"Read what you enjoy, not what bores you," Nick Hornby tells us. That simple, liberating, and indispensable directive animates each installment of the celebrated critic and author's monthly column in the Believer. In this delightful and never-musty tour of his reading life, Hornby tells us not just what to read, but how to read.
Whether tackling a dismayingly bulky biography of Dickens while his children destroy something in the next room, or getting sucked into a serious assessment of Celine Dion during an intensely fought soccer match featuring his beloved Arsenal, or devouring an entire series of children's books while on vacation, Hornby's reviews are rich, witty, and occasionally madcap. These essays capture the joy and ire, the despair and exhilaration of the book-lover's life, and will appeal equally to both monocle-wearing salonnieres and people, like him, who spend a lot of time thinking about Miley Cyrus's next role. Views: 364
THE STUNNING NEW NOVEL FROM MULTIPLE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, KEVIN BROOKS When fifteen-year-old Kenzie wakes up in hospital in a darkened room, she's in the dark about what has happened to her too. The doctors break the devastating news that she has been struck down by a rare genetic condition that makes her skin has become transparent, revealing everything inside of her - and Kenzie feels repellent to look at. But when a medical photo of her is leaked and goes viral, the press attention is massive. How can Kenzie live like this, when she doesn't want to be seen at all? Can a boy who can't even see her, be the only one to help her to find the answers. . . ? Kevin Brooks was born in Exeter and studied in Birmingham and London. He has worked in a crematorium, a zoo, a garage and a post office, before - happily - giving it all up to write books. Kevin is the author of many acclaimed award-winning young adult novels, including Martyn Pig,... Views: 353
Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no other -- a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage.
From Buffalo to Alaska, Washington to the Dry Tortugas, Vowell visits locations immortalized and influenced by the spilling of politically important blood, reporting as she goes with her trademark blend of wisecracking humor, remarkable honesty, and thought-provoking criticism. We learn about the jinx that was Robert Todd Lincoln (present at the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley) and witness the politicking that went into the making of the Lincoln Memorial.
The resulting narrative is much more than an entertaining and informative travelogue -- it is the disturbing and fascinating story of how American death has been manipulated by popular culture, including literature, architecture, sculpture, and -- the author's favorite -- historical tourism. Though the themes of loss and violence are explored and we make detours to see how the Republican Party became the Republican Party, there are all kinds of lighter diversions along the way into the lives of the three presidents and their assassins, including mummies, show tunes, mean-spirited totem poles, and a nineteenth-century biblical sex cult. Views: 350
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken. Views: 344
Miss Faye is recovering from a broken hip. Sick of the physical therapy session, in which a bunch of old people are tossing a big yellow ball, she wheels her chair from the room, and keeps wheeling it till she is sitting outside the hospital. Not her fault that a cab driver named Stinker mistakes her for his fare. A whole day with Stinker teaches her what happens when you don't play ball.Fourteen-year-old Emily Adams has special powers she doesn’t want, a spiteful aunt she can’t escape, and a primeval legacy she knows nothing about. But when an otherworldly being materializes, Emily discovers the true purpose of her magical blood and of the danger that threatens to annihilate her world.Dormant for over a thousand years, an ancient evil has arisen. This time, it will destroy anyone – or anything – that stands in its way.With her two best friends by her side, Emily risks everything and embarks on a dangerous journey to Ireland and beyond where she unlocks the secrets of her Celtic ancestors. As the hour of world annihilation draws near, the fate of her friends, her family and her world lies in her hands.Can a teenage girl without hero credentials save the world? And will Emily find the courage to face her true self in Emily’s House?Join the Journey ...Gary Smails of BubbleCow Editing said:"I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed reading (and this is a rare comment to type!) this full manuscript. Overall a strong character-led narrative, one that is engaging, original and current." Views: 334
Rising-star blogger Milla Kierce knows she's arrived when she sees the swag basket in her dressing room on the night of her late-night television debut. But before she can bite into the muffin that symbolizes her success, gunfire echoes through the TV studio. She's just hidden herself (mostly in plain sight) when the door flings open. Instead of a gunman, there stands one of the world's most popular rock stars, Gage Daxson, looking for his own way out of danger.
Thrown together, they'll battle a venomous man seeking revenge and his own sexual pleasure, but they may never leave the building again. Distracted by fear, fame, and infamy, can these two somehow find their way to each other?
Equal parts horrifying and hilarious, Debra Anastasia's Late Night With Andres offers more than a few twists and turns—and, of course, enough heat to keep things interesting. Views: 318
I think I'm losing my mind. The alternative would be I'm seeing ghosts. If I'm going crazy, I should check myself into a nuthouse as soon as possible. But if I'm not... if she's really a ghost, listening to her could mean the difference between life and death.Can a shy artist gain the upper hand in a face-off against her domineering twin?Will paint cans fly as two teams from vastly different backgrounds butt heads?Will a fun-loving volunteer find the courage to carve his own path?Follow three teens as they grapple with issues of love, loss, friendship, identity, and harbored prejudices in a race against time to complete their artwork in the 2nd Annual National High School Fresco Painting Competition. Views: 288
Dove Glitch is embarrassed about everything above her knees and below her belly button. When she has to fill a delicate, embarrassing prescription the last thing she needs is a sexy-as-hell (and brand spanking new) pharmacist behind the counter.
Johnson Fitzwell’s first day of his dream career also happens to coincide with the exact moment Dove needs her feminine meds filled. His glorious voice is way too loud–as in, he should be counting down the hits with Ryan Seacrest kind of loud. Thanks to Johnson’s handsome face and gorgeous jaw line, Dove dives headlong into her waking nightmare and asks for a vagina-scented cream.
How could she not fall for him? Dove's only active goal now is to get Johnson to kiss her right on the lips. Either set. However, his horrible girlfriend is one of many obstacles preventing her from making that fantasy a reality. When Dove defends Johnson in the most unhygienic, unconventionally gross way in the middle of a crowded restaurant, their tender, slightly tantric relationship is off to a galloping, farting start.
Each print copy of this book will be dipped in holy water by my mom, and glared at by my father as he purses his lips. Neither will help. So, drop your pants and turn to the left and cough. I hope you're not allergic to latex, because it’s time to fill your prescription. Anally. Views: 282
From the bestselling author of The Wordy Shipmates, an examination of Hawaii, the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn. Many think of 1776 as the defining year of American history, when we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self- government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as defining, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded first Cuba, then the Philippines, becoming an international superpower practically overnight. Among the developments in these outposts of 1898, Vowell considers the Americanization of Hawaii the most intriguing. From the arrival of New England missionaries in 1820, their goal to Christianize the local heathen, to the coup d'état of the missionaries' sons in 1893, which overthrew the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, and often appealing or tragic, characters: whalers who fired cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their God-given right to whores, an incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband, sugar barons, lepers, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode "Aloha 'Oe" serenaded the first Hawaiian president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade. With her trademark smart-alecky insights and reporting, Vowell lights out to discover the off, emblematic, and exceptional history of the fiftieth state, and in so doing finds America, warts and all. Views: 260
Warning:To all dear numbers of the city:Beware! A minus, called Lying Line, is prowling about. Stay away from him! You will change to zero if he should find you! Oh yes, being zero is equal to your death. This minus is armed with cold and hot weapons, including a sharp knife and a loaded gun!Monster Number was grossly overweight and had a shaggy body, like a mammoth. In the beginning, Monster Number could not walk very well. Though he swayed a little, tottering and often falling, my father trained him for detecting and killing. After a few days, we attacked Math City.Math City was bombarded, the doors and the walls shaking while the dark shade of the Monster Number came down, covering the city. Monster Number threw big stones, one after another; and like repulsive ghoul crashed through any barrier.Then, after many horrible explosions, Monster Number entered the city, and we followed him. He smashed countless numbers as he put down his steps on the earth. Views: 256
In the year 2092 Kaptu Z of the United Nation's Hurt World Agency is on the trail of Mas, the world's most wanted poacher. As carnage rages, Kaptu Z quickly realizes there are more perils to contend with than simply a deadly dangerous hunter.It is the year 2092. Mas, the world’s most wanted poacher, has resurfaced after many years on the run and her trail of carnage is soon stretching from the Central American jungle to the Swiss Alps, from mysterious abandoned silos in Mexico to the war-ravaged Arctic Circle. Kaptu Z of the United Nation’s Hurt World Agency is on her trail and he quickly realizes there are more perils to contend with than simply a deadly dangerous hunter. An army is being raised the likes of which the world has never seen, its one and only purpose to feed… Views: 254
The real hero of this story is dead. You should have met him. He was a beautiful man. The love of my life. I didn’t deserve him.
Now what’s left are the jagged edges of the person I am without him, and what I have to do to get by. This isn’t even a story about love. Not really. It’s a twisted tale of revenge and hate—a happily never after.
The only man in my life now is the one I have to kill.
I’m Savvy Raine.
I used to be a wife.
I used to be a mother.
Now I am the Revenger. Views: 254
Take the Cannoli is a moving and wickedly funny collection of personal stories stretching across the immense landscape of the American scene. Vowell tackles subjects such as identity, politics, religion, art, and history with a biting humor. She searches the streets of Hoboken for traces of the town's favorite son, Frank Sinatra. She goes under cover of heavy makeup in an investigation of goth culture, blasts cannonballs into a hillside on a father-daughter outing, and maps her family's haunted history on a road trip down the Trail of Tears. Vowell has an irresistible voice—caustic and sympathetic, insightful and double-edged—that has attracted a loyal following for her magazine writing and radio monologues on This American Life. Views: 251
At the end of 2003, as the first issue of The Believer was rising from the primordial ooze, Nick Hornby turned in the inaugural installment of a monthly column that immediately became a reader favorite. For the next ten years, Hornby’s incandescently funny "Stuff I’ve Been Reading” chronicled a singular reading life — one that is measured not just in "books bought” and "books read,” as each column begins, but in the way our feelings toward Celine Dion say a lot about who we are, the way Body Shop Vanilla Shower Gel can add excitement to our days, and the way John Updike might ruin our sex lives. Hornby’s column is both an impeccable, wide-ranging reading list and an indispensable reminder of why we read. Views: 244
