The Urban Picnic


Book Description

“The latest fashion among young city-dwellers, providing a new advertising niche for manufacturers of luxury products, is the good old family picnic.”—Le Monde “An upper-class English ritual traditionally confined to rural French life, the picnic has been rebranded.”—The Economist “The great charm of this social device is undoubtedly the freedom it affords. . . . To eat cold chicken and drink iced claret under trees, amid the grass and the flowers.”—Appleton’s Journal of Literature, Science, and Art, 1869 Urban picnics are a hot foodie trend right now; from The Economist to Le Monde, food journalists and lovers the world around are jumping on the blanket. Like so many of us, they want to put their hectic city lives on hold and enjoy themselves—without having to head off into the hinterland. The Urban Picnic is designed for modern gourmands and kitchen newcomers alike to inspire them to introduce a little pleasure and picnickery into their lives. With an irreverent and highly opinionated history of the picnic, strange accounts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, original illustrations and over 200 recipes—many contributed from renowned chefs such as Nigella Lawson, Mark Bittman, Regan Daley and Bob Blumer—it’s the essential how-to (and how-not-to) for anyone who was ever looking for a tasty little morsel to eat under that tree that grows in Brooklyn. Two-color throughout. Recipes include: Barbecued Lemon Chicken (Anne Lindsay) Banana-Strawberry Layer Cake (Regan Daley) Mint Julep Peaches (Nigella Lawson) Chicken Liver Crostini (Umberto Menghi) Ahi Tuna Salad with Green Papaya (Rob Feenie)




Lilac Love: A Small-Town Witch Romance


Book Description

Amanda is in hiding, Elsie is desperate for connection. LILAC LOVE is a small town witchy friends-to-lovers romance that will melt your heart and make you believe in love again! When Amanda moves to the sleepy small town of Glen Haven, the best part, as far as she’s concerned, is that the locals don’t like newbies. In fact, she’s counting on everyone leaving her alone to hike in the woods and pick up the pieces of her life. Amanda’s running—more like sprinting—from a dark and dangerous past, and she doesn’t need anyone poking their nose into her business, trying to be friends… or even something more. So when she meets sweet, sultry Elsie, she desperately tries to keep her distance. She knows how badly it can hurt when someone you care about lets you down. Better not to let anyone in in the first place. But now she's living with Elsie, and she finds herself wanting to be with her all the time, to share things about herself nobody knows. The two form a fast, if unlikely, friendship, and Amanda begins to believe she could trust, and maybe even love, again. Except Elsie’s keeping a secret. A big secret. Something that no one else in Glen Haven knows. She’s a witch, and the woods where her feisty new housemate Amanda loves to hike are in danger from a dark, sinister magic. Can Elsie tell Amanda her secret and enlist her help to find the magical culprit without risking the growing attraction between them? Elsie knows that witches and 'normys' can't be happy together, can they? You’ll love this closed-door small town romance with a dash of dark mystery, baking and a rambunctious puppy! Lilac Love is a whimsical witchy love story that will light the candle in anyone’s heart. Perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls, Charmed, and The Only Purple House in Town.




Sunset Bridge


Book Description

“This delightful story is full of humor and romantic moments . . . a sure hit with . . . fans and readers looking for a lighthearted and well-plotted beach book.” —Publishers Weekly Former socialite Tracy Deloche has nothing to her name but five ramshackle beach cottages and the unlikely friendships she’s formed with her tenants. Wanda, wise waitress turned popular pie-shop owner. Janya, the young Indian wife whose arranged marriage surprises her every day. Alice, a widow raising her complex tween-age granddaughter. And Maggie, Wanda’s daughter, a former Miami cop with a love life as complicated as Tracy’s own. The new man in Tracy’s life hasn’t mentioned love or commitment—and Tracy has just discovered she’s pregnant. Janya longs to be a mother—and suddenly has two young siblings in her care. Maggie helps out at Wanda’s Wonderful Pies . . . but is the kitchen big enough for both mother and daughter? And Alice may lose her beloved granddaughter to someone no one expected. . . . As a tropical storm brews, the wind carries surprises and secrets over the bridge to Happiness Key. Now, more than ever, five friends will discover just how much they need one another.




Only Sisters


Book Description

One sister runs away and the other stays behind. But what happens when the dutiful sister has to impersonate the rebel? In her page-turning exploration of familial loyalty, resentment, secrets, and grief, Lilian Nattel explores the meaning and reach of family bonds. Joan has always done the right thing, both as a palliative care doctor and as a caregiver for her widowed mother, Sheila. Joan’s adventurous sister, Vivien, is a different story. She left home as soon as she was able—running from an insecure childhood troubled by an alcoholic father and a mother who constantly threw away all their possessions in order to buy new ones. Vivien’s rarely been back, working as a nurse in the world’s trouble zones, leaving the heavy burden of family on her sister. Still, when Vivien learns that their mother is seriously ill, she reaches out to Joan. She's heading for a remote village where Ebola is spreading, and she’s afraid she may die. If she does, she wants Joan to pose as her online so her dying mother won’t have to grieve a daughter. It’s a lie, but it’s the good kind of lie, designed to spare their mother, and so Joan reluctantly agrees, figuring it will never come to that. But Vivien does die. And even as Joan mourns her sister, she begins to impersonate her online, as promised. It's difficult at first, but to her surprise, posing as Vivien becomes liberating, even addictive. Then she receives a message on her sister's Facebook from a man claiming to be the son Vivien gave up for adoption, and the line between right and wrong, adventure and tragedy, really begins to blur.




Playing on Yggdrasil


Book Description

Ten year old Justine has lived with the loss of her mother for two years. Even while she misses her Mom, she is discovering the gifts they share. When bullying at school makes Justine's life miserable she befriends a tree she calls Drasil. It isn't fair that life causes so much pain for Justine, so her father is happy when she makes a new friend, even when that friend is a tree. She tells stories of visiting a land where peace is valued above everything else and hospitality is the primary virtue. Her father listens to her stories and marvels at how she changes, even as he wonders if her stories are true or the fantasy of a lonely young girl. When the stories get darker and more dangerous he worries that she is being hurt even in this land of peace. He has no idea how much they will both be changed as they get caught up in the struggle between a people who believe in peace, and those who trust in war.




The Well of Loneliness


Book Description

This early work by Radclyffe Hall was originally published in 1928 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Well of Loneliness' is a novel that follows an upper-class Englishwoman who falls in love with another woman while serving as an ambulance driver in World War I. Marguerite Radclyffe Hall was born on 12th August 1880, in Bournemouth, England. Hall's first novel The Unlit Lamp (1924) was a lengthy and grim tale that proved hard to sell. It was only published following the success of the much lighter social comedy The Forge (1924), which made the best-seller list of John O'London's Weekly. Hall is a key figure in lesbian literature for her novel The Well of Loneliness (1928). This is her only work with overt lesbian themes and tells the story of the life of a masculine lesbian named Stephen Gordon.




The Rough Guide to Toronto


Book Description

The Rough Guide to Toronto is the ultimate travel guide with clear maps and detailed coverage of all the best attractions Canada's largest metropolis has to offer. Discover the varied and exciting city of Toronto; whether taking a 'Mad of the Mist' boat tour of the breathtaking Niagara Falls, grooving to the beat of the street life on Queen Street West or ice skating at New City Hall, The Rough Guide to Toronto makes sure you make the most out of your time in Toronto.Packed with detailed, practical advice on what to see and do in Toronto, this guide provides reliable, up-to-date descriptions of the best hotels in Toronto, recommended restaurants and nightlife attractions, with tips on everything from festivals to shopping, for all budgets. Featuring detailed coverage on a full range of attractions; from the CN Tower and Kensington Market, to the tranquil Georgian Bay Islands National Park, you'll find expert tips on exploring Toronto's amazing attractions, with an authoritative background on Toronto's history. Explore all corners of Toronto with the clearest maps of any guide. Make the most of your holiday with The Rough Guide to Toronto.




Anne of West Philly


Book Description

Anne of Green Gables with a twist: in this follow-up to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy and The Secret Garden on 81st Street, this full-color graphic novel moves Anne Shirley to modern-day West Philadelphia, where where she finds new friends, new rivals, and a new family. When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert decide to foster a teenage girl for the first time, their lives are changed forever. Their redheaded foster daughter, Anne Shirley, is in search of an exciting life and has decided that West Philly is where she's going to find it. Armed with a big personality and unstoppable creativity, Anne takes her new home by storm as she joins the robotics club, makes new friends in Diana and Gilbert, experiences first love, and turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. But as Anne starts to get comfortable, she discovers one thing she wasn't looking for: a family. This title will be simultaneously available in hardcover.




Eat to the Beat


Book Description

From the annual Eat to the Beat benefit for the Willow Foundation, forty-four top female chefs have contributed recipes to celebrate the very best in food. With recipes, anecdotes, and tips, this volume represents the best restaurants, caterers, and bakeries, all in one volume. The nonprofit Willow Foundation in Toronto, Canada, provides support services for women diagnosed with breast cancer.




Fodor's Toronto


Book Description

Presents a guide to the city of Toronto, looking at several of its distinctive neighborhoods and recommending hotels, restaurants, local points of interest, and nearby side trips to Niagara Falls, Niagara Wine Region, and Stratford.