Other books that might interest you

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  Another Ragbag Of Riches

  James Hilton

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  Following the original A Ragbag of Riches published in 2017, here is another bundle of funny, factual, thought provoking and charming entries to "mingle quiet music with amiable irreverance". Not just witty, pithy quips and quotations but a diverse collection that have caught the eye or ear of  James Chilton's enquiring mind and zany humour. Drawing from politians, scholars, artists, influential thinkers, jokers and the common man, from antiquity to the contemporary, they are partisan choices contributed to by Chilton's varied life as a soldier, traveller, singer, plantsman, author, painter, busnessman, designer and family man. It is the essence of the commonplace book but organised loosely into topics and enhanced by the sparkling illustrations of cartoonist Charlie Dunn. In addition and where possible, each author of the various entries has their dates added and a few relevant (and sometimes irrelevant) notes on their lives. From John Arlott to Boris Yeltsin (there is a useful index), from the trivial to the profound, from razor sharp criticism to poignant tributes, this is a book for all occasions. Each anecdote, musing, poem or prayer showcases humanity's variety. Whether to mine for speeches, to raise a smile in low moments, to inform or to entertain,  Another Ragbag of Riches  will provoke and delight. It is perfect for the bedside, for travel, for browsing and for present giving.

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  The Chronicles of Clovis

  Saki Saki

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  This is the third collection of short stories by Saki, following on from “Reginald” and “Reginald in Russia”. Although some of the stories have characters that do not appear elsewhere in the collection, many of them are loosely centred round the young Clovis Sangrail (effectively a reincarnation of Reginald). (Summary by Graham Redman).

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  The Club of Queer Trades

  G. K. Chesterton

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  The Club of Queer Trades is a collection of stories by G. K. Chesterton first published in 1905. Each story in the collection is centered on a person who is making his living by some novel and extraordinary means (a "queer trade", using the word "queer" in the sense of "peculiar"). To gain admittance one must have invented a unique means of earning a living and the subsequent trade being the main source of income.

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  A Big Storm Knocked It Over - A...

  Laurie Colwin

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  “Laurie Colwin’s beautiful final book, A Big Storm Knocked It Over, is funny and moving and rich with complicated happiness—a love story for anyone who tends to overthink things, a comic novel about trying to find a place in the world.” — Maile Meloy, author of Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It 
  In her fifth and final novel, acclaimed author Laurie Colwin explores marriage and friendship, motherhood and careers, as experienced by a cast of delightfully idiosyncratic Manhattanites. At once a hilarious social commentary and an insightful, sophisticated modern romance, A Big Storm Knocked It Over stands as a living tribute to one of contemporary fiction’s most original and beloved voices. 
  In her late thirties, Jane Louise Parker has just married a man whose native decency leaves her almost breathless at her good fortune. After the wedding, she returns to work at a small and tony publishing house whose finances are in disarray. Alongside her best friend, Edie, Jane Louise patiently waits to become pregnant, wondering if a baby will provide a sense of rootedness that still seems to elude her. When that longed-for child arrives, it transforms the Parkers’ lives in a way that is as unexpected as it is rapturous.

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  The Genial Idiot

  John Kendrick Bangs

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  John Kendrick Bangs once again takes us on a journey with the loveable, but somewhat self-opinionated and irritating Mr Idiot. (Summary by Michele Eaton)

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  This Simian World

  Clarence Day

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  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)

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