Showing results by narrator "Jeff Woodman" in All Categories

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg loved his job, his wife, and his two young sons. But he also loved to drink. Drunkard is an unflinchingly honest account of one man's descent into alcoholism and his ambivalent struggle to embrace sobriety. Sentenced to an outpatient rehab program, Steinberg discovers that twenty-eight days of therapy cannot reverse the toll taken by decades of hard drinking.

Brimming with busted myths, gripping true stories, and peculiar particulars about a plethora of people, places, and events, this captivating compendium is guaranteed to delight information lovers everywhere as it feeds our insatiable appetite to know everything!

It’s been three long months since Chris’ little sister, Molly, disappeared from the riverbank. His parents are learning to accept the official verdict - death by drowning - and hope that 13-year-old Chris will soon do the same. Their family therapist believes that revisiting the tragic scene and reviewing the video of that fateful day will help. But something about that video is haunting Chris. Watching it for the first time since the fateful day he shot it he comes to an awful realization....

When his family packs up and moves from the city to a small town deep in the Wisconsin countryside, 15-year-old Wil Neuton makes an exhilarating discovery. He finds a small island on a nearby lake, a place where he can be alone and learn to know nature—and himself. On his island, he can write, paint, and watch the loons and fish in the lake. Wil can’t stay away from the outside world forever, though. Sooner or later, he must return and face the bully determined to fight him and his bickering parents, who worry when Wil decides to stay on the island indefinitely.

Sidelined by his war injuries in 1916, Captain Hastings travels to his friend’s estate at Styles Court to recover from his wounds. As the summer heats up, a tragic murder occurs, and Hastings calls upon the services of his old acquaintance Hercule Poirot. With seemingly unrelated clues - a scrap of a burned will, a false beard, and an empty packet of bromide - the brilliant detective launches his first investigation on English soil and forges an enduring friendship.

Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone has Asperger's Syndrome, a condition similar to autism. He doesn't like to be touched or meet new people, he cannot make small talk, and he hates the colors brown and yellow. He is a math whiz with a very logical brain who loves solving puzzles that have definite answers.

Lt. Col. Jon Smith, an army research doctor and secret agent attached to Covert-One, is tapped to lead a team to Wednesday Island, an icy patch of land between the northern coast of Canada and the Earth's magnetic Pole. There, the remains of a mysterious plane were discovered during a routine educational expedition. The plane seems to be a Russian spy plane, and the Russian government secretly revealed to the U.S. president that a lot of very dangerous anthrax may be on board.

In this classic tale of true-life adventure, David and Daniel Hays, a father and son, sail 17,000 miles from Connecticut to Cape Horn and back. Together they complete this odyssey and join a select group to successfully sail the Drake Passage in a small vessel. It is also the story of conquering inner struggles as well as great distances.

The classic story of wilderness survival continues in this action-packed sequel. Filled with authentic woodland lore and exciting adventure, On the Far Side of the Mountain takes listeners back to Sam Gribley's treehouse in the Catskill Mountains, where he begins a dangerous fight for his pet falcon's freedom.

In this revealing compendium, acclaimed writer Diana Gabaldon shares her invaluable lessons for creating an immersive reading experience, from evoking a mood to using the power of emotions to communicate physical intimacy. You'll learn the difference between gratuitous sex and genuine encounters that move the story forward and how to handle less-than-savory acts that nevertheless serve a narrative purpose. Gabaldon also notes that sex can be conveyed instead of described.

Bill Ayers was born into privilege and is today a highly respected educator and community activist. In the late 1960s he was a founder of the militant activist group the Weather Underground. Living on the run, stealing explosives, and hiding from the law, Ayers was involved in the defining moments of his generation: the Days of Rage, SDS, the Black Panthers - and the explosion that killed his beloved comrade, Diana Oughton.

Yankee transplant Daniel Musgrove can't seem to fit in at his Mississippi high school. When he meets fellow outsider Tim Cousins, things look up. But then the two boys' battles with a local bully escalate into a violent act that rocks the town.

At 15, Tex is spirited as a wild mustang and good-natured as a pup. He and his 17-year-old brother Mason have been on their own since Pop left for the summer rodeo tour. Come October, the money has run out and still no Pop. None of this bothers Tex much - until Mason sells Tex's horse to pay the bills. After that things turn sour between the brothers. Tex is constantly getting into trouble, but he resents Mace acting like a parent. Friends like Johnny and his gorgeous sister Jamie help Tex forget his problems.

Shandee finds a friendly arm at a granite quarry. Ned drops down a hole in a golf course. Luna meets a man made of light bulbs at a tanning parlor. So begins Nicholson Baker's fuse-blowing, sex-positive escapade, House of Holes. Baker returns to erotic territory with a gleefully over-the-top novel set in a pleasure resort, where normal rules don't apply. Brimful of good-nature, wit, and surreal sexual vocabulary, this is a modern-day Hieronymous Boschian bacchanal that is sure to surprise, amuse, and arouse.

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has $10,000 in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun - but no Katherines.

In this sequel to the breakout hit Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, Jessica Packwood finds being a newly married teenage vampire princess isn’t all that easy. She might be living in a Romanian castle with her husband Lucius Vladescu, but she’s also surrounded by undead subjects who aren’t ready to welcome her as queen. Then Lucius is accused of murdering a vampire Elder, leaving Jessica more alone than ever.

Sixth-grader Milo Neal plans to do a science project on "The Complete Life Cycle of a Link in the Food Chain". But when he brings his specimen - a baby chick - to class, everyone falls in love with the cute ball of fluff. Soon she has a name: Henrietta. Not only is Henrietta the class pet, she's even chosen as mascot for the school hockey team! How can Milo finish his project, which calls for frying up his specimen and serving it to the judges of the science fair?

In this riveting sequel, Neff expands on the world of his first novel and pens a work of even greater scope and complexity. When evil forces conspire to wield the Book of Toth, chaos breaks out - leaving the only hope for the future in the hands of the Rowan Academy's Max McDaniels and his trusted friend David Menlo.

Fabrizio, Magnus the Magician's new servant boy, must prove his master's innocence after he is accused of plotting to overthrow the king in this suspenseful new prequel to Midnight Magic from a Newbery Medalist.

In which Lord John, anticipating a voyage home to England after his brief stint as military Governor of Jamaica, instead finds himself on his way to Cuba, where the British navy is preparing to lay siege to Havana - and where the Dowager Duchess of Pardloe (aka John’s mother) is a guest (and potential hostage) of Governor Juan de Prado.