Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind.The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012 includesKevin Brockmeier, Judy Budnitz, Junot Díaz, Louise Erdrich,Nora Krug, Julie Otsuka, Eric Puchner, George Saunders,Adrian Tomine, Jess Walter, and others

    Following the victim's funeral, her family files a lawsuit against the gun company who manufactured the killer's weapon of choice. The lawyers for the plaintiff and defendant--Kelly Starling and Jason Noble--are young, charismatic, and successful. They're also easy blackmail targets, both harboring a personal secret so devastating it could destroy their careers. Millions of dollars--and more than a few lives--are at stake. But as Kelly and Jason battle each other, they discover that the real fight is with unseen forces intent on controlling them both.

    Here, in one volume, are Dominick Dunne’s mesmerizing tales of justice denied and justice affirmed. Whether writing of Claus von Bülow’s romp through two trials; the Los Angeles media frenzy surrounding O.J. Simpson; the death by fire of multibillionaire banker Edmond Safra; or the Greenwich, Connecticut, murder of Martha Moxley and the indictment—decades later—of Michael Skakel, Dominick Dunne tells it honestly and tells it from his unique perspective. His search for the truth is relentless. With new essay, “Mourning In New York,” about September 11, 2001.

    Star of BBC's Supersizers and hugely popular Times columnist's works through his anger about everything from dogs to cycle helmets.

    Ahern takes the familiar aspects of women's lives—the routines, the embarrassments, the desires—and elevates these moments to the outlandish and hilarious with her astute blend of magical realism and social insight.One woman is tortured by sinister bite marks that appear on her skin; another is swallowed up by the floor during a mortifying presentation; yet another resolves to return and exchange her boring husband at the store where she originally acquired him. The women at the center of this curious universe learn that their reality is shaped not only by how others perceive them, but also how they perceive the power within themselves.By turns sly, whimsical, and affecting, these thirty short stories are a dynamic examination of what it means to be a woman in this very moment. Like women themselves, each story can stand alone; yet together, they have a combined power to shift consciousness, inspire others, and create a multi-voiced Roar that will not be ignored.

    Slower this time, taking in the details of everyone's faces. I began to play the game I'd played my whole life: spot the black person. Of course, I wish it didn't matter what I looked like or where I came from, but it was obvious that no one there looked like me.'Alexandra is 25, mixed-race and from Essex. As a trainee criminal barrister, she finds herself navigating a world and a set of rules designed by a privileged few. This is her story.We follow Alexandra through a criminal justice system still divided by race and class. We hear about the life-changing events that motivated her to practice criminal law, beginning with the murder of a close family friend and her own experiences of knife crime. She shows us how it feels to defend someone who hates the colour of your skin or someone you suspect is guilty, and the heart-breaking cases of youth justice she has worked on. We see what it's like for the teenagers coerced into county line drug deals and the damage that can be caused when we criminalise teenagers.Her story is unique in a profession still dominated by a privileged section of society with little first-hand experience of the devastating impact of violent crime.

    These elegant, conversational excursions refuse to let a reader slide over anything, from the tiniest shards of beach glass to barren big-box wastelands. They detonate distractedness, superficiality, artificiality. In the process, Purpura inhabits many stances: metaphysician and biologist, sensualist and witness—all in service of illuminating that which Virginia Woolf called “moments of being”—previously unworded but palpably felt states of existence and knowing. Rough Likeness finds worlds in the minute, and crafts monuments to beauty and strangeness.

    Through the eyes of her naive and inexperienced younger self, Byron shares remarkable stories inspired by the people she had the privilege to treat. Gripping, poignant, and full of daring black humor, this book reveals the frightening and challenging induction all mental health staff face and highlights their incredible commitment to their patients. It shares the tales of ordinary people with an amazing resilience to life's challenges.

    Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a fly on the wall of a creative agency? No? Well, that’s fine as well. You wouldn’t know you were in an agency anyway; flies have no concept of that kind of thing. All they’re interested in is standing in poo then walking around the rim of your coffee mug.

    Now, I'll do it for him.' As founding cast members of hit television show Gogglebox, Leon and June won the hearts of a nation with their warm humour and unending love for each other. When Leon sadly died at Christmas 2017, Gogglebox viewers were bereft, calling for a state funeral for our national treasure. In this touching memoir she looks back at all of the laughter and love they have shared together; letting us in on the secrets to a truly happy marriage in this wonderful celebration of two lives well lived.Together for 63 years, coming to terms with life without Leon has been a difficult process for June. But the many treasured memories of their marriage will never leave her. From when, aged 18, she first laid eyes on Leon at teacher training college in 1955; their journey to marry when their parents disapproved; happy recollections of 1960s Liverpool; to building a loving home and family together before finding fame as pensioners. Firm favourites of Gogglebox, they were loved for their gentle teasing, Leon's cheeky gags and humorous rants, and June's unerring patience and caring touch. Leon and June have experienced their fair share of highs and lows, but they always got through everything together. As Leon always said, 'As long as June's here, I'm all right.'

    It's a book that has remained current for over half a century, fighting off critics and changing tastes in fiction. But do even its biggest fans know all there is to appreciate about The Great Gatsby?Maureen Corrigan, the book critic for "Fresh Air" and a Gatsby lover extraordinaire, points out that while Gatsby may be the novel most Americans have read, it's also the ones most of us read too soon -- when we were "too young, too defensive emotionally, too ignorant about the life-deforming powers of regret" to really understand all that Fitzgerald was saying ("it's not the green light, stupid, it's Gatsby's reaching for it," as she puts it). No matter when or how recently you've read the novel, Corrigan offers a fresh perspective on what makes it so enduringly relevant and powerful. Drawing on her experience as a reader, lecturer, and critic, her book will be a rousing consideration of Gatsby: not just its literary achievements, but also its path to "classic" (its initial lukewarm reception has been a form of cold comfort to struggling novelists for decades), its under-acknowledged debt to hard-boiled crime fiction, its commentaries on race, class, and gender.With rigor, wit, and an evangelistic persuasiveness, Corrigan will leave readers inspired to grab their old paperback copies of Gatsby and re-experience this great novel in an entirely new light.

    Text Me When You Get Home is a personal and sociological perspective - and ultimately a celebration - of the evolution of the modern female friendship.Kayleen Schaefer has experienced (and occasionally, narrowly survived) most every iteration of the modern female friendship. First there was the mean girl cliques of the '90s; then the teenage friendships that revolved around constant discussion of romantic interests and which slowly morphed into Sex and the City spin-offs; the disheartening loneliness of "I'm not like other girls" friendships with only men; the discovery of a platonic soul mate; and finally, the overwhelming love of a supportive female squad (#squad).And over the course of these friendships, Schaefer made a startling discovery: girls make the best friends. And she isn't the only one to realize this. Through interviews with friends, mothers, authors, celebrities, businesswomen, doctors, screenwriters, and historians (a list that includes Judy Blume, Megan Abbott, The Fug Girls, and Kay Cannon), Schaefer shows a remarkable portrait of what female friendships can help modern women accomplish in their social, personal, and work lives.A validation of female friendship unlike any that's ever existed before, this book is a mix of historical research, the author's own personal experience, and conversations about friendships across the country. Everything Schaefer uncovers leads to - and makes the case for - the eventual conclusion that these ties among women are making us (both as individuals and as society as a whole) stronger than ever before.

    Instead of going along to get along, she bucks the trends, choosing to chart a new course in life that is wholly centered on finding herself and fulfilling her dreams. And on that new course, she is surrounded by a strong support system who just wants to see her win.Along the way, there are bumps and bruises, but in the end Cienna learns that time is the greatest salve for anything that ails you.

    But a few nagging questions remain...Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby?Part memoir, part protest, Caitlin answers the questions that every modern woman is asking.

    Just when she doesn't think things could get any worse, they do. When her car stalls out at a busy intersection and she gets out to check under the hood, a guy steals her car. Armed with a dress and a pair of Chucks, Avery runs after the thief. When a hot stranger offers to help, she can't say no. That's how Avery mets Sean Ferro, the totally sexy, totally damaged guy with more secrets than she has time for. Avery doesn't have time for anything anymore. Her is life falling apart and it's not just the car. It's everything, and it doesn't matter how tightly she tries to hold on, there's nothing left to hold on to. With the sudden death of her parents, it's only a matter of months until Avery's shot at college is gone, and she's living in a cardboard box. Other students have their families to rely on when things get bad. Avery has no one. But there's one option, one incredibly sexy, morally devoid, option. If Avery takes a job as a call girl, one guy could save her. One client. One time. She just has to say yes. Genre: Romantic Suspense Collection A: Includes Volumes 1-3 Pages: 352 THE FERRO FAMILY The Arrangement (Sean & Avery) Damaged (Peter & Sidney) Stripped (Jon & Cassie) The Proposition (Bryan & Hallie) Easy (Jocelyn Ferro) Broken Promises (Trystan & Mari) The Wedding Contract (Nick & Sky) Secrets & Lies (Kerry) H.M. WARD'S NEW YORK CITY LOVE STORIES REVIEWS: "H.M. Ward writes an emotional, deeply felt story that will rock your world." -Carly Phillips, New York Times Bestselling Author "H.M. Ward takes this series to a whole new level of intensity!" -Cary Mattiller "One of the most emotionally charged novels I have read all year." -Crystal via Goodreads "If you love The Arrangement, then you will not be disappointed with The Proposition." Linda Wallace "Amazing, awesome, and unbelievably sexy." -Cheryl, via Goodreads "You can't go wrong with any book written by H.M. Ward." -Christon Benford "This is a story about true love/ first love never dying and making it through all odds. An incredible book." -Gabby's Book Blog "This has to be H.M. Ward's best work yet!" -Sheri via Goodreads "The tension is palpable and so physically powerful; it literally reaches out and tugs at all my emotions. My God, it was beautifully erotic. When a story elicits so much emotion from you, you know it's good." Tessamari Reviews "I want to marry this book and have it's fictional babies" "Move over Christian Grey and welcome Sean Ferro." -Reading, Eating, & Dreaming "You can't go wrong with a book written by H.M. Ward." -Christon Benford "I thought nothing could top Damaged & The Arrangement Series. I was wrong." -Curious Kindle Reader "Serious sexual tension!" -Spare Time Book Blog "Hilarious, witty, with a 'gut punching' story line." -Workman "Amazing, hot, sexy, and leaves you wanting more." -ENA AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: H.M. Ward continues to reign as a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author who is swiftly approaching 13 million copies sold, placing her among the literary titans. Ward has been featured in articles in the NEW YORK TIMES, FORBES, and USA TODAY to name a few.