Outside, the Sky is Blue

Outside, the Sky is Blue
Author: Christina Patterson
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2022-02-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1472282655

'A bracing, heart-lifting read. Patterson is a superb writer' Observer OUTSIDE, THE SKY IS BLUE is a heart-breaking yet also truly joyful and wise memoir of growing up, of dealing with mental health and illness, and of what it means to be part of a family that, despite everything, is able to laugh and to love. 'A memoir about the loss of faith and hope. A memoir about the loss of faith and hope. The book journeys to dark places but it's too honest and well written to be dispiriting. She perseveres in her quest to understand' Guardian When Christina Patterson's brother Tom died suddenly, she faced the harrowing task of clearing out his house. Tom had always been the one who held on to the family treasures and memories, but now Christina had to sift through boxes of letters, photos and belongings, not just of Tom's, but of their parents and their older sister, Caroline. The contents of those boxes tell the story of a young couple who decide to swap a glamorous diplomatic life in Rome for a housing estate in Surrey. But their new suburban, happy life, is increasingly disrupted by Caroline's erratic behaviour. As she is diagnosed with schizophrenia, Tom seeks solace in sport and Christina in a youth club where she hopes to meet boys, but finds God instead. It doesn't help her in her quest for romance. 'A hymn to optimism, and a beacon of unflagging hope' iPaper 'This is a joyful book. Despite the sorrows, there is a determined joy to this tale, a pattern of finding the good despite the bad, of turning to face the sun so the shadows fall behind' Dr Kathryn Mannix 'She writes beautifully - crisp, yet emotional and page-turning. For me, it is something about her clarity and brutal honesty in describing both heartbreak and heart bursting life and love. In the end it is only the love that matters' Julia Samuel, author of Grief Works

The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud

The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud
Author: Kuniko Tsurita
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2020-07-21
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 9781770463981

The work of a visionary and iconoclastic feminist cartoonist—available in English for the first time The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud collects the best short stories from Kuniko Tsurita’s remarkable career. While the works of her male peers in literary manga are widely reprinted, this formally ambitious and poetic female voice is like none other currently available to an English readership. A master of the comics form, expert pacing and compositions combined with bold characters are signature qualities of Tsurita's work. Tsurita’s early stories “Nonsense” and “Anti” provide a unique, intimate perspective on the bohemian culture and political heat of late 1960s and early ‘70s Tokyo. Her work gradually became darker and more surreal under the influence of modern French literature and her own prematurely failing health. As in works like “The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud” and “Max,” the gender of many of Tsurita's strong and sensual protagonists is ambiguous, marking an early exploration of gender fluidity. Late stories like "Arctic Cold" and "Flight" show the artist experimenting with more conventional narrative modes, though with dystopian themes that extend the philosophical interests of her early work. An exciting and essential gekiga collection, The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud is translated by the comics scholar Ryan Holmberg and includes an afterword cowritten by Holmberg and manga editor Mitsuhiro Asakawa delineating Tsurita's importance and historical relevance.

Mongolia: Cracks in the Eternal Blue Sky

Mongolia: Cracks in the Eternal Blue Sky
Author: Erik Versavel
Publisher: Life Is Good, Potentially
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2022-01-08
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 9781098398156

For almost 40 years, the author has lived and worked all over the world, from the United Kingdom to South Korea, Indonesia, China, Ukraine, Mongolia and Sri Lanka. He witnessed revolutions, debated with the International Monetary Fund, played golf with Chief Financial Officers of some of the world's largest companies, discussed bond financing with Ministers of Finance, and saw currencies lose 500% of their value in just a few months. He travelled extensively and went above and beyond what tourists and journalists typically get to see when visiting countries. He paints a picture of political, financial economic crises with devastating detail and a cool sense of humour. He has no compassion with politicians or corporate citizens who pretend all is fine and blame everything that goes wrong on the outside world, instead of themselves. Mongolia: Cracks in the Eternal Blue Sky is the first book in the series Life is Good, Potentially. The author takes us on a journey starting in 2016 when he arrives in Mongolia and ends in 2020 after abruptly being locked out of the country because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With deep emotional engagement he writes about the state of the country, from semi-feral horses on nearly pristine steppe, to failed property projects in Ulaanbaatar. He describes in painful accuracy why presidents and politicians are the reason why Mongolia is not the rich country it could - and should - be, how chicanery in the banking sector destroyed what little international credibility the country had, and why the number of people living below the poverty line does not reduce when the economy booms. The people the author writes about all have a name, the issues are all true and the facts accurate. Still, the book is meant to be generic. The author hopes it will contribute to an improvement of the political and social situation of Mongolia, a country where Life is Good, not just potentially.

The Sky Blues

The Sky Blues
Author: Robbie Couch
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2021-04-06
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1534477853

Sky’s small town turns absolutely claustrophobic when his secret promposal plans get leaked to the entire school in this witty, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful debut novel for fans of What if it’s Us? and I Wish You All the Best. Sky Baker may be openly gay, but in his small, insular town, making sure he was invisible has always been easier than being himself. Determined not to let anything ruin his senior year, Sky decides to make a splash at his high school’s annual beach bum party by asking his crush, Ali, to prom—and he has thirty days to do it. What better way to start living loud and proud than by pulling off the gayest promposal Rock Ledge, Michigan, has ever seen? Then, Sky’s plans are leaked by an anonymous hacker in a deeply homophobic e-blast that quickly goes viral. He’s fully prepared to drop out and skip town altogether—until his classmates give him a reason to fight back by turning his thirty-day promposal countdown into a school-wide hunt to expose the e-blast perpetrator. But what happens at the end of the thirty days? Will Sky get to keep his hard-won visibility? Or will his small-town blues stop him from being his true self?

Life is Good

Life is Good
Author: John Jacobs
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1426215703

This inspiring book of wisdom, life lessons, and self-help from National Geographic celebrates the power of optimism: the driving force behind the authors’ beloved, socially conscious clothing and lifestyle brand, now worth more than $100 million. Following the chronology of their personal and professional journeys, Bert and John share their unique ride—from their scrappy upbringing outside Boston to the unlikely runaway success of their business. The brothers illuminate ten key "superpowers" accessible to us all: openness, courage, simplicity, humor, gratitude, fun, compassion, creativity, authenticity, and love. Their story, illustrated with the company's iconic artwork, shows how to overcome obstacles and embrace opportunities—whether it's growing stronger from rejection, letting your imagination loose, or simplifying your life to focus on what matters most. In these colorful pages, Bert and John's plainspoken insights are paired with inspiring quotations, playful top-ten lists, deeply moving letter from the Life is Good community, and valuable takeaways from tapping the power of optimism to live your best life. Both entertaining and profound, Life is Good: The Book is the ultimate guide to embracing and growing the good in your life.

The Blue Sky

The Blue Sky
Author: Galsan Tschinag
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Total Pages: 115
Release: 2020-06-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1571317392

A boy’s nomadic life in Mongolia is under threat in a novel that “captures the mountains, valleys and steppes in all their surpassing beauty and brutality” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune). In the high Altai Mountains of northern Mongolia, a young shepherd boy comes of age, tending his family’s flocks on the mountain steppes and knowing little of the world beyond the surrounding peaks. But his nomadic way of life is increasingly disrupted by modernity. This confrontation comes in stages. First, his older siblings leave the family yurt to attend a distant boarding school. Then the boy’s grandmother dies, and with her his connection to the old ways. But perhaps the greatest tragedy strikes when his dog, Arsylang—“all that was left to me”—ingests poison set out by the boy’s father to protect his herd from wolves. “Why is it so?” Dshurukawaa cries out in despair to the Heavenly Blue Sky, to be answered only by the wind. Rooted in the oral traditions of the Tuvan people, The Blue Sky weaves the timeless story of a boy poised on the cusp of manhood with the story of a people on the threshold. “Thrilling. . . . Tschinag makes it easy for his readers to fall into the beautiful rhythms of the Tuvans’ daily life.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review “In this pristine and concentrated tale of miraculous survival and anguished loss, Tschinag evokes the nurturing warmth of a family within the circular embrace of a yurt as an ancient way of life lived in harmony with nature becomes endangered.” —Booklist

Kill the Boy Band

Kill the Boy Band
Author: Goldy Moldavsky
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2016-02-23
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0545867487

The New York Times–bestselling debut story of four superfan friends whose devotion to their favorite band has darkly comical and deadly results. Just know from the start that it wasn’t supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near them. That’s why we got a room in the hotel where they were staying. We were not planning to kidnap one of them. Especially not the most useless one. But we had him—his room key, his cell phone, and his secrets. We were not planning on what happened next. We swear. Praise for Kill the Boy Band “Moldavsky’s sharp, shocking debut is like no other.” —Entertainment Weekly “Fiercely entertaining . . . One of the smartest YA releases of the year.” —New York Daily News “Misery for the Belieber generation.” —Observer.com “Boy bands gets the Heathers treatment in this madcap macabre . . . A sendup of the artificiality of the fame-making machine from both sides, the novel’s humor is mercilessly black, and no one comes up smelling like roses.” —Kirkus Reviews “Wickedly funny.” —NPR.org “Bitingly satirical.” —Publishers Weekly “[For] anyone who’s ever had the fortune-or misfortune-of being a fan.” —Booklist “Hilarious . . . A must-have.” —School Library Journal

The Martian Wisdom

The Martian Wisdom
Author: Jessica Yang
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
Total Pages: 123
Release: 2022-11-03
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1640827897

Fang-fang, a university freshman, longs for friendship. One day, while waiting for her classmate in the library, Fang-fang runs into two unusual visitors. Their odd shapes and especially unique voices remind Fang-fang of her first encounter with the pair many years ago in her homeland. They are not Earthlings, but they do not like to be called aliens. What are they? Where do they come from? What is their purpose in visiting Earth? The Martian Wisdom explores the universe through the conversation of a human and two outer space visitors. They chat, argue, joke, and laugh, gratifying the human's natural needs for social connections, depicting a distinctive, novel universe, putting forward a worldly meaning for friendship while challenging the intuitive fear of aliens in human. But what is Martian wisdom?

Trainspotting

Trainspotting
Author: Irvine Welsh
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2002
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780393057249

"The best book ever written by man or woman...deserves to sell more copies than the Bible."--Rebel, Inc.