The Life of a Banana is bursting with original and exciting flavours.' The Independent, UK 'Revealing in its exploration of cultural and generational conflicts and moving in its optimism.' The Guardian, UK'Life Of A Banana is so refreshingly distinct. Read it, and you will soon find yourself wanting more.' The Daily Mail, UK 'Speaks volumes... an engaging read.' The Star, Malaysia‘Impeccably observed, often hilarious, and deeply moving... pitch-perfect.’ David Henry Hwang, Tony Award-winning writer.'A Chinese debut in England. It is the phenomenon P.P. Wong.’ La Repubblica, Italy‘Focus book of the month: “A talented voice.”’ Marie Claire‘Deeply insightful… Tragedy and trauma are juxtaposed with a jokey colloquialism.’ Bare Fiction Magazine‘The Life of a Banana can make people think in intimate and silent reflection. What we are all called to do is essentially understand that there must not be any form of judgment or condemnation of those who look different. We need tolerance and full acceptance without any prejudice, which makes us more human.’ Vanity Fair ‘Brought back happy memories of Sue Townsend’s Secret Diary of Adrian Mole.’ Lord Nathaniel Wei, House of Lords UK'Wong has created a real barnstormer of a novel that deserves to be on several of the awards list. It’s definitely getting a place in my Top Ten.' If These Books Could TalkXing Li is what some Chinese people call a banana - yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Although born and raised in London, she never feels like she fits in. When her mother dies, she moves with her older brother to live with venomous Grandma, strange Uncle Ho and Hollywood actress Auntie Mei. Her only friend is Jay - a mixed raced Jamaican boy with a passion for classical music.Then Xing Li's life takes an even harsher turn: the school bullying escalates and her uncle requests she assist him in an unthinkable favour. Her happy childhood becomes a distant memory as her new life is infiltrated with the harsh reality of being an ethnic minority.Consumed by secrets, violence and confusing family relations, Xing Li tries to find hope wherever she can. In order to find her own identity, she must first discover what it means to be both Chinese and British.

    In Do Nothing and Do Everything he applies the ideas of Wu Wei (do nothing) and Wu Bu Wei (do everything) to modern life. Do Nothing and Do Everything is supplemented by observations of American and Chinese life. Rich and humorous illustrations convey the subtle ideas that go beyond language and are re-created in the same style as the ones the author draws impromptu on the blackboard in his classes. This introduction to ancient Taoism is conveyed in a lighthearted and humorous manner. This illustrated new Taoism will answer the widespread thirst for an alternative approach to life, and a longing for health, tranquility, and spiritual liberation.

    Because of technological change the two trends are converging so that all that we need for transacting will be our identities captured in the unique record of our online social contacts. Social networks and mobile phones are the key technologies. They will enable the building of an identity infrastructure that can enhance both privacy and security - there is no trade-off. The long-term consequences of these changes are impossible to predict, partly because how they take shape will depend on how companies take advantage of business opportunities to deliver transaction services. But one prediction made here is that cash will soon be redundant - and a good thing too. In its place we will see a proliferation of new digital currencies.

    George Feuerstein has drawn short, memorable quotations from the key texts of this five-thousand-year-old legacy, with an emphasis on the wisdom of modern yoga masters.The quotations have been selected and arranged to address the needs of yoga practitioners in the twenty-first century.Among the many themes touched on in this treasure of a book: the process of inner growth; the value of silence; how to meditate; how to infuse everyday life with joy; universal kinship; overcoming suffering; dealing with grief, loss, anger, and jealousy; remembering and cultivating one’s true inner self; developing self-discipline; and bringing out the good in all you say and do.For both new and experienced yoga students alike, Yoga Gems is the perfect travel companion on the road to inner peace.

    And that evolution has huge implications for everything we see, buy and do online. Rejecting the zero-sum, vending-machine model of ecommerce practiced by other leading internet retailers, who view the Internet purely as a facilitator of speed and profit, Hiroshi Mikitani argues for an alternate model that benefits merchants, consumers, and communities alike by empowering players at every step in the process. He envisions retail "ecosystems," where small and mid-sized brick-and-mortar businesses around the world partner with online marketplaces to maximize their customer bases and service capabilities, and he shows why emphasizing collaboration over competition, customization over top-down control, and long-term growth over short-term revenue is by far the best use of the Internet's power, and will define the 3.0 era.Rakuten has already pioneered this new model, and Marketplace 3.0 offers colorful examples of its success in Japan and around the world. Mikitani reveals how the company enforces a global mindset (including the requirement that all its employees speak English, even in Tokyo); how it incorporates new acquisitions rather than seeking to completely remake or sell them for a quick profit; and how it competes with other retailers on speed and quality, without sacrificing the public good. Marketplace 3.0 is an exciting new vision for global commerce, from a company that's challenging all the accepted wisdom.

    Now DK brings this ancient practice into the 21st century, explaining how to grow and care for bonsai trees with a clear step-by-step approach.Offering easy-to-follow advice and simple photography, Bonsai demystifies the art of bonsai with sequences covering the traditional styles of Chokkan, Moyogi, Shakan, and Kengai, as well as deadwood bonsai styles such as Ishizuki, Yose Uye, and Sharimiki.For bonsai enthusiasts in search of fresh ideas, innovative techniques, and new ways to display their living art, Bonsai is the must-have book of the season.

    Always bold and unpredictable, Oshos prolific teachings were aimed at the creation of a new manone who is free from outdated ideologies, doctrines, and dogmas of the past.

    It offer in a nutshell and interesting historical perspective of each country."--Dato Zaid Ibrahim, Member of Parliament for Kato Bharu, Malaysia "A Short History of South-East Asia is one of my best references whenever I need to look for factual information and explanation about major events in South-East Asia, covering the most recent period and going back more than a thousand year."--Narongchai Akrasanee, Former Thailand Minister of Commerce "Any businessman doing or wanting to do business in SE Asia must understand the history of the area if he is to be successful. The history of each country plays an important part in understanding the country's culture and behaviour. This easily read book provides this invaluable information - ignore it at your peril."--Mike M. Courtnall, President, Asian Building and Manufacturing Markets, BHP Steel Limited "Succinct, reliable, historical surveys of each state of ASEAN, reaching right up to the present day. Such a country-by-country approach has real value for the business visitor of the tourist moving around this complex region. No one seeking to identify opportunities and dangers in Southeast Asia can ignore the historical processes that shape the different societies."--Anthony Milner, Basham Professor of Asian History, Australian National University "This authoritative, concise, balanced and accessible history neatly fills the gap between the tourist guides and the weighty academic tomes. It gives the reader an authentic "feed for history," so necessary to understand the present."--Stephen Grenville, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia "The interpretation of events in this book has managed to capture to a considerable degree Southeast Asian perceptions of its history. To have achieved this in such a brief text is impressive."--Nono Anwar Makarim, Founder and Counsel to Makarim and Taira Chairman, Aksara Foundation, Jakarta

    It is possible to read Japanese knowing only a limited number of kanji, but it is not possible with only a limited number of katakana or hiragana-one must know all of them. Let's Learn Hiragana, and its companion volume Let's Learn Katakana, is a textbook that introduces the learner to the basics of one of these fundamental Japanese scripts. Being a workbook, it contains all the exercises that allow the student to master hiragana by the time the book has been finished. Let's Learn Hiragana is a classic in the field, and the huge number of students that have used it successfully is a sign of its preeminence as a self-study guide.

    Since then, award-winning author Jia Pingwa’s vivid portrayal of contemporary China’s social and economic transformation has become a classic, viewed by critics and scholars of Chinese literature as one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. Howard Goldblatt’s deft translation now gives English-speaking readers their first chance to enjoy this masterpiece of social satire by one of China’s most provocative writers. While eroticism, exoticism, and esoteric minutiae—the “pornography” that earned the opprobrium of Chinese officials—pervade Ruined City, this tale of a famous contemporary writer’s sexual and legal imbroglios is an incisive portrait of politics and culture in a rapidly changing China. In a narrative that ranges from political allegory to parody, Jia Pingwa tracks his antihero Zhuang Zhidie through progressively more involved and inevitably disappointing sexual liaisons. Set in a modern metropolis rife with power politics, corruption, and capitalist schemes, the novel evokes an unrequited romantic longing for China’s premodern, rural past, even as unfolding events caution against the trap of nostalgia. Amid comedy and chaos, the author subtly injects his concerns about the place of intellectual seriousness, censorship, and artistic integrity in the changing conditions of Chinese society. Rich with detailed description and vivid imagery, Ruined City transports readers into a world abounding with the absurdities and harshness of modern life.

    

    From a writer who “adds new dimensions of depth and substance to the modern crime novel,” this thrilling and critically acclaimed series follows a tormented ex-cop from Philadelphia to South Florida on a quest to earn redemption for his dark past (Michael Connelly).  The Blue Edge of Midnight: After a shootout during a convenience store holdup led to the accidental death of a twelve-year-old, Max Freeman left the Philadelphia police department behind for a life in exile in the Florida Everglades. Since then, he’s lived in seclusion, haunted by guilt, with the humid night and the nocturnal predators of the swamp as his only company. But everything changes when he discovers a young girl’s body floating in the muddy waters and becomes the prime suspect for her murder. To prove his innocence, Freeman must find the real killer—and confront his own tortured soul—before it’s too late.  A Visible Darkness: When five elderly women are murdered in Fort Lauderdale, Max Freeman is determined to get to the bottom of it. His friend, lawyer Billy Manchester, believes the crimes are tied to a conspiracy to collect on the women’s life insurance policies. But when Freeman uncovers a shocking betrayal, he soon realizes the gruesome plot reaches further than anyone thought possible. Now, it’s a race against the clock to hunt down the psychopath behind the murders—before the killer sets his sights on Freeman himself.  Shadow Men: In the 1920s, three of Mark Mayes’s ancestors left to help build the first road through the Everglades, backbreaking labor from which they never returned. Now, decades later, Mayes has discovered letters that point to murder as the cause of their disappearance, and he hires Max Freeman to investigate. But as Freeman follows the trail of evidence, he incurs the wrath of the corporation that built the road—and realizes the case may not be as cold as everyone assumed.

    She keeps her feelings closely guarded and is good at pretending that everything is fine, even when it isn’t. When she finds herself seated next to Luqman Ahmed on an international flight, she knows why has avoided men like him all her life. But she also remembers everything that had drawn him to her the previous times she met him. Luqman is tired of travelling for his job and is seriously considering relocating to the US. But his plans go awry when he’s seated next to his friend Ayub's sister-in-law Ana. He considers himself lucky to get some time talking to pretty Ana whose eyes have always captivated him from the moment he met her for the first time. It isn't too long until they discover their feelings for each other but Luqman is travelling to the US and by the time he returns, their lives are thrown far apart and brought dangerously close at the same time. Will they be able to get back their love for each other again? Will they survive the double whammy that fate has planned for them? Loving you Twice is the second romance in the Jasmine Villa series by Andaleeb Wajid, author of acclaimed novels such as More than Just Biryani, My Brother’s Wedding, The Crunch Factor and House of Screams.

     Even before becoming a husband and father, safety had been Shane McDonald’s priority for most of his forty-five years. As a nuclear engineer, it’s his responsibility to keep the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant functioning at optimum levels to avoid what protesters fear most—a meltdown. But when a coronal mass ejection from the sun wipes out power across the globe, stopping a nuclear chain reaction is no longer his primary concern. Fallen World Family is all that matters when friend becomes foe—and the stakes are survival. The world has become a dangerous place for Shane McDonald and his family since the solar storm wiped out the power grid. Tensions flare when it grows clear the dire situation will be prolonged and most are ill-prepared. Even the friendly small town of his prepper mother-in-law has drawn unwanted attention as word gets around about sharing their supply stores. And strangers begin to infiltrate the once peaceful Georgia community. All Shane can think about is where his wife and son ended up in all the chaos as the hours stretch into days since they last communicated. Jodi is far too trusting a soul, her desire to help the downtrodden a dangerous commodity among desperate and increasingly hostile citizens. New World They’ll protect what’s theirs—or die trying. The McDonald clan have learned their lessons the hard way these last months. Shane and Jodi finally realize they must keep their reunited family close and protect their own above all others to survive in this new post-apocalyptic reality. The repairs on the home are complete, solar panels installed, and the now operational pump means they won’t have to continue collecting rainwater for the foreseeable future. But it’s no longer just outsiders wreaking havoc on the small Georgia town, as unprepared townsfolk learn of their hard-earned stores—and threaten to take their prepper supplies by force.

    Laozi de zhi hui=老子的智慧