BOOKSIMO

Description There is a myth in our culture that to find meaning you have to travel to a distant monastery or wade through dusty volumes to figure out life’s great secret. The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around us: right here, right now. Drawing on the latest research in positive psychology; on insights from George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, the Buddha and other great minds, Emily Esfahani Smith identifies four pillars upon which meaning rests: Belonging, Purpose, Storytelling and Transcendence. She also explores how we can begin to build a culture of meaning into our families, our workplaces and our communities. Inspiring and full of contemporary examples,  The Power of Meaning  will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a richer, more satisfying life. Review This book was not what I expected it to be and I think it is aimed more at academics and professionals rather than someone who just wants some advice. I really found...

Description Part love story, part workplace drama, this sharply observed novel is a witty critique of the false judgments we make in a social-media-obsessed world.  New York Times  bestselling author Sophie Kinsella has written her most timely novel yet.   Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie’s life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle—from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she’s trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she's desperate to make her dad proud.              Then, just as she’s finding her feet—not to mention a possible new romance—the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to s...

Description A novel of old friendships, secrets and betrayals.  Joni, Trina, Deb and Eden. Best friends since the first day of school. Best friends, they liked to say, forever. But now they are in their thirties and real life - husbands, children, work - has got in the way. So, resurrecting their annual trip away, Joni has an idea, something to help them reconnect. Each woman will write an anonymous letter, sharing with their friends the things that are really going on in their lives. But as the confessions come tumbling out, Joni starts to feel the certainty of their decades-long friendships slip from her fingers. Anger. Accusations. Desires. Deceit. And then she finds another letter. One that was never supposed to be read. A fifth letter. Containing a secret so big that its writer had tried to destroy it. And now Joni is starting to wonder, did she ever really know her friends at all? Review I was intrigued by the concept of this novel - four friends decide to each ...

DESCRIPTION 'NEW NAME . NEW FAMILY. SHINY. NEW. ME.' Annie's mother is a serial killer. The only way she can make it stop is to hand her in to the police. But out of sight is not out of mind. As her mother's trial looms, the secrets of her past won't let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name - Milly. A fresh start. Now, surely, she can be whoever she wants to be. But Milly's mother is a serial killer. And blood is thicker than water. Good me, bad me. She is, after all, her mother's daughter... REVIEW This book wasn't what I was expecting and I did wonder if I would be able to carry on reading it when I realised that Annie's Mother is a serial killer of children. It is not something I would normally read, but there was enough of the physiological aspects of the books for me to carry on reading. The book is mainly centered around Annie who now has a new identity as Milly and her efforts at rebuilding her life. As...

Description Until May 1987, fourteen-year-old Billy Marvin of Wetbridge, New Jersey, is a nerd, but a decidedly happy nerd.  Afternoons are spent with his buddies, watching copious amounts of television, gorging on Pop-Tarts, debating who would win in a brawl (Rocky Balboa or Freddy Krueger? Bruce Springsteen or Billy Joel? Magnum P.I. Or T.J. Hooker?), and programming video games on his Commodore 64 late into the night. Then  Playboy  magazine publishes photos of  Wheel of Fortune  hostess Vanna White, Billy meets expert programmer Mary Zelinsky, and everything changes.  A love letter to the 1980s, to the dawn of the computer age, and to adolescence--a time when anything feels possible --The Impossible Fortress  will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you remember in exquisite detail what it feels like to love something--or someone--for the very first time. Review I just loved this book! Back in the day I had a Spectrum ZX but never really d...

Description If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust? Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods and the woman who was killed. Since then she’s been forgetting everything. Where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code, why she ordered a pram when she doesn’t have a baby. What she can’t forget is the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt. Or the silent calls she’s receiving and the feeling that someone’s watching her… Review Cass drives by a parked car which she later realises contained a woman who was killed and not only that it turns out she knew her - the ensuing guilt eats her up, and the fact that she feels unable to share that guilt with anyone, not even her husband. She also has a number of memory lapses which result in unexplained happenings - like losing her car, but she also begins to receive silent phone calls. This is going to be a hard review to write as I don't want to r...

Description After six blissful years with scientist boyfriend Owen, Bella Beecham was convinced he was about to pop the question she’d been longing to hear. Instead, he accepted a prestigious job in California and left England without a backwards glance. Now, Owen’s back in the village of Saffron Sweeting, and appears to be more eligible than ever. Bella’s determined that the man of her dreams won’t slip through her fingers again. But her plans to tone up, trim down, and tempt Owen back into her life prove bittersweet. Although Bella’s talent for baking wins her new friends, her tasty treats have a disconcerting tendency to sabotage her own intentions. And as her increasingly bold attempts to recapture Owen’s heart stumble, Bella must question whether she’s chasing a guy who wants to be caught. A British romantic comedy featuring both familiar characters and fresh faces, Sweet Pursuits explores how a young woman seeking her soulmate must first learn to love herself. Review Whils...