Bernard Cooper's new memoir is searing, soulful, and filled with uncommon psychological nuance and laugh-out-loud humor. Like Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life, Cooper's account of growing up and coming to terms with a bewildering father is a triumph of contemporary autobiography.Edward Cooper is a hard man to know.Dour and exuberant by turns, his moods dictate the always uncertain climate of the Cooper household. Balding, octogenarian, and partial to a polyester jumpsuit, Ed...

Study in Perfect is an exploration of perfection. In “Moving Horizontal” a Victorian house loses its charm over time, especially when compared to a modernist contemporary filled with light. Family life is dense with pleasure, as in the perfect vacation described in “Marking Time in Door County,” and in “Neriage, or What Is the Secret of a Long Marriage,” where an ancient Japanese ceramic technique has much in common with shaping a close relationship. There is such a thing as a per...

A wry and beautifully observed memoir about coming of age in the era of conceptual art.Growing up in the suburbs—confused about his sexuality, about his consumer-oriented world, about the death of his older brother—Bernard Cooper falls in love with Pop art and sets off for the California Institute of the Arts, the center of the burgeoning field of conceptual art, in this beguiling memoir. The most famous, and infamous, artists of the time drift through the place, i...

“How could ‘old age’ be a medical diagnosis when I wasn’t even forty?”—Lolly Winston“… if aging is difficult for those of us who were only sometimes cute,” she says, “just imagine how hard it must be for the aging knockouts, the living dolls.”—Rebecca McClanahan“I love sex. I love middle-age sex. I love married sex. I'm almost fifty and I've never felt sexier. But damn, it took a long time to get here.”—Ellen Sussman“And who is that woman who lo...

"The best memoir I have ever read. It's sad, terrifying, and scorchingly honest . . . This book is a punch to the heart. Read it." —Stephen KingA Los Angeles Times Favorite Nonfiction Book of the YearA Washington Post Book World Best Book of the YearWhen Abigail Thomas's husband, Rich, was hit by a car, his brain shattered. Sub...

Dave Gurney, retired NYPD homicide investigator, is back in Shut Your Eyes Tight, the sequel to the international bestseller Think of a NumberDave Gurney, a few months past the Mellery case that pulled him out of retirement and then nearly killed him, is trying once again to adjust to his country house’s bucolic rhythms when he receives a call about a case so seductively bewildering that the thought of not looking into it seems unimaginab...

An inspiring account of one woman's quest for fulfillment, for readers of Eat, Pray, Love."Superb." —Martha StewartMargaret Roach worked at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for over twenty years and made a name for herself through her gardening work with her hugely popular gardening blog, "A Way to Garden." But despite the financial and professional rewards of her job, Margaret felt unfulfilled. So she moved to her weekend house ups...

Thirteen “dazzling” (Associated Press) and “wonderfully wicked” (USA TODAY) stories from #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King.A book salesman with a grievance picks up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. An exercise routine on a stationary bicycle takes its rider on a captivating—and then terrifying—journey. A blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand....

In this collection of short works that defy easy categorization, Margaret Atwood displays, in condensed and crystallized form, the trademark wit and viruosity of her best-selling novels, brilliant stories, and insightful poetry.Among the jewels gathered here are Gertrude offering Hamlet a piece of her mind, the real truth about the Little Red Hen, a reincarnated bat explaining how Bram Stoker got Dracula all wrong, and the five methods of making a man (suc...

A dangerous secret, a broken heart Effie Miller has been a loyal assistant to Ted Stollit for many years. But when she receives a diagnosis of terminal cancer, she decides she will no longer keep the secret that has made her boss rich. Their confrontation on Christmas eve will prove deadly for one of them.   ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Katia Lief is best known for her internationally acclaimed crime novels, some written pseudon...

From scary to heartwarming and hilarious, an assortment of behind-the-scenes, true stories about life as an undertaker.From shoot-outs at funerals to dead men screaming and runaway corpses, undertakers have plenty of unusual stories to tell—and a special way of telling them.In this macabre and moving compilation, funeral directors across the country share their most embarrassing, jaw-dropping, irreverent, and deeply poignant stories about life at death’s do...

From memoir to journalism, personal essays to cultural criticism, this indispensable anthology brings together works from all genres of creative nonfiction, with pieces by fifty contemporary writers including Cheryl Strayed, David Sedaris, Barbara Kingsolver, and more.Selected by five hundred writers, English professors, and creative writing teachers from across the country, this collection includes only the most highly regarded nonfiction work published since 1970...