Book picks similar to
The Wedding Party by H.E. Bates


short-stories
male-author
rensing-center
20th-century

FUBAR


Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - 2009
    In the short story, “FUBAR,” we’re taken to a desolate building in a drab industrial complex, where a lonely office worker gains a fresh perspective on life thanks to the intervention of his free-spirited new female assistant. “FUBAR” and the thirteen other never-before-published pieces that comprise Look at the Birdie serve as an unexpected gift for devoted readers who thought that Kurt Vonnegut’s unique voice had been stilled forever–and provide a terrific introduction to his short fiction for anyone who has yet to experience his genius.

Love Isn't Enough


Vanessa Miller - 2011
    She promised to love, honor and cherish her husband, but Thomas kept secrets. And now as Hannah wades through all of Thomas’s unpaid bills, baby mama drama and her inability to conceive… she must decide if love is enough to keep her at home when her heart and mind is in turmoil over something that only God can fix.This short story is loosely based on the Old Testament story of Hannah’s pleas for a child of her own (1 Samuel 1:1-2:26).

20 Minutes To Go Viral


Daniel Hurst - 2020
    Something that threatens the whole of humanity. Something is going viral. 20 Minutes. 20 People. 20 stories that will make you want to stay inside and never greet another human being again. This is a short novella about a viral outbreak in a small town in the Lake District and shows how quickly disease can spread amongst the population. This isn't the Coronavirus. But it's just as scary. Humans. Viruses. Panic. Fear. There goes the countryside...

Mavis Belfrage


Alasdair Gray - 1996
    Five other tales describe folk in Britain's lowest professional class between the late-1950s and 60s.

The Various Lives of Keats and Chapman: Including The Brother


Flann O'Brien - 1976
    And who is funnier?"- Edna O'BrienThe cream of Flann O'Brien's comic tour-de-force, the Keats and Chapman stories began in O'Brien's column in the Irish Times. He called them "studies in literary pathology" -- monstrously tall tales that explore the very limits of the shaggy dog story. As one critic wrote, they will accumulate the fantasy to the point of sadism, and then cash home with the flat, desolating pun."The Brother" is another of O'Brien's funniest creations. He is the archetypal Dublin man -- an authority on every one of mankind's ills, from the common cold to the court case. Forget the experts, The Brother knows best."The best comic writer I can think of."- S. J. Perelman

A Forest with No Trees


Peter Hey - 2015
    It’s a lie, of course. What I mean is, I remember so very little.’ Tom Haworth is struggling against the fragility of his own mind as it surrenders to what seems an increasingly hostile world. He begins to be haunted by vivid dreams that transport him into a different life and to a treeless forest, high in the stark moorland of industrial England around the time of the First World War. There he meets family he never knew existed and a girl called Clara, whom he recognises as the blueprint for every woman he has ever loved. Back in the present, he discovers he is losing days: vaguely remembered yesterdays in which he has acted out of character, as if someone were taking his place. Tom traces back through his family tree and discovers the characters in his dreams to be real and not just products of his unstable subconscious. Where are the ‘memories’ coming from? Has madness finally taken hold? And is Clara lost to him forever, or will she be his salvation? A story of redemption and rebirth that weaves compellingly between different times and different lives. Inspired by a gravestone in a remote Pennine cemetery, this story had been nagging at the author for over a decade. Eventually he gave in.

Maple Syrup Mysteries Boxed Set, #1-3


Emily James - 2017
    She couldn’t have been more wrong… A STICKY INHERITANCE – BOOK 1 Sometimes the truth can be a sticky thing… Nicole Fitzhenry-Dawes feels like the only failure amid a family of high achievers. Her boyfriend turned out to be married, and her career as a defense attorney is in tatters. When she inherits her uncle’s maple syrup farm, she thinks it’s time for a change—one that keeps her far away from bad guys. For half a day at least. Her uncle’s suicide wasn’t a suicide at all. And as Nicole closes in on his killer, she not only risks becoming the murderer’s next victim, but also starts to wonder if knowing the truth is ever worse than believing the lie… BUSHWHACKED – BOOK 2 Sometimes the most beautiful places hide the darkest secrets… What former lawyer Nicole Fitzhenry-Dawes wants is to peacefully run her maple syrup farm. What she gets is a body run over by her car. It turns out to be the manager of the local animal shelter, and his death wasn't the accident it at first seems. With a little finagling, Nicole convinces the interim police chief to allow her to help with the case, even though she’s also busy trying to settle in to her new role as owner of Sugarwood and figure out her unusual friendship with the county medical examiner. As Nicole closes in on being able to put the killer behind bars, will she manage to find the evidence she needs before the murderer puts her in a cage—or a body bag—instead? ALMOST SLEIGHED – BOOK 3 The truth always comes with a price… Former lawyer Nicole Fitzhenry-Dawes has finally settled in to her new home in Fair Haven, and her first maple syrup season is upon them. It’s not going as smoothly as she’d hoped. Their sap lines keep springing leaks, and as if that wasn’t enough, Nicole finds their groom-mechanic, Noah, apparently trampled in one of the horse stalls. Fair Haven’s interim police chief is ready to declare it an accident, but Nicole believes otherwise. With Noah in a coma, she’s determined to figure out who wanted to kill him before the perpetrator can return and finish the job. But whoever attempted to kill Noah has other ideas and is willing to do whatever it takes to stop Nicole from discovering the truth—even destroy Sugarwood and the man Nicole loves. These books are "clean" reads and contain no swearing, gore, or steamy bedroom scenes. While the series is best enjoyed in order, each book is a complete mystery on its own.

The Return of the Hippy


David Luddington - 2010
    He thought he understood the way the world worked, but now, as a sacrificial lamb of the credit crunch he finds himself drifting... drifting into the clutches of the ever resourceful Pete who could find the angle in a Fairy Liquid bubble... and into the arms of the enigmatic hippy girl, Astrid, who’s about to introduce Tony to rabbits, magic caves and the joys of mushrooms. eBook of the Month Club describes ‘The Return of the Hippy’ as “The funniest and most heart warming novel of the year.”

The Summer of 1974 (The Gavrielle Series Book 1)


Yael Politis - 2019
    They could hardly be more different, so why do they feel so connected? Gavrielle Rozmann (daughter of Ilana Rozmann from The Lonely Tree) is on leave from a career in the Israeli army. After suffering personal loss and the general trauma of the Yom Kippur War – and the horrific terror attacks that followed it, she is also dealing with a personal crisis. Born an orphan, she has received information that a man in Florida might be able to help her find the father she has never known. Should she get on a plane for Florida? Instead, she boards one for Rome – for a vacation and time to think. There she meets Charlie Freeman (from Whatever Happened to Mourning Free?).Charlie, a young black man, has just graduated from the University of Michigan and Charlene, the white woman who has given him a home, has big plans for him. She believes he could become a true leader, following in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.But her plans have little to do with the future he envisions for himself. What better place for a student of art and architecture to take time for reflection than the open air museum called Rome? These two strangers – who seem to have absolutely nothing in common – discover they share a basic reality that other people may find difficult to understand. The Summer of 1974 draws you into the lives of believable, well-developed characters. People you care about, even when you don’t approve of their actions. Though set in a specific historical/political context, this book is about personal relationships – love, friendship, and family.

Never Came Home: A Riveting Kidnapping Mystery


Hazel Holmes - 2021
    

The Lost Princess ( Sravanapura Royals #3)


Preethi Venugopala - 2019
    Yet, the man she has loved all her life will not warm up to her.Rajeev, a hotshot movie director, has feelings for Ishaani. But, she is his sister's best friend and has been like another sibling to him. Yet, what can he do if he feels compelled to make her his own?Then, Ishaani's life changes overnight. She is no longer a lowly commoner but a princess.She has to make some tough decisions to protect the man she loves.Her choices lead them both down a path filled with shocking revelations and devastating consequences.Will true love prevail?Or will the many twists of fate tear them apart?

Yes, And


Cindy Gunderson - 2020
    Yes, she is old. Yes, she sometimes forgets where she put her glasses, or her heart medication. But doesn't everyone? That doesn't give workers--paid to assist her, mind you--the right to rifle through her personal belongings, or "accidentally" forget something of hers in their pocket. It definitely does not give them the right to embezzle thousands of dollars from her family trust.Just when she is most desperate, a young neighbor takes her by surprise. Bonding over their shared love of soap operas, Jo and Toby engage in old-school reconnaissance to find answers. Together, they brave roller skates, walks along uneven ground, and even downtown parking on what may be Jo's most exciting adventure in forty years."Yes, And" is a feel-good story that explores the hearts of two misunderstood, kindred spirits, connected just when they need each other most.

Hometown Weekly


Bruce Lindsay - 2008
    After more than thirty years of being asked the same question—"Why don't you give us some good news for a change?"—veteran television news anchor Bruce Lindsay obliges us with humorous and heartwarming stories from the idyllic town that we believe we grew up in—or wished we did. Inspired from the stories found in real small-town newspapers, Bruce Lindsay introduces us to the down-to-earth, foible-filled characters from Parley's Grove—folks who can make the mundane mesmerizing and the absurd endearing. Warm, poignant, and always hilarious, these affectionate vignettes of small-town life will help you remember who you are and where you're from.

The Best Contemporary Women's Fiction: Six Novels


Elizabeth Benedict - 2010
    The collection includes the following titles: Almost by Elizabeth Benedict, Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss, The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell, and The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett.

Love, Etc.


Julian Barnes - 1992
    In Love, etc. he uses all the surprising, sophisticated ingredients of a delightful farce to create a tragicomedy of human frailties and needs. After spending a decade in America as a successful businessman, Stuart returns to London and decides to look up his ex-wife Gillian. Their relationship had ended years before when Stuart’s witty, feckless, former best friend Oliver stole her away. But now Stuart finds that the intervening years have left Oliver’s artistic ambitions in ruins and his relationship with Gillian on less than solid footing. When Stuart begins to suspect that he may be able to undo the results of their betrayal, he resolves to act. Written as an intimate series of crosscutting monologues that allow each character to whisper their secrets and interpretations directly to the reader, Love, etc. is an unsettling examination of confessional culture and a profound refection on the power of perspective.