Other books that might interest you

• 

  One Day's Perfect Weather - More...

  Daniel Stern

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  More of Daniel Stern’s celebrated updates to classic talesThe stories of One Day’s Perfect Weather are original, but they flirt enchantingly with classic prose, poetry, and music. Inspired by sources as diverse as Robert Frost and Johann Sebastian Bach, Stern spins luminous short fiction that honors and expands upon its inspirations.

  Show book

• 

  Numbers in the Dark

  Italo Calvino

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  From the acclaimed, genre-bending Italian fabulist author, a posthumous collection of career-spanning stories previously unavailable in English. “Everybody telephones everybody at every possible moment, and nobody can speak to anybody . . . Distance has been the warp that supports the weft of every love story.” —from Numbers in the Dark Written between 1943 and 1984, the stories in Numbers in the Dark span the career of one of fiction’s modern masters: from Italo Calvino’s earliest fables, to tales informed by life in World War II–era Italy, to the delightful experimentation that would define his later work. Here are speculative stories on life in the digital age, genre-bending wonders, and “impossible interviews” with the likes of Montezuma and a Neanderthal. Deftly translated by Tim Parks, Numbers in the Dark shows off Calvino’s lifelong gift for subtle humor and shimmering philosophical insight.Praise for Numbers in the Dark“Numbers in the Dark is a glorious grab-bag . . . [with] enough gems from every phase in Calvino’s career to make it feel indispensable.” —Seattle Times“These stories reward the patient reader with wisdom, humor, and insight.” —Library Journal“Calvino . . . is well-represented in this continually surprising collection . . . . Novelist Parks's superb translations capture Calvino’s quirky, iconoclastic voice, helping to make this a worthy addition to the Calvino shelf.” —Publishers Weekly

  Show book

• 

  The Heart of the Fire

  W. F. Harvey

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  William Fryer Harvey (1885-1937) was an English writer of short stories, most notably in the mystery and horror genres.Born into a wealthy Quaker family in Yorkshire, he went to Balliol College, Oxford, and took a degree in medicine at Leeds. Ill health dogged him, however, and he devoted much of his recuperation to writing short stories. "The Heart of the Fire" is a queer tale. On the fireplace in the old coaching inn, The Moorcock, there is carved an old mysterious prophecy which casts an odd burden on the family... in that they dare not ever let the fire go out. One night a stranger appears at the door. He does not stay long and appears afraid of staying in the house after he has sat by the fire for a while. He mentions that he always sees his future in the embers. He sets off into the night, but after a few hours returns, injured, having been thrown from his horse. As the landlord sits with him by the fire, the stranger nods off to sleep. The landlord seems to hear a strange voice calling him from the flames and urging him to commit a terrible...awful... unconscionable crime. His action determines the events of the next seventy years.

  Show book

• 

  The Crocodile - Legendary author...

  Fyodor Dostoyevsky

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821 to distinguished multi-ethnic parents from a Lithuanian background.   
   
  His childhood years were at the family home in hospital grounds which also contained an orphanage, an insane asylum and a cemetery for criminals.  The young Fyodor often disobeyed his father by talking to the ill in the hospital gardens.   
   
  His health was compromised at age 9 when he experienced his first epileptic fit. By the time he was a teenager both parents had died and he was now enrolled in a military academy where he graduated and eventually became a Lieutenant in 1842.  He left military service the next year. 
   
  In 1846 he published his first novel ‘Poor Cow’ to great literary acclaim.  His next was unable to emulate that success but his short stories helped provide an income.  Life as an author was definitely difficult. As he began his next work he was arrested and incarcerated for treason and participation in the political and literary Petrashevsky Circle. Although the case was weak and unjustified he was sentenced to 4 years of hard labour followed by 5 years of military service in a Siberian regiment.  
   
  Despite the undoubted hardships and setbacks in his life, and whether they helped or hindered his writing, his talents produced many exceptional works of literature including ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘The Idiot’ and ‘The Brothers Karamazov’.   
   
  Dostoevsky’s ability to get under the skin of his characters and show the inner workings of their mind was hugely influential and ahead of its time.  Interwoven with this was the influence of the broader social, spiritual and political forces at work in a person's psyche.   
   
  Fyodor Dostoevsky struggled financially and remained in poor health for much of his adult life.  He died from a lung haemorrhage on 9th February, 1881. 
   
  In the Crocodile a man is swallowed whole and through this Gogol explores themes and ideas that no other author would attempt. Absurdist genius.

  Show book

• 

  Sherlock Holmes: The Drakons...

  Pennie Mae Cartawick

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Three compelling Sherlock Holmes Mysteries in one audiobook narrated by the celebrity actor Mark Deakins.Story one: "Double Trouble in York"Upon hearing that I had to consciously resist the temptation that I had to peek through the drapes to see if I could catch a glimpse of that scoundrel. Holmes continued, "It is time, Watson." "Time for what?" "Time for you to be viciously murdered in cold-blood. Grab your hat and let us go downstairs." "Murdered?" "Come now, Watson, we mustn't keep your assassin waiting. I assure you everything will be fine."Story two: "The Perilous Jester""Another body, Holmes!" shouted Watson over the roar of the mob. We were shoved around as a row of policemen attempted to stop the crowd from surging forward. "Go home!" yelled the police, swatting at people with their truncheons, though not to harm them.Story three: "The Castle Orphans""How often does he visit you?" added Watson, producing his pipe from his pocket. He searched the same pocket for a match, then lit the device. "He visits every week, and every few nights. He likes to sneak in the window and take things back to his castle!" The small girl played with the little tiger upon her knee.Set in the late 19th century, no fictional character is more renowned for his powers of thought and observation than Sherlock Holmes.

  Show book

• 

  Top 10 Short Stories The - 1900s...

  Leo Tolstoy, Willa Cather, GK...

  • 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. 
   
  This decade also heralds the debut of a new century but humanity has not lost its thirst for power, for glory either individually or collectively as nations.  Our wordsmiths also write this new century into history with stories of great beauty and narrative thrust, carving out characters to play roles in a rapidly evolving world that brings change to everyone. 
  1 - The Top 10 - The 1900's - An Introduction 
  2 - Pauls Case  by Willa Cather 
  3 - The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekhov 
  4 - A Somewhat Improbable Story by G K Chesterton 
  5 - A Dark Brown Dog by Stephen Crane 
  6 - The Salvation of a Forsyte by John Galsworthy 
  7 - The Gift of the Magi by O Henry 
  8 - Monkeys Paw by W W Jacobs 
  9 - Mezzotint by M R James 
  10 - To Build a Fire by Jack London 
  11 - Eves Diary by Mark Twain

  Show book