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  • Book cover of Call of the Kingfisher
    Nick Penny

     · 2023

    Call of the Kingfisher is the enchanting debut from composer and wildlife recordist, Nick Penny. This love letter to a short stretch of Northamptonshire’s River Nene celebrates all the wild things that live there, especially the kingfishers. Uniquely, it comes with bonus audio content to complement the text, accessed via QR codes. Nick has walked beside the river at Oundle for four decades. But for a whole year he gave the waterway all the time it asked for. The more attention he gave it, the more he saw the kingfishers and heard their high whistling calls. Set in a lovely but little-known part of England, Call of the Kingfisher relates a year by the river, the author’s experiences there and the different people he meets. Other strands are woven around the elusive feathered protagonist: explorations of local history and landscape, from Roman and Bronze Age sites to watermills and centuries-old stone churches; visits at different times and to different places in the valley; homages to naturalists who lived nearby; forest dawns and dusks listening to the precious song of nightingales. But the background tapestry is the sights and sounds, and greens and browns, of the riverbank, shot through with the blue and orange threads of a kingfisher’s glowing feathers. As a composer and wildlife recordist, Nick has a deep interest in sounds in the natural environment. He both uses the local landscape and wildlife sounds as inspiration, and brings fresh insights into the sounds of the countryside. The book includes access to a number of high-quality birdsong recordings made alongside the River Nene - audio soundbites of nature’s riches, from kingfishers and nightingales to owls and cuckoos. This is a book about the things that can be seen and heard when we approach nature with patience and curiosity. It celebrates people who have used that focus to help preserve wildlife and pass on their knowledge to future generations. Above all, Call of the Kingfisher serves as a call to appreciate what we’ve got, wherever we are, and to use our ears as much as our eyes when we experience the natural world.

  • Book cover of Worth the Trip
    Penny McCall

     · 2016

    They want the money...but he just wants her Behavioral psychologist Norah MacArthur leads a carefully constructed life of solitude and academic vigor, but not for long... Her con artist father is soon to be released from prison, having served a sentence for stealing $50 million. Only problem? The feds still haven't found the stolen goods!! But now he's getting out early on good behavior, and Norah dreads the media storm that's most likely to, once again, descend on her quiet life. The FBI sends Trip Jones—charismatic, ruggedly handsome, and one of the best company men they have—to "protect" Norah, while really trying to get the goods on any secrets she has about her father. While Norah truly has nothing anything to hide, Trip discovers that guarding Norah is causing quite a problem for him—trying to hide his growing attraction to this brainy beauty may be the hardest mission of his life... "McCall knows how to deliver!" – New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Enoch "Snappy dialogue, nonstop action, and sexy writing. A terrific new voice in romantic suspense!" – New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster "The con is on in this madcap adventure from romantic suspense maven McCall. You can always count on McCall to add a dash of well-placed humor to her stories. Another great romp that is romantic and adventurous!" – Romantic Times Book Reviews "A fast-paced, action-packed adventure that will keep you riveted to the pages to see where the escapade and romance lad next. It's "worth the trip!!" – Fresh Fiction

  • Book cover of Variation and Change in Spanish

    This book applies recent theoretical insights to trace the development of Castilian and Latin American Spanish from the Middle Ages onwards, through processes of repeated dialect mixing both within the Iberian Peninsula and in the New World. The author contends that it was this frequent mixing which caused Castilian to evolve more rapidly than other varieties of Hispano-Romance, and which rendered Spanish particularly subject to levelling of its linguistic irregularities and to simplification of its structures. These two processes continued as the language extended into and across the Americas. These processes are viewed in the context of the Hispano-Romance dialect continuum, which includes Galician, Portuguese and Catalan, as well as New World varieties. The book emphasises the subtlety and seamlessness of language variation, both geographical and social, and the impossibility of defining strict boundaries between varieties. Its conclusions will be relevant both to Hispanists and to historical sociolinguists more generally.

  • Book cover of Thanksgiving
    Penny Colman

     · 2015

    Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans celebrate with a Thanksgiving meal. But what is the origin of this tradition? Did it really begin when the Pilgrims and Native Americans got together in 1621 in Plymouth,Massachusetts? In her signature narrative nonfiction style, Penny Colman paints a fascinating picture of this cherished American holiday. She examines numerous Thanksgiving claims which were antecedents to the national holiday we celebrate today, raises the turkey question—does everyone eat turkey on Thanksgiving?—and shows Sarah Josepha Hale's instrumental role in establishing the holiday. Get ready to delve into the rich past of Thanksgiving in an enlightening history that uncovers the true story. Thanksgiving is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

  • Book cover of Breaking Away
    Penny Jordan

     · 2017

    Read this classic romance by New York Times bestselling author Penny Jordan, now available for the first time in e-book! A new life…with a seductive stranger! Escaping to the Scottish borders, Harriet Smith is shocked when she encounters a disreputable-looking, near-naked man on the roadside! Convinced his intentions are unsavory, she refuses his plea for help. So it's highly embarrassing when Harriet discovers that the man is in fact Rigg Matthews, her eminently respectable new next-door neighbor! Rigg is ready to forgive and forget, especially when Harriet forges a firm friendship with his young niece. But then disaster strikes: Harriet finds herself falling in love with this tempting stranger! Originally published in 1990

  • Book cover of The Best of Times

    From the internationally bestselling author of Into Temptation comes "the perfect beach read" (Parade) about how everything can change in the blink of an eye.... On an ordinary London afternoon, a truck swerves across five lanes of traffic and creates a tangle of chaos and confusion. As loved ones wait to hear news and the hospital prepares to receive the injured, a dozen lives hang in the balance. A doctor is torn between helping the injured and hiding his young mistress; a bridegroom hopes to get to the church on time; a widow waiting to reunite with a lost love ponders whether she’ll ever see him again; and the mysterious hitchhiker, the only person who knows what really happened, is nowhere to be found. Filled with suspense, romance, and more twists than a country highway, The Best of Times proves once again why Penny Vincenzi is the queen of happy endings.

  • Book cover of Payment in Love
    Penny Jordan

     · 2018

    Read this classic romance by New York Times bestselling author Penny Jordan, now available for the first time in e-book! Indebted to the tycoon To save her father’s life, Heather Burns must swallow her pride and ask billionaire tycoon, Kyle Bennett for help. Six years ago, her childish jealousy and deep insecurity drove Kyle away from the only home he’d ever known. No matter how much Heather regrets what she did, she knows Kyle will never forgive her—but he will make her pay! Back in each other’s lives, the chemistry between them sizzles like never before! But can she trust the man she once betrayed with something as precious as her heart…? Originally published in 1987

  • Book cover of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn

    If you only buy one pregnancy book, this should be the one! It’s the most complete. It covers all aspects of childbearing, from conception through early infancy, and tells you what to expect. It offers detailed information, suggestions on decisions to make, and advice on steps to take to have a safe and satisfying experience. The Award-Winning Resource Recommended by Experts & Loved by Parents Parents love this book because it puts them in control by explaining a wide range of options, information, and questions to ask, so parents can find what works best for their health situation, personal goals, and priorities. Experts love this book because it’s based on the latest medical research and recommendations from leading health organizations. It’s practical—rooted in the real-life experiences of new families. The five authors bring a combined total of 150 years of experience working with expectant and new families as educators, nurses, counselors, doulas, physical therapists, and lactation consultants. They have attended hundreds of births, heard thousands of birth stories, and assisted innumerable new parents in adapting to their new lives. Not only that, the authors have a combined total of 12 children and 12 grandchildren. All of this experience allows them to write with compassion, understanding, and wisdom based on what really works in the real-world of parenting. The companion website offers even more details on select subjects, including lists of all the best resources on each topic and worksheets to guide parents’ decision-making process. The website also includes a bonus chapter on pre-conception, which provides ways to improve your health and fertility before pregnancy begins.

  • Book cover of Totally Folked
    Penny Reid

     · 2021

    One unforgettable night leads to an unlikely shared connection, and unlikely connections never go unnoticed by the good folks in Green Valley, Tennessee. . . Jackson James follows the rules. He has to. He’s a sheriff’s deputy in a super small town with a super big personality. However, strict adherence to the law during the day has been enjoyably balanced by rakish rules at night. Jackson, typically happy to protect and serve (and serve, and serve), starts questioning the value of wayward evenings when getting laid starts to feel more like being waylaid. Could it be that Green Valley’s most eligible—and notorious—bachelor longs for something (and someone) real? Mega movie star Raquel Ezra follows only one rule: always leave them wanting more. Studio execs, reporters, audiences, fans, lovers—no one can get enough of the smart, savvy, and sexy bombshell. But when “generous offers” begin to feel more like excessive demands, years of always leaving has the elusive starlet longing for something (and perhaps someone) lasting. When Raquel abruptly returns to the quirky Tennessee hamlet, her path crosses with the delectable deputy with whom she spent one unforgettable night. Unfortunately, scandal and intrigue soon follow. Raquel and Jackson must decide which is more important: following their rules? Or, at long last, finding something real. ‘Totally Folked’ is the first book in the Good Folk series and is a full-length, small town, contemporary romantic comedy novel. TOTALLY FOLKED is a standalone, contemporary romantic comedy novel and book #1 in the Good Folk: Modern Folktales series.

  • Book cover of Claiming His Shock Heir
    Penny Jordan

     · 2017

    Re-read this classic romance by New York Times bestselling author Penny Jordan,previously published as What You Made Me in 1984 A week ago Philippa's life had been relatively uncomplicated. But that was before shereturned to the village she left eleven years ago; young, frightened and pregnant. Havingraised her son alone, Philippa thinks nothing could ever frighten her again…until shemeets Scott Garston—her first love, hard-hearted tycoon…and father of her child! Scott has never forgiven Philippa for abandoning their relationship—his reputation forruthlessness is entirely her responsibility! So when he realizes the chemistry betweenthem still burns, it's his perfect chance for vengeance. And when he discovers theshocking secret she's been keeping from him Scott is determined to claim his revenge andhis son!