Recommended Reads
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Life. Thoughts That Make the World Go Around (and Up, Not Down)
Am I happy? What impact do I have on the world around me? What are my values? How do others perceive me? What does my ideal world look like? What does my ideal workplace look like?
Whether you are looking to improve yourself, improve your work environment or create a thriving culture, this book is for you. Only you have the power to bring about the change you want for yourself and for the world around you. It all begins and ends with you.
By taking a holistic approach, this book combines self-help motivational tools with the business tips you need to be able to empower yourself and change the course of your own life and your workplace for the better.
£7.99 -
Lighthouse Stories
Lighthouses remain a fascination to most people. The light beam still flashes a warning to all shipping and acts as a guide to safe harbour in rough weather, but unfortunately the lighthouse keepers are now a thing of the past. Modern technology has meant that satellite navigation where signals can be bounced off satellites to turn engines on and off and fog signals can be operated from ashore without the trusty keepers. The lights still twinkle and backup systems ensure ships still have guidance to safety. No keepers, alas: they have all been made redundant. The way of life of the lighthouse keeper is now well past.
The reader of my stories should gain an insight into what being a keeper was all about. The working details provide a fair look at what makes a lighthouse function. The short stories cover a wide variety of different locations including the Channel Islands. Characters within the service are as varied as the lighthouse but there is always a story to tell given the nature of the work and the importance of safety at sea for shipping. As always, it’s the sea that is the master in everything that happens but humour keeps rearing its head to remind us of the simple things in life; it constantly raises a smile.
Although lighthouses are now unmanned, the public is still curious about their history and what a keeper's life was all about. This book and its stories perhaps can give an insight into a time when keepers were essential to safe passage.£7.99 -
Little Bundle of Sorrow
Birth is made out to be the happiest time of your life. But what happens if you have a difficult pregnancy, a traumatic birth, your baby is fussy, or just won’t go to sleep? Are you meant to bond with your baby straight away?
Sometimes, the experience of being a new mum sucks. You’ve been sleep-deprived for weeks or months, and post-natal depression can creep up and take over. If you’ve found yourself struggling to cope, you’re not the only one. Other women have had similar thoughts and feelings to you, no matter how extreme they seem.
The women in this book have experienced postnatal depression and have come out the other side. Their stories will give you hope that there is a way out of the dark hole you are in.
You are not alone.
£10.99 -
Little Mouse
Little Mouse lives in a little cottage at the bottom of an old oak tree in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. She has lots of friends including Old Owl, who lives at the top of the old oak tree, Scruffy Mouse, who has a workshop where he makes and mends things, and Mattie Mouse, who lives in London and works for the London Parks and Gardens Trust. The story of Little Mouse is all about the adventures she has with her two friends.
£12.99 -
Liverpool Kids of WWII - Part 1
The Liverpool Blitz is over…The seven-year-old boy who was evacuated in The Green Gates Story, comes home after many months away, and is faced with changes to his life: house moves, new districts, new faces…No sweets, because Mum’s used the coupons for sugar.What are bananas?What’s ice-cream?White bread?Upon his return to his home city and with his evacuation experience behind him, he views his life ahead as a series of hurdles, but the War is ongoing…Toys? – Pretend games and a good healthy imagination.Free-time? – Fun of collecting waste paper, scrap metal, bones and rags, in support of the war effort.His first trip into town, shopping with Mum, and the surprising sight of big blackened shells, once shops, now dark spaces between buildings, which had suffered direct hits, torn apart innards and burnt deposits. Blast waves obliterating shop windows and doors of adjacent buildings, displaying:Heaps of broken bricksShattered concrete supportsSplintered wood floors hanging drunkenly, with massive heaps of dust and debris deposited on the piled remains, awaiting attention and clearance.How to cope with the unnecessary death of a classmate, killed at play, after accidentally falling through the blitzed roof of an unsafe bomb-damaged house?When the supply and demands of shortages cause the theft of a family bicycle.Kids discovering the incomprehensible: German POWs sitting smoking, chatting and laughing, employed in collecting and stacking usable bricks from a bomb site, watched by a grey-haired bespectacled British soldier sat in his parked army lorry when he was not reading a dog-eared copy of Lilliput magazine. Same kids, frowning and mindful of captured British soldiers packed into overcrowded huts inside barbed-wire enclosures, overlooked by machine-gun towers, in the Fatherland!
£9.99 -
Liverpool Kids of WWII, Part 2
The boy was growing into youth – not yet a teenager – but was bright enough to know his country was in a war that it mustn’t lose, that his brother and uncles were also part of this deadly struggle…Melodious harmonies and helmets were heard and seen at the impromptu Christmas party his mum and dad had arranged. He was as inquisitive as could be because it sounded like the Americans had arrived with Uncle Jim for the little house party he’d eavesdropped about over the last few days.“Gosh a’mighty!” he heard one over-the-pond voice exclaim. “You got gas lighting but no electricity in the house, huh?”The front room was alive with noise generated by adults, both seated and standing, in a happy conversation. Already, a smoky fuzz was forming from lit cigarettes, held firmly between thumbs and forefingers and used sometimes to emphasise a point or two in the friendly interchange of chit-chat.The first thing he noticed was one policeman’s helmet and two American army white military police garrison caps grouped together at one end of his mum’s upright piano top. Railway policeman, Uncle Jim was in boisterous good humour with the two Americans.Suddenly, his young eyes lit up as he spied a crumpled untidy mess of military equipment in the corner of the room, which drew him onto it immediately. He could see a US army belt with what looked like a brown wood baseball bat attached, as well as a set of handcuffs.
£9.99 -
Living in Interesting Times: Curse or Chance?
These are the memoirs and reflections on the most acute issues of the contemporary world by a boy from the Estonian countryside who, through accident and pure ambition, ended up as a professor at Moscow University and adviser to President Gorbachev on matters of international law. After a stint as head of Estonian diplomacy at crucial moments in the restoration of its independence, he later became a centennial professor at the LSE and chair of international law at King’s College London. This is not a traditional autobiography. Besides reflecting on issues he dealt with while advising Soviet leaders, such as Yakovlev in his speech on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact or the status of the Kuril Islands, and their repercussions in today’s world, the book analyses the roots of the crisis within liberal democracy, the upsurge of populism, the rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia as a great power. A Marco Polo fellow at Jiaotong University in China and recently awarded the highest Russian Order for foreigners – the Friendship Order by President Putin, Professor Müllerson, who lives in London, feels equally at home discussing the renewal of great-power competition, the problems of the European Union including Brexit, the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the negative impacts of political correctness both in the former USSR and today’s West. Having lived equal thirds of his life in three different worlds and worked in and visited many countries as a UN diplomat, he is a man who understands small country mentality, though being ‘spoilt’ by great-power mindset.
£10.99 -
Living With My Friend 'GAD'
Empower young readers with tools to navigate Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) through this enchanting tale. With captivating illustrations and relatable prose, we follow Poppy and her unique imaginary friend, GAD. As Poppy learns to cope with her anxiety, she’s aided by her loving parents, the wise Mr. Purple, and the enchanting Miss Sparkle. This story reassures children that they’re not alone in their struggles and introduces them to transformative strategies. With GAD as a potential superpower, the techniques shared by Miss Sparkle can be embraced by parents and caregivers to further support their child’s journey.
A portion of the proceeds of this book are donated to Young Minds to support their vision for change, and to ensure that no young person feels alone with their mental health. To find out more visit: www.youngminds.org.uk
£8.99 -
Lokemele's Quest
An emotional and deep journey in which Rosemary (Lokemele) introspectively fights with her personal demons.
Will the pain of betrayal, loss, temptation, and the forbidden fruits of love haunt her until her dying day?
Will a guilty secret be her ultimate downfall?
What role will Keoki play in her life?
And the mysterious, beautiful Ocean Tia - will she be Lokemele’s saviour, or will she add to her woes?
Will Lokemele find her quest for inner peace; or will serenity of her mind, heart, body, and soul forever remain elusive and out of her reach?
£14.99 -
Lola and Beau - The Lost Frisbee
Flying saucers, colourful planets, shining stars and erm... a playful game of hide and seek with aliens?
Not your usual day at the park! But one that Lola and her trusty pooch Beau won’t forget in a hurry!
An intergalactic adventure for all to enjoy.
£7.99 -
Lollypop Stew
Ella and Isaac were cooking up a brew that any cool kids would love, it’s true.
Until Ella screamed, ‘Oh no that’s not right,’ she got an awful fright.
With a dash of delicious, a sprinkle of fun, with a hint of mischief all rolled into one.
Who would have known working together could be so much fun?
When Ella takes her turn to stir the stew, watch what jumps out, it may be a rabbit, it may be a shoe, but you won’t know until you make this tasty brew!
£8.99 -
London's Firefighters
London's Firefighters is a wonderfully readable, lavishly illustrated
anthology of articles, fiction and verse about the London Fire Brigade,
most of it gathered from the Brigade's house magazines London Fireman
(1966-82) and London Firefighter (1982-2005).
The book's editor David C. Pike, himself a retired firefighter, has cleverly
selected material that delivers both a comprehensive history of the
London Fire Brigade and a fascinating portrait of individual firemen
and women, at work and (occasionally) at play. The book includes
vivid, occasionally harrowing articles on important events involving the
Brigade - the Sidney Street Siege of 1911, the London Blitz and the 1981
Brixton riots, to name just a few - as well as covering key figures within
the Brigade like James Braidwood and Massey Shaw. The more personal
sections provide a revealing insight into the bravery, commitment and
camaraderie of ordinary working firefighters and their families.
The numerous, often highly dramatic illustrations, many from the London
Fire Brigade's own collection, offer a lively commentary on the text.
All the profits from this book will go to the Fire Service charity,
Firemen Remembered.
David Pike was a London firefighter for more than 30 years, retiring at
senior rank in 1996. His first book, Beyond the Flames, was published by
Austin Macauley in 2013.
‘A fascinating peek into the world of the London Fire Brigade. A finalist
and highly recommended.'
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2014/15, on Beyond the Flames£19.99
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