万本电子书0元读

万本电子书0元读

Off the Record
Off the Record
Samuels, Allison
¥78.32
A collection of offbeat, funny, and often moving backstories of the many entertainers and athletes covered by award-winning Newsweek journalist Allison Samuels, Off the Record reveals the inner worlds of today's A-list black celebrities.With anecdotes on everyone from Snoop Dogg, Shaquille O'Neal, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, and Whitney Houston, this "all-access" book is filled with insightful stories that never made it into the pages of the mainstream press.From her start at CAA's infamous agent training program which included tasks such as blowing up 200 dinosaurs for the lobby when Steven Spielberg made a quick visit, and picking up Ted Danson's half-million-dollar weekly paycheck there was no chore too small. But these humble beginnings gave Samuels access to Hollywood's A-list and led to her eventual focus on the world of black entertainers.
The Constructor
The Constructor
Koethe, John
¥78.32
"John Koethe's The Constructor is a scrupulous, elegant account of the meditative intellect as an instrument continually registering the passage of time. Exquisitely modulated and brutally honest, these poems would be harrowing were they not so seductively beautiful. No one writing in this country today sees as deeply as Koethe into the tears that lie at the heart of things, and no contemporary investigation of the life of the mind may be called complete that does not accommodate the lush intricacy of his terrifying recognitions."-- George Bradley"I prize John Koethe's intimate expanses and unsettling reveries, his tender contemplations and odd mental landscapes. He is an heir to Wallace Stevens and John Ashbery and, like them, he gives us the sensation of thinking itself, of a certain fleeting, daily, solitary consciousness rescued from oblivion and held aloft."-- Edward Hirsch
Homecourt Advantage
Homecourt Advantage
Ewing, Rita
¥78.32
The sports pages trumpet the exploits of the superstar players of the New York Flyers basketball team -- while the gossip columns hint of their infidelities and steamy off-court activities. And in the shadows behind the bright spotlights, the wives and girlfriends struggle to keep the insanity at bay and their relationships alive in a world of fame, big money, shady dealings, and easy sex. Now, with the playoffs looming and the team's future in jeopardy, the temptations to sin are even stronger than ever. And before the season's out, the women behind "the great men" -- led by Casey Rogers, the beautiful, sexy, savvy lawyer wife of the Flyers' star forward -- are going to rock the NBA to its core.
The Wise Women of Havana
The Wise Women of Havana
Bernardo, Jose Raul
¥78.32
Set against the exotic background of Cuba in 1938, The Wise Women of Havana is the deeply moving, lyrical, and yet earthy story of three remarkable women whose lives are suddenly intricately intertwined.When Marguita, a beautiful and voluptuous young girl, marries Lorenzo, they find their dream home in a cozy apartment in Havana. But that dream is soon shattered. Lorenzo's once-wealthy parents, now in dire need of financial help because of the Great Depression, ask the newlyweds to move into the family's crumbling mansion with them. Marguita is hardly settled with her in-laws when Lorenzo's older sister, the spinster Lolo, behaves in a shocking way toward the young couple, seriously injuring Marguita's sense of honor and causing a dangerous rift between the two. In despair, Marguita, flees to her mother, Dolores, a truly wise woman, whose love, generosity, and resourcefulness provide the glue that promises to mend the break.
Delilah's Daughters
Delilah's Daughters
Benson, Angela
¥78.32
An inspirational story about the allure of fame and the faith that binds a family forever . . .Delilah Monroe has done everything in her power to keep her three daughters strong since the death of her husband. And a big part of that connection is their singing group, Delilah's Daughters. Veronica, Roxanne, and Alisha each have their own unique sense of self, but they all share the dream of Delilah's Daughters hitting the Billboard charts.Now, just as they enter the final round of a national talent show, a record producer approaches Veronica with the promise of fame . . . if she goes solo. Then the man Delilah has always leaned on wants more from her than just friendship, and someone from her past comes calling with a shocking secret. Will Delilah be able to hold her family together?
The Final Solution
The Final Solution
Chabon, Michael
¥78.32
In the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, prose magician Michael Chabon conjured up the golden age of comic books -- intertwining history, legend, and storytelling verve. In The Final Solution, he has condensed his boundless vision to craft a short, suspenseful tale of compassion and wit that reimagines the classic nineteenth-century detective story.In deep retirement in the English country-side, an eighty-nine-year-old man, vaguely recollected by locals as a once-famous detective, is more concerned with his beekeeping than with his fellow man. Into his life wanders Linus Steinman, nine years old and mute, who has escaped from Nazi Germany with his sole companion: an African gray parrot. What is the meaning of the mysterious strings of German numbers the bird spews out -- a top-secret SS codeThe keys to a series of Swiss bank accounts perhapsOr something more sinisterIs the solution to this last case -- the real explanation of the mysterious boy and his parrot -- beyond even the reach of the once-famed sleuth?Subtle revelations lead the reader to a wrenching resolution. This brilliant homage, which won the 2004 Aga Khan Prize for fiction, is the work of a master storyteller at the height of his powers.
The Golden Hour
The Golden Hour
Weinstock, Nicholas
¥78.32
After forty–six years in upscale Manhattan, after two roaring decades as an investment banker and after nineteen years of marriage, Bill Schoenberg lost it all and ran for the hills. He made a mistake, regrettable and unspeakable; and having fled to his neglected country house in rural New York State to gather his wits, he found a chance to reacquire his self–respect as well – and possibly even redemption. To a man for whom flames existed solely in the kitchens of four–star restaurants, and who had volunteered for nothing in his life, the Harristown Volunteer Fire Company represented an unlikely pursuit – until a fire in his house convinced him otherwise. As Bill struggled to trade his French cuff shirts for flannel, to learn to dress in the back of a moving fire truck and to knock down forest fires, he was also forced to navigate the darker recesses of his mind and dying marriage. His wife may have been having an affair with one of his colorful country neighbors; an angry intruder seemed to be preying on his property; and his own unmentionable secret came closer to the surface the longer he stayed in Harristown. Intelligent and entertaining, funny and frightening, THE GOLDEN HOUR is a unique novel of manhood, neighborhood, and saving the day.
The Real Thing
The Real Thing
Lessing, Doris
¥78.32
The stories and sketches in this collection penetrate to the heart of human experience with the passion and intelligence readers have come to expect of Doris Lessing. Most of the piece are set in contemporary London, a city the author loves for its variety, its diversity, its transitoriness, the way it connects the life of animals and birds in the parks to the streets. Lessing's fiction also explores the darker corners of relationships between women and men, as in the rich and emotionally complex title story, in which she uncovers a more parlous reality behind the facade of the most conventional relationship between the sexes.
Five Fortunes
Five Fortunes
Gutcheon, Beth
¥78.32
Witty, wise, and hope-filled, Five Fortunes is a large-hearted tale of five vivid and unforgettable women who know where they've been but have no idea where they're going. A lively octogenarian, a private investigator, a mother and daughter with an unresolved past, and a recently widowed politician's wife share little else except a thirst for new dreams, but after a week at the luxurious health spa known as "Fat Chance" their lives will be intertwined in ways they couldn't have imagined. At a place where doctors, lawyers, spoiled housewives, movie stars, and captains of industry are stripped of the social markers that keep them from really seeing one another, unexpected friendships emerge, reminding us of the close links between the rich and the poor, fortune and misfortune, and the magic of chance.
Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Kerrigan, Kate
¥78.32
Sweethearts since childhood, Ellie Hogan and her husband, John, are content on their farm in Ireland—until John, a soldier for the Irish Republican Army, receives an injury that leaves him unable to work. Forced to take drastic measures in order to survive, Ellie does what so many Irish women in the 1920s have done and sails across a vast ocean to New York City to work as a maid for a wealthy socialite. Once there, Ellie is introduced to a world of opulence and sophistication, tempted by the allure of grand parties and fine clothes, money and mansions . . . and by the attentions of a charming suitor who can give her everything. Yet her heart remains with her husband back home. And now she faces the most difficult choice she will ever have to make: a new life in a new country full of hope and promise, or return to a life of cruel poverty . . . and love.
Q: A Novel
Q: A Novel
Mandery, Evan
¥78.32
“Q, Quentina Elizabeth Deveril, is the love of my life.” Shortly before his wedding, the unnamed hero of this uncommon romance is visited by a man who claims to be his future self and ominously admonishes him that he must not marry the love of his life, Q. At first the protagonist doubts this stranger, but in time he becomes convinced of the authenticity of the warning and leaves his fiancée. The resulting void in his life is impossible to fill. One after the other, future selves arrive urging him to marry someone else, divorce, attend law school, leave law school, travel, join a running club, stop running, study the guitar, the cello, Proust, Buddhism, and opera, and eliminate gluten from his diet. The only constants in this madcap quest for personal improvement are his love for his New York City home and for the irresistible Q.A unique literary talent, Evan Mandery turns the classic story of transcendent love on its head, with an ending that will melt even the darkest heart.
No Mark upon Her
No Mark upon Her
Crombie, Deborah
¥78.32
New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie makes her mark with this absorbing, finely hued tale of suspense—a deeply atmospheric and twisting mystery full of deadly secrets, salacious lies, and unexpected betrayals involving the mysterious drowning of a Met detective—an accomplished rower—on the Thames.When a K9 search-and-rescue team discovers a woman's body tangled up with debris in the river, Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid finds himself heading an investigation fraught with complications. The victim, Rebecca Meredith, was a talented but difficult woman with many admirers—and just as many enemies. An Olympic contender on the verge of a controversial comeback, she was also a high-ranking detective with the Met—a fact that raises a host of political and ethical issues in an already sensitive case.To further complicate the situation, a separate investigation, led by Detective Inspector Gemma James, Kincaid's wife, soon reveals a disturbing—and possibly related—series of crimes, widening the field of suspects. But when someone tries to kill the search-and-rescue team member who found Rebecca's body, the case becomes even more complex and dangerous, involving powerful interests with tentacles that reach deep into the heart of the Met itself.Surrounded by enemies with friendly faces, pressured to find answers quickly while protecting the Yard at all costs, his career and reputation on the line, Kincaid must race to catch the killer before more innocent lives are lost—including his own.
Temporary Insanity
Temporary Insanity
Carroll, Leslie
¥78.32
Meet Alice Finnegan: thirty-something, single and determined to take control of her own destiny ... even if she is stuck in a series of secretarial temp jobs and living with her beloved ninety-year-old grandmother -- a feisty, funny, former Ziegfeld showgirl. But that's easier said than done when your job counselor can't spell "employment" correctly, your boss has you planning her daughter's wedding, your new boyfriend cares more about his career than caresses, and your dreams of stardom are dashed when a hotshot casting director suggests you get your nose fixed -- and you already have. But even as it seems that Alice's world has gone crazy, and she succumbs to a Mr. Right who turns into a Mr. Not Right Now, she knows that any insanity is only temporary ...
32AA
32AA
Cunnah, Michelle
¥78.32
Emma Taylor wanted an engagement ring and a job promotion for her thirtieth birthday.What she got instead was the boot from herboyfriend, the heave-ho from his Manhattanloft -- and the indignity of having to work forthe weenie who stole her position. Her palsonly add insult to injury by giving her the "perfect" birthday gift: a bottle ofbreast-enhancing pills. It would be enough to defeat even a well-endowed woman, but Emma's notabout to let such twists of fate get her down, even as she sets out on the most grueling task known to humankind: apartment hunting in New York City. But sleeping in the backseat of her car provides an unexpected bonus -- she meets Jack, who's kind enough to invite Emma into his home ... in a strictly landlord/tenant-type of arrangement, of course. Perhaps things are looking up -- since honestly they couldn't get much worse. Emma may not be able to fill a bikini, but she's going to do that "life and love" thing right this time. Because no matter what else destiny throws in her face, she's determined to come out where she never has before ... on top!
Jack's Widow
Jack's Widow
Pollard, Eve
¥78.32
The iconic First Lady, Jackie lived her life in a fishbowl yet she was shrouded in mystery. She was the epitome of style, poise, grace, and femininity, but her lifelong silence in front of the media has left many unanswered questions.In this juicy yet reverential examination of her life, Eve Pollard's insight into what made America's most admired woman tick is blended into a page-turning, believable thriller. Starting from the somber days following the shocking assassination of Jackie's husband, President John F. Kennedy, Pollard explores the emotions that guided her existence as the world's most famous widow. Everything in Jackie's life is encompassed: the painful childhood that prepared her for the dual role of dramatic chatelaine of the White House and cheated wife; the hidden mental torture behind her marriage to Jack as she attempted to maintain her self-esteem an anguish that doubled when his debauched love life became public after his death. To cope, Jackie developed a self-defense system to deal with the friends and family who were revealed as the willing helpers in her late husband's constant quest for new sexual partners. And, finally, she used different methods from sunglasses to psychiatry, from remarriage to realpolitik to protect herself and her precious children.With brilliant storytelling, Pollard, one of the former First Lady's first biographers, entangles Jackie during her early days as a senator's wife in the complex world of espionage with startling and thrilling consequences after the tragic murder of her husband. Pollard's wealth of information on the adored Jackie produces a captivating and realistic tale that both surprises and entertains.
A Little Trouble with the Facts
A Little Trouble with the Facts
Siegal, Nina
¥78.32
Valerie Vane was an up-and-coming lifestyle reporter at a prominent New York City daily. Then she stumbled, rather publicly, and lost it all—her column, her fiancé, her access behind the city's velvet ropes. Now she's on the obituary desk writing death notices, and it feels like a dead end. However, when she writes about a recently deceased once-famous graffiti artist, the phone calls start. A mysterious voice on the other end of the line tells her the artist's death was a murder—and if she were a real reporter, she'd investigate. But can Valerie trade her stilettos for gumshoes?
Good Man Hunting
Good Man Hunting
Landolt, Lisa
¥78.32
Sandra Greene knows men don't go for women like her: the invisible ones, the plain ones scrambling to make a living without benefit of the right connections, college degree, and fashionable clothes. But her life is changed forever when, at an old friend's wedding, she meets the wealthy socialites of the Hunt Club. They proudly claim they made that wedding possible, and they make Sandra an offer no woman can refuse. Sandra is guaranteed to marry any man she wants—no matter how good-looking, rich, powerful, or successful. All she has to do is play their matchmaking "game." Seduced by the promise of makeovers, money, and matrimony, she quickly joins the Hunt Club and can't wait to go after the husband of her dreams—a sexy Hollywood actor. At first it all seems too wonderful to be true as she changes her life and is about to get her guy—until the FBI steps in asking questions. Just how far will these women go to get what they wantThat's when Sandra begins to realize that matchmaking is really murder...possibly in more ways than one!
When the World Was Young
When the World Was Young
Romano, Tony
¥78.32
It's the summer of 1957. In the heart of Chicago, first-generation Italian immigrants Angela Rosa and Agostino Peccatori are caught between worlds. Far from home and with five children born in the United States, the Peccatori family is left clinging to old country ways in an era of upending change. While Agostino spends his days running the neighborhood trattoria, Mio Fratello, Angela Rosa must face the building tension at home as her children struggle to define themselves within a family rooted in tradition. When Agostino's wandering eye can no longer be ignored, and lingering questions of fidelity and responsibility invade the Peccatoris' intimate world, the pressure to keep the family together mounts.Just as it seems the Peccatoris' stoic foundation and resilient spirit are enough to withstand the family friction, the events of a single tragic evening bring all their lives to a sudden and irreversible standstill. Haunted by overwhelming loss, and drowning in years of secrets and deception, the family begins to unravel under the burden of guilt. As the Peccatori children move into adulthood, alienated from one another by grief and the complexity of their adolescence, their ties of kinship are put to the ultimate test. Bound together by blood yet indelibly marked by loss, the Peccatori family becomes a testament to the power of sacrifice, loyalty, and unconditional love. Told through alternating voices and beautifully crafted prose, When the World Was Young is a stunning, poignant tale of one family's will to survive.
Game Control
Game Control
Shriver, Lionel
¥78.32
Eleanor Merritt, a do-gooding American family-planning worker, was drawn to Kenya to improve the lot of the poor. Unnervingly, she finds herself falling in love with the beguiling Calvin Piper despite, or perhaps because of, his misanthropic theories about population control and the future of the human race. Surely, Calvin whispers seductively in Eleanor's ear, if the poor are a responsibility they are also an imposition.Set against the vivid backdrop of shambolic modern-day Africa—a continent now primarily populated with wildlife of the two-legged sort—Lionel Shriver's Game Control is a wry, grimly comic tale of bad ideas and good intentions. With a deft, droll touch, Shriver highlights the hypocrisy of lofty intellectuals who would "save" humanity but who don't like people.
This Is How It Happened (not a love story)
This Is How It Happened (not a love story)
Barrett, Jo
¥78.32
He lied, he cheated. He destroyed her life.How difficult could killing him be?Madeline Piatro devoted four years of her life to her boyfriend Carlton—and, in return, got romance, flowers, and the best sex she'd ever had. But then he dumped her—by e-mail, no less! He used her, he broke her heart...and he even cost her the marketing job she dearly loved. Now Maddy's on a mission. She wants revenge and she wants her career back.But Maddy's about to discover that getting even, no matter how justifiable, isn't as easy as it might at first appear—even with a batch of arsenic brownies, the help of a professional (if bumbling) hit man, and the advice and best wishes of her very best friends.
Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead
Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead
Rosenberg, Saralee
¥78.32
In Mindy's yoga-obsessed, thirty-is-the-new-wife neighborhood, every day is a battle between Dunkin' Donuts, her jaws-of-life jeans, and Beth Diamond, the self-absorbed sancti-mommy next door who looks sixteen from the back. So much for sharing the chores, the stores, and the occasional mischief to rival Wisteria Lane.It's another day, another dilemma until Beth's marriage becomes fodder on Facebook. Suddenly the Ivy League blonde needs to be “friended,” and Mindy is the last mom standing. Together they take on hormones and hunger, family feuds and fidelity, and a harrowing journey that spills the truth about an unplanned pregnancy and a seventy-year-old miracle that altered their fates forever.Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead is a hilarious, stirring romp over fences and defenses that begs the question, what did you do to deserve living next door to a crazy womanSometimes it's worth finding out.