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In My Hands Today…

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Straight From the Donkey’s Mouth A Tail of a Greek Island, its People, their Politics – and their Donkeys! – Eleni Trataris Cotton

What is life like on a Greek island? Indigo and turquoise seas, white sands, wine, salads and cheese? Yes, and handsome dark-eyed waiters too! But why not delve deeper and discover the passions, feuds and exuberance of the islanders. Be ready to be charmed, captivated and maybe shocked!

Join Peter and Serena, an English couple, drowning in a quagmire of bureaucracy as they try to start a new life on the island and struggle to get a licence to open a business. Will they make it?

Meet Apollo (brown) and Hortensia (grey), two island donkeys owned by the sadistic Aristides whom Apollo has named Arsie . They see everything as they go with Arsie on his rounds, the effects of draconian government measures to raise money for the country’s debt, the rabid tax evasion, the manipulation of EU grants – everything. Unhindered by human logic their comments are pithy, straight on the mark, acidic even. But will Apollo be able to save himself and Hortensia, and Eleftheris, another farmer, from Arsie’s cruel plans?

Stay awhile with the warm, earthy inhabitants of Paradisaki island and join in the rollicking lifestyle, the fun, the laughter and the tears. Cheer them on in their struggle as they use all their wits to survive the political climate and never lose that determination to live, and live well, come what may.

In My Hands Today…

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Morality for Beautiful Girls – Alexander McCall Smith (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency #3)

Mma Ramotswe is engaged to “the excellent” Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, but faces a slowdown of business at the The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency that threatens its existence.

Mma Ramotswe investigates the alleged poisoning of the brother of an important government official, and the moral character of four beauty contestants.

When her business has money trouble, and problems arise at at her reliable fiance Mr J.L.B. Matekoni’s Speedy Motors, she finds he is more complicated then he seems. Forced to make difficult choices, Mma Ramotswe moves the business into the office of her fiancé’s garage and makes her assistant, Mma Grace Makutsi, its assistant manager. At just this time, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has been showing signs of lethargy and neglecting his business.

In My Hands Today…

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Tears of the Giraffe – Alexander McCall Smith (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency #2)

Mma Ramotswe is not impressed with Mr. J.L.B Matekoni’s maid, who has been sleeping in his bed with other men and not feeding him properly. The maid, sensing that the forthcoming marriage will involve her dismissal, attempts to plant a gun on Mma Ramotswe in order to have her jailed, but the maid’s plan is foiled and it is she who ends up behind bars.

Mma Ramotswe also investigates a butcher’s wife who is suspected of an affair, and discovers that the woman’s son has – unknown to her husband – been fathered by another man who is paying for his private education. The resolution of this case highlights differences between the methods and moralities of Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi. Mma Makutsi has expressed her yearning to do detective rather than administrative work, and Mma Ramotswe promotes her to assistant detective (although also retaining her secretarial role). The solution of the paternity case proves to be the first test of Mma Makutsi’s detective and diplomatic skills.

Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is maneuvered into offering a home to Motholeli and Puso, two orphaned children with a tragic past. He worries that this may affect his engagement to Mma Ramotswe, but she accepts the children. Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni both see potential in the children, particularly in the girl, Motholeli, who uses a wheelchair but displays a real aptitude for, and interest in, the work of the garage. A family unit begins to emerge.

In My Hands Today…

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Lion Heart – Justin Cartwright

Richard Cathar recalls his recently deceased father, Alaric, as a delusional hippie, one who fancied himself an intellectual and a historian. One of many far-fetched claims was that he had discovered—and then lost—documentation of a meeting between his hero, Richard the Lionheart, and Robin Hood after the Third Crusade.

In a quest to sort out the fact and fiction of his father’s life, Richard (named for the legendary king) leaves London and travels to Jerusalem, where he falls in love with the mysterious Noor, a journalist who herself has many secrets. Back in England, he continues his research, finding his own evidence that Richard the Lionheart recovered the True Cross from Saladin. Again he sets out, this time on the trail of the True Cross, which leads him through the Middle East and Europe—and to the powerful sense that myth and history may be inseparable.

In My Hands Today…

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And The Mountains Echoed – Khaled Hosseini

In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most.

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.