Use your Facebook login and see what your friends are reading and sharing.
Jay Hartman's Documents
The Girl in the Portrait
Peggy Maynard goes down to the basement one morning to find her husband working on the painting of a young woman. He covers the painting as if to conceal it from her. Then, one day, both Will and the painting disappear from her home and from her life. This initiates a long journey of self-searching, while Peggy wonders why she didn’t see warning signs in her marriage, why she didn’t leave him before. One day, Detective Byers, who’s on the case, tracks down a doctor who attended a former student of Will’s – Irma Vasquez. Eighteen years prior, she had a baby, and it appears the father is Will. Peggy's search for her missing husband leads her to Queretaro, Mexico, where a startling discovery forces her to decide what her relationship with Will was truly made of, or if they ever really had one. A short story.
Category:ThrillersReads:11Uploaded:05 / 25 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionEvery Good-Bye Ain't Gone
With the passionate lyricism of a Maya Angelou and the sharply edged wit of a young Lillian Hellman, award-winning journalist Itabari Njeri creates a kaleidoscopic portrait of the extraordinary family in which she grew up., Njeri’s memoir is improbable, complex, grandly dramatic; from her grandmother Ruby, a West Indian matriarch with a devastating tongue and a reverence for Marcus Garvey and Queen Elizabeth, to her father, a brilliant Marxist historian, to her own travels to Georgia to track down the man who killed her grandfather, Every Good-bye Ain’t Gone is a passionate account of a woman finding herself in a world filled with obstacles, from racism to a surfeit of unreliable men.
Category:BiographyReads:24Uploaded:05 / 23 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionBattles and Backache
Sally is having a bad day. Her car has developed an ominous rattle, her husband Dave is in one of his “I told you so moods,” and Sally is suffering from an excruciating bout of sciatica. To make matters worse, the annual Father’s Day barbecue is looming and Sally knows that Dave’s promise of “don’t worry dear, I will do all the work,” will involve him donning his “I’m the King of the Barbecue” apron and standing in front of the outside appliance for an hour or two; performing a few tricks with some cooking tongs, looking for all the world as if he was a finalist on Master Chef. After days of agony and very little sympathy, Sally finds help from an unexpected ally, and discovers that the challenges that come our way are often gentle nudges to move us forward into the next phase of life.
Category:Books - FictionReads:17Uploaded:05 / 23 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionElope
Elope isn't just about two young people who run away; it's about the gap between getting on in the world and getting out of it. It's about two dreamers making an escape, but it's also about the people they leave behind. A short story of love and loss.
Category:Books - FictionReads:16Uploaded:05 / 23 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionMan's Best Friend
I wanted out. I thought leaving would change things. After all, I had nothing to live for. So I figured, “What the hell?” And I left. My trusted dog, George—my only real friend—came with me. It should’ve been a nice break. It should’ve been relaxing—alone in a desolate western town with the one dog I loved more than anything else. It shouldn’t have ended the way it did. A short work of horror.
Category:ThrillersReads:10Uploaded:05 / 23 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionI'm Getting Married
Hedy is recovering from her devastating breakup with Robert. She likes her new job and the people she works with. Then, Robert calls to say he's getting married and wants to see her before he ties the knot. Flummoxed by the announcement, she refuses and tells Robert she's getting married, too. Robert's not one to be put off, and insists that he come to see her. Hedy's boss, Allen, offers to pretend to be her fiancée to get Robert to go away. The situation gets even more complicated after Allen kisses her and Hedy accepts a date with Robert. Finally realizing what's best for her, Hedy decides to firmly take her future in her hands. A short story.
Category:RomanceReads:34Uploaded:05 / 23 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionThe Knackerman
Benny the knackerman collects dead animals from farms and delivers them to be processed. He's old and feels useless, but carries on with his unusual job because he knows more about it than anyone. Cattle are usually dead of disease or injury, but not on Andriss Scott's farm. Upon arrival at Scott's home, standing next to mutilated cattle, Benny finds a little girl, Corina, who tells him there were dancing lights in the sky and the poor cows had been "taken." Confused, Benny speaks to the farmer, Andriss, and is put at ease by swapping military service stories and the farmer's calm demeanor. A short story.
Category:Science Fiction & FantasyReads:21Uploaded:05 / 23 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionThe Best Laid Plans
"Sex, drugs, and murder--thank heavens we don't have to worry about that in Riverport." But Aunt Henrietta's claims prove to be premature. Jessie Schroeder, fleeing from St. Louis after a devastating divorce, has returned to live in her hometown of Riverport, a small community on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. Her struggles to adjust to small town life and re-ignite her career as a successful author of children's books become secondary as she is thrust into the middle of a gruesome murder case. Her involvement intensifies when her gardener and handyman, Willy Bachmann, is accused to the crime, and Jessie finds herself alone in defending him. Even Sheriff Gil Keller is convinced Willy is guilty. This is particularly galling to Jessie, because she and Gil are two-stepping their way around a fledging relationship. When Willy is found dead, presumably the victim of a flash flood, the Sheriff announces "case closed." Jessie still refuses to believe Willy is a murderer and begins her own investigation. She soon irritates many townspeople, especially the Mayor and members of the powerful Industrial Development Authority (IDA), with her efforts to uncover evidence about the real killer. Starting with a single critical piece of evidence, Jessie uncovers a maze of political malfeasance, including a major scam involving the construction of a highway, which places her life in jeopardy. In her quest for truth, Jessie rediscovers her capacity to live and love again.
Category:ThrillersReads:86Uploaded:05 / 19 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionLeah's Journey
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award of 1979, this classic novel of love and war is now available in ebook format for the first time! Violence shattered her golden world, and Leah's journey began... It swept her from the burning villages of old Russia to the tenements of New York, from the glittering showrooms of Paris to the settlements of war-torn Israel. It brought her marriage to a man who yearned for her sweet, denied love - and passion for a man who yearned only for danger. It gave her a son born of shame, and a daughter born to destiny. It tested her love in the shadow of the Depression and the hell of the Nazi fury... And then Leah's journey brought her home.
Category:Books - FictionReads:34Uploaded:05 / 19 / 2012ShareAdd to collectionThe Third Silence
What starts as a typical day for self-described arts nerd Brad Litwack is soon altered by a woman who stops a car in the middle of traffic and begins to paint poetry all over it. Brad is immediately intrigued, particularly by the phrase "Dario Fuentes," something his police officer father seems particularly outraged about when he arrives on the scene to take the woman to jail. Although his father insists Brad keep his nose out of the situation, Brad can't help but do some research to find out what message the woman was trying to convey. What Brad uncovers is a dark family secret, every bit as intriguing as the poetry-covered car itself. A short story.
Category:Books - FictionReads:32Uploaded:05 / 18 / 2012ShareAdd to collection
