Showing results by narrator "Fajer Al-Kaisi" in All Categories

Bill Gaston's characteristic keen insight and wit dazzle in this new collection. Here, we see the world through the prism of unfamiliar perspectives: a bank executive whose excellent sex life might in fact be killing her, an amorous tree surgeon better attuned to the values of his "patients" than to other people, a vacationing schizophrenic wary of his housemates, a pizza-delivery boy convinced he's witnessed magic - all struggling with the world as they see it.

November 7, 1980. An Egyptian writer has chosen the wrong time to come to Beirut in search of a publisher for his controversial new book. Men with machine guns are on every street corner. When the writer meets an old friend from his revolutionary student days, he is introduced to two fascinating women: idealistic filmmaker Antoinette and Lamia, the seductive wife of his would-be publisher.

After four and a half years in a third world prison, all Kyle wants is to be a normal, law-abiding citizen again but when his coked out ex-girlfriend tells him that her son, who has been kidnapped until she pays her drug debt, is his, Kyle must enlist the help of his chop-shop owning, gun toting, mobbed up, psychotic friends to get him back.

Sayed Kashua has been praised by The New York Times as "a master of subtle nuance in dealing with both Arab and Jewish society". An Arab-Israeli who lived in Jerusalem for most of his life, Kashua started writing with the hope of creating one story that both Palestinians and Israelis could relate to, rather than two that cannot coexist together. He devoted his novels and his satirical weekly column published in Haaretz to telling the Palestinian story.

In 1902, a radical vegetarian and nudist from Nuremberg named August Engelhardt set sail for what was then called the Bismarck Archipelago. His destination: the island Kabakon. His goal: to found a colony based on worship of the sun and coconuts. His malnourished body was found on the beach on Kabakon in 1919; he was 43 years old. Christian Kracht's Imperium uses the outlandish details of Engelhardt's life to craft a fable about the allure of extremism and its fundamental foolishness.

Founded centuries ago by the enigmatic genius Moses Moses, the planet Reverie can either be heaven or hell, depending on whether you live on or above it. The superrich orbit the world in luxury abodes, keeping their sometimes-lethal ennui at bay by watching homemade sex and violence videos created by the peons dwelling on the coral continents miles beneath them. The most popular entertainer of all is the Artificial Kid, an unbeatable combat artist whose bloody, self-produced martial arts videos have made him beloved both above and below.

Julian Ladd and Rye Adler cross paths as photography students in the exclusive Brodsky Workshop. When Rye needs a roommate, Julian moves in, and a quiet, compulsive envy takes root, assuring, at least in his own mind, that he will never achieve Rye’s certain success. Both men are fascinated with their beautiful and talented classmate, Magda, whose captivating images of her Polish neighborhood set her apart, and each will come to know her intimately - a woman neither can possess and only one can love.

This riveting memoir follows a Lebanese Muslim American and 30-year US Marine veteran who suffered a six-month ordeal at the hands of a brutal regime in Yemen - and remained loyal to his country through it all.

In What They Didn’t Tell Me, Jawad has translated the feedback he got and the lessons he learned along the way into actionable advice for leaders at every level. Drawing on his remarkable story, Jawad shows how charting your own course not only changes how others view you - it changes how you view yourself. If you’re ready to become a resilient leader at the helm of a high-performing team, this book is for you.

A strange final message from a ghost ship, comes alive with the voices of the past. Listen or die. "The Song of The Lady Rose" by Gabino Iglesias is one of nine short horror stories in Nightfire's audio anthology.

Thomas Friesen has three goals in life: get a job, make friends, and find a good book to curl up with. After landing a job at READ, the newest hypermegabookstore, he feels he may have accomplished all three. All is not peaceable within the stacks, however, as discontent steadily rises, aimed squarely at talk show host Munroe Purvis, whose wildly popular book club is progressively lowering the IQ of North America. But the bookworms have a plan - plots are being hatched and the destruction of Munroe is all but assured.

Singleton is a truck driver. Traveling the highways of the '50s, he lives a life of truck stops, lonely waitresses, and endless cups of coffee. His is the story of a man, his truck, and the open road.

The rousing story of Lafayette - “adopted son” of George Washington - and his vital role in the American Revolution. In this long-overdue history of Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette, acclaimed French author Gonzague Saint Bris recounts Lafayette’s invaluable contributions to the American War of Independence and, later, the French Revolution of 1789.

God flooded the earth to annihilate humanity's sins. What if that sinful race didn't die when floodwaters covered them but instead adapted to breathe water? Under the depths of the ocean one boy has raised himself, until the day when he meets a dark-skinned man with news that will change the lives of his civilization forever. Now he must save his people from another empire of water dwellers bent on enslaving the oceans and torturing his peaceful realm.

In State Capitalism, Joshua Kurlantzick ranges across the world - China, Thailand, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and more - and argues that the increase in state capitalism across the globe has, on balance, contributed to a decline in democracy. He isolates some of the reasons for state capitalism's resurgence: the fact that globalization favors economies of scale in the most critical industries and the widespread rejection of the Washington Consensus in the face of the problems that have plagued the world economy in recent years.

Hard work is necessary for a job but not sufficient for career growth. Given that workplace dynamics are ever-changing, one needs to anticipate and prepare for the impending twists and turns in one's career. Lack of understanding of managing key relationships can lead to frustration in one's career. Being in a hurry to rise, people often ignore to hone this skill, focusing too much on their subject matter expertise.

The Indian subcontinent has been a land of immigrants for thousands of years: waves of migration from Persia, Central Asia, Mongolia, the Middle East and Greece have helped create India's exceptionally diverse cultural mix. In the centuries before the British Raj, when the Mughals were the preeminent power in the subcontinent, a wide array of migrants known as 'firangis' made India their home. In this book, Jonathan Gil Harris, a 21st-century firangi, tells their stories.

Patagonia. The name connotes the exotic and a distance that seems nearly mythical. Tucked toward the toe of South America, this largely unsettled landscape is among the most varied and breathtaking in the world - aching in its beauty as it sweeps from the Andes through broad, arid steppes to pristine beaches and down to a famously violent sea. It is also home to a vast array of rare wildlife as diverse and fascinating as the region itself.

From Tehran to Los Angeles, The Luminous Heart of Jonah S. is a sweeping saga that tells the story of the Soleymans, an Iranian Jewish family tormented for decades by Raphael's Son, a crafty and unscrupulous financier who has futilely claimed to be an heir to the family's fortune. Forty years later in contemporary Los Angeles, Raphael's Son has nearly achieved his goal - until he suddenly disappears, presumed by many to have been murdered. The possible suspects are legion.

In Seasons of Purgatory, the fantastical and the visceral merge in tales of tender desire and collective violence, the boredom and brutality of war, and the clash of modern urban life and rural traditions. Mandanipour, banned from publication in his native Iran, vividly renders the individual consciousness in extremis from a variety of perspectives: young and old, man and woman, conscript and prisoner. While delivering a ferocious social critique, these stories are steeped in the poetry and stark beauty of an ancient land and culture.