Instead of the book he’s meant to write, Rudolph, a Viennese musicologist, produces this dark and grotesquely funny account of small woes writ large, of profound horrors detailed and rehearsed to the point of distraction. We learn of Rudolph’s sister, whose help he invites, then reviles as malevolent meddling; his ‘really marvelous’ house, which he hates; the suspicious illness he carefully nurses; his ten-year-long attempt to write the perfect opening sentence; and, finally, his escape to the island of Majorca, which turns out to be the site of someone else’s very real horror story.A brilliant and haunting tale of procrastination, failure, and despair,Concrete is a perfect example of why Thomas Bernhard is remembered as “one of the masters of contemporary European fiction” (George Steiner).Reviews“Certain books—few—assert literary importance instantly, profoundly. This is one of those—a book of mysterious dark beauty.”— Los Angeles Times“A masterpiece. . . . [Bernhard’s] world is so powerfully imagined that it can seem to surround you like little else in literature.”— The New Yorker“Something of a tour-de-force.”— The Washington Post“Where rage of this intensity is directed outward, we often find the sociopath, where inward, the suicide. Where it breaks out laterally, onto the page, we sometimes find a most unsettling artistic vision.”—Sven Birkerts, The New Republic

New York Times bestselling author JAYNE CASTLEThe wildly popular alter ego of bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz creates "delectably entertaining paranormal romantic suspense" (Booklist) in the "unique, synergistic world of St. Helen's" (Library Journal ), the not-so-distant space colony where hearts and minds are gloriously in sync!Atop psychic for exclusive Psynergy Inc., Orchid Adams has her hands full with a baffling murder--which doesn't exactly allow time for husband hunting. Is it even possible there's a man on St. Helen's who measures up to her dreams of wedded bliss? Take her new client, Rafe Stonebraker: primitive and elemental, an unlicensed P.I. with some serious secrets, Rafe is hardly marriage material. So why does his powerful presence have Orchid imagining the most outrageous affair? Rafe is embroiled in solving a strange theft while thwarting a hostile takeover of Stonebraker Shipping; he needs a wife--and fast--to salvage his...

In his bestselling memoir Tweak, Nic Sheff took readers on an emotionally gripping roller-coaster ride through his days as an addict. Now in this powerful follow-up about his continued efforts to stay clean, Nic writes candidly about eye-opening stays at rehab centers, devastating relapses, and hard-won realizations about what it means to be a young person living with addiction.Tweak and Beautiful Boy, his father's memoir about him, are the basis of the upcoming film Beautiful Boy, starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet.

The Fortunes of Nigel By Walter Scott

It's a normal day for information broker Rex Malin when he's asked to deal with a murder, and the missing fiancée of a leading Toronto citizen. With his friends' help, Rex unravels the two mysteries. But it's his memories of the Great War that connect best the eerie present circumstances: the murder, the missing fiancée, and the spectral wolves invading the city.George Weatherstaff believes he's found a way to escape his scandalous past: marry the beautiful and mysterious Lydia Botsaris. When she goes missing on a cold November morning, George knows exactly who to turn to: the information man. Gifted with the ability to remember everything, Rex Malin is once again called upon to help Ontario's leading citizen. A murder victim, gnawed to death in an alley, draws Malin's attention elsewhere, until realizing Weatherstaff's missing miss and the murder are connected. After aboriginal friend Egbert Watching Moon warns that the eclipse might scatter the veil between the natural and the supernatural, Rex is glad he's not a one-man investigation team. With his gentleman brother Oswald, his infallible and feisty secretary Estella, and her distant cousin Inspector Cavendish, Rex has a strong cavalry assisting him. But it's his experiences during the Great War that provide the smartest clues to Lydia's disappearance, clues the wolves suddenly running rampant around downtown Toronto, and clues the secret to his own powerful memory.

This book of fiction contains two touching Christmas stories. Each story shows a different aspect of God's love with one of His miracles during the Christmas season.This book of fiction contains two touching Christmas stories. Each story shows a different aspect of God's love with one of His miracles during the Christmas season. One story is entitled "Keeping Warm on Christmas" about a once-famous drummer who is now homeless and searching for shelter on Christmas Eve. The other story is entitled "A Chronograph Watch for Carolyn" and is about a widow who has a five-year-old daughter but who is virtually penniless and can't afford fulfilling her daughter's wish for a special present.

In this study we will begin looking at the different things that Jesus did to fulfill prophecy, and to touch humanity in a way that no one else could. Since He was God, He was able to heal the sick and the lame. He was able to give sight to the blind. He had the power of life and death, so He could bring people back to life. He did some truly amazing things during His three-year ministry.In our Old Testament Snapshot study we talked about the prophecies and how important they would be to those who were going to be around when Jesus was alive. The prophecies were so important that without them the people would have had a hugely, mondo difficult time, probably impossible, in recognizing the Messiah when He finally came. God knew that the people would need positive proof that Jesus was the Messiah. God just didn't provide one or two prophecies to show the people that Jesus was the Messiah. There were literally thousands of prophecies that He had to fulfill and He did just that. In this study we will begin looking at the different things that Jesus did to fulfill prophecy, and to touch humanity in a way that no one else could. Since He was God, He was able to heal the sick and the lame. He was able to give sight to the blind. He had the power of life and death, so He could bring people back to life. He did some truly amazing things during His three-year ministry but still many of the people that saw Him do this stuff still did not believe that He was the Messiah. They were so blinded by Satan that it was nearly impossible for some of them to ever believe in Jesus. Satan is very good at what he does. After all, he was the highest created being. That means he was the most powerful, the most beautiful and the smartest creature that ever existed. Satan is no dummy, he knows just how to keep people from seeing God the way He truly is.

So now youCan please forgive meI want to give you Everything that makes life worth livingYou think I fulfill your dreamsBut I only pray I canSometimes it somehow seemsThat I'm too much of a manAlways questioning somethingNever fully acceptingNot realizing what I haveAlways second guessingThis is a short fictional story, inspired by thinking about the words supposition and speculation. Observing people in daily life, recalling snippets of overheard conversations and the comments of strangers enabled me to stitch together a contemporary scenario wherein a woman notices a young male emerging from a public toilet in a park and notes that he looks ill or ill at ease. The woman is somehow moved to feel concern for his welfare. An older man who is known to the woman exits the toilet block immediately after the young male. This sets off a spark of curious imaginings by the woman as to what might have occurred, if anything, between the two men. Plagued by doubt and speculation, the woman begins to observe the older man at his place of work and she questions his character and possible motives.

Coffee for Neanderthals is a poetry chapbook by contemporary poet Samantha Terrell, written in response to the archaic mindset of complacency which has contributed to current events and world affairs.Coffee for Neanderthals is a poetry chapbook by contemporary poet, Samantha Terrell. Complete with cited sources of relevant articles and news pieces, it is written in response to the archaic mindset of complacency which has contributed to current events and world affairs. Coffee for Neanderthals can, aptly, be read in small chunks over a coffee break, or used as a conversation starter for your reading club or political circles!

New York Times bestselling authors Jeaniene Frost and Ilona Andrews bring you two short stories of paranormal. Jeaniene Frost's story, One for the Money, features vampires Cat and Bones trying to protect a spoiled heiress with a price on her head and an undead hitman on her trail. Previously published in Death's Excellent Vacation. Also includes the first three chapters from Jeaniene's story in The Bite Before Christmas anthology, as well as a sneak peek at ONCE BURNED, the first novel in the new Night Prince series. Ilona Andrews' story, A Questionable Client, is a prequel to her award-winning Kate Daniels series. In a world beset by magic waves, Kate Daniels works as a mercenary. She is tired, hungry, and there is foul-smelling blood on her boots. All she wants to do is to go home, but when Mercenary Guild offers her a job she can't refuse, she finds herself protecting a man against Russian wizards. Previously published in Dark and Stormy Knights. Also includes first two chapters of FATE'S EDGE, book 3 in the Edge series, and first two chapters of Magic Grieves, a Kate Daniels novella.

His worst mistake was walking away from her… Quinn Brody ended things with sweet, sexy Athena when he learned she was a virgin. Their relationship was getting too serious and walking away seemed like the best plan. But Quinn has never been able to forget Athena. And when she gets a marketing job at Red Stone Security, it becomes impossible. Quinn wants a second chance, but Athena's not interested—even if the chemistry between them is off the charts. Now his past has come back to haunt him… The man Quinn put behind bars has been released from prison and is out for blood. Quinn took years of the man’s life and helped his abused wife flee so now the ex-con is hellbent on using Athena to make Quinn pay. He’ll do anything to protect her… When Athena is sent to Vegas for a tradeshow Quinn volunteers to accompany her—to watch her back. But professional quickly turns personal when the threat to Athena escalates. Refusing to lose her again, Quinn will do anything to save her. Even if it means risking both his life and his heart. Length: 43,000 words

Cora Bradley dreams of escape. Ever since her reckless older brother, Nate, died in a car crash, Cora has felt suffocated by her small town and high school. She seeks solace in drawing beautiful maps, envisioning herself in exotic locales. When Cora begins to fall for Damian, the handsome, brooding boy who was in the car with Nate the night he died, she uncovers her brother's secret artistic life and realizes she had more in common with him than she ever imagined. With stunning lyricism, Sandell weaves a tale of one girl's journey through the redemptive powers of art, friendship, and love. They say no land remains to be discovered, no continent is left unexplored. But the whole world is out there, waiting, just waiting for me. I want to do things-I want to walk the rain-soaked streets of London, and drink mint tea in Casablanca. I want to wander the wastelands of the Gobi desert and see a yak. I think my life's ambition is to see a yak. I want to bargain for trinkets in an Arab market in some distant, dusty land. There's so much. But, most of all, I want to do things that will mean something.

In her latest novel Mary Higgins Clark, the beloved, bestselling "Queen of Suspense," exposes a dark secret from a family's past that threatens the lives of two sisters, Kate and Hannah Connelly, when the family-owned furniture firm in Long Island City, founded by their grandfather and famous for its fine reproductions of antiques, explodes into flames in the middle of the night, leveling the buildings to the ground, including the museum where priceless antiques have been on permanent display for years. The ashes reveal a startling and grisly discovery, and provoke a host of suspicions and questions. Was the explosion deliberately set? What was Kate—tall, gorgeous, blond, a CPA for one of the biggest accounting firms in the country, and sister of a rising fashion designer—doing in the museum when it burst into flames? Why was Gus, a retired and disgruntled craftsman, with her at that time of night? What if someone isn't who he claims to be? Now Gus is dead, and Kate lies in the hospital badly injured and in a coma, so neither can tell what drew them there, or what the tragedy may have to do with the hunt for a young woman missing for many years, nor can they warn that somebody may be covering his tracks, willing to kill to save himself . . . Step by step, in a novel of dazzling suspense and excitement, Mary Higgins Clark once again demonstrates the mastery of her craft that has made her books international bestsellers for years. She presents the reader with a perplexing mystery, a puzzling question of identity, and a fascinating cast of characters—one of whom may just be a ruthless killer . . .