Once a year the city comes to a standstill. Books about love that make your heart skip a beat. Losing weight is a very difficult task

What will you do if you lose a loved one? Is life worth living after this?
Now Lou Clark is not just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. Six months spent with Will Traynor changed her forever. Unforeseen circumstances force Lou to return home to her family, and she inevitably feels that she will have to start all over again.

The bodily wounds are healed, but the soul suffers and seeks healing! And this healing is given to her by members of the psychological support group, offering to share with them joys, sorrows and terribly tasteless cookies. Thanks to them, she meets Sam Fielding, an emergency doctor, a strong man who knows everything about life and death. Sam is the only one who can understand Lou Clark. But will Lou be able to find the strength to love again?..

Beginning of the twentieth century. The island of Castellammare is lost in the Mediterranean Sea, it is a godforsaken corner where it is so easy to find refuge from unrest big world. In the center of the island, at the very top, there is an old house, once there was a bar “House on the Edge of the Night”, where all the island news, gossip and rumors flocked.

But this house has been abandoned for many years. But one day a stranger appears on the island - a doctor, and from that moment "The House on the Edge of Night" begins new story. On a quiet Mediterranean night, when the stars are shining in the sky and the air is filled with the smell of basil and thyme, the population of the island will increase: the local count and the visiting doctor are waiting for their heirs. The story of Dr. Amedeo's family will be turbulent, full of secrets, trials, sacrifices and love. "The House at the Edge of Night" is an enchanting saga about four generations who live and love on forgotten island off the coast of Italy. The novel combines ironic romance, magical realism, fairy tales and facts, a lifelong love story and the history of the twentieth century. One of the main characters of the book is the island of Castellammare itself, whose rocks melt amazing legends.

Kylie and Ryan love each other with that pure and calm love that many can only envy. But one day, while leaving the restaurant, Kylie notices a homeless man. With horror, she recognizes him as Cade, a once successful producer whom she loved very much until he left her without deigning to explain himself. Is it really him? Cade's friend, James, denies such a possibility, and Kylie's fiancé is becoming more and more worried every day - she is too carried away by her strange fantasies...

What should a woman do who is in love with her boss and at the same time has a close friendship with his wife? Moreover, David himself, Louise’s boss, is in love with her. Her heart tells her that she needs to cut the Gordian knot and make a sharp break with both. Louise is already ready to make a difficult decision for her, when it suddenly turns out that the seemingly exemplary marriage of a beautiful friend and her ideal male boss is in fact far from cloudless. And the more details emerge, the more frightening the picture emerges, and the tangled love story turns into a crime drama, the ending of which is unpredictable.

Katie is a woman who suffered for many years from her husband's cruelty.
The police could not help her - after all, it was there that the man who turned her life into hell served...
And then one day Katie’s patience ran out. Having lost hope of salvation, she made a desperate escape - and found “ a safe haven"in a small, calm southern town. But is Katie ready for a new relationship? Is she able to trust a man again, understand him and love him? Even if we are talking about such a charming person as the young widower Alex Whitley, who sees in Katie not only a lover and friend, but also a mother for his children. Alex and Katie walk along thin ice unknown - and meanwhile Katie’s husband has already begun searching for her...

After ten years of absence, Vivienne Walker returns to the city of her childhood from sunny California and settles in a cozy manor by the river. She has a painful breakup with her husband behind her, and she hopes that her native place will help her survive the loss. But the first days bring only disappointment - the house is empty, her grandmother has died, everything around has completely changed, and even the old cypress tree, in the shade of which Vivienne “listened to the song of the swamps” in her youth, was destroyed by a merciless tornado.

A natural disaster brings Vivienne to memories of another incident - in 1929, her great-grandmother, a watchmaker's wife, disappeared during the Great Flood. This story is shrouded in mystery, and Vivien decides to do a little investigation to have fun. But as soon as she took a careless step, the mystery took a very unusual turn...

In the garden behind a high wall stands the Waverley family home. Among other wonderful plants in this garden there is an apple tree, which produces very special apples - they are believed to help predict the future. And all Waverley women can be called very special. They have unusual talents. Claire can use any flower or any herb growing in her garden to make a finger-licking dish. Old Aunt Evanel gives people unexpected gifts, the meaning of which is revealed much later. But it’s still unclear what talent Sydney, Claire’s younger sister, can boast of. She has just returned home after a long absence, back to where she hopes to find peace of mind. But the shadows of the past trail behind her, reminding her of what she was running away from without looking back...

The plot of this book is based on real events that occurred in Venice in 1576, five years after the crushing defeat Ottoman Empire V naval battle at Lepanto.
Under the cover of darkness, a ship with a deadly cargo on board sneaks up on Venice. A man with barely a glimmer of life gets off the ship and heads towards St. Mark's Square. He brings the “gift” of Constantinople to the people of Venice. A few days later, the entire city is engulfed in plague - and the Turkish Sultan enjoys his revenge.

On the same ship sailed a fugitive - the beautiful Feyre, the harem doctor, who had escaped from the Sultan, who wanted to make her a concubine. Only thanks to her resourcefulness and medical knowledge does she manage to survive in Venice, where the plague is raging.

In desperation, the Doge of Venice commissions his best architect, Andrea Palladio, to build the greatest church the world has ever seen, an offering to God so beautiful that it will help save the city. Palladio's life is also in danger, and it will take all the skill of Annibal Kason, the best plague doctor in the city, to protect him from the infection.

But Annibal did not foresee one thing - a meeting with Feyre, who found herself under the protection of Palladio, a meeting with a woman - not only equal to him in intelligence, but also capable of teaching him to love.

It's very simple. I need money. Lots of money. A million dollars to be exact. This is the price I must pay for my father's life. No money. No life.

In a year, on the first of January, I must pay in full or my father will be killed. When you are faced with such a choice, you do what you have to do.

And I went to work. I am ready to play the role of a luxurious escort for anyone who can afford to pay $100,000 for a month in my society. Sex is not included in the list of services, but if desired (my desire) it can bring me 20% more.

Month after month I will live by the rules of this business. Rule one: “Never fall in love!”

A thousand kisses is a lot or a little, when each one can be the last...
Poppy and Rune swore that they would be together forever, but Rune is forced to leave with his family to Norway...

Poppy promises to wait for him faithfully. Two years later he returns. And he can’t understand why Poppy doesn’t want to see him anymore. This thought eats away from the inside. However, having learned the truth, he feels that the hardest test is ahead.

On summer holidays Before entering Cambridge, Alice met Joe, a daredevil guy who worked in a local pub. Alice had a lot of plans and ambitions, but Joe, on the contrary, did not know how to manage his life. So different, they fell desperately in love with each other, but their romance could not have a happy ending. Alice did not immediately come to terms with the breakup, but time passed, and she met Lucas, the Cambridge “golden boy”, who was seriously infatuated with her. Everything was fine, but only until Joe returned to her life. He is no longer the same person he used to be, and Alice's heart breaks in pain.

Joe or Lucas? Impossible to make a decision.

Tell friends

A week ago I visited the capital of the republic Gorny Altai- Gorno-Altaisk. Actually, the purpose of my visit this small town with a population of 50,000 people became a master class on photography, which I was offered to read within the walls of the Gorno-Altai State University. Actually, because of this, I was unable to attend the main task of the project, and I had to leave the project (I will write about this later).

I first visited this city in the late 90s of the last century. Then I was passing through Lake Teletskoye and did not pay attention to Gorno-Altaisk. On this visit, despite the 30-degree frost, we were able to see a little of the city. Actually, a few pictures with comments.

01. Gate of Gorno-Altaisk - the bus station greets those who come here with colorful national panels on the wall and wooden panels on the railings.

02. It seems that they are ready to welcome and provide service foreign tourists. Watch repair stand. The inscription on it is in three languages: Russian, Altai and English.

03. Billboards on the streets remind you that there are elections on September 14th. And among the snow in December they look a little ridiculous.

04. There are few people on the city streets at minus 30. Many young people were spotted at the food court of a local shopping center eating pizza, French fries and other unhealthy food.

05. View of the drama theater from the food court of the local shopping center. Outwardly, for some reason, it reminded me of a mausoleum.

06. Central Square and most tall building in the city (which I happened to see) there is a 9-story building of justice.

07. For public festivities in the warm season, there is a non-demountable stage here. On the day of my stay there was a poster for a concert of a local star.

08. The park next door is decorated with colorful national wooden sculptures.

09. And before entering main building Gorno-Altai State University boasts a bust of the great Russian poet performed by Zurab Tsereteli.

10. The university itself is undergoing renovations in full swing, causing minor inconvenience to students and teachers.

11. In general, my mastar class was held as part of the three-day Pero journalism school. In fact, based on the results of this three-day school, a special issue of the student newspaper should be published.

12. And here is the ad that I saw on the front page of the local press. Looks like someone was lobbying for something...

13. One of the active listeners of my master class is Vera Pashinina. I recommend subscribing to her instagram .

14. As part of a practical assignment, I organized a mobile photography competition for students. So on VK and Instagram you can find the works of my listeners under the hash tag #photopero.

15. As practice has shown, in the age of gadgets, mobile photography captivates students. By the way, Vera won.

A settlement becomes “lost” when its inhabitants abandon it. This can happen for a number of reasons - wars, natural migrations or natural disasters, but in each case time freezes in these cities, plunging him into an endless wait for the moment of exposure. Many of them were found, others were not and acquired the status of mythical. Whether real or mythical, we have compiled a list of ten lost cities that most capture the imagination of historians, archaeologists and adventurers.

The city of Caesars is also known as the city of Patagonia, Eternal City is a mythical city believed to have been located in South America in the region known as Patagonia in the Andes Valley between Chile and Argentina. According to legend lost city The Caesars were founded by shipwrecked Spanish travelers. Although it was never found, it is described as a rich, prosperous city full of gold, silver and diamonds. Sometimes described as enchanted city, which appears only at certain moments.

Troy

In ninth place on the list of ten lost cities is Troy, the legendary city described in Homer's epic poem The Iliad. Located on the territory of modern Turkey off the coast Aegean Sea, not far from the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait. This well-fortified city was long considered a myth until its remains were discovered by historian Heinrich Schliemann in 1870.

The Lost City of Z is a city with a complex network of bridges, roads and temples believed to exist deep in the jungles of the Mato Grosso region of Brazil. This mysterious lost city is mentioned in a document known as Manuscript 512, which is housed in the National Library of Rio de Janeiro. The document is 10 pages long and describes in great detail how the Portuguese João da Silva Guimarães visited the Lost City of Z in 1753, although its specific location is not mentioned in the manuscript. In 1925, explorer Fawcett, his son Jack and Raleigh Rymall went looking for him, and disappeared, along with several other groups searching for this city.

Petra

Petra - ancient city, the capital of the Nabataean kingdom, located in the territory of modern Jordan in the narrow Siq canyon. It is known for its amazing architecture and was considered important in its time shopping center. After hundreds of years of prosperity, the city fell into decline after an earthquake, which partially destroyed the city's infrastructure, and after the Roman conquest of the region in 363 AD. e. As a result, it became an abandoned city, standing for many years in the desert until it was discovered in 1812 by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

El Dorado

Eldorado - a mythical country from precious stones and gold, supposedly located in the jungle South America. The first attempt to find the lost city of El Dorado was made in 1535 by Sebastian de Belalcazar, the last by Nicolai Rodriguez in 1775 - 1780. All attempts to find El Dorado were of great importance, since many expeditions paved new routes deep into South America.

Memphis

Memphis is an ancient Egyptian city on the left bank of the Nile. Founded in 3100 BC uh, was the capital, as well as the residence of the pharaohs, a major religious, cultural, political and craft center ancient egypt for many hundreds of years. And it retained its status until the emergence and prosperity of Alexandria and Thebes, after which it fell into decay and gradually collapsed. Now the lost city of Memphis is an open-air museum.

Angkor

Angkor - area in Southeast Asia, which was the center of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to the 15th centuries. It was abandoned after the invasion of the Thai army in 1431. Until the 1800s, when it was discovered by a group of French archaeologists, the city of Angkor existed in desolation. The ruins of Angkor are located in the modern Kingdom of Cambodia among the forests in the northern part of Tonle Sap, near the present city of Siem Reap. Every year, the ruins of Angkor are visited by 80,000 - 200,000 tourists, and the Angkor Wat temple is considered one of the largest religious monuments in the world.

Pompeii

Pompeii is a large ancient Roman city buried under a layer of volcanic ash after the eruption of Vesuvius on August 24, 79. It is estimated that Pompeii was inhabited by 20,000 inhabitants and at that time, it was considered one of the main vacation spots of high Roman society. It was discovered in 1748, after archaeological excavations at the foot of the volcano. Known as the best preserved ancient city. About 2.5 million tourists visit it annually.

Atlantis

Atlantis is a supposedly legendary island (archipelago or even continent) and possibly ancient civilization, the location and existence of which has not been found. Atlantis was described by the Greek philosopher Plato as an island-state destroyed by a natural disaster (probably an earthquake or tsunami) about 9,000 years before the era in which he lived - that is, around 9500 BC. e. However, numerous expeditions in attempts to discover the lost city did not lead to any results.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu - name architectural complex in the southern part of the modern state of Peru, built by the Incas in the 15th century. Of all the lost cities that have been discovered and explored, perhaps none is more mysterious than Machu Picchu. In 1532, all its inhabitants mysteriously disappeared. Machu Picchu was forgotten and abandoned for almost 400 years until it was discovered by American explorer Hiram Bingham on July 24, 1911. The Spanish conquistadors never reached Machu Picchu. This city was not destroyed. Neither the size of its population, nor the purpose of construction, nor even its real name remains unknown.

Deerfield is a historic town, where old houses from 200-300 or more years ago have partially turned into museums, and partially live as if nothing had happened (the count is not even in the tens, but in the hundreds). In general, Massachusetts is an amazing place. You look into the next street, and there is an ordinary residential building marked “1736” and the details of the first owner.
A broker friend says that in such houses not only the facade, but often the windows, doors, stairs and railings are completely authentic. What can we say about furniture and parquet floors! Wide boards made of ship pine trees, noble wood species, antique Dutch mirrors - beauty and nothing more. And all this was so carefully preserved that one wonders with what reverence they treat history here.

However, I'll start from the beginning.

The first settlers appeared here a long time ago - in 1673. Their life was by no means easy: on the left were French Canadians, on the right were Indians, in front and behind - a wonderful mixture of the first and second, united in a gambling pursuit of the poor English heads.

It was simpler with the Indians: they killed men and mostly spared women, especially young ones - the tribes needed new blood and working hands. The French massacred everyone, being crueler than any other redskin.

Some houses were burned to the ground. But the stubborn Anglo-Saxons returned and rebuilt them. Therefore, some of the houses (small) are restored. About 200 years ago.

Each house has a guide, many of them are willing to give a tour of the house, many of them - tadammm! - professor of history. Retired. Typical for North America picture: all guides, without exception, are volunteers. And they work solely for the love of art.

For example, in the house of Jonathan Ashley, an important person and respectable citizen, there is a brilliant tour guide. He is about 80 years old, but from the first phrases you notice his professional work with the audience: the most interesting encyclopedic details, excellent diction, emphasis or a joke where necessary. And all this is easy, openwork, exciting. "Are you a historian?" - the physicist is interested.
- University of Florida, retired professor of anthropology. - the guide smiles, deftly circling between fake Chinese porcelain and copper stove utensils.
Such altruism definitely deserves applause. We are profusely grateful.

Unfortunately, you cannot take photographs in the houses (apparently, the sale of postcards and catalogs at least somehow covers minor repairs and the work of the cleaners).
But we managed to do it a couple of times (a couple of handsome Americans were the first to start!).

Of course, these are not living rooms with gilded mirrors, flirty French wallpaper and precious carved chests from 300 years ago. Not bedrooms, with hand-embroidered canopies and a lady's hat thrown coquettishly on the table. And the kitchens are not even filled with all sorts of interesting things. But let it go.

View from the window:

It is interesting that the Puritans were not at all alien to such human weakness as show-off vanity. They tried to paint the living rooms with fabulously expensive blue paint, but practically covered the kitchens with cheap red paint. Chinese porcelain was rather crudely counterfeited by Dutch craftsmen, and silverware was imitated by alloys of lead and tin.
In the house of George Washington himself (not in Deerfield), panels of cheap wood were hand-painted with noble cracks to make the wood seem more expensive).

But I can’t tell you what kind of painted chamber pots the local ladies had!

Gunsmiths in ancient costumes hang out in front of one of the houses. The old peroxylin powder required special care from the gunsmith, so the barrel was drilled with amazing precision for those times and technologies. The cost of such a firearm was indecent.
Oh, where are you, Nathaniel Bumpo!

The sun is hot like summer.

One of the houses invites you to prepare authentic pies and cookies. Of course, the whole honest company of us piles in there.
Chinese theoretical physicists are studying the American stove, yeah.

We are told about how difficult the everyday life of a simple American woman was in those days when she was not driven away by the Indians, what efforts it took to achieve the right temperature to prepare a pie or soup, how they carried water and what spices were used. Did you know that gerbera perfectly replaces saffron (not in aroma, but in color), and fern leaves are amazingly good in pickles?
It’s interesting that the sugar we were used to was obscenely expensive and was imported by such heads.

But the local orchards produced so much fruit and maple syrup that there was no shortage of sweets.

The lovely ladies in the pictures above bake pies according to the recipes of the first settlers. And they are wildly proud of their difficult but extremely exciting hobby.

The fireplace glows so comfortably that you really don’t want to leave it. But jaaaarko.
The cookware is cast iron. You tinker with this one and you don’t need any rocking chairs.

In one of the houses, decorated with paintings by the best Boston artists and pastels by the owner, we are greeted by a smiling elderly Polish woman from the old-timers.

And again an aerobatics lecture on social life local nobility(yes, the Puritans were also no strangers to social events, balls and other events). We actively participate in the conversation.
“Oh, how interested you are in history, how well read you are!” the Polish woman (also a professor, so you don’t doubt it) wets her eyes, “Are all Russians like that?” We did not specify that the question was asked to two Soviet-trained theorists and two philologists with honors. Let them at least somewhere think well of Russians.
At the end of the tour, the guide asks us to sign the guest book - reviews are so rarely left! If we had known earlier, I would have riveted memoirs in every house: it’s a small thing for us, but it’s nice for the guides.

By the way, about the Russians.
People often ask here: “Where are you from?” I noticed that, despite the pathological politeness, the mention of “Russia” causes slight wariness among some natives. And then I fly in with my lively “Ukraine!”
Everyone smiles, the tension subsides.

I picked up obsidian arrowheads as souvenirs from a local souvenir shop,

and we went to have a bite to eat at a local restaurant - a very young tavern, opened only about 150 years ago.

A wonderful onion soup (the right rich tea color, with translucent oven-simmered onions, topped with a delicious Parmesan crust on toast) cost $6. French fries with white truffle and parmesan too.
While the group was ordering beer, I was daydreaming about white wine.
- Can I see your ID, ma'am? - The waitress smiled cordially.
“It’s okay,” I rolled my eyes, “I’m 35, but I forgot my license.”
So what do you think? They didn't give it! No 35 years, no wine. This is called "control". I respect you.
I was satisfied with the tomato juice. Under general jokes.

But they allowed me to pour wonderful hot cider with cinnamon in a nearby shop without any ID.

Our next stop was Deerfield Academy - a private school from the local collection of “especially prestigious”, in which more than one American senator and even one King of Jordan studied.

Tuition at the Academy costs about $50,000. Tariffs are higher for foreigners and sheikhs.

Student shacks of God knows how old.

I don’t know how they teach there, but the place is wonderful.

The public is getting ready for Halloween.

It's late (16:30), the museum closes. But we didn’t even look at half the houses!

The Siamese cat from Ashley's house purrs imposingly after us.

Leaving Deerfield, I see the legendary giant pumpkins weighing 200-300 kg being unloaded at some houses.
Oh, what are you doing!

We don't have time to get to the Butterfly Museum, but we do have time to go to the eternal kingdom of candles and the Yankee Candle holiday.
But that will be a completely different story...

I almost forgot)
Happy Columbus Day, America!