Other books that might interest you

• 

  Top 10 Short Stories The - Born...

  Herman Melville, Henry James,...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart.  A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. 
   
  In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?  
   
  The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme.  Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. 
   
  Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made.  If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. 
   
  The Big Apple is rightly lauded as the place that if you can make it there you make it anywhere.  It’s good advice for a writer.  Many of these literary talents became world-wide behemoths, serving up their experiences and characters to a wide-eyed audience forever in their thrall.  Genius has many names. 
   
  1 - The Top 10 - Born in New York - An Introduction 
  2 - The Great Good Place by Henry James 
  3 - Bartleby the Scrivener - Part 1 by Herman Melville 
  4 - Bartleby the Scrivener - Part 2 by Herman Melville 
  5 - The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving 
  6 - The Fullness of Life by Edith Wharton 
  7 - The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte 
  8 - Christmas Eve in War Times by Edward Payson Roe 
  9 - An Angel in Disguise by T S Arthur 
  10 - The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell 
  11 - The Mysterious Card by Cleveland Moffet 
  12 - The Repairer of Reputations - Part 1 by Robert W Chambers 
  13 - The Repairer of Reputations - Part 2 by Robert W Chambers

  Show book

• 

  Once Upon In My Mind

  Ridhhaan Jaiin

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The book “Once Upon In My Mind” is a collection of 10 short fictional stories written by Ridhhaan when he was 7 years old. This audiobook is narrated by Ridhhaan Jaiin and soothing music with SFX effects have been added to tickle your imaginary senses. All the characters in the book are inspired by fairy tales and real-life. The audiobook is ideal for young kids from 3 years and upwards to read and stimulate their imagination. 
  About Author and Narrator Ridhhaan Jaiin 
  Ridhhaan Jaiin is one of India’s youngest and most talented authors. At just 9 years old, he is already an accomplished author, audiobook narrator, and motivational speaker. He is also a passionate child philanthropist, using his platform to raise awareness and funds for causes close to his heart. 
  His parents encouraged him to put his thoughts to paper, and he created magic! His first book – ‘Once Upon in My Mind’ – was published when he was just 8 years old, making him one of India’s youngest authors. 
  In 2022, three more books by Ridhhaan were released: “The Mirror and The Greedy Man”, “The Despicable Virus”, and “Penny and the Monsters”. All these stories have happy endings with good morals, adding values. He has also narrated audiobook of same titles. 
  As a motivational speaker, Ridhhaan has visited numerous schools, clubs, events and hosted motivational sessions for over 1000 children and 250 adults.  
  Ridhhaan Jaiin is an author who believes in giving a platform to other children to express themselves through story writing. In 2022, he founded a story writing competition for children aged 5 to 12 and sponsored the book publishing of all the winners.  
  Ridhhaan also donates portion of his income from audiobooks with blind students for their welfare. Additionally, Ridhhaan is officially signed as Brand Ambassador of BVJSS Foundation, an orphanage based in Pune providing shelter and education to children of 6 to 16 years of age.

  Show book

• 

  Short Stories About Survival - A...

  Honoré de Balzac, Leo Tolstoy,...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Our ‘fight of flight’ response is something hardwired into the primitive part of our brain.  Our need to survive, to outlive whatever danger poses, that immediate threat to our lives is little short of a marvel.  Everything else is abandoned in order to survive.  Whilst in modern times that ability has been somewhat modified and ‘reasoned’ away to an extent, in past years it’s what usually kept you alive. 
   
  In this volume people struggle valiantly to survive and to exist no matter the extent of the threat they face. In the words of our authors including William Hope Hodgson, Richard Connell, Jack London, Honore de Balzac and a wealth of others, they vividly demonstrate how or whether the participants survive … or fail.  
   
  01 - Short Stories About Survival - An Introduction 
   02 - The White Silence by Jack London 
   03 - A Passion in the Desert by Honoré de Balzac 
   04 - The Interlopers by Saki the pseudonym for H H Munro 
   05 - The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte 
   06 - Taman by Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov 
   07 - The Great Slave by Zane Grey 
   08 - The Voice in the Night by William Hope Hodgson 
   09 - The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell 
   10 - The Open Boat by Stephen Crane 
   11 - To Build a Fire by Jack London 
   12 - The Snowstorm - Part 1 by Leo Tolstoy 
   13 - The Snowstorm - Part 2 by Leo Tolstoy

  Show book

• 

  Twenty-Six Men and a Girl - From...

  Maxim Gorky

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Alexei Maximovich Peshkov was born on 28th March 1868, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. 
  Better known as Maxim Gorky he was orphaned at 11 and ran away from home at 12.  At 19 he had already attempted suicide and thereafter travelled, by foot, across the Russian Empire for 5 years. 
  His first book ‘Essays & Stories’ in 1898 was a sensation and so began a long career as an author of short stories, novels and plays.  Gorky saw writing as a moral and political act that would help to change the unjust world around him.  He was an ardent early advocate of the emerging Marxist movement and publicly opposed the Tsarist regime leading several times to his arrest.  
  In 1904 he began his own theatre but the censor banned every play and Gorky was forced to abandon the project. 
  But Gorky was a financially successful author, editor, and playwright and gave monies to political parties as well as for civil rights and social reform.  The brutal shooting of workers, which set in motion the Revolution of 1905, pushed Gorky more decisively toward radical solutions.  
  In 1906 he went to the United States to raise funds for the Bolsheviks. Those experiences including a scandal over travelling with his lover and not his wife deepened his contempt for the ‘bourgeois soul.’ 
  Gorky now moved to Capri in Italy, both for health reasons and to escape the increasingly repressive times in Russia.  
  An amnesty for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty saw him return to Russia in 1914. His politics remained close to the Bolshevik cause.  But soon, after the 1918 revolution, his essays referred to Lenin as a tyrant for his senseless arrests and repression.  He was soon appealing to the outside world for food aid after the catastrophic crop failure. 
  In October 1921 Gorky returned to Italy, now in Fascist hands, and settled in Sorrento until 1932.  His health worsened with the onset of tuberculosis. 
  He wrote several successful books there but now decided to find an understanding with the communist regime. Stalin invited him home and his return was hailed as a major propaganda victory.  He was decorated with the Order of Lenin, and a province, a park, and various streets re-named in his honour. 
  But he had his faults too.  In 1933, Gorky co-edited a book on the White Sea-Baltic Canal and denied even a single prisoner died during its construction, but thousands had. As well, knowing that some Nazis were homosexual, a phrase was attributed to him that said ‘exterminate all homosexuals and fascism will vanish’.  Although he was himself was quoting another he was decidedly homophobic. 
  With the increase of Stalinist repression in 1935 Gorky was placed under unannounced house arrest. 
  Maxim Gorky died on the 18th June 1936 from pneumonia.  He was 68. 
  Stalin and Molotov were among those who carried Gorky's urn of ashes at his funeral.

  Show book

• 

  Wandering Spirits - Modern Fables

  Salman Ansari

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Wandering Spirits is a collection of whimsical tales that feed the soul, tug the heart, and spark the mind. 
  Inspired by classic books like The Little Prince, these delightfully illustrated fables follow a variety of charming animal characters as they embark on fantastical yet profoundly relatable quests. In this book, you'll meeta fox who wakes up to find he has many talking tailsa wolf who tries to fit in with a pack of dogsa frog who searches for the secret to a better lifea turtle captain who leads his ship through tumultuous seasand many more! 
  Great for children and adults alike, these stories will both entertain and offer helpful perspectives on how to view the world and navigate its many winding paths.

  Show book

• 

  Everyday Kindness - A collection...

  Darren O'Sullivan, Imogen Clark,...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Everyday Kindness is a charity anthology of short, fictional stories of kindness, edited by LJ Ross. These uplifting tales of hope and of small, everyday kindnesses are intended to support wider, positive mental health goals and foster wellbeing through the act of reading tales of goodwill inspired by others. Featuring authors across the spectrum of literature, some international bestsellers and award-winning writers amongst them, this is a unique collection of words. 
   
  Proceeds from the book will be donated to Shelter, a charity that helps millions of people a year struggling with bad housing or homelessness. 
   
  Authors include: LJ Ross, Adam Hamdy, Alex Smith, Alexander Gordon Smith, Alison Stockham, Anne O’Leary, Barbara Copperthwaite, J.D. Kirk, C.L. Taylor, Caroline Mitchell, Chris McDonald, Claire Sheehy, Clare Flynn, Darren O’Sullivan, David Leadbeater, Debbie Young, Deborah Carr, Emma Robinson, Graham Brack, Hannah Lynn, Heather Martin, Holly Martin, Ian Sainsbury, Imogen Clark, James Gilbert, Jane Corry, Jean Gill, J.J. Marsh, Judith O’Reilly, Kelly Clayton, Kim Nash, Leah Mercer, Liz Fenwick, Louise Beech, Louise Jensen, Louise Mumford, Malcolm Hollingdrake, Marcia Woolf, Mark Stay, Marcie Steele, Natasha Bache, Nick Jackson, Nick Quantrill, Nicky Black, Patricia Gibney, Rachel Sargeant, Rob Parker, Rob Scragg, S.E. Lynes, Shelley Day, Casey Kelleher, Sophie Hannah, Victoria Connelly, Victoria Cooke, Will Dean. 
   
  “A win/win when it comes to making you feel good – the stories will do just that, and buying this book will help homeless people.”  Val McDermid 
  “Jack Reacher is a wanderer by choice. Others are homeless through no fault of their own – illness, the loss of a job, the loss of a partner. We need a better system. Buy this book and you'll enjoy some great stories, and you'll help Shelter – our best advocate for housing fairness.”  Lee Child 
   
  “What a treasure trove of stories! Each one has a different style and I enjoyed all of them. A highly recommended collection for a good cause!”  Glynis Peters 
   
  “I loved every page! Each story was the hug I needed, and the stories from this amazing collection of talented authors were told with poignancy. Exactly what the world needs right now.”  Jessica Ryn 
  LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, best known for creating atmospheric mystery and thriller novels, including the DCI Ryan series of Northumbrian murder mysteries which have sold over 6 million copies worldwide.

  Show book