Karl Pilkington is back on the road, and this time he's on a journey of self-discovery Simmons is one of the most protean of writers, equally excelling in science fiction, fantasy, horror and crime. This time around, his doorstopper of a book further challenges expectations and proves a gripping historical thriller, set on the brutal North East Ridge of Mount Everest. It's and two famous adventurers have vanished into the snow-whipped night.
A valiant explorer embarks in their footsteps and the expedition sets out for the heart of darkness. Atmospheric, scary, evocative and unputdownable, this is storytelling at his best, and will bring the cold into your living room to unsettling effect. Not to be read at night, either. A book about a mountain and a mountain of a book, Dan Simmons is a master of the slow-build thriller. The charming prologue states that he, Dan Simmsons, once met the hero of this book and inherited some of his papers, here transcribed. So in effect, the author wishes us to believe this book is true.
It is certainly possible. It centres around an attempt to climb Everest in but it is so much more than that. Espionage, politics, prejudice, notions of sexual equality, the horrors of the First World war and the rising shadow of the Second. It is huge in scope. The detail of period and climbing technique is exquisite.
The characters are wonderful, the plot compelling. If you love good food and want to eat the best British ingredients — then this is the book to keep by your side. If you look at books such as this; large hardback volumes by leading chefs, they can be daunting. You could learn to cook with this book, learn to appreciate British ingredients, expand your repertoire to include razor clams or teal or even learn to enjoy the humble turnip.
There's an epidemic sweeping the nation Symptoms include: There is no known cure. Michael Jones, Philippa Langley Format: October Non-Fiction Book of the Month. She hopes to present a complete re-evaluation of this controversial monarch, refuting the Tudor propaganda that sought to blacken his name.
To make this a complete book of family entertainment there are added quizzes and fact sections — all being sold to aid the NSPCC. This may not be food you can do in 15 minutes and you may have to shell out a bit for the finest ingredients but these are recipes scaled for the domestic kitchen and the domestic cook therein.
The world would have been a very different place if Churchill had changed his approach to the nuclear challenge. The story of the post-war period and the Cold War is a complex one — here it has been rendered understandable — a revelatory history of science and politics. Our crowded little country still has the power to amaze as the views chosen by Simon Jenkins shows so well. With his usual flair, Simon looks — very carefully — at one hundred of the very best views from every region in the country, and explains the history, geography, botany and architecture behind them; some are iconic, such as Gold Hill, as used in the Hovis advert, but with stories behind them that may not be known to everyone, and some may be entirely unfamiliar, such as the view in Dorset that he spotted while waiting to go into bat one day.
Most of the views are landscapes, but there are seascapes and cityscapes too, and underlying the whole project is another view: November Non-Fiction Book of the Month. There is as much stupidity as bravery on show with a plentiful leavening of derring-do and madness-with-a-purpose, the rewards great, failure deadly. Like for Like Reading Packing for Mars: Tracie Young, Katie Hewett Format: Subtitled 50 fantastic facts for kids of all ages and is an attempt to convince non-Mathematicians that Maths can be exciting, great brain exercise and even — Fun.
Cool Maths aims to show you how Maths is the mainstay of modern life and can be encountered in all sorts of unusual places solving all sorts of problems. Lots of examples, puzzles and tips and tricks to get you involved. A Journey into Mathematics, David Acheson. These are not the manners of Emily Post but a guide — and a reminder- that manners make for a civilised society.
There are the things we should know and do — queuing without shoving, no spitting in the street or no littering and then there is the advice on what to do in awkward situations and how to avoid social pitfalls. Like for Like Reading Strictly English: The Correct Way to Write This book presents a treasure trove for our most requested and most listened to poems of all time. An in-the-round history of Britain during the first world war examining the experience of a country fighting a world war from humble factory worker to soldier to politician and journalist.
How did people cope both physically and mentally and perhaps the biggest question of all is why, why did the British people go into the war and why did they endure? Jeremy Paxman has a sure grip on the facts revealing the mood and feelings of the period, you may think you know the answers to the questions he poses but be prepared to be challenged and corrected.
Now in a new fully illustrated format could there be any better book to inspire the historians of tomorrow? And not to leave out historians of today or us lesser cousins, the mere history lovers, we will all want this elegiac, deceptively simple and elegant history. The new format is a lovely piece of book production in size, shape and weight — not too big, not too small — and it even smells beautiful.
Presented in a cloth binding, the illustrations are well-chosen and with the addition of good, clear maps it all fits into a well-designed whole. A trip back to Bombay, the place where Cyrus Todiwala grew up and learned to cook. Together with his wife Pervin, they uncover memories, seek out the food they loved and recreate the recipes ranging through street food, home cooking and high end dining.
Beautifully illustrated this is both memoir and cookery book, showing us the excitement of Bombay food culture and how it can be made at home. Dealing with Christmas food can be a nightmare so why not let Mary Berry take the strain? Stay calm this Christmas, get it sorted with Mary!
Facts, anecdotes, history and humour, an up-close look at the world of the rugby Lions, with Matt Dawson looking back at years of Lion history. Like for Like ReadingLion Man: The master storyteller is back with a vengeance. Two main characters dominate with various sub plots involving Somali pirates and the like but this is in essence traditional Forsyth, a classic cat-and-mouse thriller. There is a jihadist known as the Preacher with a US marine known as the Tracker out to get him. We have a hacker too for this is bang up to date stuff with cyberspace involved.
Gripping, compulsive and most importantly of all, a wonderful read. Barry Norman is one of the nation's most popular and enduring broadcasters. Journalist, writer and presenter, he is best known for having fronted the BBC's flagship Film programme for more than 25 years. While working as a gossip columnist for The Daily Sketch, Barry met a pretty, talented young journalist called Diana Narracott, when they were sent to cover the same news story. Within a year they were married, their union lasting until Diana's untimely death in In this heartfelt memoir, Barry introduces us to the remarkable woman he knew so well and loved so deeply.
He traces their careers and lives together, describing how Diana moved from being an accomplished journalist, to mother-of-two, to best-selling author. Through his writing, we grow to love Diana's irrepressible nature, fierce intelligence, her sense of fun and even her stubbornness. Writing in his entertaining, inimitable style, Barry shows how, like any couple, he and Diana had their disagreements but that the deep-rooted love and respect they had for each other ultimately ensured a long and happy marriage.
With heart-breaking honesty, he shares the difficulty he and their family faced while Diana was fighting ill-health, as well as the pain he still feels at the loss of his wife who he describes as 'the best friend a man could ever hope for'. Jacques Lowe, Thomasina Lowe Format: Fifty years after his assassination on 22 November , John F.
Kennedy is still a towering figure in the history of our times and across the world. Jacques Lowe was the official photographer of JFK's campaign for the presidency as well as his personal photographer following his election in Over images capture life with this compelling politician on the campaign trail, at home with Jackie and daughter Caroline, politicking behind the scenes at the convention, at work in the White House, as a leader on the world stage, and his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, mourned by millions around the world.
Throughout, the photographs are complemented by Lowe's personal record of his friendship with the whole Kennedy family and his years at the heart of American politics. They provide a unique record of one of the most enduringly fascinating politicians of the modern era. Its good food, unfussy, no endless hours in the kitchen — well, perhaps one hour - but then - the results will be worth every minute. Starting in near tragedy she turned to cooking after a childhood bout of polio, this early decision leading her to demonstrating, teaching, food journalism, writing and then broadcasting and the Great British Bake Off which established her as a charming and knowledgeable cook who loves to teach by encouragement and example.
You can expect the same charm in her writing, together with humour, joy and sadness, a great pleasure to read the life experience of such a modest and talented woman. An extract will be unavailable to view at Lovereading until that date. Quintin Colville and James Davey Format: Some really excellent illustrations in this guide to the Navy in the time of Nelson.
The illustrations are taken from the collection of the National Maritime Museum and the book is intended as a companion to the opening of the new gallery of the same name. The book gives an excellent all round picture of the Navy showing us a cross section of the times — the people who made the navy from the humblest sailor to the highest Admiral, the men who made the ships, the women who watched their men sail away. Like for Like ReadingJack Tar: Anatomy of the Georgian Navy, N.
From humble beginnings to Olympic accolades and becoming known as the Fastest Man on Earth. How did it happen and how has it changed Usain Bolt? His athletic ability, his charisma and appeal have won him a huge fandom who will be wanting to read his side of the story. Good fortune followed when he was spotted in a Keith Floyd TV programme where he had a slot as guest chef — the rest, they say, is history.
Like for Like ReadingToast: Born to parents who were enthusiastic naturalists, and linked through his wider family to a clutch of accomplished scientists, Richard Dawkins was bound to have biology in his genes.
But what were the influences that shaped his life and intellectual development? And who inspired him to become the pioneering scientist and public thinker now famous and infamous to some around the world? In An Appetite for Wonder we join him on a personal journey back to an enchanting childhood in colonial Africa. There the exotic natural world was his constant companion. Boarding school in England at the age of eight, and, later, public school at Oundle introduce Dawkins, and the reader, to strange rules and eccentric schoolmasters, vividly described with both humorous affection and some reservation.
An initial fervent attachment to Church of England religion soon gives way to disaffection and, later, teenage rebellion. Early signs of a preference for music, poetry and reading over practical matters become apparent as he recalls the opportunities that entered his small world. Oxford, however, is the catalyst to his life. Vigorous debate in the dynamic Zoology Department unleashes his innate intellectual curiosity, and inspirational mentors together with his own creative thinking ignite the spark that results in his radical new vision of Darwinism, The Selfish Gene.
From innocent child to charismatic world-famous scientist, Richard Dawkins paints a colourful, richly textured canvas of his early life. Honest self-reflection and witty anecdotes are interspersed with touching reminiscences of his family and friends, literature, poetry and songs.
We are finally able to understand the private influences that shaped the public man who, more than anyone else in his generation, explained our own origins. September Debut of the Month. A charming, humorous and moving coming-of-age story that will be enjoyed by fans of Wonder by R. In some ways Alex is a normal 13 year old boy entering puberty; chaotic, obsessed with girls and sex.
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Ostrich a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - ' Ostrich is poignant, endearing and comedic. Simon Sebag Montefiore Format: Set in Moscow just after WW2 this is a superbly written historical thriller full of secrets, lies and adultery - which in communist Russia at that time really were deadly sins.
Based on a true story and packed with historical detail, bringing post-war Russia compellingly to life, this is an addictive, heart-breaking novel. Click below to listen to an extract from the audiobook edition of this title. The master of social satire turns to the Cold War for his latest comedy and has the hapless Thomas Foley way out of his depth in a Brussels staging the first world fair since the Second World War. That the Russian and American exhibits stand side by side gives you the flavour of this curious tale, a book about choice, life and the late 50s.
Good-looking girls, sinister spies and a naive Englishman at loose in Europe in Jonathan Coe's brilliant comic novel. He travelled extensively observing how people responded; the event stunned the country as his pictures so ably show. Many of the photographs are published for the first time. See below for some other books in our JFK selection: The Letters of John F. Kennedy by Martin W. Stephen Beaumont, Tim Webb Format: From the Bock beers of Germany to the Trappist beers of Belgium, the complex bitters and stouts of Britain to the cutting-edge brews of North America, this expert selection covers the extraordinary variety the world's beers now have to offer.
Tasting notes, organised by country, provide succinct commentary on the chosen beers and cover the brewery and each beer's key characteristics. With thousands of beers covered, this book encompasses more familiar established beers as well as exciting new discoveries from the myriad craft breweries that are emerging around the world. Punctuating the tasting notes is information on 'beer destinations', specific places where you can best experience a beer in situ. An extensive introductory chapter to the book also covers styles of beer and emerging trends. This landmark guide provides beer lovers with easy access to an expert overview and puts a world of superb beers at their disposal.
Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award This mesmerising and evocative debut based on a true story about the last execution in Iceland is well written, well documented and exhaustively researched. Agnes Magnusdottir is sent to a farm in northern Iceland, awaiting execution for the murder of her lover, but as she tells her story to a local priest it is clear truth very much depends on who it is you believe. With its harsh winter setting and subject matter, the book is emotionally draining but compelling nonetheless.
The characters and detail bring this forgotten time, place and lifestyle vividly to life. From the Channel 4 series, a range of recipes to see you through breakfast, lunch and dinner, expert dishes that will mean the very best home cooking without fuss and a kitchen sink overflowing with dirty pans. Gordon Ramsay says these are the only recipes you need to come up with stunning food time and time again.
Shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award This is the true story of Hanns Alexander, the son of a prosperous German family who fled Berlin for London in the s. Rudolf Hoss was a farmer and soldier who became the Kommandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp and oversaw the deaths of over a million men, women and children.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the first British War Crimes Investigation Team is assembled to hunt down the senior Nazi officials responsible for the greatest atrocities the world has ever seen. Lieutenant Hanns Alexander is one of the lead investigators, Rudolf Hoss his most elusive target.
In this book Thomas Harding reveals for the very first time the full, exhilarating account of Hoss' capture. The 24th Wexford whodunit has him coming out of retirement at the request of his old colleague Mike Burden but unpaid to investigate the murder of a mix-race female vicar — lots of expected prejudice there then! In Zimbabwe white farmers are forced off their land, having to flee leaving almost everything behind — including their animals. As the Retzlaff family move across the country they take on many of the horses that distraught farmers ask them to care for till in the end they have over — yet they can only save August Book of the Month.
Secrets and haunting mysteries Dark and dangerous secrets lie behind the immaculate facades of Bath's high society in the early 19th century. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for The Misbegotten a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'A compelling, absorbing and intriguing story about how secrets can come back to haunt us I thought this was a fabulous read. August Debut of the Month. A great debut, menacing, gripping and full of twists and surprises. Rachel and Clara are school friends, emotionally bound together, but now in their late twenties are miles apart in their lives.
Then Clara goes missing under suspicious circumstances and Rachel discovers things that make her question the whole relationship. This is one of those incredibly compelling stories that simply drags you along, whether you like it or not. August eBook of the Month. The Ill-Made Knight is a fast-paced and enjoyable novel of historical fiction set in the Hundred Years War to Your attention is immediately grabbed by the unorthodox style with the prologue setting the scene for the rest of the book to be narrated by the major character as he remembers his exploits in becoming a famous knight, a fact proven by the prologue.
The plot, however, soon reveals itself to be anything but ordinary and despite his current high station and the deeds he has accomplished we find the narrator honest, often brutally so, and willing to show his past deeds in anything but a favourable light. The action gives a personal view on some of the greatest and most critical battles of the period and of the type of men who would have fought them. The wonderfully rich landscape which these fictional characters populate is clearly well researched and even the minor characters are strongly constructed and believable.
Cameron brings the period vividly to life and the mix of the fictional storyline, actual events and real characters are excellently balanced and the climax leaves the reader anxious for the second instalment. Christian Cameron on why he wrote As a young man, I loved chivalry more than any other topic, and that love—and the academic subjects attached to it—has stuck with me. John le Carre, William Boyd Format: There are certain touchstones I have for thriller writing and this is one of them.
Its dingy Cold War atmosphere is unmatched, it has a fiendishly intricate plot that out-Christies Agatha Christie. Even the title is a work of genius. Something to try to live up to. A beautiful 50th Anniversary special edition featuring archival material and with a special cover design based on the 1st edition jacket from In le Carre's breakthrough work of , the spy story is reborn as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining. As brilliant today as it was then.
This 50th Anniversary edition also includes an introduction by William Boyd. John le Carre has written longer, more complex books, but this remains his masterpiece. The story of a weary British spy who is sent out on one final mission behind the Iron Curtain, the novel is beautifully constructed and extraordinarily atmospheric.
A World Book Night selection. Simon Andrew Stirling Format: William Shakespeare lived in violent times; his death passed without comment. By the time he was adopted as the national poet of England the details of his life had been concealed. He had become an invisible man, the humble Warwickshire lad who entertained royalty and then faded into obscurity. But his story has been carefully manipulated. In reality, he was a dissident whose works were highly critical of the regimes of Elizabeth I and James I. Who Killed William Shakespeare? Why is it that some of the greatest works of literature have been produced by writers in the grip of alcoholism, an addiction that cost them personal happiness and caused harm to those who loved them?
In The Trip to Echo Spring , Olivia Laing examines the link between creativity and alcohol through the work and lives of six extraordinary men: All six of these writers were alcoholics, and the subject of drinking surfaces in some of their finest work, from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to A Moveable Feast. Often they did their drinking together - Hemingway and Fitzgerald ricocheting through the cafes of s Paris; Carver and Cheever speeding to the liquor store in Iowa in the icy winter of Olivia Laing grew up in an alcoholic family herself.
One spring, wanting to make sense of this ferocious, entangling disease, she took a journey across America that plunged her into the heart of these overlapping lives. As she travels from Cheever's New York to Williams' New Orleans, from Hemingway's Key West to Carver's Port Angeles, she pieces together a topographical map of alcoholism, from the horrors of addiction to the miraculous possibilities of recovery.
Continuing in the rich area of retelling of fairy tales and key figures in them The Wild Girl from Kate Forsyth tells the dark, disturbing, sometimes harsh and emotional story of Dortchen Wild who fell into seemingly impossible love with Wilhelm Grimm at the time he was collecting and publishing the now famous collection of fairy tales. Click here to visit the page for Bitter Greens by Kate Forysth, out now in paperback.
This is the true history and mythology of Tutankhamen. Ninety years ago, Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamen's mummy lying, surrounded by grave goods, in a virtually intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Egyptology would never be the same again. Tutankhamen's Curse approaches the story of the lost king, and his development into a cultural icon, with fresh eyes. Stripping away the layers of modern myths that threaten to obscure the king, it uses the evidence from his tomb to reconstruct a family and a history for Tutankhamen.
Tutankhamen's Curse is designed to appeal to the widest of readerships, from general reader and lovers of history to students of Egyptology and archaeology. Alexander McCall Smith Format: Gently satirical and wonderfully perceptive, we are back for a 9th instalment in the eccentric lives of the residents of 44 Scotland Street, including the remarkably precocious six-year-old Bertie - whose seventh birthday is looming.
What I find so amazing about the 44 Scotland Street series is that McCall Smith continues to be so inventive, so funny and observant of modern mores, and he finds so many imaginative storylines. Clive James, Dante Alighieri Format: Shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award Renowned critic and poet Clive James presents the crowning achievement of his career: Once again Denise Mina delivers a clever, complex plot driven along by hard-hitting prose and realistic and believable characters, especially DI Alex Morrow.
Murder, corruption and blackmail. A fourteen year old girl, a vicious arms dealer and privileged lawyer are linked in a a two-decade-long story of power, abuse and love gone horribly wrong. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for The Red Road a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'The Red Road, displays many of the familiar strengths Mina-addicts will love: In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Kiss Me First a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'Kiss Me First is one of those books that grabs you from the very beginning There is mystery here and an intricate plot that does not fail in keeping you interested making this an easy fast paced read.
Minnesota Dectectives Kovac and Liska are back for a terrifying and chilling case, trying to discover the name and fate of an unidentified teenager - referred to as Jane Doe 9 as she is the 9th unidentified body to be found that year. Tami Hoag is the master of writing about the dark side of small town America.
Shifting stories, codes of violence
Her fans will love it and any reader who enjoys Kathy Reichs or Tess Gerritsen should pop it on their reading list. This rip-roaring history of Ashes cricket is a must read for every cricket fan. A real antidote to the serious Wisden, Stiff Upper Lips and Baggy Green Caps will provide hours of entertainment not just while reading it but also using snippets from it to amaze and surprise your cricketing friends.
Fans of cricket will be so much better informed having read it. From the author of the Richard and Judy bestseller, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, comes a brilliantly original novel about love, family and human folly. Through her wonderfully memorable protagonist, Rebecca Miller considers the hold of the past on the present, the power of private hopes and dreams, and the collision of fate and free will.
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Jacob's Folly a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'What an incredible book! Rebecca Miller has written an unusual and entertaining story that I just had to keep reading to the end. In his personal diaries Richard Burton is a man quite different from the one we familiarly know as acclaimed actor, international film star, and jet-set celebrity. From his private, handwritten pages there emerges a different person - a family man, a father, a husband, a man often troubled and always keenly observing.
Understood through his own words, day to day and year to year, Burton becomes a fully rounded human being who, with a wealth of talent and a surprising burden of insecurity, confronts the peculiar challenges of a life lived largely in the spotlight. This volume publishes in their entirety the surviving diaries of Richard Burton born Richard Jenkins, The diaries were written between and - throughout his career and the years of his celebrated marriages to Elizabeth Taylor. Diary entries appear in their original sequence, with annotations to clarify the people, places, books, and events he mentions.
At times Burton struggles to come to terms with the unfulfilled potential of his life and talent. In other entries, he crows over achievements and hungers for greater challenges. He may be watching his weight, watching his drinking, or watching other men watch his Elizabeth. Always he is articulate, opinionated, and fascinating. His diaries offer a rare and fresh perspective on his own life and career, Elizabeth Taylor's, and the glamorous world of film, theatre, and celebrity that they inhabited.
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Permission to speak, Sah! In the aftermath of the Second World War, over two million men were conscripted to serve in Britain's armed services. Some were sent abroad and watched their friends die in combat. Others remained in barracks and painted coal white. But despite delivering such varied experiences, National Service helped to shape the outlook of an entire generation of young British males. To mark the 50th anniversary of the end of National Service, historian Dr Colin Shindler has interviewed ex-conscripts from all backgrounds and ranks, spanning the entire period of peacetime conscription, and captured their memories in this engrossing book.
From them, we experience the tension of a postwar Berlin surrounded by Russians, the exotic heat and colour of Tripoli in , the brief but intense flashpoint of the Suez Crisis, and the fear of the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya. But we also hear about the other end of the scale, the conscripts who didn't make it outside the confines of their barracks, or in one case, beyond his home town.
In National Service we see the changing face of British society across these pivotal years, which spans everything from the coronation of Elizabeth II, to the birth of rock 'n' roll, to the beginning of the end of the Empire. The stories within these pages are fascinating. And they deserve to be told before they are lost forever. Winner of the Prix Goncourt for Debut Fiction in An award-winning bestseller first published in France with a truly unique perspective. Follow a grief-stricken father, after the sudden death of his son - through the son's eyes.
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for The Son a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'I have read a lot of books this year, but this is the one that will stay with me. What an original and engaging debut.
Who would have thought you could have put romance, science fiction, magic, historical fiction and time travel into such an unforgettable story. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for The River of No Return a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'The River of No Return is an incredible debut novel, gripping from the very beginning' - Nicola Crisp.
A Thousand Pardons is an elegant, audacious, gripping and sharply observed novel about a marriage in ruins and a family in crisis; about the limits of self-invention and the seduction of self-destruction. May Food and Drink Book of the Month. Oh dear, another lot of recipes I thought when I, as a devoted freezer user, really need things to do with egg whites, breadcrumbs and pesto.
But my first glance proved wrong, there are the recipes but each page has multiple suggestions for the use of your frozen food, how to freeze it and more importantly at what stage of the cooking process and how to reheat and cook. Lots of really good tips too, on everything from how to avoid watery quiches to freezing uncooked dough and transforming a bolted lettuce into delicious soup. May Debut of the Month.
Banned Books - Karolides, Nicholas J | Sergey Gatich - theranchhands.com
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Appetite a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'An exquisitely evocative, atmospheric masterpiece that ensnares the senses and illuminates the mind. May eBook of the Month. Once again Shriver takes on a contentious topic head-on. Rich with Shriver's distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big Brother is about fat: It asks just how much sacrifice we'll make to save single members of our families, and whether it's ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.
Great Transitional Books
Click here to view the page for New Republic by the same author, which is just out in paperback. Lord Roy Hattersley Format: The story of the Cavendish family and the first eight Dukes of Devonshire is the story of England. The Devonshires is also the story of the huge support networks of servants and labour needed to sustain the supremacy of a family whose accumulated wealth, from the Dissolution of the Monasteries to the coming of the railways, saw them found ship ports, holiday resorts, scientific laboratories, stud farms and some of the most significant buildings in the land.
For this new history, Hattersley has been given unique access to the archives, based at Chatsworth, the family seat. The Devonshires is as rich and ravishing a read as Hattersley's bestselling The Edwardians. Whereas previous books on the Devonshires have dealt with one or two key figures, Hattersley gathers the dynasty in one place: Max Walker, and his family, look to have it all - but Max Walker has one whopping great secret that is about to be blown across the press just as his father is running for election.
The truth will out in this gritty, cool and brilliantly compelling novel from one of the hippest young authors around. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Golden Boy a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'I absolutely loved this book. It drew me in from the first chapter and I couldn't wait to read on A moving, powerful and thought provoking novel which makes for compelling reading. A piece from Abigail Tarttelin on how she came to write Golden Boy How does it affect us? How do other people treat us differently because of it?
How does our experience as a certain gender shape us? For example, in general women are smaller and physically weaker than men - might years of living with this vulnerability make us more cautious? There were several factors in my life that made gender a theme at that time. It was also a bit of a summer of love, and I was thinking about the roles men and women traditionally play in relationships. I also grew up being friends with a lot of guys and was experiencing surprise at that time, in realising that there were differences between us, caused by something as arbitrary as the chromosome combinations we were born with.
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Gradually these themes developed, and sometime in late September I started to write an email, sending it back and forth to myself, about two brothers, one of whom was not quite, or only, a teenage boy. Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award This is a bright book about dark subjects: Spiked with witty dialogue, and jostling with gleeful, zesty characters, it is a glorious debut novel from an acclaimed writer of poetry, non-fiction, and short stories. Winner of the Costa Book of the Year Winner of the Costa First Novel Award The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man's descent into mental illness.
It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction. Rose Tremain, chair of the judging panel, said: May Book of the Month. Frustrated, Joe sets our with his best friends to find the truth. This literary mystery, full of stunning language will have a lasting impression on any reader. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for The Round House a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'Read this book! The Round House is an incredible, rewarding and emotional whirlwind of a read' - Phyl Smithson.
The opening volume of the Carnivia Trilogy is a fascinating story which blends an intriguing Dan Brown-like conspiracy mystery, Venice-set crime procedural tropes with a splendidly-drawn Italian female investigator who is paired up with a butch American Army sleuth and a fascinating cyber world and its eccentric but resolute inventor. The uncommon mix works most effectively and leaves so many avenues to explore in later volumes. With a gripping plot and complex characters this is the first of a dazzling, multi-layered trilogy set in modern-day Venice.
The discovery of a murdered woman wearing priest's robes, The Abomination, leads a tenancious young police officer into a deadly web of secrets that stretch back to The Balkan War. Don't miss the start of what we think will be the next 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' book that everyone will be talking about. Is the only way I can describe this book! It had me completely gripped till the early hours before sleep forced me to stop reading.
Click here to visit the Carnivia. A piece from Jonathan Holt on how he came to write The Abomination Sometimes I thought that meant writing a thriller: Over a period of about five years I kept trying ideas and plots out, only to abandon them because they felt too small and unambitious. Eventually I managed to have an entire novel almost finished - but something about it still felt wrong. Then one night I dreamt that I burnt it - or at least, the twenty-first century equivalent: I dreamed I deliberately deleted every single copy from my computer.
In the dream, it felt strangely liberating… so I decided to do it. I put almost five year's work into my Recycle Bin and pressed 'permanently delete. Of course I wasn't sure! But afterwards I knew I'd made the right decision. I was hooked from the very first page, where a murdered woman is washed up onto the steps of an ancient Venice church at midnight.
She is found half-in, half-out of the freezing water, and she is wearing the robes of a priest — something that is totally forbidden by the Catholic church. By the time I had journeyed with his characters to an abandoned lunatic asylum on an uninhabited island, and then to Carnivia. Click here to read the full comment. A complex and thought-provoking psychological thriller that, through the metaphor of the characters' experiences, explores the utter failure of the American dream.
A Boston family, looking for a new start, move south into a crumbling house in need of a total rebuild but the disputes that have been simmering for generations transform the dream into a nightmare. Fallen Land is Patrick Flanery's second book following on from his critically acclaimed debut Absolution. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Fallen Land, a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'Highly recommended with wonderful prose that is intoxicating This is a multilayered extraordinary book where I marvelled as each layer was unfolded' - Barbara Gaskell.
The latest top-notch page-turner from Harlan Coben is a compelling psychological thriller exploring the power and passion of lost love. Told exclusively from the viewpoint of Jake Fisher who goes to watch the love of his life marry someone else and just after the ceremony promises to never try to find or follow her again. Now six years later he sees the obituary of the husband and sees it as a sign to get back in touch.
His fans will love it and for any readers new to Harlan Coben where have you been? Scroll down to view an exclusive video of him reading from this book. Longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award An inspiring, revelatory and often moving investigation of courage in all its forms. From frontline to skyscraper, from mountain peak to suburban street, the journey takes in philosophy, literature, propaganda and popular culture, as Morland weaves together a modern anatomy of an age-old virtue, in order to discover how a Timid Soul may become a brave one.
Professor Don Tillman leads a v. His hyper-rational solution is a 16 page questionnaire. But love does work in mysterious and irrational ways. Touching, insightful and v v funny, please read the Opening Extract - you will be hooked! In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for The Rosie Project a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'What a brilliant book Please read it, he [the protagonist] will change your life' — Jayne Burton.
Pilgrim Soul is the 3rd and finds a hard up Brodie taking cash to solve a series of burglaries in the Jewish community that take on a whole different flavour when two murders happen. Are Jews being targeted and if so by who? We recommend you start with Hanging Shed and then read Bitter Water. A fascinating second novel from the acclaimed author of From Under the Bed.
A gripping, sensitively told tale of entangled relationships. Harassed and frustrated Juliet's life is spiralling out of control and she runs away to France where she meets Antoine - but this new relationship is far from the simple love she yearns for. If you have only recently discovered Coelho, or if you have yet to discover this utterly brilliant and breathtaking author, then jump into one of his novels right now.
In this new edition, published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the book, you can enjoy a story of rare quality that will captivate you. Through a translated 10th century manuscript, based on the words and wisdom of a mysterious man known only as the Copt, Paulo Coelho addresses some fundamental human questions such as coping with defeat, rejection love and loyalty.
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As with all of his books the story carries much more profound thoughts and advice on the human condition. Brian Byfield, Gray Jolliffe Format: Poker has never been more popular. It's played in all sorts of places - in serious international tournaments, at the casino, socially with friends and, of course, online. If you don't know how to play it, you're missing out, and here's where this book comes in! It gives you all the information you need to go off and play your first poker game. In clear, easy-to-follow text, backed up with helpful diagrams and amusing cartoons, and concentrating on the most popular poker variant, Texas Hold 'Em, the author shows you how to set up a game, how to bet when to raise and when to fold , the values of the different hands, and the different versions of poker you can play.
It also covers the essential psychological skills used by the best players. Armed with the information in this book, you'll become an expert poker player - in extra-quick time! Loyalty Island is a small fishing community dependent on the Gaunt family fleet for survival. Each winter, Cal's father - a captain of the fleet - sets sail for Alaska to trawl for crab.
Cal may be too young to join in their adventure, but he is old enough to know that everything depends on the fate of those few boats thousands of miles north. When the fleet's owner, John Gaunt, dies, he leaves the town's livelihood in peril. With winter fast approaching, Cal starts to suspect that his father may have taken extreme measures to save the fleet from extinction Plagued by doubt, his loyalties strained and his moral compass in tatters, Cal is forced to make a terrible choice. Rich in atmosphere and period detail, and told through the eyes of Katherine and her young maid Dot, Queen's Gambit is the riveting account of Katherine Parr, the Tudor queen who married four men and outlived three of them - including Henry VIII.
The story of these two very different women during a terrifying and turbulent time is utterly engaging and compelling. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Queen's Gambit a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'It is a long time since I've been completely entranced by a novel, but Queen's Gambit is truly remarkable. I simply couldn't put it down. Shortlisted for the Folio Prize. How can such a simple thing like changing your surname end up with a good and likeable person and father ending up in prison?
Amity Gaige has written two previous books but this stunning, offbeat story of how good intentions lead to tragic consequences is her first UK published book and it looks like being one of the literary treasures of In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Schroder a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'Schroder is an enigma of a book that leaves the reader thinking about it long after finishing it This is a fantastic novel that I would recommend to all.
Based on a new set of DNA samplings — one of the biggest yet, Alistair Moffat and James Flett Wilson are able to reveal the history of Britain told through the lives of its people, who we are and where we came from. Click here to see The Scots: A Genetic Journey by the same author. Michelle de Kretser Format: March Book of the Month and eBook of the Month. From the Booker and Orange longlisted author of The Lost Dog comes the captivating, vivid journey of two very different people over three decades and dozens of countries.
Through rich, luxuriant, intense prose she explores what it is to be human. Michelle de Kretser illuminates travel, work and modern dreams in this brilliant evocation of the way we live now. Questions of Travel is infused with wit, imagination, uncanny common sense and a deep understanding of what makes us tick and it will stay with you many days after you finish it.
A 'Piece of Passion' about Questions of Travel from the publisher With a quietly powerful ending that will, quite simply, floor you, this is a book to savour. The strange and bizarre murders and the complicated love life of Sergeant Hamish Macbeth continue in the 28th adventure in the series. But she wants Hamish to investigate the theft of her sketch book. Before they can get any useful testimony she is found dead inside a bale of t-shirts from a local factory The fifth volume in the scintillating Tyrant series brings the epic siege of Rhodes in BC to spectacular life.
In the lead up to the presidential elections, among allegations of vote rigging and corruption, Detective Mollel is called in to investigate the brutal murder of a prostitute in a public park, and he suspects the case is more complex than it appears. February Book of the Month and eBook of the Month. Jeo and Mikal, foster-brothers from a small Pakistani city, secretly enter Afghanistan: But it soon becomes apparent that good intentions can't keep them out of harm's way In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for The Blind Man's Garden a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'This really is an amazing novel and I would not be at all surprised to see it shortlisted for some of the literary prizes in February Book of the Month.
Lynn Shepherd once again uses rigorous research to explore and fictionalise the mysterious, apparent suicide of the first wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Perfect reading for fans of Sarah Waters and P. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for A Treacherous Likeness, a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'I was immediately transported to a world full of intrigue and secrecy, where the lives of real heroes collide with imaginary ones Beautifully written, this is an irresistible read.
The third in Stuart Clark's accessible and informative Sky's Dark Labyrinth series, where he uses historical fiction to help readers better understand the cosmos. The Sky's Dark Labyrinth series: The Sky's Dark Labyrinth2. The Sensorium of God 3. The Day Without Yesterday. From the author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, a dark tale about a failing politician. Norman Stokoe has built his political career on getting himself noticed but not actually doing a lot. Dark humour and well observed characters make this a good read to become absorbed in. Click here to find out about Theo, an eBook only novella by Paul Torday which introduces one of the characters from Light Shining in the Forest.
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Light Shining in the Forest a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'This was a beautifully written book mixing suspense with the supernatural. Sad, funny, entertaining and profound The Universe versus Alex Woods is a tale of an unexpected friendship, an unlikely hero and an improbable journey which we join as Alex is stopped at Dover customs with grams of marijuana and an urn full of ashes on the passenger seat.
Click here to read Alex's recommended reads. Burning bodies, bits of bone and overbearing superiors are the least of DS McRae's worries as a series of gruesome murders, seemingly following a bestselling novel, dominate the Aberdeenshire constabulary. Shortlisted for the inaugural Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction September Good Housekeeping selection. There is nothing new under the sun — especially on the subject of diets. The latest diet craze is just part of an endless recycling of past fads, the gizmos, machines, the pills — all make a regular appearance to fleece the desperate dieter.
Louise Foxcroft turns up some fascinating facts in her look at dieting history and failure seems to be a continuing theme — and the opprobrium heaped on the head of the overweight. There are some extremely alarming treatments revealed but no sign of that notorious tapeworm pill of popular imagination. A salutary look at our obsession with weight taking us up to the present day with the growing understanding of cause and effect.
Cold, hard, damaged Will Cochrane is the best operative MI6 and the CIA have but he will need all his skills to prevail when he is pitted against another top spy. The bestseller that has captivated Europe, The Taste of Apple Seeds is both a white-hot story of first love and a heartbreaking meditation on memory and loss. Alistair Moffat, James Naughtie Format: December Travel Book of the Month. In Britain's Last Frontier best-selling author Alistair Moffat makes a journey of the imagination, tracing the route of the Line from the River Clyde through Perthshire and the North-east.
With an introduction from Aberdeenshire born Radio 4 Today presenter James Naughtie it is a fascinating book, full of history and anecdote and a lovely gift for any 'Scotophile'. December Book of the Month. In a case that spans 20 years, Harry Bosch links the bullet from a recent crime to a file from , the killing of a young female photojournalist during the L. Riveting and relentlessly paced, The Black Box leads Harry Bosch into one of his most fraught and perilous cases. In this stunning book packed full of illustrations of all kinds, Blake tells of the amazing pictures he has created in all sorts of other places — especially the walls of hospitals including his joyous and life-affirming pictures for the Rosie Maternity hospital - and galleries as well as his myriad greetings cards.
Blake captures the excitement at these opportunities and describes how the technical challenges are overcome. A book to savour for its beauty as well as an invaluable insight into the world of an iconic illustrator. Click here to view a special Quentin Blake section on the Lovereading4kids website. Bleak Expectations began as a riotously funny Sony Award winning Radio 4 comedy but it was so amazing it has transformed itself into an equally splendid book. Featuring added jokes and lots of extra bits of story and additional dimensions to characters, it recounts the adventures of young Pip Bin as he tries to repair his destroyed family and distinctly damaged life, aided by his best friend Harry Biscuit and definitely not aided by his cruel and ironically named guardian Mr Gently Benevolent and his accomplices, the fearsome Hardthrasher siblings.
Add in grim circumstances, mistaken identities, unlikely inheritances, nightmarish court cases, ridiculous names, convenient coincidences to resolve plot problems, over-sentimental death scenes and lots and lots of adjectives: Bleak Expectations is the novel Charles Dickens might have written after drinking far too much gin. In two of them soldier come spy Lord John can be found in Jamaica battling Zombies and in Quebec changing the outcome of a crucial battle. The remaining two focus around the time travelling adventures caused by a series of special stones. An interesting fillip for any fan of the series.
November Food and Drink Book of the Month. A pleasing piece of food giftery, a book that looks into the roots of some classic dishes, the chefs who invented them and who was the lucky recipient. As well as a potted history, James Martin gives the reader full illustrated recipe details on recreating the dish — or cocktail for themselves. Like for Like ReadingForgotten Fruits: A beautiful and easy to use guide to becoming the envy of your friends and a master artisan baker to boot!
Nothing beats the deliciously warm aroma and taste of freshly baked bread, and more and more people are rediscovering this pleasure as they start to bake from scratch at home. With recipes for over 60 breads, rolls and cakes this book offers fail-safe tips to quickly build your confidence and create mouthwatering food. Jobs were unpredictable; the work was hard, monotonous, and purposeless. He spends his time waiting:. In Curriculum Vitae and Before Our Eyes , the poet both shifts the story and continues to examine the codes of these events.
The description of the incident not only says something about Detroit, but also raises more general issues addressed elsewhere in the poem, at the center of which the poet places this pointed question:. There is a God who hates us so much: The poem ends with a recognition of empowerment born of this experience as the poet catalogues the forces — individual, societal, industrial, systemic — involved in, and responsible for, the violence:.
Earth pouring clouds into gray heavens. Much more violence than I know. Throughout Curriculum Vitae and Before Our Eyes , the poet increasingly sees the conditions in the cities with which he identifies — Detroit, New York, Beirut — in the context of global economic forces. Everything is for sale: Through such identification with others — the others — on the margins, Joseph insistently enlarges the self that speaks in his poems without falling into the pitfalls sometimes associated with such identification.
Again, the term is used by someone else, and, as the speaker takes it in, he accepts it. I am the light-skinned nigger with black eyes and the look difficult to figure — a look of indifference, a look to kill — a Levantine nigger in the city on the strait between the great lakes Erie and St. Clair which has a reputation for violence, an enthusiastically bad-tempered sand nigger who waves his hands, nice enough to pass, Lebanese enough to be against his brother, with his brother against his cousin, with cousin and brother against the stranger.
The speaker accepts his own marginalization, identifying with others who are separated by labels from mainstream America. By doing so, I track other groups of Americans identified pejoratively by race, ethnicity, religion, or historical realities. As in almost every poem in Before Our Eyes , the poet emphasizes color and light. Back to, because you want to, Grand Boulevard, excessive sky hot and indigo, poured out onto Hendrie.
Inside the store, Grandpa lifts you into his arms, small as a single summer Sunday, a kind of memory trance truly dark, deep and dark, steel dark, not as pure, but almost as pure, as pure unattainable light. The store is not the locus of shooting, stabbing, or looting, but — to use the old gospel song title — precious memory. The grandfather — described elsewhere as leaving Lebanon to come to Detroit, enduring the isolation and marginalization of immigrant life, and eventually losing both legs to disease — is here simply remembered in the aura of his love for his grandchild.
The poet compares this remembrance, in its depth, profundity, and clarity, to pure light. So no self-centered anarchism was of use, too manic the sense of economy, employment and inflation curved. It is the era of Vietnam: He then elaborates on what else he knows in exquisitely beautiful, hyperreal imagery:.
Woodward is the avenue of labor protests during the Depression, white rioting that terrorized African Americans in the summer of , antiwar protests and civil rights demonstrations in the s; Woodward is where in Martin Luther King Jr. As he stops along the way, he brings back motifs introduced and reintroduced in other poems.
The differences, though, are telling. In Into It , the story has shifted again. The poems in Into It explore terror, human brutality, mass murder, and genocide; they expose the hypocrisy of war. The poet in Into It shifts his stories again to bear witness against those who bring violence upon other human beings, including leaders of the United States past and present. Central to the poems in Into It is how to continue to create amid true horror.
Can you get to it? Everyone clapping their hands, popping their fingers, everyone hip, has walks. Effects are supplied, both rhythmic and textual. That which occurs in authentic light. Like the man said. So many selves — the one who detects the sound of a voice, that voice — the voice that compounds his voice — that self obedient to that fate, increased, enlarged, transparent, changing.
Zoom in close enough — the shadows of statues, the swimming pools of palaces … closer — a garden of palm trees, oranges and lemons, chickens, sheep … Into It , What does an Arab American poet have to contribute to the discussion of the politics arising from Middle Eastern conflict? Throughout his career as a poet, Joseph has been developing strategies for addressing these issues, strategies that gain intensity precisely because they rely on a vantage point both Arab and American.
Joseph has been developing these strategies from the beginning of his work. This movement appears especially in his poems that expressly refer to Lebanon. Later in life he frequently climbs the mountainside overlooking his village and considers his subjection to violence:. In many of his poems set in Detroit, Joseph writes of urban violence as one caught between these two representations. This experience, he says in a journal, compels him to examine his own life in the context of larger historical, cultural, and economic forces.
In drawing this explicit connection between Detroit and Lebanon, the poet emphasizes his baptism into awareness of generalized violence and power. All these events are based on stories and reports, but the speaker wants more: I hear her Weeping in the dark. Her eyes deep dark, sad and heavy. She likes me — my moods. Once she touched my shoulders,. The poem concludes with questions about the fate of those left behind in Chartoun: Gone with the others into the mountain?
Here eyes were heavy. Knowing the victims of Lebanon as he knows the victims of Detroit intensifies his personal sense of marginalization. American foreign policy and the events of the last two decades have elicited from Joseph still other poems clearly written from these margins. In the poems in Into It , Joseph resists the temptation to refer directly to this experience, although, as Lisa M. Few of the many voices in these poems belong to identified persons.
The interactions of a man and woman, for example, become a recurring motif, but the man and woman remain unnamed. This movement represents not a break with his prior books, but a different emphasis on elements that had always been present in his poetry: At the same time, Joseph carefully resists the sensationalism of regarding the present situation as unique.
The poems take unequivocal positions against the actions of George W. Bush, but the poet sees these actions rooted in earlier US foreign policy as well as in the history of warfare. Capital makes, the poet says,. Joseph concentrates on both the people and the systems responsible for perpetrating injustice and war. He examines the economic and historical forces at work in this process.
But the abolition of truth is not complete as long as it is recognized and named. Do you think they care about the chaos? The chaos just makes it easier for them to get what they want. Wojahn says that this speaker becomes a prophetic voice: This poem, like others in Into It and earlier volumes, has an Old Testament quality. Joseph holds individual human beings accountable for abolishing truth and making war, but, as codes, they are also playing out the roles assigned by larger systemic and historical forces.