The Truth About Luck

Selected for The Globe 100 Books in 2013. In The Truth about Luck, Iain Reid, author of the highly popular coming-of-age memoir One Bird's Choice, accompanies his grandmother on a five-day vacation — which turns out to be a "staycation" at his apartment in Kingston. While the twenty-eight-year-old writer is at the beginning of his adult life, his ninety-two-year-old grandmother is nearing the end of hers. Between escorting his grandma to local attractions and restaurants, the two exchange memories and she begins to reveal details of her inspiring life story. Told with subtlety, humour, and heart, this delightful comic memoir reflects on family connections; how we experience adversity, the passage of time, and aging; and most importantly what it truly means to feel lucky.

In "The Truth about Luck," Iain Reid, author of the highly popular coming - of - age memoir "One Bird's Choice," accompanies his grandmother on a five - day vacation - which turns out to be a ''staycation'' at his basement apartment in Kingston. While the twenty - eight - year - old writer is at the beginning of his adult life, his ninety - two - year - old grandmother is nearing the end of hers. Between escorting his grandma to local attractions and restaurants, the two exchange memories and she begins to reveal details of her inspiring life story. Told with subtlety, humour, and heart, this delightful comic memoir reflects on family connections; how we experience adversity, the passage of time, and aging; and most importantly what it truly means to feel lucky.

The acclaimed director of such films as Brideshead Revisited shares the story of his youth and career, providing coverage of such topics as his childhood as the son of star Geraldine Fitzgerald, his relationships with Hollywood elite and the allegations that Orson Welles was his real father.

THE NEXT BOOK IN THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING JACK REACHER SERIES THAT INSPIRED THE SECOND SEASON OF THE HIT STREAMING SERIES REACHER “Electrifying . . . this series [is] utterly addictive.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times From a helicopter high above the California desert, a man is sent free-falling into the night. On the streets of Portland, Jack Reacher is pulled out of his wandering life and plunged into the heart of a conspiracy that is killing old friends . . . and the people he once trusted with his life. Reacher is the ultimate loner—no phone, no ties, no address. But a woman from his old military unit has found him using a signal only the eight members of their elite team would know. Then she tells him a terrifying story about the brutal death of a man they both served with. Soon Reacher is reuniting with the survivors of his team, scrambling to unravel the sudden disappearance of two other comrades. But Reacher won’t give up—because in a world of bad luck and trouble, when someone targets Jack Reacher and his team, they’d better be ready for what comes right back at them.

The author, accepting a part-time job near his childhood home, describes his experiences after he moves back home to live with his parents.

REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK A thrilling roller-coaster ride about a heist gone terribly wrong, with a plucky protagonist who will win readers’ hearts. What if you had the winning ticket that would change your life forever, but you couldn’t cash it in? Lucky Armstrong is a tough, talented grifter who has just pulled off a million-dollar heist with her boyfriend, Cary. She’s ready to start a brand-new life, with a new identity—when things go sideways. Lucky finds herself alone for the first time, navigating the world without the help of either her father or her boyfriend, the two figures from whom she’s learned the art of the scam. When she discovers that a lottery ticket she bought on a whim is worth millions, her elation is tempered by one big problem: cashing in the winning ticket means she’ll be arrested for her crimes. She’ll go to prison, with no chance to redeem her fortune. As Lucky tries to avoid capture and make a future for herself, she must confront her past by reconciling with her father; finding her mother, who abandoned her when she was just a baby; and coming to terms with the man she thought she loved—whose dark past is catching up with her, too. This is a novel about truth, personal redemption, and the complexity of being good. It introduces a singularly gifted, multilayered character who must learn what it means to be independent and honest...before her luck runs out.

Being a double merlin sucks. You’d think having power, having people treat you with respect, an insanely awesome inheritance waiting for me, and knowing you could do really awesome(awful) things would be cool. It isn’t. I’ve got strings you wouldn’t believe attached to the inheritance. Then it turns out other people want it, so instead of suing me, I mean that would be logical, right? No, they are trying to kill me. And I don’t mean a single person, a freaking country! How insane is that? Well screw them. I’m getting my degree, and getting the inheritance. Okay the house. I really want the house. But when Jo gets hurt and my familiar decides to start calling in favors, then things get even more twisted. With my luck we might all end up insane, or dead before this is over. But I refuse to give in. This is my life, and who knows, maybe I’ll survive. But with my luck, you never know what might happen. A found family, non-romantic urban fantasy with a smattering of magical beasties.

The great biologist Louis Pasteur suppressed "awkward" data because it didn't support the case he was making. Joseph Lister's famously clean hospital wards were actually notoriously dirty. And Einstein's theory of general relativity was only "confirmed" in 1919 because an eminent British scientist massaged his figures. Drawing on the latest scholarship, John Waller shows that many of our greatest heroes of science were less than honest about their experimental data, and not above using friends in high places to help get their ideas accepted. He reveals how sheer effrontery and self-promotion propelled certain scientists to the fore, obscuring the vital contributions of others and the intrinsic merit of the ideas they overturned. Einstein's Luck is an enthralling and entertaining book, which resurrects the complex personalities, bitter rivalries, and intense human dramas that enliven and illuminate the history of science. Book jacket.