Let Me Knock That Off The Counter For You

Discover the secret thoughts of our cheeky yet charming pet cats, with 50 adorable, full-color photos of cats paired with their hilarious commentary. Ever wonder what devious plan your cat is thinking up next? Or why they insist on meowing at your door at 2 a.m.? In Let Me Knock That Off the Counter For You, our sweet but sassy feline friends impart their innermost thoughts and snarky reasons for why they walk around like they own the place. Packed with engaging photos and comical snippets of cat insight, this book helps us mere humans better appreciate those moments of happiness (and exasperation) we share with our cats every day.

The first two decades of the twentieth century were a time of promise and innocence in America. Hardworking immigrants could achieve the American dream; heroes were truly heroic. Eric Rolfe Greenberg brilliantly and authentically chronicles the real-life saga of the first national baseball hero, Christy Mathewson, and the fictional story of a Jewish immigrant family of jewelers. In these pages Mathewson and other great players like John McGraw, Honus Wagner, and Connie Mack discover the realities behind the shining illusions: the burdens of being a hero and the temptations that taint success.

OPEN UP or SHUT UP! is an essential handbook for life's most important conversations. Using tips and tools developed over a lifetime of observing people Barbara Deutsch has created a light hearted walk through real life situations, conversations and interactions, tackling the very serious topic of communication with humor, compassion, and straight talk. Whether you are at the top of your game, struggling to be discovered or somewhere in between, in OPEN UP or SHUT UP! Barbara Deutsch will help you stop listening to the distractions around you, undo the mess that you've gotten yourself into and remind you how amazing you are. With this book, Barbara will help you get what you want and never sell yourself out. She will introduce you to yourself and show you that you don't have to carry the past around like a ball and chain. She will help you peel away the veils of everyone else's opinions so you can discover your own potential and be thrilled. She will help you be an influence rather than be influenced. Along the way she will share her tried and true methods as well as some of her own personal war stories - some because they illustrate a point and some because they're just good stories. After reading this book, you can throw away the self-help books (except this one!) and start planning your own life adventure. That's what this book is really about.

From now on your troubles will be out of sight… Lexi Robbins and her fiancé, the wealthy and esteemed Walt, are busy preparing for a Christmas Eve wedding. With all of the wedding decisions being made without her, Walt suggests Lexi decide on the dessert table for their reception. But when she begins to spend time with Jeff at the wedding venue, Lexi begins to wonder if her feelings for Walt are genuine. Have yourself a merry little Christmas… Jeff Stone is at the lowest point in his life. After losing his wife and closing his own business, he’s moved back in with his little brother and his wife. At work, his boss tries to help him out by giving him an opportunity to help Lexi finalize her wedding plans and he soon discovers that he’s drawn to her more than he wants to be. Lexi and Jeff quickly develop feelings for each other, but Lexi’s wedding stands in the way. Should she walk away from a comfortable life or run away with Jeff to chase their dreams?

When her "charmingly eccentric" mother Vivian is accused of killing mousy-haired busybody Connie Grimes after they were both involved in a bit of a scuffle, Brandy Borne must find the truth, which immerses her in a scandal involving questionable antiques and dark family secrets.

"MANCHILD" tells the heartbreaking story of a young boy named Jon, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. The child along with his mother endure endless persecution, both physically and psychologically throughout the story. The boy, beaten, severely abused and sexually assaulted before the age of seven sets the journey for early manhood with a strong and unbroken will to survive. Men war among one another in the streets of New York. Inner city neighborhoods provide the background for bookmaking, numbers racketing and loan sharking. Animal instincts versus violent intelligence make for formidable opponents. The child fades to the background at times as the madness continues, but just as the adults are, Jon is always there as well. Take the journey, but be prepared to encounter a scenario that will propel you to levels far beyond human comprehension. Perhaps you may smile every now and then, but it will not last very long. Anger alone will drive you through this story like a runaway train.

The death of Ernest Hemingway in 1961 ended one of the most original and influential careers in American literature. His works have been translated into every major language, and the Nobel Prize awarded to him in 1954 recognized his impact on contemporary writing. While many people are familiar with the public image of Hemingway and the legendary accounts of his life, few knew him as an intimate. With this collection of letters, presented for the first time as a Scribner Classic, a new Hemingway emerges. Ranging from 1917 to 1961, this generous selection of nearly six hundred letters is, in effect, both a self-portrait and an autobiography. In his own words, Hemingway candidly reveals himself to a wide variety of people: family, friends, enemies, editors, translators, and almost all the prominent writers of his day. In so doing he proves to be one of the most entertaining letter writers of all time. Carlos Baker has chosen letters that not only represent major turning points in Hemingway's career but also exhibit character, wit, and the writer's typical enthusiasm for hunting, fishing, drinking, and eating. A few are ingratiating, some downright truculent. Others present his views on writing and reading, criticize books by friend or foe, and discuss women, soldiers, politicians, and prizefighters. Perhaps more than anything, these letters show Hemingway's irrepressible humor, given far freer rein in his correspondence than in his books. An informal biography in letters, the product of forty-five years' living and writing, Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters leaves an indelible impression of an extraordinary man. Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899. At seventeen he left home to join the Kansas City Star as a reporter, then volunteered to serve in the Red Cross during World War I. He was severely wounded at the Italian front and was awarded the Croce di Guerra. He moved to Paris in 1921, where he devoted himself to writing fiction, and where he fell in with the expatriate circle that included Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and Ford Madox Ford. His novels include The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), To Have and Have Not (1937), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), and The Old Man and the Sea (1952). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. He died in Ketchum, Idaho, on July 2, 1961.