Search results for ""chance""

On the trail of a couple of missing alpacas, disaster-prone Tom Winscombe has somehow ended up at an online gambling convention in Las Vegas. With the assistance of his mysterious new companion Ada, his quest takes on a dangerous turn as he finds that this time he has some hungry wildlife to contend with, as well as a cast of disreputable and downright dangerous human characters. As the stakes get higher and his chances of survival drop lower, Tom finds the only solution may be to forge an unexpected alliance with someone from his past. Will he end up with a winning hand, or will everything fall apart like a house of cards?

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'His campaign was historic for all America' GuardianTrust will be our essential tool as we face unique challenges of the decades ahead. In a century warped by terrorism, Trumpism, financial collapse, populism, systemic racism, Russian interference and a global pandemic, trust within and among nations has been squandered, sacrificed, abused, stolen, or never properly built in the first place. In a piercing exploration of the soul of the American nation involving history, philosophy and memoir, former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg explores the strong relationship between prosperity and social trust. Our success, or failure, in confronting the greatest challenges of the decade - racial and economic justice, pandemic resilience, and climate action - will rest on whether we can effectively cultivate, deepen and repair the networks of trust that are now endangered, or for so many, have never even existed. This means trust in institutions, in each other, and in the democratic project itself.

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A scion of Manhattan's Upper East Side, Hilary Fields wrote her first romance novel at sixteen, and continued to write women's fiction even as she studied classics and philosophy at St. John's College, a tiny liberal arts college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the spirit of cognitive dissonance, she still divides her time between Manhattan and the Land of Enchantment, and enjoys cooking, crocheting, and her obligatory feline companions.

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To love againUnsuitable Bride for a Viscount by Elizabeth BeaconWhen Alaric Defford, Lord Stratford, bursts into her life, widow Marianne Turner is shocked by their connection. She never expected to feel this way for another man especially one so annoyingly arrogant! Having vowed never to love again, Marianne hides behind the fact that she's a completely unsuitable match for him. But her resolve is tested when Alaric is injured, and nursing him back to health reveals a warmer side to the ViscountA Wedding for the Scandalous Heiress by Elizabeth BeaconWhen Isabella Alstone receives a passionate kiss from a handsome stranger at her betrothal ball, she scandalously ends her engagement. She is even more surprised when she discovers exactly who the stranger is! Ruggedly striking Wulf Fitzdevlin is illegitimate, penniless, and her ex-fiancé's half-brother! Yet Isabella cannot escape the burning longing to feel his touch again

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'By the time Nashe understood what was happening to him, he was past the point of wanting it to end . . .'Paul Auster fuses Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka and The Brothers Grimm in this brilliant and unsettling parable. Following the death of his father, Jim Nashe takes to the open road in pursuit of a 'life of freedom'. But as the money runs out he finds that his sense of disillusionment has only been compounded by his year on the road. However, after picking up Pozzi, a hitchhiking gambler, Nashe finds himself drawn into a dangerous game of high-stakes poker with two eccentric and reclusive millionaires. 'A rare experience of contemporary fiction at its most thrilling.' New Statesman

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‘Descriptive writing of a high order… this is an extremely intelligent book’ The TimesJoin Douglas Adams, bestselling and beloved author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and zoologist Mark Carwardine on an adventure in search of the world’s most endangered and exotic creatures.In this book, Adams’ self-proclaimed favourite of his own works, the pair encounter animals in imminent peril: the giant Komodo dragon of Indonesia, the lovable kakapo of New Zealand, the blind river dolphins of China, the white rhinos of Zaire, the rare birds of Mauritius island in the Indian Ocean and the alien-like aye-aye of Madagascar. Inimitably witty and poignant, Last Chance to See is both a celebration of our most extraordinary creatures and a warning about what we have to lose if we do not act soon. Featuring a fantastic new foreword by the authors' long-time friend Stephen Fry, and an afterword from Mark Carwardine that considers what has changed since the book was first published, Last Chance to See feels more urgent than ever before.‘Douglas Adams’ genius was in using comedy to make serious points about the world’ Independent

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'Smart and funny' Ruth Hogan, author of The Keeper of Lost ThingsThe first step was learning to read, but if she really wants to turn her life around, Maggsie is going to have to trust other people – and that might just be the hardest lesson she’s ever faced . . . Small and dyslexic, with a short fuse, bad teeth, a prison record and something to prove, Marguerite McNaughton – Maggsie – doesn't need anybody or anything, thank you very much. She's more than capable of looking after herself. She’s also about to discover that everyone needs someone, sometimes. Even her. The thing about trusting others, though, is that not everyone is trustworthy... It starts when a fellow inmate gives Maggsie reading lessons. Then she's offered a job in London as a kitchen assistant, together with supported accommodation and a colleague who seems determined to befriend Maggsie, no matter what.At first, Maggsie is convinced nothing will change. Especially her. But maybe this time can be different? Maybe Maggsie can be different – if she can just put her previous mistakes behind her and her trust in the right people. Maggsie McNaughton's Second Chance, by Frances Maynard, is an uplifting, heartwarming novel about the power of friendship and the written word, perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant, Three Things about Elsie and Elizabeth is Missing.

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In a century warped by terrorism, Trumpist populism, systemic racism, financial collapse, and a global pandemic, trust—in our institutions, in each other, and in the American project itself—has precipitously eroded. We are now experiencing the disastrous consequences of a “crisis in trust,” writes Pete Buttigieg, former presidential candidate and best-selling author of Shortest Way Home. In this arresting, impassioned account, Buttigieg contends that our success—or failure—in confronting the greatest challenges of the decade will rest on whether we can effectively cultivate, deepen, and, where necessary, repair the networks of trust that are now endangered, or for so many, never even existed. Interweaving history, political philosophy, and affecting passages of memoir, Trust is an urgent call to foster an “American way of trust.”

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When her husband suggests a romantic break, Claire feels obliged to say yes but immediately regrets it. After the tragedy they've been through, how can one weekend in Paris save their marriage? Claire and Ronan aren't the only people on a make-or-break visit to the City of Love. There is a big-shot movie producer from Hollywood, full of regret for a life ill-lived; a student from Boston, torn between love and duty; a Ukrainian refugee struggling to protect her little sister; and an old woman from Dijon, hoping to be braver than she has ever had to be before.When their lives briefly intertwine, something extraordinary happens...

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Second Chance Vows by Jules Bennett When exes reunite at a masquerade gala... The masks are coming off!

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An imaginative story of amazing food weather that inspired the hit movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a favorite of grown-ups and children everywhere.The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town—except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers. Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse. The food got larger and larger and so did the portions. Chewandswallow was plagued by damaging floods and storms of huge food. The town was a mess and the people feared for their lives. Something had to be done, and in a hurry.

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It's all fun and games until you accidentally marry a stranger in Greece and inherit a hotel.Amelia Lang's life is kind of a mess. She's stuck living at home with her narcissistic mother. Her tech bro ex-boyfriend deliberately sabotages her at work, and she gets fired after throwing a mug at his head (it's okay! She missed.) Then she has a major falling out with her best friend. So Amelia does what Amelia does best: She runs away.After traveling around Europe for three months, she settles on a small Greek island to reset her life and figure out what's next. But after too much retsina, she gets tricked into marrying James, another guest at the hotel, who is perfectly nice-but perfectly boring. To top it off, they are gifted the very hotel they're staying in-a hotel they don't want that is in desperate need of some TLC. They agree to keep the hotel open through the busy summer season for the sake of the island's quirky but well-meaning residents, after which Amelia plans to return home to start rebuilding her disastrous life.Amelia and James must work together to determine how to get out of their situation-easier said than done for Amelia, who's started to feel a strong spark of attraction for James. But Amelia is sure her real life is waiting for her back in San Francisco. Is it time for Amelia to return home or could this be the second chance at a new life she didn't know she wanted?

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Twenty-first century advances in technology, transportation, and business models have enabled companies of all sizes to enter markets once thought to be the exclusive domain of giant enterprises. In this environment, innovation has emerged as the competitive differentiator that will propel companies to become global leaders.Supplying practical guidance for integrating innovation throughout the organization, Chance or Choice: Unlocking Innovation Success introduces the authors’ proprietary ENOVALE methodology. ENOVALE is a blueprint that provides leaders and managers of any organization with a strategic framework to initiate and maintain innovation and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.What makes this book different is that it originates from decades of experience, cutting-edge research, and empirical evidence. The results come from the authors’ work on Project Impact, an ongoing multiyear global study to measure attitudes, opinions, and disposition of different cultures towards innovation. Expanding on the current definition of innovation, the book: Spells out a detailed "how-to" approach for those responsible for innovation leadership Outlines practical solutions and time-tested strategies Emphasizes the role of the individual as the ultimate innovator Presents concepts that are applicable across a range of industries, including the services industry Rather than relegating innovation to the R&D and engineering functions, the book extends the ENOVALE framework into all functions of your organization. It also details a project strategy useful for any type of innovation to help you lead your teams in leveraging the innovative capabilities valued by your customers and users. Throughout the book, the authors outline the tools and concepts you will need to move your organization from simply surviving to thriving in today’s brutally competitive global environment.

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How long will Edna have to wait for the love of her life? Will God reward her patience? From Linda Byler, bestselling author of Amish Romances, comes a new story with "multifaceted characters who deal with real-life issues”—Publishers Weekly“Short, dark-haired and dark-eyed, soft and round and capable, Edna was crackling with a zest for life. There was no job too mountainous for her. She had no husband or children, and had never had a date in her life.”For years, Edna Miller has found herself drawn to Emery Hoschtettler with an attraction she can explain no better than she can put a stop to it. Other suitors come and go, but none make her feel the way she feels around Emery—that incredible floating feeling, as if she was walking on air, mixed with a painful desperation to be ever nearer to him. Despite the fact that Emery seldom seems to pay her much attention, she decides it would be unfair to marry anyone else when her heart longs only for him. He hasn’t seriously dated anyone else either, so perhaps he’s just waiting for the right time to ask her . . .By the time Edna is twenty-nine, most of her family and friends have given up hope of her ever marrying. Why she didn’t give that nice man Jonathan more of a chance was beyond them. Sure, he had a bit of a limp from the tractor accident, but he was kind as could be, not to mention wealthy. Was she so vain that she could only judge based on outward appearances? Well then, she could go ahead and be a maud for the rest of her life, cooking and cleaning for other families.When Emery finally asks Edna out, she can hardly contain her joy. Everything is coming together—God is rewarding her patience! Her family will understand why she could never settle for anyone else.But what if Emery isn’t the man Edna was so sure he was? Is there something he’s hiding, or is Edna simply unable to accept true love after so many years of waiting? Would God really lead her all this way, just to leave her alone again?

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Synopsis coming soon.......

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The day after losing his job, Ricky suffered a catastrophic stroke aged just 38. Unconscious, he was wheeled into hospital with girlfriend Beth by his side. This is the story of their love, his recovery and their return home.

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This story is part of Reading Champion, a series carefully linked to book bands to encourage independent reading skills, developed with Dr Sue Bodman and Glen Franklin of UCL Institute of Education (IOE)

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This book is a translation of Salinas’s Seguro azar. It includes fifty poems, most of them one or two pages in length, with the Spanish and English texts on facing pages. There is also a prologue by the poet, and introduction by the translator, and a reminiscence by Salinas’s friend and fellow poet, Willis Barnstone.

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