"Naked Sleeper" is the story of a love triangle between Nona, her husband Roy, and Lyle, a married professor she meets during a month away in the country. While there, Nona is working on a book about her father's life, trying to understand the reasons that he abandoned her and her mother when she was a child. Nona's search for details about her father's past becomes so entwined in the telling of this book that readers watch several stories unfold simultaneously: those of Nona's relationships with Roy and Lyle; with her mother, Rosalind; and with her phantom father.

A puddle of water on a highway changed Dinesh Palipana's life forever. Halfway through medical school, Dinesh was involved in a catastrophic car accident that caused a cervical spinal cord injury. After his accident, his strength and determination saw him return to complete medical school - now with quadriplegia. Dinesh was the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland, and the second person with quadriplegia to graduate medical school in Australia. Despite all of the pain and hardship he's faced, Dinesh now sees his accident as a turning point for the better in his life. He believes it has made him a better doctor, with a better grasp of the concerns and fears of his patients, and a more sensitive, open human. He fights for equal and equitable access for disabled people, and is a compassionate and skilled doctor working in one of Australia's busiest hospitals. After everything he's been through, Dinesh believes he is now happier, stronger and more capable than he was before the accident. It helped him to clarify what is important in his life, and taught him that happiness and strength can always be found within. Praise for Stronger: 'Dinesh's spirit of positivity and his love of life is astonishing. Thoughtful, powerful and moving, Stronger is an exemplar of resilience' - Dr Richard Harris 'Dinesh Palipana is an incredible leader who has challenged the limits of mindset and belief. His contribution to Australia will be felt for generations.' - Kurt Fearnley

New York Times bestseller! Get ready for another binge-worthy romance from international bestselling author Elle Kennedy! He knows how to score, on and off the ice Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she's going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands. It’ll take more than flashy moves to win her over Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world—and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love. The Briar U Series of Standalone Novels The Chase (Briar U Book 1) The Risk (Briar U Book 2) The Play (Briar U Book 3) The Off-Campus Series of Standalone Novels The Deal (Off-Campus Book 1) The Mistake (Off-Campus Book 2) The Score (Off-Campus Book 3) The Goal (Off-Campus Book 4)

From the National Book Award-winning author of The Friend, one of the most celebrated novelists of her generation, the story of a woman's experiences in the Vietnam War "After my first book was published, I received some letters." So begins Sigrid Nunez's haunting novel about the poignant and unusual friendship between a writer and a retired army nurse who seeks her out decades after their childhood in the same housing project. Among the letters the narrator receives is one from a Rouenna Zycinski, recalling their old connection and asking if they can meet.Though fascinated by the stories Rouenna tells about her life as a combat nurse in Vietnam, the narrator flatly declines her request that they collaborate on a memoir. It is only later, in the aftermath of Rouenna's shocking death, that the narrator is drawn to write about her friend--and her friend's war. Writing Rouenna's story becomes all-consuming, at once a necessity and the only consolation. For Rouenna, an unforgettable novel about truth, memory, and unexpected heroism by one of the most gifted writers of her generation, is also a remarkable and surprising new look at war.

From Sigrid Nunez, the National Book Award-winning author of The Friend, comes A Feather on the Breath of God: a mesmerizing story about the tangled nature of relationships between parents and children, between language and love A young woman looks back to the world of her immigrant parents: a Chinese-Panamanian father and a German mother. Growing up in a housing project in the 1950s and 1960s, she escapes into dreams inspired both by her parents' stories and by her own reading and, for a time, into the otherworldly life of ballet. A yearning, homesick mother, a silent and withdrawn father, the ballet--these are the elements that shape the young woman's imagination and her sexuality.

Go beyond basic scrap quilts with this guide to turning fabric bits snips into striking modern art quilts—featuring 8 quick and easy projects. In Scrappy Bits Applique, fabric designer and quilt artist Shannon Brinkley shares her secrets to putting sewing room scraps to use. With her easy stitching and collage techniques, she shows how simplicity can produce dramatic results. Shannon’s “scrappy” approach to quilting uses a fast raw-edged technique. With step-by-step instructions, she teaches you how to intuitively choose, cut, and sew bits of fabric to create a collage of unique images and textures. Included are eight engaging quilt projects to try out your new skills.

"Provides rich, nuanced readings." - Victor Bascara, University of California, Los Angeles

earth writers, "The Nearby Faraway" reads like an abridged autobiography of the writer's life and travels (both geographical and spiritual). A dedicated naturalist and writer's writer, David Petersen spends a lot of time outdoors in the Rocky Mountain West. His most recent titles include "Ghost Grizzlies" and "A Hunter's Heart".

Three keenly observant and profoundly moving novels from an international bestselling British writer “with heart, soul, and a dark and a naughty wit” (The Observer). “Patrick Gale writes with the understated fluency that is the hallmark of contemporary British fiction, and with the irony that usually accompanies it.” In the three novels collected here, the author of the international bestseller Notes from an Exhibition explores the complexities and ironies of men who have removed themselves from society and painful situations, only to find there’s no escaping their inner turmoil as they follow individual journeys of growth (Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post). Little Bits of Baby: Robin retreated to a remote island monastery after his childhood playmate, Candida, became engaged to Jake, their irresistibly sexy mutual friend. Now Candida is a mother, and she wants her long-lost friend to be the child’s godfather. When he returns to London after his five-year exile, Robin finds the city overwhelming and unfamiliar, but he must fight through his feelings if he is to conclude the unfinished business that originally caused him to flee, and take his place in the world once again. “[A] blithe, original, engaging satire.” —The New York Times Facing the Tank: For American academic Evan Kirby, the English city of Barrowcester—pronounced “Brewster”—is a welcome escape from the US and his brutal divorce. A historian of angels and demons, he has come to explore the cathedral library, but he will find there are no angels in this peculiar little village. From the agnostic bishop and his cannabis cookie–addicted mother to the sex-mad cardinal and the schoolboy with a very unusual relationship with his spaniel, every Barrower has a secret, each more shocking than the last. “[A] ridiculously crazy tour de force . . . If E. F. Benson, Iris Murdoch and Fay Weldon were to produce a story in some mad collusion, the result might be something like this.” —Publishers Weekly Tree Surgery for Beginners: Armistead Maupin has said of Patrick Gale: “There’s really no one he can’t inhabit, understand, and forgive.” That certainly applies to the arborist Lawrence Frost in this epic redemptive novel, who is forced into a journey of self-searching after being accused of killing his wife. Following Frost’s pilgrimage to the Caribbean and eventually to the redwoods of northern California, Gale compassionately chronicles the healing of “a man whose work as a tree surgeon is a metaphor for the growth of his soul and family” (Publishers Weekly). “Playful and wise. In prose of sparkling precision, Gale serves up misadventures—satirical, farcical and tragic.” —The New York Times