Showing titles in Literature & Fiction

"I've experienced a whole lot the last few years and I have a lot to share. So I hope that you'll take a moment to sit back, relax and enjoy the words I've put together for you in this book. I think you'll find I've left no stone unturned, no door unopened, no window unbroken, no rug unvacuumed, no ivories untickled. What I'm saying is, let us begin, shall we?" (Ellen DeGeneres)

Dublin is in the middle of a heat wave, and tempers are running high. The Celtic Tiger is well and truly dead, activists have taken over the headquarters of a failed bank, the trial of three unscrupulous property developers teeters on the brink of collapse, and in the midst of all this, along comes a mysterious organisation hell-bent on exacting bloody vengeance in the name of the little guy. Paul Mulchrone doesn’t care about any of this; he has problems of his own.

Twenty years ago, Carly Cooper went on an epic quest to track down all the men she’d ever loved and lost in the hope that one of them was her Mr Right. Now, two decades and two teenage sons later, she thinks she might have got it all wrong. As the years have passed, lots of things have changed, leaving Carly asking, ‘What now?’ With a divorce and an empty nest on the horizon, Carly sets off once more to Los Angeles with her band of trusty girlfriends, to find the carefree, wild and adventurous Carly Cooper that she used to be.

Irene Bruce spends her days pulling pints in Millport, the only town on the Isle of Cumbrae, a few miles off the west coast of Scotland. Frustrated and going nowhere fast, she yearns to escape to the mainland for a better life - or at least a bit of fun. Just over the water, there are clubs, cinemas and discos, so why is she stuck at home with tea, Scrabble and her boring sister Moira?

Claire’s family has gone nuclear. Her precious moppets keep calling Childline when she feeds them broccoli, she’s utterly Ottolenghied out at weekends and her darling husband is having an affair with her best friend. The question isn’t whether she needs a glass of wine, but is there one big enough? Enter the Sauvignon Sisterhood, a new set of friends brought together by a shared love of liquid therapy. Together they might just be able to convince Claire that, like a good bottle of red, life really can get better with age.

Jo Sorsby knows she is hiding from her past when she agrees to look after her uncle’s stationery shop. Spending her days glimpsing the lives of her customers as they experiment with what’s on offer is a welcome distraction from the life she has left behind. Yet far from home, Jo feels adrift... But when she meets Ruth, a vicar running from a secret, and Malcolm, a septuagenarian struggling to write his first book, she realises that she isn’t alone.

David Tennant and Liz Carling star in the sitcom about a young couple, Daniel and Lucy, and their circle of friends. In the first series, Lucy sets up Daniel's party, but their mates seem too busy with kids. Then, when a top author gets writer's block, Lucy and Daniel get landed with an unwelcome guest. In the third episode, Daniel and Lucy's plans for a quiet weekend are hit by a stream of unplanned visitors and are later hit by other people's baby blues.

Sweetpea is coming home at last…Newly married, with a loving family surrounding her, everything's coming up roses for ex-serial killer Rhiannon Lewis, right? Wrong. Her husband has just been shot, and the daughter she left behind in the UK is desperately ill. She’s got no choice but to flee the States and return home, back to her roots, where she’s in danger of being recognised and arrested at any moment.

Winner of an Obie and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman, Yellow Face is as timely as ever, wrestling with issues of cultural appropriation, complicity, and artistic freedom. It’s brought to life in this audio-only revival by a stunning all-star cast (many playing themselves) led by Daniel Dae Kim.

Jo Who Died is the funny and bittersweet telling of a mother's life story from the perspective of her recently deceased daughter. Jenny Knight never intended to call seven of her eight children Jo(e). It's funny how life turns out. At twenty-six years old, Jo 5 throws herself out of a window with no intention of dying. Nor did she plan for her siblings to be suspects in a murder investigation. Sometimes, that's just the way things go.

In David Sedaris' world, no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Lebowitz, and the National Enquirer, Sedaris' collection of essays is a rollicking tour through the national Zeitgeist: a do-it-yourself suburban dad saves money by performing home surgery; a man who is loved too much flees the heavyweight champion of the world; a teenage suicide tries to incite a lynch mob at her funeral; a bitter Santa abuses the elves.

Frank is a miserable old curmudgeon. An agoraphobic recluse and widower whose only company is the 'ghost' of his wife, Marcie. He is estranged from friends and family and is entirely cut off from the rest of the world. That is until he meets Red. Red is six years old. He's a funny, imaginative, and kind little boy who - following the separation of his parents - moves in next door. Red is fascinated by his new neighbour and seemingly oblivious to Frank's grumpy demeanour and strange ways.

Walsingford Hall belongs to Sir Buckstone, who is in a little financial difficulty. So for a little monetary help he puts a roof over the heads of an odd assortment of people.

Disillusioned with the capitalist system, five ambitious students set out to make waves and change the face of democracy. Holding their meetings in a garden shed, budding politician Jared, ideas engine Simon, socialist firebrand Mel, image conscious materialist Phoebe and Communications Tsar Duncan wrangle with the modern political machine and attempt to lay the foundations of a new movement. Or they would, if only they had a pen.

Toby Grant spends his days working for a digital marketing agency and his nights stressing about how unfair life is for his generation. With a 30th birthday only months away and his finances approaching meltdown, it’s fair to say Toby isn’t a happy millennial. His parents’ generation had it so much easier...or did they? After a series of rather unfortunate events, Toby is offered an opportunity to discover exactly what life was like for his parents’ generation, courtesy of a journey back in time to 1969.

Get into the festive spirit with this heartwarming, funny and simply gorgeous Christmas read. The eagerly awaited new novel from the Sunday Times best-selling author. This Christmas is about to go off with a bang! Things can't possibly get worse for Tabby. Framed for a crime she didn't commit, she suddenly finds herself without a job. Then, to make matters worse, Tabby's boyfriend dumps her and gives her cat away to a shelter. But rescue comes in the form of kindly Mercy.

Curmudgeonly author Ed Reardon is back - the author, pipe smoker, consummate fare dodger and master of the abusive email attempts to survive in a world where the media seems to be run by idiots and lying charlatans. In these six episodes, Ed and Elgar return to London (from their failed jaunt living in a shepherd's hut in the country) destitute and on the lookout for a new roof over their respective heads, where he bumps into Geoff Daytona - a rich, successful entrepreneur and motivational speaker Ed was at school with....

William and Olive Wheeler are an old-fashioned couple, who call each other 'Mother' and 'Father', and are happy in their traditional roles as breadwinner and housewife respectively. But now William has retired after 40 years in the office, and is finding it hard to adjust to a life of leisure - while Olive is trying to get used to having him under her feet all day for the first time in their marriage. Over the course of the series, the couple struggle to settle into a new post-retirement routine that will suit them both.

Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that’s the way he likes it. One day, however, one of his older guests disappears, leaving behind a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the exotic Valérie, persuades a reluctant Richard to join her in investigating the disappearance. Richard remains a dazed passenger in the case until things become really serious and someone murders Ava Gardner, one of his beloved hen...and you don’t mess with a fellow’s hens!

With a host of memorable characters and catchphrases, The Fast Show was one of the most popular BBC TV comedy shows ever. The talents of Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Caroline Aherne, Simon Day and many more come together in this collection of selected TV episodes and special edition of The Fast Show Live.