通过化石建立的友谊，会否因为化石而灰飞烟灭？

在《物种起源》150周年纪念之时，《戴珍珠耳环的少女》作者特蕾西·雪佛兰（Tracy Chevalier）创作了这部备受好评的新作，再次体现了她紧扣时代主题、独树一帜的写作风格。
本书以知名作者Jane Austen 常去的小镇为背景，讲述特蕾西如何超越阶级与性别，揭示19世纪某些最重要的发现，同时，生动描写了女性友谊中错综复杂、能屈能伸的特质！
19世纪早期，玛丽 (Mary Anning) 出生在Lyme Regis的一个贫苦家庭，那儿的海滩毗邻英吉利海峡，狂风肆虐，亦埋藏着无数待人发掘的化石。玛丽从小就非常喜欢化石，常把在海滩上拾到的奇异石头称作“蛇的宝石”和“魔鬼的脚趾甲”。当发现可把这些石头卖给热衷收藏的上流人士，从而赚取大笔财富时，玛丽对化石的兴趣更甚。尽管有着家人源源不断的支持，但玛丽不得不经常面对买家的落井下石和科学家们的冷嘲热讽。
幸运的是，她结识了脾气乖戾、头脑睿智的伊丽莎白 (Elizabeth Philpot)。伊丽莎白是一位中层阶级的未婚妇女，家境富裕，和玛丽一样，对化石无比痴迷。出乎意料，这两个不同年龄、不同社会阶级、不同生活背景的人成为了朋友。
不久，玛丽首次成功发现了一具完整的蛇颈龙化石，这令人振奋的壮举，却招来社会各界人士态度各异的评价，另一方面，她与伊丽莎白，两人间的友谊在对朋友的忠诚和内心无法遏制的嫉妒中开始摇摆……(ZY)

如果初戀情人現在突然出現在你眼前，你的生活是否將開始天旋地轉？
你是否會感覺，這是老天爺給你的第二次機會，是命運的安排，而你應該好好把握，不讓機會再度從手中溜走？
或者你的腦中會警鈴大響，告訴你千萬不可再回頭，過去的就該留在過去？
問題是，做得到嗎？
蘇珊娜和羅伯是一對青梅竹馬，曾有過一段純純戀情。但隨著戀情終止，兩人就跟這世上大多數分手情侶ㄧ樣，回頭繼續過著各自的生活，一直到再次相遇。
這次意外相遇讓蘇珊娜與鮑伯記起過去兩人曾經擁有的種種美好與年輕模樣，而要再度放棄這些美好感覺對兩人都非易事，尤其是兩個人對自己現在的生活都不是太滿意。
當然，無可自拔總是會需要付出一點代價的。(KC)

Start Strong, Finish Strong means living the life we all want—now and as we age. It means a healthy heart, strong bones, and a quick mind. It means feeling great and looking younger than you did five years ago. It means making small but significant changes to your lifestyle that will revolutionize your life. With dynamite father/son combo Dr. Ken and Dr. Cooper, you’ll learn how to:
· Add at least three years to your life
· Prevent age-related mental decline by 10 percent Annually
· Live without even minimal physical disability for seven extra years
· Reduce the risk of dying from coronary disease by 33 percent, and the risk of dying from cancer by 24 percent

Blast off to a strong start to getting your life in gear with the Coopers and finish strong with a healthy heart and mind.　

年紀增長，身體的機能必定會相對的削弱，而我們都知道運動是保持身體正常運作的方法之一。但是人有了一定年紀要如何做適當的運動，甚至開始培養運動呢？運用本書作者保證讓你達到以下目標：
l 成功讓你增長三年壽命
l 降低老年疾病的病發率10％
l 延後七年生理機能退化的時間
l 降低冠狀動脈病變發生率33％及癌症24％
愛運動的你或許是時候帶著家裡長者一起行動吧，一起為彼此的健康努力！(Vincent)

青少年偵探小說系列（三本）之3

印度裔神探 Singh 回到自己的家鄉新加坡。 可是他的老婆每天對他嘮叨不休，上司也每天拿他開刀消磨上班時間。幸好這次又有事情讓神探 Singh 忙了。
有ㄧ名在國際律師事務所上班的大律師，在自己的辦公室遭人以亂棒打死。棘手的地方是，這件凶殺案實在有太多嫌犯了:
- 大律師的前任太太 (有種族歧視)
- 大律師的現任太太 (原本是前任太太的女傭!)
- 利用性交易取得升遷機會的美麗女律師
- 英俊的同性戀男律師
- 染上毒癮的年輕律師
大律師在遭人殺害前，原本打算召開臨時會議。他究竟想跟同事透露些什麼? 那本來會對哪些同事帶來哪些利益衝突? 神探 Singh 將揭露新加坡社會不為人知的醜陋層面。看來，回到自己的家鄉好像不是個好主意……(Jennifer)

Jerome foxworthy -- the Jayfox to his friends -- likes to think he can handle anything. He handled growing up without a father. He handled being the first black kid in school. And he sure can handle a basketball.

Then Jerome meets bix Rivers -- mysterious and moody, but a great athlete. So Jerome decides to teach bix his game. He can tell that bix has the talent. All he’s got to do is learn the right moves.... 　

After an afternoon of surfing, television executive Pietro Paladini and his brother Carlo spot two women struggling far off in the waves. Pietro and Carlo race to save them, and after fighting the currents and exhaustion, bring them safely to shore. Now late to get home, Pietro hurries up from the beach only to find his young daughter, Claudia, wide-eyed at the side of the road. His wife has unexpectedly died while he was saving the life of another.

After numbly feeling their way through the rituals of death and the end of summer, the school year begins. On that first day, Pietro decides to wait for Claudia and work from his car in the parking lot outside her school; he is also waiting for the full force of grief to press down on their shoulders, to suffocate them. What if today is the day that happens? What if Claudia needs him?

On the second day, Pietro again waits for his daugher . . . and the third, and the fourth. He finds some semblance of peace in waiting, and strangely others find something similar in him: his colleagues, friends and family begin to visit him at the parking lot to share their problems. It’s there that the woman he saved finds him, stirring in him a distracting, overbearing lust that stands in the way of his grief. Through their angry, unforgiving union, Pietro’s days outside the school reach their culmination, and his loss is finally transformed into acceptance.

At turns funny and dark, unexpectedly compelling and powerfully real, Quiet Chaos takes readers into the odd, beautiful moments of the everyday that offer opportunity for contemplation, and ultimately, renewal.　

In fact, the things around us come from somebody’s ingeniousness, intelligence and tenacity: somebody who has created, invented, turned ideas into reality.

This book is much more than an encyclopedia of inventions. The story of each discovery is a fascinating tale that will allow the reader to find out about the facts behind everyday objects.

Are you keen on learning something new about everyday technology? This book is just up your street!　

世界上有許多重要的發明，徹底改變了我們生活！從我們每天穿的牛仔褲、到最新的網路社群FACEBOOK，從郵票到網路空間分享Yousendit等，這些發明背後的故事及由來，可能並不是那麼廣為人知，但它們確實深深影響人們的生活，瞭解這故事不僅是增加我們知識，也能激發對生活的創意點子。(Vincent)

So she did what any single, newly sober thirty-year-old would do: made a pact to go on 51 dates in 50 weeks. Giving fate the middle finger, she decided that if the perfect guy wasn’t going to walk into her life, she’d find him herself. Using The Onion’s online personals, a sympathetic boss, weekly meetings for recovering addicts, a magical spiritual healer, and good old fashioned blind dates arranged by friends, she embarks on a whirlwind carousel of men she might not normally classify as potential mates.

Her initial plan of landing a man by simply increasing the odds quickly blossomed into more than just coffee with strangers. The experiences became truth-seeking missions, journeys into her problem-riddled past, and spiritual adventures in fear and faith. Of course, she meets a lot of men, but she also discovers unexpected moments of pain and joy within her own family: her divorced mother, incarcerated father, crazy Italian grandmother, and two middle-aged uncles (one conservative, the other gay). And in the end, her attempts to find love lead her to find herself.

At times heart-breaking and laugh-out-loud hilarious, Kristen McGuiness’s witty, brutally honest writing gives a valuable true-life spin on Bridget Jones and Sex and the City. 51/50 is a gripping read that will inspire others to follow her courageous search for love.　

對Kristen McGuiness來說，約會是一場華麗的冒險。
辦事能力強，人好相處，會燒菜做飯，但卻邁入30歲的Kristen，發現自己快要變成敗犬，總是孤單寡人獨自在洛杉磯打滾了幾年，突然之間發現自己少了一個伴侶，沒有男伴可以陪她在週末看場電影，如果生病或是出了意外沒有人可以當她的緊急聯絡人，要是老了以後，會不會因為沒有男人就後悔，要是老了還找不到真愛，該怎麼辦？為了愛情，Kristen決定主動出擊。
本書書目由第一場約會到最後第51場約會，Kristen以幽默又啟發人心的筆觸感想，道盡對男人種種想法的觀察和發現，描述她與男人相處之間產生的寂寞、疏離、喜樂，種種內心世界。(Chris)

As the enthusiasm for food gardening and self-reliance continues to grow, a new generation of foodies, gardeners, crafters, and DIYers is discovering the versatility of herbs as a source of flavor, fragrance, healing, and comfort.

In Homegrown Herbs, Tammi Hartung provides the definitive guide to planting, growing, harvesting, and using more than 100 herbs. An internationally renowned herbalist, teacher, and certified organic grower, Hartung has filled this indispensable reference with a wide range of information gathered from her 30 years of studying and working hands-on with these amazing plants.

Homegrown Herbs is a step-by-step primer for gardeners of every level. It includes in-depth profiles of 101 cultivars, including information on seed selection, planting, maintenance and care, harvesting, drying, and uses in the kitchen, home pharmacy, crafting, and body care. Hartung supports these profiles with an array of herb garden designs, illustrations, and at-a-glance charts. Sensational four-color photographs by Saxon Holt bring the information to life, and an introduction by renowned herbalist rosemary Gladstar highlights the importance of the book to both individuals and the planet as a whole.

Packed with valuable information, Homegrown Herbs is much more than an encyclopedia of herbs -- Hartung shares her passionate and compelling vision for a world that is filled with greater abundance, pleasure, joy, and compassion. With Hartung as a guide, readers will find that growing herbs is more than simply a practical act; it is also an inspired one that brings beauty, flavor, and healing to the everyday...and to the world at large. 　

本書提供包羅萬象的植物栽種方法，除了如何選擇適合的土壤、照顧、收割、烘培外，還提供食譜等各項用途的使用方法，讓讀者能將這些收穫得來的草本植物實際應用在烹調、家庭急救用藥、手工藝品製作與身體芳療中。
本書特色
★ 收錄超過100種草本植物，並提供每樣植物特性的詳實介紹
★ 搭配賞心悅目的彩圖，方便讀者按圖索驥栽種與收割，並提前欣賞自己未來的收穫
★ 如何將這些自己栽種的草本植物，應用在料理烹調、製作染料劑等手工藝品與身體芳療之中。(Kate Cheng)

“Gingerbread Cookie Murder” By Joanne Fluke
When Hannah Swensen finds her neighbor Ernie Kusak with his head bashed in and sprawled on the floor of his condo next to an upended box of Hannah’s Gingerbread Cookies, she discovers a flurry of murder suspects that’s as long as her holiday shopping list.

“The Dangers Of Gingerbread Cookies” By Laura Levine
Jaine Austen has been enlisted to help with her parents’ retirement community’s play The Gingerbread Cookie That Saved Christmas. Playboy Dr. Preston McCay is playing the role of the gingerbread cookie when he “accidentally” falls to his death during the final act. Now Jaine must figure out if one of the doctor’s jealous lovers was capable of murder.

“Gingerbread Cookies And Gunshots” By Leslie Meier
When Lucy Stone discovers the body of Rick Juergens, whose five-year-old son Nemo disappeared, she senses foul play. Crumbs from a gingerbread cookie Lucy gave to Nemo are found in the back seat of Rick’s car. With the hours quickly ticking till Christmas, Lucy races against the clock to find a killer before he strikes again.

Perfect for that special someone on your list or just for yourself, these intriguing mysteries will make the holidays shine brighter…

Includes luscious holiday recipes!　

內容摘要
此書是一窺二十世紀偉大思想家，法國無神論存在主義大師、哲學家沙特(Jean Paul Sartre)內心世界的必讀書目。
本書作者約翰.傑拉西由於父母與沙特以及西蒙波娃(Simone de Beauvoir)間的良好關係，讓他得與這對傳奇夫婦建立起深厚的感情，兩人甚至將他視為己出；
得到沙特本人的同意，傑拉西開始著手為沙特撰寫傳記，他蒐集並整理了1970年到1974年間與沙特的訪談記錄，透過這些寶貴的對話，傑拉西真實還原了一個當代最重要哲學家的風貌，包含：
圍繞在沙特個人在自由定義上的理解；社會形態對於人們在選擇和行為層面上所產生的影響，以及兩者之間所存在的巨大分歧；有關西班牙內戰、二次世界大戰以及殖民主義的消亡等議題。
這些出自沙特之口的珍貴談話，無疑將幫助讀者更深入了解沙特那些極為抽象的觀點與論述。

人物介紹
沙特
法國20世紀最重要的哲學家、無神論存在主義代表人物、文學家、戲劇家、評論家和最積極鼓吹社會主義者。一生拒絕接受任何獎項，包括1964年的諾貝爾文學獎，因為他不願意和一個研究炸藥的人有關連。
在戰後的歷次鬥爭中都站在正義的一邊，對各種被剝奪權利者表示同情，反對冷戰。1960年代後期，法國多次發生學潮和工潮，沙特始終是運動中的精神領袖。
沙特的終生伴侶是西蒙波娃，她是法國思想界的重要人物，女權主義者，著有《第二性》一書。除了去世前幾年間因半失明而輟筆外，他一生中從沒有停止過寫作。沙特將其視為一種樂趣，一種需要，一種人生的基本支撐點。他這樣說：“我沒辦法讓自己看到一張白紙時，不產生在上面寫點什麼的欲望。”
沙特是二戰後存在主義思想的代表人物。其事業分為二個階段，第一階段的代表作為《存在與虛無》(Being and Nothingness)，他信仰人的基本自由，思考著他所看到難以忍受的自由的本性；第二階段是作為一個政治賢人而聞名，他信奉共產主義，但並未正式加入任何共產黨組織。沙特畢生花費大量精力試圖統合他的存在主義思想和他所信奉的共產主義原則…
後世對他的評價褒貶不一，但基本上依然是左派褒者多貶者少，右派貶者多褒者少。他的代表作品有《論想像》、《自我的超越性》、《存在與虛無》等。(Andy & Kate Cheng)

作者將建築的精妙融入寫作。片斷式的敍述，令人迴旋在時間和空間錯疊的迷宮裏，關於家庭的歷史、童年的秘密、成長的苦樂……紛紛從老房子的門縫、視窗、陽臺旁逸橫出。他筆下的房子是一個足夠的存身之地，一個可以讓靈魂與身軀靜靜感到天、地、人的空間，通過建築師詩性的文字，房子找回了它的隱喻性。
作為一個建築師，安德魯對這本自省式小說自我評論：「《房子》絕不是一部關於建築的書，這個房子是人居住的。」(VL)

如果一個人毫無緣由繼承了一千七百萬英鎊的高額遺產，人生是否能就此改變 ?
對Andy Larkham而言，從小在苛刻的環境中長大，很少受到其他人溫暖與關懷。生命中永遠充滿了難題，只有獨自不停的努力奮鬥在逆境中成長，直到遇見一位真正充滿愛心的老師，他開始積極的面對人生。長大後的Andy所要歷經的困境有增無減: 工作不順遂、未婚妻因他的窮困而離開，然而真正讓他倍感挫折的，是錯過自己最心愛老師的喪禮。Andy不禁要問問自己:長久以來到底還要受到多少是非，才有機會改變人生。
然而沒想到Andy真的從這場喪禮過後開始走運，突然繼承一千七百萬英鎊的遺產。過去嚐盡種種人生辛酸的滋味，現在他是否真能看到重生的希望和未來的夢想......(CL)