Open Access Publisher and Free Library
Fiction+Mediajpg.jpg

FICTION and MEDIA

IT'S ALL ABOUT DEI, NOTHING LEFT OUT, SOMETHING NEW EVERY TIME

The Magic Pudding: Being the Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle a Sam Sawnoff

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By Norman Lindsay

FROM THE COVER. “This is a very funny book, about a very peculiar pudding. In spite of the word 'magic' in the title,there are no fairies or spells. Only a pudding. Sometimes it was a rich odoriferous steak-and-kidney pudding, sometimes it was boiled jam roll or apple dumpling. All you had to do was whistle twice, turn the pudding round, and you could have whatever you wanted! Indeed, the pudding was such a prize that there were 'professional puddin'-owners' and,alas, 'professional puddin'-thieves'. One of the owners was Sam Sawnoff, whose feet were sitting down while his body was standing (he was a penguin), although Bill was just an ordinary small man with a large hat. The pudding had his own views, and was apt to sing in a very gruff voice… For ages eight to eighty, allowing for brief blind periods now and again in between.”

Middlesex. Penguin. 1918.

As You Law It - Negotiating Shakespeare

Edited by Daniela Carpi and Klaus Stierstorfer  

Shakespeare was fascinated by law, which permeated Elizabethan everyday life. The general impression one derives from the analysis of many plays by Shakespeare is that of a legal situation in transformation and of a dynamically changing relation between law and society, law and the jurisdiction of Renaissance times. Shakespeare provides the kind of literary supplement that can better illustrate the legal texts of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. There was a strong popular participation in the system of justice, and late sixteenth-century playwrights often made use of forensic models of narrative. Uncertainty about legal issues represented a rich potential for causing strong reactions in the public, especially feelings concerning the resistance to tyranny. The volume aims at highlighting some of the many legal perspectives and debates emplotted in Shakespearean plays, also taking into consideration the many texts that have been produced during the latest years on law and literature in the Renaissance

Berlin/Boston: Walter De Gruyter, 2018. 282p.

Round the Camp Fire

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By E. E. Reynolds

FROM THE PREFACE: “The yarns in this book are all narratives of actual experiences. It is not usually difficult to get the books written by famous explorers, such as Livingstone, and their achievements are also recorded in biographies; but there have been a great many men who have travelled in the lesser known parts of the world without becoming famous. Many of the stories that follow are drawn from the adventures ofsuch minor explorers. One group. of the yarns is about early settlers in the Dominions; these men and women had to endure much hardship while creating new homes, but unfortunately few of themrecorded their experiences.

Oxford University Press. 1953. 160p.

Wolf Hall: A Novel

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By Hilary Mantel

FROM CHAPTER 1:

“So now get up."

Felled, dazed, silent, he has fallen; knocked full length on the cobbles of the yard. His head turns sideways; his eyes are turned toward the gate, as if someone might arrive to help him out. One blow, properly placed, could i kill him now. Blood from the gash on his head--which was his father's first effort is trickling across his face. Add to this, his left eye is blinded; but if he squints sideways, with his right eye he can see that the stitching of his father's boot is unraveling. The twine has sprung clear of the leather, and a hard knot in it has caught his eyebrow and opened another cut.”

NY. Henry Holt and Company. 2009. 548p.

Spitfire Parade

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By Captain W. E. Johns

FROPM THE COVER: “While the Battle of Britain is still at its height Squadron Leader Bigglesworth, D.S.O., D.F.C., is appointed to Number 666 Fighter Squadron. He soon finds that his new Com- mand is likely to be something of a handful, for the Squadron has been formed for the special purpose of accommodating a collection of bril- liant but unstable types whose capacities as fighter pilots are in inverse ratio to their amenity to discipline and the normal routine of a station.”

Oxford University Press. 1951. 252p.

Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me: African American Narrative Poetry from Oral Tradition

By Bruce Jackson

"Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me" is considered one of the great, classic collections of African-American literature and folklore. Originally published  in 1974, it quickly gained the reputation as a classic collection of black folk poetry. This book will delight students of African-American culture and folklore, and anyone who enjoys the double entendres and hidden meanings found in the oral tradition, from its African roots to contemporary rap.

London; New York: Routledge, 2017. 246p. First published 1974 by Harvard University Press.

The Spy that Wasn't

By Colin Heston

In this collection of short stories, follow the exploits of supreme psychiatrist and criminologist  Franco Ferrapotti as he weaves a web of intrigue in the labyrinths of the United Nations and the surreal world of Italian politics, big money, and of course, the Vatican. Other stories of high achievement explore the ancient origin of the animal species and gendered humans, the exciting zoo of enlightenment installed on the island that once housed Alcatraz, making it into the dream University of the Chosen, or if you prefer, getting elected the new Secretary General of the United Nations. But that’s not all. Get a brief glimpse of the future where precision doctors edit who you are or who you want to be. These stories originally appeared as part of the poipular Friday Story series offered free by Read-Me.Org on its web site during 2022-2023.

NY & Philadelphia. Read-Me.Org. Paperback. 2023. 147p. All proceeds go to Read-Me.org

Fault Lines: Illustrated edition

By Colin Heston. Illustrations by Graeme Newman

29 short stories inspired by the vicissitudes of punishment in all its forms, its deliverers and recipients. Its universality across cultures and at every level of social life from the kitchen to the battlefield never ceases to amaze. The stories unveil the diverse motives and excuses for punishment that paradoxically form the foundation of that great shibboleth of humanity:  justice. The stories range through childhood spats to military encounters, , family discourse and dysfunction, to the puzzle of how criminal justice manages to match a punishment to its respective crime (it can't). Taken together, the stories ask one seemingly silly question of human history: which came first, the crime or the punishment? The stories first appeared in the popular Friday Stories series published every other Friday on Read-Me.Org beginning in 2021 and continuing through 2022.

NY and Philadelphia. Read-Me.Org. 2023. 283p. Paperback. All proceeds donated to Read-Me.Org.

The Lost Stradivarius

By John Meade Falkner

Edited with an Introduction by Edward Wilson who notes: “The detailed apparatus to this edition has been demanded not only by Time, which has altered not just the senses of words but a whole cultural hinterland beyond a modern reader's recognition, but by Falkner himself, who delighted in sowing his novel with literary and antiquarian allusions. Indeed, a character, Mr Gaskell, in The Lost Stradivarius itself, when reading an eighteenth-century diary in pursuit of highly sensational matter cannot resist telling us that "the minute details given were often of high antiquarian interest'“

London. Oxford University Press. 1954. (1895). USED BOOK. CONTAINS MARK-UP.

The Song Of Achilles

By Madeline Miller

FROM USA TODAY: “"It takes a truly gifted writer to make a song this old feel this beauti- fully new. What's startling about this sharply written, cleverly reimagined, enormously promising debut novel from Madeline Miller is how fresh and moving her take on the tale is--how she has managed to bring Achilles and his companion Patroclus to life in our time without removing them from their own."

NY. Harper Collins. 2012. 426p. USED BOOK. CONTAINS MARK-UP

The First Man of Rome

By Colleen McCullough

FROM THE COVER: “The publication thirteen years ago of Birds was a landmark event, a remarkable achievement now surpassed by a novel in which storytelling and scholarship combine to bring to life one of history's most important epochs. The First Man in Rome sweeps the reader into an irresistibly vivid world of political intrigue, danger, wars, assassinations, devas- tating upheaval, intricately passionate family alliances and rivalries - and undeniable reality. It is New Year's Day of 110 B.C., and two of the latest in a long line of noble Roman mediocrities are assuming the coveted mantle of consul. But among those watching are two very different men, men whose vision, ruthlessness, and courage will force shattering change upon the Roman Republic, strug- gling to cope with mushrooming territorial possessions and the growing resentment of the Italians it treats as third-class citizens. One of these two men is Marius, a wealthy rustic barred by his low birth from grasping his prophesied destiny, to become the First Man in Rome- he who stands above all his peers through sheer excellence. The second is (continued on back flap)…..”

NY. William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1960. 897p. USED BOOK CONTAINS MARK-UP

The Jungle Book

By Rudyard Kipling

PUBLISHER PREFACE: The book you are about to read is composed of stories written by Rudyard Kipling. Originally, these stories were in two volumes entitled "The Jungle Book." * and " The Second Jungle Book." The present volume combines all of the Mowgli Stories under one cover. In addition, "Rikki Tikki Tavi," "The Elephant Boy," * and "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat" have been included. Certain other stories that appeared in the original books have been omitted due to limitations of space. The stories that do appear in this book are unabridged, exactly as Kipling originally published them.

London. Classic Press and Ottenhelmer publishers. 1968, 1979. 225p. UNSED BOOK CONTAINS MARK-UP

Biggles in the Jungle

By Captain W. E. Johns

FROM THE COVER: Wherever there is trouble brewing in this much-troubled world it is safe to predict that Biggles and his companions will sooner or later be on the spot. In this story they ar- rive, quite casually, in the capitalof British Honduras, to find Car- ruthers, the resident magistrate, in a very perturbed state on account of the activities of a so-called King of the Forest--a man who has established himself somewhere in the interior and is stirring up strife among the Indians; he is suspected, moreover, of collecting chickle-an important product of the colony-and smuggling it over the border and into the United States.

Melbourne. Geoffrey Cumberlege Oxford University Press. 1951. 196p. USED BOOK. CONTAINS MARK-UP.

Biggles Goes To War

By Captain W. E. Johns

From Chapter 2: “….taking photographs of our defences”

A frown creased Biggles's forehead. 'But that's a scandalous state ofaffairs,' he declared indignantly. 'Do you mean to say that you allow the air force of another power to fly over your country without permission?'

A sad smile crossed the old man's face. He raised his hands, palms outwards. 'Alow? Do you think that we should allow them to do that i f we could stop them? Now perhaps you understand why I've come to you.'

Melbourne. Oxford University Press. 1950. 257p. USED BOOK

Enemies of All Mankind: Fictions of Legitimate Violence

By  Sonja Schillings,

Hostis humani generis, meaning “enemy of humankind,” is the legal basis by which Western societies have defined such criminals as pirates, torturers, or terrorists as beyond the pale of civilization. Sonja Schillings argues that this legal fiction does more than characterize certain persons as inherently hostile: it provides a narrative basis for legitimating violence in the name of the state. The work draws attention to a century-old narrative pattern that not only underlies the legal category of enemies of the state, but more generally informs interpretations of imperial expansion, protest against government-sponsored oppression, and the transformation of institutions as “legitimate” interventions on behalf of civilized society.

Hanover, NH, Dartmouth University Press,, 2016. 304p.

Facebook, the Media and Democracy: Big Tech, Small State?

By Leighton Andrews

Facebook, the Media and Democracy examines Facebook Inc. and the impact that it has had and continues to have on media and democracy around the world. Drawing on interviews with Facebook users of different kinds and dialogue with politicians, regulators, civil society and media commentators, as well as detailed documentary scrutiny of legislative and regulatory proposals and Facebook’s corporate statements, the book presents a comprehensive but clear overview of the current debate around Facebook and the global debate on the regulation of social media in the era of ‘surveillance capitalism.’ Chapters examine the business and growing institutional power of Facebook as it has unfolded over the fifteen years since its creation, the benefits and meanings that it has provided for its users, its disruptive challenge to the contemporary media environment, its shaping of conversations, and the emerging calls for its further regulation. The book considers Facebook’s alleged role in the rise of democratic movements around the world as well as its suggested role in the election of Donald Trump and the UK vote to leave the European Union. This book argues that Facebook, in some shape or form, is likely to be with us into the foreseeable future and that how we address the societal challenges that it provokes, and the economic system that underpins it, will define how human societies demonstrate their capacity to protect and enhance democracy and ensure that no corporation can set itself above democratic institutions. This is an important research volume for academics and researchers in the areas of media studies, communications, social media and political science.

London; New York: Routledge, 2020. 137p.

Jihadism: Online Discourses and Representations

Edited by Rüdiger Lohlker

Jihadi online media try to mobilize, recruit, and disseminate the messages of jihadi subcultures. Understanding the mechanisms and structures of the products of these online media is essential for understanding jihadism in general. Original research into visual representations of jihadi media outlets, the subtleties of jihadi videos, the specific ways jihadis use Islamic religious language, into jihadi poetry, and the ways jihadis stage their concepts in videos of kangaroo trials is presented in this volume. Jihadis as part of the imaginary of global media production is another aspect of representations of jihadism described in one of the contributions.

Gottingen: Vienna University Press, 2013/ 257p.

Print, Publicity and Radicalism in the 1790s

By Jon Lee

Jon Mee explores the popular democratic movement that emerged in the London of the 1790s in response to the French Revolution. Central to the movement’s achievement was the creation of an idea of ‘the people’ brought into being through print and publicity. Radical clubs rose and fell in the face of the hostile attentions of government. They were sustained by a faith in the press as a form of ‘print magic,’ but confidence in the liberating potential of the printing press was interwoven with hard-headed deliberations over how best to animate and represent the people. Ideas of disinterested rational debate were thrown into the mix with coruscating satire, rousing songs, and republican toasts. Print personality became a vital interface between readers and print exploited by the cast of radicals returned to history in vivid detail by Print, Publicity, and Popular Radicalism.

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2016. 286p.

Just So Stories For Little Children

By Rudyard Kipling

FROM THE COVER: "Once upon a Time O Best Beloved," and so begins one of the best loved and most respected collections of stories for children, Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. This edition includes the author's own unique illustrations. Kipling's bold linear fantasies, in the style of art nouveau, as well as his attention to realistic detail, create an intriguing and strikingly different interpretation. The first tale, "How the Whale Got Its Throat," a tall tale of a big whale, sets the tone for these wild "venturesome adventures," to use Kipling's words. One glance at the table of contents will reveal that the Just So Stories appeal most to inquisitive and fantasy-loving minds. These are stories which tell us of the Time of Very Beginnings;…”

London. Crown Publishers.. 1978. Originally published 1937. 211p. USED BOOK