The Furys

The Furys
Author: James Hanley
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2015-03-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504005805

A boy returns home from seminary to a family on the verge of collapse For almost seven years, Mrs. Fury has done nothing but think of Peter. Of her five children, he is the youngest, her darling boy whose future she planned out long ago. It was for Peter that she took one child out of college and married another off—for Peter that she sent a third to work at sea. She has sacrificed everything so that Peter could return to Ireland to study for the priesthood. He is to be the family’s salvation—but after seven years in seminary, Peter has failed. Mrs. Fury receives two telegrams: One telling her that Peter is coming home, the other bearing the news that her eldest son, Anthony, has fallen from his ship’s mast and is in a hospital in New York. With two slips of paper, Mrs. Fury’s hopes for the future are dashed. But this Irishwoman is strong as iron, and she will do whatever it takes to keep her family together—if only for Peter’s sake. The Furys is the first book of James Hanley’s acclaimed Furys Saga.

The Chairs Are Where the People Go

The Chairs Are Where the People Go
Author: Misha Glouberman
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2011-07-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1429968648

Should neighborhoods change? Is wearing a suit a good way to quit smoking? Why do people think that if you do one thing, you're against something else? Is monogamy a trick? Why isn't making the city more fun for you and your friends a super-noble political goal? Why does a computer last only three years? How often should you see your parents? How should we behave at parties? Is marriage getting easier? What can spam tell us about the world? Misha Glouberman's friend and collaborator, Sheila Heti, wanted her next book to be a compilation of everything Misha knew. Together, they made a list of subjects. As Misha talked, Sheila typed. He talked about games, relationships, cities, negotiation, improvisation, Casablanca, conferences, and making friends. His subjects ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. But sometimes what had seemed trivial began to seem important—and what had seemed important began to seem less so. The Chairs Are Where the People Go is refreshing, appealing, and kind of profound. It's a self-help book for people who don't feel they need help, and a how-to book that urges you to do things you don't really need to do.

Sheila's Men

Sheila's Men
Author: Jenna Ashlyn
Publisher: Van Rye Publishing, LLC
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2022-01-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

SHEILA’S MEN is a dark modern fairy tale that follows the life of Sheila, a naïve romantic living in poverty who blindly marries a man in the hopes of providing a better life for herself and her daughter. Soon after marrying, her husband increasingly subjects her to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. And since he refuses to get a job, Sheila begins working long hours far from home and encounters a seemingly endless onslaught from other manipulative and abusive men. Growing increasingly overworked, distanced from her beloved daughter, and frustrated with the manipulative and abusive men inside and outside her home, Sheila prepares to end her life. If there is a prince charming who understands her worth, he must inspire her to believe in herself soon. (Based on a true story.) WARNING: Sheila's Men is a fictionalized account of one woman’s real-life struggle to escape abusive relationships and is intended, in part, to help others recognize and escape such relationships. As such, this book necessarily contains language and scenarios related to self-harm, suicide, and abuse (emotional, physical, sexual, and financial) that might be triggering for some audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York

Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York
Author: Gail Parent
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2004-01-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1468302043

A single, thirty-year-old woman in the 1970s struggles to find her dream man and dream job in this hilarious & heartwarming classic. Three decades after its original bestselling publication, Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York is still completely on target as the most achingly funny book-length suicide note ever written by an agonizingly single thirty-year-old trying unsuccessfully to straddle two worlds: the one she’s been programmed for from birth—marriage first, life later—and the illusive swinging singles scene of liberated New York City. Meet Sheila Levine, she’s smart and funny, and her mother tells her she’s beautiful. . . . But her skirt’s always a bit wrinkled, she’s trying to lose fifteen—make that twenty-five—pounds, she just turned thirty . . . and she’s still single. She tries to date and mate, she really does, but disappointment turns to desperation, and after a flash of insight, Sheila calmly decides to kill herself. So she starts to get her affairs in order and writes a suicide note to her loving parents to explain it all . . . Praise for Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York “Sometimes heartbreaking, mostly hilarious, always full of life.” —Newsweek “A book about suicide shouldn’t be this entertaining, but this one is hilarious, due in large part to Sheila’s devil may care attitude and the frankness with which she talks about her life.” —The Bookbag

I Know A Blessing When I See One

I Know A Blessing When I See One
Author: Jr. Clifton Jones
Publisher: Limelight Pages and Media LLC
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2023-11-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Initially a leisurely read, this story gradually ignites into a riveting tale. Set in the vibrant backdrop of New Orleans in the deep South, it unravels an extraordinary journey for a young unmarried mother-to-be and her two dearest friends, as they embark on the transformative journey of welcoming a new life into the world.

The Middle Stories

The Middle Stories
Author: Sheila Heti
Publisher: McSweeney's
Total Pages: 108
Release: 2012-04-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1938073096

Wildly acclaimed in Canada, this book marks the debut of a remarkable young writer first published by McSweeney's when she was twenty-three and living at home with her dad and brother. The Middle Stories is a strikingly original collection of stories, fables, and short brutalities that are alternately heartwarming, cruel, and hilarious. This edition, marking the 10th anniversary of The Middle Stories, will be designed in the newly iconic McSweeney's paperback style, and will be published shortly before Heti's newest novel, How Should A Person Be?, emigrates from Canada via Henry Holt & Co.