A grumpy expat sounds off on other expats and foreigners, penis worship, tourists, Bangkok’s bodysnatchers, piracy, backpackers, aphrodisiacs, fast elephants, dangerous elephants, rotten fish, a gay water buffalo, ghosts, scams and cons, shadow wives, sex-change operations and ladyboys, country music, fear and respect, drugs, the beer wars, bi-racial cool, street food, superlatives, denial, eating insects, violence, making movies, Thai time, learning the language, chili peppers, a heart attack, the rubber barons, the King’s music, Thai whisky, sex, and other amazing stuff you’ll never read about in any guide to Thailand

The beautiful hetaera Thais was a real woman who inspired poets, artists and sculptors in Athens, Memphis, Alexandria, Babylon and Ecbatana. She traveled with Alexander the Great’s army during his Persian campaign and was the only woman to enter the capitol of Persia — Persepolis. Love, beauty, philosophy, war, religion — all that and more in a historic masterpiece by Ivan Yefremov

"Nick Naylor had been called many things since becoming chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies. But until now no one had actually compared him to Satan." They might as well have, though. "Gucci Goebbels," "yuppie Mephistopheles," and "death merchant" are just a few endearments Naylor has earned himself as the tobacco lobby's premier spin doctor. The hero of Thank You for Smoking does of course have his fans. His arguments against the neo-puritanical antismoking trends of the '90s have made him a repeat guest on Larry King, and the granddaddy of Winston-Salem wants him to be the anointed heir. Still, his newfound notoriety has unleashed a deluge of death threats. Christopher Buckley's satirical gift shines in this hilarious look at the ironies of "personal freedom" and the unbearable smugness of political correctness. Bracing in its cynicism, Thank You for Smoking is a delightful meander off the beaten path of mainstream American ethics. And despite his hypertension-inducing, slander-splattered, morally bankrupt behavior-which leads one Larry King listener to describe him as "lower than whale crap"-you'll find yourself rooting for smoking's mass enabler. -Rebekah Warren

In Thank You, Goodnight, hailed by *Billboard as “*High Fidelity and About a Boy with a dose of Music & Lyrics thrown in,” the lead singer of a one-hit wonder 90s band tries for one more swing at the fence. Teddy Tremble is nearing forty and has settled into a comfortable groove, working at a stuffy law firm and living in a downtown apartment with a woman he thinks he might love. Sure, his days aren’t as exciting as the time he spent as the lead singer of Tremble, the rock band known for its mega-hit “It Feels Like a Lie,” but that life has long since passed its sell-by date. But when Teddy gets a cryptic call from an old friend, he’s catapulted into contemplating the unthinkable: reuniting Tremble for one last shot at rewriting history. Never mind that the band members haven’t spoken in ten years, that they left the music scene in a blazing cloud of indifference, and that the only fans who seem

The memoirs of Bob Hope's and Henry Kissinger's mind-controlled slave. Used as a presidential sex toy and personal computer

When Megan discovered a floppy-eared rabbit gnawing on the hem of her skirt, she meant to give his owner a piece of her mind – but Dr. Patrick Hunter was too attractive to stay mad at. Megan had one failed love, could the doctor who kissed her breathless help to heal her heart?

In a large apartment house in central Rome, two crimes are committed within a matter of days: a burglary, in which a good deal of money and precious jewels are taken, and a murder, as a young woman whose husband is out of town is found with her throat cut. Called in to investigate, melancholy Detective Ciccio, a secret admirer of the murdered woman and a friend of her husband’s, discovers that almost everyone in the apartment building is somehow involved in the case, and with each new development the mystery only deepens and broadens. Gadda’s sublimely different detective story presents a scathing picture of fascist Italy while tracking the elusiveness of the truth, the impossibility of proof, and the infinite complexity of the workings of fate, showing how they come into conflict with the demands of justice and love. Italo Calvino, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Alberto Moravia all considered That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana to be the great modern Italian novel. Unquestionably, it is a work of universal significance and protean genius: a rich social novel, a comic opera, an act of political resistance, a blazing feat of baroque wordplay, and a haunting story of life and death

The people of Gaant are telepaths. The people of Enith are not. The two countries have been at war for decades, but now peace has fallen, and Calla of Enith seeks to renew an unlikely friendship with Gaantish officer Valk over an even more unlikely game of chess

Some of the best teaching is by example, but isn’t always planned!

When the Walrus experiment goes wrong, McGee becomes one whale of a problem!

The job was supposed to be easy. Lifting a magic charm from the house of a reclusive wizard in the middle of a swamp is a breeze for Max, a shapeshifter who has made his reputation by putting an end to dark wizards and the evil magic they use. Getting locked into a closet with an infamous thief wasn't part of the gameplan, but Max has always improvised well...especially when a hot woman is involved. The one thing Max didn't plan for was the possibility that Polly would beat him at his own game. That Old Black Magic is a free Mystic Valley story, offered unedited and as-is. It contains strong language, graphic sex, and a battle of the sexes involving handcuffs

Reluctant witch Eden Riley knows that codependent relationships aren't good, especially when you're possessed by a sexy but troublemaking demon. Darrak's physical form makes good girl Eden want to go bad, but the constant itch to use the soul-destroying black magic she's recently acquired might force Eden to explore her dark side in an entirely different way. And when her magic starts manifesting itself without conscious effort, both Eden's life and the possibility of a future with Darrak are threatened-since only one of them might be able to survive this…

Following Bridge of Sighs – a national best seller hailed by The Boston Globe as 'an astounding achievement… a masterpiece' – Richard Russo now tells the story of a marriage, and all the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth. Thirty years ago, on their Cape Cod honeymoon, Jack and Joy Griffin made a plan for their future that has largely been fulfilled. He left Los Angeles behind for the sort of New England college his parents had aspired to, and now the two of them are back on the Cape – where he'd also spent his childhood vacations – to celebrate the marriage of their daughter Laura's best friend. Sure, Jack's been driving around with his father's ashes in the trunk, though his mother's very much alive and often on his cell phone. Laura's boyfriend seems promising, but be careful what you pray for, especially if it happens to come true. A year later, at her wedding, Jack has another urn in the car, and both he and Joy have brought new dates. Full of every family feeling imaginable, wonderfully comic and profoundly involving, That Old Cape Magic is surprising, uplifting and unlike anything this Pulitzer Prize winner has ever written

No one remembered Singer Washburn now; the years had chugged by, and the old grey train had carried him far past the time when he’d be champ, past the time when he’d be retiring. Then he saw this kid Joe, with a mean streak in him, and knew that Singer Washburn wasn’t useless yet — there were a few things he could do, and maybe doing them would somehow make up for what he’d lost

That Smell is Sonallah Ibrahim's modernist masterpiece and one of the most influential Arabic novels. Composed in the wake of a five-year prison sentence, the semi-autobiographical story follows a recently released political prisoner as he wanders through Cairo, adrift in his native city. Published in 1966, the novel was immediately banned. The original, uncensored version did not appear for another twenty years. For this edition, translator Robyn Creswell has also included an annotated selection of Notes from Prison, culled from Ibrahim's prison diary, a personal archive comprising hundreds of handwritten notes scribbled on Bafra-brand cigarette papers. These writings shed unexpected light on the sources and motives of Ibrahim's groundbreaking novel

Trapped by a desperate hunted man, Susan — at any cost to herself — had to warn the children. Could she find the strength, the calm she’d need to outwit him?

In settings that range from the old American West to pre-revolutionary France, from a present-day dig site in the high tablelands of South America to deep space, That Tiny Life is a wide-ranging and utterly original collection of short fiction and a novella that examines the idea of progress — humanity’s never-ending cycle of creation and destruction. In the award-winning story, “Valley Floor,” a surgeon performs an amputation in the open desert in the American West. In “Da Capo al Fine,” set in eighteenth-century France, the creator of the fortepiano designs another, more brutal instrument. And in “That Tiny Life,” the reader gets a glimpse into a future in which human resource extraction goes far beyond Earth. Each story is infused with impeccably researched detail that brings obscure and fascinating subject matter into bright relief, be it falconry, ancient funeral rites, or space exploration. The result is an amazing interplay of minute detail against the backdrop of huge themes, such as human expression and impact, our need for connection, the innate violence in nature, and the god-complex present in all acts of human creation. A highly accomplished, evocative, and wholly impressive work of short fiction, That Tiny Life introduces readers to a writer with limitless range and imagination

For ten long years Griffin Trudeau has managed to keep his paws off Jemma Finnegan, best friend and leading star of his kinkiest fantasies. As her appointed cat familiar, indulging those fantasies with the delectable witch is strictly forbidden. But when Jemma shows up at his door with seduction in mind, control goes right out the window. Too late he realizes making love to Jemma is the trigger that launches a zombie apocalypse. Jemma's been dealt a double whammy: she's just discovered she's a witch. And Griff has been hiding whiskers and a tail. Oh, and if her life wasn't crazy enough, a dead voodoo queen needs her blood to raise a legion of zombies. There's one plan that might work to increase Jemma's powers so she can put an end to the looming holocaust. A sexy threesome with Griff and Logan Scott, a werewolf familiar with a history of rubbing Griff's fur the wrong way. A cat and a wolf playing nice, much less sharing? It'll take a miracle. Warning: A witch, tiger and wolf doing naughty things. A dead voodoo queen doing evil things. And zombies doing zombie things. Get your shovels ready

«ЭТО НИКОГДА НЕ БУДЕТ РАБОТАТЬ» – твердили ему. Идея видеопроката по подписке казалась всем знающим рынок чистейшей глупостью. Но только не Марку Рэндольфу. Несмотря на скепсис инвесторов и партнеров, он не отступил. Так появился Netflix. Это история самого невероятного стартапа XXI века, рассказанная его идейным вдохновителем и создателем. Захватывающие хроники превращения брошенной в дружеской беседе идеи в гиганта кино- и телеиндустрии с более чем 150 миллионами подписчиков по всему миру. Книга, достойная встать в один ряд с «Продавцом обуви» Фила Найта и «Доставляя счастье» Тони Шейя.В формате PDF A4 сохранён издательский дизайн

Рассказ вошёл в сборники: Quicker Than The Eye (В мгновение ока) Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales (Сборник ста лучших рассказов)

Thaïs était née de parents libres et pauvres, adonnés à l'idolâtrie. Du temps qu'elle était petite, son père gouvernait, à Alexandrie, proche de la porte de la Lune, un cabaret que fréquentaient les matelots. Certains souvenirs vifs et détachés lui restaient de sa première enfance. Elle revoyait son père assis à l'angle du foyer, les jambes croisées, grand, redoutable et tranquille, tel qu'un de ces vieux Pharaons que célèbrent les complaintes chantées par les aveugles dans les carrefours… Thaïs, courtisane d'Alexandrie, est convertie au christianisme par le moine Paphnuce. Mais est-ce vraiment l'amour divin qui inspire cet homme de Dieu?