Very candid and outspoken comment on the political, economic, and social milieu. The poet has also explored various shades of thought processes. Its like a window to human insecurities, aberrations, and weaknesses. Rich with imagery and metaphors, the poems are a delight to read. The poet uses blank verse in some poems, where she takes liberties to give vent to emotions. Where in some poems, she uses frugality of words to create a unique style that impacts on the readers mind.

A stunning historical debut novel of gothic proportions, telling the tale of a father's obsession and the dark consequences. "The skin was smooth and bright as porcelain, but looked as if it would give to the touch. What manner of wood had he used? What tools to exact such detail? What paints, tints or stains to flush her with life?" So wonders the window dresser Colton Kemp when he sees the first mannequin of his new rival, a silent man the inhabitants of Marumaru simply call The Carpenter. Rocked by the sudden death of his wife in childbirth and left with twins to raise, Kemp hatches a dark and selfish plan to make his name and thwart his rival. What follows is a gothic tale of art and deception, strength and folly, love and transgression, which ranges fromfamily small-town New Zealand to the graving docks of the River Clyde in Scotland. Along the way we meet a Prussian strongman, a family of ship's carvers with a mysterious affliction, a septuagenarian surf lifesaver and a talking figurehead named Vengeance. Lives and stories will intertwine as fate takes its cruel trajectory, leaving you feeling as if waking from an unsettling dream.

When the body of a young woman is discovered in the Lane of Many Heads, an alley in modern-day Mecca, no one will claim it, as they are ashamed of her nakedness. As Detective Nasser pursues his investigation of the case, seemingly all of Mecca chimes in—including the Lane of Many Heads itself—in this “surreal, meditative take on a murder mystery” (The Guardian, Best Books of Summer). Nasser initially suspects that the dead woman is Aisha, one of the residents of the area, and searches her emails for clues. The world she paints embraces everything from crime and religious extremism to the exploitation of foreign workers by a mafia of building contractors, who are destroying the historic areas of the city. Another view reveals the city through the eyes of Yusuf, Aisha’s neighbor, increasingly frustrated by the accelerating pace of change. As gripping as classic noir, nuanced as a Nabokov novel, and labyrinthine as the alleys of Mecca itself, this brilliant fever dream of a novel masterfully reveals a city and a civilization in all its contradictions, at once beholden to brutal customs and uneasily coming to terms with new traditions.

This is the incredible story of friendship brought about by the game of Bridge. Two young women meet when their children begin Kindergarten. Their story continues as told in this book. One has a fascination for Bridge and teaches her new friend the game. We learn about the four women that play together and the absolute fun they have. There is tragedy entwined at their game table. It also includes the husbands and children as a fun group over the years. They are from very different backgrounds which we learn little of, yet it is enough. However, one of the women has a background she is unwilling to share at all. In the end, we learn why. On a trip to celebrate their "almost" 30 year friendship, Kate and Simone fly to NYC to shop, see theater and enjoy wonderful restaurants. Naturally, the Bridge cards go along for 2-handed Bridge like these two have enjoyed during their friendship. On most of the journey they are playing in the airplane. During the trip, the past thirty years is remembered by Kate, the main character in the book who is narrating the story. Kate is thinking about the present, and the past, alternating between the two time-frames, going back, and then returning to the present; back and forth. Some she keeps to herself and some she discusses with Simone. One of the husbands is a wealthy philanthropic father of twins, murdered for no reason. His father-in-law, the Chief-of Police can't solve the crime and it goes cold. It was a brutal murder for no reason. There had been a stranger lurking they knew nothing about. The book spans Kate's first marriage and takes you into her second. It takes you graphically into both bedrooms. This book does not fail to knock on any bedroom doors. In the end, much is learned about their friend that never wanted to share her past

Young Lauren dwells in an inquisitive world, where the lines separating fantasy from reality are often blurred. But not even with her nave, heightened sense of daring could she be prepared for the unreal events, characters, creatures, and bizarre adventures of her kidnapping!

Shares the story of how a determined mother changed her family's eating habits despite picky children, a finicky husband, busy schedules, snack machines, and permissive grandparents.

Don’t miss this dorkalicious boxed set of the first six Dork Diaries books that comes with a special collectible poster! Dork Diaries are funnier in numbers, which is why this complete collection of Nikki Maxwell’s entertaining adventures is a must-have for Dorks everywhere. This boxed set includes all five standalone Dork Diary titles—Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life, Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl, Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star, Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess, and Tales from a Not-So-Smart Miss Know-it-All—as well as the interactive How to Dork Your Diary. And the added bonus of a special collectible poster means fans can proudly proclaim their love of all things Dorky!

Jennifer Niven quit her job as a television producer to write the true story of a doomed 1913 Arctic expedition in her first book, The Ice Master, which was named one of the top ten nonfiction books by Entertainment Weekly, and won the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. She received high praise for her follow- up arctic adventure, Ada Blackjack, which detailed the life of one woman who overcame enormous odds to survive. Now, Niven tells a survival tale of a different kind; her own thrilling, excruciating, amazing, and utterly unforgettable adventure in a midwestern high school during the 1980s. Richmond, Indiana, was a place where people knew their neighbors and went to church on Sundays. It also had only one high school with 2,500 students, and for both the students and the townspeople, it was the center of the universe. In The Aqua-Net Diaries, Niven takes readers through her adolescent years in full, glorious—and hilarious—detail, sharing awkward moments from the first day of school, to driver’s ed, and her first love, against a backdrop of bad 1980s fashion and big hair. Like Chuck Klosterman in Fargo Rock City, Niven’s talented voice perfectly captures the pain, joy, and shame of going through adolescence in America’s heartland, making a funny, touching, and universal experience.

A provocative ‘sexploration’ of the cultural and political landscape of modern India.

I want to share my story of survival in hopes to give others courage. I had been seeing women being murdered almost daily by their husbands who later were found to be abusive. Lacey Peterson is one that comes to mind most frequently because her abuser killed not only her but their unborn child. This saddened me. I had left my abuser against all odds. Why could these women not leave before it escalated to this point? People had told me I should write a book, tell my story. God told me it was time to write. If I could overcome abuse from childhood, sexual molestation, and spousal abuse, why was it so hard for them? I had help, the Lord was there for me every time I called to him, and many times I did not. Telling me what to do. The Holy Spirit was with me through the writing of this book, I was just his vessel.