One of my favorite things about coming back from vacation is seeing the huge changes in the garden. It’s like getting a fast forward button on your plants. My pumpkin plants have exploded and the grape vines are well over the trellis. I even have a few tomatoes that are ready to pick. I might have to give up on trellising the pumpkins though. I don’t thing they are getting enough sun. Right now I have to spend a little time with the ladies. They gave me quite a greeting yesterday!
The Woodlanders
Thomas Hardy
Genre: British | Historical Fiction | Classics | Contemporary Fiction
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Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was one of the most famous authors of the Victorian Era. Hardy is best known for novels such as Far from the Madding Crowd and Tess of the d’Urbervilles but he also was a very influential poet. This edition of The Woodlanders includes a table of contents.
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Ride to Redemption (Ride Series Book 1)
DJ Wilson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense | Romance
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It’s apparent, a little startling, even refreshing, to see the author blending life stories and maxims with compelling, spellbinding fiction wrapped in a twisted love story.
Righting another’s wrong landed D in the witness protection program and cost him family, friends, and everything of substance in his life. Loneliness is his constant companion until he meets Candi, the girl of his dreams. He and Candi embark on a three-week ride to redemption where they deal with mind-numbing deceit, perilous treachery, their overpowering lust for each other and their personal demons. Nevertheless, new opportunities bring a chance to begin again. And, it doesn’t hurt that he’s got 200 pounds of illicit diamonds to use to ease the pain of those wronged. He will continue the redemption process by way of a well thought out plan involving a 5,000-mile adventure through the Western United States and Canada. When D meets Candice, aka Candi, she captures his heart, mind and soul the instant she ‘inadvertently’ almost runs him down in the Starbucks drive-thru. Candi joins him on his three-week, two-wheeled ride to redemption, where they’re forced to face their personal demons, while dealing with wanton lust, mind-numbing deceit and perilous treachery.
Spectacular scenery and a cast of unforgettable characters they meet along the way makes the journey memorable, but nothing prepares them for the sacrifices they must eventually make midway in the ride. “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” sadly, does not ring true for Candice and D throughout this first of a three part series. Lust and greed are forever game-changers, even for those who desperately seek redemption.
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Stained River
David Faxon
Genre: Action & Adventure
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There is a place called Vale do Javari. It is in western Brazil and forms part of the border with Peru. I chose it as the setting for a large portion of Stained River since it has vastness (85,000 square kilometers), canopied forests, muddy rivers, biting insects and poisonous snakes you would expect to find in a novel of this type. A place where one could easily get lost and not come out, as Terrence Connery, the main character, did. Most of all, Vale do Javari has uncontacted primitive tribes, thought to be about seven or eight remaining. As late as June, 2011, another of these people lost to civilization, was filmed from the air. Far to the east, towards Venezuela, are the Yanomami tribes of which more is known. Much of their culture is steeped in violence; much of it also has been exploited and ruined by those seeking riches, including gold. I borrowed from the Yanomami customs to form the fictitious tribe, Machi-te.
Terrence Connery spends almost a year of his life with the Machi-te after his plane crashes. In a remoteness almost unknown in today’s world, he finds life and love amid a very primitive culture. One he is drawn to but at the same time, needs to escape from. There, deep within Vale do Javari, he meets Teman-e, the noble savage. They begin an odyssey to save their lives. In the process, Connery stumbles upon the reason he is in such a remote part of the planet in the first place; partially by accident, partially by design inspired by greed. He gains growing awareness of the rape of a bio system essential to the world and the impact it has on the people who befriended him. It becomes an important ingredient of the story, the impetus for him to embark upon a three hundred mile river journey and a compelling plan for vengeance on those who changed his life so radically.
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Freak Show Without a Tent: Swimming with Piranhas, Getting Stoned in Fiji and Other Family Vacations
Nevin Martell
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
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Fishing for piranhas in the Amazon, getting stoned at Fijian kava ceremonies, and witnessing the ancient ritual of land diving on Pentecost Island is the stuff of National Geographic cover stories – and Nevin Martell’s childhood vacations. His family’s globetrotting took them from the South Pacific to South America and many points nowhere in-between. Though their lifestyle choices were eccentric, the locations they visited exotic, and the people they met extraordinary, these escapades are firmly grounded in the trials, tribulations, and tribal rivalries that plague all families. Freak Show Without a Tent is a grandly hilarious memoir-misadventure that is equal parts National Lampoon’s Vacation, Romancing the Stone and Crocodile Dundee. Woven seamlessly into the stories of exploring the far side of the far side, near death experiences and gastronomical catastrophes is the story of a young boy coming of age, the evolving relationship between a father and son, and a family discovering its own boundaries. With the honesty and innocence that can only come through the eyes of youth, Martell reveals the symbiosis of interdependence and independence that exist deep within both rainforests and families. To paraphrase a family motto: buy the ticket, take the ride, and hope you survive, so that you can tell your therapist all about it.
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The Adventures of Baylard Bear – a story about being DIFFERENT
Lucinda Sue Crosby
Genre: Children’s eBooks
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Attention Teachers: This Kindle Bestselling Book is a great tool to start a conversation with children about Adoption, Bullying or being Different This Children’s Fiction Ebook is appropriate for ages 6 to 12 Being different can be a heavy burden at any age, but for a child? Who doesn’t remember getting picked last for Red Rover, messing up your book report in front of everyone or trying to ignore hurtful nicknames?
Baylard Bear also knows what it’s like to be DIFFERENT. When he was just a few weeks old, he was left on the steps of a human orphanage by his bear parents, who wanted a better life for him. Now if Baylard has even a prayer of being adopted by a loving human family, he must learn to do all the things human children do. As you can imagine Baylard gets himself into some trouble. Because he is a bear, his body is bigger and shaped differently than a human child. This makes Baylard feel out of place especially when he takes a trip to the grocery store and can’t stop bumping into shelves and people. He also has some humorous moments in his pursuit of new things – like getting his head stuck in a motorcycle helmet or when he mixes the cookie batter with his paws instead of a spoon. Children like to pretend and have a big imagination so while it may seem unlikely that bear parents would place their cub for adoption with a human agency, this fairytale is written to be light-hearted enough for children to digest while parents, teachers, foster care workers or others involved with child care can use it as a teaching tool to discuss serious topics.
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