Search results for ""author weird"

In this spine-tingling story from Newbery Medal winner Avi, a boy must solve the mystery of the ghost haunting him. Full of twists and turns that get spookier by the chapter, School of the Dead is a fast-paced mystery that Avi's fans will devour! For most of Tony Gilbert's life, he has thought of his uncle as "Weird Uncle Charlie." That is, until Uncle Charlie moves in with Tony and his family. Uncle Charlie is still odd, of course-talking about spirits and other supernatural stuff-but he and Tony become fast friends, and Tony ends up having a lot of fun with Uncle Charlie. When Uncle Charlie dies suddenly, Tony is devastated. Then he starts seeing Uncle Charlie everywhere! It doesn't help that Tony switched schools-it was Uncle Charlie's dying wish that Tony attend the Penda School, where Uncle Charlie himself went as a kid. The Penda School is eerie enough without his uncle's ghost making it worse. On top of that, rumors have been circulating about a student who went missing shortly before Tony arrived. Could that somehow be related to Uncle Charlie's ghost?

Read more less

'Scurrilous, scandalous and frequently disgusting. I absolutely loved it' James O'BrienTwitter hero James Felton brings you the painfully funny history of Britain you were never taught at school, fully illustrated and chronicling 52 of the most ludicrous, weird and downright 'baddie' things we Brits* have done to the world since time immemorial - before conveniently forgetting all about them, of course. Including:- Starting wars with China when they didn't buy enough of our class A drugs- Inventing a law so we didn't have to return objects we'd blatantly stolen from other countries- Casually creating muzzles for women- Almost going to war over a crime committed by a pig- And a brand new chapter just for the paperback!52 TIMES BRITAIN WAS A BELLEND will complete your knowledge of this sceptred isle in ways you never expected. So if you've ever wondered how we put the 'Great' in 'Great Britain', wonder no more . . .*And when we say British, for the most part we unfortunately just mean the English.JAMES FELTON'S "ASSHOLES" IS OUT NOW

Read more less

History, magic, and adventure collide in this riveting middle-grade fantasy novel about an unusual boy who unlocks an ancient relic—and with it, a forgotten world. Befriended by a band of young witches, Archibald Finch must quickly adapt to survive in Lemurea, where a battle born in the Middle Ages is still unfolding . . . Archibald is a risk-averse boy with quirks that earn him plenty of eye-rolls, especially from his older sister, Hailee. Things get worse when his parents move the family from London to his grandmother’s creepy manor in the English countryside. Now he has to deal with hairless dolls in the library, weird stone creatures on the roof, and a spooky forest at the edge of the backyard. But these turn out to be the least of Archibald's problems . . . One day, as he's exploring the cavernous house, he finds a curious globe that whisks him away to a secret world, hidden for 500 years. Archibald finds himself on a thrilling adventure full of medieval magic, mysterious symbols, and the strangest beasts, while Hailee—who witnessed her brother’s disappearance—embarks on a daring quest to find him.

Read more less

This book is your ultimate guide to Japan's scariest creatures!Yokai come in every imaginable shape and form—from frightening ghosts and cruel demons to cute fairies and enchanted animals. They can be evil monsters, harmless tricksters or prophets of doom, depending on their inclination.This book profiles 100 of the most fascinating Yokai, including: Tengu: A powerful Yokai that often takes human form with wings and a large nose who lives in mountains and forests Kappa: A deadly Yokai that lives near rivers and drags passersby into the water to drown Peroritaro: A grotesque Yokai that looks like blubbering child and has an appetite for greedy children Baku: A monstrous Yokai with an elephant's head, a bear's body, a rhino's eyes, an ox's tail and a tiger's legs that aids humans by devouring their nightmares And many more! Yokai expert Masami Kinoshita has been documenting Yokai in folklore, and in real life, for many years. This book presents her most interesting findings and has over 175 full-color illustrations that vividly depict the appearances of these weird creatures. No matter their origins, each Yokai has a strange and wonderful story that is sure to amaze you!

Read more less

Winner of Best Writer at The Stage Debut Awards 2023 "The men with the Piano look up the narrow staircase of our little flat and they turn to Dad, light their fags, and say; “We might have to take the windows out". A piano came through the sky and landed in Lylah’s council flat, just for her. As she pores over the keys and sound floods into all the rooms, Lylah falls in love. At school, Lylah can’t ask questions – she’s got to be good, good, good or else she’ll lose her scholarship. At home she can’t ask questions; her cousins say she talks weird, and her parents are distracted. So she asks her piano: Where did you come from? Why are you here? And their shared history tumbles into the light. Part gig, part musical love story, part journey through Empire, this all-new expanded production of Olivier Award nominee Anoushka Lucas’ “exquisite” (Evening Standard) Elephant transferred to the Bush Theatre's main house. This revised and expanded edition of the play accompanies the new 2023 production.

Read more less

What's the nature of reality? Does the universe ever end? What is time and does it even exist? These are the biggest imagination-stretching, brain-staggering questions in the universe - and here are their fascinating answers.From quantum weirdness to freaky cosmology (like white holes - which spew out matter instead of sucking it in), This Book Will Blow Your Mind takes you on an epic journey to the furthest extremes of science, to the things you never thought possible. This book will explain: Why part of the universe missing (and how scientists finally found it)How time might also flow backwardsHow human head transplants might be possible (in the very near future)Whether the universe is a hologramAnd why we are all zombiesFilled with counterintuitive stories and factoids you can't wait to share, as well as lots of did-you-knows and plenty of how-did-we-ever-not-knows, this new book from the bestselling New Scientist series will blow your mind - and then put it back together again. You don't need a spaceship to travel to the extremes of science. You just need this book.

Read more less

'This is a GREAT book! Funny, charming, original, secretly educational.' Adam Kay'Funny, arty and just a little bit naughty, the Art Avenger is amazing!' Matt Lucas'Very funny . . . I learned tons about art and laughed A LOT' Joe LycettA laugh-out-loud illustrated adventure featuring Trixie Pickle, the Banksy of her school.A weird sickness bug has been spreading through Wormwood Town and everyone is wondering if there's something in the water. Trixie Pickle Art Avenger uses the power of art to investigate - can she get to the bottom of the mystery around the town reservoir?She's got a lot on her plate - being bored to sleep by Money Week at school, making comics with her best friend Beeks and finding a way to bring down the local mean girls - but with artistic inspiration from Botticelli, Damien Hirst and Kehinde Wiley, the Art Avenger is sure to win the day.Highly illustrated throughout by Olaf and with fact files of hilarious and irreverent details about real artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Hokusai, Trixie Pickle is perfect for fans of Konnie Huq, Sam Copeland and Liz Pichon.

Read more less

The novelist E. M. Forster opens the door on life in a remote Maharajah's court in the early twentieth century, a 'record of a vanished civilization.' Through letters from his time visiting and working there, he introduces us to a 14th century political system in 'the oddest corner of the world outside Alice in Wonderland' where the young Maharajah of Devas, 'certainly a genius and possibly a saint,' led a state centered on spiritual aspirations. The Hill of Devi chronicles Forster's infatuation and exasperation, fascination, and amusement at this idiosyncratic court, leading us with him to its heart and the eight-day festival of Gokul Ashtami, marking the birth of Krishna, where we see His Highness Maharajah Sir Tukoji Rao III dancing before the altar 'like David before the Ark.'‘A classic account of a vanished side of India that has never before been so graphically painted.’ – Raymond Mortimer, Sunday Times‘I spent a lot of time laughing, it’s so weird, and so very British and very Indian at the same time, and so much of what he writes feels very contemporary. For all these reasons, I really love this book.’ – Damon Galgut

Read more less

Why in the world are we paying for all this "basic" research? The answer to this question becomes clear in this romp through the "seemingly useless" world of pure science, where one thing leads to another in ways that result in major scientific advancements. With a novelistic style, C. Renee James reveals how obscure studies of natural phenomena - including curved space-time, poisonous cone snails, exploding black holes, and the precise chemical makeup of the sun-led unexpectedly to WiFi, GPS, genetic sequencing, pain medications, and cancer treatments. Science Unshackled brings both science and scientists to life and shows how simple curiosity can result in life-changing breakthroughs. Scientists engaged in basic research, funded in large part by governments around the globe and throughout the centuries, never know when exploring small questions will have big impacts. But, by following the scientific method, disciplined inquiry can lead to wondrous and practical discoveries that benefit all of us in the end. The next time someone asks you why "the government" wastes its money on weird research, recall the intriguing stories James has told and tell them the answer.

Read more less

I don’t recall if I saw my first gunman in my childhood nightmares or on my childhood streets. There were plenty in both and they looked very much like each other. So begins Reggie Chamberlain-King’s introduction to The Black Dreams, a thrilling and compelling collection of specially commissioned stories that explore the emotional geography of growing up and living in Northern Ireland. The fourteen stories gathered here criss-cross coast, border and city as they map a ‘strange’ territory of in-between states and unstable realities in which understanding is unreliable. Obsessions, death and rebirth, violence, sexuality, retribution and apocalypse are all part of the rich fabric of The Black Dreams. Bringing together some of Northern Ireland’s finest writers, along with some of the best new talents, The Black Dreams celebrates and extends the rich tradition of the weird, surreal and dream-like in Northern Irish writing. It is also a powerful act of imagining and storytelling – a vibrant, vivid and exhilarating exploration of a world we cannot, or choose not, to see. Contributors: Jo Baker, Jan Carson, Reggie Chamberlain-King, Aislínn Clarke, Emma Devlin, Moyra Donaldson, Michelle Gallen, Carlo Gébler, John Patrick Higgins, Ian McDonald, Gerard McKeown, Bernie McGill, Ian Sansom, Sam Thompson

Read more less

Justine Ezarik has been tech-obsessed since unboxing her family's first Apple computer. By sixth grade she had built her first website. A decade later, she became one of the Internet's first-and most popular-"lifecasters," inviting people around the world to watch her every move, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Within ten days of release, her "300-page iPhone bill" had garnered more than 3 million views and international media attention. These days, iJustine is a one-woman new media phenomenon: The popular techie, gamer, vlogger, and digital influencer has an army of nearly 3.5 million subscribers across multiple YouTube channels, with total views approaching half a billion. Now, Justine is giving friends and fans a look behind the scenes, sharing never-before-told stories about the hilarious (and sometimes heart-breaking) reality of sharing your life online. With her trademark wit and delightfully weird sense of humour, Justine delivers an inspirational message in support of creativity, entrepreneurship, and the power of staying true to yourself, while reminding readers that the Internet is a very small world - you just never know who you're going to meet.

Read more less

'I want to eat everything in this book every single day for the rest of my life' - James Acaster'Sweet and funny and weird...as well as genuinely insightful about cooking' - Hadley Freeman, The Sunday Times'As touching as it is delicious' - The Evening StandardFrom Spaced and Hot Fuzz to Paul and Truth Seekers, Nick Frost has lit up our screens for decades with his perfectly observed, just-the-right-side-of-absurd sketches and films. He's also a keen, self-taught cook: so keen, in fact, that in lockdown, he personally delivered pies to his Instagram followers.This book is his love letter to food, to kitchens and the people in them.Nick's favourite thing to eat aged 10 was his mother's stroganoff and as her alcoholism worsened, he began to learn to cook it himself, gradually taking over and using it as a magic trick to conjure up the very best bits of her - the stable, sober bits, which became harder to find as the years went on. This was the beginning of a lifelong love of process and technique, of escaping into a world of hisses, blips and thunks of a knife on a board.A Slice of Fried Gold is a delicious mixture of hearty recipes, stories and digressions from one of Britain's most loved actors and writers.

Read more less

“LOST IN THE WILDS OF HEAVEN”Being a space-trucker sounds like a cool job, but the reality is can be boring as hell. So when recently-widowed GIL gets a long-haul gig across the universe, he figures it’s safe enough to bring his young son KADYN along for the ride — that is until their “big rig” gets bitten in half by a gigantic Space Leviathan! Now separated from his young son — with a breached suit that’s venting oxygen at an alarming rate — Gil must defy the odds and stay alive long enough to rescue Kadyn. Meanwhile, Kadyn seems to be getting all the help he needs from a talking Space Mon-key riding a Space Dolphin...or maybe it’s the strange powers he’s suddenly manifest-ing?!From the writing duo of JASON AARON (SOUTHERN BASTARDS, Thor) and DENNIS HOPELESS (Cloak & Dagger, Vader: Dark Visions), with dazzling art by STEPHEN GREEN (Hellboy & the BPRD) and cosmic colors by Rico Renzi (SpiderGwen) comes a brand-new science fiction series, with all the scope and heart of the THE NEVEREND-ING STORY crossed with imaginative weirdness of Miyazaki — an intense, galaxy-spanning adventure that’s suitable for fans of all ages!COLLECTS SEA OF STARS 1-5

Read more less

Of all the recordings to emerge from the Athens-via-Denver collective called "Elephant 6", Neutral Milk Hotel's second album is the one that has worked its way under the most skins. "Magnet" magazine named it the best album of the 1990s, and "Creative Loafing" recently devoted a cover story to one fan's quest to understand why bandleader Jeff Mangum dropped out of sight soon after "Aeroplane's" release. The record sells steadily to an audience that finds it through word of mouth. Weird, beautiful, absorbing, difficult, "In The Aeroplane Over the Sea" is a surrealist text loosely based on the life, suffering and reincarnation of Anne Frank, with guest appearances from a pair of Siamese twins menaced by the cold and carnivores, a two-headed boy bobbing in a jar, anthropomorphic vegetables and a variety of immature erotic horrors. Mangum sings his dreamlike narratives with a dreamer's intensity, his creaky, off key voice occasionally breaking as he struggles to complete each dense couplet. The music is like nothing else in the 90s Indie Underground a psychedelic brass band, its members self-taught, forging polychromatic washes of mood and tribute. The songs stick to one narrow key, the images repeat and circle back, and to listen is to be absorbed into a singular, heart-rending vision.

Read more less

Say hello to the marvels of machinery with this fast-fact-packed exploration of all things mechanical. It's the perfect way for children aged 9 plus to brush up on their S.T.E.M. stats and cement what they have learned in class with this fun book.Machines explores the most interesting, weird and awe-inspiring facts about all kinds of machine in bite-sized chunks of text, so readers won't be overwhelmed with information. Funny illustrations and photos are designed to hold their interest, and help them engage with S.T.E.M. topics.Machines takes a look at the six simples machines, including wheels, levers and inclined planes as well as more complex machines, such as pulleys, springs and hydraulics. There is also a fun activity to build a marshmallow-flinging catapult for budding STEMsters to try out!The Stupendous and Tremendous Technology series is ideal for all children aged 9+ who are studying S.T.E.M. topics at school or who simply have a fascination with how things work. It covers all the core topics in a fun and accessible way.Title in the series:Clever and Crafty ComputersMega and Mighty MachinesRemarkable and Roving RobotsTerrific and Trailblazing TransportAlso available is Stupendous and Tremendous Science:Ecstatic and Excellent EnergyHappy and Healthy Human BodyPowerful and Pongy PlantsSoaring and Spectacular Space

Read more less

Fantasy art, that colorful blend of myth, muscle and sexy maidens, took off in 1923 with the launch of Weird Tales magazine, was reinvigorated in the 1960s with The Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian paperbacks with Frank Frazetta covers, and the late ’60s emergence of fantasy psychedelia. It went big in the ’70s with the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, the brilliant French magazine Métal Hurlant, and the first Star Wars film. The number of active artists peaked in that decade, but a new generation of fans discovered the genre through fantasy trading card games in the ’90s, leading to a massive interest in the art form today.Frank Frazetta’s oil paintings—when they infrequently come to market—have sold for more than $ 5 million in recent years. Fans line up at Comic-Cons to meet Boris Vallejo, Rodney Matthews, Greg Hildebrandt, Michael Whelan, and Philippe Druillet, and memorialize dead icons HR Giger, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, and Frazetta. This book features original paintings, contextualized by preparatory sketches, sculptures, calendars, magazines, and paperback books, for an immersive dive into this dynamic, fanciful genre. Insightful bios go beyond Wikipedia to give a more accurate and eye-opening look into the life of each artist. This collection will reign as the most exquisite and informative guide to this popular subject for years to come.

Read more less

Six Feet Under meets Edward Scissorhands in Mortal Remains, a tight, smartly written romance with an occult twist. Though her classmates call her Morticia and Ghoul Girl, Cally actually likes her work at the family mortuary�the dead are good listeners, and they don't judge. Then, after a mysterious explosion burns down a neighborhood house long the source of weird stories, Cally and her friends poke around in the debris and come across the hatch to an underground vault. Inside, they find an injured teenage boy who has been trapped there for days. He has little memory of his life before the explosion and speaks in an odd, stilted manner that suggests limited interaction with the outside world. Yet the boy, Adam, feels there is something familiar about Cally�and Cally must admit that she feels a strange connection to him as well. Could Adam be the boy who, years ago, protected her from the bullying of a gang of neighborhood kids? But when she finds out that boy died shortly after their encounter, she realises Adam couldn't be him � could he? Where did Adam come from, anyway? And, most importantly, why was he kept prisoner by his own father?

Read more less

Break through old patterns of boredom and lack of fulfilment to discover your most brilliant life! Your intuition holds the key to a truly inspired life. It can, however, bring with it an increased sensitivity, so overwhelming that some find it hard to operate in day-to-day life. Others feel foolish or weird when acknowledging their intuition. In a world focussed on science we have amazing technology and vast physical abundance. However, ignoring our intuition has deprived us of untold benefits in our careers, well-being, and relationships. The Soul's Brain reveals the principles of conscious intuition. These principles are part of the structure of our universe, forming patterns in our lives which are as fundamental as breathing. Knowing these patterns allows you to translate between intuition and science. Understanding the neurology and logic of your intuition will allow you live a truly brilliant and inspired life. Catherine Wilkins guides you through the nine-step process to conscious intuition. You will learn how tuning into your intuition is a skill like any other - all it takes is knowledge and practice. Science and spirituality have a common language. You don't need to choose between science and intuition, you can use both together to achieve your full potential.

Read more less

In A Feeling of Wrongness, Joseph Packer and Ethan Stoneman confront the rhetorical challenge inherent in the concept of pessimism by analyzing how it is represented in an eclectic range of texts on the fringes of popular culture, from adult animated cartoons to speculative fiction.Packer and Stoneman explore how narratives such as True Detective, Rick and Morty, Final Fantasy VII, Lovecraftian weird fiction, and the pop ideology of transhumanism are better suited to communicate pessimistic affect to their fans than most carefully argued philosophical treatises and polemics. They show how these popular nondiscursive texts successfully circumvent the typical defenses against pessimism identified by Peter Wessel Zapffe as distraction, isolation, anchoring, and sublimation. They twist genres, upend common tropes, and disturb conventional narrative structures in a way that catches their audience off guard, resulting in belief without cognition, a more rhetorically effective form of pessimism than philosophical pessimism.While philosophers and polemicists argue for pessimism in accord with the inherently optimistic structures of expressive thought or rhetoric, Packer and Stoneman show how popular texts are able to communicate their pessimism in ways that are paradoxically freed from the restrictive tools of optimism. A Feeling of Wrongness thus presents uncharted rhetorical possibilities for narrative, making visible the rhetorical efficacy of alternate ways and means of persuasion.

Read more less

The New York Times bestselling book behind the HBO Series from J.J. Abrams, Misha Green and Jordan Peele (Director of Get Out)A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism – the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, twenty-two year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George – publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide – and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite – heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors – they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn – led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb – which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his – and the whole Turner clan’s – destruction.

Read more less

Trip-hop described some of the 1990s’ best music, and it was one of the decade’s most revealing bad ideas. This book chronicles the music and its leading artists, packed with recommended listening, essential tracks, great remixes, and under-recognized albums. “Your playlists will soon be overflowing.” - Spectrum Culture The music itself was an intoxication of beats, bass, and voice. It emerged amid the social tensions of the late 1980s, and as part of hip-hop’s rise to global dominance. It carried the innovations of Jamaican soundsystem culture, the sweet refuge of Lovers Rock, the bliss of club jazz dancefloors and post-rave chill-out rooms. It went mainstream with Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky, DJ Shadow, Kruder & Dorfmeister, and Björk; and with record labels like Ninja Tune and Mo’ Wax. To the artists’ despair, the music was tagged with a silly label and packaged as music for the boutique and the lounge; made respectable with awards and acclaim. But the music at its best still sounds experimental and dramatic; and its influence lingers through artists like FKA twigs, Sevdaliza, James Blake, Billie Eilish, and Lana Del Rey. This short book is a guide to ’trip-hop’ in its context of the weird 1990s: nostalgia and consumerism; pre-millenium angst and lo-fi technology; casual exoticism amid accelerating globalization and gentrification.

Read more less

Food, glorious food!If there’s one thing that transcends time, it’s our love for food! But what did people generations ago consume? And what will we eat in the years ahead? James Solheim’s Eat Your Woolly Mammoths! serves up the stories behind the world’s most delicious, nutritious, and amazing foods—from the Stone Age to the future. For readers who love the fascinating facts that bring history to life. Let the feast begin!Would you like a plate of woolly mammoth? Or perhaps a sample of fresh tuna eyeballs? From scorpions on sticks and llama salami to oysters and chocolate chip cookies, you’ll travel through the centuries and around the world and discover the amazing foods that have been eaten—and enjoyed—throughout history.Eat Your Woolly Mammoths! explores the history of food and is full of fun, digestible facts that young historians, cooks, and scientists will gobble up. An accessible, educational, and funny text combined with laugh-out-loud illustrations make this ideal pick for independent readers and snackers everywhere. A great choice for readers who munched through Ripley’s Believe It or Not: Fun Facts and Silly Stories and the National Geographic Kids: Weird but True books.Includes sidebars, fun facts, recipes, additional resources, and more!

Read more less

Scientists know everything, right? Wrong! Don't scientists hate it when their experiments go wrong, though? Nope, it can help them discover something new! This book is about how scientists turn experiments that go wrong into SUCCESS! Read all about the moth mix-ups, dog wee disasters, chemical confusions and bathtub blunders that led scientists to make new discoveries. And remember, if you notice something weird, stop and look. It could be the start of a new discovery!When Science Experiments Go Wrong is part of the Astro range from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Astro books are ideal for struggling and reluctant readers aged 7-11. Each book is dual-banded so that children can improve their fluency whilst enjoying exciting fiction and non-fiction relevant to their age. Astro books for Earth/White band are also highly-decodable so ideal for extra phonics practice. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills.Interest age: 8-9 Reading age: 6-7 years

Read more less

Bizarre, incredible and downright eye-popping facts about the natural world!In Eye-popping Plant Part Facts, you'll learn about some of the most astonishing things going on in the stems, blossoms, seeds, roots (and more!) of the plants all around us. Finding out about plant parts has never been more engaging or uproariously funny! The Body Bits series is written by the hilarious and knowledgeable Paul Mason, and illustrated by Dave Smith, whose laugh-out-loud and action-packed artwork can't be beat. Reading and learning become a source of endless fun for even the most reluctant readers aged 7 plus with Body Bits.Books in the series include:Hair-raising Human Body FactsAstounding Animal Body FactsDead-awesome Dinosaur Body FactsEye-popping Plant Part FactsContents list for Eye-popping Plant Part Facts:The weird world of plant parts / Roots have ears / Surprising seeds / Plants in disguise /Pitfalls and other traps / Poison producers / Spines and thorns / Snap! And you're lunch /Hairy ends / Jailhouse plants / The world's stinkiest plants / Extreme survivors / Do youspeak plant? / Glossary / Finding out more / Index

Read more less

Literary crime novel populated by French Surrealist authors of the twenties; characters include imagined versions of André Breton, Georges Bataille, Antonin Artaud, Guillaume Apollinaire (changed to be an old woman), Robert Desnos, Louis Aragon (changed to be a young woman with cool hair), Jacques Prevert and Michel Simon. Pillow is a twist on the anti-hero that looms so large in the cultural imagination right now (Tao Lin's novels, True Detective, The Knick). In fact, he's an anti-anti-hero: a sweet, pleasant person with an original mind who nonetheless engages in sketchy and immoral behaviour. Written in the weirdo-whimsical vein of, say, Miranda July or Sheila Heti, moreso than the tough men despairing things in short sentences vein of, say, Dennis Lehane, which is what you usually get in literary crimeland. With echoes of an Elmore Leonard thriller: funny, and driven by colorful characters. Boxing subculture is well-connected and generally hungry for reasonably intelligent writing. Author's sister is Claire Battershill, author of Circus (McClelland & Stewart, 2014) winner of the CBC Literary Award for Short Fiction.

Read more less

"Roger McGough's witty text offers many weird and wonderful explanations ... Chris Riddell's artwork makes the whole an imaginative feast" - BooksellerRunner-up for the English Association 4-11 Award for the Best Children's Picture Book.Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal.From the minds of the former Children's Laureate Chris Ridell, and award-winning fellow of the Royal Society of Literature Roger McGough, comes a fun-filled book about how things work. Have you ever wondered how a toaster works? Or a fridge-freezer, or a washing-up machine? In this fun-filled book of how things work, Dudley, the techno-wizard dog, provides the answers. Roger McGough's delightfully ingenious text and Chris Riddell's striking illustrations take children from the furthest realms of fantasy into the fascinating world of technology to discover the workings of familiar machines, making it an exciting book which will delight again and again. At first, it describes how a child thinks things work... (gnomes in the toaster) and then Dudley tells you how the various household appliances really work. Includes all the appliances a curious child would be interested in: the dishwasher, the fridge-freezer and more. A funny, imaginative 'how things work' book for ages 4–7.

Read more less

TV scientist Ben Garrod presents the biggest extinction events ever, told from the point of view of evolution's superstars, the most incredible animals ever to swim, stalk, slither or walk our planet. Whether you're 9 or 90, his unique exploration of the most destructive, yet most creative, force in nature makes top level science fun. Here are the superstars of the story of life, from the super-weird to the super-ferocious. Usually a species has 10 million years or so of evolving, eating, chasing, playing, maybe doing homework, or even going to the moon before it goes extinct. Dunkleosteus was super-snappy. With a bite 10 times stronger than a great white shark, it could snap its jaws 5 times faster than you can blink! Discover its habitat, what it ate and what it was like to live in the shadow of this one-tonne predator until it went extinct at the end of the Age of Fishes. 'This book is amazing and the illustrations are spectacular! I want to read the rest of the books in this series!' Toppsta Collect all eight books about animals we have lost in mass extinctions caused by asteroids or mega-volcanoes, clashing continents and climate change. Past brought to full-colour life by palaeoartist Gabriel Ugueto

Read more less

Motherhood is the greatest job in the world...right?In this unique graphic narrative, we finally have that candid, funny and relatable book on pregnancy and parenting that mothers, expectant mothers, and anyone even thinking about motherhood have been waiting for. Actor and writer Kalki Koechlin opens up about so much that we don't talk about-the social stigma of abortions and unmarried pregnancies, the toll that pregnancy takes on a body, the unacknowledged domestic labour of women, the emotional rollercoaster of giving birth, bouts of postpartum melancholy, the unsolicited parenting advice from every corner, and of course the innumerable moments of joy and delight in bringing a real little person into this very weird world.With whimsy and compassion, with uproariously funny art and spellbinding honesty, The Elephant in the Womb blends the deeply private with the blazingly political. It's an eye-opener for anyone who has ever thought that pregnancy was all about the glow and that motherhood was all about fulfilment. From fixing broken parts to enduring untimely farts, Koechlin's nuanced prose-gorgeously illustrated by Valeriya Polyanychko-tells us the bare-faced truth about the physiological discomfort and manic expectations that make it a bittersweet experience.With a combination of personal essays and think-pieces, journal entries captured in real time, reflections and anecdotes, this is the motherload!

Read more less

Discover what Little Elephant gets up to and explore his world, in this fun and informative title from the Really Wild Families series. Little Elephant has a big and loving family led by her Mummy and she can't wait to introduce you to her siblings, aunts, and cousins. Little Elephant walks miles every day with her herd, are you excited to join her journey? Beautiful and bright illustrations will make this informative book a hit with children of all ages! This charming celebration of elephants will show children just how amazing nature is and is a reminder that it is up to us to care for the planet and its weird and wonderful creatures. Learn all about nature’s largest land animal:- What happens in the herd- How they are ‘ecosystem engineers’ - The role of female elephants - Why elephants are endangered This adorable story is followed by a fun factivity section packed with craft projects, case studies and a quiz section at the back of the book, so you can put everything you have learnt about Little Elephant and their herd to the test. In this Really Wild Families series, based on the everyday adventures of wild animals, discover what the littlest members of the family get up to! Through their eyes we will explore their habitats, family dynamics and how they play, grow and survive as a family.

Read more less

Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, more of a Beta than an Alpha Male. Charlie's been lucky, though. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a second-hand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He's married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normality. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child. But normal service is about to be interrupted. As Charlie prepares to go home after the birth, he sees a strange man dressed in mint-green at Rachel's hospital bedside - a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird. . . .People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yep, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It's a dirty job. But hey, somebody's gotta do it.

Read more less

When Hector Coleman and his mates genetically mutate overnight, their lives change in impossible ways ... A comic-book inspired adventure for fans of Stephen King and Charlie Higson.Hector Coleman. Just your average angst-ridden teenager, living a normal rubbish life in a normal rubbish town with, let's face it, a rubbish name. But then all the teens in Hector's small town develop weird mutations, and not in a superhero-type way. Someone gets transparent skin, someone else starts breathing fire ... and that doesn't end well. What the hell is going on? Hector and his friends need to find out, before it's too late.It's a bit like Stranger Things, only stranger. Everything has changed. Apart from Hector's name. And his girl trouble. And his embarrassingly low number of Twitter followers. All those things, unfortunately, stay the same. For now ...A warm, funny novel about friendship, family, and being different - oh, plus aliens, mutants and some serious scares ... 'This is one of the weirdest books I have read - I loved it! If you ever imagined that people who get special gifts always turn out to be super-heroes, think again ... a sort of cross between super-hero story, sci-fi, detective story, love story ... More like this, please.' Melvin Burgess

Read more less

We accept that, at some point in the history of our universe, living creatures emerged from nonliving matter. Yet from the time of Aristotle until the late nineteenth century, many people believed in spontaneous generation, that living creatures sprang into existence from rotting material. As Daryn Lehoux explains in this fascinating book, spontaneous generation was perhaps the last stand of the ancient scientific worldview. In Creatures Born of Mud and Slime, Lehoux shows that-far from being a superstitious, gullible, or simplistic belief-spontaneous generation was a sophisticated and painstakingly grounded fact that stood up to the best scientific testing. Starting with the ancient Greeks' careful and detailed investigations into how animals are generated straight through to the early modern period, Lehoux brings to life the intellectual contexts, rivalries, observational evidence, and complex and fascinating theories that were used to understand and explain the phenomena. The book highlights both the weirdness and the wonder that lie at the heart of investigations into nature. Lehoux concludes with a new look at a set of conflicting experiments that demonstrate that even the best scientific evidence can end up muddying what we take to be the truth about the world. Creatures Born of Mud and Slime is a compelling look at how we understand conceptions of scientific change, truth, and progress.

Read more less

The second story in the thrilling Nordic crime series The Snow White Trilogy, an international success published in 52 territories worldwide and soon to be a Hollywood film. 'Fans of Nesbø and Larsson won't be disappointed' Publishers Weekly Lumikki Andersson may be innocent, but she's no Snow White . . . Three and a half months have passed since Lumikki was left for dead in a snowdrift, a bullet wound in her thigh and frostbite creeping into her skin. But the scorchingly hot streets of Prague in summer provide a welcome contrast to that terrifying time, and now Lumikki just wants to move on - forget the events of the past year - and escape her parent's oppressive concern. She's alone again, which is just how she likes it.But Lumikki's peaceful solitude is about to be shattered. She is approached on the street by a nervous young woman, who, unbelievably, thinks she might be Lumikki's long-lost sister. Lumikki is unconvinced - although Zelenka's story seems to ring true, there's something weird about her. Something jumpy, and suspicious. And it turns out Lumikki is right to be wary, as Zelenka is part of a dangerous religious cult. On the run for her life again, Lumikki must once more draw on her all her powers of resolve and strength if she is to survive.

Read more less

When breasts first start to grow, no one talks about it. There aren’t any greetings cards that say, ‘Woo Hoo! Your breasts are developing!’ but you get a birthday card when you are ten and that’s just about planet Earth going around the Sun ten times. Why don’t we say, “Woo Hoo!”? Because we live in a society where we often get uncomfortable and look at the floor when it comes to talking about breasts. They seem to be important in lots of ways but then there are these confusing rules that say when we’re allowed to notice them and talk about them, and when we’re not. This book tells you all about breasts and helps you to feel confident about their arrival. They are much more than just a pair of bumps that can fit into a bra. Breasts can do amazing things that scientists are only beginning to understand. This book says, “Woo Hoo!” and ‘Wow!’ and ‘Isn’t that amazing?’ It says, “Congratulations!” and also says, “I know this feels a bit weird too.” Your body has looked the same for a long time and now things are changing. That can take some getting used to. Let’s get to know more about our two lifelong buddies with the WHEN, HOW and WHY of breasts.

Read more less

Whether you’re welcoming a new puppy into your family or want to help your best friend overcome fears or problem behaviors, internationally renowned dog trainer and best-selling author Kyra Sundance presents your essential reference for positive dog training. Using a visually driven, playful presentation, Dog Training 101 offers step-by-step instructions to train your pup to be a happy, attentive, and well-mannered canine. You will use positive training methods—including humane counterconditioning and positive redirection—to build a joyful relationship with your dog, who will become a willing partner in the process. Teach your dog basic commands, such as: Sit Down Stay Come Drop it Leave it Learn real-world tactics for managing common household problems, such as: Leash pulling Jumping on visitors Begging at the table Getting into the trash can Growling Peeing (submissive, excited, and marking) Kyra will also help you teach your pup to overcome common fears, among them: Loud sounds Being left alone Certain people Vacuum cleaner The bathtub This comprehensive guide also includes step-by-step advice for bringing a new dog into your household: preparing for a new dog’s arrival, tips for a smooth transition into the household, introducing him or her to your family, and acclimating your dog to his or her new world.Fun games you can play with your dog offer both opportunities for bonding and a chance to practice rules and boundaries within a defined structure. A “Good to Know” chapter offers an array of useful information, including the Heimlich maneuver for dogs, a list of weird things dogs do that are perfectly normal, and a list of common poisons. Bond with your dog as you strive toward common goals with Dog Training 101.Also by Kyra Sundance, learn to do even more with your dog with: 101 Dog Tricks; The Dog Tricks and Training Workbook; 51 Puppy Tricks; 10-Minute Dog Training Games; 101 Dog Tricks, Kids Edition; The Pocket Guide to Dog Tricks; Kyra’s Canine Conditioning; and The Joy of Dog Training.

Read more less

A dozen incredible stories about hockey’s legendary goalies, on and off the ice—including Carey Price, Marc-André Fleury, Roberto Luongo, and Henrik Lundqvist.“Hockey goaltenders have forever been thought of as unique, eccentric, weird and wacky. Also misunderstood. Randi Druzin’s Behind the Mask is a fascinating examination of a dozen of those who have played the position at the highest levels. This well-researched and well-written book is revealing and delightful at the same time.”—Roy MacGregorWhile his teammates rush up the ice in a coordinated attack, the goalie is alone in his net. And when the play turns back toward him, he's prepared to step in front of a frozen rubber disc traveling 100 miles an hour. He's the last line of defense in a pitched battle. The goalie stands apart, on and off the ice. Like the relief pitcher in baseball and the place kicker in football, he is a maverick.Behind the Mask profiles 12 legendary NHL goalies, emphasizing the traits that make each one unique. It blends accounts of the goalies on-ice exploits with anecdotes about their lives off the ice information gleaned from archival research as well as interviews with teammates, family members and the goalies themselves.The careers here cover the last half-century of professional hockey from the personal struggles of Roger Crozier and Ed Giacomin on their way to stardom in the 1960s, to the recent brilliance of Carey Price, whose character blends stoicism with a deep warmth and pride in his Indigenous background.Told with author Randi Druzin’s trademark mix of knowledge and wit, Behind the Mask has all the insight and color to make it a bestseller like her previous book on NHL goalies, Between the Pipes.Hockey goalies profiled include: Roger Crozier, Detroit Red Wings / Buffalo Sabres Rogie Vachon, Los Angeles Kings Gerry Cheevers, Boston Bruins Ed Giacomin, New York Rangers Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks Vladislav Tretiak, Soviet Red Army Mike Palmateer, Toronto Maple Leafs Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks Marc-André Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins / Vegas Golden Knights Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

Read more less

Venue Stories is an anthology of creative non-fiction that remembers, celebrates and reinvigorates our complex and plural relationship with small and independent music spaces. Written by musicians, promoters, fans and academics who have a shared passion for small music venues and musical cultures in all their splendid variety, this anthology features memoir, essays, life writing, historiography and autoethnography. Each chapter is united by a focus on the personal, the sensory and half-remembered. These are stories that cross disciplinary lines and blur distinctions between creativity, reportage and critical analysis. Venue Stories pays a visit to the toilet venues, back rooms and ad-hoc club nights that make up so much of our musical landscape. It spends time in small and local venues and asks what they mean in personal and cultural terms. Writers visit celebrated spots, long forgotten spaces and emergent venues. Whatever the lineage, they are independent, original and wonderfully weird. The stories are memories of seismic gigs and life-altering raves. They are mosaic remembrances and recollections; funny, heart-breaking, rage induced and sometimes a combination of all of these things. This is a collection of stories by and for fans, band members, merch sellers, pint pullers, journalists with a freebie, roadies with a backache and sound techs with an earache.

Read more less

In today’s world, science itself, which we are constantly being told is a neutral vehicle for wholly objective ideas and theories, is increasingly being hijacked and abused by the toxic modern cult of identity politics, of both left and right. But should we be too surprised by any of this? No, because this exact same sorry process has happened time and again before, under the rule of totalitarian political cults like the Nazis and the Soviets, both of which vigorously promoted various pseudoscientific theories of ‘Aryan Science’ and ‘Marxist Science’ on the sole grounds that they were ideologically correct as opposed to being factually so. Nazi racial pseudoscience and belief in nonsense like the ‘World Ice Theory’, which claimed that stars did not really exist and were actually just reflections of the sun off giant floating space-icebergs, were widely encouraged in the Third Reich, and used for long-term military weather-forecasting purposes. Likewise, the ideas of the renegade biologist Trofim Lysenko, who developed a deluded ‘anti-capitalist’ theory of genetics opposed to Darwin’s, were responsible for widespread famine in the USSR when Stalin allowed him to apply them practically towards the nation’s crop-harvests. Those academics and functionaries who disputed these clearly false pseudoscientific notions often found themselves in deep trouble – or, ultimately, dead. In this incisive and challenging study, author S.D. Tucker explores the often weird and fanciful theories that were proposed and took hold under these extreme regimes – and in doing so sends a word of warning to the modern world of the internet and social media where similar bizarre ideas are expounded and consumed with frightening gullibility. Everywhere from Western universities, schools and hospitals to Vladimir Putin’s Russia, absurd stories of sexist glaciers, racist gravity, socialist trees and NATO-backed mutant extra-terrestrial potatoes are being promoted as items of politically mandated scientific fact by compliant collaborators and credulous social media followers. Pseudoscientific narratives are even now used to justify the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, much as they were once used to justify the Nazi conquest of Europe or the spread of Communist revolution across the globe.

Read more less

Some people think that museums are boring places full of glass cases, dust and stuff no one cares about: wrong! In a hidden headquarters below the exhibits there's a gang ready to handle dangerous, spooky or just plain weird problems: the Museum Mystery Squad.Techie-genius Nabster, mile-a-minute Kennedy and sharp-eyed Laurie (along with Colin the hamster!) tackle the surprising conundrums happening at the museum. From pre-historic creatures that move and secret Egyptian codes to missing treasure and strange messages from the past, there's no brain-twisting, totally improbable puzzle the Squad can't solve.--------------The discovery of new Viking treasure brings the museum its biggest exhibit yet -- a giant longboat. With such a huge attraction on show there's plenty of room to hide a secret, or two. In the Case of the Vanishing Viking, the Squad investigate legendary longboats, rare runes and hidden hoards to try to solve their latest mystery.---------------Young readers will love the riddles, red herrings and big reveals jam-packed into this fun-filled series of mystery stories by Mike Nicholson. The enjoyable extras like wacky facts and activities, as well as zany illustrations by Mike Phillips, will keep amateur detectives entertained for hours.

Read more less

'Quirky, compelling and thoroughly enjoyable' Kate Ellis'A super start to the series' Frances Brody'An entertaining murder mystery . . . witty' L C Tyler Live music... and explosive death in front of an adoring audience - welcome to the world of the Mindful Detective . . .When Ethan Flynn, charismatic vocalist of supergroup Stigma, is electrocuted by his own guitar in front of 175,000 witnesses on the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival, suspicion falls on his tyrannical twin, Tyrone.Leading the murder investigation is Buddhist detective, Vincent Caine, and his partner, DI Shanti Joyce. To Shanti's consternation the pair have become known as 'the go-to team for weird stuff in the West Country' and few crimes come weirder than this. Amidst the pulsating beats of the festival, the unlikely duo struggle to untangle the wildly conflicting statements of minders, lovers, drug-fuelled roadies, and dodgy divas.Against the mystical backdrop of Glastonbury Tor and the tiny Somerset village of Kilton, the terrifying trail leads Shanti and Caine from clairvoyant Tarot readings to the cryptic lyrics of a lost song, cunningly concealed by the tragic superstar.Can the unlikely mix of Shanti's down-to-earth pragmatism and Caine's intuitive sleuthing skills solve this most singular of murders? Is the future of the world's greatest festival in peril? And what happens when two consummate professionals are forced to share a tent in the steamy heat of summer?

Read more less

Mumbled voices in an empty attic, heavy footsteps on the stairs when all in the house are asleep, darting shadows across a darkened room . . .It should come as no surprise that with the dawn of the digital age, people have turned their new technology toward the mysterious stories they’ve heard or events they’ve personally experienced. Here, in the dusky gloom where traditional science has refused to enter, a new breed of investigator has introduced us to the strange sounds and weird images from these nocturnal adventures.Like most people, Jeff Cole has always been intrigued by aspects of the paranormal—does the human spirit endure after the body dies, and are there such things as ghosts? Though the deeper questions are best left to priests and scholars, his investigations of well- and lesser-known historical sites indicate the existence of a truly inexplicable phenomenon.Ghostly Encounters chronicles Cole’s journey into the world of ghost hunting, other ghost hunting groups he has met, and the team he ultimately joins. Ghostly Encounters also provides a first-person account of the haunted locations explored, historical background and context to these sites, and audio and video clips so the reader can experience some of the startling evidence captured during these investigations.

Read more less

Take on the role of a shape-shifting MEGAHERO in this fully interactive, wacky, choose-your-own-destiny adventure story.You and your mega-computer sidekick, PAL, must save the world from Dinah Shaw - a brilliant scientist who has decided she'd rather be baddie 'DINASAW'. The evil genius has started building deadly robot dinosaurs - can you possibly morph into the right shapes to take down a TERRORSAUR?? Written by the award-winning duo Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore (AKA the 2STEVES) and illustrated by the hilarious Pipi Sposito. Reading age from 7 to 9 years old. Interest range from 7 to 12 years old - suitable for reluctant readers and less confident older readers. Printed using a font approved by the British Dyslexia Association on off-white paper.Read and laugh along with the whole series!October 2020I HERO: MegaHero: Sushi Man - 9781445169477I HERO: MegaHero: Professor Weird - 9781445170039November 2020I HERO: MegaHero: DinaSaw - 9781445170084I HERO: MegaHero: Miss Take - 9781445170091December 2020I HERO: MegaHero: MegaBite - 9781445170121I HERO: MegaHero: Queen of Hearts - 9781445170152

Read more less

A COSMOPOLITAN BEST NON-FICTION BOOK OF 2022 The Lonely Hunter explores the rise of singledom, the realities of loneliness, and whether it is possible to live contentedly alone. ‘So what’s going on in your love life?’ This seemingly innocent question at a dinner party prompted Aimée Lutkin to finally tell the truth: it had been six years since her last relationship, and she was starting to suspect that it would be better to accept the life she had as a single woman — a life she liked very much — rather than keep searching for a partner. But Lutkin’s answer was met with uproar; surely she couldn’t give up on love? So she threw herself into dating, going on two dates every week over a number of months. Documenting her experiences, Lutkin explores the reality of sexual relationships today and reveals how the cultural messages we receive shape our expectations of love. From weird Tinder hookups to the way the self care industry capitalises on our fear of being alone, and from the complexities of queer dating to the truth about the ‘loneliness epidemic’, she uses her experiences to fearlessly tell a wider story about how we love now.

Read more less

He's hot. He's young. He's also evil. He's ... the librarian. Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Glee! in this darkly comic horror.Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Glee! in this darkly comic story. Perfect for fans of Point Horror and R. L. Stine, as well as readers who like their horror and romance with a light-hearted touch. When Cynthia Rothschild’s best friend, Annie, falls head over heels for the new high-school librarian, Cyn can totally see why; he’s really young and very good-looking. But after meeting Mr Gabriel, Cyn realizes something isn’t quite right. Maybe it’s the creepy look in the librarian’s eyes, or the weird feeling Cyn gets whenever she’s around him. Before long Cyn realizes that Mr Gabriel is, in fact ... a demon. Now, in addition to saving the school production of Sweeney Todd from technical disaster and trying not to make a fool of herself with her own hopeless crush, Cyn has to save her best friend from the clutches of the evil librarian, who also seems to be slowly sucking the life force out of the entire student body!

Read more less

A nostalgic tome dedicated solely to subjective recollections of the thrilling drama of a cinema manager arranging cinema usherette rotas and checking choc-ice deliveries might not be expected to attract many readers. Yet weird stuff kept happening to Nick Scudamore doing just this. Here he offers a memoir of sticky seats and of scary situations; dead bodies, robberies, audience near riots, bizarre public misbehaviour, even the occasional celebrity. And remarkable movies from the 1970s and 1980s, from high end art-house all the way through to soft-core smut and teen-trash. Both as a memoir and as social history, this autobiography provides much of interest for both the contemporary film enthusiast as well as for the historically curious general reader. From 1979 to 1987 Nick served as manager to a series of art-house cinemas in London, the Screen on Islington Green and the Paris Pullman in Chelsea to name but two. The operational and economic context of films and the film business as a whole has changed so very much in the forty years since the events he remembers that it seems now worthwhile to record just a little of this pre-internet history before it fades from his memory.

Read more less

Future rock star or friendless misfit? That’s no choice at all. In this acclaimed novel by Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly, twelve-year-old Apple grapples with being different; with friends and backstabbers; and with following her dreams.Publishers Weekly called Blackbird Fly “a true triumph,” and the Los Angeles Times Book Review said, “Apple soars like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song.”Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. She and her mother moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, and her mother still cooks Filipino foods and chastises Apple for becoming “too American.” When Apple’s friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself. It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show her how special she really is.Erin Entrada Kelly deftly brings Apple’s conflicted emotions to the page in her debut novel about family, friendship, popularity, and going your own way. “A must-read for those kids cringing at their own identities.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

Read more less

Winner of the Louis Gottschalk PrizeWinner of the Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize“Witty and full of fascinating details.”—Los Angeles TimesWhy are there restaurants? Why would anybody consider eating alongside perfect strangers in a loud and crowded room to be an enjoyable pastime? To find the answer, Rebecca Spang takes us back to France in the eighteenth century, when a restaurant was not a place to eat but a quasi-medicinal bouillon not unlike the bone broths of today.This is a book about the French revolution in taste—about how Parisians invented the modern culture of food, changing the social life of the world in the process. We see how over the course of the Revolution, restaurants that had begun as purveyors of health food became symbols of aristocratic greed. In the early nineteenth century, the new genre of gastronomic literature worked within the strictures of the Napoleonic state to transform restaurants yet again, this time conferring star status upon oysters and champagne.“An ambitious, thought-changing book…Rich in weird data, unsung heroes, and bizarre true stories.”—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker“[A] pleasingly spiced history of the restaurant.”—New York Times“A lively, engrossing, authoritative account of how the restaurant as we know it developed…Spang is…as generous in her helpings of historical detail as any glutton could wish.”—The Times

Read more less

The English seaside has long been seductive. For 200 years, punters have sought out its quirky thrills from bingo to Wurlitzer organ dances, glamorous granny parades to child-jockeyed donkey races, lewdly shaped rock candy to harrowingly bad karaoke. But recently, many seaside towns have been pummelled by poverty, unemployment, underinvestment, addiction, Brexit, Covid-19 and the climate emergency. Writer Tom Sykes and illustrator Louis Netter take you on a Gonzo tour of 21 English coastal communities in an age of anxiety and absurdity. Their encounters are comical, sad, weird and beguiling - sometimes all at once. A post-lockdown beach party turns violent in Bournemouth. The Hampshire shores pile up with plastic waste and sewage dumped by a water company. St Osyth and Jaywick's trailer parks and makeshift homes have come to resemble a Global Southern shanty town. Covid disinformation is daubed on walls and benches across the Dorset coast. A pub in Scarborough celebrates Ulster paramilitarism. Portsmouthians come to terms with the imperial past. A Blackpudlian musician confesses an intimate connection to the serial killer Harold Shipman. But there's good news too. Combers and mudlarkers are cleaning our beaches. Art projects are drawing attention to coastal erosion and other ecological menaces. In an increasingly uniform England of red-brick estates and retail parks, seaside towns might just be our last outposts of eccentricity and individuality.

Read more less