Categories: BooksInternational

Preview | The Best in Foreign Fiction and Non-fiction

Before I Fall is a perennial bestseller and continues to be on several young-adult ‘best book’ lists. The film adaptation of the story, directed by Ry Russo-Young and starring several popular teen actors, will be released in early 2017.

The protagonist, Samantha Kingston, has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2kODTzH

Katy Collins is back with The Lonely Hearts Travel Club. This series has been called ‘Bridget Jones goes backpacking’ and the new book takes Georgia to Chile, where she has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime: a TV adventure travel show that will put her and Ben’s business well and truly on the map. But Georgia’s not quite sure their relationship is ready to be put under the microscope – because even though they survived their first argument the discovery of a sparkling engagement ring in Ben’s suitcase has put Georgia’s head in a spin! Are they really ready for marriage? And more importantly, after all the heartbreak, is she? This journey is sure to be an adventure like no other. Against the backdrop of rugged and wild Chile, Ben and Georgia must decide if their love is worth fight for…

Perfect for fans of Bridget Jones’s Diary, the Shopaholic series and Eat, Pray, Love.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2lxDz5S

Now an Academy Award nominated motion picture. Set amid the civil rights movement, Hidden Figures is the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space programme.

Before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as ‘human computers’, calculating the flight paths that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women.

Segregated from their white counterparts, these ‘coloured computers’ used pencil and paper to write the equations that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Moving from World War II through NASA’s golden age, touching on the civil rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the women’s rights movement, Hidden Figures interweaves a rich history of mankind’s greatest adventure with the intimate stories of five courageous women whose work forever changed the world.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2mnx5p2

Here’s a special feature about Hidden Figures, courtesy Al Jazeera:

‘People say women can’t be funny. WRONG… I love Reductress.’ — Sam Bain, co-creator of Peep Show

The definitive manual on how to be the best feminist you can be—as told by a hilariously misguided yet well-meaning women’s magazine. From the creators of the wildly popular satirical website, Reductress. How to Win at Feminism defines what’s feminist and what isn’t, shows you how to take up space (but not too much space), identifies which clothes and products to be offended by, and offers funny insight, knowledge, tips, and advice every fourth-wave feminist needs.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2mnFA3J

From John Brockman, the editor of bestsellers This Idea Must Die, This Explains Everything, This Will Make You Smarter, and other volumes, Know This is the latest volume in the popular series from Edge.org—dubbed ‘the world’s smartest website’ by The Guardian—brings together 175 of the world’s most innovative and brilliant thinkers to discuss recent scientific breakthroughs that will shape the future.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2lxNqZc

From the author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, the new novel from Michael Chabon is a New York Times Book of the Year.

Moonglow unfolds as a deathbed confession. An old man, his tongue loosened by powerful painkillers, his memory stirred by the imminence of death, tells stories to his grandson, uncovering bits and pieces of a history long buried. Why did he try to strangle a former business partner with a telephone cord? What was he thinking when he and a buddy set explosives on a bridge in Washington, D.C.? What did he feel while he hunted down Wernher von Braun in Germany? And what did he see in the young girl he met in Baltimore after returning home from the war?

From the Jewish slums of pre-war Philadelphia to the invasion of Germany, from a Florida retirement village to the penal utopia of a New York prison, from the heyday of the space programme to the twilight of ‘the American Century’, Moonglow collapses an era into a single life and a lifetime into a single week.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2maaU9N

Here’s an audiobook preview of Moonglow, courtesy Libro.fm

Life is about making choices, and Natalie Sterling prides herself on always making the right ones.

She’s avoided boys, always topped her class and is poised to become the first female student council president in years. But being the good girl isn’t always easy. Not when Natalie’s advice hurts more than it helps. Not when a boy she once dismissed becomes the one she can’t stop thinking about. Soon Natalie’s learning that the line between good and bad is fuzzier than she thought and crossing it could end in disaster . . . or be the best choice she’s ever made.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2meQFok

In this sequel to A Thousand Pieces of You by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray, Marguerite races through various dimensions to save the boy she loves. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamouring for the next book.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2meIMzn

Here’s a fun clip about Claudia Gray from Epic Reads:

The story of two dysfunctional families during the months leading up to a wedding day – oozing with charm, humour and heart. A laugh-out-loud love story with big ideas—and squirrels.

Shortlisted for the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction 2016.

Can squirrels speak? Do snails scream? Will a young couple, newly engaged, make it to their wedding day? Will their dysfunctional families ruin everything? Will they be undone by the advances of a very sexy, very unscrupulous heiress to a pharmaceuticals corporation? Is getting married even a remotely reasonable idea in the twenty-first century? And what in the world is a ‘Veblen’ anyway?

Praise for the The Portable Veblen:

‘The squirreliest novel I ever read. I enjoyed it completely’ —Ursula K. Le Guin

‘Raw and weird and hilarious . . . very entertaining’ —Scarlett Thomas, Guardian

‘Ambitious, spirited, funny, daring’ —Financial Times

‘A touching, wildly funny and peculiarly elegant look at the travails of love of all kinds’ —Sunday Express

‘Full of life and humour and compassion’ —Times Literary Supplement

‘Terrifically entertaining . . . hard to resist’ —Daily Mail

‘A novel of festive originality’ —The New York Times

‘Unforgettable. A wild ride that you will not want to miss’ —San Francisco Chronicle

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2masD1d

Yoga Bunny teaches young readers how to do beginner yoga poses such as Tree Pose, Forward Fold, and Downward Dog. There is a growing number of children practising yoga across the world. The majority of yoga picture books for children focus on the instructional aspect of yoga and yoga poses, while Yoga Bunny is a traditional picture book character.

Brian Russo is a debut author and illustrator and also works in animation. His beautiful illustrations are soothing and work perfectly with the relaxing, mindfulness theme of the book.

Buy it here: http://amzn.to/2meTUfq

Here’s the book trailer:

‘This is an important, powerful contemporary YA that you won’t regret reading.’—Buzzfeed

When your country doesn’t want you there, how do you know where you belong?

Jasmine de los Santos has been pushed by her immigrant parents to over-achieve and be the best she can be. She’s thrilled to be named a finalist for a big college scholarship. But when she brings home the paperwork, she learns that she and all her family are in the country illegally.

As Jasmine’s world shatters around her, she rebels, trying to make sense of herself—who is she? Is she American? Illegal? Something in between? Jasmine decides to accept the award anyway and goes to D.C., where she meets Royce Blakely, the handsome son of a Republican congressman.

As she fights for her very identity, will Jasmine find help in unexpected places, and will she ever figure out where she belongs?

Get it here: http://amzn.to/2mf4O4X

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