In two centuries, La Purísima Concepción went from a fledgling frontier mission to a renowned California State Historic Park. Once home to many Spanish soldiers, settlers and hundreds of Chumash Indians, La Purísima held the seat of the California Mission government under Father Mariano Payeras. It withstood catastrophic events, including widespread disease in early years and a great Southern California earthquake in 1812. Emerging from ruins for the last time in 1934, after restoration by...

In this stirring autobiography, Dr. Watson reveals the truth in full: his Scottish ancestry, the middle-class circumstances in which he grew up, a dark legacy, and the familial discord that would leave a lasting mark on him; not to mention the ironic circumstances that shaped his career—first as a doctoral student, then as a war doctor, and finally as a detective's assistant. His memoirs take us to four continents, to the theater stages of Paris and London, across Afghan battlefields, and ...

Living in poverty and facing abuses from a nonloving family, a forgotten child fights thoughts of suicide and dark demons in an effort to find a peaceful life.

Dr. Watson is courting, and Sherlock Holmes is toying with the idea of retirement. But he hasn't reckoned with the criminals of this world. A ravenous beast seems to be wreaking havoc on Hampstead Heath, immediately evoking memories of the infamous Hound of the Baskervilles. During excavations in London, the remains of Oliver Cromwell are discovered – and promptly stolen. A steward is murdered while crossing the Channel. It seems impossible to prove the culprit responsible. And to make mat...

New York Times Bestseller: This anthology of Erma Bombeck's most memorable and humorous essays is a tribute to one of America's sharpest wits.When she began writing her regular newspaper column in 1965, Erma Bombeck's goal was to make housewives laugh. Thirty years later, she had published more than four thousand columns, and earned countless laughs—from housewives, presidents, and everyone in between.With grace, good humor, and razor-sharp prose, sh...

The New York Times bestselling memoir about growing up in small-town Indiana, from the author of The Solace of Leaving Early.When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana, was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small-town...

Operation Danny…that’s all bartender and recent college graduate, Julian Hallowell has had on his mind the past year. Julian may have no idea what he wants to do with his life, but he definitely knows he‘s in love with the boy next door: The one in next room to be exact, his roommate Danny Wallace.Danny owns a used text book store just off campus and while Julian has done his level best to make Danny fall for him, all his hard work appears to have been in vain. Danny doesn’t seem t...

Jennifer has always been a wallflower, so when Mike Palmer flatters her—and asks her out—she feels on top of the world. But Mike's a sports nut, and soon Jennifer feels like she's playing second fiddle to every sport televised. Her ultimatum has Mike reconsidering their relationship. But it's after they elope when Jennifer’s problems really begin and she discovers the man she thought she’d known may have ulterior motives for making her his bride.Tonya Thomas writes stories about is...

The hilarious #1 New York Times bestseller: Erma Bombeck's take on marriage and family life is "fun from cover to cover" ( Hartford Courant).Ever since she was a child, Er ma Bombeck has been an expert worrier, and married life has only honed that skill. She gets anxious about running out of ball bearings; about snakes sneaking in through the pipes; about making meaningful conversation on New Year's Eve. Married life, she realizes, is an unpredicta...

19-year-old Charity Graff engages in self-harm. More specifically she cuts herself to numb emotions. In a series of raw journal entries, the confused teenager writes to her estranged father, filling him in on what's happened in her life since he left her nearly 18 years ago. Throughout the course of her letter writing, Charity chronicles her penchant for cutting, a serious struggle with depression and her inability to vocally express her feelings.

Students and teachers will roar as Kenn Nesbitt pokes fun at silly school topics with dozens of wacky poems.Who knew school lunches and detention could be so funny? Kenn Nesbitt, that's who! Do you attend a school like the one Kenn Nesbitt describes in this hysterically funny collection of poems? There's a frenzied food fight in the cafeteria. For show-and-tell, kids burp the ABCs. Recently, "pet days" have been banned (and for good reason). And the funniest things...

This book is a love letter to mothers everywhere. Discover a beautiful reminder of your identity, both as a woman and a mother.Are you an imperfect, trying-her-best mom? If you're stressed from overreading parenting advice, The Magic of Motherhood is the calming antidote you need. Ashlee Gadd and the writers behind the popular blog Coffee + Crumbs will help you see that you aren't alone and give you the words of encouragement you need to k...