Short Classics

The history of Western music, i.e., music of European origin, is a vast and fascinating subject that spans almost two thousand years. It is a story of innovation, creativity, and change, and it is a story that is still being written today. This book will take you on a journey through the history of Western art music (sometimes referred to as Classical music), from its earliest beginnings in Ancient Greece to the present day. Along the way, you will meet some of the greatest composers in history, from Bach and Beethoven to Mozart and Stravinsky. You will also learn about the different ...

First appearing in print in 1890, the character of Sherlock Holmes has now become synonymous worldwide with the concept of a super sleuth. His creator, Conan Doyle, imbued his detective hero with intellectual power, acute observational abilities, a penchant for deductive reasoning and a highly educated use of forensic skills. Indeed, Doyle created the first fictional private detective who used what we now recognize as modern scientific investigative techniques.

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Ghost stories became very popular in the first half of the nineteenth century and this collection by Andrew Barger contains the very scariest of them all. Some stories thought too horrific were published anonymously like “A Night in a Haunted House” and “The Deaf and Dumb Girl.” The later story is collected for the first time in any anthology since its original publication in 1839. The other ghost stories in this fine collection are by famous authors. “The Mask of the Red Death,” by Edgar Allan Poe; “A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family,” by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu; ...

The grand-prize winner of a writing contest sponsored by the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper, "The Gold-Bug" was one of Poe's most popular stories during his lifetime. Similar to his ratiocination tales - early versions of what we now call detective fiction - "The Gold-Bug" is full of mystery and adventure and includes a cryptogram, invisible ink, a scarab-like bug, and pirate treasure.

A collection of short stories, including many photos, of the author's experiences building, buying, enjoying, fixing, showing, racing, and selling classic cars, while being active in his local car culture as a family man. There is an underlying thread, which follows the successful build of a built-from-scratch fake Lotus 7 "Locost", a project which took over six years to be roadworthy. The author infuses some humor into the writing, but maintains an appreciation and respect for American car culture.

Robert Louis Stevenson brings his mastery of story-telling and suspense to these intriguing tales of island mystery. In 1888, a year after leaving England, Stevenson and his wife left San Francisco and sailed to the South Pacific. The beauty, mystery, and lore of the islands captivated the great author, inspiring him to write several wonderful short stories. "The Bottle Imp," the main story in this outstanding collection, is a suspenseful folktale, introducing us to various ghosts, demons, and other frightening creatures.

Jonathan Cecil, described as having “one of the best-loved voices in audiobooks” by the P. G. Wodehouse Society, narrates this collection of brilliantly entertaining stories featuring Jeeves and Wooster, including: "Jeeves and the Impending Doom", "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina", "The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy", "The Love That Purifies", "Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit", "Jeeves and the Old School Chum", "Jeeves and the Song of Songs", "Indian Summer of an Uncle", "Episode of the Dog McIntosh", "The Ordeal of Young Tuppy", and "The Spot of Art."

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. These are my latest stories The creepers include: SCARY NIGHTS: A serial killer goes to an amusement park and kills people for the fun of it. WHO'S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY GRAVE: A son visiting gravesites purchased years ago for his father, mother, and himself discovers a stranger buried in his plot. BOGEYMAN: Ben's elation from moving to a new state is shortlived when he discovers the bogeyman has followed him and is still sleeping under his bed. KILL THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET: Charles puts a ...

A Sportsman’s Notebook, Ivan Turgenev’s first literary masterpiece, is a sweeping portrayal of the magnificent 19th-century Russian countryside and the harsh lives of those who inhabited it. In a powerful and gripping series of sketches, a hunter wanders through the vast landscape of steppe and forest in search of game, encountering a varied cast of peasants, landlords, bailiffs, overseers, horse traders, and merchants. He witnesses both feudal tyranny and the submission of the tyrannized, against a backdrop of the sublime and pitiless terrain of rural Russia.

A Penguin Classic. First published in 1938, this volume of stories collected with the encouragement of his longtime editor Pascal Covici serves as a wonderful introduction to the work of Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck. Set in the beautiful Salinas Valley of California, where simple people farm the land and struggle to find a place for themselves in the world, these stories reflect Steinbeck’s characteristic interests: The tensions between town and country, laborers and owners, past and present.

In Dreams Made Flesh, discover the origin of the mystical Jewels, and experience the forbidden passion between Lucivar and a simple hearth witch. Witness the clash between Saetan and a Priestess that may forever change reality. And learn whether the sacrifice of Jaenelle's magic has destroyed any hope of happiness between her and Daemon.

The two strikingly original short novels brought together here - in new translations by award-winning translators - were both literary gambles of a sort for Fyodor Dostoevsky. The first real expression of his genius, The Double is a surprisingly modern hallucinatory nightmare in which a minor official named Goliadkin becomes aware of a mysterious doppelgänger. Written 20 years later under the pressure of crushing debt, The Gambler is a stunning psychological portrait of a young man's exhilarating and destructive addiction.

A careless whisper. A shattered trust. Will Darcy choose love. . .or vengeance? Elizabeth's secret hopes for an offer from Mr. Darcy are shattered when gossip spreads like wildfire through Meryton, branding Miss Georgiana a compromised woman at the hands of George Wickham. There is only one person entrusted by Darcy with his sister's secret—Elizabeth Bennett. Lizzy's fierce pride forbids she continue to plead her innocence. She would never betray Georgiana, but if Darcy does not know her better than that by now, then he never will. Bruised pride and a broken heart must be set aside when a...

Twenty-plus intimate sci-fi stories from the heights and depths of the fractal universe. The stories you’ve dreamed of; the people you crave to meet; or would love to be. The aliens who’d make you shiver, or laugh. The huge risks of guiding your spacecraft here, or there. The adventures you’d have if only you had the nerve… Or the utter romance of doing that… The lighter side; the humour of orbital disasters and alien conflicts; the perils of ill-advised time-interference; the sheer romance of null-gravity love; the terrors of a leaky hull; the fear of a bullying boss when ...

Tadeusz Borowski’s concentration camp stories were based on his own experiences surviving Auschwitz and Dachau. In spare, brutal prose he describes a world where where the will to survive overrides compassion, and prisoners eat, work, and sleep a few yards from where others are murdered; where the difference between human beings is reduced to a second bowl of soup, an extra blanket, or the luxury of a pair of shoes with thick soles; and where the line between normality and abnormality vanishes.

Swords. Sorcery. Dick Jokes. Truly do the gods smile upon you, dear listener, for the first four books in the hilarious Caverns and Creatures series are now available in one audiobook set. Join Tim, Dave, Julian, and Cooper as they are thrown into a hostile fantasy world filled with magic and monsters, and ruled over by a cruel and sadistic game master who taunts and harasses them while he sits back and eats their fried chicken.

"My father was in the hospital and every night when I visited him, I read aloud to him. James Thurber. And one night he said, 'You really should do that on your show,' and I said, 'Dad, it’s a television newscast. I’d love to, but how could it possibly fit?' And he said, 'How often have I ever suggested anything for your shows?' And I remembered that he never had. But I also reminded him that there were things like copyrights and bills, to which he said, 'Try it. You never know.'"

"He travels fastest who travels alone...but not after the frost has dropped below zero 50 degrees or more." (Yukon Code) Jack London’s best short story.

Science Fiction Stories 6 by Various Authors is a captivating anthology of science fiction short stories that transport readers to extraordinary realms, exploring dystopian futures, post-apocalyptic landscapes, and thrilling adventures in space. Discover the Unknown Join Mitch in "Balanced Odds" as he navigates a futuristic world filled with danger and unexpected alliances. Embark on a perilous journey "Beyond Mars" with Timmons, a salesman exploring the inhabited planets and moons. Experience the haunting "Nightmares Above," where the line between reality and dreams blurs in a world above ...