The Quiet Side of Passion

The Quiet Side of Passion PDF Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307908976
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Isabel finds herself grappling with ethically-complex matters of the heart as she tries to juggle her responsibilities to friends, family, and the philosophical community. With two small boys to raise, a mountain of articles to edit for the Review of Applied Ethics, and the ever-increasing demands of her niece, Cat, who always seems to need a helping hand at the deli, Isabel barely has any time for herself. Her husband, Jamie, suggests acquiring extra help, and she reluctantly agrees. In no time at all, Isabel and Jamie have a new au pair, and Isabel has an intelligent assistant editor to share her workload. Both women, though, have romantic entanglements that threaten to interfere with their work, and Isabel must decide how best to navigate this tricky domestic situation. Can an employer ever inject herself into her employees’ affairs? Meanwhile, Isabel makes the acquaintance of Patricia, the mother of Charlie’s friend Basil. Though Isabel finds Patricia rather pushy, she tries to be civil and supportive, especially given that Patricia is raising her son on her own, without the help of his father, a well-known Edinburgh organist, also named Basil. But when Isabel sees Patricia in the company of an unscrupulous man, she begins to rethink her assumptions. Isabel must once again call on her kindness and keen intelligence to determine the right course of action, at home, at work, and in the schoolyard.

The Quiet Side of Passion

The Quiet Side of Passion PDF Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307908976
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 278

Get Book Here

Book Description
Isabel finds herself grappling with ethically-complex matters of the heart as she tries to juggle her responsibilities to friends, family, and the philosophical community. With two small boys to raise, a mountain of articles to edit for the Review of Applied Ethics, and the ever-increasing demands of her niece, Cat, who always seems to need a helping hand at the deli, Isabel barely has any time for herself. Her husband, Jamie, suggests acquiring extra help, and she reluctantly agrees. In no time at all, Isabel and Jamie have a new au pair, and Isabel has an intelligent assistant editor to share her workload. Both women, though, have romantic entanglements that threaten to interfere with their work, and Isabel must decide how best to navigate this tricky domestic situation. Can an employer ever inject herself into her employees’ affairs? Meanwhile, Isabel makes the acquaintance of Patricia, the mother of Charlie’s friend Basil. Though Isabel finds Patricia rather pushy, she tries to be civil and supportive, especially given that Patricia is raising her son on her own, without the help of his father, a well-known Edinburgh organist, also named Basil. But when Isabel sees Patricia in the company of an unscrupulous man, she begins to rethink her assumptions. Isabel must once again call on her kindness and keen intelligence to determine the right course of action, at home, at work, and in the schoolyard.

The Sunday Philosophy Club

The Sunday Philosophy Club PDF Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0375423435
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
ISABEL DALHOUSIE - Book 1 Nothing captures the charm of Edinburgh like the bestselling Isabel Dalhousie series of novels featuring the insatiably curious philosopher and woman detective. Whether investigating a case or a problem of philosophy, the indefatigable Isabel Dalhousie, one of fiction’s most richly developed amateur detectives, is always ready to pursue the answers to all of life’s questions, large and small. In this first installment, Isabel is attending a concert in the Usher Hall when she witnesses a man fall from the upper balcony. Isabel can’t help wondering whether it was the result of mischance or mischief. Against the best advice of her no-nonsense housekeeper Grace, her bassoon playing friend Jamie, and even her romantically challenged niece Cat, she is morally bound to solve this case. Complete with wonderful Edinburgh atmosphere and characters straight out of a Robert Burns poem, The Sunday Philosophy Club is a delightful treat from one of our most beloved authors.

All Passion Spent

All Passion Spent PDF Author: Vita Sackville-West
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0525433988
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
Irreverently funny and surprisingly moving, All Passion Spent is the story of a woman who discovers who she is just before it is too late. After the death of elder statesman Lord Slane—a former prime minister of Great Britain and viceroy of India—everyone assumes that his eighty-eight-year-old widow will slowly fade away in her grief, remaining as proper, decorative, and dutiful as she has been her entire married life. But the deceptively gentle Lady Slane has other ideas. First she defies the patronizing meddling of her children and escapes to a rented house in Hampstead. There, to her offspring’s utter amazement, she revels in her new freedom, recalls her youthful ambitions, and gathers some very unsuitable companions—who reveal to her just how much she had sacrificed under the pressure of others’ expectations.

Finding Quiet

Finding Quiet PDF Author: Jamie Grace
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 149342808X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
We live in a loud, loud world. Whether it's the criticism of others, the clamor of injustice, or the voice of anxiety from within, we are constantly being bombarded with noise. So what does it mean to find peace in the midst of all the noise? Is there a way to acknowledge the struggles we face and learn how to manage the stressors and voices that trigger us while believing in the promises and goodness of God? Jamie Grace has lived in the middle of noise for most of her life. Many know her as a singer with radio hits who has spent the last decade on stages and in front of the camera, but behind the scenes, she has struggled with Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, and an anxiety disorder for most of her life. But in the middle of both inner and outer noise, Jamie has learned how to manage the negative effects of her diagnoses, make the most of her strengths, and lean into the journey God has led her on. A journey of Finding Quiet.

The Perfect Passion Company

The Perfect Passion Company PDF Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Knopf Canada
ISBN: 1039009441
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency comes a fabulous new novel in three parts: The Perfect Passion Company, tender tales of love and companionship from Scotland’s most low-key dating agency. As the new manager of the Perfect Passion Company, Katie Donald’s mission is to help the lonely hearts of Edinburgh. With the assistance of her amiable and handsome office neighbor, William Kidd, she finds herself using a personal touch to find matches for the city’s lovelorn citizens. When an airline pilot comes to her looking for a woman to take care of him, Katie sends him to cooking school. The case of a hotelier with a particularly overbearing mother may require a delicate two-pronged approach. And for a client who has a habit of talking so much she does not even seem to draw breath—well, Katie doesn’t turn down a case just because it’s challenging. Along the way, Katie learns that her work may be a little broader in scope than she had originally thought, and there may be something to learn about her own future happiness as well. With the tenderness of which only McCall Smith is capable, The Perfect Passion Company charmingly illuminates the psychology of matchmaking, the search for love and compassion, and the mysterious spark of attraction that can, at times, catch hold of us all.

The Quiet American

The Quiet American PDF Author: Graham Greene
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504052544
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
A “masterful . . . brilliantly constructed novel” of love and chaos in 1950s Vietnam (Zadie Smith, The Guardian). It’s 1955 and British journalist Thomas Fowler has been in Vietnam for two years covering the insurgency against French colonial rule. But it’s not just a political tangle that’s kept him tethered to the country. There’s also his lover, Phuong, a young Vietnamese woman who clings to Fowler for protection. Then comes Alden Pyle, an idealistic American working in service of the CIA. Devotedly, disastrously patriotic, he believes neither communism nor colonialism is what’s best for Southeast Asia, but rather a “Third Force”: American democracy by any means necessary. His ideas of conquest include Phuong, to whom he promises a sweet life in the states. But as Pyle’s blind moral conviction wreaks havoc upon innocent lives, it’s ultimately his romantic compulsions that will play a role in his own undoing. Although criticized upon publication as anti-American, Graham Greene’s “complex but compelling story of intrigue and counter-intrigue” would, in a few short years, prove prescient in its own condemnation of American interventionism (The New York Times).

A Prime's Passion

A Prime's Passion PDF Author: Shiloh Walker
Publisher: Shiloh Walker
ISBN: 1495639673
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
Eyes down, little wolf. In her world, the strong were broken young or they didn’t survive. Eyes down, little wolf, Zee’s father would say. You aren’t strong enough yet. Zennia Day kept her eyes down and stayed quiet, knowing that one day, she’d escape. When her chance comes, she finds herself on a road that takes her far from Massachusetts, all the way to North Carolina. She has her eyes on the future…until she meets Niko, a dominant Therian male and future Prime. When she looks at him, instead of a challenge for dominance, Zee sees a promise of forever. Niko charmed her, teased her…and stole her heart. Mere days later, after making a public, permanent claim, he crushed that same heart in his fist, tossing her aside in front of the entire world and casting her out of pack lands. Ten years later, she's an outcast, living far from her own when she gets word her father is dying. She can do nothing—she was banned. Violating Niko’s order was to court punishment, even if it was just to tell her father good-bye. “Day is dying.” The blunt words almost had him on his knees until Niko realized his second-in-command wasn’t talking about Zee, but her father. No Therian is ever left to die alone, so Niko sent orders the Day family to come home. Niko is unprepared for Zee’s message. I have no pack. I have no home. The words leave him shattered. Realizing what he’d done in his rage, Niko pushes harder for answers. It doesn’t take long to discover that what he’d heard a decade earlier had been based on lies. Because of those lies, he’d thrown away the love of his life. Zee’s been paying the price ever since. Now he must mend a heart he’d broken...and convince her to give him one more chance.

A Song of Comfortable Chairs

A Song of Comfortable Chairs PDF Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0593316983
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
In this latest installment in the beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Grace Makutsi encounters a pair of quandaries that will require all of her and Mma Ramotswe’s cleverness and generosity to resolve. “An escape from life’s woes as well as a suggestion for how to make the whole deal more palatable—fragility, fruit cake, and all.” —The Boston Globe Grace Makutsi’s husband, Phuti Radiphuti, is in a bind. An international firm is attempting to undercut his prices in the office furniture market. Phuti has always been concerned with quality and comfort, but this firm seems interested only in profits. To make matters worse, they have a slick new advertising campaign that seems hard to beat. Meanwhile, Grace is approached by an old friend who has a troubled son. She and Phuti agree to take Patience and Modise in and lend a hand, but things don’t work out quite as intended, and the situation proves difficult for them to handle. It will require not only all of their persistence and dedication but also help from an unexpected quarter to find a solution that will make everyone happy. Faced with more than her fair share of delicate dilemmas, Mma Makutsi deals with it all with her usual graciousness. This—along with the kindness, generosity, and good sense for which the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is known—assures us that, in the end, each of these matters will be set right.

A Laborer in the Vineyard of Love

A Laborer in the Vineyard of Love PDF Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0593686314
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
For fans of Alexander McCall Smith’s many beloved series and romantic standalone novels, The Perfect Passion Company e-original series shows him at his most perceptive, playful, and generous. Katie Donald is learning the ropes at the Perfect Passion Company, which provides help to the lovelorn citizens of Edinburgh. Katie is assisted in her matchmaking endeavors by William Kidd, a talented knitwear designer in the office next door with a sympathetic ear, a playful interest in the business of matchmaking and a long-distance fiancée in his native Melbourne. George Fane, a thirtysomething hotelier tied to his family business and an overbearing mother, arrives one day asking for Katie’s assistance in finding a romantic partner—and a little distance from his mother to boot. As Katie searches for the right match for George, she discovers there is more than one way of looking at the Fane family’s story and that the work of the Perfect Passion Company may have to be a little broader in its scope than she had previously thought. Meanwhile, the Perfect Passion Company’s original owner, Katie’s cousin Ness, is away in Canada surrounded by pristine forest in a small lakeside town full of intriguing neighbours. As Ness did before her, Katie must learn the principles of romantic chemistry with the very simpatico William at her side. This is the job after all—bringing great happiness to people. And as she labors, she just might discover something about her own compatibility and future happiness. Alexander McCall Smith’s second volume in the Perfect Passion Company series, A Labourer in the Vineyard of Love, casts new light on the psychology of family relationships, the desire for friendship and romance, and the thrill of possibility when two people meet at just the right time in life.

The Geometry of Holding Hands

The Geometry of Holding Hands PDF Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 1524748951
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Isabel finds herself entangled in some tricky familial and financial situations that will require all of her kindness, charm, and philosophical expertise to navigate. Just when Isabel and Jamie finally seem to have some time to connect and unwind, a wealthy Edinburgh resident reaches out to Isabel with an unusual request—he would like her to become the executor of his large Highland estate. Though Isabel initially demurs, he presses on. He has only a short time to live, and, without any direct heirs, is struggling to determine which of his three cousins would be the best caretaker. Should it go to the bohemian artist, the savvy city property developer, or the quiet, unassuming bachelor? As if this weren’t enough to keep Isabel occupied, she’s also spending more time helping her niece Cat at the deli. Cat, perennially unlucky in love, seems to have finally found her match in the leonine Leo. But Isabel is beginning to suspect that Leo might be interested in more than Cat’s charms, namely her access to the family trust. Isabel will need to rely upon remarkable reserves of intelligence and compassion in order to give all parties exactly what they want and deserve—no more, and no less.