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The Tyranny of Numbers: Why Counting Can’t Make Us Happy
The Tyranny of Numbers: Why Counting Can’t Make Us Happy
David Boyle
¥82.01
Never before have we attempted to measure as much as we do today. Why are we so obsessed with numbers? What can they really tell us? Too often we try to quantify what can’t actually be measured. We count people, but not individuals. We count exam results rather than intelligence, benefit claimants instead of poverty. The government has set itself 10,000 new targets. Politicians pack their speeches with skewed statistics: crime rates are either rising or falling depending on who is doing the counting. We are in a world in which everything designed only to be measured. If it can’t be measured it can be ignored. But the big problem is what numbers don’t tell you. They won’t interpret. They won’t inspire, and they won’t tell you precisely what causes what. In this passionately argued and thought-provoking book, David Boyle examines our obsession with numbers. He reminds us of the danger of taking numbers so seriously at the expense of what is non-measurable, non-calculable: intuition, creativity, imagination, happiness… Counting is a vital human skill. Yardsticks are a vital tool. As long as we remember how limiting they are if we cling to them too closely. Americans who claim to have been abducted by aliens = 3.7 million Average time spent by British people in traffic jams every year = 11 days Number of Americans shot by children under six between 1983 and 1993 = 138, 490
Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the Eighteenth Century (Text Only)
Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the Eighteenth Century (Text Only)
John Brewer
¥82.01
On an April evening in 1779, a woman is shot on the steps of Covent Garden. Her murderer is a young soldier and Church of England minister; her lover, the Earl of Sandwich, one of the most powerful politicians of the day. This compelling account of murder, love and intrigue brings Georgian London to life in a spellbinding historical masterpiece. On an April evening in 1779, Martha Ray, mistress of the Earl of Sandwich, was shot on the steps of Covent Garden by James Hackman, a young soldier and minister of the Church of England. She died instantly, leaving behind a grief-stricken lover and five small children. Hackman, after trying to kill himself, was arrested, tried and hanged at Tyburn ten days later. The story was to become one of the scandals of the age. It seemed an open-and-shut case, but why had Hackman killed Ray? He claimed he suffered from ‘love’s madness’ but his motives remained obscure. And as Martha Ray shared the bed of one of the most powerful and unpopular politicians of the day (and one of Georgian London's greatest libertines), the city buzzed with the story, as every hack journalist sharpened his pen. John Brewer has written an account of this violent murder that is as thrilling and compelling as the best crime novel. Atmospheric, beautifully written, and alive with the characters and bustle of 18th-century London, the book examines in minute detail the events of a few crucial moments and gives an unforgettable account of the relationships between the three protagonists and their different places within society. However, the interest in Martha's murder did not end with the Georgians, and ‘Sentimental Murder ‘ranges over two centuries, populated by journalists, biographers and historians who tried to make sense of the killing. And so it becomes an intriguing exploration of the relations between history and fiction, storytelling and fact, past and present. John Brewer has transformed a tragic tale of murder into an historical masterpiece.
Live the Dream
Live the Dream
Josephine Cox
¥57.09
When friendship becomes love, two people must face their greatest fear – being hurt again…The powerful bestseller from the country’s number one storyteller. Luke Hammond: handsome, rich, charismatic, cursed by private tragedy. Amy Atkinson: humble and kind with a good – but wounded – heart. When they meet by chance, a spark of love takes hold of their hearts. But neither are sure that they can dare to love again. And what of Luke's public life, hidden from Amy? The owner of a large factory, he is a pillar of the community, married – though in name only. Amy is torn between her head and her heart, but her sense of honour is paramount – and when she discovers his true identity, she is thrown into even greater turmoil. Then disaster strikes and the future looks troubled indeed ….
Lovers and Liars
Lovers and Liars
Josephine Cox
¥54.45
Another page-turning story of tragedy and triumph from the No.1 bestselling author of The Loner and The Journey. In the sleepy Lancashire village of Salmesbury, childhood sweethearts Emily and John are secretly planning a life together when they are cruelly forced apart. Already abandoned by her father, and unhappy at home, Emily is heartbroken when John leaves the village. Her life takes a devastating turn for the worse when she gives birth to a child. She dare not reveal the identity of the child's father or there will be a terrible price to pay. Many miles away, John is trying to forget Emily and forge a new life. Having carried her in his heart for years, a chance encounter leads him to believe she has forgotten him. Emily has never been able to banish thoughts of John. But when it looks as though history is about to repeat itself, Emily must put the past – and John – behind her and safeguard her daughter. But can she forget him?
The Journey
The Journey
Josephine Cox
¥45.62
This bestseller from the country’s number one storyteller is a deeply moving and powerful tale of love and courage and a sacrifice no man should be asked to make. Three strangers are thrown together by chance. It’s an encounter which is destined to change all of their lives for ever. When Ben Morris comes to the aid of Lucy Baker and her daughter Mary, he is intrigued by the story behind their frequent visits to the local graveyard. Later, invited into their home, an old Edwardian place suffused with secrets of the past, Ben hears Lucy’s remarkable tale – one she must tell before it’s too late. The story of Barney Davidson, his family and the part Lucy played in his extraordinary life, is one of a deep, abiding love and an incredible sacrifice.
A Weekend with Mr Darcy (Austen Addicts)
A Weekend with Mr Darcy (Austen Addicts)
Victoria Connelly
¥57.09
A romance-filled page-turner for any Austen fanatic who’s ever dreamt of spending a weekend with Mr Darcy… Katherine Roberts is fed up with men. As a lecturer specialising in the works of Jane Austen, she knows that the ideal man only exists within the pages of Pride & Prejudice and that in real life there is no such thing. Determined to go it alone, she finds all the comfort she needs reading her guilty pleasure – regency romances from the pen of Lorna Warwick – with whom she has now struck up an intimate correspondence. Austen fanatic, Robyn Love, is blessed with a name full of romance, but her love life is far from perfect. Stuck in a rut with a bonehead boyfriend, Jace, and a job she can do with her eyes shut – her life has hit a dead end. Robyn would love to escape from it all but wouldn't know where to start. They both decide to attend the annual Jane Austen Conference at sumptuous Purley Hall, overseen by the actress and national treasure, Dame Pamela Harcourt. Robyn is hoping to escape from Jace for the weekend and indulge in her passion for all things Austen. Katherine is hoping that Lorna Warwick will be in attendance and is desperate to meet her new best friend in the flesh. But nothing goes according to plan and Robyn is aghast when Jace insists on accompanying her, whilst Katherine is disappointed to learn that Lorna won't be coming. However, an Austen weekend wouldn't be the same without a little intrigue, and Robyn and Katherine are about to get much more than they bargained for. Because where Jane Austen is concerned, romance is never very far away…
The Queen of Subtleties
The Queen of Subtleties
Suzannah Dunn
¥63.18
A tremendously vivid, page-turning and plausible novel that depicts the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, the most spirited, independent and courageous of Henry’s queens, as viewed from both the bedrooms and the kitchens of the Tudor court. Everyone knows the story of Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII divorced his longstanding, long-suffering, older, Spanish wife for a young, black-eyed English beauty, and, in doing so, severed England from Rome and indeed from the rest of the western world. Then, when Henry had what he wanted, he managed a mere three years of marriage before beheading his wife for alleged adultery with several men, among them his own best friend and her own brother. This is the context for Suzannah Dunn's wonderful new novel, which is about – and told by – two women: Anne Boleyn, king's mistress and fated queen; and Lucy Cornwallis, the king's confectioner, an employee of the very highest status, who made the centrepiece of each of the feasts to mark the important occasions in Anne's ascent. There's another link between them, though: the lovely Mark Smeaton, wunderkind musician, the innocent on whom, ultimately, Anne's downfall hinged… Suzannah Dunn has all the equipment needed for literary-commercial success: wit, a mastery of dialogue, brilliant characterization, lack of pretence, and good humour. The Queen of Subtleties adds to that mix a wonderfully balanced, strong story; Dunn has plumped for a fascinating retelling of one of the most often-told, most compelling stories of our islands' history. In doing so, she's turning from contemporary stories to historical fiction. The result is sensational.
The Story Sisters
The Story Sisters
Alice Hoffman
¥69.26
A haunting and emotionally satisfying novel from a much-loved and critically acclaimed author, which weaves fairy tale and gritty realism together to dazzlingly effect. ‘The Story Sisters’ charts the lives of three sisters – Elv, Claire and Meg. Each has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. Inhabiting their world are a charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighbor who is not who he appears to be, a clumsy boy in Paris who falls in love and stays there, a detective who finds his heart’s desire, and a demon who will not let go. What does a mother do when one of her children goes astray? How does she save one daughter without sacrificing the others? How deep can love go, and how far can it take you? At once a coming-of-age tale, a family saga, and a love story of erotic longing, ‘The Story Sisters’ sifts through the miraculous and the mundane as the girls become women and their choices haunt them, change them and, finally, redeem them.
The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books Saved My Life
The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books Saved My Life
Andy Miller
¥66.22
A working father whose life no longer feels like his own discovers the transforming powers of great (and downright terrible) literature in this laugh-out-loud memoir. Andy Miller had a job he quite liked, a family he loved and no time at all for reading. Or so he kept telling himself. But, no matter how busy or tired he was, something kept niggling at him. Books. Books he’d always wanted to read. Books he’d said he’d read, when he hadn’t. Books that whispered the promise of escape from the 6.44 to London. And so, with the turn of a page, began a year of reading that was to transform Andy’s life completely. This book is Andy’s inspirational and very funny account of his expedition through literature: classic, cult and everything in-between. Crack the spine of your unread ‘Middlemarch’, discover what ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and ‘Moby-Dick’ have in common (everything, surprisingly) and knock yourself out with a new-found enthusiasm for Tolstoy, Douglas Adams and ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’. ‘The Year of Reading Dangerously’ is a reader’s odyssey and it begins with opening this book…
A Time of War
A Time of War
Katharine Kerr
¥80.25
Book seven of the celebrated Deverry series, an epic fantasy rooted in Celtic mythology that intricately interweaves human and elven history over several hundred years. Book seven of the celebrated Deverry series, an epic fantasy rooted in Celtic mythology that intricately interweaves human and elven history over several hundred years.
Faithfully Yours (Mills & Boon Vintage Love Inspired)
Faithfully Yours (Mills & Boon Vintage Love Inspired)
Lois Richer
¥31.10
TEMPORARILY YOURS Taking a new teaching job wasn't as easy as Gillian Langford had hoped. First she clashed with the school's proper–but very handsome–new principal, Jeremy Nivens. Then her aunt decided Jeremy needed a little matchmaking. Now everyone in town believed Gillian would soon be walking down the aisle, leaving her little choice but to go along with the "engagement." But pretending to be Jeremy's intended wasn't difficult at all–which truly had the unlucky-in-love Gillian frightened. For though she had decided never to risk her heart again, Gillian knew Jeremy could change her mind…if she dared give him the chance. FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY: With a little help from these matchmaking ladies, romance is sure to bloom for three very lucky couples. Welcome to Love Inspired?–stories about life, faith and love 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.
Father in the Making (Mills & Boon M&B) (Fabulous Fathers, Book 25)
Father in the Making (Mills & Boon M&B) (Fabulous Fathers, Book 25)
Marie Ferrarella
¥27.27
It wasn't Blaine O'Connor's fault he'd never learned how to be a full-time father. But now that his son has nobody else, he intends to do his best. Trouble is, that means taking "helpful advice" from a breathtakingly beautiful woman who thinks he has no business raising a child…. Blaine O'Connor isn't going to be Father of the Year. Yet Bridgette Rafanelli feels she owes it to her godchild to give his wayward dad some badly needed lessons in child raising. But as it turns out, this much-too-charming man is the one teaching her a thing or two–about love!
Getting Rid of Bradley (Mills & Boon M&B)
Getting Rid of Bradley (Mills & Boon M&B)
Jennifer Crusie
¥27.27
Lucy Savage is not having a good week. Her cheating husband, Bradley, lobbed the final insult when he stood her up in divorce court. A dye job gone wrong has left her hair green. And someone is trying to kill her. To top it off, sexy cop Zack Warren is certain that the very same man Lucy is trying to wash right out of her hair is the same Bradley he wants to arrest for embezzlement. When someone shoots at her and then her car blows up, Zack decides she needs twenty-four-hour police protection. Next thing Lucy knows, Zack has moved in to her big Victorian house, making them both sleepless…and not just from things that go bump in the night!
Gloss
Gloss
Jennifer Oko
¥51.50
It's a new day, U.S.A.! And possibly a whole new world. It was a harmless human-interest story for breakfast television: who would've thought it would land her in jail? New York producer Annabelle Kapner's report on a beauty-industry job-creation plan for refugee women in the Middle East earns her kudos from the viewers, her bosses, even the network suits. But several threatening phone calls and tightlipped, edgy executives suggest the cosmetics program is covering up more than just uneven skin. All this intrigue is seriously hampering Annabelle's romance with handsome, sexy and funny speechwriter Mark Thurber (Washington's Most Eligible Bachelor). Being with him is just getting Annabelle used to A-list treatment at Manhattan's hottest nightspots when journalistic idealism earns her a spot on cell block six. It'll take more than a few thousand "Free Annabelle" T-shirts to clear her name and win back her beau. Especially when she discovers just how high up the scandal reaches–and how far the players will go to keep their secret…
Hot On His Trail (Mills & Boon M&B) (The Trueblood Dynasty, Book 11)
Hot On His Trail (Mills & Boon M&B) (The Trueblood Dynasty, Book 11)
Kristin Eckhardt
¥27.27
Isabella Trueblood made history reuniting people torn apart by war and an epidemic. Now, generations later, Lily and Dylan Garrett carry on her work ith their agency, Finders Keepers. Circumstances may have changed, but the goal remains the same. Lost Her so-called life. Calley Graham's overprotective mother had stood in her way long enough. But all that would change if she could sign on as a rookie investigator for Finders Keepers! Found One tough trail boss. Matt Radcliffe was leading a cattle drive out of New Mexico. He sure didn't have time for a pesky investigator who wanted to drag him back to Pinto, Texas. But Calley figured if she volunteered to take over as camp cook, she could keep her job, and maybe keep the cowboy, too!
Icing On The Cake
Icing On The Cake
Laura Castoro
¥9.71
When Liz Talbot's husband left her for a woman half her age, Liz put all her passions into her bakery. The problem is that fad diets and fitness crazes are ruining sales and she's barely staying afloat. Liz's luck seems to be changing when her ex dies without changing his will, leaving her the main beneficiary. Unfortunately one of the things she inherits is the advertising agency she left behind to pursue her dream of baking. Her partner? The newly widowed husband stealer–Brandi, with a heart over the i. As the new co-owner of Talbot Advertising, in the toilet since the death of her ex (that's right, she's now the proprietor of two failing businesses), Liz is more determined than ever to break out and make a name for herself as an artisan baker extraordinaire, providing her products can catch the eye of the Nabisco Food scout who is as elusive as he is mysterious.
If You Don't Know By Now (Mills & Boon M&B) (Destiny, Texas, Book 3)
If You Don't Know By Now (Mills & Boon M&B) (Destiny, Texas, Book 3)
Teresa Southwick
¥27.27
A decade ago, good-girl Maggie Benson took a walk on the wild side with brooding bad boy Jack Riley. They'd generated enough chemistry to blow Destiny, Texas, to kingdom come. But an army-bound Jack had disappeared after a night of passion, leaving Maggie with more than just memories…. Then Jack blew back into town. But he was the one left shell-shocked. Not only did the spirited single mom still make him ache in all the right places, but she also revealed a life-altering secret. Would a fearless Jack take on the most daunting mission of all–claiming his family? A small town chock-full of shocking secrets, budding dreams…and long, lost loves!
In Desperation (A Jack Gannon Novel, Book 3)
In Desperation (A Jack Gannon Novel, Book 3)
Rick Mofina
¥45.03
Eleven-year-old Tilly Martin is dragged from her suburban bedroom. Her mother, Cora, pleads for mercy but the kidnappers are clear: if they don't get their $5 million back in five days, Tilly dies. If anyone contacts police, Tilly dies. Journalist Jack Gannon's estranged sister, Cora, disappeared without a trace decades ago. Now she is frantically reaching out to him for help. Cora tells him about the shameful mistakes she's made–but she guards the one secret that may be keeping her daughter alive. A twenty-year-old assassin, haunted by the faces of the people he's executed, seeks absolution as he sets out to commit his last murders as a hired killer. In the U.S. and Mexico, police and the press go flat out on Tilly's case. But as Gannon digs deeper into his anguished sister's past, the hours tick down on his niece's life and he faces losing a fragment of his rediscovered family forever.
Kiss of Death
Kiss of Death
P.D. Martin
¥51.50
A young woman's body is found with puncture marks on her neck, and soon the delicious word vampire is on everyone's lips. All of FBI profiler Sophie Anderson's skills–psychic and psychological–will be needed for her to determine whether this was a thrill kill or something even more sinister. Exploring the blood bars and Goth clubs of L.A., Sophie immerses herself in the seductive culture of self-styled vampires. Posing as the alluring Lady Veronica and infiltrating a notorious clan, Sophie will learn just how deep the fantasy goes for some believers. When life requires death, nothing is sacred.
Kiss the Moon
Kiss the Moon
Carla Neggers
¥51.50
Lost in the frozen woods of New Hampshire, Penelope Chestnut discovers the wreckage of a small plane. An aviator herself, she sees clues to a conspiracy in the rusted-out remains. Rumors of her discovery bring Wyatt Sinclair to Cold Spring, determined to put to rest a family scandal and learn what really happened to his legendary uncle, who had disappeared with his adventuress lover years earlier. As Wyatt and Penelope investigate, old motives are uncovered and new ones created, including a growing attraction between the pair. But when an unknown enemy emerges with a violence rooted in desperation, uncovering the truth will be far less problematic than surviving it.
Lost in Plain Sight (Mills & Boon M&B) (Brotherhood of the Raven, Book 4)
Lost in Plain Sight (Mills & Boon M&B) (Brotherhood of the Raven, Book 4)
Marta Perry
¥54.74
Leah Miller's peaceful life as a member of the Spring Township Amish church shatters when she's accused of theft from an Englisch home in which she works. Even if she is not charged, if the crime is never solved, she will live under the taint of the theft and may never be able to participate fully in her Amish community. Josiah King, friend of Leah's brother, is drawn into helping Leah–and discovers the 'little sister' he'd always tolerated has grown into a strong, appealing woman. But what future can they have together if suspicion makes Leah an outcast? As they attempt to learn the facts behind the accusation, danger grows around them. It's only through their trust in each other and the support of a faithful Englisch friend that Leah and Josiah can find their way through a tangled, dangerous maze to the truth. An ebook exclusive novella from Marta Perry's The Brotherhood of the Raven series.