Other books that might interest you

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  Love Freddie - Freddie Mercury’s...

  Lesley-Ann Jones

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  Few people knew that Freddie Mercury kept a diary. When he died in 1991, he left behind seventeen handwritten notebooks chronicling his life and times, which he had begun to write in 1976 when Queen were at the height of their global fame. His final entry was made just weeks before his death.
  Only four of his nearest and dearest ever knew what became of those diaries. To one of them, Freddie secretly entrusted the collection just before he died. A mind-blowing read, they constitute the closest thing to a Freddie Mercury autobiography that the world will ever know.
  In 2021, this trusted individual approached the author, offering something unprecedented: complete and unrestricted access to the artist’s most intimate confessions. For three and a half years, Lesley-Ann Jones has immersed herself in Freddie’s personal revelations, crafting a narrative that will overturn everything we thought we knew about him and his legacy.
  Love, Freddie shares shocking secrets from Freddie’s childhood, lifts the lid on his deepest fears and most passionate desires, explores the inspiration behind his songwriting, revisits his closest relationships and reveals the love of his life. Here, once and for all, is Freddie Mercury’s true story.

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  Cleopatra - Last Pharaoh of Egypt

  Omar Khalil

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  Cleopatra VII was born into the powerful Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek ruling family that had governed Egypt since the time of Alexander the Great. As the daughter of Ptolemy XII, she was raised in a world of immense political intrigue and royal rivalries. Unlike many of her predecessors, Cleopatra was highly educated, mastering several languages, including Egyptian—an unusual skill among the Greek rulers of Egypt. Her intelligence, charm, and deep understanding of politics set her apart as a leader destined for greatness. 
  From a young age, Cleopatra was immersed in the complexities of governance. She studied philosophy, mathematics, and diplomacy, acquiring knowledge that would later aid her in navigating the dangerous world of ancient power struggles. While her early years were marked by luxury, they were also shadowed by uncertainty. Egypt, under her father’s rule, was heavily dependent on Rome, and political instability threatened the Ptolemaic dynasty. Cleopatra observed these tensions closely, preparing herself for the inevitable challenge of ruling a divided kingdom. 
  When Ptolemy XII died in 51 BCE, Cleopatra, at just eighteen years old, ascended to the throne alongside her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. According to Egyptian tradition, royal siblings often married to secure dynastic rule, and Cleopatra was expected to govern jointly with her brother-husband. However, she had little interest in sharing power. She quickly demonstrated her political ambition, seeking to rule Egypt independently. Her intelligence and strategic mindset made her a formidable leader, but her brother’s advisors viewed her as a threat.

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  Starter Dog - My Path to Joy...

  Rona Maynard

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  An irresistible tale of reluctant dog ownership full of heart, humor, and wisdom
  		 
  Rona Maynard wants to love her life again. Stuck in the what-next doldrums after quitting a big job, she needs a new bridge to the world. So, well into their married life, she lets her husband talk her into their first dog, a rescue mutt named Casey. Rona frets about shedding, lost travel opportunities, and arguments about walking duty. She doubts she can love a dog. But when Casey romps through her door, Rona falls hard. Over time he gives her what no human could — a new way of seeing and a pathway to the heart of a moment. Her downtown neighborhood reveals its true face as she explores it with Casey, making new friends and discovering hidden beauty spots. She learns to have adventures on her own stomping ground. Through Casey, Rona falls in love with the world and her place in it, an animal among other animals.

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  The Curious Life of Elizabeth...

  Pamela Holmes

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  An engrossing historical saga based on the life of the eighteenth-century woman who endured loss and betrayal—and dared to pursue her dreams. Her parents warned Elizabeth that Alexander Blackwell would not make a dependable husband, and only after eloping with him did she learn they may have been right . . . After their marriage, the couple finds lodgings in London. Alexander looks for work while Elizabeth learns engraving. Before long, though, Alexander is in the Marshalsea, the notorious debtors’ prison, and she is left to fend for herself. Alone and penniless, she has a few things going for her: a skill, an idea, and an acquaintance. Elizabeth embarks on a quest that earns her a small fortune and may allow her to buy her husband’s freedom. It seems like she may live happily ever after. But her extraordinary story isn’t over yet . . .Praise for Pamela Holmes “A genuinely original, utterly enchanting story.” —A. N. Wilson, author of Victoria: A Life “[A] lyrical novel that skillfully represents the constraints placed on middle-class women of the era.” —Historical Novel Society

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  Last Nerve - A Memoir of Illness...

  Mindy Uhrlaub

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  One woman’s story of confronting the monster under the bed
  
  Last Nerve is much more than a trauma memoir. The story begins as Mindy Uhrlaub learns that she carries a gene for the fatal neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The news, while not surprising, is compounded by the fact that she is caring for her husband, who is undergoing chemotherapy for stage four lymphoma, raising a child with serious behavioral issues, and watching her own mother die of ALS. As she navigates the new territory of having three close relatives with life-threatening situations, she also has to come to terms with the fact that she may have passed the fatal gene to her two sons. Not one to fold, Mindy faces her circumstances head-on, realizing that her race for the elusive cure for ALS is not only for herself but also for her kids, her cousins, and the thousands of other carriers of the fateful gene.
  
  Despite the incredible strain of all these challenges, Mindy manages them with amazing tenderness, persistence, and love. Far from a depressing story of misfortune, Last Nerve is as uplifting and witty as it is raw and real. It’s a testament to hope, the endurance of family, and the resilience of the human spirit.

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  Arnold Bennett - Lost Icon

  Patrick Donovan

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  During his 1920s heyday, Arnold Bennett was one of Britain's most celebrated writers. As the author of The Old Wives' Tale and Clayhanger he was a household name, writing just as much for the common man as London's literati. His face was plastered over theatre hoardings and the sides of West End omnibuses. His life represents the ultimate rags-to-riches story of a man who 'banged on the door of Fortune like a weekly debt collector' as one of his obituaries so vividly put it.
  
  Yet for all his success, few were aware how cursed Bennett felt by his life-long stutter and other debilitating character traits. In the years running up to his death in 1931, his affairs were close to collapse as he fought a losing battle on three fronts: with his estranged wife; with his disenchanted mistress; and from a literary perspective with Virginia Woolf.
  
  As the first full length biography of Bennett since 1974, the work draws on a wealth of unpublished diaries and letters to shed new light on a personality who can be considered a 'Lost Icon' of early Twentieth Century Britain.

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