Book picks similar to
Blue Creek Bride: A Kiwi Rides Into the Rockies with Her Warden Husband by Leanne J. Minton


comedic-memoir-or-nonfiction
nonfiction-or-journalistic
spiritual
cinematic-premise

Lady Joe


Mark Saha - 2015
    “This book touched my heart." - GoodreadsSomebody left Lee Estes in charge of the Walker place while the trainers are on the road and he manages to lose a champion cutting horse scheduled to be picked up by a buyer. The unsophisticated buyer only wants Lady Joe as a trophy horse to impress clients at a prestigious law firm, so Lee buys a cheap no-talent blue roan lookalike. When the buyer tells Lee to enter the animal in a weekend cutting for photographs, he must scramble to find a blue roan cutter to substitute for the bogus horse. By chance, the only blue roan cutter around belongs to Jim Harrison’s wife, who has no use for Lee and is about to divorce Jim. Lee persuades his best friend since high school days that there is opportunity here for Jim to save his marriage. Things go haywire from there in this humorous misadventure that takes an affectionate glimpse at the sport of cutting and becomes a trenchant comment on the future of the horse in a world where it is no longer essential to everyday life.

Amadea: One Spring in France


Michelle Granas - 2015
    It seems that Amadea has finally found someone who appreciates her for her kindness and cultivation. She begins to enjoy her new occupation and the first human warmth she has encountered in years. Unfortunately, the village is not as peaceful as it appears and her path is soon crossed by a number of undesirables, including a charming, married lawyer and a scholarly alcoholic with a problem—and it isn’t his drinking. His son Hugo is trying to force him to sell the family land and has sent round a young thug to keep the pressure on. Hugo never expects, however, that his father will try to reform the fellow. Raymond may be an alcoholic, but like Amadea, he has inner strengths in spite of his failings, and he believes in the power of words. Hugo isn’t happy and when Amadea inadvertently gets involved matters spin out of control. This is a lighthearted story about the value of saying no and also about the sometimes unexpected nature of sustaining relationships.

Decisions: Life and Death on Wall Street (Kindle Single)


Janet M. Tavakoli - 2015
    A prominent bank CEO seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown.In Washington D.C., a former Wall Street regulator checks into a hotel using the name of a hedge fund manager for an illicit meeting with a prostitute. In a D.C. suburb, the CFO of a beleaguered mortgage giant chooses a drastic personal end to “relentless pressure”.In a picturesque suburb of Zug, Switzerland, the CFO of a major insurance company decides to end his life. In London, a financier kills himself in a way he once said he never would.In her new memoir, Janet Tavakoli shines a bright light on the money-driven culture of Wall Street and Washington, and the life and death consequences of our decisions that put profit above all.Approximately 16,000 words of text (not including front and back matter and references. 105 total pages)Praise for Decisions"Tavakoli takes us on a scenic tour of the recent lowlights of Wall Street and Washington...demystified and rendered tragically human. It's a compelling tale.” Jake Bernstein, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting "Merrill Debauchery Only Begins This Woman's Tale... 'Neither Bill nor I believed Calvi committed suicide,' Tavakoli writes. 'Bill joked that he'd never hang himself. It was too gruesome.'"Bloomberg News "Janet Tavakoli is a born storyteller with an incredible tale to tell. She takes us on a br /isk journey from the depravity of 1980s Wall Street to the systemic recklessness that crushed the global economy.”Nomi Prins, author of All the Presidents' Bankers “An authority on credit derivatives, has written a reflective memoir about life in the world of finance. Tavakoli is not a woman who employs words carelessly, and when she says fraud she means ... fraud.” All About Alpha Praise for Janet M. Tavakoli“She knows her stuff, has strong opinions, and turns a colourful quote.” Financial Times “Janet Tavakoli knows more about the inside of the financial world than nearly anyone else!”Jim Rogers, Author of Street Smarts - Adventures on the Road and in the Markets“Intelligent analyst whose command of the arcane world...mixed with a brutally honest analytical framework makes it a pleasure to read her work.” Asia Times Online

Stable Relation


Anna Blake - 2015
    My life went to the dogs...and horses...and llamas... and did I mention happy hour with the goats? My urban world came apart, so I took a leap of faith and crash-landed on a dilapidated would-be horse farm on the flat, windy, treeless prairie of Colorado. It was a place where white horses turn pink at sunrise and I didn't have to worry about locking the back entry to the house, because the door was missing. The biggest social event of any week was greeting the trash man on Tuesday. And what should I do about the deceased llama in the laundry room? Any decent midlife crisis has a quality of time travel, in this case swinging back to my childhood farm and my disconnected, secretive family, then forward to the animals who became my family on the prairie. My dogs and horses were soon joined by some line-dancing llamas and a biker-gang of goat kids, defying gravity and every other rule. I rescued an abused donkey who told me he was Ernest, and Windy, an un-wanted chestnut mare who became our beloved herd matriarch. Even Fred, the duck lived by a code. It's the memoir of my bittersweet transition from a mid-life orphan to a modern pioneer woman, building an entirely different kind of family farm. Stable Relation appeals to all animal lovers, midlife survivors, and anyone whose parents had problems of their own. It's told in a strong, bittersweet voice, sharing life and death on a small farm and the healing power of animals: James Herriot meets Janette Walls.

The Daddy Diaries


Joshua Braff - 2015
    Jay and Jackie uproot their family of four from San Francisco after Jackie loses her job but finds a lucrative new one in St. Petersburg, Florida. Jay, a one-time copywriter and aspiring author, now plays househusband, caring for his troubled thirteen-year-old son and precocious daughter as they adjust to their new life. As his children begin to assert their independence, Jay realizes that the challenges of child rearing are only going to grow more difficult in the teen years. Through a series of misadventures and run-ins with his narcissistic older brother, his lunatic childhood friend, and his increasingly estranged but beloved son, Jay learns that he must tap his own vulnerabilities if he is to be the rock of stability his family so desperately needs. Overflowing with pathos and humor, The Daddy Diaries is a memorable take on contemporary fatherhood and a clear-sighted look at how the upending of traditional marital roles can affect the delicate balance of familial love. In his third and best novel to date, Joshua Braff vividly evokes the unpredictable dance that families do, and captures how they similarly ebb and flow.

Going Gypsy: One Couple's Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest at All


Veronica James - 2015
    There’s a big empty nest looming over this new and uncertain stage in their lives.David and Veronica James chose to look at this next phase of life as a beginning instead of an ending. Rather than staying put and facing the constant reminders of empty bedrooms and backseats, a plan began to develop to sell the nest and hit the highway. But could a homebody helicopter mom learn to let go of her heartstrings and house keys all at once?Filled with a sense of adventure and humor, Going Gypsy is the story of a life after raising kids that is a celebration of new experiences. Pulling the ripcord on the daily grind, David and Veronica throw caution to the wind, quit their jobs, put on their vagabond shoes, and go gypsy in a beat-up old RV found on eBay.On a journey of over ten thousand miles along the back roads of America (and a hysterical, error-infused side trip into Italy), they conquer old fears, see new sights, reestablish bonds with family and friends, and transform their relationships with their three grown children from parent-child to adult-to-adult. Most importantly, they rediscover in themselves the fun-loving youngsters who fell in love three decades prior.

Conversations with the Conroys: Interviews with Pat Conroy and His Family


Walter Edgar - 2015
    As Conroy's writings have been rooted in autobiography more often than not, his readers have come to know and appreciate much about the once-secret dark familial history that has shaped Conroy's life and work. Conversations with the Conroys opens further the discussion of the Conroy family through five revealing interviews conducted in 2014–15 with Pat Conroy and four of his six siblings: brothers Mike, Jim, and Tim and sister Kathy. In confessional and often comic dialogs, the Conroys openly discuss the perils of being raised by their larger-than-life parents, USMC fighter pilot Col. Don Conroy (the Great Santini) and southern belle Peggy Conroy (née Peek); the complexities of having their history of abuse made public by Pat's books; the tragic death of their youngest brother, Tom; the chasm between them and their sister Carol Ann; and the healing, redemptive embrace they have come to find over time in one another. With good humor and often-striking candor, these interviews capture the Conroys as authentic and indeed proud South Carolinians, not always at ease with their place in literary lore, but nonetheless deeply supportive of Pat in his life and writing. Edited and introduced by the Palmetto State's pre-eminent historian, Walter Edgar, Conversations with the Conroys includes the first publications of Pat Conroy's interview with Edgar as the keynote address of the 2014 One Book, One Columbia citywide "big read" program, the unprecedented interview with the Conroy siblings for SCETV Radio's Walter Edgar's Journal, the resulting live Conroy Family Roundtable held at the 2014 South Carolina Book Festival, and a recent interview in Charleston following Pat Conroy's induction into the Citadel's Athletics Hall of Fame. This collection is augmented with an afterword from National Book Award–winning poet Nikky Finney and nearly fifty photographs, many from the Pat Conroy Archive in the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, University of South Carolina Libraries, and published here for the first time. Through the resulting treasure trove of text and images, this volume is as much a keepsake for Conroy's legion of devoted fans as it is a wealth of insider information to broaden the understanding of readers and researchers alike of the idiosyncratic world of Pat Conroy and his family.

Apache Country


Christopher Kenworthy - 2013
    The worst that might happen is the Indians come after his scalp. But when he runs into the beautiful Rosemary, he finds himself pitted against ruthless enemies of every kind.Kidnappers, comancheros, and renegade Apaches are on his trail - and after his blood. But most implacable of all, there is the Sonoran Desert itself, where everything that grows either bites, stings or scratches.Murphy needs all his skill with a gun if he is to survive.

It Doesn't Hurt To Be Nice: Rediscover spirituality, served with a pinch of salt and humour


Amisha Sethi - 2015
    But she never took any short cuts to become happier, wiser, healthier and more compassionate. She had to find rays of hope where the dark tunnel seemed unending, and identify shade in life's burning path. She found little pearls of wisdom in chasing her dreams, in spreading laughter, in learning from scriptures and philosophers, and even at one point in almost ending her life. More than Kiara's story and the wisdom she achieves through the various dramatic and hilarious experiences, this book is a motion picture with you in the lead role. You as the 'hero' who can beat the most stubborn of villains — most of which lie deep within us…our fear, unkindness, selfish interests, negative thoughts and jealousy. You as the 'heroine' who is sharp and witty in talking, selfless and caring in love, and charming and beautiful inside out, like none other (perhaps a 2.0 version of you). Walk with Kiara to find a better you, because It Doesn't Hurt to be Nice.

Fortune's Fool


Mary Pagones - 2015
    Even Simon's mother told her son he was crazy to buy the horse. But Simon never listened to other people, otherwise he wouldn't have decided to forgo going to college to become a working student at an eventing barn in the first place. Simon has always struggled--with fitting in, with being a poor boy in a rich man's sport, and also with his sexuality. To be a rider, after all, is to be...Fortune's Fool.

All Out: A Father and Son Confront the Hard Truths That Made Them Better Men


Kevin Newman - 2015
    Confessional and provocative, their memoir is also a touching meditation on ambition, absence and family that will resonate with every parent and child who've ever struggled to connect and understand each other. Kevin Newman wanted to be a family man in an era when fathers are expected to be more engaged than ever before; he also wanted to reach the top of a profession that demands 24/7 commitment. The higher he climbed, the more irreconcilable those aspirations seemed. Meanwhile, his artistic, solitary son, Alex, was wrestling with his own competing ambitions: to be the sporty, popular son his dad wanted, and to be true to himself. Paradoxically, their attempts to live up to expectations--their own, and each other's--were driving them apart. Then, two parallel identity crises forced a reckoning. Kevin reached the summit of American network television, becoming co-host of Good Morning America--where he was instructed to develop a "quarterback" persona and change his accent, mannerisms, personality, hairstyle and everything else that made him Kevin. At the same time, Alex was realizing he was gay, but frantically trying to mask and change that fact. Both felt like failures and hungered for one another's approval, but didn't know how to bridge their differences. Today, a decade later, they retrace their steps (and missteps) to reinventing their relationship and becoming one another's role models for what it means to be a man in our culture. All Out is a moving chronicle of all the ways that fathers and sons misunderstand and disappoint one another--and a powerful reminder that they can become closer not despite their differences, but because of them.

Give Me Courage


Lenuta Hellen Nadolu - 2014
    You white people just have affairs. You lie and cheat. At least we're honest.' Lenuta 'Hellen' Nadolu has led a tumultuous life. A strong willed free spirit, she was born and raised in communist Romania, where women were supposed to know their place. At the age of nineteen, her life changed when she began an affair with a handsome African doctor named Victor and fell pregnant.To avoid the wrath of Hellen's domineering father and an unforgiving community, the couple married and then, against everyone's advice, moved to Ghana. But Africa was nothing like Hellen had imagined: Victor considered her merely a possession with few rights and expected her to turn a blind eye to his affairs. Pushed to the brink, she made a desperate decision - she would get a divorce and smuggle her three children out of the country. But no Western woman had ever divorced a Ghanaian man - let alone been granted custody of the children - and Victor's powerful family would not give her up without a fight ... Give Me Courage is an astonishing true story of bravery, resilience and determination.

Trail of Secrets


Laura Wolfe - 2015
    But from the moment Brynlei arrives at Foxwoode, she can't shake the feeling she's being watched. Then she hears the story of a girl who vanished on a trail ride four years earlier. While the other girls laugh over the story of the dead girl who haunts Foxwoode, Brynlei senses that the girl--or her ghost--may be lurking in the shadows.Brynlei's quest to reveal the truth interferes with her plan to keep her head down and win Foxwoode's coveted Top Rider Award. To make things worse, someone discovers her search for answers and will go to any length to stop her. As Brynlei begins to unravel the facts surrounding the missing girl's disappearance, she is faced with an impossible choice. Will she protect a valuable secret? Or save a life?

Nutribullet: Recipe Book


Stephanie Shaw - 2014
    The boost of vitamins, nutrients, minerals & antioxidants will start restoring you to your natural balance by cleansing & detoxing with the result being that you feel happier & more energetic than you've felt in a long time!As well as feeling amazing & so full of energy, you'll very soon notice the weight dropping off & your skin looking incredibly radiant.Furthermore, you'll find your that blood pressure & cholesterol levels will drop to optimum healthy levels. Your organ health, metabolism & immune system will all get that boost that you so much desire. It goes without saying that you'll have a longer, happier & healthy life.All of these benefits (& so much more) in the time it takes to throw a few ingredients into a big cup & with a quick & simple press of a button!Nutribullet smoothies are powerful because they extract every last drop of goodness that your raw & natural produce have to offer. You'll be shocked when you realise how much nutritional value you throw away by taking off the skin, stem & seeds from fruit & veg.Incidently, this is a great way to get your kids to have their fruit and vegetables with all of the vitamins, minerals & nutrients they need in a very quick & delicious way. They may even enjoy making the smoothies themselves!Nutribullet Recipe Book concentrates on seven main areas of smoothie recipes:- Healthy Heart- Detoxification- Weight Loss- Radiant Skin- Energy Boost- Anti-Aging- Super FoodsThe Nutribullet recipes include:- Chia Seed Rainforest Smoothie- Berry Breakfast Smoothie- Flat Belly Smoothie- Smoothie for Radiant Skin- Shamrock Smoothie- Antioxidant Anti-Aging Smoothie- Raw Mint Chocolate Smoothie- Bananarama SmoothieTake a step towards a longer, healthier & happier life. A life with more energy, more time & less weight. Your new radiance &that confidence awaits you. You won't regret buying the Nutribullet Recipe Book!

Training Food: Get the Fuel You Need to Achieve Your Goals Before During and After Exercise


Renee McGregor - 2015
    Marathon. Half-Marathon. 5K. When you’re preparing for your first or your fiftieth race, what you eat can make all the difference to your performance. This is the book every athlete needs to fuel their training – a sports nutrition guide written by a registered dietician-athlete. Renee McGregor works with elite athletes to enhance their performance, and in Part 1 of the book she shares the cutting edge science behind sports nutrition in an accessible way, so that you can achieve the results you want, whatever your sport and regardless of what level you train at. To help you incorporate the advice, Renee also provides plans to follow, to show you what and when you should be eating during your training regime. In Part 2 you’ll find over 100 delicious recipes, including nutrient-packed breakfasts such as Sunflower Seed and Chia Porridge, or lunches that will keep you fuelled up throughout training. Great recovery dinners include Coriander Lamb with Quinoa, while there are plenty of options for portable snacks to eat on the go and even desserts such as Potted Lemon Cheesecake to help you achieve optimum nutrition for your training.• This book takes the cutting edge science behind sports nutrition and makes it user-friendly for all those embarking on an exercise programme – whether a first timer or a veteran marathon runner.• This book will appeal to all. Most books in this area generally tackle only one type of sport, or they are more weight-loss orientated with exercise as an addition to the diet. This book will be useful to all – marathon runners, triathletes, players of team sports – and clearly explains how the choice, portion size and timing of food will get results in terms of body composition and performance.• Renee’s experience as a registered dietitian and sports nutritionist working within clinical surroundings and the general public but also in the elite field means she understands what individuals need from nutritional advice and how this can be translated into people’s everyday lives.Contents PART 1: THE SCIENCECHAPTER 1: FUELLING BASICSCHAPTER 2: TRAINING - THE ROAD TO VICTORYCHAPTER 3: WHAT'S YOUR SPORT?CHAPTER 4: FROM RUNNER'S KNEE TO TENNIS ELBOW - TROUBLESHOOTINGPART TWO: RECIPESBREAKFASTSLIGHT MEALSMAIN MEALSSNACKS AND PORTABLESDESSERTS