Showing results by narrator "Todd" in All Categories

Amid the complexities of modern relationships, loneliness epidemics, and online dating burnout, there's a refreshing alternative: going Solo. "Solos," as coined by behavioral economist Peter McGraw, are people who choose to lead their lives authentically, purposefully, and passionately outside the confines of traditional relationship labels. In a world built for two, Solos break the rules and hold space for every type of individual—single and not.

Each essay illuminates the life of a single species and its relationship to humans, and how these species can help us understand birds in general. A dedicated birdwatcher and teacher, Gedney finds wonder not only in the speed and glistening beauty of the Anna's hummingbird, but also in her nest building. He acclaims the turkey vulture's and red-tailed hawk's roles in our ecosystem, and he venerates the inimitable California scrub jay's work planting acorns.

Robert W. Janek grew up, with his mother, father, and older brother, in the farm and ranch country of west Texas. It was a “normal” childhood… until the late summer of 1952 when he had just turned eleven years old and was stricken with polio. Polio: A Personal Spiritual Journey tells the continuing story of the effects of polio on a human being: what it means to go through the initial stages of hospitalization and then the life-long physical, social, and spiritual aftermath of living with partial facial paralysis due to bulbar polio.

Join Gavano, Bread, and Lambo as their adventure concludes—and just in time too! Too much time spent together on the road and in close confines has them at each other’s throats as greed, entitlement, and competition begin to run wild, and the three of them weasel their way into anywhere they can.

Benjy and Marty have defied the dragons to build their kingdom on the hope and strength of their humanity. Hope shines in a wyrm-scorched world, but power always comes with consequences. Strength never goes unchallenged for long.

Monreith, Massachusetts, was once a small community of whalers and farmers. These days it’s a well-to-do town filled with commuters drawn to its rugged coastline and country roads. A peaceful, predictable place—until popular restaurateur Laurel Thibodeau is found brutally murdered in her own home. Suspicion naturally falls on Laurel’s husband, Simon, who had gambling debts that only her life insurance policy could fix. But there are other rumors too. Among the group of six friends gathered for Alice Stone’s fortieth birthday, theories abound concerning Laurel’s death.

Ever since the apocalypse interrupted his vacation in New York City, life hasn't been the same for Jason Lee. One moment he was a tourist in Times Square, and the next he was living in a real-life, live-streamed role-playing game, fighting for survival—and the fate of humanity. Now, gifted with godlike power and abilities, Jason races through rifts, battling monsters and finding treasure, all with a live—and very vocal—audience watching his every move. It's a lot to process. But he's not the only one struggling to adjust to this strange new world.

Let your imagination run wild and watch with your mind as six friends think they are reuniting for a fun camping trip. Some are just there to hang out, some are trying to rekindle an old flame, but none of them are prepared for the terror that awaits them in the woods. Filled with action and suspense, Stay Out of the Woods will have listeners on the edge of their seats until the very last minute.

Basteele has just been adopted and is moving home to be with his new human parents! Follow along as he tackles many new experiences, from moving to a new home, toilet training, going to school, and making new friends.

This story lets people know that things are not what they seem and helps them remember that people are only human. So, protect yourself and love who you protect. No matter what.

An unprecedented cold season settles over the kingdom, and Benjy dares to hope that winter will give everyone a chance to breathe easy while their enemies sleep through the deep freeze. Repelling Addervaul's assault took it out of them, and now the time had arrived to settle in until the thaw brings more flaming fury to their door. What's that wise old saying? Wish in one hand . . . The chill wind blows over the kingdom, carrying the howls of the hungry.

Trill O.G. Presents tells the story of three friends embarking on adventures as wild as their friendship. In this installment, join Gavano and his friends Bread and Lambo as they journey to Hulaween hoping to make quick cash and possible connections, only to experience something completely unexpected.

Leo, Hugh, Lily, Neha, and Andul are returning to Steelport to save Audrey, who has been captured by House Orsini, the first enemies of Leo's kingdom. Mavis Orsini is prepared to finish them off once and for all with the aid of Kruegar and his orc legions. Meanwhile, Ygg'drasil has opened its first portal to Ice Pines, a dimension of cold and storms. A great opportunity, but new enemies wait to take everything Leo has built from him, and he needs more allies and treasures if he wants to defend his realm.

New York City, 1968: The customers at Café Marie don’t come just for the excellent coffee and pastries. They come for the sophisticated ambiance, and the illusion of being somewhere other than a bustling, exhausting city. Headwaiter Charles Ward helps create that illusion through impeccable service—unobtrusive, nearly invisible, yet always watchful.

In England in the early 1600s, everyone was forced to join the Church of England. Young William Bradford and his friends believed they had every right to belong to whichever church they wanted. In the name of religious freedom, they fled to Holland, then sailed to America to start a new life. But the winter was harsh, and before a year passed, half the settlers had died. Yet, through hard work and strong faith, a tough group of Pilgrims did survive. Their belief in freedom of religion became an American ideal that still lives on today.

Abandoned by her allies, the Republic of Venice holds out as the last beacon of resistance against the hobgoblin armies. Armed with new weapons the Southern Horde drives upon the floating city by land and sea. The Northern Horde drives deep into the heart of Europa and all fall before it. The Horde is vast beyond measure. Assassin daggers lurk in every shadow. Necrotic evil seeps and infects.

"I am Buffalo Bill's horse. I have spent my life under his saddle - with him in it, too, and he is good for two hundred pounds, without his clothes; and there is no telling how much he does weigh when he is out on the war-path and has his batteries belted on." A Horse's Tale is a short novel written partially in the voice of Soldier Boy, Buffalo Bill's favorite horse, at a fictional frontier outpost with the U.S. 7th Cavalry.

While in London in 1897, Mark Twain was commissioned by William Randolph Hearst to report for the San Francisco Examiner on the sixtieth anniversary of Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne. Evoking historical detail reminiscent of passages in The Prince and the Pauper and Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Twain compares the jubilee to his own original and imaginative account of the 1415 celebration following the English victory at Agincourt, and he also reflects on the rapid changes in the British Empire during the Victorian age.

Eight stories of literary dark fiction from a master storyteller. Exploring the shadow side of love, these are tales of grief, obsession, control. Intricate examinations of trauma and tragedy in raw, poetic prose. In these narratives, a woman imagines horrific scenarios whilst caring for her infant niece; online posts chronicle a cancer diagnosis; a couple in the park with their small child encounter a stranger with horrific consequences; a toxic relationship reaches a terrifying resolution . . .

What happens to the US Army after the battles are over, the citizen soldiers depart, and all that remains is the Regular Army? In this pathbreaking work, Brian Linn argues that in each decade following every major conflict since the War of 1812 the postwar army has undergone a long, painful, and remarkably consistent recovery process as it struggled to build a new model force to replace the "Old Army" that entered the conflict.