NBS recommends great Easter reads
Lost Dogs And Lonely Hearts
By Lucy Dillon
P349
MANILA, Philippines - When the abandoned strays from a local dogs’ home are matched with brand new owners, it turns out it might not just be the dogs who need rescuing. Rachel’s aunt has left her a house, a Border Collie and, despite knowing nothing about dogs, crowded kennels. But since her life has collapsed she’s not sure she can deal with any more lost souls. Zoe’s ex-husband has given their children a puppy. The kids are in love, but she’s the one stuck training Toffee, the impossible Labrador. She’s nearly at the end of her tether — until Toffee leads her to a handsome doctor. Meanwhile Natalie and Johnny’s marriage hasn’t been easy since they started trying for a baby. But is a fridge-raiding, sofa-stealing Basset hound like Bertie really the child substitute they’re looking for? As the new owners’ paths cross on the town’s dog-walking circuits, their lives become interwoven. And they — and their dogs — learn some important lessons about loyalty, companionship and unconditional love.
Called Out Of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession
By Anne Rice
P629
Anne Rice was raised in New Orleans as a devout child in a deeply religious Irish Catholic family. Here, she describes how, as she grew up, she lost her belief in God, but not her desire for a meaningful life. She used her novels—beginning with Interview with a Vampire — to wrestle with otherworldly themes while in her own life, she experienced both loss (the death of her daughter and, later, her beloved husband, Stan Rice) and joys (the birth of her son, Christopher). She writes about how, finally, after years of questioning, she experienced the intense conversion and re-embracing of her faith that lie behind her most recent novels about the life of Christ.
A Lion Called Christian: The True Story Of The Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends And A Lion
By Anthony Bourke & John Rendall
P545
This book tells the remarkable story of how Anthony “Ace” Bourke and John Rendall, visitors to London from Australia in 1969, bought the boisterous lion cub in the pet department of Harrods. For several months, the three of them shared a flat above a furniture shop on London’s King’s Road, where the charismatic and intelligent Christian quickly became a local celebrity, cruising the streets in the back of a Bentley, popping in for lunch at a local restaurant, even posing for a fashion advertisement. But the lion cub was growing up — fast — and soon even the walled church garden where he went for exercise wasn’t large enough for him. How could Ace and John avoid having to send Christian to a zoo for the rest of his life? A coincidental meeting with English actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, stars of the hit film Born Free, led to Christian being flown to Kenya and placed under the expert care of “the father of lions” George Adamson. Incredibly, when Ace and John returned to Kenya to see Christian a year later, they received a loving welcome from their lion, who was by then fully integrated into Africa and a life with other lions.
The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary
By Jeff Kinney
P629
Go behind the scenes with Jeff Kinney and the making of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie!
If you’ve ever wondered how a movie gets made, you’re not alone. Author and illustrator Jeff Kinney didn’t know either, but when his bestselling series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was turned into a live-action movie by 20th Century Fox, he learned how a book gets adapted into a major motion picture.
Complete with photographs, script pages, storyboard sketches, costume designs, and original art by Jeff Kinney, The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary is the perfect companion to the bestselling series.
The Fallen 1: The Fallen And Leviathan
By Thomas E. Sniegoski
P359
On his 18th birthday, Aaron begins to hear strange voices and is convinced he is going insane. But having moved from foster home to foster home, Aaron doesn’t know who he can trust. He wants to confide in the cute girl from class, but fears she’ll confirm he’s crazy.
Then a mysterious man begins following Aaron. He knows about Aaron’s troubled past and his new powers. And he has a message for Aaron: As the son of a mortal and an angel, Aaron has been chosen to redeem the Fallen.
Aaron tries to dismiss the news and resists his supernatural abilities. But he must accept his newfound heritage — and quickly. For the dark powers are gaining strength, and are hell-bent on destroying him.
