Bookclub-in-a-Box Discusses A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini


Marilyn Herbert - 2008
    This book tells the dramatic story of an unlikely friendship between two women, Mariam and Laila, who are married to the same man. The story takes us through each of their lives before the Russians enter Afghanistan, into the horrible years of Taliban rule, and beyond. Watching these women grow in their relationship, we are given a picture of what it has meant to be a woman in Afghanistan during the last four decades. The novel lifts the veil of these women and shows the reader the female face of Afghanistan's population. Readers can use Bookclub-in-a-Box to unravel and be sensitive to the exceptionally difficult situation in Afghanistan today, to appreciate the intricate nature of human endurance, faith, hope and resilience, to explore the complex relationships of Afghanistan's sons and daughters to each other and to the world at large, and to find out what Hosseini and others envision for Afghanistan's future. Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style and interesting background information on the novel and the author.

Marilyn Monroe


Marie Clayton - 2007
    The lavishly illustrated Marilyn Montroe tells the story of the silver screen's beloved star: From Norma Jeane to her eventual success as a move star. The accompanying DVD includes a stunning collections of photographs, movie clips and video footage.

Of Love and Life: 31 Dream Street / Hidden / The Two Mrs Robinsons


Lisa Jewell - 2007
    But when a quiet tragedy and an unwelcome letter interrupt Toby's sedate existence, he needs his housemates to find some direction in their lives. Leah Pilgrim has watched the tenants of the house over the road for several years, and when the owner of 31 Silversmith Road asks her for advice, he opens the door not only to the eccentric building across the street - but to five lives in various stages of turmoil. Can Toby and Leah help these misfits to grow up, move on and move out? And in doing so, can they make their own dreams come true? Hidden : A trail of blood winding through a squalid flat in Margate leads DCI Dave Gosworth to the body of Jacqui Jennings, her skull smashed with a chisel. For Dave it is just the start of a long and puzzling case...Forty miles away in South London a young single mother named Melanie Stenning is blissfully unaware of Jacqui's life and death. But that trail of blood will one day lead straight to her door - with terrifying repercussions. For Melanie is about to fall in love with a stranger...Fourteen months later, Melanie has a new husband, a new baby and a new home on the isolated Kent coast. But when her seven-year-old daughter Poppy disappears, she is forced to question everything in her new life, including the man she loves. Because DCI Dave Goswrth has come knocking - with some chilling questions... The Two Mrs Robinsons: Anna lives with Oliver Robinson and their 3-year-old son Charlie. They met when she worked as a waitress at his restaurant; he had recently separated and she was a shoulder to cry on. But friendship turned to love. Now she juggles motherhood with part-time work and she couldn't be happier. Or perhaps she could? Oliver has never divorced his first wife Eve who is everything Anna is not. Eve insists on making herself part of their lives and her demands soak up much of their time and income. Anna understands that Oliver needs to support his two teenage children, but why should they keep Eve too? The situation looks set to grumble on indefinitely unless someone or something shakes it up. And something does - it's called Fate. Oliver is killed in a car crash, leaving both women shattered. How will they react to this appalling tragedy? Will it drive them further apart, or force them to cut their losses and pull together for the sake of their children and their futures?

Painted Lives


Charlotte Vale Allen - 1990
    Mattie Sylvester, a widow of one of America's most celebrated painters, reveals the sordid truth of the past, and of her husband, to her secretary.

U2 Faraway So Close


B.P. Fallon - 1994
    Revealing the band's wilder, freer incarnation as seen in the Zoo TV tour, this biography offers stunning photos and never-before-published interviews, anecdotes, and stories.

Picture Perfect Lighting: Mastering the Art and Craft of Light for Portraiture


Roberto Valenzuela - 2016
    His two previous books, "Picture Perfect Practice" and "Picture Perfect Posing," shattered the mold of instructional photography books as they empowered readers to advance their composition and posing skills. "Picture Perfect Lighting," the third book in the "Picture Perfect" series, brings that same spirit and approach to teaching lighting. With it, Roberto empowers photographers to embrace lighting as a source of creativity and expression in service of their vision for the image. In "Picture Perfect Lighting," Roberto has created a truly original system for understanding and controlling light in photography. After discussing the universal nature of light, Roberto introduces the five key behaviors of light, which are essential to understand in order to improve your knowledge of light. With those behaviors established, Roberto introduces his concept of circumstantial light, an ingenious way of examining and breaking down the light around you in any given situation. Providing a detailed analysis of circumstantial light, Roberto develops the top ten circumstantial light elements you need to know in order to fully harness the power of the light around you to create an image that is true to your vision. But how will you know if the circumstantial light is enough? The final piece of the "Picture Perfect Lighting" system is Roberto s lighting benchmark test, a brilliant method for determining the quality of the light in any given situation. It is with the lighting benchmark test that you will determine if and when you need to use helper light, the light that is needed or manipulated in order to help the circumstantial light so that your vision comes to life. Helper light is created with diffusers, reflectors, flashes, strobes, and light modifiers. "Picture Perfect Lighting" covers all of this in depth. Don t limit yourself to using only one kind of light, and don t depend on Photoshop actions and plug-ins to create the wow factor in your images. That is the job of light. With "Picture Perfect Lighting" by your side, you will learn to master light. With that mastery, you will finally have the ability to create that true wow factor in camera and in your photographs."

The Headshot: The Secrets to Creating Amazing Headshot Portraits


Peter Hurley - 2014
    Here's your chance to learn exactly how to create the look that everybody's after. This is bankable stuff! If you're not adding headshots to what you offer as a photographer, you're leaving a lot of money on the table. Peter knows first-hand the secrets to not only lighting your headshots like a pro (there's a whole chapter on that alone), but in this book he reveals, in the very same fashion that made him a famous name with photographers everywhere, how he gets authentic expressions and incredibly flattering positioning that will make your clients look better than they ever have in any photo--period! It's all here: he shows you his positioning techniques, his secrets for getting genuine smiles and images that look so natural you won't believe they're posed (but of course, they are), and you'll learn the very same techniques that Peter uses to create amazing headshots for everyone from execs at top Fortune 500 companies, to Silicon Valley startups, to actors and public figures who know all too well how important a great-looking headshot really is. Peter doesn't hold anything back. He reveals all his tricks of the trade, from his trademark lighting look, to how to create good-looking backgrounds on location, to positioning tricks you won't hear anywhere else, and it's all written in Peter's fun, quirky, inspiring style that lets you know, right from the beginning, you can do this, and you can do this big! These are the techniques that Peter has crafted from years in front of the lens, as a model for top brands like Abercrombie & Fitch and Guess, and years behind the lens, giving him an insight few photographers will ever possess, and he's willing to share every bit of it--every trick, every technique, and every nuance--in this book that will pay for itself at your very next shoot. Yes, it's that good.

Photography: The Key Concepts


David Bate - 2009
    Used to confirm identity, to sell products, to reshape the real, to visualize the news, to record and communicate the personal moment, and as an art form in its own right, photography is now one of the most accessible and pervasive of media. "Photography: The Key Concepts" provides an ideal guide to the place of photography in our society and to the extraordinary range of photographic genres. Outlining the history of photography and explaining the body of theory which has built up around its use, the book guides the reader through the genres of documentary, portraiture, landscape, still life, art and global photography. Illustrated with a range of historical and contemporary images and case material, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in photography.

Taylor Swift


Andrew Vaughan - 2011
    With its wealth of photographs, album artwork and archive memorabilia, this is the ultimate celebration of the young singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

Guitar Lessons: A Life's Journey Turning Passion Into Business


Bob Taylor - 2011
    From the "a-ha" moment in junior high school that inspired his very first guitar, Taylor has been living the American dream, crafting quality products with his own hands and building a successful, sustainable business. In Guitar Lessons, he shares the values that he lives by and that have provided the foundation for the company's success. Be inspired by a story of guts and gumption, an unwavering commitment to quality, and the hard lessons that made Taylor Guitars the company it is today.

Junk Beautiful: Room by Room Makeovers with Junkmarket Style


Sue Whitney - 2008
    That's a fact of life that the Junkmarket gals know only too well. Through their annual Minneapolis fleamarket, The Junk Bonanza, web site junkmarketstyle.com, and tireless touring, Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer have helped countless devotees transform junk into one-of-a-kind furnishings and accessories. Working their magic on every room of the house--from kitchen to home office--they present conversational case studies that introduce the clients and explore their needs. With characteristic humor in tow, they take readers through each renovation adventure, from shopping for recycled materials to the actual construction projects. The gals also include complete materials lists, plus paint chips and fabric swatches, so that everything can be recreated down to the last delicious detail.

Skyfall


Saba Karim Khan - 2020
    Despite the worst of humanity every day – her madrassa running father selling her mother's body and beating her sister – Rania remains the 'Troublemaker', unable to give up on her dreams.When an Indian filmmaker encourages her to enrol in a music contest that can take her to New York, her dreams take flight. But even as she wins the hearts of her listeners, a family secret threatens to bring her life in Heera Mandi back in sharp relief, upending the new life she has built for herself.From the oppressive walls of religious hypocrisy to the orange jumpsuits of American prisons, Skyfall is a tender, piercing debut that teaches us the strength of human endeavour and our desire for love in a time of hate.

No More Pain


Paige Green - 2015
    At just the tender age of fifteen, she's experienced a life filled with agony. After being viciously raped and abused by her mother and step-father for years, Novel becomes withdrawn from life. She didn't think life could get more cruel until she becomes pregnant with her rapist's child. After being placed in foster care, Novel thought she was safe until she discovers the foster care's deepest, darkest secret. Jaded and wanting to be delivered out of the dark life she's been given, Novel started to give up until she then meets a man by the name of Lance, who becomes the real father-figure that she's never had. After being a victim for so many years, will Novel finally break free of the shackles of pain or will she let it torment her for the rest of her life?

History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of West Virginia


Wills De Hass - 1851
     This area was dangerous and many who had ventured there alone had never returned. But slowly over the course of this century settlers continued to push further west until regions such as West Virginia were populated with more and more adventurous young men and women. The settlement of these lands did not occur without difficulties and colonizers frequently came into conflict with the local Native American populations. Wills De Hass’s remarkable book History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of West Virginia is a fascinating history of how the lands of the west were first settled by white emigrants in the eighteenth century and how these settlers came into frequent strife with the Native American tribes who had previously lived there. Beginning with Columbus’ discovery of this great continent Wills De Hass charts the colonization of this expansive land. He records with brilliant detail the early encounters that Europeans had with the men and women that they found already living across the region and explains how various nations from across the Atlantic made their first tentative footholds on this newly discovered land. De Hass records how settlers were not only conflict with Native Americans but also with each other as this region descended into war, firstly during the French and Indian War and shortly afterwards during the American War of Independence. Particularly fascinating throughout the book are the biographical sketches of various well-known frontiersmen who were particularly influential in the Ohio Valley and northwestern Virginia. This book is perfect for anyone interested in the early settlement of western regions prior to 1795 and how this area was frequently in conflict as settlers attempted to assert their rights against the wishes of the Native American populations. Wills de Hass was a lecturer and writer on archaeological and historical subjects. His book History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of Western Virginia was first published in 1851 and De Hass passed away 1910.

Veil of Darkness


Greg Park - 2007
    Only a young man whose heritage marks him as specially Gifted can wield the Blood Orb of Elsa and heal the Earthsoul. Set in a richly detailed and varied world, this blend of coming-of-age story and epic saga belongs in most fantasy collections.