normal teenage boy, when it was never supposed to. So the responsibility falls to this boy to both protect man with this power and from it in the race to get it off the planet before it’s too late…Kyle Foster's summer starts off in an interesting way when he encounters a space object that crash-lands in the forest. Kyle goes off to investigate, and the UFO zaps him with incredible power. As the weeks go by, Kyle learns that he now has control of this power, and it changes everything, including his relationships with his best friends. On top of the usual worry of a teen, Kyle becomes aware that there is another UFO related to the first heading toward Earth. Kyle's caution proves true when the alien attacks, and on top of all of this, other humans are also taking an interest in Kyle, with their own ideas in mind for his power.

For years Declan McIver has been one of the IRA's most deadly operatives. But the war has changed him. Now he desires peace above all else and a second chance at life. But when word reaches him that the woman he loves is involved in a plan to detonate a bomb on the Queen's birthday, he takes it upon himself to save her and hundreds of others from certain death.For years Declan McIver has been one of the IRA's most deadly operatives. But the war has changed him. Now he desires peace above all else and a second chance at life. But when word reaches him that the woman he loves is involved in a plan to detonate a bomb on the Queen's birthday, he takes it upon himself to save her and hundreds of others from certain death. "Ian Graham writes the kind of stories I want to read. Full on, action packed, adrenaline fueled. Keep your eye on this author, he's going to be a big name in thrillers before long." - Matt Hilton (author of the Joe Hunter thriller series)