Fire: A World of Flavour (Christine Manfield)

Fire: A World of Flavour

Christine Manfield

Blurb: Christine Manfield is one of Australia's most celebrated chefs. A perfectionist inspired by strong flavours, her successful series of books have spiced up the lives of keen cooks everywhere. 

Her three restaurants give her motivation to broaden her global food interests.

ISBN: 9781921382857 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 60 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Author's official site

2. Review of the book

3. Buy from Angus and Robertson

4. Buy from Amazon

5. Goodreads page

The Hardest Test (Scott Quinnell)

The Hardest Test

Scott Quinnell

Blurb: Scott Quinnell is one of the best-known names in rugby. He played both rugby league and union, for Wales and for the British Lions. He was captain of the Welsh team seven times and won 52 caps.

But amidst all this success, Scott had a painful secret. He struggled to read. In The Hardest Test, he describes his struggle against learning difficulties throughout his childhood and his journey towards becoming one of the best rugby players in Britain. When he retired from rugby in 2005 he continued his battle with dyslexia in order to change both his and his children's lives.

ISBN: 9781906125950 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Accent Press

Pages: 86 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Amazon

2. Wikipedia page for the author

3. BBC page on the author

4. Quick Reads page

5. Follow the author on Twitter

Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden? (Morgan Spurlock)

Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden?

Morgan Spurlock

Blurb: With a baby on the way and a need to make the world safe for infantkind, an unassuming film-maker from West Virginia employs his complete lack of experience, knowledge and expertise to find the most wanted and dangerous man on earth.

Beginning his epic quest in New York City, Morgan Spurlock zigzags the globe in search of the bearded man: to Britain, France, Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, drawing ever closer to the heart of darkness in the tribal regions of Pakistan. Along the way he interviews experts and imams, breaks the Ramadan fast with Muslim families, identifies the surprising similarities between Osama Bin Laden and Keyser Soze, helps disarm bombs with an Israeli squad, accompanies the British and US Armies in Afghanistan, and much, much more... all in an attempt to understand the Muslim world and the roots of the conflict overshadowing the globe today.

He emerges with a much deeper knowledge of the world into which his child will be born, and of the roots of fundamentalism and the 'war on terror'.

ISBN: 9781846552212 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Harvill Secker

Pages: 305 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Film of the book

2. Wikipedia page for the film/book

3. Buy the book from Amazon

4. Review of the book

5. Another review

Befriend and Betray: Infiltrating the Hells Angels, Bandidos and Other Criminal Brotherhoods (Alex Caine)

Befriend and Betray: Infiltrating the Hells Angels, Bandidos and Other Criminal Brotherhoods

Alex Caine

Blurb: Alex Caine started life as just another mixed-up kid in rough-and-tumble Hull, Quebec. But after a tour in Vietnam and a stretch in prison on marijuana-possession charges, he fell into the cloak-and-dagger world of contracted agent, infiltrating criminal groups that cops across North America and around the globe were unable to penetrate themselves.

Thanks to his quick-wittedness and his tough but unthreatening demeanour, Caine could fit into whatever unsavoury situation he found himself. His assignments ran the gamut from Bandidos and Hells Angels to Triad toughs, Russian mobsters and the KKK. When a job was over, he'd slip away and cozy up to another group of bad guys, assume a new identity and start collecting evidence for another major takedown. 

An outrageous and heartrending page-turner told from the frontlines of law enforcement's war with organised crime, Befriend and Betray offers an unvarnished account of this never-ending conflict that rages all around us, and the terrible toll it takes on the lives of those who serve its cause.

ISBN: 9781405038997 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Macmillan 

Pages: 296 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Amazon

2. Goodreads page

3. Publisher's page for the book

4. Reviews of other gang related books

5. Author's Facebook page

The Given Day (Dennis Lehane)

The Given Day

Dennis Lehane

Blurb: Set in Boston at the end of the First World War, The Given Day tells the story of two families - one white, one black...

Beat cop, Danny Coughlin, the son of one of the city's most powerful police captains, is on the hunt for hard-line radicals. Drawn into the political fray, he soon finds his loyalties compromised. Luther Laurence, on the run after a deadly confrontation with a crime boss, works for the Coughlin family, all the while desperately trying to find a way home to his pregnant wife.

As Danny, Luther and those around them face increasingly turbulent times, they are forced to ride a rising storm of hardship and deprivation that will change their lives forever.

Coursing through some of the pivotal events of the age, Dennis Lehane's masterly new novel explores the crippling violence and irrepressible exuberance of a country at war with, and in thrall of, itself.

ISBN: 9780552775588 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Black Swan

Pages: 733 (Fiction)

Links

1. Author's official site

2. Buy from Amazon

3. Review of the book

4. Another review

5. Wikipedia page for the author

The Touch of Twilight - The Third Sign of the Zodiac (Vicki Pettersson)

The Touch of Twilight - The Third Sign of the Zodiac

Vicki Pettersson

Blurb: Made up of both Light and Shadow, Joanna Archer has accepted her destiny as Avenger, Saviour ... and Destroyer.

In public she is a sexy, sophisticated socialite; one of the beautiful people of Las Vegas. But she inhabits another world too: the city underworld that mortals can't see and could never enter... a dangerous dimension where the agents of good and evil do battle.

But Vegas is all about winning big - or losing everything, and as the strength of the Light begins to fail, Joanna realises that to save her friends, her future, and both her world, she will have to gamble it all, embrace her dark side and confront the ultimate Shadow demon: her father.

ISBN: 9780007270231 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Harper Voyager 

Pages: 406 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Amazon

2. Author's official site

3. Goodreads page

4. Wikipedia page for the author

5. Review of the book

Say You're One of Them (Uwem Akpan)

Say You're One of Them

Uwem Akpan

Blurb: 'I see dirty water dripping down the white wall beside me. It is coming from the ceiling. At first, it comes down in two thin lines. Then the lines widen and swell into one. Then two more lines come down, in spurts, like little spiders gliding down on threads from a branch of the mango tree in our yard. I touch the liquid with the tip of me finger. Blood.'

'Ghost! Ghost!' I scream, diving towards Papa.

Say You're One of Them is an extraordinary debut about children fighting for survival throughout the African continent. 

A family live in a makeshift shanty in urban Kenya; a Rwandan girl witnesses unspeakable acts; a brother and sister cope with their uncle's attempt to sell them into slavery in Gabon; and a Muslim boy takes a terrifying ride through Nigeria: everywhere Uwem Akpan reveals the wisdom and resilience of Africa's children.

ISBN: 9780349120645 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Abacus

Pages: 294 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Amazon

2. Oprah's look at the book

3. Goodreads page for the book

4. Review of the book

5. Another review

Invisible City - The Joshua Files #1 (M.G. Harris)

Invisible City - The Joshua Files #1

M.G. Harris

Blurb: One boy. One deadly prophecy. One heart-stopping adventure.

Joshua's life was pretty cool - until his father was reported dead in an air crash in Mexico.

Was it simply a tragic accident? Why was the plane miles off course? Were there really UFOs in the sky at the time of the crash?

In the depths of the Mexican jungle, with a deadly international hit man on his trail, Josh must find the truth about an incredible, dangerous secret - and try to stay alive.

ISBN: 9781407104027 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 363 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the series

2. Official site for the series

3. Review of the book

4. Buy from Amazon

5. Goodreads page

Gone - Gone Series #1 (Michael Grant)

Gone (Gone Series #1)

Michael Grant

Blurb: 299 hours 54 minutes.

Suddenly it's a world without adults and normal has crashed and burned. When life as you know it ends at 15, everything changes.

A small town in southern California: In the blink of an eye everyone over the age of 15 disappears and no one knows why.

Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there's no help on the way. Chaos rules the streets. Gangs begin to form. Sides are chosen - strong or wear. Cruel or humane.

A new world order is rising and, even scarier, some survivors have power - power that no one has ever seen before...

ISBN: 9781405246347 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Egmont

Pages: 560 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the series

2. Author's official site

3. Goodreads page

4. Review of the book

5. Publisher's page for the book

The Descendants (Kaui Hart Hemmings)

The Descendants

Kaui Hart Hemmings

Blurb: A descendant of one of Hawaii's largest landowners, Matt King finds his luck changed when his fun-loving, flighty wife Joanie falls into a coma, victim of a boating acident. Matt is left in sole charge of his two daughters, teenage ex-model and recovering drug addict Alex, and Scottie, a feisty ten-year old. And then Matt discovers Joanie has been having an affair. Deciding to seek out Joanie's lover so that he too has a chance to say his goodbyes, Matt takes to the road with his daughters on a memorable journey of painful revelations and unexpected humour...

ISBN: 9780099570240 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Vintage Books

Pages: 283 (Fiction)

Links

1. Author's official site

2. Wikipedia page for the author

3. Buy from Amazon

4. Review of the book

5. Goodreads page for the author

Scarpetta - Kay Scarpetta Series #16 (Patricia Cornwell)

Scarpetta (Kay Scarpetta Series #16)

Patricia Cornwell

Blurb: Leaving behind her forensic pathology practice in South Carolina. Kay Scarpetta takes up an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured patient in a psychiatric ward.

The handcuffed and chained patient eventually begins to talk - and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard.

He says his injuries were sustained in the course of a murder... that he did not commit. Is Bane a criminally insane stalker who has fixed on Scarpetta? Or is his paranoid tale true, and it is he who is being spied on, followed and stalked by the actual killer? The only thing Scarpetta knows for certain is that a woman has been tortured and murdered - and that more violent deaths will follow...

Twenty years after creating Kay Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell has written her most extraordinary novel yet. Gripping and packed with characteristic twists and turns, it resoundingly proves that 'no one is better than Cornwell.'

ISBN: 9780751542127 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Sphere

Pages: 500 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the author

2. Author's official site

3. Buy from Amazon

4. Goodreads page for the book

5. Review of the book

Disneyland - Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places (David Hoffman)

Disneyland - Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places

David Hoffman

Blurb: Did you know?

-When Disneyland opened its gates on July 17, 1955, it had just eighteen rides and attractions. Today there are more than sixty.

-The inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle came from Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany.

-Walt Disney was afraid of mice.

-Thought certainly well-known, Mickey Mouse is not the most recognisable character in the world; he ranks third, after Santa Claus and Ronald McDonald.

Disneyland... a magic place of dreams and adventure. In this follow-up to the popular Little-Known Facts about Well-Known Stuff, David Hoffman delves into the stories behind the happiest place on Earth. Little-Known Facts about Well-Known Places goes beyond the obvious to reveal the tidbits that we have yet to discover. Covering every aspect - from the history and personalities to the landscaping and architecture - this collection of offbeat facts and figures, statistics and specifics, is guaranteed to delight a first-time visitor and surprise even the most die-hard fan. Packed with a wealth of revelations, Little-Known Facts about Well-Known Places is a must-have for Mouseketeers, information addicts, curious readers, and armchair travellers of all ages.

ISBN: 9781435104310 (Hardback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Fall River Press

Pages: 200 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Barnes and Noble

2. Buy from Amazon

3. Forum dedicated to the book

4. Goodreads page for the book

5. Review of the book

The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

Blurb: Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

ISBN: 9781407109084 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 454 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the book

2. Author's official site

3. Goodreads page for the book

4. Publisher's site for the book

5. Buy from Amazon

Frostbite: A Vampire Academy Novel #2 (Richelle Mead)

Frostbite: A Vampire Academy Novel #2

Richelle Mead

Blurb: When love and jealousy collide on the slopes, winter break turns deadly...

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires - the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

Rose has serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor, Dimitri, has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, and she keeps getting struck in her best friend Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian.

Then a nearby Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir's on high alert, and the Academy whisks its students away on a mandatory holiday ski trip. But the glittering winter landscape and posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose - and her heart - are in more danger than she ever could have imagined...

ISBN: 9781595141750 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 327 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the series

2. Review of the book

3. Goodreads page

4. Buy from Barnes and Noble

5. Official page for the series

Disney At Dawn: Kingdom Keepers II (Ridley Pearson)

Disney At Dawn: Kingdom Keepers II

Ridley Pearson

Blurb: It's supposed to be a happy day at the Magic Kingdom - the teenage holographic hosts have returned. But things go very wrong when a sudden lightning storm disrupts the celebration, and Amanda's mysterious sister, Jez, dissapears. The only clue is the sighting of a wild monkey in the Magic Kingdom during the storm. The mystery deepens as Finn is contacted by Wayne, an old man he hasn't heard from in months. Wayne tells Finn that there's trouble at the Animal Kingdom: the evil Overtakers have gained control of one of the computer servers that will be used to operate Daylight Holographic Imaging there. That means if any of the holographic hosts fall asleep, they will go into comas - permanently. Filled with action and brimming with the same meticulous details as The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark, this second book in the series - Disney at Dawn - is the result of hands-on research behind the scenes at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. Younger and older readers alike will get a glimpse into a second Disney kingdom. The wild rides have only just begun, and the clock is ticking. How long can the teens keep themselves awake in their quest to find their friends - and what happens in they fail?

ISBN: 9781423103653 (Hardback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: Disney Editions

Pages: 377 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Amazon

2. Wikipedia page for the series

3. Goodreads page

4. Review of the book

5. Another review