Author: Suzette Field
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 1447212975
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Since ancient times human beings have gathered together for social purposes. And since not very long after that writers have written about these occasions. The party is a useful literary device, not only for social comment and satire, but as an occasion where characters can meet, fall in love, fall out or even get murdered. A Curious Invitation features forty of the greatest fictional festivities. Some of these parties are depictions of real events, like the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball on the eve of battle with Napoleon in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair; others draw on the author’s experience of the society they lived in, such as Lady Metroland’s party in Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies; while yet others come straight from the writer’s bizarre imagination, like Douglas Adams’ flying party above an unknown planet from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Suzette Field offers you the chance to gatecrash these parties, spanning most of the history of human civilization, seen through the eyes of the world’s greatest writers.
A Curious Invitation
Author: Suzette Field
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 1447212975
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Since ancient times human beings have gathered together for social purposes. And since not very long after that writers have written about these occasions. The party is a useful literary device, not only for social comment and satire, but as an occasion where characters can meet, fall in love, fall out or even get murdered. A Curious Invitation features forty of the greatest fictional festivities. Some of these parties are depictions of real events, like the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball on the eve of battle with Napoleon in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair; others draw on the author’s experience of the society they lived in, such as Lady Metroland’s party in Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies; while yet others come straight from the writer’s bizarre imagination, like Douglas Adams’ flying party above an unknown planet from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Suzette Field offers you the chance to gatecrash these parties, spanning most of the history of human civilization, seen through the eyes of the world’s greatest writers.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 1447212975
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Since ancient times human beings have gathered together for social purposes. And since not very long after that writers have written about these occasions. The party is a useful literary device, not only for social comment and satire, but as an occasion where characters can meet, fall in love, fall out or even get murdered. A Curious Invitation features forty of the greatest fictional festivities. Some of these parties are depictions of real events, like the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball on the eve of battle with Napoleon in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair; others draw on the author’s experience of the society they lived in, such as Lady Metroland’s party in Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies; while yet others come straight from the writer’s bizarre imagination, like Douglas Adams’ flying party above an unknown planet from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Suzette Field offers you the chance to gatecrash these parties, spanning most of the history of human civilization, seen through the eyes of the world’s greatest writers.
A Curious Tale of the In-Between
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 161963600X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 239
Book Description
An exquisite middle grade debut about a girl who befriends ghosts from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Lauren DeStefano, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Sheila Turnage.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 161963600X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 239
Book Description
An exquisite middle grade debut about a girl who befriends ghosts from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Lauren DeStefano, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Sheila Turnage.
The Invitation
Author: Lucy Foley
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0316272922
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 432
Book Description
From the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Paris Apartment and The Guest List, an evocative love story set along the Italian Riviera about a group of charismatic stars who all have secrets and pasts they try desperately — and dangerously — to hide. Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again. But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film. Of all the luminaries aboard — an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director — only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us — no matter how much we try to escape them.
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0316272922
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 432
Book Description
From the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Paris Apartment and The Guest List, an evocative love story set along the Italian Riviera about a group of charismatic stars who all have secrets and pasts they try desperately — and dangerously — to hide. Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again. But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film. Of all the luminaries aboard — an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director — only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us — no matter how much we try to escape them.
A Curious Career
Author: Lynn Barber
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 140883720X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 235
Book Description
A wonderfully frank and funny memoir by Britain's greatest and most ferocious interviewer, Lynn Barber. 'Packed full of incredible stories' Glamour 'Funny, bold, incisive, clever and interesting' Independent 'Candid, unsentimental and extremely funny. I read it in one glorious go, laughing and crying throughout' Zoe Heller Lynn Barber, by her own admission, has always suffered from a compelling sense of nosiness. An exceptionally inquisitive child she constantly questioned everyone she knew about imitate details of their lives. This talent for nosiness, coupled with her unusual lack of the very English fear of social embarrassment, turned out to be the perfect qualification for a celebrity interviewer. In A Curious Career, Lynn Barber takes us from her early years as a journalist at Penthouse - where she started out interviewing foot fetishists, voyeurs, dominatrices and men who liked wearing nappies - to her later more eminent role interrogating a huge cross-section of celebrities ranging from politicians to film stars, comedians, writers, artists and musicians. A Curious Career is full of glorious anecdotes - the interview with Salvador Dali that, at Dali's invitation, ended up lasting four days, or the drinking session with Shane MacGowan during which they planned to rob a bank. It also contains eye-opening transcripts, such as her infamous interview with the hilarious and spectacularly rude Marianne Faithfull. A wonderfully frank and funny memoir by Britain's greatest and most ferocious interviewer, A Curious Career is also a fascinating window into the lives of celebrities and the changing world of journalism.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 140883720X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 235
Book Description
A wonderfully frank and funny memoir by Britain's greatest and most ferocious interviewer, Lynn Barber. 'Packed full of incredible stories' Glamour 'Funny, bold, incisive, clever and interesting' Independent 'Candid, unsentimental and extremely funny. I read it in one glorious go, laughing and crying throughout' Zoe Heller Lynn Barber, by her own admission, has always suffered from a compelling sense of nosiness. An exceptionally inquisitive child she constantly questioned everyone she knew about imitate details of their lives. This talent for nosiness, coupled with her unusual lack of the very English fear of social embarrassment, turned out to be the perfect qualification for a celebrity interviewer. In A Curious Career, Lynn Barber takes us from her early years as a journalist at Penthouse - where she started out interviewing foot fetishists, voyeurs, dominatrices and men who liked wearing nappies - to her later more eminent role interrogating a huge cross-section of celebrities ranging from politicians to film stars, comedians, writers, artists and musicians. A Curious Career is full of glorious anecdotes - the interview with Salvador Dali that, at Dali's invitation, ended up lasting four days, or the drinking session with Shane MacGowan during which they planned to rob a bank. It also contains eye-opening transcripts, such as her infamous interview with the hilarious and spectacularly rude Marianne Faithfull. A wonderfully frank and funny memoir by Britain's greatest and most ferocious interviewer, A Curious Career is also a fascinating window into the lives of celebrities and the changing world of journalism.
A Curious Faith
Author: Lore Ferguson Wilbert
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1493437577
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
God created us to be curious. We innately wonder about the world, one another, ourselves, and our Creator. But fear of the unknown, cultural taboos, technology, or even church leaders can smother our curiosity. Popular writer Lore Ferguson Wilbert has belonged to Christian communities that discouraged curiosity. The point of the Christian life was to have the right answers, and asking questions reflected a wavering faith. But Wilbert came to discover that the Bible is a permission slip to anyone who wants to ask questions. Reflecting her own theological trajectory toward a more contemplative, expansive faith, Wilbert invites readers to foster curiosity as a spiritual habit. This book explores questions God asks us, questions we ask God, and questions we ask each other. Christianity is not about knowing good answers, says Wilbert, but about asking good questions--ones that foster deeper intimacy with God and others. A Curious Faith invites readers to go beyond pat answers and embrace curiosity, rather than certainty, as a hallmark of authentic faith. Foreword by Seth Haines.
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1493437577
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
God created us to be curious. We innately wonder about the world, one another, ourselves, and our Creator. But fear of the unknown, cultural taboos, technology, or even church leaders can smother our curiosity. Popular writer Lore Ferguson Wilbert has belonged to Christian communities that discouraged curiosity. The point of the Christian life was to have the right answers, and asking questions reflected a wavering faith. But Wilbert came to discover that the Bible is a permission slip to anyone who wants to ask questions. Reflecting her own theological trajectory toward a more contemplative, expansive faith, Wilbert invites readers to foster curiosity as a spiritual habit. This book explores questions God asks us, questions we ask God, and questions we ask each other. Christianity is not about knowing good answers, says Wilbert, but about asking good questions--ones that foster deeper intimacy with God and others. A Curious Faith invites readers to go beyond pat answers and embrace curiosity, rather than certainty, as a hallmark of authentic faith. Foreword by Seth Haines.
A Rather Charming Invitation
Author: C.A. Belmond
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101196661
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 347
Book Description
Her work has been hailed as "a return to the golden age of romantic suspense," and Belmond is back with her beloved characters and their search for a missing bridal tapestry. Dateline: London, Paris, Antibes. It's time to get down to wedding planning. But while heiress Penny's distant relatives insist that the nuptials be held in their native France, Jeremy's kin won't have it anywhere but England. And either choice might just re-ignite the Hundred Years' War... Then, in a family château high above the perfume fields of Grasse, Penny's French cousin offers her the loan of an ancient bridal tapestry. But Penny has barely begun to crack its perplexing imagery before a series of strange events unfolds, threatening to derail the wedding. From a secret chalet on Lake Geneva, to a nostalgic stop at the opulent Train Bleu, to a winner-take-all gamble in Monte Carlo, Penny and Jeremy are off on another romp...while the clock is ticking down until they say, "I do."
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101196661
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 347
Book Description
Her work has been hailed as "a return to the golden age of romantic suspense," and Belmond is back with her beloved characters and their search for a missing bridal tapestry. Dateline: London, Paris, Antibes. It's time to get down to wedding planning. But while heiress Penny's distant relatives insist that the nuptials be held in their native France, Jeremy's kin won't have it anywhere but England. And either choice might just re-ignite the Hundred Years' War... Then, in a family château high above the perfume fields of Grasse, Penny's French cousin offers her the loan of an ancient bridal tapestry. But Penny has barely begun to crack its perplexing imagery before a series of strange events unfolds, threatening to derail the wedding. From a secret chalet on Lake Geneva, to a nostalgic stop at the opulent Train Bleu, to a winner-take-all gamble in Monte Carlo, Penny and Jeremy are off on another romp...while the clock is ticking down until they say, "I do."
A Curious Invitation
Author: Suzette Field
Publisher: Harper Perennial
ISBN: 9780062271839
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Forty of the greatest fictional festivities as seen through the eyes of the world's greatest writers. People love to party. And writers love to attend and document these occasions. The party is a useful literary device, not only for social commentary and satire but also as an occasion where characters can meet, fall in and out of love, or even get murdered. A Curious Invitation is a humorous and informative guide to literature's most memorable parties. Some of these parties are depictions of real events, like the Duchess of Richmond's ball on the eve of battle with Napoleon in Thackeray's Vanity Fair; others draw on the authors' experience of the society they lived in, such as Lady Metroland's party in Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies; while others come straight from the writer's bizarre imagination, like Douglas Adams' flying party above an unknown planet from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Witty, entertaining, and full of fabulous detail, A Curious Invitation offers readers the chance to crash some of the great parties in literary history.
Publisher: Harper Perennial
ISBN: 9780062271839
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Forty of the greatest fictional festivities as seen through the eyes of the world's greatest writers. People love to party. And writers love to attend and document these occasions. The party is a useful literary device, not only for social commentary and satire but also as an occasion where characters can meet, fall in and out of love, or even get murdered. A Curious Invitation is a humorous and informative guide to literature's most memorable parties. Some of these parties are depictions of real events, like the Duchess of Richmond's ball on the eve of battle with Napoleon in Thackeray's Vanity Fair; others draw on the authors' experience of the society they lived in, such as Lady Metroland's party in Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies; while others come straight from the writer's bizarre imagination, like Douglas Adams' flying party above an unknown planet from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Witty, entertaining, and full of fabulous detail, A Curious Invitation offers readers the chance to crash some of the great parties in literary history.
Making Sense of God
Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525954155
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
We live in an age of skepticism. Our society places such faith in empirical reason, historical progress, and heartfelt emotion that it’s easy to wonder: Why should anyone believe in Christianity? What role can faith and religion play in our modern lives? In this thoughtful and inspiring new book, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller invites skeptics to consider that Christianity is more relevant now than ever. As human beings, we cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope. Christianity provides us with unsurpassed resources to meet these needs. Written for both the ardent believer and the skeptic, Making Sense of God shines a light on the profound value and importance of Christianity in our lives.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525954155
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
We live in an age of skepticism. Our society places such faith in empirical reason, historical progress, and heartfelt emotion that it’s easy to wonder: Why should anyone believe in Christianity? What role can faith and religion play in our modern lives? In this thoughtful and inspiring new book, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller invites skeptics to consider that Christianity is more relevant now than ever. As human beings, we cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope. Christianity provides us with unsurpassed resources to meet these needs. Written for both the ardent believer and the skeptic, Making Sense of God shines a light on the profound value and importance of Christianity in our lives.
Alexander Vvedensky: An Invitation for Me to Think
Author: Alexander Vvedensky
Publisher: New York Review of Books
ISBN: 1590176308
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 169
Book Description
“Pussy Riot are Vvedensky's disciples and his heirs. Katya, Masha, and I are in jail but I don’t consider that we’ve been defeated.... According to the official report, Alexander Vvedensky died on December 20, 1941. We don’t know the cause, whether it was dysentery in the train after his arrest or a bullet from a guard. It was somewhere on the railway line between Voronezh and Kazan. His principle of ‘bad rhythm’ is our own. He wrote: ‘It happens that two rhythms will come into your head, a good one and a bad one and I choose the bad one. It will be the right one.’ ... It is believed that the OBERIU dissidents are dead, but they live on. They are persecuted but they do not die.” — Pussy Riot [Nadezhda Tolokonnikova’s closing statement at their trial in August 2012] “I raise[d] my hand against concepts,” wrote Alexander Vvedensky, “I enacted a poetic critique of reason.” This weirdly and wonderfully philosophical poet was born in 1904, grew up in the midst of war and revolution, and reached his artistic maturity as Stalin was twisting the meaning of words in grotesque and lethal ways. Vvedensky—with Daniil Kharms the major figure in the short–lived underground avant-garde group OBERIU (a neologism for “the union for real art”)—responded with a poetry that explodes stable meaning into shimmering streams of provocation and invention. A Vvedensky poem is like a crazy party full of theater, film, magic tricks, jugglery, and feasting. Curious characters appear and disappear, euphoria keeps company with despair, outrageous assertions lead to epic shouting matches, and perhaps it all breaks off with one lonely person singing a song. A Vvedensky poem doesn’t make a statement. It is an event. Vvedensky’s poetry was unpublishable during his lifetime—he made a living as a writer for children before dying under arrest in 1942—and he remains the least known of the great twentieth-century Russian poets. This is his first book to appear in English. The translations by Eugene Ostashevsky and Matvei Yankelevich, outstanding poets in their own right, are as astonishingly alert and alive as the originals.
Publisher: New York Review of Books
ISBN: 1590176308
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 169
Book Description
“Pussy Riot are Vvedensky's disciples and his heirs. Katya, Masha, and I are in jail but I don’t consider that we’ve been defeated.... According to the official report, Alexander Vvedensky died on December 20, 1941. We don’t know the cause, whether it was dysentery in the train after his arrest or a bullet from a guard. It was somewhere on the railway line between Voronezh and Kazan. His principle of ‘bad rhythm’ is our own. He wrote: ‘It happens that two rhythms will come into your head, a good one and a bad one and I choose the bad one. It will be the right one.’ ... It is believed that the OBERIU dissidents are dead, but they live on. They are persecuted but they do not die.” — Pussy Riot [Nadezhda Tolokonnikova’s closing statement at their trial in August 2012] “I raise[d] my hand against concepts,” wrote Alexander Vvedensky, “I enacted a poetic critique of reason.” This weirdly and wonderfully philosophical poet was born in 1904, grew up in the midst of war and revolution, and reached his artistic maturity as Stalin was twisting the meaning of words in grotesque and lethal ways. Vvedensky—with Daniil Kharms the major figure in the short–lived underground avant-garde group OBERIU (a neologism for “the union for real art”)—responded with a poetry that explodes stable meaning into shimmering streams of provocation and invention. A Vvedensky poem is like a crazy party full of theater, film, magic tricks, jugglery, and feasting. Curious characters appear and disappear, euphoria keeps company with despair, outrageous assertions lead to epic shouting matches, and perhaps it all breaks off with one lonely person singing a song. A Vvedensky poem doesn’t make a statement. It is an event. Vvedensky’s poetry was unpublishable during his lifetime—he made a living as a writer for children before dying under arrest in 1942—and he remains the least known of the great twentieth-century Russian poets. This is his first book to appear in English. The translations by Eugene Ostashevsky and Matvei Yankelevich, outstanding poets in their own right, are as astonishingly alert and alive as the originals.
The Books of Magic #1: The Invitation
Author: Carla Jablonski
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 9780064473798
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Thirteen-year-old Tim discovers he may be the greatest wizard of his time when four strangers introduce him to the world of magic, taking him on a journey through the past, present, future, and Faerie realms, where danger threatens at every turn.
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 9780064473798
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Thirteen-year-old Tim discovers he may be the greatest wizard of his time when four strangers introduce him to the world of magic, taking him on a journey through the past, present, future, and Faerie realms, where danger threatens at every turn.