Search results for ""unbound""

'Remarkably brought together, heartwarming and uplifting . . . showing that despite differences in age and background, geography and lifestyle, there is so much that binds up, so much we share' Kit de Waal'A stimulating collection of women's voices to help inspire us for the next 100 years' Elizabeth Day100 Voices is an anthology of writing by women across the country on what achievement means for them, and how they have come to find their own voice. Featuring poetry, fiction and memoir, the pieces range from notes on making lemon curd, to tales of marathon running and riding motorbikes, to accounts of a refugee eating English food for the first time, a newlywed learning her mother tongue and a woman rebuilding her life after an abusive relationship.The poignant, funny and inspiring stories collected here are as varied and diverse as their authors, who include established names such as Louise Jensen, Sabrina Mahfouz, Yvonne Battle-Felton and Miranda Keeling alongside a host of exciting new writers. Taken together, they build a picture of what it’s really like to be a woman in the UK today.

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What does it mean to be a good dog? Are tennis balls always real? Is a bark ever truly worse than a bite? All these questions and more are answered in Philosophers’ Dogs, the groundbreaking treat-ise that has been dog years in the making. The book reveals a long-kept secret: that every human philosopher has stolen their best ideas from their canine companions, shamelessly disguising the dogs’ original thoughts as their own.Featuring beautiful illustrations alongside meticulously researched historical fact,* Philosophers’ Dogs follows the trials, tribulations and tail-wagging of the pooches owned by famous philosophers and essayists. It is a vital addition to the bookshelves of philosophy students and dog lovers alike, packed with insights hitherto (wrongly) attributed to everyone from Confucius to Simone de Beauvoir via Socrates, Karl Marx and Mary Wollstonecraft. *Not necessarily historical or factual.

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'Earlier in my life and in my transition, Gender Euphoria would be the book that I needed’ Chelsea Manning‘Upends the baked-in narrative about pain and unhappiness . . . This book’ll inspire you’ Christine Burns MBEGENDER EUPHORIA: a powerful feeling of happiness experienced as a result of moving away from one’s birth-assigned gender.So often the stories shared by trans people about their transition centre on gender dysphoria: a feeling of deep discomfort with their birth-assigned gender, and a powerful catalyst for coming out or transitioning. But for many non-cisgender people, it’s gender euphoria which pushes forward their transition: the joy the first time a parent calls them by their new chosen name, the first time they have the confidence to cut their hair short, the first time they truly embrace themself.In this groundbreaking anthology, nineteen trans, non-binary, agender, gender-fluid and intersex writers share their experiences of gender euphoria: an agender dominatrix being called ‘Daddy’, an Arab trans man getting his first tattoos, a trans woman embracing her inner fighter.What they have in common are their feelings of elation, pride, confidence, freedom and ecstasy as a direct result of coming out as non-cisgender, and how coming to terms with their gender has brought unimaginable joy into their lives.

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100 SWEARY TEAR-OUT POSTCARDS TO DELIGHT YOUR NEAREST AND DEAREST, FROM THE CREATOR OF EFFIN’ BIRDS Ever since Effin’ Birds first appeared on social media, fans have been clamouring for a way to deliver these lavishly illustrated profane messages in the real world. Today is the day that their prayers and DMs are answered: Greetings from Effin' Birds is a book of 100 tear-out postcards, featuring new birds and new jokes, plus 100 absolutely true* Bird Facts that will help you spot these fine avian creatures in your everyday life. The bewildered gander wants to talk about how fucked everything is... The fretful scaup wants to know how long this bullshit is going to take... The rational sheldrake is losing its fucking mind over here... and 97 more!*All 100 Bird Facts are completely untrue.

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Rob Deering has been listening to music his whole life, but it was only in his mid-thirties that – much to his surprise – he found himself falling in love with the hugely popular, nearly perfect, sometimes preposterous activity of runningIn this vividly conjured collection, Rob shares stories of when a run, a place and a tune come together in a life-defining moment. His adventures in running have spanned four continents, fifteen marathons and numberless miles of park and pavement, and the carefully chosen music streaming through his headphones has spurred him forward throughout. What makes the perfect running tune? Where can you find the best routes, even in an unfamiliar town? Why do people put themselves through marathons? In Running Tracks, Rob Deering shares his sometimes surprising answers to these questions, and explains how a hobby became an obsession that changed his life forever.

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There has, in recent years, been an explosion of writing about place, landscape and the natural world. But within this, women’s voices have remained in the minority. This anthology gathers the voices of women from the fourteenth to the twenty-first centuries whose subject is the natural world in Britain, Ireland and the outlying islands of our archipelago. Alongside the traditional forms of the travelogue, the walking guide, books on birds, plants and wildlife, Women on Nature embraces alternative modes of seeing and recording that turn the genre on its head. Katharine Norbury has sifted though the pages of women’s fiction, poetry, biography, gardening diaries and recipe books and garnered accounts from artists, farmers, theologians and natural scientists to demonstrate the multitudinous ways in which women have observed the world about them. From the fourteenth-century spiritual revelations of Julian of Norwich to the seventeenth-century travel journals of Celia Fiennes, and including a host of twenty-first-century voices such Sarah Evans, Sinéad Gleeson, Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay, Rachel Lichtenstein, Amy Liptrot, Helen Mort, Anita Sethi and more, Women on Nature presents a fresh vision of the natural world and is of unique importance in terms of women’s history and the history of writing about nature.

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A shift in the nature of light reveals an eighth colour in the visible spectrum. A boy befriends the last tree in the natural world. A single mother finds help at the darkest point of her life. A young man finds himself trapped in a university overrun by crows.These stories and more form In Other Words, an anthology as diverse as the writers themselves. Some cover trauma, societal issues and stigma; others offer fragments of hope and light. Some reach back in time while others transport us to another dimension altogether. There is heartbreak, wit, humour, poignancy and above all a mastery of the imagination.What these transcendent stories share is that they were created by autistic writers, people often dismissed as unimaginative or incapable of creativity – a myth that has persisted for generations. This collection hopes to shatter those stereotypes, those misconceptions and misunderstandings, and the perception that one must be neurotypical to be afforded a voice in the arts.

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'One of the best accounts ever written of deep-water diving and its staggering, haunting dangers' Robert Kurson, New York Times bestselling author of Shadow DiversDeep underwater lurks a mysterious man-made illness. It has gone by many names over the years – Satan’s disease, diver’s palsy, the chokes – but today, medics call it decompression sickness. You know it as the bends.That’s the devil British diver Martin Robson faces each time he plunges beneath the surface. In the winter of 2012, Robson was part of an expedition to Blue Lake, southern Russia, which sought to find a submerged cave system never seen by the human eye. On the final day of the expedition, as Robson returned from diving deeper into the lake than anyone had before, disaster struck: just seventy-five feet down, he was ambushed by the bends.Robson knew that if he continued up to the surface he would probably die before help arrived. Instead, he sank back into the water, gambling on an underwater practice most doctors believe is a suicidal act. Soon the only hope he had of saving his life would rest in the hands of a dramatic mercy mission organised at the highest levels of the Russian government.Between the Devil and the Deep is the first book to tell the terrifying true story of what it feels like to get the bends, taking you inside the body and mind of a man who suffered the unthinkable. Writer Mark Cowan also explores the grimly fascinating history of decompression sickness, the science behind what causes the disease, and the stories of the forgotten divers who pushed the limits of physical endurance to help find a solution.

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Where and who do we want to be? How might we get there? What might happen if we stay on our current course?The Future of Stuff asks what kind of world will we live in when every item of property has a digital trace, when nothing can be lost and everything has a story. Will property and ownership become as fluid as film is today: summoned on demand, dismissed with a swipe? What will this mean for how we buy, rent, share and dispose of stuff? About what our stuff says about us? And how will this impact on us, on manufacturing and supply, and on the planet?This brief but mighty book is one of five that comprise the first set of FUTURES essays. Each standalone book presents the author's original vision of a singular aspect of the future which inspires in them hope or reticence, optimism or fear. Read individually, these essays will inform, entertain and challenge. Together, they form a picture of what might lie ahead, and ask the reader to imagine how we might make the transition from here to there, from now to then.

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On a painful, freezing Easter Monday in 1917, Private Robert Gooding Henson of the Somerset Light Infantry is launched into the Battle of Arras. Robert is twenty-three years old, a farmer’s boy from Somerset, who joins up against his father’s wishes. Robert forms fast friendships with Stanley, who lied about his age to go to war, and Ernest, whose own slippery account betrays a life on the streets. Their friendship is forged through gas attacks, trench warfare, freezing in trenches, hunting rats, and chasing down kidnapped regimental dogs. Their life is one of mud and mayhem but also love and laughs.This is the story of Robert’s journey to Arras and back, his dreams and memories drawing him home. His story is that of the working-class Tommy, the story of thousands of young men who were caught in the collision between old rural values and the relentlessness of a new kind of war. It is a story that connects the past with the present through land, love and blood.

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‘A strange, original and unusual novel, which takes two unlikely worlds and yokes them together. Remarkable … I’ve never read anything quite like it’ Carlo GeblerDolly Considine runs a late-night drinking establishment catering to the needs of thirsty politicians and theatricals in Dublin's legendary drinking area, the Catacombs.Julian Ryder (aka Paddy Butler) is an eighteen-year-old aspiring writer in need of shelter from his bullying older brother.As the new live-in lounge assistant at Dolly Considine’s Hotel, Julian soon embroils himself in the shebeen’s gossip – and the guests’ bedsheets – and turns Dolly’s entourage into fodder for his literary ambitions. Reality quickly becomes difficult to separate from fantasy…Set against the run-up to the Pro-life Constitutional Amendment of September 1983 and moving fluidly between the 1950s of Dolly’s youth and Julian’s Summer of Unrequited Love, the hotel becomes a stage for farce and tragedy. Between Julian’s fictions, Dolly’s Secrets, and narrow party politics – and featuring a papier-mâché figure of Mother Ireland giving birth and clashing sword-wielding dancers – this rich cocktail threatens to blow them, and even Ireland itself, wide apart.

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London, 2054. After a devastating global pandemic and a bloody revolution, Britain’s new government imposes peace by stringently dictating the nation’s cultural intake. In the quest to create better citizens, everything from the television we watch to the clothes we wear is strictly policed. As part of the unit tasked with upholding these so-called ‘Bad Taste Laws’, H. and his partner, Bagby, have their work cut out. When former reality TV star Caleb Jennings is found murdered, some suspect it could be a simple vigilante slaying. But, as H. digs deeper into the killing, Bagby’s association with old revolutionary figureheads is called into question. With the help of Caleb’s estranged sister, the museum curator Kate Faron, H. must navigate a Britain in which paranoia and suspicion of the unknown are rife, all the while dealing with the mysterious tech behemoth Vangelis, new revolutionary murmurings, and the legacy of Kate’s biologist parents. Compelled by what he uncovers, H. begins to question his loyalty to the state at a time when national stability couldn’t be more precarious.

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As featured on ITV News and Radio 4's Today programme'This book could not come at a more appropriate moment . . . Matchless man: hugely important book' Joanna Lumley'A great champion of environmental activism . . . His extensive travels have given him many insights' Sir Ranulph Fiennes'This is a fabulous book . . . It's like pumping a mountain stream through your head' Sir Tim SmitA powerful polemic on the major threats facing the world today and how they can be overcome. Our world is facing catastrophes of many kinds, from the climate crisis to global outbreaks of deadly diseases. But could we look back at the collapse of previous civilisations to see what lessons might be learned?The explorer and campaigner Robin Hanbury-Tenison believes we urgently need to tackle the four harbingers of catastrophe:The White Horse of Pestilence and Pandemics – many remote tribal societies have lives that are healthier than ours – what can we learn from them?The Red Horse of War – can we avoid conflict through promoting prosperity and renewable energy for all?The Black Horse of Famine – is now the time to use technology we’ve had since World War II to influence the weather?The Pale Horse of Death – will geoengineering help to undo the appalling pollution we are inflicting on the planet, especially the oceans?The lessons of Taming The Four Horsemen are clear: if we humans are to survive we need to make transformative changes now.

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This is not a book about parenting. There are 1.3 billion of those already, and the main thrust is, ‘if possible, try not to be a shit parent.’Instead, this is a book about us. You and me.The knackered parents, flailing about in the supposedly ‘easier’ Middle Years, when our babies have sprouted body hair and attitudes, we’re supposed to be ‘getting our life back’ at last . . . but everything feels as if it’s gone a bit tits down.From puberty to parents’ evenings, anxiety to A-Levels, divorce to depression, sex to social media, hormones to . . . Jesus, is that chin hair?!This comprehensive, honest, hilarious and at times heart-breaking rummage through the Rotting Salad Drawer of Midlife™ that we all go through but nobody tells us about until we’re already drowning in it, holds your weary hand and offers a giant, life-saving snog of, 'IT’S OK. IT’S NOT JUST YOU'.Praise for The Middle Years:'Everyone in the middle years of parenting needs to read this frank, funny and courageous book!' - Beverley Turner‘A TRIUMPH! Liz nails the reality of the Middle Years with humour, empathy and fearlessness. I laughed out loud, teared up and cringed.' - Natasha Pearlman, Executive Editor of Glamour US ‘This is a brilliantly insightful, wonderfully written, bloody funny book!’ - Ben Shephard, Good Morning Britain‘I am reading this and crying with laughter.’ - Tanya Byron

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AGGRO ON THE STREETS OF LONDON!1979: punk, reggae, boots, braces, button-down shirts. Packed full of music, style, and bovver, Moonstomp is the written in blood story of a teenage skinhead who’s also a werewolf.The full moon rises, and bodies fall.

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'Funny as hell. Formally inventive. Daringly concise' C. M. TaylorThey've all got a book in them, unfortunately.In December 2016, Julia Greengage, aspiring writer and resting actor, puts up a poster in her local library inviting people to join a new writers' group. The group will exchange constructive feedback and 'generally share in the pains and pleasures of this excruciating yet exhilarating endeavour we call Literature'.Seven people, each in their own way a bit of a work in progress, heed the call.There’s Keith, a mercenary sci-fi geek who can write 5,000 words before breakfast and would sell his mother for a book deal. Tom, a suburban lothario with an embarrassing secret. Peter, a conceptual artist whose main goal in life is to make everyone else feel uncomfortable. Alice, who’s been working on her opening sentence for over nine months. Jon, a faded muso with a UFO complex. Blue, whose doom-laden poems include ‘Electrocuted Angel in the Headlights of My Dead Lover’s Eye Sockets’ and the notorious ‘Kitten on a Fatberg’. And Mavinder, who sadly couldn’t make the first meeting. Or the second. But promises to come to the next one…Soon, under Julia's watchful eye, the budding writers are meeting every month to read out their work and indulge each other's dreams of getting published. But it’s not long before the group's idiosyncrasies and insecurities begin to appear. Feuds, rivalries and even romance are on the cards – not to mention an exploding sheep's head, a cosplay stalker, and an alien mothership invasion. They’re all on a journey, and God help the rest of us.A novel-in-emails about seven eccentric writers, written by three quite odd ones, Work in Progress is a very British farce about loneliness, friendship and the ache of literary obscurity.

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In 1981, when he was thirty-three and had just caught what was then the largest British carp, Chris Yates wondered if he could now dream of capturing Redmire’s Pool’s real monster: the King.But far from the King itself, it was the idea of such a leviathan that hooked Chris that summer, playing him along the banks for one final season before releasing him back into the world. Chris’s account of those pivotal months – originally published as The Lost Diary – recounts the final reckoning of an angler’s long relationship with a beloved and mysterious pool.It is also a magical record of both familiar and freshly discovered waters, meetings with new friends, and unexpected encounters with creatures other than fish and presences that are not quite human.

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Malcolm George Galbraith is a large, somewhat clumsy, Scotsman. He’s being forced to leave the woman he loves behind and needs to explain why.So he leaves her a handwritten note on the kitchen table (well, more a 300-page letter than a note). In it, Malcolm decides to start from the beginning and tell the whole story of his long life, something he’s never dared do before.Because Malcolm isn’t what he seems: he’s had other names and lived in other places. A lot of other places. As it gathers pace, Malcolm’s story combines tragedy, comedy, mystery, a touch of leprosy, several murders, a massacre, a ritual sacrifice, an insane tyrant, two great romances, a landslide, a fire, and a talking fish.

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Life is good. You have a job, an apartment in a nice part of town, and an online dating profile that’s recently yielded as many as three matches. From the outside, it would appear you’re a human man who has all the elements of a stable and functional life. But you also have a horrible secret. You’re not a human man at all. You're a WOLF.Assume the role of one of nature’s greatest predators, just barely maintaining a fake identity as a part of the human workforce. Each choice you make in this interactive story is crucial to your survival and, more importantly, your burgeoning graphic design career. Will you navigate water-cooler gossip without arousing suspicion? Can you go on a date without bringing up how much you love ham? Or is it perhaps time to throw this human life to the wind and return to the woods from whence you came? These choices and many, many more await you in I AM NOT A WOLF.

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In 2016, Mary Jane Baxter did what many people dream of: she quit her job at the BBC, rented out her flat and headed for the hills. Her home for the next few months was an upcycled 1986 Bedford Bambi campervan with a top speed of 60mph. She raided skips for vintage wallpaper and scoured second-hand emporiums to source stylish vintage accessories, creating her own travelling craft studio, packed with everything necessary for crafting on the road.She then set off around Europe searching for inspiration, travelling from Belgium right down to the Cinque Terre in Italy then around France and up to Scotland. Armed with her trusty hand-cranked Singer, she spent a summer sewing on the go, foraging in flea markets, meeting artists and hosting pop-up events to help fund her trip. Like creatives the world over she decided to see where her travels would lead her and returned with a head full of new projects.Fortunately, there’s no need for you to give up your job, wave goodbye to your family and rent out your house in order to re-ignite your own creativity; Mary Jane has done all the hard work for you. Sew on the Go is her guide to carving out more creative space in your life. From decorating your own budget-conscious bolthole to achievable projects including clothes and fashion accessories, beautiful gift ideas and child-friendly makes, this book is the ideal companion for those who dream of devoting more time to their craft.

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Data is humanity’s most important new resource. It has the capacity to provide insight into every aspect of our lives, the planet and the universe at large; it changes not only what we know but also how we know it. Exploiting the value of data could improve our existence as much as – if not more than – previous technological revolutions.Yet data without empathy is useless. There is a tendency in data science to forget about the human needs and feelings of the people who make up the data, the people who work with the data, and those expected to understand the results. Without empathy, this precious resource is at best underused, at worst misused.Data: A Guide to Humans will help you understand how to properly exploit data, why this is so important, and how companies and governments are currently using data. It makes a compelling case for empathy as the crucial factor in elevating our understanding of data to something which can make a lasting and essential contribution to your business, your life and maybe even the world.

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In Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, Stuart Ashen has created a collection of hilarious and damning reviews of some of the most bizarre, frustrating, pointless and downright terrible video games ever made. And he would know. . . he's played them all.Dripping with wry humour and featuring the best, worst graphics from the games themselves, this book encapsulates the atrocities produced in the days of tight budgets and low quality controls. These are the most appalling games that ever leaked from the industry's tear ducts and have long since been (rightly) relegated to the dusty shelves of history.Welcome to a world of games you never knew existed. You will probably wish you still didn't.

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'Essential reading, not just for anyone struggling with mental illness, but for anyone who knows someone who needs support. That's all of us' Daisy Buchanan, author of *How to Be a Grown-Up'An essential, wondrous WOW of a book' Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**kIt doesn't matter that you've lived in the shadows, that you've slept through years of your life, that you've done things you're shamed to admit even to yourself. It doesn't matter that you're an anxious mess with a shouty monster brain that keeps you from conforming to society's definition of normal.How to Come Alive Again is a relatable, honest, joyous and above all practical guide for anyone who has a mental illness – or anyone who knows and loves someone who does.Beth McColl shares what's worked for her and what hasn't, and what she wishes she'd known from the start: from advice on how get through a bad day to the truth about medication and what to expect from a partner.Here are the basics for mending your life, accepting yourself, and learning to live again.

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British popular culture would probably be very different had Larry Stephens not been born. We could now be living in a world without the Carry On films or Monty Python, and we may never have heard of Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers or Spike Milligan.Stephens’ promising career as a jazz pianist was interrupted by the war, and after serving as an officer with the commandos he moved to London and struck up a friendship with Tony Hancock, becoming the sole writer of his stage material. Hancock introduced him to Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Spike Milligan and Michael Bentine and together they created The Goon Show, arguably the world’s most influential comedy programme. As one of the main writers throughout its nine-year run, Stephens’ experiences and acquaintances became themes and characters within the show.For the first time, the life and work of this unsung hero of British comedy has been thoroughly explored. Using unrivalled access to Larry Stephens’ personal archive of letters, photographs and artwork, plus interviews with Stephens’ many notable friends, family members, comrades and colleagues, It’s All In The Mind tells the story of a boy from the Black Country whose short life had an enduring impact.

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Jonathan Meades has an obsessive preoccupation with places. He has spent thirty years constructing sixty films, two novels and hundreds of pieces of journalism that explore an extraordinary range of them, from natural landscapes to man-made buildings and 'the gaps between them', drawing attention to what he calls 'the rich oddness of what we take for granted'. This book collects fifty-four pieces and six film scripts that dissolve the barriers between high and low culture, good and bad taste, deep seriousness and black comedy. Meades delivers what he calls 'heavy entertainment' – strong opinions backed up by an astonishing depth of knowledge. To read Meades on places, buildings, politics or cultural history is an exhilarating workout for the mind. He leaves you better informed, more alert, less gullible.

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Shortlisted for Harper's Bazaar Book of the Year 2019A Guardian, Spectator and Mail on Sunday Book of the Year 2018'A lyrical portrait of a fast-vanishing way of life . . . Thompson is a terrific writer' New StatesmanLaura Thompson’s grandmother Violet was one of the great landladies. Born in a London pub, she became the first woman to be given a publican’s licence in her own name and, just as pubs defined her life, she seemed in many ways to embody their essence.Laura spent part of her childhood in Violet’s Home Counties establishment, mesmerised by her gift for cultivating the mix of cosiness and glamour that defined the pub’s atmosphere, making it a unique reflection of the national character. Her memories of this time are just as intoxicating: beer and ash on the carpets in the morning, the deepening rhythms of mirth at night, the magical brightness of glass behind the bar…Through them Laura traces the story of the English pub, asking why it has occupied such a treasured position in our culture. But even Violet, as she grew older, recognised that places like hers were a dying breed, and Laura also considers the precarious future they face.Part memoir, part social history, part elegy, The Last Landlady pays tribute to an extraordinary woman and the world she epitomised.

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'Lots of ideas for making gifts and decorations but not spending tons of money buying them' Jenni MurrayCelebrating midwinter is not about what you buy or how much you spend – it's about your attitude to life. Turn away from the frenetic consumerism of Christmas and rediscover the authentic and meaningful realities of this, the oldest and most precious celebration of the year.The true significance of midwinter is not found in any individual spiritual or religious belief or practice. Instead, the winter solstice provides an opportunity to celebrate what we as humans share; to set aside our differences and come together with a sense of community and cheer.Merry Midwinter is a cornucopia of ideas for how to make your own decorations (kissing boughs, advent wreaths, crackers, stockings and more); your own alternative gifts which cost nothing except your time and thought; your own entertainments and games; and simple, seasonal recipes from years gone by.

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'A bold wake-up call for those who doubt what people with learning disabilities can do' – Sally Phillips'A call to arms to confront continued discrimination' – Sir Norman Lamb'A gem of an anthology... this collection will contribute to our growing understanding, acceptance and celebration of "neurodiversity"' – Simon Baron-CohenSuccess is a crucial part of being human. But what if society thought success and aspiration didn’t apply to you?A human rights campaigner. A critically acclaimed actor. A civil rights activist. A singer–songwriter. A Paralympian and elite swimmer. A fine artist. An award-winning filmmaker and drag artist. An elected UK mayor.These professionals have achieved astounding and awe-inspiring success. They've won national accolades in competitive fields such as film, theatre, music, fine art, campaigning and politics... and like 1.5 million people in the UK today, they all also happen to have a learning disability.In Made Possible, these eight remarkable individuals present their authentic experiences – in their own words – and show us what society misses out on by overlooking them, pitying them, patronising them, simply tolerating them and labelling them in terms of their conditions.Edited by social affairs journalist Saba Salman, this collection of groundbreaking and illuminating essays shatters preconceptions and offers a glimpse of the many types of success that can be achieved by people with a learning disability. Crucially, it reveals how people can make invaluable contributions to society when their potential is acknowledged and supported by those around them.

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On the Road Not Taken is a memoir about the transformational power of music. It begins with a boy growing up in a small town on the Kent coast in the 1970s, who learns to play the guitar and dreams of heading out on the open road with a head full of songs. But when the moment comes to make the choice he is not brave enough to try and do it for a living.Time passes but the desire to explain the world through music never goes away. And as the years go by it gets harder and harder to risk looking like a fool, of doing the very thing he would most like to do, of actually being himself. Eventually, thirty-five years later, when it feels like time is running out, he walks out onto a stage in front of 500 people and begins to sing again.What follows is an extraordinary period of self-discovery as he plays pubs, clubs, theatres and festivals, overcoming anxiety to experience the joy of performance.

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Japan has produced thousands of intriguing video games. For any number of reasons, not all of them were ever released outside of the country, especially in the '80s and '90s. While many of these titles have since been documented by the English-speaking video game community — and in some cases, even unofficially translated — a huge proportion of the Japanese game output is unknown outside of their native territory (and even, in some cases, within it). Some of these games are oddities, the kind of uniquely Japanese title that wouldn't have been commercial viable outside of the country; others may have done well but were victims of circumstance. Plus, for quite a long time, the Japanese industry developed separately from American and European output, with their own landmark titles that created trends and inspired later games. Even the older games have a visual and aural style that make them distinct from similar games from around the globe. Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Japanese Video Game Obscurities seeks to catalogue many of these titles - games that are weird, compelling, strange, cool or historically important. Some of these may be familiar if you've comprehensively read Hardcore Gaming 101 website archives (though the actual text for this book is completely original), but we've also included a large number of titles that aren't (currently) reviewed, and in some cases, have little to no English-language coverage whatsoever. Most of these games are Japanese exclusive, though we've also picked some that are suitably obscure outside of the country, or were only localized many years after their original release. In some cases, they're games that were hugely successful in Japan but barely made a mark in the West.

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Over 100,000 copies sold'A tapestry of strong characters and accomplished writing' Herald ScotlandIt is 1911, and Jean is about to join the mass strike at the Singer factory. For her, nothing will be the same again. Decades later, in Edinburgh, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her.More than a hundred years after his grandmother’s sewing machine was made, Fred discovers a treasure trove of documents. His family history is laid out before him in a patchwork of unfamiliar handwriting and colourful seams. He starts to unpick the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time.

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This is the never-before-told story of George Orwell's first wife, Eileen, a woman who shaped, supported, and even saved the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.In 1934, Eileen O'Shaughnessy's futuristic poem, 'End of the Century, 1984', was published. The next year, she would meet George Orwell, then known as Eric Blair, at a party. 'Now that is the kind of girl I would like to marry!' he remarked that night. Years later, Orwell would name his greatest work, Nineteen Eighty-Four, in homage to the memory of Eileen, the woman who shaped his life and his art in ways that have never been acknowledged by history, until now.From the time they spent in a tiny village tending goats and chickens, through the Spanish Civil War, to the couple's narrow escape from the destruction of their London flat during a German bombing raid, and their adoption of a baby boy, Eileen is the first account of the Blairs' nine-year marriage. It is also a vivid picture of bohemianism, political engagement, and sexual freedom in the 1930s and '40s.Through impressive depth of research, illustrated throughout with photos and images from the time, this captivating and inspiring biography offers a completely new perspective on Orwell himself, and most importantly tells the life story of an exceptional woman who has been unjustly overlooked.

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Shakespeare clone and would-be playwright Billy has just arrived in an English seaside town with his sister Sally, who was cloned from a hair found on the back of a bus seat. All Billy wants is a cheap B&B, an ice cream and a huge hit in the West End. Little does he know that their fellow clones Bill and Sal are also residents of this town. Things are about to get confusing – cue professional rivalry, marital discord and a family reunion like no other.This modern update of The Comedy of Errors is what you get when Gods Behaving Badly author Marie Phillips decides to write an important, scholarly work about the life of William Shakespeare, reads the complete works, including the long poems nobody likes, and then decides to turn it into a witty, delightful romp that you can probably finish reading in an afternoon with two tea breaks.

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A journalist, columnist, humorist and musician, Miles Kington began his writing career at Punch, where he created Franglais, a hugely popular fictional language, before going on to write a daily column for The Times, followed by the Independent. He wrote over thirty thousand newspaper columns in his lifetime, as well as contributing to countless magazines and other publications. When he died in 2008, he left behind an enormous archive of correspondence. Effortlessly funny and entertaining, this collection is full of Kington's inimitable style. He had kept copies of every letter he had sent or received for the best part of fifty years, letters to and from the great and the good of the arts - Terry Jones, Melvyn Bragg, Joanna Lumley, John Cleese, Andre Previn, Philip Larkin, Alan Coren, Kenneth Williams, and many more. My Mother, The Bearded Lady is a selection of these captivating letters, chosen and edited by his wife, Caroline Kington.

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It is not words, song, or art that are tremendous, but the human soul, and what is set in motion when it is stirred to the depths.Where Epics Fail is a collection of over 800 aphorisms from acclaimed writer, essayist and poet Yahia Lababidi.Offering wit and wisdom, inspiration and spirituality, these meditations appeal to our shared humanity and attempt, with art, to guide us through the landscape of everyday life.

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Winner of the Fortnum and Mason Best Debut Drink Book Award 2017From renowned booze correspondent Henry Jeffreys comes this rich and full-bodied history of Britain and the Empire, told through the improbable but true stories of how the world’s favourite alcoholic drinks came to be.Read about how we owe the champagne we drink today to seventeenth-century methods for making sparkling cider; how madeira and India Pale Ale became legendary for their ability to withstand the long, hot journeys to Britain’s burgeoning overseas territories; and why whisky became the familiar choice for weary empire builders who longed for home.Jeffreys traces the impact of alcohol on British culture and society: literature, science, philosophy and even religion have reflections in the bottom of a glass. Filled to the brim with fascinating trivia and recommendations for how to enjoy these drinks today, you could even drink along as you read…So, raise your glass to the Empire of Booze!

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South London. 1915. Wag, the eldest of twelve in the eccentric, matriarchal Bourton family, sets off for war to escape trouble at home. After returning wounded, he embarks on a seemingly quiet career as an engraver and buys a house for himself and his enigmatic sister Ethel, who filled his thoughts as he was enduring war in the trenches.Decades later, Wag’s nephew Jack is also making his way in South London. After a short spell at Cambridge and a failed attempt to make it as a film producer, he finds himself a job reporting to the notorious Richardson Gang.As Jack is drawn deeper into the sinister and sadistic gangster underworld, he discovers that his Uncle Wag’s apparently tranquil existence may not be all that it seems. Although a generation apart, their paths are about to intersect…Narrated in alternating voices by Wag and Jack, The Book of Wag is a richly woven portrait of South London at a wild, lawless time that has now passed. Part fiction and part family memoir, it draws on the handwritten, unreliable war journal by author Paul Sidey’s own uncle, and other family stories. Dramatic, funny, tender and tense, it is the story of one family’s journey through the ever-evolving landscape of 20th-century London.

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When David Bramwell’s girlfriend left him for someone she described as 'younger, but more mature than you', he decided he had something to learn about giving. Taking a year off, he journeyed through Europe and America seeking out extraordinary communities that could teach him how to share. He wanted answers to a few troubling questions: Is modern life rubbish? Why do so many of us feel lonely and unfulfilled despite a high standard of living? Are there communities out there who hold the key to happiness? And if so, why do so many of their inhabitants insist on dressing in tie-dye? His quest led him to an anarchist haven in the heart of Copenhagen; some hair-raising experiences in free love communities; an epiphany in a spiritual caravan park in Scotland and an apparent paradise in a Californian community dreamed up by Aldous Huxley. Most impressive of all was Damanhur, a 1000-strong science fiction- style community in the Alps with an underground temple the size of St Paul's Cathedral, a village of tree houses and a ‘fully-functioning time machine'. Inspired, he returned home with a desire to change. Not just himself but also his neighbourhood and city. Find out how he succeeded in this wry and self-deprecatingly funny spiritual journey that asks some big questions and finds the answers surprisingly simple.

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On an abandoned street in Old Cairo, four Brits are kidnapped. But this is no ordinary kidnapping.They are hostages of the Serendipity Foundation, a millennium-old collective with a prophecy to fulfil. They’re prepared to do whatever it takes—and they’re going to make the British government play along.As the unconventional ransom demands escalate, the Foundation’s real aims are gradually revealed: instead of inspiring fear, their mission is to repair the corrupted values of media, industry and government before it’s too late.The Serendipity Foundation is a razor-sharp and powerful satirical fable that speaks to the heart of a new political generation and asks: why do so many of us settle for a world we know we can make better?

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The Surfboard is Dan Kieran's account of a week he spent in Cornwall building a seven-foot surfboard, even though he had never surfed a day in his life. He did this at a time when he felt he had reached his personal and professional limits: he needed to find a way to break through.Interspersed with the story of making the board – the intricate craft he had to learn, and the clarity of mind that came with that challenge – are the reflections on the obstacles, rewards and realisations he encountered while starting and running a successful business.This startlingly honest book is a finely crafted meditation on the importance of making things for their own sake and pushing beyond our preconceived limitations.

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A girl loses her beloved brothers when they are turned into swans by her wicked stepmother. She embarks on a vital quest with one purpose: to find them and turn them back into boys again.But the task is complicated. She must pick nettles with her bare hands and turn them to yarn, to spin and knit into shirts for each of the eleven brothers. And all the while she cannot speak, for if she does, even so much as a whisper, it will be like a knife in the heart of each swan-boy. And so she knits, silent. And where there is silence people will put words.The Wild Swans is a beautiful and lyrical extended version of the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen in Jackie Morris's enchanting retelling, complete with delicate watercolour paintings throughout this new edition. A story about love and bravery, about how to listen, and about how, when we do not listen, we hear what we wish to hear.

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A young woman walks alone through a barren landscape in a time before history, a time of cataclysmic natural change. She is cold, hungry and with child but not without hope or resources. A skilful hunter, she draws on her intuitive understanding of how to stay alive… and knows that she must survive.In present-day London, geneticist Dr Eloise Kluft wrestles with an ancient conundrum as she unravels the secrets of a momentous archaeological find. She is working at the forefront of contemporary science but is caught in the lonely time-lock of her own emotional past.Bone Lines is the story of two women, separated by millennia yet bound by the web of life. A tale of love and survival – of courage and the quest for wisdom – it explores the nature of our species and asks what lies at the heart of being human.Although partly set during a crucial era of human history 74,000 years ago, Bones Lines is very much a book for our times. Dealing with themes from genetics, climate change and migration to the yearning for meaning and the clash between faith and reason, it also paints an intimate portrait of who we are as a species. The book tackles some of the big questions but requires no special knowledge of any of the subjects to enjoy.Alternating between ancient and modern timelines, the story unfolds through the experiences of two unique characters: One is a shaman, the sole surviving adult of her tribe who is braving a hazardous journey of migration, the other a dedicated scientist living a comfortable if troubled existence in London, who is on her own mission of discovery. The two are connected not only by a set of archaic remains but by a sense of destiny – and their desire to shape it. Both are pioneers, women of passion, grit and determination, although their day to day lives could not be more different. One lives moment by moment, drawing on every scrap of courage and ingenuity to keep herself and her infant daughter alive, while the other is absorbed by work, imagination and regret. Each is isolated and facing her own mortal dangers and heart-rending decisions, but each is inspired by the power of the life force and driven by love. Bone Lines stands alone as a novel but also marks the beginning of the intended ‘Children of Sarah’ series.

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The next challenge for fans of Cain''s Jawbone: the TikTok sensation and international bestseller.A body is found stabbed to death in a locked room. The police find no weapon, no motive and no suspects. However, the murderer has in their possession a box of one hundred cryptic picture postcards which - if properly understood - would explain not just this murder, but nine others. These are those cards.Readers must rearrange the pages of text to unravel the story and identify the murderer, victim and location for each of the ten murders. They must also consider the separate puzzles presented by the curious images on the other sides. Torquemada taught us that complete dedication is key and from devising detective pinboards to daily investigation diaries, Cain’s Jawbone puzzlers did him proud. But now the time has come to dust off that magnifying glass, because a global movement to sol

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A captivating blend of feminism, ancient roads and history that asks and answers the question: where are the women in nature?Why is it radical for women to walk alone in the countryside, when men have been doing so for centuries? The Hard Way is a powerful and illuminating book about addressing this imbalance, reclaiming fearlessness and diving into the history of the landscape from a woman’s point of view.Setting off to follow the oldest paths in England, The Ridgeway and The Harrow Way, Susannah Walker comes across artillery fire, concern from passing policemen and her own innate fear of lone figures in the distance: a landscape shaped by men, from prehistoric earthworks to today’s army bases.But along the way, Susannah finds Edwardian feminists, rebellious widows, forgotten writers and artists, as well as all their anonymous sisters who stayed at home throughout history. They become her co

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Not a Fictional Mum makes sure no woman gets left behind' Giovanna Fletcher In this inspiring, topical and painfully funny memoir, Not a Fictional Mum asks what it is that really makes a mum? What Makes a Mum? is a less conventional journey of being mothered and reaching motherhood, from teenage foster care, struggling with infertility and navigating the adoption process. Not a Fictional Mum reveals the policies and statistics that led her to campaign for change, and what emerges is a picture of resilience, determination and hope. A personal account and a manifesto for change, What Makes a Mum? looks at family beyond genetics and offers a guiding hand to anyone in the long and sometimes agonising pursuit of becoming a mother. Funny, clever . . . but above all else real and beautifully written' Lisa Faulkner Opened my eyes to a whole other part of being a mother' Rochelle Humes

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''This book is a tonic! Both practical and hopeful, it's essential reading for anyone who wants a route map to a fairer, greener future'' Caroline Lucas We are living in a social, political, economic and environmental emergency. The status quo is profoundly unstable; change is inevitable. Now is the time to get together to build a far healthier and more balanced world. The decades-old political orthodoxy, that greed is good, inequality doesn't matter and we can keep treating the planet as a mine and a dumping ground, has been a recipe for disaster. Our world needs a new vision, the Green vision. From Universal Basic Income to free education, from less stuff but more life, to genuine democratic opportunities for all, Natalie Bennett brings together a holistic, hopeful and practical vision for the future. The foundations of Change Everything are conversations with many thousands of people. We need to engage millions to bring together the

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Where and who do we want to be? How might we get there? What might happen if we stay on our current course?Comedian, writer and activist Grace Campbell was born into a political environment that suggested only aggressive, dominant men – like her father Alistair Campbell – were allowed power. Seeing this, she decided that if she wanted to be powerful she had to be like him, a decision that baffled the boys she grew up with.In The Future of Men, Grace draws on research, interviews and her own experience to examine how these dynamics and presumptions have shifted in her lifetime, and will continue to change in coming decades. Men have been writing about the future of women since words came into existence – now Grace returns the favour with this sharp, funny and personal essay.This brief but mighty book is one of five that comprise the first set of FUTURES essays. Each standalone book presents the author's original vision of a singular aspect of the future which inspires in them hope or reticence, optimism or fear. Read individually, these essays will inform, entertain and challenge. Together, they form a picture of what might lie ahead, and ask the reader to imagine how we might make the transition from here to there, from now to then.

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Award-winning campaigner and founder of the global Craftivist Collective Sarah Corbett shows how to respond to injustice not with apathy or aggression, but with gentle, effective protest. This is a manifesto for a more respectful and contemplative activism; for conversation and collaboration where too often these is division and conflict; for using craft to engage, empower and encourage us all to be the change we wish to see in the world. Sarah''s craftivism has helped change laws and business policies as well as hearts and minds; here, with thoughtful principles and practical examples, she shows that quiet action can speak as powerfully as the loudest voice.

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