Monthly Archives: August 2010

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My Book Recommendation: That They May Face The Rising Sun

Book Recommendation: That They May Face The Rising Sun
Current mood:  breezy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Title: That They May Face the Rising Sun [Paperback]

Author: John McGahern

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (20 Jan 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0571212212
ISBN-13: 978-0571212217
Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.6 x 2.2 cm

Product Description

Considered by many to be the finest Irish writer now working in prose, John McGahern’s That They May Face the Rising Sun vividly brings to life a whole world and its people with insight and humour and deep sympathy. Joe and Kate Ruttledge have come to Ireland from London in search of a different life. In passages of beauty and truth, the drama of a year in their lives and those of the memorable characters that move about them unfolds through the action, the rituals of work, religious observances and play. By the novel’s close we feel that we have been introduced, with deceptive simplicity, to a complete representation of existence – an enclosed world has been transformed into an Everywhere. ‘It is a simple and ordinary story, calmly, wryly crafted with subtle detail – and therein lies McGahern’s genius. As sharply, brilliantly observed as any he has written . . . McGahern, a supreme chronicler of the ordinary . . . has created a novel that lives and breathes as convincingly as the characters who inhabit it.’ Irish Tim

About the Author

John McGahern was born in Dublin in 1934 and brought up in the West of Ireland. He was a graduate of University College, Dublin. He worked as a Primary School teacher and held various academic posts at universities in Britain, Ireland and America. In the opinion of the Observer, John McGahern was ‘Ireland’s greatest living novelist’. He was the author of six highly acclaimed novels and four collections of short stories, and was the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including a Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship, the American-Irish Award, the Prix Etrangère Ecureuil and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Amongst Women, which won both the GPA and the Irish Times Award, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and made into a four-part BBC television series. His work has appeared in anthologies and has been translated into many languages. His last book, Memoir, was published in 2005. es

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Great Book: What Everybody Is Saying

Great Book: What Everybody Is Saying
Current mood:  breezy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (1 April 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0061438294
ISBN-13: 978-0061438295
Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 14.7 x 2 cm

Product Description

What you say is often far less important than how you say it. One of the harbingers of success is understanding how nonverbal cues such as body language, dress, and demeanor affect how you are perceived and understood. In this book Navarro, one of the leaders in nonverbal behaviours, demonstrates how to modify your subconscious statements to your greatest advantage and also read what other people are ‘saying’ nonverbally. These skills will increase your ability to accurately assess moods, decode behaviors, anticipate problems, avoid hidden pitfalls, influence negotiations, and understand the secret motivations of those around you.

About the Author

For twenty-five years, Joe Navarro, M.A., worked with the FBI, both as an agent and supervisor in the area of counterintelligence and counterterrorism handling complex multinational investigations. He is presently an adjunct faculty member at the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division where he teaches behavioral analysis and nonverbal communications. He consults to the Department of Energy, the State Department, and the Institute for Defense Analysis, a Washington, D.C. based think tank. Mr. Navarro has taught intelligence analysis to both the law enforcement and intelligence communities. In addition to his counterintelligence duties with the Bureau, Mr. Navarro was the senior criminal profiler in the Tampa Division and continues to serve as a consultant in the National Security Division’s Behavioral Analysis Program. Marvin Karlins received his Ph.D. degree in psychology from Princeton University. He is the author of 23 books and was a senior editor at Gambling Times Magazine for 10 years. He most recently the co-writer with Joe Navarro on Phil Hellmuth Presents Read ‘Em and Reap.

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New Title: Jeremy and Amy

New Title: Jeremy and Amy
Current mood:  breezy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Title: Jeremy and Amy: The Extraordinary Story of One Man and His Orang-utan

Author:Jeremy Keeling and Rick Broadbent

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Short Books Ltd (1 July 2010)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1906021988
ISBN-13: 978-1906021986
Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.4 x 3.2 cm

Product Description

Scarred by his traumatic childhood, Jeremy Keeling found solace working with exotic animals. Now, in his enchanting and touching book, he reveals how he became a mother to an abandoned baby orang-utan called Amy – and how she healed his broken heart..

Jeremy Keeling first met Amy, an orang-utan, when he was looking after the private menagerie of rock n roll music producer Gordon Mills. A friendship was forged that would become the defining relationship of both their lives. One day, when Jeremy was driving along with one-year-old Amy sitting beside him in the passenger seat, he fell asleep at the wheel and caused a horrific car crash. The first policeman on the scene crawled into the wreckage of the upturned car where he was staggered to see a hairy, non-human hand cradling Jeremy s head amid the glass and twisted metal: having been saved by Jeremy, Amy now refused to let him go. For Jeremy, it was to be a long convalescence, but he was able to repay his debt to Amy when he joined forces with Jim Cronin, a tough-talking primate-lover from the Bronx, who shared his vision of creating a sanctuary for abused and abandoned monkeys. Pooling their meagre resources, the two men took on a derelict pig farm in Dorset and, over the next twenty years transformed it into a 65-acre, cage-less sanctuary for beleaguered primates, rescued all over the world. Monkey World is now internationally famous and attracts some 800,000 visitors a year.
Jeremy & Amy is a story of high-wire adventure, of grit and determination and at its heart an inspiring and life-changing relationship between one man and his ape.

About the Author

Jeremy Keeling is the Animal Director of Monkey World in Dorset. He set up the sanctuary in 1987, in partnership with Jim Cronin, and has worked there ever since. Highly regarded for his passion and knowledge, Jeremy has become a cult celebrity through the Monkey Business and Monkey Life television documentaries that have been shown in 87 countries. Married to his fifth wife Lou, he has three children from earlier marriages. Amy, a female orang-utan,(pongo pygmaeus) was born in 1983 on Gordon Mills’ estate in Surrey. She was hand-reared by Jeremy Keeling after her mother, Jane, neglected her. She moved with Jeremy to Monkey World in 1987. She gave birth to a son, Gordon, ten years later and still thrives there today.

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Pulling Myself Together

New Title: Pulling Myself Together

 Current mood: Breezy

Category: Writing and Poetry

Title: Pulling Myself Together

Author: Denise Welch

Hardcover: 325 pages

Publisher: Sidgwick & Jackson (29 April 2010)

 Language English

ISBN-10: 0283071087

ISBN-13: 978-0283071089

Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.8 x 3.6 cm

Product Description

 One of our most popular actresses, Denise Welch got her television break in the BBC’s Spender opposite Jimmy Nail and followed it by achieving success in ITVs worldwide hit drama Soldier Soldier. She really became a household name when she took on the role of Rovers Return landlady Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street. Today she stars in the award-winning drama Waterloo Road and is a regular on the hugely popular Loose Women, where her warmth and honesty have won the nation’s hearts. But even as her career was taking off, Denise was hiding a secret – that she was suffering from a crippling post natal depression so severe that she was at times suicidal. As she concealed her heartbreak on the set of Coronation Street, she turned to alcohol and drugs to cope. She even had an affair that threatened her marriage. Now she reveals for the first time the full details of her battle with depression and alcoholism, how she fought back and, helped by the love of her husband Tim Healy, turned her life around. Powerful and moving, Pulling Myself Together is ultimately an uplifting book that will appeal to her many fans old and new.

About the Author

Denise Welch is a tv favourite, following lead roles in hit dramas such as Soldier Soldier, Spender, The Vice, Down to Earth and Coronation Street. She is a regular presenter on ITV1′s Loose Women and is currently starring in the fifth series of BBC1′s hit drama Waterloo Road. Read more: http://www.myspace.com/annettedunlea/blog?bID=538742133#ixzz0yEFnXeav

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Title:Not To F*** Them Up

Great Title: Not To F*** Them Up
Title  Not to F*** Them Up  

Author: Oliver James

Hardcover: 384 pages   
Publisher: Vermillion    
ISBN-10:  0091923913
 
ISBN-13:978-0091923914
 
Product Dimensions:23.4 x 15.4 x 3.4 cm 
 
Product Description
 
Are you confused by parenting advice from experts who contradict each other? Concerned about the possible effects of being a working mother? Terrified of turning into your own parents? Parents today are overwhelmed with elaborate advice on how to raise babies. In “How Not to F*** Them Up”, leading child psychologist Oliver James argues that it’s not our children that must be trained…it’s us. Meticulously researched, inspiring and yet provocative, “How Not to F*** Them Up” raises important questions about the way in which we bring up our children: Do we, as a society, provide enough support for parents?; How has the role of the father changed in recent years?; and Can a working mum ever reconcile her career with her family life? Drawing on extensive interviews, James identifies three basic types of mum: the Hugger, the Organiser, and the Fleximum. Outlining the benefits and pitfalls of each, James offers simple strategies to reconcile parents’ personal ambition and desire for a career with the needs of the family and maintaining a work/life balance. By challenging our ingrained and often flawed beliefs, James shows us how our own childhood experiences can impact on our perception of ‘the family’, and how ultimately we can provide the happy and stable environment that all babies and toddlers need, regardless of our own upbringing.  
 
About the Author
 
Oliver James trained and practised as a child clinical psychologist and, since 1988, has worked as a writer, journalist, broadcaster and television documentary producer and presenter. His books include the bestselling They F*** You Up, Affluenza and Contented Dementia.
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Great Kids Book: Room On The Broom

Recommendation: Room On The Broom (Kids Bk)
Current mood:  breezy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Title: Room on the Broom

Author: Julia Donaldson

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books; New edition edition (20 Sep 2002)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0333903382
ISBN-13: 978-0333903384
Product Dimensions: 28 x 25 x 0.6 cm 

Product Description

The witch and her cat fly happily over forests, rivers and mountains on their broomstick until a stormy wind blows away the witch’s hat, bow and wand. They are retrieved by a dog, a bird and a frog, and each animal asks for a ride on the broom. One after the next climbs on, until the broom is so heavy that it snaps in two! What will happen next as they tumble into a bog and meet a greedy dragon?

About the Author

Julia Donaldson has had many books published and her work has been performed on programmes such as Playschool. She has also written for BBC radio and runs drama and music workshops for children. Axel Scheffler has had books published in over a dozen countries. His books for Macmillan have included The Bedtime Bear, the Smarties gold award-winning The Gruffalo and, most recently, Monkey Puzzle (0 333 72001 6). Born in Hamburg, he now lives in London

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Book Recommendation: When Money Dies

Great Title: When Money Dies
Current mood:  breezy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Title: When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimar Hyper-Inflation

Author: Adam Fergusson

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Old Street Publishing (6 July 2010)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1906964440
ISBN-13: 978-1906964443
Product Dimensions: 21 x 13.4 x 2.2 cm

Product Description

This is, I believe, a moral tale. It goes far to prove the revolutionary axiom that if you wish to destroy a nation you must corrupt its currency. Thus must sound money be the first bastion of a society’s defence.

In 1923, with its currency effectively worthless (the exchange rate in December of that year was one dollar to 4,200,000,000,000 marks), the Weimar Republic was all but reduced to a barter economy. Expensive cigars, artworks and jewels were routinely exchanged for staples such as bread; a cinema ticket could be bought for a lump of coal, and a bottle of paraffin for a silk shirt. In desperation, the Bavarian Prime Minister submitted a Bill to the Reichsrat proposing that gluttony be made a penal offence his exact definition of a glutton being ‘one who habitually devotes himself to the pleasures of the table to such a degree that he might arouse discontent in view of the distressful condition of the population’.

Since its first publication in 1975, When Money Dies has become the classic history of these bizarre and frightening times. Weaving elegant analysis with a wealth of eyewitness accounts by ordinary people struggling to survive, it deals above all with the human side of inflation: why governments resort to it, the dismal, corruptive pestilence it visits on their citizens, the agonies of recovery, and the dark, long-term legacy. And at a time of acute economic strain, it provides an urgent warning against the addictive dangers of printing money — shorthand for deficit financing — as a soft option for governments faced with growing unrest and unemployment

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New Title: From The Dead

 

 New Title: From The Dead
Current mood:  breezy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Title: From the Dead

Author: Mark Billingham
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown (19 Aug 2010)
ISBN-10: 1408700751
ISBN-13: 978-1408700754
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 3.4 cm

Product Description

When Donna Langford receives a very recent photo of her ex-husband in the post, she gets the shock of her life. Because she’s just spent ten years in prison for organising his murder. When her daughter goes missing, Donna believes there can only be one man responsible and hires Anna Carpenter, a determined young private investigator, to find him. DI Tom Thorne worked on the Alan Langford case, so when Carpenter brings the photo to him, he refuses to believe that the man whose body was found in a burned-out car ten years before can still be alive. But when a prison inmate that he and Anna interview is viciously murdered, Thorne starts to understand that Langford is not only alive, but ready to get rid o

About the Author

Mark Billingham is twice winner of the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award and winner of the Sherlock Award for Best Detective. He has also written drama for children’s television and children’s books.f anyone who could threaten his comfortable new
life in Spain…

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New Title: Kitchen Recipes From The Heart

 
Author:  Nigella Lawson

Hardcover: 512 pages

Publisher: Chatto & Windus (2 Sep 2010)

ISBN-10: 0701184604

ISBN-13: 978-0701184605

Product Dimensions: 25 x 20 x 4.6 cm

Product Description

A big, compendious, comfortable, informative and utterly engaging book, “Kitchen” brings us feel-good food for cooks and eaters, whether Express-style and exotic-easy during the week, or leisurely and luxuriating (in the spirit of How to be a Domestic Goddess and Feast) at weekends or for occasions. Divided into two parts – Kitchen Quandaries and Kitchen Comforts – Nigella gives us the wherewithal to tackle any situation and satisfy all nourishment needs. But real cooking is often about leftovers, too, so here one recipe can lead to another…from ham hocks to pea soup and pasties, from chicken to Chinatown salad. This isn’t just about being thrifty but about demonstrating how recipes come about, and giving new inspiration for last-minute meals and souped-up store cupboard suppers. As well as offering the reader a mouthwatering array of new recipes, both comforting and exciting – from clams with chorizo to Guinness gingerbread, from Asian braised beef to flourless chocolate lime cake, from Pasta alla Genovese to Venetian carrot cake – Nigella rounds up her kitchen kit must-haves (telling us, too, what equipment we don’t need) and highlights individual ingredients – both basic essentials and modern-day life-savers. But above all, she reminds the reader how much pleasure there is to be had in real food, and in reclaiming the traditional rhythms of the kitchen, as she cooks to the beat of the heart of the home, creating simple recipes to make life less complicated.

About the Author

Nigella Lawson is the author of bestselling books – How to Eat (‘may just be the best cookery book ever’ Daily Telegraph), How to be a Domestic Goddess (British Book Awards 2001), Nigella Bites (WHSmith Award 2002) Forever Summer (‘images of warmth and Mediterranean climes’ Time Out), Feast, (‘a voluptuous and delicious piece of food writing’ Guardian), Nigella Express (no. 1 bestseller with over 1 million sales) and Nigella Christmas (‘everything to make your Christmas sparkle’ Independent) – which, together with her successful TV series and her recent iPhone App, Nigella Quick Collection, have made hers a household name around the world. She lives in London with her family.
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New Title: Oh ! Carol

Title: Oh, Carol!
 
Author: Carol McGiffin

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (27 May 2010)

ISBN-10: 1444709445

ISBN-13: 978-1444709445

Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 3.4 cm

Product Description

Carol McGiffin has been on Loose Women for nearly a decade, and she is one of the most-loved presenters on the show. She’s brimming with brilliantly funny anecdotes and controversial opinions, and says all the things everyone thinks but would never dream of saying.

Carol is a natural storyteller and over the last few months she’s been in virtual hibernation – turning down invitations, neglecting her lovely fiancé Mark and spending weeks on end sitting in a wonderful overgrown baby grow known as a Slanket®.

And she’s lived quite a life! It wasn’t an easy start – growing up on a council estate; struggling to make ends meet; an early criminal career shoplifting mouth organs from Woolworths… It wasn’t all doom and gloom though – Carol discovered her talent for making people laugh early on and she’s been getting into trouble ever since!

She opens up about her tempestuous marriage to Chris Evans, and reveals why it eventually broke down; she also talks about her infamous seven years of celibacy and why she’s never been frightened of being single. She’s now found happiness with Mark and strongly believes that it’s not how old you are that counts, it’s your outlook on life that keeps you young.

As uniquely entertaining, funny and completely outrageous as the lady herself, Oh, Carol! is a must-read for women everywhere.

About the Author

Carol McGiffin was born in London in 1960, and grew up in Kent with her two sisters Kim and Tracy and her brother Mark. A radio and television broadcaster, Carol is probably best known as the most outspoken member of the hit ITV talk show, Loose Women. Carol has been on the show for nearly a decade and recently joined the other girls to collect a National Television Award – beating stiff competition from Top Gear and The Apprentice. Carol began her broadcasting career as a co-host with Chris Evans on GLR, and went on to marry him in 1991, though they separated two years later. She also worked alongside Paul Ross on the award-winning breakfast show on Talk Radio, before working at LBC and Loose Women. She lives with her fiancé Mark in London.

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Great Book: A Journey By Tony Blair

Title: A Journey
 
Author: Tony Blair

Hardcover: 624 pages

Publisher: Hutchinson (1 Sep 2010)

ISBN-10: 009192555X

ISBN-13: 978-0091925550

Product Description

In 1997, Tony Blair won the biggest Labour victory in history to sweep the party to power and end eighteen years of Conservative government. He has been one of the most dynamic leaders of modern times; few British prime ministers have shaped the nation’s course as profoundly as Blair during his ten years in power, and his achievements and his legacy will be debated for years to come. Now his memoirs reveal in intimate detail this unique political and personal journey, providing an insight into the man, the politician and the statesman, and charting successes, controversies and disappointments with an extraordinary candour. “A Journey” will prove essential and compulsive reading for anyone who wants to understand the complexities of our global world. As an account of the nature and uses of power, it will also have a readership that extends well beyond politics, to all those who want to understand the challenges of leadership today

About the Author

Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh in 1953. He became MP for Sedgefield in 1983, leader of the Labour Party in 1994, and was prime minister of the United Kingdom from May 1997 to June 2007. Since leaving Downing Street, Tony Blair has served as the Quartet Representative to the Middle East, working with the Palestinians on behalf of the USA, UN, Russia and EU to prepare for statehood as part of the international community’s effort to secure peace. In May 2008 he launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation which promotes respect and understanding between the major religions and makes the case for faith as a force for good in the modern world. His Africa Governance Initiative works with leaders and their governmentson policy delivery and attracting sustainable investment in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia. As the first major head of government to bring climate change to the top of the international political agenda at the 2005 G8 summit, Tony Blair works with world leaders to build consensus on an international climate policy framework. In recognition of his debt to the North East of England, he has launched The Tony Blair Sports Foundation, to increase opportunities for young people to participate in sport. He is married to Cherie Booth QC, and they have four children.
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My Book Recommendation: Redbreast

 
Authors:  Jo Nesbo and Don Bartlett

Paperback: 640 pages

Publisher: Vintage (3 Sep 2009)

Language English

ISBN-10: 0099546779

ISBN-13: 978-0099546771

Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 4.2 cm

Product Description

Harry Hole, drunkard, loner and brilliant detective is reassigned to surveillance after a high profile mistake. He’s bored by his new job until a report of a rare and unusual gun being fired sparks his interest because of its possible links to Neo Nazi activity. Then a former soldier is found with his throat cut. Next Harry’s former partner is murdered. Why had she been trying to reach Harry on the night her head was smashed in? The investigation leads Harry to suspect that the crimes have their roots in the battlefields of Eastern Front during WWII. In a quest that takes him to South Africa and Vienna, Harry finds himself perpetually one step behind the killer. He will be both winner and loser by the novel’s nail-biting conclusion. The Redbreast. He’s your judge, jury and executioner…And he must be stopped.

About the Author

Jo Nesbo, musician, economist and author of the best-selling series featuring Detective Harry Hole, has won many prizes for his novels, including the Glass Key, the Riverton Prize and the Norwegian Bookclub prize for best ever Norwegian crime novel. His first novel to be published in English was The Devil’s Star, which sold more than 100,000 copies in Norway alone. He lives in Oslo.
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New Title: Collins Gem Food For Free

 
Author: Richard Mabey

Paperback: 239 pages

Publisher: Collins; New edition edition (2 Aug 2004)

Language English

ISBN-10: 0007183038

ISBN-13: 978-0007183036

Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.2 x 1.6 cm

Product Description

Fans of Food for Free will be delighted at this new format — ideal for carrying in a rucksack. Over 100 edible plants are featured together with recipes and other interesting culinary information. With details on how to pick, when to pick and regulations on picking. This new format of a best-selling title provides a portable guide for all those who enjoy what the countryside has to offer. Over 100 plants are listed, fully illustrated and described, together with recipes and other fascinating information about their use throughout the ages. The recipes are listed so that you can plan your foray with a feast in mind. This is the ideal book for both nature-lovers and cooks. Particularly with today’s emphasis on the freshest and most natural of foods. There is also practical advice on how to pick plus the countryside laws and regulations on picking wild plants.

About the Author

Richard Mabey, author and broadcaster, writes regularly for The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph and The Independent. He won wide acclaim on the publication of the original Food for Free in 1972. He is an active member of national and local conservation groups and lives in Norfolk.
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New Title: Sea Fishing

 
Author: Nick Fisher

Hardcover: 256 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (3 May 2010)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1408801833

ISBN-13: 978-1408801833

Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.5 x 2.5 cm

Product Description

From renowned fishing expert Nick Fisher comes this concise and beautifully illustrated guide to fishing along British coastline. All that’s needed is a beach, pier, harbour, estuary or boat. Nick covers all the basics, such as when and where to go fishing, and then profiles the sea fish that you are likely to catch (each one clearly photographed), covering their conservation status, season, habitat and method of catching. Next he gets down to the nitty gritty, with a guide to tackles, rods, reeds, rigs, knots and bait, and step-by-step advice on all the sea fishing techniques. And for once you’ve made your catch, there are 30 delicious recipes from River Cottage.

About the Author

Nick Fisher is a leading fishing pundit who created, researched and presented five successful series of Screaming Reels for Channel 4, and presented the Sony Award-winning Radio 5 Live show Dirty Tackle. He is the co-author of the award-winning River Cottage Fish Book, and writes regularly for the Shooting Times as well as for all the major national newspapers.
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Great Book: How To Talk So Kids Will Listen

 
Authors: Adele Faber; Elaine Mazlish

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Piccadilly Press Ltd; New Ed edition (3 May 2001)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1853407054

ISBN-13: 978-1853407055

Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 2.2 cm

Synopsis

This down-to-earth book is written to make relationships with children of all ages less stressful and more rewarding. The authors use innovative ways to solve problems. In this book you will learn to cope with your child’s family conflicts peacefully.
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My Book Recommendation: The Flavour Thesaurus

 
Author:  Niki Segnit

Hardcover: 400 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (21 Jun 2010)

ISBN-10: 0747599777

ISBN-13: 978-0747599777

Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.2 x 3.8 cm

Product Description

Ever wondered why one flavour works with another? Or lacked inspiration for what to do with a bundle of beetroot? “The Flavour Thesaurus” is the first book to examine what goes with what, pair by pair. The book follows the form of “Roget’s Thesaurus”. The back section lists, alphabetically, 99 popular ingredients, and suggests classic and less well known flavour matches for each. The front section contains an entry for every flavour match listed in the back section and is organised into 16 flavour themes such a Bramble & Hedge, Green & Grassy, and Earthy. There are 980 entries in all and 200 recipes or suggestions are embedded in the text. It covers classic pairings such as pork & apple, lamb & apricot, and cucumber & dill; contemporary favourites like chocolate & chilli, lobster & vanilla, and goat’s cheese & beetroot; and interesting but unlikely-sounding couples including black pudding & chocolate, lemon & beef, blueberry & mushroom, and watermelon & oyster. Beautifully packaged, “The Flavour Thesaurus” is not only a highly useful, and covetable, reference book that will immeasurably improve your cooking – it’s the sort of book that might keep you up at night reading.

About the Author

Niki Segnit was inspired to write The Flavour Thesaurus when she noticed how dependent she was on recipes. Her background is in marketing, specialising in food and drink, and she has worked with many famous brands of confectionery, snacks, baby foods, condiments, dairy products, hard liquors and soft drinks. She is a writes a column for The Times and lives in central London with her husband.
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New Title: The Road To Rome

Title: The Road to Rome (Forgotten Legion Chronicles 3)

Author : Ben Kane

Hardcover: 416 pages

Publisher: Preface Publishing; First Edition; 1st printing. edition (12 Aug 2010)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1848090153

ISBN-13: 978-1848090156

Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 3.8 cm

Product Description

Having survived the perils of a journey across half the world, Romulus and Tarquinius are press-ganged into the legions, which are under imminent threat of annihilation by the Egyptians. Meanwhile in Rome, Romulus’ twin sister Fabiola lives in fear for her life, loved by Brutus, but wooed by Marcus Antonius, his deadly enemy. Soon after, Romulus fights at Zela, the vicious battle where Caesar famously said, ‘Veni, vidi, vici’. Tarquinius, separated from Romulus in the chaos of war, hides in Alexandria, searching for guidance. But mortal danger awaits them both. From the battlefields of Asia Minor and North Africa, to the lawless streets of Rome and the gladiator arena, they face death daily, until on the Ides of March, the twins are reunited and must decide either to back or to betray Caesar on his day of destiny.

About the Author

Ben Kane was born in Kenya and raised there and in Ireland. He studied veterinary medicine at University College Dublin, and after that he travelled the world extensively, indulging his passion for ancient history. He now lives in North Somerset with his wife and family.
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New Title: Dark Days

 
Author:  Derek Landy

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks (1 April 2010)

Language English

ISBN-10: 0007325967

ISBN-13: 978-0007325962

Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.2 x 3.6 cm

Product Description

It’s the fourth Skulduggery Pleasant adventure! only Skulduggery Pleasant himself is lost on the other side of a portal, with only some evil gods for company. Can he possible survive? (Yes, all right, he’s already dead. But still.) What can we say, without giving too much away? Not much, is the answer. But what we CAN say is that this book is hilarious, it’s tense, and it’s packed with all the eye-popping action, crackling one liners and imaginative set pieces you’ve come to expect. There’s a new threat to our plucky heroine, of course. But that’s not all. There’s also the little fact of the Big Bad, the uber-baddy who’s going to come along and really, really destroy the world. (Really.) And what we learn about that villain in this book will literally make your jaw fall off and your hair go white with shock. (Not really.) Will Skulduggery make it out of the Faceless Ones’ dimension? Who knows. The problem is, he may not have much to come back to!

About the Author

Derek Landy lives near Dublin. Before writing his children’s story about a sharply-dressed skeleton detective, he wrote the screenplays for a zombie movie and a murderous horror film. “I think my career-guidance teacher is spinning in her grave,” he says, “or she would be if she were dead.”
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Book Recommendation: The Contented Little Baby Book

Product Details
Title: The New Contented Little Baby Book: The Secret to Calm and Confident Parenting

Author:  Gina Ford

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Vermilion; New edition edition (6 April 2006)

Language English

ISBN-10: 0091912695

ISBN-13: 978-0091912697

Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.2 x 2 cm

Book Description

‘This book could be your salvation!’A quote from the Daily Telegraph, but this cry could equally have come from the thousands of mothers who have put Gina Ford’s kind but firm routines into practice and put some calm back into their lives. Sleep-starved nights, inconsolable crying, feeding on demand – stories that make the prospect of bringing a tiny baby home for the first time daunting for any proud new parent. Fully updated and with helpful input from clients, readers and mothers who simply love her routines, The New Contented Little Baby Book gives reassuring and practical advice to new parents that works from one of the UK’s most respected and most talked about maternity nurses. Her secret is simple and amazing – a strategy developed through years of research and experience. When put into practice, babies:
Sleep through the night from an early age
Feed regularly and well from either breast or bottle
Are less likely to suffer from colic
And parents get to sleep too! –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Gina Ford has over twenty years’ experience of looking after babies and young children. She has worked as a maternity nurse all over the world for all kinds of people, from lawyers and bankers to newspaper editors, pop stars and other high-profile media personalities. She is the author of seven parenting titles and her own website http://www.contentedbaby.com
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Book Recommendation: Teach Us To Sit Still

 
Author:  Tim Parks

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Harvill Secker (1 July 2010)

ISBN-10: 1846553997

ISBN-13: 978-1846553998

Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 2.6 cm

Product Description

‘Just when the medical profession had given up on me and I on it, just when I seemed to be walled up in a life sentence of chronic pain, someone proposed a bizarre way out: sit still, they said, and breathe…’ “Teach Us to Sit Still” is the visceral, thought-provoking and improbably entertaining story of Tim Parks’ quest to overcome ill health. Bedevilled by a crippling condition which nobody could explain or relieve, he confronts hard truths about the relationship between the mind and the body, the hectic modern world and his life as a writer. Following a fruitless journey through the conventional medical system he finds solace in an improbable prescription of breathing exercises that eventually leads him to take up meditation. This was the very last place Parks expected or wanted to find answers; anything New Age simply wasn’t his scene. Meantime, he is drawn to consider the effects of illness on the work of other writers, the role of religions in shaping our sense of self, and the influence of sport and art in our attitudes to health and well-being. Most of us will fall ill at some point; few will describe that journey with the same verve, insight and radiant intelligence as Tim Parks. Captivating and inspiring, “Teach Us to Sit Still” is an intensely personal – and brutally honest – story for our times.

About the Author

Born in Manchester in 1954, Tim Parks moved permanently to Italy in 1980. Author of novels, non-fiction and essays, he has won the Somerset Maugham, Betty Trask and Llewellyn Rhys awards, and been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His works include Destiny, Europa, Dreams of Rivers and Seas, Italian Neighbours, An Italian Education and A Season with Verona.