New Book Releases...
Chasing Windmills by Catherine Ryan Hyde |
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Review:
It says a lot about someone when they don't get off the train at the end of the line - when they just sit there, with the doors open, until the train starts back the other way... Sebastian, at 17, has never eaten pizza, never been to school, never even hung out with other kids. He rides the subway at night to escape his father's strict, possessive parenting. Maria, 22 and mother to two young children, has just lost her job. Afraid to confess to her violent boyfriend, Maria resorts to riding the subway when he thinks she's at work. And then one night, on an empty train, Sebastian and Maria make eye contact. |
Adventure Travel |
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Review: By award-winning travel writer William Gray Published by AA Publishing on 31 st October 2008 Packed with all the essential information an adventure traveller needs - adventure hotspots, best times to visit, safety tips and equipment.. Instead of a villa in Ibiza, it's a hostel in the Himalayas . Instead of a Mediterranean cruise, it's white-water rafting in Costa Rica . Instead of a driving tour in France , it's trekking the Inca Trail. More and more these days, holidaymakers are trading in traditional package holidays for more unpredictable destinations and activities. Adventure travel is a booming business, with many people looking for more than just sun, sand and slumber. This essential guide offers practical holiday ideas for the modern, eco-conscious traveller, with ideas to suit all budgets and tastes. From husky sledding in Lapland to kayaking in New Zealand , never before have so many destinations and activities been available. You've got the adrenaline, but how are you going to use it? How do you begin to decide what to do? Will you need special training or equipment? Where are the best places to go? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in this excellent book by AA Publishing and written by William Gray, an award-winning travel writer, photographer and broadcaster with an extensive experience of adventure travel. About the author William Gray is an award-winning travel writer and TV presenter. For the BBC he has presented family travel pieces for the 2006 series of its flagship Holiday programme. William is also the family travel columnist for Wanderlust magazine and regularly contributes travel features to The Sunday Times as well as numerous other national and international publications. He is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers and winner of the AITO Travel Writer of the Year 2002 award. |
The Long Walk Home By Valerie Wood |
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Review:
Young Mikey Quinn, scavenging on the streets of Hull, is thrown into prison for stealing a rabbit from the butcher. His chief accuser, a well-to-do lawyer, has a daughter, Eleanor, whom he badly mistreats. When Mikey is released he finds that his mother has died and his brothers taken into the workhouse - determined to find a better life for his family, he walks all the way to London to seek his fortune. About the Author: Valerie Wood was born in Yorkshire and now lives in Beverley. She is the author of The Hungry Tide, winner of the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction, and eleven other novels, all available in Corgi paperback. |
Scarpetta by Pauline Cornwell |
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Review:
Leaving behind her forensic pathology practice in South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta takes up an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured patient in a psychiatric ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her, and when she literally has her gloved hands on him, he begins to talk ? and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard. He says his injuries were sustained in the course of a murder ...that he did not commit. Is Bane a criminally insane stalker who has fixed on Scarpetta? Or is his paranoid tale true, and it is he who is being spied on, followed and stalked by the actual killer? The only thing Scarpetta knows for certain is that a woman has been tortured and murdered ? and that more violent deaths will follow... |
Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars by Gervase Phinn |
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Review:
Following on from the terrific success of "A Wayne in a Manger", Gervase Phinn has collected together from his bestselling Dales books his favourite stories about children, and included some poems from his popular Puffin poetry books. In this humorously illustrated book, the stories have one thing in common - the wonderfully funny (and usually innocent) things that children say. Whether they are stories about children who cannot read very well but know the names of many breeds of sheep or children who are more privileged (coming to school in a Wolls-Woyce), they are simply delightful. This heart-warming book will not only enchant you, it will make you look at life through a child's eyes - and that's quite a special thing.
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Fern: My Story by Fern Britton |
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Review:
For years now, Fern Britton has been widely loved as the presenter of "Ready Steady Cook", and, more recently, co-presenter of "This Morning with Philip Schofield". Never one to shy away from a good laugh or cry on national TV, she has none-the-less never talked about herself to the public, preferring to keep her private life private. Her warmth and humour, empathy and compassion, have made her feel like a best friend to millions on a daily basis, but no one knows the woman behind the sparkling smile. Life as a child was not always easy, and she faced private and public challenges with her personal life, appearance and her career as she climbed the ladder to fame.
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Brute Force by Andy McNab |
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Review:
Days after his car erupts in a ball of flame, Nick Stone narrowly cheats death a second time when a gunman opens fire on him from the back of a motorcycle. Who knows his movements? Who wants him dead, and why? Stone's only chance of survival is to carry the fight to his attackers - but first he must uncover a trail of clues that leads from his own dark and complex past into the heart of a chilling conspiracy that threatens us all... |
Driven by James Martin |
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Review:
There's more to chef James Martin than three-egg omelettes. For the first time, James talks frankly about life, love and learning to foxtrot for live TV. He reveals how a hunger for success and a thirst for speed have turned him from humble Yorkshire lad into a British cooking sensation. Highly ambitious and relentlessly motivated, James Martin has worked extraordinarily hard to become one of Britain's most successful TV chefs. It hasn't all been a smooth ride and here James tells his remarkable story, looking back to his working class childhood in Yorkshire, relating the highs and lows of a career in the kitchen and revealing some of the astonishing events that have come with fame and fortune. James enjoys the open road almost as much as the kitchen and his tales of family, food and fame are woven around the cars that have provided the pivotal moments in his life - from teenage fumblings in the back seat and buying his first Ferrari to hurtling round a track with James Bond actor, Daniel Craig, and taking part in the world's most prestigious vintage road race.
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The Optimist's Handbook / The Pessimist's Handbook
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Review:
Is your glass half empty or half full...? Are optimists just reckless dreamers? Are pessimists miserable doom-mongers or just erring on the side of caution? Is the glass half empty or half full? Brilliantly compiled and beautifully written, this is a rich anthology of evidence from both sides of any argument. Covering everything from Africa to Beauty, Happiness to Patriotism, it is the perfect tool for squabbling families, a counterbalance for arguing couples and a mine of detail for the quarrelsome. A snapshot of the topics covered in the book: The Environment Reasons to be cheerful about Global Warming include an increase in tourism and leisure pursuits, a shift to outdoor healthy lifestyles and reduced demand for winter heating - all leading to reduced emissions. Is Global Warming such a bad thing? Should we be made to feel so guilty? Marriage With divorce rates in the UK hittting an all time high and marriage rates at an all time low what is the modern view on marriage? Married men live longer and are healthier than single men yet single women live longer healthier lives than married woman. Is romance finally dead in favour of female health and mental well-being? Countryside The three year survival rate of business enterprises in rural areas was 76% in 2002, 6 per cent higher than urban areas. Are business enterprises seeking cheaper rates and overheads at the expense of already established agricultural businesses?
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The Comic Strip History of the World by Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner |
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Review:
From the Big Bang, to the present day, via Ancient China, The Roman Empire, Attila the Hun, The Dark Ages, Enlightenment, Revolution! etc. The entire history of the world has been packed into one hilarious, irreverent comic strip. From Goths and Visigoths, to Newton and Copernicus, all the significant facts and titillating trivias of the world's most important periods, starting with the Big Bang, have been condensed for your entertainment and of course, education. Written by Tracey Turner ("101 Things") and illustrated by celebrated cartoonist Sally Kindberg, this is the ultimate book for absolutely everyone. |
