BOOKSIMO

Description Our narrator’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with only his cat Cabbage for company, he was unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can set about tackling his bucket list, the Devil appears with a special offer: in exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, he can have one extra day of life. And so begins a very bizarre week . . . Because how do you decide what makes life worth living? How do you separate out what you can do without from what you hold dear? In dealing with the Devil our narrator will take himself – and his beloved cat – to the brink. Genki Kawamura's If Cats Disappeared from the World is a story of loss and reconciliation, of one man’s journey to discover what really matters in modern life. This beautiful tale is translated from the Japanese by Eric Selland, who also translated The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide. Fans of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles...

Description Kosuke is a perfectly normal dog with an unusual ambition: he wants to be a mechanic. He wants to design and build the powerful, exhilarating jetcars of Formula Q. His problem? He’s a dog. Some people just won’t take him seriously, and that includes his own brother.  Encouraged by Speedlord, an unknown subscriber to Kosuke’s lifestream, Kosuke decides to take one last shot at his dream, but when his big brother turns out to prove him wrong, the event becomes far more than just a race. Can Kosuke prove that he too can handle the awe-inspiring speed of the Hyper Q jetcars he longs to design or will he lose not just the race, but his hopes and dreams for the future? Will his brother succeed in proving he’s a no talent normal dog? Who exactly is Speedlord?  Normal Dog and the Legend of Self Esteem can be read alone or as part of a collection of YA stories and (so far) one novel (Formula Q - to be published September 2018) set in a bright, colorful future where ca...

Description 1910 – A compelling tale of female empowerment in Bath's leading department store. Perfect for the fans of the TV series  Mr Selfridge  and  The Paradise . Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath's premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him. Determined to break from her father's iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington's into a new decade, embracing woman's equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure. Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington's plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth a...

Description We all have our lucky dress... an irresistibly hilarious rom-com! Emi Harrison  hasn't been feeling particularly lucky lately. Ever since her ex-fiancée, Jack Cabot, successfully shattered her heart into a million pieces. She's managed to avoid him for a whole year, but all that's about to change at her brother Evan's wedding... She will have to face Jack, Jack's sister, Jack's parents, and Jack's new girlfriend: a mean girl that just won't quit.  What could possibly go wrong? With her lucky dress on, all bets are off, and maybe  Emi will find her happily-ever-after at last? Review I've actually read and reviewed this book before - except Aimee got a new publisher and rewrote the book and so it's not technically the same book at all. I never read books twice - I mean why would you when there are so many books to read. However, something about the previous version of the book "The Little Gray Dress" hooked me ...

Description HOW MANY LIFETIMES DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE? Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old history teacher, but he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen it all. As long as he keeps changing his identity he can keep one step ahead of his past - and stay alive. The only thing he must not do is fall in love . . . Review If you've read my reviews before you will know I love time travel books. Now whilst this isn't strictly time travel, it's someone who has lived for a very long time, so it still felt a little like time travel and I loved it. I also love social history and this book has it in oodles, as Tom recounts some of his life from years past and then in the present day he points out how things in London have changed since Tudor times. I've read before accounts of the witch hunts and the dunking stool, but this brough...

Description The police say she's guilty. She insists she's innocent. She's your sister. You loved her. You trusted her. But they say she killed your child. Who do you believe? Review I was a little torn when I began this book as I hadn't realised the child that had been killed was a baby. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it - but I have read her two previous books and really wanted to see what this book was like.  Most of the book is a court room scene and I'm not sure if that is why it took me a while to get into it. It also seemed to be an open and shut case and I found it hard to get interested for the first few chapters. Mainly because it was such an emotive read. Two sisters on opposing sides and a dead baby. As the witnesses were introduced the author also gave a little back story as to how they had seen the evidence from their point of view. This really was great observational writing and gave life to each of the characters, even...

Description Keiko has never really fitted in. At school and university people find her odd and her family worries she'll never be normal. To appease them, Keiko takes a job at a newly opened convenience store. Here, she finds peace and purpose in the simple, daily tasks and routine interactions. She is, she comes to understand, happiest as a convenience store worker. But in Keiko's social circle it just won't do for an unmarried woman to spend all her time stacking shelves and re-ordering green tea. As pressure mounts on Keiko to find either a new job, or worse, a husband, she is forced to take desperate action... A best-seller in Japan, and the winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize,  Convenience Store Woman  marks the English-language debut of a writer who has been hailed as the most exciting voice of her generation Review Having visited Japan I am working my way through books by Japanese authors. As soon as I read the words "Irasshaimase!" I wa...