Play is one of humanity's straightforward yet deceitful ideas: though the notion is unanimously agreed upon to be universal, used for man and animal alike, nothing defines what all its manifestations share, from childish playtime to on stage drama, from sporting events to market speculation. Within the author's anthropological field of work (Mongolia and Siberia), playing holds a core position: national holidays are called "Games," echoing in that way the circus games in Ancient Rome and today's Olympics. These games convey ethical values and local identity. Roberte Hamayon bases her analysis of the playing spectrum on their scrutiny. Starting from fighting and dancing, encompassing learning, interaction, emotion and strategy, this study heads towards luck and belief as well as the ambiguity of the relation to fiction and reality. It closes by indicating two features of play: its margin and its metaphorical structure. Ultimately revealing its consistency and coherence, the author displays play as a modality of action of its own. "Playing is no 'doing' in the ordinary sense" once wrote Johan Huizinga. Isn't playing doing something else, elswhere and otherwise ?

Young and successful, Alexandria Witt, has found herself in a world full of drama. Heartbroken and lost from her previous relationship with Brandon Taylor, she only has her friends to look to for guidance. Yet her friends may be leading her down the wrong path. Even though she has her doubts, she attempts to piece together her heart with the charming Nicholas Bennett, hoping this time she hasn't made a mistake. But Brandon refuses to give up on Alexandria. Of course they’ve had their ups and downs but, what relationship hasn’t? Is what he has done really that unforgivable? He feels he has no choice but to show Alexandria they belong together no matter the risk. Despite what his homeboy, Vonte Johnson, thinks he has to win her love back. However, Brandon has no limits and even wonders to himself just how far he will go. When Vonte sees how ridiculous his homeboy is being, he feels the need to protect Alexandria...after all, the way he sees it Alexandria should belong to him. Soon he befriends her and warns her of Brandon's crazy way in hopes to get Brandon out of the picture and take his rightful place and have his chance at love.

'A gripping account of how Shakhtar Donetsk came to represent embattled Ukraine's hopes for the future' Sunday Times 'We want to show to the world that we are alive. That we are strong. Not just us - the whole of Ukraine. We are continuing to play. We are continuing to win.' Darijo Srna 'Excellent ... a symbol of Ukrainian resistance' Ada Wordsworth Shakhtar Donetsk have not played in their home stadium since 2014. Their matchdays now typically have no crowds, air raid sirens interrupt games and thoughts of and fears for family, friends and hometowns frontline troops loom large in the players' minds ahead of every game. These are extraordinary times - but Shakhtar is an extraordinary club. Displaced when fighting first began in the Donbas region, and then again when Russia mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this book honours a club - players, coaching staff, management - who choose to play on. In a time of chaos and conflict, they have become emblems of hope and unity. They are winning on the pitch, and winning hearts and minds across the world. Following the club's meteoric rise from domestic team to domineering European contenders, Andy Brassell expertly weaves a story of Shakhtar through the ages - their origin story after Ukrainian independence, their evolution and their reinvention. The war forced an exodus of star players and staff and the club has had to find itself once again. With direct testimony and exclusive interviews from those at Shakhtar, this book delivers unparalleled insight to the club's journey - one that is all too often hidden from view. The result is an ode to Shakhtar Donetsk, shining a light on the beauty and force of their football and their fight to play on.

Three boys spend their childhood together experiencing life in very similar ways. After spending two decades apart, their paths meet up again. How different things are for each of them now, some of it predictable, some good, some bad. This story is about how personal choices affect the outcome of our lives. More importantly, this story is about how some things that happen in our lives are clearly not a result of our choice but the intervention of One who cares more about the choices we make than we do.

Shakespeare's plays are permeable to the contexts in which they are performed: they take on and speak to local concerns. Ours As We Play It takes a close look at several contemporary Australian productions of three Shakespearean plays; exploring masculinity and madness in Hamlet , the role of landscape and the multiple roles of Rosalind in .

PG Forte's "three for the holidays" trilogy, the Games We Play series, is now available in a convenient e-boxed set! Truth or Dare Gwyn has her hands full these days trying to help save the family business--a quirky hotel on the Jersey Shore. She has no time for romance. But when the two men with whom she once spent a drunken ménage weekend show up with a sexy proposition, how can she resist? Berke and Cam might have broken her heart seven years ago, but Gwyn is older now and wiser. She’s not looking for forever. She just wants a good time. And, after all, it is Valentine’s Day. For Berke and Cam, the weekend isn’t just about fun, or adding some spice to their marriage; it’s about winning back the woman who got away, and convincing her to give a committed three-way relationship a shot. They each have skills that could help make the hotel a success—and they’re not above bartering to get what they want. but first they have to get past the walls Gwyn’s built to keep them out. But while Cam’s biggest concern is making sure Gwyn doesn’t break Berke’s heart a second time, Berke is worried about what Cam will think if he learns about Berke’s part in screwing things up the last time around. Never Have I Ever Kristy loves Luke but if anything was clear to her back when they were kids, it was that gawky, awkward, tomboys didn’t stand a chance with the king of the schoolyard. She watched her older brothers set their caps for Luke’s glamorous cousins, and get shot down. So she did what she had to in order to salvage her friendship with Luke. She hid her true feelings and her need for him to take control. Luke wants Kristy in the worst way--actually, in all the worst ways: tied up, held down, bitten, whipped. But he knows he has no chance of ever having her. They’d been childhood friends and sweethearts, until she friend-zoned him in the fifth grade. He knows he can either keep her as a friend, or take her to bed and lose her forever. His biggest mistake--so far--was in hiring her to work alongside him in the bar he and his cousins inherited from their grandmother. He knows Kristy needs the money and the job, but Luke’s self-control can’t take the constant contact with the girl he wants to dominate--both in and out of the bedroom. Something has to give--and soon! Two Truths and a Lie All work and no play has been the story of Brenda Donovan’s life for the past few months. Concerned about the future of her family’s inn, she’s been searching for a buyer for the business--without her cousins finding out what she’s up to. She has no time for relationships. But pretending to date sexy Max Murphy, the hotel scout who’s there to assess the property? That’s totally doable. Especially when games, role-playing, and light bondage are part of the package. Falling in love was never supposed to be part of the package, however, and now her heart’s in play. Max has no problem with hiding his true identity from Brenda’s cousins. But are they the only ones he’s deceiving? When all is finally revealed will the cousins lose the Wild Geese Inn? Or will they add another member to their growing family? Note: All of the stories in this set were previously released as single titles.

Let the games begin! In their (overabundance of) free time, the gods grew bored and decided to create challenging battles of wits to spice things up! Their opponent? Humanity! A select few players called “apostles” meet the gods on the spiritual realm’s playing field to beat the deities at their own games. A former god named Leshea has woken after sleeping for thousands of years, and her first demand is to meet “this era’s very best player!” She is introduced to Fay, an acclaimed rookie apostle. Together, they plan to challenge the gods and win the ultimate prize, but no one in human history has managed to clear ten games—because the gods can be capricious, outrageous, and sometimes downright incomprehensible! In the face of absurdity, what can the apostles do but enjoy the contest to its fullest?