万本电子书0元读

万本电子书0元读

The Fire Dragon
The Fire Dragon
Katharine Kerr
¥44.73
Book eleven of the celebrated Deverry series, an epic fantasy rooted in Celtic mythology that intricately interweaves human and elven history over several hundred years. The Fire Dragon tells two separate stories: one set in the “present” of 1117, and one set in the past, the era of the Civil Wars. In the present, Raena’s trouble-making in Cerr Cawnen leads to terrible death and destruction but may ultimately succeed in offering the final working-out of Rhodry’s Wyrd. In the past, Nevyn and Lilli attempt to solve the riddle of the curse tablet, but the price will be high. In this, the eleventh volume in the Deverry cycle and third of the Dragon Mage series, storylines begun in Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood, A Time of Exile and The Black Raven – both the ‘present’ of 1117 and the past – will reach their triumphant and spellbinding conclusion. But there will be more Deverry books to unravel the situation that climaxes The Fire Dragon…
Velocity
Velocity
Dean Koontz
¥56.11
The international bestseller Dean Koontz delivers a masterclass of storytelling suspense in this thriller. What would you do if a serial killer forced you to choose who he murders next? On the windscreen of his SUV, Billy finds the first note. It gives him a choice. If he takes the note to the police, an elderly woman will be killed. If he doesn’t approach the police, a schoolteacher will die. He thinks it’s a hoax. The schoolteacher is killed. Further notes taunt Billy’s conscience, forcing him to decide who lives and who dies. He must think the unthinkable, fast, in an accelerating nightmare. More communications from the killer follow with ever tighter deadlines. Each is more personal, more confrontational than the last until he is isolated, with no one to rely on but himself. Finally, he must risk everything to save the helpless, clueless victims…
Best Loved Hymns and Readings
Best Loved Hymns and Readings
Martin Manser
¥100.06
An indispensable combination of 200 best loved hymns, poems and readings for every occasion, and ideal for personal reflection. Complete with a brief introduction to each piece and its author, this book is a wonderful personal reference and devotional guide. From Away in a Manger to God Save the Queen, and the famous Bible passage on love, 1 Corinthians 13, to Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar, it has passages suitable for every occasion, and has all you need to plan a baptism, a wedding or, should the need arise, a funeral.
Bigger than Hitler – Better than Christ
Bigger than Hitler – Better than Christ
Rik Mayall
¥73.58
In this electrifying autobiography, Rik stands naked in front of his vast legions of fans and disciples and invites them to take communion with the blood he has spilled for them during his thirty year war on show business. He invented alternative comedy with The Young Ones, he brought down the Thatcher administration with The New Statesman and he changed the face of global culture with his masterpiece Bottom. Not only was his number one single ‘Living Doll’ the saviour of rock 'n' roll but he also rescued the British film industry with the vast revenues created by his legendary movie Drop Dead Fred. In 1998, he survived an assassination attempt and spent five days in a coma before he literally came back from the dead. Having completed countless phenomenal feature films, TV series, live extravaganzas and radio voice-overs since then, Rik Mayall is now poised on the brink of a whole new epoch-shattering revolution. For the first time ever, Rik reveals in print the deep inner truth behind his gargantuan ascent to the pinnacle of international light entertainment – the mental hospitals he has broken out of, the television executives he has assaulted, the drugs he has definitely not taken, the charities he has bankrupted, the countless pregnancies he has engendered, and so much more.
Bombs on Aunt Dainty
Bombs on Aunt Dainty
Judith Kerr
¥34.14
Partly autobiographical, this is the second title in Judith Kerr’s internationally acclaimed trilogy of books following the life of Anna through war-torn Germany, to London during the Blitz and her return to Berlin to discover the past… It is hard enough being a teenager in London during the Blitz, finding yourself in love and wondering every night whether you will survive the bombs. But it is even harder for Anna, who is still officially classified as an “enemy alien”. Those bombs are coming from Germany – the country that was once her own. If Hitler invades, can she and her beloved refugee family possibly survive? This was previously published as The Other Way Round.
The Frozen Water Trade (Text Only)
The Frozen Water Trade (Text Only)
Gavin Weightman
¥72.99
The story of the 19th-century ice trade, in which ice from the lakes of New England – valued for its incredible purity – revolutionised domestic life around the world. In the days before artificial refrigeration, it was thought impossible to transport ice for long distances. But one man, Frederic Tudor, was convinced it could be done. This is the story of how, almost single-handedly, and in the face of near-universal mockery, he established a vast industry that would introduce the benefits of fresh ice to large parts of the globe. Thanks to Tudor, the American fashion for drinks ‘on the rocks’ spread to tropical areas such as the West Indies and British India. By the 1830s fleets of schooners carried the frozen cargo, packed with sawdust and tarpaulins for insulation, to all corners of the world. The harvesting of the ice from New England’s lakes employed thousands of men. The frozen water trade had a profound influence on the tastes of a large part of the world, but with the development of artificial cooling systems in the first quarter of the 20th century, the huge industry established by Frederic Tudor vanished as if it had never been. Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.
The Lover’s Dictionary: A Love Story in 185 Definitions
The Lover’s Dictionary: A Love Story in 185 Definitions
David Levithan
¥66.22
How does one talk about love? We are all beginners when it comes to love, from those tentative first dates to learning how to live with, or without, someone. But how does one describe love? How does one chart its delights and pleasures, its depths and desolations? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? David Levithan's The Lover's Dictionary starts where we all once started – with the alphabet. Constructing the story of a relationship as a dictionary, Levithan explores the intimacies and workings of love through his nameless narrator, to paint a moving portrait of love through everyday words. Cleverly using the confines of language to provide an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being part of a couple, Levithan gives us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.
Jimmy Coates: Target
Jimmy Coates: Target
Joe Craig
¥31.49
Jimmy’s back in the electrifying sequel to Jimmy Coates: Killer. Stand back for this high-speed adventure, packed with surprises, danger and escape against the odds. “Jimmy's fingers were slipping. Smeared with blood, he had hardly any grip. He had to hold on. Mitchell chopped his hand down hard into Jimmy's shoulder, cutting off the nerves to his fingers. Staring up into Mitchell's ice-cold eyes, Jimmy fell into the shredder.” Jimmy Coates is still on the run – and this time NJ7 are pulling no punches. They’re out for blood, and even though Jimmy has gone into hiding in France, they still track him down. Jimmy might think that life could hold no further surprises for him – but he’s very, very wrong.
Cary Grant: A Class Apart (Text Only)
Cary Grant: A Class Apart (Text Only)
Graham McCann
¥65.24
The ultimate biography of this ever-popular star and icon, from a young Cambridge don who has already made his name with a much praised biography of Marilyn Monroe. Cary Grant made men seem like a good idea. Tall, dark and handsome with a rare gift for light comedy, he played a leading man who liked to be led, a man of the world who was a man of the people. Cary Grant was Hollywood’s quintessential democratic gentleman. Born in England as Archie Leach, made famous in America as Cary Grant, he was a star for more than 30 years, in more than 70 movies, his popularity still intact when he brought his career to a close. He was never replaced: nobody else talked like that, looked like that, behaved like that. He was a class apart. Cary Grant never explained how he came to play ‘Cary Grant’ so well. ‘Nobody is every truthful about his own life,’ he said. ‘There are always ambiguities.’ This book explores the ambiguities in the life and work of Cary Grant: a working class Englishman who portrayed a well-bred American; the playful entertainer who became a powerful businessman; the intimate stranger who was often the seduced male. Thorough and meticulously researched, this book is a dazzling and entertaining account of Cary Grant’s broad and enduring appeal.
Cocaine Nights
Cocaine Nights
J. G. Ballard,James Lever
¥57.09
‘Snort up “Cocaine Nights”. It’s disorientating, deranging and knocks the work of other avant-garde writers into a hatted cock’ Will Self Five people die in an unexplained house fire in the Spanish resort of Estrella de Mar, an exclusive enclave for the rich, retired British, centred on the thriving Club Nautico. The club manager, Frank Prentice, pleads guilty to charges of murder – yet not even the police believe him. When his Charles arrives to unravel the truth, he gradually discovers that behind the resort’s civilized fa?ade flourishes a secret world of crime, drugs and illicit sex. At once an engrossing mystery and a novel of ideas, ‘Cocaine Nights’ is a stunningly original work, a vision of a society coming to terms with a life of almost unlimited leisure. This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, John Lanchester and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs.
Bird Migration (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 113)
Bird Migration (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 113)
Ian Newton
¥206.30
The phenomenon of bird migration has fascinated people from time immemorial. The arrivals and departures of different species marked the seasons, heralding spring and autumn, and providing a reliable calendar long before anything better became available. Migration is shown by many kinds of animals, including butterflies and other insects, mammals, marine turtles and fish, but in none is it as extensively developed as in birds. The collective travel routes of birds span almost the entire globe, with some extreme return journeys covering more than 30,000 km. As a result of migration, bird distributions are continually changing – in regular seasonal patterns, and on local, regional or global scales. Migration has repeatedly prompted familiar questions, such as where birds go or come from, why do they do it, how do they know when and where to travel, and how do they find their way? In this book, Ian Newton sets out to answer these – and other – questions. The book is divided into four main sections: the first is introductory, describing the different types of bird movements, methods of study, and the main migration patterns seen around the British Isles; the second part is concerned mainly with the process of migration – with timing, energy needs, weather effects and navigation; the third with evolution and change in migratory behaviour; and the fourth with the geographical and ecological aspects of bird movements.
Branson
Branson
Tom Bower
¥80.25
The sensational critical biography of this phenomenal entrepreneur and his business practices – fully updated to cover Branson’s recent ventures. No British tycoon is more popular, few claim to be richer and none has masterminded a more recognisable brand than Richard Branson. What is behind the success of the buccaneering balloonist, the tabloids’ favourite celebrity nude, the ‘grinning jumper’ and the scourge of corporate goliaths? Helped by eyewitness accounts of more than 250 people with direct experience of Branson, Tom Bower has a uncovered a different tale to the one so eagerly promoted by Virgin’s publicists. Here is the full story of Branson: his businesses, his friendships, his ambition, his law-breaking, his drug-taking, his bullying. From the cockpit of a balloon in the clouds to the centre of Branson’s operations in his Holland Park home this book is an intimate scrutiny of exactly how Richard Branson created himself and sold himself. Tom Bower’s biography reveals Branson to be a single-minded profiteer who, while occasionally generous to others, has a fixed purpose to enhance his family’s wealth in secret off-shore trust funds. Instead of a glittering saint, Branson emerges as a devious actor, proud of plucking for his own profit the good ideas of others. From his quest to acquire the license for the National Lottery to his plans to launch space tourism with Virgin Galactic, this fully updated edition follows Branson’s enterprises and investments up to the recent, failed bid for Northern Rock.
Will & Tom
Will & Tom
Matthew Plampin
¥66.22
Will & Tom is a glimpse into the life of the infamous artist JMW Turner as a young man during a week spent at Harewood House fighting for a commission against his childhood friend and rival Tom Girtin. 1797, West Yorkshire. When rising artist Will Turner arrives at Harewood House in high summer, his intention is to sketch the house and grounds, receive his commission and return to London, where he has started attracting serious attention at the Royal Academy. But things at the grand house are not quite as he expects. The atmosphere is strange, both above and below stairs, and Will’s treatment by his hosts is surprisingly offhand. Most perplexing of all, however, is the appearance of another painter – his childhood friend and now rival, Tom Girtin. While Tom is welcomed into the aristocratic circle, Will finds few allies. As it becomes harder to ignore the whispers of scandal , Will witnesses something that will threaten both his commission and his friendship. Alive with intrigue, artistic rivalry, Will & Tom offers a glimpse into the early life of Britain’s greatest painter, J M W Turner, through the story of a complicated, vibrant friendship, and how it is tested by the dark dynamic of art and power.
Three Letters
Three Letters
Josephine Cox
¥57.09
The brand new dramatic novel about the power of a father’s love, a little boy’s journey,and the desperate search for a place to call home, from Number 1 best-selling author Josephine Cox. Eight-year-old Casey’s mother Ruth is a cruel woman, with a weakness for other women’s husbands. Casey’s father is gentle and hard-working and, though Tom Denton has long suspected his wife of having sordid affairs, he has chosen to turn a blind eye to keep the peace. But then, out of the blue, Tom’s world is cruelly shattered when he receives two bits of devastating news. Because of this, Tom realises that from now on their lives must change, forever. Tom is made to fight for his son, determined to keep him safe. But, when fate takes a hand, life can be unbearably cruel, and Casey is made to remember his father’s prophetic words… ‘It’s done. The dice is thrown, and nobody wins.’ But, unbeknown to Casey, there are three letters penned by his father, that may just change his destiny forever.
Have Your Cake and Eat it Too
Have Your Cake and Eat it Too
Sally Bee
¥110.46
You can indulge without guilt! Enjoy delicious desserts, perfect pastries, cookies and cakes, breads and bakes as part of a healthy lifestyle. Who says you can’t have it all? The third title from Sally Bee. Busy mum, home cook and heart-attack survivor Sally Bee knows better than anyone how to incorporate healthy eating into a busy lifestyle with her gorgeous, flavoursome and balanced recipes. In her new book, Have Your Cake and Eat it Too, Sally turns her attention to the sweet things in life to show that you don’t have to give up your favourite treats to maintain a healthy lifestyle or slimmer waistline. In fact, Sally claims that depriving yourself of these little pleasures makes it harder to stick to a nutritious and balanced diet long term. Sally shows how to make your favourite treats a little less naughty with healthier versions of much loved puddings, bakes, cakes and desserts. You can rest assured that they won’t be as sinful as they taste; a sensible attitude and a bit of creative cooking is all that’s needed to spoil yourself the healthier way. Sally also shares her helpful tips, advice and experience to show you how to enjoy little luxuries sensibly. She also reveals some of her culinary secrets and how to make compensations for 'naughty' ingredients by adding more of the good stuff. At the age of 36 Sally Bee suffered three major heart attacks in a single week. Sally defied all odds and, 5 years on, is glowing with health. She is the ultimate endorsement for living a sustainable healthy life, and is living proof that her recipes work. Recipes Include… Hot Choccy Soufflé Raspberry Muffins Low-fat Zesty Lemon Buttercream Pineapple, Raspberry and Amaretti Parfaits Chocolate Vanilla Mousse Peach and Strawberry Sorbet Soda Bread Spicy Apple Muffins Almond and Hazelnut Gateau Gooey Chocolate Orange Cookies Caramelised Apples Almond Macaroons Oatmeal Fruit Bread Chocolate Pistachio Biscuits Passionate Pear Crumble
Polar Quest
Polar Quest
Tom Grace
¥51.50
In a twisting, fast-moving adventure, ex-Navy Seal Nolan Kilkenny finds himself on a dangerous mission where he must recover a priceless artifact of human existence. The key to all life has suddenly become worth killing for… Deep in the frozen wasteland of Antarctica, a remote NASA research lab rests atop a two-mile thick glacier, covering a vast underground water resevoir. But the true discovery isn’t the lake buried in ice - it’s what has been found within its boundaries. Something amazing. Something alive. And it may hold the answers to existence itself. When the lab is attacked and its scientists murdered, Nolan Kilkenny realises that there is more than science at stake - there’s power, money, and what may be another step in evolution. Racing around the globe, Kilkenny must stop the machinations of a diabolical adversary and recover a priceless artifact of human existence - or die trying…
The Clumsies Make A Mess (The Clumsies, Book 1)
The Clumsies Make A Mess (The Clumsies, Book 1)
Sorrel Anderson
¥22.46
Three crazy, funny stories, featuring the two clumsiest talking mice you’ll ever meet… ‘The mouse started to trundle away, glancing at Howard over its shoulder, nervously. “You may well glance at me nervously," said Howard, picking up an empty water glass and placing it over the mouse. "You'll stay in there so I can eat my breakfast in peace. I shall deal with you afterwards…”’ But you can't really deal with the Clumsies, afterwards or at any time. Once you've got them, you're stuck with them. From the moment when Howard Armitage first finds two talking mice under his desk – the inimitable and hilarious Purvis and Mickey Thompson – his life, and his belongings, are turned forever upside down. Obsessed with biscuits and forever playing incomprehensible games of their own devising, the Clumsies are not your average mice – and though they're desperate to help Howard get out of trouble with his evil boss, they're only really good for one thing… …making a mess.
The Clumsies Make a Mess of the Seaside (The Clumsies, Book 2)
The Clumsies Make a Mess of the Seaside (The Clumsies, Book 2)
Sorrel Anderson
¥27.27
More hilarious stories about the two clumsiest talking mice you’ll ever meet… It’s Clumsies on Sea as Howard and the Clumsies head to the seaside for what Howard calls a “conference” and the Clumsies call a “holiday”! Will Howard manage to impress his evil boss Mr Bullerton? Will he get to the hotel on time? And will the trip pass without mess or incident of any kind? Of course not. Nothing goes to plan when the Clumsies are about! Sandcastles, talking donkeys, runaway supermarket trollies: this clumsy adventure has it all!
Idol
Idol
Carrie Duffy
¥58.86
A hugely entertaining and glamorous debut, perfect for fans of the X-Factor, from an exciting voice in young women’s fiction Meet Jenna Jonsson and Sadie Laine: two gorgeous, glamorous twenty-somethings fighting to make it to the top of their chosen professions. Beautiful and talented, Jenna is an international pop star, determined to take her career to the next level. And when a chance meeting leads to an opportunity for Jenna to work with world-famous rock band Phoenix, Jenna is quick to agree – although her decision is somewhat influenced by Nick Taylor, the drummer with Phoenix and the most gorgeous man Jenna has ever met… Meanwhile, Sadie is a struggling dancer and a childhood rival of Jenna's. Ambitious and passionate, she is determined to fulfil her dreams. And a move to Las Vegas yields an unmissable career opportunity and a chance at true love. Jenna and Sadie's lives are about to collide but will sparks fly? Or will they be able to put the past behind them?
Diva
Diva
Carrie Duffy
¥63.18
A hugely entertaining and glamorous book, from an exciting new voice in young women’s fiction Stunning and sexy, Dionne Summers is a girl who speaks her mind. Brought up on the mean streets of Detroit, she is determined that nothing will stop her from becoming the world’s next supermodel. Beautiful and innocent, Alyson Wakefield is desperate to escape her upbringing. She decides it is time to take hold of her life and follow her dreams. Heading to the chic streets of Paris, the girls move in with a maverick young designer, Ce Ce Bouvier. Born to a life of luxury and glamour, Ce Ce is determined to stand on her own two feet and take the fashion world by storm. The girls vow to make it to the top, but their friendship is about to be tested to the limits when deception, betrayal and tragedy are played out in the glare of the paparazzi flashbulbs. Can the three girls overcome the ghosts of the past – or will the catwalk consume them?
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot)
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot)
Agatha Christie
¥61.51
A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook. Asked to investigate an incident that needs to be dealt with discretion, Poirot reluctantly agrees to spend Christmas in the countryside with the Laceys. Dreading the cold and traditional English fare Poirot attempts to locate a missing ruby in order to save a kingdom…