Robert Currie's Shimmers of Light: New and Selected Poems uses the vernacular of ordinary working people to tell stories and sing songs of small-town prairie life. Like Alden Nowlan, or more recently, Billy Collins, this poet constructs poems from the unvarnished wood of common language--there's no veneer, no glossing over here. These poems "work like small exquisite time machines . . ." writes poet Lorna Crozier in her introduction to this extensive collection of work dating from the 1970s to the present day. Currie's poems powerfully evoke the reality of prairie life, with a frequent focus on the hard exteriors men and boys are expected to present to the world, despite the swarm of doubt and conflict roiling inside them. The characters who populate these poems are subject to difficult weather, internal and external, but their lives are sometimes illuminated by "a sudden radiance": a deeper understanding of self, a breathtaking expanse of sky, the generosity of a friend or lover. The beauty of the unflinching rhythm and cadence of the poems brings light to the darker corners of even the most painful times. From a father's tenderness in the face of his young son's fears, to the death of a lifelong friend from ALS, to earlier narrative poems about depression-era deprivation and hardship, this work is carefully crafted, deeply honest, and open-hearted. With a foreword by Lorna Crozier and an afterword by Mark Abley.

'This book is a not-so-small joy in itself.' NIGELLA LAWSON 'Parkinson has the gift of making you look with new eyes at everyday things. The perfect daily diversion.' JOJO MOYES 'Always funny and frank and full of insight, I absolutely love Parkinson's writing.' DAVID NICHOLLS 'I loved this book . . . Parkinson's writing transports you to unexpected places of joy and comfort . . . these pages contain happiness.' MARINA HYDE 'The twenty-first century feels a lot more bearable in Parkinson's company.' CHARLOTTE MENDELSON Drawn from the successful Guardian column, these everyday exultations and inspirations will get you through dismal days. Hannah Jane Parkinson is a specialist in savouring the small pleasures of life. She revels in her fluffy dressing gown ('like bathing in marshmallow'), finds calm in solo cinema trips, is charmed by the personalities of fonts ('you'll never see Comic Sans on a funeral notice'), celebrates pockets and gleefully abandons a book she isn't enjoying. Parkinson's everyday exaltations - selected from her immensely successful Guardian column - will utterly delight. FEATURES BRAND NEW MATERIAL 'A compendium of delights.' OBSERVER 'Delightful . . . a love letter to those little moments of bliss that get us through the daily grind.' RED

Captain James T. Kirk and the Starship Enterprise™ have been sent to the planet Nador to participate in a watershed event: the Nadorians' first true election, to vote on whether or not to join the United Federation of Planets. Supporting the Federation are the planet's joint rulers: Their Serene Highnesses Abon and Delor, Siamese twins joined at the spinal cord to represent the unity of the different tribes of Nador. But a shadowy group of fanatics wants nothing to do with the Federation, and will stop at nothing -- whether it be assassinating the princes or kidnapping Captain Kirk's nephew Peter -- to achieve their goals! Kirk must work to stop the fanatics from wreaking havoc on Nador, and from harming his beloved nephew -- but even he may be hard-pressed to stem the tide of chaos when the princes' horrible secret is revealed!

A quiet motivational book written for the dedicated, yet time-conscious individual seeking simple, inspirational excerpts provoking inner awareness. 52 Pick Me Up contains modern metaphors of everyday, easy-to-relate-to methods connected with attaining inner spirit recognition.

Compiling the work of 15 international artists, this generously illustrated book provides a multi-faceted lens through which to explore ideas of affect and intimacy. Affect is an essentially indefinable, largely non-conscious quality that correlates to the experience of diverse emotional and physiological states. This exciting book examines the idea of affect in art. Drawing from an international cadre of contemporary artists working in a variety of media, this book addresses the question of how bodies are affected by intimate relationships with and through objects. The book investigates the kinds of intimate relationships we form with art; explores how art acts as a vehicle for affective engagement or transactions of desire; what role gender plays in affect; and how we experience this force in works of art.

In the fantasy tale, Fiscal Pear and Shimmer’s annual adventure turns frightening when a diabolical bakery and her wicked henchmen try to catch the walking talking pear. When Fiscal Pear and Shimmer’s friend, SOL, disappears in mid-flight while trying to get the duo to the Council of the Wise, they find themselves cornered by Cutter and his gang in the dead of the night in the forest. Author Brooks-Scrivanich takes readers on a thrilling journey filled with anticipation, creativity and whimsical dialogue.

It’s 1791 and Captain Thomas Butler and his loyal crew of The HMS Swift, a frigate in the service of King George III, are sent on a series of missions where nothing is what it seems, and forces far darker than any of the crew have experienced before, reign supreme.