Literature & Fiction

The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.,,,

The top 10 list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face....

Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway....

Mark Manson turns his gaze from the inevitable flaws within each individual self to the endless calamities taking place in the world around us....

Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness....

My husband is dead. I attended his funeral. I watched his casket be lowered six feet into the ground. (Actually, it may have been only five feet, but that still seems like more than enough.)

Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC. But there are rules....

A story close to Sandi Toksvig's heart, Friends of Dorothy is a wonderful, funny, touching novel about making a family that is not biological, but logical.

One wealth-obsessed man – who is also dead. One status-obsessed woman – who is the perfect accessory. Their four inheritance-obsessed children – each with a killer instinct.

Arranging the hit on Fabio was a low act, and Les knew it....

Les Norton, a big red-headed country boy from Queensland, has just arrived in the big smoke and is set to make his mark....

I would have trusted this man with my life. Until a couple of days ago, anyway. You know what they say - hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Max is quite accustomed to everything going wrong. She's St Mary's, after all. Disaster is her default state.

The City Watch needs men! But what it's got includes Corporal Carrot, Lance-Constable Cuddy, Lance-Constable Detritus, Lance-Constable Angua and Corporal Nobbs....

Despite several mortifying attempts at seduction and a decade's worth of unrequited pining, nothing Phoebe does seems to make any impact on the man she's obsessed over since her bra-stuffing days....

A dazzling urban satire of modern human relations? An ironic, tragic insight into the demise of the nuclear family? Or the confused ramblings of a pissed thirty-something?....

When the neighbours in question are the proud empires of Klatch and Ankh-Morpork, those are going to be some pretty large garden tools indeed....

After five long years of waiting for a new novel, Dawn’s millions of fans will fall in love with this tantalising story of motherhood....

Les Norton is not finding much joy in his search for the missing fim script. Especially not while fighting a sadistic giant, when the only thing that can save him is the Mongolian Death Lock....

For Commander Vimes, Head of Ankh-Morpork City Watch, life consists of troubling times, linked together by...well, more troubling times....

When popular TV baking contest and national institution ‘The Best of British Baking Roadshow’ rolls into town and sets up camp in the grounds of Boskern House, a historic stately home near Penstowan, former police officer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker finds herself competing in the grand final.

Don't panic! The Hitchhiker's saga continues with a brand new full-cast dramatisation of Life, the Universe and Everything....

In a hilarious short story from New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, the absurdities of modern life cause one man’s solitary world to spin suddenly, and comically, out of control.

John Cleese’s special introductions to each episode are included in this collection of all 12 TV soundtrack episodes....

Multi-award-winning storyteller Sarah Kendall brings her critically acclaimed, funny and moving live shows to audio....

The hugely popular precursor to ‘Yes Minister’, The Men from the Ministry had the nation in stitches for 13 series between 1962 and 1977. In 1980, a fourteenth series, comprising remakes of episodes from Series 1-4, was made by the BBC Transcription Service and aired abroad.

My husband is dead. I attended his funeral. I watched his casket be lowered six feet into the ground. (Actually, it may have been only five feet, but that still seems like more than enough.) And then we ate an array of finger sandwiches and deviled eggs and miniature beef wellingtons that cost more than my first car. My point is, Grant is gone. And so are all his many, many deep, dark secrets which I never really ever bothered to ask him about. He is never coming back.

Separated by 10 years, 3,000 miles, and the unrelenting stresses of adulthood, best friends Janet and Serena plan a 40th birthday girls’ trip to reconnect. But after a massive crash, they’re the only survivors to wash ashore on an uncharted Caribbean Island. Armed with only the clothes on their backs and zero survival skills, they fight to overcome hunger, thirst, deadly wildlife—and most terrifyingly—decades of accrued resentment. Can they find their way home, or will they kill each other first?

At 104 years of age, Mrs Elsie Drake of Granville Gardens, London, is the sixth oldest woman in Britain. But fed up with sitting in her armchair all day, Elsie is ready for new adventures. And so, armed with a computer she can barely operate, she fires off dozens of letters to everyone from the Prime Minister to Greggs Bakeries, to see if they can help. Whether offering her services as the new Arsenal football mascot dressed as a giant hare, or simply sending Sainsbury's a load of meat, no one can escape the clutches of Elsie Drake.

The last thing Alice expects to see at her husband’s graveside on his birthday is a giant, talking frog. On closer inspection, it’s a grown man dressed as Kermit. Turns out Alice’s husband is buried next to Ben’s older brother Harry, who—as a parting practical joke in his will—insisted that Ben visit his grave each year, on this specific day, dressed in an as-yet-undisclosed pageant of embarrassing fancy dress.

It’s the 1980s: business is big, the shoulder pads are bigger and Jimmy Bright is a tycoon on a mission… He’s got big dreams and the only thing standing between him and a millionaire lifestyle is accountant, Russell Farrow, whose attention to financial detail is unsurpassed. The two must rub along if Jimmy’s business, BrightCo, is to succeed but they seem to have very different views on what success looks like.

After too many lifetimes to count slaying demons and grinding levels, prophesied hero Kaito finally tells destiny where to shove it. He's done. When dimensional portal number seventeen drops him in front of an enthralled king begging him to vanquish the looming Dark Army, he does what any retired adventurer would do—politely refuses and heads off to focus on the simple pleasures of life: community, and getting his taxes done on time.

Remi Finch has spent the better part of her adult life avoiding family—especially her sisters. They just don’t click. Besides, her unconventional upbringing and major anxiety have convinced Remi that she can’t build a relationship with anyone. Period. When her parents plan a family reunion camping trip to celebrate their anniversary, Remi’s willing to reconnect, if only because she doesn’t have a choice. But then a dead body turns up at their campsite, and their sisterly bonding kicks into high gear.

E. F. Benson is probably best known for his wickedly satirical ‘Mapp and Lucia’ series. A prolific writer, his works included novels, biographies and supernatural fiction. His versatility is showcased in these dramatisations and readings, which range from the hilariously comic to the horribly chilling.

Family has always meant everything to Madison. Married to the nation’s heartthrob, TV handyman Rich, with two beautiful children, she’s always put their needs first. And she’s never regretted a second, even if her own career has taken a backseat. Then, out of the blue, Rich drops a bombshell. He needs some space and he’s moving out. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Madison turns to her tight-knit group of friends for help. But when their support isn’t enough, Madison resolves to find out what’s really going on. Even if it means turning detective on her own husband.

Chris Addison – the thinking idiot's pretend anthropologist – takes us on a comic journey through the vast and rich subject of human history in these eight hilarious comedy lectures. Aided by Professor Austin Herring (aka Geoffrey McGivern), Dan Tetsell and Jo Enright, who put their considerable talents to use in sketches illustrating the lectures, he examines how Homo sapiens became Top Species, charts the rise and fall of the Western world and looks at what’s next for the future of mankind.

Dave Mabbutt is having a crisis. He’s the richest man in Britain, a bona fide rockstar with fans, fame and fortune. He even has a personal assistant called Mr. Tumble, who is in fact an elephant - but he’s not happy. When you have more money than sense life can have hilarious consequences. And how rock and roll does it really feel to have your mum at every gig?

Graham Carpenter has big dreams of being a serious journalist, but he doesn’t quite have the skills to match. Starting a new job as local cub reporter for the Butterthwaite newspaper is Graham’s big chance. With pad and pencil in hand, he’s willing and ready - what could possibly go wrong? Follow Graham’s (mis)adventures as he tries to land the ultimate scoop. In the first week of the job he gets a lucky break and an unexpected story lead when there’s whispers of royalty coming to town, but can he get the front page?

Looking for a sign from God, nun Martina leaves her convent and becomes a temporary chef – only to walk straight into a catering crisis of epic proportions. Valentine’s Viennese Patisserie supplies classy Austrian snacks for corporate events, but now their pastry cook has left, no-one knows how to make any of the delicacies they’re offering. And that’s not their only problem – they’re also being chased by clients, up to their necks in bills and cancellations, and stuck with a clapped-out delivery van that keeps breaking down.

The late Gregory Patterson was a stalwart of the Roman Catholic Parishioners. With his passing, how will Mrs Patterson cope with her headstrong daughter, Barbara? And can young Robert step into his father’s shoes and face up to new responsibilities? The man with the answers would appear to be football-crazy priest Father Benedict who tries to help the grief stricken family as best he can…

Sir Ralph Stanza, a hip London poet, is determined to communicate the people's hopes and fears through his verse. Whether they like it or not…These comedy series about a poet with a passion feature a special guest appearance from none other than (actual) poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. A perfect listen for anyone looking for the lighter side of life, culture and laughter.

The Ancient Greek myths and epics have spent the last few thousand years focusing on all the testosterone and willy-waving that their so-called heroes got up to. Now, at long last, it’s time to shine a light on the goddesses, nymphs and queens who had to endure all that unwanted wooing, the wrath of vengeful gods, and a lot of straight-up misogyny without complaint – or at least none that was considered worth noting.

Amber Fitzpatrick is about to hit thirty and has achieved none of the things she hoped to have done by now. Her dreams of owning her own business seem out of reach. Her boyfriend has just dumped her and now her biological clock is clanging in her head. But maybe Amber doesn’t need a man for the next stage of her life? Maybe as an independent woman she can have a baby all by herself? There’s only one problem. Handsome but excruciatingly annoying best friend Tyler Williams.

They came up on us like a gravy crap. We was just down by the creek dranking and shooting when them ugly suckers flanked us. My name is Lick. They call me Lick cause when I was a baby I used to lick everything. This is the story of me and my buddy Fanger. We call him Fanger cause when he was a kid he broke his panky fanger on his right hand and his mom and deddy didn't git it fixed right. Now it sticks out all the time like a fancy yankee or English man dranking tea. Anyway, this is the story of our first encounter and how we ended up on the run. Just like everybody else.

For Daisy, life isn’t going…quite to plan. She’s just caught her boyfriend shagging someone else at her fortieth birthday party. She’s camped out in her childhood bedroom. And it looks as if her dream to have a baby has gone down the pan… Time for a F**k It! list? Join Daisy as she attempts to tick off each item on the list and take back control of her life, one ‘f**k it’ at a time, and ask yourself the question: what would be on your f**k it list?

Jo Who Died is the funny and bittersweet telling of a mother's life story from the perspective of her recently deceased daughter. Jenny Knight never intended to call seven of her eight children Jo(e). It's funny how life turns out. At twenty-six years old, Jo 5 throws herself out of a window with no intention of dying. Nor did she plan for her siblings to be suspects in a murder investigation. Sometimes, that's just the way things go.

Christmas is all about lists. To do lists. Shopping lists. Lists to bloody Santa. And doesn’t Anna Johnson know it. Waking up on Christmas Eve after the annual Johnson party, she's hungover, exhausted and really sick and tired of Christmas already. All she wants is to tick the last things off her endless list and sit down with the world’s biggest glass of wine. ​A mysterious death in her home really is the last thing she has time for right now, but with police officers and a husband and two kids intent on watching Christmas films, it looks like it’s up to her.

"Ревізор" - знаменита комедія в п'яти діях російського письменника Миколи Васильовича Гоголя. Роком написання вважається 1835 рік. Молоду людину, яка оселилася в саратівському готелі, місцеві чиновники помилково приймають за ревізора і всіляко намагаються йому послужити. Насправді, Хлестаков — дрібний чиновник із Петербурга, який намагається жити на широку ногу, але не має коштів. Всі гроші, що надсилаються йому батьком, він миттєво прогулює. А тут трапляється така нагода: чиновники самі і із задоволенням постачають його грошима.

"Ich habe ein Konsumproblem. Ich kaufe, um zu vergessen, und dann vergesse ich, dass ich gekauft habe. Wenn ich Dinge nicht sehe, vergesse ich, dass sie existieren. Mein Pürierstab, mein Fahrradhelm, mein Ex-Freund, als er mal für eine Woche nach Dänemark gefahren ist. Ich kann mich plötzlich nicht mehr an sie erinnern und denke: Da könntest du mal einen neuen gebrauchen! Infolgedessen habe ich mehrere Pürierstäbe, Fahrradhelme und Ex-Freunde." Giulia Becker ist die Königin des Grotesken, des Überdrehten. In ihrem neuen, zweiten Buch strickt sie einen ganzen Kosmos aus kleinen Alltagsbeobachtungen.

The Godfather meets the Golden Girls in this love, laugh and revenge filled drama. It's 1991, and Cicada Hollow, Florida, is a sleepy retirement paradise... or so it seems. Enter the scene: four sassy seniors whose idea of a knitting circle involves plotting the most audacious crime spree in U.S. history.

Everybody loves the Cuddle Buddies, kids and grown-ups alike. But nobody loves them quite so much as their creator, Mark Samuels. However, when the show's producers decide he's become too much of a liability, they terminate his contract, effectively stealing the characters he created right from under his nose.