Scared Witless


Book Description

A collection of folktales, primarily from the United States, as well as one adaptation and two original stories, each followed by tips for novice storytellers.




A Handful of Kings


Book Description

With explosive tension and masterful suspense, A Handful of Kings is a page-turning thriller about what really happens in the world of espionage, by an insider who has lived it. American diplomat Vicky Sorrell learns the hard way that all is fair in love -- and espionage. A Handful of Kings, the latest novel by prolific author and former foreign service officer Mark Jacobs, follows Vicky's fast-paced tour of duty -- one where she must decide who the bad guys are, who is lying, and who just might be telling the dangerous truth. Vicky is changing her life. She is leaving the foreign service and her lover at the same time. But before she departs the U.S. embassy in Madrid for home, a well-known American writer shows up with a strange request. Vicky knows that what the writer wants from her is not necessarily what he is asking. But curiosity leads her to play along, and she is quickly drawn into the murky underground of terrorists and spies into which the writer himself has been reluctantly led. The track she takes is full of wrong turns. And at the end of the tunnel, it's not light she sees but an unspeakable threat to people she loves. Recalling Graham Greene in The Comedians, Jacobs weaves an engrossing story that takes place over three continents and illuminates the unexpected ways people betray and defend one another and, ultimately, how they learn to love.




An Iranian Childhood


Book Description

A vibrant, unique and personal examination of the overlap between history and memory, focusing on Iranian childhoods.




Dadskills


Book Description

They say that one of the hardest parts of parenting is that there’s no manual. Well, now there is (at least for dads!). Dadskills delivers simple, hard-hitting tips and advice in a witty, fun, and easily digestible format. This handy, amusing book is perfect for the busy guy who has his eye on the “Father of the Year” award. Organized by the child’s stage and age range, each chapter covers essential insights and techniques to keeping kids happy, safe, healthy…and stopping them from torturing their parents. Following the style of its tongue-in-cheek predecessor, Manskills, Dadskills wraps valid, incredibly useful information inside humorous writing. Chapters cover all stages of the journey: Baby Wrangling: Learn how to prep a go bag so you're always ready, take a crash course in how to swaddle a baby, and find all you need to know about properly carrying your newborn. Dealing with Toddlers: Equip yourself to fight night terrors, learn how to manage tantrums, and make your way through the winding path from crawling to walking. The Single-Digit Challenge: Prime your kid to be a super student with a custom geography relief map, find tips for building self confidence, and embrace fun by learning how to make the perfect sandcastle. Managing Tweens: Get everyone on the same page by creating a calendar everyone will actually use and learn how to get a tween cooking with easy and fun recipes. Taming Teenagers: Everything you should know before having "the talk," how to build skills through chores or a first job, and how to teach a teen to drive in four easy steps. Prepping for the Empty Nest: Tips for staying connected (but not too connected), cherishing memories with a tasteful craft project, and quick and easy ways to redesign a former kid's room. Can this book prepare you for all the challenges of fatherhood? Probably not! But every bit helps and you're sure to learn a lesson or twelve that comes in handy.




Blood Reunion


Book Description

Lissa looked up in surprise at Roff's words. His wings rustled after he spoke—he normally didn't involve himself in the politics of Le-Ath Veronis. Not to this extent, anyway. "I know, honey. And now two other children are likely to die as a result. Yes, I know they did this, but I'm not convinced we have all the ones involved in the crime." Toff's life is in danger - someone from the Green Fae village wants him dead. In fact, the entire Fae community has begun to grumble as Kifirin's judgment looms. With only a few exceptions, the Fae focus their anger (and the blame) on Toff, who fails to understand why everyone now seems to be against him.




Latter Day Demons Series


Book Description

All three books in the Latter Day Demons series as a boxed set.




Not Betting on Forever


Book Description

What’s the fun when you don’t bet to win? Single mom Melanie Hayes should absolutely, completely, and totally not be attracted to her next door neighbor. Nick Campagna can be her friend, her secret crush, or just the arrogant —and unavoidably handsome—jerk next door, but nothing more. Because, even though it was a million years ago, he’s also her sister’s ex. And now, with Lakeside’s Battle of the Businesses in full swing, Nick’s also Melanie’s competition. Their families have always been competitive, so it’s no surprise to anyone that Nick and Melanie are playing for more than just bragging rights. With a coveted piece of land on the line, Nick isn’t backing down. Maybe he can’t help noticing that the tomboy he knew as a kid has turned into a stunning redhead. Maybe he is attracted to Melanie. Ridiculously so. But as real as this feels, Nick knows this is one game he definitely can’t win. They’ve known each other long enough that it’s definitely not love at first sight. But attraction can happen in an instant. And this is one wager where winning is nowhere near as fun as playing the game...




The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium


Book Description

A wide-ranging collection of essays on millennial American culture that “marshals a vast pop vocabulary with easy wit” (The New York Times Book Review). From the far left to the far right, on talk radio and the op-ed page, more and more Americans believe that the social fabric is unraveling. Celebrity worship and media frenzy, suicidal cultists and heavily armed secessionists: modern life seems to have become a “pyrotechnic insanitarium,” Mark Dery says, borrowing a turn-of-the-century name for Coney Island. Dery elucidates the meaning to our madness, deconstructing American culture from mainstream forces like Disney and Nike to fringe phenomena like the Unabomber and alien invaders. Our millennial angst, he argues, is a product of a pervasive cultural anxiety—a combination of the social and economic upheaval wrought by global capitalism and the paranoia fanned by media sensationalism. The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium is a theme-park ride through the extremes of American culture of which The Atlantic has written, “Mark Dery confirms once again what writers and thinkers as disparate as Nathanael West, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Sigmund Freud, and Oliver Sacks have already shown us: the best place to explore the human condition is at its outer margins, its pathological extremes.” “Dery is the kind of critic who just might give conspiracy theory a good name.” —Wired




Iron Man: The Gauntlet


Book Description

Tony Stark is known throughout the world as many things:billionaire, inventor, Avenger. But mainly for being the Invincible Iron Man. Just when Tony is about to add his pizzazz to an international eco-summit in Ireland, someone close to him forces him to question his role in making the world a more dangerous place with his high-techweaponry. But Stark doesn't have much time to reflect before an old enemy presents him with an even greater challenge: the assassination of all the eco-ministers, and Iron Man himself. Just how invincible Iron Man is when he is stripped of everything remains to be seen in this breathless adventure by the best-selling author of Artemis Fowl.




The Effect of Living Backwards


Book Description

Following her acclaimed debut, The Mineral Palace, Heidi Julavits presents a quirky, compelling novel about two sisters, a bizarre event, and the elusive nature of truth—a New York Times Notable Book. Does Alice really hate her sister, or is that love? Was she really enrolled in grad school, or was that an elaborate hoax? Is this really a hijacking, or is it merely the effect of living backwards? “Heidi Julavits—no stranger to edgy, dark topics—takes liberties with conventional notions of hijacking and hostages, weaving humor in a zingy and brainy spectrum...If you can take successive shots of wit with gulps of moral inquisition, then this fine book is for you.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel