Products
Valentine, Elizabeth Wetmore (paperback 2021)
£9.99
A top ten New York Times bestseller. With the haunting emotional power of American Dirt and the atmospheric suspense of Where the Crawdads Sing: a compulsive debut novel that explores the aftershock of a brutal crime on the women of a small Texas oil town. This is a powerful read and an amazing first novel - Linda
like a grimmer, newer version of To Kill A Mockingbird ... It sounds bleak, and it is, but there is beauty, too; in the landscape, in the spirit of some of the people and most of all in Wetmore's wonderful writing' Wendy Holden
Mary Rose Whitehead isn't looking for trouble - but when it shows up at her front door, she finds she can't turn away. Corinne Shepherd, newly widowed, wants nothing more than to mind her own business, and for everyone else to mind theirs. But when the town she has spent years rebelling against closes ranks she realises she is going to have to take a side.
Debra Ann is motherless and lonely and in need of a friend. But in a place like Odessa, Texas, choosing who to trust can be a dangerous game. Gloria Ramirez, fourteen years old and out of her depth, survives the brutality of one man only to face the indifference and prejudices of many.
When justice is as slippery as oil, and kindness becomes a hazardous act, sometimes courage is all we have to keep us alive.
Value(s) : Climate, Credit, Covid and How We Focus on What Matters, Mark Carney ( paperback October 2021)
£14.99
'A remarkably good read'GILLIAN TETT, Financial Times
We are at a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change - with the ultimate opportunity to reassess what society values and how we can better respond to future crises. This book asks why it is that the things we value most - from the environment to frontline workers to keeping children well fed and educated - are so often neglected by the market.
In Value(s), one of the great global thinkers of our time examines how what we value has become misaligned and how we can rethink and rebuild before it is too late. Drawing on a truly international perspective, this book offers a blueprint for how we can channel the dynamism of the market to transform intractable global problems into opportunities. And in so doing build a better world for all.
Vaster Wilds, Lauren Groff ( paperback Sept 2024)
£9.99
A profound and explosive novel about a spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying to survive. A servant girl escapes from a settlement. She carries nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her. What she finds is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief of everything that her own civilization has taught her.
The Vaster Wilds is a work of raw and prophetic power that tells the story of America in miniature, through one girl at a hinge point in history, to ask how -and if - we can adapt quickly enough to save ourselves.
Pre-Order Paperback from September 2024.
Vesper Flights, Helen Macdonald (paperback, August 2021)
£9.99
Thrilling dispatches from a vanishing world' Observer
Animals don't exist to teach us things, but that is what they have always done, and most of what they teach us is what we think we know about ourselves. From the bestselling author of H is for Hawk comes Vesper Flights, a transcendent collection of essays about the human relationship to the natural world. Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best-loved writing along with new pieces covering a thrilling range of subjects.
There are essays here on headaches, on catching swans, on hunting mushrooms, on twentieth-century spies, on numinous experiences and high-rise buildings; on nests and wild pigs and the tribulations of farming ostriches. Vesper Flights is a book about observation, fascination, time, memory, love and loss and how we make the world around us. Moving and frank, personal and political, it confirms Helen Macdonald as one of this century's greatest nature writers.
Victoria Stitch : Dark and Sparkling, by Harriet Muncaster ( paperback Oct 2023)
£7.99
If you enjoyed Harriet Muncaster Mirabelle and Isadora Moon books, you will LOVE growing up a little more with Victoria Stitch! For readers from 8 +
It had been so long since Victoria Stitch had done anything dangerous . . .
And she would need dangerous and forbidden magic for an adventure like this . . .' Victoria Stitch is finally Queen of Wiskling Wood, along with her sister Celestine.
She is also proud aunt to Princess Minnie Stitch-diamond baby and next in line to the throne. When old enemies resurface and kidnap Minnie, Victoria Stitch is intent on revenge. It's time for her to ride again and remind these Wisklings that Victoria Stitch is undeniable, incredible, and almost certainly unstoppable.
Victorian Psycho, by Virginia Feito ( paperback Feb 2025)
£12.99
Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect Victorian governess. She’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children.
But the longer Winifred spends within the estate’s dreary confines and the more she learns of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family, the more trouble she has sticking to her plan. Whether creeping across the moonlit lawns in her undergarments or gently tormenting the house staff, Winifred struggles at every turn to stifle the horrid compulsions of her past until her chillingly dark imagination breaches the feeble boundary of reality on Christmas morning. Wielding her signature sardonic wit and a penchant for the gorgeously macabre, Virginia Feito returns with a vengeance in Victorian Psycho.
Jane Eyre meets American Psycho. Gloriously outrageous, sensationally unhinged' SUNDAY TIMES ‘Simmering with rage, propulsive and laugh-out-loud funny' CATRIONA WARD
Vietnamese Made Easy : Simple, Modern Recipes for Every Day by Thuy Diem Pham
£22.00
A vibrant collection of over 70 fresh, flavoursome, fuss-free recipes. Vietnamese food is all about balance and contrast, but it doesn't need to be complicated.With accessible ingredients, handy shortcuts and simple, practical instructions, Thuy Diem Pham reveals how you can easily prepare delicious Vietnamese-inspired dishes at home. From broths and bun bowls to salads and stir-fries,Vietnamese Made Easy showcases how to throw together everything from a smashed cucumber salad to sizzling seafood pancakes and summer rolls; how to make noodle soups in a fraction of the time, as well as how to make the most of your BBQ with charred lemongrass pork skewers and more - the possibilities are endless. Modern and versatile, these everyday recipes are the ultimate celebration of the flavours of Vietnam.
Villains Academy : How to Steal a Dragon ! Ryan Hammond, Paperback Oct 2023
£6.99
Being BAD has never felt so GOOD! The second book in the villainously funny, highly illustrated young middle-grade series from author-illustrator Ryan Hammond. For fans of Amelia Fang, Dog Man and Grimwood.
It's the start of the winter term and there's a new teacher in town at Villains Academy - the notorious dragon-rider Felix Frostbite.
Class Z are in awe of him and his lessons on venomous beasts and mythical creatures, but werewolf Bram is suspicious. Soon Bram and his friends the Cereal Killers uncover Felix Frostbite's evil plan to steal all the dragons from the Wicked Woods and leave Villains Academy undefended. Have the gang learnt enough to outsmart their troublesome teacher, or will Felix Frostbite's heist go down in villain history?PRAISE FOR VILLAINS ACADEMY: 'Frightfully fun - Villains Academy had me cackling from the very first page!' Katie Tsang, co-author of the Dragon Realm series 'I loved the spookily funny Villains Academy.
It's a work of (evil) genius!' Jenny McLachlan, author of The Land of Roar
Vinegar Hill, poetry by Colm Toibin ( paperback March 2022)
£12.99
From the highly acclaimed author of Brooklyn, Colm Toibin's first collection of poetry explores sexuality, religion and belonging through a modern lens. Fans of Colm Toibin's novels, including The Magician, The Master and Nora Webster, will relish the opportunity to re-encounter Toibin in verse.Vinegar Hill explores the liminal space between private experiences and public events as Toibin examines a wide range of subjects - politics, queer love, reflections on literary and artistic greats, living through COVID, memory and a fading past, and facing mortality. The poems reflect a life well-travelled and well-lived; from growing up in the town of Enniscorthy, wandering the streets of Dublin and Barcelona, and crossing the bridges of Venice to visiting the White House, readers will travel through familiar locations and new destinations through Toibin's unique lens. Within this rich collection of poems written over the course of several decades, shot through with keen observation, emotion and humour, Toibin offers us lines and verses to provoke, ponder and cherish.
Vintage Collector's Classics ( new hardback editions with decorative edges, March 2025)
£18.99
A beautiful deluxe gift edition of some classic novels with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper and finished with a silk ribbon.
Jane Eyre ( featured) : As an orphan, Jane's childhood is full of trouble, but her stubborn independence and sense of self help her to steer through the miseries inflicted by cruel relatives and a brutal school. A position as governess at the Thornfield Hall promises a kind of freedom. But Thornfield is a house full of secrets, its master a passionate, tormented man, and before long Jane faces her greatest struggle in a choice between love and self-respect.
This hardback is part of VINTAGE COLLECTOR’S CLASSICS, a series of luxurious books especially crafted for collectors and fans of beautiful special editions. Sumptuous design meets the highest quality production.
Other titles available : Pciture of Dorian Gray, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Little Women ( featured)Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, Dracula .. .happy to email visuals of these on request.
Violet (Love) and Grey (Elegies). Carol Ann Duffy ( hardback Feb 2023)
£10.99
On Elegies:
One of the English language's best-loved living poets arrays before us here, in chronological order, her favourites among her poems on death, drawing on work written over four decades, and adds to her selection one wholly new poem. It makes for a sequence that is warm, vibrant, alive.
On Love :
And her favourites among her poems on the theme of love, drawing on work written over four decades, and she adds to her selection one new poem. It makes for a sequence that is sensual, stimulating, irresistible.
Wandering Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way, Paul Clements ( paperback)
£13.99
Following the spirit of the world's longest coastal driving route, Paul Clements sets out to discover the real west of Ireland. Along the way he encounters memorable characters living on the Atlantic edge and presents a unique portrait of their lives. We meet the last man standing on a remote Galway island, listen to the banter at Puck Fair, and hear from a descendant of the original sixteenth-century wild Atlantic woman. Tagging along on his meandering journey is the swashbuckling presence of the Celtic sea god, Manannan Mac Lir. For his first travel book in 1991, Paul hitchhiked the same route. Now retracing his steps along the Wild Atlantic Way - this time by car and bike, on horseback and on foot - he looks at how Ireland has changed and realises everyone still has a story to tell. Laced with wry humour and endless curiosity, this is a distinctive mix of travel writing, social history and nature.
Want, collected by Gillian Anderson ( paperback July 2025)
£10.99
Want : Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous
What do you want when no one is watching?What do you want, when the lights are off?What do you want, when you are anonymous?When we talk about sex, we talk about womanhood and motherhood, infidelity and exploitation, consent and respect, fairness and egalitarianism, love and hate, pleasure and pain.
And yet so many of us don’t talk about it at all. In this groundbreaking book, Gillian Anderson collects and introduces the anonymous sexual fantasies of women from around the world (along with her own anonymous submission). They are all extraordinary: full of desire, fear, intimacy, shame, satisfaction and, ultimately, liberation.
From dreaming about someone off-limits to conjuring a scene with multiple partners, from sex that is gentle and tender to passionate and playful, from women who have never had sex to women who have had more sex than they can remember, these fantasies provide a window into the most secret part of our minds. Want reveals how women feel about sex when they have the freedom to be totally themselves.
War of the Wind, Victoria Williamson (paperback)
£8.99
An action-packed eco-thriller for 11+ readers from award-winning children's author, Victoria Williamson.On a remote Scottish island, fourteen-year-old Max’s life changes forever when he loses his hearing in a boating accident. Struggling to make sense of his new life and finding it hard to adapt in school, he begins to notice other - even stranger - changes taking place when a new wind farm appears off the island’s coast.
With the help of three school friends with additional support needs, Max discovers that a sinister scientist, Doctor Ashwood, is using wind turbines to experiment on the islanders. They must find a way to shut down the government’s secret test before it spins out of control…
Warlight, Michael Ondaatje ( paperback April 2019)
£9.99
'Our book of the year - and maybe of Ondaatje's career' Daily Telegraph Books of the Year**
LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018
It is 1945, and London is still reeling from the Blitz. 14-year-old Nathaniel and his sister, Rachel, are apparently abandoned by their parents, left in the care of an enigmatic figure named The Moth. They suspect he might be a criminal, and grow both more convinced and less concerned as they get to know his eccentric crew of friends: men and women all who seem determined to protect Rachel and Nathaniel.
But are they really what and who they claim to be? A dozen years later, Nathaniel journeys through recollection, reality and imagination to uncover all he didn't know or understand in that time, to piece together a story that feels something like the truth.
Watch Us Dance, Leila Slimani ( paperback June 2024 )
£9.99
The seductive, vibrant new novel from international bestselling author Leila Slimani. Morocco, 1968. As she stands at the window, Mathilde reflects on the opportunities before her, and all she has achieved.Looking out at her elegant - not to say expensive - garden, the roses, brought in from Marrakech, have bloomed and their sweet, fresh scent pervades the air. Anything feels possible, and she is determined to celebrate it. Don't they have the right to enjoy life, after dedicating their best years to the war and then to this farm?Mathilde is blissfully unaware of what a new chapter of Moroccan history means for her family, the country and its future.
Her babies are now grown up, and they are all about to learn that life can take wild and unexpected turns.
Water, John Boyne ( Hardback Nov 23)
£12.99
'Boyne tells us a story we thought we knew, but strips away the ideology to present a new way of seeing. A book that opens your eyes is a rare one indeed' Claire Kilroy
From internationally bestselling author John Boyne comes a masterfully reflective story about one woman coming to terms with the demons of her past and finding a new path forward.
The first thing Vanessa Carvin does when she arrives on the island is change her name. To the locals, she is Willow Hale, a solitary outsider escaping Dublin to live a hermetic existence in a small cottage, not a notorious woman on the run from her past. But scandals follow like hunting dogs.
And she has some questions of her own to answer. If her ex-husband is really the monster everyone says he is, then how complicit was she in his crimes? Escaping her old life might seem like a good idea but the choices she has made throughout her marriage have consequences. Here, on the island, Vanessa must reflect on what she did - and did not do.
Only then can she discover whether she is worthy of finding peace at all. _
Wave Riders, Lauren St John ( paperback, June 2021)
£7.99
A storm is coming. What will it take to survive? An exciting adventure set at sea, from the bestselling author of the Laura Marlin Mysteries and Kat Wolfe Investigates. Twins Jess and Jude Carter live a dream life sailing from one exotic destination to the next with their guardian, Gabriel.But after Gabe vanishes and a storm smashes up their lives, they're left penniless and alone. When a wealthy, glamorous family offer them a home, everybody tells them they're the luckiest children in the world. But the Blakeneys' stately mansion is full of secrets - secrets that seem entangled with the twins' own fate.
As they race to uncover the truth, Jess and Jude must confront their deepest fears. How do you solve a mystery when that mystery is you?Wave Riders from Lauren St John is an exciting and compelling middle-grade tale of sailing, family and identity.
Wavewalker : Breaking Free by Suzanne Heywood (paperback May 2024)
£10.99
Aged just seven, Suzanne Heywood set sail with her parents and brother on a three-year voyage around the world. What followed turned instead into a decade-long way of life, through storms, shipwrecks, reefs and isolation, with little formal schooling. No one else knew where they were most of the time and no state showed any interest in what was happening to the children.
Suzanne fought her parents, longing to return to England and to education and stability. This memoir covers her astonishing upbringing, a survival story of a child deprived of safety, friendships, schooling and occasionally drinking water… At seventeen Suzanne earned an interview at Oxford University and returned to the UK. From the bestselling author of What Does Jeremy Think?, Wavewalker is the incredible true story of how the adventure of a lifetime became one child’s worst nightmare – and how her determination to educate herself enabled her to escape ‘A classic memoir of childhood.
This is a book that every parent should read to consider the consequences of their midlife crises, and every child should read to learn how to deal with impossible mums and dads, as well as boils and barnacles’ Mail on Sunday 5* ‘An electrifying story about an extraordinary childhood, and Heywood tells it with remarkable clarity and assurance .
We All want Impossible Things , Catherine Newman ( PAPERBACK JULY 2023)
£8.99
Who knows your secrets, your fears, your desires, your strange imperfect self? Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years. Since childhood they have seen each other through life's milestones: stealing vodka from their parents, the Madonna phase, REM concerts, unexpected wakes, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, 'Edi's memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine.'So when Edi is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Ash's world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi's care, from chipped ice and watermelon cubes to music therapy; from snack smuggling to impromptu excursions into the frozen winter night.
Because life is about squeezing the joy out of every moment, about building a powerhouse of memories, about learning when to hold on, and when to let go. For fans of Nora Ephron and Sorrow & Bliss, We All Want Impossible Things is a deeply moving, jubilant celebration of life and friendship at its imperfect, radiant, and irreverent best.
We Are All Constellations, Amy Beashel ( paperback October 2022)
£8.99
A heartbreaking but hope-filled tale about the stories we tell ourselves to survive... You are strong. You are brave.You are not alone. Seventeen-year-old Iris is happy. She's fearless, she's strong.
She is everything but a girl who lost her mum. But Iris's dad and step-mum have been keeping a secret. One big enough to unravel her.
Only the magnetic Orla can provide an escape, until things get...complicated. As Iris questions who she is, it becomes clear she can't run away from grief. What happens when someone who has never faced up to the darkness lets it in?
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life (paperback)
£9.99
If you haven't already heard of Samantha Irby. where have you been? In this painfully funny collection, Samantha Irby captures powerful emotional truths while chronicling the rubbish bin she calls her life. From an ill-fated pilgrimage to Nashville to scatter her estranged father's ashes to awkward sexual encounters to the world's first completely honest job application, and more, sometimes you just have to laugh, even when your life is permanently pear-shaped.
We Do Not Part, Han Kang ( hardback Feb 2025)
£18.99
Like a long winter’s dream, this haunting and visionary new novel from 2024 Nobel Prize winner Han Kang takes us on a journey from contemporary South Korea into its painful history‘
Beginning one morning in December, We Do Not Part traces the path of Kyungha as she travels from the city of Seoul into the forests of Jeju Island, to the home of her old friend Inseon. Hospitalized following an accident, Inseon has begged Kyungha to hasten there to feed her beloved pet bird, who will otherwise die. Kyungha takes the first plane to Jeju, but a snowstorm hits the island the moment she arrives, plunging her into a world of white.
Beset by icy wind and snow squalls, she wonders if she will arrive in time to save the bird – or even survive the terrible cold which envelops her with every step. As night falls, she struggles her way to Inseon’s house, unaware as yet of the descent into darkness which awaits her. There, the long-buried story of Inseon’s family surges into light, in dreams and memories passed from mother to daughter, and in a painstakingly assembled archive documenting a terrible massacre on the island seventy years before.
We Do Not Part is a hymn to friendship, a eulogy to the imagination and above all an indictment against forgetting. Translated by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris‘A vital voice and a writer of extraordinary humanity.
We Don’t Know Ourselves- Fintan O’Toole ( paperback March 2023)
£12.99
Finally into paperback, this is a seminal discussion book for anyone interested in the past and future of Ireland.
We Don't Know Ourselves is a very personal vision of recent Irish history from the year of O'Toole's birth, 1958, down to the present. Ireland has changed almost out of recognition during those decades, and Fintan O'Toole's life coincides with that arc of transformation. The book is a brilliant interweaving of memories (though this is emphatically not a memoir) and engrossing social and historical narrative.
This was the era of Eamon de Valera, Jack Lynch, Charles Haughey and John Charles McQuaid, of sectarian civil war in the North and the Pope's triumphant visit in 1979, but also of those who began to speak out against the ruling consensus - feminists, advocates for the rights of children, gay men and women coming out of the shadows. We Don't Know Ourselves is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand modern Ireland.
We Were Young, Niamh Campbell (paperback May 2023)
£9.99
Cormac is a photographer. Approaching forty and still single, he suddenly finds himself 'the leftover man'.Through talent and charm, he has escaped small town life and a haunted family. But now his peers are all getting divorced, dying, or buying trampolines in the suburbs. Cormac is dating former students, staying out all night and receiving boilerplate rejection emails for his work, propped up by a constellation of the women and ex-lovers in his life.
In the last weeks of the year, Cormac meets Caroline, an ambitious young dancer, and embarks on a miniature odyssey of intimacy. Simultaneously, he must take responsibility for his married brother, whose mid-life crisis forces them both to reckon with a death in the family that hangs over those left behind. Set in Dublin, a city built on burial pits, We Were Young is a dazzlingly clever, deeply enjoyable novel from a Sunday Times Short Story Award-Winning author.
Weather, Jenny Offil ( paperback Jan 2021)
£9.99
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
An obligatory note of hope, in a world going to hell. Lizzie Benson, a part-time librarian, is already overwhelmed with the crises of daily life when an old mentor offers her a job answering mail from the listeners of her apocalyptic podcast, Hell and High Water. Soon questions begin pouring in from left-wingers worried about climate change and right-wingers worried about the decline of Western civilization. Entering this polarized world, Lizzie is forced to consider who she is and what she can do to help: as a mother, as a wife, as a sister, and as a citizen of this doomed planet.
* Linda's note : the blurb for this book is not very encouraging! But it's actually full of hope, humour and just the absurdity of the everyday. I enjoyed it!
Weather, Jenny Offill ( paperback 2021)
£9.99
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020 'This is so good. We are not ready nor worthy' Ocean Vuong 'What are you afraid of, he asks me and the answer of course is dentistry, humiliation, scarcity, then he says what are your most useful skills? People think I'm funny' Lizzie Benson slid into her job as a librarian without a traditional degree. But this gives her a vantage point from which to practise her other calling: as an unofficial shrink.
For years, she has supported her God-haunted mother and her recovering addict brother. They have both stabilized for the moment, but then her old mentor, Sylvia Liller, makes a proposal. Sylvia has become famous for her prescient podcast, Hell and High Water, and wants to hire Lizzie to answer the mail she receives: from left-wingers worried about climate change and right wingers worried about the decline of western civilization.
As she dives into this polarized world, she begins to wonder what it means to keep tending your own garden once you've seen the flames beyond its walls. When her brother becomes a father and Sylvia a recluse, Lizzie is forced to acknowledge the limits of what she can do. But if she can't save others, then what, or who, might save her? And all the while the voices of the city keep floating in--funny, disturbing, and increasingly mad.
Paperback from January 2021. A remarkably enjoyable novel.
Weathering : Earth wisdom for hopeful living, by Ruth Allen (paperback March 2025)
£10.99
Rocks and mountains have withstood aeons of life on our planet - gradually eroding, shifting, solidifying, and weathering. We might spend a little less time on earth, but humans are also weathering: evolving and changing as we're transformed by the shifting climates of our lives and experiences. So, what might these ancient natural forms have to teach us about resilience and change?In a stunning exploration of our own connection to these enduring forms, outdoor psychotherapist and geologist Ruth Allen takes us on a journey through deep time and ancient landscapes, showing how geology - which has formed the bedrock of her own adult life and approach to therapy - can offer us a new way of thinking about our own grief, change and boundaries.
In a world shaken by physical, political, and medical disasters, Weathering argues for a deeper understanding of the ground beneath our feet to better serve ourselves and the world we live in.
Wedding Readings & Poems ( hardback, April 2021)
£10.99
Offering indispensable inspiration for wedding readings, this gorgeous compilation of writing on love and marriage is also the perfect gift for couples and wedding guests alike. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.
This edition is edited by Becky Brown. This beautiful anthology is filled with readings to light up every kind of wedding ceremony. There are poems about falling in love, joyful prose celebrating marriage and wise words about commitment from some of our greatest writers and poets such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, E.E. Cummings and Katherine Mansfield. It's a book brimming with inspiration that solves the dilemma of choosing what to read at weddings and marriage celebrations.
Also handy enough to be in your pocket as you step up to read!
Weirdo, Sara Pascoe ( paperback May 2024)
£9.99
Deep in Essex and her own thoughts, Sophie had a feeling something was going to happen and then it did. Chris has entered the pub and re-entered her life after Sophie had finally stopped thinking about him and regretting what she'd done. Sophie has a chance at creating a new ending and paying off her emotional debts (if not her financial ones).All she has to do is act exactly like a normal, well-adjusted person and not say any of her inner monologue out loud. If she can suppress her light paranoia, pornographic visualisations and pathological lying maybe she'll even end up getting the guy she wants? Then she could dump her boyfriend Ian and try to enjoy Christmas. What readers are saying:'Acutely and profoundly observed.''Brilliantly relatable and painfully honest.''A book that will make you laugh, think, and feel a little bit better about being yourself.''A funny, insightful and unusual perspective on growing into yourself.
Weirdo, Zadie Smith ( paperback June 2022)
£7.99
Meet Maud: a guinea pig who inexplicably wears a judo suit - and not everyone understands or approves. When Maud is thrown into a new and confusing situation, it takes brave decisions and serendipitous encounters for her to find her place and embrace her individuality. The charming characters of Magenta Fox, whose work is evocative of Raymond Briggs and Janet Ahlberg, perfectly offset Zadie and Nick's warm, wry prose.Weirdo is an endearing story about the quiet power of being different by two veteran writers, and introduces an exciting debut illustrator. Together they have created a picture book that adults and children alike will treasure.
Welcome to Glorious Tuga, Francesca Segal ( paperback April 2025)
£9.99
’‘Full of romance, intrigue and friendships’‘Blue sea; small island; paradise. Sign me up!’‘
Zoologist Charlotte Walker has taken up a year-long fellowship on the tiny, remote island of Tuga de Oro to study the endangered gold coin tortoises in the jungle interior. She is warmly embraced by the tight-knit community of islanders – and their animals – who are keen to adopt Charlotte as Tuga’s first vet.
But Charlotte has a family secret that connects her to the island. She is determined to solve the mystery: she just needs to make sure she stays focused on her research, and absolutely does not fall in love with the first man she meets…’A much-needed escape, I warmly recommend this beauty’ NIGELLA LAWSON
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, Hwang Bo-reum (paperback July 2024)
£9.99
There was only one thing on her mind. 'I must start a bookshop.' Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart.Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop. In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge.
From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju - they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live. A heart-warming story about finding comfort and acceptance in your life - and the healing power of books.
'An incredibly exciting debut novel. At once gentle and invigorating. I devoured it' Sarah Crossan
Welcome To The World, Julia Donaldon & Helen Oxenbury ( paperback April 2023 )
£7.99
From two bestselling and awardwinning creators comes a magical, lyrical celebration of babies' first experiences. From the comfort of home to the adventure of the great outdoors, from family to first encounters with nature, Welcome to the World revels in the joy that comes with sharing this new world with children, and seeing it through their eyes. A perfect read-aloud story for sharing from Julia Donaldson and Helen Oxenbury.
Went to London, Took the Dog, Nina Stibbe ( paperback 2024)
£9.99
From the beloved writer Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina, a warm and funny story of a woman changing her life at sixty. 'A unique comic voice, endlessly funny' – David Nicholls, author of One Day'Painfully funny, but also deeply moving' – Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and BlissWhat does it mean to start again at sixty?In Went to London, Took the Dog, Nina Stibbe is surprised to find herself asking this question as she leaves married life behind in Cornwall and heads back to London after twenty years away for what she calls ‘a year-long sabbatical’. She takes up lodgings at the house of writer Deborah Moggach, unprepared for how she, and the city, has changed and now wondering whether freedom is all it’s cracked up to be .
. . Follow the diary of a sixty-year-old runaway as she becomes, as she puts it, ‘a proper adult’ at last.
Whale Fall, Elizabeth O’Connor ( paperback april 2025)
£9.99
A BBC ‘BETWEEN THE COVERS’ BOOK CLUB PICK An Observer Best Debut of the Year
It is 1938 and on an island off the coast of Wales, Manod is trying to imagine her future. Her choices are stark: she must either stay and look after her father's house, in the wild landscape that drove her mother to madness, or marry and leave. And so, when two English anthropologists arrive on the island, Manod senses the possibility of a thrilling new life.
But, as she becomes entangled in their work, and their strange relationship, the outside world she had yearned for appears a much darker place than she could ever have imagined.Elizabeth O’Connor’s beautiful, devastating debut Whale Fall tells a story of longing and betrayal set against the backdrop of a world on the edge of great tumult. 'The quiet cadences of Whale Fall contain a deep melody of loss held and let go.
It is a gentle, tough story about profound change' - Anne Enright
'I didn't want it to end' - Maggie O'Farrell
What Do People Do All Day? By Richard Scarry ( paperback picture book)
£8.99
Richard Scarry's classic has been a favourite with children the world over for 50 years. Share the magic of Scarry's Busytown with this beautiful anniversary edition. This special anniversary edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of a beloved Scarry classic.
Packed with things to spot on every page, What Do People Do All Day? is beautiful, fun and a favourite with children of all ages. Everyone is busy in Busytown - from train drivers to doctors, from mothers to sailors, in police stations and on fire engines. Follow lots of busy people working through their busy days! Captain Salty and his crew are getting ready to go on a voyage; Doctor Lion is busy at the hospital; Sergeant Murphy is working hard to keep things safe and peaceful; and engineers are building new roads.
Packed full of activity and funny details to discover, this celebration of Busytown and its inhabitants will keep curious minds occupied for hours on end! Perfect for ages 3 and up.
Also available as hardback for £14.99
What Happened To You? James Catchpole & Karen George ( April 2021)
£7.99
The first ever picture book addressing how a disabled child might want to be spoken to. What happened to you? Was it a shark? A burglar? A lion? Did it fall off? Every time Joe goes out the questions are the same . .. what happened to his leg? But is this even a question Joe has to answer? A ground-breaking, funny story that helps children understand what it might feel like to be seen as different.
What Makes Me a Me? by Ben Faulks ( picture book)
£7.99
Ben Faulks is best known as Mr Bloom from CBeebies. This charming book celebrates how different we all are in a humorous and inquisitive way.
Who am I?I ask myself. What makes me a ME?I think hard with all my might,And look around to see. What makes you a you? Are you like a sports car - lightning fast? Or maybe you're like a tree ...
Do your arms stick out like branches? No? Then perhaps you're like a snail - very slow (especially when it's time for school!). A funny and thought-provoking look at what makes us us, from Ben Faulks (known as Mr Bloom from CBeebies) and David Tazzyman (bestselling illustrator of You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus). Guaranteed to feed the imagination, this celebration of being who we are is perfect for inquisitive (and inventive!) little minds.
