Showing results by narrator "Erik Bloomquist" in All Categories

Sometimes, beauty covers a whole lot of ugly. That was one of the many valuable lessons I learned the summer I lived in Creswell Springs with the Angel's Halo MC. They taught me about responsibility and respect—not just for others, but, more importantly, for myself. I liked to think I came home a better person. Someone who wasn't just pretty on the outside anymore. And then I met Zak. Golden eyes. Chiseled jaw. That deep, gravelly voice mixed with a slight Russian accent that did something to me no man ever had before.

Time is the ultimate scarce resource and thus quintessentially a topic for economics, which studies scarcity. Starting with the observation that time is increasingly valuable given competing demands as we have more things we can buy and do, Spending Time provides engaging insights into how people use their time and what determines their decisions about spending their time.

Everyone loves Willow Lancaster, and every girl wants to be her. She's the perfect student. Stylish, kind to all, and always flashing that beautiful smile. After spending her junior year studying in Europe, she returns to Lancaster Prep, eager to kick off being a senior with her friends and maybe even start something up with her old crush? But everything has changed. Her supposed best friend is dating her crush, new cliques have formed, and everyone is obsessed with the new guy on campus.

We belonged to each other. Now and always. He slid that promise ring on my finger and made me his for the first time. But we had to keep it a secret from our fathers. Because mine would murder him, and his would help bury the body if they found out. Now, we don't have to keep the secret any longer. We just have to tell the dads . . . Unfortunately, that isn't our only obstacle.

Marius Winter doesn't walk the road of the shaman-warrior alone. He has powerful allies in the Other Realms and in ordinary reality. His spirit guides are a Lakota war-chief and medicine man, First in Front; Tigre, a powerful feminine spirit who appears as a white tiger; and Burt, a spirit raven who channels an old Jewish bookie from the Bronx. Now, Marius is targeted by a powerful sorcerer. In the battle for the souls of his friends and lover, he must storm the gates of the underworld and fight through the Seven Demi-Demons of Hell to the deepest dungeons to confront Belial himself.

Written by Wall Street Journal best-selling author S. J. Scott, Happier Human provides a detailed examination of the strategies and ideas that actually make people happy. Each idea is supported by a wealth of research into why it works. Plus, it also includes a simple action plan for turning these ideas into permanent habits that people can incorporate into their busy lives.

If high school has taught mathlete Jade Aaron anything, it's that nerds never get the guy. So when rock star Lennon Pryor starts pursuing her, it's not rocket science. This doesn't add up. I mean, sure, he's hot. And charming. And a god on the guitar. But he's also the world's biggest player. Being with him would be a bigger mistake than 2+2=5. Until graduation night, when a reckless moment leads to a reckless kiss. And now Jade's falling for the one guy destined to break her heart.

Jack Sullivan is a man of few words. His cold emotionless countenance shields any glimpse of the human being within. If he didn't hire me to help his daughter, I'd suspect the man sold his soul for success. He's classically handsome. Confident. Scratch that. He's one cocky mo-fo. Admittedly, I don't have the best track record at picking decent guys, but I'm pretty positive this brooding billionaire with a massive ego is one flashing red warning light.

Casey doesn't have much luck in the dating department, so when her girlfriends ditch their girls only weekend for a couple's retreat, she's forced to take desperate measures. Refusing to be the only single one, she does what any quick-thinking girl would do: She lies. It was almost too easy hiring a stranger to pretend to be her hot, rich, successful boyfriend. What she didn't plan on was him being hot, successful, and way too much trouble for her liking.

Thirteen-year-old Benjamin is pulled from his old life and forced to attend a special boarding school in the middle of nowhere. That's confusing enough. Then, he's fed instructions through an earbud and thrown into etiquette classes alongside an angry, spike-covered creature. Despite wearing purple dresses and having the unassuming name of Eve, the creature is horrifying and, as Eve quickly demonstrates, dangerous. With the help of his new friends Lorena and Persephone, Ben must overcome his own anxieties and uncover the truth about Eve's origin.

In 2010—long before the release of Lemonade—Professor Kevin Allred created the university course "Politicizing Beyonce" to both wide acclaim and controversy. He outlines his pedagogical philosophy in Ain't I a Diva?, exploring the process of teaching Beyonce and what it means to use a superstar to blow up the canon. Allred brings his syllabus to life by pairing music videos and songs with historical and academic texts, and combines analysis with classroom anecdotes.

In The Great Lockdown: Lessons Learned During the Pandemic from Organizations Around the Globe, expert strategists Shivaji Das, Aroop Zutshi, and Janesh Janardhanan deliver an insightful exploration of this once-in-a-lifetime event to unearth invaluable learnings for the future. Told through the experiences of CXOs at billion-dollar companies, star start-ups, and nonprofits from around the world, the book chronicles the ups and downs of sophisticated organizations as they navigated the COVID-19 crisis through initiatives impacting people, processes, and technology.

Drawing on years of investigative reporting, Wyatt Williams offers a powerful look at why we kill and eat animals. In order to understand why we eat meat, the restaurant critic and journalist investigated factory farms, learned to hunt game, worked on a slaughterhouse kill floor, and partook in Indigenous traditions of whale eating in Alaska. In Springer Mountain, he tells about his experiences while charting the history of meat eating and vegetarianism.

Tori Ballard chose to become a wolf. The problem: her wolf is impulsive and free-spirited. She relies on instincts and not much else. Tori prefers structure, schedules, and knowing things well in advance. Until she decides to give in to the sexy southern guy fate seems to be forcing her way. Holt Taylor had a solid plan for his life until it evaporated when he was attacked and bitten. Now he's part wolf and enrolled at the academy. There are only a few things that can put him back on solid ground - fight club, cardio, and Tori. Even if she doesn't know it yet.

It didn't take me long to realize I'd made a mistake trying to regain my lost youth or something like that. I was headed right out the door when I saw her. The woman who will change my life forever. She bowled me over, and I got so caught up in making love to her, I forgot to get her name. When I wake up the next morning, ready to make her mine, I find my little tigress has disappeared.

After a chance meeting aboard the ocean liner Paris in 1924, Harvard University scholar and activist F. O. Matthiessen and artist Russell Cheney fell in love and remained inseparable until Cheney's death in 1945. During the intervening years, the men traveled throughout Europe and the United States, achieving great professional success while contending with serious personal challenges, including addiction, chronic disease, and severe depression.