No catches, no fine print just unadulterated book loving, with your favourite books saved to your own digital bookshelf.
New members get entered into our monthly draw to win £100 to spend in your local bookshop Plus lots lots more…
Find out moreLooking to change your life? Whether it’s physical, emotional or spiritual change you seek, these books may have some answers. If you’re seeking to enlighten, enlarge or explore your mind, check out our Mind & Body section for a more comprehensive range of books.
A distillation of prescriptions given – and taken – on William Sieghart’s online Poetry Pharmacy. No harm to be got from these prescriptions, instead there is comfort, love, advice and experience aplenty. I was immediately taken by the poems of Hafiz, a C14 Persian poet, short sublime poems, had to google to find more so a poets index would have been useful. As anthologies such as this are useful springboards, short author biographies would too have been welcomed. Overall though, a calming collection of words for troubled souls and lovely to have a cloth bound book to treasure. ~ Sue Baker Like for Like Reading: Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times by Neil Astley The Novel Cure: An A to Z of Literary Remedies by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin
I think all of us at some time in our lives when we reach a certain age worry a little about cancer. I think the thought, “how will I react” crosses our minds occasionally. That this brave lady chooses to make her ordeal so public, she produced video diaries and tweets and now her written diary, has helped thousands. At the end of the book she encloses some messages of thanks, a few from those who didn’t make it. It is tear-jerking but it is also laced with humour. Throughout, whenever possible, she kept working, collecting the kids from school and running her hectic household with the enormous support of her wonderful partner. During the end stages of thirty sessions of chemo, she had to drive forty-odd miles round trip between work and school collection for a ten minute appointment her local hospital couldn’t do. Well she was certainly a fighter, although that is not what she calls herself. She believed talking about it really helped alleviate the fear and despair. She was diagnosed shortly after she started hosting a daily news and current affairs show for BBC2 and takes us through her fascinating work as well as the 301 days of treatment. A brave lady. ~ Sarah Broadhurst
From Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson a memoir that also shares some of the beliefs and teachings of his grandfather. Arun Gandhi believes that what his grandfather had to say about co-existence and tolerance is needed now more than ever. A deceptively simple book that has a powerful message about the level of inequality and unrest in the world today. ~ Sue Baker Like for Like Reading An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth by M K Ghandi The Life of Mahatma Gandhi by Louis Fischer
An extension of James Duigan’s clean and lean philosophy, a book that brings together diet, exercise and mindfulness to help readers create change in their lives. It aims to get everyone conscious of what they eat and how they move and find ways to become fitter and with a higher level of health, both mental and physical. ~ Sue Baker Like for Like Reading The Louise Parker Method: Lean for Life by Louise Parker Lean in 15 – The Shift Plan: 15-Minute Meals and Workouts to Keep you Lean and Healthy by Joe Wicks
Surprising, provocative and thoroughly entertaining, this is a book filled with 628 thunks. A thunk is quite simply a question that not only makes you think, it has the potential to alter your thoughts. You can read the thunks on your own and have a good old ponder, or read them in company to stimulate conversation, you can simply answer yes or no, or spend a considerable while debating your thoughts. Author Ian Gilbert is described as one of the UK’s leading educational innovators, and the thunks certainly suggest a unique mind. Stimulating and clever, The Compleat Thunks Book is a different, imaginative way to spark thought and conversation.
Never before have women been in such a hurry to do so many things and be there for so many people. The pace of modern life has drastically increased - but even though our minds can go faster and technology allows us to get more done, our bodies still have cavewoman-like biology - which means they cannot respond healthily to the new and constant pressures we experience. In this book, nutritional biochemist Dr Libby Weaver explains how a stressful, fast-paced lifestyle can have dangerous effects on all areas of a woman's health, including: - Nervous system - how an imbalanced nervous system may be causing you to gain weight and disrupting your sleep - Adrenal glands - why adrenal fatigue may be making you feel tired but wired - Reproductive system - how your daily stresses may be affecting your menstrual cycle or fertility - Digestive system - why stress could be at the heart of your bloating, cravings or unpredictable appetite - Emotions - how your emotional landscape holds the key to leading a fulfilling life without the need to rush.
This authoritative new title from health and wellness expert Renee Elliott is a modern encyclopedia of 99 brilliant ingredients that will help you use them in the best possible and easiest way. Carefully curated by Renee in close collaboration with the buyers of pioneering organic supermarket Planet Organic, it's a mix of great ordinary ingredients that you may be taking for granted - like apples, nuts and beans - and ingredients you may have heard of but haven't yet included in your diet. Eating well as Renee says is 'unavoidably important' for she believes 'many of the illnesses that plague us today, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease are the result of poor eating habits'. The look and feel of this important book will appeal to both millennials and longstanding foodies and for all those looking for an invaluable guide for eating well and living better. Like for Like ReadingThe Cook’s Book of Ingredients The Flavour Thesaurus, Niki Segnit A 'Piece of Passion' from the Publisher... 'The first time I met Renee Elliott I was watching her at panel discussion on start-up businesses in the wellbeing industry. Renee is a wonderful public speaker, and as the pioneer of Planet Organic, she is also an inspiring and hugely experienced entrepreneur. I knew immediately that she was someone I wanted to work with and I was delighted when she agreed to write this book for us. We at Pavilion have learnt a tremendous amount while working on this book and are incredibly proud of What to Eat and How to Eat It. Renee’s take on health and the wellness industry is unique, and her knowledge is second to none. An encyclopaedia of 99 super foods, Renee explains each of their benefits and the best way to prepare and cook with them in delicious recipes. Renée is an established, informative and authentic voice and I am absolutely thrilled to publish What to Eat and How to Eat It.' ~ Katie Cowan, Publisher, Pavilion Books July 2017 Lifestyle and Health Book of the Month.
Scientific research into sleep has dramatically increased during the past decade, with greater understanding of the hormonal and brain activity during sleep which has a key influence on your health and wellbeing. This expert, accessible book presents a combination of sleep hygiene, evidence-based techniques, psychological skills, and mindfulness practices to help improve your sleep. It examines common myths and stereotypes which may damage your chances of sleeping well, and gives tips for dealing with your sleep problems effectively.
This is a book which any adult who deals with children, and not just teachers and others who work in school settings, would find enlightening, thought provoking and revealing. As we learn from the little snippets from the school reports of Paul Dix at the end of each chapter, the author has direct experience of being one of the ‘bad boys’ and now has more than 25 years of working to transform the most challenging behaviour in schools, referral units and colleges to call upon. As a 14-year-old he vowed he would change the way adults deal with behaviour and I defy any reader not to rethink their own strategies as a result of reading this book. Responsible adults should be just that – always in control of themselves before they attempt to take control of others. But this book is nothing to do with blaming teachers. Paul Dix is angry but he is angry with the lack of proper training in behaviour management and angry with the unrelenting drive for ‘progress’, pleasing Ofsted and analysing data which is destroying any ethos of pastoral care. Here chapter by chapter he asks hard hitting questions about school policies and behaviours and shows how these impact on students and often in a very counter- productive way. He writes with humour and the occasional frank expletive, he shares personal anecdotes, observations and tried and tested strategies backed up by theory, case studies and international examples. Each chapter concludes with three helpful checklists: Testing, Watch Out For and Nuggets which sum up, encourage and act as a quick aide memoire going forward. Ultimately the author’s message is about consistency and kindness. “ Visible consistency with visible kindness allows exceptional behaviour to flourish” This is a genuine must read that can genuinely transform schools and as his many examples show where improved behaviour leads, improved attainment follows. ~ Joy Court You can also access When the Adults Change, Everything Changes on Audible as an audio book here.
Joe has helped hundreds of thousands of people to transform their bodies and feel amazing with his effective workouts and simple recipes. Cooking for Family and Friends is a beautifully photographed collection of Joe's easy favourites and crowd-pleasers, such as Roast Chicken with Celeriac Mash and Bacon Greens, BBQ Ribs with Dirty Corn, and Tandoori Chicken Thighs with Chapattis. All the recipes are big on flavour and packed with the hero ingredients you need to impress your mates, fuel your workout and burn fat.
Do you understand who you really are? Or how others really see you? We all know people with a stunning lack of self-awareness - but how often do we consider whether we might have the same problem? Research shows that self-awareness is the meta-skill of the 21st century - the foundation for high performance, smart choices, and lasting relationships. Unfortunately, we are remarkably poor judges of ourselves and how we come across, and it's rare to get candid, objective feedback from colleagues, employees, and even friends and family.
Your gut is astonishingly clever. It contains millions of neurons - as many as you would find in the brain of a cat - and is home to the microbiome, an army of microbes that influences your mood, weight and immune system. In this groundbreaking book, Dr Mosley takes us on a revelatory journey through the gut, showing how junk food and overuse of antibiotics have wiped out many good gut bacteria, leading to a modern plague of allergies, food intolerances and obesity. Setting the record straight on everything from prebiotics to probiotics, fermented foods to fasting, Dr Mosley provides scientifically proven ways to control your appetite and boost your mood. The Clever Guts Diet is packed with delicious, healing recipes, menu plans, checklists and tips - all the tools you need to transform your gut and change the way you eat for ever.
We all need a little direction sometimes and this section is crammed full of great ideas for ways of improving your outlook, in all aspects of your wellbeing. Help from the shelf. From tips for good nutrition and taking care of your body (Optimism: Reflections on a Life of Action by Bob Brown) to coping with all the emotional situations in life, relationships, bereavements, stress, depression (Mind Whispering: A New Map to Freedom from Self-defeating Emotional Habits by Tara Bennett-Goleman). Discover the potential you have for being the ‘you’ you’ve always wanted to be or the ‘you’ you had no idea was in there.
Take a look at our monthly recommendations to find exactly what you’re looking for. Bear in mind though (and even ‘body and spirit’ too …), that just ‘reading’ them may not be enough. There’ll be homework!