Showing results by narrator "Graham Halstead" in All Categories

In the spring of 1910, an advertisement I spotted in the Boston newspaper called out to me: “Wealthy family in need of secretary on Whale Island. Must have an affinity for books.” When I’m offered the position, I do not hesitate to pack my meagre belongings and travel to Washington state. After all, I have nothing to lose. I’ve been dismissed from my current position. I have no family. It’s all a dream come true. The only problem? My employer, Benedict Tutheridge, makes my heart flutter and my knees wobble.

Alex and friends return to a Wasteland in turmoil. The Raiders are scattered, the Exiles hunted, and the feuding Vegas gangs plot one another's destruction. Makara, head of the New Angels, has the difficult task of convincing disparate groups to work together before Emperor Augustus and his legions arrive. But while humanity fights amongst itself, the Great Blight prepares its final onslaught - and at the center of it all, there is a secret that could spell the end of the invasion. It is a revelation only Alex can discover, and it might cost him everything.

From the moment Henry Porcher first sees Ilsa Brandes, he worships her. Despite controversy surrounding the young girl, Henry is drawn to her, a fascination that turns into a lifelong infatuation. As the years pass, Ilsa’s memory never leaves him, not until the day he returns to their sleepy Southern hometown and renews their childhood friendship. Henry watches as she becomes a wife, then a mother, then a widow, irrevocably changed by tragedy. This rare and sought-after novel is a portrait of a remarkable woman bound by both the stifling conventions of her time and place, and her own sense of honor and purpose.

NASA’s race with the Russians to land a man on the moon. The meteoric rise of the Beatles, considered by many to have revolutionized the music industry. In the postwar era, each stood as an unprecedented cultural watershed. Together they captured the heady zeitgeist of the 1960s, and ignited the imagination of - just about everyone on the planet.

David Weir explores the conflicting attitudes towards modernity present in decadent culture by examining the difference between aesthetic decadence - the excess of artifice - and social decadence, which involves excess in a variety of forms, whether perversely pleasurable or gratuitously cruel. Such contrariness between aesthetic and social decadence led some of its practitioners to substitute art for life and to stress the importance of taste over morality, a maneuver with far-reaching consequences.

Trying to escape the shambles her con-man father has made of their reputation, Lucinda Curtis arrives in West Point, New York, determined to land a husband from the military academy. Campbell Conklin is first in his class and preparing to embark upon a storied career in the US Army. Lucinda thinks Campbell will make the perfect husband...as long as he does not find out about her father. Seth Westcott also has taken a liking to Lucinda.

Dave, an investment counselor with PTSD, survives a blowout that kills his fiancee, Allison. A year later, Dave has found unexpected happiness with Cathy. At Dave's very-small-high-school reunion, Dave is stunned that he doesn't recognize anyone there. Cathy, who was previously victimized by a con man, breaks it off. Late that night, Dave gets a text: "How does it feel to be so quickly forgotten?" Apparently, someone close to Allison is angry that he has moved on so "soon." Dave's PTSD symptoms make him avoid conflict at almost any cost, so he hopes this will pass. It doesn't.

Eran Sharon knows nothing of his father except that he left when Eran was a baby. Now a senior in high school and living with his protective but tight-lipped mother, Eran is a passionate young man deeply interested in social justice and equality. When he learns that the Houston police have launched a program to increase traffic stops, Eran organizes a peaceful protest. But a heated moment at the protest goes viral, and a reporter connects the Sharon family to a tragedy fifteen years earlier - and asks if Eran is anything like his father, a supposed terrorist.

With his girlfriend, Robin, away in Canada, 18-year-old Lucas Baker's only plans for the summer are to mellow out with his friends, smoke weed, drop a tab or two, and head out in his microbus for a three-day happening called the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. But life veers dramatically off track when he suddenly finds himself in danger of being drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam.

Have you ever wondered why humans lost their body hair? Curious about what causes a hangover? Or what makes that popping sound when we crack our knuckles? What about the oft-cited maxim that we only use 10 percent of our brains? Professors, scientists, and biologists provide answers that are at once accurate, understandable, and sometimes just plain funny.

Pussy came easy.... But then, for photographer, Xander Chase, most things came easy...except love. His portraits are renowned for revealing the heart and soul of his subjects, yet, he keeps his own heart hidden behind a playboy facade. All he cares about is revenge, and for that, he needs a stand-in girlfriend for a weekend fling. Struggling actress, Imani Brooks, has been offered the coveted role of a lifetime...playing the part of an escort in a renowned play.

Raja has been raised in captivity. Not behind the bars of a zoo, but within the confines of an American home. He was stolen when he was young to be someone's pet. Now he's grown up and is about to be sent away again, to a place from which there will be no return. John grew up with Raja. The orangutan was his friend, his brother, never his pet. But when John's parents split up and moved him across the country, he left Raja behind. Now Raja is suffering.

The second title in our series - Astronomy - looks skyward and explains a variety of universal phenomena and theories. Are you curious about how planets acquire rings or what creates those gorgeous spiral arms around galaxies? Or maybe you want to know why the Big Bang didn’t collapse into a black hole. Astrophysicists, professors, and scientists tackle questions about stars, planets, asteroids, galaxies, and nebulae, the expanding universe as well as the oddities - black holes, wormholes, and dark matter.

The former Stanford University sailing coach sentenced in the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal tells the riveting true story of how he was drawn unwittingly into a web of deceit in this eye-opening memoir that offers a damning portrait of modern college administration and the ways in...

It is 1792 and unbeknownst to a group of voyageurs traveling from Montreal to Grand Portage, an intrepid squirrel, Jean Pierre Petit Le Rouge, sneaks onto their canoe. Le Rouge is soon discovered because he can't contain his excitement - mon dieu he is so enthusiastic. The smells! The vistas! The comradery! The voyageurs are not particularly happy to have him, especially because Le Rouge rides, but he does not paddle. He eats, but he does not cook. He doesn't even carry anything on portages - sometimes it is he who has to be carried.

Longlisted for the 2024 Story Prize From the author of Confidence and The Comedown comes a wildly imaginative story collection about queerness, neurodivergence, sexuality, and self-discovery. Frumkin’s latest book is a deliciously entertaining collection of five genre-defying stories that...

The mass suicide of a cult known as The Flock sent shockwaves through the small rural town of Iola, Michigan. Led by the charismatic Dominic Bragg, The Flock camped at an abandoned bird sanctuary before their sudden and shocking demise. The deaths came just weeks after one of their members, Laurel Tai, a local pageant queen, was abducted. The town turned its blame and fear onto the sole survivor, Claire Kettler—Laurel’s best friend. Burdened by grief and unanswered questions about her friend’s murder and her fellow cult members’ deaths, Claire can’t help but wonder what really happened.

Addie and Clark have just defeated one evil, only to have another closer to home than they thought possible. They thought they were finally safe, but Spectrum has been waiting for them. And this time, there are more lives at stake than anyone could've imagined. Will they be able to work together to stop the spread of RyLand's forces? Or will they have to sacrifice everyone they've ever loved for the sake of the rest of the world?

Despite the tragic events at Hanssen Scientific, Monique Durand and her newfound companions continue their search for the source of her compelling visions. Are they somehow linked to the secrets of dark matter, as Professor Hanssen is so desperate to believe? Or does the truth reach even deeper - into our Universe's past, and our planet's ultimate future? To find out, they'll need to outwit the Consortium, a secretive group of trillionaires who now have what they need to achieve their own, long-awaited end-game.

Even after rescuing the king from deadly Snuffweasels, Zarf is scum on the bottom rung of the middle-school social ladder. After all, he is still a troll. But at least he still has his two best friends, Kevin and Chester...until Kevin disappears, that is. Now Zarf is at an all-time low. It seems a band of wolves are seeking revenge for the constant disgrace they've suffered over the years, and Little Red Ridinghood's kid might be next on their list.