Book picks similar to
Henry and the Elephant / Fire Engine by Wilbert Awdry
ages-0-6
aiden-s-read-books
r2s3l
readers
The Ascent Of Rum Doodle
W.E. Bowman - 1956
As an outrageously funny spoof about the ascent of a 40,000-and-a-half-foot peak, many thought it inspired by the 1953 conquest of Everest. But Bowman had drawn on the flavour and tone of earlier adventures, of Bill Tilman and his 1937 account of the Nandi Devi expedition. The book's central and unforgettable character, Binder, is one of the finest creations in comic literature.
Indiscretion
Charles Dubow - 2012
Someone who writes it down after it's all over. Why am I the narrator of this story? I am because it is the story of my life—and of the people I love most. . . ."Harry and Madeleine Winslow have been blessed with talent, money, and charm. Harry is a National Book Award–winning author on the cusp of greatness. Madeleine is a woman of sublime beauty and grace whose elemental goodness and serenity belie a privileged upbringing. Bonded by deep devotion, they share a love that is both envied and admired. The Winslows play host to a coterie of close friends and acolytes eager to bask in their golden radiance, whether they are in their bucolic East Hampton cottage, abroad in Rome thanks to Harry's writing grant, or in their comfortable Manhattan brownstone.One weekend at the start of the summer season, Harry and Maddy, who are in their early forties, meet Claire and cannot help but be enchanted by her winsome youth, quiet intelligence, and disarming naivete. Drawn by the Winslows' inscrutable magnetism, Claire eagerly falls into their welcoming orbit. But over the course of the summer, her reverence transforms into a dangerous desire. By Labor Day, it is no longer enough to remain one of their hangers-on.A story of love, lust, deception, and betrayal as seen through the omniscient eyes of Maddy's childhood friend Walter, a narrator akin to Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, Indiscretion is a juicy, richly textured novel filled with fascinating, true-to-life characters—an irresistibly sensual page-turner that explores having it all and the consequences of wanting more.
Rain Dogs
Sean Doolittle - 2005
But the truth is, after losing a child and a marriage, Tom doesn't really care. And life is nice and quiet in the middle of nowhere. Until a drug lab blows up near his property--putting Tom in contact with the woman he once loved, a small-town cop with a chip on his shoulder, and a powerful local who doesn't want him poking his nose where it doesn't belong. Tom doesn't want to get involved in the first place. But in the hardscrabble Nebraska Sandhills, storms gather suddenly and bad blood runs deep. Now a quiet summer on the river is turning into a dangerous season of grudges, betrayal, and violent reckoning--and it's already too late to find shelter...
Lucky Jim
Kingsley Amis - 1954
This is the story of Jim Dixon, a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a provincial university who knows better than most that “there was no end to the ways in which nice things are nicer than nasty ones.” Kingsley Amis’s scabrous debut leads the reader through a gallery of emphatically English bores, cranks, frauds, and neurotics with whom Dixon must contend in one way or another in order to hold on to his cushy academic perch and win the girl of his fancy.More than just a merciless satire of cloistered college life and stuffy postwar manners, Lucky Jim is an attack on the forces of boredom, whatever form they may take, and a work of art that at once distills and extends an entire tradition of English comic writing, from Fielding and Dickens through Wodehouse and Waugh. As Christopher Hitchens has written, “If you can picture Bertie or Jeeves being capable of actual malice, and simultaneously imagine Evelyn Waugh forgetting about original sin, you have the combination of innocence and experience that makes this short romp so imperishable.”
Charlie the Choo-Choo
Beryl Evans - 2016
From celebrated author Beryl Evans and illustrator Ned Dameron comes a story about friendship, loyalty, and hard work.Beryl Evans is the pseudonym adopted by Stephen King for this picture book, 'Charlie the Choo-Choo'.
The Hugo Movie Companion: A Behind the Scenes Look at How a Beloved Book Became a Major Motion Picture
Brian Selznick - 2011
Brian Selznick takes readers on an intimate tour of the movie-making process as his Caldecott Award-winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret is turned into a 3-D major motion picture by Academy Award-winning director, Martin Scorsese, written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, John Logan. Lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs from the movie, and filled with fun, informative interviews of the cast and crew, comparisons of artwork from the book alongside people, props, costumes, and sets from the movie, plus fascinating information about automatons, filmmaking pioneer Georges Melies, and an essay on the birth of movies written by Martin Scorsese, The Hugo Movie Companion beautifully extends the experience of the book and the movie, and is a must-have for fans of all ages.
Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza
Ken Forkish - 2012
For Portland-based baker Ken Forkish, well-made bread is more than just a pleasure—it is a passion that has led him to create some of the best and most critically lauded breads and pizzas in the country. In Flour Water Salt Yeast, Forkish translates his obsessively honed craft into scores of recipes for rustic boules and Neapolitan-style pizzas, all suited for the home baker. Forkish developed and tested all of the recipes in his home oven, and his impeccable formulas and clear instructions result in top-quality artisan breads and pizzas that stand up against those sold in the best bakeries anywhere. Whether you’re a total beginner or a serious baker, Flour Water Salt Yeast has a recipe that suits your skill level and time constraints: Start with a straight dough and have fresh bread ready by supper time, or explore pre-ferments with a bread that uses biga or poolish. If you’re ready to take your baking to the next level, follow Forkish’s step-by-step guide to making a levain starter with only flour and water, and be amazed by the delicious complexity of your naturally leavened bread. Pizza lovers can experiment with a variety of doughs and sauces to create the perfect pie using either a pizza stone or a cast-iron skillet. Flour Water Salt Yeast is more than just a collection of recipes for amazing bread and pizza—it offers a complete baking education, with a thorough yet accessible explanation of the tools and techniques that set artisan bread apart. Featuring a tutorial on baker’s percentages, advice for manipulating ingredients ratios to create custom doughs, tips for adapting bread baking schedules to fit your day-to-day life, and an entire chapter that demystifies the levain-making process, Flour Water Salt Yeast is an indispensable resource for bakers who want to make their daily bread exceptional bread.
Chocolate Cake
Michael Rosen - 2017
. .CHOCOLATE CAKE!Ohhh! I LOVED chocolate cake.Fantastically funny and full of silly noises, this is Michael Rosen's love letter to every child's favourite treat, chocolate cake. Brought to life as a picture book for the first time with brilliant and characterful illustrations by Kevin Waldron.
A Reader’s Delight
Noel Perrin - 1988
Only two rules applied in selecting the books covered: “No book less than about fifteen years old was eligible;” and “no book that more than two or three of my colleagues had read got considered.”
Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes
Judith Conaway - 2001
Adapted from three of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tales of suspense ( The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, and The Red Headed League) these thrilling mysteries are made accessible to young readers in this fabulous easy to read edition.
The Seagull
Anton Chekhov - 1895
Two years later it was revived by Nemirovich-Danchenko at the newly-founded Moscow Art Theatre with Stanslasky as Trigorin and was an immediate success. Checkhov's description of the play was characteristically self-mocking: "A comedy - 3F, 6M, four acts, rural scenery (a view over a lake); much talk of literature, little action, five bushels of love".Michael Frayn's translation was commissioned by the Oxford Playhouse Company.
Tunnel Vision
Keith Lowe - 2001
On the eve of his wedding, he makes a drunken bet that challenges him to travel through every single Tube station in just one day. Only by completing the entire map will Andy retrieve the Eurostar tickets he needs to get to his wedding in Paris. At 1 AM, Andy's fiancée, Rachel, will be on the Eurostar, with or without him. Not just an unpredictable story about one man's peculiar passion, Keith Lowe's exceptional debut draws us effortlessly along on a deeply personal journey through chaos, commitment, and love.
Up in the Old Hotel
Joseph Mitchell - 1992
These are among the people that Joseph Mitchell immortalized in his reportage for The New Yorker and in four books—McSorley's Wonderful Saloon, Old Mr. Flood, The Bottom of the Harbor, and Joe Gould's Secret—that are still renowned for their precise, respectful observation, their graveyard humor, and their offhand perfection of style.These masterpieces (along with several previously uncollected stories) are available in one volume, which presents an indelible collective portrait of an unsuspected New York and its odder citizens—as depicted by one of the great writers of this or any other time.
Ghastle and Yule
Josh Malerman - 2014
Gordon Ghastle and Allan Yule are promising young directors who help reshape the genre. But as their careers take off, will their need to outdo each other bring them to commit acts more macabre than what they commit to film? Told in intimate detail by their mutual cinematographer, Ghastle and Yule chronicles the rise and fall of two geniuses at the stormy height of their powers—and what happens when obsessions go too far. Josh Malerman is the author of Bird Box and the songwriter for the band the High Strung. He lives in Ferndale, Michigan with his fiancee Allison Laakko. Praise for Bird Box: "This completely compelling novel contains a thousand subtle touches but no mere flourishes- it so well, so efficiently, so directly written I read it with real admiration. Josh Malerman does the job like a fast-talking, wised-up angel." -Peter Straub "Immersive, mesmerizing, and deliciously dark- this the best kind of horror, where your imagination becomes your own worst enemy." -Jamie Ford "Chilling and beautifully told. A must-read." -Hugh Howey, bestselling author of WOOL. "Hitchcockian. A notably strong study of modern psychological terror." -USA Today "Startlingly fresh and potent." -Rue Morgue Magazine Cover design by: Adil Dara