Other books that might interest you

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  Owning Up - New Fiction

  George Pelecanos

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  Four blistering novellas, drawn together by themes of strife, violence, and humanity, from esteemed crime fiction writer George Pelecanos; "Like his hero Elmore Leonard, Pelecanos finds the humanity in the lowest of lowlifes."(Chicago Tribune) When the son of the Carusos is involved in a hold up, the family home comes under siege in the form of a no-knock warrant. Months after the cops destroyed their home, the Carusos struggle to return to normal. Elsewhere, two former inmates reunite by chance on the set of a TV production. Both have found their way on the straight and narrow path, that is, until one sees the potential for an easy grift. A teenage boy must step into the man he'd like to be as a hostage crisis grips his hometown. A woman adrift meets a man tied to her grandmother's past, an encounter that awakens her to a bloody history that undergirds the place she grew up.  Pelecanos' portraits are characterized by shades of grey, resisting the mold of heroes and villains, victims and perpetrators, good and evil. At once streetwise and full of heart, Owning Up grapples with random chance, the bind of consequence, and the forked paths a life can take.

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  Blue & Green - From their pens...

  Virginia Woolf

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  Adeline Virginia Woolf was born on the 25th January 1882 in South Kensington in London. 
  Although lauded as a founder of modernist writing with such classics as ‘Orlando’, ‘Mrs Dalloway’ and ‘To the Lighthouse’ and, of course, many classic short stories, her background is filled with elements of tragedy that she somehow overcame to become such a revered writer.   Her mother died when she was 13, her half-sister Stella two years later and with it her first of several nervous breakdowns.  Appallingly it was later found that three of her half-brothers had sexually abused her so darkness must have seemed ever present.   
  She began writing professionally at age 20 but her father’s death two years later brought a complete mental collapse and she was briefly institutionalised.  Somehow she found within herself a literary career and with it great innovations in writing; she was a pioneer of “stream of consciousness”.    
  Her tight circle of friends were the founders of the Bloomsbury Group, a movement whose legacy still influences across the arts and society in many way to this day.   
  Whilst the dark periods continued to interrupt her emotional state her rate of work never ceased.  Until, on 28th March 1941, Woolf put on her overcoat, filled up its pockets with stones, and walked into the River Ouse, in Lewes, East Sussex and drowned herself.  Her body was not recovered until the 18th April.  She was 59. 
  She left behind a note which read in part “Dearest, I feel certain that I am going mad again.  I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times.  And I shan't recover this time.  I begin to hear voices, and I can't concentrate.  So I am doing what seems the best thing to do”.

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  The Horla

  Guy de Maupassant

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  The Horla by Guy de Maupassant, narrated by Christopher Mireider, is a chilling tale of psychological horror that delves into the fragile boundary between sanity and madness. The story follows a man who becomes haunted by an invisible, malevolent presence known as The Horla. As his paranoia intensifies, he struggles to understand whether he is the victim of a supernatural force or descending into madness. Maupassant masterfully explores themes of isolation, fear, and the limits of human perception in this haunting, unforgettable short story. 
  Narrator Christopher Mireider’s gripping performance brings the tension and terror of the story to life, immersing listeners in the protagonist's growing fear and confusion. His voice perfectly captures the unsettling atmosphere, making this classic tale of psychological suspense all the more captivating. 
  Perfect for fans of classic horror and psychological thrillers, The Horla is a timeless exploration of the darker corners of the human mind. This audiobook promises to leave listeners questioning the nature of reality and the unknown forces that may lurk just beyond our perception.

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  Where We Go When All We Were Is...

  Sequoia Nagamatsu

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  "You should be here; he's simply magnificent." These are the final words a biologist hears before his Margaret Mead-like wife dies at the hands of Godzilla. The words haunt him as he studies the kaiju (Japan's giant monsters) on an island reserve, attempting to understand the beauty his wife saw. "The Return to Monsterland" opens Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone, a collection of twelve fabulist and genre-bending stories inspired by Japanese folklore, historical events, and pop culture. In "Rokurokubi," a man who has the demonic ability to stretch his neck to incredible lengths tries to save a marriage built on secrets. The recently dead find their footing in "The Inn of the Dead's Orientation for Being a Japanese Ghost." In "Girl Zero," a couple navigates the complexities of reviving their deceased daughter via the help of a shapeshifter. And, in the title story, a woman instigates a months-long dancing frenzy in a Tokyo where people don't die but are simply reborn without their memories. Every story in the collection turns to the fantastic, the mysticism of the past, and the absurdities of the future to illuminate the spaces we occupy when we are at our most vulnerable."

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  At Danceteria and Other Stories

  Philip Dean Walker

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  Caught in their last moment of decadent obliviousness, the characters in At Danceteria are so blinded by the strobe lights they can’t see what’s waiting in the shadows. While fictional, each of the collection’s seven stories, set at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, takes as their inspiration a real event: Halston and Liza reliving the Studio 54 glory days; Freddie Mercury Roman Holiday-ing Princess Di to a drag show; the Reagan White House rolling out the red carpet for Rock Hudson; a man-on-the-street with main character energy; Jackie Kennedy at a leather bar; a serenading Sylvester; and Keith Haring’s 26th birthday party… hosted by Madonna. Deftly balancing incisive wit and nostalgic melancholy, Walker paints a neon picture of the past, turning queer legends – both lore and people – into vivid reality.

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  The Race

  Nathalie M.L. Römer

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  They came to our world a hundred years ago. Before we knew it they overran the world, destroyed our infrastructure and now we live in habitats. That's the best we can call our living accommodations. They terraformed the world… 
  What remains of humanity whispers about a plan to evacuate some of us. They claim that scientists hid away in a bunker somewhere where they retro-fitted one of their spaceships. 
  We don't know if it's true, but as we watch them lead away groups of humans from the nearest habitats, we decide to chance our escape.

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