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If Only He’d Told Me: A foster family pushed to the limits
If Only He’d Told Me: A foster family pushed to the limits
Mia Marconi
¥9.71
The third in a series of true short stories from foster carer Mia Marconi. Brody had been on the at-risk register since birth but was only removed from his alcoholic parents when he reached the age of six. Foster carer Mia Marconi was thrilled when he first arrived – a boy the same age as her son. It can be so bewildering for foster children when they arrive. The older ones are usually withdrawn and sullen. The younger ones will be screaming, spitting at you, making themselves sick and throwing themselves on the floor. For Mia, it’s normally her boisterous, happy children who provide the comfort at the beginning, because why should they trust another adult. Children always feel safe and secure when there are other children about. Mia believes it’s through making relationships with other children that they begin to trust adults again. But little did she know that six-year-old Brody was actually taking his anger and frustration out on her son. She quickly begins to realise the heavy price her family has had to pay.
A Child Called Hope
A Child Called Hope
Mia Marconi
¥11.77
A dramatic debut short story from London-based foster carer Mia Marconi. An incredible chain of events that began in Italy during WWII with an illegitimate pregnancy shaped Mia’s destiny. The illegitimate child was her father, a lost soul who she idolised. Protecting him instilled in her an instinct to care for the vulnerable and, after a chance meeting with a chaotic foster family, she decided fostering was her vocation. In an incredible twist of fate, the first baby she fostered was born to an unmarried Italian girl. Then came Hope, so badly damaged by her teenage mother’s alcoholism she was in hospital for a year. Finally discharged and settled in Mia’s happy home, what happened next would make Mia question if she could carry on.
Fishing Flies
Fishing Flies
Malcolm Greenhalgh,Jason Smalley
¥231.22
Anyone who has taken a class from a decent teacher will be able to make flies from the de*ions given here. -- Booklist A mind-boggling array of flies.... The volume brims with hard-won advice and entertaining anecdotes. -- Waterloo Record Fishing Flies is a complete guide that describes every conceivable type of freshwater and saltwater fly. It examines the entire range of fishing flies--more than 1,300 in all--many by some of the world's most famous fly-tiers. These flies have been selected not only for their worth as lures but for their contribution to the progress of fly-tying. This smaller paperback edition is more portable than the hardcover, making it easy for fly fishers to take it along on fishing trips. Every fly in the book can be tied using readily-obtained material. Specially taken color photographs show hundreds of fly styles and variations with as many as six flies per page. The author describes their history, including literary references and fishing folklore, points out special features and gives detailed tying instructions where needed. He recommends the most favorable conditions in which to use the fly and provides important information on how the flies correspond with the fishes' reproductive cycles. Fishing Flies covers: ?Introduction and the earliest flies ?Trout and grayling flies ?Streamers and bucktails ?Flies for salmon, sea trout and steelhead ?Flies for freshwater predators ?Saltwater flies. Useful tips, time-tested fishing advice, recommendations for environmental conditions and fishing style, historical images, entertaining anecdotes and an extensive bibliography round out this fascinating and complete resource.
Will You Love Me?: The story of my adopted daughter Lucy: Part 2 of 3
Will You Love Me?: The story of my adopted daughter Lucy: Part 2 of 3
Cathy Glass
¥22.76
The eleventh memoir and latest title from the internationally bestselling author and foster carer Cathy Glass. This book tells the true story of Cathy’s adopted daughter Lucy. Lucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the beginning Lucy’s mother couldn’t cope, but it wasn’t until Lucy reached eight years old that she was finally taken into permanent foster care. By the time Lucy is brought to live with Cathy she is eleven years old and severely distressed after being moved from one foster home to another. Withdrawn, refusing to eat and three years behind in her schooling, it is thought that the damage Lucy has suffered is irreversible. But Cathy and her two children bond with Lucy quickly, and break through to Lucy in a way no-one else has been able to, finally showing her the loving home she never believed existed. Cathy and Lucy believe they were always destined to be mother and daughter – it just took them a little while to find each other.
Betrayed
Betrayed
Rosie Lewis
¥58.86
In the much-anticipated follow-up to Sunday Times bestseller Trapped, foster carer Rosie Lewis tells the heartbreaking true story of 13-year-old Zadie. When the young teenage girl runs away from home and is discovered hiding on the city streets by the police, it is clear that all is not as it should be. Taught to believe that Westerners should not be trusted, when Zadie is initially delivered into the experienced hands of foster carer Rosie she is polite and well-behaved, but understandably suspicious of the family around her. Through Rosie’s support and understanding, gradually Zadie begins to settle into her new surroundings, but loyalty to her relatives, and fear of bringing shame on those around her, prevents her from confessing the horrifying truth about her troubled past. When the shocking truth finally emerges, Rosie and her family can hardly believe that Zadie had managed to keep the shocking secrets to herself for so long.
My Uncle Charlie (Tales of the Notorious Hudson Family, Book 2)
My Uncle Charlie (Tales of the Notorious Hudson Family, Book 2)
Julie Shaw
¥58.86
If you lived on the notorious Canterbury Estate in the ‘40s and ‘50s, then you knew there was one man you did not want to cross: Charlie Hudson. A solitary man, feared and respected by the gangsters of the time, Charlie was a boxer who never lost a fight, in or out of the ring – the most infamous of The Canterbury Warriors. My Uncle Charlie, the second title in the explosive series unravels a story of debauchery, crime and self-destruction. Charlie Hudson was a born leader. The eldest of eight brothers and four sisters and with a boxer for a father, fighting was in his blood. And as the young protégé of local Italian gangster, Mr Cappovanni, Charlie not only learned to knock every opponent out, he also learned the tools of the crime and extortion trade well; emerging into adulthood in the middle of the war years as a natural heir: running cons, illegal books and a band of prostitutes. But when Charlie met Betty, a sweet, caring girl, he was determined to be a better man for her. He’d still deal with ‘business’ but no more would he bed his working girls, and the birth of their baby girl, Elizabeth, sealed it: he knew life could not get any better. But for a man who had only ever lived in the belly of the Canterbury Estate underworld, it could definitely get worse… Gritty and engrossing, book two of the Hudson family saga delves deeper into history of the infamous Canterbury Warriors; the true story of one man’s ascendancy to power, and the tragedy that brought it all crashing down.
Taylor Swift: The Whole Story
Taylor Swift: The Whole Story
Chas Newkey-Burden
¥27.17
The full story of Taylor Swift’s stratospheric rise to fame; all any dedicated Swifty needs to know about the pop superstar who’s taking over the world. A small-town girl with an incredible talent, and the strength to realise her dream, Taylor has grown into an award-winning, chart-topping artist and worldwide star, as well as a strong and stylish woman. But how did she get there? And what lies in store for her in the future? From childhood dreams of a musical future in Pennsylvania, to determined and budding teen musician with a trademark she’s stayed faithful to ever since: honest lyrics about real-life events; her fight to be taken seriously in the music industry, through to the rewards of success and the intense pressure of expectation, Taylor Swift: The Whole Story is a full account of Taylor’s incredible journey, with everything you need to know about America’s Sweetheart. This compelling book is packed full of fascinating details revealing the true Taylor – what drives, motivates and moves her, how she overcame the challenges that loomed on the road to fame and looks at how authentic her wholesome image is, plus the truth about her relationships with Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor Kennedy and who she’s really talking about on her tracks. The full portrait of a girl who could so easily have faded into the background – but who blossomed in the spotlight into a grounded, graceful and inspiring young woman.
Belly Dancing and Beating the Odds
Belly Dancing and Beating the Odds
Yvette Cowles
¥11.77
When 32-year-old Yvette Cowles contracted breast cancer she was determined it would not get in the way of her belly dancing dreams. Spirited and light-hearted, “Belly Dancing and Beating the Odds” is the true story of one woman’s quest to be the best breastless belly dancer in the business… Whilst most people see little to smile about when they hear the word “cancer”, for Yvette it was just another opportunity to find the silver lining. From realising the positives in a breast-free existence (think Audrey Hepburn physique and the uses of aero-dynamism when sales shopping), transforming her hospital cubicle into a sequinned boudoir and entertaining the nurses with her inflatable male companion, Yvette is determined not to let it get her down. Told with warmth and lively good humour, Yvette’s short story will move and inspire you – and might even persuade you to dig out your dancing shoes.
Collins Good Dog Behaviour: An Owner’s Guide
Collins Good Dog Behaviour: An Owner’s Guide
Gwen Bailey
¥50.62
Published in association with The Blue Cross, one of Britain’s top animal welfare societies, ‘Collins Good Dog Behaviour’ is an essential handbook for all responsible dog owners with numerous step-by-step photographs that will help to make training your dog simple and enjoyable. Gwen Bailey believes that the first step to having a well-behaved dog is for the owner to fully understand the dog’s behaviour – only then can you learn to communicate effectively with your pet and create a successful partnership. She maintains that all dogs can be well-behaved and that you can teach an old dog new tricks! You can learn about: how to be a good owner through talking and listening to your dog, dicovering the essential ingredients for a well-behaved dog, introducing step-by-step obedience exercises to prevent and solve problem behaviour. ‘Collins Good Dog Behaviour’ is a book which will advise you on how to make your dog really clever, thus making you a clever owner!
Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Penelope Fitzgerald,Frances Spalding
¥95.75
Penelope Fitzgerald, the Booker Prize-winning author of ‘Offshore’ and ‘The Blue Flower’, turns her attention to the remarkable life of the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones. ‘I mean by a picture a beautiful, romantic dream of something that never was, never will be, in a light better than any light that ever shone – in a land no one can define or remember, only desire’ Edward Burne-Jones Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) was the prototypical pre-Raphaelite but with a truly individual sensibility. Penelope Fitzgerald’s delightful biography charts his life from humble beginnings in Birmingham as the son of an unsuccessful framer, through a transformative period at Oxford, where he met his close friend and collaborator William Morris, and on to the apprenticeship with Dante Gabriel Rossetti that would shape his artistic vision. His work harks back to an Arthurian England – an Arcadia that offered solace against the onset of the Industrial Revolution, and on a deeply personal level provided respite from his ever-present melancholia. This is an illuminating portrait of a fascinating figure – artistic genius, doting father, troubled husband – written with all Penelope Fitzgerald’s characteristic sympathy and insight.
Tony Hancock: The Definitive Biography
Tony Hancock: The Definitive Biography
John Fisher
¥91.43
Regarded as the best radio and TV comic of his era, Tony Hancock was a man whose star burned brightly in the eyes and ears of millions before his untimely death in 1968. Now, forty years on, critically acclaimed biographer John Fisher brings the first fully authorised account of his life. Tony Hancock was one of post-war Britain’s most popular comedians – his radio show ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ would clear the streets as whole families tuned in to listen. His peerless timing and subtle changes in intonation marked Hancock out as a comic genius. His character ‘Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock’ was an amplification of his own persona, a pompous prat whose dreams of success are constantly thwarted. The original British loser that we recognise in Victor Meldrew and Alan Partridge. Wonderfully supported by a cast including Sid James, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams, and working with *s from Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, Hancock became a huge star. The show was commisioned for TV, showcasing his talent for hilarious facial expression, and he became the first British comedian to earn a thousand pounds a week. Behind Tony Hancock’s success however hid the self-destructive behaviour that plagued him all his life. Prone to self-doubt, and wanting to be the star of his own show, he got rid of James, and finally dismissed Galton and Simpson who had created the platform for his success. His private life was wracked by his ever increasing alcoholism and bouts of depression, and his relationships shattered by his capacity for violence. His ratings fell and, feeling washed up and alone after divorcing his second wife, he committed suicide in an Australian hotel room in 1968. Now, forty years after his death John Fisher explores the turbulent life of a man regarded by his peers as one of the greatest British comics to have ever lived.
Mummy’s Little Soldier: Part 2 of 3
Mummy’s Little Soldier: Part 2 of 3
Casey Watson
¥27.47
Casey’s Unit is, as ever, full of troubled, disaffected pupils, and new arrival Leo is something of a conundrum. Thirteen year old Leo isn’t a bad lad – in fact, he’s generally polite and helpful, but he’s in danger of permanent exclusion for repeatedly absconding and unauthorised absences. Despite letters being sent home regularly, his mother never turns up for any appointments, and when the school calls home she always seems to have an excuse. Though Casey has her hands full, she offers to intervene for a while, to try get Leo engaged in learning again and remaining in school. The head’s sceptical though and warns her that this is Leo’s very last chance. But Casey’s determined, because there’s something about Leo that makes her want to fight his corner, and get to the bottom of whatever it is that compels this enigmatic boy to keep running away. With Leo so resolutely tight-lipped and secretive, Casey knows that if she’s going to keep this child in education, she’s going to have to get to the bottom of it herself…
Mummy’s Little Soldier: Part 3 of 3
Mummy’s Little Soldier: Part 3 of 3
Casey Watson
¥27.47
Casey’s Unit is, as ever, full of troubled, disaffected pupils, and new arrival Leo is something of a conundrum. Thirteen year old Leo isn’t a bad lad – in fact, he’s generally polite and helpful, but he’s in danger of permanent exclusion for repeatedly absconding and unauthorised absences. Despite letters being sent home regularly, his mother never turns up for any appointments, and when the school calls home she always seems to have an excuse. Though Casey has her hands full, she offers to intervene for a while, to try get Leo engaged in learning again and remaining in school. The head’s sceptical though and warns her that this is Leo’s very last chance. But Casey’s determined, because there’s something about Leo that makes her want to fight his corner, and get to the bottom of whatever it is that compels this enigmatic boy to keep running away. With Leo so resolutely tight-lipped and secretive, Casey knows that if she’s going to keep this child in education, she’s going to have to get to the bottom of it herself…
At the Coalface: Part 2 of 3: The memoir of a pit nurse
At the Coalface: Part 2 of 3: The memoir of a pit nurse
Joan Hart,Veronica Clark
¥41.01
A heart-warming story of a woman who devoted her life to helping others. This is the memoir of Joan, who started nursing in the 1940s and whose experiences took her into the Yorkshire mining pits and through the tumult of the 1984-85 miners’ strike. Joan Hart always knew what she wanted to do with her life. Born in South Yorkshire in 1932, she started her nursing training when she was 16, the youngest age girls could do so at the time. She continued working after she married and her work took her to London and Doncaster, caring for children and miners. When she took a job as a pit nurse in Doncaster in 1974, she found that in order to be accepted by the men under her care, she would have to become one of them. Most of the time rejecting a traditional nurse’s uniform and donning a baggy miner’s suit, pit boots, a hardhat and a headlamp, Joan resolved always to go down to injured miners and bring them out of the pit herself. Over 15 years Joan grew to know the miners not only as a nurse, but as a confidante and friend. She tended to injured miners underground, rescued men trapped in the pits, and provided support for them and their families during the bitter miners’ strike which stretched from March 1984 to 1985. Moving and uplifting, this is a story of one woman’s life, marriage and work; it is guaranteed to make readers laugh, cry, and smile.
My Psychic Casebook
My Psychic Casebook
Jayne Wallace
¥9.71
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors at a psychic reading? Meet ‘Selfridges Psychic’ Jayne Wallace who reads for over 100 international clients every week – from CID officers to media moguls, housewives to royalty and celebrities. Now she opens her client casebook to share the most shocking, touching and simply amazing readings that will make you laugh and cry – and leave you in no doubt that the spirit lives on. Jayne is renowned for getting straight to the point, with no preamble – she has seen spirits since the age of five and connects quickly to a person’s loved ones who have passed, bringing important messages and healing. In My Psychic Casebook, Jayne tells the stories exactly as they happened, and explains the techniques she uses to link with her clients. Just like a good novel, you’ll be instantly engrossed – except that all these stories are true. As the only department store medium in the world, in this short story, Jayne offers a unique insight into the work of a top clairvoyant, as well as shining a light on the remarkable truths behind the questions that concern us all.
The Bumpy Road to Married Bliss (HarperTrue Love – A Short Read)
The Bumpy Road to Married Bliss (HarperTrue Love – A Short Read)
Chris Dicken,Donny Wong
¥11.77
In August 2012, Donny and Chris found themselves outside Islington Town Hall preparing to start the next chapter of their lives together. But from meeting on an Isle of Wight cliff top, to getting engaged in Thailand, and finally tying the knot in London, it was one hell of a journey that had taken them there… The Bumpy Road to Married Bliss follows the many funny and touching twists and turns of Donny and Chris’s journey towards their wedding day; from being born on different continents, to organising a multi-faith, trans-Atlantic, inter-racial wedding with disapproving families in tow – proving that the course of true love really doesn’t run smooth. Tender, honest and told from both Donny and Chris’s points of view in alternating chapters, this is a modern day love story you won’t be able to put down.
Confessions of a Barrister (The Confessions Series)
Confessions of a Barrister (The Confessions Series)
Russell Winnock
¥34.14
From the people who brought you the bestselling Confessions of a GP. Russell is a young criminal Barrister. It’s his job to defend the people who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law – Petty thieves, career criminals, drug dealers and murderers… The scary son of a famous footballer, whose violent behaviour has got him in trouble so many times he almost knows the law better than Russell. The thief of a marital aid, who has a rather unusual defence. The 27 year old drug addict accused of stealing a push-bike, a chainsaw, a bag full of washing and a small fridge – all at the same time. And Russell’s first murder case – a young woman accused of murdering her violent boyfriend. This fascinating insight takes us behind the closed doors of the British legal world. With plenty of drama inside – and outside – of the courtroom, you’ll find out how CCTV can make or break a case, how your Facebook page could land you in jail and why on earth they wear those funny wigs!
The Strangest Family
The Strangest Family
Janice Hadlow
¥81.03
An intensely moving account of George III’s doomed attempt to create a happy, harmonious family, written with astonishing emotional force by a stunning new history writer. George III came to the throne in 1760 as a man with a mission. He was determined to break with the extraordinarily dysfunctional home lives of his Hanoverian predecessors. He was sure that as a faithful husband and a loving father, he would be not just a happier man but a better ruler as well. During the early part of his reign it seemed as if, against all the odds, his great family project was succeeding. His wife, Queen Charlotte, shared his sense of moral purpose, and together they raised their fifteen children in a climate of loving attention. But as the children grew older, and their wishes and desires developed away from those of their father, it became harder to maintain the illusion of domestic harmony. ‘The Strangest Family’ is an epic, sprawling family drama, filled with intensely realised characters who leap off the page as we are led deep inside the private lives of the Hanoverians. Written with astonishing emotional force by a stunning new voice in history writing, it is both a window on another world and a universal story that will resonate powerfully with modern readers.
The Beechwood Airship Interviews
The Beechwood Airship Interviews
Dan Richards
¥110.46
A journey into the headspaces and workplaces of some of Britain’s most unique artists, from the co-author of the critically acclaimed Holloway. Bill Drummond. Richard Lawrence. Stanley Donwood. Jenny Saville. David Nash. Manic Street Preachers. Dame Judi Dench. Cally Callomon. Sheryl Garratt. Vaughan Oliver. Jane Bown. Steve Gullick. Stewart Lee. The Butcher of Common Sense. Robert Macfarlane. Artists. Writers. Photographers. Musicians. A comedian. An actor. A printer. An airship. The people interviewed in this book come from all corners of Britain’s cultural landscape but are united in their commitment to their craft. At the beginning of this extraordinary memoir, Dan Richards impulsively decides to build an airship in his art school bar, an act of opposition which leads him to meet and interview some of Britain’s most extraordinary artists, craftsmen and technicians in the spaces and environments in which they work. His search for what it is that compels both him and them to create becomes a profound examination of what it is to be an artist in 21st Century Britain, and an inspiring testament to the importance of making art for art’s sake.
Nowhere to Go
Nowhere to Go
Casey Watson
¥58.86
Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson shares the shocking true story of Tyler, an abused eleven-year-old who, after stabbing his step-mother, had nowhere else to go. Knowing a little of Tyler’s past – his biological mother, a heroin addict, died of an overdose when he was three – Casey feels bound to do her best for him. It isn’t easy; Tyler continuously lashes out, even trying to attack Casey herself. Investigation into his earlier childhood reveals why: forced to watch his mother die he was found emaciated and traumatised two days later, then delivered to a father who didn’t want him and a step-mother who beat him. With the horrific events of his past now vividly affecting the course of his present, Casey and her husband Mike are determined to veer him away from the violence and drugs they fear he will come to depend on. Heartbreaking and profoundly moving, Nowhere to Go tells the story of a child forsaken by his family but fought for by his foster carers.
Our Vinnie - Part 2 of 3
Our Vinnie - Part 2 of 3
Julie Shaw
¥18.93
Our Vinnie can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 2 of 3. You can read Part 2 two weeks ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback. The infamous Canterbury Estate in Bradford, a hotbed of crime, drink and drugs, was a law unto itself in the ’70s. So when one of their own was wronged in any way, the community always had its own way of dealing with it. The first title in a series of gritty family sagas, Our Vinnie accounts the dramatic true story of a brother’s determination to avenge his younger sister’s rape. Josie was just 11 when her Vinnie, then 14, was taken away to a detention centre. Distraught by his absence and left alone with indifferent parents, when she escapes from one of their rows she naively enters the house of a neighbour, Melvin, who – horrifically – leads her upstairs and overpowers her. Convinced by her friend Carol, Josie tells her sister Lyndsey about the rape but, with Vinnie out of the picture, Lyndsey uses the information for her own ends. When Vinnie returns, hardened by years inside the system, his outrage on discovering the truth is severe. And with new abuses continually coming to light, a cataclysmic series of violent events begins to spiral out of control… Dramatic and shocking, Our Vinnie is an unbelievable page-turner, documenting a community forsaken by society, and one brother’s unrelenting determination to take justice into his own hands.