Recommended Reads
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The Why Question
What if you were growing up in a war, with a best friend who has fled from the enemy for safety? To whom do you talk? And whom can you trust? And then in a zoo you discover a secret that you must never tell anyone. Imagine yourself in that same Dutch city, famous for its mouse and windmills, with your everyday life of bicycles, schools, visits, friends and parents.
And then disaster strikes. The boots arrive. Who is on whose side? Who is brave and who not? And even if you make a little sense of it all, you are no longer a child, and growing up fast, and the very biggest question of all is coming your way… why?
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The Widowers
Paul has been a widower for three years and he would be the first to admit that he feels lost in the seaside town that was to be the retirement home for him and his late wife. Only Paul’s faithful dog, Zeno, gives him comfort. Through a chance encounter, Paul meets Geoff, another widower and dog-owner, in the same boat as Paul. As he reflects on his marriage and his experiences, exchanging thoughts with Geoff, Paul begins to form a new perspective on his life, exploring his sense of loss but beginning to glimpse the possibility of a life after the death of a partner. He is not so old. He’s not too old to change. Each sunrise in the bay brings a new day. There are still journeys to be made before the sun sets at last.
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The Widow’s Song
In The Widow’s Song, Donna Lloyd takes you on a personal journey through the loss of a loved one. As a widow herself, she speaks of the difficult and lonely path that many women find themselves walking when their life suddenly reduces to ‘one.’Taking six widows from the bible, the book looks at their experiences and discusses what, as widows today, we can learn from them, offering hope and encouragement to anyone facing this most difficult situation. It is a reflective look at widowhood in a time when you are at your lowest and most vulnerable, but it strives to highlight the strength that women have to go on and face the future.The Widow’s Song is a unique and very personal rendition of a love lost and a life continuing. A song well received by the Lord and never forgotten. A song which, in time, will build the foundation of your new life.
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The Woman from the Other Side
This collection of short stories focuses on the lives of ordinary working-class people from Northern Ireland. It is set against the backdrop of the ‘Troubles’ and the province’s more recent history. Strong female characters often carry the narrative, and the story which gives its title to the collection is that of a Catholic woman from the South who marries a staunch Northern Protestant, and they settle in Belfast. The strife which ensues reflects the divided communities which the rest of the book can testify to.
In their depiction of everyday violence and intimidation, the stories bring to light more latent themes of homosexuality, sexism, and prejudice. A strong focus on family bonds means that the collection provokes a profound resonance with a large number of us who have grown up in tight family circles. In many ways, the ‘Troubles’ serve to underline the tensions inherent in these bonds.
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There’s a Monster in My Tent
Having been awoken early in the morning by some strange noises downstairs, the little girl goes down to investigate. She is alarmed to find a monster sleeping in her tent and flees to her mother to tell her what she had seen.From the fierce growls coming from inside to his wild, hairy arms and legs, she had never come across anything quite so fearsome; nor quite so startling. Although all is not as it first seems.There’s a Monster in My Tent demonstrates a father’s devotion to his little girl as it details the imagination present in the minds of children. It’s as thought-provoking as it is lively and is aimed at educating and delighting in equal measure.
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They Call Me Jake
In this captivating memoir, Jakob, a Welsh-born Australian, takes readers on a remarkable journey that begins with a troubled youth and a life-changing decision. After running into legal trouble as a teenager, his family sends him off to sea on Scandinavian ships, where Jakob finds himself working out of Brooklyn, New York, joining ships engaged in global trade. It’s the era of rock and roll, with an atmosphere of freedom, free-spiritedness, and indulgence. However, tired of the endless partying and constant financial struggle, Jakob sets his sights on a new path.
He travels to England, enrolls in a navigational school, and earns his license as a ship’s deck officer. But his thirst for adventure and reinvention leads him to an unexpected destination - Israel. Jakob’s love for the kibbutz lifestyle and a young woman on the kibbutz captures his heart. However, as war disrupts the region, their relationship crumbles, and Jakob finds solace in a hippie commune on the sunny shores of Eilat. Through ups and downs, Jakob’s journey takes him across continents, from the Canadian Arctic to Thailand and beyond. His tale is one of resilience, self-discovery, and the pursuit of a meaningful life amidst the challenges and uncertainties of a rapidly changing world.
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The Bush Wood Valley Gang
This is a tale of a little mouse who, against all odds, survives many dangerous situations. He then discovers a new-found family friendship with a gang of orphans in Bush Wood Valley. Having lost his own near family, he quickly gets acquainted with his new-found family and gains higher status in the gang through his very positive attitude.
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The Last of the Lucky Childhoods
This is the story of my childhood recollections while growing up in Glasgow. The streets were still for kids and we knew how to make our own fun, though some of the mischiefs we got up to may not be classed as fun nowadays.
If we were poor, we didn’t realise it; if we were ill-treated, we thought of it as normal. Kids didn’t complain in those days (or they got a ‘slap across the lug’). Kids knew their place, we just got on with life and enjoyed it to the fullest.
As Billy Connolly would say: “What I’m about to tell you is true…well mostly.”
If any of my old pals, relatives, or friends recognise themselves on these pages, you’re most likely right…but I have changed the names (in some instances) to protect the guilty!
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The Web
In a celestial realm of five planets orbiting four suns, echoes of a bygone civilization wait to be unearthed. The revelation comes when archaeologists stumble upon an enigmatic probe amidst ancient ruins. As they pry open this time capsule, they unveil the chilling tale of a civilization vanished, its demise tied to a rogue blue star mentioned in the ancient texts.
As astronomers cast their gaze towards the cosmos, they are startled to find the same blue star, now drawing closer, heralding changes both mysterious and ominous. The celestial menace, with its destructive energies, threatens to rewrite the destiny of this multi-sunned system.
Faced with a cosmic threat, the realm’s brightest minds rally together to conceive a grand design: a force field monumental in its making, envisioned to shield their world from the star’s ruinous touch. This colossal endeavour births... The Web.
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Thorn's Princess
The people of the Forest Kingdom of Ferinatia are alive with excitement and delight as Princess Ranee of Ebrinatia arrives with her family and nobility for the first meeting with her betrothed, Crown Prince Jarel Whitethorn, the Summer Prince and future king of Ferinatia. Hawthorn, the servant to the royal healer, is neither excited nor delighted and his apprehension grows when he meets his future queen, and his fears are then compounded when unknown men attack him in their attempt to kidnap the crown prince. Then when the princess disappears and the alliance between the kingdoms is threatened, Thorn heads out in pursuit, unprepared for the journey he has begun through strange and perilous lands.
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Time For Revenge
The latest case for DI Keane is personal. A retired policeman is found murdered in amongst his flower beds, a second body turns up in a local church.
How are they intertwined, and what effect does it all have on village life and a mother?
Ray Keane has to work through it all to a conclusion.
As things finish up, there is a sense of relief and new personnel to get used to.
Fortunately for Ray, his life is moving along nicely, does this all bode well for the future?
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To Theo. Kaikaku
Imagine the first day in your life. Probably the most crucial day in your life. You became a human. You competed with around 20 to 300 million other sperm cells. No contest in your human life will beat that. Now you are cruising. You are almost sailing alone on a quiet ocean. Do not let the few other sailboats disturb you too much. They are only here to help you. Just be yourself and kind to them, you are in this race (read: life) together.
A city like Venice is a symbol of how fragile our planet is and if we abuse one place with over-consumption, it will get worn down. It is a warning here to us to protect old historical places on Earth and to be conscious about how we treat our planet. Venice is surely one of the places on this planet, which needed a crisis like Corona in order to rest from tourists and over-consumption.
Please don’t talk too much to me or your teachers. We need you, your medicine, your new eyes and your thoughts. We don’t need you to copy me or most of my generation. I know you are built for more. Just be you and do something. Get out there, raise your hand, and tell your peers what you think we need to change.
£6.99
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