Take A Girl Like Me

Once there was a girl, pretty and smart and sexy. By her mid-twenties, she'd acquired two husbands and two children, and life wasn't going to plan... Then she met a man. Outrageous, brilliant, impossible, charismatic and kind, he was irresistible. Sex, drugs and jazz were a heady combination for the girl from Essex. Suddenly it was the swinging sixties and she was juggling babies with one hand and popping pills with the other. When George Melly wasn't in jazz clubs, he was fishing - and not just for fish. Brutally honest, hilariously candid, Diana Melly tells the extraordinary story of a turbulent marriage, of the uncharted trajectory of a woman's life from the fifties to the new century - by way of a glitteringly seductive crowd that includes Bruce Chatwin, Jean Rhys, Sonia Orwell, Kenneth Tynan, Jonathan Miller and a host of other luminaries. Written with a unique and clear-eyed self-effacement, here is an addictive, exceptional memoir, glowing with life and love, that breaks your heart, but makes you glad to be alive.

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! "[A] rallying cry for girls to reject limitations others might place on them and their dreams."—starred,The Horn Book Magazine "Once I dreamed I swam / the ocean / and saw everything deep, cool / and was part of the waves. / I swam on by the people / onshore / hollering, / 'A girl like you needs to / stay out of the water / and be dry / like everyone else.'" Empower young readers to embrace their individuality, reject societal limitations, and follow their dreams. This inspiring picture book brings together a poem by acclaimed author Angela Johnson and Nina Crews's distinctive photocollage illustrations to celebrate girls of color.

Take a Girl Like You may well be Kingsley Amis’s most ambitious reckoning with the serious subject at the heart of his work: the sheer squalor—emotional, material, sexual, you name it—of modern life. It also introduces one of the rare unqualified good guys in Amis’s rogue-ridden world: Jenny Bunn, a girl from the (English) north country come south to teach school in a small smug town where she hopes to find love and fortune. Jenny is a beauty and men and women are crazy about her, most of all handsome Patrick Standish, who Jenny also likes. But Jenny and Patrick live in a world where it’s becoming ridiculously difficult—disastrously difficult—to sort out the claims of sex and the claims of love.

Fascinating and disturbing.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Small Great Things and Leaving Time A timeless exploration of high-stakes romance, self-discovery, and the lengths we go to love and be loved. Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a risk taker. She’s also the kind of girl that parents warn their kids to stay away from: a troublemaker whose many romances are the subject of endless gossip at school. You don't want to get involved with a girl like that, they say. So how is it that eighteen-year-old Porus Dumasia has only ever had eyes for her? And how did Zarin and Porus end up dead in a car together, crashed on the side of a highway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? When the religious police arrive on the scene, everything everyone thought they knew about Zarin is questioned. And as her story is pieced together, told through multiple perspectives, it becomes clear that she was far more than just a girl like that. This beautifully written debut novel from Tanaz Bhathena reveals a rich and wonderful new world to readers; tackles complicated issues of race, identity, class, and religion; and paints a portrait of teenage ambition, angst, and alienation that feels both inventive and universal.

Find Out More About: A Girl Like Me Here Recently Transplanted From The Quiet, Green Suburbs Of Minnesota To The Bustling Concrete Jungle That Is Gurgaon, Sixteen-Year-Old Anisha Rai Is Determined Not To Take To The New Place She Must Call Home. While Her Irrepressible Mom, Isha, Thrives On The Crazy Juggling Between A Hotshot Job And Their New Home, Annie&Mdash;Desperately Clutching On To Memories Of Her Father Whom She Lost Three Years Ago&Mdash;Plods Through Each Day With As Little Enthusiasm As She Can. But It&Rsquo;S Not Going To Work, Is It? Not When She&Rsquo;S Discovered That Her Goofy Childhood Friend Keds Has Transformed Into Quite A Dude And Still Remembers Their First Kiss; That She&Rsquo;S Been Severely Infected By Her Quirky Classmates&Rsquo; Zest For Everything Fun Despite Utmost Resistance; That The H-O-T-T College-Going Theatre Enthusiast Kunal Wants To Teach Her A Lot More Than Drama . . . And When Her Deceptively Unassuming Neighbours Reveal Hidden Agendas, Annie&Rsquo;S Life Suddenly Becomes Hotter To Handle Than She Could Ever Have Imagined. Deftly Weaving Through Home And School And The Secret Places In Annie&Rsquo;S World, A Girl Like Me Is An Unforgettable Story, Crackling At Every Turn With The Heartbreak And Promise&Mdash;And The Breathless Exuberance&Mdash;Of Teenage Life. &Lsquo;Read The Opening Chapter Of A Girl Like Me Below&Rsquo; New Delhi. It Has Changed Since I Saw It Last, It Has Thickened, Blackened, Erupted Like A Pollinating Pod. The Straight, Sparse Lines That Used To Make Up The Contours In The Distance Are Gone. They Are Shattered Into Fragments, Twisted Into Flyovers, Contorted Into High-Rises, Billboards, Pounding Masses Of People. The Buildings Are Taller And Leaner, The Slums Have Gained Weight, The Colours Are Vivid Whirls And Splatters, Grimier And Shinier All At Once. It Comes At Me With A New Snarl And An Old Odour, This Old New City, It Pelts Me With Its Heat, It Lashes Across My Face; It Makes Me Dizzy. I Close My Eyes Against The Burning Yellows And Blinding Reds Outside My Taxi Window, Settle Back Against The Burning Vinyl Seat. My Mind Pulls Up The Soothing Greys And Whites Of The Winter Backyard. It Used To Be Bald, The Winter Backyard. A Birch, A Pine, A Few Skinny Ashes; A Single Dutch Elm That Spread Its Filigreed Wings Over The Peeling Deck, The Sunlight Shards Of Silver Pierced Through Its Bony Branches. When The Breeze Blew You Saw Stars Dance. And On The Ground, The Endless Snow. It Covered Everything; It Looked Soft And Fluffy As A Comforter Filled With Down, Like You Could Lie Right Down And Pull It Over Yourself And Disappear Underneath Its Soft White Folds And Dream Soft White Dreams. And All Around The Shrunken Skeletons Of Bushes That Promised To Keep A Quiet Vigil; The Icicles Hanging From Their Arms That Promised To Keep The Soft White Cold Pinned Down Around You. It Had Been Quiet, The Backyard In Winter. So Quiet That If You Looked Straight Up You Could Hear The Sounds Of The Universe. The Explosions On Jupiter And The Storms On Saturn And The Thin Slivers Of Mythical Ice That You Imagined Froze Ever Harder On Mars. You Could Hear The Crash Of Meteors And The Flares On The Sun And The Birthing Pains Of Planets In Galaxies Far, Far Away. Time Was A Tease On The Backyard In Winter. At Night, If You Were Alone, It Would Run Amok. You&Rsquo;D Be Staring Out At The Quiet Nothingness And Suddenly, Like A Drunken Diva, It Would Step Right Out Of Its Clothes And Go Skinny-Dipping In The Cold Night Air. It Would Fling Out Its Arms And Turn Cartwheels On The Snow, It Would Dance Backwards And Forwards And Round And Round And Take You Spinning Along With It. And Then, Just As Suddenly, It Would Spit You Out And Leave You Cold. Oh, The Backyard Had Been Cold. So Cold. A Sweet Chill Descended From The North Pole Every Winter And Froze In Ice Every Ache, Every Lingering Pain. Frosty-Faced, Fur-Hooded, Shovelling And Salting Your Driveway You Didn&Rsquo;T Notice For A While&Mdash;Not Till The Mountains Of Snow Ran Runny, Not Till The New Squirrels And Goslings And Chipmunks Took Over The Yard, The Loons The Lake&Mdash;That Some Essential Part Of You Was Missing. That Spring Paw Prints Could Spring Tears In Your Eyes. I Open My Eyes Against The Smart Of Fresh Ones. Before Me Is The Frayed Collar Of The Taxi Driver. It Is Crumpled, Sagging, Ringed With Sweat. Above It A Brown Neck Rises Dark And Lined, Like The Solid Trunk Of A Sturdy Tree. Like Dad&Rsquo;S Used To Be. He&Rsquo;D Been Tone Deaf And Loud-Voiced And Prone To Singing, My Dad. His Was The First Voice I Heard When I Woke Up Every Morning. Good Morning, Ani-Bunny . . . Annie, Dad! My Name&Rsquo;S Annie! Funny Ani, How You Kill Me, Aha, Sunny Ani! He&Rsquo;D Sing It To The Abba Song, Butchering Both Lyrics And Melody. I&Rsquo;D Launch My Pillow At Him. He&Rsquo;D Laugh. His Eyebrows&Mdash;So Thick I Could Have Braided Them&Mdash;Would Dance. His Cheeks, Freshly Shaved And Still Stubbly, Would Stretch Wide; His Enormous Elastic Nose Even Wider . . . Ani, Honey! He Used To Swing Me Around On His Wide Back Even When I Wasn&Rsquo;T So Small Any More. Rock-A-Bye-Ani . . .Daddy! Stop! On The Treetop . . . Daa-Ddy!!! We Stopped Missing Him Last Halloween, Ma And I. It Had Been A Whole Year. Ma Dressed Up As An Oompa Loompa In A Leafy Body Suit With A Sack Of Cacao Beans And Went To Her Office Party And Promised To Come Back Drunk. I Gelled My Hair Green And Attached A Ring To My Brow And Went Trick-Or-Treating With Jessica And Jaime. It Was A Hoot. Jessica Drove With The Top Down On The Mustang, Her Witch Hat Awry. Midway Through, It Started To Snow. It Fell In Our Hair And Our Faces And Our Eyes And We Stopped At The Edge Of The Lake To Catch Our Breath And Watched The Chill Rise In Smoky Wisps From Our Lips. We Made Breath Rings In The Frosty Night And Jaime Played With Her Orange Hair And Described The Many Ways In Which Brad Anderson Was A Jerk. There Were Millions. And Then Jessica Spotted A Deer. It Was At The Far Side Of The Lake, Slatted Between The Trees. Its Neck Froze The Instant It Saw Us. For A Moment Its Eyes Flashed Bright In Its Face, Like Embers In Gold. We Stared At It And Held Our Breath. And Then It Ran Away. Oh, It Was A Good, Hard Winter Last Year; The Kind Where The Mercury Drops To Twenty-Two Below And The Hairs In Your Nostrils Stick Together And Everyone Walks Around With A Furry Nordic Halo And It&Rsquo;S Okay If You Never Smile. There Had Been Such Comfort In That Bitter Cold. Everything Had Been, For A Short While, Bearable. And Then In April The Snow Melted And The Layers Came Off. I Missed Him. I Missed His Hands. There Was A Pair Of Hands At The Grocery Store&Mdash;Dark, Broad, Square, With Dried Raisins For Knuckles&Mdash;The New Pakistani Gentleman At The Counter Ringing Up Our Purchases. There Were Dark Whiskers Of Hair On The Backs Of His Fingers, Wiry And Tough And Bristling; Those Hands Came Home With Me Stuck Like Splinters In My Skin. I Looked In The Mirror And Saw Thick Brows, Dad&Rsquo;S Brows, Wide, Knotted, Ropy. I Went At Them With Ma&Rsquo;S Tweezers Till They Were Shreds Of Shoelace Ringed In Smarting Flesh, Above Stinging Eyes. They&Rsquo;D Been So Dark, His Eyes. Black And Shiny, Patent Leather. They Looked At You With A Fierce Love, You Saw Yourself Shine In Them. Even Through The Glasses; When He Had His Glasses. I&Rsquo;D Found Them In The Freezer Once, Stuck To The Frozen Enchiladas. He Loved Those Soggy Enchiladas. He&Rsquo;D Left Them Too Long In The Microwave One Summer And A Wormlike Squiggle Of Sauce Had Squirted On To His Forearm Right Above The Thin Strip Of Pale Skin That Lived Under Hi

"I am so grateful for the ability to step beyond my old limits to experience and participate in my own life." Who is the least likely person to reach for her dreams, to step over the baggage that the family disease of alcoholism can create? Who is the least likely person to rise above the loneliness, isolation, and fear of her own shadow? A Girl like Me ...that's who. Simply Sue starts out with a compelling story of struggle, strength, and courage as her faith grows and blossoms in her spirit, awakening her ability to walk through fear after fear to be a part of her dreams coming true, drawing others in to share with light and love of God. Sometimes you have to step out in order to step in--trust in God and tie your camel to a tree. So grab a cup of tea and your favorite afghan and curl up with A Girl like Me. Simply Sue will take you through a bit of her life from there to here and share stories that will make you laugh and cry or nod your head. Come along and experience the transformation first-hand and be inspired to become willing to be all you are meant to be! "Remember, faith does not take away our humanness; it restores our ability to remember who we are." - Simply Sue

One of the New York Post's Top 10 Career Books of 2012 and a Booklist Top 10 Business Book DO YOU WORK WITH A MEAN GIRL? A woman’s field guide to the new frontier of professional development—working with other women Women-to-women relationships in the workplace are . . . complicated. When they’re good, they’re great. But when they’re bad, they can ruin your day, your week—even your year. Packed with proven advice from two of today’s leading experts in workplace relationships, this one-of-a-kind guide gives women the tools they need to navigate difficult situations unique to women-to-women relationships—whether with a boss, a colleague, a client, or an employee. Have you dealt with a woman in the workplace who: “Accidentally” excludes you from important meetings? Seems intent on taking you down professionally? Gossips about you with other coworkers? Makes you look bad by missing deadlines? Forms a “pack” of mean girls to make your life miserable? Mean Girls at Work isn’t just about surviving difficult situations. It’s about transforming a toxic relationship into one that benefits and supports both of you. This book is also for women who engage in mean behavior . . . but don’t know it. After all, who hasn’t gossiped about a female coworker? Who hasn’t rolled her eyes in the presence of a woman she doesn’t like? Who hasn’t scanned another woman head to toe—which is just a nonverbal way of saying, “You’ve just been judged”? The authors provide invaluable advice to the more subtle ways of being mean—even if they’re not intended. With a workforce composed of a higher percentage of women than ever, workplace dynamics have changed. Crowley and Elster cover every conceivable scenario, providing critical advice on how to rise above the fray and move forward professionally. Mean Girls at Work is your map to dodging the mines and moving forward in today’s transformed workplace. Praise for Mean Girls at Work “An invaluable suit of armor for surviving nine to five!” —Leil Lowndes, bestselling author of How to Talk to Anyone “If you think the emotional cruelty of comedies like Mean Girls and Heathers doesn’t exist in the real world workplace, think again. In Mean Girls at Work, Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster valuably chronicle female vs. female predators and offer solid defensive strategies.” —Ann Kreamer, author of It’s Always Personal: Navigating Emotion in the New Workplace “Whether you are in your twenties and just starting your professional career, your midcareer forties, when you are supposed to have figured it out already, or a woman in her fifties or sixties who’s seen it all—this book is a must-read. . . . The authors have finally given women the tools and the sound advice necessary to deal with . . . conflicts that keep us all from succeeding. . . . Carry this book with you to work every day!” —Carolyn Cassin, President, Michigan Women’s Foundation “A must-read for women of all ages in today’s workforce. This book offers what we all need to develop the capacities to endure this ever-changing workplace. We know it is all about relationships and you need the skills outlined in this book to survive and thrive when the Mean Girls attack.” —Kim Harrington, Coordinator, Professional Development and Training, Office of Human Resources, California State University, Sacramento

Once there was a girl, pretty and smart and sexy. By her mid-twenties, she'd acquired two husbands and two children, and life wasn't going to plan... Then she met a man. Outrageous, brilliant, impossible, charismatic and kind, he was irresistible. Sex, drugs and jazz were a heady combination for the girl from Essex. Suddenly it was the swinging sixties and she was juggling babies with one hand and popping pills with the other. When George Melly wasn't in jazz clubs, he was fishing - and not just for fish. Brutally honest, hilariously candid, Diana Melly tells the extraordinary story of a turbulent marriage, of the uncharted trajectory of a woman's life from the fifties to the new century - by way of a glitteringly seductive crowd that includes Bruce Chatwin, Jean Rhys, Sonia Orwell, Kenneth Tynan, Jonathan Miller and a host of other luminaries. Written with a unique and clear-eyed self-effacement, here is an addictive, exceptional memoir, glowing with life and love, that breaks your heart, but makes you glad to be alive.