On a night in December someone is telling you a story in front of a warm fire about a beautiful forest. You soon realise this story has a secret. A secret so large that if it escaped it would put in danger the great forest itself and everything the speaker holds dear. What happens in the forest when nobody is looking? And what does Christmas look like outside in the forest under under the stars?On a night in December someone is telling you a story in front of a warm fire about a beautiful forest at Christmastime. It begins like many others but soon you realise this story has a secret. A secret so large that, if it escaped, it would put in danger the great forest itself and everything the speaker holds dear.And then you realise that most of the characters the speaker talks about are behaving strangely for people, snuffling about the forest for food or standing tall and proud as people walk under them. Who are all these characters in the forest who talk with a little awe and fear of "humankind"? And why have they all heard of Gerald Jr?Suddenly the speaker himself sounds strange. Clever and polite but strange. He lives in a burrow and talks of paws instead of hands but he likes you and wants to tell you a story. So as the fire crackles he tells you the Secret Story of Gerald Jr the Christmas Tree and what Christmas looks like from outside in the forest under the stars.Welcome to the world of the Fantastic Forest where the tree next to you may have as much to say as the (well travelled) mouse by your foot. You would do well to listen to them: they have wonderful stories to tell, some ancient, some new and not a few secrets to share if you become their friend.

A screen-play set in the neolithic period following a boy and his guardian's magical education and enlightenment.The story of metals and how they helped people move from the Stone Age into the Bronze. A screen-play telling the story of Uther Pendragon and his flight after his realm is invaded my monsters using magical technology. His guardian and he runs to the city of Babylon where they learn the secrets of metal making. An adventure story full of magic and intrgue...

Hailed as the final memorial to the work of a great scholar and teacher and a wise and noble mind, this work paints a lucid picture of the medieval world view, as historical and cultural background to the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Bestselling author Pat Conroy acknowledges the books that have shaped him and celebrates the profound effect reading has had on his life. Pat Conroy, the beloved American storyteller, is also a vora­cious reader. He has for years kept a notebook in which he notes words or phrases, just from a love of language. But read­ing for him is not simply a pleasure to be enjoyed in off-hours or a source of inspiration for his own writing. It would hardly be an exaggeration to claim that reading has saved his life, and if not his life then surely his sanity. In My Reading Life, Conroy revisits a life of passionate reading. He includes wonderful anecdotes from his school days, mov­ing accounts of how reading pulled him through dark times, and even lists of books that particularly influenced him at vari­ous stages of his life, including grammar school, high school, and college. Readers will be enchanted with his ruminations on reading and books, and want to own and share this perfect gift book for the holidays. And, come graduation time, My Reading Life will establish itself as a perennial favorite, as did Dr. Seuss’s *Oh, the Places You’ll Go! *

Jocelyn Butler has been hiding from her past for years. But all her secrets are about to be laid bare… Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well—until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core. Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he’s determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. Knowing how skittish she is about entering a relationship, Braden proposes an arrangement that will satisfy their intense attraction without any strings attached. But after an intrigued Jocelyn accepts, she realizes that Braden won’t be satisfied with just mind-blowing passion. The stubborn Scotsman is intent on truly knowing her… down to the very soul.

Every woman wants me--except the one I sing for. Seattle shakes with anticipation: they call it the concert of the year. They say girls are getting pregnant just thinking about Crack Bikini being in town. But when you love a girl, you don't leave her with nothing but a ring and a promise. Any man with half a brain should know. So what did I expect my girl would do when she saw me again? Well, for starters, she loathes our music. Particularly the song I wrote about her. When I sing it, the stadium is in an uproar. Thousands of fans scream my name like I'm a god--but yeah, not her. Crystal clear: the girl's not happy to see me. Black hair, black boots, a bad attitude, that's her -- Pandora Stone is a freaking man-eater and she's out for my blood. That's alright. Let her come at me. Because I'm out for her heart and, this time, there's no way she can stop me.

Princess for president! Student body president, that is -- nominated by her power-mad best friend, Lilly. This is not how Mia imagined kicking off her sophomore year, but as usual, she has bigger problems to worry about, like Geometry. And now that Mia's one true love, Michael, is uptown at college, what's the point of even getting up for school in the morning? But the last straw is what Lana whispers to her on the lunch line about what college boys expect of their girlfriends. . . . Really, it's almost more than a princess in training can bear!

Dear Peaches, America is perfect! Okay, so Vicenza isn't being totally honest with Peaches, her best friend back in Manila. But what fun is it being the new girl at snooty Grosvernor High? Or rooting through the Salvation Army for unholey cashmere sweaters? Or having culture-shocked, embarrassingly clueless parents? Maybe being Claude Caligari's ignored geometry partner is sort of fun, but Vicenza would rather be his girlfriend ... or at least his date to the annual fancy-schmancy Soire e d'Hiver. Instead, she's stuck going with scrawny family friend Freddie in an outlet-purchased, coupon-reduced dress that is nothing short of disaster! But Vicenza won't be friendless, fashionless, or "fresh off the boat" for long -- it's only a matter of time before she sees what's right before her eyes, and her luck begins to change.

This richly colored memoir chronicles the exploits of a flamboyant Jewish family, from its bold arrival in cosmopolitan Alexandria to its defeated exodus three generations later. In elegant and witty prose, André Aciman introduces us to the marvelous eccentrics who shaped his life--Uncle Vili, the strutting daredevil, soldier, salesman, and spy; the two grandmothers, the Princess and the Saint, who gossip in six languages; Aunt Flora, the German refugee who warns that Jews lose everything "at least twice in their lives." And through it all, we come to know a boy who, even as he longs for a wider world, does not want to be led, forever, out of Egypt.

Its first-person protagonist, Jacob Horner, suffers from nihilistic paralysis: an inability to choose a course of action. As part of a schedule of unorthodox therapies, Horner's nameless Doctor has him take a teaching job at a local teachers college. There Horner befriends the super-rational existentialist Joe Morgan and his wife Rennie, with whom he becomes entangled in a love triangle, with tragic results. The book deals with several issues that were controversial at the time, including racial segregation and abortion. (from wikipedia)

Marley Jackson has an ax to grind with the entire male population. After having her heart brutally broken, she’s out to prove to both herself and the world that a woman only needs one thing from a man—and it isn’t love. Wyatt James isn’t interested in anything that resembles a commitment. He’s self-made, secure, and happy to entertain a one-night stand any day of the week—enter Marley. Marley quickly dispels the idea that she’s anybody’s one-night stand. What Marley has in store for Wyatt is far more complex and requires a binding contract to back it. Marley and Wyatt aren’t in it for love. Marley is looking to glean some expertise in the bedroom. Wyatt is looking to find some solace after a string of nameless faces that have rocked his bed. But when feelings change, and that four-letter word takes ahold of both their hearts, they’re left to face the fact they might be in deeper than either of them thought possible. Marley and Wyatt smolder beneath the sheets. She’s eager to learn—yet, bossy as hell. He’s eager to lay down one hard lesson after the other, yet determined to save her from herself. Sometimes heartbreak is the greatest teacher. Sometimes it leads you into the arms of the one you belonged with right from the start.

Ninety-year-old Lou quit school after the eighth grade, worked for the rest of his life, and stayed with the same woman for nearly seventy years. Seventy-two-year-old Joe was chief probation officer in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, holds a law degree, and has faced the death of a son and the raising of a mentally challenged daughter. Now, the two men are roommates in a nursing home. Despite coming from very different backgrounds, the two become close friends. With an exacting eye for detail, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder examines end-of-life sorrows, joys, and unexpected surprises with poetry and compassion. Struggling to find meaning in the face of mortality, Joe and Lou experience the challenges that come with aging—with a grace and dignity that’s sure to inspire.

Every girl has that one guy…that one guy who steals her heart and never gives it back. We were all friends…until we weren’t. We depended on each other…until we couldn’t. We were in love…until we were ripped apart. We moved on…even when we didn’t want to let go. This is our love story. This standalone novel contains material that some may find disturbing. Intended for mature readers only. *TRIGGER WARNING!