The extraordinary story of one of the most fruitful friendships in modern arts and letters.Paris, 1902: Renowned sculptor Auguste Rodin has just completed The Thinker. Rainer Maria Rilke is a delicate young visitor from Prague, broke and suffering from a case of writer's block. When Rilke is commissioned to write a book about Rodin, everything changes. . . . You Must Change Your Life reveals one of the great stories of modern art and literature: Rodin and Rilke's years together as master and disciple, their heartbreaking rift, and ultimately their moving reconciliation. In her vibrant debut, Rachel Corbett reveals how Rodin's influence led Rilke to write his most celebrated poems and inspired his beloved Letters to a Young Poet. She captures the dawn of modernism with appearances by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Lou Andreas-Salomé, George Bernard Shaw, and Jean Cocteau. And she recounts the remarkable friendship of two extraordinary artists whose work continues to... Views: 10
Meet JackJack Rossiter. I'm twenty-seven years old, single, and live with my best mate Matt. Matt and I started hanging out when we were eight. Life was simpler then. Our idea of fashion was polyester. I told him I wanted to be a spy and he asked me who I'd marry. I imagined falling in love with a girl so perfect I couldn't even guess her name. Things have changed since then. I did fall in love for a while but it didn't work out. And single is good, single is fun. Meet AmySometimes in my darker moments I've thought about applying to go on Blind Date. 'She's gorgeous, she's from London, come in Amy Crosbie!' (Wolf whistling and applause.) Actually it's a bit of a worry. I think it's my warped way of telling myself something's got to change. It's been six months since I last had sex. Six months! I mean, I've got my own flat, I've got A levels - so come on down Mr Right. At least it would get my mother off... Views: 10
"Few novelists captured the contradictions of his country so simply or so honestly in the metaphor of the pure, fatalistic, and merciless community of bruising."—from the ForewordWhen The Bruiser was first published in 1936, almost every reviewer praised Jim Tully's gritty boxing novel for its authenticity—a hard-earned attribute. Twenty-eight years before the appearance of The Bruiser, Tully began a career in the ring, fighting regularly on the Ohio circuit. He knew what it felt like to step inside the ropes, hoping to beat another man senseless for the amusement of the crowd. Having won acclaim in the 1920s for such hard-boiled autobiographical novels as Beggars of Life and Circus Parade, Tully thus became both fighter and writer. "It's a pip of a story because it is written by a man who knows what he is writing about," said sportswriter and Guys and Dolls author Damon Runyon. "He has some descriptions of ring fighting in it that literally smell of whizzing... Views: 10
For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes Secret, Silent Screams from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon. Is Barry's death the latest tragedy in a string of suicides at Farrington Park High School? Or is it murder? Marti is sure her friend Barry didn't take his own life, but no one will believe her except Police Officer Prescott. But opening an investigation takes time, and Marti is determined to find her friend's killer soon. Because even now he could be planning his next crime... "Enthralling suspense...satisfying[,]...[and an] intricate plot." --Publishers WeeklyFrom the Paperback edition. Views: 10
The remarkable story of a couple who risked everything to open their home--and their hearts--to answer an abandoned child's wish.It was a small note buried in the file of a deeply troubled eleven-year-old boy--a plea for a normal life Rich and Sue Miniter couldn't ignore:The Things I Want MOST:A familyA fishing poleA familyThe Miniters heard in that simple note the voice of a frightened child who wanted what all children want and need: someone to love who would love them in return.So they brought Mike home to the cozy country inn they'd restored and managed in rural upstate New York. There, over the next year, they would try to make Mike's dream come true. But first they would have to work through the fear, anger, and distrust that accompanied this boy who had lived his whole life with the label "severely emotionally disturbed." For the biggest obstacle to Mike's happiness was Mike himself, who gave the Miniters every reason to give up but... Views: 10
A dominatrix punishes a young man who has some serious mommy issues. The story contains explicit sexual content. Views: 10
One of the most dazzling and adventurous writers now working in English takes on the enigma of the Cambridge spies in a novel of exquisite menace, biting social comedy, and vertiginous moral complexity. The narrator is the elderly Victor Maskell, formerly of British intelligence, for many years art expert to the Queen. Now he has been unmasked as a Russian agent and subjected to a disgrace that is almost a kind of death. But at whose instigation? As Maskell retraces his tortuous path from his recruitment at Cambridge to the airless upper regions of the establishment, we discover a figure of manifold doubleness: Irishman and Englishman; husband, father, and lover of men; betrayer and dupe. Beautifully written, filled with convincing fictional portraits of Maskell’s co-conspirators, and vibrant with the mysteries of loyalty and identity, The Untouchable places John Banville in the select company of both Conrad and le Carre. Winner of the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction. Views: 10
The magnificent and long-awaited biography of the beloved writer who gave us the Manawaka novels, including The Diviners and The Stone Angel.From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 10
The affluent seaside resort of Smalting is unaccustomed to crime. So when human remains are found beneath the floorboards of one of its beach huts, the community is awash with suspicion and fear. Amateur sleuths Carole Seddon and best friend Jude are drawn into the mystery, and their suspicion quickly falls on attractive Philly Rose, a young Londoner newly arrived in the area, whose boyfriend has recently vanished in mysterious circumstances. Meanwhile, Kelvin Southwest, self-appointed ‘ladies’ man’ and caretaker of Smalting’s beach huts, seems to be hiding a dark secret beneath his smooth exterior, while Reginald Flowers, pompous President of the Smalting Beach Hut Association, becomes increasingly defensive about his own history. When the bones under the beach hut are identified, the ghosts of the past are painfully reawakened, and long-hidden secrets begin to surface. Bones Under the Beach Hut is an ingenious mystery from one of England’s favourite crime writers, exquisitely plotted, teeming with wonderful characters and packed with unexpected twists. Views: 10
Resident diva Devane will stop at nothing to get the star treatment she feels she deserves. Especially when she's overlooked for a solo in the group's first show and Emerson, her nemesis, isn't. During the performance, Devane does the unthinkable—she steals the scene from Emerson— and is thrown out of the group. But in the end, it's the group who could end up suffering. Devane may be an egomaniac, but she's also an unbelievable dancer. The Hip Hop Kidz need her, and Emerson might be the only one who can convince her to come back. Views: 10
