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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Sally Coulthard

Ever wondered why we touch wood, salute magpies, skip over cracks and throw salt over our&#160;shoulders? Then Sally Coulthard has the answer as she gets under the skin of these peculiar pastimes&#160;in her new book Superstition.&#160;Exploring&#160;the history and background of fifty of these fascinating cultural behaviours, discover&#160;how they affected our everyday life and why many of these beliefs are still pertinent today. 
 
 Superstitions reveal the hopes, fears and preoccupations of our ancestors and give&#160;a fascinating glimpse into how they lived. Seemingly bizarre folk beliefs and practices &ndash; in&#160;farming,&#160;marriage, craft, love, feasting, birth and death &ndash;&#160;often have their roots in real-life worries and desires.&#160;By looking at the material circumstances and challenging environments of our forefathers we start to understand how strange rituals and rules give comfort and reassurance, whether it&rsquo;s hoping for a good harvest, wishing our loved ones a safe journey or trying for a baby. 
 &#160; 
 Pick a side. This is a book with two covers, giving you the chance to decide if you want to enter the light or dark side.&#160;With its gorgeous folk illustrations and light-hearted tone, Superstition aims not only to give readers a fascinating insight into recent history but also bring a smile of recognition that, perhaps, we&rsquo;ve got more in common with our superstitious ancestors than we&rsquo;d care to admit.

Superstition

White Rabbits and Black Cats – The History of Common Folk Beliefs

Sam Kalda

Of Cats and Men is a stylish illustrated gift book from an award-winning artist profiling notable cat-loving men throughout history in words and pictures. Sam Kalda presents a fresh approach to the cat book trend that is smart, sweet and driven by engaging and beautiful illustrations. Appealing to both men and women, Of Cats and Men is stereotype-breaking and charming, making for a highly giftable book. The 30 men profiled range from writers and artists such as Haruki Murakami, T.S. Eliot, Marlon Brando, Andy Warhol, Freddie Mercury and Ai Weiwei, to historical luminaries such as Sir Winston Churchill, Edward Lear and Sir Isaac Newton. In each of the profiles, readers uncover the men&rsquo;s devotion to their feline companions, surprising moments of fame for their beloved cats throughout history, and more. The book also features beautifully hand-lettered quotes, such as Twain&rsquo;s &ldquo;When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.&rdquo;

Of Cats and Men

Profiles of History's Great Cat-loving Artists, Writers, Thinkers and Statesmen

Tim Hayward

&#39;Hayward is one of the... best food writers alive.&#39; &ndash; Simon Schama in The New York TimesThe kitchen is the heart of the home &ndash; it&#39;s where we spend leisure time as a family, where we feed ourselves and where we entertain our friends. The average western family spends more money on the kitchen than they do on a car or a holiday.We fill our kitchens with objects and tools that reflect our needs, tastes and desires. There is nowhere else in daily domestic life where design impinges quite as much as in the kitchen.Every item in the kitchen has its own story. Through 70 familiar objects, The Modern Kitchen maps the progress and development of this functional yet also wildly aspirational space. Why do the casserole dish and the wooden salad bowl exert such a cultural hold over us? Has the accumulation of electrical appliances led us to cook and eat differently?As well as studying the individual objects that have had such a huge impact on the way we live now, The Modern Kitchen examines kitchen design, economics and social history through a series of essays. Embodying notions about class, gender, wealth and health, the home kitchen, its layout, set-up and contents, remains a neat illustration of our beliefs, tastes, aesthetics and aspirations &ndash; the portrait of our domestic lives.

The Modern Kitchen

Objects That Changed the Way We Cook, Eat and Live

Richard Snapes

Grant Harrington

Eve Hemmingway

Bread &amp; Butter is a love letter to two glorious, artisanal products that have graced our tables for centuries. The book delves deep into the history and culture behind the bread and butter partnership, taking a global overview that brings us to the present day.It also shares more than 50 outstanding sweet and savoury recipes that celebrate the best of both bread and butter. There are key recipes for a variety of breads (flatbreads, brioche, grain loaf) and butters (real butter, ghee, flavoured spreads), as well as recipes that bring the two together, from simple buttermilk scones or bread puddings, to a brioche and brown butter ice-cream and spelt buttermilk pancakes.Bread and butter are put on the table to be eaten and enjoyed, and this book shows you how to prepare both brilliantly &ndash; but it also explores how&#160;bread and butter are eaten across the world. It covers the traditions, the flavours and the making processes.&#160;And it&#39;s a celebration of the most humble, but arguably most important, pairings in food history.

Bread & Butter

History, Culture, Recipes

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