Showing results for "If...." in Literature & Fiction

Two young manager graduates, with nothing similar in family backgrounds and temperament, join a New York international bank on the same day - and take entirely different routes to success.

"IF", a poem by Rudyard Kipling, is a timeless gem that recently reemerged in popular culture when it was put to music in a 2007 Joni Mitchell release. In the poem, a father gives advice to his son.

Oliver Marks has just served 10 years in jail - for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.

Master storyteller and satirist Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most in-demand commencement speakers of his time. For each occasion, Vonnegut’s words were unfailingly unique, insightful, and witty, and they stayed with audience members long after graduation. As edited by Dan Wakefield, this book reads like a narrative in the unique voice that made Vonnegut a hero to readers and listeners of all ages. At times hilarious, razor-sharp, freewheeling, and deeply serious, these reflections are ideal for anyone undergoing what Vonnegut would call their "long-delayed puberty ceremony".

The airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds

THE SMALLEST SPARK CAN GROW INTO A FIRE.When Prince Joseph broke off his engagement to Brigitte, her life was shattered—but meeting Yuri helped her start putting it together again. The two may have started off as rivals, yet the more she learns about him, the more she’s come to appreciate...

Quando gli amici diventano nemici, non c'è limite al male che possono farci. Oliver Marks ha scontato dieci anni di carcere per l'omicidio di un compagno di college. Ai tempi della condanna, non tutti erano convinti della sua colpevolezza, in primis il detective Colborne, che ora lo attende fuori dal carcere per sapere finalmente la verità. La storia che Oliver si accinge a raccontargli si svolge alla Dellecher, una delle più prestigiose scuole di arte drammatica degli Stati Uniti, dove Shakespeare è venerato come un dio e non c'è limite alla competizione.

In these 34 intriguing episodes, leading historian Christopher Andrew rewrites history, considering what might have transpired if pivotal events had turned out differently. By altering a single, plausible fact, he explores alternative futures where the Spanish Armada landed on English soil, Pontius Pilate freed Jesus, the Nazis occupied Britain and many more.

In the tradition of his best-selling Shoeless Joe, W.P. Kinsella has created another literary baseball classic. A warm tale of magic, humor and the power of a second chance, its hero is Joe McCoy, an unemployed newspaper writer who by some bizarre circumstances is now a fugitive from the FBI. There's only one thing left for Joe to do - go home to Iowa and tell his story to the only two men who just might believe it - Shoeless Joe's Ray Kinsella and The Iowa Baseball Confederacy's Gideon Clarke.

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, an Egyptian American woman and a man from the village of Shobrakheit meet at a café in Cairo. He was a photographer of the revolution, but now finds himself unemployed and addicted to cocaine, living in a rooftop shack. She is a nostalgic daughter of immigrants “returning” to a country she’s never been to before, teaching English and living in a light-filled flat with balconies on all sides. They fall in love and he moves in. But soon their desire takes a violent turn that neither of them expected.

A Richard and Judy Book Club pick, If I Let You Go is a darkly comic tale of searing loss, coercive control and the consequences of taking the wrong path. 'Simultaneously tragic and uplifting . . . Charlotte Levin is SUCH a clever writer' - Ruth Jones, author of Love Untold Every morning, Janet...

SOMETIMES FIRE AND ICE ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER.Brigitte Meidell belongs to a noble family, which means high expectations were placed upon her spirit contract. However, her bonded spirit turned out to be a weak no-name, and ever since, she has been a source of shame to her family. She thought...

'I implore you to read (or listen to) it' - Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel An all-consuming story of loneliness, obsession and how far we go for the ones we love, If I Can't Have You is the debut novel by Charlotte Levin. After fleeing Manchester for London, Constance Little attempts to...

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's plea to her lover to love her just for herself, and not for any qualities that may fade away, read by Jenny Agutter.

When an advice columnist’s picture-perfect life implodes, she opts to go rogue in this hilarious, heartwarming romance from the author of Meet Me in Paradise. Violet Covington pens Dear Sweetie, the most popular advice column in the state of North Carolina. She has an answer for how to...

After nearly a decade behind bars, Franklin "Kilo" DeLuca is finally free—but freedom comes with more weight than he expected. Once a quiet storm with a dangerous edge, Kilo finds himself facing the past he thought he left behind. Jameala "Mel" Sanders knew him before the system got its claws in him, and fate brought them back together when her job placed her in the prison where he was in. What started behind bars now has room to breathe, but as secrets surface and old wounds reopen, Kilo must fight for the future he's building with Mel—and make sure there's never a question of his heart.

This short poem should be required listening between father and son. Here are profound bits of wisdom and common sense that can help any young boy strive to be more of a man. Reimagined here as something akin to cowboy poetry, the poem is performed by Glenn Hascall.

This quintessentially English poem is in the form of a father’s advice to his son on transitioning into manhood. Phillip J. Mather’s masterful delivery poignantly captures Kipling’s inspirational and timeless philosophy.

There once was a man who loved me, until he forgot every memory we’ve ever shared… Gabriel Sinclair would forever be my first. My first best friend, my first kiss, my first love…and my first heartbreak. The accident that nearly took his life ripped the memory of me from his grasp—and for...

In If I Had a Father, Arthur Gervaise, a talented sculptor from London, grapples with the realization of his deep love for a woman, only to discover it too late. Unbeknownst to him, his estranged father is secretly striving to support him from the shadows. Meanwhile, an elderly man desperately searches for his missing daughter, convinced that Arthur holds the key to her disappearance. The unwavering devotion of these two fathers to their adult children forces everyone around them to confront and redefine their own perceptions of fatherhood. - Summary by Devorah Allen