Other books that might interest you

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  The Overtone

  D H Lawrence

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  'The Overtone' looks at a sterile marriage with no children and no spontaneous sexual feeling between the couple. Lawrence seems to lose interest in the story, although he introduces a younger woman, who walks away baffled at the end. His purpose seems to be to analyse the relationship between men and women in religious terms - Christianity for the women and the old Pan religion for the men. Lawrence produces some fine writing but the argument at the end of the story seems contrived.

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  Out of Time - How can the dead...

  Rachel Lawson

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  "It's dark tonight I hope we aren't seen," a man said to his partner in crime. 
  "It's like the old days we climb in a window and pray not to get caught," said the thief who was known as the Chameleon to his partner the Cat as they stealthily walked through the garden of their mark. 
  "The room is the third window on the second story," said the Cat examining the building. The Chameleon tested the strength of a lattice leading to it going up the wall. 
  This should work I'm surprised people are so careless with security," the Chameleon said laughing. They climbed up the lattice trying not to be pricked by the thorns of the rose that climbed up it as well. 
  "The alarm is off or it should be, but I'll disable it," said the Chameleon. 
  He cut the alarm wire and jimmied the window till it opened. 
  They climbed in the room and looked about it. 
  "The safe is behind that painting," said the Chameleon pointing at the only picture in the room. 
  "Ok who will do the work you or me?" asked the Cat who was as skilled a cracksman as the Chameleon. 
  "It's my turn you did the last job," said the Chameleon who walked over to the picture removing it handing it to the Cat to put down. 
  The Chameleon put his ear to the safe and cracked the lock and opened the door removing the contents out of the safe putting it in a backpack on the Cat's back. 
  "Got it! Let's go." said the Chameleon.These Thieves Are Dead!How can the dead commit robbery?

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  Beyond the Door

  Philip K. Dick

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  "Beyond the Door" is a short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in the January 1954 issue of *Fantastic Universe*. The narrative centers on Larry Thomas, who purchases a German-made cuckoo clock for his wife, Doris, reminiscent of one her mother owned. Doris becomes enamored with the clock, believing the cuckoo favors her while disliking Larry. Unbeknownst to Larry, Doris is involved with Bob Chambers, an antique enthusiast. One day, Larry unexpectedly discovers Doris and Bob together at their home, leading him to expel them both but retain the clock, asserting his ownership. In the ensuing solitude, Larry becomes fixated on the clock, particularly irritated by the cuckoo's inconsistent appearances. His frustration culminates in a confrontation where, upon threatening the clock with a hammer, the cuckoo emerges, striking him in the eye. This causes Larry to fall and break his neck, resulting in his death. While a doctor rules the death accidental, Bob suspects there might be more to the story. 
  This tale delves into themes of jealousy, infidelity, and the uncanny, illustrating how an ordinary object can become central to human emotions and relationships. Dick's narrative invites readers to ponder the boundaries between the animate and inanimate, as well as the unforeseen consequences of personal actions.

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  Some Men

  Anonymous

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  Ten short stories about men narrated by the author. Seven of them comical. Eight of them about terrible things. One of them happy, for variety's sake. One of them not in fact a story, just a sequence of silly noises.

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  A Ghost Story - From their pens...

  Mark Twain

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  Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri on the 30th November 1835 and is far better known by his pen name of Mark Twain.  An American writer and humorist of the first order he is perhaps best known for his novels ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ and its sequel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ which are often described with that mythic line The Great American Novel. 
  Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri which would later provide the backdrop to these great novels.  Apprenticed to a printer he also became a typesetter and then a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi.  Later, heading west with his brother Orion to make his fortune, he failed at gold mining and instead turned to journalism and thence his true calling as a writer of humorous stories where his wit and humor sparkled from every paragraph, his craft evident with every page and punctured target. 
  A staunch supporter of copyright protections this helped him keep much of the wealth his writing created, though much money was also lost on investments that he pursued in his love for science and technology as well as investing in his own inventions. 
  Twain was born during a visit by Halley’s comet, and he predicted that he would go out with it as well.  He died the day after its subsequent return on 21st April 1910, at his house, Stormfield, located in Redding, Connecticut.

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  A Saga of the Seas - From their...

  Kenneth Grahame

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  Kenneth Grahame was born on 8th March 1859 in Edinburgh. 
  At age 5 his mother succumbed to puerperal fever.  His father, who had a drinking problem, now sent his 4 children to live with their grandmother at her large house in Cookham, Berkshire. Here the children lived in large open grounds next to the river.  These early experiences would in later years, be retold in his writing through a myriad of characters. 
  Grahame loved being a pupil at St Edward's School, Oxford and wanted to enroll at the university there but his guardian demurred on account of the cost. 
  Instead, a banking career was chosen for him, starting in 1879 at the Bank of England, where he rose steadily to the rank of its Secretary until retiring, with a pension, in 1908 due to ill health. 
  Alongside his commercial career Grahame had written and published various stories and essays in several periodicals. Some were anthologized as ‘Pagan Papers’ in 1893, and two years later ‘The Golden Age’ and later still ‘Dream Days’ and its masterpiece ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ became part of many home libraries.  His ability to view life through the lens of a young and curious child was superb, enabling the reader to easily identify with the character.   
  Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899 and they had one child; Alastair, born semi-blind and plagued by health problems.  In a heart-rending tragedy he would later take his own life whilst attending Oxford University in 1920.   
  In 1908 Grahame reworked many of the bedtime stories he had fashioned for his son into the enduring favourite; ‘The Wind in the Willows’, describing the heart-warming adventures of Mr Toad and his friends.   
  Kenneth Grahame died in Pangbourne, Berkshire, on 6th July 1932.

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