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Skin and Other Stories (Puffin Teenage Bks.)
by Roald DahlHOW would you dispose of a murder weapon without causing suspicion?WHERE would you hide a diamond where no one else would think of looking?WHAT if you discovered the tattoo on your back was worth a million dollars?ELEVEN TALES FILLED WITH INTRIGUE AND SUSPENSE TO STARTLE AND SPELLBIND YOU.
Skin (A Roald Dahl Short Story)
by Roald DahlSkin is a short, sharp, frightening story from Roald Dahl, the master of the shocking taleIn Skin, Roald Dahl, one of the world's favourite authors, tells a sinister story about the darker side of human nature. Here, a very unusual painting proves to be more valuable than anyone, especially its owner, could ever have predicted . . .Skin is taken from the short story collection Someone Like You, which includes seventeen other devious and shocking stories, featuring the wife who serves a dish that baffles the police; a curious machine that reveals the horrifying truth about plants; the man waiting to be bitten by the venomous snake asleep on his stomach; and others.'The absolute master of the twist in the tale.' (Observer ) This story is also available as a Penguin digital audio download read by Tamsin Greig.Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.
Skinny
by Ibi KaslikDo you ever get hungry? Too hungry to eat? Holly's older sister, Giselle, is self-destructing. Haunted by her love-deprived relationship with her late father, this once strong role model and medical student, is gripped by anorexia. Holly, a track star, struggles to keep her own life in balance while coping with the mental and physical deterioration of her beloved sister. Together, they can feel themselves slipping and are holding on for dear life. This honest look at the special bond between sisters is told from the perspective of both girls, as they alternate narrating each chapter. Gritty and often wryly funny, Skinny explores family relationships, love, pain, and the hunger for acceptance that drives all of us.
Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story Of Tibet (Penguin Drop Caps Ser.)
by XinranAs a young girl in China Xinran heard a rumour about a soldier in Tibet who had been brutally fed to the vultures in a ritual known as a sky burial: the tale frightened and fascinated her. Several decades later Xinran met Shu Wan, a Chinese woman who had spent years searching for her missing husband who had been serving as a doctor in Tibet; her extraordinary life story would unravel the legend of the sky burial. For thirty years she was lost in the wild and alien landscape of Tibet, in the vast and silent plateaus and the magisterial mountain ranges, living with communities of nomads moving with the seasons and struggling to survive.In this haunting book, Xinran recreates Shu Wen's remarkable journey in an epic story of love, loss, loyalty and survival. Moving, shocking and, ultimately, uplifting Sky Burial paints a unique portrait of a woman and a land, both at the mercy of fate and politics.
Skylark (The\skylark Trilogy Ser. #1)
by Meagan SpoonerVis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life. For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city. Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply. Her only choice is to escape; follow the birds into the wilderness beyond.Into the Iron WoodPerfect for fans of The Hunger Games, Skylark is an electrifying tale of magic, secrecy and survival.
Slam
by Nick Hornby'There was this time when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.'Sam is sixteen and a skater. Just so there are no terrible misunderstandings: skating = skateboarding. There's no ice. Life is ticking along nicely for Sam: his mum's got rid of her rubbish boyfriend, he's thinking about college and he's met someone. Alicia.Then a little accident happens. One with big consequences for someone just finding his way in life. Sam can't run (let alone skate) away from this one. He's a boy facing a man's problems and the question is - has he got what it takes to confront them?
Slashback (A Cal Leandros Novel #6)
by Rob ThurmanThe eighth book in the Cal Leandros series that began with Nightlife, Slashback is clever, ironic and hugely entertaining urban fantasy in the vein of Jim Butcher by the New York Times bestselling author, Rob Thurman.I stopped and let them circle me, first because it was intriguing and, second, because, honestly, what could they do? Only knives, but all armed, and that made them even more interesting. Interesting. Fun.Play-time...Taking on bloodthirsty supernatural monsters is how Caliban and Niko Leandros make a living. But years ago - before they became a force to be reckoned with - the brothers were almost victims of a very human serial killer. Almost. Unfortunately for them, that particular depraved killer was working as apprentice to a creature far more malevolent - the legendary Spring-heeled Jack. He's just hit town. He hasn't forgotten what the Leandros brothers did to his murderous protégé. He hasn't forgotten what they owe himAnd now they are going to pay . . . and pay . . . and pay . . . A dark contemporary fantasy with a humorous edge, Rob Thurman's Slashback should not be missed.Praise for Rob Thurman:'Supernatural elements put this in the company of Jim Butcher and Charlaine Harris' SFRevu'A roaring rollercoaster of a read . . . it'll take your breath away' Simon R. GreenRob Thurman lives in Indiana, land of rolling hills and cows. Lots and lots of cows. Nightlife, Moonshine, Madhouse, Deathwish and Doubletake, the previous novels in the Cal Leandros series, are also published by Penguin. Visit Rob at www.robthurman.net.
Slave to Sensation: Book 1 (The Psy-Changeling Series #1)
by Nalini SinghIn a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of 'rehabilitation' - the complete psychic erasure of her personality ...Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy co-existence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murder of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion - and that the animal in him is fascinated by her.Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities - or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation ...
Slay Ride (Francis Thriller #12)
by Dick FrancisA classic mystery from Dick Francis, the champion of English storytellers. David Cleveland - an investigator for the Jockey Club - is sitting in a dinghy in a pleasant little fjord in Norway. He's here to help the Norwegians find out why Bob Sherman, a visiting English rider, has done a runner with the racehorse takings. He thinks it'll be a straightforward job, and he'll get to spend some time with old friends. But when the dinghy is hit by a speedboat and Cleveland almost drowns, he realizes that there is more to this case than some missing money - especially when a dead body turns up.Now Cleveland knows the stakes are dangerously high. A sensible man would leave it to the police and go back home to England. Except, it turns out, that England isn't safe either . . .Praise for Dick Francis:'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror 'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman 'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard 'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National. On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott. During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.
Sleep Like Death
by Kalynn BayronCinderella is dead, but Snow White fights on . . .New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron makes her highly anticipated return to the realm of fairy tales with this thrilling twist on the classic story of Snow White.Princess Eve was raised with one purpose: to destroy the Knight. Far too many of subjects of Queen's Bridge have been devastated by this evil sorcerer's trickery. Eve's own unique magic--the ability to conjure weapons from nature--makes her a worthy adversary.As she approaches her seventeenth birthday, Eve is ready to battle. But her mother, Queen Regina, has been acting bizarrely, talking to a strange mirror alone every night. Then a young man claiming to be the Knight's messenger appears and shares a shocking truth about Eve's past. Unsure of who to trust, Eve must find the courage to do what she's always done: fight. But will it be enough to save her family and her queendom?
Slow Burn: (The Driven Series) (Driven Series #1)
by K. BrombergFrom the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Driven series. One night. That's all it was supposed to be . . .Reeling from the sudden loss of her sister, Haddie Montgomery has sworn off relationships. All she wanted from Beckett Daniels was a sexy distraction to help her escape her pain for just a little while . . .There weren't supposed to be any strings attached-so why can't she shake the memory of that unforgettable night from her thoughts? Or the taste of his kiss from her lips?No matter how hard Haddie tries to forget about him, Becks relentlessly tries to prove that she should start living for today. But she is determined to avoid romantic commitment, and she can always use her ex-boyfriend's reappearance to help snuff out the slow burn within her that Becks has sparked . . . Or will fate force her to realize that this kind of connection doesn't come along very often and a chance at love is worth the risk?
Slow Man: Proof
by J. M. CoetzeePaul Rayment is on the threshold of a comfortable old age when a calamitous cycling accident results in the amputation of a leg. Humiliated, his body truncated, his life circumscribed, he turns away from his friends. He hires a nurse named Marijana, with whom he has a European childhood in common: hers in Croatia, his in France. Tactfully and efficiently she ministers to his needs. But his feelings for her, and for her handsome teenage son, are complicated by the sudden arrival on his doorstep of the celebrated Australian novelist Elizabeth Costello, who threatens to take over the direction of his life and the affairs of his heart.
The Slow Regard of Silent Things: A Kingkiller Chronicle Novella (Kingkiller Chronicle #Bk. 3)
by Patrick RothfussThe University, a renowned bastion of knowledge, attracts the brightest minds to unravel the mysteries of enlightened sciences like artificing and alchemy. Yet deep below its bustling halls lies a complex and cavernous maze of abandoned rooms and ancient passageways - and in the heart of it all lives Auri.Formerly a student at the University, now Auri spends her days tending the world around her. She has learned that some mysteries are best left settled and safe. No longer fooled by the sharp rationality so treasured by the University, Auri sees beyond the surface of things, into subtle dangers and hidden names.At once joyous and haunting, THE SLOW REGARD OF SILENT THINGS is a rich, atmospheric and lyrical tale, featuring one of the most beloved characters from Rothfuss' acclaimed fantasy series.
The Small Bachelor (Everyman's Library P G Wodehouse Ser. #100)
by P. G. WodehouseA P.G. Wodehouse novelIt's America during Prohibition and shy young George Finch is setting out as an artist - without the encumbrance of a shred of talent. George falls in love with Molly, whose imperious stepmother Mrs Waddington insists he's not the man to marry the stepdaughter of one of New York's most fashionable hostesses. Poor George - he doesn't seem to stand a chance.How George eventually triumphs over the bossy Mrs Waddington makes for a dizzying plot featuring some of Wodehouse's most appealing minor characters - Mullett the butler and his light-fingered girlfriend Fanny, J. Hamilton Beamish, author of the dynamic Beamish Booklets, Officer Garroway the poetic policeman, and Sigsbee H. Waddington, the hen-pecked husband who longs for the wide open spaces of the West.Oh, and does Prohibition mean there's no booze? In a Wodehouse novel? You'll have to wait and see...
A Small Fortune
by Rosie DastgirHarris Anwar is a British Pakistani proud of his Eastern heritage. In fact, it's fair to say he's proud, full stop: proud he installed his own central heating; proud of his swanky blue Citroën; even proud he's owned the same Hoover for over twenty years.The only thing rivalling his pride is his Muslim sense of responsibility and obligation. He longs to do well by those dearest to him. Whether it's his nineteen-year-old daughter, Alia, in London, his cousin Nawaz and his family, living on top of their burgeoning takeaway in Yorkshire, or his friends and family back in Pakistan, Harris feels compelled to put himself second in order to help.But there's a problem: Harris' best intentions always seem to breed the worst results. And so it's no surprise that, when he decides to use his divorce settlement for selfless ends, this small fortune brings a huge cost of its own.
Small is the New Big: And 183 Other Riffs, Rants and Remarkable Business Ideas
by Seth GodinAs one of today's most influential business thinkers, Seth Godin has now collected the most provocative short pieces from his pioneering blog. This book also includes his most popular columns from Fast Company magazine and several of the short e-books he has written in the last few years. Includes:Clinging to Your Job Title?The Persistence of Really Bad IdeasThe Seduction of 'Good Enough'Judging a Book by its CoverDo LessSmall is the New Big is packed with inspiring ideas: as Godin says in his introduction, 'I'm certain that you're smart enough to see the stuff you've always wanted to do buried deep inside one of these riffs. And I'm betting that once inspired, you'll actually make something happen.'
Small Move, Big Change: Using Microresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently
by Caroline L. ArnoldWhether trying to lose weight, save money, get organised, or get a promotion at work, we're always setting goals and making resolutions, but rarely following through on them. According to Caroline Arnold, the 'big push' strategy of setting New Year's resolutions is ultimately designed to fail, because it relies on our limited willpower battling against our autopilot behaviours and attitudes, which are far more powerful. To permanently change ourselves, we need to focus our self-control on small and achievable steps, microresolutions, towards a big change in our life. Small Move, Big Change is Arnold's guide to turning broad personal goals into meaningful and discrete behavioural changes that lead to permanent improvement. Backed up by real-world examples and new scientific findings, she shows us that while the traditional resolution promises rewards on a distant 'someday', microresolutions work because they reward us today by instantly altering our routines and, ultimately, ourselves.
Small Town Sinners
by Melissa WalkerLacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver's license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, Lacey's junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn't know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.Melissa Walker has crafted the perfect balance of engrossing, thought-provoking topics and relatable, likable characters. Set against the backdrop of extreme religion, Small Town Sinners is foremost a universal story of first love and finding yourself, and it will stay with readers long after the last page.
Small World: An Academic Romance
by David LodgePhilip Swallow, Morris Zapp, Persse McGarrigle and the lovely Angelica are the jet-propelled academics who are on the move, in the air and on the make in David Lodge's satirical Small World. It is a world of glamorous travel and high excitement, where stuffy lecture rooms are swapped for lush corners of the globe, and romance is in the air...
The Smarter Screen: What Your Business Can Learn from the Way Consumers Think Online
by Jonah Lehrer Shlomo Benartzi'A must-read for investors, business owners, and anyone else with a stake in how people make decisions in the digital age' Bill Harris, CEO of Personal Capital and former CEO of PayPalThe typical office worker now spends the majority of their waking hours staring at a screen. In the 21st century, every business is a digital business, which is why it's so critical to understand how we think and behave online.Acclaimed behavioural economist Shlomo Benartzi has teamed up with science writer Jonah Lehrer to reveal a toolkit of cues and nudges for the digital age. Using provocative case-studies and engaging reader exercises, Benartzi shows how businesses can update their nudges to help consumers make better decisions on screens. Up-to-the-minute research will help optimise your business's online presence, from designing a webshop that helps your customers find what they are looking for, to laying out your website so that it both attracts and holds attention.This book will help you transform the challenges of the digital world into powerful new opportunities that will drive your success.
Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds For The Better
by Clive ThompsonFrom the ‘Wired’ and ‘New York Times Magazine’ contributor, a brilliant examination into how the internet is profoundly changing the way we think.
The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
by Bethany McLean Peter ElkindWhat went wrong with American business at the end of the 20th century?Until the spring of 2001, Enron epitomized the triumph of the New Economy. Feared by rivals, worshipped by investors, Enron seemingly could do no wrong. Its profits rose every year; its stock price surged ever upward; its leaders were hailed as visionaries. Then a young Fortune writer, Bethany McLean, wrote an article posing a simple question - how, exactly, does Enron make its money?Within a year Enron was facing humiliation and bankruptcy, the largest in US history, which caused Americans to lose faith in a system that rewarded top insiders with millions of dollars, while small investors lost everything. It was revealed that Enron was a company whose business was an illusion, an illusion that Wall Street was willing to accept even though they knew what the real truth was. This book - fully updated for the paperback - tells the extraordinary story of Enron's fall.
Smith (A Puffin Book #36)
by Leon Garfield Kenny McKendryYoung Smith was a pickpocket - a very accomplished one. But one day his pick-pocketing was to lead him into a sinister and dangerous web of murder, intrigue and betrayal.
The Snail Darter and the Dam: How Pork-Barrel Politics Endangered a Little Fish and Killed a River (Wallace Stegner Lecture Ser.)
by Zygmunt Jan PlaterEven today, thirty years after the legal battles to save the endangered snail darter, the little fish that blocked completion of a TVA dam is still invoked as an icon of leftist extremism and governmental foolishness. In this eye-opening book, the lawyer who with his students fought and won the Supreme Court case—known officially as Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill—tells the hidden story behind one of the nation’s most significant environmental law battles.The realities of the darter’s case, Plater asserts, have been consistently mischaracterized in politics and the media. This book offers a detailed account of the six-year crusade against a pork-barrel project that made no economic sense and was flawed from the start. In reality TVA’s project was designed for recreation and real estate development. And at the heart of the little group fighting the project in the courts and Congress were family farmers trying to save their homes and farms, most of which were to be resold in a corporate land development scheme. Plater’s gripping tale of citizens navigating the tangled corridors of national power stimulates important questions about our nation’s governance, and at last sets the snail darter’s record straight.
The Snake (Mike Hammer)
by Mickey SpillaneNew York PI Mike Hammer has traced his lost love and secretary, Velda, who went missing seven years ago. In a race against time, Mike has to move her to another location, but she is sheltering a young woman who fears for her life.Finally safe once again, Hammer devotes his time to helping the young woman, who is being threatened by her stepfather. But as Hammer investigates some leads on the seedier side of town, he finds himself caught up in a three-decades-old mystery involving a great deal of money that's gone missing.And just who is The Snake?Mike is going to have to figure that one out, or three lives - his, Velda's and the girl's - are in danger.