What shall we do?' said Twoflower. ' Panic?' said Rincewind hopefully. He always held that panic was the best means of survival. When the very fabric of time & space are about to be put through the wringer
- in this instance by the imminent arrival of a very large & determinedly oncoming meteorite
- circumstances require a very particular type of hero. Sadly what the situation does not need is a singularly inept wizard still recovering from the trauma of falling off the edge of the world. Equally it does not need one well-meaning tourist & his luggage which has a mind of its own. Which is a shame because that's all there is...

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' What shall we do?' said Twoflower. ' Panic?' said Rincewind hopefully. He always held that panic was the best means of survival. As it moves towards a seemingly inevitable collision with a malevolent red star the Discworld could do with a hero. What it doesn't need is a singularly inept & cowardly wizard still recovering from the trauma of falling off the edge of the world or a well-meaning tourist & his luggage which has a mind (and legs) of its own. Which is a shame because that's all there is... ...

An introduction to the use of light for students & visual artists this is the first book to look at the way light can be used to create realistic & fantastical effects in a wide range of visual media. Light for Visual Artists" is a valuable resource for animators digital illustrators painters or artists working in any medium. The first part of the book discusses the fundamental properties of natural & artificial light shadows the interaction of light on different types of surfaces reflections as well as transparency translucency & the effects of light on colour. In part two the author concentrates on people & the environment looking in detail at how to observe the effects of light to create realistic images. In part three the author looks at the creative use of light in composition & design for creating moods or setting a scene. Clearly written by a practising illustrator this book is a must-have for both students & practising artists." ...

A landmark in American fiction Light in August" explores Faulkners central theme: the nature of evil. Joe Christmas
- a man
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I promised that I would one day write a book & tell the world about the home for unmarried mothers. I have at last kept my promise. In Ireland 1951 the young June Goulding took up a position as midwife in a home for unmarried mothers run by the Sacred Heart nuns. What she witnessed there was to haunt her for the next fifty years. It was a place of secrets lies & cruelty. A place where women picked grass by hand & tarred roads whilst heavily pregnant. Where they were denied any contact with the outside world; denied basic medical treatment & abused for their sins; where after the birth they were forced into hard labour in the convent for three years. But worst of all was that the young women were expected to raise their babies during these three years so that they could then be sold
- given up for adoption in exchange for a donation to the nuns. Shocked by the nuns inhumane treatment of the frightened young women June risked her job to bring some light into their dark lives. Junes memoir tells the story of twelve womens experiences in this home & of the hardships they endured but also the kindness she offered them & the hope she was able to bring.
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It is December in Belfast Christmas is approaching & three sets of people are about to make their way to Amsterdam. Alan a university art teacher goes on a pilgrimage to the city of his youth with troubled teenage son Jack; middle-aged couple Marion & Richard take a break from running their garden centre to celebrate Marions birthday; & Karen a single mother struggling to make ends meet joins her daughters hen party. As these people brush against each other in the squares museums & parks of Amsterdam their lives are transfigured as they encounter the complexities of love in a city that challenges what has gone before. ...

Konowa Swift Dragon was once commander of the Iron Elves the legendary Elven regiment of the human army of the Calahrian Empire. Now recalled from exile & disgrace he is second-in-command of the reconstituted regiment -- a motley band of misfits who are elves in name alone. Konowa's destiny is to stand against the looming threat of the Shadow Monarch whose destructive ambitions have called down an alien power from the stars & riven the land with all manner of ancient evils. The same Shadow Monarch whose tainted mark he bears... His quest leads Konowa deep into the desert wastes: the burning lands to which the original Iron Elves were banished. There he & his current companions must face trials beyond their imagining to learn how to defeat the Shadow Monarch for all time. ...

Deserves to be inhaled greedily in a single sitting Independent on Sunday On a cold but dazzling November morning George prepares to visit Sarah a prisoner & the woman he loves. As he goes about the business of the day he relives the catastrophic events of exactly two years ago that have both bound them together & kept them apart. Told in Georges plain words but growing deeper with each revelation The Light of Day is a hauntingly tense yet tender story about discovering the hidden forces inside all of us & the power of such discovery to change everything. A masterful combination of character & atmosphere Observer Splendid superb. An intense meditation. A writer of immense gifts Washington Post A profoundly artful beautifully weighted resonant & humane literary novel Daily Telegraph ...

In Light of Lucia the energetic & passionate Luciana Sampogna owner of the popular cooking school Cucina Italiana shares the rites of passage of the Italian woman from childhood to motherhood mapped by Italian tradition superstition & celebration through food. Learn why flour is 'god' & be swept away by the romance of eating pizza on the back of a Vespa with your bello. This is Italian cooking from the heart."" ...

- The Sutras have a power & a timelessness about them which demonstrate the accuracy with which they pinpoint the basic truths of human evolution from subservience to personality clamours to the serene freedom of the soul. Most human problems today originate in selfish desire; the prostitution of the feeling nature to self-centred physical appetites. This is also brought out clearly in the teaching of the Lord Buddha the treading of the Noble Eight-Fold path providing the only way out of the maze: Right Values; Right Speech; Right Mode of Living; Right Thinking; Right Expression; Right Conduct; Right Effort; Right Rapture or True Happiness". These are attributes of the soul. Patanjali explores exhaustively the means the techniques & the mental posture which create the connecting thread between the form- centred personality & these stages towards spiritual achievement & soul fusion. The four parts of the book develop: 1. The Problem of Union (51 sutras). 2. The Steps to Union (55 sutras). 3. Union Achieved & Its Results (55 sutras). 4. Illumination (34 sutras). Many different training techniques have been available over the centuries depending on the condition of human consciousness & the phase of spiritual growth to be accomplished. Each " Yoga" has had its place fulfilled its function & become an absorbed part of human experience. In this book the factor of mind in meeting present-day needs is again given prominence as the agent of the soul & the key to personality release. These Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are based on Raja Yoga the "kingly science of the soul": " Through the science of Raja Yoga the mind will be known as the instrument of the soul & the means whereby the brain of the aspirant becomes illuminated & knowledge gained of those matters which concern the realm of the soul." The soul is concerned with the working out of planetary purpose & plan; so again we find that mental training & the self-achievement of the individual lead to cooperation & service on a scale far more comprehensive & of far greater evolutionary significance than merely the individual effects on the life of the disciple. Sutra 31 of Part IV rings out like a bell & a clarion call to those who venture on the path of union with the soul. " When through the removal of hindrances & the purification of the sheaths the totality of knowledge becomes available naught further remains for the man to do." The books of Alice A. Bailey written in cooperation with a Tibetan teacher between 1919-1949 constitute a continuation of the Ageless Wisdom--a body of esoteric teaching handed down from ancient times in a form which is always suitable to each period. Intended to precede & condition the coming era the Alice A. Bailey writings offer an unparalleled spiritual approach to such subjects as the teaching on Shamballa & the Path of spiritual evolution; the spiritual Hierarchy; the new discipleship & training in meditation as a form of service; the teaching on the seven rays & the new psychology of the soul; the teaching on esoteric astrology; & the new world religion which emphasizes the common thread of truth linking all the major world faiths. Many translations have been made from the original Sanskrit of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. They have become well loved well used & well applied by many in all parts of the world & of all religious beliefs." ...