Lawrence Wright: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

About the Book A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright’s remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States. Read on..

Jill Smolinski: Next Thing on My List

June's life takes and unexpected turn when a tragic accident finds her embarking on a whirlwind mission to finish a stranger's 'to-do' list! Funny and ultimately poignant, fans of Marian Keyes will relish this new member of the chick-lit gang!

New Book from Mirriam Talisman

This is the second book by new author Elenor Gill, and follows her first book In the Shadow of Trees, published in May 2006. Set in the UK, the story takes place in the months following the sudden death of Miriam, mother of Hannah and grandmother of the protagonist, Clionha, who are both deeply affected by her death, but in very different ways. When Miriam leaves everything she owns to Clionha, including a distinctive silver amulet, Clionha begins to move in a shadow world which leaves her friends and family concerned for her mental health. Sought out after her grandmother's death by a tall and intriguing stranger, Iolair, who is very interested in her amulet, she encounters him again as she begins to unravel Miriam's extraordinary legacy. Inevitably she finds herself a pawn in an ancient love story that has wreaked havoc in the lives of the women in her family. Aimed at the Barbara Erskine market, this book is targeted at female readers of romantic fiction and is a superb read, even stronger than In the Shadow of Trees.

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Kristin Hannah: Home Again

I have read this moving novel a long time ago yet, it never stops to touch the melodratic in me every time I read or hear related stories.

Excerpt Hollywood bad boy, Angel De Marco has everything - talent, looks and fame. Then tragedy strikes, and he winds up in the care of cardiologist Madelaine Hillyard, the woman he had ran out on 16 years before. But it will take more than forgiveness for the betrayals of the past to save Angel.

Angel has a brother, Father Francis - obviously a priest, who's the complete opposite of him in attitude even while they were young. Angel, the bad boy - alcoholic, smoker - was prompted by a very bad news, he won't live long unless he'll have a heart transplant. That's when Madelaine, his childhood love and his brother came into the picture again.

Moving forward, Father Francis met an accident on a stormy night when he was going home from a conference. He then became brain dead. And his heart was transplanted to Angel, of course with out the latter's knowing. There is this strict confidentiality regulation.

After the transplant, Angel became a different person. In some ways, he was living his own old life as well as Father Francis'. The story has a happy, melodramatic ending.

Don't pass up to grab a copy whenever you're close to a bookstore!

Michael Dibdin, 1947-2007

Word has just filtered out about the death here last week of British crime novelist Michael Dibdin, after a "short illness" at the age of 60. Dibdin was a bestselling fixture in his home country and had many fans in his adopted one as well (he moved to Seattle in 1994), mainly for his brainy, atmospheric mysteries featuring Aurelio Zen, a Venetian detective who, though sophisticated and pleasure-loving, was not entirely sympathetic; one commentator described him as "not a man with whom one would want to be marooned in a gondola." Through Zen's eyes, Dibdin was able to write a region-by-region account of the corruptions and charms of modern Italy.

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Best Books of 2006

It is always nice to know that those books that we've read were ones that were the editors' pick. Makes me "think" that I am "one of them", that we are in the same wavelength one way or another. :D

Here's the Amazon's Editor's Pick for the Best Books of 2006. Time to dig in our memory for the title of our favorite books last year.

Our choice for the best book of 2006 was actually written over 60 years ago. Irène Némirovsky wrote Suite Française under the worst conditions: as a Jew in France under constant threat from the Nazi-allied Vichy government. She didn't live to finish her planned "suite," but what she did write--which was recently discovered by her daughter and only this year translated into English--stands on its own as a riveting and remarkably clear-eyed story of life under the occupation. Read the rest of our top 50 books of the year below, and see more editors' picks and customers' favorites in our Best of 2006 Store.

1. Suite Francaise
2. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
3. The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
4. Sharp Objects: A Novel
5. The Emperor's Children
6. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
7. The Place In Between
8. Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
9. The Road
10. Caesar: Life of a Colossus

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For One More Day

This one great book is by Mitch Albom. Have read two of his bestselling books before and now is always on the lookout for something new from him.


Review

For One More Day is a book about regrets, but also a love story. Chick Benetto is a middle aged man who has become a lonely alcoholic with no reason to live. He is estranged from his only child, divorced and the only person who ever loved him completely, is long buried. He decides to end his life and chooses his childhood home as the site. When he arrives there he encounters his mother. He realizes that he has been given another chance to make things right. In the “one more day” that he gets to spend with her, he discovers the reason for his parents’ divorce, learns about the sacrifices his mother made for he and his sister and gains insight into her character. This journey provides him with hope and the conviction to become a better father and person. More...

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Untamed and Unashamed

Fond of reading autobiographies? This one is for you.

The autobiography of Pauline Hanson, taking us through her time spent in prison for fraud, her struggle over the charges, and her life before and after politics.

Description In 2003, Pauline Hanson was sentenced to three years jail on convictions of fraud. She spent three months in prison before the verdict was overturned and she was released with a full withdrawal of the charges. Now, four years later, Pauline tells the story of how she came to be charged, her fight to prove her innocence and of her life before and after politics. This is Pauline's story – the good, the bad, and the ugly, because she is determined to let the Australian public know the truth about those heady years and why she kept fighting for what she genuinely believed in. Pauline's book covers her time in politics and her shock discovery about what really happened behind closed political doors. The text goes to the very edge of defamation and libel – names are named, and Pauline speaks for the first time without fear or favour. This book is a truly remarkable read – a "Warts and all" read told by the real Pauline Hanson!

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The Quest

New release from Wilbur Smith.

Wilbur Smith returns with the eagerly awaited sequel to his thrilling Egyptian series. Following on from "River God", "The Seventh Scroll" and "Warlock, "The Quest" continues the story of the Warlock, Taita, wise in the lore of the ancient Gods and a master of magic and the supernatural. Egypt is struck by a series of terrible plagues that cripple the Kingdom, and then the ultimate disaster follows. The Nile fails. The waters that nourish and sustain the land dry up. Something catastrophic is taking place in the distant and totally unexplored depths of Africa from where the mighty river springs. In desperation Pharoah sends for Taita, the only man who might be able to win through to the source of the Nile and discover the cause of all their woes. None of them can have any idea of what a terrible enemy lies in ambush for "The Warlock" in those mysterious lands at the end of their world.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows jackets released!

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Natural Born Charmer

I've been constantly checking SE Phillips site for her latest release. And this is it! Natural Born Charmer. A very feel good book not to miss. Check your local bookstore.

A little teaser for you:

CHAPTER ONE It wasn’t every day a guy saw a headless beaver marching down the side of a road, not even in Dean Robillard’s larger than life world. "Son of a"" Dean slammed on the brakes of his brand new Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled over in front of her. The beaver marched right past, her big flat tail bouncing in the gravel, and her small, sharp nose stuck up in the air. Way up. The beaver looked highly pissed. More...

Source and Photos swiped here.