Snowfalls, festive meals, and family gatherings. It must be the holiday season on Marigold Island. Business at the Beachside Inn has been going so well that Lydia and Angela decide to take a bit of time off for the first time since they opened their doors, making a plan to close the inn over Christmas and use the space to host a party for their family and friends. Lydia is also grappling with worry that Grant's mother doesn't like her, so she suggests that they invite his parents to visit for the holidays, determined to smooth things over. Angela and Patrick have moved in together, and Angela is more grateful than ever to have a kind and supportive father-figure in Jake's life--especially since the little boy has developed his first crush on a girl at school, something Angela has no idea how to navigate. Brooke is working on a new treat for the bakery, something she's certain will make her pastry shop stand out... if she can finally get the recipe just right. And Travis is dealing with a series of 911 calls involving the defacement of Christmas light displays at several houses. Can he track down the culprit before they strike again? One thing is certain: holidays on Marigold are never dull! Come dip your toes in the crystal blue waters of Marigold Island, a fictional island town tucked in next to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. This heartwarming and uplifting women's fiction will take you on a journey of healing, friendship, family, faith, and love.

Return to Marigold Island in this heartwarming family saga with a dash of sweet romance! Watching her sister Angela pursue her passion has inspired Brooke to follow her own dreams. For years, she's harbored a secret fantasy of opening up a bakery of her own in Marigold, but maybe it doesn't have to be just a fantasy. Although starting a new business is a daunting prospect and a lot of work, Brooke finally feels ready to take the leap. Guests at the inn have been raving about her pastries, and her family is behind her all the way, so now she just needs to find the startup capital. Since she's been house-sitting for Hunter while he's in Los Angeles shooting a movie, the two of them have grown even closer. But when the handsome actor offers to invest in her business, Brooke is shocked--not just by his offer, but by her reaction to it. She should be over the moon, but she finds herself strangely hesitant to accept. Because the truth is, she wants to be more than just Hunter's business partner... and more than just his friend. As things get more serious between Grant and Lydia, she plans a surprise birthday party for him. And Travis is back on the dating scene, but he hasn't found a love connection yet. Still, he can't seem to stop thinking about his encounter with the pretty realtor who called for help after a break-in at one of her properties. Winter on Marigold Island can be cold and blustery, but with sweet treats, good food, and the love of family, warmth abounds. Come dip your toes in the crystal blue waters of Marigold Island, a fictional island town tucked in next to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. This heartwarming and uplifting women's fiction will take you on a journey of healing, friendship, family, faith, and love.

“A vivid picture of how what we wear on our feet can tell us what it really means to be an American.”—Vanity Fair “Expansive, thorough, and entertaining . . . a comprehensive look at how much the sneaker became a signature indicator of cool.”—The Wall Street Journal A cultural history of sneakers, tracing the footprint of one of our most iconic fashions across sports, business, pop culture, and American identity “It’s gotta be the shoes.” When Spike Lee said it to Michael Jordan in a 1989 commercial, it was with a wink and a nod—what makes MJ so good? His Nike Air Jordan IIIs, of course. But as Nicholas Smith reveals in this captivating history, Lee’s line also speaks to the sneaker’s place at the heart of American culture. Once the athletic shoe graduated from the beaches and croquet courts of the wealthy elite to streetwear ubiquity, its journey through the heart of American life was just getting started. In this rollicking narrative, Nicholas K. Smith carries us through the long twentieth century as sneakers became the totem of subcultures. We follow the humble athletic and watch as sneakers become the calling card of California skaters and New York MCs, the spark of riots and gang violence, the heart of a global economic controversy, the muse of haute couture, and a lynchpin in the transformation of big sports into big business. Along the way, we meet larger-than-life mavericks and surprising visionaries: genius rubber inventor Charles Goodyear, risking everything to get his formula right; the warring brothers who started dueling shoe empires; road-warrior Chuck Taylor, hawking shoes out of his trunk; and many more mavericks, hustlers, and dreamers. With a sure stride and a broad footprint, Kicks introduces us to an influential and evolving legacy.

Images of 'the beach' pervade Australian popular culture. However the deeper significance of the experience of 'the beach', and its influence on Australian culture generally, have not yet been seriously explored. How, why and when did the beach become part of the Australian way of life? In Sand in our Souls Leone Huntsman describes the forces and pressures that encouraged or impeded Australians' enjoyment of sand and surf, from early enjoyment of bathing, through nearly a century of repressive restrictions, to freedom won in the face of drawn-out opposition. The ways in which artists, writers, film-makers and the advertising industry have depicted the beach are examined for the light they throw on the beach's significance. She traces the development of a distinctively Australian way-of-being-at-the-beach, suggesting that the beach experience has been absorbed into our emerging culture and continues to shape it in subtle ways. Huntsman's provocative arguments will stimulate debate on the concept of 'national identity' appropriate for a new Australian century, and promote a deeper understanding of an aspect of life in Australia that is cherished by many of those who live here.

Every year, Italy swells with millions of tourists who infuse the economy with billions of dollars and almost outnumber Italians themselves. In fact, Italy has been a model tourist destination for longer than it has been a modern state.The Beautiful Country explores the enduring popularity of “destination Italy,” and its role in the development of the global mass tourism industry. Stephanie Malia Hom tracks the evolution of this particular touristic imaginary through texts, practices, and spaces, beginning with the guidebooks that frame Italy as an idealized land of leisure and finishing with destination Italy's replication around the world. Today, more tourists encounter Italy through places like Las Vegas's The Venetian Hotel and Casino or Dubai's Mercato shopping mall than experience the country in Italy itself. Using an interdisciplinary methodology that includes archival research, ethnographic fieldwork, literary criticism, and spatial analysis,The Beautiful Country reveals destination Italy's paramount role in the creation of modern mass tourism.

Old, elegant homes taking guests. Daily or weekly rentals, Maps.

Fifty years have passed since modern life came to a grinding halt. The cities have collapsed, taking modern luxuries and medicines with them. In Australia, the population has declined sharply, and those remaining have fled to the hinterlands to live in small, roughly built Communities, fighting against the harsh elements for survival. Some Communities thrive; others fail, and the difference can be a single years' rainfall, or a poor choice of crop. People tend to stay put, tending their crops, their children, and their animals, hoping to last another year. Set in the southeast of what was once New South Wales, this is a story of growth, of acceptance, and of exploration. It exposes the reality of life in close quarters, and the bonds and tensions which arise from being dependent on one another. It examines our environment, particularly the unique landscape of Australia, and the ramifications of ignoring climate change. Most importantly, it is a story about the strength of love.

"A gripping psychological thriller."—Daily Telegraph "A fascinating and addicting read."—Suspense Magazine The Sunday Girl delivers a dramatic thriller for any woman who's ever been involved with a bad, bad man and who knows how it feels to be broken, broken-hearted, and bent on revenge. Taylor Bishop is hurt, angry, and wants to destroy Angus Hollingsworth in the way he destroyed her. She's got nothing left to lose, so why not shatter his property, his reputation, and his life. So Taylor consults The Art of War and makes a plan. Then she takes the next thrilling, irrevocable step—one that will change her life forever. Things quickly spiral into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, and caught up in the suspense, Taylor isn't sure who's winning. The Sunday Girl is impossible to put down—fans of Liane Moriarty and Greer Hendricks will devour this twisty psychological thriller of love gone wrong...and revenge done right.

As a group of islands in the far south-west Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a history that is steeped in the sea. Its people have encountered the sea in many different ways: along the coast, in port, on ships, beneath the waves, behind a camera, and in the realm of the imagination. While New Zealanders have continually altered their marine environments, the ocean, too, has influenced their lives. A multi-disciplinary work encompassing history, marine science, archaeology and visual culture, New Zealand and the Sea explores New Zealand’s varied relationship with the sea, challenging the conventional view that history unfolds on land. Leading and emerging scholars highlight the dynamic, ocean-centred history of these islands and their inhabitants, offering fascinating new perspectives on New Zealand’s pasts. ‘The ocean has profoundly shaped culture across this narrow archipelago . . . The meeting of land and sea is central in historical accounts of Polynesian discovery and colonisation; European exploratory voyaging; sealing, whaling and the littoral communities that supported these plural occupations; and the mass migrant passage from Britain.’ – Frances Steel

When the world was a much younger place, Lyndon and Helen grew up in an idyllic coastal setting and fell in love. There is nothing unusual about this, except that they experienced this in many past lives. Furthermore, what they perceived as real sometimes did not make any sense, especially in their dreams. Arthur Koestler wrote that dreaming can be seen as “sliding back towards the pulsating darkness, of which we were part before our separate egos were formed.” During the fourth century BC, Plato maintained that what we see and touch is not reality, but only shadows as ethereal as the reflections from a fire in a cave. The illusion of reality is how we comprehend the shadows. But beyond this imperfect perception is Logos, the intangible “collective consciousness,” as Karl Jung once coined, which binds us all and permeates throughout the living cosmos. Here is an idea that the combined experiences and wisdom of all people throughout the ages lie deep like water in the well of the unconscious individual mind. Together, amidst their numerous destinies within the ever-changing interdimensional flux, Lyndon and Helen eventually found their utopia. Here they remain as young lovers, sharing their subliminal reality with us. Is this the stuff of reality, dreams, or madness? As Cervantes declared in Don Quixote, “Maddest of all is to live life as it is and not as it should be.” Perhaps Logos really is the mind of God.