Search results for ""Author Sly"
Quercus Publishing The Missing One
'A gripping page-turner' Sunday Times 'Beautifully written and compelling' Sabine Durrant 'Satisfyingly creepy' Sunday MirrorThe loss of her mother has left Kali McKenzie with too many unanswered questions. But while clearing out Elena's art studio, she finds a drawer packed with postcard each bearing an identical one-line message from a Canadian gallery owner called Susannah Gillespie: thinking of you. Who is this woman and what does she know about Elena's hidden past?Desperate to find out, Kali travels with her toddler, Finn, to Susannah's isolated home on a remote British Columbian island, a place of killer whales and storms. But as bad weather closes in, Kali quickly realises she has made a big mistake. The enigmatic Susannah refuses to talk about the past, and as Kali struggles to piece together what happened back in the 1970s, Susannah's behaviour grows more and more erratic. Most worrying of all, Susannah is becoming increasingly preoccupied with little Finn . . .PRAISE FOR LUCY ATKINS'Wonderfully skilled' Sarah Perry'Sly, witty and gripping' Naomi Alderman'Wholly beguiling' Mick Herron'Highly intelligent' Sarah Vaughan'Beguiling, brilliantly creepy' Claire Fuller
£9.99
Pan Macmillan Selected Poems
Selected Poems collects the work of one of our foremost lyric poets, John Glenday. The elemental themes long associated with Glenday’s name are strongly represented here: the sea, the sky; light and its absence; the spirit in the secular age; our natural and human ecologies, how they interact, and how they might survive the encounter; the transcendent states that arise from the simple contemplation of the earth; the hidden dimensions that lie behind familiar objects – and the hells, heavens and secret lives that hide within their very names. But new readers will also find a wonderful poet of familial and romantic love, as well as a sly humourist and satirist; as the book also features work from long-out-of-print early collections, they will also discover that Glenday's voice has always been uniquely his own.Glenday shares with W.S. Graham and Denise Riley an obsession with speech, silence, and limits of knowledge, and with what form the energies that flicker along the border might take. John Glenday is poet who constantly blindsides and moves us, whose direct and pure lyric brings us, again and again, face-to-face with the mystery of our being here.
£14.99
Penguin Random House Children's UK Hansel and Gretel: Ladybird First Favourite Tales
The classic fairy tale - Hansel and Gretel - from Ladybird!A perfect introduction to the classic story Hansel and Gretel. Find out what happens when the brother and sister get lost in the woods! Part of the Ladybird First Favourite Tales series - a perfect introduction to fairy tales for preschoolers - it contains amusing pictures and lots of funny rhythm and rhyme to delight young children. Ideal for reading aloud and sharing with 2-4 year olds.Ladybird's First Favourite Tales series is hugely popular and is a great introduction to the most important fairy tales. 2011 brought a new look and great covers to the series, but the books are still just as fun to read as ever.Make sure you look out for the other tales in the series, too!Puss in Boots; Cinderella; The Ugly Duckling; The Elves and the Shoemaker; Goldilocks and the Three Bears; The Gingerbread Man; Little Red Riding Hood; The Three Little Pigs; The Three Billy Goats Gruff; Chicken Licken; The Enormous Turnip; Jack and the Beanstalk; The Little Red Hen; Little Red Riding Hood; The Magic Porridge Pot; The Sly Fox and the Little Red Hen
£7.15
Hodder & Stoughton The Devil in the Marshalsea: Thomas Hawkins Book 1
WINNER OF THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER AWARD 2014.Longlisted for the John Creasey Dagger Award for best debut crime novel of 2014.London, 1727 - and Tom Hawkins is about to fall from his heaven of card games, brothels and coffee-houses into the hell of a debtors' prison.The Marshalsea is a savage world of its own, with simple rules: those with family or friends who can lend them a little money may survive in relative comfort. Those with none will starve in squalor and disease. And those who try to escape will suffer a gruesome fate at the hands of the gaol's rutheless governor and his cronies.The trouble is, Tom Hawkins has never been good at following rules - even simple ones. And the recent grisly murder of a debtor, Captain Roberts, has brought further terror to the gaol. While the Captain's beautiful widow cries for justice, the finger of suspicion points only one way: to the sly, enigmatic figure of Samuel Fleet.Some call Fleet a devil, a man to avoid at all costs. But Tom Hawkins is sharing his cell. Soon, Tom's choice is clear: get to the truth of the murder - or be the next to die.A twisting mystery, a dazzling evocation of early 18th Century London, THE DEVIL IN THE MARSHALSEA is a thrilling debut novel full of intrigue and suspense.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing The Other Child
'Taut, tense, and beautifully written' Clare Mackintosh'Addictive' Sunday TimesSometimes a lie feels kinder than the truth . . . but what happens when that lie becomes an avalanche of deceit?When Tess is sent to photograph Greg, a high-profile paediatric surgeon, she sees something complex in him that she instantly connects with. Their relationship quickly deepens, but then Tess - already a single mother to nine-year-old Joe - finds out she's pregnant.Greg, who never wanted to be a father, is then offered the job of a lifetime back in his hometown of Boston, USA. Within just a few months, they have married and moved to the States. But life in an affluent Boston suburb is not as straightforward as Tess had hoped. Strange things keep happening in their rented home - Joe is unsettled, the next-door neighbours are clearly troubled, and Greg's work is all-consuming. As a fierce Boston winter closes in, and her baby's birth looms, Tess remains determined to make this new life work. Then she makes a jaw-dropping discovery . . .PRAISE FOR LUCY ATKINS'Wonderfully skilled' Sarah Perry'Sly, witty and gripping' Naomi Alderman'Wholly beguiling' Mick Herron'Highly intelligent' Sarah Vaughan'Beguiling, brilliantly creepy' Claire Fuller
£9.99
Faber & Faber Betrayal
'Betrayal is a new departure and a bold one . . . Pinter has found a way of making memory active and dramatic, giving an audience the experience of the mind's accelerating momentum as it pieces together the past with a combination of curiosity and regret. He shows man betrayed not only by man, but by time - a recurring theme which has found its proper scenic correlative . . . Pinter captures the psyche's sly manoeuvres for self-respect with a sardonic forgiveness . . . a master craftsman honouring his talent by setting it new, difficult tasks' New Society'There is hardly a line into which desire, pain, alarm, sorrow, rage or some kind of blend of feelings has not been compressed, like volatile gas in a cylinder less stable than it looks . . . Pinter's narrative method takes "what's next?" out of the spectator's and replaces it with the rather deeper "how?" and "why?" Why did love pass? How did these people cope with the lies, the evasions, the sudden dangers, panic and the contradictory feelings behind their own deftly engineered masks? The play's subject is not sex, not even adultery, but the politics of betrayal and the damage it inflicts on all involved.' The TimesFirst staged at the National Theatre in 1978, Betrayal was revived at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 1991. Twenty years after its first showing, it returned to the National in 1998.
£10.99
Penguin Books Ltd Burnt Sugar: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2020
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2020LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021WINNER OF THE SUSHILA DEVI AWARD 2021NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2021A searing debut novel about mothers and daughters, obsession and betrayal - for fans of Jenny Offill, Deborah Levy, Rachel Cusk and Diana Evans'Beautifully written, emotionally wrenching and poignant in equal measure' The Booker Prize Judges 2020'An unsettling, sinewy debut, startling in its venom and disarming in its humour from the very first sentence' Guardian'I would be lying if I said my mother's misery has never given me pleasure.'This is a tale of obsession and betrayal. This is a poisoned love story. But not between lovers - between mother and daughter. Tara and Antara, a woman and her angry shadow. But which one is which?Sharp as a blade and compulsively readable, Burnt Sugar slowly untangles the knot of memory and rumour that binds two women together, revealing the truth that lies beneath.'A work of extraordinary insight, courage and sophistication' Washington Post'Arresting and fiercely intelligent, disarmingly witty and frank' Sunday Times 'A sly, slippery, often heartbreaking novel about the role memory plays within families' Stylist'Extraordinary... Come for the effortlessly stylish writing, stay for the boiling wrath' Observer
£9.99
Workman Publishing "Dance First. Think Later": 618 Rules to Live By
Timeless in their wisdom, thought-provoking in their message, surprising in their truth and memorable in their originality, the right words can give direction, inspiration, and sometimes a tangible boost onto the right path. For example, Steve Jobs once read "Stay hungry Stay foolish" on the back cover of The Whole Earth Catalog, and those four words came to guide his life.Created by Kathryn and Ross Petras, connoisseurs of quotes, whose books and calendars have over 56 million copies in print, "Dance First. Think Later." is a collection of the greatest life wisdom from an unexpected group of speakers, doers, and thinkers. There are 618 rules to live by-funny, sly, declarative, thoughtful, offhanded, clever, and always profound:"Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places." -Roald Dahl"If everything is under control, you are going too slow." -Mario Andretti"Never make a credit decision on a beach."-Victor J. Boschini"Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order."-Samuel Beckett"The only time to eat diet food is while waiting for the steak to cook." -Julia Child"What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight; build it anyway." -Mother TeresaAnd: "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."-Oscar Wilde
£9.91
University of Minnesota Press Troll Magic: Hidden Folk from the Mountains and Forests of Norway
A collection of macabre and magical folklore from the “godfather” of the Norwegian troll Across the stillness of the sprawling mountain heath, the shadow of the mighty forest falls, its wildness calling to the child in all of us. Here the Hidden Folk assemble: the stalwart little nisse, farmyard spirit and irrepressible prankster; the seductive hulder, with her crown of flowers and cow’s tail; the fiddling fossegrim, summoning the music of wind and water; and most fearsome and enchanting of all, the one-eyed troll, head high above the treetops. A veritable bestiary of Nordic folk creatures was conjured by artist Theodor Kittelsen, whose late nineteenth-century paintings and illustrations gave these macabre and magical figures their enduring forms.In this book, first published as Troldskab in 1892, Kittelsen spins tales of wonder around creatures rumored to haunt the fields, forests, and waterfalls of Norway. Striding, gamboling, and slithering across these pages are witches and gnomes and sea monsters, fiery dragons waking from their stiff-winged slumber, mermaids rising from the deep, and the sly, shapeshifting nøkk. But first and foremost are the trolls, hapless, horrible, or just plain silly, working their spells and making their mischief to the terror and delight of the presumably human reader.Tailoring his whimsical artistic style to each tale, Kittelsen’s stories, in Tiina Nunnally’s nimble translation, reveal a Nordic world of wonder, myth, and magic as real as the imagination allows.
£18.99
Penguin Random House Children's UK Alice in Wonderland: Ladybird First Favourite Tales
The classic story - Alice in Wonderland - from Ladybird!A brilliant introduction to the much-loved story of Alice in Wonderland. Find out what happens when Alice goes down a rabbit hole and meets all sorts of crazy characters. Part of the Ladybird First Favourite Tales series - a perfect introduction to fairy tales for preschoolers - it contains amusing pictures and lots of funny rhythm and rhyme to delight young children. Ideal for reading aloud and sharing with 2-4 year olds.Ladybird's First Favourite Tales series is hugely popular and is a great introduction to the most important fairy tales. With a new look and great covers, the books are just as fun to read as ever.Make sure you look out for the other tales in the series, too!Puss in Boots; Hansel and Gretel; The Ugly Duckling; The Elves and the Shoemaker; Goldilocks and the Three Bears; The Gingerbread Man; Little Red Riding Hood; The Three Little Pigs; The Three Billy Goats Gruff; Chicken Licken; The Enormous Turnip; Jack and the Beanstalk; The Little Red Hen; Little Red Riding Hood; The Magic Porridge Pot; The Sly Fox and the Little Red Hen; The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella.
£7.15
Little, Brown & Company A Touch of Jen
"Um, holy shit...This novel will be the most fun you'll have this summer." -Emily Temple, Literary HubRemy and Alicia, a couple of insecure service workers, are not particularly happy together. But they are bound by a shared obsession with Jen, a beautiful former co-worker of Remy's who now seems to be following her bliss as a globe-trotting jewellery designer. In and outside the bedroom, Remy and Alicia's entire relationship revolves around fantasies of Jen, whose every Instagram caption, outfit, and new age mantra they know by heart.Imagine their confused excitement when they run into Jen, in the flesh, and she invites them on a surfing trip to the Hamptons with her wealthy boyfriend and their group. Once there, Remy and Alicia try (a little too hard) to fit into Jen's exalted social circle, but violent desire and class resentment bubble beneath the surface of this beachside paradise, threatening to erupt. As small disturbances escalate into outright horror, we find ourselves tumbling with Remy and Alicia into an uncanny alternate reality, one shaped by their most unspeakable, deviant, and intoxicating fantasies. Is this what "self-actualization" looks like?Part millennial social comedy, part psychedelic horror, and all wildly entertaining, A Touch of Jen is a sly, unflinching examination of the hidden drives that lurk just outside the frame of our carefully curated selves.
£14.99
Penguin Books Ltd Brooklyn
Colm Toibin's Brooklyn is a devastating story of love, loss and one woman's terrible choice between duty and personal freedom. The book that inspired the major motion picture starring Saoirse Ronan.It is Ireland in the early 1950s and for Eilis Lacey, as for so many young Irish girls, opportunities are scarce. So when her sister arranges for her to emigrate to New York, Eilis knows she must go, leaving behind her family and her home for the first time.Arriving in a crowded lodging house in Brooklyn, Eilis can only be reminded of what she has sacrificed. She is far from home - and homesick. And just as she takes tentative steps towards friendship, and perhaps something more, Eilis receives news which sends her back to Ireland. There she will be confronted by a terrible dilemma - a devastating choice between duty and one great love.***'With this elating and humane novel, Colm Tóibín has produced a masterwork' Sunday Times 'Unforgettable' Spectator'The most compelling and moving portrait of a young woman I have read in a long time' Zoë Heller Guardian, Books of the Year 'Magnificent' Sunday Telegraph'A work of such skill, understatement and sly jewelled merriment could haunt your life' Ali Smith TLS, Books of the YearWhen you are finished why not read the companion novel Nora Webster.
£9.99
Hodder & Stoughton The Curator
'One of those books that straddles fantastic and modernist literature in that it seems to be set in our world, seems to be set maybe 100 years ago . . . And it's as magical as it is political and beautifully crafted' - Neil GaimanHalf fairy tale and half historical account of a revolution that never was, Owen King's The Curator is full of sly humor, sensuality, and strangeness - Holly BlackFrom Sunday Times bestselling author Owen King comes a Dickensian fantasy of illusion and charm where cats are revered as religious figures, thieves are noble, scholars are revolutionaries, and conjurers the most wonderful criminals.At first glance, the world has not changed: the trams on the boulevards, the grand hotels, the cafes abuzz with conversation. The street kids still play on the two great bridges that divide the city, and the smart set still venture down to the Morgue Ship for an evening's entertainment.Yet it only takes a spark to ignite a revolution.For young Dora, a maid at the university, the moment brings liberation. She finds herself walking out with one of the student radicals, Robert, free to investigate what her brother Ambrose may have seen at the Institute for Psykical Research before he died.But it is another establishment that Dora is given to look after, The Museum of the Worker. This strange, forgotten edifice is occupied by waxwork tableaux of miners, nurses, shopkeepers and other disturbingly lifelike figures.As the revolution and counter-revolution outside unleash forces of love, betrayal, magic and terrifying darkness, Dora's search for the truth behind a mystery that she has long concealed will unravel a monstrous conspiracy and bring her to the very edge of worlds.In The Curator, Owen King has created an extraordinary time and place - historical, fantastical, yet compellingly real, and a heroine who is courageous, curious and utterly memorable.'The Curator feels a little like Owen King somehow brought a curiosity cabinet to life. There are terrors here, but also marvels and delights, and a set of the most interesting characters I've met in some time. Put The Curator on the same shelf as other classics of the uncanny and uncategorisable, like Susanna Clarke's Piranesi and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast. I loved it' - Kelly Link'Owen King's The Curator is a rich read. Language, characters, and a fascinating world combine to create an intensely satisfying experience' - Charlaine Harris
£18.00
ZunTold A Cake For The Gestapo
Slotting in beside THE MACHINE GUNNERS and WAR HORSE, A CAKE FOR THE GESTAPO tells the story of a fictional gang of kids in Jersey during the German Occupation in WW2, weaving in very real islanders’ own stories of the Occupation at its core – A history that has never before been told in children’s literature June 1940. Jersey. Joe makes light of his father’s unpredictable anger, and Spinner tries to ignore the school bully, Percy, while dealing with her own mounting fears. As for Ginger, her cousin, he’s nervous of the biggest bully of all, Hitler, while her neighbour, farmer’s son Clem, is apparently just keeping his head down. But on the sly, Clem is learning to box, has hidden a gun and he’s going to deal with Percy – and possibly the Germans – all by himself. All the same, none of them believes the Germans will actually invade. Then the island is bombed, Joe is injured and outrage turns to terror as the Germans arrive and their grip on the peaceful island tightens. Initially, the adults avoid direct confrontation, while the gang is determined to go further, aiming to destroy German morale and trip them up in their every move. At first, they simply play tricks on the soldiers, but as the situation worsens, their defiance escalates, leading them all into terrible, mortal danger. As the Occupation wears on, and deprivation turns to starvation, a distinct plan emerges for the kids - the successful elimination from the island of a Gestapo sergeant, the cruel and repugnant Viktor.
£8.42
Fraenkel Gallery,US Lee Friedlander: Signs
Traffic signs, sandwich boards and posters: Friedlander’s portrait of words in the world For more than five decades, Lee Friedlander has repeatedly been drawn to the signs that inscribe the American landscape, from hand-lettered ads to storefront windows to massive billboards. Incorporating these markings with precision and sly humor, Friedlander’s photographs record a kind of found poetry of desire and commerce. Focusing on one of the artist’s key motifs, Lee Friedlander: Signs presents a cacophony of wheat-paste posters, Coca-Cola ads, prices for milk, road signs, stop signs, neon lights, movie marquees and graffiti. The book collects 144 photographs made in New York and other places across the US, and features self-portraits, street photographs and work from series including The American Monument and America by Car, among others. Illegible or plainspoken, crude or whimsical, Friedlander’s signs are an unselfconscious portrait of modern life. Lee Friedlander (born 1934) began photographing in 1948. Among his many monographs are Sticks and Stones, Self-Portrait, Letters from the People, Cherry Blossom Time in Japan and At Work, among others. His work was included in the influential 1967 exhibition New Documents at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, curated by John Szarkowski. Among the most important living photographers, Friedlander is in the collections of museums around the world.
£58.50
Drawn and Quarterly Wendy, Master of Art
Wendy is an aspiring contemporary artist whose adventures have taken her to galleries, art openings, and parties in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Toronto. In Wendy, Master of Art, Walter Scott s sly wit and social commentary zero in on MFA culture as our hero hunkers down to complete a master of fine arts at the University of Hell in small-town Ontario. Finally Wendy has space to refine her artistic practice, but in this calm, all of her unresolved insecurities and fears explode at full volume usually while hungover. What is the post-Jungian object as symbol? Will she ever understand her course reading or herself? What if she s just not smart enough? As she develops as an artist and a person, Wendy also finds herself in a teaching position, mentoring a perpetually sobbing grade-grubbing undergrad. Scott s incisively funny take on art school pretensions isn t the only focus. Wendy, Master of Art explores the politics of open relationships and polyamory, performative activism, the precariousness of a life in the arts, as well as the complexities of gender identity, sex work, drug use, and more. At its heart, this is a book about the give and take of community about learning to navigate empathy and boundaries, and to respect herself. It is deeply funny and endlessly relatable as it shows Wendy growing from millennial art party girl to successful artist, friend, teacher and Master of Art.
£18.90
Sonicbond Publishing Soft Machine On Track: Every Album, Every Song
Soft Machine are perceived as cold and forbidding. At their peak in the 1970s, they purposefully raised the hackles of pop journalists, the musical establishment, and even their own fans. Their music was designed to exclude all but the most devoted. Their line-up constantly churned, divesting themselves of every player that tried to make a human connection. Instead of the community of live performance, they favoured an abusive blast of ferocious noise that never ceased from the first note to the point you were driven out of the venue in shock. That all this was true only for a short period of their career and is certainly not the case for more recent incarnations is irrelevant if potential listeners are turned away before they've even dared to hear a note of their music. Do so, and an entirely different band emerges: one that is sly, spry, tuneful, trippy, and surprisingly welcoming, merging a glorious melange of prog rock, jazz fusion, and much more and capable of shifting on a unison beat from soul ballad to freeform skronk, from fuzz-driven pounding to aching minimalism. This book guides you through the maze of the band's works, revealing why every album is worthy of re-evaluation, why they're so influential, and why you should rush to assimilate as many of them as you can. It covers the live and studio material released by the parent group, all related projects with a 'Soft' in their name, and the essential extracurricular activities of every member from 1960 to the present day.
£15.99
University of Illinois Press American Political Plays: AN ANTHOLOGY
Richly deserving of wider exposure in the theater and the classroom, these sly, remarkable scripts touch on the forceful and salient issues of the 1990s, including the Gulf War, racial and sexual relations, crises unique to big cities, immigration and multiculturalism, art and censorship, revisionist history, academic freedom, and the transformation of the American presidency. The American Play by Suzan-Lori Parks features an Abraham Lincoln impersonator trapped in an outrageous, Beckett-like world, while Naomi Wallace's In the Heart of America centers on a Palestinian American from Atlanta who is caught up in the Persian Gulf conflict. Kokoro by Velina Hasu Houston chillingly depicts the stark predicament of a Japanese mother caught between two impossible worlds; Marisol by José Rivera reveals the dark fairytale life of a young Latin woman in a wartorn, apocalyptic New York. The Gift by Allan Havis confronts overwhelming moral ambiguity in the farcical realm of university politics, while Nixon's Nixon by Russell Lees offers an adroit treatment of the fascinating, tortured Nixon/Kissinger relationship. The collection closes with Mac Wellman's 7 Blowjobs, a wicked send-up of the compromise politics that determined the fate of the National Endowment for the Arts. Taken together, these seven plays present an eclectic web of social thought and imagination that are uniquely American, offering the reader a splendid, honest study of a rich society in search of itself.
£25.19
Everyman Zeno's Conscience
The modern Italian classic discovered and championed by James Joyce, ZENO'S CONSCIENCE is a marvel of psychological insight, published here in a fine new translation by William Weaver - the first in more than seventy years.Italo Svevo's masterpiece tells the story of a hapless, doubting, guilt-ridden man paralyzed by fits of ecstasy and despair and tickled by his own cleverness. His doctor advises him, as a form of therapy, to write his memoirs; in doing so, Zeno reconstructs and ultimately reshapes the events of his life into a palatable reality for himself - a reality, however, founded on compromise, delusion, and rationalization.With cigarette in hand, Zeno sets out in search of health and happiness, hoping along the way to free himself from countless vices, not least of which is his accursed "last cigarette!" (Zeno's famously ineffectual refrain is inevitably followed by a lapse in resolve.) His amorous wanderings win him the shrill affections of an aspiring coloratura, and his confidence in his financial savoir-faire involves him in a hopeless speculative enterprise. Meanwhile, his trusting wife reliably awaits his return at appointed mealtimes. Zeno's adventures rise to antic heights in this pioneering psychoanalytic novel, as his restlessly self-preserving commentary inevitably embroiders the truth. Absorbing and devilishly entertaining, ZENO'S CONSCIENCE is at once a comedy of errors, a sly testimonial to he joys of procrastination, and a surpassingly lucid vision of human nature by one of the most important Italian literary figures of the twentieth century.
£14.07
The New Press Special Envoy: A Spy Novel
Jean Echenoz’s sly and playful novels have won critical and popular acclaim in France as well as in the United States, where he has been profiled by the New Yorker and called the "most distinctive voice of his generation" by theWashington Post. With his wonderfully droll and intriguing new work Special Envoy, Echenoz turns his hand to the espionage novel which, when published in France, stormed the bestseller lists. Special Envoy begins with an old general in his dilapidated office in France’s intelligence agency asking his trusted lieutenant Paul Objat for ideas about a person he wants for a particular job: someone pretty, female, and easily manipulated. Objat has someone in mind: Constance, an attractive, restless, bored woman in a failing marriage to a washed-up pop musician. She is abducted by Objat’s cronies and spirited away into the bowels of France’s intelligence bureaucracy where she is trained for the mission to spearhead the destabilization of Kim Jong-un’s regime in North Korea. Will Constance survive her mission in Pyongyang? Will her feckless husband ever write another pop hit? Joyously strange and unpredictable, full of twists and coincidences, Special Envoy is, in the words of L’Express "a pure gem, a delight at all times, a comedy monument, a celebration of the French language."
£17.99
Columbia University Press Klotsvog
Klotsvog is a novel about being Jewish in the Soviet Union and the historical trauma of World War II—and it’s a novel about the petty dramas and demons of one strikingly vain woman. Maya Abramovna Klotsvog has had quite a life, and she wants you to know all about it. Selfish, garrulous, and thoroughly entertaining, she tells us where she came from, who she didn’t get along with, and what became of all her husbands and lovers.In Klotsvog, Margarita Khemlin creates a first-person narrator who is both deeply self-absorbed and deeply compelling. From Maya’s perspective, Khemlin unfurls a retelling of the Soviet Jewish experience that integrates the historical and the personal into her protagonist’s vividly drawn inner and outer lives. Maya’s life story flows as a long monologue, told in unfussy language dense with Khemlin’s magnificently manipulated Soviet clichés and matter-of-fact descriptions of Soviet life. Born in a center of Jewish culture in Ukraine, she spent the war in evacuation in Kazakhstan. She has few friends but has had several husbands, and her relationships with her relatives are strained at best. The war looms over Klotsvog, and the trauma runs deep, as do the ambiguities and ambivalences of Jewish identity. Lisa Hayden’s masterful translation brings this gripping character study full of dark, sly humor and new perspectives on Jewish heritage and survival to an English-speaking audience.
£12.99
ACC Art Books What the Band Wore: Fashion & Music
"Even the book's cover sparkles with gold, a brilliant visual cue -- at least for those of us of a certain age -- of what's in store: A traipse through that time in our lives when the sparkly flash of pop-cultural figures served as guides to millions of youngsters desperate to connect to a dim constellation we knew to be out there but couldn't see alone." — East Hampton Star What The Band Wore by Alice Harris is an unprecedented collection of photographs that illustrates four decades of pop, rock, soul, disco, funk, punk, reggae, heavy metal, and hip hop fashion. Sparkling sequins, safety pins, and even suits from outer space are spotlighted in more than 80 images by acclaimed music photographers, including Terry O'Neill, Henry Diltz, Matthew Rolston, Bob Gruen, and Lynn Goldsmith. Featuring exclusive comments from legendary artists, What The Band Wore traces the evolution of stage wear from the 1960s through the 1990s, from the self-made counterculture style of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and Sly & The Family Stone to the custom designs that Bob Mackie, Bill Whitten, Larry LeGaspi, Vivienne Westwood, and Issey Miyake created for the most renowned names in music. Whether it's Elvis Presley or Janet Jackson posing in tight leather, Freddie Mercury masquerading as a harlequin, or Run-DMC sporting their iconic footwear, these pages thread together a fabulous celebration of fashion and music.
£36.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Belittled Women
Sharp and subversive, this delightfully messy YA rom-com offers a sly wink to the classic Little Women, as teenage Jo Porter rebels against living in the shadow of her literary namesake.Lit’s about to hit the fan. Jo Porter has had enough Little Women to last a lifetime. As if being named after the sappiest family in literature wasn’t sufficiently humiliating, Jo’s mom, ahem Marmee, leveled up her Alcott obsession by turning their rambling old house into a sad-sack tourist attraction.Now Jo, along with her siblings, Meg and Bethamy (yes, that’s two March sisters in one), spends all summer acting out sentimental moments at Little Women Live!, where she can feel her soul slowly dying.So when a famed photojournalist arrives to document the show, Jo seizes on the glimpse of another life: artsy, worldly, and fast-paced. It doesn’t hurt that the reporter’s teenage son is also eager to get up close and personal with Jo—to the annoyance of her best friend, aka the boy next door (who is definitely not called Laurie). All Jo wants is for someone to see the person behind the prickliness and pinafores.But when she gets a little too real about her frustration with the family biz, Jo will have to make peace with kitsch and kin before their livelihood suffers a fate worse than Beth.
£8.99
Hodder & Stoughton Her Sweet Revenge: The unmissable new thriller from Sarah Bonner - compelling, dark and twisty
SECRETS AND LIES RUIN LIVES'So many twists and thrills I was gripping the sides of the book all the way to the dynamite ending' DAN MALAKIN'A high-paced and relentlessly twisty thriller' L.V. MATTHEWS'An intricately plotted thriller full of deeply flawed yet believable characters. Utterly riveting and clever' CATHERINE COOPER'Fiendishly clever and compulsive - this novel will leave you feeling breathless in the best way' SARAH LAWTON'More twists and turns than a rollercoaster! Superbly plotted, compelling, pacy. Sarah is a tour de force' T ORR MUNROTwo women receive an anonymous note.For one it's a threat.For the other it's an invitation for revenge.Helena is beautiful, successful, and living in married bliss in Exeter. But she's hiding a secret that could tear her perfect life apart. When the notes begin to arrive, she realises someone else must know her secret. But what might her husband and his overbearing family do if they find out the truth?Thea is reeling from her best friend Helena's death. But when she starts digging into the circumstances, she receives a threatening note warning her to stop. She knows her friend's death wasn't an accident. This was murder. And she is determined to get revenge . . .PRAISE FOR SARAH BONNER'S DEBUT HER PERFECT TWIN:'Brilliantly twisty' T. M. Logan'Terrifyingly vivid' Janice Hallett'Made my jaw drop' Samantha Downing'A perfect storm of sly revenge and rivalry' L. V. Matthews
£9.99
Inner Traditions Bear and Company The Hidden History of Elves and Dwarfs: Avatars of Invisible Realms
A comprehensive examination of the intertwined mythology, folklore, and literary history of the little people Most people are familiar with the popular image of elves as Santa’s helpers and dwarfs as little bearded men wearing red caps, who are mischievous and playful, helpful and sly, industrious and dexterous. But their roots go far deeper than their appearance in fairy tales and popular stories. Elves and dwarfs are survivors of a much older belief system that predates Christianity and was widespread throughout Western Europe. Sharing his extensive analysis of Germanic and Norse legends, as well as Roman, Celtic, and medieval literature, Claude Lecouteux explores the ancient, intertwined history of dwarfs and elves. He reveals how both were once peoples who lived in wild regions as keepers of the secrets of nature. They were able to change their size at will and had superhuman strength and healing powers. They were excellent smiths, crafting swords that nothing could dull as well as magical jewelry, and often entered into the service of lords or heroes. They were a part of the everyday life of our ancestors before they were transformed by fairy tales and church texts into the mythical creatures we know today. Lecouteux shows how, in earlier folklore, elves and dwarfs were interchangeable, gradually evolving over time to express very different kinds of beings. Revealing the true roots of these helpful and powerful beings, including an in-depth exploration of one of the most famous dwarf/elf/fairy beings of the Middle Ages, Auberon or Oberon, also known as Alberich, Lecouteux shows how the magic of dwarfs and elves can be rekindled if we recognize their signs and invite them back into our world.
£18.89
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The City Of Brass: A Novel
Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by–palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing–are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass–a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries. Spurning Dara's warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of revolutionizing his father's corrupt regime. All too soon, Nahri learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. After all, there is a reason they say to be careful what you wish for . . .
£25.14
Little, Brown Book Group In Charm's Way: A deliciously witchy rom-com of forbidden spells and unexpected love
A witch struggling to regain what she has lost casts a forbidden spell - only to discover much more than she expected, in this enchanting new rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Lana Harper.Six months after having been hit by a power surge that nearly obliterated her memory, Delilah Harlow is still picking up the pieces. Her once diamond-sharp mind has become shaky and unreliable, and bristly, self-sufficient Delilah is forced to rely on friends, family, and her raven familiar for help. In an effort to reclaim her wits and former independence, she casts a dangerous blood spell meant to harness power with healing capacities.While the spell does restore clarity, it also unexpectedly turns Delilah into an irresistible beacon for the kind of malevolent supernatural creatures that have never before ventured into Thistle Grove. One night - just as things are about to go terribly sideways with a rogue succubus - a mysterious stranger appears in the nick of time to save Delilah's soul.Gorgeous, sultry, and as dangerous as the knives she carries, Catriona Quinn is a hunter of monsters - and half-human, half-fae herself, she is the kind of sly and morally gray creature Delilah would normally find horrifying. Though Delilah balks at the idea of a partnership, she has no choice but to roll the dice on their collaboration. As the two delve deeper into the power that underlies Thistle Grove, they uncover not only the town's hidden history but also a risky attraction that could upend Delilah's entire life.......................................Readers are spellbound by Lana Harper's enchanting rom-coms!'The book I've been waiting for all my life' Emily Henry'Like if Casey McQuiston wrote paranormal' Goodreads'A queer rom com that bewitches from the very first page' Publishers Weekly'John Tucker Must Die but with queer witches' Goodreads'Compulsively fun' Jacqueline Carey'Sexy, charming and completely magical!' Kerry Winfrey'The perfect autumnal witchy romance!' Goodreads'Hilariously funny and glue-you-to-the-page engrossing' Bookpage'I want to go to Thistle Grove' Seanan McGuire'It's basically John Tucker Must Die meets The Craft, with an extra serving of queer relationships' The Lesbrary'Charming, sweet, and magical, the perfect book to enjoy on a cosy autumn night' The Nerd Daily'The kind of book that you just sort of ache to step inside . . . a perfect fall read' Goodreads'The witchy, sapphic, revenge romcom I've been dreaming of' Goodreads......................................Meet the other wonderful Witches of Thistle Grove in Payback's a Witch, From Bad to Cursed, and Back in a Spell - out now!
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis is the complete collection of short fiction from the world-renowned Lydia Davis.WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2013.'Big rejoicing: Lydia Davis has won the Man Booker International prize. Never did a book award deliver such a true match-winning punch. Best of all, a new audience will read her now and find her wit, her vigour and rigour, her funniness, her thoughtfulness, and the precision of form, which mark Davis out as unique.Daring, excitingly intelligent and often wildly comic [she] reminds you, in a world that likes to bandy its words about, what words such as economy, precision and originality really mean. This is a writer as mighty as Kafka, as subtle as Flaubert and as epoch-making, in her own way, as Proust. A two-liner from Davis, or a seemingly throwaway paragraph, will haunt. What looks like a game will open to deep seriousness; what looks like philosophy will reveal playfulness, tragicomedy, ordinariness; what looks like ordinariness will ask you to look again at Davis's writing. In its acuteness, it always asks attentiveness, and it repays this by opening up to its reader like possibility, or like a bush covered in flowerheads.She's a joy. There's no writer quite like her' Ali Smith'What stories. Precise and piercing, extremely funny. Nearly all are unlike anything you've ever read' Metro'I loved these stories. They are so well-written, with such clarity of thought and precision of language. Excellent' William Leith, Evening Standard'Remarkable. Some of the most moving fiction - on death, marriage, children - of recent years. To read Collected Stories is to be reminded of the grand, echoing mind-chambers created by Sebald or recent Coetzee. A writer of vast intelligence and originality' Independent on Sunday'A body of work probably unique in American writing, in its combination of lucidity, aphoristic brevity, formal originality, sly comedy, metaphysical bleakness, philosophical pressure and human wisdom' New Yorker'Davis is a high priestess of the startling, telling detail. She can make the most ordinary things, such as couples talking, or someone watching television, bizarre, almost mythical. I felt I had encountered a most original and daring mind' Colm Toibin, Daily TelegraphLydia Davis is the author of one novel and seven story collections, the most recent of which was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Award. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and was named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government for her fiction and her translations of modern writers including Maurice Blanchot, Michel Leiris and Marcel Proust.
£11.55
Baen Books BRINGERS OF HELL
When someone starts killing his fellow bounty hunters in the port of Fairhaven, Drago Appleroot is happy to help his contacts in the City Watch with their investigation—for a reasonable fee, of course. But posing as an assassin-for-hire to draw out the killer attracts the attention of two separate groups from a far-off Elven kingdom whose private war is being fought on the streets of his home town. Pitched into a maelstrom of treachery and lethal politics, Drago is forced into a long and dangerous journey to the heart of the Sylvan Marches, where one determined gnome might just decide the destiny of a kingdom. If he can survive long enough to decide which side he ought to be on. About Alex Stewart's Shooting the Rift: “Stewart makes his [faster than light travel] technology as accessible and relevant as the neuroware, genetic engineering, anti-gravity, and other assorted techno-furniture of the milieu. His various venues . . . are limned with vigor, vividness and vivacity. The personages are all true-to-life, delivering fine banter and plot-propelling dialogue, arising out of fully believable motivations and drives and desires. . . . the best of what ambitious adventure SF has always done and can plainly continue to do.”—Locus “Stewart writes with sly wit. He pokes fun at modern science fiction tropes. His clever writing even satirizes science fiction satire. He combines this with rollicking adventure, original plot twists and unexpected revelations and endings. Shooting the Rift is fun to read. Better still it promises a sequel.”—Galveston County Daily News
£20.69
Hodder & Stoughton Her Sweet Revenge: The unmissable new thriller from Sarah Bonner - compelling, dark and twisty
SECRETS AND LIES RUIN LIVES'So many twists and thrills I was gripping the sides of the book all the way to the dynamite ending' DAN MALAKIN'A high-paced and relentlessly twisty thriller' L.V. MATTHEWS'An intricately plotted thriller full of deeply flawed yet believable characters. Utterly riveting and clever' CATHERINE COOPER'Fiendishly clever and compulsive - this novel will leave you feeling breathless in the best way' SARAH LAWTON'More twists and turns than a rollercoaster! Superbly plotted, compelling, pacy. Sarah is a tour de force' T ORR MUNROTwo women receive an anonymous note.For one it's a threat.For the other it's an invitation for revenge.Helena is beautiful, successful, and living in married bliss in Exeter. But she's hiding a secret that could tear her perfect life apart. When the notes begin to arrive, she realises someone else must know her secret. But what might her husband and his overbearing family do if they find out the truth?Thea is reeling from her best friend Helena's death. But when she starts digging into the circumstances, she receives a threatening note warning her to stop. She knows her friend's death wasn't an accident. This was murder. And she is determined to get revenge . . .PRAISE FOR SARAH BONNER'S DEBUT HER PERFECT TWIN:'Brilliantly twisty' T. M. Logan'Terrifyingly vivid' Janice Hallett'Made my jaw drop' Samantha Downing'A perfect storm of sly revenge and rivalry' L. V. Matthews
£19.80
Little, Brown Book Group The Silkworm: Cormoran Strike Book 2
***The 7th novel in the Strike series, THE RUNNING GRAVE, is coming in September 2023. Pre-order now and be the first to read it***'Teems with sly humour, witty asides and intelligence ... A pleasure to read' TIMES-----Now a major BBC drama: The Strike seriesWhen novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, she just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days - as he has done before - and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realises. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were published it would ruin lives - so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him.And when Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any he has encountered before . . .A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn, The Silkworm is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike and his determined young assistant Robin Ellacott.*** The latest book in the thrilling Strike series, TROUBLED BLOOD, is out now! ***-----PRAISE FOR THE STRIKE SERIES: 'One of the most unique and compelling detectives I've come across in years' MARK BILLINGHAM'The work of a master storyteller' DAILY TELEGRAPH'Unputdownable. . . Irresistible' SUNDAY TIMES'Will keep you up all night' OBSERVER'A thoroughly enjoyable classic' PETER JAMES, SUNDAY EXPRESS
£10.30
Rare Bird Books Reggae My Life Is
Copeland Forbes is one of the most consequential figures in the history of modern Jamaican music. Through his roles as personal and tour manager for some of the most iconic personalities in music, Forbes has been a witness to and a participant in some of the most intriguing dramas in the annals of modern popular music. Forbes is a much sought after speaking at music symposia and seminars across the world where his name is often a prime attraction and his vast knowledge a source of enlightenment and entertainment. Forbes has copped numerous awards for his outstanding contribution to the music industry including the Order of Distinction from the Government of Jamaica in 2017. In Reggae My Life Is, Forbes provides riveting accounts of incidents and colorful portraits of personalities that have helped to shape our society and our culture. It is a matter of easy concession that Forbes has led an exciting life. He has seen so many places and has made so many things happen during the 60 years he was entrusted with handling the affairs of some of the most celebrated figures ever to grace our planet. Among some of the fascinating figures making appearances in Forbes’ retrospective Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Jimmy Cliff, Bunny Wailer. Rita Marley, Frankie Crocker, Danny Sims, Marcia Griffiths, Gregory Issacs, Chris Blackwell, Mick Jagger, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, Don Taylor, Sly and Robbie, Grace Jones and Don King. Forbes, with his prodigious recall, is able to situate some of the more seminal moments in the history of Jamaican music with clarity and humor. His knowledge of venues, dates and personalities is encyclopedic. Yet Forbes’ intention is not to provide fodder for the gossip mill. His aim is, instead, to clarify and contextualize in order to provide important lessons for those who seek to learn from art and life.
£21.99
John Murray Press Nobber: 'A bloody and brilliant first novel'
LONGLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE'A writer out to do whatever the hell he wants . . . a grisly, gross-out slice of medieval life and death, it's vigorously, writhingly itself, spilling out of any box you put it in' Observer'A dark and bloody tale, well leavened with bone-dry humour, and with a dramatic climax that has about it the flavour of a Jacobean tragedy' Guardian 'Set to become an Irish cult classic' Sunday Business Post'A tremendously engaging and fun read . . . a crazed, quixotic odyssey' Kevin BarryAn ambitious noble and his three serving men travel through the Irish countryside in the stifling summer of 1348, using the advantage of the plague which has collapsed society to buy up large swathes of property and land. They come upon Nobber, a tiny town, whose only living habitants seem to be an egotistical bureaucrat, his volatile wife, a naked blacksmith, and a beautiful Gaelic hostage. Meanwhile, a band of marauding Gaels are roaming around, using the confusion of the sickness to pillage and reclaim lands that once belonged to them. As these groups converge upon the town, the habitants, who up until this point have been under strict curfew, begin to stir from their dwellings, demanding answers from the intruders. A deadly stand-off emerges from which no one will escape unscathed.'Nobber is hallucinatory and sly, conjuring a densely strange and savagely captivating world. There are lots of novels, and there are lots of novels that are all much alike, but there is nothing like Nobber' Colin Barrett'A skilled storyteller with a rich command of language and rare comedic flair' Irish Times
£10.99
Taschen GmbH The Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher
“A woman once rang me up and said, ‘Mr. Escher, I am absolutely crazy about your work. In your print Reptiles, you have given such a striking illustration of reincarnation.’ I replied, ‘Madame, if that’s the way you see it, so be it.’” A fittingly sly comment from renowned Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972), whose complex and ambiguous drawings continue to leave hasty interpretations far behind. Long before the first computer-generated 3-D images, Escher was a master of the third dimension. His lithograph Magic Mirror dates as far back as 1946. By taking such a title for the book, mathematician Bruno Ernst stressed the enrapturing spell Escher’s work invariably casts on those who see it. Ernst visited Escher every week for a year, systematically talking through his entire oeuvre with him. Their discussions resulted in a friendship that gave Ernst intimate access to the life and conceptual world of Escher. Ernst’s account was meticulously scrutinized and made accurate by the artist himself. Escher’s work refuses to be pigeonholed. Scientific, psychological, or aesthetic criteria alone cannot do it justice. The questions remain: Why did he create the pictures? How did he construct them? What preliminary studies were necessary before achieving the final version? And how are his various creations interrelated? This updated and redesigned edition of a true classic—complete with biographical data, 250 illustrations, and a thorough breaking-down of each mathematical problem—offers answers to these and many other lingering mysteries, and is an authentic source text of the first order.
£30.14
Sparkling Books Ltd The True Friend
True to Goldoni's mixture of comic wit and farce, the plot is a breathtakingly fast succession of twists and turns which only unravel in the very final lines with a surprise ending. Two friends are in love with the same young woman. Neither wants to place their friendship in jeopardy. How can love triumph without breaking off their friendship? Goldoni explores the conflicts brought about when Florindo has to choose between Lelio, his best friend, and Rosaura, his best friend's fiancee. Added to this conundrum are the issues of whether Ottavio, the old miser, will provide a dowry and the mature Beatrice's unashamed incessant pursuit of Florindo. The play is set in Bologna in Lelio's house. Florindo is a guest along with his faithful manservant. From the opening of the play, Florindo seeks to return home to Venice in order not to damage his friend's relationship. However, his departure is obstructed time and again by his hosts, leading to one complication after another. From the beginning, the plot is intense and fast-moving with inversions fed into the action in quick succession. This creates suspense which continues throughout the play as potential marriage partners are switched back and forth until the very ending when the audience finally discovers what the main characters' destiny will be. Will love or friendship prevail? The Venetian element is brought into this play through Florindo and his manservant, both Venetians. Apart from these two characters, all the others are portrayed as self-seeking, selfish and sly - whether servants or masters. The tension is kept at a constantly high level by the struggles between the characters. These struggles are not just brought about through love and friendship but are also generational and social. Furthermore, there is the added complication in the contrast of the characters' ideas of reality as they deceive one another. This creates dramatic irony and humour as the audience know more than any of the characters on stage.
£10.69
Titan Books Ltd Meddling Kids
A nostalgic and subversive trip rife with sly nods to H. P. Lovecraft and pop culture, in the vein of It and Stranger Things. An exuberant and wickedly entertaining celebration of horror, love, friendship, and many-tentacled, interdimensional demon spawn. SUMMER 1977. The Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in Oregon’s Zoinx River Valley) solved their final mystery and unmasked the elusive Sleepy Lake monster—another low-life fortune hunter trying to get his dirty hands on the legendary riches hidden in Deboën Mansion. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids. 1990. The former detectives have grown up and apart, each haunted by disturbing memories of their final night in the old haunted house. There are too many strange, half-remembered encounters and events that cannot be dismissed or explained away by a guy in a mask. And Andy, the once intrepid tomboy now wanted in two states, is tired of running from her demons. She needs answers. To find them she will need Kerri, the one-time kid genius and budding biologist, now drinking her ghosts away in New York with Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the club. They will also have to get Nate, the horror nerd currently residing in an asylum in Arkham, Massachusetts. Luckily Nate has not lost contact with Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star who was once their team leader… which is remarkable, considering Peter has been dead for years. The time has come to get the team back together, face their fears, and find out what actually happened all those years ago at Sleepy Lake. It’s their only chance to end the nightmares and, perhaps, save the world.
£9.44
F&W Publications Inc Beautiful Portrait Painting in Oils: Keys to Mastering Diverse Skin Tones and More
How to paint oil portraits like the Old Masters Mona Lisa. Girl with a Pearl Earring. Madame X. The infinite variety and beauty of humankind--like the mysteries behind sparkling eyes, a sly smile or an averted gaze--has captivated artists since the beginning of time. This expanded edition of Chris Saper's best-selling guide, Classic Portrait Painting in Oils, reveals keys for mastering how to paint beautiful portraits in oil to create soulful works of art. Through easy-to-follow lessons and expert oil painting tips and techniques, you'll find secrets for working from life, using reference photos and more to create rich, realistic portraits imbued with timeless character. 14 step-by-step demonstrations teach how to paint 7 diverse subjects of varying skin tones from life and from photographic reference Additional exercises reveal expert oil painting techniques for defining facial details, like eyes, mouths, wrinkles, facial hair and eyeglasses Professional tips for working from life, including ideal session times, posing, seeing and mixing color and even how to work with children The basics of using natural, artificial, creative and "Rembrandt" lighting to light your subject and convey a mood Expanded key concepts of "perfect practice," the importance of regularly painting subjects in real time and an insistence on excellent photographic reference material, including a checklist for how to take--and self-edit--your own quality photos New material on how to approach and execute paid commissions, including step-by-step demonstrations for painting both corporate and family subjects Through Saper's universal techniques, painters of all skill levels will learn to render more realistic portraits of every subject they paint, with predictable and joyful results.
£21.59
University of Illinois Press Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music
Through film composer Henry Mancini, mere background music in movies became part of pop culture--an expression of sophistication and wit with a modern sense of cool and a lasting lyricism that has not dated. The first comprehensive study of Mancini's music, Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music describes how the composer served as a bridge between the Big Band period of World War II and the impatient eclecticism of the Baby Boomer generation, between the grand formal orchestral film scores of the past and a modern American minimalist approach. Mancini's sound seemed to capture the bright, confident, welcoming voice of the middle class's new efficient life: interested in pop songs and jazz, in movie and television, in outreach politics but also conventional stay-at-home comforts. As John Caps shows, Mancini easily combined it all in his music. Mancini wielded influence in Hollywood and around the world with his iconic scores: dynamic jazz for the noirish detective TV show Peter Gunn, the sly theme from The Pink Panther, and his wistful folk song "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Through insightful close readings of key films, Caps traces Mancini's collaborations with important directors and shows how he homed in on specific dramatic or comic aspects of the film to create musical effects through clever instrumentation, eloquent musical gestures, and meaningful resonances and continuities in his scores. Accessible and engaging, this fresh view of Mancini's oeuvre and influence will delight and inform fans of film and popular music. John Caps is an award-winning writer and producer of documentaries. He served as producer, writer, and host for four seasons of the National Public Radio syndicated series The Cinema Soundtrack, featuring interviews with and music of film composers. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. A volume in the series Music in American Life
£16.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Fall: The End of the Murdoch Empire
THE BOOK THAT BROUGHT DOWN RUPERT MURDOCH - AND A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERMeet the Murdochs and the disastrously dysfunctional family of Fox News. Until recently, they formed the most powerful media and political force in America. Now their empire is cracking up and crashing down. In his irresistible trilogy on the chaotic Trump presidency - Fire and Fury, Siege, and Landslide - the journalist Michael Wolff led readers deep into the twisted corridors of the White House. Drawing on years of unprecedented access to the Murdoch family and key players, he plunges us behind the scenes of another empire of influence, and the result is astonishing and unforgettable. Here is Rupert Murdoch, the ninety-two-year-old billionaire - concerned about his legacy, but more concerned about profits. Here are his contentious children, jockeying to take over when the old man is gone. Here is star anchor Tucker Carlson considering a run for the presidency while his bosses have other plans for him. Sean Hannity, the richest man in television, has his own plans: to put Trump back in office. While presenter Laura Ingraham is just trying to survive in a man's world. As the fallout from the 2020 election and the Dominion lawsuit pummels the reputation of the network, the battling Murdoch heirs position themselves for the final act in this riveting drama."Michael Wolff's books were my foundation and port of entry for working on Succession." Jeremy Strong ("Kendall Roy")Praise for Fire and Fury:#1 New York Times bestseller, a Book of the Year in the Guardian, Sunday Times, Observer, Financial Times'The pages of Wolff's book are littered with insults and intrigue, backstabbing and dysfunction' Washington Post'What makes the book significant is its sly, hilarious portrait of a hollow man, into the black hole of whose needy, greedy ego the whole world has virtually vanished' Guardian
£22.50
Little, Brown Book Group Wayward
'Furious and addictive' New York Times 'Urgent, deeply moving, wholly original' GEORGE SAUNDERS'A dazzling lightning bolt of a novel' JENNY OFFILL'Fiercely funny and deliciously subversive' YIYUN LI'Wayward reads like a burning fever dream. A virtuosic, singular and very funny portrait of a woman seeking sanity and purpose in a world gone mad' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'***** If there's any justice in the world, Spiotta's firecracker of a novel, Wayward, will bring her the attention she very much deserves' Lucy Scholes, SUNDAY TELEGRAPHSamantha Raymond's life has begun to come apart: her mother is ill, her teenage daughter is increasingly remote, and she finds herself staring into 'the Mids' - hours of supreme wakefulness when women of a certain age contemplate their lives. For Sam, this means motherhood, mortality and the state of an unravelling nation. When Sam falls in love with a decrepit Arts and Crafts house on the wrong side of town, she buys it on a whim and flees her suburban life, attempting to find beauty in the ruins. 'One of the most wildly talented writers in America. This is Spiotta's best book yet' GEORGE SAUNDERS 'A slyly funny, clever and compelling story about the righteous (and rarely irrational) rage of women of a certain age' SARRA MANNING, RED magazine'A piercing novel about what we lose and gain by when we step out of life's deepest worn grooves' VOGUE'She writes with sly humour and utter seriousness; a rare articulation of midlife now' CLAIRE MESSUD'What begins as a vertiginous leap into hilarious rabbit holes ends as a brilliant meditation on mortality and time. How does she do it? Only Dana Spiotta knows. I'm just happy to see her work her magic' JENNY OFFILL
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers Counterfeit
HUSTLERS meets BIG LITTLE LIES in the heist of the summer… A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ‘Propulsive and captivating’ Vogue ‘Darkly comedic’ Daily Mail Meet Ava: rule-abiding lawyer who has ticked all of life’s boxes. She’s married to a successful surgeon and has just taken an indefinite career break to raise her adorable toddler. A picture-perfect life. Meet Winnie: Ava’s old college roommate. Once awkward, quiet and apparently academically challenged, she left Stanford in a shroud of scandal. But now, she is charismatic, wealthy and has returned to town dripping in designer accessories. An actual perfect life. When the two women bump into one another at a local coffee shop, it seems like fate has intervened: Winnie’s new-found success is courtesy of a shady business and she needs a favour; Ava is realising she is not built for the stay-at-home life. But what starts as one favour turns into two, then three, and soon Ava is in far deeper than she ever imagined. Now Ava has to make the ultimate decision: cut and run, or risk it all? ‘Entertaining, luxurious … innovative and subversive’ NEW YORK TIMES ’Riveting and energetic’ BALLI KAUR JASWAL ’Clever, sharp, and slyly funny’ KIRKUS REVIEWS ’Will keep you breathless to the last page’ CLAIRE MESSUD ’Sly, subversive … incisive’ BOOKLIST _____ NetGalley readers LOVE Counterfeit ‘One of the best books I’ve read all year’ * * * * *‘Gripping … ingenious’ * * * * *‘Amusing, addictive story that kept me reading all night’ * * * * *‘Mysterious, suspenseful and twisty … had me on the edge of my seat’ * * * * * *‘Fresh, observant and somehow … an incredible story without a wasted word’ * * * * *‘I absolutely loved this book … highly recommend’ * * * * *‘Devoured this in a night or two … funny, sad and eye-opening’ * * * * *‘This book refused to allow me to put it down!’ * * * * *‘Amusing, addictive … kept me reading all night’ * * * * *
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Counterfeit
HUSTLERS meets BIG LITTLE LIES in the heist of the summer… A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ‘Propulsive and captivating’ Vogue ‘Darkly comedic’ Daily Mail Meet Ava: rule-abiding lawyer who has ticked all of life’s boxes. She’s married to a successful surgeon and has just taken an indefinite career break to raise her adorable toddler. A picture-perfect life. Meet Winnie: Ava’s old college roommate. Once awkward, quiet and apparently academically challenged, she left Stanford in a shroud of scandal. But now, she is charismatic, wealthy and has returned to town dripping in designer accessories. An actual perfect life. When the two women bump into one another at a local coffee shop, it seems like fate has intervened: Winnie’s new-found success is courtesy of a shady business and she needs a favour; Ava is realising she is not built for the stay-at-home life. But what starts as one favour turns into two, then three, and soon Ava is in far deeper than she ever imagined. Now Ava has to make the ultimate decision: cut and run, or risk it all? ‘Entertaining, luxurious … innovative and subversive’ NEW YORK TIMES ’Riveting and energetic’ BALLI KAUR JASWAL ’Clever, sharp, and slyly funny’ KIRKUS REVIEWS ’Will keep you breathless to the last page’ CLAIRE MESSUD ’Sly, subversive … incisive’ BOOKLIST _____ NetGalley readers LOVE Counterfeit ‘One of the best books I’ve read all year’ * * * * *‘Gripping … ingenious’ * * * * *‘Amusing, addictive story that kept me reading all night’ * * * * *‘Mysterious, suspenseful and twisty … had me on the edge of my seat’ * * * * * *‘Fresh, observant and somehow … an incredible story without a wasted word’ * * * * *‘I absolutely loved this book … highly recommend’ * * * * *‘Devoured this in a night or two … funny, sad and eye-opening’ * * * * *‘This book refused to allow me to put it down!’ * * * * *‘Amusing, addictive … kept me reading all night’ * * * * *
£9.99
Globe Pequot Press The Jive 95: An Oral History of America’s Greatest Underground Rock Radio Station, KSAN San Francisco
KSAN!: The Hippie Radio Revolution that Rocked America is an oral history of America’s first hippie underground FM station which broadcasted the countercultural consciousness of the ‘60s and ‘70s to a new generation. A communal radio band of intrepid hellraisers, pranksters, and drug-enlightened geniuses defined this psychedelic era, from the Summer of Love in Golden Gate Park, to the rebellion and bitter end of the late 1970s, which launched the Reagan Revolution.Founded in San Francisco by Tom Donahue, a 1996 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an entire generation of Americans discovered a new musical universe among dance clubs, light shows and street fests––the original pop-ups. Almost overnight, KSAN became an audio clubhouse, where anyone could belong with friends and the cool cats and hipsters they just met.Rock gods, political stars, and literary celebrities, including Jerry Garcia, Ken Kesey, Sly Stone, and John Lennon were all interviewed by founder Tom Donahue and his cohorts, whose listeners “tuned in and turned on” to bands like Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Quicksilver, Country Joe and the Fish, Hot Tuna, The Beatles and Santana, among others.Folk journalist Hank Rosenfeld was there during those final years––writing, producing, and announcing. His warm, funny voice presents a behind-the-mic experience at KSAN, the beloved, “Jive 95,” whose delicious dose of enlightened sunshine and 33 rpm LP dreamscapes ignited a radio explosion from coast to coast.So, how did KSAN go from a liberating voice to a corporate cliché? It’s all here in Rosenfeld’s insightful, hilarious account, which includes countless exclusive interviews with iconic performers and never before available in print or audio form.
£22.50
Paizo Publishing, LLC Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Villain Codex Pocket Edition
Villains are at the heart of every great adventure—scheming, plotting, and causing mayhem—but creating a convincing and detailed group of antagonists is no easy task. Pathfinder RPG Villain Codex serves up 20 groups of vile miscreants waiting to menace your player characters and foil their every plan. Inside this time-saving tome, you will find a wide variety of foes, from a scheming regal court to a sinister doomsday cult, ready to challenge characters of any level. These villains come equipped with a host of new rules elements to give them the edge against players and fit into nearly any campaign! Villain Codex is an essential addition to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. This imaginative tabletop game builds on more than 15 years of system development and an open playtest featuring more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into a new era. Pathfinder RPG Villain Codex includes: • Complete sections for 20 villainous organizations, including a power- hungry arcane society, a greedy merchant caravan, a fleet of scandalous pirates, a creepy secret society, and a wily thieves’ guild. Trade blows with the serpentfolk-worshiping monks of Fang Monastery, match wits with the sly bandits of the Merry Outlaws, or defend civilization from the wild druids of Nature’s Scourge! • Information on each organization’s history and structure, along with plot hooks to get the players interested in confronting the group. • New rules in each villain section, including feats, spells, and magic items. • A wide variety of new stat blocks for all organization members, using each villain section’s new rules. • Premade encounter groups, allowing Game Masters to quickly make use of the villains in every section. • ... And much, much more!
£17.99
Quercus Publishing Windmill Hill: 'Compulsive and skilfully woven' CLARE CHAMBERS
'Rich in charm and surprises' GUARDIAN'A transporting and entertaining read' THE TIMES'A triumph. Funny, mysterious, moving and ingenious - a Shakespearian knot of happiness all round' PHILIP PULLMAN One night in a remote hunting lodge with a Hollywood director causes an international scandal that wrecks Astrid's glittering stage career, and her marriage. Her ex-husband, the charismatic Scottish actor Magnus Fellowes, goes on to find global fame, while Astrid retreats to a disintegrating Sussex windmill. Now 82, she lives there still, with a troupe of dachshunds and her long-suffering friend, Mrs Baker, who came to clean twenty years ago and never left. But the past is catching up with them. There has been an 'Awful Incident' at the windmill; the women are in shock. Then Astrid hears that Magnus, now on his death bed, is writing a tell-all memoir. Outraged, she sets off for Scotland, determined to stop him. Windmill Hill is the story of two very different women, both with painful pasts, and their eccentric friendship - deep, enduring, and loyal to the last. Praise for Lucy Atkins:'Brilliantly observed. I loved it' CLAIRE FULLER'A truly memorable story, I loved it' JOANNA CANNON'An intriguing, brilliantly told story' NINA STIBBE'Charming and shocking . . . Never fails to delight' MICK HERRON'A deft display of Lucy Atkins's talents as a delicate observer of human nature' ARIFA AKBAR'Compulsive and skilfully woven' CLARE CHAMBERS'Intelligent and gripping' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'Mesmerising . . . beautifully written' LITERARY REVIEW'Cleverly constructed' WOMAN & HOME'It was an utter joy to relish Atkins's wonderfully skilled and unobtrusive writing' SARAH PERRY 'Sly, witty and gripping . . . I loved it' NAOMI ALDERMAN 'A sinewy, supple and gorgeously satisfying triumph' LUCY MANGAN
£16.99
Penguin Books Ltd A Flat Place
BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 ACCORDING TO THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, NEW YORKER Raw and radical, strange and beguiling - a love letter to Britain's breathtaking flatlands, from Orford Ness to Orkney, and a reckoning with the painful, hidden histories they contain'Expansive, arresting, with sly humour... Masud establishes herself as a significant chronicler of personal and national experience' Financial Times'Noreen Masud fathoms the depths of flat landscapes - sharp, subtle and very moving' Robert Macfarlane'Haunting and generous, beautifully written - this book is a gift' Preti Taneja'A Flat Place reminds us that there is hope in the smallest of gestures' Sara AhmedNoreen Masud has always loved flatlands. Her earliest memory is of a wide, flat field glimpsed from the back seat of her father's car in Lahore. As an adult in Britain she has discovered many more flat landscapes to love: Orford Ness, the Cambridgeshire Fens, Morecambe Bay, Orkney. These bare, haunted expanses remind her of the flat place inside herself: the place created by trauma.Noreen suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder: the product of a profoundly disrupted and unstable childhood. It flattens her emotions, blanks out parts of her memory, and colours her world with anxiety. Undertaking a pilgrimage around Britain's flatlands, seeking solace and belonging, she weaves her impressions of the natural world with poetry, folklore and history, and with recollections of her own early life.Noreen's British-Pakistani heritage makes her a partial outsider in these landscapes: both coloniser and colonised, inheritor and dispossessed. Here violence lies beneath the fantasy of pastoral innocence, and histories of harm are interwoven with nature's power to heal. Here, as in her own family history, are many stories that resist the telling. She pursues these paradoxes fearlessly across the flat, haunted spaces she loves, offering a startlingly strange, vivid and intimate account of the land beneath her feet.
£16.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The World Doesn't Require You
Welcome to Cross River, Maryland. Established by the leaders of the country's only successful slave revolt in the mid-nineteenth century, its residents thump out a beat that echoes its violent founding. Among them – spanning decades, perspectives, and species – are David Sherman, a struggling musician who just happens to be God's last son; Tyrone, a ruthless Ph.D student channelling the insurrections of his forebears through a childhood game; Jim, a Robot Personal Helper desperate to escape the master who enslaves him; and James-my-man, who travels the path of the Underground Railroad year after year.Not to forget the water women who lure men to their watery graves and the screecher birds who cry out for sacrificial flesh...Contemporary and essential, The World Doesn't Require You announces the arrival of a generational talent, as Rion Amilcar Scott shatters rigid genre lines to explore larger themes of race, violence, and love – all told with sly humour and a dash of magical realism.PRAISE FOR THE WORLD DOESN'T REQUIRE YOU: 'I wandered into Cross River, not knowing a damn thing. Now I'm shuddering, gasping in wonder, reading stories over and over, and doing just about anything so that I never leave' MARLON JAMES'A musical and visceral explosion. The book makes you laugh even as it stabs. The truth told in a completely new way' NANA KWAME ADJEI-BRENYAH'Flat-out unputdownable' LAURA VAN DEN BERG'Rion Amilcar Scott doesn't hold back or tiptoe around issues about race. He's the most courageous writer I know; and this collection is an excellent example and significant achievement. He's now made his mark as a force to reckon with' NICOLE DENNIS-BENN'Surreal, intertextual, and darkly comical ... With breathtaking cruelty and devastating humor, Scott adduces the whole world in one community' NAFISSA THOMPSON-SPIRES
£14.38
Taschen GmbH Andy Warhol. Love, Sex, and Desire. Drawings 1950–1962
Well before Andy Warhol’s rise to the pinnacle of Pop Art, he created and exhibited seductive drawings celebrating male beauty. Andy Warhol Love, Sex, & Desire: Drawings 1950-1962 features over three hundred drawings rendered primarily in ink on paper portraying young men, many of them nude, some sexually charged, and occasionally adorned with whimsical black hearts and delightful embellishments. They lounge or preen, proud of or even bored by their beauty, while the artist sketches them, rapt. They rarely engage with their keen observer, and likewise Warhol’s focus is on their form, their erotic qualities, and unbridled sexuality. If his subjects are content to revel in their attractiveness, so too is Warhol. His confident hand illustrates a multitude of colorful characters, yet also reveals much about this enigmatic artist. Warhol was already a booming commercial illustrator when he exhibited studies from this body of work at the Bodley Gallery on New York’s Upper East Side in 1956. He mistakenly saw these illustrations as his way of breaking into the New York art scene, underestimating the pervading homophobia of the time. While he never saw through his plan to publish the drawings as a monograph, he did produce more than a thousand elegant, seemingly effortless drawings from life. This volume finally brings his project to fruition by gathering his most striking images, published here for the first time in a comprehensive book and chosen by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Edited and featuring an introduction by the Foundation’s Michael Dayton Hermann, and essays by Warhol biographer Blake Gopnik and art critic Drew Zeiba. The inclusion of poems by James Baldwin, Thom Gunn, Harold Norse, Essex Hemphill and Allen Ginsberg create moments of introspection, which expand on the themes and moods present in the drawings. In style, the drawings evoke the sketches of Jean Cocteau and even Matisse: highly distilled and sure of line, yet loose. The sly voyeurism, meanwhile, is entirely Warhol’s own, and even the most risqué drawings contain a kind of droll humor—a sense of ironic detachment—that would become a Warhol trademark.
£72.00