Other books that might interest you

• 

  My Favorite Murder - A true...

  Ambrose Bierce

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24th June 1842 at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were poor but they introduced him to literature at an early age, instilling in him a deep appreciation of books, the written word and the elegance of language.  
   
  Growing up in Koscuisko County, Indiana poverty and religion were defining features of his childhood, and he would later describe his parents as “unwashed savages” and fanatically religious, showing him little affection but always quick to punish. He came to resent religion, and his introduction to literature appears to be their only positive effect. 
   
  At age 15 Bierce left home to become a printer’s devil, mixing ink and fetching type at The Northern Indian, a small Ohio paper. Falsely accused of theft he returned to his farm and spent time sending out work in the hopes of being published. 
   
  His Uncle Lucius advised he be sent to the Kentucky Military Institute. A year later he was commissioned as an Officer.  As the Civil War started Bierce enlisted in the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment.  
   
  In April 1862 Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh, an experience which, though terrifying, became the source of several short stories. Two years later he sustained a serious head wound and was off duty for several months. He was discharged in early 1865.  
   
  A later expedition to inspect military outposts across the Great Plains took him all the way to San Francisco. He remained there to become involved with publishing and editing and to marry, Mary Ellen on Christmas Day 1871.  They had a child, Day, the following year.  
   
  In 1872 the family moved to England for 3 years where he wrote for Fun magazine. His son, Leigh, was born, and first book, ‘The Fiend’s Delight’, was published. 
  They returned to San Francisco and to work for a number of papers where he gained admiration for his crime reporting. In 1887 he began a column at the William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner.  
   
  Bierce’s marriage fell apart when he discovered compromising letters to his wife from a secret admirer. The following year, 1889 his son Day committed suicide, depressed by romantic rejection. 
   
  In 1891 Bierce wrote and published the collection of 26 short stories which included ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’.  Success and further works including poetry followed.  
   
  Bierce with Hearst’s resources helped uncover a financial plot by a railroad to turn 130 million dollars of loans into a handout. Confronted by the railroad and asked to name his price Bierce answered “my price is $130 million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend, the Treasurer of the United States”.  
   
  He now began his first foray as a fabulist, publishing ‘Fantastic Fables’ in 1899.  But tragedy again struck two years later when his second son Leigh died of pneumonia relating to his alcoholism. 
   
  He continued to write short stories and poetry and also published ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’.  
   
  At the age of 71, in 1913 Bierce departed from Washington, D.C., for a tour of the battlefields where he had fought during the civil war. At the city of Chihuahua he wrote his last known communication, a letter to a friend. It’s closing words were “as to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination,” Ambrose Bierce then vanished without trace.

  Show book

• 

  Yesterdays

  Harold Sonny Ladoo

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A rediscovered classic, Yesterdays turns colonialism on its head. 
  After years of suffering at the hands of white missionaries trying to convert Trinidadians to Christianity, Poonwa has decided, as payback, to go to Canada and start a Hindu mission. His father, Choonilal, doesn't want to borrow the money Poonwa needs from the corrupt local priest. The whole village gets dragged into the fight, a distraction from the usual arguments over latrines and sexual dalliances.  
  
    
    First published in 1974, Yesterdays is a ribald, outrageous portrait of Trinidadian village life, and a prescient proto-parody of what would become the archetypal immigrant story. Sacred cows both literal and figurative are skewered in a series of increasingly absurd encounters between villagers who can't keep their noses – and other body parts – out of their neighbours' business.
     
  
    A foreword by Kevin Jared Hosein contextualizes this important book, which was politically and aesthetically ahead of its time but lost after the untimely death of Harold Sonny Ladoo. 
   
  "Yesterdays upends conventional narratives that find sexual liberation in the postindustrial city. Ladoo's agrarian villagers inhabit the fullness of their complex humanities in audaciously funny and often uncomfortable ways, and are radically at ease with their fluid sexual appetites. An under-appreciated gem, his novel is as much a testament to Ladoo's skillful observation and rendering of the world that surrounded him as it is to the value of being tellers of our own stories." – Andil Gosine, author of Nature's Wild: Love, Sex and Law in the Caribbean 
  "Yesterdays is the novel, underappreciated on its initial release and since forgotten, that should have charted a deviant, audacious path through the staid self-seriousness of Canadian literature. Let's hope there's still time." – Pasha Malla, author of All You Can Kill

  Show book

• 

  The Fallback

  Eleanor Goymer

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A back-up plan between friends 
  But what do you do when you’ve fallen for your fallback?!A brilliant new friends to lovers, opposites attract, romcom for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and One Day! 
  There is no rulebook for secretly falling in love with your best friend. So when Mitch offers Rosie a bargain that secretly gets her what she’s been pining for… Rosie would be a fool to say no, right? 
  They either find their soulmates by Christmas, or be each other’s fallback. Either way Rosie wins: she finds someone that will finally get her over Mitch, or she can be with him. 
  What she didn’t bargain for was Mitch falling for someone else…Fallen for Emma and Dex? Then you need to meet Mitch and Rosie because they are captivating readers everywhere: 
  ‘Add this to the list of my favorites! LOVED this. It made me laugh so much’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  ‘I adored this!! Loved it so much I stayed up late reading it… Can't wait to read more by this author. I especially recommend this to readers that love friends to lovers trope. It was perfect! 5 stars!’ 
  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  ‘A charming and funny romance novel…a perfect read for lovers of romance, comedy and stories of unrequited love. I've fallen in love with it, I hope to read more from this author’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  ‘Such a cute friends to lovers book! I was rooting for them the whole time’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  ‘One of the cutest friends to lovers stories’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  ‘Eleanor Goymer did not disappoint with this book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, in some places I wanted to cry and scream at the main characters, but it made it all the more better, I love a little angst…just the kind of emotional rollercoaster I needed!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  ‘An adorable novel and a great beach read!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  ‘Very addictive…The MMC had real golden retriever energy’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  ‘A really cute, swoonworthy debut … Mitch and Rosie's strong friendship really helped the chemistry between them seem even more real, I loved the push and pull between them and was left feeling really satisfied at the end of the book’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
  In this humorous fiction, Rosie's journey from being Mitch's best friend to a potential girlfriend is a romantic story that will keep you hooked. The author, Eleanor Goymer, beautifully portrays the complexities of unrequited love and the thin line between friendship and romance. 
  For fans of Camilla Isley (The Roommate Experiment), Lauren Blakely (The Proposal Play), Angela Britnell (The Back of Beyond Book Club), Tarah Dewitt (Savor It), and Laura Carter (Catch a Falling Star). 
  HarperCollins 2024

  Show book

• 

  Fortunate Son

  Caimh McDonnell

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Bunny McGarry is back – and he’d really like a nice holiday. Somewhere with hot weather and cold drinks that come with little umbrellas for reasons he never understood. A certain nun has other ideas though and instead, he finds himself dispatched to London to find Sean Malone, a runaway teenager who doesn’t know his mother hasn’t got long left to live. The only leads Bunny has are a last-known address for the deadbeat dad Sean had gone in search of, and some letters the teenager had sent to his mum, one of which included a picture of him with the current heavyweight champion of the world. It quickly emerges that Sean is caught up in some very, nasty business and Bunny, out on his own and in a city he doesn’t know, or particularly like, is his only chance at survival. 
  Join Bunny on his latest adventure in the increasingly inaccurately titled, yet nevertheless, million-selling Dublin Trilogy.

  Show book

• 

  Dead 'N Famous

  Sean Ash

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A darkly comedic exploration of identity, invisibility, and the relentless quest for belonging, Dead 'N Famous takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the complex, vibrant community of Brockley. 
  Ben Harper is determined to make it in comedy and music, but the world refuses to acknowledge his existence, leaving him to confront his past and the ever-present feeling of being overlooked. As he navigates the challenges of pursuing his dreams, Ben's journey becomes one of self-discovery in a world that often prefers to ignore the quiet and the broken. 
  This novel is a poignant meditation on the human experience, using biting humour to address the struggles of fame, failure, and the search for genuine connection in a world full of facades. As Ben grapples with depression, rejection, and the deep yearning for acceptance, Dead 'N Famous reveals the fine line between despair and hope, urging readers to find humour even in the darkest moments. 
  At its core, Dead 'N Famous delves into the complexities of authenticity, mental health, and the unyielding need for community. Through Ben's eyes, readers will explore what it means to be an outsider, the pain of being overlooked, and the resilience required to keep going. 
  With its compelling character development and the poignant exploration of failure, success, and self-worth, Dead 'N Famous is a timely and relatable read for anyone who has ever felt invisible or misunderstood. 
  If you enjoy dark humour, complex characters, and stories that provoke both laughter and reflection, Sean Ash’s Dead 'N Famous is a must-read. Join Ben Harper on his bittersweet journey of self-discovery and the pursuit of connection in a world that too often overlooks the eccentric yet talented ones.

  Show book

• 

  Gulliver’s Travels (Legend...

  Jonathan Swift

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “Every man desires to live long, but no man wishes to be old.” 
  As a survivor of a shipwreck, Lemuel Gulliver encounters some entirely absurd things – at first, he is in the land of Lilliputians, the tiny men; but later he ventures to the land of the giants. The tale continues to oscillate between the extremes as he meets immensely wise and scientifically aware people before being faced with excessive self-preoccupation and ignorance. Whatever that societal order, Gulliver consistently is a witness to the abuse of power. The satire often overemphasises the contraries in order to accentuate our individual and societal flaws and proneness to being corrupt and biased. In such a distinct way it rebukes human narrow-mindedness and accentuates our subjectivity. 
  The novel’s multivalence has made it a celebrated children’s bedtime read – in particular, the first book – as well as a treasury of satirical metaphors and allusions that expose human and societal flaws in general and those of the English nobility in particular. The novel is an answer to Robinson Crusoe – it mocks Defoe’s protagonist’s too-good-to-be-true human aptness and reason. While some might find Swift’s modus operandi misanthropic, others will see him as a pragmatist who exemplifies how the excesses and polarities are detrimental and yet inescapable. Silly and bizarre, thought-provoking and alarming, this work is meant to be read and re-read as equally a jolly story and a philosophical or political collage of insights. 
  The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice's Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver’s TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

  Show book