Adam Resnick, an Emmy Award-winning writer for NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman, has spent his entire life trying to avoid interaction with people. While courageously admitting to being “euphorically antisocial” and “sick in the head,” he allows us to plunge even deeper into his troubled psyche in this unabashedly uproarious memoir-in-essays where we observe Resnick’s committed indifference to family, friends, strangers, and the world at large. His mind shaped by such touchstone events as a traumatic Easter egg hunt when he was six (which solidified his hatred of parties) and overwrought by obsessions, including one with a plastic shopping bag (which solidified his hatred for change), he refuses to be burdened by chores like basic social obligation and personal growth, living instead by his own steadfast rule: “I refuse to do anything I don’t want to do.” Cut from a similar (if somewhat stranger) cloth as Albert Brooks or Louis C.K., Resnick is the crazy, miserable bastard you can’t help rooting for, and the brilliant Will Not Attend showcases this seasoned comedy writer at his brazenly hilarious best.**Review"An anti-social work of art."—RollingStone.com “A streak of self-loathing runs through these stories with the anti-social Resnick repeatedly finding himself struggling through a humiliating or deeply irritating experience. However, that trenchant quality is occasionally undercut by an almost subliminal level of sweetness….Resnick’s cynical sensibilities are surprisingly raw and consistently hilarious….Will Not Attend could very well be one of the funniest books released this year.”—Splitsider “The essays reveal the potty-mouthed, definitely not politically correct, and totally opinionated author at the top of his game. He takes on Disneyland and the Disney philosophy with gusto while on the side using a family trip to destroy the relationship with his sister-in-law. His take on junk food is priceless (“Only a narcissistic asshole would consider his body a temple”). Readers will relish this book. Buy plenty.”—*Booklist * “The writing is sharp and sharp-tongued … the book is not for readers who are easily offended. The author’s aversion to just about everything paints him as nihilistic and cynical, but the subtle moments of genuine vulnerability remain the heart of every story. These moments prove redemptive for a character who sometimes feels beyond saving and shed light on how he developed such comically twisted viewpoints. A neurotic, unapologetic, hilarious collection.”—*Kirkus * “Writing a collection of short stories is a very difficult thing to do. These Adam Resnick stories are great. You read one and think, that was so well done maybe I’ll read another. You think, the next one can’t be as good, and it’s even better. I hope you read this book. It’s funny, smart and thoughtful; and it’s funny, smart and thoughtful. I loved it. I think you will as well. Did I mention I loved it? Happy reading.”—Dave Letterman“Having worked with Adam Resnick many years ago, I can easily recall he was a little nuts, but I completely forgot he was this talented and funny. Damn, this book is good.”—Jon Stewart“Adam Resnick is one of the funniest writers I've ever known, and he proves it big-time in this acid-swaddled memoir. You will laugh reading this book, I swear to Christ Almighty. Adam comes by his misanthropy honestly and bravely—and his continued existence is a tribute to the soul-nourishing qualities of an unrelenting, unforgiving, and hilarious outlook. I will be reading this again and again for the rest of my life like it'sthe goddamn bible.”—Bob Odenkirk“In the ideal film adaptation of Will Not Attend, second-grader Adam Resnick would be played by a four-foot-tall, fully adult homunculus Resnick, animated by a precocious despair, disdainful of cultural idiocy, and wearing the ever-present scowl of the perpetually put-upon. Undoubtedly, the child Resnick is father of the man Resnick. This is a very funny book, and I would pay decent money to see the movie version, or even to play it in the form of an extremely sad video game.”—Charlie Kaufman“Adam Resnick is like an artist keenly observing the subtleties of light and shadow in the world around us—painting hilariously bleak portraits of the neighbors, friends, and family that we all know and love so dearly. He’s basically our generation’s Norman Rockwell, if Norman Rockwell had ever painted a woman sucking off a horse.”—Chris Elliott About the AuthorAdam Resnick is an Emmy Award-winning writer who began his career at Late Night with David Letterman. He went on to co-create Fox’s Get a Life, starring Chris Elliott, and has written several screenplays, including cult favorites Cabin Boy and Death to Smoochy. Resnick has written for Saturday Night Live, was a co-executive producer and writer for HBO’s The Larry Sanders Show, and created the HBO series The High Life, which was produced by David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants. He lives in New York City. Views: 66
A stunning adventure in war-torn FranceSpring of 1944 and Rosie Ewing is returning to German-occupied France. By air, this time. She's carrying a radio, half a million francs, a pistol and two cyanide capsules to Finistere in north-west Brittany. With D-Day looming, Rosie knows that the man who'll be meeting her on the ground tonight may be a traitor. And that the likely end of the road for female agents is Ravensbrück – or l'enfer des femmes, as the Resistance calls it... the dreaded concentration camp for women. The second in the unputdownable Rosie Ewing Spy Thrillers, perfect for fans of Philip Kerr, Ian Fleming and John Le Carré. 'You don't read a novel by Alexander Fullerton. You live it.' South Wales Echo Views: 66
An unnamed author waits in a bar in Tel Aviv on a stifling hot night. He is there to give a reading of his work but as he sits, bored, he begins to conjure up the life stories of the people he meets. Later, when the reading is done he asks a woman for a drink. She declines and the author walks away, only to climb the steps to her flat, later that night. Or does he? In Amos Oz's beguiling, intriguing story the reader never really knows where reality ends and invention begins... Views: 66
Eighteen-year-old Brinn Hathaway has survived on her own in the Northwest High Country of Georgia since she was left for dead in a shallow grave by the man who kidnapped her as a child. When a young nature photographer, Justin Spencer, catches the wild girl on film and the two form a tentative friendship, Brinn must decide if coming out of hiding is worth the hope and the danger that may await her Views: 66
The inaugural volume of Library of America's Ursula K. Le Guin edition gathers her complete Orsinian writings, enchanting, richly imagined historical fiction collected here for the first time. Written before Le Guin turned to science fiction, the novel Malafrena is a tale of love and duty set in the central european country of Orsinia in the early nineteenth century, when it is ruled by the Austrian empire. The stories originally published in Orsinian Tales (1976) offer brilliantly rendered episodes of personal drama set against a history that spans Orsinia's emergence as an independent kingdom in the twelfth century to its absorption by the eastern Bloc after World War II. The volume is rounded out by two additional stories that bring the history of Orsinia up to 1989, the poem "Folksong from the Montayna Province," Le Guin's first published work, and two never before published songs in the Orisinian language.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 66
A brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder—and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side—in this powerful and inspiring memoir.Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home. But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality. It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.... Views: 66
Five months pregnant and on her own. Even so, she can't resist this rugged rancher...Solely responsible for her unborn child, Abigail Stewart is desperate for the art commission at Royal Memorial Hospital. Winning over the sexy Texan on the board seems impossible, but Vaughn surprises her with his response. And his attention. And a sizzling connection that defies all logic. But even if he can accept her baby, will Vaughn's dark past tear them apart? Views: 66
Black Wind continued Dirk Pitt's meteoric career with one of Clive Cussler's most audacious, and well-received novels yet. But now Cussler takes an extraordinary leap, with one of his most remarkable villains ever. Genghis Khan-the greatest conqueror of all time, who, at his peak, ruled an empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea. His conquests are the stuff of legend, his tomb a forgotten mystery. Until now. When Dirk Pitt is nearly killed rescuing an oil survey team from a freak wave on Russia's Lake Baikal, it appears a simple act of nature. When the survey team is abducted and Pitt's research vessel nearly sunk, however, it's obvious there's something more sinister involved. All trails lead to Mongolia, and a mysterious mogul who is conducting covert deals for supplying oil to the Chinese while wreaking havoc on global oil markets utilizing a secret technology. The Mongolian harbors a dream of restoring the conquests of his ancestors, and holds a dark secret about Genghis Khan that just might give him the wealth and power to make that dream come true. From the frigid lakes of Siberia to the hot sands of the Gobi Desert, Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino find intrigue, adventure, and peril while collecting clues to the mysterious treasure of Xanadu. But first, they must keep the tycoon from murder-and the unleashing of a natural disaster of calamitous proportions. Filled with breathtaking suspense and brilliant imagination, his new novel is yet further proof that when it comes to adventure writing, nobody beats Clive Cussler. Views: 66
Set apart from the other books in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, The Spy Who Loved Me is told from the perspective of a femme fatale in the making––a victim of circumstance with a wounded heart. Vivienne Michel, a precocious French Canadian raised in the United Kingdom, seems a foreigner in every land. With only a supercharged Vespa and a handful of American dollars, she travels down winding roads into the pine forests of the Adirondacks. After stopping at the Dreamy Pines Motor Court and being coerced into caretaking at the vacant motel for the night, Viv opens the door to two armed mobsters and realizes being a woman alone is no easy task. But when a third stranger shows—a confident Englishman with a keen sense for sizing things up—the tables are turned. Still reeling in the wake of Operation Thunderball, Bond had planned for his jaunt through the Adirondacks to be a period of rest before his return to Europe. But that all changes when his tire goes flat in front of a certain motel…About the AuthorIan Fleming was born in London on May 28, 1908. He was educated at Eton College and later spent a formative period studying languages in Europe. His first job was with Reuters News Agency where a Moscow posting gave him firsthand experience with what would become his literary bete noire—the Soviet Union. During World War II he served as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence and played a key role in Allied espionage operations. After the war he worked as foreign manager of the Sunday Times, a job that allowed him to spend two months each year in Jamaica. Here, in 1952, at his home “Goldeneye,” he wrote a book called Casino Royale—and James Bond was born. The first print run sold out within a month. For the next twelve years Fleming produced a novel a year featuring Special Agent 007, the most famous spy of the century. His travels, interests, and wartime experience lent authority to everything he wrote. Raymond Chandler described him as “the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England.” Sales soared when President Kennedy named the fifth title, From Russia With Love, one of his favorite books. The Bond novels have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide, boosted by the hugely successful film franchise that began in 1962 with the release of Dr. No. He married Anne Rothermere in 1952. His story about a magical car, written in 1961 for their only son Caspar, went on to become the well- loved novel and film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Fleming died of heart failure on August 12, 1964, at the age of fifty-six. Views: 66
The Story of a Life with Strings Attached Brad Paisley is one of country music's leading men--admired as a recording artist, a performer, a songwriter, and a guitar slinger. This was not always so. In Diary of a Player, Paisley for the first time fully retraces his entire musical and personal journey to date. And it all began with a loving grandfather who gave eight-year-old Brad Douglas Paisley a Sears Danelectro guitar--the Christmas gift that would alter Brad's life forever. In Brad's own words, we read his emotional tribute to his late great "Papaw," Warren Jarvis, who sparked his dream come true: When I was eight I got a gift from my grandpa. No coincidence that around that time I also got an identity. See, no matter how I have changed, learned, and evolved as a person, the guitar has been a major part of it, and really the only constant. A crutch, a shrink, a friend, love interest, parachute, flying machine, soapbox, canvas, liability,... Views: 66
On the last day of summer, some years ago, a young college graduate moves to Chicago and rents a small apartment on the north side of the city, by the vast and muscular lake. This is the story of the five seasons he lives there, during which he meets gangsters, gamblers, policemen, a brave and garrulous bus driver, a cricket player, a librettist, his first girlfriend, a shy apartment manager, and many other riveting souls, not to mention a wise and personable dog of indeterminate breed. A love letter to Chicago, the Great American City, and a wry account of a young man's coming-of-age during the one summer in White Sox history when they had the best outfield in baseball, Brian Doyle's Chicago is a novel that will plunge you into a city you will never forget, and may well wish to visit for the rest of your days. Views: 66
