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A fictional chronicle of Bukowski's experiences writing the screenplay for Barfly. Henry Chinaski has a hollow leg penchant for booze, for women, and for the ponies. On his precarious journey from poet to screenwriter he encounters a host of well-kno wn stars and lays bare the absurdity and egotism of the film industry. Even Sean Penn has remarked, 'The thing about Bukowski is, when you read what he has to say, he's right.'

The Vulture was written when Scott-Heron dropped out of his second year at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in late 1968. Scott-Heron couldnt concentrate on his studies because he had the novel boiling up in his head and needed to get it down on p aper. The book was eventually published in 1970 to critical acclaim. Reading it now, 40 years later, it still packs a heavyweight punch. An intricate and intelligent murder mystery, it is soaked in the world of the black Manhattan ghettos of the time , where opportunities for young black men were scarce and the temptation of escaping the prejudice and dismal lives around them with excessive drink and with drugs was strong. In many respects, the novel is still relevant today much of the action and dialogue reads like a contemporary Tarantino or Spike Lee movie. In other ways, the novel seems dated in that fascinating way old black and white photos are a snapshot of its era. The views about women expressed by the male protagonists are hor ribly un PC in many places, women being seen as sex objects and labelled as sluts when they succumb. But although unfortunate, this is accurate enough those views were held by many then and still are .

Much attention has been paid to so-called late style - but what about last style? When does last begin? How early is late? When does the end set in? In this endlessly stimulating investigation, Geoff Dyer sets his own encounter with late middle age against the last days and last achievements of writers, painters, athletes and musicians who've mattered to him throughout his life. With a playful charm and penetrating intelligence, he examines Friedrich Nietzsche's breakdown in Turin, Bob Dylan's reinventions of old songs, J.M.W. Turner's paintings of abstracted light, John Coltrane's cosmic melodies, Jean Rhys's return from the dead (while still alive) and Beethoven's final quartets - and considers the intensifications and modifications of experience that come when an ending is within sight. Oh, and there's stuff about Roger Federer and tennis too. This book on last things - written while life as we know it seemed to be coming to an end - is also about how to go on living with art and beauty, on the entrancing effect and sudden illumination that an Art Pepper solo or an Annie Dillard reflection can engender in even the most jaded sensibilities. Blending criticism, memoir and repartee into something entirely new, The Last Days of Roger Federer is a summation of Dyer's passions and the perfect introduction to his sly and joyous work.

Like its noteworthy ancestors (Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, the Ancient Mariner and Moby Dick) Life of Pi is a tale of disaster at sea. Both a boys' own adventure (for grown-ups) and a meditation on faith and the value of religious metaphor, it was one of the most extraordinary and original novels of 2002. The only survivor from the wreck of a cargo ship on the Pacific, 16 year old Pi spends 221 days on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan and a 450-pound Royal Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker ...

Peanuts surges into the 1970s with Schulz at the peak of his powers and influence: a few jokes about Bob Dylan, Women's Liberation and "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex" aside, these two years are as timeless as Peanuts ever was. Sally Brown elbows her way to center stage, at least among the humans, and is thus the logical choice for cover girl . . . and in her honour, the introduction is provided by Broadway, television and film star Kristin Chenoweth, who first rose to Tony-winning fame with her scene-stealing performance as Sally in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Two long Summer-camp sequences involve Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty, who has decided that Charlie Brown is madly in love with her, much to his clueless confusion. Snoopy shows up at camp as well, as does Peppermint Patty's new permanent sidekick, the one and only Marcie. The eternally mutable Snoopy mostly shakes off his World War I Flying Ace identity and turns into Joe Cool, college hipster extraordinaire. He writes a fan letter to his favourite author, Miss Helen Sweetstory, then goes on a journey to meet her, and finally enlists Charlie Brown's help when her latest opus, "The Six Bunny-Wunnies Freak Out," falls afoul of censors. Also, Woodstock attends worm school, falls in love with a worm (perhaps the most doomed unrequited Peanuts love story ever!), and is nearly eaten by the neighbours' cat . . . Peppermint Patty is put on trial for another dress code violation . . . Snoopy turns Linus's blanket into not one but two sportcoats . . . Lucy hits a home run . . . and the birth of one Rerun Van Pelt!

The 12th volume of Peanuts features a number of tennis strips and several extended sequences involving Peppermint Patty's friend Marcie (including a riotous, rarely seen sequence in which Marcie's costume-making and hairstyling skills utterly spoil a skating competition for PP), so it seems only right that this volume's introduction should be served up by Schulz's longtime friend, tennis champion (and 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient) Billie Jean King. This volume also picks up on a few loose threads from the previous year, as the mysterious "Poochie" shows up in the flesh; Linus and Lucy's new kid brother "Rerun" makes his first appearance, is almost immediately drafted onto the baseball team (where, thanks to his tiny strike zone, he wins a game), and embarks on his first terrifying journey on the back of his mom's bike; and, in one of Peanuts' oddest recurring storylines, the schoolhouse Sally used to talk to starts talking, or at least thinking, back at her! The Complete Peanuts 1973-1974 also includes one of the all-time classic Peanuts sequences, in which Charlie Brown's baseball-oriented hallucinations finally manifest themselves in a baseball-shaped rash on his head. Forced to conceal the embarrassing discoloration with a bag worn over his head, Charlie Brown goes to camp as "Mister Sack" and discovers that, shorn of his identity, he's suddenly well liked and successful.

This volume of The Complete Peanuts features the long, surprisingly dramatic sequence in which a grievously ill Charlie Brown checks himself into a hospital while his friends worry. But the rest of the stories in this, the final volume from the 1970s, are far less sombre, as Snoopy launches his 'bird scout' treks, Peppermint Patty gets leaked on at school and sues - plus one of the great forgotten romances in Peanuts history!

The Complete Peanuts marches into the 1980s as Snoopy's brother Spike is drafted into the Infantry and a second brother, 'Marbles', takes his bow. Also in this volume, Peppermint Patty witnesses the 'butterfly miracle', Sally gets fat, Charlie Brown's team loses its baseball field, Linus is still not Sally's 'Sweet Babboo', more Beagle Scout adventures with Snoopy, and Molly Volley and 'Crybaby' Boobie return for a rematch.

This volume of The Complete Peanuts is particularly romance-heavy as the Charlie Brown / Peppermint Patty / Marcie triangle heats up; love blossoms between two of the 'Beagle Scout' birds; and Linus is still not Sally's 'Sweet Babboo'! Meanwhile, Charlie Brown becomes, in his worst baseball-related humiliation to date, a Pelican - and Snoopy's brother Spike is still stuck in Needles, surrounded by coyotes, with a cactus as his only friend.

The Complete Peanuts reaches the go-go mid-1980s with this volume: 'mallies', 'punkers' (Snoopy with a mohawk!), killer bees, and Halley's Comet. The gang go to 'rain camp' and 'survival camp', the World War I Flying Ace comes down with the flu, Charlie Brown poses for a swimsuit calendar, Peppermint Patty gets a crabby tutor . . . plus Molly Volley, the unbearable, licensable 'Tapioca Pudding', and plenty of Spike and his cactus!