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books tagged “chick-lit” (chick lit / Chick Lit)
books tagged “chick-lit”
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Amy and Isabelleby Elizabeth StroutISBN 0375705198 (0-375-70519-8)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Amy and Isabelle'Book summary:"It was terribly hot the summer Mr. Robertson left town." For Amy Goodrow and her mother, Isabelle, the heat of that summer is the least of their problems. Other citizens in the New England mill town of Shirley Falls are bothered by the heat and by "other things too: Further up the river crops weren't right--pole beans were small, shriveled on the vine, carrots stopped growing when they were no bigger than the fingers of a child; and two UFOs had apparently been sighted in the north of the state." But Amy and Isabelle have a more private misery: a seemingly unbridgeable chasm has opened between this once-close mother and daughter and nothing will ever be the same again. For Amy has fallen in love with her high-school math teacher, Mr. Robertson, who has gone way beyond the bounds of propriety by encouraging the crush. When Isabelle finds out, she is horrified to realize that her anger at him is dwarfed by her rage at her own daughter for "enjoying the sexual pleasures of a man while she herself had not."
Mother-daughter novels can, by virtue of their subject matter, often seem claustrophobic, a little overwrought; Elizabeth Strout masterfully avoids this problem by placing Amy and Isabelle in the larger context of the community they inhabit. Though her main focus is on the Goodrow women, Strout often detours into the lives and thoughts of her many secondary characters: Isabelle's coworkers Dottie Brown and Fat Bev; Amy's best friend, Stacy Burrows; Stacy's ex-boyfriend, Paul Bellows; and women from Isabelle's church such as Peg Dunlap and Barbara Rawley. She also introduces a chilling frisson of menace with the unsolved abduction of a 12-year-old girl and a mysterious obscene phone-caller. Like the best of Alice Hoffman, Amy and Isabelle offers up a moving yet resolutely unsentimental portrait of people coming to terms with their lives, finding unsuspected nobility in themselves and unexpected kindness in others along the way. Elizabeth Strout has written a gem of a novel. --Alix Wilber [via]
Asking for Troubleby Elizabeth YoungISBN 0380818973 (0-380-81897-3)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Be My Babyby Susan AndersenISBN 0380795124 (0-380-79512-4)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Bet Meby Jennifer CrusieISBN 0375433562 (0-375-43356-2)
Hardcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Bet Me'Book summary:Setting: small city in Ohio
Thirty-three-year-old Minerva Dobbs is annoyed when her current boyfriend dumps her three weeks before her sisters' wedding. But she's downright furious a few moments later when she overhears her now "ex" boyfriend bet hunky Calvin Morrisey that he can't take her home and bed her. In fact, she's so angry at them both that she lets Cal take her to dinner and decides to string him along until after her sisters' wedding. Minerva pegs Cal as a handsome "used car salesman of seducers." Cal thinks Minerva is a "cranky, starving, risk-averse statistician." But Minerva's hormones keep whispering "this one," although she knows the gorgeous Cal isn't the man for her practical, white-cotton-bra, several-pounds-over-thin, self. And Cal is blindsided by the lust he feels for the voluptuous, sensual woman he glimpses behind Min's actuary exterior. While Cal and Min struggle to deal with their mutual distrust and attraction, their friends and families try their best to interfere and direct the progression of the unlikely romantic connection.
Bet Me is unabashedly, irrepressibly romantic. In the wacky, wonderful world of Min and Cal, author Jennifer Crusie leaves no humorous situation unexplored--no potential comedic cauldron left unstirred--no hysterically funny complication left undeveloped. The reader is treated to a seemingly mismatched hero and heroine who fling caution to the winds to explore their unexpected attraction. The sexual tension is hot, the dialogue witty and wickedly sarcastic, and the supporting cast of secondary characters hilarious. Like Min's favorite Krispy Kreme donuts, this novel is rich and sinfully delicious. Indulge. Enjoy. --Lois Faye Dyer [via]
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Better Off Deadby Katy MungerISBN 0380800659 (0-380-80065-9)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Bitter Sugar: A Lupe Solano Mysteryby Carolina Garcia-AguileraISBN 0380807416 (0-380-80741-6)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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Borrower of the Nightby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380733390 (0-380-73339-0)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Boy Meets Boyby David LevithanISBN 0375832998 (0-375-83299-8)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Boy Meets Boy'Book summary:In this delightful young adult novel for readers 12 and up, high school sophomore Paul says, "There isnt really a gay scene or a straight scene in our town. They got all mixed up a while back, which I think is for the best." And, as he observes at the end of the story, "It's a wonderful world." Paul has both gay and straight friends, and they all hang out together at terrific bookstores and concerts, and advise one another on the sometimes troubled progress of their various romances. Paul is smitten with Noah, and they are beginning a serious relationship when Kyle, Pauls ex, complicates things by deciding that all is forgiven. Joni is going out with Chuck, who dominates her, much to her friends' disapproval. Tonys conservative parents refuse to acknowledge that he is gay, so the others must bone up on Bible verses all week so they can pretend Saturday night is a study group. And then there's Infinite Darlene, football quarterback and Homecoming Queen, who deserves a whole romance novel of her own. Life in their town is gloriously accepting of differences and only occasionally verges on magic realism, in this first novel in which same sex preference is not the problem. --Patty Campbell [via]
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Bride for a Nightby Patti BergISBN 038080736X (0-380-80736-X)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Bride for a Night'Book summary:The Marriage Lasted Just One Glorious Day . . . Cairo McKnight never wanted to see Duncon Kincaid again! Once upon a time, the daring and oh-so-irresistible adventurer filled her with soul-searing passion, which led to exactly one day of wedded bliss before he disappeared without a word. Now, with a precocious son in desperate need of a father, Cairo's reluctantly decided to find the man who walked out on her. The moment she sees Duncan again, she realizes he's as tempting as ever, but Cairo's sure she can't trust him with their son-or her heart...
...And One Passionate Night!Duncan was born with adeventure in his blood, but nothing-and no one- ever challenged him like smart, sassy Cairo. Her curvy body and sweet luscious lips had haunted him for years...and her refusal to listen to his side of the story has brought him nothing but frustration. Still, Duncan's not a man to give up easily and he's determined to rekindle their fiery romance. But how can he convince this stubborn beauty that she was destined to be his bride not just for one night...but for every night to come? . . . [via]More editions of Bride for a Night:
The Camelot Caper: Library Editionby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380731134 (0-380-73113-4)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Charms for the Easy Lifeby Kaye GibbonsISBN 0380722704 (0-380-72270-4)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Charms for the Easy Life'Book summary:In the verdant backwoods of North Carolina, in a sad and singular era, the Birches are unique among women of their time-living gloriously rich it decidedly offbeat lives in a private world ahandoned by men. And though misery often heats a path to their door, headstrong Sophia and her y, brilliant daughter Margaret possess charms to ward off loneliness and despair-thanks to the uncompromising strength, uncommon wisdom, and muscular love of a remarkable matriarch and self-taught healer who calls herself Charlie Kate.
In Charms for the Easy Life, Kaye Gibbons has created a luminous, truthtelling novel that gives life to her most passionate and toughminded women yet.
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Christyby Catherine MarshallISBN 0380001411 (0-380-00141-1)
Softcover, Avon Books
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The Clan of the Cave Bearby Jean M. AuelISBN 0375431802 (0-375-43180-2)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Clan of the Cave Bear'Book summary:When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-year-old Ayla wanders through the forest completely alone. Cold, hungry, and badly injured by a cave lion, the little girl is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan, left homeless by the same disaster, have little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others." Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care. She painstakingly nurses her back to health--a decision that will forever alter the physical and emotional structure of the clan. Although this story takes place roughly 35,000 years ago, its cast of characters could easily slide into any modern tale. The members of the Neanderthal clan, ruled by traditions and taboos, find themselves challenged by this outsider, who represents the physically modern Cro-Magnons. And as Ayla begins to grow and mature, her natural tendencies emerge, putting her in the middle of a brutal and dangerous power struggle.
Although Jean Auel obviously takes certain liberties with the actions and motivations of all our ancestors, her extensive research into the Ice Age does shine through--especially in the detailed knowledge of plants and natural remedies used by the medicine woman and passed down to Ayla. Mostly, though, this first in the series of four is a wonderful story of survival. Ayla's personal evolution is a compelling and relevant tale. --Sara Nickerson [via]
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Come Together : A Novelby Emlyn Rees, Josie LloydISBN 0375502327 (0-375-50232-7)
Hardcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Dead Sea Cipher: Library Editionby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380731142 (0-380-73114-2)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend: A Novelby Laney K. BeckerISBN 0380814781 (0-380-81478-1)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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The Dearly Departedby Elinor LipmanISBN 0375724583 (0-375-72458-3)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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Die for Loveby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380731169 (0-380-73116-9)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Dive from Clausen's Pierby Ann PackerISBN 0375727132 (0-375-72713-2)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dive from Clausen's Pier'Book summary:Carrie Bell is the worst person in the world. Or so she would have you think. In the gripping, carefully paced debut novel of personal epiphany, The Dive from Clausen's Pier, by O. Henry Award winner Ann Packer, Carrie's very survival is dependent upon her leaving her fiancé, even after he dives into shallow water at a Memorial Day picnic and becomes paralyzed. Things hadn't been going so well for the Madison, Wisconsin, high school and college sweethearts. Carrie knew, deep down, that she wasn't going to become Mrs. Michael Mayer. But expectations and pressure from all sides--his family, her mother, her best friend Jamie, Mike's best friend Rooster--force Carrie to shut herself up in her room and sew outfits of her own design as if in a trance. Then one night she slips out of the only universe she's ever known. Many hours later she finds herself on the doorstep of a high school classmate living in Manhattan. Carrie's adventures in the city--quirky roommates and a new romance with an older, emotionally impenetrable man--confuse her in her quest both to forgive herself and to embark on a career in fashion design. Packer writes in a convincing voice and packs a lot into this novel; she infuses Carrie with enough humanity and smarts to choose her own version of "happily ever after." --Emily Russin [via]
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Durable Goodsby Elizabeth BergISBN 0380723085 (0-380-72308-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Durable Goods'Book summary:In the sweltering heat of a Southwestern summer, on a small army base in rural Texas, Katie waits impatiently for her life to change. Though battered by the recent death of her mother, her spirit remains miraculously stong. She is filled with longings: for a boy to fall in love with her the way Dickie Mac has fallen for her sister; for her father to stop hitting her; for her life to become less uncertain. And she knows that day is coming soon.
Durable Goods is a poignant and enduring novel by Elizabeth Berg -- author of the New York Times bestseller Talk Before Sleep and Joy School -- a masterful work that gently captures the subtle nuances of childhood's end...and the pain, sorrow and stirring hope of inevitable transformation. [via]
Flame and the Flowerby Kathleen E. WoodiwissISBN 0380005255 (0-380-00525-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasureby Mireille GuilianoISBN 0375435484 (0-375-43548-4)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure'Book summary:The message of this book could be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. There is no hard science, no clearly-defined plan, and no lists of food to have or have not; instead, you'll find simple tricks that boil down to eating carefully prepared seasonal food, exercising more and refusing to think of food as something that inspires guilt. It's both a practical message and far easier said than done in today's "no pain, no gain" culture.
Author Mireille Guiliano is CEO of Veuve Clicquot, and French Women Don't Get Fat offers a concept of sensible pleasures: If you have a chocolate croissant for breakfast, have a vegetable-based lunch--or take an extra walk and pass on the bread basket at dinner. Guiliano's insistence on simple measures slowly creating substantial improvements are reassuring, and her suggestion to ignore the scale and learn to live by the "zipper test" could work wonders for those who get wrapped up in tiny details of diet. She sympathizes that deprivation can lead straight to overindulgence when it comes to favorite foods, but then, in a most French manner, treats them as a pleasure that needs to be sated, rather than a battle to be fought.
A number of recipes are included, from a weight-loss enhancing leek soup to a lush chocolate mousse; they read more like what you'd find in a French cookbook rather than an American diet book. Most appealingly, these are guidelines and tricks that could be easily sustainable over a lifetime. If you agree that food is meant to be appreciated--but no more so than having a trim waist--these charmingly French recommendations could set you on the path to a future filled with both croissants and high fashion. --Jill Lightner
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Friends, Lovers, Chocolate: The Sunday Philosophy Clubby Alexander McCall SmithISBN 0375422994 (0-375-42299-4)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Friends, Lovers, Chocolate: The Sunday Philosophy Club'Book summary:The delightful second installment in Alexander McCall Smiths already hugely popular new detective series, The Sunday Philosophy Club, starring the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie editor of the Journal of Applied Ethics and her no-nonsense housekeeper, Grace.
When Isabels niece, Cat, asks Isabel to run her delicatessen while she attends a wedding in Italy, Isabel meets a man with a most interesting problem. He recently had a heart transplant, and is suddenly plagued with memories of events that never happened to him. The situation appeals to Isabel as a philosophical question. Is the heart truly the seat of the soul? And it piques her insatiable curiosity: could the memories be connected with the donors demise? Grace, of course, thinks it is none of Isabels business. Add to the mix the lothario Cat brings home from the wedding in Italy, who, in accordance with all that Isabel knows about lotharios, shouldnt be trusted . . . but goodness, he is charming.
That makes two mysteries of the heart to be solved just the thing for Isabel Dalhousie. [via]More editions of Friends, Lovers, Chocolate: The Sunday Philosophy Club:
Full Speedby Charlotte Hughes, Janet EvanovichISBN 0375432841 (0-375-43284-1)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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The Good Women of China : Hidden Voicesby Xinran Xue, Esther TyldesleyISBN 0375422013 (0-375-42201-3)
Hardcover, Knopf Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Good Women of China : Hidden Voices'Book summary:An unprecedented, intimate account of the lives of modern Chinese women, told by the women themselves -- true stories of the political and personal upheavals they have endured in their chaotic and repressive society
For eight groundbreaking years, Xinran hosted a radio program in China during which she invited women to call in and talk about themselves. Broadcast every evening, Words on the Night Breeze became famous throughout the country for its unflinching portrayal of what it meant to be a woman in modern China. Centuries of obedience to their fathers, husbands and sons, followed by years of fear under Communism, had made women terrified of talking openly about their feelings. Xinran won their trust and, through her compassion and ability to listen, became the first woman to hear their true stories.
This unforgettable book is the story of how Xinran negotiated the minefield of restrictions imposed on Chinese journalists to reach out to women across the country. Through the vivid intimacy of her writing, these women confide in the reader, sharing their deepest secrets. Whether they are the privileged wives of party leaders or peasants in a forgotten corner of the countryside, they tell of almost inconceivable suffering: forced marriages, sexual abuse, separation of parents from their children, extreme poverty. But they also talk about love -- about how, despite cruelty, despite politics, the urge to nurture and cherish remains. Their stories changed Xinrans understanding of China forever. Her book will reveal the lives of Chinese women to the West as never before. [via]More editions of The Good Women of China : Hidden Voices:
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The Hundred Secret Sensesby Amy TanISBN 0375701524 (0-375-70152-4)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Hundred Secret Senses'Book summary:The Hundred Secret Senses is an exultant novel about China and America, love and loyalty, the identities we invent and the true selves we discover along the way. Olivia Laguni is half-Chinese, but typically American in her uneasiness with her patchwork family. And no one in Olivia's family is more embarrassing to her than her half-sister, Kwan Li. For Kwan speaks mangled English, is cheerfully deaf to Olivia's sarcasm, and sees the dead with her "yin eyes."
Even as Olivia details the particulars of her decades-long grudge against her sister (who, among other things, is a source of infuriatingly good advice), Kwan Li is telling her own story, one that sweeps us into the splendor, squalor, and violence of Manchu China. And out of the friction between her narrators, Amy Tan creates a work that illuminates both the present and the past sweetly, sadly, hilariously, with searing and vivid prose.
"Truly magical...unforgettable...this novel...shimmer[s] with meaning."--San Diego Tribune
"The Hundred Secret Senses doesn't simply return to a world but burrows more deeply into it, following new trails to fresh revelations."--Newsweek [via]More editions of The Hundred Secret Senses:
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I Don't Know How She Does Itby Allison PearsonISBN 0375713751 (0-375-71375-1)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'I Don't Know How She Does It'Book summary:Allison Pearson's debut novel, I Don't Know How She Does It, is a rare and beautiful hybrid: a devastatingly funny novel that's also a compelling fictional world. You want to climb inside this book and inhabit it. However, you might find it pretty messy once you're in there. Narrator Kate Reddy is the manager of a hedge fund and mother of two small children. The book opens with an emblematic scene as Kate "distresses" a store-bought mince pie to make it appear homemade. Her days are measured in increments of minutes and even seconds; her fund stays organized but her house and family are falling apart. The book is a pearly string of great lines. Here's Kate on lack of sleep: "They're right to call it a broken night.... You crawl back to bed and you lie there trying to do the jigsaw of sleep with half the pieces missing." On baby boys: "A mother of a one-year-old son is a movie star in a world without critics." On subtle office dynamics:
The women in the offices of EMF [Kate's firm] don't tend to display pictures of their kids. The higher they go up the ladder, the fewer the photographs. If a man has pictures of kids on his desk, it enhances his humanity; if a woman has them it decreases hers. Why? Because he's not supposed to be home with the children; she is.
There's inherent drama here: Kate is wildly appealing, and we want things to work out for her. In the end, the book isn't a just collection of clever lines on the theme of working motherhood; it's a real, rich novel about a character we come to cherish. --Claire Dederer [via]More editions of I Don't Know How She Does It:
I'll Let You Goby Bruce WagnerISBN 0375500022 (0-375-50002-2)
Hardcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Immaculate Receptionby Jerrilyn FarmerISBN 0380795973 (0-380-79597-3)
Softcover, Twilight
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In Pursuit of the Proper Sinnerby Elizabeth GeorgeISBN 037572799X (0-375-72799-X)
Softcover, Random House Large Print
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The Inn at Lake Devineby Elinor LipmanISBN 037570485X (0-375-70485-X)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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Island of the Sequined Love Nunby Christopher MooreISBN 0380792737 (0-380-79273-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Island of the Sequined Love Nun'Book summary:Pilot Tucker Case has a weakness--well, Tuck really has two--and the combination of drinking and sex in the cockpit of the pink Mary Jean Cosmetics Learjet puts him on the front page of papers all over the planet. But he finds another job with a mysterious employer--someone with a brand-new Lear 45-- who's willing to pay Tuck generously and ask no questions about his record. The jet and job are on Alualu, a speck in the Pacific Ocean, and Tucker has nowhere else to go. But first he has to get to Alualu, and once there, he faces a hurricane, Shark People, atypical missionaries, and boredom ... and the responsibilities assigned to him by Capt. Vincent Bennidetti, U.S. Air Force, deceased bomber pilot and present-day deity of the Shark People. [via]
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An Italian Affairby Laura FraserISBN 0375724850 (0-375-72485-0)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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The Ladies' Manby Elinor LipmanISBN 037570731X (0-375-70731-X)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Ladies' Man'Book summary:Soon after Nash Harvey, incurable womanizer and failing jingle composer, arrives at the Boston home of the Dobbin sisters, he is struck with a casserole dish. This isn't all that surprising, considering that Nash, onetime fiancé of Adele Dobbin, disappeared on the night of their engagement party, 30 years ago. Fresh from a failed romance with a Californian reflexologist, Nash brings chaos to the three sisters, all of whom has done the best to settle into spinsterhood. Unintentionally, he leads everyone he meets to a truer knowledge of him- or herself, and the possibilities of a brighter future. Five distinct but masterfully interwoven tales of the heart spin around the central, hilariously desperate mission of Nash, a man seeking to escape the inescapable.
Lipman writes with the wry authority of a latter-day Jane Austen or Henry James. Her work ripples with startling segues into the perversities of male-female relationships. Yet for all this insight, her characters are drawn with companionable warmth. This is not a book about the bold and the beautiful. Her cast inhabits a twilight of TV dinners, graying hair, and disastrous dates, yet they never lose their hope or their capacity for love. A gourmet casserole of a book--drama, humor, and understanding in equally generous portions. --Matthew Baylis [via]
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Legend in Green Velvetby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380731185 (0-380-73118-5)
Softcover, Avon Books
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Lord of the Silentby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380817144 (0-380-81714-4)
Softcover, Avon Books
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The Love Talker: Library Editionby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380733404 (0-380-73340-4)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Love Talker: Library Edition'Book summary:Laurie has finally returned to Idlewood, the beloved family home deep in the Maryland woods where she found comfort and peace as a lonely young girl. But things are very different now. There is no peace in Idlewood. The haunting sound of a distant piping breaks the stillness of a snowy winter's evening. Seemingly random events have begun to take on a sinister shape. And dotty old Great Aunt Lizzie is convinced that there are fairies about -- and she has photographs to prove it. For Laurie, one fact is becoming disturbingly clear: there is definitely something out there in the woods -- something fiendishly, cunningly, malevolently human -- and the lives of her aging loved ones, as well as Laurie's own, are suddenly at serious risk.
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The Loverby Marguerite Duras, Barbara Bray, Maxine Hong KingstonISBN 0375700528 (0-375-70052-8)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Lover'Book summary:An international best-seller with more than one million copies in print and a winner of France's Prix Goncourt, The Lover has been acclaimed by critics all over the world since its first publication in 1984.
Set in the prewar Indochina of Marguerite Duras's childhood, this is the haunting tale of a tumultuous affair between an adolescent French girl and her Chinese lover. In spare yet luminous prose, Duras evokes life on the margins of Saigon in the waning days of France's colonial empire, and its representation in the passionate relationship between two unforgettable outcasts.
Long unavailable in hardcover, this edition of The Lover includes a new introduction by Maxine Hong Kingston that looks back at Duras's world from an intriguing new perspective--that of a visitor to Vietnam today.
From the Hardcover edition. [via]More editions of The Lover:
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Making Wavesby Catherine ToddISBN 0380787733 (0-380-78773-3)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Making Waves'Book summary:What's a loyal forty-year-old California housewife supposed to do when her hot-shot lawyer husband tells her he wants a divorce? If she's Caroline James, she holds her panic at bay with a makeover and a massage. Actually, her newfound freedom is something to be relished, though Caroline's going to have to work hard to keep her head above water in a West Coast world of hot tubs, margaritas, and hungry land sharks, as she nervously prepares to fend off a slew of unscrupulous settlement tactics. Though it's a little scary being alone, a new romance could be appearing over the horizon, and she feels truly alive for the first time in a long time. Until the suspicious death of the woman who first warned her to watch her back -- the unpleasant ex-wife of her spouse's law partner -- has Caroline wondering if she's got more to worry about than a custody battle ...
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Maliceby Danielle SteelISBN 0375433279 (0-375-43327-9)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Malice'Book summary:Only veteran author Danielle Steel can make dysfunction this fashionable! In Malice, her 37th potboiler, the gloves come off. Life is no fairy tale for teenager Grace Adams. The preternaturally quiet and dowdy daughter of Watseka's favorite son, lawyer John Adams, and his lovely, cancer-stricken wife Ellen, Grace has an ugly little secret that she's kept for four years. When her father brutally rapes her following her mother's funeral, Grace kills him. Only 17 years old, she faces the death penalty in a town all too willing to perpetrate the fiction of John Adams, even when it means prison for Grace. Upon release two years later, Grace heads for Chicago where life starts looking up when she finds a job as a receptionist in a downtown modeling agency. Unfortunately, Grace encounters an unscrupulous photographer and a slimy parole officer. As soon as her parole is over, Grace escapes again, running to New York City to disappear among the hordes. Working as a secretary in a law firm, she's asked to work for a partner. After a rocky start, Charles Mackenzie and Grace establish a comfortable routine. But when Grace is brutally beaten by the husband of a woman in the crisis center where she volunteers, Charles is at her side constantly, arranging for the finest medical care and talking her out of her coma. Love blooms as Grace slowly recuperates. Finally whole again, inside and out, Grace and Charles marry and start a family. Life couldn't get much better as Charles enters politics and Grace tends to their growing family. But when tabloids release the story of Grace's sordid past and explicit photos of Grace taken while she was drugged, their family is left reeling, with Charles's campaign in shambles and Grace's life crumbling around her. Danielle Steel doesn't even pretend that Malice is a piece of romantic fiction, but loyal fans will happily make the transition as she charts a new course! --Alison Trinkle [via]
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Maybe Babyby Elaine FoxISBN 0380817837 (0-380-81783-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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The Men and the Girlsby Joanna TrollopeISBN 0380724081 (0-380-72408-1)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Men and the Girls'Book summary:Suddenly in their sixties, the Men have reached acritical juncture -- in their emotional lives, in their careers... and in their loving relationships with the Girls, who are half their age.
Popular British TV personality Hugh Hunter has begun feeling resentful toward his much younger, seemingly perfect wife, Julia. For while his own star is on the wane,Julia's is rapidly ascending. James Mallow, a teacher,has shared eight blissful years with Kate Bain, his junior by a good quarter century. But his devoted longtime partner appears restless these days.
Then a freak rush hour accident knocks a fiercely independent spinster from her bicycle -- an event that will have a profound and wildly unanticipated impact on two unorthodox unions.
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Midnight Champagneby A. Manette AnsayISBN 038072975X (0-380-72975-X)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Midwivesby Chris BohjalianISBN 0375706771 (0-375-70677-1)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Midwives'Book summary:Oprah Book Club® Selection, October 1998: On a violent, stormy winter night, a home birth goes disastrously wrong. The phone lines are down, the roads slick with ice. The midwife, unable to get her patient to a hospital, works frantically to save both mother and child while her inexperienced assistant and the woman's terrified husband look on. The mother dies but the baby is saved thanks to an emergency C-section. And then the nightmare begins: the assistant suggests that maybe the woman wasn't really dead when the midwife operated:
Did she perform at least eight or nine cycles as my mother said, or four or five as Asa recalled? That is the sort of detail that was disputable. But at some point within minutes of what my mother believed had been a stroke, after my mother concluded the cardiopulmonary resuscitation had failed to generate a pulse or a breath, she screamed for Asa and Anne to find her the sharpest knife in the house.
In Midwives, Chris Bohjalian chronicles the events leading up to the trial of Sibyl Danforth, a respected midwife in the small Vermont town of Reddington, on charges of manslaughter. It quickly becomes evident, however, that Sibyl is not the only one on trial--the prosecuting attorney and the state's medical community are all anxious to use this tragedy as ammunition against midwifery in general; this particular midwife, after all, an ex-hippie who still evokes the best of the flower-power generation, is something of an anachronism in 1981. Through it all, Sibyl, her husband, Rand, and their teenage daughter, Connie, attempt to keep their family intact, but the stress of the trial--and Sibyl's growing closeness to her lawyer--puts pressure on both marriage and family. Bohjalian takes readers through the intricacies of childbirth and the law, and by the end of Sibyl Danforth's trial, it's difficult to decide which was more harrowing--the tragic delivery or its legal aftermath.Narrated by a now adult Connie, Midwives moves back and forth in time, fitting vital pieces of information about what happened that night like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle into its complicated plot. As Connie looks back on her mother's trial, she is still trying to understand what happened--not on the night of the disaster--but in the months and years that followed. --Margaret Prior [via]
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Money to Burnby Katy MungerISBN 0380800632 (0-380-80063-2)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Mumbo Gumbo: A Madeline Bean Novelby Jerrilyn FarmerISBN 0380817195 (0-380-81719-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Nekropolisby Maureen F. McHughISBN 0380791234 (0-380-79123-4)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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Nights in Rodantheby Nicholas SparksISBN 0375430881 (0-375-43088-1)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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Out of Timeby Katy MungerISBN 0380791382 (0-380-79138-2)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Perfect Saxby Jerrilyn FarmerISBN 0380817209 (0-380-81720-9)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Pillow Talkby Hailey NorthISBN 0380805197 (0-380-80519-7)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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Plainsongby Kent HarufISBN 0375705856 (0-375-70585-6)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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The Princess Diariesby Meg CabotISBN 0380814021 (0-380-81402-1)
Softcover, Harpercollins Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Princess Diaries'Book summary:Mia Thermopolis is your average urban ninth grader. Even though she lives in Greenwich Village with a single mom who is a semifamous painter, Mia still puts on her Doc Martens one at a time, and the most exciting things she ever dreams about are smacking lips with sexy senior Josh Richter, "six feet of unadulterated hotness," and passing Algebra I. Then Mia's dad comes to town, and drops a major bomb. Turns out he's not just a European politician as he's always lead her to believe, but actually the prince of a small country! And Mia, his only heir, is now considered the crown princess of Genovia! She doesn't even know how to begin to cope: "I am so NOT a princess.... You never saw anyone who looked less like a princess than I do. I mean, I have really bad hair... and... a really big mouth and no breasts and feet that look like skis." And if this news wasn't bad enough, Mia's mom has started dating her algebra teacher, the paparazzi is showing up at school, and she's in a huge fight with her best friend, Lilly. How much more can this reluctant Cinderella handle?
Offbeat Mia will automatically win the heart of every teenage girl who's ever just wanted to fit in with as little fuss as possible. Debut author Meg Cabot's writing is silly and entertaining, with tons of pop culture references that will make teens feel right at home within her pages. This is a wonderfully wacky read. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert [via]
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The Pursuit of Alice Thriftby Elinor LipmanISBN 0375724591 (0-375-72459-1)
Softcover, Vintage Books
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The Queen of the Big Timeby Adriana TrigianiISBN 0375433791 (0-375-43379-1)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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Rebeccaby Daphne Du MaurierISBN 0380730405 (0-380-73040-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Rebecca'Book summary:"Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Manderley Again." So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past ther beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley. [via]
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A Redbird Christmas : A Novelby Fannie FlaggISBN 0375433899 (0-375-43389-9)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Redbird Christmas : A Novel'Book summary:With the same incomparable style and warm, inviting voice that have made her beloved by millions of readers far and wide, New York Times bestselling author Fannie Flagg has written an enchanting Christmas story of faith and hope for all ages that is sure to become a classic.
Deep in the southernmost part of Alabama, along the banks of a lazy winding river, lies the sleepy little community known as Lost River, a place that time itself seems to have forgotten. After a startling diagnosis from his doctor, Oswald T. Campbell leaves behind the cold and damp of the oncoming Chicago winter to spend what he believes will be his last Christmas in the warm and welcoming town of Lost River. There he meets the postman who delivers mail by boat, the store owner who nurses a broken heart, the ladies of the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society, who do clandestine good works. And he meets a little redbird named Jack, who is at the center of this tale of a magical Christmas when something so amazing happened that those who witnessed it have never forgotten it. Once you experience the wonder, you too will never forget A Redbird Christmas. [via]More editions of A Redbird Christmas : A Novel:
The Right Attitude To Rain: An Isabel Dalhousie Mysteryby Alexander McCall SmithISBN 0375423001 (0-375-42300-1)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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Saving Francescaby Melina MarchettaISBN 0375829830 (0-375-82983-0)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Saving Francesca'Book summary:"This morning, my mother didn't get out of bed." So begins the saga of Francesca Spinelli, the hilarious and achingly real creation of Aussie author Melina Marchetta. Francesca used to think her biggest problem was transferring to St. Sebastian's--a school only recently turned coed: "What a dream come true, right? Seven hundred and fifty boys and thirty girls? But the reality is that it's either like living in a fish bowl or like you don't exist." But now there's this matter of her usually vibrant and annoyingly optimistic mother Mia refusing to get up in the morning. Her taciturn father doesn't have much to say on the subject, her beloved little brother Luca is anxiously looking to her for answers, and her so-called friends from her old neighborhood seem to have abandoned her. So, Francesca keeps it all inside--her frustration with school (there aren't enough girl's bathrooms and no girl's sports teams); her fear making new friends (with the few girls who do go to St. Sebastian's); and her overwhelming hatred of the smug Will Trombal, who despite being completely infuriating, is also incredibly cute. Keeping this to herself when all she wants to do is spill it to her mother is killing Francesca, but with Mia trying to make herself well again, Francesca will have to figure out how to save herself.
What makes Saving Francesca an exceptional standout in a vast field of mediocre teen chick lit is Frankie's painfully nuanced characterization. It has been ten years since high school teacher Marchetta's break out hit, Looking for Alibrandi, came out in her native Australia, and the care and precision she took in getting Francesca's voice just right is evident. As a result, there isn't a girl alive that wouldn't feel right at home in Francesca's skin. Her frank observations about boys, with their hygienically-challenged habits and their ineptitude in dealing with the opposite sex, are dead-on and riotously funny. Marchetta deftly balances Francesca's humor with a sympathetic depiction of Mia's struggle with clinical depression, creating a well-rounded novel that will prompt both laughter and tears. Fans can only hope that they won't have to wait another decade for Marchetta to gift them with another of honest and moving story. --Jennifer Hubert [via]
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See Jane Runby Joy FieldingISBN 0380711524 (0-380-71152-4)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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The Short History of a Prince : A Novelby Jane HamiltonISBN 0375702229 (0-375-70222-9)
Softcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Short History of a Prince : A Novel'Book summary:Robert Sean Leonard (Much Ado About Nothing, Dead Poet's Society) brings a dramatic dimension to the bittersweet story of Walter McCloud, who has high hopes of becoming a ballet dancer. Leonard's flexible voice captures the thoughts and feelings of Walter both as a teenager and as a thirty-something high school teacher. The story begins with the star, an aspiring adolescent ballet dancer, coming to terms with his lack of talent when he is chosen to be the Prince in a third-rate production of the Nutcracker, while his friends dance lead roles in Chicago. The same winter, Walter has his first homosexual experience and his older brother becomes terminally ill. These profound events will haunt Walter for 20 years as he focuses on his coming to terms with his past tragedies and present shortcomings--making for a moving and often funny tale of forgiveness and understanding. Curiously, it is not his love of Balanchine, music and other refined aesthetics that restore a floundering Walter. The anchor he finds is a place, the family summer home on a lake in Wisconsin. It is Hamilton's ability to juxtapose the remarkable against the unremarkable that gives this work its poignancy and grace. --Anne Depue (Running Time: 4 Hours; Four Cassettes) [via]
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Simply Irresistibleby Rachel GibsonISBN 0380790076 (0-380-79007-6)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Simply Irresistible'Book summary:Georgeanne Howard leaves her fiancé at the altar when she realizes she can't marry a man old enough to be her grandfather, no matter how rich he is. Hockey superstar John Kowalsky unknowingly helps her escape, and only when it's too late does he realize that he's absconded with his boss's bride. This bad boy isn't looking to be anybody's savior but his own. Still, a long night stretches ahead of them-a night too sultry to resist temptation. Seven years later, Georgeanne and John meet again. She is on her way to becoming Seattle's domestic darling and he is past his hellraising days. Shocked to learn that he has a daughter, John's determined to be part of her life. Georgeanne has loved John since the moment she jumped into his car, but will he risk the wrath of his boss, and one final chance at glory, to prove that this time his love will be everlasting? [via]
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Smart Vs. Prettyby Valerie FrankelISBN 0380805421 (0-380-80542-1)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Smart Vs. Pretty'Book summary:Out-of-work urban professional Francesca Greenfield has always known that she was the "smart" sister. Amanda was the soft and lovely one who, from the beginning, had always garnered most of the attention -- and all the dates. Now they've been thrown together in a last-ditch effort to save the family coffeehouse business before it goes permanently down the drain.
In the chaotic misdt of mad promotional schemes and piranhalike next-door competitors, the sisters Greenfield are going to have to put aside their hard-faught sibling rivalry -- and quick! -- for the family good.
What happens when a single woman in her early thirties gets stuck living and working with her sister again along with all the insecurities of sibling rivalry?"From where I stood now, fifteen years out of high school, I knew that smart was more valuable than pretty.For one thing, pretty is available to anyone who has the time, energy, money, and will. And even without exercise or makeup, I considered myself to be serviceably attractive. I elicit a grunt from workmen. Baggers at the supermarket, however, called me ma'am."
Meet Francesca Greenfield, a smart, urban professional suddenly tossed out of her so-so career and into the business of selling coffee alongside her pretty, perky sister Amanda.
But selling coffee is only the start of their worries.
Francesca has always known that she was the smart sister, "though our mother never set us down and said, 'Francesca, we'll call you the smart one.'" Amanda was soft and lovely from the beginning and had always garnered most of the attention-and all of the dates. Now they've been thrown together in a last-ditch effort to save the family business before it goes permanently down the drain.
As for the coffeehouse itself, well, there's rarely a dull moment. Consider the piranha-minded next-door franchise and the brainstorms of one nearly psychotic marketing manager for starters. And who can forget about love? Or at least sex. Thanks to a promotional contest, it's not long before Amanda is looking to explore the aura of a buff mountain climber while Francesca considers shedding more than her inhibitions with a J. Crew model.
The stakes are rising. It's time to find out if smart or pretty knows best, whether the distinction really suits either one of them, and if the Greenfield sisters can actually live happily ever after. [via]
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Spring Moon: A Novel of Chinaby Bette LordISBN 0380599236 (0-380-59923-6)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Stargirlby Jerry SpinelliISBN 037582233X (0-375-82233-X)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Stargirl'Book summary:"She was homeschooling gone amok." "She was an alien." "Her parents were circus acrobats." These are only a few of the theories concocted to explain Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl."
In time, incredulity gives way to out-and-out adoration as the student body finds itself helpless to resist Stargirl's wide-eyed charm, pure-spirited friendliness, and penchant for celebrating the achievements of others. In the ultimate high school symbol of acceptance, she is even recruited as a cheerleader. Popularity, of course, is a fragile and fleeting state, and bit by bit, Mica sours on their new idol. Why is Stargirl showing up at the funerals of strangers? Worse, why does she cheer for the opposing basketball teams? The growing hostility comes to a head when she is verbally flogged by resentful students on Leo's televised Hot Seat show in an episode that is too terrible to air. While the playful, chin-held-high Stargirl seems impervious to the shunning that ensues, Leo, who is in the throes of first love (and therefore scornfully deemed "Starboy"), is not made of such strong stuff: "I became angry. I resented having to choose. I refused to choose. I imagined my life without her and without them, and I didn't like it either way."
Jerry Spinelli, author of Newbery Medalist Maniac Magee, Newbery Honor Book Wringer, and many other excellent books for teens, elegantly and accurately captures the collective, not-always-pretty emotions of a high school microcosm in which individuality is pitted against conformity. Spinelli's Stargirl is a supernatural teen character--absolutely egoless, altruistic, in touch with life's primitive rhythms, meditative, untouched by popular culture, and supremely self-confident. It is the sensitive Leo whom readers will relate to as he grapples with who she is, who he is, who they are together as Stargirl and Starboy, and indeed, what it means to be a human being on a planet that is rich with wonders. (Ages 10 to 14) --Karin Snelson [via]
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Staying Coolby Catherine ToddISBN 038078775X (0-380-78775-X)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Staying Cool'Book summary:With a successful business to run, an elderly mother gradually losing her focus, and a teenage daughter about to spread her wings, Ellen Santiago Laws is the last person who should be taking unnecessary risks. The forty-something widow thought she was only doing her civic duty by serving on a jury that convicted the murderer of a flashy matchmaker for lonely Southern California bigwigs. But despite her busy schedule and better instincts, a nagging conscience won't let Ellen leave well-enough alone. Posing as a love-starved client, she intends to get a closer look at the chic dating service -- and ends up staring into the stunning blue-gray eyes of Mr. Unexpectedly Right! A lawyer with principles, he's as interested in seeing justice done as she is -- leading Ellen to wonder whether it might be possible to find true love and a killer ... at the same time!
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Summer of the Dragonby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380731223 (0-380-73122-3)
Softcover, Avon Books
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The Sunday Philosophy Clubby Alexander McCall SmithISBN 0375422986 (0-375-42298-6)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Sunday Philosophy Club'Book summary:ISABEL DALHOUSIE - Book 1
Nothing captures the charm of Edinburgh like the bestselling Isabel Dalhousie series of novels featuring the insatiably curious philosopher and woman detective. Whether investigating a case or a problem of philosophy, the indefatigable Isabel Dalhousie, one of fictions most richly developed amateur detectives, is always ready to pursue the answers to all of lifes questions, large and small.
With The Sunday Philosophy Club, Alexander McCall Smith, the author of the best-selling and beloved No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels, begins a wonderful new series starring the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie.
Isabel is fond of problems, and sometimes she becomes interested in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. This may be the case when Isabel sees a young man plunge to his death from the upper circle of a concert hall in Edinburgh. Despite the advice of her housekeeper, Grace, who has been raised in the values of traditional Edinburgh, and her niece, Cat, who, if you ask Isabel, is dating the wrong man, Isabel is determined to find the truthif indeed there is onebehind the mans death. The resulting moral labyrinth might have stymied even Kant. And then there is the unsatisfactory turn of events in Cats love life that must be attended to.
Filled with thorny characters and a Scottish atmosphere as thick as a highland mist, The Sunday Philosophy Club is irresistible, and Isabel Dalhousie is the most delightful literary sleuth since Precious Ramotswe. [via]More editions of The Sunday Philosophy Club:
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Sweet Savage Loveby Rosemary RogersISBN 0380008157 (0-380-00815-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sweet Savage Love'Book summary:Moving at a breathtaking pace from Paris to New Orleans to Mexico, here is the first novel in the stunning saga of Steve and Ginny Morgan, lovers who bring to life the heights of passion and desire. Re-packaged to tie into Rosemary Rogers' Bound by Desire. [via]
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This Heart of Mineby Susan Elizabeth PhillipsISBN 0380808080 (0-380-80808-0)
Softcover, Avon Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'This Heart of Mine'Book summary:Ever since she was a teenager, children's book author Molly Somerville has been infatuated with handsome Kevin Tucker, quarterback for her sister's Chicago Stars football team. Unfortunately, Kevin doesn't know she's alive until one fateful weekend when they're marooned together at the family vacation cabin. When Molly gets carried away by her creative imagination and compromises Kevin, the results are disastrous and before the dust settles, Kevin's in trouble with his boss, Molly's in deep trouble with her emotions and both of them are in danger of losing their hearts. Their journey to a happy ending is dicey, at best, and even if they can get past their outrageous and painful beginning, whether these two can lower their guards and let the other into their equally wary hearts, is questionable.
Bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips makes her hardcover debut with This Heart of Mine, a wonderful contemporary tale that features two familiar faces from prior novels as the hero and heroine. The characters are complicated, with difficult pasts that have shaped the adults they now are, and Phillips uses a deft touch in sketching their personal growth as they're tested with tragedy and bound together with love and a healthy dose of humour. As always, Phillips brings her delightful wit and a warm family setting to this novel that is sure to captivate readers. --Lois Faye Dyer [via]
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Three Junesby Julia GlassISBN 0375421440 (0-375-42144-0)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Three Junes'Book summary:Three Junes is a vividly textured symphonic novel set on both sides of the Atlantic during three fateful summers in the lives of a Scottish family. In June of 1989, Paul McLeod, the recently widowed patriarch, becomes infatuated with a young American artist while traveling through Greece and is compelled to relive the secret
sorrows of his marriage. Six years later, Pauls death reunites his sons at Tealing, their idyllic childhood home, where Fenno, the eldest, faces a choice that puts him at the center of his familys future. A lovable, slightly repressed gay man, Fenno leads the life of an aloof expatriate in the West Village, running a shop filled with books and birdwatching gear. He believes himself safe from all emotional entanglementsuntil a worldly neighbor presents him with an extraordinary gift and a seductive photographer makes him an unwitting subject. Each man draws Fenno into territories of the heart he has never braved before, leading him toward an almost unbearable loss that will reveal to him the nature of love.
Love in its limitless formsbetween husband and wife, between lovers, between people and animals, between parents and childrenis the force that moves these characters lives, which collide again, in yet another June, over a Long Island dinner table. This time it is Fenno who meets and captivates Fern, the same woman who captivated his father in Greece ten years before. Now pregnant with a son of her own, Fern, like Fenno and Paul before him, must make peace with her past to embrace her future. Elegantly detailed yet full of emotional suspense, often as comic as it is sad, Three Junes is a glorious triptych about how we learn to live, and live fully, beyond incurable grief and betrayals of the hearthow family ties, both those were born into and those we make, can offer us redemption and joy. [via]
The Tiny Oneby Eliza MinotISBN 037570633X (0-375-70633-X)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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Trojan Goldby Elizabeth PetersISBN 0380731231 (0-380-73123-1)
Softcover, Avon Books
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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyleby Avi, Ruth E. MurrayISBN 0380714752 (0-380-71475-2)
Softcover, Harpercollins Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle'Book summary:A vicious captain, a mutinous crew --
and a young girl caught in the middleNot every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I lived it.
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Truth or Dairyby Catherine ClarkISBN 0380814439 (0-380-81443-9)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Truth or Dairy'Book summary:She's humiliated, she's angry....and she's through with boys. Or least that's what she says.
This is the journal of Courtney Von Dragen Smith: middle child, product of divorce, would-be vegetarian. She writes the first mega-negative page the day after her boyfriend, "Such a Dave," breaks up with her because he's heading off to college. Angry and humiliated, Courtney vows to survive senior year on the anti-guy plan. But can she really give up guys and focus on friends, school, and her job at the hip café Truth or Diary? Or will a stint in student government, an epileptic dog, and a guy named Grant ("like-the-lake") Superior turn her world upside down and prove her journal right?
It's true: life can get weirder.
2001 ALA Popular Paperback for YAs
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Until I Find Youby John IrvingISBN 0375435271 (0-375-43527-1)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Until I Find You'Book summary:At over 800 pages, John Irving's Until I Find You is a daunting proposition at best. Anyone who finishes it will have acquired forearm muscles, sore shoulders, and not much else. The story is self-indulgent, repetitive and, ultimately, boring, that cardinal sin that readers can't forgive. Longtime Irving readers have stayed with him through a few hits and a miss or two, but this is an all-time low. We are accustomed to Irving's work as quirky, bizarre, and off-the-wall and have forgiven all by calling such high-jinks and characters "imaginative" or "absolutely original." The only thing original about this tome is the descent into soft porn.
Jack Burns, the hero of the tale, is four years old when it all begins. He is the illegitimate son of Daughter Alice, a tattoo artist and, guess what, daughter of a tattoo artist. She takes Jack on a pilgrimage to find his womanizing father, William, a church organist and "ink addict." By seeking out church organs and tattoo parlors, she expects to find him. She doesn't, and by now we have spent more than a hundred pages in Northern European cities doing an imitation of Groundhog Day. Same story, different day: a little prostitution for Alice, a few questions asked; alas, no daddy.
Alice and Jack return to Toronto so that Jack may enter a previously all-girls school, which will admit little boys for the first time. There begins another 200 pages of the girls and the teachers abusing Jack, over and over again. By now, he is five and is, for some unfathomable reason, eminently interesting to girls and women. His "friend" Emma keeps careful track of "the little guy," as she calls Jack's penis, looking for signs of life. The worst part of all this is that none of it is funny or sad or even clever. There are wrestling vignettes, of course, and prep school tedium, but no bears. Maybe bears would have saved it. There were funny parts in The World According to Garp and The Cider House Rules as well as poignant, horrific parts in both of those and other Irving novels. This story is flat. The voice never changes; it just drones on.
Jack becomes an actor. First, he is a boy in drag because he is so pretty, then he takes transvestite parts. He and Emma, now a published novelist, live together in LA, which provides endless opportunity for name-dropping. His career eventually takes off and he gets recognition and awards, but still no daddy. Irving, it turns out, never knew his father, either. Perhaps this exercise will exorcise that demon once and for all and Irving's next book will be about something more compelling than a little boy's penis and his trashy mother's antics. If you do make it through to the book's snapper of an ending, you deserve to find out what it is on your own. Call it a reward. --Valerie Ryan [via]
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The Vagina Monologues: The V-Day Editionby Eve EnslerISBN 0375756981 (0-375-75698-1)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Vagina Monologues: The V-Day Edition'Book summary:"I say vagina because I want people to respond," says playwright Eve Ensler, creator of the hilarious, disturbing soliloquies in The Vagina Monologues, a book based on her one-woman play. And respond they do--with horror, anger, censure, and sparks of wonder and pleasure. Ensler is on a fervent mission to elevate and celebrate this much mumbled-about body part. She asked hundreds of women of all ages a series of questions about their vaginas (What do you call it? How would you dress it?) that prompt some wondrous answers. Standouts among the euphemisms are tamale, split knish, choochi snorcher, Gladys Siegelman--Gladys Siegelman?--and, of course, that old standby "down there." "Down there?" asks a composite character springing from several older women. "I haven't been down there since 1953. No, it had nothing to do with [American president] Eisenhower." Two of the most powerful pieces include a jagged poem stitched together from the memories of a Bosnian woman raped by soldiers and an American woman sexually abused as a child who reclaims her vagina as a place of wild joy. [via]
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The Villaby Nora RobertsISBN 0375431039 (0-375-43103-9)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Villa'Book summary:Set in beautiful Napa Valley, California, Nora Roberts's novel The Villa portrays a rich world of family-owned wineries, complete with enough romance, sophisticated business intrigue, betrayal, and murder to cow the Medicis of Florence. The Villa focuses on the merger of two prominent winemaking families, the Giambellis and MacMillans, and the incendiary combination of the two upcoming leaders of those dynasties, Sophia Giambelli and Tyler MacMillan. Tyler is the manager of the MacMillan vines and the distilling process, a job that suits his frank and no-frills personality. Creative and flashy, Sophia is head of Giambelli's public relations, and her job has been to put the best spin on whatever her family business produces--hard to do when the merger requires that she and Tyler switch jobs, and particularly hard to do when her own heart seems to spin out of control whenever they're together.
Soon after the merger goes through, Tony Avano, a Giambelli executive and Sophia's father, is murdered, and threats surface against the Giambelli women. As a quiet woman, Sophia's mother, Pilar, has made few enemies, except for Tony's new wife, Rene. The matriarch of the family--known simply as La Signora--may have knocked some rivals aside as she clawed her way to the top, but few would have reason to threaten her now. When poison is discovered in Giambelli wine, Sophia and Tyler learn the killer is much closer than they thought.
In description, dialogue, and plot, Roberts's talent and control are as fine as ever. But while the relationship between Pilar and David, the new COO, feels complex and mature, Sophia and Tyler's romance can at times feel slightly forced. As Roberts explains repeatedly, Sophia approaches sex "as a man does," which apparently means with no strings attached. And while that does tend to take the "romance" out of the romance to some extent, the positive aspects to be found in The Villa outweigh this flaw, ensuring another hit for the talented and prolific Roberts. --Nancy RE O'Brien, Amazon.com [via]
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Vinegar Hillby A. Manette AnsayISBN 0380730138 (0-380-73013-8)
Softcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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Visions of Sugar Plumsby Janet EvanovichISBN 0375431888 (0-375-43188-8)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Visions of Sugar Plums'Book summary:Christmas in bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's world isn't quite like Christmas in Whoville. With only four days to go before December 25, she doesn't have a decorated tree in her apartment or any presents bought. Plus she's chasing an elusive bail-jumper named Sandy Claws; a hunky guy named Diesel is literally popping in and out of her apartment; and a mob of manic elves is threatening to assault her with cookies. The end result is that Stephanie is feeling a tad stressed over the holiday season. Life isn't any calmer over at her parents' home in the Burg, where Grandma Mazur is dating a new octogenarian stud muffin; sister Valerie is wailing over some unwelcome news; and Stephanie's mother is coping by belting back tumblers of Red Roses in the kitchen. Just where is the elusive Mr. Claws hiding, and why? What's causing the power blackouts all over Trenton? And what about the mysterious villain, Mr. Ring? Is all of this real, or is Stephanie just having a very bad dream?
Janet Evanovich's mysteries are eagerly awaited by fans everywhere and this holiday installment won't disappoint. With a returning cast of entertaining, quirky characters and a rock-solid setting in New Jersey wrapped around an intriguing mystery, Evanovich delivers yet another hilarious adventure featuring irrepressible bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. --Lois Faye Dyer [via]
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A Walk to Rememberby Nicholas SparksISBN 0375728007 (0-375-72800-7)
Softcover, Random House Large Print
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Walk to Remember'Book summary:In the prologue to his latest novel, Nicholas Sparks makes the rather presumptuous pledge "first you will smile, and then you will cry," but sure enough, he delivers the goods. With his calculated ability to throw your heart around like a yo-yo (try out his earlier Message in the Bottle or The Notebook if you really want to stick it to yourself), Sparks pulls us back to the perfect innocence of a first love.
In 1958 Landon Carter is a shallow but well-meaning teenager who spends most of his time hanging out with his friends and trying hard to ignore the impending responsibilities of adulthood. Then Landon gets roped into acting the lead in the Christmas play opposite the most renowned goody two-shoes in town: Jamie Sullivan. Against his best intentions and the taunts of his buddies, Landon finds himself falling for Jamie and learning some central lessons in life.
Like John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, Sparks maintains a delicate and rarely seen balance of humor and sentiment. While the plot may not be the most original, this boy-makes-good tearjerker will certainly reel in the fans. Look for a movie starring beautiful people or, better yet, snuggle under the covers with your tissues nearby and let your inner sap run wild. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien [via]
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What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Dayby Pearl CleageISBN 038079487X (0-380-79487-X)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day'Book summary:Oprah Book Club® Selection, September 1998: What makes Pearl Cleage's novel so damned enjoyable? At first glance, after all, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day seems pretty heavy going: HIV, suicide, sudden infant death syndrome, and drunk driving all figure prominently in the lives of narrator Ava Johnson and her older sister Joyce. It isn't long before crack addiction, domestic violence, and unwed motherhood have joined the list--so, where's the pleasure? The answer lies in the sharp and funny attitude Cleage brings to her depiction of one African American community in the troubled '90s. Ava Johnson, for example, might be HIV-positive, but she's refreshingly forthright about it: "Most of us got it from the boys. Which is, when you think about it, a pretty good argument for cutting men loose, but if I could work up a strong physical reaction to women, I would already be having sex with them. I'm not knocking it. I'm just saying I can't be a witness. Too many titties in one place to suit me."
Ada has spent the last 10 years living in Atlanta. When she discovers she's infected, she sells her hairdressing business and heads back to her childhood home of Idlewild, Michigan, to spend the summer with her recently widowed sister before moving on to San Francisco. Once there, however, she finds herself embroiled in big-city problems--drugs, violence, teen pregnancy, and an abandoned crack-addicted baby, to name just a few--in a small-town setting. Ava also meets Eddie Jefferson, a man with a past who just might change her mind about the imprudence of falling in love.
In less assured hands, such a catalog of disasters would make for maudlin, melodramatic reading indeed. But Cleage, an accomplished playwright, has a way both with characters and with language that lifts this tale above its movie-of-the-week tendencies. In Ava she has created a character who not only effortlessly carries the weight of the story but also provides entertaining commentary on African American life as she goes. Discussing the insular nature of the black community in Atlanta, she recalls, "I'd walk into a reception room and there'd be a room full of brothers, power-brokering their asses off, and I'd realize I'd seen them all naked. I'd watch them striding around, talking to each other in those phony-ass voices men use when they want to make it clear they got juice, and it was so depressing, all I'd want to do was go home and get drunk." Later, she describes the preacher's wife's hair as "pressed and hot-curled within an inch of its life.... Hardly anybody asks for that kind of hard press anymore. Sister seems to have missed the moment when we decided it was okay for the hair to move."
As the trials and tribulations pile on, the experiences of Cleage's characters prove to be universal: death, love, second chances. Ava's acerbic, smart-mouthed narrative keeps the story buoyant; by the time this endearingly imperfect heroine and her cohorts have negotiated the rocky road to a happy ending, readers will be sorry to see her go, even as they wish her well. --Alix Wilber [via]
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What We Keepby Elizabeth BergISBN 0375500995 (0-375-50099-5)
Hardcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'What We Keep'Book summary:Do you ever really know your mother, your daughter, the people in your family? In this rich and rewarding new novel by the beloved bestselling author of
Talk Before Sleep and The Pull of the Moon, a reunion between two sisters and their mother reveals how the secrets and complexities of the past have shaped the lives of the women in a family.
Ginny Young is on a plane, en route to see her mother, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to for thirty-five years. She thinks back to the summer of 1958, when she and her sister, Sharla, were young girls. At that time,a series of dramatic events--beginning with the arrival of a mysterious and sensual next-door neighbor--divided the family, separating the sisters from their mother. Moving back and forth in time between the girl she once was and the woman she's become, Ginny at last confronts painful choices that occur in almost any woman's life, and learns surprising truths about the people she thought she knew best.
Emotional honesty and a true understanding of people and relationships are combined in this moving and deeply satisfying new book by the novelist who
"writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, love and hope. And the transcendence that redeems" (Andre Dubus). [via]More editions of What We Keep:
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A Woman of Substanceby Barbara Taylor BradfordISBN 038049163X (0-380-49163-X)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Woman of Substance'Book summary:This is the first in a saga of books about Emma Harte and the business empire she created and ruled. [via]
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