The Ransomes had been burgled. "Robbed," Mrs. Ransome said. "Burgled," Mr. Ransome corrected. Premises were burgled; persons were robbed. Mr. Ransome was a solicitor by profession and thought words mattered. Though "burgled" was the wrong word too. Burglars select; they pick; they remove one item and ignore others. There is a limit to what burglars can take: they seldom take easy chairs, for example, and even more seldom settees. These burglars did. They took everything.This swift-moving comic fable will surprise you with its concealed depths. When the sedate Ransomes return from the opera to find their Notting Hill flat stripped absolutely bare--down to the toilet paper off the roll (a hard-to-find shade of forget-me-not blue)--they face a dilemma: Who are they without the things they've spent a lifetime accumulating? Suddenly the world is full of unlimited and frightening possibility. But just as they begin adjusting to this giddy freedom, a newfound interest in sex, and... Views: 27
"Alana Massey's prose is to brutal honesty what a mandolin is to a butter knife: she's sharper; she slices thinner; she shows the cross-section of a truth so deftly—so powerfully and cannily—it's hard to look away, and hard not to feel that something has shifted in you for having read her."—Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy ExamsFrom columnist and critic Alana Massey, a collection of essays examining the intersection of the personal with pop culture through the lives of pivotal female figures—from Sylvia Plath to Britney Spears—in the spirit of Chuck Klosterman, with the heart of a true fan. Mixing Didion's affected cool with moments of giddy celebrity worship, Massey examines the lives of the women who reflect our greatest aspirations and darkest fears back onto us. These essays are personal without being confessional and clever in a way that invites readers into the... Views: 26
The inimitable Alan Bennett selects and comments upon six favorite poets and the pleasures of their worksIn this candid, thoroughly engaging book, Alan Bennett creates a unique anthology of works by six well-loved poets. Freely admitting his own youthful bafflement with poetry, Bennett reassures us that the poets and poems in this volume are not only accessible but also highly enjoyable. He then proceeds to prove irresistibly that this is so.Bennett selects more than seventy poems by Thomas Hardy, A. E. Housman, John Betjeman, W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, and Philip Larkin. He peppers his discussion of these writers and their verse with anecdotes, shrewd appraisal, and telling biographical detail: Hardy lyrically recalls his first wife, Emma, in his poetry, although he treated her shabbily in real life. The fabled Auden was a formidable and off-putting figure at the lectern. Larkin, hoping to subvert snooping biographers, ordered personal papers shredded upon his... Views: 25
Get down and naughty with this HOT standalone Older Man Younger Woman Taboo Romance between a sweet BBW and an exotic, older doctor from Italy.Emma has been saving up for her high school graduation trip since forever. When the time finally comes, she can’t wait to escape her overbearing parents and do some soul-searching in Europe. Unfortunately, soon after she arrives at her first stop in Italy, she becomes sick from food poisoning. But just as things seem to go downhill, she meets Dr. Silvio, the sexy doctor at the Italian clinic. The two of them share an instant, magnetic connection despite the language barrier and age difference. As Emma embraces her womanhood and newfound freedom in a foreign country, she has one of the most memorable and exhilarating nights of her life. Warning: contains mature themes and language. Intended for 18+ readers only.Standalone. No Cliffhangers. Views: 24
Get your Taboo Romance fix NOW with this naughty standalone Older Man Younger Woman Romance between a rebellious BBW and her Dad's Sexy Best Friend.Alissa grew up in a family that did not pay attention to her and for that reason she rebelled at an early age. The summer after she graduated high school her parents decided that they wanted to spend time with her and her father’s best friend Mitch invited them to his cabin for the summer.Mitch was a doctor and had known Alissa’s parents as long as he could remember. He loved spending time with them as well as their daughter but never expected what Alissa had planned for him. Alissa has decided that she is not going to allow her parents to enjoy their final summer with her. They all knew that once she left for college she was not going to come back but they had no idea just how much she resented them. Alissa plotted to tease the doctor and cause tension between him and her father but what happens is not what she was planning. Warning: contains mature themes and language. Intended for 18+ readers only.Standalone. No Cliffhangers. Views: 23
Alan Bennett's first collection of prose since Writing Home takes in all his major writings over the last ten years. The title piece is a poignant family memoir with an account of the marriage of his parents, the lives and deaths of his aunts and the uncovering of a long-held family secret. Also included are his much celebrated diaries for the years 1996 to 2004. At times heartrending and at others extremely funny, Untold Stories is a matchless and unforgettable anthology. 'Funny, moving and true.' Blake Morrison, Guardian 'I have never read a book of this length where I have turned the last page with such regret. It is intelligent, educated, engaging, humane, self-aware, cantankerous and irresistibly funny. You want it to go on forever.' John Carey, Sunday Times 'I can only join the mighty chorus of praise.' Nicholas Hytner, Sunday Telegraph 'Alan Bennett, with his combination of pitiless observation and gentle understatement, is perhaps the best loved of English writers alive... Views: 22
Get your Taboo Romance fix NOW with this steamy standalone Menage Romance about a sweet and sexy BBW who travels to Barcelona, where she meets two hot locals.Finally fulfilling a childhood dream, Emma is leaving the home comforts in search of new experiences in the historic town of Barcelona. At first she wants to see everything the city has to offer, but after she meets some other tourists she's reminded that memories are made from meeting new people. Later that night that's proven true as she meets two local men, Raul and Emilio. Attraction sparks between them, and for the first time in her life Emma finds herself an object of desire. Unshackled from her inhibitions, she descends into a spicy affair, all the while recording her experiences in a travel journal.Warning: contains mature themes and language. Intended for 18+ readers only.Standalone. No Cliffhangers. Views: 21
