Ano, stopovat po Galaxii se dá, dokonce za méně než třicet altajských dolarů denně. Zde je seznam toho, co k tomu potřebujete: kámoše, který už má projetou většinu galaktických barů; pivo; ručník; pouze reziduální pud sebezáchovy; vstřícnost k jiným formám života. A nesmí vás znervózňovat, že se možná nestihnete vrátit na Vánoce domů. To je přesně případ Arthura Denta, kterému doslova hoří Země pod nohama, a ať chce nebo ne, vydat se stopem po nekonečných rozlohách prostoru a času je pořád lepší, než zaniknout spolu s lidstvem kvůli budování galaktické dopravní infrastruktury.

Audiokniha renomovaného psychologa Jordana B. Petersona destiluje poznání o lidském charakteru a osudu do dvanácti pravidel, vyrůstajících z těch nejtradičnějších hodnot: zodpovědnosti za vlastní život i svět kolem sebe, víry v lidské společenství a vztah k nadosobním hodnotám. Autor klade důraz na (sebe)kázeň a svobodu, dobrodružství a zodpovědnost. Cituje množství odborných studií, opírá se o Bibli, klasické ruské romány i vlastní životní zkušenosti.

Když kniha Jak si lidé hrají vyšla před bezmála padesáti lety poprvé, stala se revolučním psychologickým textem, umožňujícím porozumět tomu, co se skutečně děje mezi lidmi během základních sociálních interakcí. Všichni hrajeme hry. Některé mohou být docela nevinnou stereotypní zábavou, jiné přerůstají v posledku škodlivé opakování nefunkčních životních vzorců. Ať už jsou to sexuální hry se zástupci druhého pohlaví, manželské hry s partnery, mocenské hry s našimi šéfy nebo soutěživé hry s přáteli.

Existují i pohádky, ve kterých se nevyskytují pohádkové obludy, kde nevítězí mocné kouzlo či hrubá síla, ale navrch má rozum, moudrost a vtip. Hrdiny chytrých pohádek bývají lidé zdánlivě obyčejní, kteří se v životních zkouškách téměř vždy osvědčí jako lidé naopak neobyčejní, moudří a stateční. Posilují naše sebevědomí a připomínají nám, že k vítězství nad lží a nelidskostí nepotřebujeme čaromocný meč ani pohádkového dědečka, stačí mít kuráž, bystrý rozum a dobré srdce.

Príbeh citlivého chlapce Kvida z období "reálného" socialismu je mistrným podáním šedivé doby, která pro mnohé z nás byla zároven štastným obdobím mládí a dospívání. Tato vubec nejznámejší kniha spisovatele Michala Viewegha, za níž získal cenu Jirího Ortena, byla preložena do nekolika svetových jazyku, byla zfilmována i prevedena do divadelní podoby.

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a magnificent treasury of the best short works of Richard P. Feynman, from interviews and speeches to lectures and printed articles. A sweeping, wide-ranging collection, it presents an intimate and fascinating view of a life in science - a life like no other. From his ruminations on science in our culture to his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, this book will delight anyone interested in the world of ideas.

All too often, this brilliant novel of thwarted love and revenge miscarried has been read for its political implications. Now, a quarter century after The Joke was first published and several years after the collapse of the Soviet-imposed Czechoslovak regime, it becomes easier to put such implications into perspective in favor of valuing the book (and all Kundera 's work) as what it truly is: great, stirring literature that sheds new light on the eternal themes of human existence.

“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.

Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest.

Instructed to abandon her intellectual life and avoid stimulating company, she sinks into a still-deeper depression invisible to her husband, who believes he knows what is best for her. Alone in the yellow-wallpapered nursery of a rented house, she descends into madness.

When mystery author D. B. Ziegler is late delivering her book, Abi Schore steps in to help. Surely she can give her favorite author moral support over the holiday break and get the manuscript to her boss at Tea & Sympathy Publishing in time for the new year. When Abi shows up on Ms. Ziegler’s doorstep bearing holiday treats, she’s met by the author’s handsome grandson Dov, who reveals a startling plot twist. His grandmother isn’t able to finish the book and Dov promised he’d complete it so fans won’t be disappointed—a task that’s harder than he ever imagined.

Two little girls stand with their heads bowed in my living room. I’m told they’re my granddaughters. Daisy is nine, and Alice seven. Daisy is the spitting image of her mother. This is the first time I’ve met them since my daughter and I fell out after she married that waste of space, Vince. They’ve come to live with me because their mother — my daughter — was murdered. In her own home while they slept close by. I think Vince killed her. But the police can’t prove it. I’ve always known he was no good. He treated my daughter like dirt. I said he’d cheat on her — but she wouldn’t listen.

There's no place like home for the holidays ... especially for Lesley Carver. Life in the big city just wasn't her jam and now she's back in Hickory Falls, working at the family diner and helping her mom after she took a tumble. Lesley longs to build a life here, working at the cafe, selling her handmade ornaments and ... er, apparently reviving her high school crush on her best friend’s older brother. Only one problem, her mom wants her to leave Hickory Falls far behind.

Tilly Farriday isn’t feeling very jolly this season. Recently divorced and broke, she’s squatting in one of her rental agency’s properties until her new home is ready. The sprinkles on top of the burnt Christmas cookie that is her life? The new owner shows up early, forcing Tilly to hide in the attic to save her job…and what remains of her dignity.

First published in 1843, it tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean and unpleasant man who dislikes people generally and Christmas especially. One Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come and given a glimpse of the many homes and lives which Scrooge has touched in his wretched life to date. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Clark Griswold was onto something...at least with his annual holiday meltdown. And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.

My fiancé brought me tea and scrambled eggs in bed that morning, and we snuggled together, talking about buying our rings, and about our perfect wedding next year. Then we headed into town. He held my hand and gazed at the ring I liked best, a smile spreading slowly over his face. Then a glass of bubbly to celebrate. I felt flushed, excited and ready for the rest of my life with the man I loved. We race to get on the train home. It screams to a halt and I run towards its open doors. Made it. I think he’s right behind me — but when I turn around, he’s gone.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Johnnie Rico never really intended to join up—and definitely not the infantry. But now that he’s in the thick of it, trying to get through combat training harder than anything he could have imagined, he knows everyone in his unit is one bad move away from buying the farm in the interstellar war the Terran Federation is waging against the Arachnids. Because everyone in the Mobile Infantry fights. And if the training doesn’t kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to finish the job.