Book picks similar to
In Short Measures: Three Novellas by Michael Ruhlman
fiction
short-stories
novella
hardcover
Homesick for Another World
Ottessa Moshfegh - 2017
Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities. Homesick for Another World is a master class in the varieties of self-deception across the gamut of individuals representing the human condition. But part of the unique quality of her voice, the echt Moshfeghian experience, is the way the grotesque and the outrageous are infused with tenderness and compassion. Moshfegh is our Flannery O'Connor, and Homesick for Another World is her Everything That Rises Must Converge or A Good Man is Hard to Find. The flesh is weak; the timber is crooked; people are cruel to each other, and stupid, and hurtful. But beauty comes from strange sources, and the dark energy surging through these stories is powerfully invigorating. We're in the hands of an author with a big mind, a big heart, blazing chops, and a political acuity that is needle-sharp. The needle hits the vein before we even feel the prick.
Candace
Michelle Miller - 2019
He’s sharp, handsome, and kind—her mind can’t help racing to where it all will lead. Then the check arrives. It’s time to get real.Candace is part of The Fairer Sex, a collection of sexy, satirical, and sometimes harrowing short stories that explore the question: “What do women want?” The answer is different for every woman, but each can be read or listened to in a single sitting.
Easy For Keeps
Kristen Proby - 2016
All women. Every shape and size, regardless of hair or eye color, religion or race, he simply enjoys them all. Meeting more than his fair share as the manager and head bartender of The Odyssey, a hot spot in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter, Adam’s comfortable with his lifestyle, and sees no reason to change it. A wife and kids, plus the white picket fence are not in the cards for this confirmed bachelor. Until a beautiful woman, and her sweet princess, literally knock him on his ass. Sarah Cox has just moved to New Orleans, having accepted a position as a social worker specializing in at-risk women and children. It’s a demanding, sometimes dangerous job, but Sarah is no shy wallflower. She can handle just about anything that comes at her, even the attentions of one sexy Adam Turner. Just because he’s charmed her daughter, making her think of magical kingdoms with happily ever after, doesn’t mean that Sarah believes in fairy tales. But the more time she spends with the enchanting man, the more he begins to sway her into believing in forever. Even so, when Sarah’s job becomes more dangerous than any of them bargained for, will she be ripped from Adam’s life forever?
Searching for You
Jennifer Probst - 2015
But she didn’t get to the top of her field without setting stringent expectations, and when it comes to finding a partner, she’s leaving nothing up to chance. Until her car breaks down in a blizzard, trapping her with the one man she’s always loathed and secretly crushed on: wealthy womanizer Dylan McCray.Tired of his reputation as a ladies’ man, Dylan longs for a serious relationship with the woman of his dreams. Countless casual dates and hook-ups have left him with no idea what that gut-clenching moment of rightness feels like…until he rescues the stunning woman who has always tempted his fantasies. Will these staunch opposites repel rather than attract, or will sunrise bring everlasting romance after a steamy night in the snowy mountains?
Softly at Sunrise
Maya Banks - 2012
Now, as she and Ethan are poised to move into their new home, safe behind the walls of the Kelly compound, Rachel wonders if she’ll finally be free of the ghosts that have haunted her for so long and if she’ll step into the sun after a past steeped in darkness.
This Is How You Lose Her
Junot Díaz - 2010
In the heat of a hospital laundry room in New Jersey, a woman does her lover’s washing and thinks about his wife. In Boston, a man buys his love child, his only son, a first baseball bat and glove. At the heart of these stories is the irrepressible, irresistible Yunior, a young hardhead whose longing for love is equaled only by his recklessness—and by the extraordinary women he loves and loses: artistic Alma; the aging Miss Lora; Magdalena, who thinks all Dominican men are cheaters; and the love of his life, whose heartbreak ultimately becomes his own. In prose that is endlessly energetic, inventive, tender, and funny, the stories in This Is How You Lose Her lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of the human heart. They remind us that passion always triumphs over experience, and that “the half-life of love is forever.”
The Inheritance
Robin Hobb - 2011
"Robin Hobb" and "Megan Lindholm" are both pseudonyms used by California-born Margaret Ogden, who from 1983 to 1992, published exclusively as Lindholm. This generous, 400-page hardcover original brings together short stories and novellas penned under both authorial bylines. As Hobb herself notes, "their" writing and styles differ in significant ways. (P.S. This collection includes stories previously unpublished in the United States.)
Butterfly in Frost
Sylvia Day - 2019
But I’m settled now. In a place I love, in a home I renovated, spending time with new friends I adore, and working a job that fulfills me. I am reconciling the past and laying the groundwork for the future.Then Garrett Frost moves in next door.He’s obstinate and too bold, a raging force of nature that disrupts the careful order of my life. I recognize the ghosts that haunt him, the torment driving him. Garrett would be risky in any form, but wounded, he’s far more dangerous. I fear I’m too fragile for the storm raging inside him, too delicate to withstand the pain that buffets him. But he’s too determined…and too tempting.And sometimes hope soars above even the iciest desolation.Emotional and heartrending, Butterfly in Frost marks a brilliant return by global sensation Sylvia Day, the #1 international multimillion bestselling author of the Crossfire saga.
Grimm's Fairy Stories
Jacob Grimm - 1812
Contains stories such as "The Goose Girl", "Hansel and Grethel", "Cinderella", "The Golden Goose", "The Frog Prince" and many more.
Christmas with the Alexanders
M. Malone - 2013
Unfortunately he doesn't seem to like her much so she's spending the holidays with her disapproving parents, both of whom think she's screwing up her life. Elliott Alexander's security business is booming and he's finally in the position to come home for good. But home brings bittersweet memories and puts him in the path of a woman who makes him feel things he isn't ready for.When Kay's car skids out of control on Christmas Eve, she's forced to reach out to the only man she trusts to save her.THE ALEXANDERS SERIESReading OrderBook 0.5 - Teasing Trent ~ The PrequelBook 1 - One More Day ~ Jackson & RidleyBook 2 - The Things I Do for You ~ Nick & RainaBook 3 - He's the Man ~ Matt & PennyBook 3.5 - Christmas with The Alexanders Book 4 - All I Need is You ~ Elliott & KayleeBook 5 - Say You Will ~ Trent & Mara*Book 6 - Just One Thing ~ Bennett & Katie**coming soon
Spot the Difference
Juno Dawson - 2016
But appearances can be deceiving, and soon Avery's not so sure she likes this new version of herself. And it's only by overcoming her fears that she can learn the true meaning of being comfortable in your own skin.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
George R.R. Martin - 2013
Martin’s ongoing masterwork, A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE.Before Tyrion Lannister and Podrick Payne there was Dunk and Egg.A young, naïve but courageous hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall towers above his rivals – in stature if not experience. Tagging along with him is his diminutive squire, a boy called Egg – whose true identity must be hidden from all he and Dunk encounter: for in reality he is Aegon Targaryen, and one day he will be king. Improbable heroes though they be, great destinies lie ahead for Dunk and Egg; as do powerful foes, royal intrigue, and outrageous exploits.A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS brings together for the first time the first three official prequel novellas to George R.R. Martin’s ongoing masterwork, A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory.Featuring more than 160 illustrations by Gary Gianni, one of the finest fantasy artists of our time, this beautiful volume will transport readers to the world of the Seven Kingdoms in an age of bygone chivalry.
Wenjack
Joseph Boyden - 2016
Along the way he's followed by Manitous, spirits of the forest who comment on his plight, cajoling, taunting, and ultimately offering him a type of comfort on his difficult journey back to the place he was so brutally removed from.Written by Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning author Joseph Boyden and beautifully illustrated by acclaimed artist Kent Monkman, Wenjack is a powerful and poignant look into the world of a residential school runaway trying to find his way home.
The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin - 2016
Le Guin, an icon in American literature, collected for the first time in one breathtaking volume.Ursula K. Le Guin has won multiple prizes and accolades from the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to the Newbery Honor, the Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and PEN/Malamud Awards. She has had her work collected over the years, but never as a complete retrospective of her longer works as represented in the wonderful The Found and the Lost.CONTENT "Vaster Than Empires And More Slow" "Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight" "Hernes" by Ursula K. Le Guin "The Matter Of Seggri" "Another Story Or A Fisherman Of The Inland Sea" "Forgiveness Day" "A Man Of The People" "A Woman’s Liberation" "Old Music And The Slave Women" "The Finder" "On The High Marsh" "Dragonfly" "Paradises Lost"This collection is a literary treasure chest that belongs in every home library.
The Monarch of the Glen
Neil Gaiman - 2006
He only knew that he had not found it.Shadow Moon has been away from America for nearly two years. His nights are broken with dangerous dreams. Sometimes he almost believes he doesn't care if he ever returns home.In the Highlands of Scotland, where the sky is pale white and it feels as remote as any place can possibly be, the beautiful and the wealthy gather at a grand old house in the glen. And when the strange local doctor offers him work at the party, Shadow is intrigued. He knows there is no good reason for him to be there. So what do they want with him?