What We're Reading
By Jacqson Diego Story Emporium
What We're Reading
By Jacqson Diego Story Emporium
Wedded Wife: A Feminist History of Marriage
Ms. Rachael Lennon
£16.99 £16.14In this fascinating and insightful book, feminist curator Rachael Lennon provides an intimate and accessible examination of the history of marriage, with a focus on the UK. Wedded Wife tells a remarkable story of how this institution has developed from the ancient customs of the stone age through to the modern form it takes today. In this eminently readable and relatable study, Lennon also explores themes such as the pressure to marry, the politics surrounding proposals, the spectacle of marriage, the business behind it, and the politics tied to consummation as well as issues such as taking a man's name, the nuances of marriage vows and obedience, 'having it all' and trying to keep up the fight to have an enduring marriage. Having married her wife just a few years after the legalisation of same sex marriage in the United Kingdom, Lennon interweaves her own personal experiences of marriage with stories and anecdotes from throughout history to explore how marriage has transformed over the years. In shaking off patriarchal expectations, Rachael examines marriage's troubling past and celebrates a more joyful present, celebrating the feminist activists who have fought to make marriage a pure and equitable celebration of love, open to everyone regardless of gender or sexuality. She also asks what compels us to keep making this choice? Can we let go of the gendered baggage that we have inherited? Can we hold true to feminist values as we commit to our partners? And what does that look like? How can we build on the past to continue to redefine marriage for the future?
The Night In Question: An Agathas Mystery
Liz Lawson and Kathleen Glasgow
£8.99 £8.54It's not that Alice wants someone to die. It's just that things were a lot more interesting when she and Iris were investigating a murder. Two months after Alice and Iris solved the murder of Brooke Donovan, Steve Anderson has become a semi-celebrity; Iris Adams and Cole Fielding are almost dating; and Alice Ogilvie is bored out of her brain. Reluctantly attending the school dance at Levy Castle, Alice sneaks away from the party to do some snooping while Iris gets close to Cole. But when she pushes open the door to what was once Charles Levy's study, she quite literally falls onto her next case...
The Invention of Essex: The Making of an English County
TIM BURROWS
£16.99Essex. A county both famous and infamous: the stuff of tabloid headlines and reality television, consumer culture and right-wing politicians. England's dark id. But beyond the sensationalist headlines lies a strange and secret place with a rich history: of smugglers and private islands, artists and radicals, myths and legends. It's where the Peasants' Revolt began and the Empire Windrush docked. And - from political movements like Brexit to cultural events like TOWIE - where Essex leads, the rest of us often follow. Deeply researched and thoroughly engaging, The Invention of Essex shows that there is more to this fabled English county than meets the eye.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: The Sunday Times Bestseller
Taylor Jenkins Reid
£9.99 £9.49From the author of Daisy Jones & The Six in which a legendary film actress reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine. Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a mesmerizing journey through the splendour of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means and what it costs to face the truth.
The Dos and Donuts of Love
Adiba Jaigirdar
£7.99 £7.59A pun-filled YA contemporary romance, The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar finds a teenage girl competing in a televised baking competition, with contestants including her ex-girlfriend and a potential new crush - perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off and She Drives Me Crazy!"Welcome to the first ever Junior Irish Baking Show!"Shireen Malik is still reeling from the breakup with her ex-girlfriend, Chris, when she receives news that she's been accepted as a contestant on a new televised baking competition show. This is Shireen's dream come true! Because winning will not only mean prize money, but it will also bring some much-needed attention to You Drive Me Glazy, her parents' beloved donut shop. Things get complicated, though, because Chris is also a contestant on the show. Then there's the very outgoing Niamh, a fellow contestant who is becoming fast friends with Shireen. Things are heating up between them, and not just in the kitchen. As the competition intensifies, Shireen will have to ignore all these factors and more - including potential sabotage - if she wants a sweet victory!
The Four
Ellie Keel
£16.99ONE SECRET COULD DESTROY THEM ALL Powerful. Sinister. Heart-wrenching. Unmissable. We were always The Four. From our very first day at High Realms. The four scholarship pupils. Outsiders in a world of power and privilege. It would have made our lives a lot easier if Marta had simply pushed Genevieve out of our bedroom window that day. Certainly, it would have been tragic. She would have died instantly. But Marta didn't push her then, or - if you choose to believe me - at any other time. If she had, all of what we went through would not have happened. I've told this story as clearly as I could - as rationally as I've been able, in the circumstances, to achieve. I don't regret what we did. And I would do it all again.
The Dance Tree: The BBC Between the Covers Book Club Pick
Kiran Millwood Hargrave
£9.99 £9.49Strasbourg, 1518. In the midst of a blisteringly hot summer, a lone woman begins to dance in the city square. She dances for days without pause, and as she is joined by hundreds of others, the authorities declare an emergency: musicians will be brought in to play the Devil out of these women. Beyond the city, pregnant Lisbet tends the bees that are her livelihood. And then, as the dancing plague gathers momentum, Lisbet's sister-in-law Nethe returns from seven years' penance in the mountains for a crime no one will name. As the city buckles under the beat of a thousand feet, Lisbet finds herself thrust into a dangerous web of deceit and clandestine passion, but she is dancing to a dangerous tune .
How to be a French Girl
Rose Cleary
£11.99 £11.39How to be a French Girl is a fierce, disturbing and funny debut novel about desire, art and what we'll risk to change ourselves.
The Shadow Cabinet
Juno Dawson
£16.99The follow-up to the sensational #1 Sunday Times bestseller Her Majesty's Royal Coven All is not as it seems within the halls of Her Majesty's Royal Coven... Despite thinking they've thwarted the prophecy, the witches are still reeling from the events of the past few months. Ciara now occupies her twin sister's body as she prepares to take on the role of High Priestess. But why are the sinister government agents of the Shadow Cabinet so invested in her coronation? And then there's the small matter of Dabney Hale: freshly escaped from Grierlings prison, he's on the hunt for a mythical object that will give him unimaginable power. Leonie's brother is on the trail, but doesn't know the danger he now faces, and so she sets off to bring him home and bring Hale to justice. Meanwhile, Theo and Holly are left to their own devices. Theo to work out how her miraculous transformation took place and Holly to discover what's going on with her mum and dad. Elle's Instagram-perfect world is about to come crashing down in the most terrifying way. Payback's a witch as Ciara, Leonie, Elle, Theo and Holly are about to find out.
Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection
Ben Aaronovitch
£11.99Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from #1 Sunday Times bestselling author, Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand-new tales in the same place for the first time. Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdote offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan. Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover whats haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg With an introduction from internationally bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris.
Unlikeable Female Characters: The Women Pop Culture Wants You to Hate
Anna Bogutskaya
£12.99 £12.34How bitches, trainwrecks, shrews, and crazy women have taken over pop culture and liberated women from having to be nice. Female characters throughout history have been burdened by the moral trap that is likeability. Any woman who dares to reveal her messy side has been treated as a cautionary tale. Today, unlikeable female characters are everywhere in film, TV, and wider pop culture. For the first time ever, they are being accepted by audiences and even showered with industry awards. We are finally accepting that women are-gasp-fully fledged human beings. How did we get to this point Unlikeable Female Characters traces the evolution of highly memorable female characters, from Samantha Jones as "The Slut" in Sex and the City to the iconic Mean Girl, Regina George, examining what exactly makes them popular, how audiences have reacted to them, and the ways in which pop culture is finally allowing us to celebrate the complexities of being a woman. Anna Bogutskaya, film programmer, broadcaster, and co-founder of the horror film collective and podcast The Final Girls, takes us on a journey through popular film, TV, and music, looking at the nuances of womanhood on and off-screen to reveal whether pop culture-and society-is finally ready to embrace complicated women.
Cursed Crowns
Katherine Webber and Catherine Doyle
£8.99 £8.54Bestselling authors and real-life sisters-in-law Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber join forces on a compelling YA fantasy bursting with high-stakes adventure, romance and humour. Two queens, one throne. What can possibly go wrong...? Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns... but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana's throne. Cool-headed Rose sets off on a Royal Tour to win over the doubters, but soon finds herself drawn to the Sunkissed Kingdom. Here secrets are revealed about those closest to her, and Rose finds her loyalties divided. Meanwhile rebellious Wren steals away to the icy north to rescue their beloved grandmother, Banba. But when she accepts King Alarik's deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba's freedom, the spell has unexpected - and far-reaching - consequences .
Trouble: The new laugh-out-loud Regency romp from Lex Croucher
Lex Croucher
£9.99 £9.49There's a new governess at Fairmont House, and she's going to be nothing but trouble. Emily Laurence is a liar. She is not polite, she's not polished, and she has never taught a child in her life. This position was meant to be her sister's - brilliant, kind Amy, who isn't perpetually angry, dangerously reckless, and who does (inexplicably) like children. But Amy is unwell and needs a doctor, their father is gone and their mother is useless, so here Emily is, pretending to be something she's not. If she can get away with her deception for long enough to earn a few months' wages and slip some expensive trinkets into her pockets along the way, perhaps they'll be all right.
Eragon: Book One
Christopher Paolini
£9.99 £9.49Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon with Murtagh. Murtagh, a stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle, will publish in 2023. The first book in The Inheritance Cycle. When poor farm boy Eragon finds a polished stone in the forest, he thinks it's a lucky discovery. Perhaps, he will be able to buy his family food for the winter. But, when a baby dragon hatches out of the stone, Eragon realises he's stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. His simple life is shattered, and he's thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. To navigate this dark terrain, and survive his cruel king's evil ways, he must take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders. Will he succeed? The fate of the Empire rests in his hands.
My Hero Academia, Vol. 16
Kohei Horikoshi
£7.99 £7.59Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world's greatest hero, but greatness won't come easy. What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called "Quirks"? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless? The Hassaikai crime gang, led by the young boss Chisaki, has been working on a plan to distribute a Quirk-destroying drug. The key to this evil scheme is the young girl Eri, held prisoner in Chisaki's hideout.
Dracula
Bram Stoker and Ang Lee
£16.99 £16.14Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival. In Dracula, Bram Stoker created one of the great masterpieces of the horror genre, brilliantly evoking a nightmare world of vampires and vampire hunters and also illuminating the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.