Daniel Weir used to be a famous - not to say infamous - rock star. Maybe still is. At thirty-one he has been both a brilliant failure and a dull success. He's made a lot of mistakes that have paid off and a lot of smart moves he'll regret forever (however long that turns out to be). Daniel Weir has gone from rags to riches and back, and managed to hold onto them both, though not much else. His friends all seem to be dead, fed up with him or just disgusted - and who can blame them? And now Daniel Weir is all alone. As he contemplates his life, Daniel realises he only has two problems: the past and the future. He knows how bad the past has been. But the future - well, the future is something else.

With the same brilliant style and idiosyncratic intelligence that have marked all his novels—and with a bold grasp of intricate political realities—Julian Barnes's ironic glance turns home. Letters from London takes in everything from Lloyd's of London's demise to Maggie's majesty to Salman Rushie's death sentence. Formidably articulate and outrageously funny, Letters from London is international voyeurism at its best—a peek into the British mindset from the vantage point of one of the most erudite and witty British minds.

Put your bookworm reputation on the line and prove your literary knowledge with this collection of quizzes for book whizzes. Book lovers can answer questions by themselves or host a quiz among friends with twenty-four quizzes to keep you guessing with a variety of question styles including: - 'Blankety Books', where you must fill in the missing word in each title - Anagrams to decipher - 'Two of a Kind', where you must identify a character and author who share the same initials - Guess the book with 'Say What You See' pictures and badly drawn covers - 'Book Bingo' The quizzes are carefully weighted so avid bookworms will get a workout, while more casual readers can still have lots of fun having a go. All questions are designed to aid guessing, with multiple-choice answers and hints, and make the reader smile with amusing wrong answers, clever red herrings, little-known facts and footnotes.

The Mainstream Companion to Scottish Literature is the most comprehensive reference guide to Scotland's literature, covering a period from the earliest times to the early 1990s. It includes over 600 essays on the lives and works of the principal poets, novelists, dramatists critics and men and women of letters who have written in English, Scots or Gaelic. Thus, as well as such major writers as Robert Henryson, William Dunbar, Gavin Douglas, Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson, Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Hugh MacDiarmid, the Companion also lists many minor writers whose work might otherwise have been overlooked in any survey of Scottish literature. Also included here are entries on the lives of other more peripheral writers such as historians, philosophers, diarists and divines whose work has made a contribution to Scottish letters. Other essays range over such general subjects as the principal work of major writers, literary movements, historical events, the world of printing and publishing, folklore, journalism, drama and Gaelic. A feature of the book is the inclusion of the bibliography of each writer and reference to the major critical works. This comprehensive guide is an essential tool for the serious student of Scottish literature as well as being an ideal guide and companion for the general reader.