This self-help guide shows readers how to deal with stress rather than how to avoid it. It includes a questionnaire enabling you to assess how stress-prone you are and exercises which can be easily fitted around the obligations of even the busiest day.
The barrel should have contained books - instead it held treasure and a severed head...Gil Cunningham and his old acquaintance, Glasgow merchant Augie Morison, expecting a delivery of books from the Low Countries, report the gruesome substitute to the Provost, and at the inquest the next morning Morison is accused of the murder and imprisoned. He appeals to Gil, who sets out with his friend and future father in law Maistre Pierre, the French master-mason, to find the treasure's owner, trace the barrel and identify the dead man.The trail they follow leads them from the court of James IV at Stirling via a cooper's yard in Linlithgow, to another death on the bare slopes of the Pentland Hills.
In 1949, after years of nomadic existence, nine-year-old Aeronwy Thomas and her family arrived at the Boat House in Laugharne, a small village on the Welsh coast. Here her father, the poet Dylan Thomas and mother, Caitlin, hoped to find peace, a place to settle and work.In Laugharne Dylan began some of his most famous works, including Under Milk Wood. Mornings were spent in Brown's Hotel, listening to the gossip at Ivy William's kitchen table. In the afternoons Caitlin would lock the poet into a shed in the garden, where he sat speaking his verse aloud as he wrote, or composed begging letters to patrons and friends. Often he would head off to London, and old haunts. Little Aeronwy enjoyed the new world around her. In the Boat House, ruled over by Caitlin, there was baby Colm and in the holidays visits from big brother Llewellyn, as well as Dolly, the cleaner and cook, and the house became a refuge for village characters, including Booda the deaf, mute ferry man. The memoir paints scenes of sudden drama and poetry: reading Wind in the Willows with her father in the evenings; fish treading in the mud below the house with her mother; afternoons with Grandma Flo and DJ at the Pelican. Dylan's fame grows and he tours the United States to read his poetry. Aeronwy watches as the marriage fractures, and at last the poet dies in New York, far away from his children. My Father's Places is a deeply moving portrait of growing up and an insight into the origins and the legacy of Dylan Thomas's poetry.
You have a wonderful opportunity to add to the magic of your daughter's wedding. Your words will linger in memories - they may even be captured on video for future generations to hear. So what are the golden rules of speech-making? How can you convey emotion, seriousness and add a touch of humour?
Many children are naturally shy but extreme shyness and social anxiety can become a major childhood problem, leading to avoidance of school, difficulty in making friends and even developing into social anxiety in adulthood. In Overcoming Your Child's Shyness and Social Anxiety, child psychologists Lucy Willetts and Cathy Creswell explain how parents can help a shy child learn to challenge their thoughts and behaviour patterns and learn to participate confidently in every aspect of their lives. Based on clinically proven cognitive behavioural principles, the book explains what causes shyness, how to identify social anxiety in your child (sometimes masked by anger or stubbornness) and how to gradually help your child face their anxieties and develop problem-solving strategies. This book is a must for parents, teachers and anyone working with children.
Did you know that it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament? Were you aware that it is perfectly legal to murder a Scotsman within the wall of the ancient city of York, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow? Outrageous and hilarious rules and regulations pack the pages of More Than My Job's Worth along with incredible stories of officialdom gone mad. How about the story of a couple in Surrey who cleared an eyesore of weeds, litter, wrecked shopping trolleys and bits of an old car from the area outside their front fence, dug the ground over and put in some plants to make it all look nice for passers-by? The local council told them that unless they paid for a permit, they had to put everything back exactly as it was!You couldn't make it up, as they say, but you don't need to because it's all true! By the way, you need the permission of the Secretary of State if you want to enter the hull of the Titanic, and in Connecticut, USA a pickle cannot be classed as a pickle unless it can bounce!
Lukas Hawkins, the second son of the troubled House of Trent, is on a mission: find his missing mother and her alleged kidnapper, a brute named Roger Morton. If bringing the villain to justice means breaking a few laws, then so be it. But when he encounters a mysterious stranger with the face of an angel and a body made for sin, Luke suddenly finds his task - and his heart - in peril.Emma Curtis knows of Lord Lukas's rakish reputation and hopes to use it to her advantage. While most men of honour would never travel alone with an unmarried woman, Luke is quite willing to take Emma on the road . . . and into his bed. As their journey carries them to unexpected places, Luke and Emma indulge their every passion and share their most private fantasies. But just when their deepest desires are finally within reach, a secret is revealed that threatens to end their love forever . . .
Grey paused and studied the crudely drawn figure. A rough shaped face, traced in ashes, stared back at them. Above the face, a message: 'Hell Awaits'1893. A trail of footprints lead Deputy Archie Lean and criminologist Perceval Grey to the body of a murdered thief. The victim's exposed flesh has been burnt beyond recognition and occult symbols mark the nearby walls. But two days earlier this same man was lowered into his grave . . . As Lean and Grey dig deeper, they're pulled into a maze of death, deceit and revenge as they try to prevent a devious murderer from unlocking an ancient and lethal power.Rich in history, mystery and witchcraft, The Devil's Revenge is a breathless historical thriller about the darkest of secrets. Secrets that some would kill for . . .
Pip Carlton is a devoted husband and a highly respected pharmacist, cherished by his loyal customers in Herringbone Parade. When his wife dies in her sleep, without cause and without pain, he is distraught. Comforted by his caring assistant, Pip struggles to take up the threads of his life, ignoring the rumours about Margaret's death, relieved that the police are content to shrug off the mystery.But Helen West, Solicitor and Crown prosecutor, fresh from hospital herself, refuses to believe that Margaret simply slipped into her final slumber. Others are more difficult to convince, including Helen's awkward and pragmatic partner, Detective Superintendent Geoffrey Bailey, and the only people who share her suspicions are a confused and lonely boy and the drug addict who dies so mysteriously in Geoffrey's arms.Memories in the Parade are inflamed by the discovery of an unexploded bomb and in the midst of the evacuation of the streets, one lone man, armed with strange love potions prepares to murder again.
Welcome to the Metrozone - post-apocalyptic London of the future. Whilst the rest of Britain has devolved to anarchy, the M25 cordon protects a decaying city filled with homeless refugees, street gangs, exiled yakuza, crooked cops and mad cults. And something else; something new and dangerous. Enter Samuil Petrovitch: a Russian migr with a smart mouth, a dodgy heart and a dodgier past. He's brilliant, friendless, cocky and - armed only with a genius-level intellect, prototype cyberware and a prodigious vocabulary of Russian swear words - might just be most unlikely champion a city has ever had. Welcome to the future. Mind the gap. This omnibus edition contains Equations of Life, Theories of Flight and Degrees of Freedom.
She thought her life was over, but it hadn't even started. . .When Margot Delacroix dies at forty years old, she is sent back to earth as a guardian angel - to herself. Renamed Ruth, she is forced by divine mandate to re-experience and record her biggest mistakes and fiercest regrets from the beginning of her life to her untimely death.Forced from the moment of her birth to witness the cogs of fate and the stuttering engine of free will, Ruth sets out to change the course of her life, and, ultimately, to prevent her premature death. When she realises that the reasons behind her teenage son's descent into drugs and murder lay within her own actions as Margot, she makes a pact with a demon - she will give up her place in Heaven in exchange for the opportunity to save her son from his fate. But the changes she makes result in consequences no one could expect. . .
Is hideous prose and ghastly poetry more fabulous than great literature? Determined to find out, award-winning comedian Robin Ince has spent most of the 21st century rummaging through charity shops, jumble sales, and even the odd skip to compile the defining collection of the world's worst inadvertently hilarious books. This book will guide you through the hinterland of celebrity autobiography, unearthing underappreciated classics such as those by It Ain't Half Hot Mum's Don Estelle and the brother of a former PM (MAJOR MAJOR). It offers a detailed study of romance sub-genres, from the equine (DIAMOND STUD) to the gynaecological (SIGN OF THE SPECULUM). And it will prove invaluable to anyone who wants to know THE SECRETS OF PICKING UP SEXY GIRLS. Above all, the Book Club is a manual - almost a life guide - training you up for membership of the Grand Order of Curators of Books That Should Never Have Been. Join the club.
Want to learn how to play guitar in two pages? Ever wondered what goes into Marilyn Manson's backstage rider? Or who wrote the worst rhyming couplet in the history of rock? John Harris's Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll is the ultimate guide to what Spinal Tap called 'the majesty of rock, the mystery of roll'. Gloriously irreverent, it is also satisfyingly definitive, with a list of every Glastonbury line up; a dictionary of obscure genres from Alt.country to Shoegazing; a brutally honest guide to the Beatles' solo albums; the surprising wit and wisdom of Shaun Ryder and Noel Gallagher; Bob Dylan's collected thoughts on Christianity and Keith Richards' less-collected thoughts on drugs; and a handy flow chart that shows you how to listen to all of Captain Beefheart's albums without going insane.
1926, and Joe Sandilands is back from India, enjoying the frantic pleasures of Jazz Age London. Yet, there is a darkness behind all that postwar gaiety. A woman has been discovered bludgeoned to death in her suite at the Ritz. A broken window and missing emerald necklace suggest that it is a burglary gone wrong. But the corpse is that of a much-respected member of the British establishment, Dame Beatrice Joliffe, one of the founders of the Wrens, and so Scotland Yard send Joe to conduct a swift enquiry. Her companion, an ex-chorus girl, falls from Waterloo Bridge at twilight. Two of the Dame's clique of eager young Wrens commit suicide. All these deaths make Joe suspect that Beatrice has been killed by someone close to her but suddenly he finds that the case is closed and he is asked by his superiors to surrender his files. Against the background of the looming General Strike, and pressure from unseen governmental presences he struggles on, picking his way through the political panic and rebelling against authority, through to a shattering solution to the killings.
The second classic whodunnit starring Dandy Gilver.Summer 1923, and as the village of Queensferry prepares for the annual Ferry Fair and the walk of the Burry Man, feelings are running high. With his pagan greenery, his lucky pennies and the nips of whisky he is treated to wherever he goes, the Burry Man has much to offend stricter souls like the minister or temperance pamphleteer. And then at the Fair, in full view of everyone including Dandy Gilver, invited to hand out the prizes he falls down dead. If he has been poisoned then the list of suspects includes anyone with a bottle of whisky in the house, and, here at Queensferry, that means just about everyone.
The evening Rose Bentley takes a short-cut home across the marsh proves a fateful one. Panicked by the rising tide and struggling on a sprained ankle, it is no wonder she imagines seeing a dead body in a mud-drowned gully. Her rescuer Michael Dowland, the brusque but attractive son of the mill owner, assures her there is nothing there. In the cosy warmth of the kitchen at Dowland's Mill, visions of dead bodies do seem far-fetched, and soon Rose begins to fall in love with both man and house.Once installed in the Mill as Michael's wife, Rose sees a different picture. Despite her gentle manner, Mrs Dowland rules her family with a rod of iron. More worrying to Rose is the change in Michael who is no longer the loving man she married. But Rose is only beginning to discover the truth about the family at Dowland's Mill . . .
'If you can read Susan Elizabeth Phillips without laughing out loud, check for a pulse!' Elizabeth LowellGenius physics professor Dr Jane Darlington desperately wants a baby. But finding a father won't be easy. Jane's super-intelligence made her feel like a freak growing up, and she's determined to spare her child that suffering. Which means she must find someone very special to father her child. Someone a bit . . . well . . . stupid.Cal Bonner, legendary sports star, seems like the perfect choice. But his good looks are deceiving. Dr Jane learns too late that Cal is a lot smarter than he lets on- and he's not about to be used and abandoned by a brainy baby-mad schemer . . .'First Star I See Tonight is Susan Elizabeth Phillips at her best - funny, charming and un-put-downable' Susan Mallery'Fall into the addictive voice of Susan Elizabeth Phillips - compulsively readable and deeply satisfying!' Robyn Carr'I always laugh my head off when I read Susan Elizabeth Phillips' novels. She never fails to leave a smile on my face' Catherine Coulter'I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books. Her writing is infused with intense emotion, sharp characterization, subtle wit and a rare energy that is absolutely irresistible. When I open one of her books I know I'm in for an exhilarating ride. This is women's fiction at its best' Jayne Ann Krentz
One of the most successful books ever published and the basis of one of the most popular and highly praised Hollywood films of all time, Gone With the Wind has entered world culture in a way that few other stories have.Seventy-five years on from the cinematic release of Gone with the Wind, Helen Taylor looks at the reasons why the book and film have had such an appeal, especially for women. Drawing on letters and questionnaires from female fans, she brings together material from southern history, literature, film and feminist theory and discusses the themes of the Civil War and issues of race. She has previously written Gender, Race and Region in the writings of Grace King, Ruth McEnery Stuart and Kate Chopin and The Daphne Du Maurier Companion.
'An unusually well-balanced and remarkably fresh account of Freud's life and work - in historical and cultural context - viewed from the perspective of our own troubled times, and with contemporary scientific hindsight' Mark Solms, author of The Brain and the Inner World' Tallis makes Freud's life and the lost world of Viennese society vividly comprehensible . Excellent and entertaining' Amanda Craig
From the Great Exhibition's showcasing of British national achievement in 1851 to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Stratford in 2012 and on to Brexit, an insightful exploration of the transformation of modern Britain.
A decade ago, in her critically acclaimed bestseller The Art of Choosing, Sheena Iyengar transformed our understanding of how we make choices in a world of growing complexity and plenty. Now, in Find Your Blue she digs deep into the world of authenticity - that web of concepts, commitments and practices shaped and re-shaped by our own evolving beliefs. Although we have accumulated vast empirical knowledge about the world and its inhabitants, we are nonetheless more confused and unsettled than ever before. Why do our surroundings and our lives seem less and less comprehensible? In response to this strange predicament, we're turning to authenticity to hold us together and steadily move us forward. Partly a memoir told by a blind, Indian-American female social scientist, Find Your Blue is also a scientific exploration of the idea of authenticity. In this remarkable, unique book, Sheena Iyengar dares to ask the questions many of us seek to avoid - 'Who am I?' And, given who I am, what should I choose? Using techniques developed and tested in her own lab, this extraordinary work will show readers how to think bigger about authenticity and creatively construct a larger, more authentic sense of who they really are.
TOM THORNE IS BACK . . . AND SO IS HIS WORST NIGHTMARETom Thorne takes an old nemesis in the stunning new novel from multi-award-winning Sunday Times bestseller Mark Billingham.
From multi-award-winning Sunday Times bestseller Chris Brookmyre comes a heartstopping mystery set during a hen night on a remote island where secrets are lethal and everyone has something to hide . . .
A deeply emotional combination of grief memoir and soldier's story.
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