万本电子书0元读

万本电子书0元读

The Dressmaker of Dachau
The Dressmaker of Dachau
Mary Chamberlain
¥61.51
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Spanning the intense years of war, The Dressmaker of Dachau is a dramatic tale of love, conflict, betrayal and survival. It is the compelling story of one young woman’s resolve to endure and of the choices she must make at every turn – choices which will contain truths she must confront. London, spring 1939. Eighteen-year-old Ada Vaughan, a beautiful and ambitious seamstress, has just started work for a modiste in Dover Street. A career in couture is hers for the taking – she has the skill and the drive – if only she can break free from the dreariness of family life in Lambeth. A chance meeting with the enigmatic Stanislaus von Lieben catapults Ada into a world of glamour and romance. When he suggests a trip to Paris, Ada is blind to all the warnings of war on the continent: this is her chance for a new start. Anticipation turns to despair when war is declared and the two are trapped in France. After the Nazis invade, Stanislaus abandons her. Ada is taken prisoner and forced to survive the only way she knows how: by being a dressmaker. It is a decision which will haunt her during the war and its devastating aftermath.
At the Coalface: Part 1 of 3: The memoir of a pit nurse
At the Coalface: Part 1 of 3: The memoir of a pit nurse
Joan Hart,Veronica Clark
¥33.75
A heart-warming story of a woman who devoted her life to helping others. This is the memoir of Joan, who started nursing in the 1940s and whose experiences took her into the Yorkshire mining pits and through the tumult of the 1984-85 miners’ strike. Joan Hart always knew what she wanted to do with her life. Born in South Yorkshire in 1932, she started her nursing training when she was 16, the youngest age girls could do so at the time. She continued working after she married and her work took her to London and Doncaster, caring for children and miners. When she took a job as a pit nurse in Doncaster in 1974, she found that in order to be accepted by the men under her care, she would have to become one of them. Most of the time rejecting a traditional nurse’s uniform and donning a baggy miner’s suit, pit boots, a hardhat and a headlamp, Joan resolved always to go down to injured miners and bring them out of the pit herself. Over 15 years Joan grew to know the miners not only as a nurse, but as a confidante and friend. She tended to injured miners underground, rescued men trapped in the pits, and provided support for them and their families during the bitter miners’ strike which stretched from March 1984 to 1985. Moving and uplifting, this is a story of one woman’s life, marriage and work; it is guaranteed to make readers laugh, cry, and smile.
Ice Fairies: Beyond the Stars
Ice Fairies: Beyond the Stars
Siobhan Parkinson
¥11.77
A witty short story from the collection, BEYOND THE STARS, written and illustrated by two Irish talents in children’s fiction today The first great snowfall of winter and Brian and his friends can’t contain their excitement. They rush out to play in this magical new world before the daylight fades. Noticing a glistening above them, the children see the snow-laden boughs of the trees are dripping in icicles, each one dressed in a ribbony wisp of gold. ‘Ice fairies…’ Brian breathes in wonder. Trying to get a closer look, no one is sure whether or not the fairies are real, and as delicate white flakes start falling from the sky, they are soon distracted from finding out by throwing snowballs and having fun. Will anyone remember about the fairies, hanging silently from the trees? Or notice a mysterious old man sitting on a bench, trailing golden ribbon from his pocket… A magical and imaginative tale brought to life by beautiful illustrations. Look out for the other eleven stories, also available as e-shorts!
Among Wolves (Wolves of Llisé, Book 1)
Among Wolves (Wolves of Llisé, Book 1)
Nancy K. Wallace
¥66.22
Young Devin Roché is about to graduate as an Archivist from the prestigious Llisé’s University, and there is just one more task he wants to complete – to preserve a complete history of Llisé. The history of Llisé and its fifteen provinces are a peaceful affair, filled with harmony, resolution and a rich oral tradition of storytelling. Nothing untoward ever happens in this peaceful land. Or does it? Trainee archivist Devin Roché has just taken his finals at the prestigious Académie. As the sixth son of the ruler of Llisé, his future is his own, and so he embarks on an adventure to memorize stories chronicling the history of each province. As Devin begins his journey with only his best friend Gaspard and their guardian Marcus, he hears rumors of entire communities suddenly disappearing without a trace and of Master Bards being assassinated in the night. As the three companions get closer to unearthing the truth behind these mysteries, they can’t help but wonder whether it is their pursuit that has led to them. But if that is the case, what do Llisé and Devin’s father have to hide?
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian
Sean Smith
¥58.86
Bestselling biographer Sean Smith takes on the world’s number one reality star, Kim Kardashian West. This is the ultimate insight into the reality behind the woman who has defined fame in our modern culture – her childhood, her family, her turbulent love life and the multi-millionaire lifestyle. Kim Kardashian West is a thoroughly modern woman. She enjoyed a privileged upbringing in a Beverley Hills mansion and, ironically, her childhood ambition was to appear in the long-running US reality series Real World. Instead she became the star of Keeping Up With the Kardashians while her own life story read like an X rated version of Dynasty…murder, elopement, domestic violence, sex tape, quickie divorce, churchgoing and impossibly glamorous designer dresses. Now married to one of the biggest stars on the planet, Kanye West, she has begun her own dynasty with the birth of daughter, North, and her son, Saint. In a world that follows her every move, Sean Smith uncovers what it took to get her to the top and how she intends to stay there. From her Armenian heritage and devotion to her family to the fabulous fashions and a body to die for, this is the truth behind the undisputed Queen of celebrity – the real story.
The Price of Blood (The Emma of Normandy Series, Book 2)
The Price of Blood (The Emma of Normandy Series, Book 2)
Patricia Bracewell
¥40.02
The second book in Bracewell’s outstanding Emma of Normandy series, set in 11-century England, when Vikings are on the brink of invasion. 1006 AD. Queen Emma, the Norman bride of England’s King ?thelred, has given birth to a son. Now her place as second wife to the king is safe and Edward marked as heir to the throne. But the royal bed is a cold place and the court a setting for betrayal and violence, as the ageing king struggles to retain his power over the realm. Emma can trust no one, not even the king’s eldest son Athelstan, the man she truly loves. Elsewhere Viking threats to the crown are gaining strength, and in the north the powerful nobleman ?lfhelm is striking an alliance with the Danes. His seductive daughter Elgiva, former mistress to the king, is forced to act as a pawn in his plan, and is given as wife to a Viking Lord. Can King ?thelred finally listen to Athelstan, whose plan to strengthen the kingdoms’ ties will put off the Viking threat once and for all? Emma must protect her only child without abandoning her noble position. And her inner conflict, between maternal instinct and royal duty, will be played out against the dramatic and bloody struggle for Britain’s rule.
The 13th Apostle
The 13th Apostle
Richard Heller,Rachael Heller
¥56.11
THREE SOULS. TWO THOUSAND YEARS. ONE TRUTH. A worldwide conspiracy thriller for the millions of fans of The Da Vinci Code who’ve been left thirsting for more… Just one man can crack the code to the greatest mystery the world has ever known – if he survives… 36AD: Micah – Jesus' friend, trusted confidant, and the *th Apostle – inscribes a message, upon which mankind's fate would one day be determined. Present day: Internet forensic specialist, Gil Pearson, is recruited to decipher an ancient diary and reveal Micah's hidden message, which may lead to the most mysterious of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Working with the enigmatic Sabbie Karaim, Gil becomes embroiled in an international mystery spanning two thousand years, and for which others would gladly give their lives – or, more willingly, take his.
Dead Witch Walking
Dead Witch Walking
Kim Harrison
¥18.93
From New York Times best-selling author, Kim Harrison, comes the first book in her brilliant Hollows series; packed with the perfect balance of wry humour and thrilling action, which will delight fans of thrillers and fantasy alike. Rachel Morgan lives in a world where a bioengineered virus wiped out most of the world's human population – exposing the existence of supernatural communities that had long lived alongside humanity. It’s her job as a white witch working for Inderland Security to protect the humans from things that go bump in the night. For the last five years Rachel has been tracking down lawbreaking Inderlanders in modern-day Cincinnati, but now she wants to leave and start her own agency. Her only problem: no one quits the I.S. Marked for death, Rachel will have to fend off fairy assassins and homicidal werewolves armed to the teeth with deadly curses. Unless she can appease her former employers by exposing the city's most prominent citizen as a drug lord, she might just be a dead witch walking.
Last of the Summer Wine (The Best of British Comedy)
Last of the Summer Wine (The Best of British Comedy)
Richard Webber
¥50.62
Compo: I thought you'd be open. Sid: Well that's a natural assumption if you ignore the drawn blinds and the forty foot sign that says closed. Set and filmed in and around Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, Last of the Summer Wine follows the adventures of three quirky pensioners and their equally unusual neighbours. A true British classic that appeals to all generations, it is our nation's longest running comedy programme. The line-up of the comedy trio has changed numerous times over the years, but the calibre of the family-friendly humour Roy Clarke creates has remained the same, and it's as funny and eccentric now as it was in the first episodes he wrote over 25 years ago. Including the pilot, broadcast ten months before the first series, 29 series, made up of 279 episodes, have been screened to date, with the 30th series set to air this autumn. The sitcom has consistently been a favourite in the ratings, with viewing figures peaking at 18.8 million in the mid-eighties. Famous fans include Prince Charles, the Queen Mother and the Queen, who said it was her favourite TV show. The Best of British Comedy - Last of the Summer Wine includes: ”? The History: an overview of how Last of the Summer Wine was born and developed ”? Gags and Catchphrases: a collection of classic quotes ”? Did You Know?: snippets of info about the show, cast, etc. ”? Favourite scenes: the most memorable scenes in full ”? A LOSW quiz 'If God's omnipotent, what could he possibly want with my old woman?' Clegg Compo: Your old lady's dog is crapping all over the pavement. Blamire: That's funny. He usually sews it up in little bags and sends it by post.
Sharpe’s Christmas
Sharpe’s Christmas
Bernard Cornwell
¥9.71
A Richard Sharpe short story, featuring scenes of action and adventure at Christmas. ‘You’ll like Irati,’ Colonel Hogan said. ‘It’s a nothing place, Richard. Hovels and misery, that’s all it is and all it ever will be, but that’s where you’re going for Christmas.’ Sharpe was sent to Irati because maybe the French were going there. The garrison planned to march at Christmas in the hope that their enemies would be too bloated with beef and wine to fight, but Hogan had got wind of their plans and was now setting his snares on the only two routes that the escaping French could use. One, the eastern road, was by far the easier route, for it entered France through a low pass, and Hogan guessed it was that route that the French would choose. But there was a second road, a tight, hard, steep road, and that had to be blocked as well and so the Prince of Wales’s Own Volunteers, Sharpe’s regiment, would climb into the hills and spend their Christmas at a place of hovels and misery called Irati. Soldier, hero, rogue – Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.
Swallow This: Serving Up the Food Industry’s Darkest Secrets
Swallow This: Serving Up the Food Industry’s Darkest Secrets
Joanna Blythman
¥66.22
From the author of What to Eat and Shopped, a revelatory investigation into what really goes into the food we eat. Even with 25 years experience as a journalist and investigator of the food chain, Joanna Blythman still felt she had unanswered questions about the food we consume every day. How ‘natural’ is the process for making a ‘natural’ flavouring? What, exactly, is modified starch, and why is it an ingredient in so many foods? What is done to pitta bread to make it stay ‘fresh’ for six months? And why, when you eat a supermarket salad, does the taste linger in your mouth for several hours after? Swallow This is a fascinating exploration of the food processing industry and its products – not just the more obvious ready meals, chicken nuggets and tinned soups, but the less overtly industrial – washed salads, smoothies, yoghurts, cereal bars, bread, fruit juice, prepared vegetables. Forget illegal, horse-meat-scandal processes, every step in the production of these is legal, but practised by a strange and inaccessible industry, with methods a world-away from our idea of domestic food preparation, and obscured by technical speak, unintelligible ingredients manuals, and clever labelling practices. Determined to get to the bottom of the impact the industry has on our food, Joanna Blythman has gained unprecedented access to factories, suppliers and industry insiders, to give an utterly eye-opening account of what we’re really swallowing.
Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum
Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum
Kathryn Hughes
¥73.58
‘Intriguing, gleefully contentious and – appropriately enough – fizzing with life, Victorians Undone is the most original history book I have read in a long while’ John Preston, Daily Mail A groundbreaking account of what it was like to live in a Victorian body from one of our best historians. Why did the great philosophical novelist George Eliot feel so self-conscious that her right hand was larger than her left? Exactly what made Darwin grow that iconic beard in 1862, a good five years after his contemporaries had all retired their razors? Who knew Queen Victoria had a personal hygiene problem as a young woman and the crisis that followed led to a hurried commitment to marry Albert? What did John Sell Cotman, a handsome drawing room operator who painted some of the most exquisite watercolours the world has ever seen, feel about marrying a woman whose big nose made smart people snigger? How did a working-class child called Fanny Adams disintegrate into pieces in 1867 before being reassembled into a popular joke, one we still reference today, but would stop, appalled, if we knew its origins? Kathryn Hughes follows a thickened index finger or deep baritone voice into the realms of social history, medical discourse, aesthetic practise and religious observance – its language is one of admiring glances, cruel sniggers, an implacably turned back. The result is an eye-opening, deeply intelligent, groundbreaking account that brings the Victorians back to life and helps us understand how they lived their lives.
Wing Girl
Wing Girl
Nic Tatano
¥45.62
‘One of the top 20 books of 2013’ – I Heart… Chick Lit ‘E-book novel of the year’ – Chick Lit Chloe Wing Girl: [wing-gurl] noun 1. A young, single woman frequenting liquor-serving establishments who attracts then later repels eligible men that are eventually picked up by her friends. 2. The essential accessory for dating in Manhattan. For years guys have cruised bars using the "wing man" as a divide and conquer weapon designed to liberate a gorgeous woman from her not-so-beautiful friend. Meet Belinda Carson, Wing Girl. She's a kick-ass, take-no-prisoners investigative reporter fighting for truth, justice and higher ratings. But while her fame draws in the hotties, it’s unfortunate that you can’t buy a new personality at Bloomingdales! Because up close and personal these unsuspecting suitors get fried by a snarky attitude that's sharp enough to slice a stale bagel… which leaves her grateful friends to swoop in for the delectable leftovers! Only enough is enough – isn’t it time for Belinda to stop taking one for the team and land her own Mr Right?
Boss Girl
Boss Girl
Nic Tatano
¥54.65
Sydney Hack is the single, thirtysomething VP of news for a failing network… and she also has a taste for younger men. She soon realizes a whole lot of over-thirty female viewers do as well, so she sets out to give these women what they want; a chiseled, trophy buck in his twenties sitting on the anchor desk next to a woman… Just. Like. Them. With nothing to lose she does the unthinkable; along with three female managers who happen to be her best friends she brings out the casting couch and turns it into a sleeper sofa. Doesn't matter that the men have no television experience. As long as they look good. And there’s a hint of romance in every newscast. Ratings skyrocket as a result, but Sydney and her female cohorts discover something else along the way… True love is not always age appropriate.
It Girl
It Girl
Nic Tatano
¥54.65
~ Veronica Summer is stuck in the dream job from hell. The spunky New York reporter is offered the network's morning anchor position, but she doesn't want it because she's a night person. Then the network plays a trump card, promising her the evening anchor chair in three years. So the fiery redhead takes the plunge, with the ultimate gig waiting down the road. Problem is, that road is filled with two am wake-up calls and the only social life she has is one with bats and raccoons. She quickly realizes she'll never survive the grind and decides the only way out is to get fired by being her snarky self on live television. And the ratings skyrocket. Veronica becomes the nation's It Girl, so the network makes her a celebrity contestant on its most popular nighttime dance competition show, Dance Off. While her journalistic credibility is shot to hell by the show's skimpy costumes, she's thrown into close contact with two incredibly attractive men; her dance partner and the show's sarcastic British judge. And she soon discovers that love is the ultimate gig.
The Park Bench Test: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance
The Park Bench Test: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance
Sarah Lefebve
¥51.50
~ “Can you still see yourself sitting on a park bench, holding hands with that person when they are old and wrinkly? That’s the question you have to ask yourself…” Aspiring journalist Becky loves her boyfriend Alex, but when her best friend Katie gets engaged, she’s left wondering if Alex really is her Mr Right. Their other best friend Emma doesn’t believe in ‘the One’– she’s just looking for a man who will stick around longer than her dad did. As they come together to plan Katie’s big day, navigating the chaos of wedding dress shopping, seating plans, and the dreaded singles table, the girls begin to question their own relationships; and the possibility of settling for anything less than butterflies… Debut author Sarah Lefebve asked her own friends and family how they knew they had found the elusive Mr Right and then turned their honest – and often surprising – answers into this charming, emotional and downright funny romance.
Snow in May
Snow in May
Kseniya Melnik
¥66.22
SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE The stories of Kseniya Melnik’s debut collection are small-town miracles, each a miniature epic. Their focus is Magadan, a town in the Northern Far East of Russia, and the unvisited lives of its inhabitants and emigrants – schoolchildren, doctors, teachers, mothers, daughters. Some characters span several stories. Some of their stories span decades and continents. The measure of their telling, though, is invariably the measure of everyday existence. Their dramas, too, are made of quotidian stuff, each life with its own sly or suppressed tragedies, and its brief, often unexpected ecstasies. Kseniya Melnik’s sensibility is sober and humorous; her stories are moving and funny. In their patient, deliberate unfolding – at once surprising and convincing – and in the fitness of their details – vital because they are suggestive – we sense, above all, an assurance that is dazzling.
American Innovations
American Innovations
Rivka Galchen
¥66.22
A short-story collection from one of America’s brightest young talents. In one of these intensely imaginative stories a young woman’s furniture walks out on her. In another, the narrator feels compelled to deliver a takeout order that has incorrectly been phoned in to her. In a third, the petty details of a property transaction illuminate the complicated dependences and loves of a family. Following spiralling paths towards utterly logical, entirely absurd conclusions, Galchen’s creations occupy a dreamlike dimension, where time is fluid and identities are best defined by the qualities they lack. The tales in this groundbreaking collection are secretly in conversation with canonical stories, allowing the reader the pleasure of discovering familiar favourites in new guises. Here ‘The Lost Order’ covertly recapitulates James Thurber’s ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, while ‘The Region of Unlikeness’ playfully mirrors Jorge Luis Borges’s ‘The Aleph’. By turns realistic, fantastical and lyrical, all these marvellously uneasy stories share a deeply emotional core and are written in dryly witty, pitch-perfect prose. Whether exploring the tensions in a mother-daughter relationship or the finer points of time travel, Galchen is a writer of eye-opening ingenuity.
Sugar Addicts’ Diet
Sugar Addicts’ Diet
Nicki Waterman,Martha Roberts
¥61.51
Ex-sugar addict Nicki Waterman, the face of GMTV fitness, describes how and why she beat her sugar habit – and how you can too. The Sugar Addict's Diet is a brand new nutrition plan that will help you lose weight and eliminate ailments by eliminating sugar entirely from your diet and increasing your levels of good fats to bust those cravings. Nicki Waterman's struggle with her own sugar addiction introduces this excellent and topical diet book. Refined sugar is the big baddie in our lives – food companies and marketing executives are making the ‘cocaine of the food industry’ enormously difficult to avoid. Hidden sugars are everywhere and Nicki helps you to negotiate your way around the pitfalls on supermarket shelves. ? Discover if you are a sugar addict by checking your symptoms – are you overweight, lacking energy, suffering headaches, irritable…? ? Learn how sugar contributes to major health issues, including obesity, diabetes, cancer, depression, candida, acne and a host of other problems. ? Understand the physical and emotional aspects of your addiction and what the real cost to your well being is. ? Cope with ‘sugar dealers’ – people and situations that could set you on the wrong track. ? Lose weight and stop cravings by increasing your intake of the right fats – follow Nicki and Martha’s easy-to follow 14 day plan with delicious recipes. ? Win the sugar war with your kids by helping them choose healthier options – and defeat the marketing industry’s ever-present and invasive temptations.
Forever Baby: Jenny’s Story - A Mother’s Diary
Forever Baby: Jenny’s Story - A Mother’s Diary
Mary Burbidge
¥54.65
“I have a darling baby. A patient placid baby who nuzzles warmly into her sheepskin and gives me a sleepy smile when I come in. She sits up, bounces happily and reaches out for a cuddle …” “I’ve had my darling baby for nearly twenty years now and unless something happens, I guess I’ll have her for another twenty years.” Praise for Forever Baby – “Mary’s writing has the quality of being both a participant and an observer. As a participant in a life and death voyage, she writes with emotional force. As an observer, there are some great passages of acute observation and stark – sometimes black – humour. “But the dominant emotion is love: love given by Mary and the Burbidge Family to their daughter Jenny; love given by Jenny to Mary and family. A special love for a special child, which we are privileged, through this book, to share.” The Hon. Joan Kirner, former Premier of Victoria “Some people just burn with a brighter flame, and Mary Burbidge, doctor, mother and fierce diarist, is one of them. When Mary gave birth over twenty years ago to a disabled baby girl, she began writing from the heart to make sense and meaning of her life. “I have quoted Mary’s experience in one of my own books, but I could never have suspected the dramatic turn of events that would conclude this story. The gritty, heart-bursting world of parenting is captured in a way that I have rarely met elsewhere, but the drama, transcendence and tragedy of raising a child with a disability takes this to a deeper plane still. “Jenny’s story and Mary’s telling of it, will grip the reader and change how they see the world around them for a very long time.” Steve Biddulph, psychologist and author
The Islands of Chaldea
The Islands of Chaldea
Diana Wynne Jones
¥51.50
The brand new and final novel from the magical pen of ‘the Godmother of Fantasy’, Diana Wynne Jones; co-authored with her sister Ursula Jones. Now in paperback. How are you supposed to turn into a Wise Woman if your powers just won’t show up? Aileen is convinced she’ll never become as magical as her Aunt Beck. Then one day her aunt is set a seemingly impossible mission. She must go to the island of Logra and rescue the kidnapped High Prince from the enemy, and Aileen must go with her. They set off along with Ivar, Aileen’s spoilt cousin, and Ogo his clophopping servant, recruiting on their way a huge and elusive cat, a monk with an uncannily wise parrot, and a boy inventor who keeps a pet lizard up his sleeve. But this is no band of mighty warriors, and the evil Lograns and their wizards have blocked their way with an invisible barrier in the sea. Aileen doubts that even with all the magic in the Islands of Chaldea, including Aunt Beck’s, they will be able to penetrate it. But Aileen is about to discover that she could be more important to the mission than she realises. Perhaps it is her, above all, who is being drawn to Logra, and for a very special purpose…