Other books that might interest you

• 

  Shetani's Sister

  Iceberg Slim, Justin Gifford

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  From the multi-million copy master of vernacular black literature and pioneeer of hip hop culture, a masterpiece of crime fiction set in Los Angeles' meanest, toughest streets. Here is the newly discovered novel by Iceberg Slim, the creator and undisputed master of African-American "street literature," a man who profoundly influenced hip hop and rap culture and probably has sold more books than any other black American author of the twentieth century (not that he saw the royalties from those sales). In many ways Iceberg Slim's most mature fictional work, Shetani's Sister relates, in taut, evocative vernacular torn straight from the street corner, the deadly duel between two complex anitheroes: Sergeant Russell Rucker, an LAPD vice detective attempting to clean up street prostitution and police corruption, and Shetani (Swahili for Satan), a veteran master pimp who controls his stable of whores with violence and daily doses of heroin.

  Show book

• 

  This Simian World

  Clarence Day

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Clarence Day, Jr., best known for his work Life with Father, presents a satirical speculation on how the world might be different if we apes had not risen to prominence, but rather one of the other species had become dominant in our place. (summary by Epistomolus)

  Show book

• 

  The Odyssey

  Lara Williams

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Ingrid works on a gargantuan luxury cruise liner where she spends her days reorganizing the gift-shop shelves and waiting for long-term guests to drop dead in the aisles. On her days off, she disembarks from the ship, wasting the hours aimlessly following tourists around, drinking the local alcohol, and buying clothes she never intends to wear again. It’s not a bad life. At least, it distracts her from thinking about the other life—the other person—she left behind five years ago.
  
  But then one day Ingrid’s selected by the ship’s enigmatic captain and (ill-informed) wabi-sabi devotee, Keith, for his mentorship program. Encouraging her to reflect on past mistakes and her desperation to remain lost at sea, he pushes her further than she ever thought possible. But as her friendships and professional life onboard steadily fall apart, she must ask herself an important question: how do you know when you’ve gone too far? 
  
  Utterly original, mischievous, and thought-provoking, The Odyssey is a merciless takedown of consumer capitalism and our anxious, ill-fated quests to find something to believe in. It’s a voyage that will lead our heroine all the way home—although she will do almost anything to avoid getting there.

  Show book

• 

  Lyre of Orpheus

  Robertson Davies

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “The final Cornish Trilogy novel from an author who “tells terrific stories that twist around and double back on themselves in surprising ways” (The New York Times).   There is an important decision to be made. The Cornish Foundation is thriving under the directorship of Arthur Cornish when Arthur and his beguiling wife, Maria Theotoky, decide to undertake a project worthy of Francis Cornish—connoisseur, collector, and notable eccentric—whose vast fortune endows the Foundation. The grumpy, grimy, extraordinarily talented music student Hulda Schnakenburg is commissioned to complete E.T.A. Hoffmann’s unfinished opera Arthur of Britain, or The Magnanimous Cuckold; and the scholarly priest Simon Darcourt finds himself charged with writing the libretto. Complications both practical and emotional arise: the passion in Maria’s blood rises with a vengeance; Darcourt stoops to petty crime; and various others indulge in perjury, blackmail, and other unsavory pursuits. Hoffmann’s dictum, “the lyre of Orpheus opens the door of the underworld,” seems to be all too true—especially when the long-hidden secrets of Francis Cornish himself are finally revealed.   “Davies once again delivers the goods—with this solidly entertaining finale . . . Blending a characteristic knack for wit, esoterica, and snobbery, Davies charges ahead with a buoyant tale of upper-class grantsmanship and modern-day cuckoldry . . . A spry jaunt from an old master—once again in full command of the form.”—Kirkus Reviews   “Packed with interesting details of opera history and production . . . intelligent observations and playful allusions.”—Publishers Weekly   “With his wonderfully complex yet controlled plot, deft portrayal of eccentric characters, and great wit, Davies effectively satirizes the world of universities and foundations.”—Library Journal

  Show book

• 

  Even More Pretty Good Jokes

  Garrison Keillor

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Even more of a good thing: the latest collection of knee-slappers, toe-tappers, and groaners from A Prairie Home Companion Joke Shows. Did you hear the one about the paranoid dyslexic? He always thought he was following someone. . . . Why did ancient Romans close down the Coliseum? The lions were eating up the prophets. . . . Jokes are made for sharing, and everyone loves to laugh. This nonstop collection gathers the best jokes from four Joke Shows including the two most recent (3/8/2008 and 11/1/08), all recorded before live audiences at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Performers include show regulars—Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith—along with special guests. There’s music from the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, a Guy Noir sketch, a Catchup sketch, and an unforgettable performance of “The Sound of Chickens,” a song that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Simon & Garfunkel classic “The Sound of Silence.” Except it really is about chickens, and while “The Sound of Silence” is dead serious, this version is just plain silly. (“And in the naked light I saw/Ten thousand chickens maybe more.”)
   So it’s everything fans want and expect: good jokes, good music, and a pretty darned good time.

  Show book

• 

  The Silly Syclopedia

  Noah Lott

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A Terrible Thing in the Form of a Literary Torpedo which is Launched for HILARIOUS PURPOSES ONLY Inaccurate in Every Particular Containing Copious Etymological Derivations and Other Useless Things by Noah Lott (an ex-relative of Noah Webster)(Summary from book's cover page)

  Show book