Sorting Out Billy

Billy is a lad. He's a laugh, he's loud, he behaves badly and Sarah is besotted with him. But after another 'accident' involving Billy's temper, Sarah's face and a night in the A&E, Sarah's friends Martha and Flower decide that it's time to take action. What should they do? Reason with him? Send him to anger management classes? Hire a hit man? Martha and Flower have problems of their own: Martha is seven months pregnant by one of three possible blokes (she did this mainly to wind up her sanctimonious vicar father); and hippie Flower's career as a stand-up comic is more sit-down after some nasty encounters with south London's finest hecklers. Will Martha survive single-motherhood on a council estate in need of a peace-keeping force? Will Flower find the perfect put-down? And will they sort out Billy before he gets to them first...? Jo Brand tells it like it is in her darkly comic and sharply observed debut novel.

In rhyming text, Pack the Packrat sorts his collection of trinkets in a variety of ways.

This is the story of Billy Ranhalt, who is struggling with one of the most difficult challenges one can face. He is in defense at a trial within himself as well as in society that came about in the prime of his life. He is being tried for an injury or as some would say illness that can be found in every society throughtout the world. He is guilty before his trial. His offence is almost invisible to himself as well as many others that may suffer from his offence. His injuries are almost invisible to those surrounding him, yet he sees them himself but does not want to see them. Billy Ranhalt tries to overlook the impossible but must face trial. The injury Billy suffered is one that has become more prominent to our society in the past few years with the growing number of war veterans. The character Billy Ranhalt; is a person most people have seen or may see some day within their job, their friends or among family and very well themselves. The intent of this story is to open the eyes and minds of people incurring awareness and respect to those suffering as Billy did from an incurable but not, untreatable suffering. The only cure Billy finds is not what he really wanted, which is carried out by those unwilling or failing to see his injury. The setting takes place in modern day United States, among a typical American family. It has a strong emphasis on a Gulf War veteran, yet similarites found throughout the world in various surrounding. The ending is not a good ending for Billy, his family or friends. However, an ending that foresight and forethought could have been prevented.

This book recreates the daily lives of laboring men and women in America's premier urban center during the second half of the eighteenth century. Billy G. Smith demonstrates how the "lower sort" (as they were called by their contemporaries) struggled to carve out meaningful lives during an era of vast change stretching from the Seven Years' War, through the turbulent events surrounding the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution, into the first decade of the new nation.

Eleven-year-old Billy Barnes lives with his parents and elder sister, Julia. He is usually a happy boy and spends most of his time with one of his best friends, Ali Patel. However, Billy has a problem. A big problem! He was stopped by some older boys as he was on his way home from school. One of them demanded protection money from Billy and made it quite clear that it was pay up, or suffer the consequences! Just how are Billy and Ali going to solve this problem, without involving Billy’s parents? If he does that, he runs a considerable risk of becoming a laughingstock in his class. He can almost hear some of the other boys shouting, “Billy Barnes has to ask his mum and dad for help, just like in reception class!” The solution is as clever as it is simple and is the start of a number of exciting adventures for Billy and Ali.

By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, this intimate biography of the British comic is “a triumph of the will, an Angela’s Ashes with punch lines” (Publishers Weekly). One of the UK’s most beloved stand-up comedians, Billy Connolly is recognized around the world for his HBO comedy specials and roles in movies like The Boondock Saints and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. An inspiration to generations of British comedians, including such stars as Eddie Izzard, Billy is known simply as “The Big Yin” in his native Scotland. But his road to success was anything but easy. Abandoned by his mother in a Glasgow tenement, abused by his father and the cruel aunt who became his caretaker, he would seem to have little chance of survival let alone meteoric success. Billy, the revelatory, poignant, and wildly entertaining biography is written by the woman who knows him best—his wife. Pamela Stephenson, a clinical psychologist, takes us through the heartbreaking and hilarious life of this comic legend, providing an intimate window into what made him the man he is today.

The all-access biography and unprecedented look at the life, career, and legacy of a pint-sized kid from Long Island who became a music legend. “A funny, revealing, and poignant look at [Billy] Joel’s long career.”—Boston Globe Exhibiting unparalleled intimate knowledge, Schruers chronicles Joel’s rise to the top of the charts, from his working-class origins in Levittown and early days spent in boxing rings and sweaty clubs to his monumental success in the seventies and eighties. He also explores Joel’s creative transformation in the nineties, his dream performance with Paul McCartney at Shea Stadium in 2008, and beyond. Along the way, Schruers reveals the stories behind all the key events and relationships—including Joel’s high-profile marriages and legal battles—that defined his path to stardom and inspired his signature songs, such as “Piano Man,” “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” “New York State of Mind,” and “She’s Always a Woman.” Throughout, he captures the spirit of a restless artist determined to break through by sharing, in his deeply personal lyrics, the dreams and heartbreaks of suburban American life. Comprehensive, vibrantly written, and filled with Joel’s memories and reflections—as well as those of the family, friends, and band members who have formed his inner circle, including Christie Brinkley, Alexa Ray Joel, Jon Small, and Steve Cohen—this is the definitive account of a beloved rock star’s epic American journey.