Giulia Balducci Livres

Matt Whyman, scrittore di professione, è uno che ama la vita casalinga e la tranquillità. Peccato che sua moglie Emma, donna in carriera, sia di tutt’altro avviso: a causa di un’infanzia troppo solitaria, predilige di gran lunga il caos di una famiglia molto allargata. Così, oltre a quattro figli, casa Whyman ospita due felini – uno socievole e uno perfido –, un cane che sembra un lupo della steppa e un mucchio selvaggio di galline. Finché uno dei gatti (quello socievole) muore investito da un’auto. Chi arriverà al suo posto? si chiede con terrore Matt. Quando Emma gli manda una mail con l’immagine di due piccolissimi porcellini e il messaggio: “Che carini” seguito da ben tre punti esclamativi, Matt capisce quale sarà il suo destino. In men che non si dica, ecco due baldanzosi minimaialini fare il loro ingresso a casa Whyman. Prima vittima del loro entusiasmo: il divano. È solo l’inizio di una serie di esilaranti vicissitudini, in cui il povero scrittore in cerca di quiete dovrà vedersela con i due diavoletti rosa, senza nemmeno poter dire al resto della famiglia: “O me o loro!” perché la risposta la conosce già- Oink! è un libro tenero e divertentissimo, traboccante di buffe avventure e di amore per gli animali, anche quelli più piccoli, rosa e scatenati. Come Io & Marley , un libro che fa ridere, sorridere e tocca decisamente il cuore.

À cinq ans, Grania O'Neill, fille d'un hôtelier d'une petite ville de l'Ontario, devient sourde après une scarlatine. Mamo, sa grand-mère, va lui apprendre à lire et à communiquer d'une autre façon tandis que Tress, sa sœur aînée, l'aide à combattre sa peur du noir. Mais la vie est trop dure et elle devient pensionnaire de l'Institut des Sourds de l'Ontario où elle apprend la langue des signes et la lecture labiale. Après avoir obtenu son diplôme, Grania reste travailler à l'Institut, où elle rencontre Jim Llod, qui est entendant. C'est le coup de foudre. Les deux jeunes gens inventent alors un vocabulaire nouveau, vibrant d'émotion, où le silence joue un rôle extraordinaire. Mais la guerre éclate. Jim se porte volontaire comme brancardier. Deux semaines après leur mariage, il part pour l'Europe, sue le front. Cette superbe histoire d'amour et de guerre est aussi une ode au langage - à ces mots qui consolent, emmurent et délivrent, seules passerelles jetées sur des gouffres créés par la géographie et l'expérience.

How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch? How is it possible for an abandoned kitten to transform a small library, save a classic American town, and eventually become famous around the world? You can't even begin to answer those questions until you hear the charming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa. Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next working by library director Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of hem in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with this enthusiasm, warmth, humility (for a cat), and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most. As his fame grew from town to town, then state to state, and finally, amazingly, worldwide, Dewey became more than just a friend; he became a source of pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming town pulling its way slowly back from the greatest crisis in its long history.

Having her own detective agency would grant her the independence she craved and a chance to prove her worth to those who dismissed her. In present-day Beijing, Mei Wang is a modern, independent woman with her own apartment, car, and a business that includes a male secretary. Her experience with China's Ministry for Public Security has provided her with valuable insight into the complexities of law enforcement, but it is her intuition and ability to listen that establish her as Beijing's first successful female private investigator. Mei's past is marked by darkness; she last saw her father at a labor camp when she was six. This experience shapes her rejection of the power plays and cultural norms that her family embraces. When a family friend, "Uncle" Chen, hires her to locate a valuable Han dynasty jade believed to have been looted during the Cultural Revolution, Mei embarks on a delicate investigation. The search takes her through banquet halls, back alleys, and seedy gambling dens, revealing not only the jade's troubled history but also her family's hidden secrets and her own painful past. This first novel in a captivating detective series offers a thrilling mystery intertwined with a rich exploration of modern China.