The Last Sip Of Chai

This book is about the delightful encounter of the senses of India in one small restaurant.

Peering into the often unnoticed corners of life, Kevin Brockmeier has been consistently praised for the originality of his vision, the boundlessness of his imagination and the command of his craft. Once again, in this new collection of fiction, Brockmeier shows us a fantastical world that is intimately familiar but somehow distant and beautiful. From the touching title story, where a young, antisocial woman imagines her escape into the sky with an apparition only she can see, to the haunting story of a pastor tempted by something less than divine, Brockmeier moves effortlessly from the extraordinary to the everyday, while challenging us to see the world anew. Stunning, elegant, profound, and playful, The View from the Seventh Layer cements Kevin Brockmeier's place as one of the most creative and compassionate writers of his generation.

Their wounds are deep. But so is their love. Enemies make great lovers in this contemporary small town romance. Emily is finally rebuilding her life in the small town of Woodstock, Vermont, but that doesn’t mean her secrets haven’t followed. So the last thing she needs is to get involved with her grumpy contractor. That hotheaded jerk is pushing all the right—or wrong—buttons. Maybe that’s why she can’t get him out of her head. Not that it matters. She’s screwed up every relationship she’s ever had. There’s no way she’s going to get involved … with anyone. Scott is sure he’ll never love again after his wife’s death. One job to another, it’s all the same, until the new arrival in town gets under his skin. Suddenly, fighting with her is the highlight of his day. But that irritation soon softens into something more. He can ignore the way the people of Woodstock, Vermont are whispering about them. But he can’t ignore his feelings for Emily. They’ve both spent years rejecting love. They might not be able to escape each other. But will it break them, or save them? Family secrets, redemption, and a side order of enemies to lovers, this contemporary small-town romance is perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Lucy Score, and Meghan Quinn.

In this celebration of the comfort and community to be found in a warm, well-made cup of chai, Kevin Wilson offers readers his famous chai recipes alongside meditations on how to live a simple yet full life. Dubbed “the CEO of Chai” by Bon Appétit magazine, Kevin Wilson is an expert on all things chai. When Wilson was a teenager, his family in Sri Lanka applied to come to America, but his was the only visa approved. A world away from his country and so many of his loved ones, he stayed connected to his culture and his family through chai. One day Wilson made a TikTok about how to make the perfect cup of chai—carefully crushing cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon bark, boiling them in milk, adding tea leaves, and stirring until he saw what he describes as “the color of a happy brown boy.” The video went viral and earned Wilson many fans who come for the useful guidance on how to make chai but stay for his wise meditations on how the perfect “cuppa” can soothe and sustain us—even in the most trying of times. In this book, Wilson shares his most popular recipes and introduces readers to making chai as a spiritual practice that involves patience and attunement to meld just the right combination of spices. In The Way of Chai Wilson beautifully describes how something as simple as a well-made cup of tea can bring us solace amid our struggles. While a steaming cup of chai can’t solve everything, it can help us tap into the power of patience, clarity, and intention.

A wounded African elephant appears in a N.C. field while desperately needed vaccines are miraculously delivered to a clinic in Uganda. These stunning events are followed by more and more phenomena as endangered animals are whisked to safety and needed supplies are delivered to areas devastated by war, drought, flood, fire and famine. What is making this happen? Is it benevolent aliens or is God tired of rampant greed and forcing us to tithe? Or could it be sentient wormhole activity? That is the question on the minds of physicists, ministers, philosophers, economists and psychologists all grappling with the bizarre happenings. Em, midwife and mother of fourteen year-old Corbin, is at the center when the first elephant comes to her. How will Em and Corbin cope with being on the front line of the world chaos? Will the world discover what is behind the rebalancing of resources and the preservation of our precious wildlife?

The Last Days is a stunning political thriller from New York Times bestselling author, Joel C. Rosenberg Osama bin Laden is dead. Saddam Hussein is buried. Baghdad lies in ruins. Now the eyes of the world are on Jerusalem as Jon Bennett--a Wall Street strategist turned senior White House advisor--his beautiful CIA partner Erin McCoy and the U.S. Secretary of State arrive in the Middle East to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. On the table: a dramatic and potentially historic Arab-Israeli peace plan, of which Bennett is the chief architect. At the heart of the proposed treaty is the discovery of black gold deep underneath the Mediterranean-a vast and spectacular tract of oil and natural gas that could offer unprecedented riches for every Muslim, Christian, and Jew in Israel and Palestine. With the international media closely tracking the story, the American message is as daring as it is direct: Both sides must put behind them centuries of bitter, violent hostilities to sign a peace treaty. Both sides must truly cooperate on drilling, pumping, refining, and shipping the newly found petroleum. Both sides must work together to develop a dynamic, new, integrated economy to take advantage of the stunning opportunity. Then--and only then--the United States will help underwrite the billions of dollars of venture capital needed to turn the dream into reality. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Masha Hamilton’s fifth novel, What Changes Everything, is truly an American story, an exploration of our twisted, misguided, generous relationship with an enigmatic country. And it is told by a novelist of extraordinary talent who currently works in Afghanistan. What Changes Everything is the story of Clarissa who, in a gamble to save her kidnapped husband’s life, makes the best decisions she can in the dark nights of Brooklyn, boldly rejecting the advice of US authorities and against the wishes of her husband’s grown daughter. It is also the story of Stela, who owns a used bookstore in Ohio and writes letter after letter in hopes both of comprehending the loss of a son on an Afghan battlefield and of connecting with son who abandoned her in anger when his brother died. It is the story of Mandy, the mother of a gravely wounded soldier from Texas, a mother deeply saddened but somehow hopeful who travels to Kabul to heal wounds of several kinds. It is the story of Danil, an angry Brooklyn street artist whose life was derailed by a loss in this incomprehensible war half a world away. And it’s the story of Todd, a career aid

Indu is a fictional story reflecting the imaginary life situations and interactions between two teens of not only opposite gender but also significantly different social and economic stratum, educational exposure, and professional engagements compounded by the all important difference of respective faiths. The principal character, Indu, is from a desperately poor low caste Hindu family of British India. The supporting male character, Shetu, is an early teen son of a well to do and influential Muslim family. The influence and relevance of the latter is multiplied many times due to the establishment of Pakistan as a new country by partitioning British India into two independent countries. This adversely affected the life and living options for families like Indus. The migration of well to do, educated Hindu families to divided India left low caste and poor Hindu families of Pakistan (East Pakistan [now Bangladesh]) in a relatively precarious position. This story captures the nuances of growing up in this environment and the deep emotional bonds that are forged between the two teens in spite of all the negative attributes of the prevailing setting. The emerging fondness and feelings have a deep mark on the mindset of the poor teen Indu. She prefers to be by the side of Shetu in spite of frequent frustrations. Shetu looks past his initial casual feelings to recognize the happiness that ensues with Indus presence. Indus journey into adulthood led her to migrate to India where she gets married without being able to say good bye to Shetu. These unreconciled emotions haunted Indu all through her life. Her arranged marriage to a relatively well off family of the same caste did not bring the peace and happiness in her life. In the process of enduring lifes limitations, Indu developed an exceptional ability for tolerance, prudence, and perspective. The foundation of all these personal attributes was cultivated by her early interactions with Shetu. Thus, Shetu was omnipresent in Indus life even though neither had information about each other. Destiny, however, will find a way to marry those unrequited feelings and emotions one last time.

A dangerous storm, a wounded stranger, and a ghost from the past. Just another Thursday in Whispering Pines. A monster of a blizzard is on the way, but the hardy folks of Whispering Pines aren’t bothered by the weather. Not when there are supplies to gather and neighbors to catch up with. As everyone finally settles in to ride out the storm, Sheriff Jayne O’Shea gets a phone call. A stranger has stumbled into the village. She’s covered in bruises and mumbling about a car crash. Determined to figure out what happened to her, and to rescue any other potential victims still out there, Jayne braves the howling winds and arctic temperatures. Then another call comes in. An elderly villager is missing in the storm. Jayne can handle this. She can handle pretty much anything. But when a ghost from her past shows up at the bed-and-breakfast and tries to uncover Jayne’s long-buried secrets, she may have reached her breaking point.

This is a gallery of local Indian markets, Gajras and peppermints. It serves Metkut and adhesives on a dinner plate. There are earrings on soft boards and Marlboros on the college canteen floor. It has Ghungroos on a Christmas wreath and embroidery hoops stuck in rusty buses. It echoes the walls of a boho apartment and art classes in kaleidoscopic brothels. This is a gallery of the supernatural, divine, extraordinary and inherent – the power within us and all living beings – of Delivery Executive Manju, Architect Gargi, Professor Miller, Vagabond Bilva, Security Guard Amar Chacha and umpteen. This is Orenda. This is us.