From dancing to masking, the Pakistani woman drudges through in her search for home. In this collection of eleven short stories, author Syrrina Haque explores the concept of home. Is home a physical entity or a spiritual domain? For some people, is home merely a facade? Demonstrating the diversity of the socio-cultural terrain of Pakistan, these stories of life revolve around the theme of physical, spiritual, and psychological displacement and how this relates to the concept of home. In "From Boundaries to Boundaries," a thirty-nine-year-old mother of three leaves her abusive husband and Pakistani home for Canada; she hopes for a fresh beginning and a break from her past. In "Burka," thirteen-year-old Burka-clad Gulbano flees her home to escape marrying a fifty-year-old Talib-but her fate is worse than she could have imagined. These true-to-life characters search for new horizons to appease their hidden side and arrive at castles built with only with sand. They try to traverse from boundary to boundary in search of a destination, but they find themselves entrapped in their own cocoons.

Baseball is life, or so the saying goes. In this book, a man's relationship with his father coincides with the twists, turns, and surprises experienced in the game of baseball. From a sandlot in Massachusetts at the turn of the century to an old stadium cum Wal-Mart in present day Oregon, the reader is taken from one game to the next, with father and son ever present-either on the field or in the stands. On his lifelong journey the man learns the lessons his dad tries to teach him on the diamond: discipline, obedience, loyalty, teamwork, curiosity, and respect. He handles life's curve balls, in the form of rejection, alcoholism, and divorce, with the grace and stamina of a true athlete-and in the process discovers the common bond he shares with his father. Steady and detailed as the game itself, "Delayed Steal" is a book for anyone who once sat in the stands as a kid, rooting for the home team. Author Marshall Umpleby also wrote the heart breaking World War II novel "On Falcon's Wings," described as "terrific story telling" and "absolutely one of the best books I have ever read."

Fantasy is a phenomenon that affects all of us more than we consciously recognize. Are we not constantly daydreaming or dreaming of the future-pondering our wishes and desires? Or, do too many people accept things as they are-readily to concede all appearances as gospel? Stranger Than Fantasy is a collection of forty fantasy short stories. Each story should be taken for what it is-for the most part, an entertaining excursion of fiction that challenges one's thoughts, one's acceptance of reality. Hopefully, after reading my stories, the readers will look at their lives, their life situations a little differently and finally stand up and exclaim, "That which is, is not and that which is not, is! And if that happens, then I think the world will be a little bit better off today than it was yesterday. George Mauro

Herman Melville's absurdist classic is printed anew in this presentable hardcover edition. First published in 1853, Bartleby, the Scrivener has been lauded as a superb - even perfect - example of short form fiction. In the years since its original publication, the text has received analysis in numerous essays and is commonly studied in school classrooms and university lectures. Variously interpreted as a dark office comedy or as an autobiography by the increasingly iconoclastic Melville, the story concerns the titular Bartleby, a 'scrivener' or clerk hired by the narrator who is a prosperous lawyer based in Manhattan. Despite starting very well, the quiet Bartleby begins to refuse to do tasks, and gradually his workload tapers to zero. Each refusal is paired with Bartleby's catchphrase: ""I would prefer not to.""

In the cadence of a Texas drawl or the whisper of a midday kiss, these stories by Gail Galloway Adams capture untidy lives in which the pain of living is confounded with a grin. From the yoga instructor with her Earthshoes and mantras to the Texas aunt who wills herself insane, the characters in Adams's stories boldly face the sorrows and strains of everyday life, seeking relief in humor and redemption in words. The Purchase of Order depicts characters from Germany to Georgia, men and women attempting to find meaning within memory, who take joy in giving of themselves.

The Pat Hobby Stories are a collection of 17 comedic short stories written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. They first appeared in Esquire magazine between January 1940 and May 1941, but in 1962 they were collected into a single book and published posthumously.Pat Hobby is a once successful screenwriter in Hollywood, but now an alcoholic and broke, who spends his time hanging around the studio, hoping for work. The stories generally revolve around him hatching a plan to earn money or glory in some way, but they usually end in further humiliation.The introduction to the book states, "while it would be unfair to judge this book as a novel, it would be less than fair to consider it as anything but a full-length portrait. It was as such that Fitzgerald worked on it, and would have wanted it presented in book form, after its original magazine publication. He thought of it as a comedy."

Radical Islam and the Battle for the Americas' is a Fiction of the non-fictional WORLD we live in today. this is not a book of Republicans nor Democrats but a Book of WE the People and the worse possible scenerio that might inflict the world as we know it. The death of America -Democracy the free world and the blest Isrealli people. An Invasion across the world like a fire radicals from with-in, led from across the great seas with one phone call- the call of DEATH. Twenty years of slavery as the Armies of death Ravish the Nations many hidden in the bossums of the earth -and from their under ground sancturaries can they survive and strike back as two thoousand American slaves from new york led by hope and a rumor from the north make a daring escape from this the last occupied city. a March across the four corners to the valley of the dead in New Mexico for their Epic Battle before their finale battle on land sea and air on the shores of Jersey across the Hudson and in the streets of the once great city. join we the people we the last americans in our greatest adventure and challenge ever -In the name of God Country and Family and Flag join us as we -you- the greatness of america stand up once more and Fight back the EVILS of our World. God Bless Michelangelo

The stories in "Scavengers" are about people fighting to gain or hold onto some good. For the six-year-old heroine of ""Dixie Lee"" it is innocence, threatened by her kidnapper. Gilda, the young English teacher of ""Scavengers,"" disappointed in love, wants a baby by artificial insemination. Middleton, the bumbling and incorrigible romantic of ""Following Keats,"" seeks love in Italy. In ""Fish or Fowl"" Isabel Larkin, lost in La-La land, seems uncertain about her identity--but not about doing what is right. Jeff Franklin, in ""This Day in Yankee History,"" tries mightily to convey his respect and liking for a distrustful young black boy he meets at the ballpark. These and others--a handsome alcoholic, a sex-obsessed homeless man, an ambitious cop, a professor drawn toward violence, a guilt-ridden man with a snuff movie--all struggle to possess a small part of what they have lost, thrown away, or never had.

The fiery birth of a new star of South African fiction, Innards is an incendiary debut of linked stories that narrates the everyday lives of Soweto residents, from the early years of apartheid to its dissolution and beyond.

Set in Soweto, the urban heartland of South Africa, Innards tells the intimate stories of everyday black folks processing the savagery of apartheid. Rich with the thrilling textures of township language and life, it braids the voices and perspectives of an indelible cast of characters into a breathtaking collection flush with forgiveness, rage, ugliness and beauty.

Meet a fake PhD and ex-freedom fighter who remains unbothered by his own duplicity, a girl who goes mute after stumbling upon a burning body, twin siblings nursing a scorching feud, and a woman unravelling under the weight of a brutal encounter with the police. At the heart of this collection – of deceit and ambition, appalling violence and transcendent love – is the story of slavery, colonization and apartheid – and it shows in intimate detail how South Africans must navigate both the shadows of the recent past and the uncertain opportunities of the promised land.

Full to bursting with life, in all its complexities and vagaries, Innards is an uncompromising depiction of black South Africa. Visceral and tender, it heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

The islands of Britain and Ireland hold a rich heritage of plant folklore and wisdom, from the magical yew tree to the bad-tempered dandelion. Here are traditional tales about the trees and plants that shape our landscapes and our lives through the seasons. They explore the complex relationship between people and plants, in lowlands and uplands, fields, bogs, moors, woodlands and towns. Suitable for all ages, this is an essential collection of stories for anyone interested in botany, the environment and our living heritage.

"Fat Lady's Songs" An irascible vagrant toils at a mushroom farm to buy supplies for his artistic "projects." He discovers he has not been as forgettable as his nagging wife long ago predicted. "Brighton Incidental" The farcical outcome of being a well-meaning matchmaker in the lives of strangers. "Crossing Lines" Two random people on a train are nevertheless linked by coincidences that turn out to be life-affirming for them both. "Madeleine Time" A young, West End wardrobe assistant with a penchant for wearing historical costume appears to have left a baby on a bus--with amusing consequences. "Finn" An encounter with an angry swan and the eccentric owner of a canal boat sets a marginalised boy on the path to discovering a prodigious talent.

How long do we really have? Have the sands of time run out? How will it be in the end? One will be in the field, one shall be taken, and the other will remain: Behold, for I come as a thief in the night. Could you or would you know the signs I put among you? To think that the bitterness that life sometimes is could be so much worse; those who will remain will have hell on earth. I will send a messenger among you too save all who would listen.