Memoirs Books

Book Synopsis'Poignant ... A meditation on life, love and the importance of nature' IRISH TIMES When they were in their twenties, Niall Williams and Christine Breen made the impulsive decision to leave New York City and move to Christine’s ancestral home in the town of Kiltumper in rural Ireland. In the decades that followed, the pair dedicated themselves to writing, gardening and living a life that followed the rhythms of the earth. In 2019, with Christine in the final stages of recovery from cancer and the surrounding land threatened by the arrival of turbines, Niall and Christine decided to document a year - in words and Christine's drawings - of living in their garden and in their small corner of a rapidly changing world. Proceeding month by month through the year, this is the story of a garden in all its many splendours, and a couple who have made their life observing its wonders.Trade ReviewMoving and surprisingly provocative ... This couple's narrative is more than a January-December chronicle, it is the result of decades of care ... In Kiltumper is as much a book about the cherishing of a marriage as it is about the love of a place ... A heartfelt paean to a disappearing way of life -- Dominique Browning * Wall Street Journal *A record, both honest and beautiful, of a sustainable but precarious way of life -- Claire Connolly * Times Literary Supplement *Poignant ... A meditation on life, love and the importance of nature -- Brian Maye * Irish Times *Beautifully written ... A wonderfully lyrical and uplifting read -- Dermot Bolger * Sunday Business Post *An absorbing and thought-provoking read -- Diarmuid Gavin * Irish Independent *An intimate, meditative garden memoir -- Hilary White * Sunday Independent *While the events chronicled rarely move beyond the garden, and while the descriptions are so intimate they almost elicit grief for the dying cherry tree and spark exhortations to the dahlias to hold on to their heavy heads, it is the gardeners’ personalities that bloom -- Caroline O'Doherty * Irish Independent *The small Kiltumper acreage is detailed with a sense of wonder and of pleasure ... Chapter after chapter is enhanced with exquisite pencil drawings ... Frequently quotable, always eloquent ... This is a book full of joy, warmly rich with accomplishment and wonder and a strong sense of mutual commitment -- Mary Leland * Irish Examiner *Arresting ... Remarkable ... This book, in Seamus Heaney's phrase, catches the heart off guard ... Uncommonly magical ... Read it and be restored to yourself -- Cahir O'Doherty * Irish Central *I loved their two voices, truthful and gentle and generous, so full of care for their land and for each other ... A record of how deeply life can be lived within a garden's walls -- GEORGINA HARDINGA beautiful story, with words at once uplifting and poignant. Full of the acceptance and the optimism that only a garden and the act of caring for it brings -- JO THOMPSONI read it with enormous pleasure … There were so many episodes I loved, whether they were heartbreaking or uplifting … It was a delight to step into Niall and Christine’s precious garden, into the rhythms of their way of living, and to be refreshed -- TIM PEARSThis is a book to whet one’s appetite — for reading, writing, gardening — and living. I loved the counterpoint of the two voices as they face age, cancer, the struggle to write, to garden — to keep at it — under the threat of wind turbines and the wild Atlantic wind; not to give up. A triumph -- Katherine SwiftA celebration of life in rural Ireland * Irish Times, Best books for Christmas 2021 *Including beautiful pen and ink drawings by Christine, this is the story of a garden in all its many splendours and a couple who have made their life observing its wonders * Countryside *Whether you like gardening or enjoy reflections on a life lived simply in harmony with nature, this book is a sheer joy ... Niall and Christine celebrate the challenges and joys in delightful detail, from feeding Harp beer to brassicas, to running writing workshops and sharing the good life with friends and family -- Zoë West * Woman & Home, Book Club Awards *Here, they record 12 months of work in their garden, capturing their love of the land – which has been in Christine’s family since the 18th century – and also reflecting on the past and anxiously contemplating what the future holds as climate change takes hold. Through everything, their garden is a lovingly nurtured constant * Sunday Express, S Magazine *Twelve months in a cherished garden ... The good life, with its ups and downs * Saga *A celebration of the solace of country life … Country living, Breen reflects, teaches “about darkness and stars, about sunlight and silence, about things out of your control”: about the inevitability of change. The book includes Breen’s elegant botanical drawings. A warm homage to a piece of beloved Irish land * Kirkus Reviews *The book will appeal to any devoted gardener, and it also serves as an inviting snapshot of a place -- Eric Liebetrau * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book Synopsis'Funny and refreshing' Independent'Forthright but funny feminism shines through' Grazia'Enlightening, inspiring, funny, shocking and brave, every woman should get a copy' StylistI want to have slow sex, work out what to do with a penis, and experience the fourteen different types of female orgasm.In her mid-thirties, Lucy-Anne Holmes still felt like a novice when it came to sex. But when she tried to find out what she could do about it, she realised everything she googled was geared to male pleasure rather than to women’s. Determined not to let this stop her, Lucy penned a list and set out to discover what her sex life was missing. She embarked on an adventure which would change her life. Lucy has written the book about sex she wanted to read. It will make you snort with laughter one minute and weep the next; it is frank, eye-opening and inspiring, and will speak to women everywhere.Trade Review 'Funny and refreshing' Independent 'Forthright but funny feminism shines through' Grazia 'Enlightening, inspiring, funny, shocking and brave, every woman should get a copy' Stylist 'The sex book I've always wanted to read but never imagined could exist' Emma Sexton, Badass Women's Hour

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Book SynopsisParis is seen the world over as one of the most beautiful, romantic and iconic cities you can visit, and it has more places to eat and things to see than you could manage in a lifetime. Paris, Block by Block is the essential guide to the unmissable places to go, covering everything from restaurants to boutiques, galleries to parks, all illustrated with 50 of Cierra Block''s distinctive maps. Each map starts with an idea it might be, Where''s the best croissant in Paris? What is the place everyone should visit in the Latin Quarter? Or, where can you lose hours people-watching? From there, Cierra has curated a list of the best places from Montmartre to The Marais, Champs Élysées to St-Germain, and has painted a charming accompanying map. Patisserie to fashion, the most impressive views to Seine-side activities, there really is something for everyone.The follow-up to 2022''s London Block by Block and 2023''s New York Block by Block, this book will be an inspiration for all, whether it''s your first visit to the city, a seasoned traveller or an all-your-life local. That''s the wonderful thing about Paris there''s always more to explore!

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Book SynopsisFrom the creator of Your Fat Friend and co-host of the Maintenance Phase podcast, an explosive indictment of the systemic and cultural bias facing plus-size people.Anti-fatness is everywhere. In What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, Aubrey Gordon unearths the cultural attitudes and social systems that have led to people being denied basic needs because they are fat and calls for social justice movements to be inclusive of plus-sized people’s experiences. Unlike the recent wave of memoirs and quasi self-help books that encourage readers to love and accept themselves, Gordon pushes the discussion further towards authentic fat activism, which includes ending legal weight discrimination, giving equal access to health care for large people, increased access to public spaces, and ending anti-fat violence. As she argues, “I did not come to body positivity for self-esteem. I came to it for social justice.”By sharing her experienc

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Book SynopsisAt the age of twenty-five, Bobby quit his career in London to pursue a dream he'd nurtured since he was teenager to run his own business. With a passion for building, a degree from Loughborough University and a few years' experience with a property developer, he felt ready to take on the world and the challenges that lay ahead. Little did he know that before he was thirty, his heart would be broken, and he would be homeless and near bankrupt.To turn his life around Bobby set out on a crazy adventure, selling all his possessions to buy a truck and drive from his hometown of Wigan all the way to Australia. Truck It! is Bobby's first memoir of his travels.

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.But is not the slave trade entirely a war with the heart of man?In 1789, Olaudah Equiano published his remarkable autobiography of his journey from enslavement to freedom. Kidnapped from his home in West Africa and sold into slavery as a child, Equiano renamed Gustavus Vassa travelled the world as an enslaved man, before he eventually purchased his freedom and became a leading figure in the British abolition campaign.One of the earliest known books published by a Black African author, Equiano's vivid and harrowing life story shed light on the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade. The Interesting Narrative has been widely celebrated for its impact on the abolitionist movement and remains today a powerful record of the horrors of slavery.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is an essential read for every gay person on the planet. -- Elton JohnUtterly brilliant. -- Owen Jones * The Guardian *Amazing. A seminal work. It will be used as a study book. * Will Young *Todd doesn’t hold back in calling for a shift both outside and inside the gay community. He calls out hook-up apps such as Grindr, the 'mean girls' persona that so many gay men adopt, and the gay press itself… Straight Jacket isn’t just a self-help book. It’s a resource for anyone with an interest in knowing what needs to change to bring about real equality... For that, Matthew Todd has another reason to be proud. * Evening Standard *The book everyone is talking about… This is probably the most important thing I’ll ever read as a gay man. Full of profundity and fearless honesty. * Calum McSwiggan, Youtuber *I recommend it to everyone I meet. I've bought 15 copies to give to people. In my opinion it should be on every teacher's reading list. Whoever you are - especially if you are straight - go and buy it now. It could help change your life and the world around you. * Rankin (Photographer & Director) *One of the most powerful books, sensitively and elegantly written, I think, that I have ever read. * Lord Michael Cashman CBE *If only this had been written twenty years ago I can only imagine the lives that could have been saved sooner. This is a hugely important book for everyone. It's changed the way I see myself, other people and the world. * Paris Lees, author and British Vogue Contributing Editor *Matthew Todd dares to shine a light on the dark legacy of gay shame [and] it’s not a pretty sight…There are some uncomfortable and downright terrifying truths to be confronted in Todd’s brilliant, essential new book. It’s difficult to underestimate the importance of Straight Jacket. If you are struggling and want help and don’t know where to look, this book is a great place to start. But even if you’re not, [it] is by far one of the most important books you’ll read this year. * Gay Community News Ireland *An essential book... Part sociological polemic and part self-help book, it zones in on some of the issues that disproportionately affect the gay community, from depression and anxiety to drug and alcohol addiction and body and eating disorders. I found myself both deeply upset and hugely relieved by its candour. After reading the book, tender as it is, you can’t help but want to share your own experiences. Consider Straight Jacket a call to arms. * Independent (i) *Matthew Todd thought he had long since dealt with the demons surrounding his sexuality. In [his] new book, he reveals the crisis of shame facing the gay community – and how to solve it. * The Observer *Straight Jacket is a really brilliant and moving read for everybody, especially LGBTQ+ people. Thanks Matthew. * Years and Years singer Olly Alexander *Straight Jacket documents Todd’s own childhood experiences, and the long-term mental health and addiction issues he has suffered; he is also using it to call for a government inquiry into the experiences of LGBT children at school. * Guardian *There are some uncomfortable and downright terrifying truths in Todd’s brilliant, essential new book... It’s difficult to underestimate the importance of Straight Jacket. It’s fundamentally a call to arms, a wide-ranging, desperately heartfelt cri de coeur… The gay community needs to look at ways of taking better care of itself, being nicer to each other and offering and providing support when it’s needed. * Gay Community News, Dublin *Cannot put it down… a book like this is long overdue. * Charlie Condou *An honest and perceptive book. * Sunday Express *A smashing book. * Paul O'Grady *Excellent… A valuable contribution to mental health and a must read. * Dr Christian Jessen *It’s an important book. I had to read it right through. It tackles some tough issues and is searingly honest * Lorraine Kelly *I got so much out of that book and I know a lot of people have. It’s helping a lot of people. It’s a bible. * Performance artist David Hoyle *

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Book SynopsisA collection of darkly humorous, intensely personal essays by cult fave and multi-hyphenate artist Jean GraeIn My Remaining Years, by creative juggernaut Jean Grae, debunks the myth that coming-of-age narratives should be reserved for the kids, providing a much-needed rallying cry for those of us still trying to figure it out in our forties. These laugh-out-loud essays cover everything from aging gracefully (with and without botox), what happens when you look for community and almost start a cult, befriending childhood demons (Hi Mumm-ra!), gender fluidity in middle age, the cost of being too fabulous, and the various gymnastics we do to avoid becoming our parents, taking us from her childhood in 1980s New York City to present-day Baltimore. In these pages, Jean captures magic in a bottle, distilling the feeling of hanging out with your smartest, funniest, and most brutally honest best friend.

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Book SynopsisLegendary cricket broadcaster takes readers on a charming journey through modern cricket, while looking back at the great games of yesteryear.

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Book SynopsisA Sunday Times BestsellerHave you ever had a strange urge to jump from a tall building, or steer your car into oncoming traffic? You are not alone. In this captivating fusion of science, history and personal memoir, writer David Adam explores the weird thoughts that exist within every mind, and how they drive millions of us towards obsessions and compulsions.'One of the best and most readable studies of a mental illness to have emerged in recent years . . . an honest and open and, yes, maybe life-changing work' - Matt Haig, Observer Told with fierce clarity, humour and urgent lyricism, this extraordinary book is both the haunting story of a personal nightmare, and a fascinating doorway into the darkest corners of our minds.David has suffered from obsessive compulsive disoder (OCD) for twenty years, and The Man Who Couldn't Stop is his unflinchingly honest attempt to understand the condition and his experiTrade ReviewClear-sighted and eminently accessible ... a fundamentally important book that will bring a breath of fresh understanding to sufferers - as well as mental-health professionals, and family and friends of anyone who exhibits symptoms of OCD. I urge anyone to buy it. It will make you think again * Sunday Times *A fascinating study of the living nightmare that is obsessive compulsive disorder ... one of the best and most readable studies of a mental illness to have emerged in recent years ... an honest and open and, yes, maybe life-changing work -- Matt Haig * Observer *Combines a scientific account of OCD from ancient times to the most recent research with passages of tenderly written memoir * Telegraph *The Man Who Couldn't Stop is quite simply book of the year, on living with OCD: just buy it now -- Adam RutherfordSuperb... A brave and helpful contribution to deepening our understanding of the intricate complexities of mental ill-health * The Times *Adam recounts his journey with humour and detachment * Literary Review *[An] engaging, exhaustively researched neuro memoir, a blend of brain science and personal history * Evening Standard *This blew me away. Stunning -- Ian Sample * Guardian *An insider's tour of the OCD brain, providing insight into the cultural and scientific evolution of how we view and treat a disorder that affects up to 3% of people worldwide * Nature *A captivating first-person account of how a blizzard of unwanted thoughts can become a personal nightmare. At times shocking, at times tragic, at times unbelievably funny, it is a wonderful read * Focus *A lucid, humane ­- only intermittently autobiographical - science book ... offers a clear history through riveting case studies and the work of key figures * Metro *David Adam, a successful writer, is also a sufferer of obsessive compulsive disorder ... He covers the history of OCD, the treatments that have been tried without success, and his experience of cognitive behavioural therapy, CBT, which was greatly helpful. A well-written, thorough account * Independent *Well-researched, witty, honest and irreverent, Adam's account proves as irresistible as his subject * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisWhen Liv Thorne was in her twenties, and single, she would joke to friends that if Mr Right didn't come along she'd have to take matters into her own hands and have a child on her own. When she was still single in her thirties, it stopped being a joke and she started researching sperm banks and fertility clinics.Liv's Alone is an honest and hopeful memoir that captures the joy and the challenge that is parenting alone by choice. From dismantling the fairy tale story that we're fed from a young age and grieving the life you thought you were going to have, to buying sperm from Denmark and bringing a baby into the world.Guiding readers through the highs and lows with warmth, humour and understanding, Liv wants her book to be a little beacon of optimism for women who are in the same position she was in; late 30s, single and longing for a baby. This is Liv & Herb's story, but hopefully a version of it will be yours.

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Book Synopsis'During downtime on the pottery throwdown Keith made my hair curl with some of his tales - he's a great raconteur and recounts his story in this book as he does in real life - with joy, charm & mischief.' - Sara Cox'Fans of Throw Down will enjoy this warm autobiography.' - Daily Mail'An engaging read by an endearing, unassuming man who has always stayed true to his passions.' - Daily MirrorBallet dancer. Front man in an almost famous band. Judge on The Great Pottery Throwdown. How did all that happen?By accident mostly. But I always say we make our own luck. What if an art teacher hadn't given me a lump of clay? What if the band had been really successful? What if I hadn't taken a photograph of a bowl to the buyer at Heals in London? What if she'd hated it? Or hadn't seen it... What if I hadn't agreed to dress up as Adele to make a crazy YouTube video? Every chapter of my book is based around an object (usually a pot) that's been significant in my life. It's just a trigger to let me go off in a lot of different directions and tell a few stories. A lot of stories. Dyslexia. The art teacher who changed my life. My Mother. My Father. A life-changing job interview with a man who lay under his car throughout. That video.Sifting through half-forgotten memories, trying to pick out the golden nuggets from the stuff that is definitely dross has been a curious, and at times hilarious, sometimes sad, but definitely enlightening process. So here it is - my pottery life with some very loud music and some pretty good dancing. And a lot of throwing, fettling and firing. Oh ...and a good dose of anxiety.

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Book SynopsisMerging memoir, poetry, and criticism, this radical literary revue traces a first-generation Nigerian American?s search for home and belonging on her own terms.In The Gloomy Girl Variety Show, Freda Epum explores theopposing forces of her ?no-place, no-where? identity as aNigerian American daughter, diasporically displaced, who spentyears in and out of institutions seeking treatment for life-threateningmental illness. Epum examines her journey through healthcare andhousing systems via a pop cultural lens?our collective obsessionwith HGTV?s home buying and makeover shows?and a patchworkof poetry, art, and autotheory.With raw honesty and glittering wit, this debut memoir maps thecomplexity of life under intersecting forms of oppression, revealingwhat it takes to turn from the brink of despair toward communityand self-acceptance, find refuge in love, and reimagine home.

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Book SynopsisThe sixth volume in the series that has been hailed by NPR, O Magazine and Vogue, Freeman's: California features stunning new work from a broad selection of writers, revealing everything that is important and fascinating about America's most populous state.In Freeman's: California, Lauren Markham describes how four generations of her family have lived in and tried to manipulate the water in one of the driest parts of the state and how water and land means everything. Rabih Alameddine recounts becoming a bartender in the mid-1980s as his friends began to die of AIDS. Rachel Kushner reminisces on all the amazing cars she's owned and their peculiar, vivid personalities. Natalie Diaz narrates the process of making her body into a professional basketball player, and how that assembly stalled some of the internal vulnerabilities she'd felt as a gay native woman growing up in California. And Elaine Castillo visits her brother in prison.Amid the raging the forest fires plaguing California, William T. Vollmann drives to the Carr fire and sees how fire has become the new state of normality for California. And Jaime Cortez riffs on pulling over at a rest-stop and smelling the fires of Paradise burning.Meanwhile home is in transition as Karen Tei Yamashita recalls a Japanese-American who goes to Japan after the dropping of the bomb, writing back and forth. Reyna Grande explores how her mother fell out of society and became a woman who collects recycling, while she and her siblings have become model immigrants.Also featuring a haunting ghost story from Oscar Villalon, bold new fiction from Tommy Orange, and stunning poems from Mai Der Vang, Juan Felipe Herrera, Maggie Millner and more, Freeman's: California assembles a diverse list of brilliant writers.Trade ReviewJohn Freeman understands California. . . In this collection, California in all its glorious complexity comes vividly to life. * Kirkus Reviews *From the abstract to the literal, there is no shortage of provocative, thoughtful pieces here. * Publishers Weekly *A new literary journal that's sure to become a classic in years to come. * San Francisco Chronicle *There's an illustrious new literary journal in town... * Vogue.com *Freeman's is fresh, provocative, engrossing... * BBC.com *Freeman draws from a global cache of talent...An expansive reading experience. * Kirkus Reviews *John Freeman is a literary bowerbird; he has an eye for treasure...He certainly excels at the art of collection, particularly when he looks beyond the big names. * The Australian *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2020__________________________'A moving story of love, tradition and landscape.' Evening Standard, 'Books of the Year''A moving, multilayered memoir... extraordinary, ambitious... its scope is immense. A book that is deep in riches.' Simon Callow, Guardian'A marvellous book... an uplifting tale of tranquillity sought and found in the nearest Britain gets to paradise.' Simon Jenkins'There are worlds on worlds within this lyrical and profoundly cultured book. In an age of toxic artifice, this is the most necessary medicine: the tenderness of reality and the living, elemental, world.' Jay Griffiths __________________________A multi-layered memoir of love, acceptance, finding home and the redemptive power of nature.In 2006, Mike Parker and his partner Peredur were witnesses at the civil partnership of their friends Reg and George, the first in the small Welsh town of Machynlleth. Years later, when Reg and George died within a few weeks of each other, Mike and Peredur discovered that they had been left their home: a whitewashed 'house from the children's stories', buried deep within the hills. On the Red Hill is the story of Rhiw Goch, 'the Red Hill', and its inhabitants, but also the story of a remarkable rural community and a legacy that extends far beyond bricks and mortar. It is a story that celebrates the turn of the year's wheel, of ever-changing landscapes, and of the family found in the unlikeliest of places. Highly commended by the judging panel for the 2020 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing__________________________'A delightful book about beauty, joy, love and home... to be celebrated and read.' Sara Maitland'A great queer rural triumph of a book - wonderfully passionate, funny and insightful. It overflows with love.' Tom BulloughTrade ReviewOn the Red Hill is an extraordinary book: brave and ground-breaking. It is far more than a queer and Welsh Howards End. Gossipy, inquisitive, confessional, lyrical, elegiac and camp-ly witty by turns, Parker offers us an unexpected and important meditation on change and on belonging, presenting four different gay lives associated with a single house. He shows us what it is that makes these lives matter. -- Peter J. ConradiA marvellous book. It is an uplifting tale of tranquillity sought and found in the nearest Britain gets to paradise. -- Simon JenkinsIntense, fascinating account of queer lives in rural Wales over almost five decades ... holds a mirror up to the often hidden gay lives of the past century ... The result, in prose as swooping as the birds that teem about the house, is an important study of everyday gay life before and after decriminalisation. It is also (for Parker is nothing if not ambitious) an intimate account of the stunning natural beauty of this part of Wales, and its proud history ... By turns euphoric and melancholy, he matches his emotions to the seasons ... It is through this unusual book, a lovely hybrid of memoir, panegyric and queer history, that Parker too ... seems at last to find his own noddfa - sanctuary - and with it a sense of belonging. * Daily Telegraph *Structurally innovative, linguistically precise, and emotionally enervating, On the Red Hill is a praise-poem to adventure, belonging, the power of nature and, above all, to the resilience of human beings and the love between them. Parker's great strength and passion is in illuminating certain hidden strata of these islands, in the unearthing and re-telling of stories silenced by the forces of political history; here, he applies those talents to his own biography, and to some of those blessed enough to share it. He has produced a beautiful, immersive and - in these testing times - vital and necessary book. -- Niall GriffithsOstensibly set in one house in rural Wales, there are worlds on worlds within this lyrical and profoundly cultured book. In an age of toxic artifice, this is the most necessary medicine: the tenderness of reality and the living, elemental, world. -- Jay Griffiths

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Book SynopsisAn Oprah Magazine Book of the Year 2023'A magical, endearing memoir ... the literary romance of the year' Oprah'This book pulses with a defiant wonder at the living world, as wild and unruly as our feathered hero' Polly Morland, author of A Fortunate WomanThen, just in time, before I swung the spade again, I saw, right by the blade and camouflaged by the leaves on the ground, a magpie chick. It squatted belligerently, peering up at me with miniature magpie fury. George.When Frieda Hughes moved to the depths of the Welsh countryside, she was expecting to take on a few projects: planting a garden, painting and writing her poetry column for the Times. But instead, she found herself rescuing a baby magpie, the sole survivor of a nest destroyed in a storm - and embarking on an obsession that would change the course of her life. As the magpie, George, grows from a shrieking scrap of feathers and bones into an intelligent, unruly companion, Frieda finds herself captivated - and apprehensive

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Book SynopsisInitially published as No Place to Lay One's Head - the unforgettable story of one woman's struggle to survive persecution in wartime France In 1921, Françoise Frenkel-a Jewish woman from Poland-opens Berlin's very first French bookshop. It is a dream come true. The bookshop attracts artists and diplomats, celebrities and poets. It brings Françoise peace, friendship and prosperity. Then, in the summer of 1939, the dream ends and Françoise's desperate, headlong flight from Nazi persecution begins. Unfolding in Berlin, Paris and against the romantic landscapes of southern France, A Bookshop in Berlin is a heartbreaking tale of human cruelty and unending kindness; and of a woman whose lust for life refuses to leave her, even in her darkest hours.Trade Review'It has massive potential to connect with readers as an eyewitness testimony to the creep of oppression and hatred alongside its moral defence of literature, art and freedom' -The Bookseller, Editor's Choice

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Book SynopsisA magical and hugely captivating journey - filled with such beauty, wonder and surprise. A simply marvellous read, hugely recommended - Stephen Fry A real-life journey through the fantastical world of The OdysseyIt started with a boy, of course. Seeking solace from the pain of heartbreak and her father''s illness, Laura Coffey embarks on what was meant to be a simple holiday. But her newfound fascination with ancient Greek myths transforms her trip into a six-month odyssey, around tiny archipelagos and mystical Mediterranean islands thought to be the setting of Odysseus''s epic journey. As she chases one of the most conflicted, flawed and yet beloved heroes through his fantastical sea-kingdoms, looking for the places where geography and mythology collide, she discovers the wild beauty of the islands, and the redemptive powers of travel and nature, cold-water swimming, long hikes up mountains, and luminous star-lit skies.<

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Book SynopsisYou''ve fought and you''ve run away. You''ve danced with other Black queer bodies until sunrise.Sometimes you wanted to be caught and sometimes you wanted to be held. With all that you''ve endured, you are nothing less than miraculous.From choirboy to drag act, grandson to mentor, poet to lover, Dean Atta has played many roles in his life. In this formally inventive, candid and courageous book, he explores what he has carried in his body: wins and losses, shame and pride, pain and joy. Dean also investigates how radical self-acceptance and a willingness to abide with discomfort open up the possibility of a life lived beyond definition: a person unlimited.

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Book SynopsisAurochs and Auks is a deeply moving and intelligent meditation on the natural processes of death and extinction, renewal and continuity. Prompted by his own near-death in a time of pandemic, John Burnside explores the history of the auroch (Bos primigenius), the wild cattle that has become the source of so much sacred and cultural imagery across Europe, from the Minotaur and the Cretan bull dances to Spanish corrida traditions. He then tells the story of the Great Auk, a curious bird whose extinction in the mid-nineteenth century was caused by human persecution and before stepping into multiple extinctions of the outer and inner world.Trade ReviewWritten with both erudite ire and a longing soul, this is a work of a beautiful mind - Jay Griffiths

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Book SynopsisA Long and Varied Career John Lyons started his acting career as a founder member of the ‘East 15 Acting School’ in 1961. Upon leaving he went into the Professional company of the school ‘Theatre Workshop’ which at the time was under the direction of Joan Littlewood. In the intervening 50 years John’s career has been both long and varied, covering both West End musicals and straight plays, including three separate years in ‘The Mousetrap’ and tours both in England and The Continent with the Musical " Oh! What a Lovely War" But his career went beyond the stage. His TV appearances are numerous (over 500) ranging from ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ Play for Today’ ‘The Sweeney’ to ‘On the Buses’ ‘George & Mildred’ and ‘The 19th Hole with Eric Sykes. John Lyons is of course best known for playing Sir David Jason’s long suffering sidekick D.S. George Toolan in ‘A Touch of Frost’ which ran for a very successful 17 ½ years and currently being repeated daily on ITV3. Panto has played a very big and fun time in John’s life, starting in 1997 with productions of Dick Whittington and Aladdin with the Comedian Jim Davidson, playing Bristol. Palace Theatre Manchester, Mayflower Southampton etc, over a period of ten years. And John is still working. John is in great demand on the after dinner speaking circuit, personal appearances at ‘On the Buses’ reunions and numerous P & O Cruises talking about ‘An actor's life - the beginning and conclusion’ – ‘The Touch of Frost Years’ (his 17 years in a Touch of Frost with clips, outtakes, clips of pranks played on him). This is the story of John Lyons, Not Just George. You'll laugh, we promise, you might cry, and you'll get a look at the life of one of the most prolific actors of our time.

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Book SynopsisThe terrifying fact is this: Huntington’s disease leads to physical and mental deterioration. There is no cure. It is handed down genetically, with a 1:2 chance of inheritance that cannot be determined until the disease shows itself, often not until the sufferer is in their 40s. Many do not know they have the gene or are at risk of passing it on. Those who do know, because a parent has suffered from it, may wait a lifetime before finding out whether they are safe or not. The prospects are horrific. After his first marriage failed, Brian Verity had a breakdown and married the woman who nursed him back to health. Within a few years, she began showing the signs of Huntington’s that he had seen in other members of her family and that he had a morbid fear of. Having fallen in love with her in hospital, he now found himself repelled, fearful of his own psychological fragility and inability to cope and yet committed to protecting her from the terrible distress that lay in wait. In his view, assisted dying was her only option. Was he right? Stephen Games, who edited this book, was in contact with Brian Verity in the year before he died, and is available to talk about the raw issues raised by the author and about the wider context of the book.

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Book Synopsis20-something and uncertain about her future, Florentyna Leow is exhilarated when an old acquaintance offers her an opportunity for work and cohabitation in a little house in the hills of Kyoto. Florentyna begins a new job as a tour guide, taking tourists on elaborate and expensive trips around Kyoto's cultural hotspots. Amidst the busy tourist traps and overrun temples, Florentyna develops her own personal map of the city: a favourite smoky jazz kissa; a top-shelf katsuobushi loving cat; an elderly lady named Yamaguchi-san, who shares her sweets and gives Florentyna a Japanese name. Meanwhile, her relationship with her new companion develops an intensity as they live and work together. Their little kitchen, the epicenter of their shared life, overlooks a community garden dominated by a fruitful persimmon tree. Their relationship burns bright, but seasons change, the persimmon tree out back loses its fruit, and things grow strange between the two women.Trade Review"O would let Leow's writing take me anywhere, but in these pages Kyoto transpires to be a particularly meaningful and enchanted destination for her to transport her reader. Friendship, food, language, tour-guiding, and all the myriad kinds of love-whatever she's addressing in the moment, her fragrant, juice-filled prose is coated in a crispy-soft casing of wisdom, self awareness and compassion." - Polly Barton, author of Fifty Sounds; "This writing is so beautiful it makes you feel tipsy and warm like a sherry at Christmas." - Kathryn Williams, singer, songwriter and novelist (The Ormering Tide); "So atmospheric and transporting, I couldn’t wait to get back to it and keep reading." - Emily Itami, author of Fault Lines; "The book does not gush about Japan, which I appreciate, nor does it tear it down. She never holds back when it comes to her own emotions. But when it comes to the outside world in which she positions herself as an onlooker, she is generous, funny, blunt as she needs to be, mindful of where she stands. The persimmon tree. Just read how she writes about the persimmon tree. You will fall in love." - Yuki Tejima, @booknerdtokyo; "Leow's collection is a beautifully written exploration of friendship, making a city your home and heartbreak through food writing, travel, cultural and social explorations and elements of memoir. It should be too much for such a slim volume, but it works perfectly." - Sophie for Books, Burgers and Backpacks; "Leow has a way with words that carried me into each moment so evocatively that I devoured this short novel in one session: there is a lyricism to every description she delivers...The writing is beautiful, the language evocative and the experience of reading this one to remember. I definitely recommend getting hold of a copy" - Bookaholic Bex; "It took approximately one sentence for me to know this was going to be one of my favourite books of this year. Leow's storytelling is simply exquisite and I could envision the settings and moment so vividly in my mind that I barely wanted to put the book down to write this. It's a book that I want to both devour immediately but also savour slowly to try and appreciate the work Leow has put into it" - Rhi, @thewordslikedust

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Book SynopsisFrom the Foreword by Harry Mount: Every turn in Algy's life has produced unique contradictions. He left the Grenadier Guards and, a few years later, struck black gold as one of the first buccaneering oilmen in the North Sea.But how many oilmen are P. G. Wodehouse devotees, like Algy? And how many oilmen love magazines so much that they buy an actual magazine itself in Algy's case, the Spectator?With this rare combination of commercial acumen, military derring-do and man-of-letters curiosity, Algy has sent back these moreish reports from the worlds of business, the Army, politics and a daring new wine venture in his 80s.Reviews of Algy Cluff's books:Enjoyably gossipy, Get On With It also contains valuable insights into business and political life... Daily Mail one of the few books I'd read which I wished longer Charles Moore, Spectator this rattling, full-throttled, red-blooded memoir Richard Davenport-Hines, TLS a splendid book The Times

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Book SynopsisEdward Abbey, who never much liked Alaska, called it our biggest, buggiest,boggiest state. To others, it has been a cure for despair. When the authormoved to Fairbanks more than three decades ago, he was a cheechako,a subarctic tenderfoot. Gathering skills and experiences the hard way, heattained Sourdough status while realizing there would always be more tolearn, see, and do in the land of midnight sun and auroras.En route, Engelhard suffered frostbite, stubborn yaks, grizzly charges, trophyhunters, cold-water immersion, heartbreak, incontinent raptors, one peskysquirrel, and honeymooners from abroad. He tried to rescue a raven andexplored Arctic dunes and a glacier's blue heart, and his own, as he mingledwith caribou on their epic journeys.

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Book SynopsisChris Stewart''s Driving Over Lemons told the story of his move to a remote mountain farm in Las Alpujarras - an oddball region of Spain, south of Granada. Funny, insightful and real, the book became an international bestseller.A Parrot in the Pepper Tree, the sequel to Lemons, follows the lives of Chris, Ana and their daughter, Chloë, as they get to grips with a misanthropic parrot who joins their home, Spanish school life, neighbours in love, their amazement at Chris appearing on the bestseller lists . . and their shock at discovering that their beloved valley is once more under threat of a dam.A Parrot in the Pepper Tree also looks back on Chris Stewart''s former life - the hard times shearing in midwinter Sweden (and driving across the frozen sea to reach island farms); his first taste of Spain, learning flamenco guitar as a 20-year old; and his illustrious music career, drumming for his school band Genesis (sacked at 17, he never quite became Phil Collins), and then for a circus.Trade ReviewIt is everything that made the first book so hugely successful - endearing, heartwarming, self-deprecating, sometimes surreal. * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisAs President Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton spent many of 453 days in the room where it happened, and the facts speak for themselves.The result is a “scathing and revelatory” (The New Yorker) White House memoir that is the most comprehensive and substantial account of the Trump Administration, and one of the few to date by a top-level official. With almost daily access to the President, John Bolton has produced a precise rendering of his days in and around the Oval Office. What Bolton saw astonished him: a President for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation. “I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations,” he writes. In fact, he argues that the House committed impeachment malpractice by keeping its prosecution focused narrowly on Ukraine when Trump’s Ukraine-like transgressions existed across the full range of his foreign policy—and Bolton documents exactly what those were, and attempts by him and others in the Administration to raise alarms about them. He shows a President addicted to chaos, who embraced our enemies and spurned our friends, and was deeply suspicious of his own government. In Bolton’s telling, all this helped put Trump on the bizarre road to impeachment. “The differences between this presidency and previous ones I had served were stunning,” writes Bolton, who worked for Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43. He discovered a President who thought foreign policy is like closing a real estate deal—about personal relationships, made-for-TV showmanship, and advancing his own interests. As a result, the US lost an opportunity to confront its deepening threats, and in cases like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea ended up in a more vulnerable place. Bolton’s “first tell-all memoir by such a high-ranking official” (The New York Times) starts with his long march to the West Wing as Trump and others woo him for the National Security job. The minute he lands, he has to deal with Syria’s chemical attack on the city of Douma, and the crises after that never stop. As he writes in the opening pages, “If you don’t like turmoil, uncertainty, and risk—all the while being constantly overwhelmed with information, decisions to be made, and sheer amount of work—and enlivened by international and domestic personality and ego conflicts beyond description, try something else.” The turmoil, conflicts, and egos are all there—from the upheaval in Venezuela, to the erratic and manipulative moves of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, to the showdowns at the G7 summits, the calculated warmongering by Iran, the crazy plan to bring the Taliban to Camp David, and the placating of an authoritarian China that ultimately exposed the world to its lethal lies. But this seasoned public servant also has a great eye for the Washington inside game, and his story is full of wit and wry humor about how he saw it played.Trade Review“I can’t believe I’m saying this: it’s worse than I even imagined.” – Stephen Colbert “As much as you think you know about the arrogance, vanity and sheer incompetence of Trump’s years in the White House, Bolton’s account will still astonish you... No wonder the White House was so determined to block this book.” – David Ignatius, Washington Post "A scathing and revelatory account... indispensable, jaw-dropping, and specific...what a truth he offers us." – The New Yorker “Bolton's bombshell book shows it's still possible to be shocked by Trump's presidency” – The Guardian “Mr. Bolton’s volume is the first tell-all memoir by such a high-ranking official who participated in major foreign policy events and has a lifetime of conservative credentials. It is a withering portrait of a president ignorant of even basic facts about the world, susceptible to transparent flattery by authoritarian leaders manipulating him and prone to false statements, foul-mouthed eruptions and snap decisions that aides try to manage or reverse.” – The New York Times “The most substantive, critical dissection of the president from an administration insider… lays out a long series of jarring and troubling encounters between the president, his top advisers and foreign leaders.” – Washington Post “A book full of damning details” – The Economist “Explosive” – Business Insider “Devastating portrait” – Telegraph “Eye-popping” – CNN "Jarring" – Jake Tapper, CNN "Shows the scale and depth of Trump’s depravity and corruption." – The Atlantic "A service to the nation... There is no question that this book contains explosive revelations that could well have an impact on the election." – Thomas Wright, The Brookings Institute, The Atlantic “The details are damning.” – Fareed Zakaria “The most devastating indictment yet.” – Nicolle Wallace “A harrowing portrait” – Mother Jones "Absurdly entertaining" - Ben Domenech, The Federalist “A riveting read” - Trevor Noah, The Daily Show "The most important White House memoir yet to emerge from the Trump administration" – National Review

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Book SynopsisThe saying goes that "God only gives you what you can handle." Well God didn''t grow up in my atheist, Wiccan, fame-laden, oversexed, teetotalling, drug-free, cloistered, chaotic, non-communicative, workaholic, feral-feeling house.''For Moon Unit, daughter of musician Frank Zappa and his ''manager'', Gail, processing a life so unique, so punctuated by the whims of creative urges, the tastes of popular culture and the calculus of celebrity, has at times been eviscerating. But it is her deep sense of humour and unshakeable humility that keeps her - and this memoir - pinned to the ground.A child-star at age 14 after her accidental international hit single (recorded with her father), ''Valley Girl'', turned her into a reluctant celebrity, Moon Unit Zappa''s life has been utterly extraordinary from her birth in 1967 into a family that was already blessed/cursed as music royalty thanks to the acknowledged genius of Frank. But what are the consequences of growing up in a family who spend most of their time naked arguing about sexual/extra-marital liaisons and practising white magic in a free-for-all state of nonconformist, virtuoso abandon?Earth to Moon is a reckoning with self-esteem, the ghosts of the past and a mother and a father who, in the process of leaving their mark upon on the world, scarred their first daughter on home soil. Brutally self-deprecating and funny as hell, it belies a rose-tinted perspective on the 70s and 80s west coast American scene, from within the belly of the beast of the rock and roll world.

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Book SynopsisFor fans of David Sedaris, Tina Fey and Caitlin Moran comes Furiously Happy from Jenny Lawson, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Let's Pretend This Never Happened.In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson regaled readers with uproarious stories of her bizarre childhood. In Furiously Happy she explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.As Jenny says: 'You can't experience pain without also experiencing the baffling and ridiculous moments of being fiercely, unapologetically, intensely and (above all) furiously happy.' It's a philosophy that has - quite literally - saved her life.Jenny's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own we

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Book SynopsisIn her long-awaited debut memoir, award-winning poet Maggie Smith explores in lyrical vignettes the end of her marriage and the beginning of a surprising new life. It is a story about a mother''s fierce and constant love for her children, and a woman''s love and regard for herself.Above all, this memoir is an argument for possibility. Smith reveals how, in the aftermath of loss, we can discover our power and make something new. Something beautiful.

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Book SynopsisGeorge Orwell set out 'to make political writing into an art', and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature - his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell's essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. Shooting an Elephant, the fifth in the Orwell's Essays series, tells the story of a police officer in Burma who is called upon to shoot an aggressive elephant. Thought to be loosely based on Orwell's own experiences in Burma, the tightly written essay weaves together fact and fiction indistinguishably, and leaves the reader contemplating the heavy topic of colonialism, with the words 'when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys' echoing from the page.Trade Review'A writer who can - and must - be rediscovered with every age.' (Irish Times) 'A remarkable piece.' (Jeremy Paxman)Table of ContentsShooting an Elephant, Note on the Text, Notes, A Brief Biographical Sketch of George Orwell

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Book SynopsisSome travellers are driven by the need to scale a natural wonder, to see a city''s sights or a place of history. Others, like Alice Maddicott, travel in search of a particular scene, feeling or atmosphere, often inspired by music, literature and art. Taking us deep into our emotional and creative responses to place, this extraordinary book explores the author''s relentless travelling, from the heat of Sicily to the mountains of Japan. With her uniquely lyrical approach to psycho-geography, Maddicott explores the relationship with landscape that is the very essence of human creativity. From 17th-century salons of Paris to the underground culture and crumbling balconies of modern Tbilisi, through writers as diverse as Italo Calvino and L. M. Montgomery and artists like Ana Mendieta and 18th-century girls embroidering their lives, Tender Maps is a beautifully evocative book of travel, culture and imagination that transports readers in time and place.

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Book SynopsisWith the death of her aunt, Maria Stepanova is left to sift through an apartment full of faded photographs, old postcards, letters, diaries, and heaps of souvenirs: a withered repository of a century of life in Russia. Carefully reassembled with calm, steady hands, these shards tell the story of how a seemingly ordinary Jewish family somehow managed to survive the myriad persecutions and repressions of the last century. Dipping into various forms – essay, fiction, memoir, travelogue and historical documents – Stepanova’s In Memory of Memory assembles a vast panorama of ideas and personalities and offers an entirely new and bold exploration of cultural and personal memory.Trade Review‘Stepanova’s tour de force blends memoir, literary criticism, essay and fiction. Although this is a personal and intimate work using photographs, postcards and diaries, it succeeds in mining a universal theme in contemporary Russian cultural life: how does a family – or a country – process the events of the past 100 years?’ — Viv Groskop, Guardian‘A brilliant evocation of the last years of the Soviet Union, extending deep into the past. In a work that crosses the boundaries of fiction and nonfiction, Russian poet and journalist Stepanova recounts the lives of her ancestors, rural Russian Jews who, on moving to Moscow, could never quite go home again…. Apart from delivering a mine of family and national history, Stepanova exercises a well-honed sense of the apposite literary allusion (“The chimneys in the view from the window resembled flowerpots, Kafka said something similar about them”). Stretching from the days before Lenin took power to the “Doctor’s Plot” and the collapse of the USSR and beyond, Stepanova’s book is lyrical and philosophical throughout…. A remarkable work of the imagination – and, yes, memory.’ — Kirkus, starred review‘This remarkable account of the author’s Russian-Jewish family expands into a reflection on the role of art and ethics in informing memory.… Stepanova is both sensitive and rigorous.’ — New Yorker‘A luminous, rigorous, and mesmerizing interrogation of the relationship between personal history, family history, and capital-H History. I couldn’t put it down; it felt sort of like watching a hypnotic YouTube unboxing-video of the gift-and-burden that is the twentieth century. In Memory of Memory has that trick of feeling both completely original and already classic, and I confidently expect this translation to bring Maria Stepanova a rabid fan base on the order of the one she already enjoys in Russia.’ — Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot‘There is simply no book in contemporary Russian literature like In Memory of Memory. A microcosm all its own, it is an inimitable journey through a family history which, as the reader quickly realizes, becomes a much larger quest than yet another captivating family narrative. Why? Because it asks us if history can be examined at all, yes, but does so with incredible lyricism and fearlessness. Because Stepanova teaches us to find beauty where no one else sees it. Because Stepanova teaches us to show tenderness towards the tiny, awkward, missed details of our beautiful private lives. Because she shows us that in the end our hidden strangeness is what makes us human. This, I think, is what makes her a truly major European writer. I am especially grateful to Sasha Dugdale for her precise and flawless translation which makes this book such a joy to read in English. This is a voice to live with.’ — Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic‘Dazzling erudition and deep empathy come together in Maria Stepanova’s profound engagement with the power and potential of memory, the mother of all muses. An exploration of the vast field between reminiscence and remembrance, In Memory of Memory is a poetic appraisal of the ways the stories of others are the fabric of our history.’ — Esther Kinsky, author of Grove‘Extraordinary – a work of haunting power, grace and originality’ — Philippe Sands, author of East West Street‘The poet Maria Stepanova’s In Memory of Memory, beautifully translated by Sasha Dugdale, is a deeply intelligent quest for the significance of minutiae that survive while grand narratives of history sweep over them. It makes for powerful and magical reading, reminiscent of Nabokov’s Speak Memory. Time and again the sheer richness of the task sustains us and drives us on. This is a wholly marvellous book that extends our knowledge of all that is valued and lost.’ — George Szirtes, author of The Photographer at Sixteen

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Book SynopsisThe Magic Lantern is one of those rare books that capture history in the making, written by an author who was witness to some of the most remarkable moments that marked the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. Timothy Garton Ash was there in Warsaw, on 4 June, when the communist government was humiliated by Solidarity in the first semi-free elections since the Second World War. He was there in Budapest, twelve days later, when Imre Nagy - thirty-one years after his execution - was finally given his proper funeral. He was there in Berlin, as the Wall opened. And most remarkable of all, he was there in Prague, in the back rooms of the Magic Lantern theatre, with Václav Havel and the members of Civic Forum, as they made their 'Velvet Revolution'.Trade ReviewIn the future, there will probably be streets in Warsaw, Prague and Budapest bearing the name of Timothy Garton Ash -- Karel Kyncl * Independent *A wonderful combination of first-class reporting, brilliant political analysis and reflection. * New York Times Book Review *[Garton Ash's] own involvement in these events, intellectual and emotional, is of such intensity that he can speak... from the inside as well as from the outside. Yet the sense of historic dimension... is never lost. And the quality of the writing places it clearly in the category of good literature. * George Kennan *Along with the historian's long view, Garton Ash has an eye and an ear for the telling detail. * Washington Post Book World *Table of Contents1: Witness and History 2: Warsaw: The First Election 3: Budapest: The Last Funeral 4: Berlin: Wall's End 5: Prague: Inside the Magic Lantern 6: The Year of Truth 7: Thirty Years On: Time for a New Liberation?

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Book Synopsis'From the first page to the last, I could not put down this book. I am a Girl from Africa is a story that can uplift and inspire every girl and boy from every part of the world. Beautifully told, and beautifully lived.' Angela Duckworth, author of GritA powerful memoir about a girl from Africa whose near-death experience sparked a dream that changed the world.  She squeezes my hand and smiles. “I am here to feed hungry children in the village, because as Africans we must uplift each other.”I don’t understand what it means to uplift others, but I nod.I know that I can finally stand up. I will search for food. I will live. When severe draught hit her village in Zimbabwe, Elizabeth, then eight, had no idea that this moment of utter devastation would come to define her life purpose. Unable to move from hunger, she encountered a United Nations aid worker who gTrade Review'Elizabeth Nyamayaro has written a wonderfully accessible and moving memoir that masterfully weaves her own story into the contemporary fight for global gender equity. Traveling with Nyamayaro - from Tblisi to Montevideo - is both inspiring and maddening, seeing all that has been accomplished and all that’s left to do. Somehow, through it all, she manages to maintain an unwavering optimism - and a belief in the power of NGOs, education, collaboration, and even (gasp) globalism - that buoys the soul and reminds us that there’s no progress without progressives, no light without the torch-bearers.' -- Dave Eggers'From the first page to the last, I could not put down this book. I Am a Girl from Africa is a story that can uplift and inspire every girl and boy from every part of the world. Beautifully told, and beautifully lived.' -- Angela Duckworth, author of Grit'More than a heartwarming and uplifting memoir, I Am a Girl from Africa is a story of millions of girls around the world – and a true testament of what is possible when girls are given an equal right to quality education. Through Elizabeth’s remarkable story, we are reminded that education remains a closest thing to a silver bullet when it comes to gender equality.' -- Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, UN Women'This book tells the story of how its title becomes a declaration, not just for the author’s tale of remarkable challenges and achievements, but also for a continent suffering from ills ranging from misogyny and masculinism to pessimism about its ability to heal its own wounds... [Nyamayaro] is ... adamantly committed to inspiration, and in that, the memoir is victorious.' * The New York Times Book Review *'Nyamayaro’s heartwarming and inspirational story is symbolic of the faith, community uplift, and interdependence a girl from anywhere needs to soar.' * Oprah Daily *

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Book SynopsisTHE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERRobert Webb tried to follow the rules for being a man: Don't cryDrink beerPlay rough Don't talk about feelingsLooking back over his life he asks whether these rules are actually any use. To anyone.Trade ReviewQuite simply brilliant. I (genuinely) cried. I (genuinely) laughed out loud. It's profound, touching, personal yet universal . . . I loved it -- J.K. ROWLINGWith enormous poignancy and insight . . . Webb's early portrait of himself as a hapless underdog navigating the boulder-strewn path of masculinity is vividly drawn and very funny . . . Echoes of Adrian Mole * * Guardian * *Takes us deftly from hilarity to heart-stopping hurt . . . A truly great read, full of heart -- DAWN FRENCHFrank and compelling . . . Laugh-out-loud funny . . . also, in parts, blink-back-tears sad. Why would I blink back tears rather than give full rein to the emotion? Well, Webb can explain * * Mail on Sunday * *Written with wit and clarity, How Not To Be a Boy is a funny, rueful, truthful book. I enjoyed every page -- STEPHEN FRYA brilliant telling of a sad story, it is also a manifesto for a change in attitudes . . . I laughed innumerable times and cried twice . . . You should give a copy to any young male you care about ***** * * S Magazine, Sunday Express * *A witty, honest coming-of-age story with a subtext that tackles masculinity and manhood. Webb has a storytelling skill many would kill for -- IAN RANKINFunny, poignant, revealing * * Daily Telegraph * *Simply brilliant -- JOANNA LUMLEYFunny and wonderful and necessary -- SARAH MILLICAN

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Book SynopsisWinner of the the British Academy Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding 2018 Winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2017 Winner of the 2017 Highland Book Prize Winner of the Saltire Society Book of the Year 2017 Shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2018 Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2017 Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize 2017 Shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award 2018 Shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2017 Shortlisted for the National Circle of Critics Award 2017 When Kapka Kassabova was a child, the borderzone between Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece was rumoured to be an easier crossing point into the West than the Berlin Wall so it swarmed with soldiers, spies and fugitives. On holidays close to the border on the Black Sea coast, she remembers playing on the beach, only miles from where an electrified fence bristled, its barbs pointing inwards toward the enemy: the holiday-makers, the potential escapees. Today, this densely forested landscape is no longer heavily militarised, but it is scarred by its past. In Border, Kapka Kassabova sets out on a journey to meet the people of this triple border - Bulgarians, Turks, Greeks, and the latest wave of refugees fleeing conflict further afield. She discovers a region that has been shaped by the successive forces of history: by its own past migration crises, by communism, by two World wars, by the Ottoman Empire, and - older still - by the ancient legacy of myths and legends. As Kapka Kassabova explores this enigmatic region in the company of border guards and treasure hunters, entrepreneurs and botanists, psychic healers and ritual fire-walkers, refugees and smugglers, she traces the physical and psychological borders that criss-cross its villages and mountains, and goes in search of the stories that will unlock its secrets. Border is a sharply observed portrait of a little-known corner of Europe, and a fascinating meditation on the borderlines that exist between countries, between cultures, between people, and within each of us.Trade ReviewIn Kassabova's study these tragic borderlands are brought to life with poetic grace, and her interaction with their inhabitants confers a haunting power on her journey -- Colin ThubronThe literature of place is crying out for a talent as magical, brilliant and original as Kapka Kassabova's. She writes with taut intelligence and poetic intensity, a shrewd and grown-up worldliness and a rapt sense of all that isn't in the world, a combination that I've been looking for this entire century. When Border arrived in my life, I felt as if I'd been struck by lightning -- Pico Iyer'Kassabova writes with such energy and style that you feel she could visit the dullest place on earth and make it burst into life. But she has found somewhere extraordinary, full of dazzling human stories played out against a ceaseless round of brutal wars and shifting empires. A brilliant and hugely satisfying book' -- Philip MarsdenShe has achieved something remarkable: a book about borders which makes the reader feel sumptuously free. An effect achieved by the way she moves between literary borders so gracefully: travelogue and existential drama; political history and poetry -- Peter PomerentsevLike the places it describes, this book holds you in a kind of mysterious electrical charge. It hums with the mystery, superstition, and terrible beauty of a place crushed between man-made borders but also defiantly announcing its sacred otherness. I can't stop thinking about it -- Frances Stonor SaundersThis is a dazzling work of art and reportage, an iridescent book, glittering with stories of horror, comedy and actual magic. Kassabova is a brilliant traveller, an astonishing interviewer and writer with a near clairvoyant understanding of the real lives of men and women. In Border, she follows some fierce, sorcerous current which carries us all towards frontiers; there is an urgent and engrossing story here -- Horatio Clare[A] brilliantly diverse and skilful writer... [Kassabova's] narrative nonfiction is almost renowned... Fascinating -- Exciting Books Coming in 2017 * Big Issue *[This] beautiful, tragic and universal new book may just be the most important you read in this year of Brexit * Skinny *This smokily intense and quaveringly powerful travel book is about the wild, forested and tragic borderland between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. Kassabova [...] has the travel-writer's core skill of acute sensitivity to her physical environment, together with a poet's turn of phrase and a poet's emotional rawness... Kassabova is, above all, sensationally good at meeting extraordinary people, and that is surely the travel writer's essential kit... [Border] is aromatic, lyrical, disturbing - and very, very fine -- James McConachie * Sunday Times *[Kassabova] has an old-fashioned gift for storytelling... Border brilliantly reveals the effects of a millennium of kaleidoscopic shifting. Thoughtful and impressive -- Sara Wheeler * Observer *With the deft touch of a historian, she connects the voices of those who have struggled to cross borders across the centuries... Kassabova is a poet, and her writing is beautiful - moving and witty by turns... In a world ever more divided, ever more threatened by Mexican walls, restrictive new passports and fear of the unknown, we need books like this -- Alev Scott * Financial Times *[Kassabova's] hunger and fascination with this little known region has resulted in Border, one of those books that elevates travel writing to art... Mystery, of course, is at the heart of her book. The mystery of marginal points and marginal people -- Teddy Jamieson * Herald *[A] timely and moving book... Her writing powerfully weaves history, folklore, reportage and personal reflections... Border is illuminating, passionate and sometimes funny. It brilliantly ventriloquizes the voice of this mysterious, plundered part of Europe, revealing the ironies of nationalism and the profound way in which ethnicity can affect the human psyche * Country Life *A marvellous book about a magical part of the world... It shows more starkly than anything else I have read what the border did to the people who lived along it, and how its legacy endures... Kassabova, a poet, writes lyrically and effectively about the astonishing natural beauty of much of the area... as [she] arcs across countries and centuries in an effort to free herself from the enchantment of this strangest of regions. In the end she leaves, but the spell remains -- Mark Mazower * Guardian *Written with compassion and intelligence, the prose here is as clear and fresh as a mountain stream. This is a timely and important book, and I can't recommend it highly enough -- Doug Johnstone * Big Issue *An accomplished poet and polyglot, [Kassabova] writes exquisite prose, dripping with scorn for the politicians whose bone-headed rules and careless greed despoil the land and ruin the lives of those who still live there -- Edward Lucas * 1843 Magazine *Kapka Kassabova's poignant, erudite and witty third book, border, brings hidden history vividly to light... She treads lightly but distinctly through the stories she tells, displaying an enviable mixture of rapport with her subjects and detachment from their peculiarities... It is a "melancholy miracle", writes Ms Kassabova, that "odd ragged bits of this one-rich human tapestry" survive. They could have no better chronicler * Economist *An exceptional travel book that's every bit as good as the writing of Patrick Leigh-Fermor * Sunday Times *This is an exceptional book, a tale of travelling and listening closely, and it brings something altogether new to the mounting literature on the story of modern migration... the strength of Kassabova's book lies in the skill with which she interweaves the narrative of [today's refugees] into that of the inhabitants of the borderlands, giving the context for their lives in a way that the dozens of current books on the travels and travails of modern refugees seldom do... an important reminder that refugees are not a separate species, moving inexorably away and towards, but part of a vast, complicated pattern of history... Border makes for timely reading -- Caroline Moorehead * New Statesman *[A] valuable book [that] brings to life not just a neglected region but also one of the themes of our time: borders, open and closed... A book of our time -- Simon Kuper * Spectator *A magical book... Kassabova captures the lingering ethnic tapestry of the region, its pagan-like religions and fire-walking cults, in poetic prose of mystical elegance * Scottish Legal News *Kapka Kassabova is a modern Scheherazade - a dazzling writer who tells stories as if her life depended on it... As this wonderful book goes on, a kind of deep background music begins to be heard: themes and images which recur and weave all the voices into a pattern... Spell binding -- Neal Ascheron * Scottish Review of Books *Like a sharp-eyed magpie, [Kassabova] travels across the borders in this place with three alphabets, picking up intriguing titbits of history and folklore... With a lightness of touch, [...] the tragedies, ironies and curiosities of this often-overlooked corner of Europe, with hotchpotch of peoples, are captured by Kassabova's vivid phrasings -- Robbie Millen * The Times *Passionately lived... [Kassabova's] descriptions of place are lyrical and gorgeous... but it's her encounters with people which bring the book to life... She lets the echoes in the stories she hears tell a wider story -- James Robinson * Literary Review *[Kassabova] seques seamlessly between myth and history, memoir and reportage. Border is a great [travel book]. But it's more than that: it's a big-hearted book for what seems an increasingly mean-spirited age. It spells out the human consequences of nationalism and totalitarianism; of divisions and fences and walls designed to keep "them" from "us" -- Michael Kerr * Daily Telegraph *[A] remarkable personal exploration of the borderland between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey. The Bulgarian-born poet converses with strangers - guards, treasure-hunters, botanists, refugees, smugglers - to release unusual, vivid, poignant human stories. She comes to it with a poet's sensibility and a journalist's curiosity. A wonderful, luminous combination * New Internationalist *Haunting... a splendid book -- William Armstrong * Hurriet Daily News *Kassabova writes beautifully about the millions of refugees exchanged between Greece and Turkey -- Sameer Rahim * Prospect Magazine *An extraordinary book... There are moments of dynamism and hope in these pages... It's to be hoped that Kassabova, with her glorious prose and open heart, always takes care but never abandons the quest [of storytelling] * Geographical Review *This exceptional book about a journey through Bulgaria's dark, often magical borderland is every bit as good as the travel writing of Patrick Leigh Fermor * Sunday Times *She picks up intriguing bits about folklore, history and modern living [and] has a light touch... Vividly written * The Times *Border is not just a topical book but an urgent one, for is spells out the human consequences of nationalism and totalitarianism; of a narrow focus on identity and ethnicity; of divisions and fences and walls designed to keep 'them' from 'us' * Telegraph *Kassabova's Border is quite possible the book of the year. Both timely and timeless, this travelogue around the outer reaches of Europe has Cold War history echoing into our modern times, where desperate refugees attempt to cross those all-too important lines on a map. It is beautifully poetic, heart-breaking, and humane. The book will transform you * Skinny *Exquisite -- Featured in round up of best books on Europe’s troubled politics * Independent *Her lyrical memoir-cum-history of borderlands among Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey, has only become more topical, as the Turkish-Greek land crossing for migrants is increasingly as treacherous as the Aegean -- Book of the Year selected by AE Stallings * TLS *Not just topical, but urgent, for it spells out the human consequences of nationalism and totalitarianism; of a narrow focus on identity and ethnicity; of divisions and fences and walls designed to keep "them" from "us" -- Michael Kerr * Sunday Telegraph *[Kassabova] reveals how people define borders - and how they define us in turn...a startlingly relevant read * Wanderlust *

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Book Synopsis‘A wonderful book: Nancy Campbell is a fine storyteller with a rare physical intelligence. The extraordinary brilliance of her eye confers the reader a total immersion in the rimy realms she explores. Glaciers, Arctic floe, verglas, frost and snow — I can think of no better or warmer guide to the icy ends of the Earth’ Dan Richards, author of Climbing DaysA vivid and perceptive book combining memoir, scientific and cultural history with a bewitching account of landscape and place, which will appeal to readers of Robert Macfarlane, Roger Deakin and Olivia Laing.  Long captivated by the solid yet impermanent nature of ice, by its stark, rugged beauty, acclaimed poet and writer Nancy Campbell sets out from the world’s northernmost museum – at Upernavik in Greenland – to explore it in all its facets. From the Bodleian Library archives to the traces left by the great polar expeditions, from remote

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