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万本电子书0元读

Passport Diaries
Passport Diaries
Gregory, Tamara
¥84.16
Kia Carson, a Los Angeles district attorney with beauty, brains, taste, and style, is about to turn thirty-five. There's just one problem with her picture-perfect life -- she's not got one eligible man in sight. Well, thank God she has her career . . . at least until she gets suspended from her job. To regain her sense of purpose, she plans a restorative girl's night out -- all the way to Europe.In this fresh and funny Los Angeles Times bestseller, Kia embarks on what becomes a defining journey to London, Paris, and Greece, where she finds a little bit of trouble, a whole lot of laughs, and what she didn't even know she was looking for -- herself.
Polly
Polly
Bryant, Amy
¥84.16
If you're looking for Polly Clark, she'll be the girl wearing Doc Martens and a Bad Brains T-shirt at the punk show. She'll be (almost) losing her virginity to a high school dropout, accompanied by the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn." She'll be looking for her artistic soul while trying to solve the mysteries of guys, life, her seriously dysfunctional family . . . and herself.In eight chapters, Polly is shaped by eight relationships in this honest, tender, original, and utterly endearing story of one girl's stumbles and successes in the world of punked-out 1980s suburban romance -- the unforgettable debut of an extraordinary new voice in contemporary fiction.
The Cabala and The Woman of Andros
The Cabala and The Woman of Andros
Wilder, Thornton
¥84.16
Featuring an illuminating new foreword by Penelope Niven and a revealing afterword by Tappan Wilder, this reissue of two early books by Thornton Wilder reintroduces the reader to the author's first novel, The Cabala, and to The Woman of Andros, one of the inspirations for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town.A young American student spends a year in the exotic world of post-World War I Rome. While there, he experiences firsthand the waning days of a secret community (a "cabala") of decaying royalty, a great cardinal of the Roman Church, and an assortment of memorable American ex-pats. The Cabala, a semiautobiographical novel of unforgettable characters and human passions, launched Wilder's career as a celebrated storyteller and dramatist.The Woman of Andros, Wilder's best-selling novel, published in 1930, is set on the obscure Greek island of Brynos before the birth of Christ, and explores Everyman questions of what is precious about life and how we live, love, and die. Eight years later, Wilder would pose the same questions on the stage in a play titled Our Town, also set in an obscure location, this time a village in New Hampshire. The Woman of Andros is celebrated for some of the most beautiful writing in American literature.
Dangerous Heart (Westward Hearts)
Dangerous Heart (Westward Hearts)
Bateman, Tracey
¥84.16
Growing up motherless with an outlaw father made Ginger Freeman hard and unforgiving—and for the past seven years she's been driven by a single goal: to make Grant Kelley pay for letting her brother die. Now that she's tracked the hated doctor to a westward-bound wagon train, her mission of vengeance is nearly completed. But the sense of family and community that suddenly surrounds her is unlike anything Ginger has ever experienced. And under the nurturing eye of Miss Sadie, the outlaw's daughter begins to lose her rough edges. Here, in the company of loving, newfound friends, Ginger feels herself becoming part of something much bigger than revenge.But catastrophe is in the wind when her pa and his gang arrive to infiltrate the wagon train. Will Ginger's new relationship with God tear her away from her family forever . . . and cost her everything she's now begun to hold dear?
As Good As It Got
As Good As It Got
Sharpe, Isabel
¥84.16
Ann Redding has taken every lousy thing life has thrown at her and handled it very well, thank you very much. All she wants is to get her life back on track...but that won't happen till she makes her worried family and friends back off by spending two weeks at Camp Kinsonu, a retreat for suddenly single women. Now she's stuck sitting around a campfire, singing "I Am Woman" with a bunch of sandal-clad, makeup-boycotting women. If she doesn't get out of there soon, they'll be sizing her for Birkenstocks.Kinsonu, an idyllic retreat on the coast of Maine, is supposed to be a place for new hope and new beginnings. But Ann doesn't belong in an estrogen Eden, she belongs in a corporate boardroom. Still, the camp has its compensations—she's grudgingly befriended some other "inmates," including Cindy, who honestly believes she's just killing time till her serial-cheating husband comes crawling back. And Martha, shy, overweight, and mysteriously silent about the man she's there to get over. Maybe it was fate that brought them together at Camp Kinsonu, maybe just bad luck. But three strangers are about to bond on an adventure they didn't ask for—and discover that lives they thought were as good as it got could suddenly get a lot better.
City of Lost Girls
City of Lost Girls
Hughes, Declan
¥84.16
Dublin PI Ed Loy tackles a case that takes him back to Los Angeles -- his home of twenty years -- and a past he'd rather forget in this gripping new novel in the Edgar Award-nominated and Shamus Award-winning series.Ed Loy has laid his ghosts to rest. He's been back in his hometown of Dublin for several years, his work is wearing but steady, and he's in his first loving relationship since the death of his daughter caused the ruin of his marriage six years ago. But when two girls go missing from a Dublin film set, Loy knows his past has caught up with him.Loy's longtime friend, film director Jack Donovan, is shooting his next movie, an Irish historical epic. Donovan and his three right-hand men -- together, the Gang of Four -- have made numerous movies together spanning several decades, but the new film is primed to be their masterpiece. Production grinds to a halt, though, when not one but two female cast members fail to show up to work. Chances are they're party girls sleeping off a late night, but the circumstances feel familiar to Loy. A little too familiar. Twenty years ago, three girls disappeared from a movie Donovan was shooting in Malibu and their bodies were never found. Today, Loy has a sinking feeling in his heart: Those girls are gone.Knowing that one of the film crew -- maybe even Jack Donovan himself -- is responsible for the girls' disappearances, Loy races to uncover the truth before a third girl goes missing. And in order to find answers, he must return to L.A. and delve deep into his past. But while he's so far from home, a cunning killer seizes the chance to strike at what's closest to Ed Loy's heart.
Mornings with Mailer
Mornings with Mailer
Raymond, Dwayne
¥84.16
In the spring of 2003, Norman Mailer, who was then eighty years old, invited an improbable companion into his life: Dwayne Raymond, a young writer who was waiting tables at a restaurant in Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, where Mailer spent most of his final years. Raymond became Mailer's aide in all matters professional and private, assisting the Pulitzer Prize–winning author on the four books he published during this time, including his last novel, The Castle in the Forest. As Raymond's responsibilities grew, so too did his closeness to Mailer, who in turn taught him how to navigate his own personal challenges.In this touching memoir, Dwayne Raymond presents a loving portrait of Norman Mailer in his twilight years, depicting a quirky and complex but achingly human man so unlike the Mailer of disquieting legend. Beautifully written and honestly portrayed, Mornings with Mailer is a personal and revealing story of a great writer, his man Friday, and their unlikely but enduring friendship.
The Mirrored World
The Mirrored World
Dean, Debra
¥84.16
The bestselling author of The Madonnas of Leningrad returns with a breathtaking novel of love, madness, and devotion set against the extravagant royal court of eighteenth-century St. Petersburg.Born to a Russian family of lower nobility, Xenia, an eccentric dreamer who cares little for social conventions, falls in love with Andrei, a charismatic soldier and singer in the Empress's Imperial choir. Though husband and wife adore each other, their happiness is overshadowed by the absurd demands of life at the royal court and by Xenia's growing obsession with having a child—a desperate need that is at last fulfilled with the birth of her daughter. But then a tragic vision comes true, and a shattered Xenia descends into grief, undergoing a profound transformation that alters the course of her life. Turning away from family and friends, she begins giving all her money and possessions to the poor. Then, one day, she mysteriously vanishes.Years later, dressed in the tatters of her husband's military uniform and answering only to his name, Xenia is discovered tending the paupers of St. Petersburg's slums. Revered as a soothsayer and a blessed healer to the downtrodden, she is feared by the royal court and its new Empress, Catherine, who perceives her deeds as a rebuke to their lavish excesses. In this evocative and elegantly written tale, Dean reimagines the intriguing life of Xenia of St. Petersburg, a patron saint of her city and one of Russia's most mysterious and beloved holy figures. This is an exploration of the blessings of loyal friendship, the limits of reason, and the true costs of loving deeply.
The Secrets Sisters Keep
The Secrets Sisters Keep
Drake, Abby
¥84.16
Sisters should be the best of friends, but . . .When it comes to family secrets, the four Dalton sisters have had more than their share. Then quirky, spirited Uncle Edward decides to throw a seventy-fifth birthday celebration and wanders off, leaving the women to face their past—and one another. Ellie–the eldest, tended to Uncle Edward instead of her dreams. Exasperated with his antics, aware that she's not getting any younger, is she finally ready to take off for Egypt?Amanda–the Park Avenue snob, spent two decades raising three kids and squandering money she didn't have. Now that her husband's found a Brazilian back-waxer to take her place, will she reassess her life?Babe–the movie-star beauty, fled New York for L.A. When she returns with her has-been actor-husband, will love and lust be reignited for her—with someone else?Carleen–the middle-class mom, a ninth-grade algebra teacher, quilts cloth pocketbooks for fun. Did she really once have orange hair, bad boyfriends, and an attitudeWill her sisters ever forgive her for their shattered familyOr will she be forced to tell them the truth?And will these ladies ever be able to confront their long-buried past and act like, well, sisters again?
Girl Trouble
Girl Trouble
Jones, Holly Goddard
¥84.16
A high school basketball coach learns that his star player is pregnant—with his child. The nightmare of a college student's rape and murder is relived by both her mother and her killer, whose contradictory accounts call to question the very nature of victimhood. In these eight stories, the fine line between right and wrong, good and bad, love and violence is walked over and over again.
The Sand Fish
The Sand Fish
Gargash, Maha
¥84.16
A fascinating window into a different culture—and an inspiring and unforgettable universal story of strength and self-reliance—from an extraordinarily wise and lyrical new literary voiceComing of age in the 1950s, seventeen-year-old Noora is unlike other women of the sun-battered mountains at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Though she shares their poverty and, like them, bears life's hardships without complaint, she is also fiery and independent. Following the death of her mother and her father's descent into dazed madness, Noora flees the threat of an arranged marriage, only to be driven back to her unwanted fate by disappointment and heartbreak. As the third wife to a rich, much older man, Noora struggles to adjust to her new home by the sea, thinking of herself as a sand fish—the desert lizard she observed in the mountains, which, when stuck in the wrong place and desperate to escape, smashed itself again and again into unyielding rocks. But then a light is shone into her miserable darkness, resulting in an unexpected passion, a shocking indiscretion, and a secret that could jeopardize Noora's life.
Small Wars
Small Wars
Jones, Sadie
¥84.16
The prizewinning author of The Outcast delivers the emotionally searing story of a marriage in crisis, an unflinching look at lives irrevocably altered by one of history's "small wars."Hal Treherne is a major in the British Army, a young and dedicated soldier on the brink of a brilliant career. When he is transferred to the British colony of Cyprus in 1956, Hal is joined by Clara, his beautiful and supportive wife, and their baby daughters. The Trehernes quickly learn that the Mediterranean is no "sunshine posting," however, and soon Hal is caught up in the battle to defend the island against Cypriots seeking enosis, union with Greece.Leading his men in difficult and bloody skirmishes, after years of peaceful service, Hal at last tastes triumph. But his confidence and pride quickly fade: traumatized by the brutality he witnesses—and thwarted again in his attempts to do the right thing—Hal finds himself well trained in duty but ill equipped for moral battle.A seasoned army wife, Clara shares her husband's sense of obligation. She knows to settle in quickly, make no fuss, smile. But as she struggles to trust her own maternal instincts and resist the anxiety that surges with Hal's frequent absences, Clara grows fearful of her increasingly distant husband. When she needs him most, Clara finds the once-tender Hal a changed man—a betrayal that is only part of the shocking personal crisis to come.What place is there for honor amid cruelty, and what becomes of intimacy in the grinding gears of empireA passionate and brilliantly researched novel about the effects of war on the men who wage it and the families they leave behind, Small Wars raises important questions that resonate for our own time.
Maybe the Moon
Maybe the Moon
Maupin, Armistead
¥84.16
Maybe the Moon, Armistead Maupin's first novel since ending his bestselling Tales of the City series, is the audaciously original chronicle of Cadence Roth -- Hollywood actress, singer, iconoclast and former Guiness Book record holder as the world's shortest woman. All of 31 inches tall, Cady is a true survivor in a town where -- as she says -- "you can die of encouragement." Her early starring role as a lovable elf in an immensely popular American film proved a major disappointment, since moviegoers never saw the face behind the stifling rubber suit she was required to wear. Now, after a decade of hollow promises from the Industry, she is reduced to performing at birthday parties and bat mitzvahs as she waits for the miracle that will finally make her a star. In a series of mordantly funny journal entries, Maupin tracks his spunky heroine across the saffron-hazed wasteland of Los Angeles -- from her all-too-infrequent meetings with agents and studio moguls to her regular harrowing encounters with small children, large dogs and human ignorance. Then one day a lanky piano player saunters into Cady's life, unleashing heady new emotions, and she finds herself going for broke, shooting the moon with a scheme so harebrained and daring that it just might succeed. Her accomplice in the venture is her best friend, Jeff, a gay waiter who sees Cady's struggle for visibility as a natural extension of his own war against the Hollywood Closet. As clear-eyed as it is charming, Maybe the Moon is a modern parable about the mythology of the movies and the toll it exacts from it participants on both sides of the screen. It is a work that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit from a perspective rarely found in literature.
The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom
The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom
Barrett, Jo
¥84.16
The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom strives to answer life's most imponderable question: What Do Women Really Do in the BathroomWhen the witty and urbane Claire St. John leaves New York City and returns to Austin, Texas, she realizes that all of the good advice she has ever received has been from strangers in the women's bathroom. If only she'd listened before she'd married the wrong man and wound up on the losing end of a divorce. Swearing off men, Claire decides to take a big chance—she will quit her life as a lawyer and write the ultimate self-help book—a book detailing exactly what goes on in that most sacred feminine temple: the women's bathroom.But will the new how-to guru ever learn to take her own adviceWhile she's discovering the truth behind the bathroom door, re-assimilating to Texas culture by eating "nuclear" jalape?o carrots, speeding down highways through the famed Texas hill country, and even joining an ill-fated booze cruise, Claire St. John is fighting her feelings for Jake Armstrong, a dashing organic food entrepreneur who threatens to throw off the balance of her new life. Will she be able to handle the pressure or will she watch her love life get flushed away?
The Paris Enigma
The Paris Enigma
De Santis, Pablo
¥84.16
In the tradition of The Alienist and The Devil in the White City comes a gripping, atmospheric tale of murder and the art of crime solving. Paris, 1889: in anticipation of the World's Fair and the opening of Monsieur Eiffel's tower, a society of the world's most famous detectives convenes as a single body for the very first time. Sent in place of a conspicuously absent Renato Craig, founding member of The Twelve, his novice assistant Sigmundo Salvatrio arrives, bearing a secret message for the brilliant, brooding Viktor Arzaky, Craig's best friend and the society's cofounder. When one of The Twelve is discovered murdered at the Tower's base—the first in a series of grisly slayings—it falls to Arzaky and Salvatrio, the last remaining student of Craig's famed Academy for Detectives in Buenos Aires, to find and stop the killer. But what the two discover as they race around fin-de-siècle Paris—encountering secret societies, philosophical puzzles, and an imperiled, dangerously beautiful woman—has shattering consequences that will alter the fate of their precious brotherhood forever.
Caribou Island
Caribou Island
Vann, David
¥84.16
The prize-winning author of Legend of a Suicide delivers his highly anticipated debut novel.On a small island in a glacier-fed lake on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, a marriage is unraveling. Gary, driven by thirty years of diverted plans, and Irene, haunted by a tragedy in her past, are trying to rebuild their life together. Following the outline of Gary's old dream, they're hauling logs to Caribou Island in good weather and in terrible storms, in sickness and in health, to build the kind of cabin that drew them to Alaska in the first place.But this island is not right for Irene. They are building without plans or advice, and when winter comes early, the overwhelming isolation of the prehistoric wilderness threatens their bond to the core. Caught in the emotional maelstrom is their adult daughter, Rhoda, who is wrestling with the hopes and disap-pointments of her own life. Devoted to her parents, she watches helplessly as they drift further apart.Brilliantly drawn and fiercely honest, Caribou Island captures the drama and pathos of a husband and wife whose bitter love, failed dreams, and tragic past push them to the edge of destruction. A portrait of desolation, violence, and the darkness of the soul, it is an explosive and unforgettable novel from a writer of limitless possibility.
Drinking Closer to Home
Drinking Closer to Home
Blau, Jessica Anya
¥84.16
They say you can never really go home again. Adult siblings Anna, Portia, and Emery are about to discover just how true that is.
The Prenatal Prescription
The Prenatal Prescription
Nathanielsz, Peter
¥84.16
Did you know that your actions during pregnancy impact your child's health after birth and into adulthoodThat what you eat, how much you exercise, your stress level, and your immediate environment are all key factors in determining your baby's predisposition to such conditions as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke, cancer, even depressionBased on more than thirty years of rigorous scientific research, Dr. Nathanielsz's The Prenatal Pre*ion explains why this is so and what you can do about it.Focusing on the main factors that directly affect the unborn child -- nutrition, stress, toxins, and exercise -- Dr. Nathanielsz lays out a clear and easy-to-follow program for "prenatal programming." He explains the science behind the fetal origins of adult disease, and offers tools that you can use to make your prenatal interaction with your baby memorable and beneficial.Starting before conception, this simple pre*ion will change forever the way you think about preparing yourself for pregnancy. All parents want a long and healthy life for their child. The Prenatal Pre*ion explains how to make this a reality.
Chosen
Chosen
Hoffman, Chandra
¥84.16
In Chosen, a young caseworker becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of adoptive and birth parents, with devastating results.It all begins with a fantasy: the caseworker in her "signing paperwork" charcoal suit standing alongside beaming parents cradling their adopted newborn, set against a fluorescent-lit delivery-room backdrop. It's this blissful picture that keeps Chloe Pinter, director of the Chosen Child's domestic-adoption program, happy while juggling the high demands of her boss and the incessant needs of both adoptive and biological parents.But the very job that offers her refuge from her turbulent personal life and Portland's winter rains soon becomes a battleground involving three very different couples: the Novas, well-off college sweethearts who suffered fertility problems but are now expecting their own baby; the McAdoos, a wealthy husband and desperate wife for whom adoption is a last chance; and Jason and Penny, an impoverished couple who have nothing—except the baby everyone wants. When a child goes missing, dreams dissolve into nightmares, and everyone is forced to examine what he or she really wants and where it all went wrong.Told from alternating points of view, Chosen reveals the desperate nature of desire across social backgrounds and how far people will go to get the one thing they think will be the answer.
Million Little Mistakes
Million Little Mistakes
McElhatton, Heather
¥84.16
Congratulations—You just won $22 million in the Lottery! So what happens next?In Heather McElhatton's second do-over novel, Million Little Mistakes, you win $22 million in the lottery. Given the chance to live like a millionaire, you could realize all your dreams or learn that money only causes more problems. It all depends on the choices you make . . . Should you keep your day jobStay in your relationshipSave an endangered speciesHave a debauched weekend on Sex IslandBuy an aristocrat's life on eBay or pay off all your family's debtShould you climb Mount Everest, trek the remote jungles of China, book passage on a luxury cruise, or become an infamous Voodoo priestessIs your destiny to become a philanthropist, a pharmaceutical tycoon, a happy homemaker, or a burlesque stripperBe careful. Your fortune could be lost in a Ponzi scheme; your wildest fantasy may bring you total bliss or lead you to a run-in with extortionists who try to kill you. There are hundreds of possible adventures sown inside Million Little Mistakes. Some lives end fabulously while others in utter disaster, so choose wisely. You can buy a lot with $22 million, but can you buy a happy ending?
Moses, Man of the Mountain
Moses, Man of the Mountain
Hurston, Zora Neale
¥84.16
In this 1939 novel based on the familiar story of the Exodus, Zora Neale Hurston blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song to create a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith. Narrated in a mixture of biblical rhetoric, black dialect, and colloquial English, Hurston traces Moses's life from the day he is launched into the Nile river in a reed basket, to his development as a great magician, to his transformation into the heroic rebel leader, the Great Emancipator. From his dramatic confrontations with Pharaoh to his fragile negotiations with the wary Hebrews, this very human story is told with great humor, passion, and psychological insight—the hallmarks of Hurston as a writer and champion of black culture.