A collection of insightful and uproariously funny non-fiction by the bestselling author of INFINITE JEST - one of the most acclaimed and adventurous writers of our time. A SUPPOSEDLY FUN THING... brings together Wallace's musings on a wide range of topics, from his early days as a nationally ranked tennis player to his trip on a commercial cruiseliner. In each of these essays, Wallace's observations are as keen as they are funny.
Filled with hilarious details and invigorating analyses, these essays brilliantly expose the fault line in American culture - and once again reveal David Foster Wallace's extraordinary talent and gargantuan intellect.
Brilliant.Can you resist the depths of the human heart?
It is 1958 and seventeen-year-old Landon is revelling in his youth: dating girls and even claiming to have been in love. He is a world apart from shy, reclusive Jamie Sullivan, a Baptist's daughter who carries a bible with her school books, cares for her widowed father and volunteers at the orphanage. But fate will intervene.
Forced to partner up at the school dance, Landon and Jamie embark on a journey of earth-shattering love and agonising loss far beyond their years. In the months that follow, Landon discovers the true depths of the human heart, and takes a decision that is so stunning it will lead him irrevocably down the road to manhood . . .
Christmas on the remote Scottish island of Mure is bleak, stark - and incredibly beautiful.
It's a time for hunkering down, getting cosy in front of whisky barrel wood fires, and enjoying a dram with the people you love - unless, of course, you're accidentally pregnant to your ex-boss, and don't know how to tell him. In what should be the season of peace and goodwill on earth, will Joel think Flora is a bearer of glad tidings?
Meanwhile Saif, the doctor and refugee from war-torn Syria is trying to enjoy his first western Christmas with his sons - but without his missing wife. Can the little family possibly find comfort and joy?
Travel to the beautiful northern edge of the world and join the welcoming community of Mure for an unforgettable Christmas.
Nobody does cosy, get away from it all romance like Jenny Colgan... evocative and heartwarmingThe sixth book in the New York Times bestselling Expanse series, which began with the Hugo-nominated Leviathan Wakes.
NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES FROM NETFLIX
A revolution brewing for generations has begun in fire. It will end in blood.
The Free Navy - a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships - has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.
James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.
But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante's problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.
Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess.
Yes, it was her reason to live from ages 6 to 14. No, she'd rather not talk about what changed that. With her grandmaster dad out of the picture, a chronically-ill mom, two younger sisters, and an auto-mechanic job that pays the ever-accumulating bills, she has no time for games. And yet, when her best friend Easton guilts her into pinch-hitting for a charity chess tournament, Mallory cannot refuse. In the name of a decade-long friendship, Mallory sucks it up, agrees to play one last time, and... inadvertently defeats the current world champion. Oops.
Holden Sawyer is only 20, but he's been dominating the world of chess for years. Hailed as one of the best players in history, he's handsome, the heir to a chess dynasty, and a household name who once dated a Kardashian. (Kind of. Technically, it was a Jenner.) His loss to a nobody like Mallory is inexplicable, and leads to a tiny problem: Holden has a... reputation. As a not-exactly-good-tempered loser. Terrified of how Holden might take her win, Mallory does the one thing she can think of: she runs away, determined to never think of what happened again. Phew!
But as her victory grabs the attention of grandmasters everywhere, Mallory realises that she might be done with chess, but it's in no way done with her. Besides, a rematch against Holden might not be a bad thing. She's been thinking about him a lot lately...
'Just like Malory Towers for grown-ups' Sophie Kinsella
Jenny Colgan's return to the Little School by the Sea - perfect for anyone who ever dreamed of going to boarding school!
________
Lessons is the third novel in Jenny Colgan's beloved Maggie Adair series.
As the summer holidays start, scandal hits Downey House. The attraction between Maggie Adair, the fiery, committed English teacher at Downey House and David McDonald, a teacher at the local boys' school, has escalated - and now both are facing an uncertain future.
The girls of Downey House - mercurial Fliss, glamorous Alice and shy, dependable Simone - are facing long summers at home. But the new term is not far away - and it will bring new pupils and lots of fresh new challenges . . .
___________________
'Funny, page-turning and addictive... just like Malory Towers for grown-ups' - Sophie Kinsella
'A brilliant boarding school book, stuffed full of unforgettable characters, thrilling adventures and angst...' - Lisa Jewell
The biggest SF series of the decade comes to an incredible conclusion in the ninth and final novel in James S. A. Corey's Hugo Award-winning Expanse series.
NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES FROM AMAZON PRIME
HUGO AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SERIES
'Interplanetary adventure the way it ought to be written' George R. R. Martin
The Expanse series:
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War
Abaddon's Gate
Cibola Burn
Nemesis Games
Babylon's Ashes
Persepolis Rising
Tiamat's Wrath
Leviathan Falls
Praise for the Expanse:
'The science fictional equivalent of A Song of Ice and Fire' NPR Books
'As close as you'll get to a Hollywood blockbuster in book form' io9.com
'Great characters, excellent dialogue, memorable fights' wired.com
'High adventure equalling the best space opera has to offer, cutting-edge technology and a group of unforgettable characters . . . Perhaps one of the best tales the genre has yet to produce' Library Journal
'This is the future the way it's supposed to be' Wall Street Journal
'Tense and thrilling' SciFiNow
The must-read thriller inspired by the true story of Nancy Wake, whose husband was kidnapped by the Nazis and became the most decorated servicewoman of the Second World War - soon to be a major blockbuster film.
To the Allies she was a fearless freedom fighter, special operations super spy, a woman ahead of her time. To the Gestapo she was a ghost, a shadow, the most wanted person in the world with a five-million-Franc bounty on her head.
Her name was Nancy Wake.
Now, for the first time, the roots of her legend are told in a thriller about one woman's incredible quest to turn the tide of the war, save the man she loves and take brutal revenge on those who have wronged her.
Wrap up warm and watch the snowflakes fall, the Christmas bookshop welcomes you home...
PRAISE FOR JENNY COLGAN
An evocative, sweet treat' Jojo Moyes
'Gorgeous, glorious, uplifting' Marian Keyes
'A cracker - the must-read this festive season' Sun
'Irresistible' Jill Mansell
'Just lovely' Katie Fforde
'Naturally funny, warm-hearted' Lisa Jewell
'A gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book' Mike Gayle
_______________
The brand new feel-good Christmas novel from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author, Jenny Colgan.
Carmen is at a loose end. Her gorgeous bookshop is the filming site of a cheesy Christmas movie, she's been ousted from her sister's house, and the love of her life has just flown thousands of miles away. It's threatening to be a very unjolly Christmas indeed!
But when the elderly owner of the shop comes to Carmen with a Christmas wish that threatens to never come true, Carmen knows she must buckle down to get the funds to save not only his trip, but the shop itself. While fending off a shady tatt-selling businessman, Carmen discovers wonders to the shop she could have never imagined, and opens a labyrinth of bookish backrooms for the customers to get lost in.
With her deadline looming, it might take more than a fresh coat of paint to solve Carmen's problems. But with the help of their neighbours, her nieces and nephew, and a very distractingly cute male nanny, Carmen might just pull her greatest magic trick yet...
____________________
Why readers ADORE Jenny Colgan
'Jenny Colgan has a way of writing that makes me melt inside'
'Her books are so good I want to start over as soon as I have finished'
'There's something so engaging about her characters and plots'
'Her books are like a big, warm blanket'
'Her stories are just so fabulous'
'She brings her settings and characters so vividly to life'
'The woman is just magic'
World-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in decades of research on achievement and success, has discovered a truly groundbreaking idea-the power of our mindset.
Dweck explains why it's not just our abilities and talent that bring us success-but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn't foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals-personal and professional. Dweck reveals what all great parents, teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great accomplishment in every area.
A novel of high adventure, great storytelling and moral purpose, based on an extraordinary true story of eight years in the Bombay underworld.
'In the early 80s, Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict, escaped from an Australian prison to India, where he lived in a Bombay slum. There, he established a free health clinic and also joined the mafia, working as a money launderer, forger and street soldier. He found time to learn Hindi and Marathi, fall in love, and spend time being worked over in an Indian jail. Then, in case anyone thought he was slacking, he acted in Bollywood and fought with the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan . . . Amazingly, Roberts wrote Shantaram three times after prison guards trashed the first two versions. It's a profound tribute to his willpower . . . At once a high-kicking, eye-gouging adventure, a love saga and a savage yet tenderly lyrical fugitive vision.' Time Out
THE BRAND NEW BOOK FROM BESTSELLER CAROLE MATTHEWS
Jodie Jackson is all at sea, in every sense.
On a ferry bound for the Isle of Wight, she's leaving her London life, her career, and her husband behind. She'd like a chance to turn back the clocks, but she'll settle for some peace and quiet on her brother Bill's beautifully renovated houseboat: Summer Days.
But from the moment Jodie steps aboard her new home, it's clear she'll struggle to keep herself to herself. If it isn't Marilyn, who does for Bill and is under strict instructions to look after Jodie, then it's Ned, the noisy sculptor on the next-door houseboat. Ned's wood carving is hard on the ears, but it's made up for by the fact that he's rather easy on the eyes.
Bustled out of the boat by Marilyn and encouraged to explore with Ned, Jodie soon delights in her newfound freedom. But out of mind isn't out of sight, and when her old life comes knocking Jodie is forced to face reality. Will she answer the call or choose a life filled with Summer Days and Sea Breezes?
Why do readers love Carole Matthews?
'Fun, fantastic and brimming with Matthews magic' MILLY JOHNSON
'You can't do better than to sink into Happiness for Beginners' KATIE FFORDE
'An irresistibly warm-hearted story' TRISHA ASHLEY
'Warm, witty and hopeful - I was charmed' SARAH MORGAN
'The queen of funny, feel good fiction' MIKE GAYLE
N. K. Jemisin's outstanding BROKEN EARTH trilogy has broken records and boundaries, making her the only novelist to have won three Hugo awards in three consecutive years.
This beautifully presented box set collects all three books for the the first time.
Set in a world of volcanoes and earthquakes, where the power of the earth can be wielded and won, these remarkable novels of warring factions, twisted morals, an Earth shattered and a family torn apart, weave into a narrative both 'intricate and extraordinary' (New York Times).
This box set is the perfect gift for fans of game-changing fantasy fiction.
Book 1: THE FIFTH SEASON
This is the way the world ends . . . for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's only continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal and long festering wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth can be used as a weapon . . . and where there is no mercy.
Book 2: THE OBELISK GATE
The Season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night. Essun has found shelter but not her missing daughter. Instead there is Alabaster Tenring, destroyer of the world, with a request only Essun can grant.
Book 3: THE STONE SKY
The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women. Essun has inherited the phenomenal power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter, Nassun, and forge a world in which every outcast child can grow up in safety. For Nassun, her mother's mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes the corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed. The fate of the world is balanced between a mother and her daughter.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with a moving new novel about an injured army doctor and the two women whose secrets will change the course of his life.
Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked as an orthopedic surgeon sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he'd inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any.
Tending to his grandfather's beloved bee hives while preparing for a second stint in medical school, Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love with a local . . . yet, from their very first encounter, Trevor feels a connection with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson that he can't ignore. But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she's hiding.
Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road. Claiming to be 17, she works at the local sundries store and keeps to herself. Discovering that she was once befriended by his grandfather, Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather's death, but she offers few clues - until a crisis triggers a race that will uncover the true nature of Callie's past, one more intertwined with the elderly man's passing than Trevor could have ever anticipated.
In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.
The brand-new escapist summer novel from Sunday Times bestseller Jenny Colgan. Fall in love with a new cast of characters and get swept away in a breath-taking romance you'll want to read again and again . . .
'A glorious, breathtaking, tender romance. I loved every moment of the ride' SOPHIE KINSELLA
___________________________________
Born into a family of successful pilots, Morag is used to flying high. But when a tragic accident above the clouds grounds her, could the future she'd always imagined be suddenly out of reach?
When she receives a call telling her that her beloved grandfather has been taken ill, Morag leaves her fast-paced life in London to return home to the tranquil Scottish Highlands. With her grandfather out of action, Morag has no choice but to take over flying the local route in his rickety old plane, ferrying locals across the beautiful islands of the archipelago.
But as the weather takes a dramatic turn, Morag is forced to crash-land on a remote island and suddenly finds herself far from civilisation and all alone. Then she discovers Gregor, the gruff and reclusive ornithologist taking care of the island for the season. Though the pair don't see eye to eye, Morag is forced to seek shelter at his cabin and it seems the pair are stuck together until help arrives. However long that may be . . .
As she awaits rescue, might Morag discover that a remote Scottish island, cut off from real-life, is exactly the place she needs to be?
JACK RYAN JR. RETURNS
in this high-octane tenth instalment of Tom Clancy's heart-pounding, #1 New York Times bestselling series
___________
PRAISE FOR TOM CLANCY
'Constantly taps the current world situation for its imminent dangers and spins them into an engrossing tale'
NEW YORK TIMES
'Exhilarating. No other novelist is giving so full a picture of modern conflict'
SUNDAY TIMES
'A brilliantly constructed thriller that packs a punch'
DAILY MAIL
'Heart-stopping action . . . entertaining and eminently topical'
WASHINGTON POST
*The multi-million copy bestseller*
Soon to be a major film
A Number One New York Times Bestseller
'Painfully beautiful' New York Times
'Unforgettable . . . as engrossing as it is moving' Daily Mail
'A rare achievement' The Times
'I can't even express how much I love this book!' Reese Witherspoon
-------------------------------------------------
For years, rumors of the 'Marsh Girl' have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens.
-------------------------------------------------
'[It] will reach a huge audience though the writer's old-fashioned talents for compelling character, plotting and landscape description' The Guardian
'For sheer escapism pick up Where The Crawdads Sing . . . there is writing that takes your breath away' The Times
'All is not as it seems in this heartbreaking coming-of-age bestseller' The i newspaper