Kanzaki Shizuku is the son of a recently deceased, world-renowned wine critic, Kanzaki Yutaka, who owns a vast wine collection. In order to take ownership of his legacy, he must find 13 wines, known as 'The Twelve Apostles' and 'Les Gouttes de Dieu' that his father described in his will. He has a competitor by the name of Toomine Issei - an acclaimed young wine critic who just happens to be his father's adopted son. Shizuku has never drunk, nor had any previous knowledge of wine, but with strong senses he submerges himself in the world of wine to solve the mysteries of the 13 wines.
Wine novice Shizuku Kanzaki has defeated his rival, up-and-coming wine critic, Issei Tomine in their first of twelve wine hunting trials to find the Drops of God. By the slightest of margins, he was able to distinguish a variance in vintage to capture the First. Now Shizuku has to utilize all his abilities to take on a determined and humiliated Issei, as they both go forth in search of a particularly capricious Bordeaux. Yutaka Kanzaki laid down a very task with the First Apostle; this Second will be a statement to test the mettle of both contestants.
Out of a lifetime of familiarity with the great biblical narratives, Kilian McDonnell draws a portrait of the biblical God charged with vitality, at once prodigal in mercy and ruthless, thunderous, and painfully silent.In God Drops and Loses Things, his third collection, the poems are by turns edgy, affectionate, gentle, deeply moving, and always compassionate.
From the bestselling author of The Day of the Jackal, international master of intrigue Frederick Forsyth, comes a thriller that brilliantly blends fact with fiction for one of this summer’s—or any season’s—most explosive reads! From the behind-the-scenes decision-making of the Allies to the secret meetings of Saddam Hussein’s war cabinet, from the brave American fliers running their dangerous missions over Iraq to the heroic young spy planted deep in the heart of Baghdad, Forsyth’s incomparable storytelling skill keeps the suspense at a breakneck pace. Somewhere in Baghdad is the mysterious “Jericho,” the traitor who is willing—for a price—to reveal what is going on in the high councils of the Iraqi dictator. But Saddam’s ultimate weapon has been kept secret even from his most trusted advisers, and the nightmare scenario that haunts General Schwarzkopf and his colleagues is suddenly imminent, unless somehow, the spy can locate that weapon—The Fist of God—in time. Peopled with vivid characters, brilliantly displaying Forsyth’s incomparable, knowledge of intelligence operations and tradecraft, moving back and forth between Washington and London, Baghdad and Kuwait, desert vastnesses and city bazaars, this breathtaking novel is an utterly convincing story of what may actually have happened behind the headlines.
This beautiful new edition of Tomie dePaola’s 1978 classic retelling of a French legend stars a little juggler whose unique talent leads him to what might be a Christmas miracle. Little Giovanni is poor and homeless, but he can do something wonderful: he can juggle. The people of Sorrento marvel at his talents, and before long, he becomes famous throughout Italy for his rainbow of colored balls that delight the nobility and townspeople alike. But as the years pass, Giovanni grows old, and his talents begin to fail him. No longer a celebrated performer, he is once again poor and homeless, begging for his food. Until one Christmas Eve, when Giovanni picks up his rainbow of colored balls once more. And what happens next just might be a miracle…
From Sigrid Nunez, the National Book Award-winning author of The Friend, comes A Feather on the Breath of God: a mesmerizing story about the tangled nature of relationships between parents and children, between language and love A young woman looks back to the world of her immigrant parents: a Chinese-Panamanian father and a German mother. Growing up in a housing project in the 1950s and 1960s, she escapes into dreams inspired both by her parents' stories and by her own reading and, for a time, into the otherworldly life of ballet. A yearning, homesick mother, a silent and withdrawn father, the ballet--these are the elements that shape the young woman's imagination and her sexuality.
Nobody is immune to disappointment. Unfortunately, at some point all of us will face that horrific moment when the bottom completely drops out of out of our life, leaving us broken, devastated, and desperately searching for God’s grace. Pastor and theologian Robert Bugh has experienced unthinkable pain and disappointment firsthand, having lost both his wife and his best friend to cancer within a year and a half of each other. Though devastating, Bugh’s tragedy also brought him into a stronger, deeper relationship with God. When the Bottom Drops Out chronicles Rob’s journey from loss to restoration and shows readers how to find and hold tightly to Christ through even the most painful episodes of life. Bugh’s story is proof positive that while pain and disappointment are an unavoidable part of life, God is nonetheless faithful, holding us close at all times and in all circumstances.
The Garden of God is a sequel to novel The Blue Lagoon and it picks up precisely where it left off, with Arthur Lestrange in the ship Raratonga discovering his son Dicky and niece Emmeline with their own child, lying in their fishing boat which has drifted out to sea. It turns out that Dicky and Emmeline died and the child is drowsy but alive and is picked up by the sailors. Arthur has a dream-vision of the pair; they ask him to come to Palm Tree, the island where they lived, and promise he will see them again. Arthur takes the child, which gets the nickname Dick M, and takes his ship to Palm Tree, where he plans to stay with Dick M and Kearney, a volunteer from the crew who grows fond of Dick. The rest of the crew leave with a promise to return the next year, but they get swallowed up in a storm out at sea, and the trio stays stuck on the island
One last challenge stands between Shizuku Kanzaki and his father's fortune-to identify the wine his father called “The Drops of God” in his will. Problem is, he's up against Issei Tomine, a famous wine critic his father adopted shortly before his death. Alone and penniless following his journey around the world to gain knowledge and train his senses for the final showdown, Shizuku stumbles into a western-style izakaya to work for food and a place to stay. But when Shizuku uses his newfound smarts to save the struggling business, a competing chain launches an identical menu and enlists the help of a rising sommelier to go head-to-head with them. In order to stay on top and survive this brutal business, it all comes down to perfecting the food and wine pairings-the blissful mariage of flavors which delights the senses.
Shizuku has landed in France to help Chef Mikasa build the restaurant she's dreamed of since childhood. However, the first step to getting her restaurant is to impress the building's owner, Louis, who is notoriously elusive. As the two attempt to gain the man's trust, there are many potential menu items that need testing, tasting, and pairing. While these dishes require the perfect mariage, Shizuku is confronted with the reality that sometimes, perfect doesn't cut it.
