Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame by Robin Robertson (ed)

$15.00 AUD

Category: SECONDHAND BOOKS

A collection of stories from some of the world's greatest writers about their own public humiliation. Humiliation is not, of course, unique to writers. However, the world of letters does seem to offer a near-perfect micro-climate for embarrassment and shame. There is something about the conjunction of h igh-mindedness and low income that is inherently comic; something about the very idea of deeply private thoughts - carefully worked and honed into art over the years - being presented to a public audience of dubious strangers, that strays perilously close to tragedy. Here, in over 80 contributions, are stories about the writer's audience, the fellow readers, the organiser, the venue, the 'hospitality', or the often-interminable journey there and back. Then there are the experiences of teaching and being taught, reviewing and being reviewed, of festivals and writers' retreats, symposia, signing sessions, literary parties and prizes, the trips abroad, with all the attendant joys of translation and, finally, the bright worlds of television and radio that can bring so many more people to share in your shame. These are the best stories: Those told against the teller. And for the reader, apart from the sheer Schadenfreude of it all, there is admiration too: for that acknowledgement of human frailty, of punctured pride, but also of the seeming absurdity of trying to bring private art into public space. Contributions come from Simon Armitage, Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Louis de Bernieres, Margaret Drabble, Roddy Doyle, Kazuo Ishiguro, A.L. Kennedy, John Lanchester, Patrick McCabe, Norman Mailer, Rick Moody, Andrew Motion, Andrew O'Hagan, Colm Toibin, Irvine Welsh, James Wood and many others. Reviews: "Entertaining reading. This is a jolly romp and will make a good stocking-filler for any authors of your acquaintance." - Sunday Times ...Show more

Autobiography - The Writer's Story by Derryn Hammond et al

$25.00 AUD

Category: SECONDHAND BOOKS

Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations by Gyles Brandreth

$20.00 AUD

Category: SECONDHAND BOOKS

Writer, broadcaster, and wit Gyles Brandreth has completely revised Ned Sherrin's classic collection of wisecracks, one-liners, and anecdotes. With over 1,000 new quotations from all media, it's easy to find hilarious quotes on subjects ranging from Argument to Diets, from Computers to The Weather. Add sparkle to your speeches and presentations, or just enjoy a good laugh in company with Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Joan Rivers, Kathy Lette, Frankie Boyle, and friends. 'Now we have the World Wide Web (the only thing I know of whose shortened form-www-takes three times longer to say than what it's short for)' Douglas Adams 'Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends' Woody Allen 'Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight' Phyllis Diller 'Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit' Elizabeth Gilbert 'The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it' Terry Pratchett 'Retreat, hell! We're only attacking in another direction' American general Oliver P. Smith ...Show more

The Joy of Reading : A Passionate Guide to 189 of the World's Best Authors and Their Works by Charles Van Doren

$40.00 AUD

Category: SECONDHAND BOOKS

This engaging love letter to reading follows the great authors and classics that transformed the world: from Aristotle and Herodotus in ancient Greece to Salinger and Heinlein in 20th century America. Like a professor whose enthusiasm enwraps his students, Van Doren explains what's wonderful in the book s you've missed and awakens your desire to reopen the books you already know. Divided chronologically by the periods in which these classics were written, each book is put in its historical context and brought to life by Van Doren's brilliant analysis. The Joy of Reading delves into a wide range of genres - fiction, poetry, drama, children's books, philosophy, history and science. This is the one book that brings together everything you need to know about the classics you missed and ignites your passion to read and reread the greatest books the world has ever known. This book is the fruit of a lifelong love affair. "Reading, I believe, is my favorite thing to do; books and I have been inseparable almost as long as I can remember ... To this day, I become distressed if I am anywhere without a book, a magazine, a newspaper, any scrap of paper to read .... I like the smell of books, certainly the feel of them. Life without books would be, for me, a vacant horror."-Charles Van Doren ...Show more

A Treasury of the Great Children's Book Illustrators by Susan E. Meyer

$50.00 AUD

Category: RARE AND COLLECTIBLE

Describes the careers and techniques of top illustrators, including Caldecott, Crane, Teniel, Lear, Wyeth, Dulac, Rackham, Potter, and Greenaway.

The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium: Encounters with Heroes of the English Language, from the Earl of Sandwich to Joseph P. Frisbie by Philip Dodd

$20.00 AUD

Category: SECONDHAND BOOKS

How did the Texas cattle rancher Samuel A. Maverick end up contributing his name to the language? What is the connection between a rather unflattering item of clothing and the French trapeze artist Jules Leotard? Which filling did the Earl of Sandwich opt for when he made his great culinary invention? A nd was there really a Sir Oswald Binge whose week-long feasts were notorious for their excess? "The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium" answers these and many other questions drawn from the remoter corners of the English language, exploring the lives of an extraordinarily diverse range of people who happen to have one thing in common: by chance or deliberately, they have left their names deeply embedded in the language and consciousness of future generations. Each figure has something to tell us about a particular moment of history, or a discovery or invention, whether it's Laszlo Biro and his pioneering writing implement, or Mercedes Jellinek, who lent her name to a certain make of car, or Etienne de Silhouette who, having fallen from grace at the French court, spent much of the later part of his life mournfully cutting out paper shapes. ...Show more

Electric Delights by William Plomer; Rupert Hart-Davis (Introduction by)

$25.00 AUD

Category: SECONDHAND BOOKS

THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH NOVEL : EDGEWORTH, AUSTEN, SCOTT by ERNEST A BAKER

$30.00 AUD

Category: SECONDHAND BOOKS

THE CORNHILL MAGAZINE : FROM JANUARY 1860 - JUNE 1868 (IN 17 BOUND VOLUMES)

$1400.00 AUD

Category: RARE AND COLLECTIBLE

THE LITERARY HISTORY OF ENGLAND : IN THE END OF THE EIGHTEENTH AND BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY - 3 VOLUME SET by MRS OLIPHANT

$285.00 AUD

Category: RARE AND COLLECTIBLE

TWENTIETH CENTURY AUTHORS : A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF MODERN LITERATURE PLUS FIRST SUPPLEMENT - 2 VOLUME SET by STANLEY J KUNITZ (ed)

$70.00 AUD

Category: RARE AND COLLECTIBLE

IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE by W J TURNER (ed)

$25.00 AUD

Category: SECONDHAND BOOKS