After arguing with her live-in boyfriend about his inability to commit, Peggy Adams flies to a friend's bachelorette party in Las Vegas, and wakes up next to a man she can't remember. Hung-over and miserable, she sneaks out of the sleeping man's hotel room and returns home to New York, where her boyfriend apologizes for the fight and gives her a Tiffany box containing a pre-engagement ring. Not what she expected, but close enough! The next day she receives a phone call from the Las Vegas one-night stand, Luke, claiming she's already married to him and he faxes her the license for proof! Both are ready for an annulment, until Peggy arrives in quaint New Nineveh, CT, where Luke cares for his Great Aunt, and the old woman makes Peggy an offer she can't refuse.
From the lifelong devotion of the American crow to the dalliances of the eastern bluebird, from the bald eagle’s dazzling aerial display to the male ruby-throated hummingbird’s reputation as a “deadbeat dad” — courtship, mating, and parenting differ dramatically among birds. Ornithologist and author Laura Erickson takes readers on a romance-fueled romp through the love lives of 35 species, exploring the diversity of avian approaches to pairing up. Each species spotlight pairs Erickson’s remarkable depth of scientific knowledge with her talent for drawing humorous and insightful parallels between human and bird. The result is a riveting read for bird-watchers and nature lovers alike.
There are times in life when you suddenly begin to rethink your choices. For children's book author Davis Garner, such a moment comes when he finds himself hiding in a pile of dirty laundry, trying to avoid his landlord. . . Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and so Davis signs on to be a technical writer on a research vessel in Antarctica. What Davis knows about marine technology would comfortably fit in a tweet, but he soon realizes that no one around him is quite who they seem--including Maureen, an ice-cold network administrator partial to hacking others' emails; a lovelorn vessel technician known by the acronym Worm; and Artaud, a charismatic scientist with dubious motives. In between waves of seasickness and self-doubt, Davis finds creative inspiration and an unlikely passion for his new job. And something more unexpected still. . .the willingness to fight for the principles he believes in and the life he still loves. Praise for the novels of Chris Kenry "Kenry's masterful use of a disarmingly forthright first-person viewpoint invites readers' trust and keeps them turning the pages right up to the surprise ending." --Booklist on Confessions of a Casanova "The great leap to more substantial literary terrain feels but a book or two away for this talented author." --Publishers Weekly on Uncle Max "Well written with bold humor and witty asides." --Library Journal on Can't Buy Me Love The Survival Methods and Mating Rituals of Men and Marine Mammals is Chris Kenry's fourth novel. Much to his surprise, two of his novels have inexplicably been translated into Polish. He currently resides and writes in Colorado.
Equal parts nature guide, adventure story, and coffee table book! People are captivated by wild animals—by their strength and their size and by the things they do to stay alive. In Wildlife Spectacles zoologist Vladimir Dinets dives deep into this wonder, allowing curious readers to discover just how spectacular wild animals can be. In the rich, fully illustrated pages you’ll discover the migration of gray whales along the Pacific coast, the dancing alligators of the Everglades, the synchronized blinking of fireflies near Tennessee, the swarms of feeding bats over the Mississippi River, the blue-glowing scorpions of the Southwest desert, hundreds of wintering tundra swans in New Jersey, and much more.
Set in a world where clocks melt and gentlemen rain from the sky, The Mating Rituals Of The Burning Giraffe is a grown-ups fable, inspired by the surrealist paintings, sculptures, and sketches of Magritte, Dal, and Monty Python. Its a brightly colored delirium, dedicated to the indomitable child. The story follows Billy Dada, a young man about to enter a state of higher learning where he will be taught the principles of categorizing biological diversity, from smelly wolves to cats with heads like mushrooms, from hares with fangs to enormous clams, but who, midst the books and lectures, nurtures a fascination with the giraffa infernalis, a pyring obsession thats about to turn into a scathefire. So begins a black-and-blue excursion into the brushstrokes on lifes canvas. Its a slab of confusion and desperation, a swirl of hardships and sorrowsinside a frame of meaning. The Mating Rituals of the Burning Giraffe is an adult fairytale about how fate tears us apart unless we move with it. Its a way to move with it. Move with it.
She believes he hates her – He has to fight not to fall in love with her Lady Hester Montagu is well aware that she is not the most desirable lady among the ton despite being the daughter of a duke: she always says what comes to mind, her hair is too dull, and she is obsessed with birds. Even so she figures there has to be someone for her, someone who will want her for more than her large dowry and family connections. Which is why she agrees to a house party where she will meet three eligible bachelors and hopefully form an attachment with one of them. Flint Eavesgrave, the Earl of Lambourn, is not one of them. In fact, he is almost engaged to someone else. Someone who will make a suitable countess, but most importantly will never cause his heart any danger. Which is why he has to stay as far away from Lady Hester as possible. If you like steamy stories from the Regency Era, this novella might be for you. Mating Rituals of the Haut Ton is the fifth book in the series Lust and Longing. It is a Historical Regency Romance of about 60.000 words about being true to yourself, believing in love, and being brave enough to reach for a happy ever after.
Wild Kingdom meets Sex and the City in this scientific perspective on dating and relationships. A specialist in animal behavior compares the courtship rituals and mating behaviors of animals to their human equivalents, revealing the many and often surprising ways we are both similar to and different from other species. What makes an individual attractive to the opposite sex? Does size matter? Why do we tend to keep score in our relationships? From perfume and cosmetics to online dating and therapy, our ultimate goal is to successfully connect with someone. So why is romance such an effort for humans, while animals have little trouble getting it right? Wild Connection is full of fascinating and suggestive observations about animal behavior. For example, in most species smell is an important component of determining compatibility. So are we humans doing the right thing by masking our natural scents with soaps and colognes? Royal albatrosses have a lengthy courtship period lasting several years. These birds instinctively know that casual hook-ups are not the way to find a reliable mate. And older female chimpanzees often mate with younger males. Is this the evolutionary basis of the human cougar phenomenon? Fun to read as well as educational, this unique take on the perennial human quest to find the ideal mate shows that we have much to learn from our cousins in the wild.
See the intimate lives of birds as never before! Laura Erikson and Marie Read document the family lives of more than 50 common North American birds through breathtaking close-up photography. Stunning images of hummingbirds, owls, tanagers, and more showcase different stages of avian development and capture the loving bond that exists within each bird family. Bird enthusiasts of all feathers will cherish these beautiful images of courting, nest construction, eggs, nestlings, feeding time, and much more.
Wild Rituals explores how embracing the rituals of the animal kingdom can make us more connected to ourselves, nature, and others. Behavioral ecologist and world-renowned elephant scientist Caitlin O'Connell dives into the rituals of elephants, apes, zebras, rhinos, lions, whales, flamingos, and many more. This fascinating read helps us better understand how we are similar to wild animals, and encourages us to find healing, self-awareness, community, and self-reinvention. • Filled with fascinating stories on 10 different animal rituals • Features original full-color photos, from the Caribbean to the African savannah • Demonstrates the profound way we are similar to the wild creatures who captivate us Wild Rituals journeys into the desert, tundra, and rainforest to reveal the importance of rituals and how they can help us find a simpler, more meaningful way of living. In a culture of technology where we find ourselves living at a greater distance from nature and each other, this remarkable book taps into the unspoken languages of creatures around the world. • Caitlin O'Connell is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and an award-winning author who spent more than 30 years studying animals in the wild. • Makes a great gift for anyone curious about nature, animals, and how humans compare to and interact with both • Add it to the shelf with books like Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina; Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal; The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion—Surprising Observations of a Hidden World by Peter Wohlleben; and The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery.
Birds do it, bees do it — every member of the animal kingdom does it, from fruit flies to blue whales. But if you think humans have a tough time dating, try having to do it while being hunted down by predators, against a backdrop of unpredictable and life-threatening conditions. The animal kingdom is a wild place – and it’s got mating habits to match. The sex lives of our animal cousins are fiendishly difficult, infinitely varied, often incredibly violent — and absolutely fascinating.In Wild Sex, Dr. Carin Bondar takes readers on an enthralling tour of the animal kingdom as she explores the diverse world of sex in the wild. She looks at the evolution of sexual organs (and how they’ve shaped social hierarchies), tactics of seduction, and the mechanics of sex. She investigates a wide range of topics, from whether animals experience pleasure from sex to what happens when females hold the reproductive power. Along the way, she encounters razor-sharp penises, murderous carnal cannibals, and spontaneous chemical warfare in an epic battle between the sexes.The resulting book is titillating, exhilarating, amusing, petrifying, alluring — and absolutely guaranteed to make you think about sex in a whole new way.
