Marina is a gentle soul who makes a modest living in her corner shop in a tiny Greek village. Her husband died years ago, and her children have grown up. She is surrounded by people she grew up with and life is pleasantly predictable, if a little dull. But not even her daughters know that thirty five years ago Marina spent a lonely summer on an island, and the events that occurred have haunted her ever since. Now Marina's daughter is planning to move to the same island and the past and present threaten to collide with dreadful consequences. Black Butterflies follows Marina reluctantly revisiting the island and the emotions of the past. And she has a plan, of sorts... will she be in time to avert a possible tragedy? Sara Alexi's second book is packed with a troupe of colourful characters intertwining in a gripping story. By turn uproariously funny, touching or sad this book is the stuff of which all families are made. Hopes, fears, secrets and misunderstandings beset relationships. Discovery and acceptance bridge a divide. Views: 71
Come fly with me... Dr. Emily Morgan is giving up on love. She's been let down for the last time. She carries a secret that makes her wonder if she'll ever have a future, or a family. What Emily doesn't know is that Crocodile Creek's paramedic and helicopter pilot, her best friend Michael Poulos, has a secret of his own. He's been waiting for the right moment to tell Emily how he feels about her. Now the gorgeous Greek isn't going to wait any longer, and he won't let Emily's fears get in the way. Views: 71
A wise, passionate account of the pleasures of travelling soloIn our increasingly frantic daily lives, many people are genuinely fearful of the prospect of solitude, but time alone can be both rich and restorative, especially when travelling. Through on-the-ground reporting and recounting the experiences of artists, writers, and explorers who cherished solitude, Stephanie Rosenbloom considers how being alone as a traveller—or even in one's own city—is conducive to becoming acutely aware of the sensual details of the world—patterns, textures, colors, tastes, sounds—in ways that are impossible to do when you're in the company of others. Alone Time is divided into four parts, each set in a different city, in a different season, in a single year. The destinations—Paris, Istanbul, Florence, New York—are all pedestrian-friendly, which enables travelers to slow down and appreciate casual pleasures instead of hurtling through... Views: 71
This is a fascinating account of ancient culture colliding with modern media. Tucked between Tibet and India in the Himalayas, the kingdom of Bhutan is one of the most isolated and beautiful countries in the world. In The Dragon's Voice, Australian journalist Bunty Avieson provides a glimpse of life beyond the country's exotic exterior. As a consultant to local newspaper Bhutan Observer, she admires the paper's strong social conscience, but finds her expectations challenged in a country where spirituality and personal happiness are prioritized over work. Avieson also witnesses the tensions that arise as a Buddhist kingdom makes the transition to democracy. The courtship ritual of "night-hunting" and the nation's first public demonstration become controversial news items, while journalists must overcome traditional social hierarchies to keep politicians accountable. With a unique blend of memoir and reportage, The Dragon's Voice is both a deeply personal... Views: 71
You could describe D.H. Lawrence as the great multi-instrumentalist among the great writers of the twentieth century. He was a brilliant, endlessly controversial novelist who transformed, for better and for worse, the way we write about sex and emotions; he was a wonderful poet; he was an essayist of burning curiosity, expansive lyricism, odd humor, and radical intelligence, equaled, perhaps, only by Virginia Woolf. Here Geoff Dyer, one of the finest essayists of our day, draws on the whole range of Lawrence's published essays to reintroduce him to a new generation of readers for whom the essay has become an important genre. We get Lawrence the book reviewer, writing about Death in Venice and welcoming Ernest Hemingway; Lawrence the travel writer, in Mexico and New Mexico and Italy; Lawrence the memoirist, depicting his strange sometime-friend Maurice Magnus; Lawrence the restless inquirer into the possibilities of the novel, writing about the novel and morality and... Views: 70
Taking a risk with a redhead Dr. Hugo Patterson has his life just how he wants it—a rewarding job at a small but busy New Zealand hospital and an undemanding relationship. Until a flame-haired firebrand called Maggie bursts into his life...and turns it upside down.The sparky paramedic finds Hugo's reserved charm irresistible, and she's determined to help him loosen up, but there's no way the dedicated doctor could ever fall for someone like her. She has no idea what she's started... Views: 70
In this deliciously seductive account of an Italian neighborhood with a statue of the Virgin at one end of the street, a derelict bottle factory at the other, and a wealth of exotic flora and fauna in between, acclaimed novelist Tim Parks celebrates ten years of living with his wife, Rita, in Verona, Italy. Via Colombre, the main street in a village just outside Verona, offers an exemplary hodgepodge of all that is new and old in the bel paese, a point of collision between invading suburbia and diehard peasant tradition in a sometimes madcap, sometimes romantic always mixed-up world of creeping vines, stuccoed walls, shotguns, security cameras, hypochondria, and expensive sports cars.
Tim Parks is anything but a gentleman in Verona. With an Italian-born wife, an Italian made family, and a whole Italian condominium bubbling around him, he collects a gallery full of splendid characters who initiate us into all the foibles and delights of life in provincial Italy.
More than a travel book, Italian Neighbors is a sparkling, witty, beautifully observed tale of how the most curious people and places gradually assume the familiarity of home. Italian Neighbors is a rare work that manages to be both a portrait and an invitation for everyone who has ever dreamed about Italy.
** Views: 70
The Lost Middy - Being the Secret of the Smugglers\' Gap is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by George Manville Fenn is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of George Manville Fenn then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 70
When the team is sent back to the Oregon coast to investigate a haunted school, Perry wants to use the opportunity to reconnect with her family and reintroduce Dex into their lives. Only Perry’s not the only one who’s reaching out – her grandmother Pippa has started appearing to her with disturbing warnings and Perry’s presence at the school has ignited a chilling new wave of the supernatural Views: 70
Twelve-year-old Alistair Cleary has washed up on shore. But where? It seems to be Aquavania, the magical realm where children create entire worlds from their imagination. There's something wrong, though. The creators have disappeared and the worlds are falling apart. All Alistair wants is to find his friend Fiona Loomis and go home. Easier said than done. Animals made of starlight, a megalomaniacal boy king, and astronauts who peddle riddles are hard enough to outwit, but they're only the beginning. To find Fiona, Alistair must travel from world to world. He must confront the mistakes of his past. And he must face countless monsters, including the soul-stealing stalker that some people call the Riverman, the merciless but misunderstood servant of Aquavania who refers to himself as the Whisper. Views: 70
