American Short

How do tons of people already learn several languages and have fun doing so? While you're probably hustling your way through boring dictionaries or old-school language learning books (and still no hablas español?), there are tons of people who already speak several languages and have fun while learning them.

A woman fleeing a horrible fate. A lonely man yearning for love. Brought together by a twist of fate, will they find a Christmas miracle? After her mother died, Pansy Robbins’ life changed forever. Forced to cater to the whims of her step-sisters, ignored by her step-father, and pitied by the servants and staff, she has no one to turn to. Neither mistress nor maid in their stately Savannah, Georgia home, Pansy lives caught in limbo. When an unwanted engagement is arranged for her, Pansy escapes Savannah to find a new home in Colorado. But when she arrives in the town of Hidden Pines, ...

Few Americans and even fewer citizens of other nations understand the electoral process in the United States. Still fewer understand the role played by political parties in the electoral process or the ironies within the system. This Very Short Introduction audiobook introduces the listener to these issues and more, providing an insider's view of how the system actually works while shining a light on some of its flaws.

The American literary tradition has, in a far shorter span of time than others throughout history, achieved a glowing and glittering reputation. From its transatlantic roots it has absorbed the sons and daughters of other cultures, other lands and made them part of her own. Within this melting pot of styles, genres and wordplay one fact stands out: In the American short story, literary tradition has a strong, vibrant and almost inclusive history, if you know where to look.

On an afternoon in January 1865, a roaring fire swept through the Smithsonian Institution. Dazed soldiers and worried citizens could only watch as the flames engulfed the museum's castle. Rare objects and valuable paintings were destroyed. The flames at the Smithsonian were not the first—and certainly would not be the last—disaster to upend a museum in the United States. The Museum explores the concepts of "crisis" as it relates to museums, and how these historic institutions have dealt with challenges ranging from depression and war to pandemic and philosophical uncertainty.

Before he was an assassin, David Rivers was a patriot. One year after the 9/11 attacks, he serves as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan. His patrol enters the Shigal Valley, a desolate place with a fearsome reputation for enemy fighters - a reputation that David is about to experience firsthand. As the first shots ring out over the valley, David must decide between military orders and gut instinct...and in the process, discover a hidden truth about himself.

On the outside looking in JayCee had what everyone would call the great life. She had a great career as head chef of a five-star restaurant until she met her now husband Sage. He filled her head up with broken promises making her believe that everything was going to be okay. The minute the ink dried on their wedding papers Sage turned into someone completely different. JayCee didn’t know what to expect. She gave her all to try and make her marriage work, but it seems as the years went by the harder it became to be his wife. Trauma after trauma life became hard for JayCee to bear, not even...

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives.

In the 1970s, Topper and Sanya flee to Miami as political violence consumes their native Kingston. But America, as the couple and their two children learn, is far from the promised land. Excluded from society as Black immigrants, the family pushes on first through Hurricane Andrew and later the 2008 recession, living in a house so cursed that the pet fish launches itself out of its own tank rather than stay. But even as things fall apart, the family remains motivated, often to its own detriment, by what their younger son, Trelawny, calls “the exquisite, racking compulsion to survive.”

This magical realist short tale was inspired by the Latin American myth of El Sombrerón, the nighttime guardian of peace and justice. El Sombrerón arrives in a sleepy town to find that a young girl has stolen a golden necklace. El Sombrerón must convince the girl to return the necklace so she can avoid El Sombrerón’s justice…and before the sun rises.

A Heartfelt Short Story SeriesLiving in the hood of Birmingham is not some childhood fantasy. It’s a harsh reality for teenager Draya, and her younger sis Porsha. They’ve witnessed things kids shouldn’t see, and heard things kids shouldn’t hear! Raised by a trick h**, and an alcoholic; Draya vows to be nothing like her mama Trixie. Determined to be a better person, Draya’s main focus is school, and her younger sister Porsha. Secretly, Draya has developed a hatred for all men. Mainly, because of her mama’s despicable lifestyle. All she’s ever seen is a horny man between her ...

Thirteen years ago, Tyra watched Lincoln Scott walk out of her life without looking back and she’s hated him for it ever since. Now, years later Tyra’s stranded in a snowstorm and their paths cross again as Lincoln, now grown, sexy and successful shows up to save the day. But, accepting his help means Tyra’s trapped alone with the one man she hates more than anything; the one man who knows how to satisfy her every need. It may be cold outside but things are heating up indoors. Can she stand her ground or will Tyra lose herself to lust and along the way rekindle love with her Mr. Right.

Do you like true stories of the Wild West? You should love these tales of outlaws, gunslingers and adventurers then. You may not have heard much about some of these bad guys, but they were real, ruthless outlaws and all had their "15 minutes of fame", leaving trails of death and mayhem behind them. Most did not live to an old age, on average just 35 years old, and those that did survive longer were probably in jail. These tales romp along with plenty of action and recreate the atmosphere of this exciting and dangerous era in America's history using the vernacular of the times. Whilst the ...

This series is a short story collection aimed at the reader on the go. Each standalone takes you into the lives of the men and women that play in the streets risking life and limb for the almighty dollar. Some handle the heat of the life while others fold under the pressure of it all. So, take a few minutes on your lunch break or right before bed and see who is and who isn’t about that life. This story is book 2 and is titled “This My Block”.

La inspiración para escribir este libro le llegó a García Márquez con una insólita noticia que tuvo que cubrir como periodista. El 26 de octubre de 1949 el reportero Gabriel García Márquez fue enviado al antiguo convento de Santa Clara, que iba a ser demolido para edificar sobre él un hotel de cinco estrellas, a presenciar el vaciado de las criptas funerarias y a cubrir la noticia. Se exhumaron los restos de un virrey del Perú y su amante secreta, un obispo, varias abadesas, un bachiller de artes y una marquesa.

The Valentine Adventures of the Clever Black Kids Detective ClubIntroducing the newest collection of short stories for kids ages 8-12, "The Clever Black Kids Detective Club Valentine Adventures"! These engaging and captivating stories are written especially for children aged 8-12 and are full of relatable, inspiring, and empowering tales that can help shape young minds. Join the Clever Black Kids Detective Club on new exciting adventures as they learn valuable lessons about understanding identity, building self-esteem, and helping others. INSIDE THE BOOK Engaging and captivating stories ...

The stories in this collection are drawn mainly from those tribes which lived in the northern and central areas of North America. These represent the linguistic groups gerneally referred to as Algonquian, Iroquois, and Sioux. A final chapter covers the tales of the northwest Pacific Coast.

“Food and travel are natural companions,” writes guest editor Padma Lakshmi. From this pairing comes “the possibility of seeing anew, of examining how we make and assign meaning.” The essays in this year’s Best American Food and Travel Writing circle the world—from Dakar in Senegal, to Michoacán in south-central Mexico, to the Camino de Santiago in Spain—and deepen our understanding of our place in it.

"Her immediate concern was money." So begins the first story in Manuel Muñoz's dazzling new collection. In it, Delfina has moved from Texas to California's Central Valley with her husband and small son, and her isolation and desperation force her to take a risk that ends in profound betrayal.

Wounds is a confounding, strange, and utterly entrancing collection of six stories, including one new novella from Shirley Jackson Award-winning author Nathan Ballingrud. From the eerie dread descending upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in The Visible Filth to the search for the map of hell in “The Butcher’s Table”, Ballingrud’s beautifully crafted stories are riveting in their quietly terrifying depictions of the murky line between the known and the unknown.