Holiday World

You think you know about Christmas celebrations? Get ready to discover the truth behind it all! You just need an audiobook that reveals how almost every "timeless" tradition is a product of invention, pagan rituals, and brilliant marketing.

Included: The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry) The Fir Tree (Hans Christian Andersen) The Little Match Girl (Hans Christian Andersen) The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Hans Christian Andersen) The Holy Night (Selma Lagerlöf) Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe (Elizabeth Harrison) A Letter from Santa Claus (Mark Twain) Mary Returns The Doll The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter) Toinette and the Elves (Susan Coolidge) The Mistletoe Bough (Anthony Trollope) Not if I Know It (Anthony Trollope) The Two Generals (Anthony Trollope) Christmas Every Day (William Dean Howells) and more

Ever since he can remember, Dom Joly has been fascinated by travel to odd places. In part this stems from a childhood spent in war-torn Lebanon, where instead of swapping marbles in the schoolyard, he had a shrapnel collection - the schoolboy currency of Beirut. Dom's upbringing was interspersed with terrifying days and nights spent hunkered in the family basement under Syrian rocket attack or coming across a pile of severed heads from a sectarian execution in the pine forests near his home.

Holidays in Hell follows P. J. O’Rourke on a global fun-finding mission to the most desperate places on the planet, from the bombed-out streets of Beirut to the stultifying blandness of Heritage USA. P.J.’s unforgettable adventures abroad include storming student protesters’ barricades in South Korea, interviewing Communist insurrectionists in the Philippines, and going undercover in Arab garb at Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock Mosque. Packed with P.J.’s classic riffs on everything from Polish nightlife under communism to Third World driving tips....

Amid the sun-soaked hills of southern Italy lies the Romano family olive grove, where Lara lives with her daughter Rose and her granddaughter Bea. Lara has spent a lifetime trying to forget the traumatic events that led to her desperate escape from Dorset seventy years ago. But when she sees Bea—a passionate horticulturalist most at home in nature—being swept off her feet by Matteo, a handsome and charismatic restaurateur, Lara fears her granddaughter is in danger of making the same mistake as Lara did all those years ago.

Get ready to celebrate! People around the world look forward to different holidays and honor them with special traditions. Learn about the many types of holidays and how they're celebrated in this engaging series that develops kids' understanding of our diverse global community and their place in it.

Were you ever curious about holiday traditions in Peru?Would you like to hear about how they celebrate Christmas in Germany?Then, this audiobook is for you! You will get to hear all about Christmas traditions, food, games, and celebrations! In Amazing Christmas Traditions from Around the World, you’ll hear over 100 cool and amazing traditions, more than 100 different foods, amazing games, and fun that kids have all around the world, and more.

When Laurel West discovers her estranged sister Abby has checked herself into rehab and wants her to take care of her 14-year-old son, she doesn’t hesitate to step in. Abby was there for Laurel a long time ago, and she longs to be able to offer the same. However, as a single woman who still dreams of the fairy tale, Laurel isn’t prepared for teenaged Zac’s sullen moods or silent rage. When he’s expelled from school, she decides to take drastic measures and temporarily relocate them to her great aunt’s cottage on the windswept hills of the Orkney islands north of Scotland?

Happy birthday! Let's celebrate! All around the world people are turning another year older. What are some ways birthdays are celebrated in Asia? Or in South America? Discover the ways people celebrate birthdays in this engaging series that develops kids' understanding of our diverse global community and their place in it.

Close your eyes and imagine the world is your oyster... And now imagine never seeing it. Welcome to Harriet Langton's world. All her life she's dreamt of travelling the globe – fate always got in the way. Working as a travel agent, the closest Harri comes to her dream destination of Venice is booking the trip for someone else. But everything changes when travel fanatic Alex drops in. With her boyfriend Rob tied up with work, Harri is persuaded to help Alex in his quest for love. But in her attempts to help, Harri soon discovers that she's alienating those around her.

It’s Robin’s eighth birthday and it seems like everyone has forgotten. But things take a sudden turn when the Cat-Headed Wanderer shows up and sweeps Robin away to a magical party in a fantastical treehouse. It’s a joyful celebration full of song, dance, and newfound friends, but Robin soon realizes there’s another reason they’ve been brought there. To uncover that reason, all Robin needs to do is walk through the half-open door in the back—but what lies beyond.

This book contains the other sections of World Mythology Lite that didn't make it into the first book. There are descriptions of ancient deities and heroes in this book.

The downfall of Bo Xilai in China was more than a darkly thrilling mystery. It revealed a cataclysmic internal power struggle between Communist Party factions, one that reached all the way to China’s new president Xi Jinping. The scandalous story of the corruption of the Bo Xilai family - the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood; Bo’s secret lovers; the secret maneuverings of Bo’s supporters; the hasty trial and sentencing of Gu Kailai, Bo’s wife - was just the first rumble of a seismic power struggle that continues to rock the very foundation of China’s all-powerful Communist Party.

Since the tragic loss of her parents, Enid has lived alone in a coastal cottage in Jersey. But this year someone new has come into her life: Fred, who truly gets her, and who knows how to make her happy. The only problem is that Enid has Asperger’s and doesn’t like to leave her comfort zone - and Fred lives in Australia. Like Enid, Fred has survived heartbreak and is searching for a way to start again. Could a stranger on the other side of the world really bring new meaning to his life, or is he just setting himself up for another fall?

Five years ago, Olivia Baker was snowed in and stranded in a small town, unable to make it back to the city for Christmas. Five days later, she broke up with her corporate boyfriend in Seattle and made the rash decision to stay in the small town, promising to save the local paper and fall in love with the rugged country boy who knew how to sling an ax and make her weak in the knees.

The book is a complete package defining love, friendship, betrayal and hatred that exists between the main characters of the story, Dhurv and Aranya. The story revolves around them. Both hate each other and could cross any limit to hurt each other, but still they cannot stay away from each other...

Acorn Elf’s problems are only just beginning when he decides to be naughty and sneak a ride in Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. Before the night is over, he will make friends with a fairy, a troll, a kooky big bird and even earn Santa’s respect! Ride along on the wildest Christmas Eve ever as told by one of the oldest storytellers alive. A madcap adventure adored by children, parents and teachers. The beginning of a fantastic anthology that will keep your child listening and asking for more.

Christmas Traditions in the Spanish-Speaking World is a warm, beautifully written guide to how Hispanic communities celebrate the season across Latin America and Spain. It blends history, food, music, and faith with the small, familiar details that make December feel like casa. Plus, the research behind this collection also highlights traditions from many other Spanish-speaking countries, revealing the beautiful diversity of how Christmas is celebrated across the Hispanic world.

The Duanwu Festival is just around the corner, and Mulan's favorite part is the Dragon Boat Race. Listen along as Mulan's village enters the race for the first time!

On Christmas Day 1914, amid the bloodily stalemated trenches of Flanders just five months into World War I, a memorable event dubbed the Christmas Truce occurred. In place of the rattle of gunfire and the crash of bursting artillery shells, familiar German and English Christmas carols floated through the frosty air. Officers and men on both sides emerged from their trenches to mingle, exchange Yuletide greetings, give one another small gifts and mementos, and discuss the fighting as language allowed.