Book picks similar to
Damson Skies and Dragonflies: A Journey through the Seasons in the French Countryside (Life at Les Libellules Book 1) by Lindy Viandier
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we-love-memoirs
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52 Loaves: One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust
William Alexander - 2010
He tasted it long ago, in a restaurant, and has been trying to reproduce it ever since. Without success. Now, on the theory that practice makes perfect, he sets out to bake peasant bread every week until he gets it right. He bakes his loaf from scratch. And because Alexander is nothing if not thorough, he really means from scratch: growing, harvesting, winnowing, threshing, and milling his own wheat. An original take on the six-thousand-year-old staple of life, 52 Loaves explores the nature of obsession, the meditative quality of ritual, the futility of trying to re-create something perfect, our deep connection to the earth, and the mysterious instinct that makes all of us respond to the aroma of baking bread.
Fear No More
CeeCee James - 2015
This book is near and dear to my heart because my readers contributed to it. Thankful for all those brave quotes. One night changed CeeCee’s life forever. At only seventeen, CeeCee is out on the streets. For her, it is all about finding a place to sleep and something to eat. Yet, just when staying alive can't get any harder, she meets someone worse off than herself. The last thing she needs is to get involved in someone else's troubles, but even though she wants to, she can't just walk away - or can she? Not intended for readers under the age of 15 due to subject matter.
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table
Molly Wizenberg - 2009
But when she tried going back to her apartment in Seattle and returning to graduate school, she knew it wasn't possible to resume life as though nothing had happened. So she went to Paris, a city that held vivid memories of a childhood trip with her father, of early morning walks on the cobbled streets of the Latin Quarter and the taste of her first pain au chocolat. She was supposed to be doing research for her dissertation, but more often, she found herself peering through the windows of chocolate shops, trekking across town to try a new pâtisserie, or tasting cheeses at outdoor markets, until one evening when she sat in the Luxembourg Gardens reading cookbooks until it was too dark to see, she realized that her heart was not in her studies but in the kitchen.At first, it wasn't clear where this epiphany might lead. Like her long letters home describing the details of every meal and market, Molly's blog Orangette started out merely as a pleasant pastime. But it wasn't long before her writing and recipes developed an international following. Every week, devoted readers logged on to find out what Molly was cooking, eating, reading, and thinking, and it seemed she had finally found her passion. But the story wasn't over: one reader in particular, a curly-haired, food-loving composer from New York, found himself enchanted by the redhead in Seattle, and their email correspondence blossomed into a long-distance romance.In A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg recounts a life with the kitchen at its center. From her mother's pound cake, a staple of summer picnics during her childhood in Oklahoma, to the eggs she cooked for her father during the weeks before his death, food and memories are intimately entwined. You won't be able to decide whether to curl up and sink into the story or to head straight to the market to fill your basket with ingredients for Cider-Glazed Salmon and Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots.
Shakespeare in Kabul
Stephen Landrigan - 2012
For the first time in years, men and women had appeared onstage together. The future held no limits, the actors believed. In this fast-moving, fondly told and frequently very funny account, Qais Akbar Omar and Stephen Landrigan capture the triumphs and foibles of the actors as they extend their Afghan passion for poetry to Shakespeare's.Both authors were part of the production. Qais, a journalist, served as Assistant Director and interpreter for Paris actress, Corinne Jaber, who had come to Afghanistan on holiday and returned to direct the play. Stephen, himself a playwright, assembled a team of Afghan translators to fashion a script in Dari as poetic as Shakespeare's. This chronicle of optimism plays out against the heartbreak of knowing that things in Afghanistan have not turned out the way the actors expected.
My Life in France
Julia Child - 2006
Although she would later singlehandedly create a new approach to American cuisine with her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her television show The French Chef, Julia Child was not always a master chef. Indeed, when she first arrived in France in 1948 with her husband, Paul, who was to work for the USIS, she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. But as she dove into French culture, buying food at local markets and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu, her life changed forever with her newfound passion for cooking and teaching. Julia's unforgettable story--struggles with the head of the Cordon Bleu, rejections from publishers to whom she sent her now-famous cookbook, a wonderful, nearly fifty-year long marriage that took the Childs across the globe--unfolds with the spirit so key to Julia's success as a chef and a writer, brilliantly capturing one of America's most endearing personalities.
Pensioners in Paradis
Olga Swan - 2008
It enables us to recognise the ridiculous, and to empathise with life’s disasters. Take the lives of a self-deprecating couple from England, steeped in life’s troubles, and whisk them across the Channel. Laugh with them as they encounter hilarious situations en France – from troublesome workmen, the infamous bureaucracy, and even sex à la française! Take notes on this transition from English doom and gloom to la belle vie française, and follow the exploits of this oh-so-recognisable English couple. What could possibly go wrong?
Children of Titan Series: Books 1-4
Rhett C. Bruno - 2020
Earther corporations have extended their reach through our solar system: greenhouses on Mars, gas mining on Saturn, casinos in the Asteroid Belt—they control everything. Using bounty hunters known as Collectors, they erase offworld problems before they escalate. But Saturn’s moon, Titan, is done fighting for scraps.Malcolm Graves, a corporate collector from Earth, is sent to investigate a bombing carried out by a rebel cell known as the Children of Titan. At the same time, a lowly offworlder with a dark past is hand-selected to serve as the face of Titan's uprising. When these two opposites collide, war is not just inevitable, it’s catastrophic. Titan must fight to earn its freedom. But when the dust from their bloody revolution settles, will they even deserve it? Or will the horrors of war transform them into the very thing they're fighting?Books included in the set: Book 1: TitanbornBook 2: Titan's SonBook 3: Titan's RiseBook 4: Titan's Fury
French Dreams, Dogs and a Dodgy Motor: Discovering our little home in Haute Provence and all that came next.
Jane Smyth - 2020
Hard work, study and a determination to fulfil a long-held dream eventually became a reality when a computer search led to the discovery and purchase of their much loved mountain property. Follow Jane and Rob on their journey through a mosaic of early memories, anecdotes, observations and funny stories. As they travelled back and forth from their home in the UK to the Alpes de Haute Provence, their journeys over the years have provided a rich source of material, from a weird encounter with strangers on a ferry to the trouble dogs can get you into. Jane brings to life these and other experiences, introduces residents and neighbours and peppers her tale with facts and vivid descriptions of the area, making you want to pack your bags and see it for yourself!
Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy: A Lost Generation Love Story
Amanda Vaill - 1998
In Everybody Was So Young--one of the best reviewed books of 1998--Amanda Vaill brilliantly portrays both the times in which the Murphys lived and the fascinating friends who flocked around them. Whether summering with Picasso on the French Riviera or watching bullfights with Hemingway in Pamplona, Gerald and Sara inspired kindred creative spirits like Dorothy Parker, Cole Porter, and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Nicole and Dick Diver in Tender is the Night were modeled after the Murphys). Their story is both glittering and tragic, and in this sweeping and richly anecdotal portrait of a marriage and an era, Amanda Vaill "has brought them to life as never before" (Chicago Tribune).
Cause of Death
Geoffrey Garrett - 2001
This volume presents his personal memoirs and chronicles many of his infamous, unusual and heartbreaking cases together with a history of his professional life, giving a unique insight into a pathologist's work. It also includes a no-holds-barred account of the basic methodology of a post-mortem examination.
White Hat Security Series - Boxed Set: Hacker Exposed; Royal Hacker; Misunderstood Hacker
Linzi Baxter - 2018
When Alex contacts Bridget, it isn't to catch up. He needs her help! Bridget carries a lot of guilt over what happened to Alex Ross and his family. She had been good friends with the Ross boys until her greedy father lost part of the Ross family's savings in a pyramid scheme. He went to jail, and Bridget and her family changed their name sand went into hiding. Bridget imagines that Alex and his brothers feel just as betrayed as she does by her father's criminal acts. When she meets Alex again as a young hacker and the owner of White Hat Security, he has something more important to talk about than her father's transgressions. A million dollars has been stolen from his company, and Alex needs Bridget's help to track down the culprit. Alex has certainly grown up since they last met. The man looks like a Greek god, and Bridget can't help but be attracted to him. As she digs deeper into the theft from Ross Enterprises, Bridget doesn't need any more distractions. This is a more dangerous job than either Bridget or Alex expected. The thief is willing to go to incredible lengths to evade the police, and the two amateur sleuths find themselves caught in the crossfire. Royal Hacker Secrets aren't meant to be kept... Patty and her twin, Jessica, seem like typical modern women, both successful and self-confident. When Patty suspects her brother-in-law is cheating on her sister, she uses her secret hacking skills to track him to a BSDM club. After Patty confronts her brother-in-law at the club, the owner, Sam, seduces her. Several months later, Patty's life is turned upside down when someone dangerous begins stalking her. But there's an even bigger secret--Patty and her sister are the daughters of the King of Shialia, and Patty is next in line for the throne. Fortunately, Sam is there to protect her, body and soul. And he's going to have to work overtime, because everyone around him has their sights set on Patty. She's worth a lot of money, but Sam is the only one who knows she's priceless. And just when everything seems to work out, fate has a way of turning the tables. Misunderstood Hacker A life that should have been a dream... Jessica Beckett is trying to put her life back together. Again. She should be used to danger and drama, it came with the royal territory. She might be a Princess, but she's no 'princess'. No, she's tough because she had to be. After living through a kidnapping and cheating husband, Jess is ready for a fresh start. Unfortunately, there are new attempts on her life. And there's only one man she can trust with protecting her body... but can she trust him with her heart? Became a living nightmare. Brock McKenzie is a security specialist. But protecting Jessica is becoming more personal every day--and night--he spends with her. He knows mixing business and pleasure won't end well, but Jessica is more than business. She's pure pleasure, the kind of woman who brings out his Dom personality. But she's got trust issues from a life filled with traitors to the Crown and her royal family. Brock knows Jessica is the woman for him. If he can keep her alive from those determined to kill her. Can he find her before it's too late?
Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris
Sarah Turnbull - 2003
"This isn't like me. I'm not the sort of girl who crosses continents to meet up with a man she hardly knows. Paris hadn't even been part of my travel plan..."A delightful, fresh twist on the travel memoir, Almost French takes us on a tour that is fraught with culture clashes but rife with deadpan humor. Sarah Turnbull's stint in Paris was only supposed to last a week. Chance had brought Sarah and Frédéric together in Bucharest, and on impulse she decided to take him up on his offer to visit him in the world's most romantic city. Sacrificing Vegemite for vichyssoise, the feisty Sydney journalist does her best to fit in, although her conversation, her laugh, and even her wardrobe advertise her foreigner status. But as she navigates the highs and lows of this strange new world, from life in a bustling quatier and surviving Parisian dinner parties to covering the haute couture fashion shows and discovering the hard way the paradoxes of France today, little by little Sarah falls under its spell: maddening, mysterious, and charged with that French specialty-séduction.An entertaining tale of being a fish out of water, Almost French is an enthralling read as Sarah Turnbull leads us on a magical tour of this seductive place-and culture-that has captured her heart
With Angel's Wings
Stephanie A. Collins - 2013
Join Laura on her emotional journey as she strives to rise to the unexpected challenge of motherhood to two special needs daughters. Witness her dance along the edge of sanity through a whirlwind of mind-numbing diagnoses, from a rare chromosomal disorder to autism. Experience heart-wrenching medical drama, from IV cut-downs to code blues. And share in the joy of true love discovered ... just as Laura begins to lose all hope. With Angel's Wings - an honest and raw, 100% true story.
Small Towns, Labradors, Barbecue, Biscuits, Beer, and Bibles
Sean Dietrich - 2016
writes with humor, dripping Southern charm that you can’t miss.” (The Greenville Examiner). A collection of short stories from the author of Sean of the South, and Lyla. Columnist, humorist, and novelist, Sean Dietrich, is known for his commentary on life in the American South. In his newest work, Small Towns, Labradors, Barbecue, Biscuits, Beer, and Bibles, he delivers a set of quirky tales filled with smiles and a hefty dose of heart.