Diggin’ the Dancing Queen: An Adventure in the Land of the Unexpected

Diggin’ the Dancing Queen: An Adventure in the Land of the Unexpected
Author: Paul Richardson
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 525
Release: 2016-02-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1483444155

Ingrid Lundström, the daughter of a wealthy Swedish banker, has been a global roamer since she left school. An iconic blond, she resembles Agnetha Fältskog of Abba fame. These attributes dominate her existence, especially when she moves to Papua New Guinea, to work. Because of her connection to wealth, she becomes the target of criminals. Because of her appearance, she attracts special interest at every turn. When aspiring teacher Michael Mannion hears about Ingrid's fate at the hands of kidnappers, he travels to Papua New Guinea to track her down and attempt a rescue. However, he encounters many surprises. What he doesn't know is that he's as much the problem as the solution. They say love conquers all, but in a country where it's hard to separate fact from fiction, the serious from the lighthearted, and good guys from bad guys, love may not be enough. For Ingrid and Michael, love is their path to salvation but this path takes them on a different and sometimes unpredictable adventure.

The Red Sheep

The Red Sheep
Author: Paul Richardson
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2019-07-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0359784011

The Red Sheep is a story about Jessica Grant and the challenges faced by families as they deal with aging, mortality, religion, and relationships. Jessica, an only child, was immersed in a stable and supportive family but it did not hide the fact she was different. As such, she saw the world differently. As a child she questioned her being. As a teenager she set her mother in search of answers. As an adult she learned to accept life was what she made of it. Jessica's journey was filled with childhood joy at having special grandparents. When Nan and Pop passed away, it was her youthful logic that helped her cope with their loss. With Nan and Pop's opposing views of an afterlife deeply embedded in her outlook, Jessica explored her background with conviction. The answers she found highlighted how unique she was. The story will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you question the world around you. It will cause you to marvel at the extraordinary lives led by everyday ordinary people.

Stories About My School Life

Stories About My School Life
Author: Paul Richardson
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2019-10-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0359956874

Stories about My School Life is a book about schools and the people who made them what they were. In its own way it tells the recent history of schools. It also paints a picture of what it is like to work in them. Anyone who has been to school will enjoy the funny, often incredible stories in this book. Whether a snowball fight, a microwaved pig's head; or a frog in the toilet; whether in outback Queensland, England or Papua New Guinea; from the classroom to the cricket pitch, the stories are sure to bring back memories of your own school life.

Varieties of Exile

Varieties of Exile
Author: Mavis Gallant
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2003-11-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781590170601

Mavis Gallant is the modern master of what Henry James called the international story, the fine-grained evocation of the quandaries of people who must make their way in the world without any place to call their own. The irreducible complexity of the very idea of home is especially at issue in the stories Gallant has written about Montreal, where she was born, although she has lived in Paris for more than half a century. Varieties of Exile, Russell Banks's extensive new selection from Gallant's work, demonstrates anew the remarkable reach of this writer's singular art. Among its contents are three previously uncollected stories, as well as the celebrated semi-autobiographical sequence about Linnet Muir—stories that are wise, funny, and full of insight into the perils and promise of growing up and breaking loose.

To Shake the Sleeping Self

To Shake the Sleeping Self
Author: Jedidiah Jenkins
Publisher: Convergent Books
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1524761397

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “With winning candor, Jedidiah Jenkins takes us with him as he bicycles across two continents and delves deeply into his own beautiful heart.”—Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things On the eve of turning thirty, terrified of being funneled into a life he didn’t choose, Jedidiah Jenkins quit his dream job and spent sixteen months cycling from Oregon to Patagonia. He chronicled the trip on Instagram, where his photos and reflections drew hundreds of thousands of followers, all gathered around the question: What makes a life worth living? In this unflinchingly honest memoir, Jed narrates his adventure—the people and places he encountered on his way to the bottom of the world—as well as the internal journey that started it all. As he traverses cities, mountains, and inner boundaries, Jenkins grapples with the question of what it means to be an adult, his struggle to reconcile his sexual identity with his conservative Christian upbringing, and his belief in travel as a way to wake us up to life back home. A soul-stirring read for the wanderer in each of us, To Shake the Sleeping Self is an unforgettable reflection on adventure, identity, and a life lived without regret. Praise for To Shake the Sleeping Self “[Jenkins is] a guy deeply connected to his personal truth and just so refreshingly present.”—Rich Roll, author of Finding Ultra “This is much more than a book about a bike ride. This is a deep soul deepening us. Jedidiah Jenkins is a mystic disguised as a millennial.”—Tom Shadyac, author of Life’s Operating Manual “Thought-provoking and inspirational . . . This uplifting memoir and travelogue will remind readers of the power of movement for the body and the soul.”—Publishers Weekly

Red Rising

Red Rising
Author: Pierce Brown
Publisher: Del Rey
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2014-01-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0345539796

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pierce Brown’s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. “Red Rising ascends above a crowded dys­topian field.”—USA Today ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, Shelf Awareness “I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.” “I live for you,” I say sadly. Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.” Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so. Praise for Red Rising “[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . . Pierce Brown’s dizzyingly good debut novel evokes The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Ender’s Game. . . . [Red Rising] has everything it needs to become meteoric.”—Entertainment Weekly “Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow.”—Scott Sigler “Red Rising is a sophisticated vision. . . . Brown will find a devoted audience.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch Don’t miss any of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga: RED RISING • GOLDEN SON • MORNING STAR • IRON GOLD • DARK AGE • LIGHT BRINGER

Gitty and Kvetch

Gitty and Kvetch
Author: Caroline Kusin Pritchard
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 48
Release: 2021-09-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1534478272

In this hilariously sweet story about an opposites-attract friendship, chock-full of Yiddish humor, a girl and her best bird friend’s perfect day turns into a perfect opportunity to see things differently. Gitty and her feathered-friend Kvetch couldn’t be more different: Gitty always sees the bright side of life, while her curmudgeonly friend Kvetch is always complaining and, well, kvetching about the trouble they get into. One perfect day, Gitty ropes Kvetch into shlepping off on a new adventure to their perfect purple treehouse. Even when Kvetch sees signs of impending doom everywhere, Gitty finds silver linings and holds onto her super special surprise reason for completing their mission. But when her perfect plan goes awry, oy vey, suddenly it’s Gitty who’s down in the dumps. Can Kvetch come out of his funk to lift Gitty’s spirits back up?

The Return of the Dancing Master

The Return of the Dancing Master
Author: Henning Mankell
Publisher: New Press/ORIM
Total Pages: 467
Release: 2004-03-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1595586156

From the New York Times–bestselling author of the Kurt Wallander novels: An “absorbing” and “chilling” historical mystery “dripping with evil atmosphere” (The Times, London). December 12, 1945. The Third Reich lies in ruins as a British warplane lands in Bückeburg, Germany. A man carrying a small black bag quickly disembarks and travels to Hamelin, where he disappears behind the prison gates. Early the next day, England’s most experienced hangman executes twelve war criminals. Fifty-four years later, retired policeman Herbert Molin is found brutally slaughtered on his remote farm in Härjedalen, Sweden. The police discover strange tracks in the blood on the floor . . . as if someone had been practicing the tango. Stefan Lindman is a young police officer who has just been diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. When he reads about the murder of his former colleague, he decides to travel north and find out what happened. Soon he is enmeshed in a puzzling investigation with no witnesses and no discernible motives. Terrified of the illness that could take his life, Lindman becomes more and more reckless as he uncovers the links between Molin’s death, World War II, and an underground neo-Nazi network. Mankell’s impeccably researched historical thriller is “a worthy successor to the Wallander whodunits” (The Sunday Telegraph). “[Mankell] never fails to find a deep vein of humanity within the perpetually furrowed brows of his troubled cops.” —Booklist

The Guardian's Promise

The Guardian's Promise
Author: Christina Rich
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2014
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0373282575

"Inspirational historical romance"--Spine.

The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 578
Release: 2009-10-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0061804819

New York Times Bestseller • Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize • An Oprah's Book Club Selection “Powerful . . . [Kingsolver] has with infinitely steady hands worked the prickly threads of religion, politics, race, sin and redemption into a thing of terrible beauty.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review The Poisonwood Bible, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, established Barbara Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, it is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in Africa. The story is told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it—from garden seeds to Scripture—is calamitously transformed on African soil. The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Against this backdrop, Orleanna Price reconstructs the story of her evangelist husband's part in the Western assault on Africa, a tale indelibly darkened by her own losses and unanswerable questions about her own culpability. Also narrating the story, by turns, are her four daughters—the teenaged Rachel; adolescent twins Leah and Adah; and Ruth May, a prescient five-year-old. These sharply observant girls, who arrive in the Congo with racial preconceptions forged in 1950s Georgia, will be marked in surprisingly different ways by their father's intractable mission, and by Africa itself. Ultimately each must strike her own separate path to salvation. Their passionately intertwined stories become a compelling exploration of moral risk and personal responsibility.