Four books that will inspire you to travel the world

    There's truly nothing like travel when it comes to gaining perspective(远景) and exposing yourself to other cultures. To get you in the adventuring mood, we asked Amazon Senior Editor Chris Schlep to help us come up with a list of books that transport readers to another time and place. Below, see his list of four books that will inspire you to travel around the world. For more information, please click Amazon.com.

SEATTLE: Where You d Go, Bernadette

Price: $16.73

    Maria Sample's first novel is not exactly a love story to Seattle, but if you read it, you just might want to come here to see if people are really as self-involved as the characters in her book. What really shines through is the strange storytelling and the laughs. Buy it on Amazon.

ITALY: Beautiful Ruins

Price: $16.29

    This book by the popular author Jess Walters is a love story that begins on the Italian Coast in the early 60s and eventually appears on the screen in Hollywood. With the settings of the background from Italy to Edinburgh to Los Angeles, you will find yourself longing to go as well. Buy it on Amazon.

ENGLAND: Wolf Hall

Price: $15.57

    You can't travel to Thomas Cromwell's England without a time machine，but reading Hilary Mantel's prize-winning novel is the next best thing. It will make you long to see the ancient buildings and green grass of the English countryside, much of which is still there. Buy it on Amazon.

NANTUCKET: Here's to Us

Price: $ 17.16

    Eli Hildebrand has built a writing career out of writing about her hometown island of Nantucket. Her latest is Here's to Us, which, perhaps not surprisingly, is a great beach read.

    Turning on the TV, a wonderful scene comes to your eyes — a group of men, tall, strong and handsome, and women, young, beautiful and attractive, too. Together they eat in the finest restaurants, traveling everywhere around the world by luxurious planes and pleasure ships. They are models.

    Do you envy them？What sort of life are models leading？Is it a wonderful life for a young lady or a young man?

    A few models are well-known actors or actresses who can make a lot of money only by showing themselves off in commercials. But the majority of them are just curious to see what it is like. They^'d like to be models just because they are attracted by what they imagine — models earn a lot of money and lead a glorious life. This is true for those who are very successful. However, most models find it difficult to get work. Very few can earn enough to live on, and for all models their expenses are high. Their agents claim about 20% of the earnings, and no model will get very far without a clever agent. Besides, they have to buy good clothing. They also have to pay to travel to interviews and reach the places where the work is to be done.

    Interviews for a model job are known as cattle markets in the modeling world, and not without a good reason. A top model can choose his or her work, demand and receive high fees and has his or her expenses paid. But for most models, the situation is quite different. An agent or employer inspects each model much as a farmer inspects cattle at a market. Intelligence, qualifications and personal characteristics count for little against good looks and tight figures. For all except the very few lucky ones, the life of a model is a continual search for work, trying to sell him or her in the face of fierce competition and, sometimes, not particularly moral standards on the part of some employers.

    Immigration officials at the airport look suspiciously at a girl whose passport shows her occupation as “Model”, and these are men and women of considerable experience of the world. It comes no surprise to find that some models prefer to put “Secretary” or “Businessman” as their jobs in their passports.

    My first book had been rejected by every major American publisher. My first agent, wasn't communicating. My dream of a life as a successful author was in tatters.

"It isn't going to happen," I said to my friend. "And I have to accept it."

"If you lose faith in your product, no one else will have faith in it," she told me.

    And, I knew she was right. But, how could I believe in myself when I hit a wall at every turn? I knew I had a good product. The book featured interviews with world-famous people who had learned how to succeed and lead—the hard way. It had information that could help other people. As a consumer, I would have loved that book because it had the great wisdom I so desperately needed. And, their stories made for good reading. I had a good book. What I didn't have was a publisher. I had to find a way to get that book sold and on the shelves. But, how?

    The hardest challenge was forcing myself to do battle again. I had to find the strength to believe in myself when it seemed like no one else believed in me. When I hit a wall, I usually need to get more information to figure out what is going wrong. So, I did some research and found out that my initial vision for the book-where all the interview subjects got their own chapters-wasn't marketable to big publishers because that format does not sell tons of books. What I had to do was recognize, restructure and rewrite.

    I needed an agent. There are thousands of agents. Surely one of them was right for me. So, I started sending out query（询问）letters. Within a week, I had a dozen agents who wanted the book. I chose the one who I thought would believe in me and my dream. She did get me my choices of publishers.

    Hard won Wisdom wound up being a best-selling book. But, it almost never was.

Some Popular RestaurantsParsley &Thyme Restaurant

    Daryl Cheong is a young chef who has recently taken over the running of Parsley&Thyme Restaurant. Since his graduation from At Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, Daryl has worked in a couple of leading European restaurants before taking over Parsley & Thyme Restaurant. Daryl serves popular dishes such as French Onion Soup, Braised Beef Cheek and 100% Grass-Fed New Zealand Tenderloin.

    Liquids Cafe Pte LId

    Having a decade of experience, we let our customers experience an explosion of American and Italian cuisine in a cafe atmosphere with affordable prices. Having both indoor and outdoor dining area, we are known for our welcoming atmosphere of romance. Customers simply bathe themselves in a range of magazines over a cup of caffeine. Our kitchen offers pastes, baked rice and main courses.

    The Rotisserie

    Sitting in the center of the downtown, the Rotisserie brings you a casual and affordable dining experience that is simply satisfying, We offer numbers of specialties on the menu that have been perfected to arouse your taste desires. From the award-winning coffee to our signature roasted chicken and mouth watering salads, we are committed to bringing you the best ingredients for a truly memorable affair.

    The Mind Cafe

    There can be no good fun without good food. The cafe aims to provide our customers with a pleasant session with something to fill their appetite. Light snacks, a warm coffee or hot chocolate serve the customers' needs just well. With over 2, 000 games on shelf across our outlets, the cafe eaters to people from all walks of life. You will never get bored from a lack of choice. It is suitable for a family outing, company gathering, or simple friends' get-together. We provide the games suitable for almost all ages to play together.

Let Kids with Cancer Be Kids Again!

    We care about the needs of kids with cancer

    Camp quality originated in 1983 in Sydney, Australia. The camp was created to give kids with cancer and their family a place to interact with other children and have an extraordinary summer. Activities are designed with kids in mind such as swimming, fishing, arts and crafts, and even the beloved campfires.

    Companions and volunteers

    The safety of campers and staff(员工)is of top priority to Camp Quality Arkansas. Each staff member is required to attend a training session. Within these sessions, each potential staff member gets to know the program and then a decision is made to decide whether he or she will fit best in the camp.

    "In all of our volunteers we look for adults who can lead with their own actions and have a child-like spirit. This ability to have fun is essential to the success of the camp. While the companions work directly with the campers, we are always on the lookout for volunteers to fill the positions of RNs, certified lifeguards, photographers, and kitchen staff," said Amber Dovel, volunteer coordinators at Camp Quality Arkansas.

    A unique function of the camp is that for each kid a companion is assigned. A companion is a reminder of "hope, courage, and happiness, not only during the week of camp, but all year round," according to the official website.

    Contact us

    For more information visit www.campqualityusa.org or contact Director, Chris Jennings at Chris. Jennings@camoqualityusa.org.

My clder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult.

For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had scared through Mrs. Holt's basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess(认罪) to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball.

I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred(神圣的) thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I'd hate to lose to someone else the small dog my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.

Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy. I screamed to Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, "Did it hurt you first, Mark?"I didn't know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm," The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is when it hurts you first. And then you think a long. long time." I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.