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Skios: A Novel
by Michael FraynLonglisted for the Man Booker Prize 'Good God, thought Oliver, as he saw the smile. She thinks I'm him! And all at once he knew it was so. He was Dr Norman Wilfred.' On the sunlit Greek island of Skios, the Fred Toppler Foundation's annual lecture is to be given by Dr Norman Wilfred, the world-famous authority on the scientific organisation of science. He turns out to be surprisingly young and charming - not at all the intimidating figure they had been expecting. The Foundation's guests are soon eating out of his hand. So, even sooner, is Nikki, the attractive and efficient organiser.Meanwhile, in a remote villa at the other end of the island, Nikki's old school-friend Georgie waits for the notorious chancer she has rashly agreed to go on holiday with, and who has only too characteristically failed to turn up. Trapped in the villa with her, by an unfortunate chain of misadventure, is a balding old gent called Dr Norman Wilfred, who has lost his whereabouts, his luggage, his temper and increasingly all normal sense of reality - everything he possesses apart from the flyblown text of a well-travelled lecture on the scientific organisation of science... And as the time draws ever nearer for one or other Dr Wilfred - or possibly both - to give the eagerly awaited lecture, so Skios - Greece - Europe - career off their appointed track. Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Skios is a story of mislaid identity, misdirected passion and miscalculated consequences. Michael Frayn is also the celebrated author of fifteen plays including Noises Off, Copenhagen and Afterlife. His other bestselling novels include Headlong, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and Spies, which won the Whitbread Best Novel Award.
Skip to the End
by Molly JamesThree kisses. Two break ups. One happy ending...Amy Daniels has a pretty nice life. Her career is on the up, she loves her friends, and she's about to buy her very own flat. On a good day, Amy could be described as a catch - so why is she perpetually single?The trouble is, Amy can see something no one else can: the end. As soon as she kisses someone, she knows, in intimate, vivid detail, how their relationship will end. A screaming argument in the middle of the supermarket over milk. An explicit email sent to the wrong address. A hasty escape through a bathroom window on the second date. At the altar - runaway-bride style. There seems to be no end to the unhappy endings.After years of trying, and failing, to change a pre-written future, Amy has given up. But then she drunkenly kisses three men at her best friend's wedding and sees three possible endings: two painful, one perfect. The problem is, Amy can't really remember who she kissed, and worse, what ending belongs to which person - the only thing she knows for certain is that she's determined to find out...This novel will have you swirling with first date butterflies, crying with laughter and finally, brimming with joy. The perfect summer read for fans of Lindsey Kelk, Mhairi McFarlane and Sophie Cousens.
Skipping Christmas: Christmas with The Kranks
by John GrishamA classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that has become part of our holiday tradition.Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded shops, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That's just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on the street without a rooftop Frosty the snowman; they won't be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one, because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences - and isn't half as easy as they'd imagined.
Skippy Dies
by Paul MurrayPaul Murray's Skippy Dies is a tragicomic masterpiece about a Dublin boarding schoolLonglisted for the Man Booker Prize 2010Ruprecht Van Doren is an overweight genius whose hobbies include very difficult maths and the Search of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Daniel 'Skippy' Juster is his roommate. In the grand old Dublin institution that is Seabrook College for Boys, nobody pays either of them much attention. But when Skippy falls for Lori, the frisbee-playing siren from the girls' school next door, suddenly all kinds of people take an interest - including Carl, part-time drug-dealer and official school psychopath. . . A tragic comedy of epic sweep and dimension, Skippy Dies scours the corners of the human heart and wrings every drop of pathos, humour and hopelessness out of life, love, Robert Graves, mermaids, M-theory, and everything in between.'That rare thing, a comic epic. . . Murray is a brilliant comic writer, but also humane and touching, and he captures the misery and elation, joy and anxiety of teenage life' David Nicholls, Guardian'Novels rarely come as funny and as moving as this utterly brilliant exploration of teenhood and the anticlimax of becoming an adult . . . one of the finest comic novels written anywhere' Eileen Battersby, Irish Times'I loved Skippy Dies . . . three novels fused into one ignited tragicomic tour de force' Ali Smith, Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year'An unforgettably exuberant saga set in an Irish boys' school. The insulting repartee is Shakespearean, the minor characters hilarious, and Murray captures the fleeting joys and lasting sorrows of adolescence perfectly' Emma Donoghue, Daily Telegraph'A triumph . . . brimful of wit and narrative energy' Sunday Times'The sprawling brilliance of Paul Murray's darkly comic second novel works on many different levels . . . When you finish the last page, you may be tempted to start all over again' MetroPaul Murray is the author of An Evening of Long Goodbyes, shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award in 2005, and Skippy Dies, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2010.
Skirt And The Fiddle
by Tristan EgolfA giddying song from the sewers written with jet-propelled energy and 'a comic intensity reminiscent of Withnail and I' -- New York Times Book ReviewCharlie and Tinsel kill rats for a living. Their ugly job earns them a packet, but they blow it all on liquor. Charlie is a brilliant classical violinist, but he's decided to kiss the fiddle goodbye after a horrendous gig playing warm-up to the fascist thrash band, Volstagg. Now he's fetched up in Philth town where he lives in a grimy flophouse with his partner-in-crime, the anarchist Tinsel Greetz.Then Louise turns up on their doorstep. She's a beautiful filmmaker who doesn't seem to mind too much about the smell.Seizing their chance to escape Philth town once and for all, the boys go head to head for the Skirt's affections and Charlie realizes that it's high time he dusted down his violin...With Charlie and Tinsel, Skirt and the Fiddle introduces the most outrageously entertaining double-act since Laurel and Hardy.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom Of The Wicked (Skulduggery Pleasant #1)
by Derek LandyMeet Skulduggery Pleasant: detective, sorcerer, warrior. Oh yeah. And dead.
Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones Trilogy
by Derek LandyTogether for the first time, books 1, 2 and 3 in the Skulduggery Pleasant – the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe! From number-one-bestselling author Derek Landy.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom Of The Wicked (Skulduggery Pleasant #1)
by Derek LandyShe’s twelve. He’s dead. But together they’re going to save the world. Hopefully. The iconic first book in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 1 - 12
by Derek LandyTogether for the first time, all 12 book in the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe: Skulduggery Pleasant! From number-one-bestselling author Derek Landy.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 1 - 3
by Derek LandyTogether for the first time, books 1, 2 and 3 in the Skulduggery Pleasant – the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe! From number-one-bestselling author Derek Landy.
Skulduggery Pleasant - Books 1-9
by Derek LandyTogether at last, books 1 – 9 in the Skulduggery Pleasant series – the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe! From number-one-bestselling author Derek Landy.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 10 - 12
by Derek LandyTogether for the first time, books 10, 11 & 12 in the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe: Skulduggery Pleasant! From number-one-bestselling author Derek Landy.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 4 - 6
by Derek LandyTogether for the first time, books 4, 5 and 6 in the Skulduggery Pleasant – the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe! From number-one-bestselling author Derek Landy.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 7 - 9
by Derek LandyTogether for the first time, books 7, 8 and 9 in the Skulduggery Pleasant – the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe! From number-one-bestselling author Derek Landy.
The Skulduggery Pleasant Grimoire (Skulduggery Pleasant)
by Derek LandyAn unmissable paraquel to the internationally bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series, The Skulduggery Pleasant Grimoire is at once a thrilling recap of the books so far, a reference guide to characters, and a treasure-trove of bonus content.
Sky in the Pie (Puffin Bks.)
by Roger McGoughWaiter, there's a sky in my pie!Roger McGough has cooked up a delicious feast of poems. This spicy collection contains only the finest ingredients - wit, sparkle and thought-provoking insight from a very superior source. Get ready to have your tastebuds tickled!Warning: some poems will make you choke with laughter, some need to be chewed very carefully.
The Sky is Falling: How Vampires, Zombies, Androids and Superheroes Made America Great for Extremism
by Peter Biskind'You'll never look at your favourite movies and TV shows the same way again. And you shouldn't' Steven Soderbergh 'Insanely readable' Slavoj Zizek'Your book was ... like a bag of pot, with me saying, 'I'm not gonna smoke.' But I was insatiable' Quentin Tarantino on Easy Riders, Raging BullsIn The Sky is Falling! bestselling cultural critic Peter Biskind takes us on a dizzying ride across two decades of pop culture to show how the TV and movies we love - from Game of Thrones and 24 to Homeland and Iron Man - have taught us to love political extremism. Welcome to a darkly pessimistic, apocalyptic world where winter has come, the dead are walking, and ultra violence, revenge and torture are all in a day's work. Welcome to the new normal.
The Sky Lords (Gateway Essentials #314)
by John BrosnanThe Gene Wars have turned Earth into a blighted wasteland. Mile-long airships patrol the skies, exacting crippling tribute from the scattered ground communities. Threatened by mutant vegetation and predatory creatures, forced to the brink of starvation by the Sky Lords, Minerva - a former feminist utopia - has had enough. Its rebellion is swiftly crushed and Jan Dorvin, a Minervan warrior, is winched aboard a Sky Lord; towards a fate worse than death. For as a ground dweller and slave - but above all, as a woman - she is now regarded as the lowest form of humanity and is consigned to a life spent serving the sexual appetites of male slaves. But no Minervan could be kept slave for very long.....
Skylanders: The Machine Of Doom (Skylanders)
by Onk BeakmanWhen word reaches the Skylanders of a giant, ancient and deadly weapon, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Boomer and Eruptor set out to find it before the evil Kaos can get there first. Can Master Eon's group of heroes use their Elemental powers to save Skylands from The Machine of Doom? Find out in this hilarious and exciting novel starring the characters from the smash hit video game 'Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure'.
Slam
by Nick Hornby'There was this time when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.'Sam is sixteen and a skater. Just so there are no terrible misunderstandings: skating = skateboarding. There's no ice. Life is ticking along nicely for Sam: his mum's got rid of her rubbish boyfriend, he's thinking about college and he's met someone. Alicia.Then a little accident happens. One with big consequences for someone just finding his way in life. Sam can't run (let alone skate) away from this one. He's a boy facing a man's problems and the question is - has he got what it takes to confront them?
Slaughterhouse 5: The Children's Crusade A Duty-Dance With Death
by Kurt VonnegutRead Kurt Vonnegut's powerful masterpiece, which is as timely now as when it was first published.‘An extraordinary success. A book to read and reread. He is a true artist’ New York Times Book ReviewBilly Pilgrim – hapless barber's assistant, successful optometrist, alien abductee, senile widower and soldier – has become unstuck in time. Hiding in the basement of a slaughterhouse in Dresden, with the city and its inhabitants burning above him, he finds himself a survivor of one of the most deadly and destructive battles of the Second World War. But when, exactly? How did he get here? And how does he get out?Travel through time and space on the shoulders of Vonnegut himself. This is a book about war. Listen to what he has to say: it is of the utmost urgency.‘The great, urgent, passionate American writer of our century, who offers us a model of the kind of compassionate thinking that might yet save us from ourselves.’ George Saunders
Slawter: Book 3 In The Demonata Series (The Demonata #3)
by Darren ShanMore chills and thrills in Darren Shan’s horrifying Demonata series. Let the Slawter commence…
Sleeping Dog (Penguin Modern Classics – Crime & Espionage)
by Dick LochteDiscover the new Penguin Crime and Espionage seriesFor the unlikely crime-busting duo Leo and Serendipity, a missing dog is only the start of their troubles...Leo Bloodworth, 'the Bloodhound', is a world-weary L.A. gumshoe with a reputation for finding anything - and a low tolerance of precocious teenagers. Serendipity Dahlquist is a precocious teenager. When the headstrong, roller-skating fourteen-year-old asks Bloodworth to help track down her lost dog Groucho, it leads this oddest of odd couples into the dark criminal underworld of the Mexican mafia, and into more trouble than they'd bargained for.
Sleeping Partners
by Lou WakefieldWhen Pauline Watkins wakes up one morning to discover she's thirty-nine, she decides Something Must Be Done. About her marriage to a partner who thinks that bedtime is just for sleeping, about her routine job - her routine life. An exotic holiday would be a start, and fairexchange.biz offers a solution - swap her council estate semi outside Leicester for a piece of paradise in Australia. Pauline presses Send. On the other side of the world, Lorna Mackenzie has reached a similar conclusion, but for a rather different reason: her sleeping partner is sleeping around. A family wedding provides the excuse for Lorna to sweep her mother and her faithless husband up into Business Class and head chez Watkins. It may be better to travel hopefully than to arrive, but for Pauline and Lorna, a holiday swap turns into the journey of a lifetime.
Sleeping with the Fishes
by Toby MooreBritish reporter Ollie Gibbon has made it big in New York thanks to his three-part series on the Mafia. Trouble is, he made up every word, culling information from Godfather movies and his mobsters' monikers from pasta sauces. When his boss orders him to employ these "contacts" to bump off a rival, it's not long before Ollie's forced on the run. Chased into the crazy heartland of America by an enraged press owner and unpaid mafiosi, he determines to survive - bad meatloaf, folk dressed as furry animals, country music - and win back Gina, the girl he's lost over a dolphin-friendly tuna fight.