Showing results by narrator "Donna Postel" in All Categories

America loves narcissism, and America loves to hate narcissists. Narcissism is part of the assumed “national character” of Americans, according to a 2015 survey of views from home and abroad. While those meeting the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder in the United States are actually quite few, those exploitive few have a way of gaining center stage in our culture.

In this collection of natural-history essays, biologist Joan Maloof embarks on a series of lively, fact-filled expeditions into forests of the eastern United States. Through Maloof's engaging, conversational style, each essay offers a lesson in stewardship as it explores the interwoven connections between a tree species and the animals and insects whose lives depend on it - and who, in turn, work to ensure the tree's survival.

On the outside, Lily Isley's life seems perfect: a wealthy husband, a ritzy gated community in Dallas, and a handsome son, AJ - a decorated marine about to be married to his love, Shea. But when a bridesmaid is murdered in AJ's apartment and he can't be found, Lily's world collapses and a long-held family secret is at risk of exposure.

In 1997 New York City hipsters Lee and Ed were at a crossroads. Money was tight, their careers were floundering, their apartment was tiny, and their relationship, frankly, was dysfunctional. Then, on a fateful day in August, they decided on impulse to visit a nearby animal shelter, just to look at dogs. In a split-second decision that would change their lives, they brought home Wallace. They quickly realized that this spaniel mix was more than they could handle.

When Beth LaMonte rents a cottage on the coast of Maine, she wishes only to withdraw and paint. A mysterious ball of light disturbs her peace and leads her to a secret beach where she finds the diary of a girl who disappeared in 1975. Now Beth is on a mission, not only to bury her own past, but to put to rest the spirit of Firefly Beach.

For seventeen years, a serial murderer has used the Presley, Arkansas, Annual Hunt for the Golden Egg to find prey. Or at least that’s what some people believe. Others, like the town’s devoted “Eggheads,” relish the tradition and think the deaths are just unfortunate accidents. But for Nell Holcomb, the town’s annual Hunt dredges up a particularly painful memory: her brother’s death, long believed to be “the Hunter’s” first kill.