Mommy Is Sick

      Julia Wittmann
     Mommy Is Sick

"Mommy Is Sick" is a short story about a young girl dealing with her mother's terminal illness. She shares her wishes and fears while trying to make the best of the situation.Many people think that the only good story is one that is voluminous. I beg to differ. There is beauty in simplicity. There is elegance in conciseness. This book is a compilation of 50 one-hundred word stories, dealing with a variety of topics, from day-to-day life to the great works of literature. I hope that these stories will inspire you and challenge your imagination in 100 words (more or less) in the same way a book three times its size might!

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    Dare to Love

      Jaci Burton
     Dare to Love

A romantic game of chicken-and they're both too stubborn to flinch. Lucy Fairchild, lawyer and heiress to the Fairchild fortune, has just had the worst day of her life. Her father has found the perfect man for her to marry. Yes, she's thirty and single, but that doesn't give her father the right to run her life. She'll choose her own husband-someday. Jake Dalton is struggling to make his fledgling construction company a success. Ever mindful of his father's derogatory comments that he'd never amount to anything, he's spent his entire life trying to prove he's not a failure. From their first meeting on a construction site, verbal sparks fly. Their argument escalates into a dare for a date-and the game is on. Lucy thinks Jake is the perfect fake boyfriend to parade around in the hopes of getting her father off her back. Jake is amused by the chance to annoy both Lucy and her dad-he doesn't intend to take the dating thing seriously. But the heart is a fickle thing, and not above playing dirty. In their quest to prove something-to each other, or maybe to themselves-they find themselves building a case.for love. And suddenly all the rules have changed. Warning: This book does NOT contain hot monkey lovin', threesome action or anyone swinging from the chandeliers (sorry 'bout that). It does contain sexy romancin' on a trampoline under the stars, fun one liners, a dog named Rascal and a smokin' hot construction worker named Jake that the author is convinced you're going to fall madly in love with. She dares you to read it.

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    The Town and the City: A Novel

      Jack Kerouac
     The Town and the City: A Novel

A quintessential American family is pulled apart by war and the rapidly changing tides of society in Jack Kerouac’s captivating first novel Published seven years before his iconic On the Road, Jack Kerouac’s debut novel follows the experiences of one family as they navigate the seismic cultural shifts following World War II. Inspired by Kerouac’s own New England youth, the eight Martin children enjoy an idyllic upbringing in a small Massachusetts mill-town. Middle son Peter, a budding intellectual and promising athlete, most strongly feels the lure of the future. When war breaks out, the siblings’ lives are interrupted by military service; their parents must sell their house after the family business goes bankrupt; and Peter, eager to see the world, voyages overseas as a Merchant Marine. After returning home, Peter is drawn to the kinetic energy of New York City and the progressive, bohemian ideas springing from its denizen young poets, writers, and artists. His new friends are fictionalized versions of Kerouac’s contemporaries: Allen Ginsberg (as Leon Levinsky), Lucien Carr (as Kenneth Wood), and William Burroughs (as Will Dennison), and other members of the Beat Generation. Seen by Peter’s parents as hoodlums and junkies, the Beats challenge conventional American ideas of everything from authority and religion to marriage and domestic life.

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    Presidential Agent

      Upton Sinclair
     Presidential Agent

Presidential Agent, written in 1944 is the fifth in the magnificent and epic eleven book Lanny Budd Series written by Upton Sinclair and covering the period of 1937 and 1938. Upon publication, Viking Press issued a statement that the books were related but could be enjoyed independently. I disagree. As I have previously noted, I read the third book, the Pulitzer Prize winning Dragon's Teeth first and it lived up to the awards and recognition it received but I was convinced that one had to start at the beginning to fully appreciate the series. And so I did. I read all eleven books in about six weeks and have reread World's End, Wide Is The Gate and Presidential Agent again. Presidential Agent begins with a chance encounter Lanny has in New York with his boss at the Versailles Treaty. When Lanny is nineteen years old he is hired to assist a college Professor, Charlie Alston with the geographical aspects of the remaking of Europe after the dissolution of the Ottoman and Austrian Empires following the end of World War One. Professor Alston, one of President Roosevelt's closest advisors and a "fix-it" man introduces Lnnny to President Roosevelt and Lanny has many confidential meetings with FDR and becomes Presidential Agent 103. The meetings are brought to life in such a way you feel yourself in the room with them as they discuss the coming storm in Europe. Lanny sounds the alarms to the coming of Fascism and Nazism and the fall of the democratically elected government of Spain and the rape of Abyssinia by Mussolini. All of the terror brought by Franco, Mussolini and Hitler is financed by rich and powerful industrialists and financiers. Their reasoning behind supporting these onetime skid row bums is to ward off the Red Menace or Bolshevism. These European plutocrats are more fearful of the Reds than surrendering their freedoms to Fascism and Nazism. Lanny's secret wife Trudi has been kidnapped by the Gestapo and the insuring efforts by Lanny to rescue her are riveting and as daring as the rescue of Alfy from Franco's dungeon in Spain and the attempt to rescue Fredi from the Gestapo in Dragon's Teeth. There is a conspiracy Lanny is privy to involving the "200" families of France to over throw the French government, known as the Cagoular's or hooded men. The Plutocrats of France are determined to make nice with Hitler in the hope of retaining their wealth and avoiding another war. They believe order of the German variety is the only solution to the corruption of the various French political factions or even worse, the Bolsheviks. There is also much intrigue in England and France between the wealthy, the diplomats and the politicians. The powerful in England want to believe that Hitler will be content with regaining the territories that were predominantly German people prior to the Versailles Treaty. Hitler has demanded Austria, Czechoslovakia as well as Poland. The Munich agreement is reached in which Engla

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    The Dain Curse

      Dashiell Hammett
     The Dain Curse

The Continental Op is a short, squat, and utterly unsentimental tank of a private detective. Miss Gabrielle Dain Leggett is young, wealthy, and a devotee of morphine and religious cults. She has an unfortunate effect on the people around her: they have a habit of dying violently. Is Gabrielle the victim of a family curse? Or is the truth about her weirder and infinitely more dangerous? The Dain Curse is one of the Continental Op's most bizarre cases, and a tautly crafted masterpiece of suspense. From the Trade Paperback edition.

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    The Gates of Rome

      Conn Iggulden
     The Gates of Rome

Rarely, if ever, does a new writer dazzle us with such a vivid imagination and storytelling, flawlessly capturing the essence of a land, a people, a legend. Conn Iggulden is just such a writer, bringing to vivid life one of the most fascinating eras in human history. In a true masterpiece of historical fiction, Iggulden takes us on a breathtaking journey through ancient Rome, sweeping us into a realm of tyrants and slaves, of dark intrigues and seething passions. What emerges is both a grand romantic tale of coming-of-age in the Roman Empire and a vibrant portrait of the early years of a man who would become the most powerful ruler on earth: Julius Caesar. On the lush Italian peninsula, a new empire is taking shape. At its heart is the city of Rome, a place of glory and decadence, beauty and bloodshed. Against this vivid backdrop, two boys are growing to manhood, dreaming of battles, fame, and glory in service of the mightiest empire the world has ever known. One is the son of a senator, a boy of privilege and ambition to whom much has been given and from whom much is expected. The other is a bastard child, a boy of strength and cunning, whose love for his adoptive family-and his adoptive brother-will be the most powerful force in his life. As young Gaius and Marcus are trained in the art of combat-under the tutelage of one of Rome's most fearsome gladiators-Rome itself is being rocked by the art of treachery and ambition, caught in a tug-of-war as two rival generals, Marius and Sulla, push the empire toward civil war. For Marcus, a bloody campaign in Greece will become a young soldier's proving ground. For Gaius, the equally deadly infighting of the Roman Senate will be the battlefield where he hones his courage and skill. And for both, the love of an extraordinary slave girl will be an honor each will covet but only one will win. The two friends are forced to walk different paths, and by the time they meet again everything will have changed. Both will have known love, loss, and violence. And the land where they were once innocent will be thrust into the grip of bitter conflict-a conflict that will set Roman against Roman...and put their friendship to the ultimate test. Brilliantly interweaving history and adventure, Conn Iggulden conjures a stunning array of contrasts-from the bloody stench of a battlefield to the opulence of the greatest city in history, from the tenderness of a lover to the treachery of an assassin. Superbly rendered, grippingly told, Emperor, The Gates of Rome is a work of vaulting imagination from a powerful new voice in historical fiction. "From the Hardcover edition."

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    Savannah, or a Gift for Mr. Lincoln

      John Jakes
     Savannah, or a Gift for Mr. Lincoln

Georgia 1864: Sherman's army marches inexorably from Atlanta to the sea. In its path: the charming old city of Savannah, where the Lester ladies-attractive widow Sara and her feisty twelve-year-old daughter Hattie-struggle to save the family rice plantation. When Sherman offers the conquered city to President Lincoln as "a Christmas gift," Hattie and the feared general find themselves on a collision course that will astonish both of them.

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    The Man With Two Left Feet

      P. G. Wodehouse
     The Man With Two Left Feet

From “Bill the Bloodhound,” to “Wilton’s Holiday,” to “Extricating Young Gussie,” (in which we meet for the first time the resourceful Jeeves, his hapless master, Bertie Wooster, and Aunt Agatha), P. G. Wodehouse’s lighthearted short-story collection, The Man with Two Left Feet, reflects on miscellaneous topics ranging from life with pets, to sports, to everyday relationships. Comic writer P. G. Wodehouse is best known for his enduring characters, including Jeeves, Psmith, and Mr. Mulliner. A prolific short-story writer, many of the stories in The Man with Two Left Feet were previously published in periodicals such as The Saturday Evening Post, Red Book Magazine (Redbook), and McClure’s. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

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    The Walk

      Richard Paul Evans
     The Walk

The latest New York Times bestseller from one of today's most inspiring writers. What would you do if you lost everything - your job, your home, and the love of your life - all at the same time? When it happens to advertising executive Alan Christoffersen, he's tempted by his darkest thoughts. With a bottle of pills in his hand and nothing left to live for, he plans to end his misery. But then Al decides instead to take a walk - no ordinary walk, but one that would take him to the farthest point on his map: Key West, Florida. Taking with him only the barest of essentials, and leaving behind all that he's ever known, Al heads off on a journey into the unknown. The people he encounters along the way and the lessons they share with him, will save his life - and inspire yours. The Walk is the story of an unforgettable, life-changing journey, and an inspiring account of one man's search for hope.

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    Island of Saints: A Story of the One Principle That Frees the Human Spirit

      Andy Andrews
     Island of Saints: A Story of the One Principle That Frees the Human Spirit

While digging up a withering wax myrtle tree beside his waterfront home on the Gulf coast, author Andy Andrews unearths a rusted metal container filled with Nazi artifacts and begins an intriguing investigation that unlocks an unspoken past that took place in his backyard . . . literally . . . . . . In the summer of 1942, as the country gears up for a full-scale commitment to WWII, German subs are dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico to sink U.S. vessels carrying goods and fuel for the war. While taking a late-night walk along the coastline, Helen Mason-recently widowed by the realities of war-discovers the near-lifeless body of a German sailor. Enraged at the site of Josef Landermann's uniform, Helen is prepared to leave the lieutenant to die when an unusual phrase, faintly uttered, changes her mind. Set in a period simmering with anger and suspicion, Island of Saints offers the very real chronicle of a small town preparing itself for the worst the world has to offer. As cargo from torpedoed ships begins to wash up on the beach, Josef and Helen must reconcile their pasts in order to create a future. Blending his unique style of historical accuracy with unparalleled storytelling, New York Times best-selling author Andy Andrews offers a tale of war, faith, and forgiveness-illuminating the one principle that frees the human spirit.

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    The Valley of Bones

      Anthony Powell
     The Valley of Bones

With their lives drastically remodeled by World War II, the characters of The Dance to the Music of Time series continue their colorful exploits. Nicholas Jenkins, the narrarator, now in his thirties, is second-lieutenant in an infrantry regiment and life in the army is examined at startingly close range. Like its predecessors, this volume in the series is witty, sparkling, entertaining, but adds a new twist as a whole new world of wartime people and circumstances are investigated.

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    The Routine

      Tim Danial Anderson
     The Routine

A homeless father and five year old son learn to survive in the Washington D.C. area.A widower finds himself jobless and homeless with a five year old son in tow. They learn to survive in the Washington D.C. area as they search for food, safety, and life.

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    Genuine Aboriginal Democracy

      Lorraine Ray
     Genuine Aboriginal Democracy

An anthology of quirky short stories including: Uncertain Trysts, His Faithful Companion, Big Paper Skeleton, Fantasy Artifact, Genuine Aboriginal Democracy, Mother's Woman-Marine Bra, Work Out Your Own Salvation, Consciousness Raising, Metamorphosis of Me, Snake Dance Disaster, and On the Rio Mayo.When Luke Wright moves to the desert oasis LeVir Lake with his mom and sisters, he does not expect much excitement—-the town isn’t even on any maps. But when his new (and, coincidentally, extremely sexy) neighbor Jan informs him of the strange laws he has to live by in order to “survive” in LeVir Lake, Luke begins to comprehend that his family has not moved to any typical small town. Life becomes even stranger when Luke meets the decadent LeVir clan—-especially the gorgeous daughter Colette, who has a knack for getting what she wants, and who takes an instant liking to Luke. The longer Luke lives in LeVir Lake, the more he understands why the strict town laws are in place, and the more he realizes the LeVirs are much more than what they seem. They have a plan for humankind, and it involves Luke's soul. But how do you choose between good and evil when both sides want you dead?

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    Soap Opera Uncensored: Issue 15

      Nelson Branco
     Soap Opera Uncensored: Issue 15

Weekly summary of soap opera's hottest news, stories, humour, gossip, blind items, top stars/stories/couples/characters to watch, snark galore, review, and analysis.INSIDE — Exclusive Interview With the One and Only Kim Zimmer: On GUIDING LIGHT’s 75th Anniversary; ONE LIFE’s Untimely Death; Echo’s Disappearance; How Ilene Kristen Rocked FRAT ROW’s Storyline; Whether She'd Join GH; and Why Brad Bell Wanted Reva on B&B! Plus: Her New AIDS-Themed Role! Spoiler: Princess Gina and The Pawn Return to DAYS! Y&R’s Adam Goes Blind; Patty Shoots Jack! Is Anita Victor’s New Love Interest on Y&R? GH’s Jason is the Father of Sam’s Baby! Also: The End of Franco! Details on B&B’S 25th Anniversary Book and Celebratory Bash! REVENGE Coverage: Interview with Madeleine Stowe! Plus: Is Emily Van Camp Dating Her Co-Star Joshua Bowman? Jill Farren Phelps Lands New TV Gig! Van Hughes Hits GH! Lesley-Anne Down Dropped To Recurring: Is This The End of Jowen? Y&R’s Casting Carmine! Brandon Barash Makes GH Watchable Again! ONE LIFE’s Ellen Holly Praises Disney! Plus: Last Week's Reviews, Unbelievable Blind Items, and Next Week's Cheat Sheet!

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