Brian Morton

Leonard Schiller is a novelist in his seventies, a second-string but respectable talent who produced only a small handful of books. Heather Wolfe is an attractive graduate student in her twenties. She read Schiller's novels when she was growing up and they changed her life. When the ambitious Heather decides to write her master's thesis about Schiller's work and sets out to meet him--convinced she can bring Schiller back into the literary world's spotlight--the unexpected consequences of their meeting alter everything in Schiller's ordered life. What follows is a quasi-romantic friendship and intellectual engagement that investigates the meaning of art, fame, and personal connection. "Nothing less than a triumph" (The New York Times Book Review), Starting Out in the Evening is Brian Morton's most widely acclaimed novel to date.

Richard Cook and Brian Morton's Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in 1001 Best Albums is an indispensible guide to the recordings that every fan should know. Richard Cook and Brian Morton's Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings is firmly established as the world's leading guide to the music. In this book, Brian Morton has picked out 1001 essential recordings from their acclaimed guide, adding new information, revising and reassessing each entry, and showing how these key pieces tell the history of the music - and with it the history of the twentieth century. These are the essential albums that that all true jazz fans should own, or - at the very least - have listened to, from Kind of Blue to lesser-known classics and more surprising choices. Full of fascinating updated biographical information, new quotes and interviews and, of course, highly opinionated and wittily trenchant critical reviews, the result is an endlessly browsable companion that will prove required reading for aficionados and jazz novices alike. 'One of the great books of recorded jazz; the other guides don't come close' Irish Times 'It's the kind of book that you'll yank off the shelf to look up a quick fact and still be reading two hours later' Fortune 'The leader in its field ... If you own only one book on jazz, it really should be this one' International Record Review 'Indispensable and incomparable' NME Brian Morton is a freelance writer and broadcaster who for many years presented Radio 3's jazz magazine Impressions and In Tune. Richard Cook (1957-2007) was formerly editor of The Wire and edited Jazz Review. He contributed to many other publications, including the New Statesman and his books included Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopaedia and It's About That Time: Miles Davis on Record.

Nora, a writer in search of inspiration, phones her ex-lover Isaac, a photographer who is about to turn in his camera, re-igniting their romance and re-invigorating their creativity.

In Writing as a Way of Life: A Book About Art, Craft, and Devotion, novelist and memoirist Brian Morton (Starting Out in the Evening) provides writers with a guidebook for finding the psychic equipment they'll need to remain committed to their craft over the long haul. Drawing on a rich and varied career as a writer and teacher, Morton gives writers at every level of experience a masterclass in how to deepen their tenacity and resilience. Weaving together stories from the lives of literary masters like Virginia Woolf, Henry James, and Anton Chekhov and lessons gleaned from a surprising array of artists and thinkers including Joni Mitchell, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Miss Manners, Morton reveals writing to be a calling akin to meditation or prayer. Filled with practical, actionable tips for developing and sustaining a habit of writing that will last a lifetime, Morton has written a generous, funny, humane, and friendly guide for anyone who writes and anyone who wants to write.

A Washington Post Best Nonfiction Book of the Year In the spirit of Fierce Attachments and The End of Your Life Book Club, acclaimed novelist Brian Morton delivers a "superb" (Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air), darkly funny memoir of his mother's vibrant life and the many ways in which their tight, tumultuous relationship was refashioned in her twilight years. Tasha Morton is a force of nature: a brilliant educator who's left her mark on generations of students--and also a whirlwind of a mother, intrusive, chaotic, oppressively devoted, and irrepressible. For decades, her son Brian has kept her at a self-protective distance, but when her health begins to fail, he knows it's time to assume responsibility for her care. Even so, he's not prepared for what awaits him, as her refusal to accept her own fragility leads to a series of epic outbursts and altercations that are sometimes frightening, sometimes wildly comic, and sometimes both. Clear-eyed, "deeply stirring" (Dani Shapiro, The New York Times Book Review), and brimming with dark humor, Tasha is both a vivid account of an unforgettable woman and a stark look at the impossible task of caring for an elderly parent in a country whose unofficial motto is "you're on your own."

A Washington Post Best Nonfiction Book of the Year In the spirit of Fierce Attachments and The End of Your Life Book Club, acclaimed novelist Brian Morton delivers a "superb" (Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air), darkly funny memoir of his mother's vibrant life and the many ways in which their tight, tumultuous relationship was refashioned in her twilight years. Tasha Morton is a force of nature: a brilliant educator who's left her mark on generations of students--and also a whirlwind of a mother, intrusive, chaotic, oppressively devoted, and irrepressible. For decades, her son Brian has kept her at a self-protective distance, but when her health begins to fail, he knows it's time to assume responsibility for her care. Even so, he's not prepared for what awaits him, as her refusal to accept her own fragility leads to a series of epic outbursts and altercations that are sometimes frightening, sometimes wildly comic, and sometimes both. Clear-eyed, "deeply stirring" (Dani Shapiro, The New York Times Book Review), and brimming with dark humor, Tasha is both a vivid account of an unforgettable woman and a stark look at the impossible task of caring for an elderly parent in a country whose unofficial motto is "you're on your own."

Dmitri Shostakovich was the most popular Soviet composer of his generation. Internationally esteemed, he is widely considered to have been the last great classical symphonist, and his reputation has continued to increase since his death in 1975. Shostakovich wrote his First Symphony aged only nineteen and soon embarked on a dual career as concert pianist and composer. His early avant-gardism was to result in the triumph of his 1934 opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Though at first highly praised by Stalin, Shostakovich would later suffer from a complex and brutalising relationship with the Soviet dictator and the governments that followed him. In spite of this persecution, his Seventh Symphony was embraced as a potent symbol of Russian resistance to the invading Nazi army in both the USSR and the West. Though his later years were marked by ill health, his rate of composition remained prolific. His music became increasingly popular with audiences as he established himself as the most popular composer of serious art music in the middle years of the twentieth century.

Prince Rogers Nelson released his first album in 1978. In the almost 40 years that followed he became a superstar, a recluse, an inspiration, an enigma, a slave and a symbol. He was a master of reinvention, but the one constant in his astonishing career was his genius: as a singer, a songwriter, a performer and musician. He sold more than 100 million albums, won Grammys and an Oscar. His ability to fuse styles and genres made him one of the most unique, influential and beloved artists in music history. In Prince: A Thief in the Temple, music journalist Brian Morton reveals the highs and lows of an incredible musical life.

In this award-winning novel that Maureen Corrigan of NPR's "Fresh Air" deems &#8220exquisitely crafted...witty, nuanced, and ultimately moving,&#8221 a wise, septuagenarian woman who has lived life on her own terms finds herself thrust into the center of her family's various catastrophes. A Best Book of the Year by NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, The Millions, the Christian Science Monitor - Finalist for the Kirkus Prize - A Chicago Tribune Editor's Choice - An Indie Next Pick Meet Florence Gordon, a blunt, brilliant feminist. At seventy-five, Florence wants to be left alone to write her memoir and shape her legacy. But when her son and his family come to visit, they embroil Florence in their dramas, threatening her coveted solitude. Marked with searing wit, sophisticated intelligence, and a tender respect for humanity, Florence Gordon is cast with a constellation of unforgettable characters. Chief among them is Florence herself, who can humble fools with a single barbed line, but who eventually finds that there are some realities even she cannot outwit. &#8220Smart, funny, and compassionate... Florence Gordon] is a treat.&#8221 --People &#8220Hilarious and addictive.&#8221--San Francisco Chronicle &#8220It's such a clich to say a book makes you laugh and cry, but this one does, in the deftest way."--Emily Gould, Paste &#8220Deliciously sharp and deeply sympathetic . . . a truly gifted novelist.&#8221--Adam Kirsch, Tablet

The Christmas Kiss and Other Stories is a collection of short stories with a Christmas connection. From slightly dysfunctional but interesting family get-togethers, to fully fractured and retold fairy stories, this collection is aimed at grown up children who haven't grown out of their sense of humour.

Getting somewhere and other stories is a collection of short stories. This collection is slightly more aimed at younger readers, younger in heart that is. If you have a memory of what it's like to be young, then these stories should bring more than a smile. From a small boy making his name in the world, to people realising that we all have a place to fill, a very mysterious true story about a coin and another true tale regarding a fish, there should be something for everyone here.

The Project and other stories, is a collection of short stories, covering varied subjects from science fiction, through historical reportage to psychological analysis, including a ship that goes missing, an expedition to climb a mountain and a fishing trip, all written with a smile or two.

Deeper Thoughts and Sonnets As the title implies this collection is generally on more serious subjects, ranging from heroism, appreciation of the world and it's wonders, the pleasures and tribulations of love and a bit of history. Hopefully, these poems will make you think, if only a little bit, because thinking is good for the soul.

Dougie's Telescope and other stories is a collection of tales set in a time when life was perhaps a little slower and when an adventure didn't have to be planned through a travel agent and financed by the bank. Dougie and his pals are somewhere between angels and delinquents just like most teenagers and the small town they live in has plenty of room for teenage activities. In the Garden is a more contemporary set of observations, made with a twinkle in the observant eye.

One Score and One Parties, battles, monsters and politics, a relative's underwear and even the weather are all looked at through a humorous filter of irreverence. Nothing is sacred, even Santa Claus comes in for some stick in the cause of laughter. Some of the things depicted are based on true events from history, but I'll leave you to decide which ones...

The Lonely Whelk Another collection of rather cheeky poems which take the mickey out of life and the way we live it. From Royalty to Romans, traffic wardens, fish, Vikings, children and pensioners, they are set up to show the funny side, because a laugh is worth more than a frown any day.