Other books that might interest you

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  This is (not about) David Bowie...

  Freya Morris

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  First published in 2018 by Retreat West Books. 
  Narrated by the author and John Teal. 
  A surreal and quirky debut short-story collection inspired by David Bowie, which shows what it really is to be human in a world that’s always expecting you to be something else. 
  Every day we dress up in other people’s expectations. We button on opinions of who we should be, we instagram impossible ideals, tweet to follow, and comment to judge. But what if we could just let it all go? What if we took off our capes and halos, threw away our uniforms, let go of the future. What if we became who we were always supposed to be? This is (not about) David Bowie. It’s about you. 
  From lost souls, to missing sisters, and dying lovers to superheroes, it shows what it really is to be human in a world that’s always expecting you to be something else. 
  This collection has been inspired by the music and art of David Bowie.

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  The Schoolmistress - and Other...

  Anton Chekhov

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  Experience life and hardships in turn-of-the-century Russia with this collection of provocative stories by one of the greatest writers of all time. Anton Chekhov captures life in late-nineteenth-century Russia with these evocative tales. For example, in “The Schoolmistress,” a hard-working, underpaid schoolteacher contemplates dating a man she knows is terrible for her. In “A Nervous Breakdown,” an idealistic young law student cannot handle what he witnesses after a night in Moscow’s red light district.  The author of such plays as The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov was also a prolific writer of short stories. His style, as present in this collection, will remind readers of other great nineteenth-century authors such as Guy de Maupassant.

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  The Short Stories of Franz Kafka...

  Franz Kafka

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  Franz Kafka was born on 3rd July 1883 in Prague, then in Bohemia, the eldest of 6, into a middle-class Jewish family. 
   
  Life for the young Kafka and his passion for literature was often made an ordeal by his over-bearing and domineering entrepreneur of a father.   
   
  In 1889 Kafka was sent to the Deutsche Knabenschule, an elementary school in Prague. His father would only allow him to be educated in German-speaking schools and even went so far as to limit visits to the synagogue to four a year. 
   
  In 1901 he graduated from the classics-oriented Altstädter Gymnasium. Kafka did well there and across a large range of subjects.  He now enrolled at the Charles Ferdinand University, to study chemistry, but quickly switched to law for which he obtained his degree in June 1906 and then performed the mandatory year of unpaid service as clerk at the civil and criminal courts. 
   
  A job at an Italian insurance company left him little time to write and after a year he took another job with the Worker's Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia where he stayed until ill health led to his resignation in 1922. 
   
  Although he saw work as a means to pay the bills and to allow him time to write, he received several promotions and was noted as a good employee. 
   
  By 1917 Kafka was suffering from tuberculosis, which required frequent periods of convalescence. Interspersed with this, were several intense affairs before he settled in Berlin with Dora Diamant, a 25-year-old kindergarten teacher who herself having left the ghetto now influenced Kafka's interest in the book of Jewish law, the Talmud. 
   
  Kafka’s on-going health was littered with problems. Apart from TB there were several other ailments, including migraines, insomnia, boils, depression, all usually brought on by excessive stresses and strains. He attempted to counteract all of this by naturopathic treatments, a vegetarian diet and consuming large quantities of unpasteurized milk. 
   
  His tuberculosis still worsened. He returned to Prague, where he died on 3rd June 1924. He was 40. 
   
  His literary works are few in number but towering in influence.  His masterpieces include ‘The Trial’, ‘The Metamorphosis’ as well as a number of short stories which reveal facets of humankind that truthfully could only be born from Kafka’s brain and pen. 
  01 - Franz Kafka - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 
  02 - In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka 
  03 - Before the Law by Franz Kafka 
  04 - A Country Doctor by Franz Kafka 
  05 - A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka

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  Irish Problem An - From their...

  Somerville & Ross - the writing...

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  The bookshelves of British literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors.  From these Isles their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure.  Among them are Somerville & Ross - the writing pseudonym for Edith Somerville & Violet Florence Martin Sidney Benson Thorp.

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  Atomic Power

  John W. Campbell

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  Atomic Power by John W. Campbell is a visionary exploration of nuclear energy's potential and perils. Written by one of the pioneers of science fiction, this work delves into the transformative power of atomic science, examining its implications for humanity's future. Campbell presents a compelling narrative that blends scientific speculation with philosophical inquiry, raising thought-provoking questions about progress, responsibility, and the ethics of harnessing such immense energy. Perfect for fans of classic sci-fi and scientific futurism, this audiobook offers a gripping insight into the early imagination of nuclear technology and its profound impact on society.

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  The Door in the Wall

  H. G. Wells

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  Title: The Door in the Wall 
  Author: H. G. Wells 
  Narrator: Jonathan Dunne 
  Original Publication: 1906 
  Public Domain: Yes 
  Series Placement: Number 42 in the Timeless Terrors series 
  Description: 
  The Door in the Wall by H. G. Wells is a haunting meditation on memory, regret, and the fragile boundary between reality and imagination. Blending psychological mystery with quiet supernatural suggestion, Wells crafts one of his most poignant and enduring tales. 
  Lionel Wallace, a successful statesman, is haunted by a recurring vision from his childhood — a green door in a white wall that opens onto a garden of impossible beauty. Throughout his life, the door reappears at unexpected moments, tempting him to abandon the world he knows for one that may not exist at all. As Wallace’s obsession deepens, the story becomes a reflection on the price of ambition, the ache of lost wonder, and the peril of yearning for what lies beyond the known. 
  Narrated by Amazon bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne, this performance captures Wells’s tone of wistful dread and quiet revelation — the sense that paradise may be only a step away, but that to open the door is to lose oneself forever. While the text is in the public domain, this narration is an original performance and copyright © 2025 Jonathan Dunne. 
  Part of Timeless Terrors, a series devoted to resurrecting the masters of the macabre and uncanny, The Door in the Wallendures as a tale of elusive beauty and the inexorable pull of the mysterious — a reminder that some doors, once found, can never truly be closed.

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