I have to admit that being a good person is a simple thing (sort of…). It turns out that all you have to do is to be like a doorman in a hotel, at every beck and call politely and obediently helping those less organised or more lazy guests (no disrespect to the doorman’s profession, I have great respect for you, and that patience of yours, a show of dignity like tea with honey and a drop of lemon on a breakfast table next to the freshly made coffee). In conclusion, I am not particularly big fun of this group (group of ‘good people’) by my own choice. It turns out I don’t have the patience and I know when someone regularly brings a chunk of their mess into my life so I have to get on with it while they’re popping the pressure in a nearby bar. For this reason alone, and an uncharacteristic need for me to drop someone’s blood, I confess my weakness for (slightly) declining someone’s ‘goodwill’ and in a way saying no! to yet another primitive symptom of such exploitation.
Today was my lucky day at charity shops. Here, I would like to share my findings with you.
“A city full of secrets…
Lottie Archer arrives in Rome newly married and ready for change. When she discovers a valuable fifteenth century painting, she is drawn to find out more about the woman who left it behind, Nina Lawrence.
Nina seems to have led a rewarding life restoring Italian gardens to their full glory following the destruction of World War Two. So why did no one attend her funeral in 1978?
Researching Nina’s life, Lottie unravels a love story beset by the violence and political turmoil of post-war Italy – only to find that its betrayals and sacrifices subtly shape her own future.”
“The kind of novel that is as rare as good room service, Ali Smith’s Hotel World is a passionate, funny, serious, captivating glimpse into the lives of of five people connected to one branch of the ubiquitous Global Hotel chain. Brought together -and forced apart – by a bizarre incident involving a dumb waiter, we share their very different experiences of life in the aftermath of death, of pain and sorrow, of hope and love – everything, in fact, that the world dares to throw at us.”
“A wedding in Spain. The most infuriating man. Three days to convince your family you’re actually in love…
Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially when her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiralled out of control. Now everyone she knows – including her ex-bovyfriend and his fiancée – will be there.
She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic for her and aid in her deception. NYC to Spain is no short flight and her family won’t be easy to fool… But even then, when Aaron Blackford – the 6’4″, blue-eyed pain in the arse – offers to step in, she’s not tempted even for a second. Never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling and insufferable man.
But Catalina is desperate and as the wedding gets closer the more desirable an option Aaron Blackford becomes…
The Spanish Love Deception is an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating romance. Perfect for those looking for a steamy slow-burn with the promise of a sweet happy-ever-after.”
“Fixie Farr can’t help herself. Straightening a crooked object, removing a barely-there stain, helping out a friend… she just has to put things right. It’s how she got her nickname after all
So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees, she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank her, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, scribbles her an IOU-but of course Fixie never intends to call in the favour.
That is, until her teenage crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and needs her help – and Fixie turns to Seb. But things don’t go according to plan, and now Fixie owes Seb: big time.
Soon the pair are caught up in a series of IOUs – from small favours to life-changing ones – and Fixie is torn between the past she’s used to and the future she deserves.
Does she have the courage to fix things for herself and fight for the life, and love, she really wants?”
with an introductionby by Gordon Snell
“As someone who fell off a chair trying to hear what they were saying at the next table in a restaurant, I suppose I am obsessively interested in what some might consider the trivia of other people’s lives
Maeve Binchy was an accidental journalist whose work first fter her father sent in accounts he had received from her travels. From the beginning, her writings reflected the warmth, laugh-out-loud humour and keen human interest that readers would come to love in her fiction. From ‘Life as a Waitress’ to ‘Staving Off the Senior Moments’, Maeve’s Times demonstrates her own, inimitable take on life.
With an introduction by her husband, the writer Gordon Snell, Maeve’s Times reminds us of why the writings of Maeve Binchy are universally cherished, and will be for generations to come.”
“Cornwall, 1972. Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The table is set for a meal left uneaten.
What happened to those three men, out on the tower? Can their secrets ever be recovered from the waves?
Twenty years later, a writer approaches the women they left behind, determined to solve the puzzle. Helen, Jenny and Michelle should have been united by the tragedy; instead, it drove them apart. But only in confronting their darkest fears can the truth begin to surface.”
“Captain William Hawksmoor of the Royal Navy never expected to inherit Kingscastle, his family’s estate, and finds himself all at sea when he does so. Especially when he learns that he must marry within a year or be forever dealing with trustees.
As the new Marquis of Athelney, the captain takes command of Kingscastle and discovers much to be done to set it in order. He must also contend with his aunt, Willoughby Hawksmoor, who is determ ady 1 that her daughter will be his wife.
When she discovers he is far more interested in Eleanor Burgess, her underpaid and much put-upon companion, Lady Willoughby shows she will stop at nothing to keep them apart.”
Yours L.
another pile of books 
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