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A small village learns the value of kindness.

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A young woman and her husband come to terms about their marriage.

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A sequel to John Cheever's 1964 story "The Swimmer", Nettie finds resolution to the problems that destroyed his life and a new beginning.

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The life and adventures of a river otter in the East Tennessee mountains.

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An author who frequently played with the borders of his own identity, Borges loved to create works in collaboration with others. One of his longtime companions in this literary game of exquisite corpse was Norman Thomas Di Giovanni, who translated this edition of El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan. They worked together on English editions of much of Borges’ fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, all of which was signed by both authors together as a collaborative effort. Borges loved translation, and brought a creative infidelity to the effort that embraced the inevitable transformations of the original and highlighted his own interests in the source text. His translations of his own work with Di Giovanni are no more faithful, and represent an important part of his literary output. Unfortunately, they were allowed to go out of print after Borges’ death, most likely because Borges’ widow María Kodama and Viking-Penguin could secure more royalties for themselves if they broke the 50/50 agreement Borges had established with Di Giovanni for all their shared projects. Di Giovanni has even been legally barred from making his translations ava...

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The writing of vast books - setting out in five hundred pages an idea which could be perfectly expressed orally in a few minutes - is an exhausting and impoverishing piece of extravagance. Far better to pretend that such books already exist and to provide them with a summary or commentary. This is what Carlyle did in Sartor Resartus and Butler in The Fair Haven, works that have the imperfection of also being books and no less tautological than any others. More rational, more inept, more idle, I have chosen to write reviews of imaginary books. These are ‘Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius’, ‘A Glimpse into the Work of Herbert Quain’,and ‘The Approach to al-Mu’tasim’...

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Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 The Approach to al-Mu’tasim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Pierre Menard, the Author of Don Quixote . . . . . . . . . 15 Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Circular Ruins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The Lottery in Babylon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 A Glimpse into the Work of Herbert Quain . . . . . . . . 65 The Library of Babel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 The Garden of Branching Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85...

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Kites rise against the wind is a short novel by Premji... The story is set in Surat city of India...

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From the vastness of outer space to the streets of contemporary America, tales of fantasy, suspense, science fiction and horror, written for intelligent people who seek out strong emotions for both the mind and soul. With “Eternal Grief”, nominated for Best Short Story of 2003 by the Preditors & Editors Readers´ Poll....

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Stories Varied delve into the possibilities of woman’s life in the man’s world. While Ilaa’s Ire takes one back to woman’s life and times in the Vedic age, ‘201’ Qualms depicts her predicament when torn between trust and duty. If “?” addresses woman’s marital stress in an alien land, Cupid’s Clue is about her acting on a rebound in the native place. Even as Autumn Love enables a woman to discover the void late in life, A Touchy Affair renders her amenable to her man’s other woman well in time. Just as Love’s How’s That inflames her old flame, A Hearty Turn brings the female lesbian leanings to the fore. As Love Jihad bridges lovers’ religious divide with a secular plank, Tenth Nook creates a marital gulf on the material plane. If Eleventh Hour is about woman’s lust for love, Twelfth Tale underscores her quest for power....

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“Why am I bogged down with this man-made thing without a thought for the man who made it all happen,” she thought on second-thought. ”He’s only to be blamed for that. Why not, he’s the one who maligned my mind with materialism, didn’t he? Or is it Mammon who had seduced my soul to the core? But how does that mater any way. He did desert me at the first post of adversity and that’s what matters. How shameful. Is it cowardice or callousness? How am I to know? Let him go to hell and I’ll brave it out regardless. But what about our kids, won’t they be worse off, left in the lurch?” From Tenth Nook...

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1) Ilaa’s Ire 2) ‘201’ Qualms 3) “?” 4) Cupid’s Clue 5) Autumn Love 6) A Touch Affair 7) Love’s How’s That? 8) A Hearty Turn 9) Love Jihad 10) Tenth Nook 11) Eleventh Hour 12) Twelfth Tale ...

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Anne and the others living in the secret annex in Amsterdam, are betrayed and on the fourth of August nineteen forty four arrested. The members are sent to different concentration camps. Anne and her older sister Margot end up in the Bergen Belsen Camp. Anne is expecting terrible circumstances but when she gets involved with SS guard Adolfo, her situation might change from despair to hope. In this tragic and disturbing story you will discover that inhumane and murderous behaviour of people can reach extreme levels during war. Because of recurring wars we have to ask ourselves if humankind is ever capable of creating a peaceful and free society? Warning: this story is not recommended for children younger than twelve years old, because of confronting or graphic scenes and events....

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Chocolate for Anne Frank Postface

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A short story about arrogance, ignorance and ultimately giving in to curiosity. The world is a wonderful place and discovering it could be the most delightful of experiences....

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"And suddenly, a strange idea conquered his mind, his curiosity was focused on one thing; and he liked to ask the only question that no one knew the answer to: (Sheik, how shall I die?) The Sheik looked at him with tired, peaceful, kind eyes… then he looked away and informed him in low, but clear voice: (It will be a beautiful day.)"...

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What are the reasons behind the sudden outbreak of mushroom poisonings in Burgundy, France? Read at your own risk to unravel this peculiar mystery.

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Be advised: work contains very strong language and scenes of a sexually explicit and violent content. Recommended minimum age of 18 years

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These 17 stories explore spiritual growth from a variety of approaches. Just vaguely science fiction, a bit social fantasy, these allegorical tales from the 1980s anticipate our fascination with digital reality and ask us to look deeper. What are we really seeking in relationships? How far from our comfort-zone will we stretch? What does it mean to be a disciple of a Higher Calling? What is our purpose in life? And how are we dealing with the obstacles that keep us from realizing it? dan menkin is a retired bodywork practitioner and inner peace counselor, author of Transformation Through Bodywork and Transformation Through Bodywork Continued, both available as pdf downloads from this site and as Kindle editions from Amazon. Having lived in the Indian Himalaya for six years, he returned to the U.S. in 2014. He practices yoga and meditation in the woods near Boston....

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Two short stories, each looks at life in the future. In Evermore, an old lady finds solace in a gift from her husband. In Pants, a son supports his elderly mother using an unusual nurse....

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From Evermore: The moment the great glass doors of the shopping mall slid silently open, Miriam regretted her decision to come. She hadn’t visited the mall for over a year and was horrified to find herself besieged by scantily clad young men and women, all jostling to persuade her to visit their shop. They were astonishingly beautiful: tall, graceful, perfect features, with large eyes and ideal bodies....

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At Sea is a series of short stories set in London (mainly East) with a wide array of characters, some of whom were born in London, some are visiting and some can't leave. From the struggling Glaswegian artist who boards the train to his ex-girlfriends birthday party in the country to the young mother who can't leave her past behind her and the devout, Nigerian, churchgoer who cleans her place of worship with conviction and everything in between, At Sea casts characters from diverse backgrounds with hopes and fears but keeps them together in the hothouse that is a city of 8 million....

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Hilary's Birthday Bus Stop The Interpreters The Garden Mercy Glass Rose

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A second volume of short stories and poetry translated from the Hebrew.

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Why does the fox only come out at night? Is he a sly thief? Or just a misunderstood little creature? This is a magic story that involves the birth of a lakemaid, a lonely fox and a blind owl that can see more than most of us. A short fable with a fairytale attitude and some social critisism. For kids and mostly for people who never grew up....

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The word of one deer was worth more than thousands of truths. Only because ist antlers were so impressive?

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This is the story of a true miracle. Read how Boris the cat got lost for over a year and how he was finally reunited with his family who were living 400 km away. Guaranteed to make you smile!...

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Preface Enter The Cat Burglar Target is Cat Corleone The Cat Who Came To Stay Amazing Reunion About The Author

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The stories portray human relations, especially between man and woman, children and their parents, the poor and the rich.

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Suchitra is writing a story. Sitting in her room with doors closed, creating a world of her own, she is getting ready to write a story. A sheet of paper that she pulled out in haste from her Social Science notebook lies in front of her with a sentence, “Mother is an evil character”. Writing the first sentence was easy for her. In fact all her stories begin by portraying somebody as an evil character. That first sentence, for her, flows out from the tip of her pencil to be imprinted between the blue lines of her notebook. It is done with the ease of a little bird landing on the window-sill, tucking its feathers closer to itself and turning its head to look straight at her. Now, what is the next sentence? It is here that Suchitra is in real trouble. It is easy to imagine somebody as an evil character, but it has to be authenticated with valid evidences. It should be given a halo of truth, capable of standing on its own legs. Not enough being just a sentence, it should stand tall in the arena of literature and above all, the story starting with that sentence should immortalize its creator....

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Stories: The Dinosaur’s Baby Anitha’s House The Net Of Darkness To Catch A Grasshopper The Cockroaches The Greatest Show Music Of The Mountains The Shroedinger’s Cat Stories With Evil Characters A KungFu Fighter...

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Have you ever been caught up in a warped space-time situation ? If you have, this will wake up forgotten memories. If you have not, you will be better armed to handle the experience. But if you try to deal with irrational situations using your rational thinking, you may go through a hard time....

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When he reached the building, there was no one yet waiting. The afternoon sun was blazing the street, but fortunately the entrance was on the shady side. He heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the cool stone steps. He knew he was meeting someone here but the heat and his walk through the busy dusty streets had muddled up his mind and memory. He hoped that some rest in the shade would bring him back to his full senses. He was still daydreaming about his condition when he heard her voice close to him. - Hi, my name is Deborah Highbridge, glad you could make it. - Hi, no problem. Pleased to meet you, Miss Highbridge. - You can call me Deborah. - OK, then you can call me Anthony. He got up to shake her hand. He was startled but pleased to see a young energetic woman, when he had expected to meet some typically dull fat elderly real estate dealer. Yet he disliked the touch of her hand on his. It was cold and rough, such a contrast with her appearance, as if it belonged to another person. Especially in the midst of summer. She was elegant but not flashy, with hazelnut eyes and auburn hair. A very m...

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**Contemporary Flash Fictions; not suitable for preteens & below.** A broken relationship; a hopeful lady; a full-of-rage heart of a man; a sound of a gun; a floor of blood and other scenarios. If your soul sides death; if your heart follows crumbling scenes; if your mind adores sorrow; if your eyes love blood, this anthology will fill your needs with different stories that end up tragically....

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Acknowledgement Author’s Note Let the Water Rise Like I Said He is the King Do You? Elites What You Once Gave Me Let Us Play Will Not Let It I Still Remember Underwater I Never Thought I Can Ever Have Perfect Ceremony Sister Aida Along with What We Found Mystery Purity Days Hope in Hell Wide, Blue Sea Ashes Knife and Hell Will You? Rivers Payback Owned Words Prayers Guitar Tunes Marathon Memories Saving Maeve The Way We Fall One Day Lies Gone Eternal Lives Goodbye I Love You Element Wooden Chair Dear Layla Blame Aviss Windowsill What We Are Two Hours Falling Thunders Burned Waiting Butterfly MaryAnne Under Finally The End About the Author...

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Story of an orphanage for girls, their miserable life under a warden. Finally the Church realize their folly and appoints a new warden, who is young and energetic. The reforms he made changed the atmosphere so drastically that the countenance of the inmates changes. The Church is happy with him, but then the new warden has his share of problems and the priest helps him solve it....

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Sir, it is Jisy’s turn tonight. I came because she’s not well.’ ‘Turn?’ She nodded. ‘Turn for what?’ ‘Today is Tuesday, and it is her turn to come to you, Sir. The old Warden Sir had made it like that. Tuesday it is Jisy, Thursday me, Saturday Deepa and if in between he wants somebody he will tell it. ‘What for?’ The moment it was blurted out he understood the absurdity of his question. In a moment a lot of things rushed into his mind, like standing in front of a bursting dam and being swept away with the torrent. He was tired. He was thinking of the hapless animals that are forced to go to the animal king one a day as his prey. Today is the turn of this fawn, or she is substituting for a fellow being....

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Nepal has been blessed with heavenly natural beauty. However, the plate tectonics that gave birth to this natural beauty will one day cause massive loss of life and property. A majority of people living in Nepal are largely unaware of their vulnerability to a massive earthquake. Ironically, foreign diplomats seem to be more active in preparing Nepal for this imminent and unpredictable natural disaster: recently the US embassy funded the construction of a blood bank that can survive the impact of an earthquake, Nepal government and some UN agencies are collaborating to prepare critical infrastructures (like airport, emergency shelter, etc.) for a massive earthquake that is bound to hit this beautiful Himalayan kingdom that has already been cursed with a bloody past and a youth-less present. This short story (fiction, 2200 words) describes the home coming of a youth after a massive earthquake in Nepal. It also tries to emphasize the importance of letter writing in current age of instant communication (email, telephone, etc)....

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The dead bodies recovered from the rubble lay all along the road side like a victory medal of the God. Pulverised concrete had turned the whole city into a dark and grey place. As Alok entered inner parts of the city, roads turned into small mountain of rubble; motionless hands, legs and expressionless faces peeked from these rubble. All the human remains were completely washed with powdered concrete dust and they silently recited the violent tale of furious Mother nature. Bricks had broken free from the tyranny of cement and lay scattered everywhere while naked concrete pillars shamelessly displayed their steel skeletons. A mist created by pulverised concrete floated everywhere like a recently freed spirit and, without any remorse, it flirted with strong smell of decaying human flesh. Stains of dried blood splatted over broken concrete spoke of the bloody feast organised by the Gods. Amid this aftermath of the festival of death, some hope emanated from the light of the pyre of some fortunate dead bodies whose relatives had survived to offer them the last Hindu rites....

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Who you believe in and what you believe is the most important matter in life. In a morally troubled world, how powerful a hold does religion have? Are you confused about religious ambiguity, love of money, love of power, sexual immorality, art? Reading The Brass Bed and other Stories may help, then again it may just raise more questions....

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The Salesman Alabaster Easter The Albatross Cafe She wore clover . . . Tabula Rasa The Two Men The Dancer

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In the post-Civil War period, our hero Matthew Wilson, during a trip to see his partner in New Orleans, finds himself stranded in the deadly uncharted swamp with no tools or help. On his journey back to civilization, he encounters a deranged domestic prisoner and his wife, deadly wildlife, and many other threats....

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The driver cleared his throat. “They take fifteen minutes to get there us half the time. J.S Peterson Carriage has a commitment to quality that never ends.” Although he had just commenced his job, he already had the tired, repetitive tone of someone who had repeated that phrase innumerable times. To the couple's surprise, the horses quickly lurched into a dark underworld of a street. Untamed mosses and vines swallowed up the dilapidated, vacant houses, which bore signs of antiquated engineering and design. They were slowly sinking into the soft ground, as Nature took them back from Man....

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Chapter 1 Chapter 2

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Martin is a 50-something Yorkshireman with a penchant for swearing and making model aircraft in his shed. He also likes football and many years ago when a small, longhaired Argentinian started to play for Napoli FC, Martin became aware of this corner of Italy famous for Pompeii, pizza and the mafia. While a later incident meant that Maradona fell seriously out of Martin's favour, his love for Naples and the Amalfi Coast grew and grew. But with a family to provide for and his redundancy to deal with, Martin never made the journey to this part of the world he loves so much. Until now… Readers have described See the Amalfi Coast as "funny, evocative and moving", "witty, clever and so honest" and "a wonderful read". Enjoy finding out why Martin and his loyal, loving wife have finally made the journey to see the Amalfi Coast and how a number of twists and turns give new meaning to their "holiday of a lifetime"....

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Our plane leaves in five hours and he hasn’t packed yet. Instead, he sits in his shed and tinkers with his toys. “They’re not toys. They’re models. Works of bloody art,” We booked the tickets a few months ago. Cheap flights from one website, a last minute hotel from another. Martin clicked the mouse, taking us from one page to the next. I read out our credit card details. It all happened so quickly. “It’s only bloody money. You can’t spend money when you’re dead,” The last time we went abroad was fifteen years ago. Ten days in Disney World, one final family holiday. Steven was spotty and grumpy, bored by us all. Stacie was the opposite, hyperactive and clingy. Martin was relentless, reminding me that this was his “very idea of hell” each time we joined a queue. And yet there was a moment of magic. On our last hot evening in Florida as the four of us hugged Mickey Mouse, a photographer captured a happy moment that didn’t exist. I always smile to myself when I move that photo frame to dust the mantlepiece. This time it will be just the two of us; the children don’t even know. “You mustn’t tell them. It’s o...

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"This collection of stories is like a blanket woven from 100% wanderlust under which you can hide as Frances M. Thompson tucks you in with her words and keeps you warm with her descriptions of characters you'll love and places you can tell she knows by heart." Gesa Neitzel, www.bedouinwriter.com Shy Feet: Short Stories Inspired by Travel is a collection of twelve quirky, charismatic and touching tales of travel. The inquisitive Ruth tells the story of The Lost Children of Gatwick Airport and in Max's Holiday we learn what a seven-year-old boy considers a "proper holiday" to be. In The Flowers Sleep Tonight, we meet Thomas and Carly, two solo travellers whose paths keep crossing... because that's exactly what Thomas wants. A spontaneous plan to elope is revealed in The Runaways and Homes from Homes is about the lessons Patricia learns from the hotel bellboy she has a fling with. Oh, Henry is the story of how a dream holiday can mean two different things to two lovers and Katie's Maps is an offbeat love letter to a vast collection of maps. Extracts from a travel journal tell one woman's life story in All the Beaches are Made of ...

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SHY FEET Part One Thirty-seven years ago, I was born into debt. I arrived two weeks early, surprising both my mother and the woman whose hair she was cutting. Before I’d even entered the world, I owed my mother the price of her customer’s leather loafers. Thirty years ago, a teacher told my mother to keep an eye on me. I was “frighteningly astute" and “abnormally self-aware” for my age. In other words, I was going places. Twenty-eight years ago, I paid my mother back for those leather loafers with money I made from selling jars of jam to our neighbours. Every Sunday evening I would stand on a stool in front of our gas stove and stir a viscose pink liquid around a giant saucepan. Behind me, my mother would hold her breath as I poured the hot mixture into jars, never spilling a drop. Twenty-six years ago, I began secondary school. Within weeks I learnt that with very little effort I could get top marks in most subjects. I rarely studied more than I had to and I blitzed through my homework on the school bus home. While Mum finished work in the front room, I cooked dinner for us both, listening to her scissors snip through ...

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Shy Feet - Part One The Flowers Sleep Tonight The Lost Children Homes from Homes The Runaways Oh, Henry Katie's Maps Scorpion The Road is Long Max's Holiday See the Amalfi Coast All the Beaches are made of Pebbles Shy Feet - Part Two...