Viva la Repartee

Viva la Repartee
Author: Dr. Mardy Grothe
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2009-03-17
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 0061758442

For most of us, that perfect retort or witty reply often escapes us when we need it most, only to come to mind with perfect clarity when it's too late to be useful. The twentieth-century writer Heywood Broun described this all-too-common phenomenon when he wrote "Repartee is what we wish we'd said." In Viva la Repartee, Dr. Mardy Grothe, author of Oxymoronica, has lovingly assembled a collection of masterfully composed -- and perfectly timed -- replies that have turned the tables on opponents and adversaries. This delightful volume is a celebration of the most impressive retorts, ripostes, rejoinders, comebacks, quips, ad-libs, bon mots, off-the-cuff comments, wisecracks, and other clever remarks ever to come out of the mouths -- and from the pens -- of people throughout history. Touching on all areas of human endeavor, including politics, the arts, literature, sports, relationships, and even the risqué, the book features contributions from Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker, Mae West, Groucho Marx, Winston Churchill, Dolly Parton, and scores more. As entertaining as it is intellectually enriching, Viva la Repartee is sure to capture the attention of language lovers and is the perfect antidote for anyone who's ever thought I wish I'd said that!

Below Stairs

Below Stairs
Author: Margaret Powell
Publisher: Pan
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2011-03-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1743038801

A compelling and colourful memoir that takes the reader inside the forgotten world of domestic service. Arriving at the great houses of 1920s London, fifteen-year-old Margaret's life in service was about to begin... As a kitchen maid - the lowest of the low - she entered an entirely new world; one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and even bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5.30am and went on until after dark. Yet from the gentleman with a penchant for stroking the housemaids' curlers, to the heartbreaking story of Agnes the pregnant under-parlourmaid, fired for being seduced by her mistress' nephew, Margaret's tales of her time in service are told with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye for the prejudices of her situation.

Floating Staircase

Floating Staircase
Author: Ronald Malfi
Publisher: Medallion Media Group
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2011-10-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1605424609

Following the success of his latest novel, Travis Glasgow and his wife Jodie buy their first house in the seemingly idyllic western Maryland town of Westlake. At first, everything is picture perfect—from the beautiful lake behind the house to the rebirth of the friendship between Travis and his brother, Adam, who lives nearby. Travis also begins to overcome the darkness of his childhood and the guilt he’s harbored since his younger brother’s death—a tragic drowning veiled in mystery that has plagued Travis since he was 13. Soon, though, the new house begins to lose its allure. Strange noises wake Travis at night, and his dreams are plagued by ghosts. Barely glimpsed shapes flit through the darkened hallways, but strangest of all is the bizarre set of wooden stairs that rises cryptically out of the lake behind the house. Travis becomes drawn to the structure, but the more he investigates, the more he uncovers the house’s violent and tragic past, and the more he learns that some secrets cannot be buried forever.

The Circular Staircase

The Circular Staircase
Author: Mary Roberts Rinehart
Publisher: Standard Ebooks
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2024-02-27T05:04:44Z
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Wealthy spinster Rachel Innes and her niece and nephew, Gertrude and Halsey, rent a country house called Sunnyside for the summer. Upon arrival, the butler reveals to them that he believes there’s a ghost in the house. During the first night, Rachel is roused from sleep by strange sounds. The next night she’s awakened by a revolver shot, and discovers a dead body at the foot of the house’s circular staircase. The investigation into the murder reveals the house and its owners, the Armstrong family, hold many secrets. The Circular Staircase was published in 1908 and is credited with pioneering the “Had I but known” school of mystery writing, a form of foreshadowing that hints at impending disaster through the narrator’s regrets of their actions. The novel was adapted as a silent film in 1915, and most notably as a hit Broadway play, “The Bat” in 1920. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

A Gate at the Stairs

A Gate at the Stairs
Author: Lorrie Moore
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2009-09-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307273210

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From “one of the most acute and lasting writers of her generation” (The New York Times) comes a piercing novel of race, class, love, and war in America. Twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin, the daughter of a gentleman farmer, has come to a university town as a student. When she takes a job as a part-time nanny for a mysterious and glamorous family, she finds herself drawn deeper into their world and forever changed. “An indelible portrait of a young woman coming of age in the Midwest in the year after 9/11…. Moore has written her most powerful book yet.” —The New York Times

Thomas Demand

Thomas Demand
Author: Thomas Demand
Publisher:
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2006
Genre: Architectural photography
ISBN: 9781905190089

The Beautiful Cigar Girl

The Beautiful Cigar Girl
Author: Daniel Stashower
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2007-12-04
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1440620482

On July 28, 1841, the body of Mary Rogers, a twenty-year-old cigar girl, was found floating in the Hudson-and New York's unregulated police force proved incapable of solving the crime. One year later, a struggling writer named Edgar Allan Poe decided to take on the case-and sent his fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, to solve the baffling murder of Mary Rogers in "The Mystery of Marie Rog t."

From Staircase to Stage

From Staircase to Stage
Author: Raekwon
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2021-11-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1398504505

Legendary wordsmith Raekwon the Chef opens up about his journey from the staircases of Park Hill in Staten Island to sold-out stadiums around the world with the Wu-Tang Clan in this revealing memoir - perfect for fans of The Autobiography of Gucci Mane and Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter. There are rappers that everyone loves and there are rappers that every rapper loves, and Corey Woods, a.k.a. Raekwon the Chef, is one of the few who is both. His versatile flow, natural storytelling and evocative imagery has inspired legions of fans and a new generation of rappers. As one of the founding members of Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon’s voice and cadence is synonymous with the inimitable sound that has made the group iconic since 1991. Now, for the first time, Raekwon tells his full story, from struggling through poverty to make ends meet to turning a hobby into a legacy. The Wu-Tang story is dense, complex and full of drama, and here nothing is off limits: the group’s underground origins, secrets behind songs like 'C.R.E.A.M.' and 'Protect Ya Neck', and what it took to be one of the first hip-hop groups to break into the mainstream. Raekwon also dives deep into the making of his meticulous solo albums - particularly the classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - and talks about how spirituality and fatherhood continue to inspire his unstoppable creative process. A celebration of perseverance and the power of music, From Staircase to Stage is a master storyteller’s lifelong journey to stay true to himself and his roots.

Charm

Charm
Author: Joseph Epstein
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2018-10-01
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1493035800

Joseph Epstein takes on that most enchanting (and, alas, increasingly rare) of human gifts, charm. “Almost everyone will recognize when he or she is in the presence of charm,” he writes. “Charm is magic of a kind; it casts a spell. In the presence of charm the world seems lighter and lovelier. A charming person can cause you to forget your problems, at least temporarily, to hold the world’s dreariness at bay. Charm is a reminder that the world is filled with jolly prospects and delightful possibilities. Watching Fred Astaire dance, or listening to Blossom Dearie sing, or reading the poems of C.P. Cavafy, or merely looking at Rita Hayworth or Ava Gardner, one recalls that the world can be a pretty damn fine place.”

The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs

The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs
Author: Christina Hopkinson
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2011-04-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1609418646

Hopkinson pens a hilarious and acutely-observed novel about marriage, motherhood, children, and work and readers everywhere will find Mary's trials hilariously familiar as they cheer her on in her efforts to balance home, work, children, and a clean bottom stair! What's the thing you hate most about the one you love? Mary doesn't know whether it's the way he doesn't quite reach the laundry basket when he throws his dirty clothes at it (but doesn't ever walk over and pick them up and put them in), or the balled-up tissues he leaves on the bedside table when he has a cold, or the way he never quite empties the dishwasher, leaving the "difficult" items for her to put away. Is it that because she is "only working part-time" that she is responsible for all of the domestic tasks in the house? Or, is it simply that he puts used teabags in the sink? The mother of two young boys, Mary knows how to get them to behave the way she wants. Now she's designing the spousal equivalent of a star chart and every little thing her husband does wrong will go on it. Though Mary knows you're supposed to reward the good behavior rather than punish the bad, the rules for those in middle age are different than the rules for those not even in middle school...