Download or read book A Long Way From Verona written by Jane Gardam and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2012-03-01 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal having had a violent experience at the age of nine' Jessica Vye's 'violent experience' colours her schooldays and her reaction to the world around her- a confining world of Order Marks, wartime restrictions, viyella dresses, nicely-restrained essays and dusty tea shops. For Jessica she has been told that she is 'beyond all possible doubt', a born writer. With her inability to conform, her absolute compulsion to tell the truth and her dedication to accurately noting her experiences, she knows this anyway. But what she doesn't know is that the experiences that sustain and enrich her burgeoning talent will one day lead to a new- and entirely unexpected- reality.

Download or read book The Guncle written by Steven Rowley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-06-01 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Lily and the Octopus comes a moving and deeply funny novel about a once-famous sitcom star who is left to care for his niece and nephew after an unexpected family tragedy. Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them … in small doses, with their parents there to handle the tears and tricky questions. So when tragedy strikes and Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian, he is, honestly, overwhelmed. Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to young children. But when he realises that parenting isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility and the realisation that, sometimes, being vulnerable is the only way to heal from grief. Tender, charming and laugh-out-loud funny, The Guncle is a testament to finding happiness and peace in the most trying of times. ‘Steven Rowley’s The Guncle is a gift. At once funny, charming and heartbreaking, it’s that rare novel that will have you laughing out loud, even through tears. I have yet to meet a person who did not love this book.’ Sally Hepworth, bestselling author of The Good Sister and The Younger Wife ‘A joyous Auntie Mame spritz! A reading pleasure; pour yourself a tall glass and enjoy, preferably poolside. You deserve it!’ Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Less

Download or read book Turning Thirty written by Mike Gayle and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2005-11-08 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What's the big deal? Unlike a lot of people, Matt Beckford is actually looking forward to turning thirty. His twenties really weren't so great...and now he has his love life, his career, his finances -- even his record collection -- pretty much in order, like any good grown-up should. But when, out of the blue, Elaine announces she "can't do this anymore," Matt is left with the prospect of facing the big three-oh alone. Compounding his misery is the fact that he has to move back in with his parents. What's it all about, Alfie? Mum and Dad immediately start driving Matt up the wall, and emails from Elaine and nights out with his old school chum Gershwin aren't enough to snap Matt out of his existential funk. So he decides to track down more old schoolmates and see how they're handling this thirty thing. One by one, he gets in touch with the rest of the magnificent seven -- Pete, Bev, Katrina, Elliot, and Ginny, his former on-off girlfriend -- and soon the old gang is back together. But they're a lot older and a lot has changed and, even if he and Ginny still seem attracted to each other, you can't have an on-off girlfriend when you're thirty. Can you?

Download or read book Songs of a Sourdough written by Robert William Service and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2022-10-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book Stanford written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Sleeping Arrangements written by Madeleine Wickham and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2008-07-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chloe needs a holiday. She's sick of making wedding dresses, her partner Philip has troubles at work, and the whole family wants a break. Her wealthy friend Gerard has offered the loan of his luxury villa in Spain--perfect. Hugh is not a happy man. His immaculate wife Amanda seems more interested in her new kitchen than in him, and he works so hard to pay for it, he barely has time for his children. Maybe he'll have a chance to bond with them on holiday. His old friend Gerard has lent them a luxury villa in Spain--perfect. Both families arrive at the villa and realize the awful truth--Gerard has double-booked. What no one else realizes is that Chloe and Hugh have a history; and as tensions rise within the two families, old passions resurface. It seems that Gerard's 'accidental' double booking may not be an accident after all...

Download or read book Ciao America written by Beppe Severgnini and published by Crown. This book was released on 2003-05-13 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wry but affectionate tradition of Bill Bryson, Ciao, America! is a delightful look at America through the eyes of a fiercely funny guest—one of Italy’s favorite authors who spent a year in Washington, D.C. When Beppe Severgnini and his wife rented a creaky house in Georgetown they were determined to see if they could adapt to a full four seasons in a country obsessed with ice cubes, air-conditioning, recliner chairs, and, of all things, after-dinner cappuccinos. From their first encounters with cryptic rental listings to their back-to-Europe yard sale twelve months later, Beppe explores this foreign land with the self-described patience of a mildly inappropriate beachcomber, holding up a mirror to America’s signature manners and mores. Succumbing to his surroundings day by day, he and his wife find themselves developing a taste for Klondike bars and Samuel Adams beer, and even that most peculiar of American institutions—the pancake house. The realtor who waves a perfect bye-bye, the overzealous mattress salesman who bounces from bed to bed, and the plumber named Marx who deals in illegally powerful showerheads are just a few of the better-than-fiction characters the Severgninis encounter while foraging for clues to the real America. A trip to the computer store proves just as revealing as D.C.’s Fourth of July celebration, as do boisterous waiters angling for tips and no-parking signs crammed with a dozen lines of fine print. By the end of his visit, Severgnini has come to grips with life in these United States—and written a charming, laugh-out-loud tribute.

Download or read book In Five Years written by Rebecca Serle and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Good Morning America, FabFitFun, and Marie Claire Book Club Pick “In Five Years is as clever as it is moving, the rare read-in-one-sitting novel you won’t forget.” —Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists ​Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day—a striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever. Where do you see yourself in five years? Dannie Kohan lives her life by the numbers. She is nothing like her lifelong best friend—the wild, whimsical, believes-in-fate Bella. Her meticulous planning seems to have paid off after she nails the most important job interview of her career and accepts her boyfriend’s marriage proposal in one fell swoop, falling asleep completely content. But when she awakens, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. Dannie spends one hour exactly five years in the future before she wakes again in her own home on the brink of midnight—but it is one hour she cannot shake. In Five Years is an unforgettable love story, but it is not the one you’re expecting.

Download or read book A Time of Gifts written by Patrick Leigh Fermor and published by New York Review of Books. This book was released on 2011-09-14 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This beloved account about an intrepid young Englishman on the first leg of his walk from London to Constantinople is simply one of the best works of travel literature ever written. At the age of eighteen, Patrick Leigh Fermor set off from the heart of London on an epic journey—to walk to Constantinople. A Time of Gifts is the rich account of his adventures as far as Hungary, after which Between the Woods and the Water continues the story to the Iron Gates that divide the Carpathian and Balkan mountains. Acclaimed for its sweep and intelligence, Leigh Fermor’s book explores a remarkable moment in time. Hitler has just come to power but war is still ahead, as he walks through a Europe soon to be forever changed—through the Lowlands to Mitteleuropa, to Teutonic and Slav heartlands, through the baroque remains of the Holy Roman Empire; up the Rhine, and down to the Danube. At once a memoir of coming-of-age, an account of a journey, and a dazzling exposition of the English language, A Time of Gifts is also a portrait of a continent already showing ominous signs of the holocaust to come.

Download or read book Talk Bookish to Me written by Kate Bromley and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A USA Today Best Book of 2021! "Bromley does a deft job at keeping the twists and turns of this reunion realistic and utterly romantic.” —USA Today Inspiration can come from the most unlikely—and inconvenient—sources. Kara Sullivan’s life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential bookstagrammer, she’s fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book. But right now? Not only is Kara’s best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn’t written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party. But Ryan’s unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver. With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there’s only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve. But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending? "A fun and sexy romp, with chemistry that gave me all the feels!" —Jennifer Probst, New York Times bestselling author of Our Italian Summer "Add this book to your TBR list immediately!" —Sarah Smith, author of Faker Don't miss Kate Bromley's new delightful rom-com, Here for the Drama, and stay tuned for Ciao for Now—coming June 2023!

Download or read book Here for the Drama written by Kate Bromley and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2022-06-21 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It wouldn’t be the theater without a few theatrics… Becoming a famous playwright is all Winnie ever dreamed about. For now, though, she'll have to settle for assisting the celebrated, sharp-witted feminist playwright Juliette Brassard. When an experimental theater company in London, England, decides to stage Juliette's most renowned play, The Lights of Trafalgar, Winnie and Juliette pack their bags and hop across the pond. But the trip goes sideways faster than you can say "tea and crumpets." Juliette stubbornly butts heads with the play's director and Winnie is left stage-managing their relationship. Meanwhile, Winnie's own work seems to have stalled, and though Juliette keeps promising to read it, she always has some vague reason why she can't. Then, Juliette's nephew, Liam, enters stage left. He's handsome, he's smart, he is devastatingly British…and his family ties to Juliette pose a serious problem, forcing Winnie to keep their burgeoning relationship on the down-low. What could go wrong? Balancing a production seemingly headed for disaster, a secret romance and the sweetest, most rambunctious rescue dog, will Winnie save the play, make her own dreams come true and find love along the way—or will the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune get the best of her? Don't miss Kate Bromley's next delightful rom-com, Ciao for Now—coming June 2023!

Download or read book An Illustrated Journey written by Danny Gregory and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-02-28 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collects excerpts from the personal travel journal sketchbooks of forty-three artists, illustrators, and designers.

Download or read book Girl Hero written by Carrie Jones and published by North Star Editions, Inc.. This book was released on 2011-09-08 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Liliana Faltin just wants some stability in her life. But her mother’s boyfriend has a thing for booze and touching. To deal, Lily writes letters to John Wayne. Yeah, he’s a dead movie cowboy, but whatever—at least the Duke knew how to be a hero. Now, Lily just needs to figure out how to be a hero herself.

Download or read book It Ain t So Awful Falafel written by Firoozeh Dumas and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-05-03 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block...for the fourth time. California’s Newport Beach is her family’s latest perch, and she’s determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name—Cindy. It’s the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages. Even puka shell necklaces, pool parties, and flying fish can't distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep way too close to home. A poignant yet lighthearted middle grade debut from the author of the bestselling Funny in Farsi. California Library Association’s John and Patricia Beatty Award Winner Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award (Grades 6–8) New York Historical Society’s New Americans Book Prize Winner Middle East Book Award for Youth Literature, Honorable Mention Booklist 50 Best Middle Grade Novels of the 21st Century

Download or read book A Friend of the Earth written by T. C. Boyle and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: _______________________ 'A comedy with teeth ... razor sharp and darkly funny' (TIMES) 'Boyle's prose is so good and his imagination so fertile that after a while you just sit back and are swept along' (TELEGRAPH) 'Surreal, daring and compassionate. Easily one of the best books of the year' (MAIL) 'Superb ... if Boyle was from this side of the pond, this is the book they'd all have to beat for the Booker Prize' (SUNDAY TIMES) It's 2025, and 75-year-old environmentalist and retired eco-terrorist Ty Tierwater is eking out a bleak living managing a pop star's private zoo. It is the last one in southern California, and vital for the cloning of its captive species. Once, Ty was so serious about environmental causes that as a radical activist committed to Earth Forever! he endangered the lives of both his daughter, Sierra, and his wife, Andrea. Now, when he's just trying to survive in a world cursed by storm and drought, Andrea re-enters his life. Frightening, funny, surreal and gripping, T.C. Boyle's story is both a modern morality tale, and a provocative vision of the future.

Download or read book The World Between Two Covers Reading the Globe written by Ann Morgan and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2015-05-04 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beguiling exploration of the joys of reading across boundaries, inspired by the author’s year-long journey through a book from every country. Ann Morgan writes in the opening of this delightful book, "I glanced up at my bookshelves, the proud record of more than twenty years of reading, and found a host of English and North American greats starting down at me…I had barely touched a work by a foreign language author in years…The awful truth dawned. I was a literary xenophobe." Prompted to read a book translated into English from each of the world's 195 UN-recognized countries (plus Taiwan and one extra), Ann sought out classics, folktales, current favorites and commercial triumphs, novels, short stories, memoirs, and countless mixtures of all these things. The world between two covers, the world to which Ann introduces us with affection and no small measure of wit, is a world rich in the kind of narratives that engage us passionately: we meet an irreverent junk food–obsessed heroine in Kuwait, an explorer from Togo who spent years among the Inuit in Greenland, and a former child circus performer of Roma background seeking sanctuary in Switzerland. Ann's quest explores issues that affect us all: personal, political, national, and global. What is cultural heritage? How do we define national identity? Is it possible to overcome censorship and propaganda? And, above all, why and how should we read from other cultures, languages, and traditions? Illuminating and inspiring, The World Between Two Covers welcomes us into the global community of stories.

Download or read book Vroom with a View written by Peter Moore and published by Random House. This book was released on 2005 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers will fall for a side of Italy rarely seen with the just-turned-forty Peter Moore rattling around the country on the back of an ageing Vespa scooter — like himself, a little rough around the edges, and a bit slow in the mornings perhaps, but basically still OK.