Showing results by narrator "Stephen" in All Categories

The latest novel in Alexander McCall Smith's much-loved Isabel Dalhousie series. Recently distracted by the arrival of her and Jamie's second son, Magnus, Isabel Dalhousie - philanthropic editor of the Review of Applied Ethics - is anxious. The next issue of the Review is far from ready, her eldest, Charlie, is jealous, and their housekeeper, Grace, has an officious approach to childcare. With some relief, Isabel returns to helping out at her niece Cat's delicatessen, where surely the most taxing duty is the preparation of sandwiches.

The life of Franz Schubert has been a gift to romantically inclined biographers: the beautiful, brilliant, modest boy who sprang to fully fledged genius at the age of sixteen; the quintessential ‘artist in a garret’, entirely consumed by his art and living a hand-to-mouth existence in Vienna (home of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven); the gentle, cheerful, convivial young man who prized friendship almost as highly as music itself; the unworldly poet from whom great music poured like water from a fountain; the unrecognized master who died almost penniless at the age of 31.

No one said it would be easy. No one promised we'd escape unscathed. When Baz, Kirin, and I ventured into the dream realm in search of the sacred Arcana objects, we had no idea what the Dark Arcana had in store for us. No idea that our darkest, most deeply hidden terrors would follow us back home. Now, Baz is haunted by monsters from the past none of us can see, let alone defeat. Kirin is wrestling with a heartbreaking accident that fractured his family a decade ago.

As a young single dad with a teaching job, I haven't had much opportunity to date. My son is my entire world, and though I would love to have a partner and someone to count on, the passing years have shown that it's just not in the cards for me. So when the gorgeous lumberjack of a man—the same man that I've had a massive crush on since the moment we became neighbors—suddenly asks me out on a date, I'm completely blindsided.

Want to know a secret? It's about that girl over there. Don’t look, but she’s the one in the power suit with the long, black hair and the serious expression. The one I’m about to go on a date with. Yeah, according to her, she “accidentally” donated an obscene amount of money to my charity - The Lineup - to win said date, but I found out the truth.

How Not to F*ck Up Your Marriage Too Bad is the frank, intimate and provocative follow-up to the 2018 Audible Original How Not to F*ck Up Your Kids Too Bad, exploring the equally thorny and confusing world of marriage.

On the brink of 40, newly single with a failed business, Philip thought he'd reached an all-time low. It only needed a discarded chip on a South London street to lay him literally flat. So, bedbound and bored, Philip naturally starts to write the story of his life. But between the mundane catalogue of seaside holidays and bodged DIY, broken relationships and unspoken truths, more surprises are revealed, both comic and touching, than Philip or his family ever bargained for. Even, perhaps, a happy ending.

Any travel guide to Rome will urge visitors to go the Colosseum, but none answers a simple question: Why is it called the Colosseum? The History of Rome in 12 Buildings: A Travel Companion to the Hidden Secrets of the Eternal City is compelling, concise, and fun, and takes you behind the iconic buildings to reveal the hidden stories of the people that forged the Roman Empire.

Most mercenary units fly flags on two flagpoles at their headquarters: one with their unit’s flag, and other bearing the flag of their current employer. However, the Third Regimental Combat Team—a.k.a. the Eridani Light Horse—leaves one flagpole bare, as a reminder of the death of the Star League, and the other pole flies the Light Horse’s unit and regimental flags at half-mast.

St. Ignatius, first-century Bishop of Antioch, called the “God-bearer”, is one of the earliest witnesses to the truth of Christ and the nature of the Christian life. Tradition tells us that as a small child, Ignatius was singled out by Jesus himself as an example of the childlike faith all Christians must possess. In Bearing God, Father Andrew Damick recounts the life of this great pastor, martyr, and saint, and interprets for the modern listener five major themes in the pastoral letters he wrote.

The Doctor and Lucie go glam when the Tardis makes an unexpected landing in 1974. Slade, The Sweet and Suzi Quatro are Top of the Pops - and brother-and-sister duo The Tomorrow Twins will soon be joining them, if the star-making Svengali Arnold Korns has his way. But will their dreams turn to dust at a service station somewhere on the M62, besieged by a pack of alien monsters?

As the sun sets on a cold November evening, the tiny community of St Agnes prepares for their annual Fifth-of-November festivities. Moments before the fireworks are scheduled to commence, an islander discovers a charred body left on the bonfire, and quickly it becomes clear that a killer is at large. Ben Kitto is the Deputy Chief of Police for the Scilly Isles, and with a killer on the loose, he has no choice but to forbid all residents from leaving the island. With a population of just 80 people, everyone is a suspect and no one is safe.

Personal trainer Jonah Bodine discovers more than he bargained for with the half-siblings he didn’t know he had in small-town West Virginia. Not only is his dead father a person of interest in a cold-case disappearance, but the entire town seems way too invested in Jonah’s happily-ever-after potential. His summer of solitude in a lakeside cottage is ruined when his matchmaking sister saddles him with an unwanted roommate. Adorable, snort-laughing nerd Shelby Thompson came to Bootleg Springs looking for answers and ends up getting adopted by the town’s nosy elders.

In this remarkable collection the author has selected over two dozen of her best Lovecraftian tales ranging from 2000s “Valentia” to her more recent classic “A Mountain Walked” as well as including the complete Dandridge Cycle, as well as a new story, “M Is for Mars.” In short, this is a cornerstone volume for Kiernan fans and Mythos devotees alike.

Traditionally, businesses have relied on a 'command and control' management style, focusing on rigid hierarchies and compliance from employees. Covey argues we must shift from a 'command and control' to a 'trust and inspire' leadership model. Trusting and inspiring your team is defined by commitment from both sides, with a focus on effectiveness and fostering a growth mindset. It is based on the belief that employees are creative, collaborative, and full of potential; through trust, you can inspire them to do their best work.

“You don’t belong.” No words whispered in anger have ever rung more true. They’re the Kings of Brayshaw with the world at their feet, destined for greatness and in need of control. I’m the girl from the ghetto with nothing to offer and as defiant as they come. They say it doesn’t matter, that I’m one of them now, and nothing could ever change that. Not even me, should I dare try. But they’re wrong. They underestimate how far I’ll go to protect them. Trouble is coming...and they have no idea.

We have never had so much information at our fingertips, and yet most of us simply don't understand how our world really works. Professor Vaclav Smil is not a pessimist or an optimist, he is a scientist, and this book is a much-needed reality check on topics ranging from food production and nutrition, through energy and the environment, to globalisation and the future. For example, the carbon footprint of meat is well known, but did you know that the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel fuel goes into the production of each greenhouse-grown, medium-size, supermarket-bought tomato?

Zero-three-zero-nine. Four little numbers…four little words. They might be random and insignificant to anyone else, but they meant something to us. No, they meant everything to us. Until they were ripped away. That was the day our lives took a different course: one we had no control over, one that others puppeteered and mangled into a cluster so big it left us with emotional scars lined with venom toward each other. All because I’m a Montgomery and he’s a Barrett. Now, Trig is back and he hates me with more hostility and rage than ever…and I’ve learned to do the same.

The sinking of the Brig Minerva results in many deaths, while for others, the future is suddenly brighter. But it’s not always easy to leave the past behind. Nell Caldicott awaits the return of her violent sailor husband with trepidation, but for once her fears are not realized. When Caroline Milburn and her younger sisters' previously unknown grandfather drowns and bequeaths them a cottage in the country, their lives seem set to improve. A man turned away by Annie Dresden's father years ago for lack of fortune is unexpectedly wealthy after his brother's drowning.

"Trust only those who earn it." A sentiment I follow without direction but holds more consequence than ever before. One decision, five lives, three futures. This is what's at stake. One night, one choice, four broken Brayshaws. That is where we're headed. Unless I stop it. I have to stop it. I have to remind him of what he's chosen to forget. My town. My choice. My ending.