Josette's bookshelf: all

Josette's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 24 Apr 2025 21:33:19 -0700 60 Josette's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg A Wild Herb Soup 1652927 271 Emilie Carles 0575400536 Josette 5 3.95 1977

author: Emilie Carles
name: Josette
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1977
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Sophie From Romania: A Year of Love and Hope with a Rescue Dog]]> 220208483 304 Rory Cellan-Jones 1529918588 Josette 4 4.52

Sophie From Romania: A Year of Love and Hope with a Rescue Dog

author: Rory Cellan-Jones
name: Josette
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/09
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]]> <![CDATA[Ibn Fadlān and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North]]> 11038268
Between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, Arab travellers such as Ibn Fadlan journeyed widely and frequently into the far north, crossing territories that now include Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Their fascinating accounts describe how the numerous tribes and peoples they encountered traded furs, paid tribute and waged wars. This accessible new translation offers an illuminating insight into the world of the Arab geographers, and the medieval lands of the far north.]]> 239 Ahmad ibn Fadlān 0140455078 Josette 4 3.94 921 Ibn Fadlān and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North

Ibn Fadlān and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North

author: Ahmad ibn Fadlān
name: Josette
average rating: 3.94
book published: 921
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
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Very interesting content but difficult to navigate through it.
]]> <![CDATA[Worth Dying For (Jack Reacher #15)]]> 9460413 61 Hours, when he runs afoul of a local family with a stranglehold over the county and skeletons in their closet. An unsolved murder in the area from a quarter-of-a-century before draws Reacher in to the business of everyone in the area.]]> 511 Lee Child 0553825488 Josette 0 4.13 2010 Worth Dying For (Jack Reacher #15)

author: Lee Child
name: Josette
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2018/06/24
date added: 2025/03/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Eight Feet in the Andes: Travels with a Mule from Ecuador to Cuzco]]> 1356565 302 Dervla Murphy 0006547974 Josette 0 3.99 1983

Eight Feet in the Andes: Travels with a Mule from Ecuador to Cuzco

author: Dervla Murphy
name: Josette
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
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]]> The Mandarins 19528 The Mandarins is the emotional odyssey of a woman torn between her inner desire and her public life.

The Mandarins won France's highest literary prize, the Prix Goncourt.]]> 752 Simone de Beauvoir 0007203942 Josette 5 4.18 1954

author: Simone de Beauvoir
name: Josette
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
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]]> Walking the Himalayas 27161842 Following his trek along the length of the Nile River, explorer Levison Wood takes on his greatest challenge yet—navigating the treacherous foothills of the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range.

Praised by Bear Grylls, Levison Wood has been called "the toughest man on TV" (The Times UK). Now, following in the footsteps of the great explorers, Levison recounts the beauty and danger he found along the Silk Road route of Afghanistan, the Line of Control between Pakistan and India, the disputed territories of Kashmir and the earth-quake ravaged lands of Nepal. Over the course of six months, Wood and his trusted guides trek 1,700 gruelling miles across the roof of the world.

Packed with action and emotion, Walking the Himalayas is the story of one intrepid man's travels in a world poised on the edge of tremendous change.]]> 293 Levison Wood 031635242X Josette 4 4.08 2016

author: Levison Wood
name: Josette
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/14
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]]> Jonathan Livingston Seagull 71728
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. He believes it is every gull's right to fly, to reach the ultimate freedom of challenge and discovery, finding his greatest reward in teaching younger gulls the joy of flight and the power of dreams. The special 20th anniversary release of this spiritual classic!]]> 112 Richard Bach 0743278909 Josette 5 3.87 1970 Jonathan Livingston Seagull

author: Richard Bach
name: Josette
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1970
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/03
date added: 2025/02/05
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]]> The Snow Geese 925488 250 William Fiennes 0330375792 Josette 3 3.57 2001

author: William Fiennes
name: Josette
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/11
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]]> <![CDATA[A Year in Provence (Provence, #1)]]> 40189 A Year in Provence transports us into all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life and lets us live vicariously at a tempo governed by seasons, not by days.]]> 224 Peter Mayle 0679731148 Josette 5 3.99 1989 A Year in Provence (Provence, #1)

author: Peter Mayle
name: Josette
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves:
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]]> The Three Sisters 143513 The Three Sisters probes the lives and dreams of Olga, Masha, and Irina, former Muscovites now living in a provincial town from which they long to escape. Their hopes for a life more suited to their cultivated tastes and sensibilities provide a touching counterpoint to the relentless flow of compromising events in the real world.
In this powerful play, a landmark of modern drama, Chekhov masterfully interweaves character and theme in subtle ways that make the work's finale seem as inevitable as it is deeply moving. It is reprinted here from a standard text with updated transliteration of character names and additional explanatory footnotes.]]> 81 Anton Chekhov Josette 4 3.78 1900 The Three Sisters

author: Anton Chekhov
name: Josette
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1900
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/07
date added: 2024/11/07
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]]> The Last Otter 3243746 192 A.R. Lloyd 0099356201 Josette 4 3.27 1985

author: A.R. Lloyd
name: Josette
average rating: 3.27
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
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]]> <![CDATA[A Devil in Paradise (New Directions Bibelot)]]> 161229 120 Henry Miller 0811212440 Josette 4 3.85 1956

A Devil in Paradise (New Directions Bibelot)

author: Henry Miller
name: Josette
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1956
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/26
date added: 2024/10/26
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]]> One Hundred Years of Solitude 320 417 Gabriel García Márquez Josette 4 4.10 1967

author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Josette
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1967
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/21
date added: 2024/10/20
shelves:
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]]> The Empire (The Empire, #1) 123460799
'It's the jewel of the north, The Empire. Lord Lassiter bought it for his second wife, Lady Lillian and she supervised every detail of the restoration. There's not a finer theatre in the country'.

But The Empire is not just a theatre. From music hall to vaudeville, from revue to grand musical spectacular, it holds a special place in the nation's heart. For its audience, for its actors and singers, for the stagehands, the front-of-house staff, for its backers and its debtors - and above all for its owners - it truly is a palace of dreams.

And for young Jack Treadwell, struggling to adapt to civilian life after the horrors of the trenches, it's a lifeline. When he receives a letter out of the blue inviting him to work at The Empire, he leaps at the chance. After all, it's owned by the family of his former commanding officer, Edmund Lassiter.

But as Jack soon discovers, it is not just the actors who are donning a disguise. With whispers of a cover-up, a scandal and sibling rivalry, tensions rise, along with the curtain. For there is treachery at the heart of The Empire and a dark secret waiting in the wings. Can Jack discover the truth before it is too late, and the theatre that means so much to them all goes dark?

Following the lives and loves of the Lassiter and Treadwell families, from the aftermath of the Great War and the Roaring Twenties to the dark days of the Second World War and the Blitz, Michael Ball's debut fiction series charts the story of the high notes and the low notes of British musical theatre in all its glamour, greasepaint and glory.]]> 389 Michael Ball 1804180572 Josette 3 3.70 2022 The Empire (The Empire, #1)

author: Michael Ball
name: Josette
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/12
date added: 2024/09/12
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]]> <![CDATA[Wanderlust: Extraordinary People, Quirky Places, and Curious Cuisine]]> 126601983
Whatever kind of traveler you are, novice or experienced, or even if you prefer sitting in your armchair, these stories will transport you deep into other ways of living in the world—and, hopefully, inspire you to set out on your own journeys!]]> 329 Karen Gershowitz 1647425581 Josette 5 4.60 Wanderlust: Extraordinary People, Quirky Places, and Curious Cuisine

Wanderlust: Extraordinary People, Quirky Places, and Curious Cuisine

author: Karen Gershowitz
name: Josette
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/08
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves:
review:
A super travel book. Read a chapter, shut your eyes, and you are there! Let the colours, the smells invade you and your home, and then you are ready to pack your bags. Well done Karen.
]]> <![CDATA[The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories]]> 99300
Written from a feminist perspective, often focusing on the inferior status accorded to women by society, the tales include "turned," an ironic story with a startling twist, in which a husband seduces and impregnates a naïve servant; "Cottagette," concerning the romance of a young artist and a man who's apparently too good to be true; "Mr. Peebles' Heart," a liberating tale of a fiftyish shopkeeper whose sister-in-law, a doctor, persuades him to take a solo trip to Europe, with revivifying results; "The Yellow Wallpaper"; and three other outstanding stories.

These charming tales are not only highly readable and full of humor and invention, but also offer ample food for thought about the social, economic, and personal relationship of men and women �� and how they might be improved.

Collects:
—The Yellow Wallpaper
—Three Thanksgivings
—The Cottagette
—T�ܰ��Ա��
—Making a Change
—If I Were a Man
—Mr. Peebles' Heart]]> 129 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 0486298574 Josette 5 4.05 1892 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories

author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Josette
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1892
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/07
date added: 2024/09/06
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]]> <![CDATA[For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain]]> 61165321
In the year of 1413, two women meet for the first time in the city of Norwich.

Margery has left her fourteen children and husband behind to make her journey. Her visions of Christ - which have long alienated her from her family and neighbours, and incurred her husband's abuse - have placed her in danger with the men of the Church, who have begun to hound her as a heretic.

Julian, an anchoress, has not left Norwich, nor the cell to which she has been confined, for twenty-three years. She has told no one of her own visions - and knows that time is running out for her to do so.

The two women have stories to tell one another. Stories about girlhood, motherhood, sickness, loss, doubt and belief; revelations more the powerful than the world is ready to hear. Their meeting will change everything.

Sensual, vivid and humane, For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain cracks history open to reveal the lives of two extraordinary women]]> 166 Victoria Mackenzie 1526647885 Josette 5 3.81 2023

For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain

author: Victoria Mackenzie
name: Josette
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/03
date added: 2024/09/03
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]]> Disobedience 202677 Disobedience. The story begins with the death of the community's esteemed rabbi, which sets in motion plans for a memorial service and the search for a replacement. The rabbi's nephew and likely successor, Dovid, calls his cousin Ronit in New York to tell her that her father has died. Ronit, who left the community long ago to build a life for herself as a career woman, returns home when she hears the news, and her reappearance exposes tears in the fabric of the community.

Steeped in Jewish philosophy and teachings, Disobedience is a perceptive and thoughtful exploration of the laws and practices that have governed Judaism for centuries, and continue to hold sway today. Throughout the novel, Alderman retells stories from the Torah -- Judaism's fundamental source -- and the interplay between these tales and the struggles of the novel's unique characters wields enormous power and wisdom, and will surely move readers to tears.]]> 240 Naomi Alderman 0743291565 Josette 4 3.66 2006 Disobedience

author: Naomi Alderman
name: Josette
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/18
date added: 2024/08/17
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]]> <![CDATA[From the Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East]]> 104039 512 William Dalrymple 0805061770 Josette 5 4.30 1997

From the Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East

author: William Dalrymple
name: Josette
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/08
date added: 2024/08/08
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]]> <![CDATA[The Trouble with Goats and Sheep]]> 26141706
Mrs. Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.

And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined…]]> 453 Joanna Cannon 000813216X Josette 4 3.71 2016 The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

author: Joanna Cannon
name: Josette
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/21
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves:
review:
Wonderful book that unfortunately describes what I hate most - people that feel obliged to follow a leader (good or bad) like sheep, people that do not have the guts to say NO. This community is about a little road where the characters do not like changes - people who do not fit in, people with different ethnicity, people with mental issues etc. I like the book but I hate the characters - hope this make sense.
]]> King's Cross Kid 17975517 237 Victor Gregg 1408840502 Josette 5 3.50 2013

author: Victor Gregg
name: Josette
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2015/08/29
date added: 2024/07/27
shelves:
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]]> A Monk Swimming 4960 290 Malachy McCourt 0786884142 Josette 5 3.37 1998

author: Malachy McCourt
name: Josette
average rating: 3.37
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/04
date added: 2024/07/03
shelves:
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]]> A Little Life 29408433 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER �� A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship�� (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century.

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST �� MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST �� WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE ��

A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves.]]> 723 Hanya Yanagihara 1447294831 Josette 2 She also described the power of friendship even though a little unreal at time.
The author made me think about the right of people trying to stop somebody committing suicide. Have we got that right?
]]> 4.36 2015 A Little Life

author: Hanya Yanagihara
name: Josette
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves:
review:
Beautifully written but unfortunately I did not like the content - an accumalation of extreme nastiness directed to one person only. From the moment he was born, Jude suffered at the hands of monks, paedophiles, abusive people etc. The author understand the effects of continued abuse on a child that goes on during a life time but she is given us no hope of healing. She is showing us all the possible abusers - mother that abandoned him, monks that were cruel, paedophile and money maker lying monk, inefficient help centre etc. Is there no end to it?
She also described the power of friendship even though a little unreal at time.
The author made me think about the right of people trying to stop somebody committing suicide. Have we got that right?

]]> Pemberley 1218516 As Jane Austen's beloved novel Pride and Prejudice comes to a close, Elizabeth Bennet proudly announces her engagement to Mr. Darcy, boasting, "We are to be the happiest couple in the world." But after the nuptials, can a marriage between two people as strong-willed as Elizabeth and Darcy survive? With all the wit and style of Jane Austen, Emma Tennant brilliantly imagines both the perils and pleasure of such a marriage.

It's now a year after the wedding, and the time has come for Elizabeth and Darcy to invite their families to visit Pemberleybut not without trepidation, for any gathering that includes both Mrs. Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh must occasion gaffes and hurt feelings. And when Darcy becomes increasingly distant and Elizabeth falls prey to vicious gossip, the forces of pride and prejudice are at work once again in this "eminently enjoyable" continuation of Pride and Prejudice (Los Angeles Times).

]]> 183 Emma Tennant 034060963X Josette 1 2.39 1993 Pemberley

author: Emma Tennant
name: Josette
average rating: 2.39
book published: 1993
rating: 1
read at: 2024/06/17
date added: 2024/06/18
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]]> <![CDATA[FLAMINGOS IN THE DESERT: EXPLORING ALMERIA]]> 24920958
With maps and a link to an online photo gallery, this book is the ideal companion for the curious traveller, whether passing through on foot or spinning through the sunshine on two wheels or four.

“The first book to get to the heart of Almería. A must-read for all residents and visitors.�� Jackie Bragg

“This is a feast of a book. The author walks the reader through Almería's landscapes with the inclusive warmth of a man who enjoys walking himself. The narratives are threaded through with real expertise about the history, geography and geology of the region and given all the more substance by a cast of wonderful characters whose identities and characteristics he weaves seamlessly into his writing. It is a must, not only for visitors to Almería but to anyone who enjoys high quality pieces that communicate the love of travel he clearly has.�� Ian Roberts

“A lovely, informative book. A good balance of people, places and things, a celebration of nature and the landscape and the people who have shaped it and who live in it.�� Peter Adeline
]]> 312 Kevin Borman Josette 2 3.27 2014 FLAMINGOS IN THE DESERT: EXPLORING ALMERIA

FLAMINGOS IN THE DESERT: EXPLORING ALMERIA

author: Kevin Borman
name: Josette
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2024/06/14
date added: 2024/06/14
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]]> <![CDATA[A Possible Life: A Novel in Five Love Stories]]> 13722330
In Second World War Poland, a young prisoner closes his eyes and pictures going to bat on a sunlit English cricket ground.

Across the yard of a Victorian poorhouse, a man is too ashamed to acknowledge the son he gave away.

In a 19th-century French village, an old servant understands - suddenly and with awe - the meaning of the Bible story her master is reading to her.

On a summer evening in the Catskills in 1971, a skinny girl steps out of a Chevy with a guitar and with a song that will send shivers through her listeners' skulls.

A few years from now, in Italy, a gifted scientist discovers links between time and the human brain and between her lover's novel and his life.

Throughout the five masterpieces of fiction that make up A Possible Life, exquisitely drawn and unforgettable characters risk their bodies, hearts and minds in pursuit of the manna of human connection. Between soldier and lover, parent and child, servant and master, and artist and muse, important pleasures and pains are born of love, separations and missed opportunities. These interactions - whether successful or not - also affect the long trajectories of characters' lives.

Provocative and profound, Sebastian Faulks's dazzling new novel journeys across continents and centuries not only to entertain with superb old-fashioned storytelling but to show that occasions of understanding between humans are the one thing that defines us - and that those moments, however fluid, are the one thing that endures.]]> 304 Sebastian Faulks 0805097309 Josette 4 3.46 2012 A Possible Life: A Novel in Five Love Stories

A Possible Life: A Novel in Five Love Stories

author: Sebastian Faulks
name: Josette
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/18
date added: 2024/05/17
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]]> <![CDATA[The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom]]> 7229

For more than eight years, Henri Nouwen felt that what he wrote was too raw and private to share with others. Instead, he published The Return of the Prodigal Son, in which he expressed some of the insights gained during his mental and spiritual crisis. But then friends asked him, "Why keep your anguish hidden from the many people who have been nurtured by your writing? Wouldn't it be of consolation for many to know about the fierce inner battle that lies underneath so many of your spiritual insights?"

For the countless men and women who have to live through the pain of broken relationships, or who suffer from the loss of a loved one, this book about the inner voice of love offers new courage, new hope, even new life.]]> 118 Henri J.M. Nouwen 0385483481 Josette 2 4.33 1996 The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom

The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom

author: Henri J.M. Nouwen
name: Josette
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1996
rating: 2
read at: 2024/05/09
date added: 2024/05/08
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]]> <![CDATA[Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival]]> 75303502
Wise, curious and sensitive, Why Women Grow follows Alice in her search for answers, with inquisitive fronds reaching and curling around the intimate anecdotes of others.]]> 301 Alice Vincent 1838855440 Josette 0 nonfiction Loved it! 3.77 2023 Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival

Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival

author: Alice Vincent
name: Josette
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/05/03
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Loved it!
]]> <![CDATA[Moon Over Soho (Rivers of London, #2)]]> 10381195 Body and Soul. The song. That's what London constable and sorcerer's apprentice Peter Grant first notices when he examines the corpse of Cyrus Wilkins, part-time jazz drummer and full-time accountant, who dropped dead of a heart attack while playing a gig at Soho's 606 Club. The notes of the old jazz standard are rising from the body - a sure sign that something about the man's death was not at all natural but instead supernatural.

Body and soul - they're also what Peter will risk as he investigates a pattern of similar deaths in and around Soho. With the help of his superior officer, Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, and the assistance of beautiful jazz aficionado Simone Fitzwilliam, Peter will uncover a deadly magical menace - one that leads right to his own doorstep and to the squandered promise of a young jazz musician: a talented trumpet player named Richard "Lord" Grant - otherwise known as Peter's dear old dad.]]> 375 Ben Aaronovitch 0575097604 Josette 4 4.05 2011 Moon Over Soho (Rivers of London, #2)

author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: Josette
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/21
date added: 2024/04/21
shelves:
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]]> Circe 35959740
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.]]> 393 Madeline Miller 0316556343 Josette 5 4.22 2018 Circe

author: Madeline Miller
name: Josette
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/04/14
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]]> <![CDATA[Old Toffer's Book of Consequential Dogs]]> 37859300 I've rounded up a rowdy assembly
Of my own Consequential Dogs
As counterparts to Eliot's mogs.
Mine are a rough and ready bunch:
You wouldn't take them out to lunch . . .
But if they strike you as friendly, funny,
Full of bounce and fond of a romp,
Forgetful of poetic pomp,
I trust you'll take them as you find them
And, at the very least, not mind them.

T. S. Eliot's best-selling collection of practical cat poems has been one of the most successful poetry collections in the world.

For the first time in company history a companion volume will be published. Originally conceived by Eliot himself, Old Toffer's Book of Consequential Dog poems are a witty, varied and exquisitely compiled as Eliot's cats.]]> 107 Christopher Reid 0571334091 Josette 3 3.84 2018

author: Christopher Reid
name: Josette
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/14
date added: 2024/04/14
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[How to Teach Classics to Your Dog: A Quirky Introduction to the Ancient Greeks and Romans]]> 56897451
Can you tell your Odysseus from your Oedipus?

In this unique introduction, Philip Womack leads his beloved lurcher Una (and us) on a fleet-footed odyssey through the classical world. From Aeneas to Cerberus to Polydorus, you’ll learn about the world of the Ancient Greeks and Romans and, with a bit of luck, you’ll be able to pass it on to your dog. But maybe best leave out that story of the hounds who tore their very own master limb from limb…]]> 336 Philip Womack 0861541219 Josette 4 3.33 How to Teach Classics to Your Dog: A Quirky Introduction to the Ancient Greeks and Romans

How to Teach Classics to Your Dog: A Quirky Introduction to the Ancient Greeks and Romans

author: Philip Womack
name: Josette
average rating: 3.33
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/10
date added: 2024/04/10
shelves:
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]]> Now in November 2702515 208 Josephine Winslow Johnson 1860499163 Josette 4 3.83 1934

author: Josephine Winslow Johnson
name: Josette
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1934
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/25
date added: 2024/04/04
shelves:
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Beautifully written. Through the author's writing you can feel the depression that hit the world and the heat of the summer that destroyed not only farming but the people.
]]> A Spell of Good Things 61103018 Ayobami Adebayo, the celebrated author of Stay With Me unveils a dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession, and political corruption.

Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. Because his father has lost his job, Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers, begging when he must, dreaming of a big future.

Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a wealthy family. Now an exhausted young doctor in her first year of practice, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of an ascendant politician.

When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola and Eniola's lives become intertwined. In her breathtaking second novel, Ayobami Adebayo shines her light on Nigeria, on the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.]]> 352 Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ 0525657649 Josette 4 3.76 2023 A Spell of Good Things

author: Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
name: Josette
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/19
date added: 2024/03/19
shelves:
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]]> Das öde Haus 11233927 46 E.T.A. Hoffmann Josette 3 3.12 1817

author: E.T.A. Hoffmann
name: Josette
average rating: 3.12
book published: 1817
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/14
date added: 2024/03/02
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Sound and the Fury (Picador Books)]]> 929517 278 William Faulkner 0330306529 Josette 4 american-fiction-20th-century 3.88 1929

author: William Faulkner
name: Josette
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1929
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/02
date added: 2024/03/02
shelves: american-fiction-20th-century
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wolf Within: How I Learned to Talk Dog]]> 10416623 288 Shaun Ellis 000732717X Josette 5 4.17

author: Shaun Ellis
name: Josette
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/14
date added: 2024/02/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Wanderlust: Extraordinary People, Quirky Places, and Curious Cuisine]]> 126241698
Whatever kind of traveler you are, novice or experienced, or even if you prefer sitting in your armchair, these stories will transport you deep into other ways of living in the world—and, hopefully, inspire you to set out on your own journeys!]]> 328 Karen Gershowitz 1647425573 Josette 0 to-read 4.31 Wanderlust: Extraordinary People, Quirky Places, and Curious Cuisine

author: Karen Gershowitz
name: Josette
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> How to be Both 20439328
How to be both is a novel all about art’s versatility. Borrowing from painting’s fresco technique to make an original literary double-take, it’s a fast-moving genre-bending conversation between forms, times, truths and fictions. There’s a Renaissance artist of the 1460s. There’s the child of a child of the 1960s. Two tales of love and injustice twist into a singular yarn where time gets timeless, structural gets playful, knowing gets mysterious, fictional gets real—and all life’s givens get given a second chance.

A NOTE TO THE READER:
Who says stories reach everybody in the same order?
This novel can be read in two ways and this book provides you with both.
In half of all printed editions of the novel the narrative EYES comes before CAMERA.
In the other half of printed editions the narrative CAMERA precedes EYES.
The narratives are exactly the same in both versions, just in a different order.

The books are intentionally printed in two different ways, so that readers can randomly have different experiences reading the same text. So, depending on which edition you happen to receive, the book will be: EYES, CAMERA, or CAMERA, EYES. Enjoy the adventure.]]> 376 Ali Smith Josette 5 3.65 2014 How to be Both

author: Ali Smith
name: Josette
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/05
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Elephant Whisperer: Learning about Life, Loyalty and Freedom from a Remarkable Herd of Elephants]]> 8273470
In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.

The Elephant Whisperer is a heartwarming, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad memoir of Anthony's experiences with these huge yet sympathetic creatures. Set against the background of life on an African game reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, Anthony's unrelenting efforts at animal protection and his remarkable connection with nature will inspire animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.]]> 368 Lawrence Anthony 0330506684 Josette 5
"Many years ago I watched a hunter stalking his prey. He had a permit to target only an impala ram from a bachelor herd. Yet the only males he encountered that day were those with breeding herds of females. And even more incredibly, these non-shootable studs stood nonchalantly within range, eyeing him without a care in the world, while in the background bachelor herds were running for their lives.
How is this so? None of us know. The more prosaic rangers among us say it's Murphy Law - that whatever can go wrong, will. When you want to shoot or dart an animal they are never around. Others, like me, are not so sure. Maybe it's a bit more mystical. Maybe the message is in the wind."

Of course we do not know how much animals understand what's going on but it is really remarkable that two herds of elephants walked for hours to the house of Lawrence Anthony to mourn the death of their saviour. Read more at

Being sceptical did not stop me enjoying the book and life at Thula Thula as soon as I finished reading the prologue.]]> 4.46 2009 The Elephant Whisperer: Learning about Life, Loyalty and Freedom from a Remarkable Herd of Elephants

author: Lawrence Anthony
name: Josette
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2019/06/06
date added: 2024/01/20
shelves:
review:
I was very suspicious at the beginning of the book when the author tells us about the communication between humans and animals. Lawrence gives us several examples of animals who seemed to have understood what the humans thought without contact.

"Many years ago I watched a hunter stalking his prey. He had a permit to target only an impala ram from a bachelor herd. Yet the only males he encountered that day were those with breeding herds of females. And even more incredibly, these non-shootable studs stood nonchalantly within range, eyeing him without a care in the world, while in the background bachelor herds were running for their lives.
How is this so? None of us know. The more prosaic rangers among us say it's Murphy Law - that whatever can go wrong, will. When you want to shoot or dart an animal they are never around. Others, like me, are not so sure. Maybe it's a bit more mystical. Maybe the message is in the wind."

Of course we do not know how much animals understand what's going on but it is really remarkable that two herds of elephants walked for hours to the house of Lawrence Anthony to mourn the death of their saviour. Read more at

Being sceptical did not stop me enjoying the book and life at Thula Thula as soon as I finished reading the prologue.
]]> <![CDATA[Find Me (Call Me By Your Name, #2)]]> 125097386 Elio believes he has left behind his first love - but as an affair with an older man intensifies, his thoughts turn to the past and to Oliver.

Oliver, a college professor, husband and father, is preparing to leave New York. The imminent trip stirs up longing and regret, awakening an old desire and propelling him towards a decision that could change everything.

In Call Me By Your Name, we fell in love with Oliver and Elio. Find Me returns to these unforgettable characters, exploring how love can ripple out from the past and into the future.]]> 272 André Aciman 0571356508 Josette 4 3.20 2019 Find Me (Call Me By Your Name, #2)

author: André Aciman
name: Josette
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/18
date added: 2024/01/18
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]]> <![CDATA[Born to Win: Transactional Analysis with Gestalt Experiments]]> 626933 One of the all-time classic self-help books--with over four million in print

Twenty-five years and four million readers show that Born to Win can change lives for the better. This bestselling classic uses the well-known psychological method called transactional analysis (TA) to uncover the roles we unconsciously act out day after day. Its fifty gestalt exercises have helped a generation realize how they communicate with others and think about themselves. If you want to have more control over your life, work more efficiently, and love others happily, Born to Win will help bring out the insight and confidence of a born winner.
"For the general reader [Born to Win] is probably the clearest and most up-to-date statement of the current thinking in transactional analysis, and easily the best of the popular books."--Psychology Today

"Enriching, stimulating, rewarding reading is here for anyone interested in understanding himself, his relationship with others, and his goals."--Kansas City Times]]> 320 Muriel James 0201590441 Josette 4 4.06 1971 Born to Win: Transactional Analysis with Gestalt Experiments

Born to Win: Transactional Analysis with Gestalt Experiments

author: Muriel James
name: Josette
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1971
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/05
date added: 2024/01/06
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]]> <![CDATA[Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars]]> 52662139 An engrossing group portrait of five women writers, including Virginia Woolf, who moved to London's Mecklenburgh Square in search of new freedom in their life and work.

"I like this London life . . . the street-sauntering and square-haunting."--Virginia Woolf, diary, 1925

In the early twentieth century, Mecklenburgh Square--a hidden architectural gem in London's Bloomsbury--was a radical address, home to students, struggling artists, and revolutionaries. And in the pivotal era between the two world wars, the lives of five remarkable women intertwined around this one address: the modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and author and publisher Virginia Woolf. In an era when women's freedoms were fast expanding, they each sought a space where they could live, love, and--above all--work independently.

With sparkling insight and a novelistic style, Francesca Wade sheds new light on a group of artists and thinkers whose pioneering work would enrich the possibilities of women's lives for generations to come.]]> 432 Francesca Wade 0451497791 Josette 5 4.18 2020 Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars

Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars

author: Francesca Wade
name: Josette
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/09
date added: 2023/12/09
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]]> Heart Songs and Other Stories 28003 The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx was already producing some of the finest short fiction in the country. Here are her collected stories, including two new works never before anthologized.

These stories reverberate with rural tradition, the rites of nature, and the rituals of small-town life. The country is blue-collar New England; the characters are native families and the dispossessed working class, whose heritage is challenged by the neorural bourgeoisie from the city; and the themes are as elemental as the landscape: revenge, malice, greed, passion. Told with skill and profundity and crafted by a master storyteller, these are lean, tough tales of an extraordinary place and its people.

]]> 203 Annie Proulx 0020360754 Josette 3 3.96 1988 Heart Songs and Other Stories

author: Annie Proulx
name: Josette
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at: 2023/11/19
date added: 2023/11/19
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]]> Lady Chatterley's Lover 49583709
With her soft brown hair, lithe figure and big, wondering eyes, Constance Chatterley is possessed of a certain vitality. Yet she is deeply unhappy; married to an invalid, she is almost as inwardly paralyzed as her husband Clifford is paralyzed below the waist. It is not until she finds refuge in the arms of Mellors the game-keeper, a solitary man of a class apart, that she feels regenerated. Together they move from an outer world of chaos towards an inner world of fulfillment.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.]]> 400 D.H. Lawrence 014303961X Josette 0 3.48 1928 Lady Chatterley's Lover

author: D.H. Lawrence
name: Josette
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1928
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/16
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]]> Who Says I'm an Addict? 22300623
In Who Says I'm An Addict?, David Smallwood looks at the issue of addiction with compassion, clarity and wisdom, which comes not only from his own difficult journey with addiction, but from his experience overseeing treatment programmes at rehab centres such as The Priory.

In this book, David examines addiction in detail - what it is, how it works and the many forms it can take, from alcohol and drugs, to sex, sugar, shopping and social networking. He considers denial, how your early life influences your later years and what happens when you hit rock bottom. Finally, David looks at the road to recovery, including effective methods for tackling addiction, avoiding relapse and laying demons to rest so that you can start to rebuild your life.]]> 300 David Smallwood 1781804095 Josette 4 4.27 2014 Who Says I'm an Addict?

author: David Smallwood
name: Josette
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/06
date added: 2023/11/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold]]> 13459749 320 Robin Waterfield 0857382888 Josette 5 3.77 2011

The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold

author: Robin Waterfield
name: Josette
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/08
date added: 2023/11/08
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Complete Guide to German Shorthaired Pointers: History, Behavior, Training, Fieldwork, Traveling, and Health Care for Your New GSP Puppy]]> 55154993 A revolutionary new look into everything “GSP��; a MUST-READ that includes practical tips, tricks, and insights to help a new (or seasoned) German Shorthaired Pointer owner.Using input and contributions from dozens of German Shorthaired Pointer owners, author Dr. Joanna de Klerk (former star of the hit BBC show "Young Vets") has created an in-depth look at what it REALLY takes to successfully live with, raise, and train a German Shorthaired Pointer.Covering all the GSP-specific topics you NEED TO KNOW, such

The unique characteristics and quirks of the German Shorthaired Pointer breedEarly training (including housebreaking) strategies for German Shorthaired PointersChoosing the proper supplies and food for a GSP puppyHelpful strategies for socializing a German Shorthaired Pointer with other dogsHealth care advice for each stage of your German Shorthaired Pointers lifeGrooming tips that a GSP owner needs to know!If you are considering bringing a German Shorthaired Pointer into your home (or already have!) then you need to read this book as soon as possible!The German Shorthaired Pointer, or GSP, is an exceptionally versatile hunting dog that was developed in Germany in the 19th century. These dogs are extraordinarily active and outgoing, and without enough vigorous exercise and regular training sessions, their delightful energy can develop into destructive hyperactivity. This book will provide you with all the tools you need to keep your German Shorthaired Pointer entertained and engaged from his first days at home until his final years. Packed with essential knowledge about the GSP, this guidebook will answer all of your most pressing questions,

Is a German Shorthaired Pointer the right breed for me?How do I choose the perfect canine companion for my household?Which training methods are most effective for GSPs?How do I avoid or extinguish common problem behaviors?The Complete Guide to German Shorthaired Pointers is an all-encompassing manual to your affectionate and eccentric canine companion. Veterinarian Dr. Jo de Klerk thoroughly covers all aspects of these well-rounded hunting hounds, including their history, temperament, and health. Pet parents who choose to share their life with an enthusiastic German Shorthaired Pointer will treasure the indispensable information found in these pages about the history, temperament, and health of their precious pooch. Find out everything you need to know about these captivating canines and explore wide-ranging subjects,

The history of the German Shorthaired PointerCommon behavior problems for German Shorthaired PointersHow to select the right GSP pup or rescue dog for youPreparing your home for a lively hunting dogHow to introduce your GSP to children and other animalsStep-by-step guidance for basic training commandsTraining your German Shorthaired Pointer for fieldworkTraveling with your German Shorthaired PointerNutrition, diet, and your GSPGerman Shorthaired Pointer-specific health and wellness informationCaring for the aging German Shorthaired PointerWhether you are looking for a skilled h]]> 267 Joanna de Klerk Josette 4 4.10 The Complete Guide to German Shorthaired Pointers: History, Behavior, Training, Fieldwork, Traveling, and Health Care for Your New GSP Puppy

The Complete Guide to German Shorthaired Pointers: History, Behavior, Training, Fieldwork, Traveling, and Health Care for Your New GSP Puppy

author: Joanna de Klerk
name: Josette
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/22
date added: 2023/10/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes from, How It Sabotages Our Lives]]> 823467 222 Pia Mellody 0062505890 Josette 3 4.07 1989

Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes from, How It Sabotages Our Lives

author: Pia Mellody
name: Josette
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/21
date added: 2023/10/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ghost Riders: Travels With American Nomads]]> 129365 Richard Grant 0349112681 Josette 5 4.04 2003

Ghost Riders: Travels With American Nomads

author: Richard Grant
name: Josette
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/21
date added: 2023/10/21
shelves:
review:

]]> River Sing Me Home 61111298 Her search begins with an ending....

The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.

Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children--the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. The grueling, dangerous journey takes her from Barbados then, by river, deep into the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear. These are the stories of Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. But above all this is the story of Rachel and the extraordinary lengths to which a mother will go to find her children...and her freedom.]]> 322 Eleanor Shearer 0593548043 Josette 4 3.96 2023 River Sing Me Home

author: Eleanor Shearer
name: Josette
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/07
date added: 2023/09/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[They Fell Like Stars from the Sky & Other Stories]]> 190331951 128 Sheikha Helawy 1915584019 Josette 4 3.80 2024

They Fell Like Stars from the Sky & Other Stories

author: Sheikha Helawy
name: Josette
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/01
date added: 2023/08/31
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[City of Djinns: A Year In Delhi]]> 882717

From the author of the Samuel Johnson prize shortlisted ‘The Return of a King��, this is William Dalrymple’s captivating memoir of a year spent in Delhi, a city watched over and protected by the mischievous invisible djinns. Lodging with the beady-eyed Mrs Puri and encountering an extraordinary array of characters �� from elusive eunuchs to the last remnants of the Raj �� William Dalrymple comes to know the bewildering city intimately.

He pursues Delhi’s interlacing layers of history along narrow alleys and broad boulevards, brilliantly conveying its intoxicating mix of mysticism and mayhem.

‘City of Djinns�� is an astonishing and sensitive portrait of a city, and confirms William Dalrymple as one of the most compelling explorers of India’s past and present.]]> 350 William Dalrymple Josette 5 4.06 1993 City of Djinns: A Year In Delhi

author: William Dalrymple
name: Josette
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/27
date added: 2023/08/27
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]]> Nomadland 57452156 Nomadland tells a revelatory tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy �� one which foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, it celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of people who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive, but have not given up hope.

From the beetroot fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labour pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs and modified vans, forming a growing community of nomads.]]> 273 Jessica Bruder 1800750307 Josette 5 4.13 2017 Nomadland

author: Jessica Bruder
name: Josette
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/10
date added: 2023/08/10
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]]> Last Days of the Bus Club 35073223 7 Chris Stewart 147126937X Josette 4 English summer.]]> 2.83 2014

author: Chris Stewart
name: Josette
average rating: 2.83
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/31
date added: 2023/07/31
shelves:
review:
A lot of sunshine during a very wet
English summer.
]]> <![CDATA[The Earth Transformed: An Untold History]]> 61965394 A revolutionary new history that reveals how climate change has dramatically shaped the development—and demise—of civilizations across time

Global warming is one of the greatest dangers mankind faces today. Even as temperatures increase, sea levels rise, and natural disasters escalate, our current environmental crisis feels difficult to predict and understand. But climate change and its effects on us are not new. In a bold narrative that spans centuries and continents, Peter Frankopan argues that nature has always played a fundamental role in the writing of history. From the fall of the Moche civilization in South America that came about because of the cyclical pressures of El Niño to volcanic eruptions in Iceland that affected Egypt and helped bring the Ottoman empire to its knees, climate change and its influences have always been with us.

Frankopan explains how the Vikings emerged thanks to catastrophic crop failure, why the roots of regime change in Eleventh-Century Baghdad lay in the collapse of cotton prices resulting from unusual climate patterns, and why the western expansion of the frontiers in North America was directly affected by solar flare activity in the eighteenth century. Again and again, Frankopan shows that when past empires have failed to act sustainably, they have been met with catastrophe. Blending brilliant historical writing and cutting-edge scientific research, Climate will radically reframe the way we look at the world and our future.]]> 736 Peter Frankopan 0525659161 Josette 4 3.87 2023 The Earth Transformed: An Untold History

The Earth Transformed: An Untold History

author: Peter Frankopan
name: Josette
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/27
date added: 2023/07/31
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]]> Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï 13644920 Qui sortira vainqueur de cette lutte où l'idéal humain du "travail bien fait" s'oppose au patriotisme ?
Cette oeuvre d'une rare vérité est l'un des "classiques" de notre temps. Elle a inspiré l'un des plus grand succés du cinéma.]]> 218 Pierre Boulle 2266001566 Josette 4 3.62 1952 Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï

author: Pierre Boulle
name: Josette
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1952
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/24
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Sisi - Die Kaiserin aus dem Märchen]]> 60587283 95 Andreas de Jong Josette 4 3.50

author: Andreas de Jong
name: Josette
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/18
date added: 2023/07/06
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Circe [Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters]]]> 38900434 The daring, dazzling and highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller The Song of Achilles
One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2018

"An epic spanning thousands of years that's also a keep-you-up-all-night page turner." - Ann Patchett

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.

]]> 29 Madeline Miller 0316421146 Josette 5 4.27 Circe [Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters]

author: Madeline Miller
name: Josette
average rating: 4.27
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/29
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves:
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]]> L'Atlantide 56380893 240 Pierre Benoit Josette 5 brilliant! 4.00 1919

author: Pierre Benoit
name: Josette
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1919
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/19
date added: 2023/05/19
shelves:
review:
brilliant!
]]> Where Rainbows End 714985
Rosie's lost without him. But on the eve of her departure to join Alex in Boston, Rosie gets news that will change her life forever - and keep her at home in Ireland.

Their magical connection sees them through the ups and downs of each others lives, but neither of them knows whether their friendship can survive the years and miles - or new relationships. And at the back of Rosie's mind is whether they were meant to be more than just good friends all along. Misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck have kept them apart, but when presented with the ultimate opportunity, will they gamble everything for true love?]]> 585 Cecelia Ahern 0007165013 Josette 3 3.95 2004 Where Rainbows End

author: Cecelia Ahern
name: Josette
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/15
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves:
review:
very very light reading but good after reading Darkness at Noon.
]]> <![CDATA[Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past]]> 13629710 468 Giles Tremlett 0571279392 Josette 4 4.10 2006

Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past

author: Giles Tremlett
name: Josette
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/03
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves:
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Reveals a lot of information about the different regions of Spain, their people and their different languages - Catalan, Basque, Valencian, Galego (spoken in Galicia). Of course the author tries to understand and explain how the people lived on after the civil war and the dictatorship of Franco.
]]> Darkness at Noon 30672
Darkness at Noon (from the German: Sonnenfinsternis) is a novel by the Hungarian-born British novelist Arthur Koestler, first published in 1940. His best-known work tells the tale of Rubashov, a Bolshevik 1917 revolutionary who is cast out, imprisoned and tried for treason by the Soviet government he'd helped create.]]> 216 Arthur Koestler 0553265954 Josette 4 4.09 1940 Darkness at Noon

author: Arthur Koestler
name: Josette
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1940
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/11
date added: 2023/05/15
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]]> One Dog at a Time 6260262
Appalled by the horrors of a local dog fight, he intervenes to free the victims. One of these dogs finds his way into the Marine compound - and into Pen's heart. Soon other strays are being drawn to the sanctuary provided by Pen's makeshift pound, including one young mum who crawls under the compound fence carrying her newborn pups to safety.

But as his tour of duty draws to an end, Pen cannot leave the dogs of Now Zad to their own fates. he begins hatching plans to help them escape to a better life.

This is Pen's gripping account of his time in Now Zad, the friends he made there and the remarkable journey they - and he - undertook. Above all, it is the story of one man's courage and humanity and his fight to make a difference in the most hostile and dangerous environment - one dog at a time.]]> 308 Pen Farthing 009192880X Josette 4 4.26 2009

author: Pen Farthing
name: Josette
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/14
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves:
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]]> La Maison Tellier 28182057
A côté de ce chef-d'œuvre, huit autres nouvelles déploient ici l'éventail du génie de Maupassant. Petits employés parisiens, paysans timides, noceurs désabusés, filles rouées ou naïves : toute une humanité, où des surprenantes candeurs se mêlent à la violence des appétits et des intérêts, est dépeinte avec la couleur éclatante et le réalisme vigoureux des toiles de Renoir, de Manet ou de Toulouse-Lautrec.]]> 256 Guy de Maupassant Josette 4 3.50 1881 La Maison Tellier

author: Guy de Maupassant
name: Josette
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1881
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/15
date added: 2023/05/08
shelves:
review:

]]> Lonely Girl 24717218
Rosie’s mother is a cruel woman and has Rosie’s kind and loving father wrapped around her finger. Though John Tanner does his best to protect her, Rosie often bears the brunt of her mother’s rage.

And his protection can’t last forever.

In one tragic moment Rosie’s fragile world is shattered. Grieving and alone, Rosie is thrust into a harsh reality, and she must face the obstacles that fate has set in her path.

But secrets will out, and Rosie must uncover the shocking truth behind her mother’s cruelty before she can hope for the love and happiness she deserves.]]> 336 Josephine Cox 000747671X Josette 1 Not for me.<br /> 2.90 2015 Lonely Girl

author: Josephine Cox
name: Josette
average rating: 2.90
book published: 2015
rating: 1
read at: 2023/03/17
date added: 2023/04/11
shelves:
review:
Not for me.

]]> Small Things Like These 58662236
Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.]]> 128 Claire Keegan 0802158749 Josette 5 4.13 2021

author: Claire Keegan
name: Josette
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/23
date added: 2023/03/23
shelves:
review:
The author gives us so much to think about in such a small book. The poverty, the stigma of being the child of an unmarried mother, the missing father and of course the terrible, devilish power of the catholic church.
]]> Rendez-vous aux enfers 11165996 387 Maurice Druon Josette 0 to-read 5.00 1951

author: Maurice Druon
name: Josette
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1951
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Silmarillion 7332 386 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618391118 Josette 4 3.99 1977

author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Josette
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1977
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/21
date added: 2023/03/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Un jeune couple 7186591 Jean-Louis Curtis 2277123218 Josette 2 3.90 2001

author: Jean-Louis Curtis
name: Josette
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2023/03/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Travel Mania: Stories of Wanderlust]]> 58548677
In pursuit of her passion for travel, she lost and gained friends and lovers and made a radical career change. She learned courage and risk taking and succeeded at things she didn’t think she could do: She climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. She visited remote areas of Indonesia on her own and became a translator, though only fluent in English. She conquered her fear of falling while on an elephant trek in Thailand. And she made friends across the globe, including a Japanese family who taught her to make sushi and a West Berliner who gave her an insider’s look at the city shortly after the wall came down.

An example that will inspire armchair travelers to become explorers and embolden everyone to be more courageous, Travel Mania is a vivid story of how one woman found her strength, power, and passion.

Travel is Karen’s addiction―and she doesn’t want treatment.]]> 369 Karen Gershowitz 1647421276 Josette 5 4.28 Travel Mania: Stories of Wanderlust

author: Karen Gershowitz
name: Josette
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/03/12
date added: 2023/01/26
shelves:
review:
Brilliant! I admire the author's love for a challenge, so aware of the risk but still accomplishing more and more intrepid travels conquering her fear of height etc. and her need to interact with the local people. A book that will take you to places you never even thought of visiting. A fantastic read!
]]> L'Homme pressé 38329663 332 Paul Morand 2072227518 Josette 3 3.45 1941

author: Paul Morand
name: Josette
average rating: 3.45
book published: 1941
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/06
date added: 2023/01/10
shelves:
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]]> Poor Things 72355 Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter - a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for Baxter's creation.

The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be "the whole story" in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland's most accomplished authors.]]> 318 Alasdair Gray 0747562288 Josette 0 3.92 1992 Poor Things

author: Alasdair Gray
name: Josette
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at: 2022/11/15
date added: 2022/11/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[L'Homme Qui Assassina: Roman (Classic Reprint) (French Edition)]]> 33900958 Sur le moment, je n'ai eu l'esprit de songer a rien autre qu'au Turc, qui me plantait en plein visage le regard de ses yeux bleu fonce, droit comme une epee.
Vous ne me reconnaissez pas, monsieur le colonel? Mehmed pacha!
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."]]> 359 Claude Farrère 1334862362 Josette 4 4.50 1906 L'Homme Qui Assassina: Roman (Classic Reprint) (French Edition)

L'Homme Qui Assassina: Roman (Classic Reprint) (French Edition)

author: Claude Farrère
name: Josette
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1906
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/18
date added: 2022/10/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Año nuevo, vida nueva: Learn Spanish With Stories (Spanish Edition)]]> 30055353
Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva is a short story specially written for students at pre-intermediate level of Spanish (A2).

LEARN SPANISH BY READING
This book is carefully designed to help learners revise and consolidate key vocabulary and key grammar structures of the pre-intermediate level of Spanish (A2) by reading a naturally flowing text. Reading short stories like Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva is one of the most effective and pleasant ways to learn a Foreign Language. By reading, you can learn vocabulary and grammar structures in context, without memorising lists of isolated words or studying endless grammar rules.

A STORY THAT YOU WILL ACTUALLY WANT TO READ
Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva is not just a book to learn it's also a good story. It is not always easy to create a good story with the limited vocabulary and not-too-complex grammar learners of a Foreign Language require. That is the main reason Foreign Language Graded Stories are sometimes disappointing. The stories told are just too bland, fail to capture the attention of the learners, and do not keep their motivation until the end of the book because authors are constricted to using quite a narrow range of grammar points and vocabulary topics. However, I don't think Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva will disappoint you. I believe it is an interesting story that will catch your attention from the beginning and will keep you motivated till the end. I wrote this story based on my experience living in London and teaching Spanish for 20 years. The events and the characters I describe here are only the result of my imagination, but their fears, sadness, anger, frustrations, hopes, joys, and dreams are real; they reflect some people I have met and some situations I have encountered during my teaching career in London. If you have ever dreamed of learning Spanish, you will enjoy reading this book.]]> 101 Juan Fernández Josette 3 4.35 Año nuevo, vida nueva: Learn Spanish With Stories (Spanish Edition)

Año nuevo, vida nueva: Learn Spanish With Stories (Spanish Edition)

author: Juan Fernández
name: Josette
average rating: 4.35
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/12
date added: 2022/10/09
shelves:
review:
Easy to read even for novice learners.
]]> The Frogs and Other Plays 242296 The Frogs and Other Plays offers a unique insight into one of the most turbulent periods in Ancient Greek history. This Penguin Classics edition is translated by David Barrett with revisions, an introduction and notes by Shomit Dutta.

The master of ancient Greek comic drama, Aristophanes combined slapstick, humour and cheerful vulgarity with acute political observations. In The Frogs, written during the Peloponnesian War, Dionysus descends to the Underworld to bring back a poet who can help Athens in its darkest hour, and stages a great debate to help him decide between the traditional wisdom of Aeschylus and the brilliant modernity of Euripides. The clash of generations and values is also the object of Aristophanes' satire in Wasps, in which an old-fashioned father and his loose-living son come to blows and end up in court. And in Women at the Thesmophoria, the famous Greek tragedian Euripides, accused of misogyny, persuades a relative to infiltrate an all-women festival to find out whether revenge is being plotted against him.

Shomit Dutta's introduction discusses Aristophanes' life, the cultural context of his work and conventions of Greek comedy. This updated version of David Barrett's translation also includes extensive notes and a preface for each play.

Aristophanes (c.445-386 BC) was probably born in Athens. Little is known about his life, but there is a portrait of him in Plato's Symposium. He was twice threatened with prosecution for his outspoken attacks on the prominent politician Cleon, but in 405 he was publicly honoured and crowned for promoting Athenian civic unity in The Frogs. Aristophanes had his first comedy produced when he was about twenty-one, and wrote forty plays in all. The eleven surviving plays of Aristophanes are published in the Penguin Classics series as The Birds and Other Plays, Lysistrata and Other Plays, The Wasps and Other Plays and The Frogs and Other Plays.

If you enjoyed The Frogs and Other Plays, you might like Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Other Plays, also available in Penguin Classics.]]> 236 Aristophanes 0140449698 Josette 4 Interesting but hard going! 4.07 -422

author: Aristophanes
name: Josette
average rating: 4.07
book published: -422
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/09
date added: 2022/10/08
shelves:
review:
Interesting but hard going!
]]> Le Tonnerre de Dieu 1791220 128 Bernard Clavel 2290002909 Josette 4 french-modern-romans 3.21 1958

author: Bernard Clavel
name: Josette
average rating: 3.21
book published: 1958
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/05
date added: 2022/10/05
shelves: french-modern-romans
review:
Not a wonderful story but super description of nature.
]]> <![CDATA[To the Navel of the World: Yaks and Unheroic Travels in Nepal and Tibet]]> 2486522 225 Peter Somerville-Large 0340428929 Josette 3 3.50 1987

To the Navel of the World: Yaks and Unheroic Travels in Nepal and Tibet

author: Peter Somerville-Large
name: Josette
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1987
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/08
date added: 2022/08/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Watching the Tree 54527
Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, and through the conversations and wisdom of her grandfather and aunt learnt a great deal of traditional Chinese thought, history and religion. Through her father’s second marriage to a Eurasian woman, and their subsequent move to Hong Kong, she learnt more about the Chinese attitudes to business and to family, and the strength of the Chinese in exile.

Since living in London and California, Adeline Yen Mah has studied Chinese thought, looking at both the strengths and weaknesses which it gives those who follow it and now, in ‘Watching the Tree��, she takes us on a journey through the Chinese language, religions and history, using both Chinese proverbs and her own experiences, to bring to us an understanding of the richness of China and the ways that we can take and use some of the wisdom for ourselves in the West.]]> 248 Adeline Yen Mah 0006531547 Josette 4 3.74 2000 Watching the Tree

author: Adeline Yen Mah
name: Josette
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/22
date added: 2022/07/22
shelves:
review:
A must for anyone interested in Chinese culture - Confucius, the language, the mathematics, the calendar, caligraphy, feng shui etc. It is all there in this short but very condensed book.
]]> Walking The Amazon 14819474
With danger a constant companion - outwitting alligators, jaguars, pit vipers and electric eels, not to mention overcoming the hurdles of injuries and relentless tropical storms - Ed's journey demanded extreme physical and mental strength. Often warned by natives that he would die, Ed even found himself pursued by machete-wielding tribesmen and detained for murder.

However, Ed's journey was an adventure with a purpose: to help raise people's awareness of environmental issues. Ed had unprecedented access to indigenous communities and witnessed the devastating effects of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest first-hand. His story of disappearing tribes and loss of habitats concerns us all.

Ultimately though, Walking the Amazon is an account of a world-first expedition that takes readers on the most daring journey along the world's greatest river and through the most bio-diverse habitat on earth.]]> 336 Ed Stafford 0753515644 Josette 5 4.16 2011 Walking The Amazon

author: Ed Stafford
name: Josette
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/14
date added: 2022/06/17
shelves:
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]]> Nothing but Blue Sky 49624047 Is there such a thing as a perfect marriage?

David thought so. But when his wife Mary Rose dies suddenly he has to think again. In reliving their twenty years together David sees that the ground beneath them had shifted and he simply hadn't noticed. Or had chosen not to.

Figuring out who Mary Rose really was and the secrets that she kept—some of these hidden in plain sight—makes David wonder if he really knew her. Did he even know himself?

Nothing But Blue Sky is a precise and tender story of love in marriage—a gripping examination of what binds couples together and of what keeps them apart.]]> 307 Kathleen MacMahon 1844884759 Josette 4 3.87 2020

author: Kathleen MacMahon
name: Josette
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/05
date added: 2022/06/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Learn Spanish with Stories (B1): ¿Me voy o me quedo? - Spanish Intermediate (Spanish Edition)]]> 35385222 James is a young English man who is really obsessed with studying Spanish. Not only does he want to learn he wants to be Spanish! He gave up drinking tea and now he only drinks coffee, sangría and red wine; he is learning to dance flamenco by watching videos on YouTube, has only paella and tortilla for dinner and sleeps siesta every day. No wonder people in the village think he is completely crazy! Learn Spanish by Reading ¿Me voy o me quedo? is a short story specially written for students with an intermediate level of Spanish. It will help you learn, revise and consolidate the vocabulary and grammar of level B1. Reading short stories like ¿Me voy o me quedo? is one of the most effective and pleasant ways to learn a Foreign Language. By reading, you can learn vocabulary and grammar structures in context, without memorising lists of isolated words or studying endless grammar rules. However... However, ¿Me voy o me quedo? is not just a book to learn Spanish. It is a funny, witty, enjoyable and engaging story. A story that will capture your attention from the beginning and, hopefully, will make you smile.]]> 157 Juan Fernández Josette 4 4.31 Learn Spanish with Stories (B1): ¿Me voy o me quedo? - Spanish Intermediate (Spanish Edition)

Learn Spanish with Stories (B1): ¿Me voy o me quedo? - Spanish Intermediate (Spanish Edition)

author: Juan Fernández
name: Josette
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/24
date added: 2022/05/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Hamnet 43890641 Hamnet is a luminous portrait of a marriage, at its heart the loss of a beloved child.

Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet.

Award-winning author Maggie O'Farrell's new novel breathes full-blooded life into the story of a loss usually consigned to literary footnotes, and provides an unforgettable vindication of Agnes, a woman intriguingly absent from history.

A New York Times Notable Book (2020), Best Book of 2020: Guardian, Financial Times, Literary Hub, and NPR.]]> 372 Maggie O'Farrell 1472223799 Josette 4 4.16 2020 Hamnet

author: Maggie O'Farrell
name: Josette
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/23
date added: 2022/04/23
shelves:
review:

]]> Ford County 6398972 A Time to Kill.

Wheelchair-bound Inez Graney and her two older sons, Leon and Butch, take a bizarre road trip through the Mississippi Delta to visit the youngest Graney brother, Raymond, who's been locked away on death row for eleven years. It could well be their last visit.

Mack Stafford, a hard-drinking and low-grossing run-of-the-mill divorce lawyer, gets a miracle phone call with a completely unexpected offer to settle some old, forgotten cases for more money than he has ever seen. Mack is suddenly bored with the law, fed up with his wife and his life, and makes drastic plans to finally escape.

Quiet, dull Sidney, a data collector for an insurance company, perfects his blackjack skills in hopes of bringing down the casino empire of Clanton's most ambitious hustler, Bobby Carl Leach, who, among other crimes, has stolen Sidney's wife.

Three good ol' boys from rural Ford County begin a journey to the big city of Memphis to give blood to a grievously injured friend. However, they are unable to drive past a beer store as the trip takes longer and longer. The journey comes to an abrupt end when they make a fateful stop at a Memphis strip club.

The Quiet Haven Retirement Home is the final stop for the elderly of Clanton. It's a sad, languid place with little controversy, until Gilbert arrives. Posing as a low-paid bedpan boy, he is in reality a brilliant stalker with an uncanny ability to sniff out the assets of those "seniors" he professes to love.

One of the hazards of litigating against people in a small town is that one day, long after the trial, you will probably come face-to-face with someone you've beaten in a lawsuit. Lawyer Stanley Wade bumps into an old adversary, a man with a long memory, and the encounter becomes a violent ordeal.

Clanton is rocked with the rumor that the gay son of a prominent family has finally come home, to die. Of AIDS. Fear permeates the town as gossip runs unabated. But in Lowtown, the colored section of Clanton, the young man finds a soul mate in his final days.

Featuring a cast of characters you'll never forget, these stories bring Ford County to vivid and colorful life. Often hilarious, frequently moving, and always entertaining, this collection makes it abundantly clear why John Grisham is our most popular storyteller.]]> 308 John Grisham 0385532458 Josette 2 3.63 2008 Ford County

author: John Grisham
name: Josette
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 2022/04/13
date added: 2022/04/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Spanish Steps: One Man and his Ass on the Pilgrim Way to Santiago]]> 902696 336 Tim Moore 0099471949 Josette 5 3.67 2004

Spanish Steps: One Man and his Ass on the Pilgrim Way to Santiago

author: Tim Moore
name: Josette
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2022/03/25
date added: 2022/03/27
shelves:
review:
Very funny, light hearted with a lot of history. Love Shinto the donkey.
]]> <![CDATA[The Kindness of Strangers: Travel Stories That Make Your Heart Grow]]> 40655093
Exploring new places and getting to know new people and cultures expands our horizons, in more ways than one. All around the world there are not only adventures to be had, but stories to be shared �� ones that open our eyes to different ways of thinking, loving and being. It’s through the small acts of compassion that we experience on the road that our faith in humanity is restored.

Featuring inspirational stories from the likes of Ed Stafford, Benedict Allen, Sarah Outen, Al Humphreys, Leon McCarron, Jamie McDonald and Anna McNuff, adventuring from the Calais Jungle to the Amazon, from Land’s End to the Gobi Desert, from New Guinea to Iran and many other places in-between, and with all royalties going to the Oxfam Syrian Refugee Appeal, this anthology of traveller’s tales is bound to move you, and maybe encourage you to head off on your own adventure to discover the universal kindness of strangers for yourself.]]> 320 Fearghal O'Nuallain 1786855313 Josette 3 4.04 2018 The Kindness of Strangers: Travel Stories That Make Your Heart Grow

The Kindness of Strangers: Travel Stories That Make Your Heart Grow

author: Fearghal O'Nuallain
name: Josette
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2022/03/11
date added: 2022/03/12
shelves:
review:
Interesting but too many acts of kindness about 28 in a 300 page book. I would have prefered les acts but deeper.
]]> <![CDATA[The Kindness of Strangers: Travel Stories That Make Your Heart Grow]]> 41614824
Travel opens our minds to the world; it helps us to embrace risk and uncertainty, overcome challenges and understand the people we meet and the places we visit. But what happens when we arrive home? How do our experiences shape us?

'The Kindness of Strangers' explores what it means to be vulnerable and to be helped by someone we've never met before. Someone who could have walked past, but chose not to.

This is a collection of stories by accomplished travellers and adventurous souls like Sarah Outen, Benedict Allen, Ed Stafford and Al Humphreys, who have completed daring journeys through challenging terrain, adventuring from the Calais Jungle to the Amazon, from Land’s End to the Gobi Desert, from New Guinea to Iran and many other places in between. Each has a story to tell of a time when they were vulnerable, when they were in need and a kind stranger came to their rescue.

These are stories that make our hearts grow, stories that will restore our faith in the world and remind us that, despite what the media says, the world isn't a scary place �� rather, it is filled with Kind Strangers just like us.

All royalties go directly to fund Oxfam’s work with refugees.]]> 228 Fearghal O'Nuallain 1786858746 Josette 3 travels, to-read 4.05 2018 The Kindness of Strangers: Travel Stories That Make Your Heart Grow

author: Fearghal O'Nuallain
name: Josette
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/03/12
shelves: travels, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Die Abenteuer des Barons von Münchhausen]]> 40887666 96 Achim Seiffarth 885301220X Josette 4 3.57

Die Abenteuer des Barons von Münchhausen

author: Achim Seiffarth
name: Josette
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/04
date added: 2022/03/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[My Garden World: The Natural Year]]> 56127603 405 Montagu Don 1473666554 Josette 5 4.46

author: Montagu Don
name: Josette
average rating: 4.46
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/03/04
date added: 2022/03/04
shelves:
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]]> Tibet : My Story 28680187 292 Jetsun Pema 1862044023 Josette 4 4.50

author: Jetsun Pema
name: Josette
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/22
date added: 2022/02/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Oedipus Tyrannus (Translations from Greek Drama)]]> 34438 128 Judith Affleck 0521010721 Josette 5 3.72 -429

Oedipus Tyrannus (Translations from Greek Drama)

author: Judith Affleck
name: Josette
average rating: 3.72
book published: -429
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/17
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wolf Den (Wolf Den Trilogy, #1)]]> 56563852
Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father's death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii's infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For as a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others.

But Amara's spirit is far from broken.

By day, she walks the streets with her fellow she-wolves, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learned that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her?

Set in Pompeii's lupanar, The Wolf Den reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.]]> 464 Elodie Harper Josette 4 4.05 2021 The Wolf Den (Wolf Den Trilogy, #1)

author: Elodie Harper
name: Josette
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/04
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Christ Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year]]> 65211 275 Carlo Levi 0374530092 Josette 5 4.11 1945

Christ Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year

author: Carlo Levi
name: Josette
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1945
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/29
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Homegoing 27071490 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi's magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.]]> 305 Yaa Gyasi Josette 5 4.48 2016

author: Yaa Gyasi
name: Josette
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/22
date added: 2022/01/22
shelves:
review:
Unfortunately we cannot erase the past but can we make the future better. This book is not showing it.
]]> <![CDATA[My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)]]> 52717097 My Brilliant Friend is also the story of a nation. Through the lives of Elena and Lila, Ferrante gives her readers the story of a city and a country undergoing momentous change.]]> 331 Elena Ferrante Josette 5 4.11 2011 My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)

My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)

author: Elena Ferrante
name: Josette
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/08
date added: 2022/01/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Black Boy 228630 Black Boy is a classic of American autobiography, a subtly crafted narrative of Richard Wright's journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. An enduring story of one young man's coming of age during a particular time and place, Black Boy remains a seminal text in our history about what it means to be a man, black, and Southern in America.]]> 419 Richard Wright 0060929782 Josette 5 4.09 1945

author: Richard Wright
name: Josette
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1945
rating: 5
read at: 2021/12/15
date added: 2021/12/16
shelves:
review:

]]> Milkman 36047860
Milkman is a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. It is the story of inaction with enormous consequences.]]> 352 Anna Burns 0571338763 Josette 5 3.51 2018 Milkman

author: Anna Burns
name: Josette
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/14
date added: 2021/12/16
shelves:
review:

]]> Wailing Ghosts 24874341
Some of the most macabre and wonderful of all Chinese stories, including 'The Golden Goblet', 'Scorched Moth the Daoist' and 'The Black Beast'

Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.

Pu Songling (1640-1715).

Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio is available in Penguin Classics.]]> 56 Pu Songling 0141398167 Josette 4 3.23 1740 Wailing Ghosts

author: Pu Songling
name: Josette
average rating: 3.23
book published: 1740
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/07
date added: 2021/10/14
shelves:
review:

]]> Girl, Woman, Other 41081373
Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years.

Joyfully polyphonic and vibrantly contemporary, this is a gloriously new kind of history, a novel of our times: celebratory, ever-dynamic and utterly irresistible.]]> 453 Bernardine Evaristo 0241364906 Josette 5 4.27 2019 Girl, Woman, Other

author: Bernardine Evaristo
name: Josette
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2021/10/02
date added: 2021/10/14
shelves:
review:

]]>