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Lydia Cassat Reading the Morning Paper
By Harriet Scott Chessman. 2001
Harriet Scott Chessman takes us into the world of Mary Cassatt's early Impressionist paintings through Mary's sister Lydia, whom the…
author sees as Cassatt's most inspiring muse. Chessman hauntingly brings to life Paris in 1880, with its thriving art world. The novel's subtle power rises out of a sustained inquiry into art's relation to the ragged world of desire and mortality. Ill with Bright's disease and conscious of her approaching death, Lydia contemplates her world narrowing. With the rising emotional tension between the loving sisters, between one who sees and one who is seen, Lydia asks moving questions about love and art's capacity to remember. Chessman illuminates Cassatt's brilliant paintings and creates a compelling portrait of the brave and memorable model who inhabits them with such grace. Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper includes five full-color plates, the entire group of paintings Mary Cassatt made of her sister.Lydia Cassat Reading the Morning Paper: A Novel
By Harriet Scott Chessman. 2001
Harriet Scott Chessman takes us into the world of Mary Cassatt's early Impressionist paintings through Mary's sister Lydia, whom the…
author sees as Cassatt's most inspiring muse. Chessman hauntingly brings to life Paris in 1880, with its thriving art world. The novel's subtle power rises out of a sustained inquiry into art's relation to the ragged world of desire and mortality. Ill with Bright's disease and conscious of her approaching death, Lydia contemplates her world narrowing. With the rising emotional tension between the loving sisters, between one who sees and one who is seen, Lydia asks moving questions about love and art's capacity to remember. Chessman illuminates Cassatt's brilliant paintings and creates a compelling portrait of the brave and memorable model who inhabits them with such grace. Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper includes five full-color plates, the entire group of paintings Mary Cassatt made of her sister.Sweet Liberia, Lessons from the Coal Pot
By Susan D. Peters. 2010
Sweet Liberia, Lessons from the Coal Pot is a delightful, painfully honest memoir that chronicles the thick slice of humanity…
sandwiched between Liberia's April 12, 1980 coup and the Civil War in 1989. Like many others who embraced Black Pride, Afros, African clothing and names in the 70's, Susan and thousands more took it one step further and immigrated to Mother Africa. This touching memoir is set against the author's personal growth, her cultural struggles, and her triumphs, and is an informative, personally revealing, and often-comical account of her family's eleven-year journey immersed in the rich culture of Liberia, West Africa. "Many have wondered what it would be like to pack up our things and move to a new country, but none of us have imagined having to flee our new homeland with our children and barely more than the clothes on our back. Yet, Susan Peters managed to do just that while maintaining her faith which would eventually help her rebuild her life and uplift her heart and soul. This book is a wonderful and eye-opening experience that shouldn't be missed!"---Naleighna Kai, National Best-selling author of Speak It into Existence.A Daughter of the Samurai
By Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto. 1966
A Daughter of the Samurai tells the true story of a samurai's daughter, brought up in the strict traditions of…
feudal Japan, who was sent to America to meet her future husband. An engrossing, haunting tale that gives us insight into an almost forgotten age.Madam Sugimoto was born in Japan, not in the sunny southern part of the country which has given it the name of "The Land of Flowers," but in the northern province of Echigo which is bleak and cold and so cut off from the rest of the country by mountains that in times past it had been considered fit only for political prisoners or exiles.Her father was a Samurai, with high ideals of what was expected of a Samurai's family. His hopes were concentrated in his son until the son refused to marry the girl for whom he was destined and ran off to America. After that all that was meant for him fell to the lot of the little wavy-haired Etsu who writes here so delightfully of the things that happened in their childhood days in far-away Japan.The Miracles of Jesus: The Brick Bible for Kids
By Brendan Powell Smith. 2017
As in all the Brick Bible books, Brendan Powell Smith creates a magical “brick” world—all in LEGOs—to illustrate stories from…
the Bible that are then photographed and accompanied by a simple text.In this book, there are many stories to tell. After being baptized, and in the company of his twelve disciples, Jesus began performing many great acts, including giving a blind man sight, raising a young girl from death, feeding five thousand people with two fish and five loaves of bread, and, perhaps the most famous of all, walking on water.A Girl's Story
By Annie Ernaux. 2020
Another masterpiece of remembering from Annie Ernaux, the Man Booker International Prize–shortlisted author of The Years. In A Girl&’s Story,…
Annie Ernaux revisits the season fifty years earlier when she found herself overpowered by another&’s will and desire. In the summer of 1958, eighteen-year-old Ernaux submits her will to a man&’s, and then he moves on, leaving her without a &“master,&” bereft. Now, fifty years later, she realizes she can obliterate the intervening years and return to consider this young woman that she wanted to forget completely. And to discover that here, submerged in shame, humiliation, and betrayal, but also in self-discovery and self-reliance, lies the origin of her writing life.Memory Is Our Home is a powerful biographical memoir based on the diaries of Roma Talasiewicz-Eibuszyc, who was born in…
Warsaw before the end of World War I, grew up during the interwar period and who, after escaping the atrocities of World War II, was able to survive in the vast territories of Soviet Russia and Uzbekistan.Translated by her own daughter, interweaving her own recollections as her family made a new life in the shadows of the Holocaust in Communist Poland after the war and into the late 1960s, this book is a rich, living document, a riveting account of a vibrant young woman's courage and endurance.A forty-year recollection of love and loss, of hopes and dreams for a better world, it provides richly-textured accounts of the physical and emotional lives of Jews in Warsaw and of survival during World War II throughout Russia. This book, narrated in a compelling, unique voice through two generations, is the proverbial candle needed to keep memory alive.Jillian: A Novel
By Halle Butler. 2020
From the author of the 'great' (Dolly Alderton), 'terrific' (Zadie Smith) The New Me, comes a subversive, hilarious portrait of…
two colleagues, each more like the other than they would care to admit.'Wretchedly riveting' Jia Tolentino, New Yorker'Butler is an essential contemporary voice' Literary Hub'A master of writing about work and its discontents' The MillionsMegan is only twenty-four but her life feels like a dead end. Working as a gastroenterologist's receptionist and resenting the success and happiness of her friends, the only thing that makes her feel better is obsessively critiquing the behaviour of her colleague, Jillian. A grotesquely optimistic thirty-five-year-old single mother, Jillian's chirpy positivity obscures her mounting struggles - until her downfall is precipitated by the purchase of a dog . . .'Outrageous and amusing ... reads like rubbernecking or a junk-food binge, compelling a horrified fascination and bleak laughter' Kirkus'The funniest book I've read in a long time, but also one of the most important ones' The RumpusThe Punch
By Noah Hawley. 2016
From the creator and writer of the Emmy Award-winning series Fargo.The Henry brothers could not be more different. Scott is…
stuck in a dead-end job and has taken to hanging out in some of San Francisco's seedier dives. David, on the other hand, is a successful travelling salesman, and has not one happy family, but two (one on each coast). Tensions run high as their father's death brings them together on a road-trip to New York, especially when their alcoholic mother is along for the ride and thinks nothing of revealing a long-held family secret . . . Noah Hawley's savagely funny and ultimately uplifting novel explores what it really means to be a family.WINNER OF THE RNA ROMANTIC COMEDY OF THE YEAR AWARD 2019'Such a funny, sparky book... An ideal read for anyone…
who is a fan of Christmas or dogs - or both!' Sophie KinsellaCharlie hates the holidays, and this year is shaping up to be her worst yuletide ever. Her boyfriend has left her for his personal trainer, her flat is out of bounds after a gas leak, and her mother has gone to spend Christmas in Melbourne with her fifth husband. Finding herself single, mildly concussed and temporarily homeless, Charlie hesitantly agrees to dust off her wellies and spend the festive season in Devon, looking after Cosy Canine Cottages, her cousin Jez's dog-care centre. However, her plans for a quiet rural Christmas with only the four-legged friends for company are dashed as soon as she meets Malcolm the deaf Great Dane, Hugo, his gorgeous (but engaged) owner, and Cal, the undeniably attractive but unbearably haughty and patronising local vet...'Fabulous romantic escapism' Heat* Not Just for Christmas is published as Mutts and Mistletoe in the US. *The Weekend: The international bestseller, shortlisted for the Stella Prize 2020
By Charlotte Wood. 2020
A #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER One of The Times books of the year: 'Ripples with wit, insight and vitality' 'The Weekend…
is so great I am struggling to find the words to do it justice... Wood is an agonisingly gifted writer: I am now going to read all her other books!'Marian Keyes'It was refreshing to encounter a novel that so profoundly sympathises with women on the forbidding cusp of being classified as "elderly". Wood ably conveys that older women didn't used to be old, and that the experience of ageing is universally bewildering'Lionel Shriver (Observer, Books of the year) 'Riveting' Elizabeth Day 'A perfect, funny, insightful, novel about women, friendship, and ageing. I loved it'Nina Stibbe 'Authentic, funny, brutally well-observed... As with the novels of Elizabeth Strout or Anne Tyler, these are characters not written to please, but to feel true'The Sunday Times 'Glorious... Charlotte Wood joins the ranks of writers such as Nora Ephron, Penelope Lively and Elizabeth Strout' Guardian'The Weekend triumphantly brings to life the honest, inner lives of women' Independent'A lovely, lively, intelligent, funny book' Tessa Hadley 'One sharp, funny, heartbreaking and gorgeously-written package. I loved it' Paula Hawkins'One of those deceptively compact novels that continues to open doors in your mind long after the last page' Patrick GaleSylvie, Jude, Wendy and Adele have a lifelong friendship of the best kind: loving, practical, frank and steadfast. But when Sylvie dies, the ground shifts dangerously for the remaining three.These women couldn't be more different: Jude, a once-famous restaurateur with a spotless life and a long-standing affair with a married man; Wendy, an acclaimed feminist intellectual; Adele, a former star of the stage, now practically homeless. Struggling to recall exactly why they've remained close all these years, the grieving women gather for one last weekend at Sylvie's old beach house. But fraying tempers, an elderly dog, unwelcome guests and too much wine collide in a storm that brings long-buried hurts to the surface - a storm that will either remind them of the bond they share, or sweep away their friendship for good.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' KirkusThe Moon Is La Luna
By Jay M. Harris. 2007
This book is full of monos, ratons, and osos. What’s that, you say? You don’t know what a mono is?…
What about a rio, some pelo, or even an árbol? No? Still no idea? You should read this libro, then. By the time you finish, you’ll be able to recognize and understand more than fifty simple Spanish words. You’ll be saying, Mas, por favor!” You may even ask your papá to buy you a gato or pato. (But not your papa. Potatoes can’t buy pets. )Getting Lost
By Annie Ernaux. 2001
The diary of one of France’s most important, award-winning writers during the year she had a passionate and secret love…
affair with a Russian diplomat. Getting Lost is the diary Annie Ernaux kept during the year and a half she had a secret love affair with a younger, married man, a Russian diplomat. Her novel, Simple Passion, was based on this affair, but here her writing is immediate, unfiltered. In these diaries it is 1989 and Annie is divorced with two grown sons, living outside of Paris and nearing fifty. Her lover escapes the city to see her there and Ernaux seems to survive only in expectation of these encounters, saying “his desire for me is the only thing I can be sure of.” She cannot write, she trudges distractedly through her various other commitments in the world, she awaits his next call; she lives only to feel desire and for the next rendezvous. When he is gone and the desire has faded, she feels that she is a step closer to death. Lauded for her spare prose, Ernaux here removes all artifice, her writing pared down to its most naked and vulnerable. Getting Lost is as strong a book as any that she has written, a haunting, desperate view of strong and successful woman who seduces a man only to lose herself in love and desire. New York Times BestsellerOn the Bright Side: The New Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 85 Years Old (Hendrik Groen #2)
By Hendrik Groen. 2018
"THE MALE ELENA FERRANTE" -- New York PostIn the acclaimed follow-up to the #1 international bestseller The Secret Diary of…
Hendrik Groen, everyone's favorite curmudgeon is back and as funny and charming as ever with the newest adventures of the Old-But-Not-Dead Club -- for fans of Frederik Backman and Graeme Simsion.Everyone's favorite octogenarian is back and, together with his pals in the Old-But-Not-Dead Club, he is more determined than ever to wreak havoc and turn a twinkly eye on the brighter side of life.After a year spent mourning the death of his beloved friend Eefje, Hendrik may be older and a little more wobbly, but his youthful appetite for mischief hasn't diminished. When fears arise that the home is set for demolition, it's up to Hendrik and the Old-But-Not-Dead Club to intervene.William Shakespeare Rewritten by You
By Joelle Herr. 2014
REWRITE THE BARD'S WORDS FOR IRREVERENT FUN AND LITERARY LAUGHSDo you want to have some fun with Shakespeare?Rip the quill…
from the Bard's immortal hands and pen hilarious versions of the most-beloved scenes from:HamletTo be STRIP, or not to be STRIP, that is the question. Romeo and JulietWhat light FART through yonder window breaks?MacbethIs this a dagger JOINT which I see before me?Much Ado About NothingIf thou dost love BOFF, my kindness VIBRATOR shall incite theeA Midsummer Night's Dream So, good night unto you all.Give FEED me your hands BRAINS ,if we be friends,And Robin YOUR MOMMA shall restore amends. AND MORE!Headless
By Dennis Cooper, Benjamin Weissman. 2004
"Headless is fearless, fun, and sometimes filthy . . . an alphabet soup of -delight in language. Eat up."--Alice Sebold"Brilliant.…
Wildly inventive, profane, and hilarious."--Bret Easton EllisThe author of the acclaimed cult classic Dear Dead Person ("refreshing, nauseating, hilarious"--Kirkus) returns with this long-awaited collection of brilliantly written and outrageously imaginative short stories.Benjamin Weissman is the author of Dear Dead Person (High Risk/Serpent's Tail, 1995). He is a contributing editor to Bomb Magazine and writes regularly for the contemporary art magazines Parkett and Artforum. A painter and a professor at Art Center College of Design and Otis College of the Arts, he now lives in Los Angeles.The Writer's Cats
By Muriel Barbery, Maria Guitart. 2021
From the bestselling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog comes this delightful tale that pays tribute to Japanese philosophy…
and our feline friends.What a mysterious, confounding thing is a writer! Yet, spend a little time with the writer’s cats and one might just understand her better.Muriel Barbery, via her cats and co-conspirators, takes readers into her atelier, offering them a behind-the-scenes peek into her process and problems, joys and disappointments. The tale is told from the perspective of one of the writer’s four cats, Kirin, who, together with her cohort, may or may not be a reliable narrator. There’s Ocha, the leader of the gang, a tough guy with a soft heart; the bandy-legged and affectionate Mizu, Ocha’s sister; the phlegmatic and refined Petrus, lover of flowers; and finally, pretty Kirin, narrator of this bewitching story.A superb, funny, and touching text for writers, readers, fans of Muriel Barbery’s bestselling novels, and cat lovers.“Barbery’s poetic prose and Maria Guitart’s enchanting illustrations are an irresistible combination that readers will love to cozy up to and lose themselves in for a moment.” —Booklist“Creative types of all stripes—especially cat lovers—will be enchanted by Barbery’s fun and delightfully philosophical storytelling.” —Shelf Awareness“A book of few words delightfully illustrated by Maria Guitart . . . readers will be entranced by the detailed portrayal of Barbery’s ménage, her domestic habits and customs, her obsession with order, her writing routine, and so much more.” —La Stampa (Italy)