AUGUST 12 - 18, 2011 72 BOOKS The Little Village School by Gervase Phinn Compiled by Paul Malaos 7 NEW FICTION /0 1 The Dressmaker Of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon Former news reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years in Afghanistan on an assignment for the Financial Times, looking for evidence of female entrepreneurs creating successful businesses under Taliban rule. She realised she need look no further when she met Kamila Sidiqi. When the schoolgirl’s parents fled Kabul, Kamila became responsible for her siblings and realised she had to take action to provide for them. 7 /0 1 Choice He has garnered a huge number of fans with his popular fact-based books about the joys of life as a school inspector, now Gervase Phinn has penned his first novel and, unsurprisingly, it is set in a school. The former teacher, school inspector and NEW FICTION nowadays bestselling author has used his years of experience to come up with the plot for The Little Village School, set in the imaginary Yorkshire village of Barton-in-the-Dale. It is a story filled with all of the whimsy humour and colourful characters you would expect from a work by Phinn - rather like a cross between the Teacher novels of Jack Sheffield and Winifred Holtby’s South Riding. rt After a short introductory lesson from her elder sister, she started sewing dresses and selling them to local tradesmen. It wasn’t long before her sisters were involved in the growing enterprise, contracts were coming in thick and fast, and their whole house evolved into a makeshift workshop. Lemmon’s account of Kamila’s inspiring story reads as though a friend is telling it. You can truly picture the sisters giggling away as they work. NEW NON-FICTION 7 I’m Feeling Lucky by Douglas Edwards /0 1 UK BEST-SELLERS PAPERBACKS More Awkward Situations For Men by Danny Wallace 1. The Leopard, 6 10 / Jo Nesbo As employee number 59 of Google, Douglas Edwards has a great story to tell. An ex-journalist who took a risk by taking a 25% pay cut to do marketing for a relatively unknown Silicon Valley start-up, he became involved in one of technology’s greatest success stories. Candid and insightful, the author speaks about how he invested $50,000 of his own money into the business and then enters into great detail about Google’s engineering processes, marketing plans and employee conflicts. Written from a non-technical point of view, this book is accessible and those who have a genuine interest in business and culture will thoroughly enjoy it. An interesting read for anyone who wants to know what Google was like in the early years. 2. A Tiny Bit Marvellous, Dawn French Comedian, writer, TV and radio presenter Danny Wallace’s new book is packed full of hilarious true-life accounts of Wallace’s unusual encounters and embarrassing moments. A follow-up to the 2010 hit Awkward Situations For Men, it focuses on his life after having his first child and his dealings in Hollywood. In a book packed NEW NON-FICTION with funny antics, he recalls incidents including the time he picked up a “fake” Bafta award, what he did after running out of things to say to an old friend at the end of an evening, and the unease he felt at finding himself walking alongside a stranger at the same pace. 3. The Tiger’s Wife, Tea Obreht 4. The Dukan Diet, Pierre Dukan 5. One Day, David Nicholls 6. The Summer Without Men, Siri Hustvedt 7. Mini Shopaholic, Sophie Kinsella 8. The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas 9. When God Was A Rabbit, Sarah Winman 10. A Clash Of Kings, George RR Martin BOOKS GIVEAWAY K.P. Kyriakou Bookshops in Limassol have kindly offered a copy of each of the books (right) to our readers. Just write your name and address, along with the name of the book you would like, on a postcard or sealed envelope and send it to Books Draw, Cyprus Weekly, PO Box 24977, Nicosia 2404 or e-mail to [email protected] Winners: E Andreou, Larnaca (Ape House); P Adams, Akrotiri (Daughters of Rome); L Wilkins, Limassol Babies’ Names. War Torn by Anby McNab and Kym Jordan With two tours of Iraq under his belt, Sergeant Dave Henley knows what modern war looks like. But nothing can prepare him for the posting to Forward Operating Base Senzhiri, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. This is a battle zone like he’s never seen before. He’s in charge of 1 Platoon, a ragbag collection of rookies who he must make into a fighting force - and fast. But this is a brutal, unforgiving conflict which takes noprisoners. Their convoy is ambushed on the way to the FOB, leaving two men grievously wounded - before they’ve fired a shot. Thirteen Years Later by Jasper Kent 1825 and Russia has been at peace for a decade. Bonaparte is long dead and the threat of invasion is no more. For Colonel Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov, life is calm. The French have been defeated, as have the twelve monstrous creatures he once fought alongside - and then against - all those years before. But Aleksandr knows he can never be at peace. He is well aware of the uprising fomenting within his own army, but his true fear is of something far more terrible. For Aleksei, it seems the vile pestilence that once threatened all he held dear has returned. Fame by Tilly Bagshawe This is not ‘celebrity.’ This is the real deal. This is Fame. The raw, sexual beauty of Sabrina Leon demands the attention of all who come into contact with her. Plucked from obscurity at the age of seventeen she’s the new darling of the film scene, bagging lead roles in the hottest blockbusters. But Sabrina Leon has a problem. There’s a youtube sensation on the web that’s set to destroy everything she’s fought for! Hotshot movie producer Dorian Razmirez has struggles of his own. A bitter feud has resulted in the plug being pulled on every project he goes near.