Friends In Small Places

This collection brings together the best of Ruskin Bond's cameos, all beautifully imagined and crafted, inspired by people who have left a lasting impression on him. In addition, there are a host of characters culled from Bond's numerous short stories. Taken together, they constitute a magnificent evocation of the small-town India by one of the country's best storytellers.

The Muslim world is clamoring for democracy in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere. The Christian world is clamoring for moderate Muslims to denounce the actions of the fundamentalists. Through the message communicated in Friends in Low Places, Dr. Ibrahim seeks to bridge the gap between people with competing beliefs. The journey started in the Bronx where Dr. Ibrahim opened an HIV clinic, and where mere survival causes the rubber of ones belief to meet the road of a harsh life. The greatest human accomplishment is that of a reconciled relationship through the gift of love. But God's unconditional love creates the most sublime relationship because it lasts forever and is never wanting, nor can it be lost. Dr. Habib Ibrahims clinic is a dangerous place but it is also a loving place where the grace of God shines. After having had a dream in which Jesus motioned with his hands saying, Bring them to me and I will heal them, Dr. Ibrahim had a new passion to bring Gods love and healing to the Bronx. Dr. Ibrahim and his wife became partners in a clinic where Jesus Christ serves as The Master Physician. Narrating the spiritual journey during the last fifteen years of Ibrahims life, Friends in Low Places provides a humorous and sometimes poignant look at how Ibrahim seeks to fashion a human spirit that reflects the Holy Spirit of God. Only God loves us perfectly, and as we thirst for Him, He thirsts for us, as told by an old Sufi Muslim saying: Oh, you who are thirsty for the tea do not realize that the tea is also thirsty for you. From age thirty-five to fifty, this memoir offers an eclectic representation of what Ibrahim has learned. It includes quips from his Bronx patients, which are often colored with deep meaning, and testimonies of life told through poems, essays, his Bronx patients lives, and the lives of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish friends. This book contains the account of three Muslims, one gangster, one crack addict, and one Orthodox Jew, all whom found the love of Jesus. There is even a story of a soldier from Afghanistan who drove a tank during the Russian occupation, this man was overwhelmed by the words spoken by Jesus, encouraging us to 'love our enemies.' We Americans are the next superpower in Afghanistan, but I wonder what weapon Jesus would use to win the hearts of the citizens there. Would he use a tomahawk missile, a drone plane, or would He use his old standard weapon, the wooden cross? Dr. Ibrahim says, "I was once a Muslim from Pakistan, but after 9/11, I am also a Christian from Manhattan Island. I pray that God will invert the original purpose of this satanic terrorist attack, and as such, God will bring more people to become seekers of His love. When times are good, we Americans think that our success is because of our own wisdom and might. Persecution from fundamentalist Muslims reminds us that we are still vulnerable and need to turn to God for protection and answers. Furthermore, we need to pray for those who persecute us, just as Jesus prayed for his tormentors when He was on the cross. Despite 9/11, if we are motivated to pray and practice fasting, Americans can regain their spiritual center of gravity, and many more Muslims can encounter the precious love of Jesus Christ."----Chapter 8, East meets West.

This book, written from the perspective of general practice, examines this assumption and shows that it is based on a series of illusions and misunderstandings.

Description Since he was a young boy, Ruskin Bond has made friends easily. And his most rewarding friendships have often been with animals, birds and plants-big and small; outgoing and shy. This collection focuses on these companions and brings together some of Bond's finest nature stories and essays, both classic and new. There are leopards and tigers; bulbuls and owls; bears in the mountains and elephants on a ship; wise old forest oaks and geraniums on balconies; a talking parrot and a tomcat called Suzie-and many more 'wild' and wonderful friends. Beautifully illustrated, this is a lovely gem of a book.

“By far the best” in the New York Times–bestselling, Macallan Silver Dagger–winning series featuring Venetian detective Commissario Brunetti (Evening Standard). In this vivid and atmospheric mystery, Commissario Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the construction of Brunetti’s apartment years before. What began as a red tape headache ends in murder when the bureaucrat is later found dead after a mysterious fall from a scaffold. Brunetti starts an investigation that will take him into the unfamiliar and dangerous areas of drug abuse and loan-sharking, and will reveal, once again, what a difference it makes in Venice to have friends in high places. “Beautifully written and immaculately plotted, Friends in High Places is further proof still that Leon can do no wrong.” —Scotsman “Carefully plotted and full of colorful as well as sinister characters, this is crime writing of the highest order: powerful, relevant and all too full of human failings.” —The Guardian “Leon tells the story as if she loves Venice as much as her detective does, warts and all. The plot and subplots unfold elegantly; beauty and the beast march hand in hand, and the result is rich entertainment.” —The Sunday Times (London) “Leon’s best so far . . . I don’t think I could really understand a crime fan who didn’t love Donna Leon.” —Scotland on Sunday “Leon is a skillful plotter . . . Brunetti is a nicely shaded creation, a moral man who is also all too human. Friends in High Places is a splendid read, clever and provoking.” —Observer (UK)

Do you feel stuck in life, not knowing how to make it more successful? Do you wish to become more popular? Are you craving to earn more? Do you wish to expand your horizon, earn new clients and win people over with your ideas? How to Win Friends and Influence People is a well-researched and comprehensive guide that will help you through these everyday problems and make success look easier. You can learn to expand your social circle, polish your skill set, find ways to put forward your thoughts more clearly, and build mental strength to counter all hurdles that you may come across on the path to success. Having helped millions of readers from the world over achieve their goals, the clearly listed techniques and principles will be the answers to all your questions.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.

New York Times bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic. After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think—she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man," a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price. Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN. Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. As the trio head out into the woods—bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them—the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: "Avoid large places. Keep to small." And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.