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Find out moreDirect from trade sales this is the Official UK Top 10 best-selling books for the week ending 6th December 2019
Celebrate the dawning of a new decade with the fully revised Guinness World Records 2020. To kick off the '20s, we've created an electrifying new cover and curated a record-breaking edition packaged with thousands of new, updated and classic superlatives, hundreds of never-before-seen images, and a selection of eye-opening photo-composites that put a new spin on record-breaking... A new decade means it's time for a fresh approach, so starting with our front cover, we've re-booted record-breaking with an all-new design. There's a new look inside, too, and thanks to our team of digital artists, we've created mind-blowing poster pages that will reveal some of our classic record holders in a whole new light. Our ever-expanding pool of international consultants and experts help us make sense of the world around us, so join us as we explore the vast spectrum of record-breaking in 11 superlative-packed chapters. As always, we're committed to bringing you record-breaking from the cutting edge of science, and this year we've produced a feature chapter on remarkable robots with the help of award-winning tech blogger Evan Ackerman. We've also been out on the road, adjudicating records at events as diverse as the UK National Pet Show, Skill Con in Las Vegas and BubbleFest in Wales. Guinness World Records is nothing without its dedicated record-breakers, so we've also selected the best of the newly approved claims from the 50,000 applications received from the public over the past 12 months. If you want to be one of those lucky few, look out for the Do Try This At Home challenges in the VIRAL SPORTS chapter - you might even make it into next year's edition!
A reminder of the most important things in life. A book of hope for uncertain times. Enter the world of Charlie's four unlikely friends, discover their story and their most poignant life lessons. Charlie's first book includes his most-loved illustrations and new ones too. The conversations of the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse have been shared thousands of times online, recreated in school art classes, hung on hospital walls and turned into tattoos. 'A wonderful work of art and a wonderful window into the human heart' Richard Curtis
A surgical-stocking-filler from the author of record-breaking million copy bestseller This Is Going To Hurt Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat . . . but 1.4 million NHS staff are heading off to work. In this perfect present for anyone who has ever set foot in a hospital, Adam Kay delves back into his diaries for a hilarious, horrifying and sometimes heartbreaking peek behind the blue curtain at Christmastime. Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas is a love letter to all those who spend their festive season on the front line, removing babies and baubles from the various places they get stuck, at the most wonderful time of the year.
'The rock memoir of the decade' Daily Mail In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the smash-hit film Rocketman. The result is Me - the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time. Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade. In Me Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you, by a living legend.
'Coming from Glasgow, it's weird, I don't really tell jokes, like Irish jokes and all that. I tell wee stories. And some of them don't even have punchlines. But you'll get used to it as the night goes on, and on, and on, and on and on...' In December 2018, after fifty years of belly-laughs, energy and outrage, Billy Connolly announced his retirement from live stand-up comedy. It had been an extraordinary career. When he first started out in the late sixties, Billy played the banjo in the folk clubs of Scotland. Between songs, he would improvise a bit, telling anecdotes from the Clyde shipyard where he'd worked. In the process, he made all kinds of discoveries about what audiences found funny, from his own brilliant mimes to the power of speaking irreverently about politics or explicitly about sex. He began to understand the craft of great storytelling. Soon the songs became shorter and the monologues longer, and Billy quickly became recognised as one of the most exciting comedians of his generation. Billy's routines always felt spontaneous. He never wrote scripts, always creating his comedy freshly on stage in the presence of a live audience. A brilliant comic story might be subsequently discarded, adapted or embellished. A quick observation or short anecdote one night, could become a twenty-minute segment by the next night of a tour. Billy always brought a beautiful sense of the absurd to his shows as he riffed on his family, hecklers, swimming in the North Sea or naked bungee jumping. But his comedy can be laced with anger too. He hates pretentiousness and calls out hypocrisy wherever he sees it. His insights about the human condition have shocked many people, while his unique talent and startling appearance on stage gave him license to say anything he damn well pleased about sex, politics or religion. Billy got away with it because he has always had the popular touch. His comedy spans generations and different social tribes in a way that few others have ever managed. Tall Tales and Wee Stories brings together the very best of Billy's storytelling for the first time and includes his most famous routines including, The Last Supper, Jojoba Shampoo, Incontinence Pants and Shouting at Wildebeest. With an introduction and original illustrations by Billy throughout, it is an inspirational, energetic and riotously funny read, and a fitting celebration of our greatest ever comedian.
Jack Reacher is back in a brand new white-knuckle read from Lee Child. It's a random universe, but once in a blue moon things turn out just right. In a nameless city, two rival criminal gangs are competing for control. But they hadn't counted on Jack Reacher arriving on their patch. Reacher is trained to notice things. He's on a Greyhound bus, watching an elderly man sleeping in his seat, with a fat envelope of cash hanging out of his pocket. Another passenger is watching too ... hoping to get rich quick. As the mugger makes his move, Reacher steps in. The old man is grateful, yet he turns down Reacher's offer to help him home. He's vulnerable, scared, and clearly in big, big trouble. What hold could the gangs have on the old guy? Will Reacher be in time to stop bad things happening? The odds are better with Reacher involved. That's for damn sure.
`We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. The idea of the book is simply to try to understand the extraordinary contraption that is us.' Bill Bryson sets off to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up. A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this new book is an instant classic. It will have you marvelling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again. `What I learned is that we are infinitely more complex and wondrous, and often more mysterious, than I had ever suspected. There really is no story more amazing than the story of us.' Bill Bryson
The extraordinary story of the rise and fall and rise again of Tyson Fury... THE GYPSY KING. A Manchester lad from Irish Traveller stock, born three months premature and weighing just a pound at birth, Tyson (named after his father's boxing hero) grew up to become one of the most unlikely heavyweight champions in history. This 'dream come true' soon turned to nightmare, however, as alcohol and cocaine abuse took hold and Tyson was stripped of his titles. What followed was the darkest moment of his life - detailed in this book for the first time - in which he came within seconds of ending everything. THE PEOPLE'S CHAMPION. Like all the greatest stories, though, there is redemption and Tyson defies all the odds and literally drags himself to his feet. 10 million people around the globe watched Fury fight Wilder in the biggest fight of the boxing calendar. Speaking candidly about his struggles with mental health, this is Tyson Fury as you have never seen him before. A BRITISH ICON. Behind the Mask is an unflinching autobiography from the greatest boxer of our time and a man who has demonstrated strength of a very different kind by conquering his demons.
JAMIE OLIVER IS BACK WITH OVER 100 BRILLIANTLY EASY, FLAVOUR-PACKED, AND ACCESSIBLE VEG RECIPES From simple suppers and family favourites, to weekend dishes for sharing with friends, this book is packed full of phenomenal food - pure and simple. Whether it's embracing a meat-free day or two each week, living a vegetarian lifestyle, or just wanting to try some brilliant new flavour combinations, this book ticks all the boxes. Super-tasty, brilliantly simple, but inventive veg dishes include: AMAZING VEGGIE CHILLI, comforting black rice, zingy crunchy salsa and chilli-rippled yoghurt BRILLIANT BHAJI BURGER, coriander yoghurt, mango chutney and crunchy poppadum sprinkle GREENS MAC 'N' CHEESE with leek, broccoli & spinach and a toasted almond topping VEGGIE PAD THAI, crispy fried eggs, special tamarind & tofu sauce and peanut sprinkle SUPER SPINACH PANCAKES with avocado, tomato and cottage cheese SUMMER TAGLIATELLE, basil & almond pesto, broken potatoes and delicate green veg With chapters on Soups & Sarnies, Brunch, Pies Parcels & Bakes, Curries & Stews, Salads, Burgers & Fritters, Pasta, Rice & Noodles, and Traybakes there's something tasty for every occasion. Sharing simple tips and tricks that will excite the taste buds, this book will give you the confidence to up your veg intake and widen your recipe repertoire, safe in the knowledge that it'll taste utterly delicious. It will also leave you feeling full, satisfied and happy - and not missing meat from your plate. 'It's all about celebrating really good, tasty food that just happens to be meat-free' Jamie Oliver
Hello! Mrs Hinch here! Welcome to your very own Hinch activity journal! This little book is all about giving yourself the gift of time out: time to plan, time to dream, time to relax, time for us to have a bit of a giggle and a de-stress. We all live such busy lives and it can be hard to take a moment just to breathe, but I want this book to be all about YOU. Something that we can all enjoy together. So, make yourself a cuppa and curl up with this journal on the sofa in the mornings, or use it to wind down every evening before bed; whenever you get a spare few moments - just don't forget your crystal pen, as there are loads of relaxing, light-hearted activities for you to have fun with. Plus plenty of pages for you to plan your own hinching lists ready for the week ahead. Read from start to finish or dip in on random pages - there are absolutely no rules here! Think of it as a book-shaped slice of you time. You deserve it! Love, Mrs Hinch xx
We know you love our recommendations - but sometimes you also want to see what the general British book Buyer is reading. So, we have created this category to show you the current Top 10 best selling books in the UK. All great books to read as demonstrated by their 'top books' status.
This category of top books will be updated weekly when the previous weeks figures have been published.