false 2642779 0 0 7072053 0641915934 9780641915932 0 <![CDATA[Spook]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7072053-spook 0.0 0 Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, or the soul in the winning Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife--she charges forth with such zeal, humor, and ingenuity that her students (er, readers) feel like they're witnessing the most interesting thing on Earth. Who the heck would skip that? As Roach informs us in her introduction, "This is a book for people who would like very much to believe in a soul and in an afterlife for it to hang around in, but who have trouble accepting these things on faith. It's a giggly, random, utterly earthbound assault on our most ponderous unanswered question." Talk about truth in advertising. With that, Roach grabs us by the wrist and hauls butt to India, England, and various points in between in search of human spiritual ephemera, consulting an earnest bunch of scientists, mystics, psychics, and kooks along the way. It's a heck of a journey and Roach, with one eyebrow mischievously cocked, is a fantastically entertaining tour guide, at once respectful and hilarious, dubious yet probing. And brother, does she bring the facts. Indeed, Spook's myriad footnotes are nearly as riveting as the principal text. To wit: "In reality, an X-ray of the head could not show the brain, because the skull blocks the rays. What appeared to be an X-ray of the folds and convolutions of a human brain inside a skull--an image circulated widely in 1896--was in fact an X-ray of artfully arranged cat intestines." Or this: "Medical treatises were eminently more readable in Sanctorius's day. Medicina statica delved fearlessly into subjects of unprecedented medical eccentricity: 'Cucumbers, how prejudicial,' and the tantalizing 'Leaping, its consequences.' There's even a full-page, near-infomercial-quality plug for something called the Flesh-Brush." While rigid students of theology might take exception to Roach's conclusions (namely, we're just a bag of bones killing time before donning a soil blanket) it's hard to imagine anyone not enjoying this impressively researched and immensely readable book. And since, as Roach suggests, each of us has only one go-round, we might as well waste downtime with something thoroughly fun. --Kim Hughes]]> 7956 3.87 20027 4560 2642779 3.38 16 4 2005 7134618 1441823859 9781441823854 0 <![CDATA[Three Fates]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7134618-three-fates 0.0 0
The quest will take them from their home in Ireland to Helsinki, Prague, and New York, where they will meet a brilliant scholar who will aid them in their hunt - and an ambitious woman who will stop at nothing to acquire the Fates.]]> 625 3.92 236996 9981 2642779 3.38 16 4 2002 7167078 1441840168 9781441840165 0 <![CDATA[Distant Shores]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7167078-distant-shores 0.0 0 New York Times bestseller, Summer Island, Kristin Hannah struck a chord in readers and critics alike with her portrayal of the bittersweet reunion between an errant mother and her unforgiving daughter. Now Hannah once again reveals the fragile ties that bind a family in transition, as two people choose to escape the limits of their ordinary lives and reach for the extraordinary promise that lies on Distant Shores.

Elizabeth and Jackson Shore married young, raised two daughters, and weathered the storms of youth as they built a future together. But after the children leave home, they quietly drift apart. When Jack accepts a wonderful new job offer, Elizabeth puts her needs aside to follow him across the country. Until the sudden death of her father changes everything.

Grieving and alone, she retreats to an isolated beach house where she packs away the last remnants of her parents’ lives. There, the pieces of a past she never knew unfold to reveal a tender story of lasting devotion, the kind of steadfast commitment that Elizabeth admits is missing from her own marriage. Faced with her own disillusionment, she makes a terrifying decision, risking everything she has for a second chance at happiness.

Enriched by soul-stirring emotion and an appreciation for the simple joy of everyday miracles, Distant Shores is an exquisite reminder of the most precious gifts in life: friends and family, children and lovers, the strength to change, and the courage to forgive–all flawlessly captured by the graceful hands of Kristin Hannah.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 54493 3.82 12488 2891 2642779 3.38 16 4 2002 6752707 1606407945 9781606407943 1 <![CDATA[Summer Lovin' [With Headphones]]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6752707-summer-lovin-with-headphones 3.00 1 Zoe Costas knows trouble when she sees it Zoe's a security specialist and a Costas through and through. Her eccentric, rather dubious family runs an Atlantic City spa that's just this side of legit. So Zoe isn't fooled by the charm or good looks of this Ryan Baldwin when he shows up claiming to be related to Sam, the little girl the Costas family is about to adopt.

But Ryan is Sam's uncle and one of the rich, upright -- and uptight -- Boston Baldwins. Ryan's search for his sister Faith, the family's black sheep, has led him to news of her death, and to a niece he's never met. But someone else has also tracked Sam down -- someone who never wanted the child to be found.

Ryan is determined to protect Sam and find out what really happened to his sister. And Zoe "Whatever-It-Takes" Costas is just the woman to help him do it . . .

]]> 10000 3.68 8358 529 2642779 3.38 16 4 2005 6871563 1593551169 9781593551162 0 <![CDATA[The 37th Hour]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6871563-the-37th-hour 4.00 1 391769 3.39 142 23 2642779 3.38 16 4 2003 6871564 1593551177 9781593551179 0 <![CDATA[The 37th Hour]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6871564-the-37th-hour 0.0 0 391769 3.39 142 23 2642779 3.38 16 4 2003 7029546 0641753764 9780641753763 0 <![CDATA[Dumping Billy]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7029546-dumping-billy 0.0 0 93012 3.36 2536 244 2642779 3.38 16 4 2005 7027528 0641753608 9780641753602 0 <![CDATA[Nora Roberts' Collection]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7027528-nora-roberts-collection 0.0 0 625 3.92 236996 9981 199275 3.82 401 94 765182 3.94 52 12 2642779 3.38 16 4 2004 7005427 1590861566 9781590861561 0 <![CDATA[The Virgin's Knot]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/70/427/7005427-m-1255888209.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/70/427/7005427-s-1255888209.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7005427-the-virgin-s-knot 0.0 0 218479 3.47 197 37 2642779 3.38 16 4 2002 7010339 0641800703 9780641800702 0 <![CDATA[Darwin Conspiracy]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7010339-darwin-conspiracy 0.0 0 55751 3.21 894 214 2339869 3.71 45 11 1001063 4.00 26 8 2642779 3.38 16 4 2006