“[Erma Bombeck] is marvelously funny, direct as a hypodermic, a virtuoso in the field of suburban living.”—Vogue It’s the exposé to end all exposés—the truth about the suburbs: where they planted trees and crabgrass came up, where they planted the schools and taxes came up, where they died of old age trying to merge onto the freeway and where they finally got sex out of the schools and back into the gutters.
Who says you can't choose your family? Their shared sweet sixteen party is just around the corner, and half sisters Isabelle Scott and Mirabelle Monroe are ready to cut loose, even if they are the daughters of a prominent public figure. So when Izzie's estranged aunt, Zoe, breezes into town unannounced, it just might be the change that the Monroe family needs -- or not, depending on who you ask... Happy with her cute surfer boyfriend and a group of great girlfriends, Izzie has no interest in getting to know yet another long-lost family member. But Mira, who's on a mission to try new things and meet new people -- a handsome brooding painter in particular -- is drawn to Izzie's artsy aunt, who seems to the be the polar opposite of the uptight Monroe family. As the girls try to negotiate the unexpected paths their lives have taken, Zoe's laid-back attitude eventually charms them both. But when Zoe offers Izzie the chance to leave Emerald Cove and start fresh in California, Izzie and Mira are faced with bigger changes than they expected. Is a move to the West Coast what Izzie had in mind for her sweet sixteen? The heartwarming conclusion to Jen Calonita's Belles trilogy.
On November 6, 2017, Brian Gushue attended his 500th NFL football game. He achieved this unlikely feat despite his lifelong battle with cerebral palsy. His devotion to football, especially its highest level, was borne out of his enjoyment of playing the sport as a child and his lifelong admiration for Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese, who he got to see play in person only once. Eventually, Brian made it his mission to see a game in every NFL stadium with a grass field -- because he prefers the look, feel and smell of grass compared to artificial playing surfaces. Brian soon came up with a new goal. Sometime in the late 1990s, when he had witnessed fewer than 100 NFL games on grass, he set his sights on attending 500 of them. Late in the chase, he added a caveat to the quest: to see every NFL team play at least 10 times. Now he hopes to see every team play at least 25 times. The Grass Is Always Greener -- One Football Fan's Improbable Quest to Attend 500 NFL Games is full of football facts, commentary, and history intertwined with memories from Brian's incredible journey, which will awe and inspire not only fans of the game but anyone who has a dream and the determination to make it come true.
Do you think the grass really is always greener on the other side? Let us take a look and see. Join us for this heart-warming story of friendship, perception and self-esteem, as we discover together if... THE GRASS REALLY IS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE.
Tom Harlan brings his Oath of Empire series to a shattering conclusion in The Dark Lord. In what would be the 7th Century AD in our history, the Roman Empire still stands, supported by the twin pillars of the Legions and Thaumaturges of Rome. The Emperor of the West, the Augustus Galen Atreus, came to the aid of the Emperor of the East, the Avtokrator Heraclius, in his war with the Sassanad Emperor of Persia. But despite early victories, that war has not gone well, and now Rome is hard-pressed. Constantinople has fallen before the dark sorceries of the Lord Dahak and his legions of the living and dead. Now the new Emperor of Persia marches on Egypt, and if he takes that ancient nation, Rome will be starved and defeated. But there is a faint glimmer of hope. The Emperor Galen's brother Maxian is a great sorcerer, perhaps the equal of Dahak, lord of the seven serpents. He is now firmly allied with his Imperial brother and Rome. And though they are caught tight in the Dark Lord's net of sorcery, Queen Zoe of Palmyra and Lord Mohammed have not relinquished their souls to evil. Powerful, complex, engrossing --Thomas Harlan's Oath of Empire series has taken fantasy readers by storm. The first three volumes, The Shadow of Ararat, The Gate of Fire, and The Storm of Heaven have been universally praised. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Grass Is Always Greener is part of The Year of Short Stories and is one of several digital shorts released to celebrate the publication of Jeffrey Archer’s magnificent seventh collection, Tell Tale. Taken from Jeffrey Archer's fourth collection of short stories, To Cut a Long Story Short, comes The Grass Is Always Greener, an irresistible, witty and ingenious short read. Bill has had the same spot under the archway outside Critchley's Bank for years. He knows all the staff: the yuppies, the middle-management, the executives . . . perhaps better than they know themselves. Across the company, from lowest to highest ranking, each looks at what the other has. But with every rung further up the ladder problems become increasingly complex and more difficult to escape from . . . Be sure to look out for more from The Year of Short Stories collection, including One Man's Meat and The Endgame.
“Ted Steinberg proves once again that he is a master storyteller as well as our foremost environmental historian.”—Mike Davis The rise of the perfect lawn represents one of the most profound transformations in the history of the American landscape. American Green, Ted Steinberg's witty exposé of this bizarre phenomenon, traces the history of the lawn from its explosion in the postwar suburban community of Levittown to the present love affair with turf colorants, leaf blowers, and riding mowers.
The fourteen short stories in To Cut a Long Story Short show Jeffrey Archer's great skills with a wide variety of character, of subject and of setting, but all with that trademark twist in the tale. Every reader will have their own favourites: the choices run from love at first sight across the train tracks to the cleverest of confidence tricks, from the quirks of the legal profession – and those who are able to manipulate both sides of the Bar – to the creative financial talents of a member of Her Majesty's diplomatic service – but for a good cause. The last story, The Grass is Always Greener, is possibly the best piece Archer has written, and will haunt you for the rest of your life.
From backpack to bicycle and now on a motorcycle, but still on a budget, the author, a compulsive traveller, embarks on a journey East from England with Mongolian intentions. In possession of a good sense of direction, a vague sense of balance and no sense of proportion; this particular trip is financed by modest winnings from an uncharacteristic appearance on a TV game show. Riding a bargain eBay purchase Kawasaki KLR 650 and travelling solo into places beyond the guide book. A daily diary of achievements and mistakes incurred in a transient lifestyle, with mixed emotions from overawed to just plain bored, and making the best of decisions made while trying not to reflect on the alternatives. This is a refreshingly honest, thought provoking, humorous and informative account based on a lifetime of first hand encounters, anecdotes, wisdom and occasional alcohol induced inspiration. Offering an unavoidable wealth of experience which takes the reader with him, as the journey twists and turns on the road which the author hopes will lead him to greener grass.
