The Borrower

The story of a family of miniature people who live in a quiet, out-of-the-way country house and who tried never to be seen by human beings.

In this delightful, funny, and moving first novel, a librarian and a young boy obsessed with reading take to the road. Lucy Hull, a young children's librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both a kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, ten- year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. The precocious Ian is addicted to reading, but needs Lucy's help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly antigay classes with celebrity Pastor Bob. Lucy stumbles into a moral dilemma when she finds Ian camped out in the library after hours with a knapsack of provisions and an escape plan. Desperate to save him from Pastor Bob and the Drakes, Lucy allows herself to be hijacked by Ian. The odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip from Missouri to Vermont, with ferrets, an inconvenient boyfriend, and upsetting family history thrown in their path. But is it just Ian who is running away? Who is the man who seems to be on their tail? And should Lucy be trying to save a boy from his own parents?

On the day they first meet in a city playground, Deborah Laidlaw lends Toby Ruben a book called Trolley Girl, the memoir of a forgotten trolley strike in the 1920s, written by the sister of a fiery Jewish revolutionary who played an important, ultimately tragic role in the events. Young mothers with babies, Toby and Deborah become instant friends. It is a relationship that will endure for decades—through the vagaries of marriage, career, and child-rearing, through heated discussions of politics, ethics, and life—until an insurmountable argument takes the two women down divergent paths. But in the aftermath of crisis and sorrow, it is a borrowed book, long set aside and forgotten, that will unite Toby and Deborah once again.

Escaping from an attic where they had been held captive over the long, dark winter, a family of tiny people sets up house in an old rectory. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

What the loans and defaults of a sixteenth-century Spanish king can tell us about sovereign debt today Why do lenders time and again loan money to sovereign borrowers who promptly go bankrupt? When can this type of lending work? As the United States and many European nations struggle with mountains of debt, historical precedents can offer valuable insights. Lending to the Borrower from Hell looks at one famous case—the debts and defaults of Philip II of Spain. Ruling over one of the largest and most powerful empires in history, King Philip defaulted four times. Yet he never lost access to capital markets and could borrow again within a year or two of each default. Exploring the shrewd reasoning of the lenders who continued to offer money, Mauricio Drelichman and Hans-Joachim Voth analyze the lessons from this important historical example. Using detailed new evidence collected from sixteenth-century archives, Drelichman and Voth examine the incentives and returns of lenders. They provide powerful evidence that in the right situations, lenders not only survive despite defaults—they thrive. Drelichman and Voth also demonstrate that debt markets cope well, despite massive fluctuations in expenditure and revenue, when lending functions like insurance. The authors unearth unique sixteenth-century loan contracts that offered highly effective risk sharing between the king and his lenders, with payment obligations reduced in bad times. A fascinating story of finance and empire, Lending to the Borrower from Hell offers an intelligent model for keeping economies safe in times of sovereign debt crises and defaults.

"After reading this book, look no further to help apply your knowledge and interpretation, and learn the actions you can take today...that may impact your wealth for the rest of your life." All the best, Barry Habib CEO, Mortgage Market Guide "Anyone considering buying or refinancing a home - or even anyone interested in expanding their learning base - will gain a great deal of value from this down-to-earth, super informative read." Sue Woodard Vice President, Mortgage Market Guide "This book is a great resource to help answer the must-know questions when acquiring a mortgage." Jim McMahan Division Vice President, CTX Mortgage Co. Do not READ THIS BOOK if you pass this test 1.Credit scores are important to getting a loan. It is important to pay off all outstanding collections prior to getting a mortgage. TRUE/FALSE (Answer on page 15) 2.Bankruptcies cannot be erased from a credit report for seven years. TRUE/FALSE (Answer on page 17) 3.Interest-only mortgages are dangerous. TRUE/FALSE (Answer on page 37) 4.The larger the loan, the higher the rate, because there is more money at risk. TRUE/FALSE (Answer on page 91) 5.The average interest rate was in the 4% range from 1790-1970. TRUE/FALSE (Answer on page 74) 6.Interest Rate is the most important factor when considering a mortgage. TRUE/FALSE (Answer on page 87)

Imprisoned in an attic by a greedy couple who want to use them as performers, the Borrowers escape by balloon.

The borrowers escape capture and find themselves in a dangerous field.