Elizabeth von Arnim

British Virago edition
Good except yellowing pages 


Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Oregon

'An enchanting novel, witty, touching and very perceptively written, which will sweep you into wisteria and sunshine' Santa Montefiore

A discreet advertisement in 'The Times', addressed to 'Those who Apppreciate Wisteria and Sunshine...' is the impetus for a revelatory month for four very different women. High above the bay on the Italian Riviera stands San Salvatore, a mediaeval castle. Beckoned to this haven are Mrs. Wilkins, Mrs Arbuthnot, Mrs Fisher and Lady Caroline Dester, each quietly craving a respite. Lulled by the Mediterranean spirit, they gradually shed their skins and discover a harmony each of them has longed for but never known.

First published in 1922, this delightful novel is imbued with the descriptive power and light-hearted irreverence for which Elizabeth von Arnin is renowned.

'Filled with hazy hills and fragrant flora, the novel is a dreamily sensuous description of the glories of Italian spring' Adam Nicolson, Mail on Sunday

'Elizabeth von Armin's most charming novel in every sense: it casts a spell...a sun-washed fairytale' Observer

The Enchanted April

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Paul Murray

Cover is “good”, inside pages “excellent”

Oversized Hardcover (4 to 6 lbs)

A Novel

From the author of Skippy Dies, a dazzlingly intricate and poignant tragicomedy about family, inheritance, and the struggle to be good at the end of the world. The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie is up to his armpits in debt and increasingly preoccupied with preparing for an apocalypse that may or may not be just around the corner. His wife, Imelda, has become invisible to everyone except Big Mike, a man with unsavory local connections and a long-running feud with her husband. Their teenage daughter, Cass, always at the top of her class, has started drinking and staying out late, though nobody seems to have noticed. And twelve-year-old PJ is spending more and more time online, talking to a really funny, friendly kid called Darryl who never has his camera on and wants PJ to run away from home. Every step carries the family closer to a precipice, a moment of reckoning. It feels inevitable. But how far back would you have to go to change the story? To the day Dickie hired a beautiful, feckless young man to help him out in the garage? To the year before Cass was born, at the wedding where Dickie took the place that should have belonged to his brother? To the night Imelda was supposed to skip town but didn't? All the way back to ten-year-old Dickie standing in the summer garden, trembling before his father, learning how to be a proper man? In The Bee Sting, Paul Murray asks: How far can you dig down into the soil of a family and still keep finding seeds? And if it's too late to change the story, is there still a chance for a happy ending?

The Bee Sting

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Alexander McCall Smith

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

A 44 Scotland Street Novel

Life for Bertie seems to be moving at a pace that is rather out of his control. In Drummond Place gardens it seems that Olive has their future together all planned out. Meanwhile, upstairs at 44 Scotland Street, Bertie's father Stuart is powerless to stop over-bearing Irene and her motion for Bertie to travel to Aberdeen on a three-month secondment. And, further up in the New Town, while Bruce Anderson plots with old-school chums, love blossoms in Big Lou's Cafe. Warm hearted, humorous and wonderfully wise, Love in the Time of Bertie offers philosophical insight as well as sartorial elegance. Catch up once again with the extended family at No 44, in this the latest instalment in the Scotland Street series.

Love in the Time of Bertie

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Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

44 Scotland Street (14)

The latest, delectably witty installment of Alexander McCall Smith's sumptuous 44 Scotland Street series. For the residents of 44 Scotland Street, life in Edinburgh's intriguing New Town is a thing to be relished. After all, there are new faces to excite Domenica's anthropological imagination, precious moments with his triplets for Matthew to savor, and the prospect of a trip to the promised land of Glasgow for young Bertie. But there are mysteries that need solving too. Could Angus Lordie's dog, Cyril--the only dog in Scotland with a gold tooth--have unearthed a Neanderthal skull? Does the long-suffering Stuart have any hope of kindling a new relationship when Bruce, ever the navel gazer and consummate seducer, effortlessly steps into his pas de deux? And how will the patrons of Big Lou's cafe react to the menu's imminent culinary transformation? The stories of this wonderfully vibrant cast may take unexpected turns, but the warmth and humor at Scotland's most recognizable address will ultimately affirm the joy life brings us all.

A Promise of Ankles

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44 Scotland Street Series (16)

The latest installment in the charming and congenial 44 Scotland Street series finds all our favorite residents of Scotland's most celebrated address up to their usual hilarious hijinks.

It's the most anticipated event of the decade--Big Lou and Fat Bob's wedding--and everyone is invited! But the relative peace and tranquillity of 44 Scotland Street is about to be disrupted. Domineering Irene is set to return for a two-month stay, consigning young Bertie to a summer camp. Not content with that, she somehow manages to come between the enigmatic nun, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna, and her friend, the hagiographer, Antonia Collie.

And can a person really change, even after being struck by lightning? Bruce Anderson's metamorphosis and new-found outlook on life is put to the test as he prepares to leave his creature comforts for the monastic simplicity of Pluscarden Abbey. His house sitter, meanwhile, gets a little too comfortable in his new life and discovers that his talented employer's shoes are all too easy to slip into. With great taste comes great responsibility.

Alexander McCall Smith's delightfully witty, wise and sometimes surreal comedy spirals out in surprising ways in this new installment, but its heart remains where it has always been, at the center of life in Edinburgh's New Town.

The Enigma of Garlic

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Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

A compulsively readable debut novel--spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark, and tender--about a woman on the edge that combines the psychological insight of Sally Rooney with the sharp humor of Nina Stibbe and the emotional resonance of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. Martha Friel just turned forty. Once, she worked at Vogue and planned to write a novel. Now, she creates internet content. She used to live in a pied-à-terre in Paris. Now she lives in a gated community in Oxford, the only person she knows without a PhD, a baby or both, in a house she hates but cannot bear to leave. But she must leave, now that her husband Patrick--the kind who cooks, throws her birthday parties, who loves her and has only ever wanted her to be happy--has just moved out. Because there's something wrong with Martha, and has been for a long time. When she was seventeen, a little bomb went off in her brain and she was never the same. But countless doctors, endless therapy, every kind of drug later, she still doesn't know what's wrong, why she spends days unable to get out of bed or alienates both strangers and her loved ones with casually cruel remarks. And she has nowhere to go except her childhood home: a bohemian (dilapidated) townhouse in a romantic (rundown) part of London--to live with her mother, a minorly important sculptor (and major drinker) and her father, a famous poet (though unpublished) and try to survive without the devoted, potty-mouthed sister who made all the chaos bearable back then, and is now too busy or too fed up to deal with her. But maybe, by starting over, Martha will get to write a better ending for herself--and she'll find out that she's not quite finished after all.

Sorrow and Bliss

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#hardcover #ya #fiction #caseymcquistonson #ikissedsharawheeler #yaromance #romance #diverse 

I KIssed Shara Wheeler

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Young chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce once again uses her knowledge of poisons and her indefatigable spirit to solve a crime, but this time she leaves behind the English countryside and enters the unexpectedly unsavory world of Canadian boarding schools. By the best-selling author of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust plus two more 

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#hardcover #alanbradley #christmas #fiction #mystery

Pages a bit browning, otherwise like new

After the whole village of Bishop's Lacey descends on Flavia de Luce's family's estate during a raging blizzard to watch the filming of a movie, a person ends up dead, strangled by a length of film, and the 11-year-old budding chemist must find the killer. By the author of A Red Herring Without Mustard.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

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#paperback #messi #soccer #football #futbol #worldcup #biography

The Inside Story of the Boy Who Became a Legend

El Pibe de Oro. The Golden Boy. Diego Maradona's unwaning shadow looms large over world football. In 2007 the brilliant Argentine chose Lionel Messi as his successor to the famous No. 10 shirt. But you can never be sure that potential will be fulfilled. Three years later, Messi - El Pulga, the Flea - is a European Champion, Olympic Gold Medallist, the most naturally gifted footballer on the planet and a hero to millions of fans across the globe. Champions, reporters and coaches blunder time and time again in their haste to find superstars. This time they got it right.Aged only 22, he shows a degree of maturity rarely seen on the soccer pitch. Yet underneath the layers of footballing brilliance, he is still the shy boy who describes his Maradona moment with disarming simplicity: 'I saw the gap and I went for it.' Transcending both club and country, he is a sporting god who prefers homemade cookies to brand name perfumes.Author Luca Caioli draws on exceptional testimonies. Messi's parents, Celia and Jorge, his bother Rodrigo and his uncles and aunts; his coaches at Grandoli and Newell's Old Boys; Charly Rexach, Alex García, Frank Rjikaard, Gianluca Zambrotta from Barcelona; Hugo Tocalli, Pancho Ferrero, el Coco Basile, Roberto Perfumo from Argentina. And to conclude, Leo Messi himself sizes up his life so far.

Messi - 2013 Edition

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#paperback #mentalhealth #soccer. Great book about the intersection between SPORTS and MENTAL Health / prize winner published UK #uk #germany

The Tragedy of Robert Enke

WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR

Why does an international footballer with the world at his feet decide to take his own life?

On 10 November 2009 the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke, stepped in front of a passing train. He was thirty-two years old and a devoted husband and father.

Enke had played for a string of Europe's top clubs, including Barcelona and Jose Mourinho's Benfica and was destined to become his country's first choice in goal for years to come. But beneath the veneer of success, Enke battled with crippling depression.

Award-winning writer Ronald Reng pieces together the puzzle of his friend's life, shedding valuable light on the crushing pressures endured by professional sportsmen and on life at the top clubs. At its heart, Enke's tragedy is a universal story of a man struggling against his demons.

'It should be on every British football fan's reading list' Metro

A Life Too Short

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The Rebel Who Would Be King

An artist, in my eyes, is someone who can lighten up a dark room. I have never and will never find difference between the pass from Pele to Carlos Alberto in the final of the World Cup in 1970, and the poetry of the young Rimbaud (Eric Cantona)Football, and art. Eric Cantona - legend, maverick, troubled artist or just plain trouble - never saw a need to make a distinction between the two. For all the heat and noise surrounding his infamous Crystal Palace kung-fu kick, it is for the sheer exuberant beauty of his play that Eric Cantona is chiefly remembered by English football fans. At Leeds United he transformed the team into title contenders, but became a true talisman at Manchester United, where to this day fans sing of King Eric. And yet the effortless style of Cantona's play could not hide a darker side to his temperament. In his own words, I play with passion and fire. I have to accept that sometimes, this fire does harm.Leading French football journalist Philippe Auclair has interviewed over 200 key protagonists in Cantona's career, searching for the man behind the myth. Marrying a deep knowledge of Cantona's impact on the pitch with soulful, pin-sharp insight into the heart and inner thoughts of this most complex of characters, this is nothing less than the definitive biography of a one-time rebel of the French game, who rose to be the King of Old Trafford.

Cantona

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Pages a bit golden / brown at edge #paperback #soccer

How German Soccer Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World

"A beautiful story, expertly told." -- Per Mertesacker, Arsenal defender and member of the German national team, winners of the 2014 World Cup

EstÃ¡o do Maracan", July 13, 2014, the last ten minutes of extra time in the World Cup Final: German forward Mario GÃ¶ jumps to meet a floated pass from Andr' SchÃ¼ cushions the ball with his chest, and in one fluid motion volleys the ball past the onrushing Argentine goalkeeper into the far corner of the net. The goal wins Germany the World Cup for the first time in almost thirty years. As the crowd roars, GÃ¶ looks dazed, unable to comprehend what he has done.

In Das Reboot, Raphael Honigstein charts the return of German soccer from the dreary functionality of the late 1990s to GÃ¶'s moment of sublime, balletic genius and asks: How did this come about? The answer takes him from California to Stuttgart, from Munich to the Maracan", via Dortmund and Amsterdam. Packed with exclusive interviews with key figures, including JÃ¼Klinsmann, Thomas MÃ¼ Oliver Bierhoff, and many more, Honigstein's book reveals the secrets of German soccer's success.

Das Reboot

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#paperback #soccer #football #worldcup #barcelona

Andrés Iniesta is the Barcelona and Spain legend, rated by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Paul Scholes as one of the greatest footballers of all time. This is the thinking fan's footballer with a thinking fan's football book.

Andrés Iniesta was twelve years old when scouts invited him into Barcelona's famous La Masia academy. Shortly after he joined the club, Barca legend Pep Guardiola remarked of him, 'This lad is going to retire us all.'

Iniesta rapidly became a permanent fixture in the Barca midfield, propelling the club to a raft of trophies, including eight La Liga championships and four Champions League titles. With his country he has won the European Championship twice, and scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final.

Behind the wonderfully graceful passing and movement, and the accolades and trophies he has garnered, there exists an intelligent and thoughtful man who, until now, has let his beautifully skilful feet do the talking. In The Artist: Being Iniesta, the Spanish maestro paints a vivid self-portrait, in his own words but also in those of his coaches, team-mates, opponents, friends and family. The result is intriguing.

The Artist: Being Iniesta

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#brit RE Mitford’s Pursuit of Love- For a reader unfamiliar with Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love: the kind of book you take into the bath and keep reading even when the water has gone cold, a one-sitting dark-at-four joy.

A sparkling romantic comedy that vividly evokes the lost glamour of aristocratic life in England between the wars.

Polly Hampton has long been groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother, the fearsome and ambitious Lady Montdore. But Polly, with her stunning good looks and impeccable connections, is bored by the monotony of her glittering debut season in London. Having just come from India, where her father served as Viceroy, she claims to have hoped that society in a colder climate would be less obsessed with love affairs.

The apparently aloof and indifferent Polly has a long-held secret, however, one that leads to the shattering of her mother's dreams and her own disinheritance. When an elderly duke begins pursuing the disgraced Polly and a callow potential heir curries favor with her parents, nothing goes as expected, but in the end all find happiness in their own unconventional ways. 

Featuring an introduction by Flora Fraser.

Love in a Cold Climate

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Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation

A groundbreaking and irresistible biography of three of America’s most important musical artists—Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon—charts their lives as women at a magical moment in time. Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon remain among the most enduring and important women in popular music. Each woman is distinct. Carole King is the product of outer-borough, middle-class New York City; Joni Mitchell is a granddaughter of Canadian farmers; and Carly Simon is a child of the Manhattan intellectual upper crust. They collectively represent, in their lives and their songs, a great swath of American girls who came of age in the late 1960s. Their stories trace the arc of the now mythic sixties generation—female version—but in a bracingly specific and deeply recalled way, far from cliché. The history of the women of that generation has never been written—until now, through their resonant lives and emblematic songs. Filled with the voices of many dozens of these women's intimates, who are speaking in these pages for the first time, this alternating biography reads like a novel—except it’s all true, and the heroines are famous and beloved. Sheila Weller captures the character of each woman and gives a balanced portrayal enriched by a wealth of new information. Girls Like Us is an epic treatment of midcentury women who dared to break tradition and become what none had been before them—confessors in song, rock superstars, and adventurers of heart and soul.

Girls Like Us

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Popular and great story#paperback #fiction #classic #paperback 

The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

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The Beatles' Records and the Sixties

As dazzling as the decade they dominated, The Beatles almost single-handedly created pop music as we know it. Today, their songs are cited as seminal influences by stars like Oasis, Blur and Kula Shaker. Eloquently giving voice to their time, the Beatles quite simply changed the world.

Updated with material from The Beatles Live at the BBC and the Anthology series, this acclaimed book gets to the heart of The Beatles — their records. It draws on the author’s unique knowledge and experience to “read” their 241 tracks chronologically — from their first amateur efforts in 1957 to Real Love, their final “reunion” recording in 1995. With this engrossing classic of popular criticism, Ian MacDonald shows exactly why the extraordinary songs of the Beatles remain a central and continually surprising presence.

Revolution in the Head

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#paperback #romance #thesummerjob #contemporary 

“My perfect summer read! Sure to be one of the sweetest, funniest, and sexiest books of the year.” —Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation Named a Best Beach Read by Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, Bustle, Country Living, Parade, Fortune, and more. What if you could be someone else? Just for the summer... Birdy has made a mistake. Everyone imagines running away from their life at some point. But Birdy has actually done it. And the life she's run into is her best friend Heather's. The only problem is, she hasn't told Heather. The summer job at the highland Scottish hotel that her world class wine-expert friend ditched turns out to be a lot more than Birdy bargained for. Can she survive a summer pretending to be her best friend? And can Birdy stop herself from falling for the first man she's ever actually liked, but who thinks she's someone else? One good friend's very bad decision is at the heart of this laugh-out-loud love story and unexpected tale of a woman finally finding herself in the strangest of places.

Browse by categories

Elizabeth von Arnim

The Enchanted April

Paul Murray

The Bee Sting

Alexander McCall Smith

Love in the Time of Bertie

Alexander McCall Smith

A Promise of Ankles

Alexander McCall Smith

The Enigma of Garlic

Meg Mason

Sorrow and Bliss

Casey McQuiston

I KIssed Shara Wheeler

Alan Bradley

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust plus two more

Alan Bradley

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

Luca Caioli

Messi - 2013 Edition

Ronald Reng

A Life Too Short

Philippe Auclair

Cantona

Raphael Honigstein

Das Reboot

Andrés Iniesta

The Artist: Being Iniesta

Nancy Mitford

Love in a Cold Climate

Sheila Weller

Girls Like Us

Betty Smith

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Ian Macdonald

Revolution in the Head

Lizzy Dent

The Summer Job

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