From fjords to mountains schools of herring to herds of reindeer Scandinavia is rich in astonishing natural beauty Less well known however is that it is also rich in languages Home to seven languages Scandinavia has traditionally been understood as linguistically bifurcated between its five Germanic languages (Danish Norwegian Swedish Icelandic & Faroese) & its two Finno-Ugric ones (Finnish & Sami) In The Languages of Scandinavia Ruth H Sanders takes a pioneering approach she considers these Seven Sisters of the North together While the two linguistic families that comprise Scandinavia's languages ultimately have differing origins the Seven Sisters have coexisted side by side for millennia As Sanders reveals a crisscrossing of names territories & even to some extent language genetics intimate language contact has created a body of shared culture experience & linguistic influences that is illuminated when the story of these seven languages is told as one Exploring everything from the famed whalebone Lewis Chessmen of Norse origin to the interactions between the Black Death & the Norwegian language The Languages of Scandinavia offers profound insight into languages with a cultural impact deep-rooted & far-reaching from the Icelandic sagas to Swedish writer Stieg Larsson's internationally popular Millennium trilogy Sanders's book is both an accessible work of linguistic scholarship & a fascinating intellectual history of language ...

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden is the long-awaited new story collection from Denis Johnson author of the groundbreaking highly acclaimed Jesus' Son Written in the same luminous prose this collection finds Johnson in new territory contemplating mortality the ghosts of the past & the elusive & unexpected ways the mysteries of the universe assert themselves Finished shortly before Johnson's death this collection is the last word from a writer whose work will live on for many years to come ...

'A charming & brilliantly entertaining novel shot through with the light-hearted Nesbit touch' Penelope Lively from the introduction When did two girls of our age have such a chance as we've got
- to have a lark entirely on our own? No chaperone no rules no No present income or future prospects said Lucilla It's 1919 & Jane & her cousin Lucilla leave school to find that their guardian has gambled away their money leaving them with only a small cottage in the English countryside In an attempt to earn their living the orphaned cousins embark on a series of misadventures
- cutting flowers from their front garden & selling them to passers-by inviting paying guests who disappear without paying
- all the while endeavouring to stave off the attentions of male admirers in a bid to secure their independence' To come upon any Nesbit today hitherto unread is like receiving a letter from a friend whom you have believed dead' New York Times


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THE LARKINS a family that live just short of domestic bliss at 66 Sycamore Street in a suburb of London This classic sitcom was created by Clapham-born Fred Robinson & based upon his youthful scripts for plays about a fictional Cockney family This complete third series was originally aired in 1960 & brought to DVD for the first time ...

The Laser is the world's most popular adult dinghy & comes with three rigs Standard (used by men at the Olympic games) Radial (used by women at the Olympic games) & 47 (used by young people moving up from the Optimist) But the boat is not restricted to top athletes; its versatility means that it is an ideal boat for beginners & club racers too Lasers can be found at nearly every sailing club throughout the world Targeted at the club sailor The Laser Book covers the techniques & skills needed to succeed in Laser sailing for those starting out through to those striving to win their Club Championship Whether you are a youngster moving up to a 47 or a club sailor looking to improve your results expert advice from author Tim Davison plus contributions from Laser gold medallists world champions & their coaches will take your Laser sailing to the next level Beginning with setting up the boat Davison takes you through your early sailing experiences & caring for your Laser Developing your skills on all points of sailing you will then be introduced to race tuning & racing itself This is detailed for all three Laser rigs including the new Mk 2 Standard sail Over 350 photographs show you exactly how it's done & 50 diagrams illustrate key boat parts the different points of sailing & complex on-the-water scenarios with clarity Whatever your background your current level or the extent of your ambition this book gives you all the tools you need to get out on the water & improve your Laser sailing ...

'A suspenseful & heart-wrenching thriller about ambition obsession & what happens when the lies we tell about ourselves become indistinguishable from the truth' ROBIN WASSERMANNo one keeps more secrets No one is better at hiding them With an ending you will never see coming & characters that will stay with you forever THE LAST ACT OF HATTIE HOFFMAN is a gripping psychological mystery perfect for fans of THE ROANOKE GIRLSEighteen-year-old Hattie Hoffman is a talented actress loved by everyone in her Minnesotan hometown When she's found stabbed to death on the opening night of her school play the tragedy rips through the fabric of the community Sheriff Del Goodman a close friend of Hattie's dad vows to find her killer but the investigation yields more secrets than answers it turns out Hattie played as many parts offstage as on Told from three perspectives Del's Hattie's high school English teacher & Hattie herself The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman tells the story of the Hattie behind the masks & what happened in that final year of her life Wonderfully evocative of its Midwestern setting & with a cast of unforgettable characters this is a book about manipulation of relationships & identity; about the line between innocence & culpability; about the hope love offers & the tragedies that occur when it spins out of control ...

In the summer of 1990 Cathy's brother Matty was knocked down by a car on the way home from a night out two weeks before receiving his GCSE results Sitting by his unconscious body in hospital holding his hand & watching his heartbeat on the monitors Cathy & her parents willed him to survive They did not know then that there are many fates worse than death ...

In the summer of 1990 Cathy's brother Matty was knocked down by a car on the way home from a night out It was two weeks before his GCSE results which turned out to be the best in his school Sitting by his unconscious body in hospital holding his hand & watching his heartbeat on the monitors Cathy & her parents willed him to survive They did not know then that there are many & various fates worse than death This is the story of what happened to Cathy & her brother & the unimaginable decision that she & her parents had to make eight years after the night that changed everything It's a story for anyone who has ever watched someone suffer or lost someone they loved or lived through a painful time that left them forever changed Told with boundless warmth & affection The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink is a heartbreaking yet uplifting testament to a family's survival & the price we pay for love ...

Please note this is a region B Blu-ray & will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play Experience the thrilling live-action adventure based on the hit Nickelodeon series Avatar The Last Airbender Join Aang an extraordinary boy with incredible powers to bend the elements as he journeys through an exotic land filled with magical creatures & powerful friends As the Avatar he is the only one who can end the age-old conflict between the four nations Air Water Earth & Fire An inspirational journey The Last Airbender is exciting entertainment for the entire family ...

Please note this is a region B Blu-ray & will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play From M Night Shyamalan comes an action-packed fantasy adventure for the whole family The fate of humanity rests in the hands of a young Avatar heir He must risk everything to restore the balance of his war-torn world With the power to control all the elements he is The Last Airbender From the Director of Sixth Sense comes the highly anticipated live-action family adventure The Last Airbender based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon TV series Air Water Earth & Fire Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation led by Prince Zuko (Dev Patel) launches a brutal war against the others A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction Caught between combat & courage Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz) a Waterbender & her brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) to restore balance to their war-torn world Actors Dev Patel Noah Ringer Jackson Rathbone Cliff Curtis Nicola Peltz Jessica Andres & Seychelle Gabriel Director M Night Shyamalan Certificate PGYear 2010 Screen Widescreen 2351 Anamorphic Languages English
- Dolby Digital (51) Additional Languages English Audio Description Subtitles English ; English for the hearing impaired Closed Captions Yes Duration 1 hour & 39 minutes (approx)
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