Will Schwalbe Books

By the time Will Schwalbe was a junior at college, he had already met everyone he cared to know. He also knew exactly whom he wanted to avoid- the jocks. The jocks wore backwards baseball caps and moved in packs, filling boisterous tables in the dining hall, and on the whole seemed to Will another species, one he might encounter only at his own peril. All this dramatically changed when he collided with Chris Maxey, known to just about everyone as Maxey. Maxey was physically imposing, loud, a star wrestler-and under the strangely liberating circumstances of a little-known secret society at Yale, the two forged a bond that has remained a mainstay of their lives for forty years and counting. We Should Not be Friends tracks an extraordinary friendship over decades of challenge and change. Will Schwalbe's marvellous new work is a testament to the miracle of human connection and to all we have to gain when we let go of first impressions and see one another for who we truly are.

From the author of the international bestseller The End of Your Life Book Club, an inspiring and magical exploration of the enduring power of books - a must for all passionate book lovers, exploring books as diverse as The Girl on the Train, The Little Prince and David Copperfield. 'I've always believed that everything you need to know can be found in a book.' Will Schwalbe Why is it that we read? Is it to pass time? To learn something new? To escape into another reality? For Will Schwalbe, reading is a way to entertain himself but also to make sense of the world, to become a better person, and to find the answers to the big (and small) questions about how to live his life. In this delightful celebration of reading, Schwalbe invites us along on his quest for books that speak to the specific challenges of living in our modern world, with all its noise and distractions. Rich with stories and recommendations, Books for Living is a treasure for everyone who loves books and loves to hear the answer to the question: "What are you reading?"

The inspiring story of a son and his dying mother, who form a "book club" that brings them together as her life comes to a close.

Mary Anne Schwalbe was an educator who worked at Harvard University before devoting herself to the cause of refugees, as founding director of an organisation that brought her to the world's most desperate places. But her story here begins at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where, accompanied by her publisher son, she is waiting for chemotherapy treatments to begin. As they've always done, they talk about what they're reading, and the conversation grows into tradition: soon they are reading the same books in order to talk about them as Mary Anne is given her treatments. The books they read range from classic to popular, from fantastic to spiritual, and we hear their passion for reading and their love for each other in their dynamic and searching discussions around each one. They also explore how books tell you not only what you need to do in your own life but also in the world. An inspiring and profoundly moving book: Will's love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page