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By Barbara Rose Brooker. 2012
A funny, fearless, and inspiring novel about dating after the age of sixty.THE NOVEL THAT PROVES THERE&’S PLENTY OF LIFE—AND…
HOT SEX—AFTER SIXTY!Just because Anny Applebaum qualifies for a senior discount doesn&’t mean she&’s ready for retirement. But if she wants to keep her job at the San Francisco Times, she&’ll have to find a way to spice up her lifestyle column. Even if it means posting her profile as an eligible single on JDate .com. Sure, Anny&’s a little out of practice. She hasn&’t been with a man since she found Viagra in her ex-husband&’s suit pocket, and he wasn&’t taking it for her. But she&’s got her friends to help her fumble her way through the strange and intriguing world of online dating.After hearing cautionary tales from the trenches—about &“boomer oldies&” who drag around pictures of their dead wives and fixed-income misers who wine and dine their dates at chain restaurants—Anny is relieved to meet Marv Rothstein, a charming . . . 75-year-old diamond dealer. Unfortunately, he&’s also a Digital Age Don Juan who prowls singles sites for younger women. Not be outdated by this &“Serial JDater,&” Anny realizes Marv is the perfect subject for her flagging column and chronicles his sexcapades for the reading public. But when the new column becomes an overnight hit, Anny can&’t help but feel conflicted—because now she&’s having sex with Mr. X . . . and it&’s nothing less than extraordinary.By Clare Chambers. 2020
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021'A WORD-OF-MOUTH HIT' Evening Standard 'A very fine book... It's witty and sharp…
and reads like something by Barbara Pym or Anita Brookner, without ever feeling like a pastiche'David Nicholls'Perfect'India Knight 'Beautiful' Jessie Burton'Wonderful'Richard Osman 'Miraculous'Tracy Chevalier 'A wonderful novel. I loved it'Nina Stibbe 'Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind' Lissa Evans 'This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I honestly don't want you to be without it'Lucy Mangan'Gorgeous... If you're looking for something escapist and bittersweet, I could not recommend more' Pandora Sykes'Remarkable... Small Pleasures is no small pleasure'The Times'An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating'Mail on Sunday'Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' Guardian'An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' The Sunday Times 1957, the suburbs of South East London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape. When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness. But there will, inevitably, be a price to pay.Book of the Year for: The Times, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Daily Express, Metro, Spectator, Red Magazine and Good HousekeepingBy Eric Gamalinda. 2014
One of the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Top 10 Books of 2014A NewPages Book Stand Editor's Pick"Darkly spellbinding...With a keen eye…
for splendor amid the grotesque, Gamalinda writes with a poet's heart and a philosopher's mind, while enthralling readers with emotional, gritty storytelling."--Booklist"A mesmerizing story full of mystery...intricate...beautiful writing."--Publishers Weekly"It's Gamalinda's best and most accessible novel yet, deserving to be read by as many people as possible."--Philippine Daily Inquirer"It felt so easy to get swept up in this novel. The language is beautiful....a beautifully written book."--NewPages"The wait for Gamalinda's first US based publication was well worth [it]...An indispensable, powerful portrayal of broken families trapped in the centripetal forces of transnational capital and postcolonial politics."--Asian American Literature Fans"Gamalinda...does indeed write fearlessly...in rich, unflinching prose. This storytelling stayed with me...I was compelled to keep reading by the strength of the writing (it's not for nothing that Gamalinda is the recipient of the Philippine National Book Award, a Palanca Memorial Award, and a Philippine Centennial Prize)."--Galatea Ressurects #24"I recommend this book to those with large, giving hearts, who can afford to spend the emotional capital demanded here."--Basso Profundo"The Descartes Highlands is a psychologically taut drama that unravels right in front of you...I guarantee that you will be richly rewarded."--Zachary Mule"Behind Eric Gamalinda's jagged, ice-pick prose is an urgent need to connect and to understand. Are we more than the sum of our histories? What is this accident of being? Why is there anything at all? Written at the edge of a sinkhole and determined to resist its pull, The Descartes Highlands is about nothing less than the whole bewildering dream that is human consciousness."--David Hollander, author of L.I.E."No one writes like Eric Gamalinda, though we wish we all could. The Descartes Highlands, an amazing work of brutal candor girded by a philosopher's calm, entwines our present despair with the horrific pasts we will not escape. One of the most dazzling novelists writing in America today, Eric Gamalinda has an almost classical Greek faith in the redemptive power of art. This novel delivers a commitment to beauty as unflinching as the bleak truths it tells--about globalization, about colonialism, about our human madness--offering in turn what seems our only, paradoxical hope: the pained telling of our story--a gorgeous and bitter feast."--Gina Apostol, author of Gun Dealers' DaughterTwo men, each unaware of the other, share a common family secret: they were sold for adoption by their American father shortly after their births in the Philippines. Three alternating stories interweave the experiences of father Andrew Breszky and the two sons who try to connect and piece together the puzzle of their reckless, impulsive father. One lives in New York and the other grows up in the south of France, later traveling all over Asia as a documentary filmmaker. Both will discover that their relationships somehow echo that of the young man whose history eludes them.Celebrated Filipino writer Eric Gamalinda's international debut novel is a contemporary work of ideas that combines mystery, film noir, and existential philosophy. Highly intricate and written in a style reminiscent of the maverick narrative techniques of such filmmakers as Andrei Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr, and with some of the philosophical underpinnings of Michel Houellebecq or Javier Marías. Named after the region of the moon where Apollo 16 landed in the same year these men were born, The Descartes Highlands demonstrates that for lives marked by unrelieved loneliness, the only hope lies in the redemptive power of love.By Karen E. Osborne. 2017
"Osborne explores questions of race, privilege, and family loyalties without offering any false, easy answers for her two protagonists."--Booklist"Looking for…
an edge-of-your-seat suspense yarn? You won't find a more absorbing story than Getting It Right...In it we get to know half sisters Kara and Alex, who meet for the first time as adults. Over two weeks in March, the siblings deal with both their own and common issues and drama in ways that entertain and enlighten."--Essence, One of Summer's Best Books"Osborne has created a compelling story of women trying to move past the bondage of their upbringing. We are left wondering, what does it mean to make amends? Is redemption possible?...Getting It Right is absorbing and pushes at understanding race, family bonds, and trauma."--Atticus ReviewGetting It Right is the story of Kara and Alex, half-sisters who have never met—one the product of an abusive foster-care setting, the other of dysfunctional privilege. Haunted by crippling memories, Kara falls for the wrong men, tries to help her foster-care siblings suffering from PTSD, and longs for the father and half-sister she only knows from a photograph. Alex, meanwhile, struggles to keep her younger sisters out of trouble, her mother sane, and her marketing business afloat.Now Alex has a new responsibility: from his hospital bed, her father tasks her with finding Kara, the mixed-race child he abandoned. Alex is stunned to learn of Kara's existence but reluctantly agrees.To make things more complicated, Kara loves a married man whom the FBI is pursuing for insider trading. When Alex eventually finds her half-sister, she becomes embroiled in Kara's dangers, which threaten to drag them both down. If Kara doesn't help the FBI, she could face prosecution and possible incarceration, and if Alex can't persuade Kara to meet their father, she will let him down during the final days of his life.Set in Harlem, the Bronx, and the wealthy community of Bedford, New York, during two weeks in March, Getting It Right explores grit and resilience, evolving definitions of race and family, and the ultimate power of redemption and forgiveness.By Ebele Oseye, Ellease Southerland. 2004
Young African American Abeba Williams moves from rural North Carolina to Brooklyn to live with her mother, who dreams of…
a better life. Abeba begins to develop a promising musical talent but soon becomes distracted by marriage and children. Despite economic and social hardships, Abeba perseveres with dignity. 1979By Terry McMillan. 2010
Phoenix, Arizona. Middle-aged Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin, from Waiting to Exhale (DB 35862), cope with problems in their love…
lives and with their older children. The four decide it's time to shake their addictions to food, shopping, and pills and "get happy." Strong language. Bestseller. 2010By Ann Allen Shockley. 1974
A groundbreaking novel of two very different women, one black and one white, and a remarkable love threatened by prejudice,…
rage, and violenceA struggling African American musician, Renay married Jerome Lee when she discovered she was pregnant with his child. Yet even before their daughter, Denise, was born, Renay realized what a terrible mistake she had made, tying herself to a violent, abusive alcoholic. Then, while performing at an upscale supper club, Renay met Terry Bluvard. Beautiful, wealthy, and white, Terry awakened feelings that the talented black pianist had never realized she possessed—and before long, Renay was leaving the nightmare of Jerome Lee behind and moving with little Denise into Terry&’s world of luxury and privilege.Now, in this strange and exciting new place, Renay can experience for the first time what it is to have everything she needs for herself and her little girl. The rules here are different—often confusing and sometimes troubling—but in Terry&’s home, and in Terry&’s arms, Renay can be who she truly is . . . and be loved with caring tenderness and respect. Yet the storm clouds of her previous life still threaten, and Terry&’s love alone may not be enough to protect Renay and her little girl from the tragedy that looms on the horizon.By LaRita Dixon. 2018
LaRita Dixon's debut novel, Little Bird, is a gripping tale of resilience and the incredible power of love and family.For…
twelve years Amal has happily lived with her parents and sister, when war suddenly changes her life forever. Within just a few days she loses her entire family and endures other horrendous experiences while fleeing for her life. The resulting psychological trauma does not stop with her arrival in America. Just when Amal is about to lose all hope, she meets a lovely southern lady and her family. Will they be able to help heal her wounds and teach her to love again? Little Bird is a gripping tale of resilience and the incredible power of love and family.By Miriam Karmel. 2013
A wonderful fiction debut, Being Esther gives voice to Esther Lustig, an extraordinary woman who has lived a conventional life,…
in this touching exploration of aging and its accompanied search for meaning.In spare, refreshingly unsentimental prose, Miriam Karmel has given us one of literature's finest portraits of the last months of a woman's life. At once sad and amusing, unpretentious and ambitious, Karmel's fiction debut brings understanding and tremendous empathy to the character of Esther Lustig, a woman readers will recognize and embrace.Born to parents who fled the shtetl, Esther Lustig has led a seemingly conventional life-marriage, two children, a life in suburban Chicago. Now, at the age of eighty-five, her husband is deceased, her children have families of their own, and most of her friends are gone. Even in this diminished condition, life has its moments of richness, as well as its memorable characters. Being Esther is an exploration of aging, a search for meaning, and about the need, as Esther puts it, for better roadmaps for growing old.By Rachelle Atalla. 2022
'This horrendously claustrophobic, utterly absorbing debut. The fiercely controlled narrative beautifully translates the horrendous grip of dismal routines and tiny,…
stolen pleasures' DAILY MAIL'There are shades of George Orwell in this stunning writing debut, but Rachelle Atalla's voice is highly original. And wholly her own' THE HERALD'A compulsive, claustrophobic but wonderfully compassionate read, beautifully written and set within a brilliantly realised world. Rachelle Atalla is a major talent and I can't wait to see where her mind goes next' KIRSTIN INNES, AUTHOR OF SCABBY QUEEN'Atalla's speculative literary thriller debut draws you in with its mounting sense of tension, disquiet and desperation' CULTUREFLYTHE BUNKER IS DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM ALL SAFE. In the end, very few people made it to the bunker. Now they wait there for the outside world to heal. Wolfe is one of the lucky ones. She's safe and employed as the bunker's pharmacist, doling out medicine under the watchful eye of their increasingly erratic and paranoid leader. BUT IS IT THE PLACE OF GREATEST DANGER? But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, it seems her luck is running out. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan - a tattooed giant of a man who's purpose in the bunker is a mystery - Wolfe must navigate the powder keg of life underground where one misstep will light the fuse. The walls that keep her safe also have her trapped.How much more is Wolfe willing to give to stay alive?Beautifully written and utterly gripping, The Pharmacist will be a guaranteed conversation starter when it is published.'An unflinching portrayal of what we might all be capable of, Atalla's stunning debut is essential reading for our times' HELEN SEDGWICK'Though set in a speculative future, The Pharmacist is very much a book for our own broken times. Its story grips and never lets go, unflinching in its portrayal of abused power, moral confusion and betrayal, but also fully alive to the redemptive possibilities of compassion, resistance and love. This is a powerful and memorable debut from an exciting new voice' WAYNE PRICE'A triumph of a book. Character-led but taut and purposeful with action' LIAM MURRAY BELLBy Rachelle Atalla. 2022
'This horrendously claustrophobic, utterly absorbing debut. The fiercely controlled narrative beautifully translates the horrendous grip of dismal routines and tiny,…
stolen pleasures' DAILY MAIL'There are shades of George Orwell in this stunning writing debut, but Rachelle Atalla's voice is highly original. And wholly her own' THE HERALD'A compulsive, claustrophobic but wonderfully compassionate read, beautifully written and set within a brilliantly realised world. Rachelle Atalla is a major talent and I can't wait to see where her mind goes next' KIRSTIN INNES, AUTHOR OF SCABBY QUEEN'Atalla's speculative literary thriller debut draws you in with its mounting sense of tension, disquiet and desperation' CULTUREFLYTHE BUNKER IS DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM ALL SAFE. In the end, very few people made it to the bunker. Now they wait there for the outside world to heal. Wolfe is one of the lucky ones. She's safe and employed as the bunker's pharmacist, doling out medicine under the watchful eye of their increasingly erratic and paranoid leader. BUT IS IT THE PLACE OF GREATEST DANGER? But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, it seems her luck is running out. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan - a tattooed giant of a man who's purpose in the bunker is a mystery - Wolfe must navigate the powder keg of life underground where one misstep will light the fuse. The walls that keep her safe also have her trapped.How much more is Wolfe willing to give to stay alive?Beautifully written and utterly gripping, The Pharmacist will be a guaranteed conversation starter when it is published.'An unflinching portrayal of what we might all be capable of, Atalla's stunning debut is essential reading for our times' HELEN SEDGWICK'Though set in a speculative future, The Pharmacist is very much a book for our own broken times. Its story grips and never lets go, unflinching in its portrayal of abused power, moral confusion and betrayal, but also fully alive to the redemptive possibilities of compassion, resistance and love. This is a powerful and memorable debut from an exciting new voice' WAYNE PRICE'A triumph of a book. Character-led but taut and purposeful with action' LIAM MURRAY BELLBy Ali Hazelwood. 2021
When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on…
love into chaos. As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive on her way to a happily ever after was always going to be tough, scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting woman, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire and Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support (and his unyielding abs), their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. Olive soon discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.By Holly Miller. 2020
THE RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK 'Unique and breathtaking and painful and broken and perfect . . . just…
like love'Jodi Picoult'Exquisitely written, incredibly moving and impossible to put down' Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare___________Joel is afraid of the future.Since he was a child he's been haunted by dreams about the people he loves. Visions of what's going to happen - the good and the bad. And the only way to prevent them is to never let anyone close to him again. Callie can't let go of the past.Since her best friend died, Callie's been lost. She knows she needs to be more spontaneous and live a bigger life. She just doesn't know how to find a way back to the person who used to have those dreams.Joel and Callie both need a reason to start living for today. And though they're not looking for each other, from the moment they meet it feels like the start of something life-changing. Until Joel has a vision of how it's going to end . . .By Sharma Taylor. 2022
'An outstanding debut' CHERIE JONES, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps her House'Vivid and authentic' LEONE ROSS, author of…
This One Sky Day'Cacophonic, alive and heartbreaking' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE, author of The MerciesAs featured on BBC's Cultural Frontline podcast At eighteen years old, Dinah gave away her baby son to the rich couple she worked for before they left Jamaica. They never returned. She never forgot him.Eighteen years later, a young man comes from the US to Kingston. From the moment she sees him, Dinah never doubts - this is her son.What happens next will make everyone question what they know and where they belong.A powerful story of belonging, identity and inheritance, What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You brings together a blazing chorus of voices to evoke Jamaica's ghetto, dance halls, criminal underworld and corrupt politics, at the beating heart of which is a mother's unshakeable love for her son.'Delicate but gut-wrenching' JOSIE D'ARBY, broadcaster'Irresistible' CURDELLA FORBES, author of A Tall History of Sugar'Arresting' LISA ALLEN-AGOSTINI, author of The Bread the Devil Knead'Wonderful' JACOB ROSS, author of The Bone Readers'Exciting' YEWANDE OMOTOSO, author of An Unusual Grief'Thrilling' CELESTE MOHAMMED, author of PleasantviewBy Rachelle Atalla. 2022
A beautifully-written dystopian thriller set in an underground bunker.The bunker is a place of safety.Wolfe is the bunker's resident pharmacist.…
While the inhabitants wait for the outside world to heal, she doles out ibuprofen, sanitary towels and Xanax - all under the watchful eye of the increasingly erratic and paranoid leader. The bunker is a place of hope.But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, her world is thrown off its axis once again. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan - a tattooed giant of a man who's purpose in the bunker is a mystery - Wolfe has to navigate the powder keg of life underground, knowing her every move is being watched.The bunker is a place of survival.It's not long before Wolfe is forced to question the sacrifices she's made for her own personal survival, and how much more she is willing to give to stay alive. The bunker is a place of danger.(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton LimitedBy Nathan W. Pyle. 2020
New York Times BestsellerThe sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon Strange Planet, featuring more hilarious and poignant…
adventures from the fascinating inhabitants of Nathan W. Pyle's colorful world.In this eagerly awaited sequel, Nathan takes us back to his charming and instantly recognizable planet colored in bright pinks, blues, greens, and purples, providing more escapades, jokes, and p h r a s e s.Nathan mixes his most popular Instagram comics with more than thirty original works created exclusively for this second volume to explore four major topics: traditions, nature, emotions, and knowledge. He inducts new and longtime fans into a strangely familiar world and its culture, from “cohesion” (marriage) to “mild poison” (alcohol) to the full lyrics to “The Small Eight-Legged Creature” (sung to the tune of The Itsy-Bitsy Spider).Bright, colorful, and whimsical—yet charmingly familiar—Stranger Planet is out-of-this-world fun.By Nathan W. Pyle. 2019
Straight from the mind of New York Times bestselling author Nathan W. Pyle, Strange Planet is an adorable and profound universe…
in pink, blue, green, and purple, based on the phenomenally popular Instagram of the same name!Strange Planet covers a full life cycle of the planet’s inhabitants, including milestones such as:The Emergence DayBeing Gains a SiblingThe Being Family Attains a BeastThe Formal Education of a BeingCelebration of Special DaysBeing Begins a VocationThe Beings at HomeHealth Status of a BeingThe Hobbies of a BeingThe Extended Family of the BeingThe Being Reflects on Life While Watching the Planet RotateWith dozens of never-before-seen illustrations in addition to old favorites, this fixed-format e-book offers a sweet and hilarious look at a distant world not all that unlike our own.I feel more attractive.Honestly, you are.It’s the star damage.I CRAVE STAR DAMAGE.By Jackie Clune. 2020
Warning!! This novel may lead you to make rash and life-changing decisions!**Probably don't read if you fear you may be…
ripe for liberation. Or if you sometimes wee when you laugh...First there was Having It All, then there was Bridget Jones' s Diary and I Don't Know How She Does It. Now there is Teenage Punchbag.I'm Just A Teenage Punchbag is a laugh-out-loud, sob-on-the bus journey through the so-called life of a middle-aged woman.Ciara is mother to three ungrateful, entitled teenagers, is married to steady Martin, a man with hairy udders, and is grieving for her mum who now lives in the wardrobe in a cardboard box from the crematorium. She finds solace in her anonymous blog, and in the daily chats she has with her mum's ashes (often the best conversations she has all day.)Despite the menopause, the invisibility of middle age and the daily self-esteem bashings, courtesy of her kids, Ciara manages to navigate the stormy waters of grief and family life - until her mask slips and she is cast out from the family bosom. She embarks on a mission to fulfil her mum's dying wishes to have her remains sprinkled from the top of the Empire State Building, finding company, distraction and - ultimately - herself in the process.If motherhood is a job - who says you can't resign?(P) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton LtdBy Francisco Jiménez. 2002
Fourteen-year-old Francisco describes his family's migrant-worker problems in southern California, their deportation to Mexico, and their legal reentry into the…
United States. He discusses his desire for education in the face of hardships and prejudice. Sequel to Cajas de Cartón (DB 54979). For grades 5-8. Spanish language. 2001By Holly Miller. 2020
An unforgettable and life-affirming love story, that will make your heart soar one minute and break the next.Joel is afraid…
of the future.Since he was a child he's been haunted by dreams about the people he loves. Visions of what's going to happen - the good and the bad. And the only way to prevent them is to never let anyone close to him again. Callie can't let go of the past.Since her best friend died, Callie's been lost. She knows she needs to be more spontaneous and live a bigger life. She just doesn't know how to find a way back to the person who used to have those dreams.Joel and Callie both need a reason to start living for today. And though they're not looking for each other, from the moment they meet it feels like the start of something life-changing. Until Joel has a vision of how it's going to end . . .(p) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd