Tamsen Courtenay worked as an investigative journalist for the BBC¿s Panorama and Channel 4¿s Dispatches. She lives in central Italy, and wrote a blog called Land of the Forgotten Earthquakes about the seismic destruction of her region.
Now Gawain must complete his part of the bargain, search for his foe and confront what seems his doom... Michael Smith's translation of this magnificent Arthurian romance draws on his intimate experience of the North West of England and his knowledge of mediaeval history, culture and architecture.
Find Your Purpose. But Don't Lose Your Mind.
Sheila Parry, strategic consultant to the likes of Adidas and Siemens, lays out a fresh approach to organisations that aims to make work a better place for everyone
One woman's road trip across America in search of her lost libido
Meet Tabitha Gray, a delusional girl from Topanga, California, who redefines what it means to be a truly hopeless romantic. Tabby suffers from an aggressive strain of cock-eyed optimism - no amount of failure, embarrassment or humiliation can dent her fierce belief that real, true, lasting love is just around the corner.Where most people think, fantasise and dream, Tabby says, feels and does. Whether waiting in her lingerie for Harrison Ford to open the door of his hotel room; following Al Pacino around a Russianbathhouse; seeking passion with a blind man on the advice of a wise old woman with dementia; or sending intimate photos to a random sexter with an apparently charming dick, Tabby refuses to be crushed by her many misadventures.In this warmly witty debut novel, Sophie Kipner takes a satirical look at the extremity of romantic desperation, and pays tribute to the deep human need to keep on heroically searching for love despite our many absurdities.
`I would place it among the classics of this century and the last' Sally Bayley, author of Girl With DoveIf you tell a story oft enough So it become true As the nineteenth century draws towards a close, Mary Ann Sate, an elderly maidservant, sets out to write her truth.
A kaleidoscopic historical novel based on unpublished material by Anthony Burgess, from the prize-winning author Adam Roberts
'I get fed up with the number of cookbooks that promise quick and easy meals, those that promise a three-course dinner that can be knocked up in thirty minutes. Most cooking, and certainly most enjoyable cooking, takes a little longer. I can knock something up in a hurry if I have to - there are plenty of quick and easy recipes in this book - but that ability was a long time in the acquisition, and I still prefer to take my time, in order to do it better than I did it last time.' These recipes and essays, first published in the Financial Times, are a distillation of Rowley Leigh's forty years as both a professional chef and a home cook. They detail with precision and wit how to cook and enjoy both unusual and familiar ingredients through the seasons. With Leigh's succinct wine recommendations and over 120 recipes, this is a book to get messy with overuse in the kitchen and to pore over in an armchair with a glass of the author's beloved Riesling close to hand.
Award-winning biographer Laura Thompson pays homage to the English pub through the remarkable story of her grandmother, the first woman in England to be given a publican s license in her own name
'Part post-truth nightmare, part social commentary' (Financial Times), this is the acclaimed second novel from the author of Londonstani
Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink on the planet, but few who enjoy it know much about how its four ingredients - hops, malted barley, water and yeast - miraculously combine.From the birth of brewing in the Middle East, through the surreal madness of drink-sodden hop-blessings in the Czech Republic and the stunning recreation of the first ever modern beer, Miracle Brew is anextraordinary journey through the nature and science of the world's greatest beverage.Along the way, we'll meet and drink with a cast of characters who reveal the magic of beer and celebrate the joy of drinking it.
A collection of hilarious letters to and from pop stars of yesteryear: Eurythmics, Heaven 17, Chesney Hawkes and many, many more
The trees are disappearing and the adults seem unconcerned. Toletis, his dog Amenophis, friends Claudia and Tutan are on a mission to find ingenious ways of replacing them and turning their little valley town, set deep in the mountains, lusciously green again.
One of those rare books that forces you to ask what the hell you're doing with your life.' George Monbiot, GuardianExistentialism is backCarpe diem - `seize the day' - is one of the oldest pieces of life advice in Western history.
'If you know me atall, you will know me as a liar.'Kevin Carver is ahousehold name. A popular TV soap star, he's coasting through life in the samesemi-detached, slightly smug way he's always done.But when he callouslydumps his much younger girlfriend Jade over supper one evening, he makes thefirst in a series of catastrophic mistakes.One poor decisionleads to another and soon his whole life begins to unravel. He finds himselfthe subject of vitriolic press attacks, a police investigation and so muchpublic loathing that he starts to wonder if he has any chance of receiving afair trial. As the line blurs between his own life and that of the character heplays on TV, Kevin is forced to confront a lifetime of inadequacy in order toredeem himself.The Star Witness is the story of one man's descent intodisgrace and his journey to rejoin the human race. This pin-sharp satire on theshallows of modern media culture will keep you laughing, cringing and guessinguntil the very last page.
A Country of Refuge is a poignant, thought-provoking and timely anthology of writing on asylum seekers from some of Britain and Ireland's most influential voices.Compiled and edited by human rights activist and writer Lucy Popescu, this powerful collection of short fiction, memoir, poetry and essays explores what it really means to be a refugee: to flee from conflict, poverty and terror; to have to leave your home and family behind; and to undertake a perilous journey, only to arrive on less than welcoming shores.These writings are a testament to the strength of the human spirit. The contributors articulate simple truths about migration that will challenge the way we think about and act towards the dispossessed and those forced to seek a safe place to call home.
WINNER OF THE PEN ACKERLEY PRIZE 2016'Beautifully written and brutally honest' Sunday Times'Her account is astonishingly moving and her prose nothing short of hypnotic' IndependentWhen Alice Jolly's second child was stillborn and all subsequent attempts to have another baby failed, she began to consider every possible option, no matter how unorthodox.Shot through with humour and full of hope, Dead Babies and Seaside Towns is an intensely personal account of the search for an alternative way to create a family. As she battles through miscarriage, IVF and failed adoption attempts, Alice finds comfort in the faded charm of Britain's crumbling seaside towns. The journey ultimately leads her and her husband to a small town in Minnesota, and to two remarkable women who offer to make the impossible possible.In this beautifully written book, Alice Jolly describes with a novelist's skill the events that many others have lived through - even if they may feel compelled to keep them hidden. Her decision not to hide but to share them, without a trace of self-pity, turns Dead Babies and Seaside Towns into a universal story: one that begins in tragedy but ends in joy.
With irony and poignant teenage idealism, Butterfly draws us into her world of adult hypocrisy, sibling rivalries, girlfriends' power plays, unrequited love...not to mention the political tension of life under occupation. As she observes her fragile environment with all its conflicts, Butterfly is compelled to question everything around her. Is her father a collaborator for the occupiers? Will Nizar ever give her the sign she's waiting for? How will her friendship with the activist Mays and the airhead Haya survive the unpredictable storms ahead? And why is 'honour' such a dangerous word, anyway?Short list for The Palestine Book Awards 2017Runner up for the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature 2013iBbY List 2012 "Enlightening, funny and affecting, Code Name: Butterfly is a brief story that packs quite a punch." Riveting Reads, A World of Books In Translation, School Library Association ‘We look out through the eyes of a 14 or 15-year-old girl who doesn’t know what to think about her eyebrows, much less the two-state solution. We, like her, must start over with new vocabulary. Indeed, if Butterfly has a superpower, it’s her mastery of the power of questions. ... the book’s questions strip not just Butterfly of certainty but also the reader, making it a valuable read for a teen or adult.’ Marcia Lynx Qualey, The National
The strangest detective story in the history of music - inspired by a true incident. A world spiralling towards war. A composer descending into madness. And a devoted woman struggling to keep her faith in art and love against all the odds.
Windsor Castle. 1714. Queen Anne is nearing the end of a life filled with tragedy and grief: plagued by illness and cursed by her father to lose all 17 of her children, she now lies dying with no living heir.The question of succession is thick in the air. Will it be James Stuart, the half-brother she has always refused to acknowledge? Or George of Hanover, the cousin who once turned her down for marriage?Neither is ideal: she hates them both.Over the course of one night at the Queen's Elizabethan ball, courtiers, politicians and ladies' maids alike seize the opportunity to steer the succession to their own advantage, changing the course of history forever. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, imperial spy Daniel Defoe creeps through the castle gathering intelligence on their every move for the Earl of Oxford.Before the night is over, Queen Anne will finally have to face the past-for nothing can be resolved until she comes to terms with her children's deaths and repairs the terrible wrong she committed many years before...
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.
Following the economic crisis of 2008, the website `bitcoin.org' was registered by a mysterious computer programmer called Satoshi Nakamoto.
Let legendary rock manager Simon Napier-Bell take you inside the (dodgy) world of popular music - not just a creative industry, but a business that has made people rich beyond their wildest dreams.He balances seductive anecdotes - pulling back the curtain on the gritty and absurd side of the industry - with an insightful exploration of the relationship between creativity and money. This book describes the evolution of the industry from 1713 - the year parliament granted writers ownership over what they wrote - to today, when a global, 100 billion pound industry is controlled by just three major players: Sony, Universal and Warner. Inside you will uncover some little-known facts about the industry, including:How a formula for writing hit songs in the 1900s helped create 50,000 of the best-known songs of all time.How infighting in the American pre-war music industry shut down traditional radio and created an opening for country music, race records and rock'n'roll.How Jewish immigrants and black jazz musicians dancing cheek-to-cheek created a template for all popular music that followed.How rock tours became the biggest, quickest, sleaziest and most profitable ventures the music industry has ever seen.After reading Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay, you'll never listen to music in the same way again.
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.
The thing is, while she knows that she's very different from other teenagers, she doesn't know quite how different...yet. She is soon sent to live with her Grandmother where, after making some unusual new friends, she begins a dangerous quest to unravel the mysteries of her identity.
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