From the moment Rebecca Barlow starts her job at a law firm, she knows she's in for a lot of surprises. Especially when her new boss unexpectedly turns out to be her first love–her son's father. Now she not only has to reveal the five-year-old secret she's been keeping from Jeff Jacobs, but also face her unresolved feelings. And spend day after day with him and his fiancée coaching them about parenthood… Jeff is as delighted as he is shocked to see Rebecca, but her little secret isn't the only one in his life. Because although he's committed to another woman now, he's still in love with Rebecca. Not until she's about to leave with her son does the truth finally come out!

Discover a novelist that Neil Gaiman describes as ‘an astonishingly smart writer’. When a chance meeting with a stranger leads to an offer of a room in exchange for telling her stories, Molly jumps at the chance. Slowly she builds a new, eccentric family around herself: Tim, her secretive boyfriend, who just might be a spy; Miranda, the lovelorn hairstylist; Liz, the lusty librarian; Mr. Roberts, landlord and listener; and his French wife, Mrs. Roberts. Much to Molly's surprise, she finds the stories she tells now are her key to creating a completely different life. Suddenly, her future is full of endless possibilities. The trouble is, Molly's not the only one telling tales. And the truth is always stranger than fiction. Sarah Salway's witty, finely-tuned and poignant story of many stories is a uniquely entrancing chronicle.

Some of Agatha Christie’s earliest stories – including her very first – which show the Queen of Crime in the making… A macabre recurring dream … revenge against a blackmailer … jealousy, infidelity and a tortured conscience … a stolen gemstone … the haunting attraction of an ancient relic … a race against time … a tragic love triangle … a body in a box … an unexpected visitor from beyond the grave… Nine quintessential examples of Agatha Christie's brilliance are contained in this collection of early short stories - including the very first one she ever wrote - and provide a unique glimpse of the Queen of Crime in the making.

A full-length Hercule Poirot novel, adapted from Agatha Christie’s stage play by Charles Osborne Sir Claud Amory’s revolutionary new formula for a powerful explosive is stolen. Locking his house-guests in the library, Sir Claud switches off the lights to allow the thief to replace the formula, no questions asked. When the lights come on, he is dead, and Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings have to unravel a tangle of family feuds, old flames and suspicious foreigners to find the killer and prevent a global catastrophe. BLACK COFFEE was Agatha Christie’s first play*, originally performed in 1930 and made into a now rarely-seen film the following year. Combining her typically beguiling plot and sparkling dialogue with his own faithful narrative, Charles Osborne’s novelisation is ‘A worthy addition to the Christie canon’ (The Spectator)

在产业革命的时代背景下，股份公司这一集资本筹措与生产为一体的经营系统发挥着巨大作用，为人类文明的发展与经济的增长做出了巨大贡献。但1929年的世界经济大危机、2008年的雷曼危机等都告诉人们，支撑我们这个世界的经济系统并非坚如磐石，它既有益于改善人们的生活，同时也会让人们陷无妄之灾。 本书所论述的股份公司是指以所有权与经营权分离，以股东拥有决定权为前提，公售股的公司或其早期形态的法人。全书共分为两大部分共十二个章节，极力再现了股份公司诞生的那个时代，发掘其产生的“动因”，探讨其所内含的“病理”。人们习惯性地在公司工作，极其自然地为公司“效忠”，但大概不知道为什么。作者对此行了分析。作者也着意探寻了，股份公司在未来是否仍能作为经济发展的原动力继续发挥作用，是否会出现某种新的要素促使股份公司发生质的改变。

　　《人鼠之间》讲述了二十世纪30年代美国经济大萧条时期，两个一贫如洗却又相依为命的美国流动农业工人佐治和李奈从怀揣梦想、追逐梦想、近梦想到梦想破灭的悲惨故事，艺术地展现了田园牧歌式的农庄生活和残酷的社会现实的冲突，反映了人对生存条件的真切感受。

A thoughtful, poignant novel that explores the creation of artificial intelligence—illuminating the very human need for communication, connection, and understandingIn a narrative that spans geography and time, from the Atlantic Ocean in the seventeenth century to a correctional institution in Texas in the near future, told from the perspectives of five very different characters, Speak considers what it means to be human, and what it means to be less than fully alive.A young Puritan woman travels to the New World with her unwanted new husband. Alan Turing, the renowned mathematician and code breaker, writes letters to his best friend's mother. A Jewish refugee and professor of computer science struggles to reconnect with his increasingly detached wife. An isolated and traumatized young girl exchanges messages with an intelligent software program. A former Silicon Valley wunderkind is imprisoned for creating illegally lifelike dolls.All five characters are attempting to communicate—with estranged spouses, lost friends, future readers, or computer programs that may or may not understand them. Although each speaks from a distinct place and moment in time, they all share the need to express themselves while simultaneously wondering if they will ever be heard, or understood. In dazzling and electrifying prose, Louisa Hall explores how the chasm between computer and human—shrinking rapidly with today's technological advances—echoes the gaps that exist between ordinary people.

The weirdness never stops! The new vice principal of Ella Mentry School has some crazy ideas on how to teach kids. A.J. and the gang have to stand on their heads while they do math! They have to take a spelling test underwater! Everybody has to do yoga! Could it possibly get any weirder?

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman comes a hilarious and heartfelt novel in which one middle-school troublemaker accidentally moves into the gifted and talented program and changes everything. For fans of Louis Sachar and Jack Gantos, this funny and touching underdog story is a lovable and goofy adventure with robot fights, middle-school dances, live experiments, and statue-toppling pranks! When Donovan Curtis pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students. Although it wasn’t exactly what Donovan had intended, the ASD couldn’t be a more perfectly unexpected hideout for someone like him. But as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything), he shows that his gifts may be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.?

Destiny Rising is the gripping conclusion to the Hunters arc in the New York Times bestselling series, created by L. J. Smith, which also inspired the hit CW TV show The Vampire Diaries . Elena Gilbert has never been an ordinary teenager. In love with the irresistible vampire brothers Stefan and Damon, she has died, been brought back to life, fought evil, and journeyed to hell and back to save Stefan. Now her most dangerous enemy, Klaus, has returned, and Elena realizes she must make a terrible sacrifice to protect her world . . . and fulfill her destiny.

An absorbing and compelling work of literary historical fiction, set in colonial Philadelphia, that brings to life a little-known chapter of the American Revolution—the story of Benjamin Franklin and his bastard son, and the women who loved themSixteen-year-old Anne is an uneducated serving girl at the Penny Pot tavern when she first meets the commanding Benjamin Franklin. The time she spends with the brilliant young printer teases her curious mind, and the money he provides keeps her family from starving. But the ambitious Franklin is committed to someone else, a proper but infatuated woman named Deborah Read who becomes his common-law wife. At least Anne has William, her cherished infant son, to remind her of his father and to soften some of life's bleakness.But growing up a bastard amid the squalor of Eades Alley isn't the life Anne wants for her only son. Acutely aware of the challenges facing them, she makes a heartbreaking sacrifice. She will give up William forever, allowing Benjamin and Deborah Franklin to raise him as their own.Though she cannot be with him, Anne secretly watches out for her beloved child, daring to be close to him without revealing the truth about herself or his birth, and standing guard as Deborah Franklin struggles to accept her husband's bastard son as her own.As the years pass, the bustling colonies grow and prosper, offering opportunities for wealth and power for a talented man like William's father. Benjamin's growing fame and connections as a scientist, writer, philosopher, businessman, and political genius open doors for the astute William as well, and eventually King George III appoints Benjamin's bastard son to the new position of Royal Governor of New Jersey. Anne's fortunes also rise. A shrewd woman of many talents, she builds a comfortable life of her own—yet nothing fills her with more joy or pride than her son's success and happiness.But all that her accomplished son has achieved is threatened when the colonies—led by influential men, including his own father—begin the fight for independence. A steadfast, loyal subject of the British Crown, William cannot accept his father's passionate defense of the patriots' cause, and the enduring bond they share fractures, a heart-wrenching break that will forever haunt them and those they love.A poignant tale of passion, family, love, and war, Benjamin Franklin's Bastard skillfully brings into focus a cast of remarkable characters drawn from real life, and vividly re-creates one of the most remarkable and thrilling periods of history—the birth of the American nation.

The adventure begins in this exciting new chapter book series, complete with a do-it-yourself science experiment! When a four-inch-tall alien crash-lands through Zack McGee's bedroom window, Zack is sure he's about to become the first victim in a new War of the Worlds. But when the alien turns out to have weapons that are more ticklish than terrifying, Zack realizes that rather than protect the world from the alien it's up to him to protect the alien in his pocket from the world.With illustrations on every spread, a how-to on launching a rocket, fun scientific facts, and the hilarious adventures of Zack and Amp, this book is the perfect gift for any young reader!Supports the Common Core State Standards

Wanted: Bride. Must love children. Mortals need not apply. Carlos Panterra is looking for a mate, a woman who will love and care for the young orphans he's recently taken under his wing (or paw, as the case may be). When the shape shifter spies the beautiful Caitlyn, it's like sunshine amidst the darkness. At last, he's found the perfect woman, except . . .Caitlyn Whelan is mortal. Worse, her father is the head of a CIA agency bent on hunting the undead. Still, Caitlyn knows that Carlos is the man for her, shape shifter or not. So she jumps at the chance when her sister offers her a job to work with him, determined to show Carlos their attraction is more than just animal magnetism. But danger lurks in the night, and their unleashed, untamed passion might just get them both killed . . .

It's the start of a new school year, and A.J.'s third-grade teacher, Mr. Granite, is out of this world! He's a supergenius who talks weird, acts weird, and looks weird. He knows everything . Is he a computer posing as a person, or does he come from another planet?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods returns with a story of the Calamity Janes… fierce friends facing challenges in life and love. Lauren Winters has achieved fame and fortune, but all she wants when she goes home to Winding River, Wyoming, for a reunion with old friends is a break from her high-profile career. Seizing the chance to work incognito as a horse trainer for Wade Owens, she revels in the wrangler's attention. But how is the man who's disdainful of the rich and powerful going to feel when he discovers she's deceived him? Will Wade be able to see past her celebrity and believe in the woman who's fallen in love with him?

An old woman in a nursing home speaks of a child buried behind the fireplace… When Tommy and Tuppence visited an elderly aunt in her gothic nursing home, they thought nothing of her mistrust of the doctors; after all, Ada was a very difficult old lady. But when Mrs Lockett mentioned a poisoned mushroom stew and Mrs Lancaster talked about ‘something behind the fireplace’, Tommy and Tuppence found themselves caught up in an unexpected adventure involving possible black magic…

With impeccable timing Hercule Poirot, the renowned Belgian detective, makes his dramatic entrance on to the English crime stage. Recently, there had been some strange goings on at Styles St Mary. Evelyn, constant companion to old Mrs Inglethorp, had stormed out of the house muttering something about ‘a lot of sharks’. And with her, something indefinable had gone from the atmosphere. Her presence had spelt security; now the air seemed rife with suspicion and impending evil.

Three great love stories that started it all… Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights are three of the greatest novels in English literature. Now joining them is Pride, Prejudice and Popcorn, a decidedly different take on these classics. You will laugh with delight as you learn: — The importance of thoroughly investigating your employers before accepting a job at their isolated, creepy house (Jane Eyre) — The sad fact that not every bad boy has a heart of gold (Wuthering Heights) — How to make a proper proposal—and how not to. Hint: don't insult your beloved while attempting to talk her into marriage! (Pride and Prejudice) Join blogger and romance aficionado Carrie Sessarego (smartbitchestrashybooks.com) as she takes us to the movies with Jane and Liz and Cathy. In her own unique, hilarious style she discusses the books and the various movie and TV adaptations. Your living room will be graced by heartthrobs like Timothy Dalton (twice!), Colin Firth (he shows up twice, too!), Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy. Whether you are in the mood for serious academic discussion or lighthearted snark, whether you prefer Regency romance or Gothic passion, and whether you prefer your love stories on the screen or on the page, this book has something for you.

The Just So Stories typically have the theme of a particular animal being modified from an original form to its current form by the acts of man, or some magical being. For example, the Whale has a tiny throat because he swallowed a mariner, who tied a raft inside to block the whale from swallowing other men. The Camel has a hump given to him by a djinn as punishment for the camel's refusing to work (the hump allows the camel to work longer between times of eating). The Leopard's spots were painted by an Ethiopian (after the Ethiopian painted himself black). The Kangaroo gets its powerful hind legs, long tail, and hopping gait after being chased all day by a dingo, sent by a minor god responding to the Kangaroo's request to be made different from all other animals.How the Whale Got His Throat — why the larger whales eat only small prey.How the Camel Got His Hump — how the idle camel was punished and given a hump.How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin — why rhinos have folds in their skin and bad tempers.How the Leopard Got His Spots — why leopards have spots.The Elephant's Child/How the Elephant got his Trunk — how the elephant's trunk became long.The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo — how the kangaroo assumed long legs and tail.The Beginning of the Armadillos — how a hedgehog and tortoise transformed into the first armadillos.How the First Letter Was Written — introduces the only characters who appear in more than one story: a family of cave-people, called Tegumai Bopsulai (the father), Teshumai Tewindrow (the mother), and Taffimai Metallumai, (the daughter). Explains how Taffimai delivered a picture message to her mother.How the Alphabet Was Made — Taffimai and her father invent an alphabet.The Crab That Played with the Sea — explains the ebb and flow of the tides, as well as how the crab changed from a huge animal into a small one.The Cat That Walked by Himself — the longest story, explains how man domesticated all the wild animals except the cat, which insisted on greater independence.The Butterfly That Stamped — how Solomon saved the pride of a butterfly, and the Queen of Sheba used this to prevent his wives scolding him.The Tabu Tale

‘A terrific story, originally told. All hail the new Queen of Crime!’ HEAT ‘A web of a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. This formidable debut is a page-turner, but don’t read it before bed if you’re easily spooked!’ SUN

An old-fashioned London Hotel is not quite as reputable as it makes out… When Miss Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she’s looking for at Bertram’s Hotel: traditional decor, impeccable service and an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Yet, not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric guest makes his way to the airport on the wrong day…