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Showing 1 - 20 of 23 items
By Della Parker. 2016
'Brims with laughs, love, family and friendship. You will love this heartwarming read!' Trisha Ashley. Meet the Reading Group: six…
women in the seaside village of Little Sanderton come together every month to share their love of reading. No topic is off-limits: books, family, love and loss . . . and don't forget the glass of red!Kate has tried to be a good wife to her husband Anton. Ever since he got demoted at work - answering to a woman no less - Anton simply hasn't been the same. Kate wants to help, but as the months pass and Anton pulls away from her both emotionally and physically, Kate can't help but feel a bit abandoned. Then Kate means Bob: the handsome, blue-eyed carpenter that Anton has hired to refurbish their kitchen. Kate instantly feels a powerful physical connection between them . . . but dare she risk her marriage for a man she barely knows?This month the Reading Group is enjoying Lady Chatterley's Lover . . . and trying not to giggle too much at the naughty parts!By Michael Czyzniejewski. 2015
In I Will Love You For the Rest of My Life: Breakup Stories, Michael Czyzniejewski examines twenty-nine cases of human…
love at their most critical junctures, bearing witness to the absurdity of longing. An astronaut's husband cheats while his wife is in space; a scallop opens a portal to another dimension; a man exploits his peanut allergy for kinky sex; a blind date turns into a bestial kidnapping. Self-doubt, unshakable distrust, unrequited longing, and the prospect of eternal loneliness haunt these romantics. The heart wants what it wants, but it doesn't always last forever.By Della Parker. 2016
'Brims with laughs, love, family and friendship. You will love this heartwarming read!' Trisha Ashley. Meet the Reading Group: six…
women in the seaside village of Little Sanderton come together every month to share their love of reading. No topic is off-limits: books, family, love and loss . . . and don't forget the glass of red!Anne-Marie has always considered herself a bit of a matchmaker - never mind that she's only got one real success under her belt. And this year she's determined to up her game: Little Sanderton's singles could certainly benefit from her expertise! But while Anne Marie thinks she knows what's best for everyone else, her own life couldn't be less of a fairytale romance. Between looking after her cranky father and running her own business, she doesn't have time for a relationship. Her friends in the Reading Group know better though: after all, love can be found in the most unexpected of places . . .This January the Reading Group is tackling Jane Austen's Emma . . . but who's got time for fiction when romance is in the air?By Charles Margerison. 2010
What is it that makes one person fall in love with another? Explore this eternal question in Amazing Love Stories,…
which provides a unique perspective on love stories that feature amazing characters including Emperor Napoleon and Josephine, Marina Gamba and her lover Galileo, William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway. Explore what drew these people together and what pulled them apart? Love stories come in different forms, and those in this book reveal many areas of attraction from the bedroom to the boardroom and beyond through a new story format called BioViews. A BioView is a series of short biographical stories, similar to an interview. These unique stories provide new insight on love and can help you better understand your own life and relationships.By Cyn Vargas. 2015
Cyn Vargas's debut explores the whims and follies of the heart. When a mother disappears in Guatemala, her daughter refuses…
to accept she's gone; a divorced DMV employee falls in love during a driving lesson; a young girl shares a well-kept family secret; a bad haircut is the last straw in a crumbling marriage.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 Michael Coffey. 2015
"Riveting . . . vibrant and unsparing." -Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed review)"Superb. . . . Startlingly original." -Library Journal…
(starred review)"Once I started reading these stories, I couldn't stop. They absorbed me thoroughly, with their taut narratives and evocative language-the language of a poet." -JAY PARINI, author of Jesus: The Human Face of God and The Last Station"Sherwood Anderson would recognize this world of lonely, longing characters, whose surface lives Coffey tenderly plumbs. These beautiful stories-spare, rich, wise and compelling-go to the heart." -FREDERIC TUTEN, author of Self Portraits: Fictions and Tintin in the New World"Whether [Coffey is] writing about a sinning priest or a man who's made a career out of branding or about himself, we can smell Coffey's protagonists and feel their breath on our cheek. Like Chekhov, he must be a notebook writer; how else to explain the strange quirks and the perfect but unaccountable details that animate these intimate portraits?" -EDMUND WHITE, author of Inside a Pearl and A Boy's Own StoryAmong these eight stories, a fan of writer (and fellow adoptee) Harold Brodkey gains an audience with him at his life's end, two pals take a Joycean sojourn, a man whose business is naming things meets a woman who may not be what she seems, and a father discovers his son is a suspect in an assassination attempt on the president. In each tale, Michael Coffey's exquisite attention to character underlies the brutally honest perspectives of his disenchanted fathers, damaged sons, and orphans left feeling perpetually disconnected.Michael Coffey is the author of three books of poems and 27 Men Out, a book about baseball's perfect games. He also co-edited The Irish in America, a book about Irish immigration to America, which was a companion volume to a PBS documentary series. He divides his time between Manhattan and Bolton Landing, New York. The Business of Naming Things is his first work of fiction.By Layle Silbert. 2013
Set in 1920s Chicago, the short novel Yudl follows its eponymous protagonist, a middle-aged editor at a left-leaning newspaper called…
The Yiddish Courier. Yudl and his wife have decided to become landlords, purchasing a vacant lot and hiring an acquaintance--aptly named Mason--to oversee the construction of their future apartment building. However, delays in the construction leave Yudl and his family without a home, forcing them to stay with Mason and his family until the construction is finally complete. Told with wry wit and a masterful sensibility for metaphor, the story explores gender, Zionism, and the immigrant experience in the US. The selection of short stories that follow the novel in this volume were selected by the author from her deathbed during her last weeks and then hours on earth. Silbert's graceful short stories focus on the family, allowing the reader glimpses of a child's happiness, the cripplingly contradictory demands of femininity, the complexity of grief, and a sustained meditation on life and death.By Nick Caistor, Lorenza Garcia, Andrés Neuman. 2014
"Good readers will find something that can be found only in great literature, the kind written by real poets, a…
literature that dares to venture into the dark with open eyes and that keeps its eyes open no matter what . . . . The literature of the twenty-first century will belong to Neuman and a few of his blood brothers."--Roberto BolañoPlayful, philosophizing, and gloriously unpredictable, Andrés Neuman's short stories consider love, lechery, history, mortality, family secrets, therapy, Borges, mysterious underwear, translators, and storytelling itself.Here a relationship turns on a line drawn in the sand; an analyst treats a patient who believes he's the real analyst; a discovery in a secondhand shop takes on a cruel significance; a man decides to go to work naked one day. In these small scenes and brief moments Neuman confounds our expectations with dazzling sleight of hand.With a variety of forms and styles, Neuman opens up the possibilities for fiction, calling to mind other greats of Latin American letters, such as Cortázar, Bolaño, and Bioy Casares. Intellectually stimulating and told with a voice that is wry, questioning, sometimes mordantly funny, yet always generously humane, The Things We Don't Do confirms Neuman's place as one of the most dynamic authors writing today. Andrés Neuman was born in Buenos Aires, but grew up and lives in Spain. He was included in Granta's "Young Spanish-Language Novelists" issue and is the author of almost twenty works, two of which--Traveler of the Century and Talking to Ourselves--have been translated into English. Traveler of the Century won the Alfaguara Prize, the National Critics Prize, was longlisted for the 2013 Best Translated Book Award, and was shortlisted for the 2013 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.'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 Victoria Walters. 2016
Escape to the West Country and meet the characters of Talting in this gorgeous short story: the prequel to Victoria…
Walters' debut, THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE. "Brilliant and superior women's fiction" HeatIt wasn't love at first sight. It was a summer of love...When Emma leaves her Cornish hometown of Talting for a summer in Devon, the last thing she dreams of is falling in love.But sometimes the people who affect us the most come along when we least expect it.As the summer comes to the end, will it herald the start of something that could last for ever?*Contains an exclusive extract from Victoria Walters' captivating debut novel, THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERAs seen on BBC2 Between the Covers'Beautifully written and full of joy. Bolu Babalola is a star.'…
Meg Cabot'Here is love as freedom, love as deep joy. Romance will never be dead, as long as Bolu is writing it.' Jessie BurtonBolu Babalola finds the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology and rewrites them with incredible new detail and vivacity in this debut collection. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines iconic Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from countries that no longer exist in our world. A high-born Nigerian goddess feels beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover and longs to be truly seen.A young businesswoman attempts to make a great leap in her company, and an even greater one in her love life.A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether to uphold her family's politics, or to be true to her heart.Whether captured in the passion of love at first sight, or realising that self-love takes precedent over the latter, the characters in these vibrant stories try to navigate this most complex human emotion and understand why it holds them hostage.Moving exhilaratingly across perspectives, continents and genres, from the historic to the vividly current, Love in Colour is a celebration of romance in all of its forms.'Captivating.' ViceBy 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 Lisa Lenzo. 2014
The nine stories of Strange Love center on Annie Zito, a smart-but-not-always-wise divorced mother, and Marly, her strong yet vulnerable…
daughter, as they seek and stumble upon an odd cast of boys and men. All the stories are linked and alternate between mother and daughter; and while each tale stands alone, together they make up a larger whole. The first story begins when Annie is thirty-one years old and Marly is eight and they live in a tiny apartment overlooking a marsh near Lake Michigan, and the last story ends a decade and a half later with both women on the cusp of new adventures. Throughout these years, mother and daughter struggle with male characters: the hot-headed teenager next door, a therapist with a faulty heart, a homeless man who occupies the daughter's porch, a divorced professor trying his wings, a flatterer who becomes abusive, a brilliant and neurotic doctor, a schizophrenic photographer, an engineer in love with comedy. Yet the women also clash with each other as Annie tries to protect her child and find a lasting relationship with a man, and Marly learns how to navigate and survive the romantic and sexual arena and find her place in the larger world. Annie's deceased firstborn baby daughter is a darker thread woven through these stories, a subtle influence who is never seen but not forgotten. And in the background as well as the foreground is Annie's beloved Lake Michigan, into whose deep waters she swims to remind herself that the world is beautiful and large and on whose frozen ice she kneels, as these pages end, in a moment that is both surprising and sublime. By turns comical and poignant, lyrical and incisive, Strange Love displays Lenzo's storytelling gifts at their finest. These stories will appeal to all readers of fiction.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 Sheila O'Flanagan. 2010
The Sugar Loaf Lodge welcomes you in to warm yourself by the fire as the snow falls softly down. You'll…
find yourself immediately at home, bathed in the magic of this romantic hotel as it reveals the secrets and dreams of its guests. Sheila O'Flanagan's Christmas With You - originally published as A Season to Remember - is ideal festive reading for fans of Veronica Henry, Carole Matthews and Marian Keyes. These enchanting linked stories from the No. 1 bestselling author bring to life one unforgettable Christmas full of surprise twists, life-changing moments... and love.Christmas With You was previously published as A Season to Remember. Now with two poignant new stories added.Tucked away in the Irish countryside, the Sugar Loaf Lodge is opening its door for the festive season. With snow falling on the mountains outside and warm fires roaring inside, it's the perfect place for guests to celebrate the happiest time of the year. But what if you've just had your heart broken? Or discovered that the man you're married to has lied to you? What if a secret from your past has finally come back to haunt you?For some of the guests arriving at the Sugar Loaf Lodge, Christmas is looking far from tranquil. But can they find the magic and romance of the season within the walls of this beautiful hotel?Reviewers love Sheila's books: 'An exciting love story with a deliciously romantic denouement' Sunday ExpressWhat readers are saying about Christmas With You: 'A wonderful short story collection; it captures the magic of Christmas, love and family perfectly, and is a really superb read. Definitely recommend!' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'What a sweet lovely read... Absolutely loved this book and can't wait to read more by Sheila O'Flanagan' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'Absolutely brilliant!' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'The different stories will make you laugh and cry as all their lives come together in the Sugar Loaf Lodge and remind us about the true meaning of Christmas' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars'I really enjoyed every single page of this book, and would highly recommend it, especially as a festive story!' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars'From the very start to the very end Sheila O'Flanagan keeps you entwined with all the characters. A simply perfect book' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'Ms O'Flanagan weaves her magic again' Amazon reviewer, 5 starsBy 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 AgainBy Victoria Walters. 2016
Escape to the West Country and meet the characters of Talting in this gorgeous short story: the prequel to Victoria…
Walters' debut, THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE. "Brilliant and superior women's fiction" HeatIt wasn't love at first sight. It was a summer of love...When Emma leaves her Cornish hometown of Talting for a summer in Devon, the last thing she dreams of is falling in love.But sometimes the people who affect us the most come along when we least expect it.As the summer comes to the end, will it herald the start of something that could last for ever?*Contains an exclusive extract from Victoria Walters' captivating debut novel, THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE*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 Again