Utta Drivel Short Stories is a collection of comic short stories read out at Creative Writing evening classes to much laughter. They cover a wide range of subjects. From a neolithic sex strike, to the ancient Egyptians Lotatotty & Obsequiops, to philosophers meeting at the Fill the Greek, the Parthenon canteen. From an abattoir wedding, to the first Russian to laugh in 200 years, to the Knights of the Round Hovel. There are longer short stories about the fun to be had working in the Falkland Islands & Hong Kong. Other short stories tell of rocky horror in Transylvania, of banned fox hunts switching to hunting smokers & sheep taking over Wales. In a different vein, staff in a St Trinians-type school hold an emergency meeting & when a man's private parts suddenly drop off, he considers having a vagina fitted by a quick-fit fanny fitter. And there is a pirate treasure story with Midshipman BraceYourself and a science fiction one that features Startifartlast, a mystic Chinese Constipate.

Alan Pinkett took up writing for the first time just a few years ago. He found he quite liked it and said he'd do some more if you're not careful. The result of that was his first comic novel, Utta Drivel, entered for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. He is now pleased to present its successor, Utta Drivel Too. It describes the laughter-filled lives of friends Wilfric, Boothroyd & Utta Drivel and their surreal comic adventures when their normal existence is periodically deflected by outside events. These include increasingly frequent attacks instigated by a man sworn to be Wilfric's enemy - a one-time Israeli landscape painter by the name of Mori Arty... *** An audaciously satirical work in which the author's wit will make you laugh out loud.

Utta Drivel Goes Forth is a comic novel that follows the lives of laid-back entrepreneur Wilfric & his 2 friends. He is 1600-odd years-old, which gives him a unique view of history. His get-togethers with walking disaster Boothroyd & eccentric patriot Utta Drivel involve much laughter. Their lives and sparkling conversations cover a wide spectrum. From a Falkland Islands folk club to a virgin man who'd have burst out of a pair of the Pope's erection straps to the afterlife: would you find Alfred the Great arguing with Alexander the Great as to who was the greatest? And whether old people have to give up sex when they go into care homes - there can't be many that give you that much assistance. Following a visit to the London Olympic Park, the friends' lives become interspersed with attacks from a man who accuses Boothroyd of getting his sister pregnant. To stop this, they trap the man while he is burglaring a billionaire's mansion and reveal the surprising identity of the real father.

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR “The best science-fiction nonfiction novel I’ve ever read.” —Jonathan Lethem "If I could get policymakers, and citizens, everywhere to read just one book this year, it would be Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future." —Ezra Klein (Vox) The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, postapocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us. Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of the year, this extraordinary novel from visionary science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson will change the way you think about the climate crisis. "One hopes that this book is read widely—that Robinson’s audience, already large, grows by an order of magnitude. Because the point of his books is to fire the imagination."―New York Review of Books "If there’s any book that hit me hard this year, it was Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future, a sweeping epic about climate change and humanity’s efforts to try and turn the tide before it’s too late." ―Polygon (Best of the Year) "Masterly." —New Yorker "[The Ministry for the Future] struck like a mallet hitting a gong, reverberating through the year ... it’s terrifying, unrelenting, but ultimately hopeful. Robinson is the SF writer of my lifetime, and this stands as some of his best work. It’s my book of the year." —Locus "Science-fiction visionary Kim Stanley Robinson makes the case for quantitative easing our way out of planetary doom." ―Bloomberg Green

New York Times Bestseller * Indiebound Bestseller * An Amazon Best Book of 2019 * B&N's YA Book Club Pick "A brilliant debut, full of everything I love: a sparkling and fully realized heroine, an intricate and deadly system of magic, and a searing romance that kept me reading long into the night. Serpent & Dove is an absolute gem of a book." —Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses series Bound as one, to love, honor, or burn. Book one of a stunning fantasy trilogy, this tale of witchcraft and forbidden love is perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Sara Holland. Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned. As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage. Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all. Don't miss Gods & Monsters, the spellbinding conclusion of this epic trilogy!

First published in 1965, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline is a strikingly original work, the first real cultural history of India. The main features of the Indian character are traced back into remote antiquity as the natural outgrowth of historical process. Did the change from food gathering and the pastoral life to agriculture make new religions necessary? Why did the Indian cities vanish with hardly a trace and leave no memory? Who were the Aryans – if any? Why should Buddhism, Jainism, and so many other sects of the same type come into being at one time and in the same region? How could Buddhism spread over so large a part of Asia while dying out completely in the land of its origin? What caused the rise and collapse of the Magadhan empire; was the Gupta empire fundamentally different from its great predecessor, or just one more ‘oriental despotism’? These are some of the many questions handled with great insight, yet in the simplest terms, in this stimulating work. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies, South Asian studies and ethnic studies.

The Long-Awaited, Enormously Entertaining Memoir by One of the Great Artists of Our Time—Now a New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller. In this candid and often hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and actor offers a comprehensive, personal look at his tumultuous life. Beginning with his Brooklyn childhood and his stint as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show in the early days of television, working alongside comedy greats, Allen tells of his difficult early days doing standup before he achieved recognition and success. With his unique storytelling pizzazz, he recounts his departure into moviemaking, with such slapstick comedies as Take the Money and Run, and revisits his entire, sixty-year-long, and enormously productive career as a writer and director, from his classics Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Annie and Her Sisters to his most recent films, including Midnight in Paris. Along the way, he discusses his marriages, his romances and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from in equal measure. This is a hugely entertaining, deeply honest, rich and brilliant self-portrait of a celebrated artist who is ranked among the greatest filmmakers of our time.