Over The Hill

Growing old disgracefully and having a grand old time... Billy and Dawnie may be in their seventies, but that won’t stop them taking chances or starting again. Their grown-up children have families and lives of their own, so now it’s Billy and Dawnie’s turn, and a life near the sea in Devon beckons. But the residents of Margot Street (or Maggot Street as Dawnie insists on calling it), don’t quite know what to make of their new neighbours. Billy’s loud, shiny and huge Harley Davidson looks out of place next to the safe and sensible Honda Jazz next door, and Dawnie’s never-ending range of outrageous wigs and colourful clothes, means she’s impossible to miss. As new friendships are formed and new adventures are shared, Billy and Dawnie start winning their neighbours’ affection. And when life teaches them all a terrible lesson, the folks of Margot Street are determined to live every day as if it’s their last. Judy Leigh returns with a soul-warming, rib-tickling, timeless tale of true love, true friendship and happy-ever-afters. Praise for Judy Leigh: ‘Brilliantly funny, emotional and uplifting’ Miranda Dickinson 'Lovely . . . a book that assures that life is far from over at seventy' Cathy Hopkins bestselling author of The Kicking the Bucket List 'Brimming with warmth, humour and a love of life... a wonderful escapade’ Fiona Gibson, bestselling author of The Woman Who Upped and Left

Top Shelf is proud to announce that Rob Harrell, creator of the comic strip Big Top, has brought his first graphic novel series, Monster on the Hill, to Top Shelf. Set in an alternate late 1800s England, it's a tale of quiet little townships who just so happen to be quite proud of the monsters that terrorize them... Well, except for this one little town where the monster isn't quite up to snuff. Readers of all ages are sure to enjoy this tale about life's challenges, the power of friendship, and creative redemption. And, of course, it has lots of monsters on hills.

Seven years ago, Moriyah was taken captive in Jericho and branded with the mark of the Canaanite gods. Now the Israelites are experiencing peace in their new land, but Moriyah has yet to find her own peace. Because of the shameful mark on her face, she hides behind her veil at all times and the disdain of the townspeople keeps her from socializing. And marriage prospects were out of the question . . . until now. Her father has found someone to marry her, and she hopes to use her love of cooking to impress the man and his motherless sons. But when things go horribly wrong, Moriyah is forced to flee. Seeking safety at one of the newly-established Levitical cities of refuge, she is wildly unprepared for the dangers she will face, and the enemies--and unexpected allies--she will encounter on her way.

From the author of Lovecraft Country: Myth and reality collide on a college campus “in a comic fantasy of wonderful energy, invention, and generosity of spirit” (Alison Lurie). Stephen Titus George is a young writer-in-residence at Cornell University in upstate New York. A bestselling author in search of a new story, he sees his life as a modern-day fairy tale starring himself as a would-be knight trying to woo a lovely maiden—or, actually, two: the bewitching Calliope and his guiding light, Aurora Borealis Smith. But he’s not quite in control of the narrative. There’s another writer with even greater influence on campus. The unseen Mr. Sunshine is an eternal, semi-retired deity who’s been fashioning his own story for centuries. He has all his characters in place: dragons, sprites, gnomes, and villains. And now, finally, his hero. As Mr. Sunshine’s world comes to fabulous and violent life, how can Stephen decide his own fate if it’s already being plotted by a god? An epic of life and death, good and evil, love and sorcery, Fool on the Hill lands Matt Ruff happily on the shelf between Tom Robbins and J. R. R. Tolkien for every lover of the “funky and fantastical” (New York magazine). “Inspired . . . rich in flavorful language . . . [a] dazzling tour de force.” —San Francisco Chronicle “The plot comes together like a brilliant clockwork toy.” —Locus

After selling more than 300,000 copies, Over the Hill and On a Roll gets a well-deserved face lift. The jokes never get old, even if readers do! They’ll enjoy laughing at insights, checking their recall ability, and taking the history quizzes created by bestselling jokester Bob Phillips. He teases and tests: You know you’re over the hill when… Opportunity knocks but your hearing aid’s turned off. Ninety percent of your dreams are reruns. You remember when “hardware” only referred to a store. Packed with wisdom and fascinating facts, Over the Hill and On a Roll celebrates the passing of time and pokes fun at what lies ahead. The perfect birthday, anniversary, retirement, or friendship gift.

This book tells the story of modern day pioneering. It chronicles a family’s move to rural Ireland in the last decade of the twentieth century, and describes their struggle to begin with nothing and build a home on the side of a valley in the hills of County Clare, using a mixture of stones gathered from the fields and concrete. The family were determined to grow their own food and live as self-sufficiently as was practical, despite the poor soil. It also shows the attitudes of the time, and the generosity, hospitality, and sense of community of their Irish neighbours. All of life is here and the book is sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, and always inspiring.

In this wonderful collection of short, funny pieces, Richard Cutler covers the gamut from nostalgia to conjecture on such topics as clowns, cholesterol and calling in sick to the supervisory voice mail. Along the way he sharpens his wit on exercise, politicians, road rage, souvenir shopping while traveling light and women's attraction to hand-held power tools. He reports on place and people names, profanity-free TV, holiday traditions, guy things and old fashioned etiquette. And he offers his experiences with gene pool backup, old wives' tales, women's fashions (and the storage thereof), following RV's and flying steerage class. The careful reader will discover such incidental insights as his theory of why Eskimos gave up kissing for rubbing noses and what the young Marquis de Sade's nanny said that may have suggested all those weird ideas. But the casual reader will learn something too. And not just that the author has entirely too much time on his hands. Interspersed among these views of the passing scene are subtle indications that--paddles or not--we may all of us be headed up the creek. So to speak.