Book picks similar to
Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (502-557) by Xiaofei Tian
non-fiction
poetry
china
theory-philosophy-etc
Anger Management for Beginners: A Self-Help Course in 70 Lessons
Giles Coren - 2010
Star of BBC's Supersizers and hugely popular Times columnist's works through his anger about everything from dogs to cycle helmets.
Out of the Shadows: A Memoir
Timea E. Nagy - 2019
Interviewed and hired by what seemed like a bona fide recruitment agency, Timea left her home on the promise she would earn good money to send home to her family. She had no idea that she'd been lured by a ring of international human traffickers. Upon her arrival in Toronto, she was forced into sex labour in some of the city's seediest nightclubs and kept by her "agents" for three months until she escaped.This is her captivating, heartbreaking but ultimately redemptive story. It will take readers from the early years of Timea's life in Communist Hungary, offering a look inside an austere but complicated world ruled by community, restriction and struggle; then, to the dark, abusive three months working as a sex slave in a country that Timea once believed would offer her freedom and opportunity; and, finally, in riveting detail, through the heart-pounding escape Timea plots.Compelling and sweeping, balancing a tragic and unbelievable experience with a powerful story of grace, Timea Nagy's journey is one that will stay with you long after you read the last page.
The Driver
Alexander Roy - 2007
Tantalized by the legend of the Driver—the anonymous, possibly nonexistent organizer of the world's ultimate secret race—Roy set out to become a force to be reckoned with. At speeds approaching 200 mph, he sped from London to Morocco, from Budapest to Rome, from San Francisco to Miami, in his highly modified BMW M5, culminating in a new record for the infamous Los Angeles to New York run: 32:07.Sexy, funny, and shocking, The Driver is a never-before-told insider's look at an unbelievably fast and dangerous society that has long been off-limits to ordinary mortals.
Poems 4 A.M.
Susan Minot - 2002
We find her awake in the middle of the night, contemplating love and heartbreak in all their exhilarating and anguished specifics. With astonishing openness, in language both passionate and enchanting, she offers us an intimate map of a troubled and far-flung heart: “Can you believe I thought that?” she asks, “That we would always go/roaming brave and dangerous/on wild unlit roads?”At once witty and tender, with Dorothy Parker–like turns of the knife and memorable partings from lovers in New York, London, Rome and beyond, these poems capture a restless movement through loves and locales, and charm us at every turn with their forthrightness.From the Hardcover edition.
The Definitive Bob Dylan Songbook
Bob Dylan - 2000
The complete songbook from the greatest singer/songwriter of all time! Now with every song together in one giant volume, the ultimate Dylan songbook features over 329 tunes including all of his greatest hits as well as his lesser-known work. With melody line, chord symbols and full lyrics. Songs include: Blowin' in the Wind * Forever Young * Just Like a Woman * Mr. Tambourine Man * She Belongs to Me * Tangled Up in Blue * The Times They Are Changin' * Visions of Johanna * and hundreds more.
The Unemployed Fortune-Teller: Essays and Memoirs
Charles Simic - 1995
Provides glimpses into the origins of Charles Simic's poetry
The Persistence of Yellow: A Book of Recipes for Life
Monique Duval - 2000
The unreal becomes real and the good gets a taste for the great.
When Heaven Invades Earth Devotional & Journal
Bill Johnson - 2005
It focuses on walking in the divine as a lifestyle, shaping one's attitudes and worldview.
The Third Gift: My Dance with the Devil (and Her Mother)
J.D. McCabe - 2020
On the Edge
Charlie Carroll - 2010
It's the perfect job - so why is he so bored? This is a shocking but humorous diary of life in a world most of us never see.
Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie
Mark St. Amant - 2004
As seen on ESPN's Cold Pizza Fantasy football -- one of America's most popular, and profitable, virtual pastimes -- became a way of life for sports humorist and author Mark St. Amant. Utterly fed up with never having won his league championship, St. Amant abandoned a successful advertising career to make fantasy football his full-time job, embarking on a sprawling reconnaissance mission to discover what really makes this game, and its 20 million players, tick. Committed is the result of St. Amant's ranting, relentless, and strategic pursuit of his own obsession. In this wickedly funny and deeply informative work, St. Amant offers readers an all-access sideline pass to his wild, unprecedented fantasy football season, and to the hobby itself. From its humble beginnings in a New York hotel in 1962 to a multibillion-dollar business today, from local and online leagues to high-stakes, cutthroat Las Vegas competitions, St. Amant lays bare the facts, figures, and fanaticism of fantasy football in all its multidimensional glory.
Lost and Found: My story of heartbreak and hope
Toni Street - 2021
If Clouds Were Sheep: A tale of sheep farming in the Cotswolds
Sue Andrews - 2019
She is a horse-mad girl strongly attracted to the idea of farming, Aubrey is the son of a farm manager without land or money. But with limited knowledge, much enthusiasm and the challenge of raising their young family, anything can happen. This is the true story of a shepherding life; where icy nights are spent searching for lost sheep, the lambing sheds are filled with the first cries of newborns, and idyllic summers are spent in the show ring. Amusing, poignant and beautifully detailed, this is a book about how dreams can grow from small beginnings into breeding prize-winning Texel sheep in the Cotswolds. Sue and Aubrey Andrews are internationally renowned breeders of pedigree Texels. Perfect for fans of The Yorkshire Shepherdess and The Shepherd's Life.
House of Testosterone: One Mom's Survival in a Household of Males
Sharon O'Donnell - 2007
When you are the mother of boys, it seems like this question is on a continuous tape loop in your head. Humor columnist Sharon O’Donnell knows this feeling. In House of Testosterone, she chronicles her adventures raising three sons and reining in her über-male, forgetful husband, Kevin. She shares her stories of welcoming her third son into the world, resisting the gravitational pull of the “guy zone,” and running a household immersed in a world of sports, bathroom humor, and laundry. O’Donnell’s spirit shines through as she struggles to find some “me time” or survive another comical family vacation.These entertaining episodes of child- (and husband-) rearing lovingly illustrate why Sharon calls herself “Lady of the House of Testosterone.”
Ruth and Martin’s Album Club
Martin Fitzgerald - 2017
Make them listen to it two more times. Get them to explain why they never bothered with it before. Then ask them to review it.What began as a simple whim quickly grew in popularity, and now Ruth and Martin’s Album Club has featured some remarkable guests: Ian Rankin on Madonna’s Madonna. Chris Addison on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Brian Koppelman on The Smiths’ Meat is Murder. JK Rowling on the Violent Femmes’ Violent Femmes. Bonnie Greer on The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Martin Carr on Paul McCartney’s Ram. Brian Bilston on Neil Young’s Harvest. Anita Rani on The Strokes’ Is This It. Richard Osman on Roxy Music’s For Your Pleasure. And many, many more.Each entry features an introduction to each album by blog creator Martin Fitzgerald. What follows are delightful, humorous and insightful contributions from each guest as they have an album forced upon them and – for better or worse – they discover some of the world’s favourite music.Ruth and Martin’s Album Club is a compilation of some of the blog’s greatest hits as well as some exclusive material that has never appeared anywhere before. Throughout, we get an insight into why some people opt out of some music, and what happens when you force them to opt in.