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A week-long spa break is just what Jess needs. She’s going to be there with her best friends, Stella and Em. And the spa is so high-end it has an ethos about cleansing the mind and soul. The laughter, gourmet food and cocktails are what every twenty-something needs. And then there’s the beautiful man she spots in the pool on the first day. A perfect addition to her week. Until Jess finds out that he’s someone from her past. Someone she really should have recognized. Someone she should not find attractive. And that’s when things start getting a little confusing…

Stage actress Mona Zahid wakes up on the morning of Thanksgiving to the clamour of guests packed into her apartment and to a wave of dread: her in-laws are lurking on the other side of the bedroom door; she has been fighting with her husband; and in just a few weeks she will begin rehearsals to play Cleopatra, the most challenging role of her career. On an impulse, Mona leaves her family and heads out into the city to visit her estranged mentor, Milton Katz, the legendary director who has been forced out of the theatre company he founded amid accusations of sexual misconduct.

When Luca drops out of his prestigious PhD programme and moves back home to Manchester, he thinks he'll take some time to consider his life choices: the failed love affair that ended in a disastrous holiday and embarrassing exit, the pursuit of an academic life that gave him nothing but a strong sense of failure. In need of money, and still convinced the literary life might be for him, Luca takes on a job as a ghost writer: Andy, who has progressive MS, wants Luca to write his life story.

Sam and Daisy have been best friends since university. Back then Daisy was a wild, Fleetwood Mac-obsessed girl descended from the Yorkshire Moors, while Sam’s youth was misspent traipsing around Liverpool on shopping trips and nights out. But as they lean against each other on a wooden bench in the tired garden of their beloved local pub, gazing out at Sam’s wedding, they have no idea that their paths are about to truly diverge for the first time.

Publicist Hannah can’t believe her luck at a celebrity client lending her a newly renovated luxury penthouse apartment while she gets settled into her new life in New York City and puts her broken heart behind her. What she doesn’t expect is the group of fellow residents who object to their new neighbour, led by the curmudgeon in the penthouse next door…

Ein melancholischer Wind weht durch die Straßen von San Francisco, aber die Familie hält zusammen. Das San Francisco der Achtzigerjahre ist im Wandel. Eine Epidemie verändert das Leben in der Stadt, die Clubszene und gerade die queeren Viertel. Mittendrin stecken Mary Ann und Brian tief in ihrer Familienplanung, Michael Tolliver ist in Trauer, und Anna Madrigal vermisst ihre Tochter. Unterdessen bereitet sich ganz San Francisco auf majestätischen Besuch vor: Queen Elizabeth II. besichtigt die Stadt an der Bucht.

Dive into the wild and wacky world of corporate life with the *How to End Up in HR* series! Follow the misadventures of our lovable protagonist, Marv, as he navigates the quirky and unpredictable realm of an outlandish work environment. From cringe-worthy office parties to laugh-out-loud stories, this series uncovers the hidden obstacles of everyday work life. With a cast of eccentric colleagues, you'll find yourself laughing, crying, and cheering for Marv as he conquers one adventure at a time.

“I started keeping a journal because I read somewhere that it was good for your mental health. I beg to differ. All I wanted was a bass player for the band, but adding a new person to an already precarious mix can be messy. I don’t think this journaling thing made my mental feel any healthier.” -Kyle, journal keeper, vocals, bass, guitar

Klokhet, värme och galenskap–välkommen in i Mark Levengoods värld!

Allan sitter med vännen Julius på Bali och har nästan lika långtråkigt som strax innan han klev ut genom sitt fönster på hundraårsdagen ett år tidigare. Nu väntar ny födelsedag. Julius bestämmer sig för att fira sin vän med en luftballongfärd. Allan föreslår att de i så fall tar med sig något att dricka, ifall det skulle bli stiltje där uppe i luften. Det som följer är allt utom stiltje. Vinden och omständigheterna tar vännerna på en resa genom all världens galenskap.

Johanna Kjellander lämnar predikstolen för gott under burop från sin församling. Nå, yrkesvalet var ändå aldrig hennes. Hon skyller på pappa och Gud i lika delar. Per Persson lever ett torftigt liv efter att farfar slarvat bort den förmögenhet som nu borde varit hans. I stället är sonsonen en uselt betald receptionist på ett tredje klassens hotell. Den bortjagade prästen möter av en slump receptionisten på en parkbänk. Båda är lurade på tillvaron och de har inga problem med att luras tillbaka när möjligheten uppstår. Och det gör den–i mötet med Mördar-Anders.

Hon började arbeta som femåring, blev föräldralös vid tio, överkörd vid femton. Ingenting tydde på annat än att hon skulle leva ett tag i sitt skjul i Sydafrikas största kåkstad och sedan dö, saknad av ingen. Om hon nu inte varit den hon var, men det var hon ju. Nombeko Mayeki var analfabeten som kunde räkna. Ödet tillsammans med hennes talang för henne bort från Soweto, till internationell storpolitik, till andra sidan jordklotet, till två identiskt lika och väldigt olika bröder.

On Our Selection is a collection of humorous short stories by Australian author Steele Rudd. It follows the trials and tribulations of the Rudd family, pioneers carving out a living in the Australian bush. The book humorously depicts the struggles of farming life, the resilience of the settlers, and the quirks of rural Australian society.

Being best friends with a mega-star has its perks, and music journalist Nicole Wilde takes full advantage of them. But it also has its responsibilities. When lead singer Dylan King disappears the night before a charity gig, it’s up to Nicole to track him down. Half a dozen groupies, a haunted hotel, a tattoo parlour, a reality show runner-up and a crazy bed-hopping, sleepless night later – will she find him before the tour bus leaves town? And when she does, is it time to head home? Or to jump on the tour bus and go along for the ride?

Butler Helen Thorpe is not one to judge, but the participants in Close Encounters for Global Healing are astonishingly unpleasant. The five-day program brings together people from across the political spectrum with the goal of helping them bridge their ideological and personal differences. No one seems interested in a civil conversation, much less global healing, and each person has shown up with their own secret agenda.

In these twelve new stories, Richard Bausch explores the passions of men and women facing unex­pected circumstances and the complications of modern life and love. In the novella “Donnaiolo,” for instance, the parents of a young divorcée who has returned from Italy and a failed marriage must deal with the completely different, and unappealing, person she has become. In “Isolation,” a happily married woman who has con­ceived an unexpected passion for another man learns, in lockdown during the pandemic, that this man—into whose life Bausch also gives us a window—has become ill with Covid.

Isabella Pasternack is a food person. She revels in the beauty of a perfectly cooked egg, she daydreams about her first meal at Chez Panisse, and every inch of her tiny apartment teems with cookbooks, from Prune to Cooking by Hand to Roast Chicken and Other Stories. What Isabella is not, unfortunately, is a gainfully employed person. In the wake of a disastrous live-streamed soufflé demonstration, Isabella is summarily fired from her job at a digital food magazine and must quickly find a way to keep herself in buckwheat and anchovy paste.

Equal parts funny and tender, What Will People Think? is a heart-bursting exploration of what it means to discover and embrace the hidden parts of yourself, and how love in all forms can make you whole.

Lloyd McNeil has served as an officer with the Atlanta Police Department for 20 years while being a devoted father to his teenage son. But then he learns the worst possible news: He has learned he has an inoperable brain tumor, and he has only months left to live. Lloyd begins throwing himself into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, but things don’t go according to plan. Instead of dying, he becomes a civic hero. Meanwhile, a malevolent force from his past shadows Lloyd as he tries to get his affairs in order, teach his son the lessons he needs to be a good person.

Penelope and Chase make a lovely couple. She’s a bubbly Southern California girl with killer work ethic. Chase is smart and charming and has political aspirations. They’re planning a spectacular California wedding, wrapped in peonies and thousands of little white lights, soaked in custom cocktails and romantic hashtags. Everyone’s excited about Penny and Chase’s wedding­­­­­­—except their mothers.