Whether you are travelling abroad, planning a staycation or simply have some extra downtime, summer is the perfect time to pick up a new novel. What other way can you escape the heat than through a compelling narrative?
Romcoms, dramedies, thrillers, fantasy, and the very literary, the summer's newest releases have something for everyone, from a talking magpie learning about the human world, a secret pact between four best friends, and a Palestinian woman unravelling as she chases after her dreams.
Here are The National’s picks of the 10 new releases to dive into.
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
After her 37th job rejection, Ember Lee Cardinal has had enough.
She gets “creative” and answers the ethnicity question not entirely truthfully – a half-lie. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember just landed her dream job in accounting.
And to make things even better, Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native, reciprocates her interest in him. They start to see each other secretly in spite of the no-dating policy at work. But when they're caught, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember and in an effort to save herself her lies only get bigger and deeper.
Ember must now decide whether to stay silent or finally tell the truth.
Release date: August 6
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
In this Arthurian novel, a young knight named Collum arrives in Camelot to compete for a spot on the legendary Round Table. But he’s too late.
King Arthur is dead leaving no heir, and only a handful of knights remain at the Round Table, each a little eccentric. They’re joined by Nimue, the apprentice of the famed wizard Merlin and together this group of misfits set out to rebuild Camelot.
However, King Arthur’s death has left the kingdom in disarray. Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s half-sister, is leading an army of fairies and monsters in a bid to return the old gods to Britain. Now, it’s up to Collum and his companions to bring balance to the world once again.
The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin
Four freshmen meet at university and become fast friends despite originating from very different worlds. Lainey is a drama-queen party-girl, Tyson a scholarly law student, Summer a determined athlete and Hannah a soft-spoken southerner who doesn’t like the spotlight.
After four years of a close bond, their lives are changed when an act of desperation leads to shocking consequences. Ten years later, Hannah’s world is turning upside down, and she reaches out to her closest friends. The group decides to take time out from their routines and embark on a journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and acceptance.
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
The unnamed narrator of this novel is a Palestinian woman with a dream – to live and thrive in America when her family couldn’t.
She moves to New York and teaches at a school for underprivileged boys where she pushes the boundaries of education through her eccentric methods. But when she connects with a homeless swindler, she’s sucked into a moneymaking scheme, reselling luxury Birkin bags.
While conning her way bag after bag, the past comes back to haunt her and she begins to slowly unravel.
The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
Delphie is dead. And now she’s in her nightgown, in the afterlife waiting room, where she meets the most attractive man she’s ever seen. As they start talking, someone interrupts them about a huge mistake and sends the man of Delphie’s dreams back to Earth.
She is then offered a deal where she can return to the world of the living and reconnect with the handsome stranger and live the rest of her life with her potential soulmate – as long as she does so within 10 days.
Delphie will have to change, block out the noise, and be vulnerable to reclaim her life. But will she be able to find her soulmate in a city of millions of people?
A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Switching between the present day and 1976, two women who never meet are connected through time by a family home and the challenges they must face.
In the present day, Keaton Smith heads to her mother’s abandoned childhood family home in Beaufort, North Carolina, for a new start. But as soon as she arrives, she’s confronted with her grandparents' secrets, meets her charming next-door neighbour, and finds herself riddled with more questions about her family’s past.
In 1976, Rebecca ‘Becks’ Saint James made a name for herself as the best hostess in North Carolina. However, despite appearances, she’s struggling behind the facade of her perfect family home.
While separated by time, both Keaton and Becks must face the obstacles of their present lives within the confines of this historic home that has protected the dreams of the women in their family for generations.
The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore
What does it mean to be a villain? That’s what cynical romance novelist Jacqueline Matthis is about to find out.
After a massive lull in her career, Jacqueline hatches a comeback plan – she’s going to be a contestant on the most obsessively watched reality dating show in the world.
As she establishes herself as the front-runner on the show and is winning the heart of the star, bachelor Marcus, Jacqueline finds out that her last fling, Henry Foster, is the show's producer. They soon reconnect. Things get even more complicated when Jacqueline discovers that she’s getting the villain edit on the reality show.
While she attempts to convince herself that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, Jacqueline is worried that while trying to save her career, she may be ruining her life instead.
What Fire Brings by Rachel Howzell Hall
Bailey Meadows is a writer who just moved into the remote Topanga Canyon home of famed thriller author, Jack Beckham.
She is his writer-in-residence and is supposed to help him reach the bestseller list – but she’s not there to write a thriller. Bailey is on a mission to find Sam Morris, a community leader dedicated to finding missing people, who has disappeared herself in the canyon surrounding Beckham’s home.
Bailey quickly learns just how dangerous these canyons are, as many women have visited but never returned. She now must race to unravel the truth before the fire season in the canyons begins, and before she is next on the missing list.
Caledonian Road by Andrew O'Hagan
Art historian Campbell Flynn’s life is falling apart. Very publicly. And as he struggles to protect his family and friends from his own entanglement, all his very separate worlds collide – the hip art scene with the world of academia, the stylish fashion crowd and the English aristocracy, journalism and the internet.
A story of social life and manners, contemporary London life is examined through the lives of the communities who live around Caledonian Road.
The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey
When Marnie, a farmer’s wife, saves Tama a helpless magpie chick, her life takes a strange turn. Tama can speak and Marnie begins confiding to him about her violent marriage. Part trickster, part surrogate child, Tama is witnessing the pressures of Marnie's as the annual Axeman's Carnival approaches, an event where her husband’s future as a farmer is dependent on winning a coveted trophy.
While Tama is exposed more to this new world, his father’s warning about humans comes to surface, and the animal and human worlds bleed into each other with all their darkness and hope.
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
SUZUME
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
THREE
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'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')
Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Company%20profile
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Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
