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Speaking with the angel: original stories
By Nick Hornby. 2000
Twelve first-person narratives by British and American writers. New short stories by Zadie Smith, Dave Eggers, Helen Fielding, Roddy Doyle,…
and Irvine Welsh. In Nick Hornby's "NippleJesus," a museum security guard recounts what happened to a controversial artwork. Some explicit descriptions of sex and some strong language. Bestseller. 2000The last bus to Albuquerque: a commemorative edition celebrating Lewis Grizzard
By Lewis Grizzard, Gerrie Ferris. 1994
A commemorative edition of more than sixty essays drawn from humorist Grizzard's newspaper writing between 1990 and 1993. Also included…
are thoughts by some of Grizzard's friends following his death in March 1994. They recall his love of golf and trips through rural backwoods, his request to be buried next to Mama, and his response when told the risks of his last surgery: "When's the next bus to Albuquerque?" BestsellerTales from a not-so-fabulous life (Dork diaries #01)
By Rachel Renée Russell. 2009
Million dollar mess (Middle School #16)
By James Patterson. 2024
In this laugh-out-loud funny installment of a #1 New York Times bestselling series, Rafe inherits a million dollars—and a million…
problems—as he finds himself struggling to fit in at one of the snobbiest schools in the country. When Rafe discovers that he's inherited a fortune, it's not all good news. Sure, he gets an all-expenses-paid trip to glamorous Beverly Hills.... but he also has to go to school while he's in California. Blergh. And not just any school–St. Benedict's, the snobbiest of snobby establishments. You can bet your bottom dollar that Rafe doesn't exactly fit in. Toss in a ramshackle house Rafe's family has to live in before they can inherit the money and a group of bullies who make Miller the Killer look downright friendly, and this trip might be more trash than treasure. Rafe finds himself in the middle of a very big mess. Can he tidy his life up, or will he be sent packing?A Shortcut to Paradise
By Teresa Solana, Peter Bush. 2007
A writer is murdered at the Ritz on the night she wins an important literary prize, battered to death with…
the trophy she has just won. A satire of the Catalan literary scene dressed up as a hilarious murder mystery.The Sound of One Hand Killing
By Peter Bush, Teresa Solana. 2011
The director of an exclusive New Age meditation centre in a fancy Barcelona neighborhood is murdered, a case for twin…
detectives Borja and Eduard. The murder of a CIA agent simultaneously drags them into an international conspiracy that transports them to China and back. This hilarious mystery novel is a remorseless satire of those practicing pseudo-science and pseudo-spirituality.The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
By James M. Whistler. 1967
Whistler's Gentle Art, a classic in the literature of insult and denigration, might well be subtitled "The Autobiography of a…
Hater," for it contains the deadly sarcasm and stinging remarks of one of the wittiest men of the nineteenth century. Whistler not only refused to tolerate misunderstanding by critics and the so-called art-loving public -- but launched vicious counterattacks as well. His celebrated passages-at-arms with Oscar Wilde and Swinburne, the terse and penetrating "letters to the editor," his rebuttals to attacks from critics, and biting marginal notes to contemptuous comments on his paintings and hostile reviews (which are also reprinted) are all part of this record of the artist's vendettas.Whistler's most famous battle began when critic John Ruskin saw one of the artist's "Nocturnes" exhibited in Grosvenor Gallery. "I have seen, and heard," wrote Ruskin, "much of cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public's face." Whistler was incensed with this criticism, and initiated the famous libel case "Whistler vs. Ruskin." Extracts from the resultant trial record are among the highlights of this book, with Whistler brilliantly annihilating his Philistine critics, but winning only a farthing in damages.The Gentle Art, designed by Whistler himself, is a highly entertaining account of personal revenges, but it is also an iconoclast's plea for a new and better attitude toward painting. As a historical document, it is the best statement of the new aesthetics versus the old guard academics, and it helped greatly in shaping the modern feeling toward art.The Eyes of Lira Kazan
By Eva Joly, Judith Perrignon, Emily Read. 2012
"Plot twists galore, relentless suspense and expert insights to satisfy anyone fascinated by today's financial crisis."--Culture TF1 From Lagos to…
London, by way of the Faroe Islands and St. Petersburg, an investigation turns deadly. The head of the Nigerian fraud squad is evacuated from Lagos by secret service operatives. Meanwhile a junior prosecutor in Nice probes the mysterious death of the wife of a powerful banker and a crusading journalist in St. Petersburg pursues a corrupt oligarch and his criminal business empire. The paths of all three cross in London, where they find themselves embroiled in violent events obviously linked to financial and political interests and hunted by the oligarch's men, the Western secret services and goons sent by Nigerian oil magnates. A satirical, intelligent, and fast-paced thriller set in the world of high finance and low politics, The Eyes of Lira Kazan is co-written by Eva Joly, a prominent former prosecuting judge in Paris and a candidate in the 2012 French Presidential elections. Eva Joly is Norwegian born and this is her first novel. Judith Perrignon is a prize-winning essayist and the author of a number of historical and other literary works, including La nuit du Fouquet's avec Ariane Chemin. This is her second novel after the much lauded Les Chagrins, published in France in 2011.Crazy Tales of Blood and Guts
By Peter Bush, Teresa Solana. 2013
Fascinating short stories that include a rather bloody satire on installation art, including the Edgar Award-nominated story "Still Life No.41",…
a wonderful story of gruesome revenge involving a wayward son-in-law, a surprising and hilarious tale of a pre-historic serial killer who invents God and psychoanalysis, and, inevitably, a vampire story told with venom and humor.These stories remind one of the best short stories by Stephen King, such as those in the 'Just after Sunset' compilation. They can be horrific but are never without a devastating sense of humor. As in the adult short stories of Roald Dahl (the 'Kiss Kiss' collection in particular, with its tales of family and other violence) there is great ingenuity, surprising and satisfying endings, and, since it's Solana, deep cutting satire of contemporary fads and mores.Framed
By Adriana Hunter, Tonino Benacquista. 2006
Praise for Holy Smoke, the first in the Antoine series:"A terrific black comedy ...both a blasphemously funny satire of provincial…
Italian chicanery and a wry acknowledgment of the ambivalence that ambitious immigrants feel about their roots."--The New York Times"Unexpected deadly demands made in the name of friendship inspire the plot of this quirky mystery novel. Irreverently inveighs against romantic love, cancer and the Paris suburbs."--The Washington Post"An iconoclastic chronicle of small-time crooks and desperate capers, with added Gallic and Italian flair. Wonderful fun."--GuardianAntoine, a fanatic billiards player, is asked to watch over a Paris art gallery. When he scuffles with a thief a statue falls and severs his right hand. His maverick investigation leads to the discovery of a series of gruesome killings. Soon Antoine finds himself the prime suspect in the murder of a gallery owner. A game of billiards decides the outcome of this satirical tale which brilliantly captures the world of modern art and the parasites that infest it.After being, in turn, a museum night-watchman, and a train guard on the Paris-Rome line, Tonino Benacquista is now a highly successful author of fiction and film scripts.Someone Else
By Adriana Hunter, Tonino Benacquista. 2005
"Breathless pace. Touches effortlessly on identity, love, alcohol, and the cynicism of the business world."--Les EchosWho hasn't wanted to become…
"someone else"? Over a drink in Paris, two men give each other three years to see which one can more radically alter his life. Blin becomes a private detective. He takes on a new identity, even a surgically altered face. Gredzinski, a self-effacing corporate executive, discovers liquor that evening and rapidly yields to the sensuality and self-confidence induced by alcoholism. Things get complicated when Blin is hired by an ex-lover to find himself and when Gredzinski secretly follows his girlfriend to her home. A helter-skelter tale of humor and suspense.Winner of the literary prize RTL-Lire.The Possum That Didn't
By Frank Tashlin. 1977
There once was a happy little possum, the happiest animal in the entire forest, who always wore a great big…
smile. This jolly creature was content simply to hang by his tail from a tree until he was discovered by a group of picnickers. Mistaking the possum's upside-down smile for a frown, the people resolve to rescue him ― and they turn the little possum's world topsy-turvy. Strikingly illustrated in black-and-white, this memorable satire of cultural intolerance was created by Frank Tashlin, the famed animator, film director, and author of The Bear That Wasn't. Readers of all ages will appreciate the book's message as well as its distinctive drawings.The Best of Matt 2019
By Matt Pritchett. 2019
Whether you want to laugh or cry about the last twelve months, Matt gives a brilliantly funny take on the…
world. From Brexit to business, Trump to transport woes, our obsession with the weather to Royal babies, Matt nails it every single time with just the right visual joke. There is no doubt: Matt definitely makes the world a happier place!The Human Part
By Kari Hotakainen. 2009
An elderly woman agrees to sell her life to a blocked writer she meets at a book fair. She needs…
to talk - her husband has not spoken since a family tragedy some months ago. She claims that her grown-up children are doing well, but the writer imagines less salubrious lives for them, as the downturn of Finland's economic boom begins to bite. Perhaps he's on to something. The Human Part is pure laugh-out-loud satire, laying bare the absurdities of modern society in the most vicious and precise manner imaginable.The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book
By Neil Gaiman. 2019
The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book contains much that is new and revelatory and even several…
scenes that are not actually in the final television series.'One of the most hotly anticipated TV shows of the year' Independent'Even if you're very familiar with the original novel, this is a different experience... so damned charming and quirky that it feels like a must' StarburstNeil Gaiman's glorious reinvention of the iconic bestseller Good Omens is adapted from the internationally beloved novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and is soon to be a massive new TV launch on Amazon Prime Video and the BBC. The series is written and show-run by Neil himself and stars David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Jon Hamm and Miranda Richardson, to name but a few.**Includes an introduction by Neil Gaiman about bringing Good Omens to the screen**Before he died in 2015, Terry Pratchett asked Neil Gaiman to make a television series of the internationally beloved novel they wrote together about the end of the world. And so, Neil began to write. And continued to write until he had six episodes that brought an angel, Aziraphale, and a demon, Crowley, (the only things standing between us and the inevitable Armageddon) to life for the screen. Contained between the covers of this book are the scripts that Neil wrote, which later turned into some of the most extraordinary television ever made. Take a tour behind the scenes with a text that reveals the secrets of the show, still has the missing bits and, sometimes, asks for the impossible. Step backstage and see the magic for yourself. You may just learn as much from the scenes that never made the final cut as from those that did.Matt on Brexit
By Matt Pritchett. 2019
'However bad the day's news, there'll still be a Matt cartoon the morning after, and we'll still laugh - he's…
a genius!' Jeremy Vine'Always topical and achingly funny' Jilly CooperFrom the (some say ill-judged) Referendum to the Remain and Leave campaigns with all their twists and turns ... From a vote of No Confidence to the ongoing confusion ... Matt hits the spot every time. Brilliantly entertaining, award-winning Matt can lighten even the most troubling times, and find the perfect cartoon to make the nation smile.The Human Part
By Kari Hotakainen. 2009
An elderly woman agrees to sell her life to a blocked writer she meets at a book fair. She needs…
to talk - her husband has not spoken since a family tragedy some months ago. She claims that her grown-up children are doing well, but the writer imagines less salubrious lives for them, as the downturn of Finland's economic boom begins to bite. Perhaps he's on to something. The Human Part is pure laugh-out-loud satire, laying bare the absurdities of modern society in the most vicious and precise manner imaginable.Shooting Martha
By David Thewlis. 2021
'A riotously good novel, witty and earnest, brimming with sharply drawn characters and creeping suspense. David Thewlis is a fabulous…
writer' Anna Bailey, Sunday Times bestselling author of Tall BonesCelebrated director Jack Drake can't get through his latest film (his most personal yet) without his wife Martha's support. The only problem is, she's dead...When Jack sees Betty Dean - actress, mother, trainwreck - playing the part of a crazed nun on stage in an indie production of The Devils, he is struck dumb by her resemblance to Martha. Desperate to find a way to complete his masterpiece, he hires her to go and stay in his house in France and resuscitate Martha in the role of 'loving spouse'.But as Betty spends her days roaming the large, sunlit rooms of Jack's mansion - filled to the brim with odd treasures and the occasional crucifix - and her evenings playing the part of Martha over scripted video calls with Jack, she finds her method acting taking her to increasingly dark places. And as Martha comes back to life, she carries with her the truth about her suicide - and the secret she guarded until the end.A darkly funny novel set between a London film set and a villa in the south of France.A mix of Vertigo and Jonathan Coe, written by a master storyteller.PRAISE FOR DAVID THEWLIS'S FICTION 'David Thewlis has written an extraordinarily good novel, which is not only brilliant in its own right, but stands proudly beside his work as an actor, no mean boast' Billy Connolly'Hilarious and horror-filled' Francesca Segal, Observer'A fine study in character disintegration... Very funny' David Baddiel, The Times'Exquisitely written with a warm heart and a wry wit... Stunning' Elle'Queasily entertaining' Financial Times'A sharp ear for dialogue and a scabrously satiric prose style' Daily Mail'Laugh-out-loud, darkly intelligent' Publishers Weekly'This is far more than an actor's vanity project: Thewlis has talent' KirkusAsterix and the Griffin: Album 39 (Asterix #39)
By Jean-Yves Ferri. 2021
Be the first to read the next action-packed adventure from the indomitable Gauls by pre-ordering now!Follow Asterix and Obelix as…
they set out on their 39th adventure on a long journey in search of a strange and terrifying creature. Half-eagle, half-lion, and idolised and feared by ancient peoples, this creature is the griffin.How will Asterix, Obelix, Dogamatix, along with the Druid Getafix, get drawn into the epic, perilous quest to find this fantastical animal? Find out in the next instalment of this multi-million bestselling series.Enemy of the People: A Play In Five Acts
By Henrik Ibsen. 2009
Environmentalist, activist, and attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. contributes a foreword to this Skyhorse edition of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen&’s…
renowned 1882 play. Regarded as one of the foremost playwrights of the nineteenth century, Henrik Ibsen tells the story of the idealist Doctor Thomas Stockmann, the medical officer of a recently opened spa in a small town in southern Norway, who finds that the water is seriously contaminated. He notifies members of the community and initially receives support and thanks for the discovery. Threatened by the possible impact of such a revelation, his brother, the town mayor, conspires with local politicians and the newspaper to suppress the story and pressure Dr. Stockmann to retract his statements. At a public meeting, an attempt is made to keep Dr. Stockmann from speaking, but he launches into a tirade condemning the corruption of the town and the tyranny of the majority. Finding his speech offensive, he is shouted down by the masses and reviled as "an enemy of the people." In his foreword, Kennedy alerts readers to the undeniable fact that the persecution of those who tell uncomfortable truths, which Ibsen described over one hundred years ago, continues to this day and is as relevant now as ever. We face environmental deregulation and degradation, politicians in lobbyists&’ pockets, attacks on facts that are agreed upon by reputable scientists, corporate funded and controlled research, and attempts to impede and suppress whistleblowers. The battle continues and Kennedy joins Ibsen on the front lines.