Book picks similar to
The Book of Man by Barry Graham


fiction
writers-of-interest
friends-books
i-don-t-remember-these-anymore

Stranger Than Kindness


Mark A. Radcliffe - 2013
    It is 1989 and Community Care is about to reboot the industry of psychiatry. In a soon-to-be-closed asylum a bruised nurse, Adam Sands, is feeling less like a purveyor of kindness and more like a concentration camp guard with every passing drink. Many years later Adam has got used to the quiet life when his past finds him. Maybe this time he can do some good. Even make a diference. But redemption, like magic, can come from the strangest of places.

The Cast Iron Shore


Linda Grant - 1996
    But on the worst night of Liverpool's blitz she uncovers a secret that leaves her disorientated and eventually leads her to the very edge of America and a final choice)

Centerville


Karen Osborn - 2012
    On a Saturday afternoon in Centerville, a sleepy Midwestern town, a disaffected husband enters a busy drugstore where his estranged wife works and sets a bag with a homemade bomb on the floor. Outside the drugstore, a fourteen-year-old girl places her hand on the door, then inexplicably turns away and keeps walking. Moments later, standing safely inside a bowling alley with her best friend, she hears a sound like thunder.With one devastating explosion, the town is changed forever. In the next few days, four lives become entwined, as the townspeople face sudden loss and new, unpredictable realities.Set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement and the escalating Vietnam War, Centerville forms an engrossing meditation on the complex questions that arise in the wake of senseless violence.

The Tailor's Needle


Lakshmi Raj Sharma - 2009
    Part comedy of manners, part social commentary, love story, mystic narration and thriller, it is a sort of Indian version of Oliver Goldsmith's THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD.

Anne Tyler: Three Complete Novels: A Patchwork Planet / Ladder of Years / Saint Maybe


Anne Tyler - 2001
    Anne Tyler is both literary and popular, one of the few writers whose high sales match her critical acclaim. Now you can enjoy three of her more recent bestsellers in one low-priced, attractively packaged hardcover.

Jimmy Jazz


Roddy Doyle - 2013
    Jimmy Rabbitte hates jazz, always has. But his wife Aiofe loves it, and Jimmy loves Aiofe. So when, in attempt to convert him, she buys him two tickets for a Keith Jarrett concert he decides to take Outspan, former member of Jimmy's band The Commitments, who has come back into his life after a chance meeting in the cancer clinic. Jarrett is famous for being intolerant of any noise at all - a cough, a sneeze, a wheeze - from the audience, stopping playing and shaming the perpetrator. And Outspan's diagnosis is lung cancer, it's pretty bad, and he needs an oxygen cylinder to breathe properly.Will Outspan create havoc? Will Jimmy learn to love jazz at last?

Billy London's Girls


Ruth Hamilton - 1992
    But he came from London's East End and settled in the north, a mean, dark, secretive man who was interested only in lining his pockets at the expense of those around him - most especially his wife and daughters. Ellen, his wife, bore with him for years, until she found her children threatened. Then she was prepared to fight like a tigress to protect the four girls, give them a chance of a new and better life, a chance to escape from the evil and oppressive legacy of Billy London. There was Abigail, clever, ambitious, and with an outer shell of steel that life had taught her was necessary if she was to survive. Tishy, overwhelmingly lovely, who lived in a world all her own. Marie, brisk, capable, and nearly strong enough to defy her father on her own. And Theresa, more wounded, more vulnerable, more damaged by Billy than any of them. As the sirens of 1939 heralded the advent of war, so Billy London's girls began their own battle for new, triumphant, and fulfilling lives.

Buller's Guns (Commander Buller Book 1)


Richard Hough - 1981
    That doesn't matter now, the sea doesn't discriminate. Assigned to duty aboard HMS Inflexible, Archy Buller follows a long line of men in the Buller family who have become officers in the Royal Navy, often to great acclaim. For Rod Maclewin, a welder’s son, joining the Navy is the only way to escape an inevitable life of poverty. It is during the fierce riots in Alexandria, at a besieged railway station, that the paths of the two men fatefully meet. And in spite of their class differences, Buller and Maclewin strike an immediate friendship. But with the trials and tribulations of life at sea, and the ever-present dangers of battle, will their friendship stand the test of time? Buller’s Guns, set in the late Victorian Era, is an action-packed naval adventure that vividly portrays the realities of life at sea. Praise for Richard Hough ‘Solid entertainment for fans of period naval action’ – Kirkus Review ‘Hough is a good storyteller with a refreshing, breezy style’ – The Wall Street Journal ‘Hough is shrewd and subtle’ – The Sunday Telegraph Richard Hough, the distinguished naval historian and winner of the Daily Express Best Book of the Sea Award (1972) was the author of many acclaimed books in the field including Admirals in Collision, The Great War at Sea: 1914-18, and The Longest Battle: The War at Sea 1939-45. He was also the biographer of Mountbatten, and his last biography, Captain James Cook, became a world bestseller.

Close to Home


Pamela Evans - 2001
    Ellie feels truly blessed and has faith in their future - a future which is cruelly snatched away when a terrible car accident leaves Tom brain-damaged and institutionalised. Months later, Ellie is slowly learning to live without him and focuses on her thriving knitwear business. Convicted for a murder he has always denied committing, when Ray Brent is released from prison he is ostracised by the community as he tries to rebuild his life. But he finds a loyal supporter in Ellie when she is witness to a vicious attack on him. Something about him makes her believe in his innocence and the two soon become friends. But it's only a matter of time before friendship becomes an impossible love...

George Orwell Premium Collection: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) - Animal Farm - Burmese Days - Keep the Aspidistra Flying - Homage to Catalonia - The Road to Wigan Pier and Over 50 Amazing Novels, Non-Fiction Books and Essays


George Orwell - 2014
     The six novels, published in order of importance, are: • Nineteen Eighty-Four (the most important dystopian novel ever written, together with Huxley's Brave New World, and Zamyatin's "We" • Animal Farm (1945) • Burmese Days (1934) • Coming Up for Air (1939) • A Clergyman's Daughter (1935) • Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936) His three non fiction books are: • Homage to Catalonia (1938), about the Spanish Civil War. • Down and Out in Paris and London (1933) The last book of the collection is called "ESSAYS: From Hitler, Franco & the Atomic Bomb; to Tolstoi, Dickens & Twain". Orwell was an acclaimed analyst of his country's reality during World War II and beyond (including the beginning of the cold war), which he reflects in his many articles and pamphlets collected in this book. He also did very deep literary and personal analysis of men like Mark Twain, Adolf Hitler, or even Tolstoi. The following is the list of essays. 1. THE SPIKE 2. A HANGING (1931) 3. BOOKSHOP MEMORIES (1936) 4. SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT (1936) 5. SPILLING THE SPANISH BEANS (1937) 6. MARRAKECH (1939) 7. BOYS' WEEKLIES AND FRANK RICHARDS'S REPLY (1940) 8. CHARLES READE (1940) 9. THE ART OF DONALD MCGILL (1941) 10. WELLS, HITLER AND THE WORLD STATE (1941) 11. RUDYARD KIPLING (1942) 12. MARK TWAIN–THE LICENSED JESTER (1943) 13. POETRY AND THE MICROPHONE (1943) 14. W B YEATS (1943) 15. ARTHUR KOESTLER (1944) 16. BENEFIT OF CLERGY: SOME NOTES ON SALVADOR DALI (1944) 18. ANTISEMITISM IN BRITAIN (1945) 19. FREEDOM OF THE PARK (1945) 20. FUTURE OF A RUINED GERMANY (1945) 21. GOOD BAD BOOKS 22. NONSENSE POETRY 23. NOTES ON NATIONALISM (1945) 24. REVENGE IS SOUR (1945) 25. THE SPORTING SPIRIT 26. YOU AND THE ATOMIC BOMB (1945) 27. A GOOD WORD FOR THE VICAR OF BRAY 28. A NICE CUP OF TEA (1946) 29. BOOKS VS. CIGARETTES 30. CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK REVIEWER 31. DECLINE OF THE ENGLISH MURDER 32. HOW THE POOR DIE 33. PLEASURE SPOTS 34. POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 35. SOME THOUGHTS ON THE COMMON TOAD 36. THE PREVENTION OF LITERATURE 37. WHY I WRITE (1946) 38. LEAR, TOLSTOY AND THE FOOL 39. SUCH, SUCH WERE THE JOYS (1947) 40. WRITERS AND LEVIATHAN (1948)

A Sound Like Thunder


Diana Bachmann - 1996
     War is raging across the rest of Europe, but the people of idyllic Guernsey are going about their daily lives. Even with the Third Reich steadily increasing in power, the island continues as normal, blissfully unaffected by Nazi expansion. Sarah and Greg and their young daughter, Suzanne, are the perfect family, spending their days playing tennis together and enjoying picnics on the beach. But when the evil spreading across the continent finally - and unexpectedly - reaches the Channel Islands, their lives implode before their eyes. With their beloved island about to be occupied by German forces, it is arranged for Suzanne to be evacuated to England and the family is torn apart. Life is almost unbearable for Sarah and Greg without their only child, and it only worsens as food becomes scarce and crime rates soar. Forced to watch the home they'd loved disintegrate, how much longer can they survive? The first in Diana Bachmann's compelling Guernsey Saga series, A Sound Like Thunder is an evocative, poignant story of adversity, family, and survival. If you liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, you'll love this moving series! Diana Bachmann was born in Guernsey in 1950. She has three children and six grandchildren, plus a large family of stepchildren and step-grandchildren. Having lived in the Bahamas and Spain with her second husband, bestselling author Christopher Nicole, she has since returned to Guernsey. Inspired by her own experiences as a child evacuee during the Nazi occupation of the island, she authored the popular Guernsey Saga series.

The House on Rosebank Lane: A powerful saga of a mother's love and determination in 1950s Edinburgh


Millie Gray - 2019
     Kirsten Mowat, eighteen years old and with a joyful spring in her step, could't be more in love with her sea-faring sweetheart Duncan Armstrong.But, seven years later – after a hasty wedding, a twist of lies and wrenching loss – Duncan and Kirsten's relationship has faded to tatters. When those closest to her turn their backs, Kirsten – alone, with a young family to care for – must gather all her spirit and strength if they are to survive.From much-loved Millie Gray, The House on Rosebank Lane is an Edinburgh story of families entwined, of sorrow and hopefulness . . . and of a young mother's love for her children and a transforming quest for happiness.A poignant and authentic family saga which depicts the reality of working-class life in 1950s Edinburgh, perfect for fans of Annie Murray (Sisters of Gold), Jennifer Worth (Call the Midwife) and Dilly Court (Nettie's Secret).  PRAISE FOR THE HOUSE ON ROSEBANK LANE: "A deserted mother's struggles to survive and help her children thrive no matter the cost. Millie Gray's fast-moving story, set in the Edinburgh of the 1950s and 60s, is an emotional rollercoaster, full of twists and surprises . . ."– ANNIE MURRAY, bestselling author of Sisters of Gold

I'm All Yours: She will definitely make him believe in love


Madhumitha Lakshamanan - 2017
    She was a Chennaiite and was working as a Chartered Accountant. Her life was like a bed of roses until the day when her marriage was arranged with a complete stranger. But who is the man? Does he even deserve Shakthi? Leading their lives separately for years together, what will happen when they are put to live under one roof? Will they try and make their marriage work? What is it that doesn't allow them? In the process of making her husband believe in love, will she lose her faith in love? To know more, read I'm All Yours

The Curse


Lee Su Ann - 2007
    

A Room with a View (Level 6)


Hilary Maxwell-Hyslop
    M. Forster's most celebrated works. Forster explores love among a cast of eccentric characters gathered in an Italian pension and in a corner of Surrey, England. Caught up in a world of social snobbery, Lucy Honeychurch must make a decision that will decide the course of her future: She is forced to choose between convention and passion.