![]() ![]() My Brilliant Friend is set in the 1950s in Naples, where we meet Lila and Elena, two best friends living in a poor neighbourhood in Naples. ![]() There’s nothing like Ischia, one of the islands off the coast of Naples, in the summer – as you’ll find out the second you read My Brilliant Friend, the first novel in Elena Ferrante’s sun-drenched, blistered, blissed out Neapolitan Quartet. Collection.Ī rich blue sea with a wide stretch of ivory-coloured sand, umbrellas jutting up here and there, providing a little shade for the bronzed bodies stretched out beneath them. ![]() For this instalment, we are reviewing Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, which you can shop now in The Reads. Welcome to Must Reads, where we review our favourite novels, memoirs, non-fiction books and more. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() “Reminiscent of the determination and courage of The Little Engine That Could, this title delivers its message with charm.” - School Library Journal “Lichtenheld's depictions of Cloudette puffing herself up for a fulsome downpour will delight children, and funny turns of phrase ("Even the higher-ups were impressed") will engage adults, too.” - Kirkus Reviews “Little people who feel small and want to do important things will be inspired by Cloudette and will cheer when she finds her own pond-making mission.” - BookPage “Cloudette gives a sky-high and playful perspective on our atmosphere and giving the world all that we have.”. “Her tale raises questions relevant to little children: Is there anything good about being small? Will I ever be as good as the big kids? What do clouds do anyway? They'll like the answers.” - The New York Times Book Review ![]() ![]() “choice no longer liberates, but debilitates” -“choice overload” With the latest studies on how we make choices in our personal and professional lives, Schwartz offers practical advice on how to focus on the right choices, and how to derive greater satisfaction from choices that we do make. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz explains how a culture that thrives on the availability of constantly evolving options can also foster profound dissatisfaction and self-blame in individuals, which can lead to a paralysis in decision making and, in some cases, depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains why too much of a good thing has proven detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. ![]() Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401K, everyday decisions have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. In the spirit of Alvin Tofflers' Future Shock, a social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() But Sophie does want him, has always wanted him. He'll be there for Noah, whether she wants him or not. Living with outlaw bikers wasn't Sophie's plan for her son, but Ruger isn't giving her a choice. When he discovers Sophie and his nephew living in near poverty, Ruger takes matters into his own hands-with the help of the Reapers Motorcycle Club-to give them a better life. Unfortunately, Zach's a deadbeat dad, leaving Ruger to be Noah's only male role model. She may have lost her dignity that fateful night, but Sophie also gained something precious-her son Noah. Zach's step-brother, a steely-muscled, tattooed biker named Ruger, caught them in the act, getting a peep show of Sophie he's never forgotten. Reaper's Legacy is a raw and intensely erotic tale in Joanna Wylde's Reapers Motorcycle Club series.Įight years ago, Sophie gave her heart-and her virginity-to Zach Barrett on a night that couldn't have been less romantic or more embarrassing. ![]() ![]() ![]() It is a narrative of the history of Arabia and the birth and the life of Muhammad. ![]() Also there is Al-Waqidi (and the references are to Marsden Jones' edition of Kitab al Maghazi, A Chronicle of the Prophet's Campaigns, by Muhammad ibn Umar al- Waqidi). Also Ibn Sa’ad (the references are to John Leyden's edition of Kitab al-Tabaqat al Kabir by Muhammad ibn Sa’d). References used are Ibn Ishaq (references here are to Ferdinand Wüstenfeld's edition of Sirat Rasul Allah, a life of the Prophet by Muhammad ibn Ishaq in the annotated recension of Ibn Hisham). The book also includes excerpts from original English translations of speeches by men and women who lived close to Muhammad, heard him speak, witnessed his actions, witnessed the way he interacted with situations and witnessed events he encountered throughout various stages of his life. It is not contradictory to other accounts but rather offers new insights and new details. It is based primarily on old Arab sources that go back to the 9th century, of which some passages are translated for the first time. ![]() ![]() The book provides a new account of the sira or the life of Muhammad, with details that had not been elaborated in other accounts. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources is a 1983 biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad by Martin Lings. ![]() ![]() ![]() Youngsters will never get tired of this toy-comes-alive tale with a happy ending, so you may also want to seek out Dan Freeman's next creation, A Pocket for Corduroy. Corduroy decides that this must be home and that Lisa must be his friend. The next morning, he finds that it's his lucky day! A little girl buys him with money she saved in her piggy bank and takes him home to her room. The night watchman hears the crash, finds Corduroy, and puts him back on the shelf downstairs. He tries to pull a button off the mattress, but he ends up falling off the bed and knocking over a lamp. It's a brave new world! He accidentally gets on an elevator that he thinks must be a mountain and sees the furniture section that he thinks must be a palace. When all the shoppers have gone home for the night, Corduroy climbs down from the shelf to look for his missing button. ![]() Have you ever dreamed of being locked in a department store at night? The endearing story of Corduroy paints a picture of the adventures that might unfold (for a teddy bear at least) in such a situation. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This new edition retains the critical text that restores previously deleted and revised passages.ĪBOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Set against the backdrop of the unchanging natural cycle of the year, the story both upholds and questions rural values with a startlingly modern sensibility. And while their fates depend upon the choice Bathsheba makes, she discovers the terrible consequences of an inconstant heart.įar from the Madding Crowd was the first of Hardy's novels to give the name of Wessex to the landscape of south-west England, and the first to gain him widespread popularity as a novelist. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. 'I shall do one thing in this life - one thing for certain - that is, love you, and long for you, and keep wanting you till I die.' ![]() Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Global Public Health.The European Society of Cardiology Series.Oxford Commentaries on International Law. ![]() ![]() ![]() The enlightened playwright and social critic Voltaire (1694-1778) concluded his satirical tale Candide (1759) with the observation that the violence and plunder of kings could not compare with the productive and peaceful life of those who minded their own business, "cultivated their own garden," and traded the surpluses with their neighbors:Ĭandide, as he was returning home, made profound reflections on the Turk’s discourse. ![]() ![]() ![]() Julian and Emily are both likable and kind characters. Of course, in this novel, we get to learn the different nuances and layers to them, and getting this fuller picture made me love each of them even more. Having read the first two already, I went into To Marry and to Meddle already having a strong idea of who Emily and Julian are and an emotional attachment to them both. One of my favorite things about these books is how thoroughly involved the characters are in each others’ lives. The previous two books in this series did a wonderful job of setting up Julian and Emily, both as characters in their own right and as a couple. But while Julian and Emily are clear on the terms of their marriage, they both start to get different ideas as the weeks pass. ![]() It may even prove his worth to his estranged father. Julian, for his part, will improve his own reputation and, moreover, show that his theater – The Belfry – is indeed respectable. It’s a win-win for both of them: Emily, after six seasons, will no longer feel the pressures of her family’s debts and being courted by the odious Mr. While still at Jeremy Overington’s country estate, just days after he and Diana get engaged, Lord Julian Belfry and Lady Emily Turner agree to enter into a marriage of convenience. To Marry and to Meddle opens right where To Love and to Loathe left off. Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! ![]() ![]() ![]() With an unstoppable narrative power reminiscent of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, A Civil Action is an unforgettable reading experience that will leave the reader both shocked and enlightened.Ī Civil Action was made into a movie starring John Travolta and Robert Duvall. Representing the bereaved parents, the unlikeliest of heroes emerges: a young, flamboyant Porsche-driving lawyer who hopes to win millions of dollars and ends up nearly losing everything, including his sanity. Yet it is also the story of how one man can ultimately make a difference. " The legal thriller of the decade." - Cleveland Plain Dealerĭescribed as “a page-turner filled with greed, duplicity, heartache, and bare-knuckle legal brinksmanship" by The New York Times, A Civil Action is the searing, compelling tale of a legal system gone awry-one in which greed and power fight an unending struggle against justice. The true story of one man so determined to take down two of the nation's largest corporations accused of killing children from water contamination that he risks losing everything. ![]() ![]() NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER. ![]() |