I Love Dick by Chris Kraus $32.99
"First published in 1997, long before Knausgaard and Heti, this novel was a well-placed detonation beneath the wall dividing memoir and fiction. Ostensibly an account of Kraus’s all-consuming middle-aged crush on a man she has met only briefly and who has seemingly done nothing to encourage her obsession, the first half of the book consists of a hilarious compilation of letters addressed to ‘Dick’ by Kraus and her husband, with whom she plays a hugely ironic game of cultural and psycho-social toe-to-toe positioning. Kraus pursues her ‘crush’ through a maze of received social constructs and gender-role expectations with a snide irony that both deepens and ridicules the pathos of her rather abject attempts to ‘possess’ ‘Dick’. In any quest for authenticity, each manifestation of the personal is a struggle with the demands of form." - Thomas (read my full review here)
"This is the most important book written about men and women written in the last century. This book will only become more relevant." - Guardian
Constance Kopp doesn't quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family - and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared.
"All the books published by a certain publisher could be seen as links in a single chain." As well as writing some rather interesting and unusual books, Roberto Calasso has been the publisher at Italy's Adelphi Edizoni for several decades. This book is a very thoughtful consideration of the role and possibilities of publishing in the formation and culture and society.
>> 'The Art of Publishing in the Age of Immediacy'.
There is a legend that a Great Spotted Whale lives in the ocean; local fisherman still talk of it, although the first sighting 50 years ago was never corroborated. Now, two young whale watchers each set out to find the whale, one armed with sound recording equipment, the other a camera. Mid-ocean their boats collide, so they pool their resources and set off together to capture incontrovertible proof that the mythical Great Spotted Whale exists.
When Clara Bensen arranged to meet Jeff Wilson on the steps of the Texas State Capitol, after just a few e-mail exchanges on OK Cupid, it felt like something big was going to happen. Jeff is a wildly energetic university professor with a freewheeling spirit. Clara is a sensitive, reclusive writer recovering from a quarter-life existential breakdown. Within a few days of knowing one another, they decide to embark on a crazyexperiment: a 21-day minimalist travel adventure, from Istanbul to London, with zero luggage, zeroreservations, and zero plans. They want to test a simple question: what happens when you welcome the unknown instead of attempting to control it? Find out by reading this book.
Hannah and Zoe haven't had much in their lives, but they've always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah's beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything - their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrolment at community college - behind them. As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life's intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence - things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness...
"A crisp, beautifully crafted story of adventure, love, and the limits of friendship." - Booklist
What characterises Scandinavian Modern is its approachability; the use of natural materials and organic forms combined with clean lines and attention to basic practicality and comfort.
The most widely read British poet of the twentieth century, Philip Larkin was also a keen amateur photographer and through his life he made images of the people, places and things that meant most to him. The book shows how Larkin, as an individual, as a writer and indeed as a photographer, developed an acute sensitivity to all aspects of the world around him, from his love of open uninhabited landscapes and empty churches to his mixed feelings about crowds. There are also fascinating portraits of those people who were closest to Larkin, including his lovers, his mother and his literary peers.
Philosopher, economist, publisher, writer, organizer, political leader, martyr. A lively, rounded, colourful biography of one of the most impassioned revolutionaries. The story follows Luxemburg from her family life in Jewish Poland, where she became the leader of a general strike at age fifteen and was exiled from her homeland at eighteen, to her immersion into the then largest radical party in the world, the German Social Democratic Party, to her founding of the German Communist Party and leadership of the German revolution of 1919.
"Utterly brilliant. Kate Evans is one of the most original talents in comics I've seen in a long time." - Guardian
In medieval Mamoko, the king has been kidnapped by a dragon, a fair maiden needs help and Robin Hood's arrow has gone astray. Will everything be put right in time for the royal banquet? Readers are prompted to follow the adventures of Mamoko's quirky cast of characters, telling aloud their discoveries as they use their eyes and uncover the kaleidoscope of stories packed into every page.
Reunited for the extravagant wedding of a college friend, Kezia, the second-in-command to an insane jewellery designer; Nathaniel, the former literary cool kid now selling his wares in Hollywood; and Victor, who has just been fired from a middling search engine, soon slip back into their old roles: Victor loves Kezia. Kezia loves Nathaniel. Nathaniel loves Nathaniel. In the midst of all this semi-merriment, Victor has a bizarre encounter with the mother of the groom that triggers an obsession over a legendary necklace.
"Perfectly, relentlessly funny" - David Sedaris
"A 21st century Dorothy Parker" - Jonathan Ames
"Enormously hilarious. This is one of those rare, deeply literary books that also features - a plot!" - Gary Shteyngart
In the late 1960s the world was faced with impending disaster: the height of the Cold War, the end of oil, and the decline of great cities throughout the world. Out of this crisis came a new generation that hoped to build a better future, influenced by visions of geodesic domes, walking cities, and a meaningful connection with nature. In this brilliant work of cultural history, architect Douglas Murphy traces the lost archeology of the present-day through the works of thinkers and designers such as Buckminster Fuller, the ecological pioneer Stewart Brand, the Archigram architects who envisioned the Plug-In City in the '60s, as well as co-operatives in Vienna, communes in the Californian desert, and protesters on the streets of Paris.
Thomas is the new kid in town. So who will believe he's not a murderer? Part YA paranormal romance, part crime thriller.
London, 1665. Fourteen-year-old Christopher Rowe is apprenticed to master apothecary Benedict Blackthorn. In Blackthorn's shop, Christopher learns the delicate secrets of transforming simple ingredients into powerful medicines, potions and weapons. His master instils him with confidence and independence that prove increasingly vital as Christopher learns of a mysterious cult preying on the most learned men in London. The murders are growing closer and closer to home and soon Christopher is torn from the shop with only a page of cryptic clues from his master and the unambiguous warning: 'Tell no one'. Helped by his best friend, Tom, Christopher must decipher his master's clues, following a trail of deceit towards an unearthly secret with the power to tear the world apart.
A miscellany of over 150 mathematical curios and conundrums, packed with Stewart's trademark humour and numerous illustrations.In addition to the fascinating formulae and thrilling theorems familiar to Professor Stewart's fans, the Casebook follows the adventures of the not-so-great detective Hemlock Soames and his sidekick Dr John Watsup...
Helen and Ellie are identical twins - like two peas in a pod, everyone says. The girls know this isn't true, though: Helen is the leader and Ellie the follower. Until they decide to swap places: just for fun, and just for one day. But Ellie refuses to swap back...And so begins a nightmare from which Helen cannot wake up.
“The novel is a deep, troubling, painful exploration of identity, genetics, and mental illness, but along the journey, the main character (Helen/Ellie/Smudge) becomes truly fascinating … Ambitious and gritty; a modern take on the age-old question of fate versus free will” – Kirkus
Thomas Mackee wants oblivion. Wants to forget fathers who leave, and parents splitting up, and friends he used to care about, and a string of one night stands, and favourite uncles being blown to smithereens on their way to work on the other side of the world. When his flatmates turn him out of the house, Tom moves in with his single, pregnant aunt, Georgie. And starts working at The Union pub with his former friends, Francesca and Justine. And winds up living with his grieving alcoholic father again. And in a year where everything's broken, Tom realises that his family and friends need him to help put the pieces back together as much as he needs them."It's a story so full of heart - sorrowful, but warm and funny - it won't be easy to forget." - The Sydney Morning Herald
Politics in a Time of Crisis: Podemos and the future of European democracy by Pablo Iglesias $35.00
Iglesias and his Podemos party have radically shaking up Spain's political establishment. Iglesias is an outspoken critic of political elites in Spain and Europe, and their austerity-led response to the recent financial crisis. Does this party show a new way forward?"There are few precedents for such an explosive political ascent in modern western Europe. Podemos has thrived because it has shredded the old left rulebook." - Owen Jones
Proposes a new British class system composed of seven classes that reflect the unequal distribution of three kinds of capital: economic (inequalities in income and wealth); social (the different kinds of people we know) and cultural (the ways in which our leisure and cultural preferences are exclusive).
Destructive habits have cost Alex a marriage and a journalism career. All she has left is her routine: a morning run until her body aches, then a few hours of forgettable work before the past grabs hold and drags her down. Then she discovers Amy, seemingly in a coma since a brutal assault fifteen years ago. Unbeknownst to her doctors, Amy remains locked inside her body, conscious but paralysed, reliving the past. Alex begins to develop an obsession with Amy and her story.
Poems bearing witness to the futility of war and the suffering of those left behind.
"I am the luckiest man alive, because I get to live and work in the most beautiful place on earth: Matterdale in the English Lake District. When I was a child we didn't really go anywhere, except a week in the Isle of Man when I was about ten years old, and I never left Britain until I was twenty. Even now, years later, the best bit of any travelling is coming home. "Bringing us into the world of shepherd's baking competitions, sheep shows and moments out on the fell watching the sheep run away home, James Rebanks interweaves thoughts and reflections on the art of shepherding with his photographs of the valley, people and animals that make up the daily life of the fells. From the author of The Shepherd's Life.
Is there any room for (errhm) love among the orgies and excesses of pre-Crash Copenhagen? This freewheeling satire was described by Elle as "this autumn's funniest and most provocative book about relationships".
"A spiky, witty satire that's highly engaging." - Independent
Cal McGill is an Edinburgh-based oceanographer, environmentalist and one-of-a-kind investigator. Using his knowledge of the waves - ocean currents, prevailing winds, shipping records - McGill can track where objects came from, or where they've gone. It's a skill that can help solve mysteries ranging from disappearances to murder. Two severed feet wash up on two different islands off the coast of Scotland. Forensics shows that the feet belong to the same body. As Cal McGill investigates, he unravels a web of corruption, exploitation and human trafficking, which threatens many lives across the globe - including his own ...
What is it that gives these men the drive and discipline to regularly beat each other to a pulp in the name of sport? What does this highly ritualised combat reveal about the society in which it takes place?
