Showing results by narrator "Peter Berkrot" in All Categories

A writer Time magazine has said "everybody should read", Sam Lipsyte, author of the New York Times best-selling The Ask, offers up The Fun Parts, a book of bold, hilarious, and deeply felt fiction. A boy eats his way to self-discovery, while another must battle the reality-brandishing monster preying on his fantasy realm. In another story, an aerobics instructor, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, makes the most shocking leap imaginable to save her soul. These are just a few of the tales, some first published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and Playboy, that unfold in Lipsyte’s richly imagined world.

What defines Boston? Its history? Its landmarks? Its sports teams and shrines? Perhaps the question should be, who defines Boston? From Henry David Thoreau to Dennis Lehane, Boston has been beloved by many of America's greatest writers, and there is no better group of men and women to capture the heart and soul of the Hub. In Our Boston, editor Andrew Blauner has collected both original and reprinted essays from Boston-area writers past and present, all celebrating the city they love.

Book 2 in the story of a little snake zealot and his journey to greatness. A crunchy time-loop LitRPG series perfect for fans of Kenneth Arant, RinoZ, and Jonathan Smidt.

Set in Cold-War-era 1988, Big Miracle is the real story behind the remarkable, bizarre, and often times uproarious event that mesmerized the world for weeks.

A mysterious sniper is killing random New York City citizens at the same time every day. Detective Joe Bannon and his partner Hannah Trimble follow the breadcrumb trail of clues down repeated blind alleys. With citizens fearing to venture outside, the streets of Manhattan have become nearly deserted. When the sniper begins escalating the profile of his targets, higher level government agencies are pulled in.

Former Wall Street whiz and current convict Mickey Steinberg is nearing the end of his three-year sentence at Yankton - the cushy country club prison where he's enjoyed celebrity status - and he's ready to get out and get back on top. He doesn't have the resources he once did, but he's already hatched a new plan to sell a forgery of a stolen Van Gogh painting through the shady underground art market. He and his new partner, the smooth-talking Paul Reece, have a mark in mind: The sleazy con-man art dealer who swooped in on Mickey's beloved ex-wife after he was locked up. But with his old partner, Jack Grass, hell-bent on revenge and his pre-prison life closed to him, it won't be easy.

Shortly after the abduction and brutal murder of legendary FBI agent John Coyle by a Russian hit squad, information surfaced that he was corrupt and his reputation was destroyed. But anyone who knew John Coyle knows that he had been framed, and by all accounts the only man who could have set him up was Big Dickey McVicker, a New York City underworld boss with ties to the Russian Mafia. For decades McVicker had been John Coyle’s chief informant - but he was also Coyle’s oldest and closest friend.

It is the eve of the FIFA World Cup, the globe's premier sporting event. The host country is Brazil. All eyes are on the country's principal striker, Tico "The Artist" Santos, the greatest player in the history of the sport. All the politicians in Brasilia, from the President of the Republic on down, have their seats squared away for the finale, when they hope to see Argentina, Brazil's bitterest rival, humbled by the Brazilian eleven.

A circus performer turned superspy is caught up in a Cold War web of conspiracy and death when the body of a murdered CIA agent is discovered in a Hawaiian marine park. By any definition, Ringling Wallenda Grove is an extraordinary man. The son of expatriate Russian former circus owners, he mastered the arts of acrobatics, animal training, and magic at a young age; distinguished himself as an officer in World War II; and went on to amass a fortune of several million dollars before going into semiretirement. But there is another side to this man that few know about.

The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting is packed with Jew-facts, Jew-figures, and the original, never-before-seen documents from those who lived through Jewish history. Hear the transcript of the Biblical Patriarchs' and Matriarchs' Group Therapy Session! Sneak a peek at Moses's Secret Diary, or check out the awkward "I'm dumping you" text chain from Spain to the Jews in 1492! Collect and trade Rabbi Action Cards!

After his mother, a theologian and best-selling author, dies in a fiery explosion,49-year-old Calvin Bledsoe's heretofore uninspired life is upended. A stranger shows up at the funeral, claiming to be Calvin's aunt Beatrice, and insists that Calvin accompany her on a trip to Europe, immediately. As he and Beatrice traverse the continent, it quickly becomes apparent that his aunt's clandestine behavior is leading him into danger.

Where do writers go when they die? The forgotten ones, at least, go to the Café of Minor Authors where they drink endless cups of cappuccino, self-obsess, and nurse their shattered dreams. Some authors, it’s rumored, can escape Oblivion if they try hard enough to write something the universe can’t ignore, even after death. This is the story of one ambitious writer stuck in Oblivion who not only risks upturning his own fate but also the fate of his literary hero and that of his great grandmother, Hanna, an aspiring actor in the Yiddish theater in the Prague of 1911.

Deep below the Arctic ice in a sinister government laboratory, alien scientists called the Ghin conduct hideous experiments on human victims in cooperation with the US government. But when one Ghin scientist betrays his handlers and turns the laboratory into a slaughterhouse, the shadow agency that oversees the operation initiates the Judas Protocol, unleashing a Special Ops unit to conceal the government's involvement and to terminate both the scientist and his allies. But the Ghin are not prepared to die quietly....

After narrowly escaping the Reawakening, Angel successfully delivered Vanessa to Molten Ridges with the help of Captain Silver. He’d love to do nothing more than spend a year relaxing and studying Old World Magic, but he knows there can be no peace until the Reawakening are dealt with. The Buried Gods walk the Barren once more, and the Reawakening’s plot runs far deeper than he ever could have imagined. A plan hundreds of years in the making is only months from coming to fruition with only Angel standing in its way, but how can he deal with the Reawakening if he can’t trust his own allies?

Adam Gordon is a senior at Topeka High School, class of 97. His mother, Jane, is a famous feminist author; his father, Jonathan, is an expert at getting "lost boys" to open up. They both work at a psychiatric clinic that has attracted staff and patients from around the world. Adam is a renowned debater, expected to win a national championship before he heads to college. He is one of the cool kids, ready to fight or, better, freestyle about fighting if it keeps his peers from thinking of him as weak.

From Michael Jackson's bizarre guest appearance that kickstarted the golden era to the death of Maude Flanders and all the Conan O'Brien throwaway gags, Phil Hartman guest voices, extensive movie references and encore worthy musical numbers in between, We Put the Spring in Springfield serves as the perfect companion guide to the Simpsons' golden years and delves into the particular elements that made seasons 3-8 so magical.

Technology guru Ray Wang shows how organizations can surf the waves of change—how they can keep their promises. Current trends, when taken seriously, require a new way of thinking about business that includes five key areas: 1. Consumerization of technology and the new C-suite; 2. Data's influence in driving decisions; 3. Digital marketing transformation; 4. The future of work; and 5. Matrix commerce.

A missing person case brings private eye Roy Markham to the remote winter-bound college town of Cliff's End, New Hampshire. But what began as a routine investigation quickly becomes dark and dangerous. Six pornographic photos and a tidy little blackmail scheme result in a brutal and baffling murder, and no one is safe - especially Markham himself.

As soon as artist Robert McCloskey saw the ducks in Boston Public Garden, he knew he had to write about them. But how? Studying stuffed birds didn’t help. Would inviting some into his apartment work? What? Was he quack-ers? For months ducklings slept on his sofa and swam in his bathtub, making incredible messes. Quack! Quack! His roommate was not amused and his neighbors complained, but Robert did not give up. As the ducklings grew, he got down on his hands and knees and followed them with pad and pencil.

Sepp Gregory, a reality-TV hunk and one of People magazine's "sexiest men alive", is on tour to promote his debut novel. Not that Sepp's actually read the book - he doesn't have to. He lived it! And everyone just wants him to take his shirt off. The book has hit the best-seller list and is even getting rave reviews from serious critics. Aside from Harriet Post, that is. One of the blogosphere's most respected literary minds, Harriet fears that the novel's reception means the end of civilization is upon us.