The Nanny Diaries is an absolutely addictive peek into the utterly weird world of child rearing in the upper reaches of Manhattan's social strata. Cowritten by two former nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, the novel follows the adventures of the aptly named Nan as she negotiates the Byzantine byways of working for Mrs. X, a Park Avenue mommy. Nan's 4-year-old charge, the hilariously named Grayer (his pals include Josephina, Christabelle, Brandford, and Darwin) is a genuinely good sort. He can't help it if his mom has scheduled him for every activity known to the Upper East Side, including ice skating, French lessons, and a Mommy and Me group largely attended by nannies. What makes the book so impossible to put down is the suspense of finding out what the unbelievably inconsiderate Mrs. X will demand of Nan next. One pictures the two authors having the last hearty laugh on their former employers.
Download: The Nanny Diaries (pdf)
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Elaine Fox - Beware of Doug
Download: Beware of Doug (pdf)
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Amazon.com Review:
In most thrillers, "hardware" consists of big guns, airplanes, military vehicles, and weapons that make things explode. Dan Brown has written a thriller for those of us who like our hardware with disc drives and who rate our heroes by big brainpower rather than big firepower. It's an Internet user's spy novel where the good guys and bad guys struggle over secrets somewhat more intellectual than just where the secret formula is hidden--they have to gain understanding of what the secret formula actually is.
Although there's enough globehopping in this book for James Bond, the real battleground is cyberspace, because that's where the "bomb" (or rather, the new encryption algorithm) will explode. Yes, there are a few flaws in the plot if you look too closely, but the cleverness and the sheer fun of it all more than make up for them. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and a lot of high, gee-whiz-level information about encryption, code breaking, and the role they play in international politics. Set aside the whole afternoon and evening for it and have finger food on hand for supper--you may want to read this one straight through.
Download: Digital Fortress (pdf)
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Elaine Fox- Hot Stuff
Love Is for Losers
Or so Laurel Kane believes. After wasting too many years looking for "the One," the attractive, level-headed journalist for the Washington tabloid DC Scene is convinced that mad, passionate, crazy love is an impossibility past thirty. A practical, sensible system's the only way to choose a spouse. And she's willing to argue her theory with anyone -- including the criminally gorgeous coffee guy, Joe, who supplies her with her daily caffeine fix.
It turns out Joe has strong opinions of his own on the subject, and Laurel figures her readers might enjoy sharing their fiery exchanges of ideas. But once the coffee cart debates become the hottest thing in print, Laurel finds herself in hot water -- because sexy Joe is suddenly determined to prove to her that head-spinning, knees-weakening love is possible. And in this particular battle of the sexes, the loser might actually win . . . if she ends up losing her heart!
Download: Hot Stuff (pdf)
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Dan Brown- Angels & Demons
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.
Brown seems as much juggler as author--there are lots and lots of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more sardonic humor from Langdon, and a little less bombastic philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling annoyances--readers should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read. "Brain candy" it may be, but my! It's tasty.
Download: Angels & Demons (pdf)
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David Fisher- Chicken Poop for the Soul
Product Description
Is "Chicken Soup" Too Sweet for Your Soul?When you take the road less traveled, do you get lost? When bad things happen to other people, do you feel good? Do self-help books make you feel selfish and helpless? Congratulations, you're one of us. Welcome to the farthest side of reality -- and the first collection of stories sure to harden your heart and dampen your spirit.
Chicken Poop for the Soul
Here is the story of "Step-Mother Teresa" who turned an orphanage in Calcutta into a sweatshop...and "The True Meaning of Love," romance as seen from a stalker's point of view. Explore the positive side of feeling bad in "The Joys of Depression." Learn the code of the urban teacher who vows "I will never respond to a student's demands, no matter how outrageous, with the phase 'Over my dead body.'" Read the multimillion-dollar government study that discovered that the primary cause of anxiety in America is government studies. And, finally, learn the true secret of happiness.
Ruthlessly hilarious, this is the world's first "sinspirational" book, a guide absolutley guaranteed never to be a selection of Oprah's Book Club.
Download: Chicken Poop for the Soul (pdf)
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Dixie Cash - My Heart May Be Broken, but My Hair Still Looks Great
From Publishers Weekly:
What better way to follow up the debut of the Domestic Equalizers, West Texas's sassiest hairdresser-detectives (Since You're Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash) than by importing an equally spunky heroine all the way from Fort Worth? Wealthy Buck McBride's daughter, Paige, gets a taste of tough love when Daddy decides to cut her off until she learns the value of a dollar. For the first time in her life, Paige needs a job. Chasing a prospect in West Texas, she gets a flat tire; poor but proud aggie grad Spur Atwater grudgingly rescues the leggy blonde. The sparks don't fly until they meet again in Salt Lick, where Paige gets work on a horse farm, while Spur takes over from the local vet. Salt Lick's most famous residents, Domestic Equalizers Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin, forge a friendship with Paige, and together the Texas belles set a trap for a mysterious horse thief—not that there's much mystery. The fun of reading Cash (pseudonym for two Texan sisters) rests on impudent dialogue between women, pearls of Lone Star wisdom ("You can put a pair of boots in the oven, but that don't make 'em biscuits") and the knowledge that Cash heroines always get their man, good or bad.
Download: My Heart May Be Broken, but My Hair Still Looks Great (pdf)
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Frederick Forsyth - The Fist of God
From the behind-the-scenes decision-making of the Allies to the secret meetings of Saddam Hussein's war cabinet, from the brave American fliers running their dangerous missions over Iraq to the heroic young spy planted deep in the heart of Baghdad, Forsyth's incomparable storytelling skill keeps the suspense at a breakneck pace. Somewhere in Baghdad is the mysterious "Jericho," the traitor who is willing--for a price--to reveal what is going on in the high councils of the Iraqi dictator. But Saddam's ultimate weapon has been kept secret even from his most trusted advisers, and the nightmare scenario that haunts General Schwarzkopf and his colleagues is suddenly imminent, unless somehow, the spy can locate that weapon--The Fist of God--in time.
Peopled with vivid characters, brilliantly displaying Forsyth's incomparable, knowledge of intelligence operations and tradecraft, moving back and forth between Washington and London, Baghdad and Kuwait, desert vastnesses and city bazaars, this breathtaking novel is an utterly convincing story of what may actually have happened behind the headlines.
Download: The Fist of God (pdf)
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Frederick Forsyth - Avenger
This strong and memorable novel is his best in decades, and as good as The Odessa File and The Dogs of War. It is the story of vigilante Cal Dexter's pursuit of a Serbian warlord into the jungles of the fictional Republic of San Martin. Dexter, former Vietnam tunnel rat, now small-town attorney and clandestine kidnapper of refugees from justice, is after Zoran Zilic, a gangster who has escaped Serbia with a fortune but not before savagely killing an American aid worker who happens to be the grandson of a billionaire mining magnate. It's the magnate who sets in motion the operation against Zilic, first through a man known as "The Tracker," who locates him, then via the Avenger, whose task is to bring Zilic to American justice. But Zilic is protected in his South American jungle compound not only by the best security money can buy but also by a top FBI man who plans to use the warlord to help take out a dangerous terrorist named Usama bin Laden; much of the narrative takes place within weeks of 9/11, and is laced with irony.
Forsyth fans won't be surprised that the action, always exciting, is supported by numerous briefings on matters geopolitical, historical and scientific; with Jackal, Forsyth established the now traditional formula of thrillers that educate as well as entertain. The digressions are frequent early on but no page lacks interest and the novel's second half, which focuses on the Avenger's attempted snatch of Zilic, is pure gold. This will hit bestseller lists high and hard and a sequel seems likely.
Download: Avenger (pdf)
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Frederick Forsyth - The Negotiator
The son of the American president (who is about to sign a major arms agreement with Gorbachev himself) is kidnapped, and, despite the best efforts of Quinn, the negotiator, is killed at the very moment of his ransoming. The president is stricken, a takeover of the U.S. government looms, and it looks as if the treaty is doomed. Now it is up to Quinn to find out who was behind the crime, and why. With a plucky and pretty female FBI agent, he scours obscure corners of northern Europe for the perpetrators--always to find them dead just as he arrives. In a cliffhanger of a conclusion, he brings the guilt home to Washington, the president perks up and the world is saved. As always, Forsyth is good at the details (you learn more about Dutch and Belgian road maps than you probably ever wanted to know), keeps a few surprises up his sleeve and writes action scenes more crisply, and with less gore, than Ludlum.
Download: The Negotiator (pdf)
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Dan Brown - Deception Point
Amazon.com Review: The time is now and President Zachary Herney is facing a very tough reelection. His opponent, Senator Sedgwick Sexton, is a powerful man with powerful friends and a mission: to reduce NASA's spending and move space exploration into the private sector. He has numerous supporters, including many beyond the businesses who will profit from this because of the embarrassment of 1996, when the Clinton administration was informed by NASA that proof existed of life on other planets. That information turned out to be premature, if not incorrect. (This story is true; I repeat, Dan Brown's research is very, very good.) The embattled president is assured that a rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice will prove to have far-reaching implications on America's space program. The find, however, needs to be verified.
Enter Rachel Sexton, a gister for the National Reconnaissance Office. Gisters reduce complex reports into single-page briefs, and in this case the president needs that confirmation before he broadcasts to the nation, probably ensuring his reelection. It's tricky because Rachel is the daughter of his opponent. Rachel is thrilled to be on the team traveling to the Arctic circle. She is a realist about her father's politics and has little respect for his stand on NASA, but Senator Sexton cannot help but have a problem with her involvement.
Adventure, romance, murder, skullduggery, and nail-biting tension ensue. By the end of Deception Point, the reader will be much better informed about how our space program works and how our politicians react to new information. Bring on the next Dan Brown thriller!
Download: Deception Point (pdf)
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