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Recommendations based on Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucíaby Chris Stewart
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Notes from a Small Island
by Bill Bryson
A humorous travelogue of Bryson's final tour of Britain before moving to the US. He reflects on the quirks and charms of British life.
"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it." After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson - bestselling author of ... (Goodreads)
A Year in Provence
by Peter Mayle
A humorous memoir of a British couple's first year in Provence, France, adjusting to the culture shock and idiosyncrasies of their new home.
In this witty and warm-hearted account, Peter Mayle tells what it is like to realize a long-cherished dream and actually move into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the remote country of the Lubéron ... (Goodreads)
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
A captivating overview of the natural sciences, spanning the history of the universe.
In Bryson's biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory ... (Goodreads)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
by Katherine Boo
Explores the lives of the people living in Mumbai's slums and the harsh realities they face.
From Pulitzer Prize-winner Katherine Boo, a landmark work of narrative nonfiction that tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the ... (Goodreads)
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure
by Sarah Macdonald
A humorous journey through India, exploring its culture and diversity.
In her twenties, journalist Sarah Macdonald backpacked around India and came away with a lasting impression of heat, pollution and poverty. So when an airport beggar read her palm and told her she ... (Goodreads)
Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback
by Robyn Davidson
A woman's journey of self-discovery, solo-trekking through Australia's Outback.
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE Robyn Davidson's opens the memoir of her perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company with the ... (Goodreads)
The Bookseller of Kabul
by Åsne Seierstad
An intimate look into the lives of an Afghan family, exploring culture and faith.
In spring 2002, following the fall of the Taliban, Åsne Seierstad spent four months living with a bookseller and his family in Kabul. For more than twenty years Sultan Khan defied the authorities—be ... (Goodreads)
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
by Eric Weiner
A humorous exploration of the pursuit of happiness, through visits to different countries.
Weiner spent a decade as a foreign correspondent reporting from such discontented locales as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Indonesia. Unhappy people living in profoundly unstable states, he notes, inspire ... (Goodreads)
Shakespeare: The World as Stage
by Bill Bryson
An exploration of Shakespeare's life, works, and enduring cultural impact.
At first glance, Bill Bryson seems an odd choice to write this addition to the Eminent Lives series. The author of 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid' isn't, after all, a Shakespeare scholar, ... (Goodreads)
Color: A Natural History of the Palette
by Victoria Finlay
Exploration of the history, science, and cultural significance of color.
Discover the tantalizing true stories behind your favorite colors. For example: Cleopatra used saffron—a source of the color yellow—for seduction. Extracted from an Afghan mine, the blue ... (Goodreads)
Toujours Provence
by Peter Mayle
A humorous and charming account of the author's life in Provence, France, filled with colorful characters and delightful anecdotes.
Taking up where his beloved A Year in Provence leaves off, Peter Mayle offers us another funny, beautifully (and deliciously) evocative book about life in Provence. With tales only one who lives ... (Goodreads)
Infidel
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
A memoir of a woman's journey of faith, identity, and self-liberation.
One of today’s most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan Hirsi Ali burst into international headlines following the murder of Theo van Gogh by an Islamist who threatened that she would ... (Goodreads)
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
by Barbara Demick
Exploration of the lives of North Koreans during the famine and repression of the 1990s.
Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the ... (Goodreads)
The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet
by Benjamin Hoff
Using characters from Winnie-the-Pooh, this book explores the principles of Taoism and how they can be applied to everyday life.
Is there such thing as a Western Taoist? Benjamin Hoff says there is, and this Taoist's favorite food is honey. Through brilliant and witty dialogue with the beloved Pooh-bear and his companions, the ... (Goodreads)
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
An inspiring story of a rowing crew battling against the odds to win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
This novel is about the University of Washington eight-oared crew that represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and narrowly beat out Italy and Germany to win the gold medal. The ... (Wikipedia)
The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins
Scientific exploration of the evidence for and against religious belief.
A preeminent scientist - and the world's most prominent atheist - asserts the irrationality of belief in God, and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11. With ... (Goodreads)
Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France
by Peter Mayle
A delightful collection of stories and anecdotes about the author's life in the South of France.
A whole new feast of adventures, discoveries, hilarities, and culinary treats, liberally seasoned with a joyous mix of Gallic characters. After trying–what folly!--to live in other places, Peter ... (Goodreads)
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
by Atul Gawande
An exploration of the human experience of mortality and the importance of end-of-life care.
In, Being Mortal, author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern ... (Goodreads)
Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids
by Kim John Payne
A guide to parenting with less stress and fewer material possessions, while creating more meaningful relationships with children.
Today’s busier, faster, supersized society is waging an undeclared war . . . on childhood. As the pace of life accelerates to hyperspeed–with too much stuff, too many choices, and too little ... (Goodreads)
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board
by Bethany Hamilton
A young surfer's inspiring journey of resilience, healing and faith.
In 2003, 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton lives in Kauai, Hawaii with her parents Tom and Cheri, and two older brothers, Noah and Timmy. All are surfers, but she and her best friend Alana Blanchard have ... (Wikipedia)
Round Ireland with a Fridge
by Tony Hawks
A hilarious travelogue of a man's journey around Ireland with a fridge, fulfilling a drunken bet.
Have you ever made a drunken bet? Worse still, have you ever tried to win one? In attempting to hitchhike round Ireland with a fridge, Tony Hawks did both, and his foolhardiness led him to one of the ... (Goodreads)
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
by Maxwell King
A biography of Fred Rogers, the creator and host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," exploring his life, philosophy, and impact on children's television.
The definitive biography of Fred Rogers, children’s television pioneer and American cultural icon, an instant, New York Times, bestseller Fred Rogers (1928–2003) was an enormously influential figure ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Rules Do Not Apply
by Ariel Levy
A memoir of a woman's journey of self-discovery, exploring the boundaries of freedom and responsibility.
A gorgeous, darkly humorous memoir about a woman overcoming dramatic loss and finding reinvention—for readers of Cheryl Strayed and Joan Didion When thirty-eight-year-old New Yorker writer Ariel Levy ... (Goodreads)
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
by Gertrude Stein
A unique and captivating look into the life of the avant-garde writer and her circle of friends.
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas was written in 1933 by Gertrude Stein in the guise of an autobiography authored by Alice B. Toklas, who was her lover. It is a fascinating insight into the art ... (Goodreads)
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success
by Amy Morin
A guide to building mental strength by avoiding common pitfalls. Learn to overcome negative thoughts and behaviors to achieve success and happiness.
"Kick bad mental habits and toughen yourself up."— Inc. Master your mental strength—revolutionary new strategies that work for everyone from homemakers to soldiers and teachers to CEOs. Everyone ... (Barnes & Noble)
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
by Daniel Tammet
A memoir of an autistic savant who sees numbers as shapes, colors, and textures, and can learn languages in a week.
A journey into one of the most fascinating minds alive today—guided by the owner himself. Bestselling author Daniel Tammet ( Thinking in Numbers ) is virtually unique among people who have severe ... (Barnes & Noble)
All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation
by Rebecca Traister
Examining the power and influence of unmarried women on modern society.
In 2009, award-winning journalist Rebecca Traister started All the Single Ladies about the twenty-first century phenomenon of the American single woman. It was the year the proportion of American ... (Goodreads)
Just My Type: A Book about Fonts
by Simon Garfield
Exploration of the fascinating history and variety of typefaces that have shaped our world.
What’s your type? Suddenly everyone’s obsessed with fonts. Whether you’re enraged by Ikea’s Verdanagate, want to know what the Beach Boys have in common with easy Jet or why it’s okay to like Comic ... (Goodreads)
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by Anthony Bourdain
A humorous and unflinching account of life in restaurant kitchens, exploring the culture and camaraderie of the culinary world.
A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute ... (Goodreads)
A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy
by Sue Klebold
A mother's story of her son's involvement in a school shooting and her journey of understanding and healing.
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Over the course of minutes, they would kill twelve students and a teacher and wound ... (Goodreads)
