Book picks similar to
Gospel Birds: And Other Stories of Lake Wobegon by Garrison Keillor
humor
fiction
american-fiction
literary-fiction
The Mark and the Void
Paul Murray - 2015
His birthplace is famed as the city of lovers, but so far love has always eluded him. Instead his life revolves around the investment bank where he works. And then one day he realizes he is being followed around, by a pale, scrawny man. The man's name is Paul Murray.Paul claims to want to write a novel about Claude and Claude's heart sings. Finally, a chance to escape the drudgery of his everyday office life, to be involved in writing, in art! But Paul himself seems more interested in where the bank keeps its money than in Claude-and soon Claude realizes that Paul is not all he appears to be ...
The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #1
Nick Spencer - 2013
Boomerang and some of Spidey's deadliest baddies prove that with terrible powers come terrible responsibilities!
Fluke: A Novel
Martin Blinder - 1998
In America, anybody can become president. In 1920, anybody did. Harding was a strikingly handsome man, a high school graduate of impenetrable ignorance whose only two qualifications for the presidency were that he looked and sounded presidential--provided you didn't look or listen too closely. Ohio's "favorite son" at the nominating convention, he recognized his deficiencies, did not want such high office, and never expected to be nominated, no less elected. But his destiny was to become the first packaged candidate, elected largely on the strength of a carefully crafted image. Thus began 12 years of Republican rule that fostered unbridled capitalism and willful isolation, leading to the Great Depression and the rise of European dictatorships, which set the stage for World War II. Greatly complicating things was the relationship between Harding and Nan, who shared a deeper intimacy and hotter sex than anything enjoyed by more contemporary White House occupants. But woven around and through their furtive couplings is the tapestry of corruption and scandal generated by a half-dozen uniquely odious presidential cronies. But this tale is not unremittingly bleak. After having been content all of his life to just slide by, Harding reinvented himself in his last year, proving that nobility can triumph over selfishness, that listening to your heart may be more reliable than listening to your head, and that love which is pure can transcend death itself.
Aepyornis Island
H.G. Wells - 1894
Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, he grew up in the rural community of Hazel Grove. Wells attended high school in Ottawa, Ontario and university in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As an undergraduate, he spent summers working in Iqaluit, Nunavut as an airline cargo handler. After a brief stint at graduate school in Montreal, Quebec, he returned to Iqaluit in 2001 and later that year transferred to the remote settlement of Resolute, on Cornwallis Island, where he worked until 2003, when he moved to Halifax with his wife, Rachel Lebowitz. At this point he started contributing book reviews and essays on Canadian poetry to periodicals including Books in Canada, Quill & Quire and Maisonneuve. In the spring of 2004, his first chapbook of poems, Fool's Errand, appeared. In the fall of that year, Toronto's Insomniac Press published his full-length collection of Arctic poems, Unsettled, under Paul Vermeersch's 4 AM Books imprint. In 2004, Wells started working for Via Rail Canada as a service attendant. In 2006 he became the Reviews Editor for Canadian Notes & Queries. In 2007, after moving to Vancouver, he published Sealift, a CD recording of 24 poems from Unsettled; "Achromatope," a letterpress broadside; and After the Blizzard, a limited edition chapbook. In the spring of 2008, Jailbreaks, his anthology of Canadian sonnets, was published. Anything But Hank!, the children's book he co-wrote with Lebowitz, with illustrations by Eric Orchard, was published in the fall. In 2009, after moving back to Halifax, Wells published Track & Trace, his second trade collection of poems, with illustrations by renowned graphic artist Seth. Track & Trace was shortlisted for the 2010 Atlantic Poetry Prize. In 2010, he published The Essential Kenneth Leslie, the first collection of Leslie's poems to be published since 1972.
Sisters Under the Skin
Marcia Willett - 2019
Rosie, Mummy and Daddy’s little Princess, can certainly look after herself though, and cunningly throws secret spanners in the works for her sisters. As the girls grow older, Rosie becomes more and more manipulative and her schemes soon take on a more malicious note. But even she can go too far and, when Olivia and Emily find out what she has in store for them, they decide the time has come to put a stop to their sister’s antics once and for all … Praise for Marcia Willett: 'Unexpected subtlety and charm ... a genuine voice of our times' - The Times 'With beautifully ironic observations and flashbacks to a mysterious past, the story has a twist in the tail so staggering that it necessitates re-reading and a strong cup of tea' - The Lady Willa Marsh was born in Somerset and lives in a Georgian parsonage in Devon with her husband and two Newfoundlands. As Marcia Willett, she also writes well-reviewed novels published by Headline.
The Dog Got It All
Robert McCullough - 2015
Phipps is “one of those rescues who are all the rage these days,” an upscale Manhattan dog with a rich owner, a great dog walker and an idyllic New York lifestyle. But his world is turned upside down when his owner, Angie DeSoto, suddenly passes from pancreatic cancer. The good news is that Angie leaves her millions to Mr. Phipps and he finds himself temporarily in the care of Devin McCloud, his dog walker and best bud. The bad news is that her adult children, a contentious clan at best, are furious about being left out in the cold, money-wise. And there's more. According to the terms of the will, Mr. Phipps and his millions will go to one of Angie's progeny, specifically the one best qualified to take care of him. After a brief trial period in which each one takes the dog, their efforts will be judged by a panel of dog experts – a famous, Cesar Millan-style dog trainer, a pet psychic and a renowned behaviorist. To further complicate matters, love will strike on several fronts as Mr. Phipps tells his story and his fate unfolds in this charming canine romantic comedy that reads like a date night version of "Marley and Me".
Tears Of The Maasai
Frank Coates - 2004
After a bizarre mishap Jack Morgan takes up a UN posting in Kenya, hoping to find obscurity on the streets of Nairobi. there he is befriended by the American 'Bear' Hoffman, a man equally at home in the city's racy nightlife as in the Kenyan bush. Jack's hopes for seclusion are soon dashed as he is seduced by the excitement of Africa and by a beautiful Maasai woman named Malaika. Malaika carries a dark secret, and when a warrior returns from her past, she and Jack are plunged into a world of ancient spiritualism and tribal curses. Caught at the centre of a gathering storm, they must fight for the survival of their love... Rich in historical details, tears of the Maasai follows Jack on a flight from truth, and a Maasai family's journey through time, from warrior supremacy to the colour and drama of modern-day Kenya. 'remarkable... adventuresome... suffused with tenderness' Australian Book Review
Clouds and Eclipses: The Collected Short Stories
Gore Vidal - 2006
Like the work of Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, his stories have been overshadowed by the author's triumphs writing in other genres. Still, Vidal's short fiction offers us a portrait of the young artist in the 1940s and 1950s. His subtle and comic tales often center on adolescence and homosexual themes. In Three Stratagems, a middle-aged gay man encounters a male prostitute while vacationing in Key West. In The Zenner Trophy, the star athlete at an elite boys school is expelled for sexual relations with a classmate. These stories were gathered along with five others into a 1956 volume, A Thirsty Evil, and for decades were thought to comprise Vidal's complete short fiction.
The Prince George Diaries
Clare Bennett - 2015
On the back of his successful domination of Australia, George and his PR team are busy plotting which country will go gaga next. But since Royal Baby 2.0 came along, George is struggling to retain his composure and remind himself that he is the heir, this new pretender is the spare.This diary takes us through a year in the life of the world's most influential toddler, and is rumoured to include: the lowdown on the country's biggest specialist taskforce - Team Catherine's Hair; how George took the news that he was about to be usurped by the arrival of the new baby; and his frantic attempts to find Uncle Harry a wife.
Rebecca's Children: A saga of love & betrayal in 19th Century Wales
Kate Dunn - 2016
For fans of Nadine Dorries, Maeve Binchy, Freda Lightfoot and Dilly Court. Lives are on the line as the workers fight back in the Welsh countryside…
1829, Wales
For centuries. generations of the Jenkins family have eked out a living from their Carmarthenshire hill farm. But when a fire destroys virtually all of their possessions the children witness their lives crumbling around them. Mary and William find they have barely enough land left to provide for their basic needs. Their only option is to take on more work, but William longs for action, and Mary begins to suspect that he has become embroiled with the Rebecca-ites, a shadowy group of nationalists pitted against the English landowners whose tolls have bankrupted so many Welshman. As tensions mount, Mary becomes ever more torn between her mistrust of the rebels’ violence and her growing attraction to Jac Tŷ Isha, one of their leaders. And when the British government decides to put a stop to the revolt, the danger to the men she loves increases a hundredfold… REBECCA’S CHILDREN is a poignant, beautifully crafted saga of love and betrayal, set against the background of Wales in mid-1800s – a country aflame with political and social unrest. "An accomplished first novel." -
The Times
"A well-handled tale of passion, social injustice and nationalist fervour in nineteenth century Wales." -
The Liverpool Post
“Kate Dunn is a fine storyteller.” - Ben Elton
Sarah Morris
D.E. Stevenson - 2019
Decisive, resourceful and independent, Sarah faces challenges in love and friendship from those around her and the wider circumstances of the war as she travels across the cities and countrysides of England and Scotland. Often described as gentle romances, D. E. Stevenson novels are neither overblown nor unduly tragic, populated with characters who quietly make those around them better simply because of their existence. Consistently satisfying, there is a good reason why Stevenson has amassed a devoted following.
Tuk-Tuk for Two
Adam Fletcher - 2020
“India. Were you serious?”About racing a tuk-tuk one thousand kilometres through India with a woman I’d just met…?No, I wasn’t serious.“There’s a fifty percent chance we’ll die. And the flight’s in two days. But if you want to, okay…”It was not a reasonable offer. But then she wasn’t a reasonable woman. She was certainly unreasonably attractive. I tried not to let that sway me, which was like a hammock deciding a tornado wouldn’t sway it.Driving terrified me; I hadn’t done it in a decade. But if I could drive in India, I could drive anywhere. And if I said yes, I’d get to spend ten days with her. Would that be enough time to find out who she was, what she wanted, and then convince her to abandon that and want me instead?So I said yes... Tuk-Tuk for Two is a hilarious travel memoir about adventure, love, fear, fate, India, and a blue racing tuk-tuk named Winnie. It’s the third in the best-selling Weird Travel series that has entertained tens of thousands of readers. They can be read in any order and in the tradition of Bill Bryson, Paul Theroux, and George Mahood: you’ll love their vivid descriptions, unforgettable characters, weird situations, and absurd humour.
Rich Man Poor Man
Adam Carolla - 2012
Combining Adam's inimitable comedic voice and four-color illustrations by his friend Michael Narren, Rich Man Poor Man is a hilariously accurate look at what the people born with silver spoons in their mouths have in common with the people whose only utensils are plastic sporks stolen from a Shakey's.
Serpent of Old
T.R. Pearson - 2019
When a decent, regular guy does his thieving neighbor a favor by driving him out to a long-neglected farm to steal an old panel truck, the two accidentally spark the ire of the hidden, quasi-occult residents of the place who prove eager to inflict Old Testament vengeance on just about every male within reach. It's Me Too gone feral in a story of moral anxiety, misguided romance, and the age-old wages of sin.
Collected Poems, 1953-1993
John Updike - 1993
Now in paperback, John Updike's dazzling collection of poetry--as varied as the 40 years in which they were written--including nearly every poem from his five previously published collections, and more than 70 new poems and his light verse.