Search results for ""Rare Bird Books""
Rare Bird Books Honey Trapped: Sex, Betrayal, and Weaponized Love
While the so-called "honey trap" is a Hollywood cliché, it is also an enduring piece of tradecraft in the real-life world of spy versus spy. Employed by virtually every intelligence service in times of war and peace, the work of femme fatales and Romeo spies have shaped policy and history through seduction, betrayal, and scandal.Perhaps the most well-known, though, least-understood element of espionage, the use of hone traps can be found throughout history in religious texts, lurid headlines, and pop culture mythology.Honey Trapped is the first book to fully examine the oldest and consistently effective piece of tradecraft, from the ancient world to cyber seductions. Honey Trapped tells the stories of those spies, both famous and obscure, who use sex and leveraged love to acquire sensitive information. From Greek mythology to recent investigations, the potent mix of sex and espionage is sure to enthrall and entertain.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Ross's Key Discoveries: Quotes from Literary Fiction on Wisdom, Money, and Happiness
In this elegant but pocketable edition in the Ross's Discoveries series, passionate bibliophile Michael Ross has curated his favorite literary quotes from the collection of over 1500 well-read books on his shelves—but this isn't your typical rehashing of Bartlett's quotations. In Ross's Key Discoveries Michael Ross brings together quotes on wisdom, money, and happiness from such a new perspective even the authors themselves will probably find this book useful and insightful.
£10.99
Rare Bird Books Some Of Us Love You
Ryan Kent and Brett Lloyd played shows together in different unknown bands, each as the respective vocalist. They got along well, and wrote many words that were often shouted over microphones more than they were read. However, contrary to typical next steps musician pals take, they didn't end up collaborating musically. Instead, they co-opted the idea to release split books together—one half dedicated to Brett, the other half dedicated to Ryan—just like two underground bands joining forces to release split 7-inches...and, henceforth, Dead Books was born.Some Of Us Love You is the second volume of a three-part Dead Books split release series by Brett Lloyd and Ryan Kent, featuring short- and long-form works that are not to be mistaken for flowery, poetic musings. This isn't Percy Shelley. This isn't Dylan Thomas. This isn't anything you can put in a vase and display on a dinner table in front of guests. This is a book meant to be read at night, as you feel like garbage, in need of something to bring it all full circle.
£10.99
Rare Bird Books Fathers, Brothers, and Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, and Anthrax
Frank Bello, bassist with the legendary New York thrash metal band Anthrax since 1984, has sold over ten million albums, travelled the globe more times than he cares to count, and enthralled audiences from the world’s biggest stages. His long-awaited memoir would be a gripping read even if its pages only contained stories about his life as a recording and touring musician. While those stories are indeed included—and will blow your mind—Bello also focuses on deeper subjects in Fathers, Brothers, and Sons. Once you’ve heard his life story, you’ll understand why.Born into a family of five, Frank grew up in difficult circumstances. His father abandoned his wife and children, and Frank’s mother moved heaven and earth to keep them fed and educated. Left with no male role model, Frank found inspiration in heavy metal bass players, following their example and forging a career with Anthrax from his early teens—first as a roadie, and then as the group’s bass player.International stardom came Frank’s way by the mid-to-late 1980s, when he was still in his early twenties, but tragedy struck in 1996 when his brother Anthony was murdered in New York. Although the case went to trial, the suspected killer was released without charge after a witness, intimidated by violent elements, withdrew his testimony.Two decades later, Frank is a father himself to a young son. Like many men who grew up without the guidance of a dad, he asks himself important questions about the meaning of fatherhood and how to do the job well. This is the wisdom which Fathers, Brothers, and Sons offers readers.Despite the emotive nature of these topics, Fathers, Brothers, and Sons is a funny, entertaining read. A man with a keen sense of humor and the perspective to know how surreal his story has been, Frank doesn’t preach or seek sympathy in his book. Instead, he simply passes on the wisdom gained from a lifetime of turbulence, paying tribute to his loved ones in a way that will resonate with us all.
£19.99
Rare Bird Books Camgirl
From the “former sex worker taking Hollywood by storm” (The Daily Beast), comes a candid and hilarious memoir of sex work, shame, and self-discovery set in the colorful world of live-streaming camgirls.At twenty-three, Isa Mazzei was just like any other college graduate: broke, lacking purpose, and searching for an identity. She was also a compulsive seductress with a reputation as a slut and heartbreaker. One day, while working a low-paying retail job, she had a revelation: why not embrace her salacious image and make some money off of it?She began stripping, dancing, masturbating, playing games, making art––and broadcasting it all online for money as a camgirl. In her first month, she racked up hundreds of nightly viewers, and within a year she ranked in the top fifty girls on a site featuring tens of thousands of performers. Over the course of her career, Isa built her own business, explored BDSM, attended a porn convention, slept with a fan, and pushed herself further than she thought possible. And yet, despite her success, she struggled to fit into the community she so desperately wanted to belong to.Camgirl is a relatable look at confronting our past traumas and accepting ourselves for who we are. It masterfully explores the complexities of digital life, sexuality and the tensions between our private and public selves. Mazzei’s biting humor and raw vulnerability ensure you’ll never think about sex work—or sex—the same way again.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Permanent Damage: Memoirs of an Outrageous Girl
“I’m the Mae West of 1968.”Mercy Fontenot was a Zelig who grew up in the San Francisco Haight Ashbury scene, where she crossed paths with Charles Manson, went to the first Acid Test, and was friends with Jimi Hendrix (she was later in his movie Rainbow Bridge). She predicted the Altamont disaster when reading the Rolling Stones’ tarot cards at a party and left San Francisco for the climes of Los Angeles in 1967 when the Haight ‘lost its magic.’Miss Mercy’s work in the GTOs, the Frank Zappa-produced all-female band, launched her into the pages of Rolling Stone in 1969. Her adventures saw her jumping out of a cake at Alice Cooper’s first record release party, while high on PCP, and had her travel to Memphis where she met Al Green and got a job working for the Bar-Kays. Along the way, she married and then divorced Shuggie Otis, before transitioning to punk rock and working with the Rockats and Gears. This is her story as she lived and saw it.Written just prior to her death in 2020, Permanent Damage shows us the world of the 1960s and 1970s music scene through Mercy's eyes, as well as the fallout of that era—experiencing homelessness before sobering up and putting her life back together. Miss Mercy’s journey is a can’t miss for anyone who was there and can’t remember, or just wishes they’d been there.
£19.99
Rare Bird Books Go Further: More Literary Appreciations of Power Pop
Fun, bright, and playful, Power Pop is a sometimes adored, sometimes maligned, often misunderstood genre of music. From its heyday in the 70`s and 80`s to its resurgence in the 90`s and 00`s, Power Pop has meant many things to many people. In Go Further, editors Paul Myers and S. W. Lauden have a whole new crop of writers going deep on what certain Power Pop bands and songs mean and have meant to them. Whether they love or hate it, Go Further is a dive into the Beatles-inspired pop rock of the last five decades.Featuring Ira Robbins, Alex Segura, Mary E. Donnelly, Pat DiPuccio, John Borack, Dave Hill, Will Birch, S. W. Lauden, Jordan Oakes, Brian Vander Ark, Anne K. Ream & R. Clifton Spargo, Chip Jacobs, Bill DeMain, Thierry Côté, Doug Brod, Jim Lindberg, Balin Schneider, Mike Randle, Butch Walker, Andrea Warner, Paul Myers,and Rex Broome's
£14.99
Rare Bird Books The Case Against George W. Bush
The Case Against George W. Bush chronicles the presidency of George W. Bush through almost 600 quotes from over ninety authors, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and writers and journalists such as Steve Coll, Frank Rich, Craig Unger, and Bob Woodward. Steven C. Markoff presents sourced evidence of three crimes committed by George W. Bush during his presidency: his failure to take warnings of coming terror attacks on our country seriously; taking the United States, by deception, into an unnecessary and disastrous 2003 war with Iraq; costing the lives of more than 4,000 Americans and 500,000 others; and breaking domestic and international laws by approving the torture as means to extract information. While Markoff lays out his case of the crimes, he leaves it up to the reader to decide the probable guilt of George W. Bush and his actions regarding the alleged crimes.
£19.99
Rare Bird Books Super 8: An Illustrated History
Super 8: An Illustrated History is a coffee table art book showcasing the history of Super 8 filmmaking. In addition to featuring stunning photography documenting the sleek mid-century design of Super 8 cameras and projectors, the book also offers a detailed history of the beloved medium—one not only embraced by suburban dads, the target audience of the format, but by the art world, punk rockers, and ultimately popular culture. Filmmakers who got their start in Super 8 include, Robert Zemeckis, Jim Jarmusch, Todd Haynes, Sam Raimi, Wes Anderson, and Alex Gibney. Thanks in part to a renewed interest in analog technologies, Kodak will be bringing a new Super 8 camera to market in 2019, their first new camera to roll off the assembly line in over thirty years.Super 8 also features interviews from filmmakers who got their start in Super 8 and individuals who were instrumental in the development of the medium. Interviews include filmmakers Richard Linklater (Slacker, Boyhood, Dazed and Confused), Dave Markey (1991: The Year Punk Broke), Rocky Schenk (music videos for Adele, Devo, Nick Cave, The Cramps, Robert Plant), James Mackay on Derek Jarman (Last of England, Jubilee), Lenny Lipton (The Super 8 Book), James Nares (Rome ’78), G.B. Jones (The Lollipop Generation), Bruce LaBruce (Hustler White, The Misandrists), Peggy Ahwesh (Martina's Playhouse), Paul Sheptow (Super-8 Filmmaker magazine), Ed Sayers (The Straight 8 Film Festival), Melinda Stone (Super Super 8 Film Festival), Jonathan Tyman (Ann Arbor 8mm Film Festival), Norwood Cheek (Flicker zine and screening series), Martha Colburn, Narcisa Hirsch, slit, Matthias Müller, John Porter, and Karissa Hahn. On the technical front, the book features interviews with Roland Zavada (Kodak), Bob Doyle (Super8 Sound), Phil Vigeant (Pro8mm), Frank Bruinsma (Super8 Reversal Lab), and Tommy Madsen (Logmar Camera Solutions).
£26.09
Rare Bird Books Collecting Sins
Collecting Sins is a highly-charged coming-of-age novel set in the Southern California of the late 1960s/early 1970s. Steven Sobel evokes the inner environment of Ben, a sensitive and carefree youth confronting adulthood. Ben explores the labyrinth of sewers beneath the San Fernando Valley, cavorts on the sun-drenched, bikini-infested beaches of Santa Monica, and immerses himself in the hippie culture of Topanga Canyon. In the tradition of J. D. Salinger, Carolyn See, and Jay McInerney, Sobel takes us on a rollicking journey through the heady atmosphere of the era. Amplified by drugs, sex, rock 'n' roll, Vietnam, feminism, violence, and poetry. More than the story of an individual, Collecting Sins is the story of a generation before it came to power.
£21.99
Rare Bird Books Carl Went To The Library: The Inspiration of a Young Carl Sagan
Blast off with Carl as he embarks on a curious journey. An adventure to find the answer to a question that no one seems to be able to give him an answer to. Encouraged by his mother, Carl’s mission takes him to a wonderful place where imagination can run rampant and answers can be found. Destination—The Public Library! He finds the answer he is looking for and more in this creative and extraordinary tale based on actual events in the life of Carl Sagan.
£12.99
Rare Bird Books The Strokes: First Ten Years
The first authorized visual record of one of New York’s greatest bands.An intimate and impressionistic narrative of The Strokes’ first ten years, including images of the guys when they were students at the Dwight School in Manhattan and would gather for lunches at their local diner. This is a peerless window into the group through the lens of a close friend who was there before it even began.The book features hundreds of color and black and white images of the band in public and in private. A truly personal look at the rise of The Strokes—one of the biggest and most enduring bands in the world.
£26.09
Rare Bird Books Shadows of Love, Shadows of Loneliness: Volume Two: Drawings, Prints & Paintings: 1980-2020
In this landmark collection, William T. Vollmann offers a kaleidoscopic retrospective of the visual artwork he has produced over four decades, with new commentary from Vollmann on his process, inspiration, and the many intersections with his writing.The celebrated author of over twenty-five books (among them the National Book Award-wining novel Europe Central; the seven-volume Rising Up and Rising Down, based on Vollmann’s career as a war correspondent; and the two-volume climate change investigation Carbon Ideologies), Vollmann’s equally ambitious and prolific career as a photographer, printmaker, and painter reflects the artist’s deep interest in people existing on the margins, a profound empathy for his subjects, and the humility and generosity to meet them on their terms.Shadows of Love, Shadows of Loneliness includes Kodachrome slides of Afghan Mujahideen from 1982; a handmade watercolor sketchbook from Subarctic Canada, complete with inscriptions to Vollmann from local Inuit teenagers; gum bichromate prints of American landscapes from Maui to Mount Desert Island; silver gelatin portfolios of insurgents, refugees, prostitutes, police, and criminals all over the world; photogenic drawings of Tahitian women; transgender self-portraits of “Dolores”; Bible woodblock prints in which God and everyone else is female; acrylic paintings of California landscapes; cyanotypes, platinotypes, salt prints, and gold-toned Vandykes, to name just a few.Complementing these selections is a series of essays commissioned especially for this book to lay out Vollmann’s views on what photographs can and should say, how he chooses what to represent (beauty, suffering, compassion, love, desire, ideology), thoughts on photographic consensuality, and any number of technical descriptions. Particularly useful for Vollmann fans and scholars are the cross-references between these artistic and photographic projects and his books.
£37.79
Rare Bird Books John Goblikon's Guide to Living Your Best Life
In a world filled with trolls, we all need to live life more like a goblin. What does it mean to “live life like a goblin”? It means to give no fucks, but also all the fucks in the world at the same time. It means to be constantly anxiety ridden while also eternally optimistic. A goblin’s heart, specifically John Goblikon’s, is filled with love, joy, angst, constant quandary, Chili’s Southwestern Egg rolls, metal, and empathy. Through the goblin eyes of being an internet-celebrity–insurance-salesman–rock and roll-mascot for the Goblin Metal outfit NEKROGOBLIKON, we learn about life, death, business, food, music, travel, culture, dating, school, drinking, compassion, and much more!John walks readers through crucial life steps, from becoming internet famous, to getting dates with special someones, to even correct ordering techniques for the perfect meal at Chili’s.Have a problem? John Goblikon assumes he knows how to help you solve it…all in this new, for-sure-to-be-a-New-York-Times-bestseller-and-win-like-a-hundred-awards debut book: John Goblikon’s Guide to Living Your Best Life.
£12.99
Rare Bird Books Between The Records
"...Julian Tepper emerges as a modern hybrid of Philip Roth and Saul Bellow."—Philipp Meyer, New York Times Best-Selling author of The Son and American RustJules and Adam Newman's complex, often hostile, relationship has long fueled their music careers as they followed in their father's footsteps. After the release of their debut record, and while struggling to write tracks for the followup, the brothers begin to clash. Jules, the younger brother, feels cast aside and ignored by Adam, who has long been accustomed to having things his own way. From the studio to the stage and across the countless miles in between, Julian Tepper's third novel is a moody and heady work of autofiction based on his days in the Natural History, which he and his brother formed in 2001. Between the Records examines brothers, fathers, rock and roll, and the personal demons therein—both musical and familial.
£17.09
Rare Bird Books Men Behaving Badly
O’Leary’s new collection is a frank, unflinching follow-up to 2017’s successful DICK CHENEY SHOT ME IN THE FACE. Here O’Leary does the impossible: dive into the psyches of the most destructive men– a stalker, a Klansman, public shooters— and creates narratives that neither rationalize, nor over-empathize. Refreshingly, these stories deliver both valuable insight, and perspective-enhancing humor. Employing fiercer social commentary and broader imagination, these new stories are concerned with justice, redemption, mockery of a decaying and violent culture and the often greedy men behind it. But for every grubby and disastrous man, there’s hope in the form of the unexpected: a centenarian whose invisibility is a weapon, a retired Montana rancher, a California tomato farmer, an elderly Black woman from Brooklyn with some powerful knitting needles, two fly fishermen–even the Earth herself. While nostalgia, humor, and blunt delivery hook the reader, O’Leary is dead serious about calling out liars, the indignities of American retirement, contagious gun violence, and other social and political ills.
£18.99
Rare Bird Books Easy For You To Say
Easy For You To Say is "Stuttering" John Melendez's memoir of his childhood being bullied in school for his stutter; his years as an on-air personality with The Howard Stern Show; and his subsequent ten-year career as a writer and on-air announcer for Jay Leno's Tonight Show. It details his famously acerbic relationships with celebrities he interviewed/insulted (Raquel Welch once punched him in the face). In the book, Howard Stern emerges as a surprisingly mean, stingy, and megalomaniacal boss—and Jay Leno as a seeming sufferer from OCD.
£19.99
Rare Bird Books Hollywood vs. The Author
It’s no secret that authors have a love-hate relationship with Hollywood. The oft-repeated cliché that “the book was better than the movie” holds true for more reasons than the average reader will ever know. When asked about selling their book rights to Hollywood authors like to joke that they drive their manuscripts to the border of Arizona and California and toss them over the fence, driving back the way they came at breakneck speed. This is probably because Hollywood just doesn’t “get it.” Its vision for the film or TV series rarely seems to match the vision of the author. And for those rare individuals who’ve had the fortune of sitting across the desk from one of the myriad, interchangeable development execs praising the brilliance of their work while ticking off a never-ending list of notes for the rewrite, the pros of pitching their work to Hollywood rarely outweigh the cons.Stephen Jay Schwartz has sat on both sides of that desk—first as the Director of Development for film director Wolfgang Petersen, then as a screenwriter and author pitching his work to the film and television industry. He’s seen all sides of what is known in this small community as “Development Hell.” The process is both amusing and heartbreaking. Most authors whose work contains a modicum of commercial potential eventually find themselves in “the room” taking a shot at seeing their creations re-visualized by agents, producers or development executives. What they often discover is that their audience is younger and less worldly as themselves. What passes for “story notes” is often a mishmash of vaguely connected ideas intended to put the producer’s personal stamp on the project.Hollywood Versus The Author is a collection of non-fiction anecdotes by authors who’ve had the pleasure of experiencing the development room firsthand—some who have successfully managed to straddle the two worlds, seeing their works morph into the kinds of feature films and TV shows that make them proud, and others who stepped blindsided into that room after selling their first or second novels. All the stories in this collection illustrate the great divide between the world of literature and the big or small screen. They underscore the insanity of every crazy thing you’ve ever heard about Hollywood. For insiders and outsiders alike, Hollywood Versus The Author delivers the goods.With contributions by Michael Connelly, Lawrence Block, Max Allan Collins, Alan Jacobson, Andrew Kaplan, Tess Gerritsen, James Brown, Peter James, Rob Roberge, Lee Goldberg, Naomi Hirahara, T. Jefferson Parker, Diana Gould, Joshua Corin, and Alexandra Sokoloff
£12.99
Rare Bird Books Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop
Fun, bright, and playful, Power Pop is a sometimes adored, sometimes maligned, often misunderstood genre of music. From its heyday in the 70s and 80s to its resurgence in the 90s and 00s, Power Pop has meant many things to many people. In Go All The Way, today's best and brightest writers go deep on what certain Power Pop bands and songs mean and have meant to them. Whether they love or hate it, Go All The Way is a dive into the Beatles-inspired pop rock of the last five decades.Featuring:Heather Havrilesky on BlondieCarrie Courogen on Liz PhairMichael Chabon on Big StarJeff Rougvie on Cheap TrickDavid Yaffe on XTCKate Sullivan on Jeff Lynne and ELODylan Champion on Guided By VoicesJoe Clifford on The Hold SteadyDavid Bash on His So-Called (Power Pop) LifeJustin Fielding on The Road to Power PopPaul Myers on SloanJeff Whalen on Power Pop as Beatles ObsessionS. W. Lauden on Fountains of WayneIra Elliot on Putting the Pow! in Power PopRex Weiner on September GurlsMarko DeSantis on SurrenderKen Sharp on The Secret Power Pop History of KISS's Paul StanleyTom Petty on The Strange Magic of Jeff Lynne (as told to Ken Sharp)John M. Borack on The Women of Power PopDave Holmes on Tommy KeeneDaniel Brummel on WeezerNancy Rommelmann on Analog AnthemsAllison Anders on Nick Lowe's Pub Rock RootsAnnie Zaleski on How Jelly Fish Changed the GameChris Holm on The Brainy Power Pop of Allan Carl NewmanScott Miller excerpts from Music: What Happened?Kurt Baker on Pop Punk to Power Pop
£19.99
Rare Bird Books The Performance of Heartbreak and Other Plays
A collection of eleven one- and two-act plays. With hints of Samuel Beckett, Sam Shepard, Neil LaBute, and Tracy Letts, Scott Caan grapples with the emotional interiors of people in a fractured world. Whether writing about actors, lovers, or co-workers, Caan takes on the complicated tension between what we say and what we feel, how we grapple with the world publicly and privately, and what that difference says about us as people. Caan's training as an actor imbues his words with a sense of play and the characters he leaves other actors to create within these plays are deep and open to interpretation. The Performance of Heartbreak and Other Plays is the introduction of an exciting new voice in American theater.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Scale: A Novel
Ray Goldman will outdrink you, out-party you and, unfortunately for him, probably outlive you. As a hopeless and struggling indie rock musician, Ray's best chance of discovering any beauty and purpose in his dysfunctional life will come only when he ceases to struggle against life itself. These are his memoirs. Scale chronicles Ray Goldman's journey downward through the adversarial trials that sometimes prove necessary in facilitating an eventual ascent into truth and happiness. The odd chapters of the novel find Ray, now a 31-year-old guitar player, seeking fulfillment in the wake of a life-altering tragedy while the even chapters see him reflecting on the depravity and selfishness that hastened his descent towards it. Scale is about the relationship between instability and balance, death and resurrection, perception and reality, but ultimately it is about the endless war waged between our disquieted minds and our noble hearts. Fans of pop culture, Americana, Punk Rock music, and Charles Bukowski's Ham on Rye.
£12.99
Rare Bird Books The Dirt in Our Skin
When Ryan and Jason discover the destructive beauty of freestyle BMX, it’s a definitive before-and-after moment for them. The two riders gravitate to the freedom and raw aggression of trail riding as a way of coping with their tumultuous home lives: Ryan’s domineering father and Jason''s father''s suicide.The boys prove themselves within the exclusive East Coast BMX scene. They''re drawn deeper into the culture when they fall in with a group of older pros who are part of a subterranean world of bisexuality and sadistic humor. As Ryan and Jason fight to preserve their relationship, they must navigate their own emerging sexuality and feelings for one another. The death-drive urge to ride massive jumps makes perfect sense to them, but life outside of riding spills over at the edges. The Dirt in Our Skin is a coming-of-age novel and artistic tribute to an activity that’s more lifestyle than sport. It’s a book
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Search Heartache
When I got home, I did what I had stopped myself from doing earlier. I Googled the name: Aimee Laroche. I wondered what I would have done if I had found myself embroiled in this scenario fifteen, even ten years ago. Would I have hired a private detective to track this woman down? Would I have passed sleepless nights waiting for him to hand over a manila envelope containing long lens black-and-whites of a femme fatale smoking Gauloises at a sidewalk café? Probably not. But Googling was irresistible. Like everything on screen, it required no effort. It was so easy.Maura Fielder looks like she has the perfect life: every expectation fulfilled. But under the illusory surface of perfection, Maura finds herself blindsided by what she discovers on her husband’s computer. She has no emotional cubby hole into which she can shove this ghost from her husband’s past, so instead, Maura upends her life—thrashing her marriage, alienating her daughter, and eroding her own moral center. On the verge of sacrificing everything she holds dear to her own obsession, how does Maura manage to regain her equilibrium and reclaim her life?In this post-privacy new world, any woman can find heartache if she searches hard enough.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Flip City
Flip City is the story of fifteen-year-old child model, James Daniel Ross, as he comes of age in 1970—a time of free love, dead rock stars, and serial killers. Escaping the psychiatric facility where his affluent father has placed him, James trades its restraints, prescription meds, and therapists, for freedom, illicit drugs, and the friendship of street kids surviving in the psychedelic shadows of Old Town, Chicago. But when one friend goes missing, James finds himself in an edgy cat-and-mouse game with a John Wayne Gacy-like serial killer whose victims are blond teenage boys. Will James be the killer’s next victim? Or will the killer become James’s?
£14.99
Rare Bird Books My Two and Only
“Go for a run.” That’s what Charlotte Most said to her husband Paul on that ordinary day. And when he did, her life was never the same.Yet Charlotte remains the same: mother, daughter, friend, interior designer… and, although single… wife.Until she meets Brian. When she’s surprised by his little Tiffany-blue box– and the proposal that goes with it – she is forced to make a decision. But questions begin to consume her. Who will Charlotte be if she’s no longer a widow? Does old love prohibit new? Does new love diminish old? How can she marry her one-and-only twice? Heartache and hope propel her through a perilous journey from devoted widow to joyful fiancée.My Two And Only is a love story about clinging to the past and embracing the present. About memory and the stories we tell ourselves. About identities, inner and outward, and the struggle to make peace between them. Humorous and insightful, poignant and profound, My Two And Only explores the question: how much happiness can we allow ourselves… and which self might that be?
£19.99
Rare Bird Books Gabba Gabba Hey: A Conversation With the Ramones
For the first time, you can read the Ramones' comments about their own history in this intimate series of interviews with the legendary band.The Ramones were arguably the single most influential rock 'n' roll act to emerge from that curious muddle of magic and mediocrity called the 1970s. Two of the group's founding members—singer Joey Ramone and bassist Dee Dee Ramone—didn't live to see the Ramones become icons of popular culture, hear their music in TV commercials, or experience the unlikely adoption of "Blitzkrieg Bop" as a sports anthem. Guitarist Johnny Ramone barely lived long enough to see it begin, and drummer Tommy Ramone's death in 2014 wrote finis to the mortal part of the Ramones' story. The legend endured. In 1994, as the Ramones celebrated their 20th anniversary, then-current members Joey, Johnny, drummer Marky, and bassist C. J. knew the group's Road To Ruin would soon approach its end. Given an opportunity to assess where they'd been and what was left to do, they agreed to a series of interviews discussing the entirety of the Ramones' story. This is that story: a career-spanning discussion of the Ramones' career, an intimate glimpse at how the Ramones viewed their work, their experiences, their impact, their legacy, their fans, and each other. It's a unique and fascinating peek into what it was like to be one of the few, the proud, the Ramones.For the first time, you can read the Ramones' published comments about their own history, and much, much more than ever could have fit into a single magazine issue.
£17.99
Rare Bird Books Rough Justice
Callie and Cash are back! For fans of Scott Turow, Lee Child, and Raymond Chandler.“When you get out of jail, don’t ever come back here.”Callie James thought those were the last words she’d ever speak to Cash Logan. Two years later, in Danger in Plain Sight, Callie and Cash become an improbable team taking on lethal adversaries.Now, in Rough Justice, Callie and Cash are back, and their world is about to explode. It’s been a year since they saved her ex-husband’s life and faced unexpected, terrifying adversaries. During that process—confronting kidnapping, murder, and the destruction of her restaurant—they came together, and against all odds, fell passionately in love.The smooth sailing abruptly ends when Sara, a twenty-five-year-old, half-Algerian woman, unexpectedly shows up at the restaurant and insists on telling them her shocking, unbelievable story. Someone has stolen her identity, and they’re trying to kill her. Sara needs their help now, and she has a stunning, life-changing secret to tell.Again, Cash and Callie assemble their unconventional ragtag family—including peg-legged Andre, and Itzac, “the Macher.” Together, they go to war with formidable adversaries to save Sara and ultimately their own lives. The fierce global battle leads them to Cuba, where they launch an audacious offensive that shocks even them…and will absolutely take your breath away.With Rough Justice, Burt Weissbourd elevates not only his deeply rich and complex characters, but the entire thriller genre.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Make It Stop
A speculative tale of dysfunctional vigilantes, sex-crazed junkies, and corporate healthcare run amok from best-selling chronicler of LA punk Jim Ruland. Scores of detox and rehab centers across Southern California have adopted a controversial new conditional release policy that forces patients to stay until they pay their bills. And if they can’t pay? They don’t leave.Enter: Make It Stop, a group of highly skilled recovering addicts dedicated to rescuing those trapped in these prison hospitals by posing as patients and getting them out by any means necessary. But when Scary Gary, one of their top ops, gets killed on assignment, Melanie Marsh and her crew set out to avenge his death and unravel an unthinkable medical conspiracy that threatens to destroy the organization and cripple the city with a dangerous new drug. Melanie may be LA’s best hope but if, and only if, she can stay sober.From decrepit rehab wards to beachside punk clubs, Make It Stop takes readers into LA’s darkest corners, exploring sobriety, sanity, and a society hell-bent on profiting off those who need its help the most.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books House of Hearts
Izzy Ames lives with her high school sweetheart, Cyrus Rivera, in the Salton Sea. They cling to each other and to their close friends Nephy and Seth to cope with the trauma of their pasts. Until the morning Izzy awakes to find Cyrus has vanished.When she realizes no one will help, Izzy takes matters into her own hands and decides to search for Cyrus alone. After weeks of looking for him, she discovers a clue that leads her to the House of Hearts retreat center run by the mysterious Sky. At House of Hearts, Izzy meets an intriguing musician named Ever Fontana and for a moment she is able to forget the pain of her past. But when new clues about Cyrus’ disappearance surface, Izzy must go down into the dark to find the truth.Izzy’s quest will take her into a world of sexuality, madness, and violence, where she will discover life-changing secrets not only about Cyrus but, ultimately, about herself.
£18.99
Rare Bird Books The Beatles 100: One Hundred Pivotal Moments in Beatles History
Was John Lennon meeting Paul McCartney more significant than John Lennon meeting Yoko Ono? Rubber Soul or Revolver? Which Wings album was Paul McCartney’s solo pinnacle?In 100 brief chapters, John M. Borack discusses and ranks the greatest moments in Beatles history. An avid Fab Four fan since childhood and a music journalist for more than thirty-five years, Borack has created a book to agree with and disagree with, and one that is sure to spark conversations. A love letter to the greatest rock band of all time, The Beatles 100 is a book for Beatles buffs and casual fans alike.
£17.99
Rare Bird Books Forbidden Beat: Perspectives on Punk Drumming
Whether they're self-taught bashers or technical wizards, drummers are the thrashing, crashing heart of our favorite punk bands. In Forbidden Beat, some of today's most respected writers and musicians explore the history of punk percussion with personal essays, interviews and lists featuring their favorite players and biggest influences. From 60s garage rock and proto-punk to 70s New York and London, 80s hardcore and D-beat to 90s pop punk and beyond, Forbidden Beat is an uptempo ode to six decades of punk rock drumming. Featuring Tré Cool, Ira Elliot, Curt Weiss, John Robb, Hudley Flipside, Bon Von Wheelie, Joey Shithead, Matt Diehl, D.H. Peligro, Mike Watt, Lynn Perko-Truell, Pete Finestone, Laura Bethita Neptuna, Jan Radder, Jim Ruland, Eric Beetner, Jon Wurster, Lori Barbero, Joey Cape, Marko DeSantis, Mindy Abovitz, Steven McDonald, Kye Smith, Ian Winwood, Phanie Diaz, Benny Horowitz, Shari Page, Urian Hackney, and Rat Scabies.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Hallucinations from Hell: Confessions of an Angry Samoan
The stories in this here anthology may in fact be true true wild tales I’ve absorbed over time. Perhaps drenched with generous hyperbole? I’ll let you decide.As one of the founding members of the seminal punk band Angry Samoans, Gregg Turner has seen his fair share of weird shit. From his time at Creem Magazine in the early 1970s to the formation of the Angry Samoans in Los Angeles, and all the travels, trials, and tribulations that occured after, Turner takes us through a wild ride of stories he's heard, stories he's lived, and some he may or may not have made up.With illustrations by Emmy and Klein-award winning illustrator Gary Panter, Hallucinations from Hell is an onslaught of a book that will appeal to any reader who loves a good story.
£17.99
Rare Bird Books Top Rankin': A Punk/Ska Noir Novel
It's the dawn of 1980 in Los Angeles and everything’s changing.Punks, dopers and assorted miscreants play in the decaying homes of Hollywood golden era stars. The playfully decadent, diverse LA punk scene is under threat from the violent, misogynistic hardcore scene not to mention the suddenly cheap, high grade heroin that's tempting many who haven’t managed to get their artistic careers in gear yet.James Dual wants no part of that and inspired by the racially integrated punky ska revival in England starts the ON Klub, a ska, soul, and reggae club at the rough and ready pre-gentrified Silver Lake end of Sunset Blvd. He and partner in crime, actor spawn Drea Dresden, try their best to make the transition out of the '70s in one piece.As the hole in the hillside dump of a joint successfully explodes there's no fighting on the ON Klub dance floor shared by young Jamaicans, sharp-dressed Asian American girls, South Central kids, London escapees, mods on scooters from Orange County, Latino kids from the neighborhood—all united by the inspiring vinyl they can’t hear on the radio or anywhere else in the US. This is they only place these kids can go where everyone’s welcome and they are treated equally so it becomes home to them.All this attention, not to mention over capacity crowds and under age kids leads to a visit from the soon to be notorious Rampart police division who threaten closure and worse. A journalist friend brings a mob related music man connected to Bob Marley to visit the club, who becomes obsessed with the charismatic young Jamaican singer Loraine Sulley, who is performing that night. He lures James with promises to bring in iconic ska and reggae artists to perform at the club if James convinces Loraine to sign to Marshall’s planned new record label. In the meantime, James and Drea are threatened by two corrupt Sheriff’s homicide detectives who are still trying to nail an innocent James for the death of a band that occurred soon after he first arrived in LA.James arranges to have Drea hide out in London until things cool down. While there she meets controversial new English band Vortex and subsequently joins them for their first US tour where they warn what things could get like if the unthinkable happens and washed up B movie star, US Republican Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan is elected.Capturing the spirit of LA in 1980, Top Rankin' is populated with real-life characters from the music world in Los Angeles, New York, and London, and leads readers on a tour of the dangers and importance of providing refuge on the precipice of major political upheaval.
£15.17
Rare Bird Books The Darkest Glare: A True Story of Murder, Blackmail, and Real Estate Greed in 1979 Los Angeles
Late-seventies Los Angeles was rampant with killers and shady characters, but all the go-getters at Space Matters saw was possibility. Richard Kasparov was handsome and charismatic; his younger associate, Jerry Schneiderman, brilliant and nerdy. When the pair hired a veteran contractor to oversee construction, the space planning firm they operated out of a hip mansion in LA’s Miracle Mile district appeared poised to transform the boundless skyline into their jackpot.After the promising team imploded, however, the orderly lines on their blueprints succumbed to treachery and secrets. To get even, one of the ex-partners launched a murder-for-profit corporation using, among other peculiar sorts, a bantam-sized epileptic with a deadeye shot and a cross-dressing sidekick. The hapless criminals required a comical number of attempts to execute their first target. Once they did, on a rainy night in the San Fernando Valley, the surviving founder of Space Matters was thrown into a pressure cooker existence out of a Coen Brothers movie. Threatened for money he didn’t have, he donned a disguise, survived a heart-pounding encounter at the La Brea Tar Pits, and relied on an ex-Israeli mercenary for protection. In the end, he had to outfox a glowering murderer, while asking if you can ever really know anyone in a town where dirty deals send men to their graves.In The Darkest Glare, Chip Jacobs recounts a spectacular, noir-ish, true-crime saga from one of the deadliest eras in American history. You’ll never gaze out windows into the dark again.Included as a bonus is an original true crime short from the same unhinged era. In “Paul & Chuck,” a flashy, crusading attorney wages war against the messianic leader of a bloodthirsty cult determined to teach the world to stay away.
£12.99
Rare Bird Books Bedside Matters
Bedside Matters, the fifth novel by painter and writer Richard Alther, enlivens its singular setting with an unexpected journey at life's end for one man.Walter had mastered the business world at an unaccounted cost to discover in old age and ill-health a disease that would render his body useless. Walter is a complicated man now captured in the gilded cage of his mansion, watching the world, his world, go by without him.Visitors with agendas appear to remind him of his life and responsibilities: Walter's ex-wife Polly, a voluptuous handful as he would describe her, Paula, his chip-off-the-old block all-business daughter, Gavin, his attractive and irresponsible son with a dodgy track record, and the irrepressible daydreams and memories that flood his consciousness with emotions long shunned.While Walter reads the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi's work, his inner life takes on a new shape, as his body continues to betray him and deteriorate. He says a long, reluctant goodbye while engaging a side to life that has been unexplored until now.The natural world in the garden outside his window pleasures as he battles pain. New people enter his world to invigorate his last days, including his physical therapist Tressie, a woman so enticing he counts the minutes between visits.Succession becomes an obsession with Paula as she builds her empire, and Gavin tries to start over again after another stint in rehab. Walter watches them play the game of life as he becomes a mere observer from the solitude of his stately manor, lost and found in his thoughts. For the first time, he seems to experience life as a poet would, even as the inevitable end comes closer.A cinematic non-linear take and frank examination of the promise of life, even at its end, Bedside Matters concern us all at one time or another as we ask the ultimate question: what matters most?
£18.99
Rare Bird Books I Remember Everything: Life Lessons from Dawson's Creek
Featuring illustrations by Jillian BartholdThe first coming-of-age series for millennial consumption, Dawson’s Creek created one of the most iconic memes before the word “meme” was mainstream. On January 20, 1998, the Capeside High School class of 2001 came into our lives.Dawson’s Creek centered around the titular star—a white man with a lot of privilege—who proved to be anything but our hero. Our heroes were Jen Lindley, the “big city vixen” who turned out to be the third-wave feminist we desperately needed; Pacey Witter, the “lovable loser” and underdog we rooted for the entire series; and Joey Potter, the “poor tomboy” from the wrong side of the Creek who demonstrated what personal strength and independence could accomplish.Pulling quotes from all six seasons, I Remember Everything dissects the main themes of Dawson’s Creek: sex, mental health, relationships, classism, queerness, and much, much more. Erin Hensley and Julia Callahan, hosts of the podcast Dawson’s Critique, break down why we still can’t get enough of this iconic show.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Adapt or Wait Tables (Revised Edition): A Freelancer's Guide
Inability to adapt is the new illiteracy and freelancing is becoming America’s new normal. What 2008 taught America was not just that derivatives are dangerous and the housing market doesn’t rise forever. It also taught us that survival requires juggling and pivoting, two skills that any freelancer is forced to acquire if they want to keep paying their rent. Adapt or Die is a mix of information, tricks and advice for all the freelancers out there, and the ones who will be stepping onto that playing field as they graduate from college. Written by a freelance writer who has spent the past two decades covering Hollywood and the world of pop culture and fashion, their tips for survival are laced with gossip and references to the famous as well as what they call the “secret celebrities” whose paths they have crossed. Consider this an entertaining how-to manual for anyone with ambition and no road map.
£10.99
Rare Bird Books The Good Family Fitzgerald
The Fitzgeralds are buttressed by wealth and privilege, but they are also buffeted by crisis after crisis, many of their own creation. Even so, they live large, in love and in strife, wielding power, combating adversaries and each other. The Good Family Fitzgerald is a saga of money and ambition, crime and the Catholic Church, a sprawling, passionate story shaped against a background of social discord.Padraic Fitzgerald is the up-from-nothing, aging patriarch whose considerable business interests appear anything but legitimate, but he has bigger problems than law enforcement. A widower, Paddy becomes enmeshed with a young woman who will force him to re-examine his cardinal assumptions. Meanwhile, he has cultivated thorny relationships with his four children, all of whom struggle over the terms of connection with their father. Anthony—oldest son, principled criminal defense attorney, designated prince of the family—and his cherished Francesca are devastated by tragedy. In the aftermath, Frankie comes to play a vital role in Fitzgerald lore. Philip is a charismatic Catholic priest spectacularly torn between his lofty ideals and aspirations and his all-too-human flaws and longings. Matty has wandered aimlessly, but once he finds his purpose, he precipitates turmoil in all quarters. Colleen, the youngest, is a seeker who styles herself the outsider and the conscience of the clan. Her hands are full, as no Fitzgerald is left untested or unscathed, and by the end the whole family, as well as those venturing into their realm, will be stunned into illumination.
£19.99
Rare Bird Books The Remnants
Peterson's weirdly fascinating environment will appeal to fans of epic world building, and the generous dose of ribaldry in the story is a welcome treat. -BooklistThe apocalypse happened, but no one knows how. All that's left are a smattering of bizarro cities called remnants, each ruled by a grotesque potentate known as an Odd. If you wind up in hock to the Odds, they ship you to a chain-gang that stretches thousands of miles across desert, steppe, and tundra. A good-hearted drifter named Eldridge is a longtime member of the Chain. Known as the Red Rook because of his triumph in the Xiang Tournament of 2603-a battle royale of live-action battle chess-Eldridge nevertheless wound up on the Chain because...well, he's always getting in trouble trying to help his friends. But when El's best buddy Boris joins the Chain, he brings word that the Odds have declared war on their friends, each of them being held captive by a different Odd in a different remnant. Eldridge and Boris escape t
£14.38
Rare Bird Books Road to Delano
£18.99
Rare Bird Books Watch: A Novel
When John Harvey’s watch stops working on the morning of February 3rd, 1987, he has an epiphany. It occurs to him that every personal trauma he is trying to forget has had one thing in common: they all occurred at some point on the face of that very watch. The loss of his job, the death of his child, Zola’s suicide, all contained right there in that tiny circle of finite numbers. So he smashes the watch. Problem solved.But when John steps out the door to make his daily trek to the local bar as a man newly freed from the tyrannies of time, he is met by a snowstorm that renders him completely blind, and a walk that should have taken just a few minutes begins to feel like years. Because as John Harvey wanders alone through the snow with no sun nor sign to guide him, the twenty-eight year old misanthrope is confronted by the vivid manifestation of every ghost he has devoted his lonely life to avoiding. In the storm he is forced to finally accept the suffering he has been hiding from. In the storm he is forced to understand that the only thing worse than never truly seeing is never truly being seen. In the storm he is forced, for once, to watch.
£12.99
Rare Bird Books Inside Studio 54
In Inside Studio 54, the former owner takes you behind the scenes of the most famous nightclub in the world, through the crowd, to a place where celebrities, friends, and the beautiful people sip champagne and share lines of cocaine using rolled-up hundred-dollar bills. In the early eighties, Mark Fleischman reopened Studio 54, the world's most glamorous and notorious nightclub, after it was closed down by the State of New York. Ten thousand people showed up that night, ready to restart the party that abruptly ended after the raid in 1978 landed its former owners in jail.Inside Studio 54 invites you to revisit the happening scenes of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, the post-Pill, pre-AIDS era of free love, consequence-free sex, and seemingly endless partying. Following Fleischman as he built connections as a hotel, restaurant, and club owner that lead him to Studio 54. Inside Studio 54 takes the reader from Brazil to the heights of debauchery in the Virgin Islands and finally to New York City. A star-studded thrill ride through decadent and drug-fueled parties at the legendary Studio 54.
£19.99
Rare Bird Books Andy Biersack Presents the Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Legendary Black Veil Brides' founder and frontman Andy Biersack curated his favorite Edgar Allan Poe tales, presented here in their original language with supplemental materials. Dive back into classics like The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, The Oval Portrait, and The Mask of the Red Death with accompanying original artwork and a foreword from Andy himself. This compact, small but mighty, Poe collection is made to be a staple on your shelf.
£14.99
Rare Bird Books Big Wednesday (Deluxe Anniversary Edition)
Deluxe Hardcover edition, featuring a photo insert, surfing map of Southern California, eight pages of the original script to the film Big Wednedsday, essays by Roger McGrath, Tatsuo Takei, Don James, and Peter Townend, as well as John Milius' original pitch letter to Lynn Nesbit, a surf term glossary, and new afterwordBased on true events and legendary surfers of the 1960s, the Big Wednesday novel follows three Malibu surfers as the joys of youth and their carefree lifestyles are challenged by societal expectations, the looming war in Vietnam, and the inevitable passage of time. The three friends, Matt, Jack, and Leroy, go their separate ways, but are brought back together for one final challenge—the giant waves that hit Malibu and the California coast, spring 1973.
£21.99
Rare Bird Books Overcome: A Memoir Of Abuse, Addiction, Sex Work, and Recovery
From an early age, Amber van de Bunt knew she wasn’t like the other girls in town. From childhood struggles with depression and eating disorders, her years as a topless dancer in Florida, and an eventual abortion and suicide attempt, to her rebirth in Los Angeles as a porn star named Karmen Karma, overcoming her relationship with her abusive mother, and her struggle to maintain a clean and sober lifestyle—van de Bunt’s life has been a wild rollercoaster. With humor, alacrity, and profound insight, she reveals her deepest, darkest secrets and pulls no punches—least of all with herself.
£19.99
Rare Bird Books Garrett's Store: The Ingenuity of a Young Garrett Morgan
The sixth book in the Tiny Thinkers series covers Garrett Morgan!Garrett Morgan invented the respiratory device that powered WWI gas masks, as well as chemical hair straighteners and and improved sewing machine. A trailblazer in many aspects of his life, Morgan's story is one that kids and adults will love! Follow Garrett Morgan as he builds his store, and begins to invent some of the items we still rely on today.
£12.99
Rare Bird Books In the Jingle Jangle Jungle
£21.99
Rare Bird Books Focus Lost
The line between passion and obsession runs through us all.Levi Combs never planned to rocket to stardom.Eva Florez knew he would the moment she saw him.Gabe Adams didn’t want anything to do with celebrities.But after Gabe’s sister sells his photos of Levi with a young starlet to a tabloid website, their lives become intertwined forever, bound by rage and retribution. Blending the nuance and insight of literary fiction with the big-screen magic of a Hollywood thriller, Focus Lost whisks readers into a world of temptation, indulgence, and revenge, daring them to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.
£12.99