Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Caroline Taggart

Take a journey down winding lanes and Roman roads in this witty and informative guide to the meanings behind the names of England's towns and villages. From Celtic farmers to Norman conquerors, right up to the Industrial Revolution, deciphering our place names reveals how generations of our ancestors lived, worked, travelled and worshipped, and how their influence has shaped our landscape. 
 
From the most ancient sacred sites to towns that take their names from stories of giants and knights, learn how Roman garrisons became our great cities, and discover how a meeting of the roads could become a thriving market town. Region by region, Caroline Taggart uncovers hidden meanings to reveal a patchwork of tall tales and ancient legends that collectively tells the story of how we made England.

The Book of English Place Names

How Our Towns and Villages Got Their Names

Dara McAnulty

WINNER OF BOOK OF THE YEAR, NARRATIVE NON-FICTION BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2021 
 
Rediscover the natural world with the multi-award winning phenomenon and youngest ever major literary prize winner in UK history. 
 
'Miraculous memoir . . . profoundly moving' Observer 
 
'Dara is an extraordinary voice and vision: brave, poetic, ethical, lyrical' Robert Macfarlane 
 
 'It's a diary but essentially timeless . . . It's really, really special' Chris Packham 
 
ALSO WINNER OF: THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2020, AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2020, BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION 2020; SHORTLISTED FOR: WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 &amp; LONGLISTED FOR: THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020 
 ___________ 
 
 'This diary chronicles the turning of my world, from spring to winter, at home, in the wild, in my head.' 
 
Evocative, raw and lyrical, this startling debut explores the natural world through the eyes of Dara McAnulty, an autistic teenager coping with the uprooting of home, school, and his mental health, while pursuing his life as a conservationist and environmental activist. 
 
Shifting from intense darkness to light, recalling his sensory encounters in the wild - with blackbirds, whooper swans, red kites, hen harriers, frogs, dandelions, Irish hares and more - McAnulty reveals worlds we have neglected to see, in a stunning world of nature writing that is a future classic. 
 
Diary of a Young Naturalist is a powerful and scintillating portrayal of the beauty of the natural world, as it shines a light on autism and of overcoming severe anxiety. It is a story of the binding love of family and home, and how we can help each other through the most difficult of times. 
 ___________ 
 
 BIG ISSUE BOOK OF THE YEAR 
HAY FESTIVAL BOOK OF THE YEAR 
A TIMES NATURE BOOK OF THE YEAR 
 
 'An extraordinary diary' The Times 
 
'A torrent of pure, unmediated fervour . . . This is writing at its wild and unruly best' Dr Rachel Clarke 
 
 'Diary of a Young Naturalist is not only one of the finest pieces of modern nature writing produced on this island in recent years, McAnulty is one of our best young writers in any genre' Irish Independent 
 
'An exceptional new voice. Dara McAnulty celebrates nature in such a fresh way and illuminates 
our understanding of autism' Martha Kearney, chair of the Baillie Gifford Prize 2020 
 
'One of the most talented and passionate writers of our era' Steve Silberman, award-winning author of NeuroTribes 
 ___________

Diary of a Young Naturalist

WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2020

Bryan Forbes Ltd

Children on love:'My sister kisses her boyfriend all the time, it's very nasty to watch' James (6)on marriage:'When you marry a girl you have to give her a best man' Richard (7)on pets:'My dog wants to give all dogs he meets babies. He's a terrible responsibility' Albert (7)and on war and peace:'My mummy and daddy like peace. They don't often get it'David (7)Truth is always stranger than fiction, and children have the disarming gift of telling it like it is. This anthology of children's sayings, gathered together by Nanette Newman, shows you life from a little person's perspective. Sometimes funny, sometimes moving, sometimes outrageous, often perceptive, and always with an innocence that is nice to remember, this is a touchingly funny book that you will return to time and time again.

Small Talk

Keep Calm and Carry On was a World War 2 government poster discovered in a dusty box nine years ago. Though it never saw the light of day in 1939 (it was only supposed to go up if Britain was invaded), it has suddenly struck a chord in our current difficult times, now we are in need of a stiff upper lip and optimistic energy once again. Gordon Brown had one up in 10 Downing Street and James May wears a Keep Calm T-shirt on the telly - it is suddenly everywhere. The book is packed full of similarly motivational and inspirational quotes, proverbs, mantras and wry truths to help us through the recession, from such wits as Churchill, Disraeli and George Bernard Shaw. Funny, wise and stirring - it is a perfect source of strength to get us all through the coming months. 
 
'A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain' Mark Twain 
 
'It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose your own' Harry S. Truman 
 
'An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today' Laurence J. Peter 
 
'Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine' Lord Byron 
 
'Better bread with water than cake with trouble' Russian Proverb

Keep Calm and Carry On

Good Advice for Hard Times

Phil Ball

When Phil Ball left university with a workmanlike English degree to his name and no discernible ambitions, he wasn't entirely sure what to do next. So like many before him he thought he'd giving teaching a go. Why not? 
 
This is the comic story of one man's painfully slow metamorphosis into a teacher at an everyday comprehensive and his encounters with other remarkable teachers and pupils along the way. The good, the bad, the violent, the victimised and the clinically insane: from his first teaching practice nemesis, Alan Plant, who knows his dark secret, to the pupil who believes he is a reincarnation of the poet Andrew Marvell. It is a tale of the highs and lows of attempting to teach: from the joy of really making a difference to young minds to being physically set upon by a teenage horde. 
 
And that's just what happens in the classroom. Beyond it is the real world of teachers behind staff-room doors: desperate lives, unseemly professional competition, a diet of cigarettes, alcohol and cold coffee, casual sex and general social dysfunction. Not a great example, but the truth...

The Hapless Teacher's Handbook

Sarah Brown

Crossroads, turning point, impulse, inspiration, instinct, influence - call it what you will. Each and every one of us have made crucial decisions, and if we're lucky been helped with the right words at the right time. Over 50 of our most talented and courageous figures, from JK Rowling to David Beckham, have come together to give the stories behind their defining moments. From mentors to mothers, impulses to instincts, these moving, honest stories will inspire you to take a fresh look at your own direction-

Moving On Up

Inspirational advice to change lives

Amy Willcock

No one knows more about starting and running a bed and breakfast business than successful cook, author and hotel owner Amy Willcock. The hotel that she runs with her husband and their business partner, The George on the Isle of Wight, was described in the Daily Mail as being run 'in the way in which you imagine the hotel of your dreams to be run'.      In this attractively packaged paperback, Amy reveals the secrets you need to know to make running your B&B fun and profitable. Her lively narrative takes you through all stages of the process: preparing your home, advertising, creating welcoming bedrooms and luxury bathrooms on a budget, laundering the sheets, preparing the ultimate breakfast (for even the most demanding guest) and managing bookings - all this, while keeping your profit margin healthy. Also featured are the best stockists for any products that you will need and the definitive answers to frequently asked questions. This book is the perfect guide for all aspiring B&B landlords and ladies.

B & B Know-How

How to make money from your spare room

Rosemarie Jarski

The bestselling, blockbusting, bumper book of humorous quotations rides back into town with 6,000 more hilariously funny quotes. From times past to the modern day, classic funnies to contemporary wit, The Funniest Thing You Never Said 2 delivers an unbeatable selection of fantastic and hilarious quotes on every subject under the sun. Featuring topics as diverse as celebrity to religion, and including a cast of quotees ranging from Oscar Wilde to Homer Simpson, there's something here for everyone with a sense of humour. 
 
'I am willing to love all mankind, except an American.' - Samuel Johnson 
 
'Glastonbury was very wet and muddy. There was trench foot, dysentery, peaches ... all the Geldof daughters.' - Sean Lock 
 
'Politics would be a helluva good business if it weren't for the goddamned people.' - Richard Nixon 
 
'I've had more women than most people have noses.' - Steve Martin 
 
'I have the simplest tastes. I'm always satisfied with the best.' - Oscar Wilde 
 
'Well, it's 1am. Better go home and spend some quality time with the kids.' - Homer Simpson 
 
'All I know is I'm not a Marxist.' - Karl Marx 
 
'I'm the pink sheep of the family.' - Alexander McQueen

Funniest Thing You Never Said 2

Michael Rosen

Discover the poetry of the people. 
 
What are words? They're the beginning of our stories: portals to treasured memories, to the strange sayings that seem to be unique to our own families and the beloved people that say them to us. So, what was your gran's favourite word for a time-waster? How did your dad answer the question 'What's the time?'? And just how many responses are there to the daily query 'What's for dinner?' Even better, how do these words change as they travel across our regions? 
 
In a joyful journey through a year of weird words and fantastic phrases, one of the nation's favourite wordsmiths takes a tour of the British Isles and all its vernacular idiosyncrasies, as well as reflecting on the joys of English, in a delightful book for anyone who loves language - whether following its rules or breaking them!

Rosen’s Almanac

Weird and wonderful words for every day of the year

Terry Pratchett

Ian Stewart

Jack Cohen

The fantastic first book in the Sunday Times bestselling Science of Discworld series 
 
When a wizardly experiment goes adrift, the wizards of Unseen University find themselves with a pocket universe on their hands: Roundworld, where neither magic nor common sense seems to stand a chance against logic. 
 
The Universe, of course, is our own. And Roundworld is Earth. As the wizards watch their accidental creation grow, we follow the story of our universe from the primal singularity of the Big Bang to the internet and beyond. 
 
Through this original Terry Pratchett story (with intervening chapters from Cohen and Stewart) we discover how puny and insignificant individual lives are against a cosmic backdrop of creation and disaster. Yet, paradoxically, we see how the richness of a universe based on rules, has led to a complex world and at least one species that tried to get a grip of what was going on. 
 
 Terry Pratchett is the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. Raising Steam is his fortieth Discworld novel. His books have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he is the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. After falling out with his keyboard he now talks to his computer. Occasionally, these days, it answers back. 
 
www.terrypratchett.co.uk 
@terryandrob 
 
 Professor Ian Stewart is the author of many popular science books. He is the mathematics consultant for New Scientist and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick. He was awarded the Michael Faraday Prize for furthering the public understanding of science, and in 2001 became a Fellow of the Royal Society. 
 
 Dr Jack Cohen is an internationally-known reproductive biologist, and lives in Newent, Gloucestershire. Jack has a laboratory in his kitchen, helps couples get pregnant by referring them to colleagues, invents biologically realistic aliens for science fiction writers and, in his spare time, throws boomerangs. Jack, who has more letters to his name than can be repeated here, writes, lectures, talks and campaigns to promote public awareness of science, particularly biology. He is mostly retired.

The Science Of Discworld

Do you think the world's going to hell in a handcart? Do you reckon the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train? 
 
If the answer is a heartfelt yes, you'll feel right at home amongst the malcontents and misanthropes here. Woody Allen, W.C. Fields, Dorothy Parker, Joan Rivers, Jo Brand, Mark Lamarr and Victor Meldrew are just some of the world-class curmudgeons to sound-off hilariously about all the things that make you seethe: traffic wardens, cold callers, caravans, James Blunt, estate agents, other drivers, being put on hold, men in flip-flops and modern art. With over 4,000 entries, this is the most comprehensive collection of grumpiness there has ever been. 
 
As for you Pollyannas who persist in looking for silver linings despite dire weather warnings, isn't it about time you woke up and smelt the rancid coffee? Cast off those rose-tinted spectacles, climb on board the handcart and fasten your seatbelts: it's going to be one hell of a grumpy ride.

Grumpy Old Wit

The greatest collection of grumpy wit ever assembled from Socrates to Meldrew

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