Search results for ""Author Sly"

The second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI Part Two is arguably the best introduction to the playwright's genius as a writer of history plays. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by Norman Saunders with an introduction by Michael Taylor.'My mouth shall be the parliament of Enland'Henry VI is tricked into marrying Margaret - lover of the Earl of Suffolk, who hopes to rule the kingdom through her influence. There is one great obstacle in Suffolk's path, however - the noble Lord Protector, whom he slyly orders to be murdered. Discovering this betrayal, Henry banishes Suffolk, but with his Lord Protector gone the unworldly young King must face his greatest challenge: impending civil war and the rising threat of the House of York.This book includes a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to Henry VI, Part Two, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay by Rebecca Brown discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love poetry in English.'We go to Shakespeare to find out about ourselves' Jeanette Winterson

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Blip Korterly kicks off a game of graffiti tag on a local overpass by painting a simple phrase: "Uh-oh." An anonymous interlocutor writes back: "When?" Blip slyly answers: "Just a couple of days." But what happens in just a couple of days? Blip is arrested; his friend, Dr. Flake Fountain - a molecular biologist - is drafted into a shadow-government research project conducting experiments on humans. The virus being tested - cleverly called "the Pied Piper" - renders its victims incapable of symbolic capacity; that is, incapable of communication. Is this biological weaponry? What would happen if it were let loose on the world? Does a babbling populace pose a threat or provide an opportunity for social evolution?This novel's absurd, larger-than-life characters speak in exuberant prose that is as satirical as it is playful, as full of implications as it is full of mirth. It's no wonder "Just a Couple of Days" has become an underground cult classic.

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These beautiful, unsettling and playful photographs show how certain sci-fi tropes—from digital servants to sex robots—have been consistently gendered as female The latest photobook from Brooklyn-based photographer Hannah Whitaker (born 1980) imagines the embodied forms of personified technology which have long been central to sci-fi narratives: digital servants, sex robots, machine-learning projects. Ursula addresses the consistency with which these figures are gendered as female, subservient and sexualized, and slyly points to our society's insidious failures to fully see women without imposing such roles and distinctions. Immersed in techno-futuristic design tropes, Whitaker's photographs—at once playful, maximalist and estranging—are accompanied by texts by David Levine and Dawn Chan.

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______________'An impressive, Sally Rooney-esque debut novel' New Statesman'Shelf Life is whip-smart, slyly heartbreaking, and I felt the truth of it in my bones.

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Explore the magical world of LEGO Harry Potter!LEGO Harry Potter Visual Dictionary is the definitive guide to LEGO Harry Potter, packed with spellbinding sets, minifigures, and magical accessories, with an exclusive LEGO Harry Potter minifigure! Meet all the classic LEGO Harry Potter characters - from Hermione to Hagrid. Discover amazing details of fan-favourite sets from the Hogwarts Express, 4 Privet Drive, Diagon Alley, and the epic 6000+ piece Hogwarts Castle. Learn how these magical sets are created in a behind-the-scenes chapter, which features an interview with the award-winning LEGO Harry Potter team. Whether you see yourself as a brave Gryffindor, a loyal Hufflepuff, a clever Ravenclaw, or a cunning Slytherin, find out everything you need to know about LEGO Harry Potter in this must-have book. This Visual Dictionary is a fully updated and expanded edition of LEGO Harry Potter Magical Treasury and features LEGO Harry Potter sets from 2018 to the

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You don''t have to be a Dark Wizard, Death Eater, or even a Slytherin to appreciate the Dark Arts!Spotlighting the magical darker side of the Wizarding World, this deluxe kit includes:Keepsake box with molded Death Eater mask embedded into the top, and closing latch. (Mask is not removable.)5-1/4 x 8, 176-page, flexibound replica of Tom Riddle''s diary. It features Dark Arts quotes, descriptions of the 7 horcruxes, and photos and illustrations throughout, plus plenty of space for writing. Also includes a reproduction of the messages between Harry Potter and Tom Riddle, as seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.Basilisk fang pen.Metallic-ink Dark Mark stickers.

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Here are hundreds of hilarious jokes, especially for those who believe that they belong in the esteemed Hogwarts House of Hufflepuff (not Gryffindor, not Ravenclaw, and certainly not Slytherin) Here are hundreds of hilarious jokes from the Harry Potter world for every muggle, wizard, and squib. The Pottermore website allows Harry Potter fans everywhere to be sorted into the house that’s right for them, and now loyal Hufflepuffs everywhere can find themselves in The Unofficial Harry Potter Jokes Book: Howling Hilarity for Hufflepuff. This fourth book will continue the silly jokes, funny art, and hilarious one-liners specific to the most underrated house of all, and to the wider wizard world.Jokes include clever lines such as:At least at first, did Cedric like being in the Triwizard Tournament?Yeah, he could really Diggory it!What does a Hufflepuff do after a wand duel?He huffs and puffs!What kind of cereal do they serve at Hogwarts?Hufflepuffs.Why did Professor Sprout take the Herbology job?She wanted to get back to her roots.Knock-knock…Who’s there?Tonks. Tonks who?Tonks a lot!Featuring hundreds of jokes and fifty fantastic illustrations, this joke book provides endless amounts of fun for readers and fans of the bestselling series

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Multi-award-winning, bestselling duo Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen conspire again on a slyly funny tale about some very sneaky shapes.“Picture book lovers will find much to like in Triangle” GuardianFrom the award-winning team behind Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, and illustrated by Jon Klassen, the Kate Greenaway-winning creator of This Is Not My Hat and I Want My Hat Back, comes the first tale in an exciting new trilogy. Meet Triangle. He is going to play a sneaky trick on his friend, Square. Or so Triangle thinks... Visually stunning and full of wry humour, here is a perfectly-paced treat that flips the traditional concept book, and approaches it from a whole new angle.

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Discover everything you need to know about the four Houses of Hogwarts in this awesome official activity book! Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff – together, these are the four Houses of Hogwarts. As Professor McGonagall says in the first film, “Now while you’re here, your House will be like your family.” With two sheets of stickers, this fantastic Harry Potter activity book is a must-have for fans. It features stunning, eye-catching moments from throughout the films in an all-new art style. Colour in and test your knowledge on the Wizarding World Features beloved characters and magical moments from the films Perfect for fans old and new.

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At once playfully dark and slyly hopeful, Stories No One Hopes Are about Them explores convergences of power, privilege, and place. Characters who are ni de aquí, ni de allá—neither from here nor there—straddle competing worlds, disrupt paradigms, and transition from objects of other people’s stories to active subjects and protagonists of their own. Narratives of humanity and environment entwine with nuanced themes of colonization, queerness, and evolution at the forefront. Big things happen in this collection. But it’s also a collection of small intimacies: misremembered names, chipped teeth, and private rituals; unexpected alliances and barely touched knees beneath uniform skirts; minutiae of the natural world; incidents that quietly, achingly, and delightfully transgress the familiar.

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Marriage doesn’t define a relationship. Unless you want it to.In Marry Me a Little, Rob Kirby recounts his experience of marrying his longtime partner, John, just after same-sex marriage was legalized in Minnesota in 2013, and two years before the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges made same-sex marriage the law of the land. This is a personal story—about Rob’s ambivalence (if not antipathy) toward the institution of marriage, his loving relationship with John, and the life that they share together—set against the historical and political backdrop of shifting attitudes toward LGBTQ+ rights and marriage. With humor, candor, and a near-whimsical drawing style, Rob relates how he and John navigated this changing landscape, how they planned and celebrated their wedding, and how the LGBTQ+ community is now facing the very real possibility of setbacks to marriage equality.Heartwarming, honest, and slyly humorous, Marry Me a Little is a wonderfully illustrated celebration of a romantic partnership between two men and a personal account of a momentous and historic moment in the fight for gay rights.

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Certain to make reading (or re-reading) the Harry Potter series that much more intriguing, this book explores the traditional and extraordinary in equal measure, uncovering details about the school that readers will savor, including: - The history and traditions of Hogwarts, including notable alumni - Details of the four founders, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin - How the school is organized with teachers, prefects, headboys and headgirls - Holidays, feasts and celebrations - The castle layout, classrooms, common rooms, courtyards, dungeons, secret rooms and more - Details into the "living" artwork throughout the castle - Artifacts, enchantments, protections and secret passageways - Hagrid's Hut, the Whomping Willow, The Forbidden Forest and beyond! - A visitor's guide to Hogsmeade - Castle inhabitants, including professors, ghosts and staff - Details of student life, academics, text books and much more!

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Magic, depravity, spiritual ambition, sensuality, and love - It binds mythic and modern time together in a rich, slyly suggestive novel based on an old Balinese poem. In a fresh and startling picture of Bali - where witches coexist with tourists and talking animals - the novel explores a kaleidoscope of vanity, desire, and the longing for goodness.

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'Very funny and unexpected, a material response to our times, plush as velvet' Rachel Cusk 'A wickedly funny and emotionally expansive novel' Jenny Offill It is the Saturday after the 2016 presidential election, and in a plush weekend house in Connecticut, a group of New Yorkers has gathered to recover from what they consider the greatest political catastrophe of their lives. Liberal and like-minded, the friends have come to the countryside in the hope of restoring the bubble in which they have grown used to living. Moving through her days accompanied by a carefully curated salon, Eva Lindquist is a generous hostess with an obsession for decorating. Yet when, in her avidity to secure shelter for herself, she persuades her husband to buy a grand if dilapidated apartment in Venice, she unwittingly sets off the chain of events that will propel him to venture outside the bubble and embark on an unexpected love affair. A slyly comic look at the shelter industry, Shelter in Place is a novel about house and home, safety and freedom and the insidious ways in which political upheaval can undermine even the most seemingly impregnable foundations.

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Neil Young is one of rock and roll's most important, influential and enigmatic figures, an intensely reticent artist who has granted no writer access to his inner sanctum - until now. Shakey is the whole story of Young's incredible life and career: from his childhood in Canada to the founding of folk-rock pioneers Buffalo Springfield; the bleary conglomeration of Crazy Horse and the monstrous success of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; to the depths of the Tonight's the Night depravity and the Geffen years; and Young's unprecedented nineties 'comeback'. Shakey (the title refers to one of Young's many aliases) is also the compelling human story of a lonely kid for whom music was the only outlet, a driven yet tortured figure who controlled his epilepsy via 'mind over matter', an oddly passionate model train mogul who, inspired by his own son's struggle with cerebral palsy, became a major activist in the quest to help those with the condition. This long-awaited, unprecedented story of a rock 'n' roll legend is uniquely told through the interwoven voices of McDonough - biographer, critic, historian, obsessive fan - and the ever-cantankerous (but slyly funny) Young himself.

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Presidential Medal of Freedom, Nobel Prize, and Pulitzer Prize recipient Toni Morrison’s eight children’s books, cowritten with her son, are collected in one hardcover volume for the first time in this beautiful keepsake treasury with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey!The three Who’s Got Game books slyly and exuberantly retell some of Aesop’s fables. Three of the stories feature illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre: The Ant or the Grasshopper? examines friendship, betrayal, and survival while The Lion or the Mouse? takes a hilarious, subversive look at bullying and ego, big and small, and The Poppy or the Snake? shows how an accidental injury spirals into a battle of wills. In The Tortoise or the Hare?, illustrated by Joe Cepeda, slow and steady wins the race…or does it? Peeny Butter Fudge, also illustrated by Joe Cepeda, celebrates the relationship between three kids and their Nana. Nana can take an ordinary afternoon and make it extra special! Nap time, story time, and playtime are transformed by fairies, dragons, dancing, and pretending—and then mixing and fixing yummy, yummy fudge just like Nana and Mommy did not so many years ago. A lot can happen when Nana is left in charge! Little Cloud and Lady Wind features artwork by Sean Qualls and follows Little Cloud, who likes her own place in the sky. Away from the other clouds, the sky is all hers. Can Lady Wind show Little Cloud the power of being with others? Shadra Strickland’s charming illustrations illuminate Please, Louise. One gray afternoon, Louise makes a trip to the library. With the help of a new library card and through the transformative power of books, what started out as a dull day turns into one of surprises, ideas, and curiosity! This engaging picture book celebrates the wonders of reading, the enchanting capacity of the imagination, and, of course, the splendor of libraries. Toni Morrison’s first book for children, The Big Box, illustrated by Giselle Potter, introduces three feisty children who show grown-ups what it really means to be a kid.

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'When I was born in 1935 I grew up, despite depression and World War II, with a primitive sense of being fortunate . . . The Utopian strain was very strong . . . if we weren't to be a better society, if we were simply serfs designed to support a system of privilege, what was the bloody point?'Tom Keneally has been observing, reflecting on and writing about Australia and the human condition for well over fifty years. In this deeply personal, passionately drawn and richly tuned collection he draws on a lifetime of engagement with the great issues of our recent history and his own moments of discovery and understanding.He writes with unbounded joy of being a grandparent, and with intimacy and insight about the prospect of death and the meaning of faith. He is outraged about the treatment of Indigenous Australians and refugees, and argues fiercely against market economics and the cowardice of climate change deniers. And, he introduces us to some of the people, both great and small, who have dappled his life.Beautifully written, erudite and at times slyly funny, A Bloody Good Rant is an invitation to share the deep humanity of truly great Australian.

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Bursting with beautiful illustrations to color, Harry Potter: Gryffindor House Pride: The Official Coloring Book is a must-have coloring book for members of this house and fans of the magical film series. Grab your colored pencils—it's time for coloring wizardry! Show your house pride with intricate, all-new artwork of characters, iconic objects, and magical places from the Harry Potter films, all themed to house Gryffindor. Featuring important house moments from the Sorting Ceremony, Quidditch matches, Yule Ball, feasts, and so much more, this coloring book is jam-packed with special designs and scenes every brave Gryffindor will love. GORGEOUSLY INTRICATE: 64 pages of intricate designs, perfect for hours of coloring relaxation and creativity BELOVED CHARACTERS: Includes all-new artwork of beloved Gryffindors, including Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, and more COLLECT ALL HOGWARTS HOUSES: Collect all four official Harry Potter Coloring Books: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff OFFICIAL WIZARDING WORLD COLORING BOOK: Created in collaboration with the studio behind the Harry Potter films 20th ANNIVERSARY: Released to coincide with the 20th anniversary celebration of the first Harry Potter film.

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Holy Cow by David Duchovny is a comic delight that will thrill fans of Jasper Fforde and Ben Aaronovitch. And anyone who enjoys a witty wisecrack in a novel.Elsie Bovary is a cow and a pretty happy one at that. Until one night, Elsie sneaks out of the pasture and finds herself drawn to the farmhouse. Through the window, she sees the farmer's family gathered around a bright Box God - and what the Box God reveals about something called an 'industrial meat farm' shakes Elsie's understanding of her world to its core.The only solution? To escape to a better, safer world. And so a motley crew is formed: Elsie; Shalom, a grumpy pig who's recently converted to Judaism; and Tom, a suave turkey who can't fly, but can work an iPhone with his beak. Toting stolen passports and slapdash human disguises, they head for the airport ...Elsie is a wise-cracking, slyly witty narrator; Tom dispenses psychiatric advice in a fake German accent; and Shalom ends up unexpectedly uniting Israelis and Palestinians. David Duchovny's charismatic creatures point the way toward a mutual understanding and acceptance the world desperately needs.

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When it comes to meltdowns, babies get all the excuses: "She's hungry." "He's overtired." "She needs a change." Reclaim your right to throw a fit at any age with this expressive pad, while maintaining your reputation for professionalism and maturity. Why be direct? Passive-aggressive notes get your point across slyly. Equally effective as a full-blown hissy fit! 4 x 5.25 inches, 50 sheets

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Delve into the world of the four Hogwarts school houses – Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw – in this enchanting guide featuring recent LEGO® Harry Potter™ sets and minifigures. Learn all about the Sorting Ceremony, when each young witch and wizard is put in the house they naturally belong to.Explore the magical world of Hogwart’s houses:- Key characters, locations, events, and items.- Presents the Hogwarts founders and their history.- Comes with an exclusive Percy Weasley minifigure in his prefect robes.Find out about the four founders of Hogwarts and the personality traits associated with each house’s students. From Ron Weasley to Draco Malfoy, learn which house your favourite LEGO Harry Potter minifigures are in, and discover fun facts about students, teachers, creatures, and locations. Explore the school’s magical classrooms, the cosy Gryffindor common room, and the Great Hall with

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When Amy Stewart discovered a community of tree collectors, she expected to meet horticultural fanatics driven to plant every species of oak or maple. But she also discovered that the urge to collect trees springs from deeper, more profound motives, such as a longing for community, a vision for the future, or a path to healing and reconciliation. In this slyly humorous, informative, often poignant volume, Stewart brings us fifty captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process. Vivian Keh has forged a connection to her Korean elders through her persimmon orchard. The former poet laureate W. S. Merwin planted a tree almost every day for more than three decades, until he had turned a barren estate into a palm sanctuary. And Joe Hamilton cultivates pines on land passed down to him by his once-enslaved great-grandfather, building a legacy for the future. Stewart populates this lively compendium with her own waterc

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A hilarious new picture book that exposes vegetables for what they truly areleaves, roots, flowers, and stalksby National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor winner Kyle Lukoff, perfect for fans of the Our Universe series.Chester plans to have a salad for lunch, but in order to do that, he''ll need vegetables. So, off he goes to the community garden, except he quickly learns that he won''t be dressing a salad anytime soon. Instead, the vegetables start dressing him down. According to them, vegetables don''t exist!I know what you are thinking: What the bell pepper? Vegetables are totally real! But here''s the thing: Kale is just a leaf, broccoli is a flower, potatoes are roots, and celery...well, stalks. Thanks to a lively, sassy cast of talking veggies, Chester learns a valuable lesson about categories and how they shape our understanding of the world.With a slyly informative text and illustrations that will crack readers up, the schooling in

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Delve into the world of the four Hogwarts school houses - Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw - in this enchanting guide featuring recent LEGO® Harry Potter™ sets and minifigures. Learn all about the Sorting Ceremony, when each young witch and wizard is put in the house they naturally belong to.Explore the magical world of Hogwart's houses:- Key characters, locations, events, and items.- Presents the Hogwarts founders and their history.- Comes with an exclusive Percy Weasley minifigure in his prefect robes.Find out about the four founders of Hogwarts and the personality traits associated with each house's students. From Ron Weasley to Draco Malfoy, learn which house your favourite LEGO Harry Potter minifigures are in, and discover fun facts about students, teachers, creatures, and locations. Explore the school's magical classrooms, the cosy Gryffindor common room, and the Great Hall with its house tables. Plus, join students for a game of Quidditch. LEGO Harry Potter: A Spellbinding Guide to Hogwarts Houses comes with an exclusive Percy Weasley minifigure, too.A must-have book for children aged 7-9 years, and a perfect addition to the library of any young LEGO Harry Potter fans, LEGO Harry Potter: A Spellbinding Guide to Hogwarts Houses is sure to delight.

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Life at the Flying U Ranch in the Bear Paw country of Montana was pleasant—until thousands of sheep invaded the coulee. B. M. Bower casts the ancient enmity between cattlemen and sheepmen in her own robust and slyly humorous style. Flying U Ranch brings back the Happy Family of cowboys introduced in Chip of the Flying U. Bertha Muzzy Bower, a Montanan herself, understood the joshing, boasting, and thoroughly decent young hands who worked at the Flying U—Andy, Pink, Slim, Big Medicine, Happy Jack, and the other members of the Happy Family. Here they must confront defiant sheepherders just when Chip and the Old Man are in Chicago. Bower delights in showing how they deal with rage and frustration without resorting to violence. The witty and nervy Flying U bunch gets satisfaction from a difficult situation justly ended.

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When it comes to meltdowns, babies get all the excuses: "She's hungry." "He's overtired." "She needs a change." Reclaim your right to throw a fit at any age with this expressive pad, while maintaining your reputation for professionalism and maturity. Why be direct? Passive-aggressive funny office supplies get your point across slyly! Because funny notepads are one of the best office gifts for coworkers ever Equally effective as a full-blown hissy fit! 4 x 5.25 inches, 50 sheets

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Your favorite Gryffindor guffaws, stupefying shenanigans, Hufflepuff hilarity, and Riddikulus Ravenclaw riddles, all in one place! You won’t need the tickling charm after reading this collection! This fantastical box set contains all four of the Unofficial Harry Potter Joke Books: Great Guffaws for Gryffindor Stupefying Shenanigans for Slytherin Howling Hilarity for Hufflepuff Raucous Jokes and Riddikulus Riddles for Ravenclaw From Dumbledore to Umbridge, from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, from Harry Potter to Draco Malfoy, every aspect of the Harry Potter universe is contained in these four fantastic books. One-liners, quips, and wisecracks will have you and your friends and family spellbound. So Accio this box set and crack up at the wizard world! Featuring hundreds of jokes and more than fifty fantastic illustrations, each joke book provides endless amounts of fun and clean humor for readers and fans of the bestselling series.

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Paul snores. Paul snores so loudly, Judy cannot sleep. Paul tells Judy he does not snore. Paul is in denial. Judy has not had a good night’s sleep in years. Can you help Judy get a good night’s sleep?Dorothy Kunhardt’s Pat the Bunny is a timeless children’s classic, inspiring numerous spin-offs for both kids and adults—but none as wickedly amusing as this clever, hilarious, interactive book! Every wife, girlfriend, and woman who hopes to be one will treasure it and have endless fun playing with the lift-the-flap, touch-and-feel, pull tabs, and other highly designed elements. It slyly questions who wears the pants in the family, and lets women humor their men by removing the Velcro pants from the female figure and putting it on the male. Or, eager to have hubby say yes to your request? Then just use the tab to make his head nod!Since all men are really little boys at heart, what better way to celebrate (okay—roast) their peccadilloes than with a kids’ book format? Pat the Husband takes amusing aim at the oddities of guys everywhere, making it the perfect gift from girlfriend to girlfriend, as well as for bridal showers and anniversaries. Every wife will recognize the humor in the quirky characteristics played out about “husbands everywhere”—and find a reason every day to sneak a peek and pat!

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La India María—a humble and stubborn indigenous Mexican woman—is one of the most popular characters of the Mexican stage, television, and film. Created and portrayed by María Elena Velasco, La India María has delighted audiences since the late 1960s with slapstick humor that slyly critiques discrimination and the powerful. At the same time, however, many critics have derided the iconic figure as a racist depiction of a negative stereotype and dismissed the India María films as exploitation cinema unworthy of serious attention. By contrast, La India María builds a convincing case for María Elena Velasco as an artist whose work as a director and producer—rare for women in Mexican cinema—has been widely and unjustly overlooked.Drawing on extensive interviews with Velasco, her family, and film industry professionals, as well as on archival research, Seraina Rohrer offers the first full account of Velasco’s life; her portrayal of La India María in vaudeville, television, and sixteen feature film comedies, including Ni de aquí, ni de allá [Neither here, nor there]; and her controversial reception in Mexico and the United States. Rohrer traces the films’ financing, production, and distribution, as well as censorship practices of the period, and compares them to other Mexploitation films produced at the same time. Adding a new chapter to the history of a much-understudied period of Mexican cinema commonly referred to as “la crisis,” this pioneering research enriches our appreciation of Mexploitation films.

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How did realist novelists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries hint at sex while maintaining a safe distance from pornography? Metaphors helped: waves, oceans, blooms, and illuminations were all deployed in respectable realist novels to allude to the sexual act, allowing writers to portray companionate marriage while avoiding graphic description. But in Exquisite Masochism, Claire Jarvis argues that some Victorian novelists went even further, pushing formal boundaries by slyly developing scenes of displaced erotic desire to suggest impropriety, perversion, and danger. Through close readings of canonical works by Emily Bronte, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy, and a modernist outlier, D. H. Lawrence, Jarvis reveals how writers' varied use of specific character types-the dominant woman and the submissive man-in conjunction with decadent, descriptive scenes of sexual refusal creates a strong counter-narrative hinting at relationships beyond patriarchal and companionate marriage structures. By focusing on the exquisitely masochistic pleasure brought about by freezing, or suspending, the sexual charge, and by depicting quasi-contractual states on the periphery of marriage, including engagement, adultery, and widowhood, novelists disrupted the marriage plot's insistence that erotic drives remain unfulfilled and that sexual connection could be satisfied only by genital act. Complicating our understanding of Victorian marriage ideology's more well-trodden focus on a productive, nation-building ideal, Exquisite Masochism offers fascinating insight into our own culture's debates around illicit sexuality, marriage, reproduction, and feminism.

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**Selected for BBC 2 Between the Covers 2022** **The BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick** **Longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2022** 'In this folksy, magnetic tale, two outsiders seek healing and enlightenment by creating crop formations in a Wiltshire field ... A memorable hymn to beauty' OBSERVER 'The pleasures of this bountiful novel are like a glass of cool water on a parched summer day' THE TIMES ‘A spirited and anarchic novel... a roiling, rollicking crop-circle folk tale’ GUARDIAN England, 1989. Over the course of a burning hot summer, two very different men – traumatized Falklands veteran Calvert, and affable, chaotic Redbone – set out nightly in a clapped-out camper van to undertake an extraordinary project. Under cover of darkness, the two men traverse the fields of rural England in secret, forming crop circles in elaborate and mysterious patterns. As the summer wears on, and their designs grow ever more ambitious, the two men find that their work has become a cult international sensation – and that an unlikely and beautiful friendship has taken root as the wheat ripens from green to gold. Moving and exhilarating, tender and slyly witty, The Perfect Golden Circle is a captivating novel about the futility of war, the destruction of the English countryside, class inequality – and the power of beauty to heal trauma and fight power. 'Brilliantly constructed and steeped in rural atmosphere' FINANCIAL TIMES, Best summer books of 2022

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First in a delightfully charming crime series set in 1930s Singapore, introducing amateur sleuth Su Lin, a local girl stepping in as governess for the Acting Governor of Singapore.1936 in the Crown Colony of Singapore, and the British abdication crisis and rising Japanese threat seem very far away. When the Irish nanny looking after Acting Governor Palin's daughter dies suddenly - and in mysterious circumstances - mission school-educated local girl Su Lin - an aspiring journalist trying to escape an arranged marriage - is invited to take her place. But then another murder at the residence occurs and it seems very likely that a killer is stalking the corridors of Government House. It now takes all Su Lin's traditional skills and intelligence to help British-born Chief Inspector Thomas LeFroy solve the murders - and escape with her own life.'Simply glorious. Every nook and cranny of 1930s Singapore is brought richly to life, without ever getting in the way of a classic puzzle plot. But what's a setting without a jewel? Chen Su Lin is a true gem. Her slyly witty voice and her admirable, sometimes heartbreaking, practicality make her the most beguiling narrator heroine I've met in a long while.' Catriona McPherson'Charming and fascinating with great authentic feel. Ovidia Yu's teenage Chinese sleuth gives us an insight into a very different culture and time. This book is exactly why I love historical novels.' Rhys Bowen

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'I always wanted to be friends with both my sisters. Perhaps that was the source, really, of all the troubles of my life...'It is the summer of 1938 and Phyllis Forrester has returned to England after years abroad. Moving into her sister's grand country house, she soon finds herself entangled in a new world of idealistic beliefs and seemingly innocent friendships. Fevered talk of another war infiltrates their small, privileged circle, giving way to a thrilling solution: a great and charismatic leader, who will restore England to its former glory. At a party hosted by her new friends, Phyllis lets down her guard for a single moment, with devastating consequences. Years later, Phyllis, alone and embittered, recounts the dramatic events which led to her imprisonment and changed the course of her life forever.'Wonderfully subtle and compelling' Linda Grant'Uncanny, evocative, atmospheric' Sunday Times'Connolly is a terrifically subtle writer... [she] slyly sweeps her readers into the period drama as tensions tauten between families and social classes' Daily Telegraph 'Wonderful, tragicomic... beautifully researched' The Times

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The third book in David O'Connell's funny and magical series about tiny people having ENORMOUS adventures! Perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Max and the Millions and The Borrowers The final battle to save the Smidgens has begun! In order to defeat the evil Claudia Slymark and her ghosts once and for all, Gafferty and her friends must reunite the three Smidgen clans, and stop anyone piecing back together the legendary Mirror of Trokanis. The race is on to find the remaining fragment. Will Gafferty save the day?

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We all have our favourite demons. A desperate Romeo circles the bushes below Juliet's balcony, hoping for a glimpse of her bare body, 'nipples stiffening on powdered ribs'. Adamant of his own sanity, Hamlet chatters away to his oldest friend - the squat skull grinning in his palm. Andromache screams for her only child, 'spiralling like sycamore' from the walls of Troy, her husband brutally dragged to death in the dirt that rises around her. All the while, weaved throughout this collection, the narrator is haunted by her biggest demon of all: the gargantuan Small. Told with a rawness and honesty that sears, the secretive nature of living with an eating disorder is yanked out into the open and given the voice that only ever hisses darkly inside the skull. Through relationship breakdowns, bath-times, the cacophonous dazzle of Delhi and the fug of hospital waiting rooms, Small is always, there slyly riding on the shoulders of a woman running for miles to get away - yet forever haunted by hunger.

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In every life there is a turning point ...A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton. A fter a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer-the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin. But that was then ...Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but still she thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his love ...until one dangerous night, when she steps innocently into his arms and passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets ...

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Here are hundreds of hilarious jokes, especially for those who believe that they belong in the esteemed Hogwarts House of Ravenclaw (not Gryffindor, not Hufflepuff, and certainly not Slytherin) The Pottermore website allows Harry Potter fans everywhere to be sorted into the house that’s right for them, and now the Ravenclaws the world over will find their place in The Unofficial Harry Potter Jokes Book: Raucous Jokes and Riddikulus Riddles for Ravenclaw. This third book in the series dives deeper into this magical universe, poking fun of every wizard and muggle from Hogsmead to the Ministry of Magic itself.Jokes include clever lines such as:What do you get when you cross a Ravenclaw with the infirmary?Ill-literacyWe value wit, humor…and brains! Or maybe we’re just “for the birds.”Who are we? RavenclawWhy did everybody want to take Professor Flitwick's class?Because he was so "charming."Why did Gilderoy Lockhart team up with Nearly Headless Nick?He needed a ghost-writer. Featuring hundreds of jokes and fifty fantastic illustrations, this joke book provides endless amounts of fun for readers and fans of the bestselling series.

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In Gut Feelings: Short Cuts to Better Decision Making psychologist and behavioural expert Gerd Gigerenzer reveals the secrets of fast and effective decision-making. A sportsman can catch a ball without calculating its speed or distance. A group of amateurs beat the experts at playing the stock market. A man falls for the right woman even though she's 'wrong' on paper. All these people succeeded by trusting their instincts - but how does it work? As Gerd Gigerenzer explains, in an uncertain world, sometimes we have to ignore too much information and rely on our brain's 'short cut', or heuristic. By explaining how intuition works and analyzing the techniques that people use to make good decisions - whether it's in personnel selection or heart surgery - Gigerenzer will show you the hidden intelligence of the unconscious mind. 'Fascinating and provocative ... Gut Feelings may well be the recipe for a simpler, less stressful life' Sunday Times 'Gigerenzer's writing is catchily optimistic and slyly funny ... Devilish' Steven Poole, Guardian 'The science behind the phenomenon cited in the bestseller Blink ... useful and clearly written' Business Week 'Gigerenzer is brilliant' Stephen Pinker Gerd Gigerenzer is Director of the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and former Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago. He has published two academic books on heuristics, Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart and Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox as well as a popular science book, Reckoning with Risk.

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In this, er, 'unique' illustrated potted history of the human race, Twitter icon James Felton uses his inimitable brand of banter to unveil the slyest, creepiest and/or nastiest specimens who've ever lived.Enter the 16th Century Chinese Emperor Zhegende, whose harem was so big some of the women within it died of starvation, King Charles II's executioner who would only give you a clean beheading if you paid properly for it beforehand, and llya Ivanovich Ivanov, the 19th Century scientist who was a mega asshole and if you buy the book you'll find out why.Darkly funny, highly informative and always unbelievable, these are the dead people you should be mad at.

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C.K. Williams (1936-2015) was the most challenging American poet of his generation, a poet of intense and searching originality who made lyric sense out of the often brutal realities of everyday life. His poems are startlingly intense anecdotes on love, death, secrets and wayward thought, examining the inner life in precise, daring language. In Writers Writing Dying, he retains the essential parts of his poetic identity - his candour, his compelling storytelling, the social conscience of his themes - while slyly reinventing himself, re-casting his voice, and in many poems examining the personal - sexual desire, the hubris of youth, the looming spectre of death - more bluntly and bravely than ever. In 'Prose', he confronts his nineteen-year-old self, who despairs of writing poetry, with the question 'How could anyone know this little?' In a poem of meditation, 'The Day Continues Lovely', he radically expands the scale of his attention: 'Meanwhile cosmos roars on with so many voices we can't hear ourselves think. Galaxy on. Galaxy off. Universe on, but another just behind this one - ' Even the poet's own purpose is questioned; in 'Draft 23' he asks, 'Between scribble and slash - are we trying to change the world by changing the words?' With this wildly vibrant collection - by turns funny, moving, and surprising - Williams proves once again that, he has, in Michael Hofmann's words, 'as much scope and truthfulness as any American poet since Lowell and Berryman'. Poetry Book Society Recommendation.

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Based on the eponymous viral Twitter account, Museum Bums, a celebration of classical art, history, and shapely derrieres, encourages readers to learn something new while still managing to have a chuckle. What do Hieronymus Bosch, the Roman cult of Antinous, and the peach emoji all have in common? But of course, butts, of course! Divided into six categories of keisters, this humorous history book takes you on a whirlwind tour of the finest rear ends in museums around the world - from the lusciously rendered bottoms of Renaissance painting to the abstract curves of contemporary art. Heritage scholars and art educators Mark Small and Jack Shoulder pair illuminating social commentary, historical context, and lively captions with captivating depictions of tasteful - and sometimes cheeky - bums in art. Including an angel slyly copping a feel in a sixteenth-century triptych, a twenty-five thousand-year-old bodacious Venus, and Cezanne's dreamy booty-ful bathers, this assortment of artistic behinds is both a celebration and study of the bounty of beautiful bums and their everlasting impressions. Museum Bums invites readers to admire, appreciate, and have a good laugh, all while learning a bit about art and history - a perfect gift for anyone who likes fine arts, museums, and butts.

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Truthful, sensuous, and intellectually relentless, the poems in The Curious Thing are compelling meditations on love, art making, solitude, female fate, and both the mundane and serious principles of life. Sandra Lim’s poetry displays stinging wit and a tough-minded approach to her own experiences: She speaks with Jean Rhys about beauty, encounters the dark loneliness that can exist inside a relationship, and discovers a coiled anger on a hot summer day. An extended poem sequence slyly revolves the meanings of finding oneself astray in midlife. A steely strength courses through the volume’s myriad discoveries—Lim’s lucidity and tenderness form a striking complement to her remarkable metaphors and the emotional clamor of her material. Animated by a sense of reckoning and a piercing inwardness, these anti-sentimental poems nevertheless celebrate the passionate and empathetic subjective life.

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A smooth-talking monster gets what's coming to him in this funny and slyly subversive picture book for fans of There's a Monster in Your Book and We Don't Eat Our Classmates. A big orange creature lurks in a crowded playground...but don't worry! He would never eat a child. What do you think he is…a MONSTER? And kids are definitely not disappearing every time you turn a page. You're imagining things. The monster has nothing to hide; in fact, he loves children. And he would never, ever, ever—oops! There goes another kid....   This laugh-out-loud story will keep readers guessing until the end, then send them straight back to the beginning to keep a close eye on the wily monster (and the one kid who knows exactly what he's up to). A great read aloud for bedtime (or anytime!), this silly and subversive picture book delivers poetic justice and giggles galore.

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Said Sayrafiezadeh has been hailed by Philip Gourevitch as "a masterful storyteller working from deep in the American grain." His new collection of stories—some of which have appeared in The New Yorker, the Paris Review, and the Best American Short Stories—is set in a contemporary America full of the kind of emotionally bruised characters familiar to readers of Denis Johnson and George Saunders. These are people contending with internal struggles—a son’s fractured relationship with his father, the death of a mother, the loss of a job, drug addiction—even as they are battered by larger, often invisible, economic, political, and racial forces of American society. Searing, intimate, often slyly funny, and always marked by a deep imaginative sympathy, American Estrangement is a testament to our addled times. It will cement Sayrafiezadeh’s reputation as one of the essential twenty-first-century American writers.

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The village of Slyford St James is no stranger to supernatural happenings, as long-time residents Jed and Emma know all too well. When Jed receives a letter from an old friend, he is intrigued. Though he and Simon were like brothers during their army days, they have lost touch over the years. However, the invitation to the Pomeroy family estate isn't quite the reunion he was hoping for - Simon's eldest brother has been brutally murdered, and he wants Jed to use his connection to the dead to help solve the crime. When they arrive at the estate, Jed is shocked by how fragile and fearful his friend has become. As Jed calls upon the spirit world, the results are dramatic, and a gruesome warning reveals dark and dangerous family secrets that threaten the safety of them all.

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'Pure pleasure.' Evening Standard'An absolute treat . . . wittily and slyly written.' Euro CrimeAN AURELIO ZEN MYSTERYWhen the corpse of the shady industrialist who owns the local football team is found both shot and stabbed, Inspector Aurelio Zen is called to Bologna to oversee the investigation. Recovering slowly from surgery, and fleeing an equally painful crisis in his personal life, Zen is only too happy to take on what at first appears to be a routine and relatively undemanding assignment. But soon a world-famous university professor is shot with the same gun, and the case threatens to spin out of control . . .'The best of the Zen series. Exceptionally clever and witty.' 5* reader review'A very entertaining romp with Zen.' 5* reader review'Very funny and perceptive on Italian society. Michael Dibdin's Zen books are the top of the pile in detective fiction.' 5* reader reviewPRAISE FOR MICHAEL DIBDIN AND THE INSPECTOR ZEN SERIES:'He wrote with real fire.' IAN RANKIN'A maestro of crime writing.' SUNDAY TIMES'One of the genre's finest stylists . . . And Zen himself is a masterly creation: he is anti-heroic and pragmatic but obstinate, cunning and positively burdened with integrity.' GUARDIAN'Dibdin tells a rollicking good tale that you want both to read fast, because of its gripping storyline, and to linger over, to savour the evocative descriptions of place and mood.' INDEPENDENT'One of British crime fiction's most distinguished and distinctive voices.' ANDREW TAYLOR'Dibdin has a gift for shocking the unshockable reader.' Ruth Rendell'Zen is one of the greatest creations of contemporary crime fiction.' OBSERVER'I love the way these books capture the atmosphere and contradictions of Italy.' 5* reader review'Aurelio Zen novels are a great treat.' 5* reader review'There is no better writer than Dibdin. His books are a joy to read.' 5* reader review'Love these books . . . I am sure you will get hooked too!' 5* reader review

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Are you cursed with two left feet? Are your dance moves unrighteous? Do you refrain from getting down lest others judge you cruelly? Fear not. Salvation is at hand.Singing hymns of praise is standard practice-now it's time to set your feet a-tapping with a collection of original dance moves inspired by Jesus and the likes of Moses and John the Baptist. Dances include: the Water Walk, the Temptation Tango, the Judas Hustle, and The Apostolic Conga. Each dance move is outlined with: how to, inspiration, and an illustration. Slyly irreverent but ultimately festive, Dancing with Jesus is illustrated in full color. Best of all, two of the dances are animated for full effect by a lenticular cover and last-spread finale, making this a truly one-of-a-kind novelty item!As the Bible says in Ecclesiastes, there is, "A time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance."

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A huge success in both bookshops and cinemas, the Harry Potter-series has drawn millions of readers and viewers into its magical world. In constructing this world, however, J. K. Rowling has created Harry and his friends in sharp contrast to other members of the magical and non-magical world. Creating Magical Worlds: Otherness and Othering in Harry Potter argues that the identities of the heroes are mainly based on delimitation from and rivalry to other characters: the Slytherins and Deatheaters, foreign students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, magical races such as the house-elves and centaurs, Muggles and Squibs as well as, to a certain extent, girls and women. Apart from explaining the social psychological and psychoanalytical reasons behind this exclusion, Creating Magical Worlds also shows in how far this delimitation is necessary for the action and the plot of the series.

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