Book picks similar to
Savage Pageant by Jessica Q. Stark


poetry
confusing-but-good
general-nonfiction
small-press

Gardening in the Dark


Laura Kasischke - 2004
    Her poems take us to the flip side of human consciousness, where anything can happen at any time. Tinged with surrealism, her work makes visionary leaps from the quotidian to sudden, surprising epiphanies.

The Second Chance Billionaire Boss


Taylor Hart - 2019
    When he arrives at the island for a fundraising business conference, the last person he expected to run into was the woman who broke his heart six years ago. Needing space from her ex and time with her young son, Violet Moon has the perfect summer plans—a three-month position on the beautiful tropical Coconut Island. Plan A is ruined when she runs into the man who tried to stop her wedding six years before—the man she’s tried unsuccessfully to forget. Her new Plan B is to avoid him, which she thinks she can pull of because he’s only on the island for a week. Too bad he blackmails her into a date! After a moonlit swim, a day sailing with Violet and her son, and the infamous date, Nash finds himself falling for the woman he was convinced he could never have. Can they let go of the pain of the past and believe in second chances? Or will she slip away from him again?

The Moscow Whisper (Sean Richardson, #3)


Michael Jenkins - 2020
    Hours later, with bodies strewn across a terrace, a piece of secret intelligence reveals an international plot of colossal magnitude.For disgraced agent Sean Richardson, this is the beginning of a deniable mission to infiltrate and disrupt a group of Russian mercenaries who are working clandestinely to take over a nation state.Acting covertly as an illicit arms trafficker, Sean is dropped into a deadly cauldron of terrorists and high-tech weaponry that will take a nation down. As the bullets fly and the chaos rains in, can Sean take down the merchants of death…..or has he finally met his match?

Twenty-nine going on Thirty


Andaleeb Wajid - 2018
    Living in Bangalore with her best friend, Farida, and working as the social media head of a software firm, she's weighed down by the thought of becoming a responsible thirty-year-old. To add to this, sge also has to fend off her nother's persistent queries about when she intends to get married. Things begin to look up when Priya bumps into her charming new neighbour, Ajay. Sparks fly, but she soon finds out that he's a widower who has some baggage to deal with.Thabkfully, Priya finds comfort in the fact that her friends Farida, Mini and Namrata are approaching the three-O milestone too. Free-spirited Farida, shy Namrata, feisty Mini and Priya are brought together by family drama, boy trouble, and their fast-approachung birthdays. As they navigate love and friendships, they realise there's a difference between growing up and growing old....

Leave the Room to Itself


Graham Foust - 2003
    Winner of the 2003 Sawtooth Poetry Prize, judged by Joe Wenderoth, who comments, in his introduction: There are many ways to hear 'it takes off the top of my head.' For me, the most important way to hear it is: it makes me suddenly and oddly aware that I am alive--aware that I am simultaneously at the end and the beginning of my power, which is simply to be there and to say so. Foust's poems do this for me; I feel akin to the mute struggler that lurks all around these poems that eludes so many attempts at saying that and where and how he is. The struggle is, in my view, dignified -- never self-congratulatory, never self-pitying -- and it has produced sounds for us to come back to--sounds for us to set out from--Joe Wenderoth, from the introduction.

March Book


Jesse Ball - 2004
    A shockingly assured first collection from young poet Jesse Ball, its elegant lines and penetrating voice present a poetic symphony instead of a simple succession of individual, barely-linked poems. Craftsmanship defines this collection; it is full of perfect line-breaks, tenderly selected words, and inventive pairings. Just as impressive is the breadth and ingenuity of its recurring themes, which crescendo as Ball leads us through his fantastic world, quietly opening doors.In five separate sections we meet beekeepers and parsons, a young woman named Anna in a thin, linen dress and an old scribe transferring the eponymous March Book. We witness a Willy Loman-esque worker who "ran out in the noon street / shirt sleeves rolled, and hurried after / that which might have passed" only to be told that there's nothing between him and "the suddenness of age." While these images achingly inform us of our delicate place in the physical world, others remind us why we still yearn to awake in it every day and "make pillows with the down / of stolen geese," "build / rooms in terms of the hours of the day." Like a patient Virgil, insistent and confident, Ball escorts us through his mind, and we're lucky to follow.

Uptalk


Kimmy Walters - 2015
    By turns sassy and serious, the poems can seem to sprint in two directions at once, managing to make the reader laugh at the same time they are struck by the emotional strength of the work. "Charming, inviting, beguiling and delightful poems in the language of someone who seems alive speaking refreshing riddles to herself." SHEILA HETI"Uptalk is a book of transcribed whale songs. Some scientists gave a whale a microphone and she took it home and stayed up all night under the covers talking to herself about faces and word-parts. I am delighted that Kimmy took it upon herself to transcribe this unique document of marine biology, and my heart goes out to the brilliant, charming whale author, wherever she may be." SARA WOODS

The Thief of Time


John Boyne - 2000
    Now, for the first time in the United States, comes the book that started the career of the author that the Irish Examiner calls "one of the best and original of the new generation of Irish writers."It is 1758 and Matthieu Zela is fleeing Paris after witnessing the murder of his mother and his stepfather's execution. Matthieu's life is characterized by one extraordinary fact: before the eighteenth century ends, he discovers that his body has stopped ageing. At the end of the twentieth century and the ripe old age of 256 he is suddenly forced to answer an uncomfortable question: what is the worth of immortality without love?In this carefully crafted novel, John Boyne juxtaposes history and the buzz of the modern world, weaving together portraits of 1920s Hollywood, the Great Exhibition of 1851, the French Revolution, the Wall Street Crash, and other landmark events into one man's story of murder, love, and redemption.

Leader


Jordan Taylor - 2013
    With his best lead dog dropped from the race and unknown obstacles still ahead, he must take a leap of faith: relying on a young dog he has never learned to trust and whose leadership skills have never been tested. Until now.Stories in the Angel Paws series celebrate the unique bond between canines and humans with heartfelt, moving, and insightful tales for anyone who has ever loved a dog.

Fall Into Romance: A Boxed Set of 10 Heartwarming, Sweet Novellas


Melanie D. SnitkerLiwen Y. Ho - 2017
     Each story takes you inside the heart of a small town—its people—and features adorable animal friends in need of a forever home. Take a trip to Romance, Oregon, where falling in love has never been easier and happily-ever-after is guaranteed! Finding Forever in Romance by Melanie D. Snitker Brent's hands are so full he doesn't realize his heart is empty. But how can he convince Nicole to trust him and give them all a chance at the forever family they deserve? Lost in Romance by Stacy Claflin Work is Alisyn’s life. Everything is perfect until the day her boss’s son comes to town and takes her breath away. Will she risk it all for love? At Second Glance by Raine English Can an ornery French bulldog help a mismatched couple find love? Blown Into Romance by Shanna Hatfield Free spirit Brooke Roberts blows into Romance like an autumn storm, unprepared to fall for the handsome rancher who gives her a reason to stay. Wired for Romance by Franky A. Brown Electrician Josh Chadwick can rewire his new client’s house, but he can’t do a thing about the electricity sparking between them. Restoring Romance by Tamie Dearen She’s a big city chef who likes cats. He’s a small town mayor who restores antiques. But even with feline allergies at play, true love is nothing to sneeze at. Finding Dori by J.J. DiBenedetto She’s a loud, pushy New Yorker who drives him crazy. He almost ran her over with his truck. Of course they’re perfect for each other… Katie’s Chance for Romance by Jessica L. Elliott Five years ago she pushed him out of her life, but she couldn't force him from her heart. Chasing Romance by Liwen Y. Ho When pop sensation Chase Lockhart wants more than a room at Izzy Sutton’s Bed and Breakfast, she must decide whether it’s worth opening up her heart to him, especially when he’s eleven years her junior. Lessons in Romance by Kit Morgan A rooster, a tortoise and love, oh my! Now if the humans could just figure out the love part, they might all live happily ever after.

Danger Stalks the Land: Alaskan Tales of Death and Survival


Larry Kaniut - 1999
    This one-of-a-kind anthology captures the spine tingling adventures of daring men and women who venture into Alaska's vast wilderness and look death in the eye. Danger Stalks the Land relates gripping episodes of animal attacks, avalanches, aircraft disasters, fishing, hunting, and skiing accidents, and chronicles risky climbs and reckless mountaineering amid Alaska's fantastic peaks. Through exhaustive research and interviews, author Larry Kaniut has captured in one volume, the terror and beauty of man's attempt to explore a vast and unforgiving land.

The Honest Truth


Dan Gemeinhart - 2015
    He's got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day.But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from.So Mark runs away. He leaves home with his camera, his notebook, his dog, and a plan to reach the top of Mount Rainier--even if it's the last thing he ever does.The Honest Truth is a rare and extraordinary novel about big questions, small moments, and the incredible journey of the human spirit.

Always Been You


Iris Darshi - 2020
    But she loves his brother… doesn't she?For Ashwin, going home means being tortured. Because the girl he grew up loving--sweet, funny and beautiful Mahi--loves her best friend... his very own brother! A brother who already hates his guts. Is it any wonder his stomach fills with dread when he needs to go home for a whole month?Mahi has it all. A dream job, a wicked sense of humor, loving parents and the world’s best best-friend who just proposed to her. Perfect, right? Then why in the hell is she thinking about Lucky’s older brother Ashwin in the middle of the proposal?And now Ashwin is home. He’s terrified. She’s elated. His brother is pissed. It's the perfect setting for stolen kisses, tender confessions and unintended heartbreaks. It's a story of love, friendship and family bonds.****No Explicit Descriptions, but this is romance and has some sweet, lovey, intimate scenes. Has light F-word usage****