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Showing 1 - 12 of 12 items
By Kathleen Daisy Miller. 2014
In a linked collection that presents the secreted small tragedies of an Anglican congregation struggling to survive, All Saints delves…
into the life of Simon, the Reverend, and the lives of his parishioners: Miss Alice Vipond, a refined and elderly schoolteacher, incarcerated for a horrendous crime; a woman driven to extreme anxiety by borderline-abusive sex; Owen, "The Shitblood Man," who, lost in the woods, loses himself in a fit of rage; a receptionist and her act of improbable generosity; a writer making peace with her divorce. Effortlessly written and candidly observed, All Saints is a moving collection of tremendous skill, whose intersecting stories illuminate the tenacity and vulnerability of modern-day believers.Praise for All Saints"Fictional places have been mostly secular of late: the home, the bar, the workplace. Standing at the centre of K.D. Miller's touching and intimate collection of linked stories is, unfashionably, a church. All Saints is not just the setting for the habits and rituals of this motley group-parishioners, priest, passersby-but the central image that gives these stories their poignancy. As obsolescence threatens the church, it also puts in peril the connections each character has to others at the very time the world so badly needs human connections. All Saints is a moving and soulful book."-Caroline AddersonBy Chuck Klosterman. 2019
Microdoses of the straight dope, stories so true they had to be wrapped in fiction for our own protection, from…
the best-selling author of But What if We're Wrong?A man flying first class discovers a puma in the lavatory. A new coach of a small-town Oklahoma high school football team installs an offense comprised of only one, very special, play. A man explains to the police why he told the employee of his local bodega that his colleague looked like the lead singer of Depeche Mode, a statement that may or may not have led in some way to a violent crime. A college professor discusses with his friend his difficulties with the new generation of students. An obscure power pop band wrestles with its new-found fame when its song "Blizzard of Summer" becomes an anthem for white supremacists. A couple considers getting a medical procedure that will transfer the pain of childbirth from the woman to her husband. A woman interviews a hit man about killing her husband but is shocked by the method he proposes. A man is recruited to join a secret government research team investigating why coin flips are no longer exactly 50/50. A man sees a whale struck by lightning, and knows that everything about his life has to change. A lawyer grapples with the unintended side effects of a veterinarian's rabies vaccination. Fair warning: Raised in Captivity does not slot into a smooth preexisting groove. If Saul Steinberg and Italo Calvino had adopted a child from a Romanian orphanage and raised him on Gary Larsen and Thomas Bernhard, he would still be nothing like Chuck Klosterman. They might be good company, though. Funny, wise and weird in equal measure, Raised in Captivity bids fair to be one of the most original and exciting story collections in recent memory, a fever graph of our deepest unvoiced hopes, fears and preoccupations. Ceaselessly inventive, hostile to corniness in all its forms, and mean only to the things that really deserve it, it marks a cosmic leap forward for one of our most consistently interesting writers.'A must for all Mamma Mia fans!' Sue Moorcroft on My Mamma Mia SummerLaurel is finally living her own Mamma…
Mia dream.Now the owner of Villa Athena on a gorgeous Greek island, the last six months have been a whirlwind as Laurel has modernised the guesthouse, discovered how to run her own business, and learned to negotiate the demands of her new family. But as the festive season draws closer, Laurel begins to wonder if Christmas on Skopelos can ever live up to the cosy Yorkshire Christmases she spent with her beloved grandmother, Marnie. And with a travel writer arriving to review the Villa, Laurel needs a touch of festive sparkle - and a little help from some old friends... With critics to impress, Greek feasts to cook, and an ABBA-themed winter wedding on the horizon, can Laurel throw the perfect Christmas for everyone? And will she find her own romance underneath the mistletoe...?Escape to Greece this Christmas for this joyous sequel to My Mamma Mia Summer - perfect for fans of Heidi Swain, Jenny Colgan and Sarah Morgan.Readers love My Mamma Mia Summer 'I LOVED it...this book filled me with joy' 'A perfect summer read... Full of humour and emotion, this is just an all-round fabulous fun book''I absolutely loved it and can't recommend it enough!''Loved, loved this book. A real feel-good happy book''Full of hope and sunshine...a fun read which has you reaching for the ABBA CDs and booking holidays to Greece!''I loved this book...just the thing to get me in the mood for my holiday''Absolutely loved this book, couldn't put it down but didn't want it to finish''Funny, moving and pure escapism! How can you resist it?''I just loved everything about this book - it left me with the same cosy feeling as the film''A vibrant, warm and satisfying read''Loved the book and felt as if I was in the story''Will have you itching to hop on a plane to the nearest Greek island!'By Enid Blyton. 2016
A beautiful cloth-bound gift edition containing 16 of the best-known New Testament stories retold for children, by Enid Blyton, one…
of the world's best-loved storytellers. The perfect Christmas gift.'Enid Blyton's retelling of Christ's own stories and the meaning of His time on Earth is full of love - Christ's love for us, our love for each other - and Enid's caring and timeless love for children everywhere' - from the introduction by Pam Rhodes.Enid Blyton has been delighting readers for more than seventy years. Find more retold religious stories in Noah's Ark and Other Bible Stories and The Land of Far Beyond. Enid's best-loved characters include Noddy the wooden boy, Timmy the dog from The Famous Five and the mischievous twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan from the much-loved boarding school series St Clare's. The stories in this collection previously appeared in magazines and anthologies from the 40s and 60s. Illustrated in black and white, the collection contains the following stories, which are episodes in the life of Christ:The First Christmas, The Shepherds in the Night, The Three Wise Men, The Angel's Warning, The Little Boy Jesus, Twelve Years Old, The Twelve Disciples, The Nobleman's Son, The Loaves and the Fishes, The Good Samaritan, The Boy Who Left Home, The Last Supper, The Capture of Jesus, The Story of Easter, Jesus on the Cross, Jesus Rises AgainBy Aled Jones. 2022
Spring Term is here and if Bobby Dean thought his adventures were over, he couldn't be more wrong! He's going…
to have to deal with a giant Easter Bunny, an evil wizard, and a trip to the zoo - and what is the story behind the strange golden egg? But massive news then comes in and Bobby Dean needs to rescue the school, and his home, from demolition! With the help of his new pal, Noel the mouse, his fantastic gang of friends, and the magic of his voice, Bobby is in for another rollercoaster ride of a school term!By Dennis Cooper, Trinie Dalton. 2005
"Trinie Dalton's voice is so charming in these stories and they fly right by, so it takes a little time…
to realize how deftly she is talking about death and sex and fear and love and fur and slumber parties, how lightly she touches upon heaviness, making an imprint so gentle you don't know it's there until later, when the story floats back up in your memory, light as a butterfly or a blood-oil lilypad in the bath." --Aimee Bender"Trinie Dalton is as radically original a young writer as I've ever come across: a post-punk, post-apocalyptic, post-everything sensibility, casting spells of willed innocence against the powers of darkness she knows terrifyingly well." --David Gates"These charming stories vibrate with innocence and awe. Trinie Dalton is an effortless purveyor of wonder, strangeness, and love. She is a writer of high spirits and unguarded vision, and this debut collection is an absolute pleasure to read." --Ben Marcus"In Wide Eyed, a wonderfully eccentric and vibrant collection, Trinie Dalton showcases her ability to put a fresh spin on the world, leading the reader into places never explored--sometimes dreamlike, sometimes nightmarish, always riveting. Her vision is wholly unique and memorable." --Jill McCorkleIn Trinie Dalton's tweaked vision of reality, psychic communications between herself and Mick Jagger, The Flaming Lips, Marc Bolan, Lou Reed, and Pavement are daily occurrences. Animals also populate this book; beavers, hamsters, salamanders, black widows, owls, llamas, bats, and many more are characters who befriend the narrator. This collection of stories is told by a woman compelled to divulge her secrets, fantasies, and obsessions with native Californian animals, glam rock icons, and horror movies, among other things. With a setting rooted in urban Los Angeles but colored by mythic tales of beauty borrowed from medieval times, Shakespeare, and Grimm's fairy tales, Wide Eyed makes the difficulties of surviving in a contemporary American city more palatable by showing the reader that magic and escape is always possible.Stories include, "Hummingbird Moonshine," in which the narrator's frustrated hunt for authentic religion in botanicas and science books culminates in a spiritual connection made with a hummingbird. In "Oceanic," she resolves to marry a manatee after a drunken pre-party for her best friend's wedding. In "Tiles," four vignettes about bloody accidents in tiled bathrooms intermingle with scenes from Dalton's favorite scary movies.Featuring oddball prose in the traditions of Dalton's literary heroes--Denton Welch, Robert Walser, and Jane Bowles--these stories have a dreamy, imaginative quality that reveal a peculiar state of mental ecstasy. To be inside the mind of Trinie Dalton is to be escorted into bliss.By John Warwick Montgomery. 2020
Dr. Montgomery, a good teacher, has assembled a couple of older treasures as well as some new ones - four…
pieces of short fiction he has written that speak to larger truths. A ghost story starts the adventure. This is followed by a conversation between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they think their way through the evidence for the resurrection. Then we travel with the Magi to visit Mary and baby Jesus. Finally, we listen in on determinative conversations with eternal consequences. Through all of it, we see Dr. Montgomery's broad scholarship and his desire to enlighten his audience as well as entertain.By Elizabeth Crane. 2008
Whether breathlessly enthusiastic, serenely calm, or really concentrating right now on their personal zombie issues, Elizabeth Crane's happy cast explores…
the complexities behind personal satisfaction. Elizabeth Crane is the author of two previous story collections, When the Messenger is Hot and All This Heavenly Glory. Her work has also been featured in numerous publications, including Chicago Reader and The Believer, as well as several anthologies, including McSweeney's Future Dictionary of America and The Best Underground Fiction. A winner of the Chicago Public Library's 21st Century Award, Crane teaches creative writing at Northwestern's School of Continuing Studies, The School of the Art Institute, and The University of Chicago. She lives in Chicago.By Enid Blyton, Sam Loman. 2016
A beautiful gift edition containing 16 of the best-known New Testament stories retold with clarity and empathy by Enid Blyton,…
one of the world's best-loved storytellers. The perfect Christmas gift.'Enid Blyton's retelling of Christ's own stories and the meaning of His time on Earth is full of love - Christ's love for us, our love for each other - and Enid's caring and timeless love for children everywhere' - from the introduction by Pam Rhodes.Enid Blyton has been delighting readers for more than seventy years. Find more retold religious stories in Noah's Ark and Other Bible Stories and The Land of Far Beyond. Enid's best-loved characters include Noddy the wooden boy, Timmy the dog from The Famous Five and the mischievous twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan from the much-loved boarding school series St Clare's. The stories in this collection previously appeared in magazines and anthologies from the 40s and 60s. Illustrated in black and white, the collection contains the following stories, which are episodes in the life of Christ:The First Christmas, The Shepherds in the Night, The Three Wise Men, The Angel's Warning, The Little Boy Jesus, Twelve Years Old, The Twelve Disciples, The Nobleman's Son, The Loaves and the Fishes, The Good Samaritan, The Boy Who Left Home, The Last Supper, The Capture of Jesus, The Story of Easter, Jesus on the Cross, Jesus Rises AgainA beautiful cloth-bound gift edition containing 16 of the best-known New Testament stories retold for children, by Enid Blyton, one…
of the world's best-loved storytellers. The perfect Christmas gift.'Enid Blyton's retelling of Christ's own stories and the meaning of His time on Earth is full of love - Christ's love for us, our love for each other - and Enid's caring and timeless love for children everywhere' - from the introduction by Pam Rhodes.Enid Blyton has been delighting readers for more than seventy years. Find more retold religious stories in Noah's Ark and Other Bible Stories and The Land of Far Beyond. Enid's best-loved characters include Noddy the wooden boy, Timmy the dog from The Famous Five and the mischievous twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan from the much-loved boarding school series St Clare's. The stories in this collection previously appeared in magazines and anthologies from the 40s and 60s. Illustrated in black and white, the collection contains the following stories, which are episodes in the life of Christ:The First Christmas, The Shepherds in the Night, The Three Wise Men, The Angel's Warning, The Little Boy Jesus, Twelve Years Old, The Twelve Disciples, The Nobleman's Son, The Loaves and the Fishes, The Good Samaritan, The Boy Who Left Home, The Last Supper, The Capture of Jesus, The Story of Easter, Jesus on the Cross, Jesus Rises AgainBy Marc Ribot. 2021
The paperback edition of iconoclastic guitar player Marc Ribot’s darkly funny and subversive collection of writing, featuring brand-new essays not…
included in the hardcover. Throughout his genre-defying career as one of the most innovative musicians of our time, iconoclastic guitar player Marc Ribot has consistently defied expectation at every turn. Here, in the expanded paperback edition of Ribot’s first collection of writing, we see that same uncompromising sensibility at work as he playfully interrogates our assumptions about music, life, and death. Through essays—including some new material not included in the hardcover—short stories, and the occasional unfilmable film “mistreatment” that showcase the sheer range of his voice, Unstrung captures an artist whose versatility on the page rivals his dexterity onstage. In the first section of the book, "Lies and Distortion," Ribot turns his attention to his instrument--"my relation to the guitar is one of struggle; I'm constantly forcing it to be something else"--and reflects on his influences (and friends) like Robert Quine (the Voidoids) and producer Hal Willner (Saturday Night Live), while delivering an impassioned plea on behalf of artists' rights. Elsewhere, we glimpse fragments of Ribot's life as a traveling musician--he captures both the monotony of touring as well as small moments of beauty and despair on the road. In the heart of the collection, "Sorry, We're Experiencing Technical Difficulties," Ribot offers wickedly humorous short stories that synthesize the best elements of the Russian absurdist tradition with the imaginative heft of George Saunders. Taken together, these stories and essays cement Ribot's position as one of the most dynamic and creative voices of our time.Here are sixteen of the best stories by one of America's most popular storytellers. For nearly a century, the work…
of O. Henry has delighted readers with its humor, irony and colorful, real-life settings. The writer's own life had more than a touch of color and irony. Born William Sidney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1862, he worked on a Texas ranch, then as a bank teller in Austin, then as a reporter for the Houston "Post." Adversity struck, however, when he was indicted for embezzlement of bank funds. Porter fled to New Orleans, then to Honduras before he was tried, convicted and imprisoned for the crime in 1898. In prison he began writing stories of Central America and the American Southwest that soon became popular with magazine readers. After his release Porter moved to New York City, where he continued writing stories under the pen name O. HenryThough his work earned him an avid readership, O. Henry died in poverty and oblivion scarcely eight years after his arrival in New York. But in the treasury of stories he left behind are such classics of the genre as "The Gift of the Magi," "The Last Leaf," "The Ransom of Red Chief," "The Voice of the City" and "The Cop and the Anthem" — all included in this choice selection. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.