Showing results by narrator "Simon Jackson" in All Categories

Santas Around the World is my second book about Christmas, the first one being The History of Santa Claus. In The History of Santa Claus, I traced the evolution of the jolly man in red from Bishop Nicholas of Myra to his later incarnations in America and Europe: Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas, Samichlaus, Father Christmas, Grandfather Frost, Santa Claus, and many others. In this book, they come to life in a special way!

The History of Santa Claus is a book that you will want to listen to again and again before passing it on to your children so that they’ll know the true identity of Saint Nicholas and what he has really been up to for so many centuries. You and your family will learn how Santa Claus has been influenced by dozens of diverse cultural influences in as many countries while nevertheless being embraced as the kindly figure named Saint Nick.

Life is full of ups and downs. For the most part, people are resilient and move on after adversity. Unfortunately for many others, small diversions, deviations from our well-laid plans, or the ebbs and flows of normal life can throw us for a loop. How we respond to those disruptions is telling. Sure, it’s fine to blow off a little steam, but if your coping mechanisms lead you in the wrong direction and ramp up your stress levels, it may be time to try something new.

This trio of books will help you conquer whatever challenges your personal or professional life will throw at you. Isn’t it time that you took control of your own life and became the master of your own destiny? We all live hectic and chaotic lives, but learning how to control your emotions and turning them to your advantage is one skill you’ll never regret mastering.

Alternating between nineteenth-century Europe and present-day New England, this tale follows the great British painter J. M. W. Turner - and his scene of artists, intellectuals, and lovers - and Henry, a middle-aged family man whose otherwise mundane existence is disrupted by the discovery of The Center of the World, Turner’s controversial painting of Helen of Troy that had been thought lost forever.

Man has always wanted to travel into the unknown and encounter what he has not, and perhaps cannot, experience in the real world. The early 20th century witnessed an explosion of science fiction literature. Authors studied the wonders of scientific and technological progress and imagined worlds that had developed even greater advances. Jules Vernes' and H.G. Wells' fantastic tales well whetted the public's appetite for adventure tales.

Man has always wanted to travel into the unknown and encounter what he has not, and perhaps cannot, experience in the real world. The early 20th century witnessed an explosion of science fiction literature. Authors studied the wonders of scientific and technological progress and imagined worlds that had developed even greater advances. Jules Vernes' and H.G. Wells' fantastic tales well whetted the public's appetite for adventure tales.

When did baking become so deadly? It's Christmas time in the town of Endswell. Lillian Richardson and her big orange tabby cat, Mr. Kennedy Cuddlesworth, get more than a sweet slice of bliss after baking a cake from a recipe in a magazine. Never to back down or give ground to oozing nightmares, Lily and Mr. Kennedy Cuddlesworth take up the whisk and claw to defend their home and neighbors from a chocolatey demise.

Duke Vincentino, the ruler of Vienna, fears that under his mild sovereignty, the people may have become lazy and lax. He decides to “go over cover” in the disguise of a monk and appoint his deputy, Angelo, who is a reputed paragon of virtue, as temporary ruler. On assuming power, Angelo inaugurates draconian provisions regarding sexual propriety. One of the first victims of this new regime is young Claudio, who has impregnated his lover Juliet, and is accordingly sentenced to death.