万本电子书0元读

万本电子书0元读

Facing the Other Way: The Story of 4AD
Facing the Other Way: The Story of 4AD
Martin Aston
¥103.10
The first official account of the iconic record label. An NME Book of the Year 2013 ? A Rough Trade Book of the Year 2013 ? A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year 2013 This Mortal Coil, Birthday Party, Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, Pixies, Throwing Muses, Breeders, Dead Can Dance, Lisa Germano, Kristin Hersh, Belly, Red House Painters. Just a handful of the bands and artists who started out recording for 4AD, a record label founded by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1979, a label which went on to be one of the most influential of the modern era. Combining the unique tastes of Watts-Russell and the striking design aesthetic of Vaughan Oliver, 4AD records were recognisable by their look as much their sound. In this comprehensive account concentrating on the label’s first two decades (up to the point that Watts-Russell left), music journalist Martin Aston explores the fascinating story with unique access to all the key players and pretty much every artist who released a record on 4AD during that time, and to its notoriously reclusive founder. With a cover designed by Vaughan Oliver this is an essential book for all 4AD fans and anyone who loved the music of that time.
The Rest Is Noise Series: Beethoven Was Wrong
The Rest Is Noise Series: Beethoven Was Wrong
Alex Ross
¥11.77
This is a chapter from Alex Ross’s groundbreaking history of twentieth-century classical music, ‘The Rest is Noise’. Further extracts are available as digital shorts, accompanying the London Southbank festival programme. After Paul McCartney listened to the electronic layering and looping of Stockhausen, the Beatles used the same effects on Revolver’s ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ and put an image of the composer on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. For a split second during ‘Revolution 9’ the final chords of Sibelius’s Seventh Symphony can be heard. Even the most jaded veteran of twentieth century music must have been startled by the influence of the post-war avant-garde on the psychedelic generation. Now a major festival running throughout 2013 at London’s Southbank, The Rest is Noise is an intricate commentary not just on the sounds that defined the century, but on art’s troublesome dance with politics, social and cultural change. Alex Ross is the New Yorker’s music critic, and the winner of the Guardian First Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award for The Rest is Noise, which was also shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson and Pulitzer prizes for non-fiction.
The Keeper of Secrets (Novella)
The Keeper of Secrets (Novella)
Amanda Brooke
¥28.06
An emotionally-charged novella from Richard & Judy Book Club pick, Amanda Brooke. Can long-buried secrets break you apart … or set you free? On the surface, Elle has the perfect life – husband, child and a beautiful home. But sometimes a perfect facade hides the cracks beneath: Elle’s husband Rick seems determined to clip her wings at every turn, keeping her at home and away from her friends and from the world. When Elle’s father dies and she starts to clear his house, the cracks start to widen – and it’s only a matter of time before everything breaks open. On a quest for buried treasure at the house, her young son, Charlie, finds a box underneath the apple tree, with love letters from the past that could tear her world apart. As past and present collide, Elle must decide what is right – and what course her life should take.
A Fairy in the Flat/A Pot of Tea: An Agatha Christie Short Story
A Fairy in the Flat/A Pot of Tea: An Agatha Christie Short Story
Agatha Christie
¥19.13
A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook. Tommy and Tuppence set up the International Detective Agency, but don’t seem able to attract any clients. Unexpectedly, a trip to a hat shop leads to a missing person case…
The Face of Helen: An Agatha Christie Short Story
The Face of Helen: An Agatha Christie Short Story
Agatha Christie
¥19.13
A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook. Mr Satterthwaite bumps into his old friend Mr Quin at the opera, where they spot a distressed-looking girl in the audience. Later, they discover that she is in real danger and decide to rescue her…
The Listerdale Mystery: An Agatha Christie Short Story
The Listerdale Mystery: An Agatha Christie Short Story
Agatha Christie
¥23.25
A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook. A rich woman’s decline into poverty is seemingly arrested when she takes the opportunity to live at the late Lord Listerdale’s residence for next to nothing. Her family believe it is too good to be true - what’s the catch?
The Lonely God: An Agatha Christie Short Story
The Lonely God: An Agatha Christie Short Story
Agatha Christie
¥19.13
A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook. An unlikely couple find themselves drawn together by their mutual fascination for a sinister little stone idol high on a shelf in the British Museum…
The Edge: An Agatha Christie Short Story
The Edge: An Agatha Christie Short Story
Agatha Christie
¥19.13
A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook. A dowdy lover is cast aside by a shallow man in favour of a beautiful young woman in this gripping tale of jealousy and infidelity…
The Long Ships: A Saga of the Viking Age
The Long Ships: A Saga of the Viking Age
Frans G. Bengtsson
¥69.26
This saga brings alive the world of the 10th century AD when the Vikings raided the coasts of England. Acclaimed as one of the best historical novels ever written, this engaging saga of Viking adventure in 10th century northern Europe has a very appealing young hero, Orm Tostesson, whose story we follow from inexperienced youth to adventurous old age, through slavery and adventure to a royal marriage and the search for great treasure. Viking expeditions take him to lands as far apart as England, Moorish Spain, Gaardarike (the country that was to become Russia), and the long road to Miklagard. The salt-sea spray, the swaying deck awash in slippery blood are the backdrop to fascinating stories of King Harald Blue Tooth, the Jomsvikings, attempts to convert the Northmen to Christianity, and much else. Like H. Rider Haggard, Bengtsson is a master of the epic form.
A Vintage Christmas
A Vintage Christmas
Trisha Ashley
¥22.27
A fabulous e-book short story from best-selling author Trisha Ashley. Lucy is so excited to announce she’s getting married this Christmas. She’s picturing a small, simple wedding in the village hall. Her dream is to stand in her vintage dress next to a great, big Christmas tree with all her close friends and relatives… But Lucy’s mother thinks differently! She’s been saving all her life for her little girl’s big day. And she wants to see it done properly. But Christmas is far too soon…the list on her clipboard can’t possibly be ticked off in just a few months! And then there’s the mother-in-law to contend with. She hasn’t quite forgiven her son for proposing to the local riff-raff. She certainly won’t approve of this little charity shop wedding. And now even Lucy’s fiancé is starting to disagree with her vision… But Christmas is a time when miracles happen. And if Lucy wishes hard enough, Santa might just bring her the wedding of her dreams . . .
Geek Girl and Model Misfit (Geek Girl books 1 and 2) (Geek Girl)
Geek Girl and Model Misfit (Geek Girl books 1 and 2) (Geek Girl)
Holly Smale
¥109.97
“My name is Harriet Manners, and I am a geek.” The first two hilarious novels in the award-winning GEEK GIRL series – now available as a 2-book collection. Geek Girl: Harriet Manners knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a “jiffy” lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. She knows that bats always turn left when exiting a cave and that peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. But she doesn’t know why nobody at school seems to like her. So when Harriet is spotted by a top model agent, she grabs the chance to reinvent herself… Model Misfit: Harriet Manners knows that humans have 70,000 thoughts per day. She also knows that Geek + Model = a whole new set of graffiti on your belongings. And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this. But Harriet doesn’t know where she’s going to fit in once the new baby arrives. And with her summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get away… Will geek girl find her place on the other side of the world? The award-winning debut GEEK GIRL and sequel MODEL MISFIT by bestselling author Holly Smale.
The Girl Who Couldn’t Read
The Girl Who Couldn’t Read
John Harding
¥66.22
A sinister Gothic tale in the tradition of The Woman in Black and The Fall of the House of Usher New England, The 1890s When a young doctor begins work at an isolated mental asylum, he is expected to fall in with the shocking regime for treating the patients. He is soon intrigued by one patient, a strange amnesiac girl who is fascinated by books but cannot read. He embarks upon a desperate experiment to save her but when his own dark past begins to catch up with him, he realises it is she who is his only hope of escape. In this chilling literary thriller from a master storyteller, everyone has something to hide and no one is what they seem.
The First Christmas Without You
The First Christmas Without You
Michelle Betham
¥27.17
A story of love and hope at Christmas, The First Christmas Without You is an emotional and poignant novella. A truly magical Lapland fairytale… Jessie Collins has always wanted to visit Lapland. But this Christmas, more than any other, it’s the place she feels she really needs to be as she tries to come to terms with a future she really needs to start living.
Terri’s Story (Individual stories from WISH YOU WERE HERE!, Book 7)
Terri’s Story (Individual stories from WISH YOU WERE HERE!, Book 7)
Lynn Russell,Neil Hanson
¥11.77
One of seven touching true stories from Wish You Were Here!, the tale of Butlin’s holiday camps. ‘When I got to the camp I felt as if I’d suddenly walked into Utopia – it was so colourful, so warm, so friendly. There were lights across the roads, there were banners fluttering in the breeze… There seemed to be laughter coming from every building.’ With grey post-WWII skies hanging low over Britain, factories lining the streets and smoke stacks dotting the horizon, there was one way that ordinary families could escape: the ever-cheerful holiday camps of Butlin’s. When Billy Butlin founded his holiday camps in 1936, they were bastions of community spirit and havens of luxury. Here, for one week, wives and mothers were freed from the toil and drudgery of housework, children ran free through the grounds, fathers and husbands hung up their work clothes. Ever-helpful redcoats were on hand all hours of the day, dinner halls ready with plentiful food for old and young alike, bars stocked to quench any level of thirst, ballrooms waiting to be flooded with shiny shoes, rustling dresses and peals of laughter. And, as the sun went down on another exhausting, happy day, a chorus line was ready to sing holidaymakers back to their beds. Rich in period detail and highly evocative, Wish You Were Here! follows the lives of seven of the camps’ key figures through the highs and lows of the holiday season: from redcoats searching for stardom to young families who returned year after year, to pensioners who rediscovered an inner youth. The laughter and tears, the loves and losses, and the fun and friendships that have lasted a lifetime – it's all here. Funny, moving and heartwarming, they are tales of swimming pools and sing-a-longs, Glamorous Grannies and bicycle rides, and of a community spirit that burned brightly in a much-loved British institution.
Painting Expressive Watercolours
Painting Expressive Watercolours
Mike Chaplin,Diana Vowles
¥82.31
Mike Chaplin is one of the most popular art experts on the very successful Channel 4 series Watercolour Challenge. In this book he reveals how he works and puts forward his ideas and teaching methods, offering plenty of tips and practical advice for the amateur artist. This book is intended for artists with some painting experience who wish to develop their technique, style and outlook. It is a book to make them think and to push the technical and personal boundaries of what they believe they can achieve in paint. Mike’s teaching focuses not only on techniques but also on expanding the readers’ approach to their painting as a whole. Starting with a fascinating look at the development of watercolour as an expressive art, the book then covers selective techniques, both traditional and the more unusual, and topics such as observation, drawing, colour and composition. All kinds of painting subjects are included, from the natural landscape to urban scenes, and throughout the book Mike provides plenty of practical advice and useful tips about techniques. There are also a number of special features, focusing on particular aspects of painting, as well as several full step-by-step demonstration paintings.
World War 2 Thriller Collection
World War 2 Thriller Collection
Len Deighton,Jack Higgins,Alistair MacLean
¥165.91
Presented for the first time, three classic war novels from the generals of the genre, Len Deighton, Jack Higgins & Alistair MacLean. Prepare to be blown away by these explosive thrillers: WINTER The epic prelude to Deighton’s acclaimed Bernard Samson spy series, in which the complex lives of two brothers unfold during the dramatic rise of Nazi Germany between two world wars. THE EAGLE HAS FLOWN Sequel to Higgins’ legendary The Eagle Has Landed. The mission to assassinate Winston Churchill has failed, but two of the ringleaders are still alive and now the Reichsfuhrer is demanding the Eagle’s return – at all costs. SOUTH BY JAVA HEAD 1942: Singapore lies shattered, overrun by the conquering Japanese army, as the last boat slips out to sea. On board, a desperate group of people, each with a secret they will kill to protect. Ahead lie murderous dive-bombers, the fierce tropical sun, and the hell-bent Japanese, who will stop at nothing to prevent the boat escaping south by Java Head.
Checker and the Derailleurs
Checker and the Derailleurs
Lionel Shriver
¥66.22
From the Orange Prize winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin this is a novel about what it takes to make it in music. How charisma is worth its weight in gold. And how jealously can grow until it has eaten away at a musician’s heart. He has that thing that they’d all pay for but can’t buy: on stage and off, the 19-year-old rock drummer Checker Secretti is electric. When he plays with his band The Derailleurs, the natives of Astoria, Queens clamour for a piece of him. But charisma comes at a price. A Salieri to Checker’s Mozart, the fiercely envious fellow drummer Eaton Striker is eager to sow discord among the Derailleurs, that he might replace the exasperatingly popular goody-goody in the close-knit neighbourhood’s affections. An examination of the passion, the jealousy and the friendship of young musicians trying to break out, Checker and The Derailleurs is also about cycling, rock lyrics, glass blowing, the marriage of convenience, and―most of all―the mystery of joy.
May Martin’s Sewing Bible e-short 6
May Martin’s Sewing Bible e-short 6
May Martin
¥15.60
The last of 6 eBook-only shorts from star of The Great British Sewing Bee and doyenne of the Women’s Institute, May Martin, including fabulous tips for making those difficult sewing techniques easy to master. May has been teaching sewing for over 40 years. From hems to facings May simplifies some of the trickiest methods in sewing for those already experienced and needing a little extra helping hand in the art of sewing. Beautifully styled and simple-to-follow, this authoritative sewing e-short, taken from May Martin’s Sewing Bible, offers three new approaches to some of the more complicated ways of sewing.
Transformer: The Complete Lou Reed Story: Free Sampler
Transformer: The Complete Lou Reed Story: Free Sampler
Victor Bockris
¥9.71
‘A triumph’ - Time Out Transformer is the only complete and comprehensive telling of the Lou Reed story. Legendary songwriter and guitarist Lou Reed passed away on the 27th October 2013, but his musical influence is assured. Now discover the true story of the Velvet Underground pioneer in this update of Bockris’s classic biography. Transformer: The Complete Lou Reed Story follows the great songwriter and singer through the series of transformations that define each period of his fifty year career. It opens with the teenage electroshock treatments that dominated his memories of childhood and never stops revealing layer after layer of this complex and often anguished artist and man. Transformer is based on Lou’s collaborations with the hardest and most romantic artists of his times, from John Cale, Andy Warhol, and Nico, through David Bowie, Robert Wilson, Laurie Anderson and the ghost of Edgar Alan Poe. Rippling underneath everything he did are Lou’s relationships with his various muses, from his college sweetheart to his three wives (and one drag queen). Leading Lou Reed biographer, Victor Bockris - who knew Lou throughout the Rachel Years, from Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal to the Bells - updates his original biography in the wake of Lou’s death. Through new interviews and photos, he reveals the many transformations of this larger-than-life character, including his final shift from Rock Monster to the Prince Charming he had always wanted to be in the twenty years he spent with the love of his life, Laurie Anderson . Except with Lou, you could never really know what might happen next… Including previously unseen photographs and contributions from Lou’s innermost circle and collaborators that include similarly esteemed artists such as Andy Warhol and David Bowie, Transformer is as captivating and vivid a read as befits an American master.
The Child Bride: Part 1 of 3
The Child Bride: Part 1 of 3
Cathy Glass
¥9.71
The Child Bride can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 1 of 3. You can read Part 1 three weeks ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback. Cathy Glass, international bestselling author, tells the shocking story of Zeena, a young Asian girl desperate to escape from her family. When 14 -year-old Zeena begs to be taken into care with a non-Asian family, she is clearly petrified. But of what? Placed in the home of experienced foster carer Cathy and her family, Zeena gradually settles into her new life, but misses her little brothers and sisters terribly. Prevented from having any contact with them by her family who insist she has brought shame and dishonour on the whole community, Zeena tries to see them at school. But when her father and uncle find out, they bundle her into a car and threaten to set fire to her if she makes anymore trouble. Zeena is too frightened to press charges against them despite being offered police protection in a safe house. Eventually, Cathy discovers the devastating truth from Zeena, and with devastation she believes there is little she can do to help her.
The Complete Confessions of a GP (The Confessions Series)
The Complete Confessions of a GP (The Confessions Series)
Benjamin Daniels
¥34.14
Confessions of a GP and Further Confessions of a GP together in one volume. Benjamin Daniels is angry. He is frustrated, confused, baffled and, quite frequently, very funny. He is also a GP. These are his confessions.