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A “big-hearted” (The Daily Beast), “LOL-worthy” (Cosmopolitan) debut about a down-on-his-luck gay man working out how he fits into the world, making up for lost time, and opening himself up to life's possibilities“Part of a new wave of authors releasing uplifting queer literature that casts its characters as the heroes of their lives... crammed with blossoming romances and glittery escapism.”—The GuardianDanny Scudd is absolutely fine. He always dreamed of escaping the small-town life of his parents'fish-and-chip shop, moving to London, and becoming a journalist. And, after five years in the city, his career isn't exactly awful, and his relationship with pretentious Tobbs isn't exactly unfulfilling. Certainly his limited-edition Dolly Parton vinyls and many (maybe too many) house plants are hitting the spot. But his world is flipped upside down when a visit to the local clinic reveals that Tobbs might not have been exactly faithful. In fact, Tobbs claims they were never operating under the “heteronormative paradigm” of monogamy to begin with. Oh, and Danny's flatmates are unceremoniously evicting him because they want to start a family. It's all going quite well.Newly single and with nowhere to live, Danny is forced to move in with his best friend, Jacob, a flamboyant nonbinary artist whom he's known since childhood, and their eccentric group of friends living in an East London “commune.” What follows is a colorful voyage of discovery through modern queer life, dating, work, and lots of therapy—all places Danny has always been too afraid to fully explore. Upon realizing just how little he knows about himself and his sexuality, he careens from one questionable decision (and man) to another, relying on his inscrutable new therapist and housemates to help him face the demons he's spent his entire life trying to repress. Is he really fine, after all?

A moving Italian coming-of-age classic in a new translation by Ann Goldstein, celebrated translator of Elena Ferrante On a remote island in the Bay of Naples, a young boy roams the shore with only his dog for company. Arturo's mother died in childbirth and his wayward father Wilhelm rarely returns to the island. Left in isolation, he dreams up a world of romantic exploits in which his father sails the seas like the heroes in his favourite stories. When Wilhelm suddenly reappears with his new young wife Nunziata, Arturo's imagined world bursts apart, and he falls in passionate, tormented love. As Wilhelm's behaviour grows increasingly erratic, Arturo must begin to face the reality of his father's life, and of his own feelings. A deeply affecting tale of childhood disenchantment, Arturo's Island is a work of stunning emotional force by one of modern Italian literature's foremost writers. A new translation by Ann Goldstein. Elsa Morante (1912-1985) was an Italian novelist, short-story writer and poet. Born and raised in Rome, she started writing at a young age, initially publishing short stories in children's journals. Her first novel, House of Liars, was published in 1948 and won the Viareggio Prize. She went on to become one of Italy's most lauded writers, winning further prizes and commercial success with her next two novels, Arturo's Island (1957) and History (1974). She died of a heart attack in Rome in 1985.

'Piero Chiara's novel is at once a murder mystery and a lyrical study of desire, greed, and deception. The ending is simply stunning.'—André Aciman, author of Call Me by Your NameSummer 1946. World War Two has just come to an end and there's a yearning for renewal. A man in his thirties is sailing on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, hoping to put off the inevitable return to work. Dropping anchor in a small, fashionable port, he meets the enigmatic owner of a nearby villa who invites him home for dinner with his older wife and beautiful widowed sister-in-law. The sailor is intrigued by the elegant waterside mansion, staffed with servants and imbued with mystery, and stays in a guest room previously occupied by a now deceased bishop related to his host. The two men form an uneasy bond, recognizing in each other a shared taste for idling and erotic adventure. They soon set sail together, encountering old flames and making new conquests. But tragedy puts an abrupt halt to their revels and shatters the tranquility of the villa. What really happened on the dock? And who was the figure glimpsed cycling around the shore in the dark? A sultry, stylish psychological thriller executed with supreme literary finesse.

Four loosely linked realistic novels from “one of Britain's most accomplished and versatile writers” (The Guardian). A Hugo and Nebula Award–winning science fiction writer, British novelist Brian W. Aldiss also regularly “returned to earth with distinction,” penning realistic works, including the Squire Quartet (The New York Times). Comprised of “loosely interconnected novels following many characters through a twenty-first century landscape of insidious new technology and international political turmoil” (Booklist), here is the complete series from this “ambitious and gifted writer” (The Guardian). Life in the West: Thomas C. Squire, creator of the hit documentary series Frankenstein Among the Arts, one-time secret agent, and founder of the Society for Popular Aesthetics, is attending an international media symposium in Sicily. It is here that he becomes involved with the lovely but calculating Selina Ajdina. Alongside the drama of the conference is the story of Squire's private life—the tale of his infidelity, the horrifying circumstances surrounding his father's death, and the threatened future of his ancestral home in England. “[A] novel of ideas that is also eminently readable... a virtuoso performance.” —Publishers Weekly Forgotten Life: Analyst Clement Winters is trying to write a biography of his recently deceased older brother, Joseph. Through the writings Joseph left behind—letters, diaries, notes, and confessions—Clement realizes how vastly his perception of his sibling differs from reality. As Clement tries to make sense of Joseph's life, he uncovers dark corners of his family history and even his own existence. “A realistic novel... imaginative richness... [a] many-layered venture into the extraordinariness of ordinary lives.” —The New York Times Remembrance Day: When four people are killed by a terrorist bombing in a small British seaside hotel, an American academic examines the details of the victims'lives and histories to find the relationship between them and their fate. “Aldiss discovers fresh and arresting nuances in the dichotomy between blind chance and predestination in human affairs... original, disturbing, and memorable.” —Kirkus Reviews Somewhere East of Life: Architectural historian Roy Burnell has been tasked with traveling the globe and listing architectural gems in danger of being destroyed. But when Burnell is in Budapest, ten years of his memory, including his sexual experiences, are stolen. In this near future, where thieves sell memories on the black market, Burnell tries to resume his life, while also searching for the “bullet” that will restore his memory. “Intelligent, funny, and hopeful in spite of itself.” —Kirkus Reviews

Fourth in the acclaimed Squire Quartet—from the author of “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” the basis for the movie A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. Architectural historian Roy Burnell has been tasked with traveling the globe and listing architectural gems in danger of being destroyed. But when Burnell is in Budapest, ten years of his memory, mostly his architectural knowledge and sexual experiences, are stolen. In this near-future, thieves using EMV (“e-mnemonicvision”) sell memories on the black market. In the wake of this event, Burnell tries to resume his life, while also searching for the “bullet” that will restore his memory. Winner of two Hugo Awards, one Nebula Award, and named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, Brian W. Aldiss challenged readers'minds for over fifty years with literate, thought-provoking, and inventive science fiction. “Aldiss weaves these thoughts into a delightful and sometimes harrowing story, proving once again that science fiction can illuminate vital matters of the present as effectively as any genre.” —Publishers Weekly This ebook includes an introduction by the author.

This is the story of Ruby Wilson whose beauty was something startling. She was born somewhere and brought up in the back of a hat shop owned by her Aunt Carrie. Men always slipped in and out of Aunt Carrie's life. Ruby was never shocked. This novel of the Roaring Twenties spares nobody's feelings as it follows how Ruby took to men, and how men took to Ruby. Ruby of the flaxen hair, pale skin, and long eyes also had a vicious temper, but when men saw her image on a billboard with the legend Wear Ruby Garters they wanted her. Among her suitors were Nicki the Greek, to whom Aunt Carrie clung desperately; Red, the lingerie salesman; Karl, whose parents owned the furniture store where Ruby's greatest romance found a darkened happiness; and finally Jed, whose squirrel coat Ruby enjoyed so much she wore it in bed. When Ruby was ready to spread her wings and fly beyond the boundaries of her hometown, would she be haunted by her past suitors and coaxed to remain within the confines of what she had always known, or would she find herself free to soar into the larger world, ready to take on new adventures and find someone who could secure her lasting affection?

A womanizer's struggle for self-control spirals into crime, madness, and murderHarry White grew up in blue-collar Brooklyn, but the young man's charm, smarts, and good looks have helped him earn a place as an uptown junior executive. White's gifts have also made his love life easy, and he takes special pleasure in seducing married women. But when “Harry the Lover” is ready to grow up and leave his womanizing behind, White finds that suppressing his libido has dangerous consequences. His attempts at restraint awaken something sinister, causing White to seek excitement in a new form of violence and depravity. Shocking and enthralling, The Demon is an unflinching meditation on male vanity by one of the most acclaimed and original writers of the twentieth century. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hubert Selby Jr. including rare photos from the author's estate.

Men are the ones gifted with all sorts of power in our society, but a dirty little secret is that so many of them long to strip themselves of this power, to be tied down, gagged, spanked, taken, and owned. They want to ease the burdens of manliness, if only for a little while, to be'ordered'to do all the naughty things of which they've dreamed. Please, Ma'am shows some of the tantalizing possibilities out there for sniveling men and the women who love them. Best-selling erotica editor Rachel Kramer Bussel has gathered together top voices in the genre, including Stephen Elliott, Alison Tyler, Dominic Santi, and many more. In Please, Ma'am, men willingly submit to the deliciously dominant women who entertain their deepest desires and give them the treatment they crave.

Draws a portrait of an American man through a collection of shorter stories documenting his romantic and sexual encounters over the course of forty years, showing the pain and wonder of love that are such a part of life in the modern world