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Inkling
by Sydney Smith Kenneth OppelFrom the acclaimed author of The Nest, The Boundless, and Airborn comes a brilliantly funny, breakout book about a boy who discovers an ink blot that's come to life! Perfect for those who love Hoot and Frindle and sure to be a hit with kids everywhere!The Rylance family is stuck. Dad's got writer's block. Ethan promised to illustrate a group project at school--even though he can't draw. Sarah's still pining for a puppy. And they all miss Mom. So much more than they can say.Enter Inkling. Inkling begins life in Mr. Rylance's sketchbook. But one night the ink of his drawings runs together--and then leaps off the page! This small burst of creativity is about to change everything.Ethan finds him first. Inkling has absorbed a couple chapters of his math book--not good--and the story he's supposed to be illustrating for school--also not good. But Inkling's also started drawing the pictures to go with the story--which is amazing! It's just the help Ethan was looking for! Inkling helps the rest of the family too--for Sarah he's a puppy. And for Dad he's a spark of ideas for a new graphic novel. It's exactly what they all want. It's not until Inkling goes missing that this family has to face the larger questions of what they--and Inkling--truly need.Kenneth Oppel has given us a small masterpiece of middle-grade fiction. Inkling is funny and fizzy and exciting, and brimming with the kind of interesting ideas and dilemmas that kids will love to wrestle with. And Sydney Smith is creating wonderfully inky illustrations to bring the story to vivid life. Get ready. A little ink blot is about to become your new favorite character!
Inner Tube: A Novel
by Hob BrounAfter a family tragedy, a man chases consolation—or is it oblivion?—by traveling through some seedy locales of place and spiritEarly on in Hob Broun&’s second novel, the mother of the unnamed narrator, a failed actress, commits suicide by putting her head through a television. That fact, together with our hero&’s desire for his ex-girlfriend&’s older sister, prompts a radical departure as he quits his job cataloging old television shows and sets off on a westward journey. Pursuing solace in unlikely places, he embarks on a string of just-as-unlikely romances, including ones with a motel maid and an archaeology professor. But can anything distract him from the painful emptiness within? In the desert, finally free of society, a self-reckoning awaits.Bracing in its vision, Inner Tube is a fearless and often bitingly funny novel about what happens when our civilized veneers are shed.
Innocence: A Novel
by Penelope Fitzgerald&“A delectable comedy of manners&” set in 1950s Florence, by the Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Bookshop (The Boston Globe). It&’s 1955, and Italy is still struggling a decade after the end of World War II. So are the Ridolfis, a Florentine family of long and fading noble lineage. Like their decrepit villa, they&’ve seen better days. Only eighteen-year-old Chiara shows anything like vitality—however impulsive and perilously naïve. Chiara has set her heart and her future on Salvatore Rossi, a brilliant, penniless young doctor and bull-headed son of a Communist, who has erased both politics and romance from his list of priorities. With her plans stymied, Chiara calls on her resourceful and meddlesome British girlfriend, Barney, to help make an impossible match. Now, out of good intentions and the most innocent of instincts, two guileless friends are going to make a series of astonishingly wrong moves in the name of love. From a winner of multiple major literary awards who was called &“the best English novelist of her time&” by Julian Barnes, Innocence is a novel &“not just about Italians in love but of living and loving for all humans&” (The Times). &“As intoxicating as a shot of aged brandy.&” —The Washington Post
An Innocent, a Broad
by Ann LearyWhen Ann Leary and her husband, then unknown actor-comedian Denis Leary, flew to London in the early nineties for a brief getaway during Ann's second trimester of pregnancy, neither anticipated the adventure that was in store for them. The morning after their arrival, Ann's water broke as they strolled through London's streets. A week later their son, Jack, was born weighing only two pounds, six ounces, and it would be five long months before mother and son could return to the States.In the meantime, Ann became an unwitting yet grateful hostage to Britain's National Health Service -- a stranger in a strange land plunged abruptly into a world of breast pumps and midwives, blood oxygen levels, mad cow disease, and poll tax riots. Desperately worried about the health of her baby, Ann struggled to adapt to motherhood and make sense of a very different culture. At once an intimate family memoir, a lively travelogue, and a touching love story, An Innocent, a Broad is utterly engaging and unforgettable.
An Innocent Fashion: A Novel
by R.J. Hernández“Writing in a fervently literary style that flirts openly with the traditions of Salinger, Plath, and Fitzgerald, Hernández is a diamond-sharp satirist and a bracingly fresh chronicler of the heartbreak of trying to grow up. Honest and absurd, funny and tragic, wild and lovely, this novel describes modern coming-of-age with poetic precision.”*The Devil Wears Prada meets The Bell Jar in this story of a wide-eyed Ivy League grad who discovers that his dream of “making it” at leading New York City fashion magazine Régine may well be his undoing.Elián San Jamar knew from childhood that he was destined for a better life than the one his working-class multiracial parents share in Texas—a life inspired by Régine’s pages. A full ride to Yale opens the door to a more glamorous world, and he quickly befriends Madeline and Dorian, both scions of incredible wealth and privilege. With their help, he reinvents himself, and after four decadent years he graduates as Ethan St. James. But reality hits hard when Ethan arrives at Régine and is relegated to the lowest rung of the ladder.Mordantly funny and emotionally ruthless, An Innocent Fashion is the saga of a true millennial—naïve, idealistic, struggling with his identity and sexuality—trying to survive in an industry, and in a city, notorious for attracting new graduates only to chew them up and spit them out. Oscillating between melodrama and whip-smart sarcasm, pretentiousness and heartbreaking vulnerability, increasingly disillusioned with Régine and Madeline and Dorian, Ethan begins to unravel.As the narratives of his conflicted childhood, cloistered collegiate experience, and existential crisis braid together, this deeply moving coming-of-age novel for the twenty-first century spirals toward a devastating realization: You can follow your dreams, but what happens if your dreams are just not enough?*Kirkus Reviews (starred)
The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear: A novel
by Stuart StevensA dark comedy set at a contested Republican convention, written by a veteran political insider--the funniest and most prescient novel about politics in years. "[Stevens] brings a full arsenal of gifts to this enterprise: humor, tactile prose and an insider's knowledge of the hardball tactics employed on the campaign trail.... By far the most interesting parts of this novel are the behind-the-scenes accounts of the tactical and strategic maneuvering of political operatives ...Stevens is a terrific raconteur -- funny, observant and highly entertaining." -Michiko Kakutani The New York Times New Orleans in July: it's hot and sticky and squalid. J. D. Callahan is in the middle of the political race of his life and displeased to be back in his hometown. His candidate, the sitting vice president, is neck and neck with an anti-immigrant, right-wing populist as the Republicans head into their first brokered convention in decades on the heels of a staggering global economic crisis. Soon after a series of dye bombs set off a mass panic and tilt the convention toward the vice president's law-and-order opponent, J. D.'s estranged brother shows up and asks for an inconvenient favor at a most inconvenient time, threatening to reveal a family secret that would ruin the legacy of their civil rights journalist father and destroy J. D.'s own reputation if he doesn't follow through. As J. D. scrambles to contain the damage on all sides, he finds himself contending with a sexy, gun-toting gossip columnist, an FBI agent convinced that J. D. is devious enough to set the bombs himself, and an old corrupt political friend of his late father with a not-so-hidden agenda. For the first time ever, J. D. is forced to reconcile the political career he's always put first with the past he's tried to leave behind as they careen toward each other on a disastrous collision course he may not be able to stop.Hilarious and remarkably sharp, Stuart Stevens's The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear is an endlessly entertaining whodunit and a brilliant satire of our political culture.From the Hardcover edition.
Innocent in the Ivory Tower
by Lucy EllisNanny Maisy Edmonds is furious when a stranger tries to take her orphaned little charge-stealing a shockingly explicit kiss from her in the process! Can infamous tycoon Alexei Ranaevsky really be the child's godfather? Installed in Alexei's remote Italian villa, Maisy is intent on protecting little Kostya-and doing nothing else....Alexei's childhood-turned-nightmare means he allows himself no emotional attachments. But Maisy's beguiling sweetness has the uncompromising Russian determined to seduce her down from her inexperienced pedestal....
An Innocent to Tame the Italian (The Scandalous Brunetti Brothers #1)
by Tara PammiTo discover the truth… He’ll keep his beautiful adversary close For brooding tech billionaire Massimo Brunetti, a cyberattack on his company is unacceptable. After tracking down the savvy Manhattan hacker, he’s stunned to find gorgeous genius Natalie Crosetto. Yet naive Nat isn’t the saboteur. To uncover who she’s protecting, Massimo returns to Italy—with Nat playing his fake fiancée! But this untamable Italian might have met his match in innocent Nat, who challenges him…and tempts him beyond reason! Sparks will fly between the billionaire and his fake fiancée!
The Innocents Abroad: Or, The New Pilgrim's Progress...
by Mark TwainThe book that made Mark Twain famous and introduced theworld to that obnoxious and ubiquitous character: the American tourist Based on a series of letters first published in American newspapers, The Innocents Abroad is Mark Twain&’s hilarious and insightful account of an organized tour of Europe and the Holy Land undertaken in 1867. With his trademark blend of skepticism and sincerity, Twain casts New World eyes on the people and places of the Old World, including London, Paris, Rome, Odessa, Constantinople, Damascus, and Jerusalem. He skewers the idiosyncrasies and pretensions of Americans abroad and delights in tormenting the local tour guides. In Lake Como, he insists that Lake Tahoe is nicer. In Genoa, he and his fellow travelers claim they&’ve never heard of Christopher Columbus. First published in 1869, The Innocents Abroad made Mark Twain a national celebrity. For the rest of the author&’s life, it outsold all his other books, and remains one of the bestselling travelogues of all time. Part satire, part guidebook, it&’s a must-read for fans of this inimitable author and anyone who has experienced the pleasure and the pain of being a tourist. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Insane City
by Dave BarrySeth Weinstein always knew Tina was way, way, way out of his league. Which is why he's still astonished that he's on a plane heading for their wedding in Florida. The Groom Posse has already pulled an airport prank on him--and he's survived! It should be easy going from now on.But Seth has absolutely no idea what he's about to get into. A simple drink or two with the boys sparks a series of events that will pit Seth and his friends against everything and everyone imaginable, from his very powerful, very disapproving soon-to-be father-in-law to the federal government to a love-struck orangutan.Seth's hope for smooth sailing is turning into a trip on the Titanic. And the water is getting deeper by the minute...From the Trade Paperback edition.
Insane City
by Dave BarryThis book is a dark comic masterpiece--the first solo adult novel in more than a decade from the Pulitzer Prize winner and "New York Times"-bestselling author. By the end, amid gunfire, high-speed chases, and mayhem of the most unimaginable sort, violent men will fall, heroes will rise, and many lives will change.
Insane City
by Dave BarrySeth Weinstein always knew Tina was way, way, way out of his league. Which is why he's still astonished that he's on a plane heading for their wedding in Florida. The Groom Posse has already pulled an airport prank on him--and he's survived! It should be easy going from now on. But Seth has absolutely no idea what he's about to get into. A simple drink or two with the boys sparks a series of events that will pit Seth and his friends against everything and everyone imaginable, from his very powerful, very disapproving soon-to-be father-in-law to the federal government to a love-struck orangutan. Seth's hope for smooth sailing is turning into a trip on the Titanic. And the water is getting deeper by the minute...
The Insanity Defense: The Complete Prose
by Woody AllenComprising the classic bestsellers Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects, this definitive collection of comic writings is from a man who needs no Introduction. Really-this book has no Introduction. The Insanity Defense reveals many sides of Woody Allen as he holds forth on the most human of urges ("Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only for food: frequently there must be a beverage"); reflects on death ("I don't believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear"); and notes the effect on history wrought by trick chewing gum, the dribble glass, and other novelties. There is also an inspiring story of the futile race to beat Dr. Heimlich to the punch: "The food went down the wrong pipe, and choking occurred. Grasping the mouse firmly by the tail, I snapped it like a small whip, and the morsel of cheese came loose. If we can transfer the procedure to humans, we may have something. Too early to tell. " All Woody Allen fans will cherish this uproarious treasury-and those who don't enjoy The Insanity Defense are just plain crazy. "If you don't care if you break into helpless whoops of laughter on buses, trains, or wherever you happen to be reading it. " -Chicago Tribune, on Without Feathers "Brilliant flights of fancy whose comic detail and inspired silliness are at once dramatic and controlled. " -The New York Times, on Side Effects
Insatiable (Insatiable Ser. #1)
by Meg CabotWhen you&’re starting a relationship, blood drinking is a big red flag . . . A delicious tale by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Enchanted to Meet You! Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper. The soap opera writer is not happy when her show jumps onto the bloodsucker bandwagon and adds a vampire character. It&’s not that she&’s unfamiliar with the supernatural—she herself has the ability to foresee other people&’s deaths. But her precognition couldn&’t prepare her for sexy, brooding Romanian history professor Lucien Antonescu . . . After murder victims drained of blood start turning up in New York City, Meena is accosted by the exceedingly attractive Alaric, a vampire hunter who has some bad news for her about her boyfriend. Turns out Lucien has a bit of a drinking problem, and it doesn&’t involve alcohol. And Alaric, who&’s investigating the killing spree, wants her help tracking him down. What to do? Who to believe? If only she could get a glimpse of her own destiny . . . &“[An] appealing love triangle.&” —Booklist &“Cabot winningly applies her trademark likably fallible protagonists and breezy storytelling to a vampire war in New York City.&” —Publishers Weekly &“I&’d read a cereal box if it was written by Meg Cabot.&” —Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Bridgerton
The Insatiables
by Brittany Terwilliger“A young woman hustles to climb the corporate ladder in this darkly comedic, deeply insightful workplace drama . . . A humorous and thought-provoking tale about searching for the ever elusive brass ring.” —Kirkus ReviewsSince she was a child, Halley has been desperate to escape her simple Midwestern town and reinvent herself. In Middleville, Ohio, the only way to do that is by landing a top-tier position at Findlay Global Manufacturing, Inc. Spending her days as a lowly assistant in a shared cubicle, Halley is ecstatic when a new job opening presents an extraordinary opportunity: a chance to relocate to Europe to launch a new product. For Halley Faust, this job is the epitome of the American dream, and she will do anything to get it. She soon begins to understand that ruthless guile is the only path to success, and the harder she chases after her dangerously decadent American dream, the more her dreams seem to elude her. Ultimately, Halley must decide how much she is willing to sacrifice in pursuit of a life that may very well be a fantasy. The Insatiables details a young woman’s climb up the corporate ladder and the irrevocable choices she must make to survive.
Inside Comedy: The Soul, Wit, and Bite of Comedy and Comedians of the Last Five Decades
by David SteinbergThe world of comedy and comedians of the last five decades. By the man the New York Times calls "a comic institution himself," the only comedian (twenty-six years in stand-up) to have made Elie Wiesel laugh, as well as having appeared on The Tonight Show (140 times, second only to Bob Hope, but who's counting). From the director of TV comedy series Mad About You, Seinfeld, Friends, Weeds and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry David: &“I&’m lucky. I know and love David Steinberg. You don&’t. Now's your chance. Don&’t blow it!" &“David has always been a comedy hero to me. One of his many gifts is the ability to inspire funny people to be even funnier, as you will discover in this truly hilarious, insightful book.&” --Martin Short From David Steinberg, a rabbi's son from Winnipeg, Canada, who at age fifteen enrolled at Hebrew Theological College in Chicago (the rabbinate wasn't for him) and four years later, entered the master's program in English literature at the University of Chicago, until he saw Lenny Bruce, the "Blue Boy" of Comedy, the coolest guy Steinberg had ever seen, and joined Chicago's Second City improvisational group, becoming, instead, the comedian's comedian, director, actor, working with, inspired by, teaching, and learning from the most celebrated, admired, complicated comedians, then and now--a funny, moving, provocative, insightful look into the soul, wit, and bite of comedy and comedians--a universe unto itself--of the last half-century.From the greats: George Burns, Lenny Bruce, Sid Caesar, Lucille Ball, Mel Brooks, and Carl Reiner, et al., to the newer greats: Carol Burnett, Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Billy Crystal, Bob Newhart, and the man for all comedy, Martin (Marty) Short; to the greats of right now: Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wanda Sykes; and more . . .Steinberg, through stories, reminiscences, tales of directing, touring, performing, and, through the comedians themselves talking (from more than 75 interviews), makes clear why he loves comedy and comedians who have been by his side in his work, and in his life, for more than sixty years. Here are: Will Ferrell, Eric Idle, Whoopi Goldberg, Mike Myers, Groucho himself and the greatest of them all (at least of the last half century), Jonathan Winters . . .
Inside No. 9: The Scripts Series 1-3
by Steve Pemberton Reece Shearsmith'The joy of these scripts is in being able to appreciate the craft and ambition involved in the sharpness of the dialogue, the cunning of the plotting, and the desire never to repeat themselves, as Pemberton and Shearsmith build each episode into a miniaturist treasure. A must for anyone who wants to write for television, or who just wants to see how the magic is done.'- NEIL GAIMANTake a further peek behind the door marked 'number 9' as the scripts from series 1-3 are collected here for the first time. An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, read how each 30-minute self-contained story with new characters and new settings, sprang to life from the page.Each series is prefaced by a foreword from the show creators, giving readers and fans behind-the-scenes insight to this creative phenomenon. It is a beautifully written series, some stories comic, some tragic, all highly original and inventive. As well as Steve and Reece, it has featured guest appearances from a plethora well-known actors including Jack Whitehall, Peter Kay, Sheridan Smith, Gemma Arterton, Keeley Hawes, Alison Steadman, Conleth Hill, and David Morrissey. Relive the show's every enjoyable moment down to the stage directions with Inside No. 9: The Scripts: Series 1-3.
Inside No. 9: The Scripts Series 1-3
by Steve Pemberton Reece Shearsmith'The joy of these scripts is in being able to appreciate the craft and ambition involved in the sharpness of the dialogue, the cunning of the plotting, and the desire never to repeat themselves, as Pemberton and Shearsmith build each episode into a miniaturist treasure. A must for anyone who wants to write for television, or who just wants to see how the magic is done.'- NEIL GAIMANTake a further peek behind the door marked 'number 9' as the scripts from series 1-3 are collected here for the first time. An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, read how each 30-minute self-contained story with new characters and new settings, sprang to life from the page.Each series is prefaced by a foreword from the show creators, giving readers and fans behind-the-scenes insight to this creative phenomenon. It is a beautifully written series, some stories comic, some tragic, all highly original and inventive. As well as Steve and Reece, it has featured guest appearances from a plethora well-known actors including Jack Whitehall, Peter Kay, Sheridan Smith, Gemma Arterton, Keeley Hawes, Alison Steadman, Conleth Hill, and David Morrissey. Relive the show's every enjoyable moment down to the stage directions with Inside No. 9: The Scripts: Series 1-3.
Inside No. 9: The Scripts Series 4-6
by Steve Pemberton Reece Shearsmith'The finest writing in the land. Limitless, joyous and terrifying' - RUSSELL T. DAVIESSteve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's darkly comedic creations are an endlessly dazzling masterclass in storytelling. Inside No. 9: The Scripts features every episode from Series 4-6 of the award-winning BBC2 anthology, including the live Halloween special and an original foreword for each series from the show's creators.'One of the best pieces of British television in years' - INDEPENDENT
Inside No. 9: The Scripts Series 4-6
by Steve Pemberton Reece Shearsmith'The finest writing in the land. Limitless, joyous and terrifying' - RUSSELL T. DAVIESSteve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's darkly comedic creations are an endlessly dazzling masterclass in storytelling. Inside No. 9: The Scripts features every episode from Series 4-6 of the award-winning BBC2 anthology, including the live Halloween special and an original foreword for each series from the show's creators.'One of the best pieces of British television in years' - INDEPENDENT
Inside Out (Little Golden Book)
by RH DisneyDisney/Pixar's Inside Out takes you to a place that everyone knows but no one has ever seen: inside the human mind. Boys and girls ages 2 to 5 will love this full-color Little Golden Book retelling the hit Disney/Pixar film, Inside Out.
Inside Out - Driven By Emotions: Five Stories Told from the Mind
by Elise AllenThis unique chapter book reveals unseen stories from Inside Out. Each chapter offers a different retelling of the film from one of Riley's Emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust.
Inside, Outside: A Novel
by Herman WoukA &“truly enjoyable&” journey through one man&’s Jewish American experience by the #1 New York Times-bestselling authorof Marjorie Morningstar (Newsday). Israel David Goodkind is a minor bureaucrat in the Nixon White House, killing time in the office by writing the story of four generations of his large, sprawling Russian-Jewish immigrant family. As he recounts his brief stint in show business, his torrid affair with a showgirl, and his encounters with a hassled and distracted President Nixon, Goodkind also witnesses historical events firsthand—the Watergate scandal, the Yom Kippur War—and eventually finds his way back to his Jewish faith. Combining Pulitzer Prize winner Herman Wouk&’s wildly comic streak with his deep respect for religious tradition, Inside, Outside is both one man&’s story and &“a social comedy of Jewish-American life reaching from New York to Jerusalem and spanning much of the 20th century&” (Publishers Weekly). &“Extremely funny.&”—The Wall Street Journal &“Wouk reaffirms his position as one of the nation&’s eminent storytellers.&”—Newsday &“Wouk`s most significant work since The Caine Mutiny.&”—Chicago Tribune &“Generously stuffed with zestfully old-fashioned humor and sentiment.&”—Kirkus Reviews
Inside Story: How To Write
by Martin AmisMartin Amis's dazzling autobiographical novel of a unique literary life seen through the lens of friendships, family, sex and love, is wise, warm, heartbreaking and funny: the heart-to-heart testimony of an incomparable writer.This is the portrait of an extraordinary life lived by a great writer. Martin Amis leads us through boisterous romantic entanglements and literary friendships, the encompassing ties of family to generously revealing details about how to write (from the master of prose style), and finally to the intimate sorrow of a death closely felt.Inside Story had its birth in a death--that of the author's closest friend, the beloved thinker and writer Christopher Hitchens. From their early days as young magazine staffers in London, reviewing romantic conquests and the latest literary gossip (not to mention ideas, books and where to lunch), Hitchens was Martin's wingman and adviser, especially in the matter of the alluringly amoral, unforgettable Phoebe Phelps--an obsession Martin must somehow put behind him if he is ever to find love, marriage, a plausible run at happiness. We meet the literary giants who influenced him--his father Kingsley Amis, his hero Saul Bellow, the weirdly self-finessing poet Philip Larkin, and significant literary women, from Iris Murdoch to Elizabeth Jane Howard.Moving among these greats to set his own path, Martin's quest is a tender, witty exploration of the hardest questions: how to live, how to be a husband and father, how to grieve, and how to die? In his search for answers, he surveys the horrors of the twentieth century, and the still-unfolding impact of 9/11 on the twenty-first, and considers what all this has taught him about how to be a writer.The result is a love letter to life and to the people in his life, which is simultaneously a wonder of literary invention--wise, meditative, heartbreaking, funny, and as engaging as a novel--that achieves a new level of confidentiality with readers.
Inside Story: A novel (Vintage International Ser.)
by Martin AmisAn autobiographical novel that&’s a tender, witty exploration of the hardest questions: how to live, how to grieve, and how to die—from &“the Mick Jagger of literature ... Amis is the most dazzling prose stylist in post-war British fiction&” (The Daily Telegraph). &“[A] charismatic compound of fact and fiction ... Martin Amis has retained the power to surprise.&” —Parul Sehgal, The New York Times This novel had its birth in the death of Martin Amis's closest friend, the incomparable Christopher Hitchens, and it is within that profound and sprawling friendship that Inside Story unfurls. From their early days as young magazine staffers in London, reviewing romantic entanglements and the latest literary gossip (not to mention ideas, books, and where to lunch), Hitch was Amis's wingman and adviser, especially in the matter of the alluringly amoral Phoebe Phelps—an obsession Amis must somehow put behind him if he is ever to find love, marriage, a plausible run at happiness. Other figures competing as Amis's main influencers are his literary fathers—Kingsley, of course; his hero Saul Bellow; the weirdly self-finessing poet Philip Larkin—and his significant literary mothers, including Iris Murdoch and Elizabeth Jane Howard. Moving among these greats to set his own path, he winds up surveying the horrors of the twentieth century, and the still-unfolding impact of the 9/11 attacks on the twenty-first—and considers what all of this has taught him about how to live and how to be a writer. The result is a love letter to life—and to the people in his life—that achieves a new level of confidentiality with his readers, giving us the previously unseen portrait of his extraordinary world.