'Hunched among the shoes, half hidden by my dresses, filthy and terrified, he looked like a cat that might be seriously ill. He was toast-rack thin, with all his ribs sticking out, even through his longish hair...' As Toby's story unfolds, so does Celia's. From her alcoholic exploits as a Fleet Street journalist during the 60s, to the death of her mother, Celia's bond with the feline world becomes stronger. Ronnie, a former war correspondent with an incredible career also finds himself succumbing to feline charms and comes to need Toby as much as Celia does. This is a story of courage, hope and love in the most trying of circumstances.
Cross Current combines historical facts with real life experiences to weave a tale of friendship, war, and family. Set on the northern coast of California, Cross Current centers around two 14-year-old friends, Brick Burton, who is white, and Toby Yamoto, who is Japanese-American. Early in world War II, the Japanese Empire attempted to bring the conflict closer to America, through probing subs, floating explosives, and later, incendiary balloons, which created fear and suspicion. Brick and Toby s relationship has to weather storms of turmoil and discrimination towards the native Japanese living in the community. The two boys witness the demise of a romance between Toby s sister, Rose, and their white neighbor, Mike Hamilton. When Mike joins the military, and asks Rose to marry him, they are condemned by the community, and their families are in an uproar. Toby and Rose s father, Shiro Yamoto, a successful rancher and prize-winning photographer, becomes a hate target, rumored as a possible spy. Rose breaks off her engagement to Mike and loses her job because of her race. Meanwhile, Brick s parents are on the verge of divorce and his family is beginning to dislike the Yamoto s in reaction to the spreading racism. Armed, Mr. Yamoto ultimately resists interment to a relocation camp. Cross Current highlights an important, relatively forgotten chapter of American history and gives the reader an accurate portrayal of friendship, biases, and racial strife in 1940 s wartime. "
From the New York Times bestselling author of A Legacy of Spies. "A novel that beckons us beyond any and all expectations."—Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post A counter-terrorist operation, code-named Wildlife, is being mounted on the British crown colony of Gibraltar. Its purpose: to capture and abduct a high-value jihadist arms buyer. Its authors: an ambitious Foreign Office Minister, a private defense contractor who is also his bosom friend, and a shady American CIA operative of the evangelical far-right. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister’s personal private secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it. Three years later, a disgraced Special Forces Soldier delivers a message from the dead. Was Operation Wildlife the success it was cracked up to be—or a human tragedy that was ruthlessly covered up? Summoned by Sir Christopher “Kit” Probyn, retired British diplomat, to his decaying Cornish manor house, and closely observed by Kit’s daughter, Emily, Toby must choose between his conscience and duty to his Service. If the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing, how can he keep silent?
Tilly has spent most of her adult life in an Oxfordshire shelter, unchosen, unwanted and practically feral. Seeking a distraction from her own troubles, the author and renowned pet columnist, Celia Haddon begins a project to transform Tilly into a household pet. Through Tilly's journey from unwanted and unadoptable cat to adored pet, Celia begins to explore her own inward journey and the way that cats had helped her through the difficulties of childhood and middle age, through to self knowledge. By loving Tilly she found she could love her inner self.
In this “heartrending, passionate, and surprisingly humorous account of the conjunction between art and death” (Andrew Solomon, New York Times bestselling author), acclaimed opera singer Charity Tillemann-Dick recounts her remarkable journey from struggling to draw a single breath to singing at the most prestigious venues in the world after receiving not one but two double lung transplants. Charity Tillemann-Dick was a vivacious young American soprano studying at the celebrated Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest when she received devastating news: her lungs were failing, her heart was three and a half sizes too big, and she would die within five years. Medical experts advised Charity to abandon her musical dreams, but if her time was running out, she wanted to spend it doing what she loved. In just three years, she endured two double lung transplants and had to slowly learn to breathe, walk, talk, eat, and sing again. With new lungs and fierce determination, she eventually fell in love, rebuilt her career, and reclaimed her life. More than a decade after her diagnosis, she has a chart-topping album, performs around the globe, and is a leading voice for organ donation. Weaving Charity’s extraordinary tale of triumph with those of opera’s greatest heroines, The Encore illuminates the indomitable human spirit and is “an uplifting story of overcoming significant odds to fulfill a dream” (Kirkus Reviews).
A picture of Mrs. Miniver in many moods shown thru a succession of episodes such as the return to London after the holidays, the new car, Christmas, the countryside, Scotland, gas masks, a trip to the dentist, and a journey abroad.
Book 1: Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther [ASIN: B09NZZKL6K] Step into the heartwarming world of Jan Struther's "Mrs. Miniver." Follow the delightful journey of an ordinary English family through the lens of Mrs. Miniver, capturing the essence of daily life and resilience during challenging times. Book 2: Not that It Matters by A. A. Milne [ASIN: B0CNLNJB87] Explore the wit and charm of A. A. Milne's "Not that It Matters." This collection of essays reflects on life's peculiarities and delights, inviting readers to find joy in the ordinary and appreciate the humor woven into everyday experiences. Book 3: On Growth and Form by D'arcy Wentworth Thompson [ASIN: B0CG6KB778] Embark on a scientific exploration with D'arcy Wentworth Thompson's "On Growth and Form." This influential work delves into the patterns and structures found in the natural world, offering profound insights into the interconnectedness of life and the beauty of biological forms.
"Delightful... elegant prose and discussions that span the history of 2,000 years of literature."—Publisher's Weekly A novel is a story transmitted from the novelist to the reader. It offers distraction, entertainment, and an opportunity to unwind or focus. But it can also be something more powerful—a way to learn about how to live. Read at the right moment in your life, a novel can—quite literally—change it. The Novel Cure is a reminder of that power. To create this apothecary, the authors have trawled two thousand years of literature for novels that effectively promote happiness, health, and sanity, written by brilliant minds who knew what it meant to be human and wrote their life lessons into their fiction. Structured like a reference book, readers simply look up their ailment, be it agoraphobia, boredom, or a midlife crisis, and are given a novel to read as the antidote. Bibliotherapy does not discriminate between pains of the body and pains of the head (or heart). Aware that you’ve been cowardly? Pick up To Kill a Mockingbird for an injection of courage. Experiencing a sudden, acute fear of death? Read One Hundred Years of Solitude for some perspective on the larger cycle of life. Nervous about throwing a dinner party? Ali Smith’s There but for The will convince you that yours could never go that wrong. Whatever your condition, the prescription is simple: a novel (or two), to be read at regular intervals and in nice long chunks until you finish. Some treatments will lead to a complete cure. Others will offer solace, showing that you’re not the first to experience these emotions. The Novel Cure is also peppered with useful lists and sidebars recommending the best novels to read when you’re stuck in traffic or can’t fall asleep, the most important novels to read during every decade of life, and many more. Brilliant in concept and deeply satisfying in execution, The Novel Cure belongs on everyone’s bookshelf and in every medicine cabinet. It will make even the most well-read fiction aficionado pick up a novel he’s never heard of, and see familiar ones with new eyes. Mostly, it will reaffirm literature’s ability to distract and transport, to resonate and reassure, to change the way we see the world and our place in it. "This appealing and helpful read is guaranteed to double the length of a to-read list and become a go-to reference for those unsure of their reading identities or who are overwhelmed by the sheer number of books in the world."—Library Journal
Cats are rarely as perplexed by human behavior as humans are by theirs. In this revealing little volume, cat lovers learn to read the feline mind--and get more than they bargained for.
