Here are 100 books that Loving, Living and Party Going fans have personally recommended if you like
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Peeking over the American fence, I found myself in China in 2004 as the nation was transitioning from its quaint 1980s/90s self into the futuristic “China 2.0” we know it today. My occupation, like many expats, was small-town English teacher. I later departed for a two-year backpacking sojourn across the country. I took a bunch of snapshots along the way with a little point-and-shoot camera. 800 of those images became my first book. Photography – be it travel, documentary, street or reportage – is my passion. The following are but five of five hundred books I’d love to recommend.
We often think of travel photography as limited to exotic overseas locales, but Matthew Christopher set out to show that the United States has fallen into just as much decay and deterioration as any third-world nation. Part of his Abandoned America book series, Dismantling the Dream follows up on his debut, The Age of Consequence, with evocative scenery of properties and venues – malls, factories, schools, farms, homes – forsaken by their original inhabitants. Anyone who has not deluded themselves into disbelieving that the U.S. is in a permanent state of demise will appreciate these apocalyptic yet nonetheless lovely photographs.
If the creation of a structure represents the values and ideals of a time, so too does its subsequent abandonment and eventual destruction. In Abandoned America: Dismantling the Dream, internationally acclaimed photographer Matthew Christopher continues his tour of the quiet catastrophes dotting American cities, examining the losses and failures that led these ruins to become forsaken by communities that once embraced them. From the heartbreaking story of a state school that would become home to one of the country's worst cases of fatal neglect and abuse to the shattered remains of what was once the largest mall in the United…
I am Karen Slater the author of My Journey Through Hell. It’s a memoir of addiction and generational abuse. A story about my dysfunctional childhood and the negative consequences that took me to hell and back. The books I love the most are the stories that inspire me. The true stories of real people overcoming tragedy and adversity give me such hope and motivation to keep on doing what I do and reach other people still struggling. I like to think these are the books that radiate courage and optimism and let others know that we all have our crosses to bear but we can bear them nonetheless.
The Monster I Love is written by Shannon Clifton by the same publisher as myself Fortis Publisher and it is the true story of this beautiful young woman who was subjected to the worst abuse from the very person that should have been looking after her the most, her father.
He stole her innocence and childhood and even took her on the run with him whilst heavily pregnant with his child. She paid the ultimate price for loving her dad who became the ultimate monster in her life. This young woman is the strongest woman with the most resilience I’ve ever come across. To go through such abuse at such a young age and yet empower herself to be the best version of herself today made me incredibly proud to be a woman. After her father got sentenced Shannon took back her power and has become a fabulous champion for…
Shannon Clifton has waived her right to anonymity in this highly acclaimed, dark but deeply inspiring book. Raped by her father from age six and pregnant at eleven and again at thirteen, he kidnapped her and went on the run as the net eventually closed in around him.Shannon's story is not an easy read; she goes into graphic detail about her sexual, physical and mental abuse, which included being burned with an iron, hit with a hammer and even stabbed. Her father told her "it was something all fathers do with their daughters," and for a time she believed him.…
Although I was part of a large family, I frequently felt alone growing up. While my siblings were busy playing sports or running around with their friends, I sat by myself in the basement, reading fantasy stories. Eventually, I began creating my own worlds and published the Riddle in Stone series and Sword of Betrayal. I suppose I’m still trying to find a place where I fit in.
For forty years, Lord Gambin has ruled his lands with an iron fist, crushing all that get in his way. Now he is dying and chaos rages through his realm. What will happen when he is no more? The Sword of Winter is a before-its-time epic that addresses issues caused by societal changes and technological advancements. Many of the topics it discusses are still relevant today.
RANDALL, Marta: The Sword of Winter. New York, Timescape, 1983. BOOK CLUB EDITION. Hardcover with dust jacket, 241 pp. Subject: Novel / Fantasy. Book and jacket condition: Very Good. A bit of foxing to the top-side of the book. Very faint traces of wear to jacket's extremities. All interior pages clean and unmarked. Stirring heroic fantasy by a modern master of the genre.
As someone with ADHD, anxiety, and a brain prone to rumination, life can be turbulent. Fantasy has long been my preferred method of escapism, and when I discovered the cozy variety a few years ago, I was immediately enthralled. It gives me that warm-fuzzy feeling I so desire in troubling times, while still providing my dopamine-deficient brain the hits it needs to remain immersed. More than anything, I want to share with others the way that cozy fantasy makes me feel. Crafting such fiction is my purpose.
I loved the repeated subversion of frustrating romance tropes in this book. I never thought I’d enjoy a LitRPG romcom so much, or that it could even work as a concept, but here we are.
Though I may not be hard to fool, this novel baited me countless times, only to pull me back from the brink just before I turned my Kindle into a frisbee. It takes a certain awareness to pull off such trickery, and Mystic Neptune possesses it in spades.
A reluctant heroine finds unexpected love when she’s sent to assassinate a lonely dark lord in the first book of this cozy romantasy series.
Henrietta Doryn has never enjoyed fighting. She’d rather be in the kitchen baking cookies. But it’s her duty as Warrior Princess to face off against the forces of evil. As such, she’s unceremoniously shooed from her kingdom to go eliminate the all-powerful Dark Lord next door.
Keith Monfort has never enjoyed ruling with an iron fist. He’d prefer to be in his workroom tinkering with practical magic. But it’s his duty to lead the Dark Enchanted…
As a writer from Aotearoa New Zealand, I’ve always been interested in social justice and human rights, and my own writing explores such issues, including who holds the power and who exerts the control. By writing about real-world issues in a speculative future, it allows us to peel back the layers of conditioning and look at ourselves and our actions through the eyes of an outsider – which forces us to examine our best and worst human traits. I love the way speculative fiction can do this, and I love that it challenges us to do better.
The first in a trilogy, it takes a little while to adjust your reading ‘ear’ to the strange new language used, but then you’re rewarded by another great speculative cli-fi novel, with complex, layered characters, lots of tension, and a plot that will challenge you to think harder about how climate change may affect the future.
Truth died in the fires. Only through courage can it be born again. Under the iron rule of the Revelayshun, one boy discovers the truth… ‘Ty promised my ma he’d bring me up right. Bring him up to hear the rhythm beat, she said, and to feel the heartsblood warm. Not Strong – not in their way – but strong in the ways of the heart.’ When the Revelayshun murders his pa, Wil discovers through savage inquisition that he’s marked as a Heater, one of the old-time heretics who burned up the world. But Wil holds the key to a…
I write YA fantasy novels with my sister, Liz. A Throne of Swans (our fourth book) is the first in a duology which features two fierce, shape-shifting queens. Since we both studied history at university, we’re particularly drawn to fantasy settings with a historical element, whether that’s a royal court or tall ships from the age of sail. In real history, queens wielding power tend to be rare or at least overlooked; Catherine of Aragon’s divorce is common knowledge, her wartime regency of England less so. Writing about and reading about powerful queens in fantasy novels is, I think, one small way of redressing the balance.
This book is the third in the Iron Fey series, following the adventures of half-fae/half-human Meghan Chase in the various realms of the Fae. One of the things I love about this series, which is particularly brought out in this installment, is the subtle environmental message. The Iron Fey that threaten the complete destruction of the other fairy realms are the result of humanity’s obsession with technological progress; it’s not hard to make the association with the similar threat now posed to our own world by the relentless exploitation of resources. Our hero, Meghan, finally grows into her power – both fae and human – in this book, becoming the Iron Queen of the title. Also, this series has one of my favourite love triangles ever. Puck, or Ash? An impossible choice!
In less than twenty-four hours I'll be seventeen. Although, technically, I won't actually be turning seventeen. I've been in the Nevernever too long.
When you're in Faery, you don't age. So while a year has passed in the real world, agewise I'm probably only a few days older than when I went in. In real life, I've changed so much I don't even recognize myself. MY NAME IS MEGHAN CHASE. I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm…
In 1972, I enrolled in Professor Alfred D. Chandler's Business History course at Harvard Business School, exploring the business strategies and organization structures of U.S. businesses during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chandler impressed upon me the value of examining businesses' strategies and their outcomes. His lessons ignited my interest in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the prequel to the American story. Combining a business background and proclivity for historical knowledge, I discovered that the period's successes depended on more than just production technology. Effective marketing, control systems, and logistics played key roles, while on a national scale, the scientific method and commercial competition were also crucial.
Men of Iron examines the Crowley Iron Works, one of the eighteenth century’s foremost industrial enterprises.
Sir Ambrose Crowley founded it and used his understanding of the period’s logistics to undercut competitors by setting up a nailery in Sunderland, moving to Winlaton in 1691. There he could import bar iron from Sweden and ship products by sea to a London warehouse complex, avoiding the era’s slow and muddy roads.
With the good fortune of two lengthy wars, he built a major military supply business, with 1,500 employees, becoming a City of London Alderman and a Tory MP. At Winlaton, he established the “Law Book of the Crowley Iron Works” which instituted enlightened personnel policies and an old-age pension scheme.
Crowley’s life shows that the Industrial Revolution, which included new techniques of HR and logistics management as much as steam engines, was already stirring before 1700.
Last published in 1962, this renowned work of industrial and social history is now made available to a new generation by the Land of Oak & Iron, thanks to the kind permission of the author's sons, Mark and Hugh Flinn.Until the Land of Oak & Iron Project brought the site to public attention, the fact that Winlaton, Winlaton Mill and Swalwell had been the site of the largest early ironworks in Europe was largely forgotten.We may never know why Sir Ambrose Crowley chose the Derwent Valley as the manufacturing and distribution centre for his London-based company, but what we do…
I’ve always wanted to write. It took years to get started, and after working in the library and information technology fields for over thirty-five years, I quit the day job routine in 2011 to write full time. I've learned two valuable lessons since I started writing which have been of immense help. The first is a quote from writer and activist Mary Heaton Vorse, who said, "The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair." The second is from novelist Rachel Basch, who told me that "the story has to move down, as well as forward." Both sound simple. Neither is.
Smiley classifies and defines the novel and provides a primer of supportive instructions to the struggling writer. She explores the reasons why some novels succeed and some don’t. She provides the reader with a list of 100 books she has read, from thousand-year-old texts to recent bestsellers, offering her own insights and assessments of each work. Smiley provides a glimpse into the creative process and gives writers and readers new ways to be aware of what goes on between the lines. This book contains important and joyful advice for aspiring writers and is a gift to lovers of literature.
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes an essential guide for writers and readers alike: an exhilarating tour through one hundred novels that "inspires wicked delight.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
From classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to fiction by Zadie Smith and Alice Munro, Jane Smiley explores the power of the form, looking at its history and variety, its cultural impact, and just how it works its magic. She invites us behind the scenes of novel-writing, sharing her own habits and spilling the secrets of her craft, and offering priceless advice to aspiring…
Humor is based on surprise and the ‘foreign’ is often surprising. As I traveled all over the world for work, I searched out local authors and found myself laughing. It started with At Swim Two Birds and has never stopped.
I like to read thrillers set in countries I'm visiting, and so I randomly picked up How's the Pain? billed as “French Noir”. The title alone is almost worth the price of admission.
It is supposedly the standard greeting among some African tribesmen. Beats the existential pants off “How are you?”, don’t you think? The writing fulfills the title’s promise. It is tight and funny, brutal in parts, but doesn’t succumb to some noir’s tendency to gratuitously pile on the awfulness of it all.
How's the Pain? is an off-kilter, blackly comic novel about an unlikely duo of a soon-to-be-retired assassin and a deadbeat young man, from the 'slyly funny' [Sunday Times] Pascal Garnier.
'Deliciously dark ... painfully funny' New York Times
Death is Simon's business. And now the ageing vermin exterminator is preparing to die. But he still has one last job down on the coast, and he needs a driver.
Bernard is twenty-one. He can drive and he's never seen the sea. He can't pass up the chance to chauffeur for Simon, whatever his mother may say. As the unlikely pair set…
Computers have fascinated me since my childhood, having fond memories of my dad's ZX81, but even so I played around I was never truly captured by the programming until I recognized it as a way of writing rather than raw engineering. Through my studies of media sciences I found my fascination with how language can shape perception, and through my work in developer advocacy, I found how communities are shaped as well. Now I am fascinated with how different programming languages can shape thinking, having had the opportunity to solve problems at large companies in nonmainstream languages.
Not really a programming book, Modern Operating Systems has been influential for me to understand what I am working with.
When learning about how OSs do their job it is impossible to know everything, but having a rough picture and being able to know how and where to drill down further is what it is all about and this is where this book really shined for me. Even when never writing a driver or working with kernel code, knowing how the details fit together helps in estimating complexity.
The knowledge I got from this book more than once helped me recognize when something was too good to be true, or simplify complex software by working with not against the OS, in my opinion a must read for every programmer.
Please Read Notes: Brand New, International Softcover Edition, Printed in black and white pages, minor self wear on the cover or pages, Sale restriction may be printed on the book, but Book name, contents, and author are exactly same as Hardcover Edition. Fast delivery through DHL/FedEx express.
