In the 1940s outside Glenrock, Wyoming, Julie Bruns knew she would have to work hard if she expected to make her living on a homestead. At the end of a long, hard day, her tired muscles would ache, but Julie would perseverefor she was truly a pioneer. In her posthumous memoir, Bruns shares a fascinating description of day-to-day life in the wilds of Wyoming as she changed history forever and became one of the states few female homesteaders. Bruns tells how she overcame her initial fears and embarked on a new venture with a strong determination and an honest heart. After deciding to file a homestead, Bruns details how she selected a site along a tiny creek and began constructing a cabin out of green-cut, peeled logs. The days were filled with hard work, and the nights were frightening as owls hooted and coyotes yapped. But Bruns persistedbuilding much of her furniture, exploring the land around her house, and getting to know her neighbors. I Live in a Beautiful World shares the inspiring story of how Julie Bruns became a homesteader through resolve, courage, and, most importantly, the unyielding desire to make her dream come true.

Fred Feldman's fascinating new book sets out to defend hedonism as a theory about the Good Life. He tries to show that, when carefully and charitably interpreted, certain forms of hedonism yield plausible evaluations of human lives. Feldman begins by explaining what we mean when we ask what the Good Life is. He argues that this should not be taken to be a question about the morally good life or about the beneficial life. Rather, the question concerns the general features of the life that is good in itself for the one who lives it. Hedonism says (roughly) that the Good Life is the pleasant life. After showing that the usual formulations of hedonism are often confused or incoherent, Feldman presents a simple, clear, coherent form of sensory hedonism that provides a starting point for discussion. He then considers a webalogue of classic objections to hedonism, coming from sources as diverse as Plato, Aristotle, Brentano, Ross, Moore, Rawls, Kagan, Nozick, Brandt, and others. One of Feldman's central themes is that there is an important distinction between the forms of hedonism that emphasize sensory pleasure and those that emphasize attitudinal pleasure. Feldman formulates several kinds of hedonism based on the idea that attitudinal pleasure is the Good. He claims that attitudinal forms of hedonism - which have often been ignored in the literature — are worthy of more careful attention. Another main theme of the book is the plasticity of hedonism. Hedonism comes in many forms. Attitudinal hedonism is especially receptive to variations and modifications. Feldman illustrates this plasticity by formulating several variants of attitudinal hedonism and showing how they evade some of the objections. He also shows how it is possible to develop forms of hedonism that are equivalent to the allegedly anti-hedonistic theory of G. E. Moore, and the Aristotelian theory according to which the Good Life is the life of virtue, or flourishing. He also formulates hedonisms relevantly like the ones defended by Aristippus and Mill. Feldman argues that a carefully developed form of attitudinal hedonism is not refuted by objections concerning 'the shape of a life'. He also defends the claim that all of the alleged forms of hedonism discussed in the book genuinely deserve to be called 'hedonism'. Finally, after dealing with the last of the objections, he gives a sketch of his hedonistic vision of the Good Life.

Hugo Award-winning editor Gardner Dozois' annual anthology has long been considered the standard by which other best-of-the-year SF collections are judged. After two decades' worth of superlative science fiction, Dozois now presents a retrospective compilation culling from the last 20 years. Here under one banner is some of the finest work by the genre's leading authors, with a star-studded list of contributors that features among others: Stephen Baxter, Greg Bear, William Gibson, Terry Bisson, Greg Egan, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Bruce Sterling , Charles Stross, Michael Swanwick, Gene Wolfe. A number of the selections are now considered classics. Some notable stories include: 'Blood Music', Greg Bear's Hugo-winning exploration of nanotechnology. 'Bears Discover Fire', Terry Bisson's tongue-in-cheek consideration of future ursine evolution. 'The Left Hand of Darkness', Ursula K. Le Guin's coming-of-age SF tale. 'The Winter Market', in which William Gibson returns to the subject that made him a cultural icon, cyberpunk. With work spanning two decades, this is the most significant science fiction short story anthology published in years.

Its easy to find ourselves trapped in anger, bitterness, and apathy from the pressures and challenges in the world. But when we allow God to take control of our lives, everything can be turned around. Are you ready to start your day with a goal in mind, a smile on your face, and enthusiasm in your heart, all with just a simple word? Brilliant Words to Grow By is just what you need to change your perspective and start your day right, and it offers a different inspiring word for each day of the year. With over a thousand encouraging quotes from over five hundred authors, these biblical devotionals are sure to help you feel good about yourself and the world as you make positive declarations over your life in the good times and the bad. Author Pam Malow-Isham has brilliantly paired opposing words together, because just as there are two sides to every story, so is life similarly dualistic. It is possible to enjoy the ups and downs of each day, and Brilliant Words to Grow By can show you how to focus on the goodness and the grace of God that surrounds you every day. If you choose to be diligent and do it daily, you will be amazed this time next year how much better, calmer, happier, and more productive your life will be.

Melmoth the Wanderer is a Gothic novel by Charles Maturin. Melmoth is an academic who offered his soul to the devil in exchange for 150 additional years of life, while searching the world for someone who will take over the pact for him.

What could be better than curling up in front of the fireplace on a chilly fall or winter evening with a good, classic Gothic novel? The fire radiating warmth and peace and the book pages emanating an eerie chill. What better experience for a bibliophile than to delve into this collection of gothic literature? It will take a long time to read through all the atmospheric novels included in this collection. You will have plenty of time to consider and appreciate your own life and surroundings – far from the horrors of these novels! Contents: 1. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole 2. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe 3. A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe 4. The Monk: A Romance by Matthew Gregory Lewis 5. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 7. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe 8. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë 9. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 10. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 11. Dracula by Bram Stoker 12. Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin 13. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne 14. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux 15. Vathek: An Arabian Tale by William Beckford 16. The Old English Baron: a Gothic Story by Clara Reeve 17. Salathiel the Immortal by George Croly 18. Varney the Vampire or The Feast of Blood by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Pecket Prest 19. Beware the Cat by William Baldwin 20. The Beetle by Richard Marsh

Elena Vargas is a witness to a homicide, the shooting of a foot soldier in an international mob cartel. But the sultry call girl and sometime-mistress of gang lord Enzo Giardino claims to have seen and heard nothing. Desperate to make a case against Giardino, the District Attorney offers Vargas protective custody in exchange for betraying her lover. But no one can make her talk. Going on nothing but gut instinct, New York Police Department cop Christie Opara uncovers something in Vargas's past that could give them the leverage they need . . .