Other books that might interest you

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  A Scene from the Ghetto of...

  Rainer Maria Rilke

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  René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke was born into a troubled marriage on the 4th December 1875 in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  His mother, having previously lost a baby girl, would dress the young boy up in girl’s clothing.   
  Later his father dispatched him to a military academy at age 10 but after a miserable 5 years the young Rilke left due to illness and instead entered first Prague and then Munich and finally Berlin university to study art history, philosophy and literature. 
  His initial forays into literature was in poetry.  His intense, mystical and lyrical style was much admired and over time inspired many in succeeding generations.    
  His short prose collection ‘Stories of God’, written in an impassioned burst over several nights was published in 1900 and offers a beguiling view of much of Rilke’s influences and outlook.  
  The following year he married the pioneering sculptor and artist Clara Westhoff.  The union produced one child, a daughter Ruth.   
  He lived in Paris for most of the Century’s first decade where he mixed with many great minds of the time.  Although he continued to write he also worked as a secretary to the sculptor, Rodin.   
  It was only after they settled in Switzerland in 1919 that his writing output was in full flow.  Here he wrote profusely in both German and French, which included much on his previous travels, his left-wing sympathies, his religious and existential thoughts, all part of a unique and consummate style. 
  From 1923 on, Rilke increasingly struggled with his health which was now in constant decline and often spent time rehabilitating at a sanatorium.   
  Rainer Maria Rilke died of leukaemia on the 29th December 1926 in Montreux, Switzerland.  He was 51.

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  A Legend of Old Egypt - From...

  Boleslaw Prus

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  Aleksander Głowacki who wrote under the nom de plume Boleslaw Prus was born on 20th August 1847 at Hrubieszów in the Kingdom of Poland, at that time, controlled by the Russian Empire. 
  At three his mother died and then at nine his father.  Female relatives helped raise him but at 15 he joined the Polish uprising against the might of Imperial Russia.  Wounded on the battlefield, arrested and imprisoned, he was later released into the care of a relative and resumed secondary school and then Warsaw University but poverty forced him to leave after two years.  At some point he developed agoraphobia which often caused problems. 
  In 1869, he enrolled in the Forestry Department at Puławy but was soon sacked and so he began a system of self-education that led to work as a newspaper columnist on a wide-ranging series of topics that eventually became the ‘Weekly Chronicles’ and spanned 40 years. 
  With his finances now stabilized he married and then adopted his late brother-in-law’s son.  
  It seems he had doubts as to the scale of his talents and early on adopted the name ‘Boleslaw Prus’ for both his journalistic and literary offerings. 
  His work as a short-story writer met with much acclaim. He wrote several dozen of them, originally published in newspapers and ranging in length from micro-story to novella. His keen observation of everyday life and sense of humor are evident in them.  
  During his career he also wrote novels. After ‘Pharoah’, in 1895, he embarked on a four-month journey taking in Berlin, Dresden, Nuremberg, Rapperswil in Switzerland, where he stayed for two months, and his final destination, Paris.  Here his agoraphobia was so bad he couldn’t cross the Seine.  
  However, his writing continued and in 1911 his novel ‘Changes’, though uncompleted, began to be serialised.  It was never finished. 
  Boleslaw Prus died on 19th May 1912, at his Warsaw apartment.  He was 64.  A National Hero, thousands attended both his funeral service and interment.

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  The Man Who Loved Kuras and...

  Brian Howell

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  Howell's much-celebrated stories interweave elements of the commonplace with darkness, subterfuge and sheer weirdness, all realised with natural narrative flair. In this striking new collection, we see Howell explore a wide range of cultures, including Hawaii, Portugal and Japan, alongside these are period tales, and sinister and sexual encounters, all related with a cool eye for our desires and obsessions.

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  Ex Oblivione

  H.P. Lovecraft

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  Title: Ex Oblivione 
  Author: H. P. Lovecraft 
  Narrator: Jonathan Dunne 
  Original Publication: 1921 
  Public Domain: Yes 
  Series Placement: Timeless Terrors No. 65 
  Description: 
  Ex Oblivione is one of H. P. Lovecraft’s most haunting and philosophical works — a dreamlike meditation on death, oblivion, and the seductive promise of release from suffering. The story follows a dreamer who drifts through strange visions and half-remembered realms, where the boundary between life and death dissolves and oblivion itself beckons with quiet allure. Through surreal imagery and reflective prose, Lovecraft explores themes of mortality, memory, and humanity’s fragile grasp on existence. 
  The horror in Ex Oblivione does not arise from monstrous revelation or violent action, but from the gentle, unsettling suggestion that nonexistence may be preferable to life. The atmosphere is hushed and melancholic, suffused with cosmic unease and a sense of inevitable fading. Shadows of forgotten worlds and unreachable realms linger at the edge of perception, reminding the listener that reality itself may be only a temporary illusion. 
  Narrated by Amazon-bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne, this performance captures the somber beauty, dreamlike dread, and existential weight of Lovecraft’s prose. While the text itself is fully in the public domain, this narration and production are copyright © 2025 Jonathan Dunne. 
  Part of Timeless Terrors, a series devoted to reviving the classics of horror, Ex Oblivione stands as a chilling reminder that the most profound terrors are not those that threaten the body — but those that quietly invite the soul to vanish into the void.

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  Sitting Pretty

  Kameron Claire

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  What happens when the hot bodybuilder wants to bend the curvy girl like a flexi-straw? 
  He's a personal trainer with a chiseled body who hustles in and out of the gym to take care of his mother and sister. 
  She's a confident curvy girl who runs a plus size online clothing boutique and YouTube fashion channel, using a three-day pass at the fitness resort. 
  She's everything he wants in a woman: smart, confident, and driven with luscious curves to hold on to. 
  Their attraction is instant and undeniable, but will she want him once she learns about his hustling? 
  It might be his past, but he sees no future without her.  
  Can he convince her to be his one and only, giving them their happily ever after?

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  Catalina Ghost Stories

  Jim Musgrave

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  What would Natalie Wood do if she were a ghost returning to the scene of her death? Can a person be guilty of murder if he kills while walking in his sleep? Is the ghost of Cubs' legendary hero, Hack Wilson, haunting the club house on Catalina? You'll find out in this collection of haunting tales from the author and publisher of Horror on the Installment Plan. 
  Natalie Wood's death has just been re-opened by the Los Angeles Police Department. What does Natalie's ghost have to say? You'll find out by reading Natasha and the Captain, a story that uses information gathered at the scene by eye-witnesses. 
  Pearl Zane Grey tells the story of how the famous writer of Westerns became trapped in the afterlife on Catalina, pursued by his nemesis and cowboy actor, Tom Mix. How these two have to compete will give you a new vision of the afterlife. 
  Lewis Hack Wilson was a victim of the new "dead ball" in 1931. Did this cause him to haunt the club house on Catalina where the Cubbies held Spring Training for many years? Find out in The Dead Ball. 
  In The Somnambulist, the real-life murder of 41-year-old Marie Weinfurtner is given a strange twist. What if her 25-year-old boyfriend were really innocent? This story shows what could happen if someone were able to kill in one's sleep. 
  Finally, the story Kafka and the Chewing Gum Man is a surrealist exploration into bad karma and how ghosts can redeem themselves in the absurdity of our world.

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