The Story of My Life – James Patterson
“It’s quite a life, Patterson’s, and this fizzing, funny, often deeply moving memoir is a perfect way to understand the dizzying world of a best-selling writer.” —Daily Mail
“Damn near addictive. I loved it . . . that Patterson guy can write!” –Ron Howard
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER—How did a kid whose dad lived in the poorhouse become the most successful storyteller in the world?
- On the morning he was born, he nearly died.
- His dad grew up in the Pogey– the Newburgh, New York, poorhouse.
- He worked at a mental hospital in Massachusetts, where he met the singer James Taylor and the poet Robert Lowell.
- While he toiled in advertising hell, James wrote the ad jingle line “I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us Kid.”
- He once watched James Baldwin and Norman Mailer square off to trade punches at a party.
- He’s only been in love twice. Both times are amazing.
- Dolly Parton once sang “Happy Birthday” to James over the phone. She calls him J.J., for Jimmy James.
How did a boy from small-town New York become the world’s most successful writer? How does he do it? He has always wanted to write the kind of novel that would be read and reread so many times that the binding breaks and the book literally falls apart. As he says, “I’m still working on that one.”
James Patterson by James Patterson is the most anticipated memoir of 2022.
Anna – Amy Odell
Bloomberg’s 10 Most Compelling Books to Put on Your Reading List This Spring
This definitive biography of Anna Wintour follows the steep climb of an ambitious young woman who would—with singular and legendary focus—become one of the most powerful people in media.
As a child, Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in clothing but seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London, she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager. Her father, an influential newspaper editor, loomed large in her life, and once he decided she should become editor-in-chief of Vogue, she never looked back.
Impatient to start her career, she left high school and got a job at a trendy boutique in London—an experience that would be the first of many defeats. Undeterred, she found work in the competitive world of magazines, eventually embarking on a journey to New York and a battle to ascend, no matter who or what stood in her way. Once she was crowned editor-in-chief of Vogue—in one of the stormiest transitions in fashion magazine history—she continued the fight to retain her enviable position, ultimately rising to dominate all of Condé Nast.
Based on extensive interviews with Anna Wintour’s closest friends and collaborators, including some of the biggest names in fashion, journalist Amy Odell has crafted the most revealing portrait of Wintour ever published. Weaving Anna’s personal story into a larger narrative about the hierarchical dynamics of the fashion industry and the complex world of Condé Nast, Anna charts the relentless ambition of the woman who would become an icon.
The Platinum Queen – Foreword by Jennie Bond
Published in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, The Platinum Queen presents seven decades of world history through the words of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch: over 256 exquisitely designed pages, packed with 130 photos and featuring every single major speech given over the course of Her Majesty’s time on the throne, a foreword by Jennie Bond and historical context to each decade.
For the first time, all 70 of the Queen’s Christmas speeches are published together in full, along with six additional feature speeches made at significant points in her life. Organized by decade, each chapter opens with a narrative essay on the key events that follow, providing an important contextual backdrop to the speeches.
From times of national and global turmoil – including wars, terror attacks and health crises – to times of joy – such as the new millennium and Olympics – The Platinum Queen is a testament to Elizabeth’s unwavering resolve, faith and dedication to her role.
Frontline Midwife – Anna Kent
Anna Kent has delivered babies in war zones, caring for the most vulnerable women in the most vulnerable places in the world. At twenty-six years old, not yet a fully-trained midwife, she delivered a baby in a tropical storm by the light of a headtorch; the following year, she would be responsible for the female health of 30,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. But returning to the UK to work for the NHS, she soon learned that even at home, the right to a safe birth was impossible to take for granted.
In Frontline Midwife, Kent shares her extraordinary experiences as a nurse, midwife and mother, illuminating the lives of women that are irreparably affected by compromised access to healthcare. This is at once an astonishing story of the realities of frontline humanitarian work and a powerful reminder of the critical, life-giving work of nurses and doctors at home and around the world.
A Gentle Radical – Gareth Hughes
Jeanette Fitzsimons was a visionary, a pioneer and a radical. This is the story of someone who battles National and Labour’s lock on parliament and had the courage to challenge political sacred cows.
She was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa, New Zealand, from 1995 to 2009 and a member of parliament from 1996 to 2010.
Highly regarded by all, she was the first (and, until recently, the only) Green MP to win an electorate seat. She died very suddenly and unexpectedly in 2020.
Fitzsimons is a unique figure in our political history, yet someone whose personal story is still unknown.
How did a girl from a conservative rural family get to the front lines of radical political thought and then into the front benches of Parliament?
How did she become the first Green MP in the world to win an electorate seat?
How did she survive the brutal world of politics and get through the death of her co-leader Rod Donald?
How did the world’s first national Green Party form in New Zealand, and what was Jeanette’s role?
What can we learn from her politics, and what did she think of the Green Party that followed her?
Fitzsimons lived a fascinating life, filled with moments of high political drama, and her example of how to navigate politics, adversity and triumph is more important than ever.
