Silence

"Shusaku Endo's classic novel of enduring faith in dangerous times"Silence I regard as a masterpiece, a lucid and elegan... (more)

"Shusaku Endo's classic novel of enduring faith in dangerous times"Silence I regard as a masterpiece, a lucid and elegant drama."-The New York Times Book Review Seventeenth-century Japan: Two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to a country hostile to their religion, where feudal lords force the faithful to publicly renounce their beliefs. Eventually captured and forced to watch their Japanese Christian brothers lay down their lives for their faith, the priests bear witness to unimaginable cruelties that test their own beliefs. Shusaku Endois one of the most celebrated and well-known Japanese fiction writers of the twentieth century, and Silence is widely considered to be his great masterpiece"-- (less)

"Teenager Staci's father has just remarried and she now finds herself packed off to the run-down and dying Maine town of... (more)

"Teenager Staci's father has just remarried and she now finds herself packed off to the run-down and dying Maine town of Silence and into the custody of her alcoholic mother. It gets worse. There is no cell phone service except at the very top of a bluff outside town, no internet except dialup, not one familiar franchise or business and her mom seems to have gotten worse since her last visit. But all is not as it seems in Silence. There are strange things moving beneath its shabby surface, terrible plots in play and Staci is about to find herself caught up in the middle of it all"-- (less)

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"[This book] presents a profound human challenge--it can be essential to a spiritual practice, but it may also be a sour... (more)

"[This book] presents a profound human challenge--it can be essential to a spiritual practice, but it may also be a source of suffering. in this brilliant cultural history, Jane Brox uncovers the surprising story of how silence has influenced ideas of the self, the soul, and society. She traces its place a spiritual force in the monastic world, from medieval Europe to the very public life of twentieth-century monk Thomas Merton, whose love for silence deepened even as he faced his obligation to speak out against war. Brox also examines silence's dark side--the influxes the monastic cell had on one of society's grimmest experiments: Eastern State Penitentiary, conceived of by one of the Founding Fathers and built on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The penitentiary's early promulgators imagined redemption through imposed isolation, but misapprehended the dangers of engineered silence. Finally, Brox's rich exploration of silence's complex and competing meanings leads us to imagine how we might navigate our own relationship with silence today, for the transformation it has always promised in our own lives."-- Jacket. (less)

Imparts wisdom on cultivating calm and inner silence, even in the most chaotic situations, through mindfulness and caref... (more)

Imparts wisdom on cultivating calm and inner silence, even in the most chaotic situations, through mindfulness and careful breathing. (less)

Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During th... (more)

Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that?s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan?s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there?Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death?. Emma was not quite like other teenagers. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers, or had their boyfriends die in a senseless accident. But though she hadn?t known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead. In fact, Emma could draw upon the essence of the dead to work magic. That was what Necromancers did. But Emma had no desire to be a Necromancer. She just wanted to help the ghosts who walked the streets of Toronto, unable to escape from the land of the living. And that was just as well, because had she chosen the path of the Necromancer, Eric would have had to kill her. Instead, Eric and his fellow Necromancer hunter Chase found themselves violating every rule they were sworn to follow, becoming part of Emma?s group, helping her to stand against those who preyed upon the dead. But whether Emma and her friends could survive such a battle was anyone?s guess. And whether Emma could learn to use the magic of the dead against her enemies without herself falling victim to the lure of such power remained to be seen. Eric seemed to think she could, and her living friends would never abandon her. But only time would tell what Emma?s true destiny was?. (less)

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"In 1993, Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge spent fifty days walking solo across Antarctica, becoming the first person to ... (more)

"In 1993, Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge spent fifty days walking solo across Antarctica, becoming the first person to reach the South Pole alone, accompanied only by a radio whose batteries he head removed before setting out. In this book, an astonishing and transformative meditation, Kagge explores the silence around us, the silence within us, and the silence we must create. By recounting his own experience and discussing the observations of poets, artists, and explorers, Kagge shows us why silence is essential to our sanity and happiness an ow it can open doors to wonder and gratitude." -- Book jacket. (less)

The Zen master and one of the world's most beloved teachers returns with a concise, practical guide to understanding and... (more)

The Zen master and one of the world's most beloved teachers returns with a concise, practical guide to understanding and developing our most powerful inner resource--silence--to help us find happiness, purpose, and peace. Many people embark on a seemingly futile search for happiness, running as if there is somewhere else to get to, when the world they live in is full of wonder. To be alive is a miracle. Beauty calls to us every day, yet we rarely are in the position to listen. To hear the call of beauty and respond to it, we need silence. Silence shows us how to find and maintain our equanimity amid the barrage of noise. Thich Nhat Hanh guides us on a path to cultivate calm even in the most chaotic places. This gift of silence doesn't require hours upon hours of silent meditation or an existing practice of any kind. Through careful breathing and mindfulness techniques he teaches us how to become truly present in the moment, to recognize the beauty surrounding us, and to find harmony. With mindfulness comes stillness--and the silence we need to come back to ourselves and discover who we are and what we truly want, the keys to happiness and well-being. (less)

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Six years ago, Jack Till helped Wendy Harper disappear. But now her ex-boyfriend and former business partner, Eric Fulle... (more)

Six years ago, Jack Till helped Wendy Harper disappear. But now her ex-boyfriend and former business partner, Eric Fuller, is being framed for her presumed murder in an effort to smoke her out, and Till must find her before tango-dancing assassins Paul and Sylvie Turner do. The Turners are merely hired to do a job, though, and prefer to remain anonymous. When they find that a middleman has let the true employer know their identities, finishing the job is no longer enough. Their fee just went up. And now they must double-cross the man who wants Wendy dead before he can double-cross them--if their jealousy and cold-blooded calculations don't result in a fatal lovers' quarrel first.--From publisher description. (less)

Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for--a... (more)

Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for--and their love--forever. (less)