Marguerite Duras was one of the leading intellectuals & novelist of post-war France, but her wartime writings were not published in full until after her death. The Wartime Notebooks trace Duras`s formative experiences
- including her difficult childhood in Indochina & her harrowing wait for her husband`s return from Nazi internment
- revealing the personal history behind her bestselling novels. The Lover is the best known of these; set in pre-war Indochina, its haunting tale of a tumultuous affair between an adolescent French girl & her wealthy Chinese lover is based on her own life. In spare & luminous prose, Duras evokes life on the margins in the waning days of France`s colonial empire, & the passionate relationship between two unforgettable outcasts. Practicalities is a collection of small & intensely personal pieces Duras dictated near the end of her life. These deceptively simple meditations on motherhood, domesticity, sex, love, alcohol, writing, & more are witty, earthy, outspoken & surprisingly fresh & relevant to the same issues today.

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Yvonne is newly widowed, her children grown up. & so, hoping to revisit memories of a happier time, she travels to Turkey. Despite the sand & sea, memories of Yvonne`s past are overwhelming & she clings to a newfound friendship with Ahmet, a local boy who makes his living as a shell collector. With Ahmet as her guide, Yvonne finally begins to enjoy the shimmering waters & relaxed pace of the Turkish coast. But when a devastating accident suddenly upends her hard-won peace, she finds her life thrown into chaos & with it her fragile sense of belonging. ...

A riveting, real-life equivalent of The Kite Runner: A powerful & profoundly moving story of a young couple willing to risk everything for love. ” She is his Juliet & he is her Romeo, & her family has threatened to kill them both...” This is the heartrending account of Zakia & Mohammad Ali, a couple from opposing Islamic sects, who defying their society`s norms have left behind everything they know & are quite literally risking their lives for their love. She is a Sunni, he is a Shia, but as friends from childhood Zakia & Mohammad Ali could never have predicted that their love would anger their families so much that they would be forced to leave their homes finding refuge in the harsh terrain of the Afghani mountains. Without money or passports they rely on the kindness of strangers to house them for a couple of days at a time as they remain on the run, never deterred. New York Times journalist, Rod Nordl&, has chronicled the plight of the young lovers telling their extraordinary story of courage, perseverance & love in one of the world`s most troubled countries. This moving love story is told against the bigger backdrop of the horrific but widespread practices that women are subjected to in Afghanistan. ...

A riveting, real-life equivalent of The Kite Runner-an astonishingly powerful & profoundly moving story of a young couple willing to risk everything for love that puts a human face on the ongoing debate about women`s rights in the Muslim world.” She is his Juliet & he is her Romeo, & her family has threatened to kill them both...” This is the heartrending account of Zakia & Mohammad Ali, a couple from opposing Islamic sects, who defying their society`s norms have left behind everything they know & are quite literally risking their lives for their love. She is a Sunni, he is a Shia, but as friends from childhood Zakia & Mohammad Ali could never have predicted that their love would anger their families so much that they would be forced to leave their homes finding refuge in the harsh terrain of the Afghani mountains. Without money or passports they rely on the kindness of strangers to house them for a couple of days at a time as they remain on the run, never deterred. New York Times journalist, Rod Nordl&, has chronicled the plight of the young lovers telling their extraordinary story of courage, perseverance & love in one of the world`s most troubled countries. This moving love story is told against the bigger backdrop of the horrific but widespread practices that women are subjected to in Afghanistan. ...

This book offers a unique culinary slant on dinner a deux with fun & adventurous recipes that will help love to blossom, tease palates & arouse the senses...and make all the difference between a firecracker of an evening & a damp squib: Something to Slurp on
- get the juices flowing with a Basil Martini or a Bloody Mary with Clam Juice Nibbles & Tit-bits
- get down to some fun foreplay with Spiced Honey Almonds or Caviar Blini Shapely Veg
- get forking Asparagus with White Crab Meat or Pommes Sarladaises with Truffles Smooth & Slippery
- serve Milton`s Moules or Salmon Tikka Skewers with Dill & Pomegranate Raita for a boost in the bedroom Flesh
- wrap your mouth around Pot-roast Haunch of Venison & Beef Fillet, Ceps & Marsala Sauce The Spice of Life
- get hot & spicy with Saffron Roast Chicken or Paneer Chilli Getting Fruity
- with Pineapple & Pork Curry or Poached Quince with Mascarpone & Gorgonzola Cream Sweet Bits
- down & dirty desserts, from Chocolate Chilli Fondant to Raspberry Rose Puddin Read on & let Milton Crawford share his secret potions of love. ” Cooking is like love: It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” (Harriet van Horne).







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” The Low Carbon Diet” is for all those out there who really want to save the planet (but just haven`t got round to it). It provides an easy-to-follow programme for individuals & families to cut down the carbon calories they consume at home, on the road & at play. If you only try one diet this year, make it this one. No preaching, no doom-mongering. Just practical, achievable, everyday actions that can make all the difference
- to your carbon weight, bank balance & fitness level. Not to mention the health of the only planet we have.
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More & more people are becoming interested in growing their own fruit & vegetables as food prices rise & awareness of food provenance & chemical usage increases, but getting started can seem daunting & many are deterred by a lack of knowledge & time. This book sets out to overcome these problems. With clear practical instructions & inspirational pictures this book aims to demystify the growing of fruit & veg & shows that, with the right approach, it can be done successfully as a weekend project or slotted into a busy week. The book explains simple short cuts, unusual low maintenance strategies & promotes a relaxed, robust attitude to growing-your-own which really works. The book has been shot by the well-respected garden photographer Clive Nichols in the author`s own weekend vegetable garden over two years where the principles promoted in this book have been tried, tested & proven. Filled with fantastic images & sound horticultural advice, the book will appeal to the complete novice planning a new vegetable garden as well as the more experienced gardener who is looking to save time & increase productivity. This title is suitable for: amateur vegetable growers looking for a comprehensive guide; experienced gardeners who are keen to begin growing their own produce; &, anyone with limited time who still wants to achieve high yields from their vegetable plot. ...

A suitcase of stolen cash has brought three criminals together. One has a bullet in his side. One has blood on his hands. One has vengeance on his mind. Each has run from their past. Each will now fight for their future. A modern noir thriller, The Low Road highlights our desire to outrun our demons, & the dark consequences we face when we are forced to confront them. ...

Doe maar gewoon dan doe je gek genoeg Act normal, & that will be crazy enough Nine out of ten people in the Netherlands will"e this well-worn saying if asked to come up with a basic trait of the Dutch character. Expatriates who have been here for a while see it differently. For them, Dutch society is a weird & wonderful maze full of unpredictable people. At times Dutch people will ignore you politely; other times they will go out of their way to help you. You will get into trouble with the authorities for putting up a fence without permission but, in the late evenings, many family television channels broadcast pornography & advertisements for telephone sex into the privacy of your home. Even your best friends reach for their diaries to make a dinner date, because you don t just drop by without being invited. & when you buy them a present they will open it in front of you without batting an eyelid. A country & a people full of paradoxes. Or is there some kind of system behind it all? Han van der Horst paints a picture of Dutch society & the Dutch psyche that will help expatriates understand the country they are living in & will help them function properly at work & in their free time. The Low Sky Understanding the Dutch is the best guide to the Netherlands & its people. This latest edition has been completely reviewed & updated to do justice to the major social changes that have affected Dutch society in recent years.” ...

Manuel is growing up in Franco`s Spain. He adores his elder sister, María, & they are watched over by their mother, who enjoys reciting poetry, & their father, a construction worker with vertigo. Beyond the walls of the house, he encounters chatty hairdressers & priests, wolf hunters & monstrous carnival effigies. The community is still haunted by the civil war, yet Manuel`s world is changing. Coca-Cola opens a factory nearby & news arrives of men landing on the moon. This is a story about family, memory & the experiences that make us who we are. ...