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where has all the joy gone? This year, celebrating seems like too much effort. With their only child off in Peru, they decide that just this once, they'll skip the holidays.

They spend their Christmas budget on a Caribbean cruise set to sail on December 25, and happily settle in for a restful holiday season free of rooftop snowmen and festive parties. But the Kranks soon learn that their vacation from Christmas isn't much of a vacation at all, and that skipping the holidays has consequences they didn't bargain for.

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A modern Christmas classic, Skipping Christmas is a charming and hilarious look at the mayhem and madness that have become ingrained in our holiday tradition. John Grisham has contributed to Skipping Christmas / Christmas with the Kranks as an author.

John Grisham is the renowned author of numerous novels, and he is a former legislator originally from Mississippi (less)

Can the sisters, Dolores and Genevieve, finally break free from their mothers powerful personality? Can Larissa learn to embrace the endurance test that is the Office Christmas Party or will this years be a finger buffet too far? Can Alice open her home and her heart to the one visitor that she doesnt want this Christmas? And when mysterious Madame Lucia sets up shop with her crystal ball above a travel agents, will the staff be convinced that fate really can play a hand? Relax and unwind in front of a roaring fire and indulge yourself in these, and many other humorous and uplifting tales. Remember that Christmas comes but once a year, so let the magic reel you in; (less)

It includes everything from scrumptious Christmas cakes and puddings, to quick and easy homemade presents (biscuits, preserves and other standbys) and edible tree-decorations, recipes for feeding friends and family over the holiday season with minimum stress and maximum enjoyment (cook and freeze ahead or slow-cook in the oven), as well as Christmas party food and drinks (less)

A Successful pediatrician, she will try any scientific method available to conceive. Until the horrible secrets of an urban clinic erupt in a nightmare of staggering proportions.

Pediatrician Melissa Blumenthal will try any scientific method available to conceive -- until the horrible secrets of an urban clinic erupt in a nightmare of staggering proportions..

. About the Author : Robin Cook has contributed to Vital Signs as an author.

Robin Cook first entered Parliament as MP for Edinburgh Central in 1974. He held a number of senior positions in Opposition -- Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Shadow Health and Social Services Secretary -- before becoming Foreign Secretary in 1997.

In 2001 he was appointed Leader of the House of Commons, a position from which he resigned in March 2003 in protest against the imminent war in Iraq (less)

And suddenly, a dream stands before her: a magnificent Viking warrior sworn to satisfy Roseleen's every desire. Until forever.

Accursed for untold centuries, mighty Thorn is now enslaved to a woman. Yet it is Roseleen who is the true prisoner, held willing captive by a handsome barbarian who sweeps her back to the ancient past on a journey of sensual discovery.

But only by banishing him from her life forever can Roseleen free Thorn from immortality's chains - forcing her to make a devastating choice that will either imperil their future or preserve a love more powerful than time. About the Author : Johanna Lindsey has contributed to Until Forever as an author.

Johanna Lindsey is one of the most popular authors of romantic fiction, with over sixty million copies of her novels sold. World renowned for her novels of a oefirst-rate romancea (New York Daily News), Lindsey is the author of forty-three previous bestselling novels, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers.

Lindsey lives in Maine with her family (less)

.readers of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

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will find THE SILMARILLION a cosmology to call their own..

.medieval romances, fierce fairy tales and fiercer wars that ring with heraldic fury.

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it overwhelms the reader." TIME Those interested in J.

R.R.

Tolkien's Middle Earth should not be without this grand volume that tells the tragic tale of the struggle for control of the Silmarils, a struggle that would determine the history of the world long before the War of the Ring. About the Author : J R R Tolkien has contributed to The Silmarillion as an author.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was a major scholar of the English language, specializing in Old and Middle English. Twice Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at the University of Oxford, he also wrote a number of stories, including most famously "The Hobbit" (1937) and "The Lord of the Rings" (1954-1955), which are set in a pre-historic era in an invented version of the world which he called by the Middle English name of Middle-earth (less)

His body was found in the small basement of a lakeside cabin he had built himself and frequently used on weekends. When he did not show up for a trial on Monday morning, his law clerks panicked, called the FBI, and in due course the agents found the crime scene.

There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies - Judge Fogletree and his young secretary. I did not know Judge Fogletree, but I know who killed him, and why.

I am a lawyer, and I am in prison. It's a long story (less)

About the Author : Robin Cook has contributed to Seizure as an author. Robin Cook first entered Parliament as MP for Edinburgh Central in 1974.

He held a number of senior positions in Opposition -- Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Shadow Health and Social Services Secretary -- before becoming Foreign Secretary in 1997. In 2001 he was appointed Leader of the House of Commons, a position from which he resigned in March 2003 in protest against the imminent war in Iraq (less)

Resourceful, rebellious, and utterly naive, Nicholaa vowed to bend Royce to her will, despite the whirlwind of feelings he aroused in her. Ferocious in battle, seasoned in passion, Royce was surprised by the depth of his emotion whenever he caressed his charming bride.

In a climate of utmost treachery, where Saxons still intrigued against their Norman invaders, Royce and Nicholaa reveled in their precious new love..

.a fervent bond soon to be disrupted by the call of blood, kin, and country! About the Author : Julie Garwood has contributed to The Prize as an author.

Julie Garwood is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including Sizzle, Fire and Ice, Shadow Music, Shadow Dance, and Slow Burn. She lives near Kansas City (less)

About the Author : Robin Cook has contributed to Seizure as an author. Robin Cook first entered Parliament as MP for Edinburgh Central in 1974.

He held a number of senior positions in Opposition -- Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Shadow Health and Social Services Secretary -- before becoming Foreign Secretary in 1997. In 2001 he was appointed Leader of the House of Commons, a position from which he resigned in March 2003 in protest against the imminent war in Iraq (less)

And then my mouse hole caught on fire! Holey cheese, this was turning out to be the worst Christmas ever..

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About the Author : Geronimo Stilton has contributed to Merry Christmas, Geronimo! as an author. GERONIMO STILTON runs a newspaper, but his true passion is writing tales of adventure.

Here in New Mouse City, the capital of Mouse Island, his books are all bestsellers! His stories are full of fun--tastier than Swiss cheese and tangier than extra-sharp cheddar. They are whisker-licking-good stories, and that's a promise! (less)

His body was found in the small basement of a lakeside cabin he had built himself and frequently used on weekends. When he did not show up for a trial on Monday morning, his law clerks panicked, called the FBI, and in due course the agents found the crime scene.

There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies - Judge Fogletree and his young secretary. I did not know Judge Fogletree, but I know who killed him, and why.

I am a lawyer, and I am in prison. It's a long story (less)