Search results for ""author sly"
Tuttle Publishing Mister Timeless Blyth: A Biographical Novel: R.H. Blyth's Life of Zen and Haiku, Bridging East and West
Lovers of Haiku, Zen and Japan will find this novel truly inspiring!An extraordinary man at a crucial time and place."In Mister Timeless Blyth, writer Alan Spence has created a fascinating (auto) biography, convincingly in R.H. Blyth's own voice. In it, he has conveyed the haiku scholar's love of music, eastern and western literature, Zen Buddhism, and sly contradictions. Blyth's profound understanding of haiku and his self-deprecating humor permeate every page. Throughout this work, Mr. Spence has included an interesting constellation of characters who influenced Blyth on what he considered his own karmic path, giving us an entirely new perspective of his life and personal development. I could not put the book down." — William Scott Wilson, author of The Life and Zen Haiku Poetry of Santoka TanedaImprisoned during World War I as a conscientious objector and interned during World War II as an enemy alien, Reginald Horace Blyth was a poet, a scholar, a musician, a linguist and a student of Zen who ultimately became teacher to an emporer. His pivitol works were published in Japan even during his internment. Blyth ultimately became the key link and mediator between the Imperial Household and the occupying American forces, whom many credit with saving Japan from chaos after the war. His fingerprints are everywhere today in the study of Zen, Haiku and Japanese culture, and his work has influenced some of the most important writers of the 20th century— including Huxley, Oshi, Aiken, Watts, Salinger, Kerouac, Ginsberg and others. He was, in many ways, a man who changed the world!Mister Timeless Blyth is his story. Written in the form of an autobiographical novel filled with Zen and poetry, this book recounts a life of hard work, books and music, of spiritual questing, and of learning to be at peace with one's self and one's choices. It celebrates a man who built bridge between East and West for the greater part of his lifetime. Through it, we understand someone who moved with a sense of purpose, warmth and humor and left a mark that was very distinct indeed.
£17.09
Anness Publishing The Gingerbread Man (floor Book): My First Reading Book
This is an enchanting retelling of a timeless fairy tale, with bright and imaginative drawings throughout. The fresh and lively storyline is designed to appeal to the young child, with appropriate vocabulary for those learning to read by themselves. It features interactive pages that encourage children to read, write and observe. It is an illustrated first reading book in a large, fun format. 'Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!' The Gingerbread Man outruns a little old lady, a cow, a horse and a farmer, but what happens when a sly fox offers to carry him across a wide river...? The classic children's story is retold in this delightful book, illustrated throughout with engaging drawings. The simple vocabulary and familiar language mean that children can follow as you read or try for themselves. Interactive questions and an odd-one-out game at the back of the book provide a valuable aid to learning.
£5.90
Penguin Books Ltd Let Me Tell You
From the peerless author of The Lottery and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, this is a treasure trove of deliciously dark and funny stories, essays, lectures, letters and drawings.Let Me Tell You brings together the brilliantly eerie short stories Jackson is best known for with frank and inspiring lectures on writing; comic essays she wrote about her large, rowdy family; and revelatory personal letters and drawings. Jackson's landscape here is most frequently domestic - dinner parties, children's games and neighbourly gossip - but one that is continually threatened and subverted in her unsettling, inimitable prose. This collection is the first opportunity to see Shirley Jackson's radically different modes of writing side by side, revealing her to be a magnificent storyteller, a sharp, sly humorist and a powerful feminist.'The stories range from sketches and anecdotes to complete and genuinely unsettling tales, somewhat alarming and very creepy ... The whole of the book offers insights into the vagaries of her mind, which was ruminant and generous ... For those of us whose imaginations, and creative ambitions, were ignited by 'The Lottery', Jackson remains one of the great practitioners of the literature of the darker impulses' - Paul Theroux, New York Times'Shirley Jackson made a reputation with a short story in 1948. Like a lot of people I read 'The Lottery' when I was young, in an anthology of short stories from the New Yorker, and never forgot it. Let Me Tell You is a rich, enjoyable compendium of her unpublished short fiction and occasional writings, kicking off with a story of a dozen pages, 'Paranoia', which I won't forget, either' - Tom Stoppard, TLS Books of the Year
£9.99
Faber & Faber The Wind in the Willows
'Believe me, my young friend, there is absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. In them or out of them, it doesn't matter. Whether you get away or you don't, whether you arrive at your destination or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy.'Ever since the publication of Kenneth Grahame's novel in 1908, the characters of Ratty, Mole, Toad and Badger have delighted generations of readers. Now Alan Bennett has written an adaptation for the stage, a version which is both true to the original and yet carries that distinctive Bennett hallmark.Alan Bennett introduces this edition, writing about the history of the project and the staging of the production.'Bennett is even able to inject the odd sly joke for the adult without bewildering the tots... the result is a delightful evening, a treat for anyone.' The Times
£10.99
Vintage Publishing Reheated Cabbage
Hilarious, shocking and hugely entertaining, Reheated Cabbage has all the classic Irvine Welsh ingredientsIn Reheated Cabbage you can enjoy Christmas dinner with Begbie and discover how aliens addicted to Embassy Regal have Midlothian under surveillance. You will meet a husband who values a televised Hibs v Hearts game more than his wife's life and see two guys fighting over a beautiful girl agree - after a few pills and pints of lager - that their friendship is actually more important. And you will be delighted to welcome back 'Juice' Terry Lawson, and to watch what happens when he meets his old nemesis under the strobe-lights of a Miami Beach nightclub.'The stories combine sly humour with the tang of lived experience. It makes for a terrific collection, showcasing a writer who...has blossomed into one of the most distinctive, and distinguished, observers of British life' Sunday Telegraph
£9.99
Sarabande Books, Incorporated Where You're All Going
Buzzfeed News,"15 Small Press Books To Kick Off Your 2020 Reading Season" The Millions, “February Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated” "Death looms in these four sparkling novellas—thus the book’s sly title—but until then there’s the wonder of life. Frank’s subjects include fascinating friendships and complicated marriages, awful parties and odd enthusiasm. Bonus: song mentions that add up to a terrifically eclectic playlist.” —Kim Hubbard, People Magazine In her quartet of novellas, Joan Frank invites readers into the inner lives of characters bewildered by love, grief, and inexplicable affinities. A young couple navigates a strange friendship and unexpected pregnancy; a woman recalls the bizarre fallout of her former lover's fame; a lonely widow is drawn to an arrogant young man; a wealthy spiritual seeker grapples with what wealth cannot affect. Witty and humane, Frank taps the riches of the novella form as she writes of loneliness, friendship, loss, and the filaments of intimacy that connect us through time.
£12.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Two Wars and a Wedding: A Novel
“Filled with vivid details, shocking truths, and two sly, strong women who bring panache and humor to every scene. I’m simply in awe of the masterful, magical way Lauren Willig makes history come alive.” — Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Place"A winning epic of war and friendship. Readers will devour this riveting tale."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig: a dramatic coming-of-age story with a dual timeline and a single heroine—a bold and adventuring young woman who finds herself caught up in two very different wars on both sides of the Atlantic.September 1896: An aspiring archaeologist, Smith College graduate Betsy Hayes travels to Athens, desperate to break into the male-dominated field of excavation. In the midst of the heat and dust of Greece she finds an unlikely ally in Charles, Baron de Robecourt, one of the few men who takes her academic passion seriously. But when a simmering conflict between Greece and Turkey erupts into open warfare, Betsy throws herself into the conflict as a nurse, not knowing that the decision will change her life forever—and cause a deep and painful rift with her oldest friend, Ava.June 1898: Betsy has sworn off war nursing—but when she gets the word that her estranged friend Ava is headed to Cuba with Clara Barton and the Red Cross to patch up the wounded in the Spanish-American War, Betsy determines to stop her the only way she knows how: by joining in her place. Battling heat, disease, and her own demons, Betsy follows Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders straight to the heart of the fighting, where she is forced to confront her greatest fears to save both old friends and new….Set during an electrifying era of nation-building, idealism, and upheaval, Two Wars and a Wedding is the tale of two remarkable women striving to make their place in a man’s world—an unforgettable saga of friendship, love, and fighting for what is right.
£21.20
Taschen GmbH Walton Ford. 40th Ed.
At first glance, Walton Ford’s large-scale, highly detailed watercolors of animals recall the prints of 19th-century illustrators John James Audubon and Edward Lear. A closer look reveals a complex and disturbingly anthropomorphic universe, full of symbols, sly jokes, and allusions to the ‘operatic’ quality of traditional natural history.In this stunning but sinister visual universe, beasts and birds are not mere aesthetic objects but dynamic actors in allegorical struggles: a wild turkey crushes a small parrot in its claw; a troupe of monkeys wreaks havoc on a formal dinner table; an American buffalo is surrounded by bloodied white wolves. In dazzling watercolor, the images impress as much for their impeccable realism as they do for their complex narratives.First available as a signed and limited volume, this updated edition of Pancha Tantra is the most comprehensive survey of Ford’s oeuvre to date, with more than 20 new works. It features dazzling details, an in-depth exploration of his visual universe, a complete biography, and excerpts from his textual inspirations: from Indian folktales and the letters of Benjamin Franklin to the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini and Audubon’s Ornithological Biography.
£22.50
St Martin's Press Maturity
In a culture infatuated with youth and determined to avoid old age at all costs, this book dares to raise a question that has been all but forgotten in the age of Viagra and cosmetic surgery. What benefits might lie in accepting the aging process as natural, rather than trying to hold on to youth and its pleasures all the way to the grave?Osho takes us back to the roots of what it means to grow up rather than just to grow old. Both in our relationships with others, and in the fulfillment of our own individual destinies, he reminds us of the pleasures that only true maturity can bring. He outlines the ten major growth cycles in human life, from the self-centered universe of the preschooler to the flowering of wisdom and compassion in old age.Osho's sly sense of humor runs like a red thread through the book, along with a profound compassion and understanding of how easy it is to be distracted from the deeper meaning and purpose of our lives-which is, ultimately, to flower into our own individual uniqueness and maturity with an attitude of celebration and joy.
£14.25
Little, Brown & Company The Throne of the Five Winds
Two queens, two concubines, six princes. Innumerable secret agendas.A single hidden blade.The imperial palace -- full of ambitious royals, sly gossip and unforeseen perils -- is perhaps the most dangerous place in the Empire of Zhaon. Komor Yala, lady-in-waiting to the princess of the vanquished kingdom of Khir, has only her wits and her hidden blade to protect herself and her charge, who was sacrificed in marriage to the enemy as a hostage for her conquered people's good behaviour, to secure a tenuous peace.But the Emperor is ageing and the Khir princess and her lady-in-waiting soon find themselves pawns in the six princes' deadly schemes for the throne -- and a single spark could ignite fresh rebellion in Khir.Then, the Emperor falls ill -- and a far bloodier game begins...The Throne of the Five Winds is the first instalment of the Hostage of Empire series, an intricate and ruthless East Asia-inspired epic fantasy trilogy perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin, Ken Liu, Kate Elliott, and K. Arsenault Rivera.
£13.49
Hodder & Stoughton Of Princes and Promises
From the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi comes the second instalment in a brand-new series set in St Rosetta's Academy.Caterina LaValle is determined to show she's still the queen of St. Rosetta's Academy. Sure, her crown may be slightly askew after her ex-boyfriend, Alaric, cheated on her, but she's a LaValle. She'll find a way to march right back in there, her hands clutching the strings to the whole puppet show. This time, she's going to be untouchable.Rahul Chopra knows that moment he shared with Caterina LaValle at the winter formal meant something. Surely she feels it, too. He's a little uncertain how someone like him (socially inept to a point way past "adorkable") could fit into her world, but he's loved Caterina for years. He knows they'll find a way.When Caterina finds out Alaric is taking a supermodel to the upcoming gala, she knows she cannot arrive without the perfect date. But the thought of taking another superficial St. R's boy exhausts her. The solution? Sweet-but-clueless Rahul Chopra and a mysterious pot of hair gel with the power to alter the wearer into whatever his heart desires.When Rahul tries it, he transforms instantly into RC-debonair, handsome, and charming. But transformation comes with a price: As Rahul enjoys his new social standing, the line between his two personas begins to blur. Will he give up everything, including Caterina, to remain RC? Or will this unlikely pair find their way back to each other?_________________________________________________Praise for Sandhya Menon's work:'Pure, fantastical escapism with a tiny critique embedded in the privilege that it so joyfully describes' Financial Times'One of the great rom-com YA writers' Paste Magazine 'Adorable, joyous.' BuzzFeed 'Anytime your soul needs a hug, pick up a Sandhya Menon novel.' Book Riot'There's something irresistible about Sandhya Menon's novels: the romances are sweet and winning, the humour is cheerful and sly, and the families are warm and complicated.' Stephanie Perkins
£9.99
Random House USA Inc The Lunar Housewife
A stylish and suspenseful historical page-turner following an up-and-coming journalist who stumbles onto a web of secrets, deceptions, and mysteries at a popular new literary magazine--inspired by the true story of CIA intervention in Cold War American arts and letters.Sly and delightful . . . the book is the equivalent of a flinty, modern dame holding her own in a room full of condescending men. --The New York Times Book ReviewNew York City, 1953: Louise Leithauser''s star is on the rise. She''s filed some of the best pieces at her boyfriend Joe''s brand new literary magazine, Downtown (albeit under a male pseudonym), her relationship still makes her weak at the knees, and the science fiction romance she''s writing on the side, The Lunar Housewife, is going swimmingly. But when she overhears Joe and his business partner fighting about listening devices and death threats, Louise can''t help but investigate, and she quickly finds herself wadi
£20.70
Orion Publishing Co Jack Glass
WINNER OF THE BSFA AWARD FOR BEST NOVELJack Glass is the murderer. We know this from the start. Yet as this extraordinary novel tells the story of three murders committed by Glass the reader will be surprised to find out that it was Glass who was the killer and how he did it. And by the end of the book our sympathies for the killer are fully engaged.Riffing on the tropes of crime fiction (the country house murder, the locked room mystery) and imbued with the feel of golden age SF, JACK GLASS is another bravura performance from Roberts. Whatever games he plays with the genre, whatever questions he asks of the reader, Roberts never loses sight of the need to entertain and JACK GLASS has some wonderfully gruesome moments, is built around three gripping HowDunnits and comes with liberal doses of sly humour.Roberts invites us to have fun and tricks us into thinking about both crime and SF via a beautifully structured novel set in a society whose depiction challanges notions of crime, punishment, power and freedom. It is an extraordinary novel.
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc No One Will Miss Her: A Novel
"Blade-sharp, whip-smart, and genuinely original — a thriller to refresh your faith in the genre, your belief that a story can still outpace and outsmart you."— A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in The Window"Clever and surprising...The superb character-driven plot delivers an astonishing, believable jolt."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Deserves two big thumbs up. Readers will be gripped by this astonishing story in which one gasp-inducing twist follows on the heels of another. A unique page-turner that just begs to be turned into a movie." —Booklist (starred review)"Sly, sinister...a white-knuckled read. There are gasp-worthy surprises, of course, and the exquisite and lurid twists will reveal themselves in time."--Vanity FairA smart, witty, crackling novel of psychological suspense in which a girl from a hardscrabble small town meets a gorgeous Instagram influencer from the big city, with a murderous twist that will shock even the most savvy reader.On a beautiful October morning in rural Maine, a homicide investigator from the state police pulls into the hard-luck town of Copper Falls. The local junkyard is burning, and the town pariah Lizzie Oullette is dead—with her husband, Dwayne, nowhere to be found. As scandal ripples through the community, Detective Ian Bird’s inquiries unexpectedly lead him away from small-town Maine to a swank city townhouse several hours south. Adrienne Richards, blonde and fabulous social media influencer and wife of a disgraced billionaire, had been renting Lizzie’s tiny lake house as a country getaway…even though Copper Falls is anything but a resort town.As Adrienne’s connection to the case becomes clear, so too does her connection to Lizzie, who narrates their story from beyond the grave. Each woman is desperately lonely in her own way, and they navigate a relationship that cuts across class boundaries: transactional, complicated, and, finally, deadly. A Gone Girl for the gig economy, this is a story of privilege, identity, and cunning, as two devious women from opposite worlds discover the dangers of coveting someone else’s life. "Both amusingly satirical and darkly bloody."—The Washington Post
£10.99
Penguin Books Ltd Rome: A Sketchbook
A guide to the glories of Rome, conveyed by means of an artist's sketchbookMatthew Rice is a long-time observer and illustrator of cities, buildings and all those who inhabit them, with an uncanny ability to express the energy of a place through a few lines of ink and splashes of paint. In the first book in this new sketchbook series, he explored the glittering canals of Venice: now he turns his attention to Rome, the Eternal City.Rome is a place where the ancient, the baroque and the modern clash, and this tension runs through Matthew's paintings. In this guide, he makes sly juxtapositions of people and animals against the backdrop of the city's architectural and artistic wonders, its ruins and its ristoranti. Matthew's ability to notice detail, his sense of light and dark, his expert's knowledge of architecture and how it creates an atmosphere allows him to present Rome, in these pages, in its all its living, breathing splendour.Following the same landscape format as Matthew's real-life sketchbooks, Rome: A Sketchbook will combine enchanting watercolour illustrations with an informed, personal and witty text, and promises to delight all visitors to Rome, armchair or actual.
£20.00
The American University in Cairo Press Women of Karantina: A Novel
Back in the dog days of the early twenty-first century a pair of lovebirds fleeing a murder charge in Cairo pull in to Alexandria's main train station. Fugitives, friendless, their young lives blighted at the root, Ali and Injy set about rebuilding, and from the coastal city's arid soil forge a legend, a kingdom of crime, a revolution: Karantina.Through three generations of Grand Guignol insanity, Nael Eltoukhy's sly psychopomp of a narrator is our guide not only to the teeming cast of pimps, dealers, psychotics, and half-wits and the increasingly baroque chronicles of their exploits, but also to the moral of his tale. Defiant, revolutionary, and patriotic, are the rapists and thieves of Alexandria's crime families deluded maniacs or is their myth of Karantina-their Alexandria reimagined as the once and future capital-what they believe it to be: the revolutionary dream made brick and mortar, flesh and bone?Subversive and hilarious, deft and scalpel-sharp, Eltoukhy's sprawling epic is a masterpiece of modern Egyptian literature. Mahfouz shaken by the tail, a lunatic dream, a future history that is the sanest thing yet written on Egypt's current woes.
£15.17
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Trap
'Dark, creepy and very clever, The Trap will lure you in and keep you captive until the very last page' - C L TAYLOR‘Elegant and twisty, it lingers in the memory’ – Daily Mail'Topical, twisty, and with a real heart stopper of a moment halfway in that'll make you turn the lights back on' - GILLIAN MCALLISTERStranded on a dark road in the middle of the night, a young woman accepts a lift from a passing stranger. It's the nightmare scenario that every girl is warned about, and she knows the dangers all too well - but what other choice does she have?As they drive, she alternates between fear and relief - one moment thinking he is just a good man doing a good thing, the next convinced he's a monster. But when he delivers her safely to her destination, she realizes her fears were unfounded.And her heart sinks. Because a monster is what she's looking for.She'll try again tomorrow night. But will the man who took her sister take the bait?-Inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances, The Trap is the startlingly original new thriller from internationally bestselling author Catherine Ryan Howard.‘As brain-teasing as it is gripping . . . [a] psychologically dazzling novel' - Sunday Times Thriller of the Month and chosen as one of the 12 best thrillers of 2023 by The Times'Dark and witty and clever. An original and highly gripping read, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough' - Alice Feeney'Howard has a sly gift for misdirection . . . Again and again, you'll blithely follow her down the wrong path' - New York Times'A breakneck thriller with so many twists and turns that your head will spin. I absolutely tore through The Trap ' - Holly Seddon
£13.99
Stone Bridge Press Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli
This highly entertaining business memoir describes what it was like to work for Japan’s premiere animation studio, Studio Ghibli, and its reigning genius Hayao Miyazaki. Steve Alpert, a Japanese-speaking American, was the “resident foreigner” in the offices of Ghibli and its parent Tokuma Shoten and played a central role when Miyazaki’s films were starting to take off in international markets. Alpert describes hauling heavy film canisters of Princess Mononoke to Russia and California, experiencing a screaming Harvey Weinstein, dealing with Disney marketers, and then triumphantly attending glittering galas celebrating the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. His one-of-a-kind portraits of Miyazaki and long-time producer Toshio Suzuki, and of sly, gruff, and brilliant businessman Yasuyoshi Tokuma, capture the hard work and artistry that have made Ghibli films synonymous with cinematic excellence. And as the lone gaijin in a demanding company run by some of the most famous and influential people in modern Japan, Steve Alpert tackles his own challenges of language and culture. No one else could have written this book.
£28.79
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Trap: A gripping, chilling new thriller and instant number one bestseller
'Dark, creepy and very clever, The Trap will lure you in and keep you captive until the very last page' - C L TAYLOR‘Elegant and twisty, it lingers in the memory’ – Daily Mail'Topical, twisty, and with a real heart stopper of a moment halfway in that'll make you turn the lights back on' - GILLIAN MCALLISTERStranded on a dark road in the middle of the night, a young woman accepts a lift from a passing stranger. It's the nightmare scenario that every girl is warned about, and she knows the dangers all too well - but what other choice does she have?As they drive, she alternates between fear and relief - one moment thinking he is just a good man doing a good thing, the next convinced he's a monster. But when he delivers her safely to her destination, she realizes her fears were unfounded.And her heart sinks. Because a monster is what she's looking for.She'll try again tomorrow night. But will the man who took her sister take the bait?-Inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances, The Trap is the startlingly original new thriller from internationally bestselling author Catherine Ryan Howard.‘As brain-teasing as it is gripping . . . [a] psychologically dazzling novel' - Sunday Times Thriller of the Month and chosen as one of the 12 best thrillers of 2023 by The Times'Dark and witty and clever. An original and highly gripping read, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough' - Alice Feeney'Howard has a sly gift for misdirection . . . Again and again, you'll blithely follow her down the wrong path' - New York Times'A breakneck thriller with so many twists and turns that your head will spin. I absolutely tore through The Trap ' - Holly Seddon
£14.99
City Lights Books Family Album: Stories
Finalist for the Republic of Consciousness PrizeFamily Album is Ecuadorian author Gabriela Alemán’s rollicking follow-up to her acclaimed English-language debut, Poso Wells.Alemán is known for her spirited and sardonic take on the fatefully interconnected—and often highly compromised—forces at work in present-day South America, and particularly in Ecuador. In this collection of eight hugely entertaining short stories, she teases tropes of hardboiled detective fiction, satire, and adventure narratives to recast the discussion of national identity. A muddy brew of pop-culture and pop-folklore yields intriguing, lesser-known episodes of contemporary Ecuadorian history, along with a rich cast of unforgettable characters whose intimate stories open up onto a vista of Ecuador’s place on the world stage.From a pair of deep-sea divers using Robinson Crusoe’s map of a shipwreck to locate sunken treasure in the Galápagos Archipelago, to a night with the husband of Ecuador’s most infamous expat, Lorena Bobbitt, this series of cracked “family portraits” provides a cast of picaresque heroes and anti-heroes in stories that sneak up on a reader before they know what’s happened: they’ve learned a great deal about a country whose more well known exports—soccer, coffee and cocoa—mask an intriguing national story that’s ripe for the telling.One of The Millions Most Anticipated Books for 2022!"Ecuadorian writer Alemán’s sparkling collection (after the novel Poso Wells) brims with humor and adventure."—Publishers Weekly"Plays with tropes ranging from the Robinson Crusoe story to the classic betrayed-wife setup to wrestle with the impossible-to-decode oddness of human life, which old stories can only hide for so long."—Lily Meyer, NPR"It takes a rare and talented writer to create a cast of characters who each feel so unique, distinct, and whose stories unravel unexpectedly while also feeling inevitable, exactly right. Thoughtful and subversive, with Family Album, Alemán has given us a gift."—Jean Kyoung Frazier, author of Pizza Girl"Divers, adventurers, wrestlers, athletes: a diverse array of people come to light in these stories to insist again and again in challenging the weight of the written letter. Gabriela Alemán's stories inhabit the past to work through its possible versions. Her characters understand that History is a form of desire and the truth is not a house but a patina covering a place that has ceased to exist."—Yuri Herrera, author of A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire"Gabriela Alemán's stories unravel a rich and intriguing universe in which nothing, and no one, is what it seems."—Pilar Quintana, author of The Bitch"These stories are like lizards lying on rocks in the sun. When you try to pick one up it darts away and disappears. Sometimes a tail comes off in your hand or the thing bites your fingers and drops of blood decorate the rock. Best read while listening to Julio Jaramillo sing 'Amor sin Esperanza' and 'Hojas Muertas.'"—Barry Gifford, author of Sailor & Lula: The Complete Novels"Gabriela Alemán writes beautiful, sly, enigmatic stories originating in a rogues gallery of real life legends, including El Santo and John Wayne Bobbitt, as well as lesser known and invented souls, all of them struggling against the silent—or is it hostile?—backdrop of Ecuador’s past and present. Family Album is a mordantly funny and haunting collection."—Zachary Lazar, author of Vengeance
£11.99
Walker Books Ltd The Real Dada Mother Goose: A Treasury of Complete Nonsense
The classic nursery rhymes we know and love – upside-down, backward, in gibberish, and fresh out of bounds – as only Jon Scieszka could stage them.Mother knows best, but sometimes a little nonsense wins the day. Inspired by Dadaism’s rejection of reason and rational thinking, and in cahoots with Blanche Fisher Wright’s The Real Mother Goose, this anthology of absurdity unravels the fabric of classic nursery rhymes and stitches them back together (or not quite together) in every clever way possible. One by one, cherished nursery rhymes – from “Humpty Dumpty” to “Hickory Dickory Dock,” “Jack Be Nimble” to “Mother Hubbard” – fall prey to sly subversion as master of fracture Jon Scieszka and acclaimed illustrator Julia Rothman refashion them into comic strips, errant book reports, anagrams, and manic mash-ups. Playfully reconstructed, the thirty-six old-new rhymes invite further nonsense, bringing kids in on the joke and inviting them to revel in reimagining. Featuring robust back matter, this irreverent take on the rhymes of childhood is a great gift for child readers, a rich classroom resource, and a love song to a living language.
£11.69
Cornerstone Drawing Conclusions
[Leon's] portrait of Venice and modern Italy is, as always, captivating...The lively conversations between...characters, displaying Leon's sly humour, are a delight. Evening StandardA Kirkus Reviews Best Mystery 2011A Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller__________________________________A young woman returns from holiday to find her elderly neighbour dead on the floor. A heart attack seems the likely cause, but Commissario Brunetti is not so sure and decides to take a closer look. Soon he discovers that she was part of an organization that cares for abused women and that her apartment was a safe-house. Convinced that this is the lead he has been looking for, Brunetti begins his search for answers. But as he sets out to discover the truth behind her death, he is drawn into a decades-old story of lies and deceit that has blighted love and ruined lives - and has claimed this innocent woman as its newest victim. Brunetti's investigation takes him deep into the dark heart of his beloved Venice.
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Do You Want to Start a Scandal
On the night of the Parkhurst ball, someone had a scandalous tryst in the library. Was it Lord Canby, with the maid, on the divan? Or Miss Fairchild, with a rake, against the wall? Perhaps the butler did it. All Charlotte Highwood knows is this: it wasn't her. But rumors to the contrary are buzzing. Unless she can discover the lovers' true identity, she'll be forced to marry Piers Brandon, Lord Granville-the coldest, most arrogantly handsome gentleman she's ever had the misfortune to embrace. When it comes to emotion, the man hasn't got a clue. But as they set about finding the mystery lovers, Piers reveals a few secrets of his own. The oh-so-proper marquess can pick locks, land punches, tease with sly wit ...and melt a woman's knees with a single kiss. The only thing he guards more fiercely than Charlotte's safety is the truth about his dark past. Their passion is intense. The danger is real. Soon Charlotte's feeling torn. Will she risk all to prove her innocence? Or surrender it to a man who's sworn to never love?
£7.21
Prestel Art Detective: Spot the Difference!
Now available in paperback, this highly engaging book teaches young readers about great works of art by challenging them to spot the difference between the original and a sly forgery. From Michelangelo to Picasso, art history is filled with stories of spectacular forgeries that have stumped the greatest scholars of their time. It is from this fascinating angle that young readers learn about the great works of art in this fun and educational book. Set in an imaginary museum, it presents reproductions of famous art works alongside "forgeries." Readers are asked to play detective as they examine each painting closely, looking for the differences. Along the way a small cartoon sleuth leads them through the paintings, uncovering technical and historical details that enhance readers' appreciation and knowledge. Whether they're examining Seurat's painting of an afternoon scene on the island of La Grande Jatte; an arrangement of flowers by Sargent; van Gogh's Starry Night; or Rousseau's Exotic Landscape, readers will be playfully drawn into the world of great art and no doubt eager to examine other works first hand.
£8.99
Penguin Books Ltd The English and their History: Updated with two new chapters
The acclaimed account of the English people, now updated with two new chapters'Masterful, an enormously readable narrative of the English people from the Anglo-Saxons to the present' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times, Books of the YearIn The English and their History, the first full-length account to appear in one volume for many decades, Robert Tombs gives us the history of the English people, and of how the stories they have told about themselves have shaped them, from the prehistoric 'dreamtime' through to the present day.'As ambitious as it is successful . . . Packed with telling detail and told with gentle, sardonic wit, a vast and delightful book' Ben MacIntyre, The Times, Books of the Year'A stupendous achievement ... a story of a people we can't fail to recognize: stoical, brave, drunken, bloody-minded, violent, undeferential, yet paradoxically law-abiding ... I found myself gripped' Daniel Hannan, Spectator'Original and enormously readable, this brilliant, hugely engaging work has a sly wit and insouciance that are of themselves rather English' Sinclair MacKay, Daily Telegraph
£18.99
St Martin's Press Aquarium: A Novel
Sisters Lili and Dori Ackerman are deaf. Their parents-beautiful, despondent Anna; fearsome and admired Alex-are deaf, too. Alex, a scrap-metal collector and sometime prophet, opposes any attempt to integrate with the hearing; to escape their destructive influence, the girls are educated at home. Deafness is no disability, their father says, but an alternative way of life, preferable by far to that of the strident, hypocritical hearing. Living in a universe of their own creation, feared by and disdainful of the other children on their block, Lili and Dori grow up semi-feral. Lili writes down everything that happens-just the facts. And Dori, the reader, follows her older sister wherever she goes. United against a hostile and alien world, the girls and their parents watch the hearing like they would fish in an aquarium. But when the hearing intrude and a devastating secret is revealed, the cracks that begin to form in the sisters' world will have consequences that span the rest of their lives. Separated from the family that ingrained in them a sense of uniqueness and alienation, Lili and Dori must relearn how to live, and how to tell their own stories. Sly, surprising, and as fierce as its protagonists, Yaara Shehori's Aquarium is a stunning debut that interrogates the practice of storytelling-and storyhearing.
£13.07
Troubador Publishing The Secret Son of Wallis Simpson: My Quest for the Truth
This is the story of Joss de Wahl who was, pretended he was, or believed he was, the secret son of Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII. He was hidden from history because his birth coincided with the abdication crisis and questions surrounding Edward VIII’s legal entitlement to renounce the throne on behalf of his descendants. In The Secret Son of Wallis Simpson, Selina Molteno tells this tall tale with verve and imagination and not a little sly humour. She enters the strange world of her subject, sympathetically relating his interpretation of his life, while keeping a sceptical, critical distance. Could his story have been true? Was he a conman? Or was he a deluded fantasist who felt so unloved that he needed to create another set of fictitious parents? Whichever way we look at it, he led an intriguing, if not necessarily particularly happy, life. It was a life touched by extraordinary privilege and considerable wealth, yet it was also scarred by the cruel and debilitating disease of porphyria, which he believed he inherited from the British royal family, and, most painfully of all for him, he was betrayed by the very people he had most trusted and loved. Much of the story is set in South Africa, a place where those with something to hide often find their way. Joss de Wahl asserted he had been sent there at an early age with the connivance of important contemporary figures, including Winston Churchill, who had helped to construct his new identity. With the arrival of weird conspiracy theories on the internet, we have all become used to the thin line that many people walk between what is and what they choose to believe. In this respect, Joss de Wahl is a potent precursor and reminder of the dilemmas we all face. What answers may be arrived at is up to the reader to decide, but the journey is undeniably fascinating. “A must-read piece of highly entertaining biographical detection. A superbly-orchestrated rummage through a rich and assorted set of circumstances and characters. The author’s stylish prose and judicious eye brings this astonishing story vividly and compellingly to life.” – Bill Nasson, Emeritus Professor in History, Stellenbosch University.
£14.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Little Nothings
'Little Nothings delivers some searing and uncomfortable truths about motherhood and female friendships' Sarah J. Naughton 'A true single-sitting read' Alex Marwood With friends like these, who needs enemies? Liv Travers never knew real friendship until she met fellow mums Beth and Binnie. The three women become inseparable as they muddle through early parenthood together. Then along comes Ange… Ambitious, wealthy and somehow able to do it all. Under Ange’s guiding presence, the group finds new vigour and fresh aspirations – bigger houses, better schools, dinners at exclusive restaurants. But Liv can’t keep up and is increasingly edged out. When the four families take a three-week trip to a luxurious holiday resort, Liv seizes the opportunity to reclaim her place at the heart of the group, only to discover the true, devastating cost of a friendship with Ange. Set over the course of a single, life-changing trip to a Greek island paradise, Little Nothings is a sly, suspenseful novel about female bonds turned toxic, and the desperate ends one woman will go to keep her friends close – and her enemy closer.
£16.07
HarperCollins Publishers The Burning God (The Poppy War, Book 3)
The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R.F. Kuang's acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect. After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much – the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges – and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation. Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s voice, urging her to burn the world and everything in it?
£9.99
Headline Publishing Group Subterranea: Discovering the Earth's Extraordinary Hidden Depths
'AN ORIGINAL AND TIMELY ODYSSEY INTO OUR MYSTERIOUS UNDERWORLD . . . THRILLING PROOF THAT SCIENCE AND IMAGINATION SHARE THE GROUND BENEATH OUR FEET' Nicholas Crane, presenter of BBC2's Coast and Great British JourneysIf you were to peel back the Earth's surface like an orange, then take a sly peek underneath, what extraordinary things would you see?Subterranea is where the world's remaining mysteries are yet to be found. For millennia, across nations and cultures, it has been a hotbed of fantastical stories. It's where humans have kept their most sacred treasures and their darkest secrets. It's where we have found evidence of our past and may, at some point, find an escape route for our uncertain future. But what would we find there today? From the underground cities of Cappadocia to smuggling tunnels on the US-Mexico border, caves full of tiny blind dragons and a seed vault located 1300km inside the Arctic circle, Subterranea demonstrates that the world below our feet is every bit as vivid and evocative as the world we see around us. Lavishly illustrated and replete with maps and photographs of little-explored locations, Subterranea is the unique, untold and utterly unforgettable story of our planet from the inside.
£22.50
Penguin Random House Children's UK Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales
A perfect gift to introduce children to the world of Beatrix Potter, The Complete Tales is a timeless and classic essential for any nursery shelf.This complete and unabridged collection contains all 23 of Beatrix Potter's tales in one deluxe volume with all their original illustrations. The tales are arranged in the order in which they were first published. This edition includes a section at the end that contains four additional works by Beatrix Potter that were not published in her lifetime. The stories inside are: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tailor of Gloucester, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan, The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit, The Story of Miss Moppet, The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies, The Tale of Ginger and Pickles, The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse, The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes, The Tale of Mr. Tod, The Tale of Pigling Bland, Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes, The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse , Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes, The Tale of Little Pig Robinson, Three Little Mice, The Sly Old Cat, The Fox and the Stork andThe Rabbit's Christmas Party.
£36.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc UNTI KUANG #3
The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang's acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much-the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges-and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation. Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it
£23.46
Taschen GmbH Walton Ford. Pancha Tantra. Updated Edition
At first glance, Walton Ford’s large-scale, highly detailed watercolors of animals recall the prints of 19th-century illustrators John James Audubon and Edward Lear. A closer look reveals a complex and disturbingly anthropomorphic universe, full of symbols, sly jokes, and allusions to the ‘operatic’ quality of traditional natural history. In this stunning but sinister visual universe, beasts and birds are not mere aesthetic objects but dynamic actors in allegorical struggles: a wild turkey crushes a small parrot in its claw; a troupe of monkeys wreaks havoc on a formal dinner table; an American buffalo is surrounded by bloodied white wolves. In dazzling watercolor, the images impress as much for their impeccable realism as they do for their complex narratives. First available as a signed and limited volume, this updated edition of Pancha Tantra is the most comprehensive survey of Ford’s oeuvre to date, with 40 new works, more than 120 additional pages, and a new essay by the artist. It features dazzling details, an in-depth exploration of his visual universe, a complete biography, and excerpts from his textual inspirations: from Indian folktales and the letters of Benjamin Franklin to the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini and Audubon’s Ornithological Biography.
£61.41
Graphic Arts Books Sylvia Finds a Way
The story of how one small creature can have a powerful effect for her and her friends using the power of restraint, kindness, and respect.2023 Nominee, Patricia Gallagher Children’s Choice Award"Could there be a more Oregon picture book than one starring a slug who does yoga? Oregon author Stephanie Shaw's quirky protagonist stars in a story in which her sly sweetness carries the day when her animal friends' speed, strength and size all fail against a protective gardener. Mixed-media illustrations by Fiona Lee enhance Sylvia's elegant solution."—The Oregonian"Shaw's evocative descriptions of the flora and fauna will engage young readers and the author's note gives factual information about slugs and their value to the garden's ecosystem. Lee's mixed-media illustrations have a sophisticated palette with an aesthetic that grown-up fans of Anna Rifle Bond will appreciate. The balance between boisterous action and meditative zen makes this title a standout among yoga picture books. A fun, frolicking tale, and welcome addition to picture book collections, that sneaks in an etiquette lesson without feeling overly didactic."—School Library Journal"Confident in her own brand of quiet strength, Sylvia's way teaches kids that there are different kinds of strength. And that often, the best way to solve a problem is not with physical strength, but with patience and words. Stephanie Shaw and Fiona Lee's depiction of this unlikely hero is sure to find fans among yoga and garden enthusiasts. Lee's expressive art is a perfect complement to Shaw's simple and satisfying story. The earthy color palette allows Sylvia's 'slime' trail of silvery, shiny gloss to take center stage, keeping even the youngest readers entranced. Throw in some fun yoga poses, and this book makes a delightful, interactive read-aloud."—Good Reads with Ronna"This cute story is brought to life by adorable pictures (the people and animals are very expressive) and even the shiny slime trail Sylvia leaves behind."—Youth Services ReviewSylvia is as small as your pinky finger and as slow as a. . . slug! She can't run or jump or fly like her animal friends. They hatch a plot to sneak into the bountiful garden.But Sylvia has her own way of doing things—one that will make all the difference.
£12.99
Hodder & Stoughton Miracle Creek: Winner of the 2020 Edgar Award for best first novel
My husband asked me to lie. Not a big lie. He probably didn't even consider it a lie, and neither did I, at first . . . A thrilling debut novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng about how far we'll go to protect our families, and our deepest secretsWINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHORIn rural Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine: a pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for "dives", used as an alternative therapy for conditions including autism or infertility. But when the Miracle Submarine mysteriously explodes, killing two people, a dramatic murder trial upends the Yoos' small community.Who or what caused the explosion? Was it the mother of one of the patients, who claimed to be sick that day but was smoking down by the creek? Or was it Young and Pak themselves, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? The ensuing trial uncovers unimaginable secrets from that night - trysts in the woods, mysterious notes, child-abuse charges - as well as tense rivalries and alliances among a group of people driven to extraordinary degrees of desperation and sacrifice.'Engrossing . . . Miracle Creek turns a courtroom murder trial into a page-turning exploration of parenting, experimental therapies, and the emotional toil of immigration' Elle'A marvel, a taut courtroom thriller that ultimately tells the most human story imaginable, a story of good intentions and reckless passions. Compelling, generous, at once empathetic and unsparing . . . the perfect novel for these chaotic times in which we live' Laura Lippman'Kim has written a bold debut novel about science and immigration and the hopes and fears each engenders - unforgettable and true' Alexander Chee'Grabbed me hard right from the start. This is a terrific courtroom thriller, a sly whodunit that's beautifully written and also full of heart' Scott Turow
£9.99
Penguin Random House Children's UK Ladybird First Favourite Tales: The Complete Audio Collection
Ladybird's First Favourite Tales are fun, gentle introductions to classic fairy tales, suitable for reading to the youngest of children. Packed with rhythm and rhyme, these abridged tales are great to share together again and again.Now, for the first time, all eighteen classic titles in the First Favourite Tales series are available in one audio CD collection. Perfect for use either at home or in the car, each individual track features a fun, rhythmic fairy tale retelling plus beautiful, specially composed music and sound effects to help bring it alive. A wonderful first introduction to the best-loved fairy tales, created especially for very young children.The full 2-disc collection includes:CD 1Alice in WonderlandThe Three Billy Goats GruffCinderellaChicken LickenGoldilocksThe Elves and the ShoemakerPuss in BootsThe Three Little PigsJack and the BeanstalkCD 2The Enormous TurnipHansel and GretalThe Gingerbread ManThe Little Red HenLittle Red Riding HoodThe Magic Porridge PotSly Fox and Red HenThe Ugly DucklingThe Wizard of Oz Approximate running time 3 hours
£7.99
Stone Bridge Press Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli
This highly entertaining business memoir describes what it was like to work for Japan’s premiere animation studio, Studio Ghibli, and its reigning genius Hayao Miyazaki. Steve Alpert, a Japanese-speaking American, was the “resident foreigner” in the offices of Ghibli and its parent Tokuma Shoten and played a central role when Miyazaki’s films were starting to take off in international markets. Alpert describes hauling heavy film canisters of Princess Mononoke to Russia and California, experiencing a screaming Harvey Weinstein, dealing with Disney marketers, and then triumphantly attending glittering galas celebrating the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. His one-of-a-kind portraits of Miyazaki and long-time producer Toshio Suzuki, and of sly, gruff, and brilliant businessman Yasuyoshi Tokuma, capture the hard work and artistry that have made Ghibli films synonymous with cinematic excellence. And as the lone gaijin in a demanding company run by some of the most famous and influential people in modern Japan, Steve Alpert tackles his own challenges of language and culture. No one else could have written this book.
£14.99
Omnibus Press George Clinton and the Cosmic Odyssey of the P-Funk Empire
The first in-depth biography of one of music's most fascinating, colourful and innovative characters. This book is the most comprehensive history yet of the life, music and cultural significance of the last of the great black music pioneers and the era which spawned him. Clinton stands alongside James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone as one of the most influential black artists of all time who, along with his vast P-Funk army took black funk into the US charts and sold out stadiums by the mid 1970s with his mind-blowing shows and legendary Mothership extravaganzas. The book contains first hand interview material with Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey, Junie Morrison, Bobby Gillespie, Afrika Bambaataa, Jalal Nuriddin (Last Poets), Juan Atkins, John Sinclair, Rob Tyner (MC5), Ed Sanders (The Fugs), Chip Monck ("The Voice of Woodstock") plus other P-Funk associates and friends. The book presents an insiders' view of the rise of Parliament and Funkadelic from the doowop era and LSD-crazed early shows through to P-Funk's huge rise, the era of the Mothership and beyond.
£17.95
Hachette Australia Lillian Armfield: How Australia's first female detective took on Tilly Devine and the Razor Gangs and changed the face of the force
An engaging account of an extraordinary, trailblazing woman - Australia's first female detective - LILLIAN ARMFIELD is also the vivid and gripping story of the origins of Sydney's organised crime underbelly.'Special Constable' Lillian Armfield was policing Sydney's mean streets during some of the most dramatic years of crime in the city. By the late 1920s, eastern Sydney was the heartland of organised crime and the notorious turf battles known as the Razor Wars, where bloodied bodies were strewn across streets after late-night clashes between rival gangs. At first disapproved of by her male colleagues, and often working solo and undercover, Lillian investigated it all - from runaway girls, opium dens and back-street sly grog shops to drug trafficking, rape and murder. She dealt with the infamous crime figures of the day - Tilly Devine, Kate Leigh, 'Botany May' Smith and their associates - who eventually accorded Lillian a grudging respect. Lillian Armfield's life and achievements were extraordinary. She paved the way for the women of today's police force and her amazing story is also a compelling chapter in Australian true crime history.
£12.59
Scholastic Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf
Chicken Little is BACK! But this time, someone new is in town. Chicken Little meets the BIG. BAD. WOLF! Chicken Little is NOT afraid of anything, not even a wolf. No matter how big or bad he is! In fact, she's never even seen a wolf. And this wolf is VEGAN! So when a real wolf shows up and ruffles her feathers, what's a fretful fowl to do? Join the frenzied flock and fly the coop? Or find out if this newcomer is as bad as his reputation? The plucky star of Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale goes toe-to-toe with literature's most famous villain in this brilliant comedy spun with sly wisdom. A Sunday Times One to Watch Out For A brilliantly funny follow-up to Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale. With a message at its core of acceptance and welcoming new friends, this is a witty twist on the traditional 'big bad wolf' trope. Another witty picture book from Sam Wedelich. Praise for Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf"Plenty of humor... and the message about difference and acceptance is entertainingly delivered." -- Kirkus Reviews
£7.21
Orion Publishing Co The Beautiful Mrs Seidenman: With an introduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
'Magnificent. Complex, wise, unsentimental and very moving' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie'Dense, lyrical and deeply unsettling' New York Times'A fine balance between poetic tenderness and an unflinching account of the brutal realities of the day' Guardian'Extraordinarily original' Los Angeles Times'The prose is stunning, thanks to a masterful translation by Klara Glowczewska, and the characters are so fully fleshed that they seem to step off the page' NPR'Grips the reader with the power of a high-class thriller' Frankfurter Rundschau 'All at once she thought that a life is only that which has passed. There is no life other than memory' In the Nazi-occupied Warsaw of 1943, Irma Seidenman, a young Jewish widow, possesses two attributes that can spell the difference between life and death: blue eyes and blond hair. Paired with false papers, she passes as the wife of a Polish officer, until one day an informer spots her on the street.At times a dark lament, at others a sly and sardonic thriller, The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman is the story of the thirty-six hours that follow Irma's arrest and the events that lead to her dramatic rescue.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing Measuring the World
Measuring the World recreates the parallel but contrasting lives of two geniuses of the German Enlightenment - the naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt and the mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss. Towards the end of the 18th century, these two brilliant young Germans set out to measure the world. Humboldt, a Prussian aristocrat schooled for greatness, negotiates savannah and jungle, climbs the highest mountain then known to man, counts head lice on the heads of the natives, and explores every hole in the ground. Gauss, a man born in poverty who will be recognised as the greatest mathematician since Newton, does not even need to leave his home in Göttingen to know that space is curved. He can run prime numbers in his head, cannot imagine a life without women and yet jumps out of bed on his wedding night to jot down a mathematical formula. Measuring the World is a novel of rare charm and readability, distinguished by its sly humour and unforgettable characterization. It brings the two eccentric geniuses to life, their longings and their weaknesses, their balancing act between loneliness and love, absurdity and greatness, failure and success.
£8.99
Anvil Press Publishers Inc Spaz
'Spaz' introduces Walter Finch, an ungainly kid who survives his cloying suburban childhood to make it only as far as the local mall, where he rises through the ranks to become manager of a shoe store. Unlike his other childhood friends, who either flee suburbia or remain as resigned fixtures, Walter is content with his lot and finds the shoe store a perfect environment in which to pursue his grander ambitions. As he delves further into his passion for shoe design, alone in his apartment at night, Walter comes to believe that if he can design the perfect woman's shoe, he will ultimately find the perfect foot to fit it. He becomes convinced that this path will lead him to his princess. His mission becomes all-consuming and plunges Walter into a separate reality: his own fairytale. As things spin out of , Walter's eventual salvation arrives in an unlikely form, should he choose to recognize and accept it. 'Spaz' is a skewed spin on the tale of Cinderella, a complementary follow-up to Bonnie Bowman's first novel, 'Skin', with its elements of 'Beauty and the Beast'. Shoes figure prominently in this novel, and the protagonist views them as both his nemesis and his salvation. They begin his story, he believes they will end it, and they do. Shoes represent every step of his journey. " 'Spaz' really is terrific. Bowman demystifies the aberrant. As in her debut novel, 'Skin' (which I loved when I read it a decade ago), her themes are ugliness and beauty and how the bodyis the engine for desire. If that makes 'Spaz' seem too serious, don't worry. It's jolly fun." - Uptown Magazine (Winnipeg) "In this sly story of a misfit visionary, Bowman assembles a beguiling cast of characters, striking a perfect balance between the completely outrageous and the completely true-to-life. This is a novel that never stops entertaining." - Lynn Coady author of 'The Antagonist' and 'Mean Boy'
£15.99
Penguin Random House Children's UK The Ugly Duckling: Ladybird First Favourite Tales
The classic fairy tale - The Ugly Duckling - from Ladybird!A perfect introduction to the classic story of The Ugly Duckling. Find out what happens to the Ugly Duckling. Will he ever find someone who loves him? Part of the Ladybird First Favourite Tales series - a perfect introduction to fairy tales for preschoolers - it contains amusing pictures and lots of funny rhythm and rhyme to delight young children. Ideal for reading aloud and sharing with 2-4 year olds.Ladybird's First Favourite Tales series is hugely popular and is a great introduction to the most important fairy tales. 2011 brought a new look and great covers to the series, but the books are still just as fun to read as ever.Make sure you look out for the other tales in the series, too!Puss in Boots; Cinderella; Hansel and Gretel; The Elves and the Shoemaker; Goldilocks and the Three Bears; The Gingerbread Man; Little Red Riding Hood; The Three Little Pigs; The Three Billy Goats Gruff; Chicken Licken; The Enormous Turnip; Jack and the Beanstalk; The Little Red Hen; Little Red Riding Hood; The Magic Porridge Pot; The Sly Fox and the Little Red Hen
£7.15
Northwestern University Press Perverzion
The tale of a poet's tragicomic last days in Venica; What was the fate of Stanislav Perfetsky - poet, provocateur, and hero of Ukrainian underground culture? Certain evidence points to suicide. But some whisper murder. Some suggest the grand Eastern European tradition of coerced suicide. It may be related to the religious cult ceremony he unluckily happened upon in Munich...or that job as a dancer in a strip club for older women. Or, then again, it may not. Perverzion reconstructs Perfetsky's final days using a mishmash of relics, from official documents to recorded interviews to scraps of paper. Perfetsky, the personification of the Ukrainian artistic superman (for example, he plays countless musical instruments so well he collaborated with Elton John during the star's secret sojourn in Ukraine), is bound for Venice to participate in a seminar to save the world from its absurdity. On the way he becomes a Ukrainian Orpheus, descending into the sophisticated decadence of the West, navigating through surrealistic adventures and no less surrealistic seminar topics as he charges head up (and pants down) toward his fate. A work of sly, subversive humor and fantastic wordplay, Perverzion is a look into the new Ukraine's post-Soviet literary culture by one of the country's fore-most contemporary writers.
£31.27
Quercus Publishing What She Left Behind
He gave her everything. But can she trust him?'Get ready for a creepy, twisty ride' HeatLauren can't wait to leave London for a fresh start in the countryside with her new partner Paul and his two young children. She never thought she'd be so lucky. A dream glass house in the woods, a ready-made family, a second chance. But as dark rumours swirl about their new home, Lauren begins to question their happily-ever-after. When they met, she was at her most vulnerable. She would trust Paul with her life. But should she?'Tense, creepy and utterly chilling' Charlotte Duckworth'I devoured it in a single sitting' Charlotte Philby'Sly, tense and heartbreaking' L V Matthews'Unputdownable' Harriet Walker READERS LOVE WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND'Gripping, tense and chilling' 5* reader review'Heart-pounding' 5* reader review'Couldn't put it down' 5* reader review'A really brilliant thriller' 5* reader review'Oh my god, this book blew me away!' 5* reader review
£10.04
Penguin Random House Children's UK Cinderella: Ladybird First Favourite Tales
The classic fairy tale - Cinderella - from Ladybird!A perfect introduction to the classic story Cinderella. Find out what happens when Cinderella meets a handsome prince at the ball. Part of the Ladybird First Favourite Tales series - a perfect introduction to fairy tales for preschoolers - it contains amusing pictures and lots of funny rhythm and rhyme to delight young children. Ideal for reading aloud and sharing with 2-4 year olds.Ladybird's First Favourite Tales series is hugely popular and is a great introduction to the most important fairy tales. 2011 brought a new look and great covers to the series, but the books are still just as fun to read as ever.Make sure you look out for the other tales in the series, too!Puss in Boots; Hansel and Gretel; The Ugly Duckling; The Elves and the Shoemaker; Goldilocks and the Three Bears; The Gingerbread Man; Little Red Riding Hood; The Three Little Pigs; The Three Billy Goats Gruff; Chicken Licken; The Enormous Turnip; Jack and the Beanstalk; The Little Red Hen; Little Red Riding Hood; The Magic Porridge Pot; The Sly Fox and the Little Red Hen
£7.15
Little, Brown Book Group The Atrocity Archives: Book 1 in The Laundry Files
'Brilliantly disturbing and funny at the same time' Ben Aaronovitch on the Laundry Files'Tremendously good, geeky fun' Telegraph on the Laundry FilesNEVER VOLUNTEER FOR ACTIVE DUTY . . .Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob's under a desk restoring lost data. His world was dull and safe - but then he went and got Noticed.Now, Bob is up to his neck in spycraft, parallel universes, dimension-hopping terrorists, monstrous elder gods and the end of the world. Only one thing is certain: it will take more than a full system reboot to sort this mess out . . .This is the first novel in the Laundry Files.Praise for this series:'Charles Stross owns this field, and his vast, cool intellect has launched yet another mad, sly entertainment that will strangle the hell out of anything else on offer right now' Warren Ellis'Stross at the top of his game - which is to say, few do it better' KIRKUS'Alternately chilling and hilarious' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY'Ferociously enjoyable - SFX
£9.99