Products
She’s Come Undone, Wally Lamb ( paperback)
£9.99
Meet Dolores Price. She's thirteen, wise-mouthed but wounded. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the chocolate, crisps and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies.When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly up. In his extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch an incredible ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years.
At once a fragile girl and a hard-edged cynic, so tough to love yet so inimitably loveable, Dolores is as poignantly real as our own imperfections.
Shoe Dog, Phil Knight (PAPERBACK, 2018)
£10.99
'A refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like ... It's an amazing tale' Bill Gates'
The best book I read last year was Shoe Dog, by Nike's Phil Knight. Phil is a very wise, intelligent and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller' Warren Buffett
In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan.
Selling the shoes from the boot of his Plymouth, Knight grossed $8000 in his first year. Today, Nike's annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of start-ups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all start-ups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognisable symbols in the world today.
But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, he tells his story. Candid, humble, wry and gutsy, he begins with his crossroads moment when at 24 he decided to start his own business.
He details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream - along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls how his first band of partners and employees soon became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.
A memoir rich with insight, humour and hard-won wisdom, this book is also studded with lessons - about building something from scratch, overcoming adversity, and ultimately leaving your mark on the world.
Show Don’t Tell, Curtis Sittenfeld ( hardback Feb 2025)
£16.99
Razor-sharp, glittering tales exploring marriage, fame and female friendship, from the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of Romantic Comedy and American Wife. In this compulsive collection of twelve witty stories, Sittenfeld shows why she’s as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels, as she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends. In ‘The Patron Saints of Middle Age,’ a woman visits two friends she hasn’t seen since her divorce.
In ‘A for Alone,’ a married artist embarks on a project intended to disprove the so-called Mike Pence Rule, which suggests that women and men can’t spend time alone together without lusting after each other. And in ‘Lost but Not Forgotten,’ Sittenfeld gives readers of her novel Prep a new window into the world of her beloved character Lee Fiora, decades later, when Lee attends an awkward school reunion. Witty, confronting and full of tenderness, Sittenfeld peels back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice.
Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart (paperback from April , 2021)
£9.99
Winner of the Booker Prize 2020. Paperback cover as hardback.
'Douglas Stuart has written a first novel of rare and lasting beauty.' - Observer
It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life.
She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves.
It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different. Fastidious and fussy, he shares his mother's sense of snobbish propriety.
The miners' children pick on him and adults condemn him as no' right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place. Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride.
A counterpart to the privileged Thatcher-era London of Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty, it also recalls the work of Edouard Louis, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, a blistering debut by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell. 'We were bowled over by this first novel, which creates an amazingly intimate, compassionate, gripping portrait of addiction, courage and love.' - The judges of the Booker Prize
Shy, Max Porter ( paperback March 2024)
£9.99
This is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a teenage boy. He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him. He is feeling a little sorry for himself.
Shy is a novel about imagination, guilt and boyhood. It is about being lost in the dark, and realising you are not alone. 'Contemporary fiction's bard of ugly beauty and exultant despair.' New Yorker'
'The strangest, most beguiling and affecting of all his books.' Ian Rankin'A miracle of language.' Irish Times
Simon Sock, Sue Hendra ( paperback 2018)
£6.99
A wonderful new character from the bestselling creators of Barry the Fish with Fingers and the illustrator of Goodnight Digger. Simon is an odd, stripey sock. He lives in the drawers with all the other socks.Every day two socks get picked to go on an adventure. The sparklies go to parties. The woolies go the park.
The smarts go to school. Everyone has a pair... except Simon.
Will he ever find his perfect match? A hilarious story celebrating friendship and difference from an exciting new picture book partnership. Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet's hilarious books have sold over 1 million copies!
Sing Unburied Sing, Jesmyn Ward ( paperback 2018)
£10.99
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2017
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2017 ( and mine!)
Blazing with power, grief and tenderness' Financial Times
An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, Sing, Unburied, Sing examines the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power - and limitations - of family bonds. Jojo is thirteen years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. His mother, Leonie, is in constant conflict with herself and those around her.
She is black and her children's father is white. Embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances, she wants to be a better mother, but can't put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use. When the children's father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and a friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary.
At Parchman, there is another boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all of the ugly history of the South with him in his wandering. He too has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons, about legacies, about violence, about love. Rich with Ward's distinctive, lyrical language, Sing, Unburied, Sing brings the archetypal road novel into rural twenty-first century America.
Skander And The Phantom Rider, AF Steadman ( paperback 1 Feb 2024)
£7.99
Don't miss this second book in the international bestselling SKANDAR series, an unmissable adventure for readers age 9 to 99 and fans of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Eragon. The Island shall have its revenge .
. . Skandar Smith has achieved his dream to train as a unicorn rider.
But as Skandar and his friends enter their second year at the Eyrie, a new threat arises. Immortal wild unicorns are somehow being killed, a prophecy warns of terrible danger, and elemental destruction begins to ravage the Island. Meanwhile, Skandar's sister, Kenna, longs to join him - and Skandar is determined to help her, no matter what.
As the storm gathers, can Skandar discover how to stop the Island tearing itself apart - before it's too late for them all? Get ready for more action, unforgettable characters, and mesmerizing world building.
Pacy, enthralling and epic, a gripping read.' - Louie Stowell, author of Loki and Otherland 'A dazzling feat of imagination. I loved every breathless moment of it!' - Cat Doyle, author of The Storm Keeper's Island and co-author of Twin Crowns'The best book I've ever read.' - Patrick, age 10'My book of the year.
Skellig, by David Almond
£7.99
Skellig won The Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award when it was first published almost 20 years ago.
It’s powerful and moving, one of those books that you can’t put down.
Everyone should read it, not just teenagers.
Skittles, Neil Speers ( paperback June 2022)
£9.99
An eclectic set of short stories, written in verse, and often using the North Antrim vernacular.
Beautifully illustrated on front cover with Neil's own art.
Slow Seasons : A Creative Guide to Reconnecting with Nature the Celtic Way by Rosie Steer
£16.99
In her late-twenties, feeling utterly overwhelmed by the pace of modern city life, Rosie Steer found solace in the traditions she had been brought up with, influenced by her Scottish roots, that celebrated nature and observed the small steady shifts in the seasons. The Celtic Wheel of the year is an ancient seasonal cycle that aligns with solar events - the solstices, equinoxes and their midpoints.For each mini-season, Rosie shares nature notes for what we can look out for as the days get warmer or cooler, the nights longer or shorter, alongside activities, things to make, flowers or fruit to forage, seasonal recipes to enjoy and a modern take on the traditional celebrations. As the Wheel turns towards Imbolc on 1st February, we can make hand poured candles to welcome the return of the light, embrace the chill of a wintery walk with a flask of hot chocolate, and fill our homes with the scent of citrus making batches of marmalade. By slowing down and paying attention to the ebbs and flows of nature, we can find moments of calm whenever we need them.
Slug, Hollie McNish (paperback May 2022)
£12.99
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'An intoxicating mixture of poetry and prose, Slug is a taboo-busting delight' SCOTSMAN
From Finnish saunas and soppy otters to grief, grandparents and Kellogg's anti-masturbation pants, Slug is a book which holds a mirror lovingly up to the world, past and present, through Hollie's driving, funny, hopeful poetry and prose. Slug is about the human condition: of birth and death and how we manage the possibilities in between. 'The inimitable words of poet/goddess Hollie McNish once again hold up honest, damn funny and refreshing takes on the everydayness of our lives .
This book is an uplifting and outrageous delight. A great introduction to the joys of poetry too.
( Now in paperback - visual is of hardback )
Small Pleasures Clare Chambers ( paperback)
£8.99
Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' Guardian'
An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' The Sunday Times 1957, the suburbs of South East London.
Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape. When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness.
Small Pleasures, Clare Chambers ( paperback, 29 April 2021)
£8.99
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021
'An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' The Sunday Times
1957, the suburbs of South East London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape. When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness. But there will, inevitably, be a price to pay.
Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan ( Paperback Dec 2022)
£9.99
It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.
The perfect novella, cannot recommend this highly enough! Linda
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize - WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE AND THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR
Smokes and Birds, James Simpson
£11.99
An atmospheric beautifully crafted collection that showcases Jim’s acute powers of observation, keen ear for dialogue and dry wit. A colourful and lively cast of characters who populate pre and post partition Ulster.
Snowflake, Louise Nealon ( Paperback April 2022)
£9.99
Tender, laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply moving' Louise O'Neill, author of After the Silence
Eighteen-year-old Debbie White lives on a dairy farm with her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. Billy sleeps out in a caravan in the garden with a bottle of whiskey and the stars overhead for company. Maeve spends her days recording her dreams, which she believes to be prophecies.
This world is Debbie's normal, but she is about to step into life as a student at Trinity College in Dublin. As she navigates between sophisticated new friends and the family bubble, things begin to unravel. Maeve's eccentricity tilts into something darker, while Billy's drinking gets worse.
Debbie struggles to cope with the weirdest, most difficult parts of herself, her family and her small life. But the fierce love of the White family is never in doubt, and Debbie discovers that even the oddest of families are places of safety. A startling, honest, laugh and cry novel about growing up and leaving home, only to find that you've taken it with you, Snowflake is a novel for a generation, and for everyone who's taken those first, terrifying steps towards adulthood.
So Thrilled For You - Holly Bourne ( hardback Jan 2025)
£16.99
*THE BOOK FOR EVERY WOMAN YOU KNOW*
An intense heatwave. A high-stakes baby shower. Will it all end in tears?Nicki, Lauren, Charlotte and Steffi have been friends since university.
Now in their thirties, life is pulling them in different directions - but when Charlotte organises the baby shower of hell for pregnant Nicki, the girls are reunited. Under a sweltering hot summer day, tensions rise - and by the end of the day, nothing will ever be the same. Someone started a fire at the house - and everyone's a suspect...
Is it Steffi, happily child-free but feeling judged by her friends? Is it Charlotte, desperate to conceive and jealous of those who have? Is it Lauren, who is finding motherhood far, far harder than she imagined? Or is it Nicki herself, who never wanted a baby shower anyway?In the aftermath, the police put together the facts - but the truth will shock everyone. Even you. BIG LITTLE LIES meets EXPECTATION in the incredible new novel from Holly Bourne - it's the book you'll want to read three times, then give to every woman in your life.
Soldier Sailor, Claire Kilroy ( paperback March 2024)
£9.99
In one of the most acclaimed novels of the year, her first in over a decade, Claire Kilroy takes us deep into the mind of her unforgettable heroine. Exploring the clash of fierce love for a new life with a seismic change in identity, she vividly realises the tumultuous emotions of a new mother. As her marriage strains and she struggles with questions of love, autonomy creativity and the passing of time, an old friend makes a welcome return - but can he really offer a lifeline to the woman she used to be?Readers adore Soldier Sailor:***** 'About as perfect a piece of writing as you'll find.'***** 'Unbearably tense and frequently hilarious.'***** 'An entirely different voltage to anything I've read ...she somehow manages to verbalise *exactly* the feelings and thoughts I, certainly, had at points when I was a young mother'***** 'This story touched me on such a visceral level.
Solo : Can a dog called Solo be part of the pack?, Adam Beer ( picture book, July 2022)
£6.99
A terrific book to encourage sharing and making new friends - not to mention the perfect present for dog lovers! 'Adam's lively hounds are a scratchy, inky delight!' - Sara Ogilvie, illustrator of The Detective Dog
Meet Solo the dog. This is his island - and these are his things and his humans. So when a group of other dogs turn up, Solo doesn't like it - not one bit - and he tells them so quite firmly.
He doesn't want to share his things and he thinks they're running out of control (although it does look quite fun...). Only, once the others have gone, Solo finds that he misses his new friends, and races to get them back. Will Solo come to see that no dog is an island, and that some things are just better with friends? Find out in this irresistible author-illustrator debut from Adam Beer, the illustrator of Mammoth.
Somewhere for Little Bear, Britta Teckentrup ( paperback August 2024)
£7.99
A thoughtful and beautifully illustrated story about opening our homes and our hearts to those in need of a warm welcome. Little Bear lives happily in his cosy cave deep in the woods. He loves picking berries in the day, listening to the birds sing under his favourite tree in the evenings, and curling up comfily on his soft leaves to sleep each night.
But when Bear wakes up one morning to find his beloved forest ablaze, he must make a quick escape, away from his cosy cave, friendly faces and the comforts he knows. He walks and walks in search of somewhere new to call home, but finds he's not welcome in the places that look most familiar to him. Feeling hopeless and alone, Little Bear must journey even further into the unknown.
And only in the most unfamiliar of places, does the kindness of new animal friends lead Little Bear to discover the true meaning of home . . .
Brought to life by award-winning author-illustrator Britta Teckentrup, this is a heartwarming story of connection, friendship and belonging.
Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason (paperback May 2022)
£9.99
Everyone tells Martha Friel she is clever and beautiful, a brilliant writer who has been loved every day of her adult life by one man, her husband Patrick. A gift, her mother once said, not everybody gets.
So why is everything broken? Why is Martha - on the edge of 40 - friendless, practically jobless and so often sad? And why did Patrick decide to leave?
Maybe she is just too sensitive, someone who finds it harder to be alive than most people. Or maybe - as she has long believed - there is something wrong with her. Something that broke when a little bomb went off in her brain, at 17, and left her changed in a way that no doctor or therapist has ever been able to explain.
Forced to return to her childhood home to live with her dysfunctional, bohemian parents (but without the help of her devoted, foul-mouthed sister Ingrid), Martha has one last chance to find out whether a life is ever too broken to fix - or whether, maybe, by starting over, she will get to write a better ending for herself.
Spaghetti Hunters, Morag Hood ( paperback)
£7.99
Spaghetti Hunters is a brilliantly funny and wonderfully silly picture book, featuring a duck, a tiny horse and quest for spaghetti, from the award-winning Morag Hood - creator of The Steves, I Am Bat. Duck has lost his spaghetti, and Tiny Horse has a plan to save the day. But what exactly do you bring to a Spaghetti Hunt? A spade, a fishing rod, a jar of peanut butter, cutlery and some binoculars, obviously.Searching far and wide, Tiny Horse catches worms, a ball of string, even a snake - but no spaghetti. Disaster! Until Duck consults a recipe book and armed with flour, eggs and a pasta maker, sets about making his own spaghetti. This infectiously comic story encourages reading and home-cooking, teaching children about where food really comes from.
Spark, MG Leonard ( paperback Sept 2022)
£7.99
When Jack rescues a wounded cat, he quickly suspects foul play. Could there be a wildlife criminal on the loose in Briddvale? Jack rushes to investigate, determined to catch the culprit, only to stumble into a deepening mystery and a sinister criminal plot.Can Jack and The Twitchers stop the villains before it's too late? Praise for Twitch:"Leonard knows her audience and the jeopardy comes in flocks ... Find your nest, curl up and enjoy." The Times, Children's Book of the Week"A twist-laden, thriller-like tale of a bird-mad boy, some bullies and an escaped convict hiding in the nearby woods." Observer"A twisty crime drama as well as a persuasive story about friendship and nature." The Sunday Times"Simply genius." BBC Wildlife Magazine"[A] pacy mystery adventure featuring a birdwatching detective hot on the heels of a dangerous escaped prisoner." iNewspaper"Leonard has crafted an intelligent mystery from unlikely material, with bonus bird facts." Irish Times
Spider Woman : A Life - by the former President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale
£12.99
She became the most senior judge in the country but it was an unconventional path to the top. How does a self-professed 'girly swot' get ahead in a profession dominated by men? Was it a surprise that the perspectives of women and other disadvantaged groups had been overlooked, or that children's interests were marginalised? A lifelong smasher of glass-ceilings, who took as her motto 'women are equal to everything', her landmark rulings in areas including domestic violence, divorce, mental health and equality were her attempt to correct that. As President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale won global attention in finding the 2019 prorogation of Parliament to be unlawful.
Yet that dramatic moment was merely the pinnacle of a career throughout which she was hailed as a pioneering reformer. Wise, warm and inspiring, Spider Woman shows how the law shapes our world and supports us in crisis. It is the story of how Lady Hale found that she could overcome the odds, which shows that anyone from similar beginnings will find that they can cope too.
Spies in Canaan, David Park ( paperback May 2023)
£8.99
Michael has travelled a long way from his boyhood under the endless skies of the Midwest. His retirement is peaceful, if solitary. But one day there is a visitation: a mysterious car on the seafront, and a package delivered.
From its contents, Michael understands that he has been commissioned to undertake a final journey. As Michael makes his way deep into a distant desert - a strange and liminal landscape that lies between hell and redemption - he undertakes another journey, into long-suppressed memories: of Vietnam and the dying days of war, and to face a final accounting for what was done. Taut, atmospheric and moving, Spies in Canaan is a powerful elegy to the pain of love, the guilt of old age, and the grace of atonement.
'It is seldom that one can say a book is perfect, but this is as close as I've seen in a very long time' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT'
Spirit Level, Richy Craven ( paperback May 2024)
£9.99
Spirit Level is an outrageously bingeable read. It is surprising, warm, inventive and a lot of fun' - Louise Nealon'
'Craven pulled me in with his brilliant humour, only to make me feel genuine emotion. I'll never forgive him for this' - Seán Burke
Danny Hook is a directionless twenty-something year old fresh out of therapy. Dealing with his disappointed family and dead-end career, he's sure things couldn't get much worse, until a drink-driving accident leaves his best friend Nudge dead. Danny also discovers he can see ghosts - but only when he's drunk. Saddled with a best friend who can't leave his side, they must figure out what's going on and why Nudge can't cross over. Can Danny negotiate family life, therapy and a ghost that refuses to fade into the background before time runs out?'Spirit Level is a charming, zippy and hilarious read.
Splash, by Charli Howard ( paperback)
£7.99
A much-needed book that will strike a chord with so many girls - and help them dare to be different." - Jacqueline Wilson
Molly is in her final year of primary school, with secret dreams of becoming an Olympic swimmer. Having always lived in the shadow of her manipulative friend, Chloe, Molly finally has the chance to compete in a regional swimming contest and define herself on her own terms. But with the pressure of fitting in, and the sudden arrival of her mysterious mum, will she give up on her dreams for a shot at popularity?A hugely exciting debut with a classic underdog story, a wonderfully relatable protagonist, and an important message of friendship, body positivity, and celebrating who you are.
"I loved the voice in this accomplished debut, which touches on important issues of bullying and body dysmorphia." - Fiona Noble, The Bookseller
Spooked : The Theatre Ghosts, Steven Butler ( PB Sept 22)
£7.99
Welcome to Cod's Bottom - the sleepy seaside town with a secret! Meet an unusual cast of ghosts in a laugh-out-loud new middle-grade series by the bestselling author of The Nothing to See Here Hotel. Perfect for fans of The Danger Gang and The Boy Who Grew Dragons. There's nothing out of the ordinary about ten-year-old Ella Griffin.Nothing at all . . .
until she's forced to move to the seaside town of Cod's Bottom and everything changes. In search of adventure, Ella stumbles into an old abandoned theatre, but all is not as it seems. Because the theatre isn't empty, it's haunted by weird and wonderful ghosts, and they need her help to save them! Praise for The Nothing to See Here Hotel: 'This book is so good you won't blunking believe it!' Tom Fletcher, author of The Danger Gang 'Hilariously funny and inventive' Cressida Cowell, author of How to Train Your Dragon'A rip-roaring, swashbuckling, amazerous magical adventure.
Comedy Gold.' Francesca Simon, author of the Horrid Henry series'
Spooked, The Theatre Ghosts, Steven Butler ( paperback Sept 2022)
£7.99
Welcome to Cod's Bottom - the sleepy seaside town with a secret! Meet an unusual cast of ghosts in a laugh-out-loud new series by the bestselling author of The Nothing to See Here Hotel. There's nothing out of the ordinary about ten-year-old Ella Griffin.Nothing at all . . .
until she's forced to move to the seaside town of Cod's Bottom and everything changes. In search of adventure, Ella stumbles into an old abandoned theatre, but all is not as it seems. Because the theatre isn't empty, it's haunted by weird and wonderful ghosts, and they need her help to save them! Praise for The Nothing to See Here Hotel: 'This book is so good you won't blunking believe it!' Tom Fletcher, author of The Danger Gang 'Hilariously funny and inventive' Cressida Cowell, author of How to Train Your Dragon'A rip-roaring, swashbuckling, amazerous magical adventure.
Comedy Gold.' Francesca Simon, author of the Horrid Henry series'This hotel gets five stars from me.' Liz Pichon, author of the Tom Gates series. Perfect for 8 - 10 yr olds
Sprout & Co Saladology : Fresh Ideas for Delicious Salads ( May 2024, hardback)
£22.00
Thrilled to learn that the idea for Sprout and Co. and consequently this inspiring book, was born during a eureka moment when Jack first tasted a freshly picked, super-ripe tomato from the gardens at Ballymaloe Cookery School.' Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School Jack and Theo Kirwan, co-founders of acclaimed Dublin-based restaurants, Sprout, are devoted to showing just how full flavoured a salad can be. Their first cookbook, Saladology, includes more than 100 exciting recipes, ranging from simple side salads, attention-grabbing vegetables, satisfying noodles, pasta, fish and meat dishes.
It's a collection of ideas inspired by their favourite food experiences, reimagining what a salad can be - and always with an emphasis on delicious. Recipes include:- Ratatouille con tomate- Gochujang bowl- Roast chicken winter panzanella- Harissa sweet potato & herb-split yogurt- Olive oil-braised fennel with chorizo & halloumi honey- Scallops with salsa roja & burnt corn.
Starting School, Janet and Allan Ahlberg ( paperback, 2013)
£7.99
Are you starting school? How exciting! Following a number of children's first experiences, this picture book takes children right from their very first day to the end of the school year. This reassuring read will support even the most nervous school-starter, exploring each emotion, from fear to excitement, with care. The perfect read to start a conversation about any pre-school nerves, packed with playful illustrations and easy to understand explanations.This is a book that you'll want to read again and again - far beyond the last day of the school year.
Stay True, Hua Hsu ( paperback Sept 2023)
£10.99
When Hua Hsu first meets Ken in a Berkeley dorm room, he hates him. A frat boy with terrible taste in music, Ken seems exactly like everyone else. For Hua, who makes zines and haunts indie record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to - the mainstream.The only thing Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, and Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the US for generations, have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn't seem to have a place for either of them. But despite his first impressions, Hua and Ken become friends, a friendship built on late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast, and the successes and humiliations of everyday college life. And then violently, senselessly, Ken is gone, killed in a carjacking, not even three years after the day they first meet.
Capturing a coming-of-age cut short, and a portrait of a beautiful friendship, Stay True is a deeply moving and intimate memoir about growing up and moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging. 'A glorious, unforgettable book' - Patrick Radden Keefe
Stay With Me, by Ayobami Adebayo ( paperback, 2018)
£9.99
Previous BPS Book Club choice
An emotional read, a story of one woman in Nigeria and her extended family, where personal tragedy unfolds against the backdrop of turbulent 1980’s Nigeria.
Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. It is all her husband wants, all her mother-in-law wants, and she has tried everything. But when her relatives insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear.
Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of 1980s Nigeria, Stay With Me is a story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the power of grief, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood. It is a tale about the desperate attempts we make to save ourselves, and those we love, from heartbreak.
Very readable, her prose is a pleasure but packs a tremendous punch.
Stick Boy, Paul Coomey ( Jan 2021)
£7.99
It's tough fitting in when you're born to stick out! From the moment Stick Boy and his family move to Little Town, there is way more to worry about than being the new kid. There's a mysterious plot involving Baron Ben's new Mega Mall, pop star Jonny Vidwire and the highly suspicious HomeBots that are infiltrating every home in town. Can Stick Boy and his friends uncover the evil plan behind it all before it's too late?An incredibly exciting and extremely funny new world for middle grade readers and fans of DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, TOM GATES and TIMMY FAILURE.
Still Born, Guadalupe Nettel ( paperback 2022)
£12.99
Still Born, Guadalupe Nettel’s fourth novel, explores one of life’s most consequential decisions – whether or not to have children – with her signature charm and intelligence. Alina and Laura are independent and career-driven women in their mid-thirties, neither of whom have built their future around the prospect of a family. Laura has taken the drastic decision to be sterilized, but as time goes by Alina becomes drawn to the idea of becoming a mother.
When complications arise in Alina’s pregnancy and Laura becomes attached to her neighbour’s son, both women are forced to reckon with the complexity of their emotions. In prose that is as gripping as it is insightful, Still Born explores maternal ambivalence with a surgeon’s touch, carefully dissecting the contradictions that make up the lived experiences of women.
Stitches: A handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair, Anne Lamott ( paperback)
£9.99
A wise and compassionate exploration of how we ‘stitch by stitch ‘ put our lives back in order after loss or personal chaos. From the best selling American novelist and nonfiction writer.
What do we do when life lurches out of balance? How can we reconnect to one another and to what's sustaining, when evil and catastrophe seem inescapable?These questions lie at the heart of Stitches, Anne Lamott's follow-up to her New York Times-bestselling work, Help, Thanks, Wow. In this book, she explores how we find meaning and peace in these loud and frantic times; where we start again after personal and public devastation; how we recapture wholeness after loss; and how we locate our true identities in this frazzled age. We begin, Lamott says, by collecting the ripped sheets of our emotional and spiritual fabric and sewing them back together - one stitch at a time.
It's in these stitches that the quilt of life begins, and embedded in them are strength, warmth, humour and humanity.
