This book is a glimpse into my on-going flirtation with Dame Literature … and the rare occasion when … she winked back. Regarding the poems, some of them arose in response to the morning wishes received as “forwards” via WhatsApp by people who could be considered as the modern roosters – summoning the sun over the horizon every day; others arose out of a deeply emotional response to situations like the present on-going pandemic. And then there are others. The short-stories are based on happenings as I grew more and more aware of the world around me, and as I wandered through swamps of dog-eared files, never ceasing to wonder at the infinite variety of human feelings, deviousness – and resilience. Altogether, they reflect an attitude towards life: some guiding philosophy, some amount of humour, and … love.

Think a newspaper can’t be responsible for mass murder? Think again. As flagship of the American news media, the New York Times is the world’s most powerful news outlet. With thousands of reporters covering events from all corners of the globe, the Times has the power to influence wars, foment revolution, shape economies and change the very nature of our culture. It doesn’t just cover the news: it creates it. The Gray Lady Winked pulls back the curtain on this illustrious institution to reveal a quintessentially human organization where ideology, ego, power and politics compete with the more humble need to present the facts. In its 10 gripping chapters, The Gray Lady Winked offers readers an eye-opening, often shocking, look at the New York Times’s greatest journalistic failures, so devastating they changed the course of history. How its World War II Berlin bureau chief, a known Nazi collaborator, skewed coverage in favor of the Third Reich for over a decade. Its notorious coverup of the Ukraine Famine, a genocide committed by Stalin, showing that it was the newspaper's owners who directed the coverup in order to advance their own financial and ideological interests. The “1619 Project," a cynical, ideologically driven attempt to revise American history by rooting the nation's birth in slavery instead of liberty. The result is an essential look at the tangled relationship between media, power and politics in a post-truth world told with novelistic flair to reveal a uniquely powerful institution’s tortured relationship with the truth. Most importantly of all, The Gray Lady Winked presents a cautionary tale that shows what happens when the guardians of the truth abandon that sacred value in favor of self-interest and ideology—and what this means for our future as much as for our past.

Nina always thought that if just one person would love her perfectly and completely, she’d never be alone again Nina’s the first person in her family to leave home and go to college. Maybe that’s why she feels so isolated once she gets there, especially compared to some of the other students—like her roommates, who have been friends for so long they can finish one another’s sentences. But it seems like her narrow, small-town past hasn’t prepared her for this life in which everyone else knows things about the world that she doesn’t. Afraid of falling behind in her classes, all Nina does is study and wonder if she’ll always be this lonely. But then she meets Mitch. He introduces himself from the top of some scaffolding, taking a break from painting the house next door to hers. Their growing relationship frees Nina from her self-doubt—finally, someone to love who loves her back! Their togetherness is perfect . . . but can it stay that way forever?

A hilarious and heartwrenching story about surviving middle school--and an unthinkable diagnosis--while embracing life's weirdness. Ross Maloy just wants to be a normal seventh grader. He doesn't want to lose his hair, or wear a weird hat, or deal with the disappearing friends who don't know what to say to "the cancer kid." But with his recent diagnosis of a rare eye cancer, blending in is off the table. Based on Rob Harrell's real life experience, and packed with comic panels and spot art, this incredibly personal and poignant novel is an unforgettable, heartbreaking, hilarious, and uplifting story of survival and finding the music, magic, and laughter in life's weirdness.

From the acclaimed author of Godshot and “a pitch-perfect ventriloquist of extraordinary talent and ferocity” (T Kira Madden) comes a defining book of Californian stories where everyone is seeking or sabotaging love United by the stark and sprawling landscapes of California’s Central Valley, the characters of Heartbroke boil with reckless desire. A woman steals a baby from a shelter in an attempt to recoup her own lost motherhood. A phone-sex operator sees divine opportunity when a lavender-eyed cowboy walks into her life. A mother and a son selling dream catchers along a highway that leads to a toxic beach manifest two young documentary filmmakers into their realm. And two teenage girls play a dangerous online game with destiny. Heartbroke brims over with each character’s attempt to salvage grace where they can find it. Told in bright, snapping prose that reveals a world of loss and love underneath, Chelsea Bieker brilliantly illuminates a golden yet gothic world of longing and abandonment under an unrelenting California sun.

When Macy Shaw met the enigmatic Narcifer, she was certain Cupid fired his bow straight at them. After all, Narcifer is attentive, loving, sexy and, best of all, fantastic between the sheets. But as they embark on an intense affair, Macy realises that Narcifer’s Jelvian ancestry poses a risk, especially as the rest of humanity sees Jelvias as an inferior species and nothing more than something that needs to be extinguished. So, this leaves Macy in a difficult position. But she’s a journalist, right? She can write favourable articles to change people’s minds. But as trouble and ‘accidents’ happen, Macy is forced to confront the frightening truth... Is Narcifer the man of her dreams – or the venomous Jelvia of her nightmares? There are six books in theJelvia: Not Human series. The series is told over a year of Macy’s life, where she starts her journey as a naive 24-year-old but ends up having the world’s future on her shoulders. She really should’ve stayed in bed that very first day. Contains mature scenes.

*New York Times Bestseller* The “brilliant, hilarious, irreverent, piercing” (O, The Oprah Magazine) debut novel from Miranda July, acclaimed filmmaker, artist, and writer. Cheryl Glickman believes in romances that span centuries and a soul that migrates between babies. She works at a women’s self-defense nonprofit and lives alone. When her bosses ask if their twenty-year-old daughter, Clee, can move into her house for a while, Cheryl’s eccentrically ordered world explodes. And yet it is Clee—the selfish, cruel blond bombshell—who bullies Cheryl into reality and, unexpectedly, leads her to the love of a lifetime. Tender, gripping, slyly hilarious, infused with raging sexual fantasies and fierce maternal love, Miranda July’s first novel confirms her as a spectacularly original, iconic, and important voice today, and a writer for all time.

From the acclaimed author of Luxury, comes a journey into an extravagant world of wealth, glamour and secret scandals. Jessica Ruston's To Touch the Stars is the perfect read for fans of Tasmina Perry's The Pool House. 'The sort of book you never want to end. Intriguing, atmospheric and utterly mesmerising' - Penny Vincenzi Renowned for style, glamour and sophistication, Cavalley's creates the most luxurious millinery in the world. Talented and beautiful, Violet Cavalley has poured her heart and soul into building her multi-million-pound business and raising her three adored children. But behind the Cavalley family's gilded façade lies a streak of darkness. Darkness that now threatens to destroy them all... What readers are saying about Touch the Stars: 'Ruston creates a complete world of lavish luxury for the Cavalley's yet the secrets behind them were unguessable' 'The layers of the story have been carefully laid so that every revelation raises a further question' 'It will have you entranced until the last page'

One of the great lessons any young person learns at university is that life is never as simple as it may seem on the surface. For Miyuki, a carefree young lady, and her creative friend Matsuda Jun, life has a few more lessons in store. When Miyuki was orphaned at a young age, Matsudas family took her in. As they grow into adults, their special bond has intensified. Now that love is in the air, he has made a promise to keep her safe at his side for the rest of his life. But that pledge is tested with the arrival of Sunohara Sho, who believes Miyuki to be the woman of his dreams. The two men share a complicated history, and the violent pull of vengeance and honor they both feel endangers everything and everyone they love, including Miyuki. Sunohara has seen his future with her, and he has already dueled with his former friend and mentor, Akiyama Masaki, in a bold attempt to win her love. When Sunohara learns that Akiyama has been terrorizing Miyuki in her dreams, he pledges to make things right any way he can. Will Miyuki ever be free from Akiyamas nightmares? Will Matsuda find his courage and win her heart? Can Sunohara manage to keep Akiyama away from Miyukis dreams? Who will Miyuki ultimately choose? Bound: HIStory is a story of a love and redemption for even the darkest of hearts.