Other books that might interest you

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  The Moon in the Banyan Tree

  Gael Harrison

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  I have walked through these streets at night, when all is silent and only the moonlight casts shadows over the clean and deserted pavements. The architecture retakes centre stage, and the classic French style of the building designs once again becomes apparent. As you walk, your eyes are drawn to the beautiful carved doorways and ornate shutters. Above, the ghostly modern additions to the already complicated rooftops mingle with the silhouettes of mature trees and vibrant bougainvillaea that have taken on the black hues of midnight. It could all be a pen and ink sketch for, here in the heart of the city by moonlight, the streets take on a beauty they do not possess in the afternoon sun. Gael Harrison's life has almost come full circle, from her birth and schooling as a British rubber planter's daughter in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to her newly found life in Vietnam. In 2001 Volunteer Services Overseas assigned Gael to a Save the Children Fund project in the remote Vietnamese highlands where only ethnic dialects were spoken. The daunting task of existing and working in these areas, in spite of speaking neither Vietnamese nor the local dialects, reveals the qualities that allow Gael to tell her story of the seldom-seen world of the volunteer in a difficult and alien environment through very human eyes. Gael is now remarried and continues to live and work in Hanoi.

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  Discovering the Character of God

  George MacDonald

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  Devotional selections from the poetry, sermons, and fiction of the great Victorian author George MacDonald.   One of the nineteenth-century's greatest thinkers, George MacDonald has inspired generations with his powerful stories and sermons. Now his words of wisdom are available in a series of devotionals compiled and edited by the MacDonald scholar and author of George MacDonald: Scotland’s Beloved Storyteller.  Discovering the Character of God presents brief, daily readings from MacDonald’s poetry, sermons, and fiction. Each offers deep insight into God’s loving character and the harmony that exists between his mercy and his justice. MacDonald’s imaginative perception of God's presence and handiwork in every facet of life lead the reader on an enriching path of discovery.

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  New Jersey Noir

  Jonathan Safran Foer, Bradford...

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  Discover the darker side of the Garden State with this anthology of gritty mystery stories. 
   
  Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each volume is compromised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographical area of the book. In New Jersey Noir, a star-studded cast of authors sifts through the hidden dirt of the Garden State. 
   
  Featuring brand-new stories (and a few poems) by Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Safran Foer, Robert Pinsky, Edmund White & Michael Carroll, Richard Burgin, Pulitzer Prize–winner Paul Muldoon, Sheila Kohler, C.K. Williams, Gerald Stern, Lou Manfredo, S.A. Solomon, Bradford Morrow, Jonathan Santlofer, Jeffrey Ford, S.J. Rozan, Barry N. Malzberg & Bill Pronzini, Hirsh Sawhney, and Robert Arellano. 
   
  Praise for New Jersey Noir 
   
  “Oates’s introduction to Akashic’s noir volume dedicated to the Garden State, with its evocative definition of the genre, is alone worth the price of the book . . . Highlights include Lou Manfredo’s “Soul Anatomy,” in which a politically connected rookie cop is involved in a fatal shooting in Camden; S.J. Rozan’s “New Day Newark,” in which an elderly woman takes a stand against two drug-dealing gangs; and Jonathan Santlofer’s “Lola,” in which a struggling Hoboken artist finds his muse . . . . Poems by C.K. Williams, Paul Muldoon, and others—plus photos by Gerald Slota—enhance this distinguished entry.” —Publishers Weekly 
   
  “It was inevitable that this fine noir series would reach New Jersey. It took longer than some readers might have wanted, but, oh boy, was it worth the wait . . . More than most of the entries in the series, this volume is about mood and atmosphere more than it is about plot and character . . . It should go without saying that regular readers of the noir series will seek this one out, but beyond that, the book also serves as a very good introduction to what is a popular but often misunderstood term and style of writing.” —Booklist, Starred Review 
   
  “A lovingly collected assortment of tales and poems that range from the disturbing to the darkly humorous.” —Shelf Awareness

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  To Sir With Love

  E. R. Braithwaite

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  With opportunities for black men limited in post-World War II London, Rick Braithwaite, a former Royal Air Force pilot and Cambridge-educated engineer, accepts a teaching position that puts him in charge of a class of angry, unmotivated, bigoted white teenagers whom the system has mostly abandoned. When his efforts to reach these troubled students are met with threats, suspicion, and derision, Braithwaite takes a radical new approach. He will treat his students as people poised to enter the adult world. He will teach them to respect themselves and to call him Sir. He will open up vistas before them that they never knew existed. And over the course of a remarkable year, he will touch the lives of his students in extraordinary ways-even as they, in turn, unexpectedly and profoundly touch his. Based on actual events in the author's life, To Sir, With Love is a powerfully moving story that celebrates courage, commitment, and vision and that inspired the classic film starring Sidney Poitier.

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  Listening to Cougar

  Cara Blessley Lowe, Marc Bekoff

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  “Awe. It’s the overwhelming emotion 20 authors express for the cougar—or mountain lion or panther or puma—in [this] beautiful literary anthology.” —The Durango Herald 
     
  Foreword by Jane Goodall 
   
   This spellbinding tribute to Puma concolor honors the big cat’s presence on the land and in our psyches. In some essays, the puma appears front and center: a lion leaps over Rick Bass’s feet, hurtles off a cliff in front of J. Frank Dobie, gazes at Julia Corbett when she opens her eyes after an outdoor meditation, emerges from the fog close enough for poet Gary Gildner to touch. Marc Bekoff opens his car door for a dog that turns out to be a lion. Other works evoke lions indirectly. Biologists describe aspects of cougar ecology, such as its rugged habitat and how males struggle to claim territory. Conservationists relate the political history of America’s greatest cat. Short stories and essays consider lions’ significance to people, reflecting on accidental encounters, dreams, Navajo beliefs, guided hunts, and how vital mountain lions are to people as symbols of power and wildness.   Contributors include: Rick Bass, Marc Bekoff, Janay Brun, Julia B. Corbett, Deanna Dawn, J. Frank Dobie, Suzanne Duarte, Steve Edwards, Joan Fox, Gary Gildner, Wendy Keefover-Ring, Ted Kerasote, Christina Kohlruss, Barry Lopez, BK Loren, Cara Blessley Lowe, Steve Pavlik, David Stoner, and Linda Sweanor.  “Puma. Cougar. Mountain lion. Panther. These words and the creatures they represent inspire awe, wonder, excitement, terror, and reverence in the writers whose contributions make up this anthology.” —Library Journal

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  The Ghost Marriage - A Memoir

  Kirsten Mickelwait

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  Steve and Kirsten Beckwith shared 26 years together. First there was the bliss of courtship, the contentment of marriage, and the love of parenthood—then anger, spite, unforgivable damage. When Steve dies suddenly of colon cancer, he leaves Kirsten saddled with his debts of $1.5 million. As she fights toward recovery, she begins to receive communications from Steve in the afterlife that lead her on an unexpected path to forgiveness. The Ghost Marriage is her story of discovery—that life isn’t limited to the tangible reality we experience on this earth, and that our worst adversaries can become our greatest teachers. 

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