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Matt Haig was born in Sheffield in 1975 and grew up in Nottinghamshire. He has lived in London and Spain, and now lives in north Yorkshire. His writing has frequently appeared in the UK press. He is the author of The Last Family in England, a UK bestseller narrated by a Labrador, The Dead Fathers Club, an update of Hamlet featuring an eleven-year-old boy and The Possession of Mr Cave. He has also written two children's novels, Shadow Forest, and its sequel The Runaway Troll.
Matt Haig on his teen novel, The Radleys:
"This is a story about growing up, first and foremost. About how we learn to come to terms with who we are, independent of the ideas our parents had for us. About how we decide our own identities. As well as what shapes those identities - who we choose to love, and hate, admire and fear. It is about how denying ourselves can sometimes be more dangerous than succumbing to tempation. This is the story I wanted to tell. I never set out to write a vampire story, but vampires were the obvious choice. After all, as family secrets go, you can't get much bigger than finding out you are actually a full-blown creature of the night. And hopefully it fits as a metaphor for teenage life. A life full of physical changes, forbidden cravings, and feelings of being an outsider. In that sense, we've probably all been vampires at some stage."
Author photo © Clive Doyle
The world is messing with our minds. Rates of stress and anxiety are rising. A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index. How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? How do we stay human in a technological world? How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious? After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the 21st century.
'I am old. That is the first thing to tell you. The thing you are least likely to believe. If you saw me you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong.' Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try to tame the past that is fast catching up with him. The only thing Tom must not do is fall in love.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEEL TRULY ALIVE? Aged 24, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth. I wrote this book because the oldest cliches remain the truest. Time heals. The bottom of the valley never provides the clearest view. The tunnel does have light at the end of it, even if we haven't been able to see it ...Words, just sometimes, really can set you free.
Do you: Know a human?; Love a human?; Have trouble dealing with humans? If you've answered yes to any of the above, this book is for you. Whether you are planning a high level of human interaction or just a casual visit to the planet, this user-guide to the human race will help you translate their sayings, understand exotic concepts such as 'democracy' and 'sofas', and make sense of their habits and bizarre customs. A phrase book, a dictionary and a survival guide, this book unravels all the oddness, idiosyncrasies and wonder of the species, allowing everyone to make the most of their time on Earth.
April 2014 Book of the Month. It’s incredibly difficult to say anything about The Humans other than to encourage you to read it for yourself to discover how utterly delightful, enjoyable and fascinating it truly is. Having solved an equation too powerful for us to know, aliens intercede to kill Professor Andrew Martin and send a shapeshifter in his place whose contempt for humanity gradually turns to love. It is a stunning book that everyone should read. A 2014 World Book Night selection.
May 2013 Book of the Month. A funny and touching exploration into what it is to be human. After solving the world’s greatest mathematical riddle Professor Andrew Martin is found naked walking on a motorway after having had a spectacular mental breakdown... after such a high, normal life seems pointless and people he once loved repulsive. The latest novel from the continually surprising author of TV Book Club hit of 2011 The Radleys.
Shortlisted for the Galaxy Popular Fiction Book of the Year Award 2011. I am told the vampire craze is on the wane to be replaced by zombie books but the great thing about vampires is they are human and none more so than Matt Haig’s Radleys, an abstaining vampire family with two teenagers who are not having the greatest time at school. The girl gets pestered by an over zealous boy and she bites him … Things change rather dramatically then as she slowly discovers her roots. Mum and Dad have a fair bit of explaining to do and then a ‘wicked’ uncle appears on the scene. This is well thought out, humorous, highly compulsive and a pure delight Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 7 Aug 2011. The Lovereading view... Dripping in blood, this is a story of family secrets so terrible that they shouldn’t be uncovered...Rowan and Clara think they are ordinary teenagers. They live quietly with their ordinary Mum and Dad doing all the things that their friends do. But, the Radley parents are hiding a secret; they are abstaining vampires and, one day, their abstinence will fail. Rowan’s teenage anxieties and sense of being an outsider take on a whole new dimension in this insight story of adolescence with a difference.This is the Young Adult version of the title. Click here for the original edition.A message from the author:"This is a story about growing up, first and foremost. About how we learn to come to terms with who we are, independent of the ideas our parents had for us. About how we decide our own identities. As well as what shapes those identities - who we choose to love, and hate, admire and fear. It is about how denying ourselves can sometimes be more dangerous than succumbing to tempation. This is the story I wanted to tell. I never set out to write a vampire story, but vampires were the obvious choice. After all, as family secrets go, you can't get much bigger than finding out you are actually a full-blown creature of the night. And hopefully it fits as a metaphor for teenage life. A life full of physical changes, forbidden cravings, and feelings of being an outsider. In that sense, we've probably all been vampires at some stage."
One of our Great Reads you may have missed in 2011. Shortlisted for the Galaxy Popular Fiction Book of the Year Award 2011. I am told the vampire craze is on the wane to be replaced by zombie books but the great thing about vampires is they are human and none more so than Matt Haig’s Radleys, an abstaining vampire family with two teenagers who are not having the greatest time at school. The girl gets pestered by an over zealous boy and she bites him … Things change rather dramatically then as she slowly discovers her roots. Mum and Dad have a fair bit of explaining to do and then a ‘wicked’ uncle appears on the scene. This is well thought out, humorous, highly compulsive and a pure delight. Voted the Best Summer Read by the TV Book Club viewers. Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 7 Aug 2011. The Lovereading view... Rowan and Clara think they are ordinary teenagers. They live quietly with their ordinary Mum and Dad doing all the things that their friends do. But, the Radley parents are hiding a secret; they are abstaining vampires and, one day, their abstinence will fail. Rowan’s teenage anxieties and sense of being an outsider take on a whole new dimension in this insight story of adolescence with a difference. A message from the author:"This is a story about growing up, first and foremost. About how we learn to come to terms with who we are, independent of the ideas our parents had for us. About how we decide our own identities. As well as what shapes those identities - who we choose to love, and hate, admire and fear. It is about how denying ourselves can sometimes be more dangerous than succumbing to tempation. This is the story I wanted to tell. I never set out to write a vampire story, but vampires were the obvious choice. After all, as family secrets go, you can't get much bigger than finding out you are actually a full-blown creature of the night. And hopefully it fits as a metaphor for teenage life. A life full of physical changes, forbidden cravings, and feelings of being an outsider. In that sense, we've probably all been vampires at some stage.
Ten-year-old Evie has a talent. A SUPERTALENT. Evie can TALK to animals and HEAR their thoughts. Pretty amazing, isn't it? One day at school, Evie sets Kahlo the rabbit free from her too-small cage. Evie knows she's done A Good Thing . . . but it lands her in BIG trouble. Evie's dad and Granny Flora say her talent is a curse; she must never use it again. Until a year later pets on her street - including Lady Gaga the cat and a hamster named Cheryl - start disappearing. Evie is determined to find them. But it's dangerous for her to help. Because the villain has a talent of their own, and only wants to use it for evil . . . Can Evie save the pets before it's too late, even if it means DARING TO BE HERSELF?
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER The world is messing with our minds. What if there was something we could do about it? Looking at sleep, news, social media, addiction, work and play, Matt Haig invites us to feel calmer, happier and to question the habits of the digital age. This book might even change the way you spend your precious time on earth.
It isn't always easy, growing up as a human in Elfhelm, even if your adoptive parents are the newly married Father Christmas and Mary Christmas. For one thing, Elf School can be annoying when you have to sing Christmas songs every day - even in July - and when you fail all your toy-making tests. Also it can get very, very cold. But when the jealous Easter Bunny and his rabbit army launch an attack to stop Christmas, it's up to Amelia, her new family and the elves to keep Christmas alive. Before it's too late
The world is messing with our minds. Rates of stress and anxiety are rising. A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected, yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index. After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the twenty-first century.
FAMILIES. SOMETIMES THEY'RE A BLOODY NIGHTMARE . . . Life with the Radleys: Radio 4, dinner parties with the Bishopthorpe neighbours and self-denial. Loads of self-denial. But all hell is about to break loose. When teenage daughter Clara gets attacked on the way home from a party, she and her brother Rowan finally discover why they can't sleep, can't eat a Thai salad without fear of asphyxiation and can't go outside unless they're smothered in Factor 50. With a visit from their lethally louche Uncle Will and an increasingly suspicious police force, life in Bishopthorpe is about to change. Drastically.
Let the battle for Christmas begin . . . Amelia lives in the magical town of Elfhelm, newly adopted by Father Christmas and Mary Christmas. When the very jealous Easter Bunny launches an attack to ruin Christmas, it's up to Amelia, her family and the elves to fight off the forces of evil. But can they keep Christmas alive?
From number one bestselling author Matt Haig comes a hilarious and heartwarming story, brilliantly illustrated throughout by Chris Mould 'Wherever she is, whatever the day, She only has one kind of thing to say. Just as cats go miaow and cows go moo, The Truth Pixie can only say things that are true.' A very funny and lovable tale of how one special pixie learned to love herself. The Truth Pixie is an enchanting, rhyming story that will delight younger readers - with words by the bestselling mastermind Matt Haig and pictures by the inky genius Chris Mould.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME. OR IS THERE? After an 'incident' one wet Friday night where he is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, Professor Andrew Martin is not feeling quite himself. Food sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst an alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton, and he's a dog. Who is he really? And what could make someone change their mind about the human race . . . ?
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER The world is messing with our minds. Rates of stress and anxiety are rising. A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected, yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index. - How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? - How do we stay human in a technological world? - How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious? After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the twenty-first century.
FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR Philip Noble is an eleven-year-old in crisis. His pub landlord father has died in a road accident, and his mother is succumbing to the greasy charms of her dead husband's brother, Uncle Alan. The remaining certainties of Philip's life crumble away when his father's ghost appears in the pub and declares Uncle Alan murdered him. Arming himself with weapons from the school chemistry cupboard, Philip vows to carry out the ghost's relentless demands for revenge. But can the words of a ghost be trusted any more than the lies of the living?
FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR Terence Cave, owner of Cave Antiques, has already experienced the tragedies of his mother's suicide and his wife's murder when his teenage son, Reuben, is killed in a grotesque accident. His remaining child, Bryony, has always been the family's golden girl and Terence comes to realise that his one duty in life is to protect her from the world's malign forces, whatever that may take. But as he starts to follow his grieving daughter's movements and enforce a draconian set of rules, his love for Bryony becomes a possessive force that leads to destruction.
FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR Meet the Hunter family: Adam, Kate, and their children Hal and Charlotte. And Prince, their Labrador. Prince is an earnest young dog, striving hard to live up to the tenets of the Labrador Pact (Remain Loyal to Your Human Masters, Serve and Protect Your Family at Any Cost). Other dogs, led by the Springer Spaniels, have revolted. As things in the Hunter family begin to go badly awry - marital breakdown, rowdy teenage parties, attempted suicide - Prince's responsibilities threaten to overwhelm him and he is forced to break the Labrador Pact and take desperate action to save his Family.
A novel about love, loss and living in the moment, from the bestselling author of The Humans The first rule is that you dont fall in love. There are other rules too, but that is the main one. No falling in love. No staying in love. No daydreaming of love. Because otherwise, of course, you slowly lose your mind . . .Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary forty-one-year-old, but he was born in 1581. Owing to a rare condition, hes been alive for centuries. From Shakespeares England to Jazz Age Paris to voyaging the Pacific alongside Captain Cook, Tom has seen a lot, and he now craves an ordinary life.Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom now has the perfect coverworking as a history teacher at a London school. Here, he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if hed never witnessed them first-hand. He can try to tame the past that is quickly catching up with him. The only thing Tom cant do is fall in love.How to Stop Timeis a wild, bittersweet, time-travelling story about losing and finding yourself, about the certainty of change, about the mistakes humans are doomed to repeat.And about the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live.
';A quirky romcom dusted with philosophical observations.A delightfully wittypoignant novel.' The Washington Post ';She smiled a soft, troubled smile and I felt the whole world slipping away, and I wanted to slip with it, to go wherever she was going I had existed whole years without her, but that was all it had been. An existence. A book with no words.' Tom Hazard has just moved back to London, his old home, to settle down and become a high school history teacher. And on his first day at school, he meets a captivating French teacher at his school who seems fascinated by him. But Tom has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history--performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life. Unfortunately for Tom, the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society's watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present. How to Stop Timetells alove story across the agesand for the agesabout a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live.It is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORMeet the Hunter family: Adam, Kate, and their children Hal and Charlotte. And Prince, their Labrador. Prince is an earnest young dog, striving hard to live up to the tenets of the Labrador Pact (Remain Loyal to Your Human Masters, Serve and Protect Your Family at Any Cost). Other dogs, led by the Springer Spaniels, have revolted. As things in the Hunter family begin to go badly awry - marital breakdown, rowdy teenage parties, attempted suicide - Prince's responsibilities threaten to overwhelm him and he is forced to break the Labrador Pact and take desperate action to save his Family.
FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORPhilip Noble is an eleven-year-old in crisis. His pub landlord father has died in a road accident, and his mother is succumbing to the greasy charms of her dead husband's brother, Uncle Alan. The remaining certainties of Philip's life crumble away when his father's ghost appears in the pub and declares Uncle Alan murdered him. Arming himself with weapons from the school chemistry cupboard, Philip vows to carry out the ghost's relentless demands for revenge. But can the words of a ghost be trusted any more than the lies of the living?
THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF MATT HAIG'S SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try to tame the past that is fast catching up with him. The only thing Tom must not do is fall in love. How to Stop Time is a wild and bittersweet story about losing and finding yourself, about the certainty of change and about the lifetimes it can take to really learn how to live. This special Illustrated Edition features over fifty enchanting line drawings by the award-winning artist Chris Riddell
If magic has a beginning, can it also have an end?When Amelia wants a wish to come true she knows just the man to askFather Christmas.But the magic she wants to believe in is starting to fade, and Father Christmas has things other than impossible wishes to worry about: upset elves, reindeer dropping out of the sky, angry trollsand the chance that Christmas might be cancelled.Amelia isnt just any ordinary girl, though. And as Father Christmas is going to find out, if hes going to save Christmas, he might just need some help . . .
"e;If somewhere in the afterlife Roald Dahl met Charles Dickens and they cooked up a new Christmas tale, it couldn't have much on this fleet, verbally rambunctious, heart-stealing follow-up to A Boy Called Christmas."e;The New York Times Amelia Wishart was the first child ever to receive a Christmas present. It was her Christmas spirit that gave Santa the extra boost of magic he needed to make his first trip around the world. But now Amelia is in trouble. When her mother falls ill, she is sent to the workhouse to toil under cruel Mr. Creeper. For a whole year, Amelia scrubs the floors and eats watery gruel, without a whiff of kindness to keep her going. It's not long before her hope begins to drain away. Meanwhile, up at the North Pole, magic levels dip dangerously low as Christmas approaches, and Santa knows that something is gravely wrong. With the help of his trusty reindeer, a curious cat, and Charles Dickens, he sets out to find Amelia, the only girl who might be able to save Christmas. But first Amelia must learn to believe again. . . .';Matt Haig has an empathy for the human condition, the light and the dark of it, and he uses the full palette to build his excellent stories.' Neil Gaiman, Newbery-winning author ofThe Graveyard Book"e;With a little bit of naughty and a lot of nice,this Christmastime yarn is a veritable sugarplum."e; Kirkus Reviews
LET THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTMAS BEGIN It isn't always easy, growing up as a human in Elfhelm, even if your adoptive parents are the newly married Father Christmas and Mary Christmas. For one thing, Elf School can be annoying when you have to sing Christmas songs every day - even in July - and when you fail all your toy-making tests. Also it can get very, very cold. But when the jealous Easter Bunny and his rabbit army launch an attack to stop Christmas, it's up to Amelia, her new family and the elves to keep Christmas alive. Before it's too late . . .
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BELIEVE IN MAGIC? It is Christmas Eve and all is not well. Amelia Wishart is trapped in Mr Creeper's workhouse and Christmas is in jeopardy. Magic is fading. If Christmas is to happen, Father Christmas knows he must find her. With the help of some elves, eight reindeer, the Queen and a man called Charles Dickens, the search for Amelia - and the secret of Christmas - begins . . .
Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but he was born in 1581. Owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Shakespeare's England to jazz age Paris, Tom has seen it all. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom now has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher. The only thing Tom mustn't do is fall in love... The first rule is that you don't fall in love. Because otherwise, of course, you slowly lose your mind.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE 2017 BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR POPULAR FICTION Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try to tame the past that is fast catching up with him. The only thing Tom must not do is fall in love. How to Stop Time is a wild and bittersweet story about losing and finding yourself, about the certainty of change and about the lifetimes it can take to really learn how to live.
'I am old. That is the first thing to tell you. The thing you are least likely to believe. If you saw me you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong.' Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try to tame the past that is fast catching up with him. The only thing Tom must not do is fall in love.
BELIEVE IN THE IMPOSSIBLE A lavish, boxed set containing Matt Haig's magical Christmas classics in hardback - A Boy Called Christmas and The Girl Who Saved Christmas. This special limited edition slipcase is beautifully illustrated by Chris Mould and makes the perfect gift for children aged 7 and above, and for anyone who still believes in Father Christmas A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS This is the true story of Father Christmas. It is a story that proves that nothing is impossible. THE GIRL WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS When Amelia wants a wish to come true she knows just the man to ask - Father Christmas. But the magic she wants to believe in is starting to fade, and Father Christmas has more than impossible wishes to worry about. Upset elves, reindeer dropping out of the sky, angry trolls and the chance that Christmas might be cancelled. But Amelia, isn't just any ordinary girl. And - as Father Christmas is going to find out - if Christmas is going to be saved, he might not be able to do it alone . . .
NARRATED BY STEPHEN FRY You are about to hear the true story of FATHER CHRISTMAS . . . If you believe that some things are impossible, you should walk away right now. (Because this story is FULL of impossible things.) Are you still there? Good. Then let us begin . . .
NARRATED BY CAREY MULLIGAN JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF MAGIC When Amelia wants a wish to come true she knows just the man to ask - Father Christmas. But Father Christmas has more than impossible wishes to worry about. Upset elves, reindeer dropping out of the sky, angry trolls and the chance that Christmas might be cancelled. If Christmas is going to be saved, he might not be able to do it alone . . .
2018 Odyssey Honor 2018 ALSC Notable Children's RecordingBefore there was Santa Claus, there was a young boy who believed in the impossible. . . . Lemony Snicket meetsElfin this warmhearted Christmas caper. Eleven-year-old Nikolasnicknamed ';Christmas'has received only one toy in his life: a doll carved out of a turnip. But he's happy with his turnip doll, because it came from his parents, who love him. Then one day his father goes missing, and Nikolas must travel to the North Pole to save him. Along the way, Nikolas befriends a surly reindeer, bests a troublesome troll, and discovers a hidden world of enchantment in the frozen village of Elfhelm. But the elves of Elfhelm have troubles of their own: Christmas spirit and goodwill are at an all-time low, and Nikolas may be the only person who can fix thingsif only he can reach his father before it's too late. . . . Sparkling with wit and warmth, A Boy Called Christmasis a cheeky new Christmas classic-in-the-making from acclaimed author Matt Haig and illustrator Chris Mould."e;Irresistibly readable. Destined to become a Christmas and anytime-before-or-after-Christmas classic!"e; --Chris Grabenstein,New York Timesbestselling author ofEscape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library';The definitive (and funny) history of ho, ho, ho! My children loved it.' Yann Martel, bestselling author ofLife of Pi ';The most evergreen, immortal Christmas story to be published for decades.' Stephen Fry"e;Humorous and heartfelt,A Boy Called Christmaswill grow your heart three sizes and make you believe in magic."e; --Liesl Shurtliff,New York Timesbestselling author ofRump"e;Matt Haig has an empathy for the human condition, the light and the dark of it, and he uses the full palette to build his excellent stories.'Neil Gaiman, Newbery-winning author ofThe Graveyard Book
BELIEVE IN THE IMPOSSIBLE You are about to read THE TRUE STORY OF FATHER CHRISTMAS If you are one of those people who believe that some things are impossible, you should put this book down right away. (Because this book is FULL of impossible things.) Are you still reading? Good. Then let us begin...
JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF MAGIC If magic has a beginning, can it also have an end? When Amelia wants a wish to come true she knows just the man to ask - Father Christmas. But the magic she wants to believe in is starting to fade, and Father Christmas has more than impossible wishes to worry about. Upset elves, reindeer dropping out of the sky, angry trolls and the chance that Christmas might be cancelled. But Amelia isn't just any ordinary girl. And - as Father Christmas is going to find out - if Christmas is going to be saved, he might not be able to do it alone . . .
Andrew Martin megoldja a vilag legbonyolultabb matematikai rejtelyet. Aztan eltunik, es a kozeli autosztradan bukkan fel ujra. Anyaszult meztelen, es baratsagosan lekop minden arra haladot. Am ez a ferfi mar nem Martin professzor, hanem egy idegen leny, aki a tudos alakjat felveve azert jott, hogy informaciokat gyujtson es megsemmisitse a kepletet, amely veszelybe sodorhatna az univerzum jovojet. A leny figyel, de nem ert semmit az emberekbol. Miert hordanak ruhat, miert alapitanak csaladot, miert bamuljak hetvegenkent, ahogy huszonket ferfi kerget egy labdat? De a legfontosabb: mi az a furcsa erzes, amely osszekoti az embereket, es amit ugy hivnak: szeretet? Matt Haig konyve egyszerre humoros sci-fi es szivmelengeto mu a vilagegyetem legnagyobb rejtelyerol, azaz rolunk, emberekrol. "e;Matt Haig brilians modon mutatja meg, hogy mi a szerelem, es mit jelent embernek lenni. Nagyon regota az egyik legjobb konyv, amit olvastam."e; (S. J. Watson, a Mielott elalszom cimu vilagsikeru konyv szerzoje) A Konyvjelzo magazin 2015. decemberi szamaban megjelent cikk: Nehez napok a Fold nevu bolygon
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEEL TRULY ALIVE? Aged 24, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth. I wrote this book because the oldest cliches remain the truest. Time heals. The bottom of the valley never provides the clearest view. The tunnel does have light at the end of it, even if we haven't been able to see it ...Words, just sometimes, really can set you free.
You are about to read the true story of Father Christmas. It's a story that proves nothing is impossible. A Boy Called Christmas is a tale of adventure, snow, kidnapping, elves, more snow and a boy called Nikolas, who isn't afraid to believe in magic. From the winner of The Smarties Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award. With enchanting illustrations by Chris Mould.
<p>Audrey s-a inconjurat mereu de carti si muzica, filosofie si visuri. E ceea ce o deosebeste de fiintele Echo, niste masinarii misterioase, lipsite de emotii, alcatuite in asa fel incat sa semene cu fiintele omenesti si sa serveasca stapanilor umani. </p><p>DANIEL e un Echo - dar e diferit de cei din specia lui. Simte o puternica legatura cu Audrey; un sentiment pe care n-a fost programat sa-l aiba si pe care nu si-l poate explica.</p><p>Dar e hotarat sa incerce.</p><p>O poveste zguduitoare despre iubire, pierdere si ceea ce ne face cu adevarat umani.</p><p>Excelent... foarte omenesc si sensibil. -<em>Patrick Ness</em></p><p>Minunat de amuzant, inventiv si captivant. -<em>The Times</em></p><p>O poveste extraordinara, de citit dintr-o suflare. <em>The Sun</em></p><p>Noi urma sa fim o lume a noastra, un univers in doi, si asta era bine. De fapt, era incomparabil mai bine decat un univers al unuia singur.</p><p>Ea insemna totul.</p><p>Ea insemna speranta, teama, iubire si durere.</p><p>Ea era cat se poate de vie. Iar a fi viu inseamna a avea posibilitati si incertitudini. Viata este ceva irational, iar irationalul nu poate fi cartografiat. De aceea, in fiecare</p><p>viata - in fiecare viata adevarata - exista o increngatura de alte vieti, ca in gradina potecilor ce se bifurca despre care citisem candva. Sa iubesti pe cineva este un proces</p><p>prin care il ajuti pe celalalt sa gaseasca cea mai buna varianta dintre vietile posibile si sa o traiasca."e;</p>
Aged 24, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth.
Audrey's father taught her that to stay human in the modern world, she had to build a moat around herself; a moat of books and music, philosophy and dreams. A moat that makes Audrey different from the echoes: sophisticated, emotionless machines, built to resemble humans and to work for human masters. Daniel is an echo - but he's not like the others. He feels a connection with Audrey; a feeling Daniel knows he was never designed to have, and cannot explain. And when Audrey is placed in terrible danger, he's determined to save her. ECHO BOY is a powerful story about love, loss and what makes us truly human.
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEEL TRULY ALIVE? Aged 24, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth. 'I wrote this book because the oldest cliches remain the truest. Time heals. The bottom of the valley never provides the clearest view. The tunnel does have light at the end of it, even if we haven't been able to see it . . . Words, just sometimes, really can set you free.'
When an extra-terrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his first impressions of the human species are less than positive. Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a prominent mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor is eager to complete the gruesome task assigned him and hurry home to his own utopian planet, where everyone is omniscient and immortal. He is disgusted by the way humans look, what they eat, their capacity for murder and war, and is equally baffled by the concepts of love and family. But as time goes on, he starts to realize there may be more to this strange species than he had thought. Disguised as Martin, he drinks wine, reads poetry, develops an ear for rock music, and a taste for peanut butter. Slowly, unexpectedly, he forges bonds with Martin's family. He begins to see hope and beauty in the humans' imperfection, and begins to question the very mission that brought him there. Praised by The New York Times as a "e;novelist of great seriousness and talent,"e; author Matt Haig delivers an unlikely story about human nature and the joy found in the messiness of life on Earth. The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable tale that playfully and movingly explores the ultimate subject-ourselves.
Do you: Know a human?; Love a human?; Have trouble dealing with humans? If you've answered yes to any of the above, this book is for you. Whether you are planning a high level of human interaction or just a casual visit to the planet, this user-guide to the human race will help you translate their sayings, understand exotic concepts such as 'democracy' and 'sofas', and make sense of their habits and bizarre customs. A phrase book, a dictionary and a survival guide, this book unravels all the oddness, idiosyncrasies and wonder of the species, allowing everyone to make the most of their time on Earth.
DO YOUA) Know a human?B) Love a human?C) Have trouble dealing with humans?IF YOU'VE ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOUWhether you are planning a high level of human interaction or just a casual visit to the planet, this user-guide to the human race will help you translate their sayings, understand exotic concepts such as 'democracy' and 'sofas', and make sense of their habits and bizarre customs. A phrase book, a dictionary and a survival guide, this book unravels all the oddness, idiosyncrasies and wonder of the species, allowing everyone to make the most of their time on Earth. Author Biographies:Professor Andrew Martin is a former citizen of Vonnadoria who travelled nine million light years to become a Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University. Ever since discovering poetry and peanut butter and something called 'love' he has warmed to this species and decided to call Earth his home. Matt Haig is the author of five novels, including the bestselling The Last Family in England, which has been optioned by Brad Pitt's production company, The Radleys, which was selected for Channel 4's TV Book Club and was voted the winner of the series in 2011 and, his most recent, The Humans, which is a World Book Night 2014 title. His works have been translated into over twenty languages, and he has also written award-winning books for children. He lives in York and London
Audrey's father taught her that to stay human in the modern world, she had to build a moat around herself; a moat of books and music, philosophy and dreams. A moat that makes Audrey different from the echoes: sophisticated, emotionless machines, built to resemble humans and to work for human masters. Daniel is an echo - but he's not like the others. He feels a connection with Audrey; a feeling Daniel knows he was never designed to have, and cannot explain. And when Audrey is placed in terrible danger, he's determined to save her. It is a powerful story about love, loss and the fight for survival, from the bestselling author of The Humans.
From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie. *'A clawed masterpiece' - Guardian* Barney Willow's life couldn't get any worse. He's weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him. And evil headteacher Miss Whipmire seems determined to make Barney's existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year - and there's no sign of him ever coming home. Barney just wants to escape. To find another life. To be a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier - wouldn't they? A darkly funny and adventurous tale from multi-award-winning author Matt Haig.
Barney Willow thinks life couldn't get any worse. He's weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him - Barney has no idea why. And headteacher-from-hell Miss Whipmire seems determined to make every second of Barney's existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year, and there's no sign of him ever coming home. Barney just wants to escape. To find another life...Being a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier - right? Barney's about to discover just how wrong he is. Because he's about to wake up as a cat - and not just any cat. Gavin Needle's cat...This is a fast, exciting story from the winner of the Gold Smarties Award, with illustrations from the brilliantly dark and mischievous Pete Williamson.
Shortlisted for the Galaxy Popular Fiction Book of the Year Award 2011. I am told the vampire craze is on the wane to be replaced by zombie books but the great thing about vampires is they are human and none more so than Matt Haig’s Radleys, an abstaining vampire family with two teenagers who are not having the greatest time at school. The girl gets pestered by an over zealous boy and she bites him … Things change rather dramatically then as she slowly discovers her roots. Mum and Dad have a fair bit of explaining to do and then a ‘wicked’ uncle appears on the scene. This is well thought out, humorous, highly compulsive and a pure delight Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 7 Aug 2011. The Lovereading view... Dripping in blood, this is a story of family secrets so terrible that they shouldn’t be uncovered...Rowan and Clara think they are ordinary teenagers. They live quietly with their ordinary Mum and Dad doing all the things that their friends do. But, the Radley parents are hiding a secret; they are abstaining vampires and, one day, their abstinence will fail. Rowan’s teenage anxieties and sense of being an outsider take on a whole new dimension in this insight story of adolescence with a difference.This is the Young Adult version of the title. Click here for the original edition.A message from the author:"This is a story about growing up, first and foremost. About how we learn to come to terms with who we are, independent of the ideas our parents had for us. About how we decide our own identities. As well as what shapes those identities - who we choose to love, and hate, admire and fear. It is about how denying ourselves can sometimes be more dangerous than succumbing to tempation. This is the story I wanted to tell. I never set out to write a vampire story, but vampires were the obvious choice. After all, as family secrets go, you can't get much bigger than finding out you are actually a full-blown creature of the night. And hopefully it fits as a metaphor for teenage life. A life full of physical changes, forbidden cravings, and feelings of being an outsider. In that sense, we've probably all been vampires at some stage."
What do Coca-Cola, McDonald's, IBM, Microsoft and Virgin all have in common? Yes, they are all global giants, but what they are less recognized for are the many branded products they have launched which bombed spectacularly - and at great cost. Brand Failures takes a riveting look at how such disasters occur. This new edition of Matt Haig's best-selling book, provides the inside-story of 100 major brand blunders that make for jaw-dropping reading. Brand Failures explores the brands that have set sail with the help of multi-million dollar advertising campaigns only to sink without a trace. From acknowledged brand mistakes made by successful blue-chip companies to some lesser know but hilarious bomb-shells, it reveals what went wrong in every case and provides a valuable checklist of lessons learnt for each. A tour of this fascinating hall of failure will alert you to potential dangers and show you how to ensure a long, healthy life for your brand.
Brand success = business success. A simple equation, but identifying those winning qualities is not easy. To achieve this goal, Brand Success applies a range of criteria including financial success, longevity, technological advancement, new product development, work place revolution and mass communication, to form an effective brand strategy. The result is a comprehensive, entertaining and illuminating book, featuring case studies from global brands such as adidas and Zippo, providing a gallery of some of the world's best-known brands with rare insight into the secret behind their success. With comment from brand managers, psychologists, academics and other experts, Brand Success is a invaluable resource for brand managers, marketers and students alike, to truly understand what makes a brand successful.
Lernen Sie die Radleys kennen, eine total verbissene FamilieAuf den ersten Blick wirken sie wie eine ganz normale Familie: Vater Peter ist Arzt, Mutter Helen kmmert sich um die beiden pubertierenden Kinder Clara und Rowan. Doch warum erstickt Peter fast am thailndischen Salat, warum nimmt jedes Tier vor Clara Reiaus und warum kann Rowan nachts nicht schlafen und hat trotz Lichtschutzfaktor 60 Probleme mit der Haut?Das Geheimnis der Radleys ist so unfassbar wie offensichtlich: Sie sind abstinente Vampire!Vor diesem Augenblick hat sich Helen Radley ein Leben lang gefrchtet: Sie und ihr Mann mssen ihren Kindern endlich sagen, was mit ihnen los ist, nachdem ihre Tochter Clara in Notwehr krftig zugebissen hat - jetzt gibt es eine Leiche und ein dickes Problem. Ihr Mann Peter ruft gegen ihren Willen seinen Bruder, den charismatischen und ganz und gar nicht abstinenten Will zur Hilfe. Whrend die Kinder noch zu verstehen versuchen, was diese Enthllung fr ihr weiteres Leben bedeutet, sich Helen um Schadensbegrenzung bemht und Peter darber nachdenkt, ob nicht doch ein gelegentlicher Tropfen Blut dem Wohlbefinden frderlich ist, bricht Will in die lndliche Idylle ein und stiftet zustzlichen Unfrieden. Zwar kann er zunchst die Polizei von der Unschuld Claras berzeugen, doch dann erwachen neue Lste, die die ganze Familie an den Rand der Katastrophe bringen Matt Haig hat ein Kunststck vollbracht: Er hat einen intelligenten, witzigen und spannenden Vampirroman geschrieben, der selbst diejenigen, die nicht zu den Fans dieses Genres zhlen, von der ersten Seite an in den Bann zieht und durch die Kapitel jagen lsst wie weiland Christopher Lee als Graf Dracula auf einem Pferd durch Transsilvanien.
From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie. Samuel's not allowed to enter Shadow Forest. But what's to stop the forest from coming to him? There's one thing every troll child dreads more than anything - and that's the Betterer, the evil troll in Shadow Forest who loves to punish his fellow trolls for their grubby and stupid habits in lots of horrible ways. When one troll boy escapes the forest to be with his favourite human, Samuel Blink, the Betterer isn't happy. Until he realizes that the most useful thing to have in his Bettering Tower would be a real life human child. So he sets out on a quest into the human world to kidnap Samuel and the troll friend he's been hiding in his wardrobe . . .
A sharp-toothed page-turner for all fans of urban gothic and vampire-lit. Meet the Radleys: Peter, Helen and their teenage kids Clara and Rowan. An everyday family who live in a pretty English village and juggle dysfunctional lives. So far, so normal. Except, as Peter and Helen know (but the kids have yet to find out), the Radleys happen to be a family of abstaining vampires. When one night Clara finds herself driven to commit a bloodthirsty act of violence, her parents need to explain a few things: why is their skin is so sensitive to light, why do they all find garlic so repulsive, and why has Clara's recent decision to go vegan had quite such an effect on her behaviour...? But when mysterious Uncle Will swoops into the village, he unleashes a host of shadowy truths and dark secrets that threaten to destroy the Radleys and the world around them.
From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie. *Winner of the Gold Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal* Samuel Blink is the hero of this story, but he doesn't know it yet. Right now, he and his sister Martha are in the back of his parents' car. He has no idea a giant log is about to fall from the sky and change his life forever. He doesn't know that he and Martha will be forced to move to Norway and eat their Aunt Eda's smelly brown cheese. He hasn't the slightest clue Martha will disappear into the Shadow Forest - a forest full of one-eyed trolls, deadly Truth Pixies, a shadow-stealing witch and the evil Changemaker. Samuel Blink doesn't know any of this. So don't tell him. It might ruin the book . . . An eerie, funny and exciting fairytale from multi-award-winning author Matt Haig. 'Fascinating and magical . . . Outstanding' The Times
Samuel Blink is the hero of this story, but he doesn't know it yet. Right now, he and his sister Martha are in the back of his parents car. He has no idea a giant log is about to fall from the sky and change his life forever. He doesn't know that he and Martha will be forced to move to Norway and eat their Aunt Eda's smelly brown cheese. He hasn't the slightest clue Martha will disappear into Shadow Forest. It is a forest full of one-eyed trolls, the sinister huldre-folk, deadly Truth Pixies and a witch who steals shadows - a forest ruled by the evil Changemaker. It is a forest so dangerous that people who enter never return. No. Samuel Blink doesn't know any of this. So don't tell him. It might ruin the book ...
