'Beware the novelist . . . intimate and indiscreet . . . pompous, prophetic airs . . . here is the fact of fiction . . . an American tale where, naturally, evil conquers good, and none live happily ever after, for the complicated pangs of the empty experiences of flesh-and-blood human figures are the reason why nothing can ever be enough. To read a book is to let a root sink down. List of...

Sophia Willoughby of Blandamer House, upstanding Victorian matriarch, has packed her errant husband off to Paris with his mistress Minna. But when tragedy throws her life off balance Sophia goes to seek him out, and instead finds herself intensely attracted to the charismatic, bohemian Minna, who leads her on a wild, chaotic adventure through a city in the throes of revolution.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat - but real life isn't always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she's the only child of a young, single mum, and her life is decidedly less privileged. And even though her mom knows she's bisexual, she hasn't mustered the courage to tell her friends - not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

This book tells the story of Freddie Mercury, one of the greatest rock stars of all time. Learn about his early years as a shy young boy from Zanzibar. Discover how he became the lead singer of one of the most famous rock bands in history, Queen. Penguin Readers is a series of popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction written for learners of English as...

From 1979 to 1989 Soviet troops engaged in a devastating war in Afghanistan that claimed thousands of casualties on both sides. While the Soviet Union talked about a 'peace-keeping' mission, the dead were shipped back in sealed zinc coffins. Boys in Zinc presents the honest testimonies of soldiers, doctors and nurses, mothers, wives and siblings who describe the lasting effects of war. Weaving...

You do not mess with Jack Reacher. He is as close to untraceable as a person can get. A loner comfortable in his anonymity and solitude. So when a member of his old Army unit finds a way to contact him, he knows this has to be serious. You do not mess with the Special Investigators. In the past the elite team always watched each other's backs. Now one of them has shown up dead in the...

'A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction' Ranging from the silent fate of Shakespeare's gifted (imaginary) sister to Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë and the effects of poverty and sexual constraint on female creativity, A Room of One's Own, based on a lecture given at Girton College, Cambridge, is one of the great feminist polemics. Published almost a decade...

The first novel from one of Italy’s most innovative writers of the 20th century 'The seething cauldron of life, the infinite stratification of reality, the inextricable tangle of knowledge are what Gadda wants to depict.' Italo Calvino At the height of Fascist rule in Italy and following the death of his mother, Carlo Emilio Gadda began work on his first novel, The Experience of Pain. This...

Waging Heavy Peace is the remarkable memoir of rock icon Neil YoungNeil Young is a singular figure in the history of rock and pop culture in the last four decades, inducted not once but twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Reflective, insightful and disarmingly honest, Waging Heavy Peace is his long-awaited memoir. From his youth in Canada to his crazy journey out to California, through...

Audrey and Ivy, determined to bring their fellow student Lola Radcliffe's killer to justice, find themselves in the middle of another mystery when a friend disappears in suspicious circumstances. Their only clue is a mysterious card left by the enigmatic Magpie Society. With time running out and the police baffled, Audrey and Ivy must delve deeper than ever into the dark secrets that their...

A searing account of George Orwell's observations of working-class life in the bleak industrial heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire in the 1930s, The Road to Wigan Pier is a brilliant and bitter polemic that has lost none of its political impact over time. His graphically unforgettable descriptions of social injustice, cramped slum housing, dangerous mining conditions, squalor, hunger and...

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself.Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

A balanced and thought-provoking guide to all the big questions about AI and ethics Can computers understand morality? Can they respect privacy? And what can we do to make AI safe and fair? The artificial intelligence revolution has begun. Today, there are self-driving cars on our streets, autonomous weapons in our armies, robot surgeons in our hospitals – and AI's presence in our lives will...

Welcome to a magical world of music, friendship and rivalry ... In a small coastal town just a stone's throw from Tokyo, a prestigious piano competition is underway. Over the course of two feverish weeks, three friends will experience some of the most joyous - and painful - moments of their lives. Aya was a piano genius, until she ran away from the stage and vanished; will the tall and...

For better or worse, for richer for poorer, till death us do part – we’ve always done it and we’re still doing it. Of all our cultural institutions, marriage is the most ancient, but also the most puzzling. In this compelling and delightful book, Devorah Baum examines the many meanings we have given to marriage, interweaving the personal with insights from a host of writers, artists and...

A gripping new crime novel featuring Alex Delware from the bestselling master of suspense. When a photographer is found inside an LA warehouse slumped in bed, shot to death, it sets in motion a complex and dangerous case for Lieutenant Milo Sturgis and Psychologist Alex Delaware. The victim had just received rave media attention for his latest project - images of homeless people living out...

THE NEW YORK TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER The heroes of the High Republic era return to face a shattered peace and a fearsome foe, following the dramatic events of Light of the Jedi. In the wake of the Great Hyperspace Disaster and the heroism of the Jedi, the Republic continues to grow, bringing more worlds together under a single unified banner. Under the leadership of Chancellor Lina...

10 Phizz Whizzing Audio Books Titles: The BFG - Read by David Walliams The Enormous Crocodile - Read by Stephen Fry Matilda - Read by Kate Winslet Fantastic Mr Fox - Read by Chris O'Dowd James and the Giant Peach - Read by Julian Rhind-Tutt Danny Champion of the World - Read by Peter Serafinowicz The Witches - Read by Miranda...

It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose is close to graduation. Consumed by her forbidden love with her tutor Dimitri and protecting her best friend, Moroi princess Lissa, Rose is in no state to see the deadly threat coming that will change her entire world - and make her choose between the two people she loves most.

The Second World War. Poland. Our narrator has no intention of being a hero. He plans to survive this war, whatever it takes. Meticulously he recounts his experiences: the slow unravelling of national events as well as uncomfortable personal encounters on the street, in the café, at the office, in his love affairs. He is intimate but reserved; conversational but careful; reflective but...