Does the thought of mistletoe give you hives? Does the sound of jingling bells instill fear in your heart? Do you hide under the covers from the day after Thanksgiving till New Year's Day? And even if you love Christmas, do the hyperconsumerism, overindulgence, and tinsel-covered everything make you crazy? If you said yes to any of these questions, this is the book for you. You are not alone. Everyone has a Christmas-nightmare story to tell. Some of the best writers around have gone through some of the worst Christmases ever. Their tales of holly-draped horror are gathered here for your amusement, from NEAL POLLACK's Christmas-ham disaster to the accidental Santahood of JONI RODGERS to BINNIE KIRSHENBAUM's receiving what may be the worst gift ever given. And Stanley Bing gives us a peek at the lonely guy's Xmas feast. All this, plus many more recollections of Worst Noels past. So pour yourself a glass of eggnog, chisel off a piece of rock-hard fruitcake, and curl up in the big comfy chair by the fireplace where the stockings have been hung with such care -- and settle in to read The Worst Noel.

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she's summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who's definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley's first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley . . . Radiance is the first book in the Riley Bloom series from bestselling author Alyson Noël.

Feeling out-of-place when she visits her father's new family, Kathy decides to spend Christmas with the close-knit family of Erin, one of her friends from summer camp.

A biblical refutation of the "Left Behind" mania.

Noel Thistleborn had thought his life had ended when he lost his mate and daughter. Left with nothing but a broken heart he accepted the job as the king’s assistant to give his life new meaning. When King Kylen insisted Noel attend the dragon shifter ball he had no idea his life was about to change. Hartmut was tired of watching his best friend cuddle with his two mates. He wasn’t greedy he’d take a single partner. In fact his greatest worry was having to deal with a fae double mating. When the pair meets Noel doesn’t exactly greet the dragon shifter with open arms. Still traumatized by his loss, Noel is hesitant to put his heart out there again. However Hart wins him over and the pair agrees to dinner. An old enemy comes forward and Noel will need the strength of his dragon mate to help him through.

'A uniquely charming and enticing journey through a remarkable life. Coward's own record is made all the more delightful by the wise and helpful interpolations of Barry Day, the soundest authority on the Master that there is.' Stephen Fry 'Precise, witty, remarkably observed and gloriously English' Dame Judi Dench 'Barry Day's analysis is both perceptive and irresistible' Lord Richard Attenborough With virtually all the letters in this volume previously unpublished - this is a revealing new insight into the private life of a legendary figure. Coward's multi-faceted talent as an actor, writer, composer, producer and even as a war-time spy(!), brought him into close contact with the great, the good and the merely ambitious in film, literature and politics.With letters to and from the likes of: George Bernard Shaw, Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill, Greta Garbo (she wrote asking him to marry her), Marlene Dietriech, Ian Fleming, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Fred Astaire, Charlie Chaplin, FD Roosevelt, the Queen Mother and many more, the picture that emerges is a series of vivid sketches of Noel Coward's private relationships, and a re-examination of the man himself. Deliciously insightful, witty, perfectly bitchy, wise, loving and often surprisingly moving, this extraordinary collection gives us Coward at his crackling best. A sublime portrait of a unique artist who made an indelible mark on the 20th century, from the Blitz to the Ritz and beyond.

Lia, Erin, Maddy, Jill, & Kathy are unlikely bunkmates & even unlikelier friends. But at Camp Wildwood, miracles do happen. Now that summer's over, can they keep up their friendship? Kathy is sentenced to spend Christmas with her busy father & his new wife & baby, & her stuck-up stepsister. So when her Holiday Five friend Erin describes the festivities at her house -- a noisy & joyous family gathering -- it sounds Christmas-card perfect to Kathy. She wrangles an invitation to spend Christmas at Erin's & -- without telling anyone -- slips out at the height of her father's holiday party. Part of The Holiday 5 SeriesÓ.