Book picks similar to
Reading Gossip in Early Eighteenth-Century England by Nicola Parsons
18th-century
ovular
uk
x-story-his-n-hers-x
After Magritte
Tom Stoppard - 1969
'Mother lies prone on an ironing board under a basket of fruit suspended from the ceiling, while a young couple - the girl in a ball dress, the man stripped to the waist in waders - are frantically changing light bulbs; through a street window at the back a policeman spies on this domestic scene in a posture of frozen astonishment...You see the author at full stretch when the police burst in and embark on a lunatic investigation involving four characters who all see the facts in a totally different light, and pounce on every ambiguous word to shoot off in their own direction: the dialogue operates like a railway junction with a madman switching over the points.' Irving Wardle in The Times.
Breeds: A Canine Compendium
Fenella Smith - 2014
From aloof Afghan's to tearaway terriers, Breeds will strike a chord with dog lovers everywhere.Corgi - spirited yet loyal dogs. Unusally large ears, all the better for hearing with. The Queen's favourite and they know it.Dachshund - a long, loving and inquisitive dog. Slightly neurotic - will spend large parts of the day worrying. Make excellent draft excluders.Scottie - elegant and compact. Trot along like a dressage horse. Deeply suspicious of other dogs, all of whom are considered lesser beings.
Dalila
Jason Donald - 2017
Once she wanted to be a journalist, now all she wants is to be safe. When she finally arrives, bewildered, in London, she is attacked by the very people paid to protect her, and she has no choice but to step out on her own into this strange new world. Through a dizzying array of interviews, lawyer’s meetings, regulations and detention centres, she realises that what she faces may be no less dangerous than the violence she has fled.Written with grace, humour and compassion, this timely and thought-provoking novel tackles its uncomfortable subject matter in a deeply affecting way. A book about forging dignity in a world of tragedy, and raising issues about immigration and asylum-seekers through the story of one woman’s plight, Dalila is a necessary tale of our times. It is also a work of great literary power: a slow-burning, spell-binding novel about how we treat the vulnerable and dispossessed that will leave its readers devastated.
Outline
Rachel Cusk - 2014
Though her own circumstances remain indistinct, she becomes the audience to a chain of narratives, as the people she meets tell her one after another the stories of their lives.Beginning with the neighbouring passenger on the flight out and his tales of fast boats and failed marriages, the storytellers talk of their loves and ambitions and pains, their anxieties, their perceptions and daily lives. In the stifling heat and noise of the city the sequence of voice begins to weave a complex human tapestry. The more they talk the more elliptical their listener becomes, as she shapes and directs their accounts until certain themes begin to emerge: the experience of loss, the nature of family life, the difficulty of intimacy and the mystery of creativity itself.Outline is a novel about writing and talking, about self-effacement and self-expression, about the desire to create and the human art of self-portraiture in which that desire finds its universal form.
Good Grief: Life in a Tiny Vermont Village
Ellen Stimson - 2014
Ellen Stimson and her husband had such a wonderful time in Vermont that they wondered what living there would really be like. What if we stayed here . . . forever? So began the series of adventures and misadventures of Ellen Stimson s hilarious first book, Mud Season. Now, having settled the family in Vermont s rich muddy soil, they are faced with new challenges of raising kids in the paradise of this very small, very rural town. Good Grief tells the tales of the hopes and dreams of parents just trying to do their best and not always succeeding. Imagine being the mom of the kid who peed on his teacher s chair . . . On. Purpose. Now imagine the governor asking you about it! Good Grief is all about the inevitable moment right after somebody says, What next? Ellen Stimson s irrepressible optimism and good humor prevail as she, her two husbands, their three kids, and various much-loved pets face down real life, and even death and grieving, with good humor intact. This is life in a state where everyone knows everything, and everything is everybody s else's business."
The Louder I Will Sing
Lee Lawrence - 2020
The bullet shattered her spine and she never walked again. In the chaos that followed, 11-year-old Lee watched in horror as the News falsely pronounced his mother dead. In Brixton, already a powder keg because of the deep racism that the community was experiencing, it was the spark needed to trigger two days of rioting that saw buildings brought down by petrol bombs, cars torched and shops looted.But for Lee, it was a spark that lit a flame that would burn for the next 30 years as he fought to get the police to recognise their wrongdoing. His life had changed forever: he was now his mother's carer, he had seen first-hand the prejudice that existed in his country, and he was at the mercy of a society that was working against him. And yet that flame - for justice, for peace, for change - kept him going.The Louder I Will Sing is a powerful, compelling and uplifting memoir about growing up in modern Britain as a young Black man. It's a story both of people and politics, of the underlying racism beneath many of our most important institutions, but also the positive power that hope, faith and love can bring in response.
The Looneyspoons Collection: Good Food, Good Health, Good Fun!
Janet Podleski - 1996
Jam-packed with “the best of the best” Janet & Greta recipes . . . made even BETTER!• Better carbs• Better fats• More fiber• Less sugar• Less salt• Same great taste that won’t go to your waist! TLC features outrageously delicious, reader-favorite recipes from Janet & Greta’s incredibly popular cookbooks Looneyspoons, one of Canada’s all-time bestsellers; Crazy Plates, a James Beard Foundation Award finalist; and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry!, voted “Cookbook of the Decade 2000–2009” by Chapters/Indigo Books. . . . Plus TONS OF NEW, MUST-TRY RECIPES, including:Greta’s Gluten-Free Miracle BrowniesChewy, moist, double-chocolate fudge brownies.Honey, I Shrunk My Thighs!Mouthwatering, honey-garlic baked chicken thighs that will leave everyone begging for more.Moroccan and Rollin’ Quinoa SaladThe super-grain becomes super-scrumptious when paired with rockin’ spices Pimped-Out Pumpkin Pie PancakesOne taste and you’ll say, “Thanks (for) giving me this fabulous recipe!”Diabetic? Looking for gluten-free or vegetarian options? Counting points? Cooking for finicky kids? The Looneyspoons Collection makes healthy eating delicious and fun for everyone! A feast for your eyes and your taste buds, TLC is overflowing with gorgeous, full-color food photos; hundreds of practical weight-loss, anti-aging and healthy-living tips; and, of course, a heaping helping of Janet & Greta’s trademark corny jokes and punny recipe titles.
Diddly Squat
Jeremy Clarkson - 2021
1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER________Welcome to Clarkson's farm.An idyllic spot offering picturesque views across the Cotswolds, bustling hedgerows and natural springs, it's the perfect plot of land for someone to delegate the actual, you know, farming to someone else while he galivants around the world in cars.Until one day, Jeremy decided he would do the farming itself.After all, how hard could it be? . . .Faced with suffocating red tape, biblical weather, local objections, a global pandemic and his own frankly staggering ignorance of how to 'do farming', Jeremy soon realises that turning the farm around is going to take more than splashing out on a massive tractor.Fortunately, there's help at hand from a large and (mostly) willing team, including girlfriend Lisa, Kaleb the Tractor Driver, Cheerful Charlie, Ellen the Shepherd and Gerald, his Head of Security and Dry Stone Waller.Between them, they enthusiastically cultivate crops, rear livestock and hens, keep bees, bottle spring water and open a farm shop. But profits remain elusive.And yet while the farm may be called Diddly Squat for good reason, Jeremy soon begins to understand that it's worth a whole lot more to him than pounds, shillings and pence . . .________
Praise for Clarkson's Farm:
'The best thing Clarkson's done . . . It pains me to say this' THE GUARDIAN'Shockingly hopeful' THE INDEPENDENT'Even the most committed Clarkson haters will find him likeable here' THE TELEGRAPH'Quite lovely' THE TIMES
The Garden Cottage Diaries: My Year in the Eighteenth Century
Fiona J. Houston - 2009
Find out in this fascinating, funny and honest account how she donned historic dress and lived on a shoestring
God Gave Me You
Tricia Seaman - 2016
This is the heartwarming story of how two very different women with two very different paths were brought together for one very special purpose.Oncology nurse Tricia Seaman and her family were hoping to adopt a son. They were months into the grueling process when she met Trish Somers, a terminally ill cancer patient. Trish was a single mother and her eight-year-old son Wesley was her entire world. As the young mother poured out her fears and emotions, it became clear that this was unlike any other nurse-patient relationship Tricia had in her career. When they learned that the cancer had spread and Trish only had a short time to live, she looked at Tricia, a complete stranger three weeks ago, and asked if she could raise Wesley when she passed away. God Gave Me You tells the true story of how these two incredible mothers met, the immediate bond they formed, and the ups and downs of joining families as Trish’s earthly life ebbed away. This heartwarming tale inspires readers to find the courage to trust in faith and never give up. The miracle of these two families coming together demonstrates that family isn’t always blood; often, it’s made up of the people God gives you if you have a willing heart. God Gave Me You is a story you can turn to again and again when you’re looking for hope, inspiration, and a reason to believe in miracles.
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
Jen Campbell - 2012
isn't it?'A John Cleese Twitter question ['What is your pet peeve?'], first sparked the 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' blog, which grew over three years into one bookseller's collection of ridiculous conversations on the shop floor. From 'Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?' to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year's weather; and from 'I've forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter' to 'Excuse me... is this book edible?: here is a book for heroic booksellers and booklovers everywhere.This full-length collection illustrated by the Brothers McLeod also includes top 'Weird Things' from bookshops around the world.
Anxiety: Meditations on the Anxious Mind
The School of Life - 2020
Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other
Sam Heughan - 2020
One Country. And a lot of whisky.As stars of "Outlander", Sam and Graham eat, sleep and breathe the Highlands on this epic road trip around their homeland. They discover that the real thing is even greater than fiction."Clanlands" is the story of their journey. Armed with their trusty campervan and a sturdy friendship, these two Scotsmen are on the adventure of a lifetime to explore the majesty of Scotland. A wild ride by boat, kayak, bicycle and motorbike, they travel from coast to loch and peak to valley and delve into Scotland's history and culture, from timeless poetry to bloody warfare.With near-death experiences, many weeks in a confined space together, and a cast of unforgettable characters, Graham and Sam's friendship matures like a fine Scotch. They reflect on their acting careers in film and theatre, find a new awestruck respect for their native country and, as with any good road trip, they even find themselves.Hold onto your kilts ... this is Scotland as you've never seen it before.
Mrs P’s Journey: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Created the A–Z Map
Sarah Hartley - 2002
Born Phyllis Isobella Gross, her lifelong nickname was PIG. The artist daughter of a flamboyant Hungarian Jewish immigrant, and an Irish Italian mother, her bizarre and often traumatic childhood did not restrain her from becoming one of Britain's most intriguing entrepreneurs and self-made millionaires.After an unsatisfactory marriage, Phyllis, a thirty-year-old divorcee, had to support herself and so became a portrait painter. It is doing this job and trying to find her patron’s houses that Phyllis became increasingly frustrated at the lack of proper maps of London. Instead of just cursing the fact as many fellow Londoners probably did, Phyllis decided to do something about it. Without hesitation she covered London’s 23,000 streets on foot during the course of one year, often leaving her Horseferry Road bedsit at dawn to do so. To publish the map, and in light of its enormous success, she sets up her own company, The Geographer’s Trust, which still publishes the London A-Z and that of every major British city. Mrs P’s Journeyis the account of a strong, independent woman who has left behind an enduring legacy.