I can think of just about no contemporary poets who publish such consistently great work.” —Corduroy Books “Bob Hicok's poetry is a fleeting comfort, a temporary solace from the chaos of the world. Smart, honest, powerfully inventive, his writing asks the biggest questions while acknowledging that there are no answers beyond the imposed structure of the page.” —Los Angeles Times on This Clumsy Living “The most potent ingredient in virtually every one of Bob Hicok's compact, well-turned poems is a laughter as old as humanity itself, a sweet waggery that suggests there's almost no problem that can't be solved by this poet's gentle humor.” —New York Times Book Review on Insomnia Diary

    Written with unsparing honesty, these stories vividly illustrate love's complexities, the intricacies of family relationships, struggles with sexual identity, and the specter of AIDS. Whether chronicling a dying man's acts of vandalism, a divorcée under house arrest, a Mormon couple's potluck dinner for their few homosexual acquaintances, or a young Los Angeles boy's sexual awakening, the stories in Guess Again are full of wit, subtlety, and emotional generosity.

    Turning The Tables is the first published history of the company which grew from a run-down bingo hall to become a national pay-per-view competitor... then crashed in a sea of debt. John Lister (author of Slamthology) gives an independent, objective and informative account that reveals hidden secrets and shatters common myths. From a little-known truth about ECW's most famous feud to a blow-by-blow account of what really happened in Revere, this book will give you the true story behind America's most controversial wrestling group.

    Opening with a chapter on how Emily BrontA's masterpiece was received in the nineteenth century, the "Guide" links together a selection of extracts that demonstrate the major critical developments of the twentieth century -- from humanism through formalism to deconstruction. Within this general framework, subsequent chapters focus on psychoanalytic readings, source studies, readings using discourse theory, work on dissemination, and political readings from Marxist, postcolonialist, and feminist points of view.

    Everything was going so well in Kat and Philippe’s life together. Then suddenly it wasn’t. Roman ruins delayed the work on the Villa des Violettes. The Russian drug gang might be back in the neighbourhood. On top of that, Kat had worked herself into what Molly classified as a full blown “Christmas conundrum.” Kat wanted the holidays to work perfectly as she blended a Canadian Christmas with a Provençal Fête de Noêl for the first time in their new home. Now she’d lost her confidence and, with it, the holiday spirit. Philippe hoped a weekend trip to the famous Christmas markets of Strasbourg would solve everything. As it happened, things were about to get worse.

    Carl is determined to get justice for Kate, whatever it takes. But with few allies, he finds himself incurring the wrath of powerful enemies as he attempts to uncover the truth.

    Michael Martone is its own appendix, comprising fifty “contributors notes,” each of which identifies in exorbitant biographical detail the author of the other forty-nine. Full of fanciful anecdotes and preposterous reminiscences, Martone’s self-inventions include the multiple deaths of himself and all his family members, his Kafkaesque rebirth as a giant insect, and his stints as circus performer, assembly-line worker, photographer, and movie extra. Expect no autobiographical consistency here. A note revealing Martone's mother as the ghost-writer of all his books precedes the note beginning, “Michael Martone, an orphan . . . “ We learn of Martone’s university career and sketchy formal education, his misguided caretaking of his teacher John Barth’s lawn, and his impersonation of a poor African republic in political science class, where Martone's population is allowed to starve as his more fortunate fellow republics fight over development and natural resource trading-cards. The author of Michael Martone, whose other names include Missy, Dolly, Peanut, Bug, Gigi-tone, Tony's boy, Patty's boy, Junior's, Mickey, Monk, Mr. Martone, and “the contributor named in this note," proves as Protean as fiction itself, continuously transforming the past with every new attribution but never identifying himself by name. It is this missing personage who, from first note to last, constitutes the unformed subject of Michael Martone.

    With no provocation from the still-distant Nazis, the farmers of tiny Jedenew unite to launch a murderous rampage against the local Jews who have long been their friends and neighbors, even their benefactors.In the hands of young German sensation Kevin Vennemann, Close to Jedenew is a lyrical, stylish, and penetrating plunge into fatal mysteries. How can we explain such madness? Venneman’s deft and innovative prose, even his gripping and mysterious narrator, speaks timelessly to, and of, us all.

    "Fingernails" quickly became a sensation when it was released and has long been a bibliographic rarity and one of the most read texts on the Russian internet.

    Featuring Chief Inspector of Homicide Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, these extraordinary novels are here together for the first time in a fabulous ebook bundle. Still Life Gamache and his team are called to the scene of a suspicious death in Three Pines. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident, but Gamache smells something foul this Thanksgiving season. A Fatal Grace When CC de Poitiers is found dead the day after Christmas, electrocuted in the middle of a curling match, Gamache digs beneath the surface to find where the real secrets are buried. But it seems he has enemies of his own, and with the coming of the winter winds, something far more chilling is in store. The Cruelest Month A group of Three Pines villagers celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, hoping to rid the town of its evil-until one of their party dies of fright. Was it a natural death, or murder? As Gamache investigates, he will face his own ghosts as well as those residing in this seemingly idyllic town. A Rule Against Murder Gamache and his wife are celebrating their anniversary at the luxurious, isolated Manoir Bellechasse. When a dead body turns up in the midst of a family reunion, Gamache learns that the lodge is a place where visitors come to escape their past, until that past catches up with them. The Brutal Telling A stranger is found murdered in Olivier's Bistro in Three Pines, and Gamache is dismayed to find Olivier's story full of holes. Gamache follows a trail of clues into the woods and across the continent before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling. Bury Your Dead It's Winter Carnival in Quebec City, when Gamache is called to investigate a dead body at the Literary and Historical Society. Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from Three Pines. A Trick of the Light When Three Pines artist Clara Morrow's former friend is found dead in her garden, Gamache finds the art world is one of shading and nuance, shadow and light. Even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they've found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light. The Beautiful Mystery Outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, where the monks are world-famous for their glorious chants. But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Gamache. How the Light Gets In As Christmas approaches, Gamache travels to Three Pines as a favor to the bookshop owner Myrna Landers, whose friend has gone missing. With mounting crises in his own homicide department, Gamache finds himself not only investigating a murder, but also seeking refuge for himself and his still-loyal colleagues--if such a refuge exists. The Long Way Home Happily retired in Three Pines, Gamache has finally found peace. But when Clara Morrow's artist husband, Peter, fails to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation, Gamache agrees to join her on a journey far from Three Pines in search of him. The Nature of the Beast When a boy prone to tall tales disappears from Three Pines, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his stories might have been true. So begins a frantic search for the boy and the truth, sending Gamache deep in the forest and setting off a sequence of events leading to murder, an old crime, and a betrayal. A monster once visited Three Pines, and put down deep roots. Now it is back. A Great Reckoning When an intricate old map, which was given to Armand Gamache on the first day if his new job, is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity.

    The eight-hour work day, the Ponzi scheme and the rhythm and blues have risen from its streets. But Chicago is not just a city of the past. In this dynamic issue, GRANTA brings the one-time industrial hub to life through the eyes of exciting new writers, from home grown stars like George Saunders and Dave Eggers, to immigrants who have come to the city from Bosnia, China and Ethiopia.In this issue, Aleksandar Hemon plays football with Italians and Tibetans along Lake Shore Drive. Chicago born MacArthur 'genius' grant-winning photographer Camilo José Vegara captures the demolition of the city's massive public housing estates. Richard Powers recollects the flood of 1992. Don DeLillo remembers Nelson Algren. Alex Kotlowitz explores the cost of urban violence and Dinaw Mengestu describes moving back home to run his dying father’s messenger business. Plus a sneak preview of Peter Carey's new novel.Finally, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka meditates on the meaning of the city's most visible son, Barack Obama. Out of these stories, which will be wrapped in a beautiful cover by Chris Ware, will arise a vivid portrait of a city remaking itself: a city shredded by violence but poised for a new future; a city that once again has a legitimate claim to being the home of the world's best writers.

    How might we shift to a more durable and responsible way of life? What changes in values and behavior will be required? Ranging geographically from southern Indiana to the Boundary Waters Wilderness and culturally from the Bible to billboards, Sanders extends the visions of Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and Rachel Carson to our own day. A Conservationist Manifesto shows the crucial relevance of a conservation ethic at a time of mounting concern about global climate change, depletion of natural resources, extinction of species, and the economic inequities between rich and poor nations. The important message of this powerful book is that conservation is not simply a personal virtue but a public one.

      There’s nothing more troubling than having your child break down on the side of the road, leaking oil, overheating, and asking tough questions like, “What is death?” and “Why did Mom leave?” But stay calm! Because How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive is not only a dizzyingly beautiful novel, it’s also a handy manual with useful chapters on “Tools and Spare Parts,” “Valve Adjustment,” “How To Read This Novel,” and, most important of all, “How Works a Heart.”   Welcome to Christopher Boucher’s zany literary universe, a place where metaphors shift beneath your feet, familiar words assume new meanings, objects talk, trees attack, and time actually is money. Modeled on the cult classic 1969 hippie handbook of the same name, How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive is an astonishing tour-de-force that tackles some of life’s biggest questions: How do you cope with losing a parent? What’s the secret to raising a child? How do you keep love alive? How do you get your car to start?

    

    It it impossible is to resist quoting passages from this novel, given the author’s brilliant insights into character, wonderful literary flourishes and stunning demonstration of what is meant by inspired writing." - Humber School for Writers. A savage, brilliant, hilarious attack on modern hypocrisy, "The God of Atheists" follows the downfall of three men who wake up one morning and decide to take what they have not earned. Al, a down-and-out music producer, bullies his handsome son into forming a boy-band. Alder, an obscure academic, steals a brilliant idea from a grad student. As they exploit the talents of the naïve youths around them, their fame and wealth increase – but they become more and more terrified of exposure and destruction...