万本电子书0元读

万本电子书0元读

Kockroach
Kockroach
Knox, Tyler
¥84.16
It is the mid-1950s, and Kockroach, perfectly content with his life infesting a fleabag hotel off Times Square, awakens to discover that somehow he's been transformed into, of all things, a human. A tragic turn of events, yes, but cockroaches are awesome coping machines, so Kockroach copes. Step by step, he learns the ways of man—how to walk, how to talk, and how to wear a jaunty brown fedora. Led by his primitive desires and insectile amorality, he navigates through the bizarre human realms of crime, business, politics, and sex. Will he find success or be squashed flat from aboveWill he change humanity, or will humanity change him?
Tumbling After
Tumbling After
Witcover, Paul
¥84.16
Jack and Jilly Doone are twelve-year-old twins bound by blood and forbidden secrets. Running wild through endless August afternoons, they explore the tributaries of Chesapeake Bay, spinning fantasies and sneaking cigarettes. But when a near-drowning awakens a strange power in Jack, the line between fantasy and reality blurs. . . .Kestrel is an airie, one of five mutant races born in the conflict known as the Viral Wars. With one companion from each of the other races—a delph, a merm, a mander, and a boggle—he sets out to battle human enemies sworn to exterminate mutantkind.Now the destinies of two worlds move toward a shocking convergence . . . and a climax of violent transfiguration.
A Second Helping
A Second Helping
Jenkins, Beverly
¥84.16
With the millions she received after divorcing her faithless tycoon husband, Bernadine Brown saved the historic town of Henry Adams, Kansas, from financial ruin and found loving homes for five needy children. Now there are other "projects" crying out for rescue.If ever a town institution needed rescuing, it's the beloved Dog and Cow diner. Once it was Henry Adams's social center—or gossip central!—now it's in danger of becoming duct-tape central. But there are other distractions pulling Bernadine from the task at hand: a plethora of romantic entanglements, including her own with a disturbingly attractive Malachi July; a bitter young boy newly arrived in town with his widowed father; and a fugitive on the run with a six-hundred-pound pet pig that's wanted for murder (the pig, that is). And when Bernadine's philandering, troublemaking ex-husband rolls into town looking for a second chance, life in Henry Adams gets very interesting indeed.
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.
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.
When Winter Returns
When Winter Returns
Haines, Kathryn Miller
¥84.16
Back from their USO stint in the South Pacific in the fall of 1943, Rosie Winter and her best friend, Jayne, head upstate to visit the home of Jayne's recently deceased fiancé. But what they find leaves Rosie wondering if the man ever existed to begin with.As Rosie searches for the truth behind his identity—and a way to help heal Jayne's broken heart—she faces an unpleasant homecoming of her own. The newspapers are filled with tales of saboteurs infiltrating the East Coast. Her ex, Jack Castlegate, is also back in Manhattan, nursing severe war injuries, under scrutiny for desertion, and engaged to a gorgeous WAC private. Rosie and Jayne's friend Al is in hiding and no one seems willing to help him out. Desperate to make things right, Rosie finds herself telling lie after lie to protect her friends and herself. But as her deceit mounts and lures danger out of hiding, she starts to wonder if they weren't all safer on the warfront than they are on the home front.
Yoga Hotel
Yoga Hotel
Moynihan, Maura
¥84.16
In the 1970s, Maura Moynihan moved to New Delhi with her mother and father, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who at the time was U.S. ambassador to India. She wasfascinated by the country's contradictions: ancient religions amid urban chaos, the staggering disparity between rich and poor, and Indian familial tradition and the lure of Western novelty.From three decades of deeply sympathetic observation came the inspiration for these stories, in which the characters' beliefs are challenged as they interact with those outside their culture. British and American expatriates mingle with Indian friends, colleagues, and servants, and the stories follow the change, or failure to change, that results. Hari, a young Indian servant, hopes for his amiable British boss's help in escaping a prearranged wedding. An American embassy worker named Melanie becomes disillusioned when her married lover uses her to get a visa. At a Himalayan retreat, a wealthy group gathers to seek spiritual enlightenment, but their altruism is tested when they are asked to buy dowries for a poor Indian family.Through witty dialogue and engaging scenes, Moynihan examines how both easterners and westerners struggle for dignity. Replete with humor and poignancy, Yoga Hotel is a stunning literary debut from a writer who understands the complexity and universality of human hopes, fears, and desires.
Brickhouse
Brickhouse
Ewing, Rita
¥84.16
Fitness superstar Nona Simms worked hard to make Brickhouse one of the hottest gyms in the city. Now corrupt city politics is coming uptown to Harlem, and Nona's dream is slated for the wrecking ball.Nona's a fighter, though, and she's gathering her friends around her for support against the special interests. However, her handsome business partner, Allen, is weighed down by a shattering secret that could destroy both their futures. Best girlfriend Leila is suffering through the disintegration of her marriage to a New York Knicks superstar. And Nona's being pulled into a web of treachery, deceit, and scandal that stretches into the very highest circles of New York power.Things look hopeless, but help is on the horizon—coming on strong from the last place Nona Simms ever expected to find it . . . and from the last man she ever expected to love.
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.
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.
Sins of the Father
Sins of the Father
Benson, Angela
¥84.16
God asked the biblical Abraham to sacrifice his son. But Abraham Martin's only god is money.Successful media mogul Abraham Martin has great wealth, an elegant wife, Saralyn, and a rebellious son, Isaac. He also has a secret: a second family that no one knows about. Now, after thirty years—driven by the urging of his long dormant conscience—Abraham is determined to do the right thing by finally bringing his illegitimate children into the light...and into the family fold.But beautiful, manipulative Saralyn will never accept the proof of her husband's indiscretions. Isaac, the heir, shaken by his father's revelations, will fight mercilessly when his world is threatened, and may lose everything that matters as a result. And while Abraham's forgotten daughter, Deborah, is open to the undreamed-of possibilities suddenly awaiting her, his son, Michael, cannot forgive the man who cruelly abandoned them to near poverty. And he's driven by only one desire: revenge!Angela Benson's Sins of the Father is a powerful story of a house bitterly divided—a rich, multilayered family saga of betrayal and redemption, rage and compassion, faith, forgiveness, and ultimately, of love.
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.
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?
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.
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.
My New American Life
My New American Life
Prose, Francine
¥84.16
Lula, a twenty-six-year-old Albanian woman living surreptitiously in New York City on an expiring tourist visa, hopes to make a better life for herself in America. When she lands a job as caretaker to Zeke, a rebellious high school senior in suburban New Jersey, it seems that the security, comfort, and happiness of the American dream may finally be within reach. Her new boss, Mister Stanley, an idealistic college professor turned Wall Street executive, assumes that Lula is a destitute refugee of the Balkan wars. He enlists his childhood friend Don Settebello, a hotshot lawyer who prides himself on defending political underdogs, to straighten out Lula's legal situation. In true American fashion, everyone gets what he wants and feels good about it. But things take a more sinister turn when Lula's Albanian "brothers" show up in a brand-new black Lexus SUV. Hoodie, Leather Jacket, and the Cute One remind her that all Albanians are family, but what they ask of her is no small favor. Lula's new American life suddenly becomes more complicated as she struggles to find her footing as a stranger in a strange new land. Is it possible that her new American life is not so different from her old Albanian one?Set in the aftermath of 9/11, My New American Life offers a vivid, darkly humorous, bitingly real portrait of a particular moment in history, when a nation's dreams and ideals gave way to a culture of cynicism, lies, and fear. Beneath its high comic surface, the novel is a more serious consideration of immigration, of what it was like to live through the Bush-Cheney years, and of what it means to be an American.
And When She Was Good
And When She Was Good
Lippman, Laura
¥84.16
Perennial New York Times and nationally bestselling author and acclaimed multiple–prize winner Laura Lippman delivers a brilliant novel about a woman with a secret life who is forced to make desperate choices to save her son and herself.When Hector Lewis told his daughter that she had a nothing face, it was just another bit of tossed-off cruelty from a man who specialized in harsh words and harsher deeds. But twenty years later, Heloise considers it a blessing to be a person who knows how to avoid attention. In the comfortable suburb where she lives, she's just a mom, the youngish widow with a forgettable job who somehow never misses a soccer game or a school play. In the state capitol, she's the redheaded lobbyist with a good cause and a mediocre track record.But in discreet hotel rooms throughout the area, she's the woman of your dreams—if you can afford her hourly fee.For more than a decade, Heloise has believed she is safe. She has created a rigidly compartmentalized life, maintaining no real friendships, trusting few confidantes. Only now her secret life, a life she was forced to build after the legitimate world turned its back on her, is under siege. Her once oblivious accountant is asking loaded questions. Her longtime protector is hinting at new, mysterious dangers. Her employees can't be trusted. One county over, another so-called suburban madam has been found dead in her car, a suicide. Or is it?Nothing is as it seems as Heloise faces a midlife crisis with much higher stakes than most will ever know.And then she learns that her son's father might be released from prison, which is problematic because he doesn't know he has a son. The killer and former pimp also doesn't realize that he's serving a life sentence because Heloise betrayed him. But he's clearly beginning to suspect that Heloise has been holding something back all these years.With no formal education, no real family, and no friends, Heloise has to remake her life—again. Disappearing will be the easy part. She's done it before and she can do it again. A new name and a new place aren't hard to come by if you know the right people. The trick will be living long enough to start a new life.
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.