Craig Melvin

1958. Cookbook writer and television personality Mary Mackerel must leave London in a hurry when public affection for her curdles. Her publisher advises her to go deep into the British countryside and write a cookbook that will reestablish her reputation. Reluctantly, Mary sells up and endeavours to brush off being exiled to what she thinks is the edge of the world: Penzance, Cornwall. There she buys a run-down tea shoppe with hopes of turning it into a bakery and restaurant. To ingratiate herself with the locals, Mary bakes her adapted version of Cornish-ish Pasties and gives the tasty treats away. After one of the locals dies of poisoning moments afterwards, the whole town points the finger at Mary as a murderer. Soon, the local and then national press have gleefully picked up on the story. Mary must turn chef-detective to clear her name and save her fledgling business.

A deeply personal exploration of fatherhood, addiction, and resiliency from Craig Melvin, news anchor of NBC's Today show. For Craig Melvin this book is more an investigation than a memoir. It's an opportunity to better understand his father; to interrogate his family's legacy of addiction and despair but also transformation and redemption; and to explore the challenges facing all dads--including Craig himself, a father of two young children.Growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, Craig had a fraught relationship with his father. Lawrence Melvin was a distant, often absent parent due to his drinking as well as his job working the graveyard shift at a postal facility. Watching sports and tinkering on Lawrence's beloved (but unreliable) 1973 Pontiac LeMans were two ways father and son connected, but as Lawrence's drinking spiraled out of control, their bond was stretched to the breaking point. Fortunately, Craig had a loving, fiercely protective mother who held the family together. He also had a series of surrogate father figures in his life--uncles, teachers, workplace mentors--who by their examples helped him figure out the kind of person and father he wanted to be. Pops is the story of all these men--and of the inspiring fathers Craig has met reporting his "Dads Got This Series" on the Today show. Pops is also the story of Craig and Lawrence Melvin's long journey to reconciliation and understanding, and of how all these experiences and encounters have informed Craig's understanding of his own role as a dad.

A deeply personal exploration of fatherhood, addiction, and resiliency from Craig Melvin, news anchor of NBC's Today show. For Craig Melvin this book is more an investigation than a memoir. It's an opportunity to better understand his father; to interrogate his family's legacy of addiction and despair but also transformation and redemption; and to explore the challenges facing all dads--including Craig himself, a father of two young children.Growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, Craig had a fraught relationship with his father. Lawrence Melvin was a distant, often absent parent due to his drinking as well as his job working the graveyard shift at a postal facility. Watching sports and tinkering on Lawrence's beloved (but unreliable) 1973 Pontiac LeMans were two ways father and son connected, but as Lawrence's drinking spiraled out of control, their bond was stretched to the breaking point. Fortunately, Craig had a loving, fiercely protective mother who held the family together. He also had a series of surrogate father figures in his life--uncles, teachers, workplace mentors--who by their examples helped him figure out the kind of person and father he wanted to be.Pops is the story of all these men--and of the inspiring fathers Craig has met reporting his Dads Got This Series on the Today show. Pops is also the story of Craig and Lawrence Melvin's long journey to reconciliation and understanding, and of how all these experiences and encounters have informed Craig's understanding of his own role as a dad.

A great read - Matt Haig 13 October 2008. Welcome to the worst day of Chef Charlie Sheridan's life, the day he's about to lose his two great loves: his childhood sweetheart, Lulu, and the legendary Brighton hotel his grandfather, Franco Sheridan, opened in 1973. This is the story of the Belle Hotel, one that spans the course of four decades from the training of a young chef in the 1970s and 80s, through the hedonistic 90s, up to the credit crunch of the noughties and leads us right back to Charlie's present-day suffering. In this bittersweet and salty tale, our two Michelin star-crossed lovers navigate their seaside hangout for actors, artists and rock stars; the lure of the great restaurants of London; and the devastating effects of three generations of family secrets.