From one of Britain's best-loved comedians comes this wonderfully funny, sharp and touching memoir and a celebration of the bond between man and dog - an autobidography, if you will. 'I loved The Lick of Love. It's often insightful, sometimes hilarious, frequently filthy - I'm a cat person, but if anything were ever to convince me to get a dog, it would be this' Joanne Harris '. . . wise and perceptive, and funny and moving. Each dog you meet marks a different chapter of your life and Julian writes about it so BEAUTIFULLY' Joanna Cannon 'A quirky and witty excavation of memory lane in the company of his furry canine friends' Dame Joan Collins The Lick of Love takes us on a tour of Julian's colourful life - and wherever life has taken him, Julian has had a dog by his side. Fanny the Wonder Dog, who came into Julian's life when he was somewhat adrift, propelled him up the ranks of the alternative comedy circuit and onto television. Valerie, the whippet cross-breed escorted Julian through his forties, the Germaine Greer to his Bernard Manning. Albert, a jaunty geezer type who was sent to acclimatise Julian to middle age and helped him seduce his now husband, before being joined by naughty but nice Gigi, an unpredictable fur bullet of a dog. These canine characters have been there, bearing witness, on and off stage. Whether writing about encounters in seedy London nightclubs, finding success on television with Sticky Moments, the death of his partner, that Normant Lamont joke, a narrow squeak with a thwarted eastern European plot to kidnap him, his move to the country, or finally settling down, falling in love and getting married, Julian's unique voice bounces off the page. Ultimately, The Lick of Love is the story of a fascinating life and a love letter to the dogs that have played a loving and near constant part of it. Told with humour and great honesty, this promises to be one of the best memoirs of the year. 'Whatever else is going on, it is the water bowl in the kitchen, the dog hair on my jumper, the knowing gaze from the dog in the basket beside me that comforts me and tells me that all is well.' JC

From one of Britain's best-loved comedians comes this wonderfully funny, sharp and touching memoir and a celebration of the bond between man and dog - an autobidography, if you will. 'I loved The Lick of Love. It's often insightful, sometimes hilarious, frequently filthy - I'm a cat person, but if anything were ever to convince me to get a dog, it would be this' Joanne Harris '. . . wise and perceptive, and funny and moving. Each dog you meet marks a different chapter of your life and Julian writes about it so BEAUTIFULLY' Joanna Cannon 'A quirky and witty excavation of memory lane in the company of his furry canine friends' Dame Joan Collins The Lick of Love takes us on a tour of Julian's colourful life - and wherever life has taken him, Julian has had a dog by his side. Fanny the Wonder Dog, who came into Julian's life when he was somewhat adrift, propelled him up the ranks of the alternative comedy circuit and onto television. Valerie, the whippet cross-breed escorted Julian through his forties, the Germaine Greer to his Bernard Manning. Albert, a jaunty geezer type who was sent to acclimatise Julian to middle age and helped him seduce his now husband, before being joined by naughty but nice Gigi, an unpredictable fur bullet of a dog. These canine characters have been there, bearing witness, on and off stage. Whether writing about encounters in seedy London nightclubs, finding success on television with Sticky Moments, the death of his partner, that Normant Lamont joke, a narrow squeak with a thwarted eastern European plot to kidnap him, his move to the country, or finally settling down, falling in love and getting married, Julian's unique voice bounces off the page. Ultimately, The Lick of Love is the story of a fascinating life and a love letter to the dogs that have played a loving and near constant part of it. Told with humour and great honesty, this promises to be one of the best memoirs of the year. 'Whatever else is going on, it is the water bowl in the kitchen, the dog hair on my jumper, the knowing gaze from the dog in the basket beside me that comforts me and tells me that all is well.' JC

I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me. My royal guards surround me, and my best loved–my Darkness and my Killing Frost–are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts, I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs. Now King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime–and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.

A national bestseller combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, “Lily and the Octopus is the dog book you must read this summer” (The Washington Post). Ted—a gay, single, struggling writer is stuck: unable to open himself up to intimacy except through the steadfast companionship of Lily, his elderly dachshund. When Lily’s health is compromised, Ted vows to save her by any means necessary. By turns hilarious and poignant, an adventure with spins into magic realism and beautifully evoked truths of loss and longing, Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all. Introducing a dazzling and completely original new voice in fiction and an unforgettable hound that will break your heart—and put it back together again. Remember the last book you told someone they had to read? Lily and the Octopus is the next one. “Startlingly imaginative...this love story is sure to assert its place in the canine lit pack...Be prepared for outright laughs and searing or silly moments of canine and human recognition. And grab a tissue: “THERE! WILL! BE! EYE! RAIN!” (New York Newsday).

From highly respected microbiologist Ben-Barak and Frost, the creator of the YouTube sensation Dumb Ways to Die, comes an ingenious, interactive book about the germs that occupy real estate on all of our bodies. Full color.

“The one book every dog lover should have at their fingertips for an instant smile.” —The New Barker The perfect gift for dog lovers everywhere—a heartwarming and hilarious collection of sixty-four haikus and gorgeous color photographs celebrating man’s best friend. From the perks of face licking to considering what constitutes a good boy, these charming and laugh-out-loud funny haikus take us into the minds of our beloved pets. Capturing the quirky personalities of our dogs and their unique bond with us and illustrated throughout with adorable color photographs of dogs of all shapes and sizes, What I Lick Before Your Face is a fun and loving celebration of the canine spirit. Playing I do not believe That your fixation with my Playing Dead is fine Standing I sometimes feel bad That I don’t get as happy Whenever you sit The Outside Bell It is very rude That you don’t call out in joy When people arrive

Meet the band in Lick, the first rock star romance novel in the Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series.

The first two novels in Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series! Get ready to rock, all night long... LICK Evelyn Thomas’s plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. But she sure never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked man, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. One thing is certain: being married to one of the hottest rock stars on the planet is sure to be a wild ride. PLAY Mal Ericson, drummer for the world-famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job fine, but he didn’t count on finding the right girl. Anne Rollins never thought she’d meet the rock god who plastered her bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn’t end well. Or could it? “Sexy, naughty, and hilarious.”—Up All Night Blog

National Book Award Finalist • Here is the unforgettable story of the Binewskis, a circus-geek family whose matriarch and patriarch have bred their own exhibit of human oddities—with the help of amphetamines, arsenic, and radioisotopes. One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years Their offspring include Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs and a megalomaniac ambition worthy of Genghis Khan . . . Iphy and Elly, the lissome Siamese twins . . . albino hunchback Oly, and the outwardly normal Chick, whose mysterious gifts make him the family’s most precious—and dangerous—asset. As the Binewskis take their act across the backwaters of the U.S., inspiring fanatical devotion and murderous revulsion; as its members conduct their own Machiavellian version of sibling rivalry, Geek Love throws its sulfurous light on our notions of the freakish and the normal, the beautiful and the ugly, the holy and the obscene. Family values will never be the same.

National Book Award Winner, PEN America Award Winner, and New York Times Bestseller! Perfect for fans of This Is Us, Robin Benway’s beautiful interweaving story of three very different teenagers connected by blood explores the meaning of family in all its forms—how to find it, how to keep it, and how to love it. Being the middle child has its ups and downs. But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including— Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs. And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him. Don't miss this moving novel that addresses such important topics as adoption, teen pregnancy, and foster care.