Memoirs Books

Book Synopsis''Equal parts an inspiring account of Reeve''s determination and adventurous spirit, as well as a field guide to some of the most remote parts of the world, Step by Step is a vivid and fascinating title. Readers may be surprised to learn of his early life struggles with mental health, owing to his onscreen persona, but this traces his journey to inner peace.'' Independent''Incredibly honest... one of the best autobiographies I''ve ever read.'' The Sun - best books of 2019Shortlisted for the 2019 Edward Stanford Travel Memoir of the Year Award ''His story reads like a fast-paced thriller.'' Daily Mail''My goodness, it is brilliant. Searingly honest, warm, bursting with humanity. Such brave and inspiring writing.'' Kate Humble''[Simon] begins to fill in the gaps in his life story that until recently he has never publicly revealed.'' TelegraphPRAISE FORTrade ReviewCracking stories from his travels * Alastair Humphreys, Explorer and National Geographic Adventurer of the Year *Reeve is a most likeable travelling companion, and the joy of the open road radiates from these pages * Times Literary Supplement *You can be sure to trust Simon to find a fun story. Simon might just be the best tour guide in the world. * Sun *Fascinating... a very honest account of the world as he has seen it, from Acton to the ends of the Earth * Geographical *It is an account of his mind's journey to inner peace - and it is wonderfully life-affirming -- Max Pemberton * Daily Mail *This vivid account of his fascinating, often hair-raising crusades feels more like an enthralling exchange over coffee with a friend than a formal autobiography. * Compass Magazine *Genuinely interesting stories... remarkable * London Evening Standard *Simon Reeve, a man whose very name is a guarantee of interesting television. Outstanding. * Observer *TV's most interesting globetrotter * Independent *The craziest (or bravest) man on TV * Daily Mail *In the last decade, he's made a name for himself as British TV's most adventurous presenter. He's hunted with the Bushmen of Kalahari, hung out with biker outlaws in Australia and been taught to fish by the president of Moldova. * Radio Times *Reeve is in a class of his own * The Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of Time Magazine''s 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 and an FT Best Book of the YearThought-provoking and deeply consoling, a perfectly distilled set of essays on the strangest year many of us have experienced, from one of our wisest and most humane thinkers''As well as offering a new guide to living in a wild, messy and unfair world, Smith provides a reminder that we can use this crisis to imagine a better one'' Evening Standard Deeply personal and powerfully moving, a short and timely series of essays on the experience of lockdown, by one of the most clear-sighted and essential writers of our timeFrom the critically acclaimed author of Feel Free, Swing Time, White Teeth and many more''There will be many books written about the year 2020: historical, analytic, political and comprehensive accounts. This is not any of those - the year isn''t half-way done. What I''ve tried to do is organize some of the feelings and thoughts that events, so far, have provoked in me, in those scraps of time the year itself has allowed. These are above all personal essays: small by definition, short by necessity.'' Crafted with the sharp intelligence, wit and style that have won Zadie Smith millions of fans, and suffused with a profound intimacy and tenderness in response to these unprecedented times, Intimations is a vital work of art, a gesture of connection and an act of love - an essential book in extraordinary times. ''Zadie Smith is a marvel - her soulfulness, her sensitivity, her ability to write . . . She doesn''t try to make grand statements but just leaves you with the sense that you''re in the company of someone who can help you feel things deeply'' Tom Hollander in the GuardianTrade ReviewAs well as offering a new guide to living in a wild, messy and unfair world, Smith provides a reminder that we can use this crisis to imagine a better one * Evening Standard *Smith has the gift that she attributed to Nabokov, years ago, of making any reader of her work feel they are engaged in a creative act, discoveringthe felicities of her writing. * i *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE TOP FIVE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA BOOK OF THE YEARROUGH TRADE, THE TIMES, ROLLING STONE, CLASH, MOJO, UNCUTThe memoir of international music icon Richard Thompson, co-founder of the legendary folk rock group Fairport Convention.'I encourage everyone to read this wonderful book.'ELVIS COSTELLO'Thompson could be said to be an English Dylan - only in some ways he's even better than that.'GUARDIAN Richard Thompson came of age during an extraordinary moment in 1960s Britain - as music began to reflect a great cultural awakening, the guitarist and songwriter co-founded Fairport Convention, ushering in the era of folk rock. An intimate memoir of personal discovery and creative intensity, Beeswing vividly captures the life of an international music icon in a world on the cusp of change'Gripping . . . A quiet

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Remarkable'OBSERVER 'Deeply profound this is no ordinary memoir' THE TIMES Astounding' ADAM FARRER Brave and luminous' SARAH LANGFORD Mesmerising' POLLY ATKIN Beautifully written' YORKSHIRE POST Steadfastly honest' GEOGRAPHICAL A memoir of grief, nature and ancestry in rural Yorkshire. I am setting out on a pilgrimage through an ancient landscape. I will begin at my daughter's grave. Paleolake Flixton is an extinct lake in North Yorkshire. Human occupation of the site dates back thousands of years, but today, all that is left is a watermark. Wendy Pratt brings readers on a pilgrimage around its periphery, to locations that have acted as journey markers in her own life. While traversing forests and fenland, she finds refuge in nature. Th

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''An unrivalled picture of the rumours, suspicions and treachery of civil war'' Antony BeevorEvery line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism as I understand it''. Thus wrote Orwell following his experiences as a militiaman in the Spanish Civil War, chronicled in Homage to Catalonia. Here he brings to bear all the force of his humanity, passion and clarity, describing with bitter intensity the bright hopes and cynical betrayals of that chaotic episode: the revolutionary euphoria of Barcelona, the courage of ordinary Spanish men and women he fought alongside, the terror and confusion of the front, his near-fatal bullet wound and the vicious treachery of his supposed allies.A firsthand account of the brutal conditions of the Spanish Civil War, George Orwell''s Homage to Catalonia includes an introduction by Julian Symons.Trade ReviewAn unrivalled picture of the rumours, suspicions and treachery of civil war -- Anthony BeevorA war story that is both brutally honest and lyrically beautiful * Daily Telegraph *

Read more less

Book SynopsisPostpartum depression affects millions of new mothers every year. This is an epic poem to women everywhere.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''For the past half-century Frank Field has been an outstanding parliamentarian, social reformer and champion of the disadvantaged. He joined the Labour Party at the age of 16 and was expelled from it at the age of 78.'' -Brian & Rachel Griffiths''Frank Field is one of the most important, iconoclastic and remarkable politicians of his generation. This book is told with his Christian belief, regrets and all, and his trademark searing honesty.'' -Nick TimminsIn the increasingly dirty world of British politics, one man has stood out for unimpeachable integrity the former Labour Member of Parliament for Birkenhead, Frank Field.In this touching but also profound memoir, the veteran former Labour MP and social campaigner Frank Field reveals the poverty of his own childhood and the deep and lasting effect of his Christian socialism. Field has spent his life fighting poverty in Britain, and has found allies on all siTrade ReviewFrank Field is one of the most important, iconoclastic and remarkable politicians of his generation. This book is told with his Christian belief, regrets and all, and his trademark searing honesty. -- Nick TimminsFor the past half-century Frank Field has been an outstanding parliamentarian, social reformer and champion of the disadvantaged. He joined the Labour Party at the age of 16 and was expelled from it at the age of 78. -- Brian & Rachel GriffithsThe former MP’s outstanding new book blends memoir with incisive, practical ideas. [...] Few MPs have done so much to improve the voters' lives. This prophet was dishonoured in his own party, but thoughtful voters everywhere are grateful for his service. -- Tim Stanley, The TelegraphField has been a kindly light to lighten our politics. One wishes more MPs were as amiable and independent-minded, though every system does need its scoundrels and chancers. -- Quentin Letts, The TimesField is a salutary role-model for those of us who tend to be politically or religiously tribal. -- Richard Harries, the Church Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING HILARIOUS NEW BOOK FROM THE NATION''S FAVOURITE COMEDIAN, BILLY CONNOLLYBeing a Rambling Man was what I always wanted to be, to live the way I damn well pleased. I''ve met the weirdest and most wonderful people who walk the Earth, seen the most bizarre and the most fantastic sights - and I''ve rarely come across something I couldn''t get a laugh at. I don''t think I''ve ever had a bad trip. Well, apart from in the 1970s, but that''s a whole other story . . . When Billy set out from Glasgow as a young man he never looked back. He played his banjo on boats and trains, under trees, and on top of famous monuments. He danced naked in snow, wind and fire. He slept in bus stations, under bridges and on strangers'' floors. He travelled by foot, bike, ship, plane, sleigh - even piggy-backed - to get to his next destination. Billy has wandered to every corner of the earth and believes that being a Rambling

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Kate Zambreno has invented a new form. It is a kind of absolute present, real life captured in closeup' Annie Ernaux, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 'The Light Room is both a gift and a beacon' Sinead Gleeson, author of Constellations'Kate Zambreno has performed a miracle, capturing real, lived time from within the exhaustion of pandemic-era parenthood. The Light Room reminded me of that fundamental magic of writing - that the details of another person's life, so precisely and honestly rendered, can instantly loosen the edges of your own life and make you feel less alone' Jenny Odell, bestselling author of How to Do NothingIn The Light Room, Zambreno offers her most profound and affecting work yet: a candid chronicle of life as a mother of two young daughters in a moment of profound uncertainty about public health, climate change, and the future we can expect for our children. Moving through the seasons, returning often to parks and green spaces, Zambreno captures the isolation and exhaustion of being home with a baby and a small child, but also small and transcendent moments of beauty and joy. Inspired by writers and artists ranging from Natalia Ginzburg to Joseph Cornell, Yuko Tsushima to Bernadette Mayer, Etel Adnan to David Wojnarowicz, The Light Room represents an impassioned appreciation of community and the commons, and an ecstatic engagement with the living world. How will our memories, and our children's, be affected by this time of profound disconnection? What does it mean to bring new life, and new work, into this moment of precarity and crisis? In The Light Room, Kate Zambreno offers a vision of how to live in ways that move away from disenchantment, and toward light and possibility.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWe Dont Use Words Like Crazy is a professional confessional from Elliot Sweeney, a mental health nurse who works on the frontline of mental health services. His touching and often humorous memoir lifts the lid on the realities of the profession, in an attempt to highlight the need for compassion for some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and the very committed people that work with them on a professional basis.This book is for anyone who wants to know what its really like to work in contemporary mental health services in the UK, and why people like Elliot stick at it. Funny, frank and beautifully observed, Elliots memoir explores all aspects of mental health care, including hospital, youth care, post-partum, dementia, community care, and the more extreme experience of working with Broadmoor inmates, highlighting a service that underpins our society and that reflects the full spectrum of humanity.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A rollercoaster ride' THE TIMES'Fascinating and funny' SUNDAY EXPRESSLynda La Plante has lived an illustrious life and has the stories to prove it.From her early days in Liverpool to her unexpected acceptance into RADA, joining peers Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt and Ian McShane; from beginning her scriptwriting career with Widows and Prime Suspect and becoming a BAFTA award-winning writer and producer, Lynda's tales of stage and screen will have you gasping in shock as well as laughing in the aisles.Lynda has an important story to tell, one of breaking down stereotypes and blazing a trail for others along the way. Starting her writing career in the eighties, an era of entrenched gender inequality both in front of and behind the camera, Lynda faced innumerable obstacles to her vision.Getting Away with Murder shows how she overcame them to create generation-defining television and become a multi-million-copy Sunday Times bestselling author. Still at the very top of her game, Lynda shares her story on her own terms, in a way that's guaranteed to make you laugh, cry and be inspired to live a life without limits.'Screamingly funny and deliciously candid, full of wisdom and joie de vivre, this is memoir with the grip of a thriller' ERIN KELLY

Read more less

Book Synopsis "Absolutely fabulous!"  - Sir Ray Davies.The Kinks"We Danced On Our Desks offers a window on another lost world, a silver age of journalism when a magazine could please itself and celebrities would wait to be invited into its charmed circle. It''s also an unbeatable portrait of a writer finding his voice amid the distractions of a dementedly sybaritic decade." - The Observer"It''s wonderful. It intrigued and amused and delighted ... done with wit, verve, charm and self-deprecation." - bestselling author Anthony Quinn"A classic of its genre." - author David TaylorWE DANCED ON OUR DESKS is a compelling, entertaining and thrilling look at acclaimed journalist and writer Philip Norman''s experiences working on the Sunday Times Magazine at the height of its popularity in the 60s and 70s. From incredible interviews with the Beatles to Bob Dylan, Gaddafi to Indira Ghandi, and through seismic historical events such as the Vietnam War, Philip provides a vibrant cultural insight into the Swinging Sixties and uniquely documents key events in his own incredible life.  provides a unique front row seat to the seminal events and the people who defined a generation and continue to impact us today it''s a compelling story of an extraordinary life, as a young man moves from a provincial existence headfirst into the heady world of the Swinging Sixties in all its provocative glory gives an addictive first-hand account of work and life at The Sunday Times Magazine, one of the world''s most influential publications Includes interviews with many icons of the rock, film, political and media worlds, including Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, P.G. Wodehouse, J.R.R Tolkein, Truman Capote, David Hockney, Philip Roth, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Johnny Cash, the Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, the Everly Brothers, King Hussein of Jordan, Indira Gandhi, and President Gadaffi. Philip has led - and is leading - an extraordinary life, full of drama, emotion, experience and positivity. His book is not simply a snapshot of a particular time in history, or remembrances of famous people and places, but a genuinely revealing and compelling account of a life lived and lived well.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''An old teapot, used daily, can tell me more of my past than anything I recorded of it.'' Sylvia Townsend WarnerThere are many ways of telling the story of a life and how we''ve got to where we are. The questions of why and how we think the way we do continues to preoccupy philosophers. In The Stuff of Life, Timothy Morton chooses the objects that have shaped and punctuated their life to tell the story of who they are and why they might think the way they do. These objects are ''things'' in the richest sense. They are beings, non-human beings, that have a presence and a force of their own. From the looming expanse of Battersea Power Station to a packet of anti-depressants and a cowboy suit, Morton explores why ''stuff'' matters and the life of these things have so powerfully impinged upon their own. Their realization, through a concealer stick, that they identify as non-binary reveals the strange and wonderful ways that objects can form our worlds.Part memoir, part philoTable of ContentsChapter 0: Introducing Chapter 1: Electric Peanuts Chapter 2: Inner Bodyworker Chapter 3: Wimbledon Park Station Chapter 4: Oso Chapter 5: Arc Lights Chapter 6: CPAP Chapter 7: Antidepressants Chapter 8: Cowboy Costume Chapter 9: Concealer Chapter 10: Battersea Power Station Chapter 11: Clangers Chapter 12: Drum Kit Chapter 13: Avebury Ring Chapter 14: The Chicken Acknowledgments

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Don't be into trends. Don't make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress...' - Gianni VersaceFrom Elizabeth Hurley's safety pin dress to Jennifer Lopez's plunging green gown, Versace has always been a brand at the cutting edge of fashion. With a foot firmly placed in pop culture, Versace is beloved by fashionistas and celebrities alike, providing iconic moments like Lil Nas X's gold armour at the 2021 Met Gala, many of Elton John's eclectic tour outfits and the gown worn by Lady Diana in her posthumous tribute in Harper's Bazaar.Exquisitely illustrated and expertly written, this book explores the story of the brand, from its creation in 1978 by Gianni Versace to its iconic status today. Featuring images of red-carpet moments, key pieces and stunning catwalk shows, this is a fabulous collection of all things Versace.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNow a major motion picture called The Mauritanian 'A vision of hell, beyond Orwell, beyond Kafka' JOHN LE CARRÉThe first and only diary written by a Guantánamo detainee during his imprisonment, now with previous censored material restored.Mohamedou Ould Slahi was imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay in 2002.There he suffered the worst of what the prison had to offer, including months of sensory deprivation, torture and sexual assault.In October 2016 he was released without charge.This is his extraordinary story.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary account . . . the global war on terror has found in a Mauritanian captive its true and complete witness * * Guardian * *A vision of hell, beyond Orwell, beyond Kafka -- JOHN LE CARRÉUnnerving yet ultimately magnificent . . . there is something special about Guantánamo Diary that lifts it from human rights polemic to the realm of literary magic * * Sunday Times * *The work is a kind of dark masterpiece, a sometimes unbearable epic of pain, anguish and bitter humour * * New York Times * *Heartbreaking . . . there has never been a book quite like this . . . extraordinary and overwhelming * * New Statesman * *This Guantánamo detainee's harrowing memoir is a tremendous achievement - and a grave warning against ignoring the rule of law * * Observer * *This is a necessary book. It reminds us that the evil we're fighting can be found in ourselves as well as our enemies * * Daily Telegraph * *A sobering, often chilling, read. Slahi's story deserves to be widely read * * Independent * *Slahi's book offers a reminders that the struggles we face in these difficult times involve real individuals, not faceless creatures who are to be characterised as members as one or other hated group. That he has resorted to words, the mightiest of weapons, even as his incarceration continues, makes his experience all the more relevant today * * Financial Times * *A harrowing account of [Mohamedou Ould Slahi's] detention, interrogation, and abuse . . . One of the most stubborn, deliberate and cruel Guantánamo interrogations on record * * Slate * *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe epicentre of classic chic and the home of haute couture, Paris is the capital of elegance.From the iconic luxury of Chanel, Dior and Saint Laurent to the effortless sophistication of the typical Parisienne, the city's look is replicated the world over.Little Book of Paris Style is the beautifully illustrated guide to the enduring looks, designers and icons that embody the city of light.

Read more less

Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Wales Creative Nonfiction Book of the Year 2019; Rediscover the light in the dark...; 'A treasure of a book, wonderfully attentive in outlook and generous in spirit.' - Amy Liptrot; As November stubs out the glow of autumn and the days tighten into shorter hours, winter's occupation begins. Preparing for winter has its own rhythms, as old as our exchanges with the land. Of all the seasons, it draws us together. But winter can be tough.; It is a time of introspection, of looking inwards. Seasonal sadness; winter blues; depression - such feelings are widespread in the darker months. But by looking outwards, by being in and observing nature, we can appreciate its rhythms. Mountains make sense in any weather. The voices of a wood always speak consolation. A brush of frost; subtle colours; days as bright as a magpie's cackle. We can learn to see and celebrate winter in all its shadows and lights.; In this moving and lyrical evocation of a British winter and the feelings it inspires, Horatio Clare raises a torch against the darkness, illuminating the blackest corners of the season, and delving into memory and myth to explore the powerful hold that winter has on us. By learning to see, we can find the magic, the light that burns bright at the heart of winter: spring will come again.; __________; 'The natural world has life and light on even the coldest darkest days of winter and that is Clare's salvation.' - Susan Hill, Daily Mail Christmas Books; 'Magical, moving and deeply atmospheric' - Patrick Barkham; A Guardian 'best book of 2018'Trade Review"[Clare] is a fine observer, and the lushness of his prose offers a striking contrast with the stark lineaments of the winter landscape, both physical and spiritual." - Jane Shilling, Evening Standard; "This is a very powerful book indeed .... Supremely well-written ... Clare is a brilliantly inventive prose stylist, and some of his descriptive writing here is so good it makes you stop and smile and immediately read it again." - Roger Cox, The Scotsman; "Vivid, luminous prose" - The Observer; "Magical, moving and deeply atmospheric - this is a hymn to nature, to the north and to the hardest of seasons" - Patrick Barkham; "A treasure of a book, wonderfully attentive in outlook and generous in spirit" - Amy Liptrot; "Enchanting" - Emma Mitchell; "Cosy as a log fire, bracing as a moorland squall ... a potential life-saver for those of us who - like Clare himself - are wont to enter a state of low morale come November ... When the mercury plummets, forget hygge, save on scented candles, and read this instead" - Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller; "This sensuous evocation of winter darkness is a startlingly honest escape from seasonal depression. Horatio Clare beams through his own despair by exposing the intimacy of family love in the fiercely shafting light of his glittering prose." - John Lister-Kaye; "An enthralling book of beauty and pain, tenderness and imaginative absorption ... [Horatio Clare is a] prose-poet of mesmerising lyricism" - Juliet Nicolson, Spectator; "Thoughtful, careful writing that speaks from the heart ... ideal for curling up with during the darker days, especially if you suffer at all from the winter blues. ... This is a quiet celebration of life" - New Welsh Review; "Lyrical and beautiful" - Kate Blincoe; "A beautifully written book that struck a chord with me on many occasions ... insightful and thought provoking" - Books and Me blog; "The Light in the Dark is a moving and poetic look at this time of year and one book I rejoice in. This is a torch to guide us through the dark winter days until spring's first rays of light warm us" - John Fish, The Last Word Book Review; "Inspiring ... If you're a fan of Matt Haig, I would definitely recommend this too" -- Buttercupreview; "Throughout the book there's a real magical quality to the imagery... I found that I spent some time going back over particular sentences because they were so lovely ... There is much to reflect upon in this winter journal, particularly if you too struggle with darker days" -- Jaffareadstoo; "A beautiful, moving and poignant meditation on the changing of the seasons. It gave me solace as the nights draw in ever faster and left me with a sense of hope for the spring to come. I adored reading this book and I know it will be one I read again in the years to come. I'll definitely be buying copies for friends and I'll be recommending it every chance I get. It's a beautiful book and one I won't forget!" - RatherTooFondofBooks.com; "As we all approach another winter, this book may provide not only solace, but an exemplar for those whose personal shadows are amplified in dark times. The lesson, `Look outwards' is a good one" - Peter Reason, Shiny New Books; "This was such a stunning read, full of wonderful imagery and beautiful writing... Horatio Clare made me realise that there is beauty to be found outside in the depths of winter, if I will seek it out" - Secret Library Book Blog; 5* - "Clare's writing is taut, sparse and charged with emotion" - Half Man Half Book; "It is a book to be read aloud ... There is no end to the irrepressible courage that has made this book possible. It is a triumph over affliction by a great writer and when the light returns and he knows he is coming through, my heart is full and I am cheering" - Sue Brooks, Caught by the River

Read more less

Book SynopsisNow in his ninth decade, former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway has spent a lifetime at the bedsides of the dying, guiding countless men and women towards peaceful deaths. A positive and profound exploration of the many important lessons we can learn, this is also a stirring plea to reacquaint ourselves with death. Doing so gives us the chance to think about the meaning of life itself; and can mean the difference between ordinary sorrow and unbearable regret at the end.Radical, joyful and moving, Waiting for the Last Bus is an invitation to reconsider life's greatest mystery by one of the most important and beloved religious leaders of our time.Trade ReviewA wonderful, wise, compassionate and befriending piece of work -- KATHRYN MANNIX, author of With the End in MindThought-provoking, revelatory, grave and comforting. It is impossible not to be moved by it in the most profound way -- ALEXANDER McCALL SMITHA real gem: a tender book, brimming with wisdom, beauty and compassion. Reading Holloway is like taking a long walk in the countryside - afterwards, you understand the world better, you feel less lonely -- ELIF SHAFAK * * Guardian Books of the Year * *An inclusive and hugely nourishing reminder to take stock of our mortality . . . Elegant, elegiac and thought-provoking * * Observer * *Thoughtful, playful, courageous and deeply altruistic . . . a fine companion for anyone who wishes to live a life of any depth -- A.L. KENNEDYHolloway writes with passion and honesty at all times, and the result is compelling * * Guardian * *Every bit as meditative, witty and elegiac as you would expect * * Scotsman * *The record of a mind too large, too curious and far too generous to be confined within any single religious denomination -- PHILIP PULLMANA wise, compassionate perspective on a persistently taboo subject. The pragmatism and gentle humour make it an unusually inclusive book. For everyone, however young -- COLIN FIRTHPoignant . . . a subtle and consoling guide to dying -- CHARLOTTE RUNCIE * * Daily Telegraph * *

Read more less

Book SynopsisDonna Leon is author of the much-loved, best-selling series of novels featuring Commissario Brunetti and one of The Times' 50 Greatest Crime Writers. Widely considered one of the best detective series ever, with admirers including Ursula K. Le Guin and Antonia Fraser, the Brunetti Mysteries have won numerous awards around the world and been translated into thirty-five languages.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor many fans, David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era remains the most extraordinarily creative period in his career. As a member of Bowie's legendary band at the time - The Spiders From Mars - Woody Woodmansey played drums on four seminal albums: The Man Who Sold The World, Hunky Dory, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and Aladdin Sane. Woody's memoir, which he started work on in 2014, focuses on this key period and brings it to glorious life. With the confidence of youth, Woody always thought he'd be in a famous band but the nineteen-year-old rocker from Hull never expected to be thrust into London's burgeoning glam rock scene, and also into a bottle-green velvet suit and girl's shoes. Playing with Bowie took him on an eye-opening and transformative journey. In Spider From Mars he writes candidly about the characters who surrounded Bowie, recalling the album sessions as well as behind-the-scenes moments with one of the world's most iconic singers. The result is an insightful, funny, poignant memoir that lovingly evokes a seminal moment in music history and pays tribute to one of the most outstanding and innovative talents of our time.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER. A raw, honest, vivid memoir of one woman's struggle with addiction and recovery, for fans of Bryony Gordon, Cheryl Strayed and Daisy Buchanan.Trade ReviewAmerican journalist Sarah Hepola's extraordinary book describes her years of drinking... Writing with warmth and wit she explores reasons for her alcoholism * Independent *Simply extraordinary. Ms. Hepola's electric prose marks her as a flamingo among this genre's geese... As a form, addiction memoirs are permanently interesting because they're an excuse to crack open a life. Ms. Hepola's book moves to a top shelf in this arena... I'm glad, for herself and for us, that Ms. Hepola found A.A. and other varieties of help. "I had wanted alcohol to make me fearless," she writes. "But by the time I'd reached my mid-30s, I was scared all the time." It's a win-win. She got a better life. We have this book * New York Times *To say Blackout is a brutally honest memoir would be a bit of an understatement... It's a poignant and revealing look into the mind of an alcoholic that lets the reader experience all of the raw emotions the author feels during her struggles. It's a tale of friendships and how they evolve over the years... Blackout is one of the best memoirs I've read. Like Kristen Johnston's GUTS: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster, it treats a sensitive subject with unbridled honesty and humour. Yes, Blackout is a touching and, at times, heart-breaking story. It will likely make you cry. But it will also make you laugh out loud... a tour de force... Read this book. You won't be disappointed -- Dean Dauphinais * Huffington Post *This blew me away... Hepola is astonishingly and moving clear-sighted and honest about her drinking. She's also funny, and dry, and ever so clever * Bookseller (January 2016 preview) *Here's What People In Media Are Excited About In 2015... Sarah Hepola's Blackout, a dark, funny, honest-to-the-bone account of getting sober. * Buzzfeed *a memoir of her alcoholism but also an empathetic dissection of addiction and American drinking culture, and the blurry lines between the two. Hepola conveys both the horror in the mysteries left after a night smudged dark by drinking, and the draw of overdrinking that kept her carving out her memory with alcohol. * Atlantic *A memoir that's good and true is a work of art that stands the literary test of time and also serves a purpose in the present. It mines intimate, personal experiences to raise bigger questions, tell a bigger story, help readers understand themselves, their circumstances, their world. Like the best sermon, the best memoir comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable. Blackout, the debut memoir by Salon editor Sarah Hepola, is one such memoir. It's as lyrically written as a literary novel, as tightly wound as a thriller, as well-researched as a work of investigative journalism, and as impossible to put down as, well, a cold beer on a hot day. This book is a must-read redemption for everyone who has ever "craved something good for me" - which is to say, everyone. * Chicago Tribune *What's important about this book is that it treats alcohol as a symptom of the bigger issues we women deal with... Sarah writes it all with - dare I say? - sassiness and spunk. She's got a strong sense of where she came from, what she came through and where she's going - now that alcohol isn't along for the ride. I admire Sarah's honesty, I admire her anything-but-stereotypical stories and I admire her inventive, funny writing. But mostly, I admire Sarah herself. What she has accomplished - at such a young age - in regard to stepping up on behalf of her own well being. And what she has accomplished with the publication of this book - which has the potential to save the lives of so many other talented, spirited young women. Listen to Sarah Hepola. She's living proof of how fascinating a sober life can be. -- Sharon Grigsby * Dallas Morning News - Editorial Opinion Blog *a fucking stellar book... Here's what Blackout is about: body image, sexual consent while being an alcoholic, online dating as a late 30-something, dating while recently sober, the challenge of experiencing your first sober romantic kiss and sexual encounter as a 30-something, AA, feminism, friendship through alcohol and sobriety, the relationship between alcohol and writing, and more... The writing is incredibly smart and maintains a level of intensity you don't often find in long-form memoirs... Blackout is an enthralling interrogation of a life. Even the most banal moments are beautiful, elevated, and resonate across the human experience. * The Rumpus *Blackout is devoid of preachy admonitions. Instead, Hepola has woven together a compendium of hard facts (like that fragmentary blackouts start at a blood alcohol level of 0.2), personal reflections, and cultural implications; the result is a startlingly personal, in-depth exploration of a phenomenon that's still not completely understood, neither by the scientific world nor, certainly, by victims of recurrent alcohol-induced blackouts * Elle US *You don't need to be a reformed problem drinker to appreciate Hepola's gripping memoir about the years she lost yoo alcohol - and the self she rediscovered once she quit. * People *excellent * The Fix *The most anticipated pop cultural events of 2015... Hepola's dark, wise and often terrifically funny insights into her own toughest experiences are unfailingly riveting, and there's no doubt in our minds that her debut memoir, coming in June, will be a sensation * Salon *refreshingly honest, self-deprecating, and totally unselfish memoir... This is a must-read for recovering addicts; for women susceptible to the glamour of being modern and independent; for anyone who has had a difficult past, and who wants to heal, but who wants mostly to laugh at themselves. Basically, we should all be reading Blackout this summer (and wishing the incredibly smart and candid Hepola was our BFF) * Bustle (13 Of June 2015's Best Books That Are The Perfect Summer Escape) *Razor-sharp... modern, raw, and painfully real-and even hilarious... Hepola moves beyond the analysis of her addiction, making this the story of every woman's fight to be seen for who she really is. * Kirkus - Starred review *The best books we can't wait to read in 2015... Hepola has written some great essays about her drinking years. Now she's expanded them into a book * Chicago Reader *Sarah Hepola's Blackout is the best kind of memoir: fiercely funny, full of hard-won wisdom, marked by a writer with phenomenal gifts of observation and insight. The book engages universal questions -- Where do I belong? What fulfills me? -- that will engage any reader. * Emily Rapp, author of THE STILL POINT OF THE TURNING WORLD *The story of a rising star's journey of self-destruction and realization, Blackout is gripping, alternately excruciating and funny, scary and hopeful, and beautifully written. I loved it. * Anne Lamott, author of SMALL VICTORIES *This is a book about welcoming yourself back from a long absence. It's a memoir, but its author is not its main character; she is a new person sprung from the ashes of another one whose alcoholic self-erasure she describes with painful honesty and charming humor. A book about freedom that will help set others free as well * Walter Kirn, author of UP IN THE AIR *Sarah Hepola is my favorite kind of memoirist. She is a reporter with a poet's instincts, an anthropologist of her own soul. Blackout is a book about drinking and eventual sobriety, but it's also an exploration of the fleeting nature of the comfort we all constantly seek - comfort with the self, with others, with the whole maddening, confusing, exhilarating world. What's more, Hepola's ability to bring such precise and evocative life to the blank spaces that were her drinking blackouts is downright stunning in places. I admire this book tremendously. * Meghan Daum, author of THE UNSPEAKABLE: AND OTHER SUBJECTS OF DISCUSSION *Excellent * Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of BETTER THAN BEFORE *Hepola's account of her experience with alcohol gives a fresh edge to what is essentially a book on the influence booze has on the most precious moments of our lives. Never does she pretend her days of drinking were not as enjoyable as they were painful - both physically and mentally. There is a self-awareness to her writing that hits the right notes without feeling didactic. This is most poignant when Hepola describes how she dealt with the extreme feelings of vulnerability and exposure that came with finally giving up alcohol. Or the moments where she recounts the pressure her alcoholism put on her closest friends. Being an alcoholic, Hepola explains, is the easy part. Sobriety, that's where the challenge begins. Hepola makes for an endearing and entertaining authorand Blackout is an honest account of letting go of (and at times enjoying) alcohol. One that will surely endear and entertain the reader * We Love This Book *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA brilliant companion piece to Wide Sargasso Sea, this is Jean Rhys''s beautifully written, bitter-sweet autobiography, covering her chequered early years in Dominica, England and Paris.Jean Rhys wrote this autobiography in her old age, now the celebrated author of Wide Sargasso Sea but still haunted by memories of her troubled past: her precarious jobs on chorus lines and relationships with unsuitable men, her enduring sense of isolation and her decision at last to become a writer. From the early days on Dominica to the bleak time in England, living in bedsits on gin and little else, to Paris with her first husband, this is a lasting memorial to a unique artist.Includes an introduction by Diana Athill.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLeon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson''s life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory - a list that became world renowned: Schindler''s List. This, the only memoir published by a former Schindler''s List child, perfectly captures the innocence of a small boy who goes through the unthinkable. Most notable is the lack of rancour, the lack of venom, and the abundance of dignity in Mr Leyson''s telling. The Boy on the Wooden Boxis a legacy of hope, a memoir unlike anything you''ve ev

Read more less

Book Synopsis**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER****SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD**Uncovering the mystery of her mother's disappearance as a child: Laura Cumming, prize-winning author and art critic, takes a closer look at her family story.'A modern masterpiece' GuardianAutumn 1929 - a young girl is kidnapped from a beach. Five agonising days go by before she is discovered safe and well in a nearby village. The child remembers nothing of these events and at home, nobody ever speaks of them again.Decades later, Laura Cumming delves into the mystery surrounding her mother's disappearance. Examining everything from old family photos to letters, tickets and recipes, she uncovers a series of secrets and lies perpetuated not just by her family but by the whole community and in doing so unlocks a mystery almost a century old.'A moving, many-sided human story of great depth and tenderness, and a revelation of how art enriches life' Sunday TimesShortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionShortlisted for the Rathbones Folio PrizeLonglisted for the RSL Ondaatje PrizeTrade Review*Memoir of the Year* How we see -- and who see and what secrets they choose to share -- is at the heart of this exquisitely composed memoir... A peerless detective story that keeps you guessing to the end * The Sunday Times *On Chapel Sands is much more than a search for truth. It is a moving, many-sided human story of great depth and tenderness, and a revelation of how art enriches life. In short, a masterpiece -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Cumming skilfully withholds key twists in the tale, revealing them at just the right moment. There are surprises, but no shocks. Her prose is too elegant for such gaudiness – composed and restrained but empathetic -- Leaf Arbuthnot * The Times *Brilliant... This book is a love letter to her [Cumming's] mother, whose warmth, articulacy and survival instincts shine though. It's also an intimate portrait of a village community, with its storybook characters (butcher, baker, dairyman, bell-ringer, gravedigger) and their wonderful old-fashioned names -- Blake Morrison * Guardian *By turns beautiful, wistful, and ominous… the reasons behind the kidnap, and the repurcussions, are every bit as complex as any served up by fiction, and, oddly enough, the dénouement -- or succession of dénouements -- is just as satisfying, perhaps more so... a meditation on the way some people disappear, and time erases memory... so familiar as to be universal, and will probably ring bells with all but the sunniest reader (***** Five Stars) -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *

Read more less

Book SynopsisYou are no longer a number' Poland, 1944The train slowed and halted with a squeal of the breaks. It felt like we waited in the carriage for an eternity, but eventually, the heavy doors opened, directly into the chaos inside.Sara Leibovitz, a 16-year-old Jewish girl, was a passenger on the train with her family. They spent their final moments together on the platform in Auschwitz before their horrific fates were sealed. Sara's mother and baby brothers were sent straight to their deaths. Her father was made to work in the Sonderkommando as one of the men forced to remove the bodies from the gas chambers, and was later executed. Sara survived.This is the powerful true story of Sara Leibovits and the incredible pain and hardships she went through during her time in the death camp. Yet despite the horrors she faced, she always tried to maintain her family's values of courage, faith and kindness to others. In this compelling memoir, Sara's story is intertwined with that of her daughter, Eti.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWise, often funny, sometimes heart-breaking, Persepolis tells the story of Marjane Satrapi''s life in Tehran from the ages of six to fourteen, growing up during the Iranian Revolution.The intelligent and outspoken child of radical Marxists, and the great-grandaughter of Iran''s last emperor, Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life.Amidst the tragedy, Marjane''s child''s eye view adds immediacy and humour, and her story of a childhood at once outrageous and ordinary, beset by the unthinkable and yet buffered by an extraordinary and loving family, is immensely moving.''The magic of Marjane Satrapi''s work is that it can condense a whole country''s tragedy into one poignant, funny scene after another'' Independent on Sunday**ONE OF THTrade ReviewSatrapi grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and its aftermath; Persepolis is the story of her childhood. Through Marji's youthful (though not-always-innocent) eyes and mind, we see a turbulent moment in history unfold, and we witness the tremendous impact that local and global events and politics can have on even the most intimate moments of personal lives… And we get a very real sense of what it was like to be a woman in Iran during this intense time of cultural and political transition. … Satrapi's deceptively simple, almost whimsical drawings belie the seriousness and rich complexity of her story--but it’s also very funny too. * Emma Watson *Telling the story of Satrapi’s childhood in Iran, this is funny, wise and sad. * Stylist *Persepolis…has an outward simplicity that utterly beguiles: her black and white drawings resemble old-fashioned woodcuts; her narrative is almost breezily concise. * Royal Academy Magazine *A poignant, deeply moving and – at times – utterly hilarious work of art. * Evening Standard *This touching, funny, illuminating memoir deserves a much wider audience. -- Kate Figes * Guardian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIncluding Homage to Catalonia''Spain not only defined Orwell as an individual, it also gave him his first glimpse of totalitarianism'' D. J. Taylor, GuardianGeorge Orwell''s experience of the Spanish Civil War had a transformative effect on his life and work. This volume brings together his complete writings on the war, including Homage to Catalonia, his searing memoir of fighting in the conflict and the bitter betrayal that followed. The powerful journalism, essays, letters and pamphlets also collected here show his resolution to tell the truth about what happened amid a ''crop of lies'' from both the Communist Party and the British press, while in ''Looking Back on the Spanish War'' he remembers the heroism and decency of the ordinary people he encountered.Edited by Peter Davison with an Introduction by Christopher Hitchens

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn important and necessary book... a work of honesty and humanity, Mishal HusainThis is a unique and necessary book. The Good Russian takes us inside wartime Russia, to a city that Jana Bakunina knows intimately. She brings us face to face with ordinary Russians, and also tells her own compelling personal story. Best of all, she writes very well. Simon Kuper, FT journalist and author of the bestselling ChumsA fine and brave book. Luke Harding, author of Invasion: Russia''s Bloody War and Ukraine''s Fight for SurvivalWhen Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the writer Jana Bakunina, who has lived in the UK for 20 years, felt furious, ashamed, but most of all helpless. A year later she travelled to her home city of Yekaterinburg to see how ordinary Russians viewed the conflict - and whether the soul of her nation had truly been crushed.Jana finds a booming city seemingly untouched by war. Reconnecting with old friends, she discovers people either happy to go along with a regime that has brought them stability, or else staying out of politics. Most painful of all, her once liberal father has channelled his personal disappointments into becoming a firm fan of Putin.In the grand humane tradition of Russian dissident writers, Jana Bakunina grapples with a universal problem: what happens when a country you love becomes infected by nationalism? What hope is there when voices of conscience are silenced by dictatorship? And can Russians in exile still imagine a liberated future?

Read more less

Book SynopsisA deeply moving and revealing chronicle, from one of the most prominent psychotherapists of our time, of working under wholly new circumstances, and the challenges and breakthroughs he''s made as he takes on patients for one hour, one time only.Facing memory loss at age 93, as well as the fallout from a pandemic that moved much of daily life online, legendary psychotherapist and bestselling author Irvin Yalom was forced to vastly reconsider the shape of his sessions with patients. But rather than throw in the towel in the face of change, Dr Yalom considered the limitations imposed by these new realities head on, and revolutionized his practice. Dr Yalom wondered if perhaps his own practice could focus deeply on the work that could be achieved in a one-hour, one-time meeting between patient and practitioner-employing an even more concerted use of his here and now approach. As he began these one-time sessions, the beloved veteran therapist found himself freed to reach ever deeper places with new patients on a shortened timeline, without the buffer of future appointments.In HOUR OF THE HEART, Yalom recounts some of these intense, life-changing consultations, exploring an array of human predicaments, and his own late-career development as a therapist. In recounting these consultations, he shows how a therapist''s willingness to be open themselves helps the patient let down their own guard, leading to a deeper and more immediate connection-one necessary to achieve profound realizations in just sixty minutes.Life is precious and our time together short. HOUR OF THE HEART shows us how to relate to each other better in the moment, with more honesty and vulnerability. That hour of connection, occurring during a time of isolation and grief for so many, helped to sustain both patient and therapist, and enriched Yalom''s vision of what psychotherapy can do. This transformative account of a new way of connecting and sharing is for all of us looking to build relationships with greater immediacy, authenticity, and openness-in every area of life.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA riveting coming-of-age journey and a tantalising glimpse into a time when Africa was an oyster for the young, the brave and the free.It all began at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station, in 1961. Two young Princetonians have returned to New York from South America, where their dream of buying a coffee plantation in the Peruvian jungle evaporated. With the fire for adventure still burning in their veins, they are tempted by a mysterious letter from Kenya and plan a trip across Africa. They buy a white BMW motorcycle and paint the words The White Nile' on the tank, to honour the route they will follow.In limpid, elegant prose John Hopkins describes deadly salt flats where tourists vanish without a trace, mysterious Saharan oases and the funerals of young Tunisians killed by the French Foreign Legion. In Leptus Magna, he conjures visions of ancient Rome and visits Homer's fabled island of the Lotus Eaters.The adventurers escape armed vigilantes in thTrade ReviewEasy Rider, Ivy League Style. * Le Figaro *Table of ContentsTunisia Libya Egypt The Sudan Uganda Kenya Epilogue

Read more less

Book SynopsisA writer, an activist, a scholar and a change-maker, Yehudis Fletcher holds a social policy degree and is the founder of the think tank Nahamu, which campaigns for the right to assert civil liberties within orthodox Jewish communities and works to outlaw practices such as forced marriage and the covering up of sexual abuse.Yehudis's activism has earned her audiences both within and outside Jewish communities, extending to allies in wider circles of activism in the South Asian, Black and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as in education, legal and media spaces, among others.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne writer's unflinching struggle to make sense of her life, The Price of Silence answers many searching questions in a courageous and heartfelt attempt to dissect what took place when she was a child and bring the crimes to light.

Read more less

Book Synopsis_______________ 'An autobiographical meditation on feminism, power and womanhood … Full of Isabel's wisdom and warm words' - Grazia 'In her small, potent polemic . . . Isabel Allende writes about the toxic effects of “machismo”, combining wit with anger as she picks apart the patriarchy' - Independent 'Allende has everything it takes: the ear, the eye, the mind, the heart, the all-encompassing humanity' - New York Times An Independent, Guardian and Grazia Highlight for 2021 _______________ The wise, warm, defiant new book from literary legend Isabel Allende – a meditation on power, feminism and what it means to be a woman When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating. As a child, Isabel Allende watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children. As a young woman coming of age in the late 1960s, she rode the first wave of feminism. She has seen what has been accomplished by the movement in the course of her lifetime. And over the course of three marriages, she has learned how to grow as a woman while having a partner, when to step away, and the rewards of embracing one's sexuality. So what do women want? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over their bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will ‘light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished.’ _______________ 'Her thoughts, language and ideas traverse fluidly through ideas of gender, historic injustices, her marriages and bodily experiences and literary references . . . Allende’s love for women is palpable' - Sydney Morning HeraldTrade ReviewAn autobiographical meditation on feminism, power and womanhood … Full of Isabel's wisdom and warm words * Grazia *In her small, potent polemic . . . Isabel Allende writes about the toxic effects of “machismo”, combining wit with anger as she picks apart the patriarchy * Independent *An autobiographical meditation on feminism, power and womanhood . . . Full of Isabel's wisdom and warm words * Grazia *Her thoughts, language and ideas traverse fluidly through ideas of gender, historic injustices, her marriages and bodily experiences and literary references . . . Allende’s love for women is palpable * Sydney Morning Herald *Allende has everything it takes: the ear, the eye, the mind, the heart, the all-encompassing humanity * New York Times *Isabel Allende is a grand storyteller who writes with surpassing compassion and insight. Her place as an icon of world literature was secured long ago. She will be celebrated, by readers and writers alike, for generations to come -- Khaled Hosseini

Read more less

Book SynopsisTracing a loose arc from Edwidge Danticat''s childhood to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent events in Haiti, the essays gathered in We''re Alone include personal narrative, reportage, and tributes to mentors and heroes such as Toni Morrison, Paule Marshall, Gabriel García Márquez, and James Baldwin that explore several abiding themes: environmental catastrophe, the traumas of colonialism, motherhood, and the complexities of resilience.From hurricanes to political violence, from her days as a new student at a Brooklyn elementary school knowing little English to her account of a shooting hoax at a Miami mall, Danticat has an extraordinary ability to move from the personal to the global and back again. Throughout, literature and art prove to be her reliable companions and guides in both tragedies and triumphs.Danticat is an irresistible presence on the page: full of heart, outrage, humor, clear thinking, and moral questioning, while reminding us of the possibil

Read more less

Book SynopsisSue Barker first walked through those famous wrought-iron gates aged 13 in 1969 to play in the National Schools event. What Sue didn't know then, was that every year for the next half century, she would be back in some capacity. As a junior, aged 15, as a semi-finalist and Grand-Slam winner ranked No.3 in the world.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom one of the nation's best-loved food writers and inspired by the award-winning podcast, Comfort Eating is a wonderfully delicious, life-affirming journey through the foods that really mean the most to us.''What an absolute TREAT . . . A moving, sweet and funny memoir about the power of comfort foods. The memories and emotions triggered by it warmed my heart and reminded me of those I love.''MARIAN KEYES''Evocative and beautiful.'' EVENING STANDARD''Funny and poignant.'' GUARDIAN''This book will make you hungry.'' IRISH TIMES''Deliciously entertaining.'' SCOTSMAN''The comfort read you need.'' WOMEN''S WEEKLY***Have you ever wondered why eating cheese can sometimes feel like a cuddle?Or how a big bowl of pasta can be just what we need after a tough day?Oh, and what is it about butter that seems to make everything just that littl

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of the Thrown Away Children series comes another heartbreaking story of life in foster care.Louise has trouble on her hands from the first moment that 5-year-old Billy Blackthorn comes to stay. He is one of more than 20 children taken into care from a single family, and erupts into the Allen household with a volatility that is frightening and disturbing in equal measure. It is only as Louise begins to uncover the secrets of Billy's dark past that she begins to understand what made his family 'untouchable'.'Britain's top foster carer' The Sun'A shining light' Emily Finch, BBC

Read more less

Book SynopsisYou tell me we are made of seven billion billion billion atoms. I can feel every one of them as I write this all down. It''s a rush to feel that, like falling in love. Remembering is like falling in love with you, with us, again and again.What makes us who we are? What stories do we inherit - and leave behind? Faced with the prospect of losing her memory, a writer revisits the moments that changed her - from childhood to motherhood, loss and ill-health. Through shifting pronouns and perspectives, moving across place and time, each piece twists the kaleidoscope of existence to make sense of the present through the past. From the opening battle between her brain and her body, a conversation emerges between her collection of selves: the Daughter, the Sister, the Dancer, the Gardener, the Mother, the Girl-Who-Read-Woolf. Reliving her journey of becoming, she unpicks the fabric of fact and experience to stitch a new tapestry of personhood, both real and imaginary, mundane and profound.All of Us Atoms offers a tender portrait of the tension between our drive to make sense of things and the freedom that comes from throwing categories away. It heralds the arrival of a major new literary voice, urging us to reframe and reclaim our own stories and revel in our mutable, messy, multitudinous selves.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMark Hodkinson grew up among the terrace houses of Rochdale in a house with just one book. Today, Mark is an author, journalist and publisher. He still lives in Rochdale but is now surrounded by 3,500 titles, at the last count.No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy is his story of growing up a working-class lad during the 1970s and 1980s. It's about the schools, the music, the people - but pre-eminently and profoundly the books and authors that led the way and shaped his life. It's about a family who didn't see the point of reading, and a troubled grandad who taught Mark the power of stories. It's also a story of how writing and reading has changed over the last five decades.Trade ReviewDeeply poignant . . . Powerful * * Sunday Times * *This is a book about the north; it is also about publishing, writing and music, but it transcends its subjects and meets the criterion Hodkinson sets out in his preface: "The best books, the same as the best days, skitter on the breeze. They go their own way" * * Observer * *Mark Hodkinson is one of the great unsung heroes of literature . . . With verve, insight and perfectly-captured period detail, he reminds us that not only are books sacred objects that should be available to everyone, but also that working-class voices remain more marginalised and underrepresented than ever. No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy redresses this imbalance beautifully, and in a just world will kickstart a long-overdue working class literary renaissance -- BENJAMIN MYERSMark's journey into his own cocoon of books is a deeply personal tale but one with universal themes for all young lives shaped and transformed in some way by the written word . . . Thoughtful and engaging -- MARK RADCLIFFEReading this memoir is to realise there is no better tool for social mobility than a book . . . lovely * * Daily Mail * *Moving . . . A work of triumphs * * Irish Times * *This is an impassioned hymn of praise and declaration of love for that complex cultural object, the book. Anyone who has ever read, written or published a book will find their heart's pages turning as they sink joyfully into these craftsman-built paragraphs -- IAN McMILLANA resounding defence of the physical book and the thankless enthusiasts who bring it into existence . . . Entertaining * * Financial Times * *A memoir refracted through literature and its impact on the author's life. . . He writes with sharp humour and unsentimentally . . . An enjoyable and uplifting read * * Morning Star * *Some kids grow up dreaming of fast cars and fancy clothes. Others just want books and records. If that was you, particularly if you grew up in a small northern town where people said the word "book" the way they said the word "voodoo", this is probably your story. Even if you didn't, chances are you'll love it -- DAVID HEPWORTH

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING Wishing to leave behind the isolation of her Orkney island life, Amy Liptrot books a one-way flight to Berlin. She rents a loftbed in a shared flat and starts to look for work - and for love - through the screen of her phone. The Instant tells of the momentous year that follows, encountering the city's wildlife in the most unexpected places, tracing the cycles of the moon, the flight paths of migratory birds and surrendering to the addictive power of love and lust.Trade ReviewI loved this book, such an intimate portrayal of emotional landscapes and the pull of the moon - it's one I'll return to often -- RAYNOR WINNA slim, luminous account of living and loving in Berlin, picking up where The Outrun left off * * Sunday Times * *Brilliant on the addictive bliss of romance . . . [The Instant is] a parable about the quicksands of internet dating, and a survivor's handbook 'for the heartsick' * * Telegraph * *Beautiful . . . brilliant . . . The truest thing I've read in a long time. It feels revelatory to read serious, thoughtful writing on the sorts of experiences that so rarely receive it. . . The Instant is the most elegant examination of the internet's distance pain I have ever read -- EVIE WYLD * * New York Times * *Elegant, melancholic and deeply yearning, The Instant captures something vital about our age: its strange dislocations and connections. I drank it in -- KATHERINE MAYGlorious * * Times Literary Supplement * *Intoxicating, generous and refreshingly original. The way Liptrot weaves her inner life with the natural world and the digital world is utterly absorbing. This book is so alive and so wild -- LUCY JONESThe Instant is magical, it is sexy, it is redolent of the natural world and it is all the things that makes Liptrot one of the most unique voices writing today . . . We simply cannot get enough Liptrot in our lifetimes. I want her to write a book every year * * Caught by the River * *Wildness lurks in the edges of this book - nature in its more feral state, and unashamed eroticism. I gulped this slim, powerful, ravishing little book down in one -- CAL FLYNA book of rare power. Part heartbreaking love story, part pin-sharp exploration of relationships in the digital age, The Instant is an intense and intensely beautiful book about connection, longing and the gravitational power of nature, and human nature, on the heart -- ROB COWEN

Read more less

Book SynopsisAnnie Ernaux’s father died exactly two months after she passed her exams for a teaching certificate. Barely educated and valued since childhood strictly for his labour, Ernaux’s father had grown into a hard, practical man who showed his family little affection. Narrating his slow ascent towards material comfort, Ernaux’s cold observation in A Man’s Place reveals the shame that haunted her father throughout his life. She scrutinizes the importance he attributed to manners and language that came so unnaturally to him as he struggled to provide for his family with a grocery store and cafe in rural France. Over the course of the book, Ernaux grows up to become the uncompromising observer now familiar to the world, while her father matures into old age with a staid appreciation for life as it is and for a daughter he cautiously, even reluctantly admires.Trade Review‘Ernaux has inherited de Beauvoir’s role of chronicler to a generation.’ — Margaret Drabble, New Statesman‘A lesser writer would turn these experiences into misery memoirs, but Ernaux does not ask for our pity – or our admiration. It’s clear from the start that she doesn’t much care whether we like her or not, because she has no interest in herself as an individual entity. She is an emblematic daughter of emblematic French parents, part of an inevitable historical process, which includes breaking away. Her interest is in examining the breakage.... Ernaux is the betrayer and her father the betrayed: this is the narrative undertow that makes A Man's Place so lacerating.’ — Frances Wilson, Telegraph‘Not simply a short biography of man manacled to class assumptions, this is also, ironically, an exercise in the art of unsentimental writing ... The biography is also self-reflexive in its inquiry and suggests the question: what does it mean to contain a life within a number of pages?’ — Mia Colleran, Irish Times ‘Ernaux understands that writing about her parents is a form of betrayal. That she writes about their struggle to understand the middle-class literary world into which she has moved makes that betrayal all the more painful. But still she does it – and it is thrilling to read Ernaux working out, word by word, what she deems appropriate to include in each text. In being willing to show her discomfort, her disdain and her honest, careful consideration of the dilemmas of writing about real, lived lives, Ernaux has struck upon a bold new way to write memoir.’ — Ellen Pierson-Hagger, New Statesman‘No-one writes about family relationships with the nuance, both emotional and analytical, that Ernaux does, and such a reflective, self-critical perspective is even more precious. Her exploration of language in their household is sharp.... It might initially be read as a cold portrait, but the emotions and passionate thought rage through the taut writing. Likened to Simone de Beauvoir for her astute chronicling of a generation, Ernaux’s prose is intimate and unforgettable.’ — Dazed‘An unsentimental portrait of a man loved as a parent, admired as an individual but, because of habits and education, heartbreakingly apart. Moving and memorable.’ — Kirkus‘An affecting portrait of a man whose own peasant upbringing typified the adage that a child should never be better educated than his parents.’ — Publishers Weekly

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less