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Find out moreBooky people love giving other booky people beautiful books! Looking for the perfect birthday gift? The right book for Mother’s day, or a stocking filler for Christmas? Look no further as we have a stunning selection for you.
No one loves and quarrels, desires and deceives as boldly or brilliantly as Greek gods and goddesses. In Stephen Fry's vivid retelling we gaze in wonder as wise Athena is born from the cracking open of the great head of Zeus and follow doomed Persephone into the dark and lonely realm of the Underworld. We shiver when Pandora opens her jar of evil torments and watch with joy as the legendary love affair between Eros and Psyche unfolds. Mythos captures these extraordinary myths for our modern age - in all their dazzling and deeply human relevance.
Shaun Bythell owns The Bookshop, Wigtown - Scotland's largest second-hand bookshop. It contains 100,000 books, spread over a mile of shelving, with twisting corridors and roaring fires, and all set in a beautiful, rural town by the edge of the sea. A book-lover's paradise? Well, almost ... In these wry and hilarious diaries, Shaun provides an inside look at the trials and tribulations of life in the book trade, from struggles with eccentric customers to wrangles with his own staff, who include the ski-suit-wearing, bin-foraging Nicky. He takes us with him on buying trips to old estates and auction houses, recommends books (both lost classics and new discoveries), introduces us to the thrill of the unexpected find, and evokes the rhythms and charms of small-town life, always with a sharp and sympathetic eye.
A picture book of the very best kind, the captions explain the gorgeous photographs, and leave you thirsting for more. Abandoned civilisations surround us, give warning, elicit admiration, provoke questions. Kieron Connolly, choosing the most stunning photos, explores civilisations, explains the reasons for abandonment, and has left me wanting to know more. This is a large book, one that would be at home on a coffee table, or waiting on a shelf. It is a book that you can dip into, or immerse yourself in, turning the pages with wonder. Some of the locations are well known, though the image viewpoint may not be. I also found myself exploring the unknown, and have added to the places on my must visit list. ‘Abandoned Civilisations’ is rather lovely, you can either marvel and applaud the beauty, or take a step further and start to explore.
Escape to Italy with Jamie's new cookbook . . . Jamie returns to cooking the food he loves the most, getting right to heart of the Italian kitchen in his ultimate go-to Italian cookbook. He shows you that truly authentic Italian cooking is simple, beautiful and achievable. Jamie's Channel 4 series Jamie Cooks Italy begins in the Aeolian Islands, Monday 13th August, 8:30pm . . . find all of the recipes and more inside. _____________ This wonderful, best-ever collection of recipes, deliver on big flavours and comfort; a celebration of truly great Italian food you'll want to cook for yourself, your friends and your family. From this week's episode . . . * STUFFED BRAISED SQUID. The island of Salina is known for its capers and this wonderfully tasty dish makes the most of them. * GRILLED SQUID SALAD. A taste of the islands on your plate. Plunged into a mind-blowing salsa for a beautiful, super-easy brunch, delicious snack or sophisticated summer supper. * SWEET AND SOUR RABBIT. Chicken works a treat too. This dish uses bold ingredients with simple cooking for big, beautiful flavours. * SALINA CHICKEN. A true celebration of the bountiful flavours of Salina. Sumptuous, melt-in-your-mouth chicken and delicious, buttery aubergines. With a cold glass of white wine, it's pure joy. _____________ Featuring 140 recipes in Jamie's fuss-free and easy-to-follow style, the book has chapters on Antipasti, Salads, Soups, Pasta, Rice & Dumplings, Meat, Fish, Sides, Bread & Pastry, Dessert and all of the Italian basics you'll ever need to know. Jamie fell in love with Italian food 25 years ago. Now he's sharing his ultimate recipes, a mixture of fast and slow cooking, famous classics with a Jamie twist, simple everyday dishes and more indulgent labour-of-love choices for weekends and parties. VIVA L'ITALIA! Don't wait, order Jamie Cooks Italy now, and be the first to try food that will transport you straight to the landscapes of Italy.
Gorgeous, lovingly chosen Middle Eastern recipes which are not only delicious, they also feel accessible to a home cook. Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich own two restaurants and a deli, all within a short distance of each other in London. These are the recipes they cook at home, there’s a wonderful explanatory chat before each recipe which connects to thoughts and feelings, the food love is visible, and it is passed on with an abundance of warmth and generosity. The cover while warm and welcoming only hints at the delicious recipes contained within. The photos contained inside by Patricia Niven are quite glorious, eye-popping colours burst from the page with one or more photo for every dish. I love how the book is divided, you can either chose from selections such as ‘us two, for friends, for a crowd’ or the more traditional examples of ‘salads and sides, bakes, vegetarian, main meals, and more’. When I first opened the book and started reading the recipes, I was surprised out how many I wanted to actually try, normally one or two leap forth, here oodles of them called out to me. The mushroom scrambled eggs is a perfect example of a simple dish made special with just a few extra ingredients such as a cinnamon stick, it is soooo yummy… and although fairly simple, it’s not something I’d ever have considered doing without the recipe. I loved the cooking tips in Honey & Co at Home, all simply explained yet descriptive enough for me to follow easily. I sat staring at the baked goat cheese wrapped in walnut pastry with fig relish, my mouth is still watering, that’s definitely next on my cook list!
The Wainwrights Pocket Log and Tick List is a handsome little book, small enough to pop in your pocket and take up into the Lakeland fells. Conveniently grouped in accordance with the famous Wainwright Pictorial Guides, the pocket log has a dedicated page for each of the 214 Wainwright Fells to record details of your walks and keep a tally of your achievements. With a velvet-like cover and gilded pages it has a quality feel and would be a welcome addition to any walker's Christmas stocking.
This is The Sunday Times Bestseller. Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us. We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens? In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going. Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankind's extraordinary history - from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age - and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world. It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it! (Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel).
His ‘Dark Materials’, is the story of Lyra, a young girl with an exceptional destiny. Brought up in Jordan College, Oxford Lyra uncovers a secret about her mysterious guardian which leads to some dangerous questioning. It also marks the beginning of Lyra’s search for her friend Roger, a search that takes her to the ice kingdoms of the North where armoured bears rule. Lyra’s courage and stubborn determination lead her on this mission of incredible danger in this brilliant and imaginative story. The author’s vivid imagination and vision is so spectacular and moving that it will leave you almost speechless with admiration and the amazingly diverse characters will be universally admired by all those who read about them. It’s completely original and totally spellbinding; a true classic that will stand the test of time much in the way Tolkien’s famous work has done.
From Homer to Shakespeare all aspects of the father and child relationship are captured in this beautiful collection of poems. A perfect gift for all fathers on their special day.
Following the widely acclaimed and bestselling The Summer Book, here is A Winter Book collection of some of Tove Jansson's best loved and most famous stories. Drawn from youth and older age, and spanning most of the twentieth century, this newly translated selection provides a thrilling showcase of the great Finnish writer's prose, scattered with insights and home truths. It has been selected and is introduced by Ali Smith. A Winter Book features 13 stories from Tove Jansson's first book for adults,The Sculptor's Daughter (1968) plus 7 of her most cherished later stories (from 1971 to 1996), translated into English and published here for the first time.
Looking for the perfect birthday gift? The right book for Mother’s day, or a stocking filler for christmas? Look no further as we have the perfect selection for you.