Before It Wriggles Away


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The Seven Basic Plots


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This remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of 'basic stories' in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are 'programmed' to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. Drawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have 'lost the plot' by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose. Booker analyses why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5000 years. This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come.




The Atlantic Monthly


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Twilight in Delhi


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Set during the early years of this century this book recaptues the texture of family life in Delhi.




Until You're Mine


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You're alone. You're vulnerable. And you have something that someone else wants. At any cost. Claudia Morgan-Brown finally has it all. Pregnant with a much-wanted first baby of her own, she has a happily established family of two small step-sons and a loving husband with a great career. But she is also committed to her full-time job as a social worker, and her husband travels often. So when Claudia hires Zoe to help her around the house in anticipation of the baby’s arrival, it seems like the answer to her prayers. But despite Zoe's glowing recommendations and instant rapport with the children, there's something about her that Claudia cannot trust. Moreover, there has been a series of violent attacks on pregnant women in the area, and Claudia becomes acutely aware of her vulnerability. With her husband out of town for work and her family far away, who will be there to protect her? And why does she feel unsettled about Zoe? Realizing appearances can be deceiving even in her seemingly perfect world, Claudia digs deeper into Zoe’s blurry past and begins to wonder – how far would someone go to have a child of her own? Riveting from its very first pages, Until You’re Mine is a multilayered masterwork of twisted, psychological suspense. Readers of Before I Go to Sleep and Turn of Mind will be enthralled by this multilayered novel, featuring a twisted plot that ends in a breathtaking and shocking finale.




Parliamentary Debates


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Wriggle and Sparkle


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Lynn is a kraken shifter in every way: detailed, tenacious, resilient, and hard-working. Also possessive, vain, arrogant, and demanding. It makes him an excellent agent for the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Security and Investigation—and impossible to work with, as the long list of partners who have transferred away from him will attest. His newest partner is a unicorn, possibly the worst type of paranormal for work that often turns ugly and violent. Everyone knows unicorns are too delicate for such things. Then Anderson proves to be a unicorn like no other, the kind of partner Lynn has always wanted—the kind of partner he wishes was more. But if there's one thing he's learned, it's that the only thing harder to keep than a partner is a lover.




Appletons' Journal


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Strike Out


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Baseball is her life, but a musician is strumming on her heartstrings. Will they strike a bad chord or make the perfect double play? Max Barlow never takes her eyes off the ball. With a rare college baseball scholarship up for grabs, she can’t afford to lose focus. But when she accidentally stumbles into the music room on her first day at Armitage High, she can’t help but notice the hot guitarist. And he’s made it clear he wouldn’t mind giving her lessons… Rock star Cairo Hale has a reputation for being able to play his way into any girl’s heart. But his streak comes to an end with tomboy baseball player Max. While she makes him promise to keep their lessons a secret, it turns out she’s an absolute natural. It looks like Cairo’s generous offer has blossomed into so much more… Max is torn between her team responsibilities, her newfound passion for the guitar… and her dreamy tutor. When she can no longer balance her double life, Max must make a choice that could change her future for good…