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The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities and Meaning of Table Manners
by Margaret VisserThis is the book on the way we eat. Solidifying her standing as a preeminent observer and scholar of everyday life, Margaret Visser takes on the sweeping history of table manners, from the civilizations of ancient Greece and medieval Europe to the way that technology has altered, and continues to alter, our behaviour over dinner. She writes of everything from cultural idiosyncrasies around preparation and consumption, to the surprising origins of tableware - forks took eight centuries to become common utensils, the plate began as a four-day-old slice of bread. Blending folklore, history, and humour, this is a feast of fact and observation on one of our most primal rituals: the meal.
Rival (Fall Away #3)
by Penelope DouglasMadoc and Fallon. Two estranged teenagers playing games that push the boundaries between love and war . . . She's back.For the three years she's been away at boarding school, there was no word from her. Back when we lived in the same house, she used to cut me down during the day and then leave her door open for me at night.I was stupid then, but now I'm ready to beat her at her own game . . .I'm back.Three years and I can tell he still wants me, even if he acts like he's better than me.But I won't be scared away. Or pushed down. I'll call his bluff and fight back. That's what he wants, right? As long as I keep my guard up, he'll never know how much he affects me . . . Praise for the Fall Away Series'I read this book in one sitting. Rival was as gripping as it was sexy!' #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover'Full of feeling and intensity that will appeal to the reader seeking an emotional rush' IndieReader'I was really craving a book that would make me stop everything I was supposed to be doing and devour every word . . . and that's exactly what Bully did!' Smitten Book Blog'A unique twist on the bad boy meets good girl tale. I could not put it down!' Aestas Book Blog'She did something seasoned writers haven't been able to do - take a hero who was a complete ass and make me fall in love with him' Scandalicious Book Reviews
The River King (Americana Ser.)
by Alice HoffmanFor more than a century, the small town of Haddan, Massachusetts, has been divided, as if by a line drawn down the centre of Main Street, separating those born and bred in the 'village' from those who attend the prestigious Haddan School. But one October night the two worlds are thrust together by an inexplicable death and the town's divided history is revealed in all its complexity. The lives of everyone involved are unravelled: from Carlin Leander, the fifteen-year-old scholarship girl who is as loyal as she is proud, to Betsy Chase, a woman running from her own destiny; from August Pierce, a loner and a misfit at school who unexpectedly finds courage in his darkest hour, to Abel Grey, the police officer who refuses to let unspeakable actions - both past and present - slide by without notice.
The River Knows (Bride Series)
by Amanda QuickThe first kiss occurred in a dimly-lit hallway on the upper floor of Elwin Hastings's grand house. Louisa never saw it coming ...Of course, Anthony Stalbridge couldn't possibly have had romantic intentions. The kiss was an act of desperation, meant to distract the armed guard about to catch the pair in a place they did not belong. After all, Louisa Bryce is no man's idea of an alluring female in her dull maroon gown and gold-rimmed spectacles. The only thing the two interlopers have in common is a passionate interest in the private affairs of Mr. Hastings - a prominent member of Victorian Society whom they both suspect of hiding terrible secrets. Each has a reason for the quest. Anthony's fiancee was said to have thrown herself into the Thames - but Anthony has his own suspicions. Louisa - whose own identity is shrouded in layers of mystery - is convinced Hastings has a connection to a notorious brothel. But bringing Hastings to justice will be more perilous than either anticipates - and their hasty partnership will be more heated than either expects.
River of Darkness (Inspector Madden series #1)
by Rennie AirthIn Rennie Airth's River of Darkness it is 1921 and a terrible discovery has been made at a manor house in Surrey – the bloodied bodies of Colonel Fletcher, his wife and two of their staff. The victims have all been stabbed and the lack of disturbance in the house suggests that the attack was one of terrifying speed.The Surrey police force seem ready to put the murders down to robbery with violence, but Detective Inspector Madden from Scotland Yard sees things slightly differently. For he has experienced the horrors of World War I and has seen madness at first hand. And he is certain this crime has been perpetrated by a psychopath who will strike again . . . and soon.Enjoy more of this historical crime series with The Blood Dimmed Tide and The Dead of Winter.
River of Stars
by Guy Gavriel KayIn his critically acclaimed novel Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay told a vivid and powerful story inspired by China’s Tang Dynasty. Now, the international bestselling and multiple award-winning author revisits that invented setting four centuries later – a world inspired this time by the glittering, decadent Song Dynasty.
River's End (Basic Ser.)
by Nora RobertsFour-year-old Olivia MacBride's parents were Hollywood's golden couple - until the monster destroyed their beautiful home and took Livvy's mother away from her for ever. The monster with her father's face...Protected by her grandparents, Olivia grows up in the sanctuary of the lush rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula, and learns to bury the past deep within her. Despite the years that have passed, she still yearns to know the truth about her childhood. And now she just might get the chance. Noah Brady, a young writer, wants to tell the story that has become a part of Hollywood history. But before Olivia can confront her past, she must safeguard her future. For the monster walks again...
Riveted (Iron Seas #3)
by Meljean BrookMeljean Brook, the New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Duke and Heart of Steel returns to the Iron Seas with a riveting new adventure of steampunk and passionate romance...A century after a devastating volcanic eruption forced Iceland's inhabitants to abandon its shores, the island is enshrouded in legend. Fishermen tell tales of giant trolls guarding the land, and of seductive witches who steal men's hearts. But the truth behind the legends is mechanical, not magic - and the mystery of the island a matter of life and death for a community of women who once spilled noble blood to secure their freedom.Five years ago, Annika unwittingly endangered that secret, but her sister Källa took the blame and was exiled. Now Annika serves on the airship Phatéon, flying from port to port in search of her sister, and longing to return home . . . but that home is threatened when expedition leader David Kentewess comes aboard. Determined to solve the mystery of his own origin, David will stop at nothing to expose Annika's secrets. But when disaster strikes, leaving David and Annika stranded on a glacier and pursued by a madman, their very survival depends on keeping the heat rising between them - and generating lots of steam . . . Riveted by Meljean Brook is steampunk romance at its very best . . . and steamiest.Praise for Meljean Brook:'A stunning blend of steampunk setting and poignant romance - smart, sexy, breathtaking, and downright addicting' Ilona Andrews'Meljean Brook has brilliantly defined the new genre of steampunk romance' Jayne Ann KrentzMeljean Brook lives in Oregon with her family. She is the author of the Iron Seas steampunk series, which include The Iron Duke and Heart of Steel, and are also published by Penguin. For more information and Iron Seas extras, please visit www.meljeanbrook.com.
The Road Through the Wall (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Shirley JacksonReminiscent of her classic story 'The Lottery', Jackson's disturbing and darkly funny first novel exposes the underside of American suburban life.'Her books penetrate keenly to the terrible truths which sometimes hide behind comfortable fictions, to the treachery beneath cheery neighborhood faces and the plain manners of country folk; to the threat that sparkles at the rainbow's edge of the sprinkler spray on even the greenest lawns, on the sunniest of midsummer mornings' Donna TarttIn Pepper Street, an attractive suburban neighbourhood filled with bullies and egotistical bigots, the feelings of the inhabitants are shallow and selfish: what can a neighbour gain from another neighbour, what may be won from a friend? One child stands alone in her goodness: little Caroline Desmond, kind, sweet and gentle, and the pride of her family. But the malice and self-absorption of the people of Pepper Street lead to a terrible event that will destroy the community of which they are so proud. Exposing the murderous cruelty of children, and the blindness and selfishness of adults, Shirley Jackson reveals the ugly truth behind a 'perfect' world.Shirley Jackson's chilling tales have the power to unsettle and terrify unlike any other. She was born in California in 1916. When her short story The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, readers were so horrified they sent her hate mail; it has since become one of the greatest American stories of all time. Her first novel, The Road Through the Wall, was published in the same year and was followed by five more: Hangsaman, The Bird's Nest, The Sundial, The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, widely seen as her masterpiece. Shirley Jackson died in her sleep at the age of 48.'An amazing writer' Neil Gaiman'Shirley Jackson is one of those highly idiosyncratic, inimitable writers ... whose work exerts an enduring spell' Joyce Carol Oates'An unburnished exercise in the sinister' The New York Times
The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise
by Arthur C. BrooksEntrepreneurship, personal responsibility, and upward mobility: These traditions are at the heart of the free enterprise system, and have long been central to America&’s exceptional culture. In recent years, however, policymakers have dramatically weakened these traditions—by exploding the size of government, propping up their corporate cronies, and trying to reorient our system from rewarding merit to redistributing wealth. In The Road to Freedom, American Enterprise Institute President Arthur C. Brooks shows that this trend cannot be reversed through materialistic appeals about the economic efficiency of capitalism. Rather, free enterprise requires a moral defense rooted in the ideals of earned success, equality of opportunity, charity, and basic fairness. Brooks builds this defense and demonstrates how it is central to understanding the major policy issues facing America today.The future of the free enterprise system has become a central issue in our national debate, and Brooks offers a practical manual for defending it over the coming years. Both a moral manifesto and a prescription for concrete policy changes, The Road to Freedom will help Americans in all walks of life translate the philosophy of free enterprise into action, to restore both our nation&’s greatness and our own well-being in the process.
The Road to You (Wildflower #2)
by Alecia WhitakerBright lights...screaming fans...cute roadies...country music sensation Bird Barrett has officially arrived.Next up on the road to stardom, Bird's heading out on tour. Between opening for one of the biggest acts in country music and meeting a passionate young photographer who's working as part of the backstage crew, the weeks pass by in an exciting blur. It might even be enough to distract Bird from the way things ended--or never quite started--with Adam Dean.When the tour wraps, though, it's back to reality. The label is eager for a new hit song, but the sudden fame, complete with a media-fueled rivalry with another country music starlet, has Bird questioning her priorities. Before she can pour her heart into her music, she'll need to figure out where it truly lies. Filled with sweet country music spirit, Wildflower is a series you just can't get out of your head.
Rock Star Babylon: Outrageous Rumors, Legends, And Raucous True Tales Of Rock And Roll Icons
by Jon HolmesWhy was Candle in the Wind for Diana a terrible mistake?Which rock star left an unspeakable gift inside a hotel room hairdryer?What's the story behind Ozzy Osbourne and the exploding mouse?Rock and roll and rumour go together like Peaches and Geldof. Tales of outrageous excess, of the filth and the fury (not to mention the furry) are part of music's heritage.Whether they're true or bare-faced lies, Jon Holmes has gathered together the greatest pop and rock myths and legends ever told. These stories have come straight from the mouths of those that were there, those that shouldn't have been there and those that were there for a bit but left early and only heard about it afterwards.
Rocket Man: Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age
by David A. ClaryMore famous in his day than Einstein or Edison, the troubled, solitary genius Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) was the American father of rocketry and space flight, launching the world's first liquid-fuel rockets and the first powered vehicles to break the sound barrier. Supported by Charles Lindbergh and Harry Guggenheim, through fiery, often explosive, experiments at Roswell, New Mexico, he invented the methods that carried men to the moon. Today, no rocket or jet plane can fly without using his inventions. Yet he is the "forgotten man" of the space age. His own government ignored his rocketry until the Germans demonstrated its principles in the V-2 missiles of World War II. The American government usurped his 214 patents, while suppressing his contributions in the name of national security, until it was forced to pay one million dollars for patent infringement. Goddard became famous again, monuments and medals raining upon his memory. But his renewed fame soon faded, and Goddard's pivotal role in launching the Space Age has been largely forgotten.
Rogue: Talon Rogue Soldier Legion (The Talon Saga #2)
by Julie KagawaFrom the limitless imagination of bestselling author Julie Kagawa comes the next fantastic adventure in the Talon Saga… Deserter. Traitor. ROGUE.
Rogue Wave: Book 2 (Waterfire Saga #Bk. 2)
by Jennifer DonnellySix mermaids battle to save their hidden world.Serafina, Neela and four others have successfully escaped Captain Traho and his men after their hideout with the river witches was stormed. They must stop an ancient evil from escaping its icy prison by finding six talismans hidden by Serafina's ancestor hundreds of years before. With all the Mer nations looking for them and no clue where to start, will the mermaids find the talismans before the monster is released?The second book in the Waterfire Saga.
Romantic Fairy Tales: Romantic Fairy Tales
by Carol TullyThe four works collected in this volume reveal the fascinating preoccupations of the German Romantic movement, which revelled in the inexplicable, the uncanny and the unknown and, especially, the mysterious world of the fairy tale. Goethe's richly imaginative Fairy Tale (1795) depicts an ethereal underground realm and the marriage of a beautiful man and woman, whose union heralds a new age. In Tieck's Eckbert the Fair (1797) two outsiders seek refuge in the solitude of dark woods to conceal their incestuous passion from the world, while in Fouque's Undine (1811) a water nymph falls in love and acquires a soul, and so discovers the reality of human suffering. And Brentano's Tale of Honest Casper and Fair Annie (1817) portrays the tragedy of a young couple, destroyed by a false sense of honour and pride.
Rook
by William RitterThis standalone adventure set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series brims with humor, heart, and—of course—a hefty dose of supernatural mayhem. Abigail Rook never intended to be the mortal bridge between the human and supernatural world. But now, the power of the Sight--and all the chaos that comes with seeing the essential truth of everything, every human, fairy, werewolf, enchanted slip of paper, and municipal building, at all times--is hers alone. With this overwhelming new gift, she should be able to solve crimes and help New Fiddleham, New England find calm in its supernatural chaos. The only problem? She has no idea what she&’s doing. And New Fiddleham isn't waiting for Abigail to be ready. Local witches and other magical beings are going missing, as tensions between human and supernatural residents curdle into a hatred that could tear the city apart. Abigail's fiance, Charlie, works alongside her to unravel the magical disappearances, but as a shapeshifter, he's under threat as well. Then Abigail's parents appear, ready to take her back to England and marry her off to someone she's never met. Abigail has no choice but to follow her Sight, her instincts, and any clues she can find to track a culprit who is trying destroy everything she holds dear.
A Room Away From the Wolves
by Nova Ren SumaA critically-acclaimed, spellbinding ghost story set in a refuge for troubled girls deep in the heart of New York City, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Walls Around Us.
The Rose Of Sebastopol: A Richard and Judy Book Club Choice
by Katharine McMahonA RICHARD & JUDY book club choice and SUNDAY TIMES bestsellerRussia, 1854: the Crimean War grinds on, and as the bitter winter draws near, the battlefield hospitals fill with dying men. In defiance of Florence Nightingale, Rosa Barr - young, headstrong and beautiful - travels to Balaklava, determined to save as many of the wounded as she can. For Mariella Lingwood, Rosa's cousin, the war is contained within the pages of her scrapbook, in her London sewing circle, and in the letters she receives from Henry, her fiancé, a celebrated surgeon who has also volunteered to work within the shadow of the guns. When Henry falls ill and is sent to recuperate in Italy, Mariella impulsively decides she must go to him. But upon their arrival at his lodgings, she and her maid make a heartbreaking discovery: Rosa has disappeared. Following the trail of her elusive and captivating cousin, Mariella's epic journey takes her from the domestic restraint of Victorian London to the ravaged landscape of the Crimea and the tragic city of Sebastopol. As she ventures deeper into the dark heart of the conflict, Mariella's ordered world begins to crumble and she finds she has much to learn about secrecy, faithfulness and love.'This is everything a good historical romance should be' GOOD BOOK GUIDE'This book is little short of masterful. ..This is easily one of my favourite books of the last decade.' Goodreads 5 stars'Absolutely loved this book, a real insight to women of a certain time' Goodreads 5 stars'Feels like a dramatic, sweeping, tragic historical epic that you could imagine as a brilliant costume drama film' Goodreads 5 stars
Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series
by David PietruszaHistory remembers Arnold Rothstein as the man who fixed the 1919 World Series, an underworld genius. The real-life model for The Great Gatsby's Meyer Wolfsheim and Nathan Detroit from Guys and Dolls, Rothstein was much more-and less-than a fixer of baseball games. He was everything that made 1920s Manhattan roar. Featuring Jazz Age Broadway with its thugs, speakeasies, showgirls, political movers and shakers, and stars of the Golden Age of Sports, this is a biography of the man who dominated an age. Arnold Rothstein was a loan shark, pool shark, bookmaker, thief, fence of stolen property, political fixer, Wall Street swindler, labor racketeer, rumrunner, and mastermind of the modern drug trade. Among his monikers were "The Big Bankroll," "The Brain," and "The Man Uptown." This vivid account of Rothstein's life is also the story of con artists, crooked cops, politicians, gang lords, newsmen, speakeasy owners, gamblers and the like. Finally unraveling the mystery of Rothstein's November 1928 murder in a Times Square hotel room, David Pietrusza has cemented The Big Bankroll's place among the most influential and fascinating legendary American criminals. 16 pages of black-and-white photographs are featured.
A Rough Ride to the Future
by James LovelockIn A Rough Ride to the Future, James Lovelock - the great scientific visionary of our age - presents a radical vision of humanity's future as the thinking brain of our Earth-systemJames Lovelock, who has been hailed as 'the man who conceived the first wholly new way of looking at life on earth since Charles Darwin' (Independent) and 'the most profound scientific thinker of our time' (Literary Review) continues, in his 95th year, to be the great scientific visionary of our age. This book introduces two new Lovelockian ideas. The first is that three hundred years ago, when Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine, he was unknowingly beginning what Lovelock calls 'accelerated evolution', a process which is bringing about change on our planet roughly a million times faster than Darwinian evolution. The second is that as part of this process, humanity has the capacity to become the intelligent part of Gaia, the self-regulating Earth system whose discovery Lovelock first announced nearly 50 years ago. In addition, Lovelock gives his reflections on how scientific advances are made, and his own remarkable life as a lone scientist.The contribution of human beings to our planet is, Lovelock contends, similar to that of the early photosynthesisers around 3.4 billion years ago, which made the Earth's atmosphere what it was until very recently. By our domination and our invention, we are now changing the atmosphere again. There is little that can be done about this, but instead of feeling guilty about it we should recognise what is happening, prepare for change, and ensure that we survive as a species so we can contribute to - perhaps even guide - the next evolution of Gaia. The road will be rough, but if we are smart enough life will continue on Earth in some form far into the future.Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, JAMES LOVELOCK is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis (now Gaia Theory). His many books on the subject include Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (1979), The Revenge of Gaia (2006), and The Vanishing Face of Gaia (2009). In 2003 he was made a Companion of Honour by Her Majesty the Queen, in 2005 Prospect magazine named him one of the world's top 100 public intellectuals, and in 2006 he received the Wollaston Medal, the highest Award of the UK Geological Society.
Rounding the Mark: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery (Inspector Montalbano mysteries #7)
by Andrea CamilleriRounding the Mark is the seventh darkly humorous novel in Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series.He began swimming in slow, broad strokes. The sea smelled harsh, stinging his nostrils like champagne, and he nearly got drunk on it . . . In a fraction of a second, Montalbano realized he'd struck a human foot. Somebody else was floating right beside him, and he hadn't noticed."Excuse me," he said hastily, flipping back onto his belly and looking over at the other. The person beside him didn't answer, because he wasn't doing the dead man's float. He was actually dead. And, to judge from the way he looked, he'd been so for quite a while. Increasingly disillusioned with his government and the world in general, Inspector Montalbano is considering retirement. He is starting to feel his age, and even his favourite restaurant has closed. But when he bumps into a dead body during a bracing swim, his detective instincts are aroused once more. Particularly when the most likely identity of the victim is a man already long buried . . .Rounding the Mark is followed by the eighth novel in the series The Patience of the Spider.
Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet
by Steven SquyresSteve Squyres is the face and voice of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. Squyres dreamed up the mission in 1987, saw it through from conception in 1995 to a successful landing in 2004, and serves as the principal scientist of its $400 million payload. He has gained a rare inside look at what it took for rovers Spirit and Opportunity to land on the red planet in January 2004--and knows firsthand their findings.
Royal Bastards Series Collection (Royal Bastards)
by Andrew ShvartsJoin an epic, action-packed magical adventure, full of conspiracies and danger, in the Royal Bastards fantasy series.Royal Bastards: Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children. At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half-brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax's floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla longs to sit by her father's side, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who's been in love with Tilla since they were children. The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time....City of Bastards: Tilla is safe from her murderous father in the dazzling capital of Lightspire, where she lives a life of luxury under the protection of the Volaris King, alongside her boyfriend, Zell, and best friend, Princess Lyriana. So why isn't she happy? Maybe it's the whispers and stares that follow her wherever she goes, as the daughter of the traitor waging war against Lightspire. Or maybe it's the memories of her beloved brother, Jax, who lies cold in his grave even as she tries to settle into a life in the city's prestigious University. Then Tilla stumbles upon the body of a classmate—a friend. The authorities are quick to rule it a suicide and sweep it under the rug, but when Tilla herself is attacked by a mysterious man with terrifying powers, she's convinced of a conspiracy. Her friends beg her to stay silent; what she's suggesting is impossible...and treasonous. The deeper she digs, the more questions she uncovers....War of the Bastards: A year has passed since the fall of Lightspire. The Inquisitor Miles Hampstedt rules Noveris with a blood-soaked iron fist. Tilla and her friends have become hardened rebels in the Unbroken, a band of guerilla fighters hiding out on the fringes of the Kingdom protecting the true queen, Lyriana Volaris. Even as they fight, they know their cause is doomed—that with every passing day Miles's army of Bloodmages spreads across the continent. But at least they have each other...and some halfway-decent drinks. With Miles's forces closing in, a ragtag team sets out on an eleventh-hour mission: form an alliance with Syan's people that could turn the tide of the war. But what they discover in the Red Wastes changes everything, including their very understanding of the magic that runs through Noveris. In the heart-pounding conclusion to the Royal Bastards trilogy, Tilla faces an impossible choice: unthinkable destruction in the name of peace...or an uncertain future that means confronting a terrible past.
Royal Blood (Her Royal Spyness #4)
by Rhys BowenThirty-fourth in line to the throne - and England's poorest heiress - Lady Georgiana finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs . . . With my hateful brother Binky in town, I've been desperately seeking an escape. To my delight, it comes in the form of an invitation from the Queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania-legendary home of vampires. I soon realise why I was the one honoured with such an invitation. The bride, Princess Maria Theresa, happens to be my old school chum, Matty. But my stay in her macabre-looking castle turns unnerving when I find dear Matty with blood running down her chin. Then, during the ceremony, a prominent wedding guest is poisoned. Something must be done lest the nuptial festivities go to ruin, or, worse yet, the couple's vows become: to love and to cherish, till undeath do us part . . .