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Death Wins a Goldfish: Reflections from a Grim Reaper's Yearlong Sabbatical
by Brian ReaIn this &“charming, warm-hearted, and funny&” picture book for adults, a workaholic grim reaper learns the importance of time off and self-care (NPR). Death never takes a day off. Until he gets a letter from the HR department insisting he use up his accrued vacation time, that is. In this humorous and heartfelt book from beloved illustrator Brian Rea, we take a peek at Death&’s journal entries as he documents his mandatory sabbatical in the world of the living. From skydiving to online dating, Death is determined to try it all! Death Wins a Goldfish is an important reminder to the overstressed, overworked, and overwhelmed that everyone—even Death—deserves a break once in a while. &“Death explores the magic and mundanity of life in this warmhearted vacation story . . . Rea&’s work is rendered in warm, friendly hues: lemon meringue roller coasters and coral-colored speedboats predominate. Undergirding these cheerful shades is an earnest appeal to that most human of questions: how should one live? The answer, Death finds, is by going out there and doing it.&” —Publishers Weekly &“A cheeky and charming and secretly profound variation on the &‘Death Takes a Holiday&’ motif.&” —LA Weekly &“Death Wins a Goldfish is not a book about death. It&’s a book about living.&” —Vanity Fair
Death with Interruptions
by José SaramagoThis novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author asks what happens when the grim reaper decides to stop reaping: &“A novel to die for.&”—The Washington Post On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This of course causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially celebration—flags are hung out on balconies, people dance in the streets. They have achieved the great goal of humanity: eternal life. Then reality hits home—families are left to care for the permanently dying, life-insurance policies become meaningless, and funeral parlors are reduced to arranging burials for pet dogs, cats, hamsters, and parrots. Death sits in her chilly apartment, where she lives alone with scythe and filing cabinets, and contemplates her experiment: What if no one ever died again? What if she, death with a small d, were to become human and fall in love? &“This novel has many pleasures.&”—The New York Times &“Arguably the greatest writer of our time.&”—Chicago Tribune
Death's Successor
by Brad AbdulFollowing in the footsteps of Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens, the sequel to Abdul&’s debut The Devil&’s Advisor rushes headlong into a madcap, satirical masterpiece of supernatural misfortune.Sequel to The Devil's Advisor, chronicling the fallout of the invasion of Hell as Brian struggles to balance the life he always wanted, while navigating the demands of his chaotic personal relationships on a near-apocalyptic scale.Brian is tapped by Gabrielle, the Archangel of Death, to find a worthy successor before she succumbs to a mortal wound suffered during the invasion of Hell. Brian is forced to juggle this new task in addition to operating as CEO of S.I.N Industries, as well as taking over managing the daily operations in Hell. Dahlia struggles with her new life as a purified human, finding herself adrift, mourning the loss of her twin brother and lacking purpose. That is, until Allanah recruits her to come work for Heaven and develop a strategy to consolidate the afterlife.
Deathworld: Deathworld Book 1 (Golden Age Masterworks)
by Harry HarrisonThe planet was called Pyrrus, a strange place where all the beasts, plants and natural elements were designed for one specific purpose: to destroy man.The settlers there were supermen, twice as strong as ordinary men and with milli-second reflexes. They had to be. For their business was murder.It was up to Jason dinAlt, interplanetary gambler, to discover why Pyrrus had become so hostile during man's brief habitation.
Deathworld Three: Deathworld Book 3 (Gateway Essentials #82)
by Harry HarrisonThe planet was called Felicity. The name was a joke, except for those compelled to settle there. Inhabiting it were beings bred for thousands of years for a single purpose: to attack and kill.Jason knew this. But he also knew the planet on which he lived was moving towards certain disaster. And Felicity was the only spot in the universe where he and his companions could survive. He thought he had worked out the perfect plan. But what awaited him on Felicity went far beyond his wildest imagining.
Deathworld Two: Deathworld Book 2 (Gateway Essentials #83)
by Harry HarrisonThe planet was unknown¿ a savagely primitive place where every man had to kill every other man - or live as a slave.The inhabitants lived in the early Bronze Age one minute, and in the early Machine Age the next. Technology had degenerated into a number of mysteries jealously guarded by separate brotherhoods.But Jason dinAlt was a gambler. He realised that if he was ever going to get a winning hand in this game, the brotherhoods would need a shuffle¿
The Debt Collector
by Stanley MorganRuss Tobin lives in a boarding house with odd flatmates, works as a debt collector for a credit company, and longs for a better life somewhere else. This is the story of how his new life came about.
The Debt to Pleasure
by John LanchesterWinner of the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel and a New York Times Notable Book, The Debt to Pleasure is a wickedly funny ode to food. Traveling from Portsmouth to the south of France, Tarquin Winot, the book's snobbish narrator, instructs us in his philosophy on everything from the erotics of dislike to the psychology of the menu. Under the guise of completing a cookbook, Winot is in fact on a much more sinister mission that only gradually comes to light.
The Debutante: A Novel
by Kathleen TessaroA brilliant, unforgettable novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Perfume Collector.Can the secrets of one woman's past change another woman's future?Cate Albion is a gifted young artist at a crossroads in her life. Looking to escape New York for the summer, she takes a job in her aunt's London auction house and is soon sent on assignment to the English countryside to value the contents of Endsleigh House, the once gracious but now crumbling estate of a former Jazz Age socialite. There, hidden in the back of a dusty bookshelf, Cate discovers an old shoebox, and inside, a peculiar assortment of objects, including an exquisite pair of 1930s dancing shoes; a faded photograph of a handsome young sailor, and a rare Tiffany pearl and emerald bracelet.Intrigued, Cate sets out to learn more about the box and its contents, and becomes immersed in the mystery of its owner, Diana “Baby” Blythe, the younger of the infamous, glamorous Blythe sisters. Bright, beautiful, and reckless, Baby was the most famous debutante of her generation . . . until she suddenly disappeared entirely from view. As a shocking tale of love and betrayal begins to unravel, Cate finds herself being drawn deeper into Baby's tragic life story—one that will force Cate to confront some dark truths about her own choices.
The Debutante's Ruse (Undone!)
by Linda SkyeIsabella Lei Hennessey is the Governor’s daughter, a marriageable debutante…and the most notorious thief of Hong Kong. She has good reason to resort to robbery, though her activities would cause untold scandal if they were ever exposed. A chance encounter with a handsome stranger saves Isabella from discovery…except this notorious rake doesn’t like to play by the rules! A tantalizing game of cat and mouse ensues until Isabella decides she would quite like to be caught…
A Decade of Dark Humor: How Comedy, Irony, and Satire Shaped Post-9/11 America
by Ted Gournelos and Viveca GreeneA Decade of Dark Humor analyzes ways in which popular and visual culture used humor-in a variety of forms-to confront the attacks of September 11, 2001 and, more specifically, the aftermath. This interdisciplinary volume brings together scholars from four countries to discuss the impact of humor and irony on both media discourse and tangible political reality. Furthermore, it demonstrates that laughter is simultaneously an avenue through which social issues are deferred or obfuscated, a way in which neoliberal or neoconservative rhetoric is challenged, and a means of forming alternative political ideologies.The volume's contributors cover a broad range of media productions, including news parodies (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Onion), TV roundtable shows (Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher), comic strips and cartoons (Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks, Jeff Danzinger's editorial cartoons), television drama (Rescue Me), animated satire (South Park), graphic novels (Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers), documentary (Fahrenheit 9/11), and other productions.Along with examining the rhetorical methods and aesthetic techniques of these productions, the essays place each in specific political and journalistic contexts, showing how corporations, news outlets, and political institutions responded to-and sometimes co-opted-these forms of humor.
The December Deception
by Dana VolneyA little holiday magic brings two workaholic legal eagles together in this delightful Christmas tale.The only case high-powered lawyer Henry Hale has on his docket this Christmas is the bah humbugs he’s trying to fight off. To cope with a houseful of loving but overexuberant family and all the good cheer running amuck in his life, he just might need help from an unlikely source. His star employee, Lorelei Sullivan, jumps at the unexpected chance to join Henry’s family events, even if she has only been invited as a buffer. What better way to cap off a stellar year than with a chance to prove she’s partner material and move her career to the next level? Baking cookies, card games, shopping for gifts—nothing is an imposition if it leads to making her case. But when the relationship between Henry and Lorelei begins to spark from legal to loverly, both of their plans start coming unwrapped. They’ll need more than a little holiday spirit to help them get this court in order. Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors
A December to Remember
by Jenny BaylissThree bickering half sisters. One unique antiques shop. The coziest holiday season of their lives.Wildly different half sisters Maggie, Simone, and Star have hardly seen one another since their sprightly summers at Rowan Thorp, their eccentric father Augustus&’s home. Known for his bustling approach to the knick-knack shop he ran, Augustus was loved by all and known by none, not even his daughters.Now, years later, the three estranged women are called upon for the reading of Augustus&’s will and quickly realize he's orchestrated a series of hoops through which they must jump to unlock their inheritance—the last thing any of them want to do. But Maggie and Star desperately need the money. And who would Simone be to resist? Through hilarious goose chases, small-town mishaps, and one heart-warming winter solstice celebration, love, hope, and reconcilation is in the air, if only the three sisters can let themselves grasp it.
The Decent Proposal: A Novel
by Kemper Donovan“A moving love letter to Los Angeles and a thoughtful rumination on what people can mean to one another.” —Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times–bestselling author of Daisy and the Six A struggling Hollywood producer, Richard Baumbach is twenty-nine, hung-over, and broke. Ridiculously handsome with an innate charm and an air of invincibility, he still believes good things will come his way. At thirty-three, Elizabeth Santiago is on track to make partner at her law firm. Known as “La Máquina” The Machine—to her colleagues, she’s grown used to avoiding anything that might derail her quiet, orderly life. Richard and Elizabeth’s paths collide when they receive a proposal from a mysterious, anonymous benefactor. They’ll split a million dollars if they agree to spend at least two hours together—just talking—every week for a year. Astonished and more than a little suspicious, they each nevertheless say yes. Richard needs the money and likes the adventure of it. Elizabeth embraces the challenge of shaking up her life a little more. Both agree the idea is ridiculous, but why not?What ensues is a delightful journey full of twists, revelations, hamburgers, classic literature, poppy music, and above all love, in its multitude of forms. “Delightful . . . a page-turning tale brimming with heart.” —Booklist, starred review “Artful and arresting.” —Library Journal“Smart and observant..” —Shelf Awareness“A romantic tale with a heart and a brain—and a mystery that will keep you turning the pages.” —W Magazine
A Decent Ride
by Irvine WelshIrvine Welsh returns to Edinburgh, the home of Trainspotting and so many of his novels since, with a new novel featuring one of his most iconic and beloved characters--'Juice' Terry Lawson--that's thick on the Scottish brogue, heavy on the filth and masterful in its comedic timing.A Decent Ride sees Irvine Welsh back in Edinburgh, this time with one of his most compelling and popular characters front and center: the rampaging force of nature that is 'Juice' Terry Lawson, first seen in Glue. Juice is a man who contains multitudes: he's a top shagger, drug-dealing, gonzo pornstar and taxi driver. As we ride along in Juice's cab through the depraved streets of Edinburgh, Juice encounters a series of charmingly filthy characters, each of whom present their own, uh, unique challenges. Has he finally met his match in Hurricane 'Bawbag'? Can he discover the fate of the missing beauty, Jinty Magdalen, and keep her idiot-savant lover, the man-child Wee Jonty, out of prison? Will he find out the real motives of unscrupulous American businessman and reality-TV star, Ronald Checker? And, crucially, will Juice be able to negotiate life after a terrible event robs him of his sexual virility, and can a new fascination for the game of golf help him to live without . . . a decent ride? (The meaning of the title is starting to sink in now, huh?). So buckle your seatbelts and prepare for one unforgettable ride.
A Decent Ride: A Novel
by Irvine WelshIrvine Welsh returns to Edinburgh, the home of Trainspotting and so many of his novels since, with a new novel featuring one of his most iconic and beloved characters—'Juice' Terry Lawson—that's thick on the Scottish brogue, heavy on the filth and masterful in its comedic timing.A Decent Ride sees Irvine Welsh back in Edinburgh, this time with one of his most compelling and popular characters front and center: the rampaging force of nature that is 'Juice' Terry Lawson, first seen in Glue. Juice is a man who contains multitudes: he's a top shagger, drug-dealing, gonzo pornstar and taxi driver. As we ride along in Juice's cab through the depraved streets of Edinburgh, Juice encounters a series of charmingly filthy characters, each of whom present their own, uh, unique challenges. Has he finally met his match in Hurricane 'Bawbag'? Can he discover the fate of the missing beauty, Jinty Magdalen, and keep her idiot-savant lover, the man-child Wee Jonty, out of prison? Will he find out the real motives of unscrupulous American businessman and reality-TV star, Ronald Checker? And, crucially, will Juice be able to negotiate life after a terrible event robs him of his sexual virility, and can a new fascination for the game of golf help him to live without . . . a decent ride? (The meaning of the title is starting to sink in now, huh?). So buckle your seatbelts and prepare for one unforgettable ride.
A Decent Ride: A Novel
by Irvine WelshIrvine Welsh returns to Edinburgh, the home of Trainspotting and so many of his novels since, with a new novel featuring one of his most iconic and beloved characters—'Juice' Terry Lawson—that's thick on the Scottish brogue, heavy on the filth and masterful in its comedic timing.A Decent Ride sees Irvine Welsh back in Edinburgh, this time with one of his most compelling and popular characters front and center: the rampaging force of nature that is 'Juice' Terry Lawson, first seen in Glue. Juice is a man who contains multitudes: he's a top shagger, drug-dealing, gonzo pornstar and taxi driver. As we ride along in Juice's cab through the depraved streets of Edinburgh, Juice encounters a series of charmingly filthy characters, each of whom present their own, uh, unique challenges. Has he finally met his match in Hurricane 'Bawbag'? Can he discover the fate of the missing beauty, Jinty Magdalen, and keep her idiot-savant lover, the man-child Wee Jonty, out of prison? Will he find out the real motives of unscrupulous American businessman and reality-TV star, Ronald Checker? And, crucially, will Juice be able to negotiate life after a terrible event robs him of his sexual virility, and can a new fascination for the game of golf help him to live without . . . a decent ride? (The meaning of the title is starting to sink in now, huh?). So buckle your seatbelts and prepare for one unforgettable ride.
Decidedly Married
by Carole Gift PageBLESSINGS IN DISGUISE?Her life looked perfect, but Julie Ryan wondered why she felt so empty inside. Why did her charming husband and teenage daughter seem so distant? Julie whispered a simple prayer, asking that her family grow closer.Suddenly her world went into a tailspin. First, a shocking suspicion about her husband, Michael. Then, just as the couple were weathering stormy emotions, their daughter made a startling confession. As Julie fought to save her family, she looked to the Lord for a helping hand...and prayed for the wisdom to understand His answers....Welcome to Love Inspired™-stories that will lift your spirits and gladden your heart. Meet men and women facing the challenges of today's world and learning important lessons about life, faith and love.
Deciding the Next Decider
by Calvin TrillinDisplaying the form that made bestsellers of Obliviously On He Sails and A Heckuva Job, tales of the Bush Administration in rhyme, Calvin Trillin trains his verse on the 2008 race for the presidency.Deciding the Next Decider is an ongoing campaign narrative in verse interrupted regularly by other poems, such as a country tune about John Edwards called "Yes, I Know He's a Mill Worker's Son, But There's Hollywood in That Hair" and a Sarah Palin song about her foreign policy credentials: "On a Clear Day, I See Vladivostok." It covers Mitt Romney's transformation ("Mitt Romney's saying now he should have known / A stem cell's just a human, not quite grown"), the speculation about whether Al Gore was trimming down to run ("Presumably, they looked for photo ops / To see what Gore was stuffing in his chops"), the slow-motion implosion of Hillary Clinton's drive to the White House ("Some pundits wrote that Hil's campaign might fare / A little better if Bill wasn't there"), and the differing responses of Barack Obama and John McCain to the financial crisis ("Though coolness has its limitations, it'll / Prevent comparisons with Chicken Little").Beginning at the 2006 midterms, Deciding the Next Decider resurrects the nonstarters like George Allen ("He fit what's often valued by the Right: / Quite cheerful, Reaganesque, and not too bright") and the low-energy Fred Thompson ("The pros said, 'That's a state he has to take, / And he just might, if he can stay awake' "). And it carries through to the vote that made Barack Obama the forty-fourth president of the United States.From the Hardcover edition.
La Décima Sinfonía
by Joseph GelinekLa aparición de la cabeza de un compositor, encargado de la interpretación de unos esbozos perdidos de La Décima Sinfonía, reaviva los eternos enigmas sobre la obra póstuma de Beethoven. El musicólogo Daniel Paniagua, el inspector Mateos y la juez Rodríguez se verán envueltos, 181 años después de la muerte del más conocido compositor de la Historia, en una investigación que les hará enfrentarse a poderosos grupos, crípticos acertijos y a la historia, hasta ahora oculta, del genio.
Deck the Halls, We're Off the Walls! (My Weird School Special)
by Dan GutmanA. J. and the gang from My Weird School star in this series of after-school, holiday-themed chapter books featuring brand-new hilarious stories and thirty-two pages of games, puzzles, and more. Its Christmas, and you know what that means Santa Claus is coming to town Or at least to the local mall. But what happens when kid rapper Cray-Z gives a Christmas concert at the same mall and all his fans go bananas? One things for sure--if A. J. and his friends from Ella Mentry School want to save the day, they will need a Christmas miracle. Bestselling author Dan Gutman brings his wacky, kid-friendly sense of humor to this all-new series of holiday adventures. With My Weird School trivia and Christmas-themed facts and puzzles, this is one weird Christmas special you dont want to miss
Deck the Halls with Elmo! A Christmas Sing-Along (Sesame Street)
by Sonali FryA fun board book version of the Christmas carol "Deck the Halls" starring Elmo and his Sesame Street friends.Get ready to welcome Elmo and his Sesame Street friends to your home this Christmas season with a delightful board book retelling the classic song "Deck the Halls!" Young girls and boys will love the sturdy pages and adorable photographs of Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover, and the rest of their friends as they decorate for the holidays, exchange presents, and play in the snow. Makes a great Christmas gift!Look for these other Christmas titles starring Sesame Street's Elmo and friends: Elmo's 12 Days of Christmas, Elmo's Christmas Snowman, and Elmo's Countdown to Christmas.Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, aims to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder through its many unique domestic and international initiatives. These projects cover a wide array of topics for families around the world.
The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody: Great Figures Of History Hilariously Humbled
by Will CuppyA New York Times–bestselling, comical take on world history from the beloved New Yorker humorist. So, you think you know most of what there is to know about people like Nero and Cleopatra, Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun, Lady Godiva and Miles Standish? You say there&’s nothing more to be written about Lucrezia Borgia? How wrong you are, for in these pages you&’ll find Will Cuppy footloose in the footnotes of history. He transforms these luminaries into human beings, not as we knew them from history books, but as we would have known them Cuppy-wise: foolish, fallible, and very much our common ancestors. When it was first published in 1950, The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody spent four months on The New York Times bestseller list, and Edward R. Murrow devoted more than two-thirds of one of his nightly CBS programs to a reading from Cuppy&’s historical sketches, calling it &“the history book of the year.&” The book eventually went through eighteen hardcover printings and ten foreign editions, proof of its impeccable accuracy and deadly, imperishable humor.
The Decomposition of Jack
by Kristin O'Donnell TubbAward-winning author Kristin O’Donnell Tubb delivers a funny and poignant middle grade contemporary novel about family and friendship as Jack deals with his parents’ divorce while also searching for a mysterious cougar in the Tennessee hills. Perfect for fans of Leslie Connor and Lynda Mullaly Hunt. A Junior Library Guild Selection!Middle school is always hard, but when you’re known as the Roadkill Kid, well, it’s even harder. Jack’s mom collects roadkill—it’s her job, and she’s very good at it. Ever since Jack’s mom and dad got divorced, Jack has stepped into the role of Mom’s co-scientist.One day while tending to the roadkill garden, Jack believes he spots a cougar in the wilderness beyond his backyard. A cougar in Tennessee? They’re supposed to be extinct. So, when Jack has to choose an animal to research for his Earth Science class, he picks cougar.As pressure mounts on Jack to complete his project and to be Mom’s business partner, the mystery of the cougar feels too big to solve. Jack knows what the decomposition of an animal—and a family—looks like, so can he figure out how to bring them back to life?