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Beautiful Losers
Beautiful Losers
Leonard Cohen
¥73.58
One of the best-known experimental novels of the 1960s, this uninhibited tale centres on the hapless members of a love triangle, and their sexual obsession and shared fascination with a mythic saint. Revolving around four central – and intrinsically flawed – characters, ‘Beautiful Losers’ is the frank and humorous story of a nameless narrator, his wife Edith, their domineering friend and mentor ‘F’ and Catherine Tekakwitha, a mythic 17th-century Mohawk virgin saint. The complexities of this three-way love, pain and lust are sent spiralling by the death of Edith and ‘F’ at the novel’s start, leading the damaged narrator to question the nature of love, sexuality and spirituality in a series of explicit flashbacks. The extraordinary and inimitable singer-songwriter’s classic novel, this is Leonard Cohen’s most critically acclaimed literary work, echoing the dark poetry and wry humour of his timeless songs of loss, love, sex and religion. Not just an extremely funny novel, but an incredibly original and explicit examination of friendship, sex and spirituality.
Under Heaven
Under Heaven
Guy Gavriel Kay
¥71.22
An epic historical adventure set in an alternate 8th century China, from the author of the 2008 World Fantasy winner, Ysabel. Under Heaven is a novel of heroes, assassins, concubines and emperors set against a majestic and unforgiving landscape. Honour is beyond measure But its price may be an empire… For two years Shen Tai has mourned his celebrated father and lived like a hermit beyond the borders of the Kitan Empire. There, by a mountain lake, the bones of the soldiers killed in great battles between the Kitai and the Tagurans lie unburied and their wailing ghosts strike terror into the living. Tai has laboured alone, laying to rest the mingled dead of both empires, until a letter arrives. It contains the promise of a poisoned chalice: Tai will be given two hundred and fifty Sardian horses by the Tagurans, legendary steeds from the far west, as a reward for his courage and piety. Now, Tai must try to return alive from solitude to a glittering, dangerous court. For to give a man even one of the famed Sardians is to honour him greatly; to give him so many is a reward which would overwhelm an emperor, and could be Tai's death warrant.
Oscar Wilde’s Stories for All Ages
Oscar Wilde’s Stories for All Ages
Oscar Wilde,Stephen Fry
¥95.75
One of the world’s best loved presenters meets one of the world’s greatest authors in this beautiful selection of timeless, haunting stories. Vividly brought to life through abundant illustrations and Stephen’s masterly introductions, Oscar Wilde’s short stories are here made accessible to an entirely new generation. Whether you know it or not, the stories in this book are familiar. Like old friends whose charm and warmth never fade, Oscar Wilde's short stories have enchanted generations of readers, and this beautiful book makes them accessible to an entirely new readership. Selected and presented by one of Wilde's biggest fans, the book includes a foreword from Stephen Fry, who will also supply short introductions to the stories themselves, explaining why they mean so much to him and why they should mean a lot to you too. Meet the selfish giant, whose garden was cloaked in perpetual winter until he allowed the children to enter and play, the happy prince whose statue stood overlooking his city, who gave the rubies and sapphires embedded in his eyes and clothing to feed the poor, and the tiny swallow who helped him. And let's not forget the remarkable rocket who was so convinced that he would be the brightest, most remarkable rocket of all, yet who ended up in a ditch. There's also the Canterville ghost, so inept at being scary that every attempt to spook his American visitors results in failure. Stephen Fry has always been passionate about Oscar Wilde's writing but he has a particular fondness for his short stories. In this beautifully illustrated book he shares with us what each story means to him and what he feels the reader can take away with them, whether they're five or fifty years old. As well as a general introduction, Stephen offers introductions to the stories themselves, taking the reader through his selection. Illustrated by Nicole Stewart, stunning artwork accompanies each story to give shape to the reader's imagination. Whether you are buying this for yourself, for your wife, your son or daughter, for your nephew, your niece, your mother, your brother or your sister, the book will be a gift that you or they will cherish forever and return to time and time again. These are stories for adults and children of all ages, for all time.
House of Many Ways
House of Many Ways
Diana Wynne Jones
¥51.50
A chaotically magical sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle. Charmain Baker is in over her head. Looking after Great Uncle William's tiny cottage while he's ill should have been easy, but Great Uncle William is better known as the Royal Wizard Norland and his house bends space and time. Its single door leads to any number of places - the bedrooms, the kitchen, the caves under the mountains, the past, to name but a few. By opening that door, Charmain is now also looking after an extremely magical stray dog, a muddled young apprentice wizard and a box of the king's most treasured documents, as well as irritating a clan of small blue creatures. Caught up in an intense royal search, she encounters an intimidating sorceress named Sophie. And where Sophie is, can the Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer be far behind?
Warsaw 1920: Lenin’s Failed Conquest of Europe
Warsaw 1920: Lenin’s Failed Conquest of Europe
Adam Zamoyski
¥70.44
The dramatic and little-known story of how, in the summer of 1920, Lenin came within a hair's breadth of shattering the painstakingly constructed Versailles peace settlement and spreading Bolshevism to western Europe. In 1920 the new Soviet state was a mess, following a brutal civil war, and the best way of ensuring its survival appeared to be to export the revolution to Germany, itself economically ruined by defeat in World War I and racked by internal political dissension. Between Russia and Germany lay Poland, a nation that had only just recovered its independence after more than a century of foreign oppression. But it was economically and militarily weak and its misguided offensive to liberate the Ukraine in the spring of 1920 laid it open to attack. Egged on by Trotsky, Lenin launched a massive westward advance under the flamboyant Marshal Tukhachevsky. All that Great Britain and France had fought for over four years now seemed at risk. By the middle of August the Russians were only a few kilometres from Warsaw, and Berlin was less than a week's march away. Then occurred the 'Miracle of the Vistula': the Polish army led by Jozef Pilsudski regrouped and achieved one of the most decisive victories in military history. As a result, the Versailles peace settlement survived, and Lenin was forced to settle for Communism in one country. The battle for Warsaw bought Europe nearly two decades of peace, and communism remained a mainly Russian phenomenon, subsuming many of the autocratic and Byzantine characteristics of Russia's tsarist tradition.
South by Java Head
South by Java Head
Alistair MacLean
¥63.77
The 50th anniversary edition of this classic World War 2 adventure set in south-east Asia. February, 1942: Singapore lies burning and shattered, defenceless before the conquering hordes of the Japanese Army, as the last boat slips out of the harbour into the South China Sea. On board are a desperate group of people, each with a secret to guard, each willing to kill to keep that secret safe. Who or what is the dissolute Englishman, Farnholme? The elegant Dutch planter, Van Effen? The strangely beautiful Eurasian girl, Gudrun? The slave trader, Siran? The smiling and silent Nicholson who is never without his gun? Only one thing is certain: the rotting tramp steamer is a floating death trap, carrying a cargo of human TNT. Dawn sees them far out to sea but with the first murderous dive bombers already aimed at their ship. Thus begins an ordeal few are to survive, a nightmare succession of disasters wrought by the hell-bent Japanese, the unrelenting tropical sun and by the survivors themselves, whose hatred and bitterness divides them one against the other. Written after the acclaimed and phenomenally successful HMS Ulysses and The Guns of Navarone, this was MacLean’s third book, and it contains all the hallmarks of those other two classics. Rich with stunning visual imagery, muscular narrative power, brutality, courage and breathtaking excitement, the celebration of the 50th anniversary of South by Java Head offers readers a long-denied chance to enjoy one of the greatest war novels ever written.
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.
If I Should Go (Novella)
If I Should Go (Novella)
Amanda Brooke
¥28.06
Another heart-felt short story from the Richard and Judy Book Club bestseller. Rachel is a single mum to Hope, and since Hope’s father left, has raised her daughter alone. They are as close as can be. So when Martin enters her life, he’s a breath of fresh air – the first guy that she has felt a connection to in a long time. But Martin’s plans for the future appear to be different to Rachel’s day-dreams: a future for two, without Hope… At the Sunny Days nursing home where Rachel works, Mrs Wilson is convalescing after a fall. But although she’s only staying for a short time, there’s a finality about her that Rachel just can’t get to grips with. Despite Mrs Wilson’s initial reluctance, Rachel starts to break through her tough exterior but she doesn’t seem to be able to get beneath the surface. As the clock starts to count down to the end of Mrs Wilson’s stay and Martin’s eventual move to Liverpool time is running out for Rachel to make a difference. The question is: what could she give up for love?
The Fairy Bell Sisters: Hearts and Flowers for Clara
The Fairy Bell Sisters: Hearts and Flowers for Clara
Margaret McNamara
¥31.59
Do you believe in fairies? Join Tinker Bell’s sisters on a magical adventure. Inspired by Tinker Bell, from the book Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie Before Tinker Bell flew to Never Land and met Peter Pan she lived on Sheepskerry Island with her fairy sisters – Clara, Lily, Rosie, Silver and Squeak the baby. The young fairies go to fairy school and love tea parties, dressing up and exciting adventures. Lily’s dressing-up dreams have come true – she’s going to Queen Titania's annual fancy-dress competition. She’s always dreamed of meeting the fashionable town fairies on the mainland, and now’s her chance! But not everywhere is like Sheepskerry Island, and some fairies are less friendly than others. Without her Fairy Bell sisters to help her, Lily’s adventure spells trouble. How can she turn a dressing-up disaster into a prize-winning success? Young readers will love the enchanting stories and beautiful illustrations in this charming new series.
Ever After
Ever After
Kim Harrison
¥72.30
New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison returns to the Hollows with the electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed Ever After! The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart. Of course, there's also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after―the soul-eater Ku'Sox Sha-Ku'ru―has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn't give herself up, they will die. Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack―a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul―to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise―and it's up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.
The Kingdom Series Books 1 and 2: The Lion Wakes, The Lion At Bay
The Kingdom Series Books 1 and 2: The Lion Wakes, The Lion At Bay
Robert Low
¥103.01
A NATION WILL FIGHT FOR ITS FREEDOM. The first two books in Robert Low’s trilogy on the making of Scotland. THE LION WAKES It is 1296 and Scotland is in turmoil. The old king, Alexander III, has died and Edward I of England, desperate to keep control of his northern borders, arranges for John Baliol, a weak man who Edward knows he can manipulate, to take leadership of Scotland. But unrest is rife and many are determined to throw off the shackles of England. Among those men is Robert the Bruce, young, angry and obsessed by his desire to win Scotland's throne. He will fight for the freedom of the Scots until the end. THE LION AT BAY A nation’s independence hangs in the balance. After fleeing to France following his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk, William Wallace has returned to Scottish soil to face his fate. But Robert the Bruce now stands between him and the crown. Warring factions, political intrigue and vicious battles threaten at every turn. Both men face uncertain futures, their efforts thwarted by shattered loyalties, superstition and rumour. In these troubled times, it is murder, treachery and the bitter rivalry amongst Scots nobility that will shape the long and bloody rise of Robert the Bruce to his coronation.
Sven-Goran Eriksson
Sven-Goran Eriksson
Joe Lovejoy
¥82.01
A major in-depth biography of Sven-Goran Eriksson - the first foreign manager of the England football team - which chronicles his time in the hot seat, from taking over from Kevin Keegan, the story of the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea, through to the 2004 European Championships. Reserved - some would say introvert - by nature, he has so far dismissed as intrusive almost all questions about anything other than the England team. There is a fascinating story to be told about the moderate full-back who failed in his own country, retired from playing at 27, then went on to become one of the best coaches in the world. The son of a truck driver from a small provincial town in Sweden, Eriksson left school early and worked in a social security office. He went to college to study PE and played football as an amateur before being persuaded by an older teammate Tord Grip (now his assistant with England) that his career lay elsewhere in management. Modest success at Roma and Fiorentina was followed by a renewal of Sampdoria's fortunes. It wasn't long before Lazio came knocking - but not before an acrimonious fallout with Blackburn when his surprise about-turn left the Lancashire club without a new manager. He enjoyed phenomenal success in Rome, however, where he led Lazio to the scudetto, and this eventually paved the way to the England manager's job. Since then Eriksson has come under the microscope from the English press, as much for his private affairs as for his team's stuttering performances. Despite his achievements in leading England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2002, his methods, formations and team selections are the subject of fierce debate up and down the country. Joe Lovejoy's book captures the essence of the man and goes some way to explaining his influence behind England. This paperback edition explores his thoughts about his captain playing his football in Spain and documents England's rocky road to the 2004 European Championship finals.
The Bad Mother
The Bad Mother
Esther Walker
¥22.66
A hilariously honest, and rather sweary, book about parenting from the author of The Bad Cook. From play dates to potty training, from weening to whining or whether to have two, or three, or more! Esther Walker focuses her unique humour on the art of parenting. Fans of Esther’s blog and journalism, or her bestselling Bad Cook book, will not be disappointed. This is every bit as funny, sweary and just plain honest as you would expect. Esther offers up her occasional successes and many failures as examples to parents everywhere: look, this is what happens, you’ll just have to deal with it! Harassed mums and dads will read this and smile, as well as sighing with ‘it isn’t just me’ relief.
It’s Not Me, It’s You
It’s Not Me, It’s You
Mhairi McFarlane
¥23.45
An achingly funny story about how to be your own hero when life pulls the rug out from under your feet. From the author of the bestselling YOU HAD ME AT HELLO Delia Moss isn’t quite sure where she went wrong. When she proposed and discovered her boyfriend was sleeping with someone else – she thought it was her fault. When she realised life would never be the same again – she thought it was her fault. And when he wanted her back like nothing had changed – Delia started to wonder if perhaps she was not to blame… From Newcastle to London and back again, with dodgy jobs, eccentric bosses and annoyingly handsome journalists thrown in, Delia must find out where her old self went – and if she can ever get her back.
The Invisible Guardian (The Baztan Trilogy, Book 1)
The Invisible Guardian (The Baztan Trilogy, Book 1)
Dolores Redondo
¥62.59
A killer at large in a remote Basque Country valley , a detective to rival Clarice Starling, myth versus reality, masterful storytelling – the Spanish bestseller that has taken Europe by storm. The naked body of a teenage girl is found on the banks of the River Baztán. Less than 24 hours after this discovery, a link is made to the murder of another girl the month before. Is this the work of a ritualistic killer or of the Invisible Guardian, the Basajaun, a creature of Basque mythology? 30-year-old Inspector Amaia Salazar heads an investigation which will take her back to Elizondo, the village in the heart of Basque country where she was born, and to which she had hoped never to return. A place of mists, rain and forests. A place of unresolved conflicts, of a dark secret that scarred her childhood and which will come back to torment her. Torn between the rational, procedural part of her job and local myths and superstitions, Amaia Salazar has to fight off the demons of her past in order to confront the reality of a serial killer at loose in a region steeped in the history of the Spanish Inquisition.
The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age
The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age
Astra Taylor
¥95.75
From a cutting-edge cultural commentator, a bold and brilliant challenge to cherished notions of the internet as the great leveler of our age. The internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratising force, a place where everyone can participate. ? So why are minorities and marginalized groups under-represented on user-generated websites, with less than 15% of Wikipedia written by women? ? Why does keyword-jammed and star-studded churnalism proliferate, at the expense of in-depth, investigative journalism? ? And how have a handful of giant corporations like Facebook, Google and Apple seized control of our creativity, galvanizing individuals to produce content for free? ‘The People’s Platform’ argues that for all our ‘sharing’, the internet reflects real-world inequalities as much as it reduces them, as attention and income frequently accrue to those who already have plenty of both. The online world does offer a unique opportunity for greater freedom, but a community that supports the diverse and lasting will not spring up from technology alone. If we want the internet to be a people’s platform, we will have to make it so.
Through The Tunnel
Through The Tunnel
Doris Lessing
¥9.71
From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Doris Lessing, a short story about a young boy’s coming of age. While on holiday with his mother, a young boy sees a group of older children jumping from a rock into deep sea. He feels compelled to challenge himself to match them, and in doing so will take his first steps away from childhood. An amazingly vivid short story, Through the Tunnel explores the difficulties of childhood and ageing, resonating with many of Doris Lessing’s acclaimed novels. This story also appears in the collection To Room Nineteen.
The Day Stalin Died
The Day Stalin Died
Doris Lessing
¥9.71
From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Doris Lessing, a short story about a young woman’s attempts to juggle her political beliefs with everyday life. On the day that the newspapers report that Stalin is dying, a young woman, with communist sympathies, attempts to look after her aunt and cousin on a disastrous trip to a photographer. Lightly satirical about the absurd ways people can behave, no matter what their political views, ‘The Day Stalin Died’ shows Doris Lessing at her most wry. This story also appears in the collection To Room Nineteen.
The Last Reckoning (The Luck Uglies, Book 3)
The Last Reckoning (The Luck Uglies, Book 3)
Paul Durham
¥58.86
The exhilarating conclusion to the critically acclaimed THE LUCK UGLIES series. “The Luck Uglies has it all: a feisty heroine, monstrous creatures, and a brimful of humor, and horror, to keep the readers turning the pages.” Joseph Delaney, Author of the Spook’s Apprentice series Rye feared her father, Harmless, might be lost forever after he was driven into the forest Beyond the Shale by his deadly enemy Slinister Varlet. Now Slinister is making moves to claim leadership over the Luck Uglies. Can Rye find her father, save her village and put an end to the fighting for good? Thrilling adventure, impossible choices and an epic battle with very highest stakes.
Paddington Complete Novels (Paddington)
Paddington Complete Novels (Paddington)
Michael Bond
¥481.47
Brought together for the very first time, all 13 novels about Paddington, the beloved, classic bear from Darkest Peru! Paddington Bear had travelled all the way from Darkest Peru when the Brown family first met him on Paddington Station. Since then their lives have never been quite the same… for ordinary things become quite extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is around. From arriving at Paddington station and meeting the Brown family, to being mistaken for a famous athlete, with plenty of laugh-out-lad mishaps along the way, there is certainly never a dull moment in this fabulous story collection! Paddington Bear has been delighting adults and children alike with his earnest good intentions and humorous misadventures for over fifty years.