Mark Haddon

Michael Rosen

Nicholas Carr

Zadie Smith

Tim Parks

Carmen Callil

Blake Morrison

Mirit Barzillai

Dr Maryanne Wolf

Jane Davis

Jeanette Winterson

In any 24 hours there might be sleeping, eating, kids, parents, friends, lovers, work, school, travel, deadlines, emails, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, the news, the TV, Playstation, music, movies, sport, responsibilities, passions, desires, dreams. Why should you stop what you're doing and read a book? People have always needed stories. We need literature - novels, poetry - because we need to make sense of our lives, test our depths, understand our joys and discover what humans are capable of. Great books can provide companionship when we are lonely or peacefulness in the midst of an overcrowded daily life. Reading provides a unique kind of pleasure and no-one should live without it. In the ten essays in this book some of our finest authors and passionate advocates from the worlds of science, publishing, technology and social enterprise tell us about the experience of reading, why access to books should never be taken forgranted, how reading transforms our brains, and how literature can save lives. In any 24 hours there are so many demands on your time and attention - make books one of them. Carmen Callil Tim Parks Nicholas Carr Michael Rosen Jane Davis Zadie Smith Mark Haddon Jeanette Winterson Blake Morrison Dr Maryanne Wolf & Dr Mirit Barzillai

Stop What You're Doing And Read This!

"Like other titles in this series, Davis's work concentrates on enjoyable projects that can be completed successfully in a short period of time. Socks, hats, mittens, and vests--all are represented here by patterns that feature good-quality yarns in natural fibers and do not sacrifice quality for quickness. Highly recommended."--"Library Journal."

20 Simple and Stylish Designs to Wear

Crochet

London 1955. One cause unites three very different women: when a young woman commits a crime of passion and is condemned to hang, remaining silent isn't an option.

At the Stroke of Nine O'Clock

A Funeral for an Owl

Andrew Candy

Under the guise of child protection, teacher/pupil relationships, including supportive friendships, have become taboo. So what sort of boy would convince two promising young teachers to risk their careers by breaching their professional code of conduct? Brought up in Wiltshire, Ayisha Emmanuelle has always believed that the best way to avoid trouble is by walking away from it. However, this isn't an option when she is the first teacher on the scene after her colleague Jim Stevens is stabbed, intervening in a playground fight. In the aftermath, 14-year old Shamayal Thomas discloses to Ayisha that he and Jim are friends. Her first duty is to report suspicion of an inappropriate relationship, but imagining the headlines when someone who has been labeled a hero is found to be morally unfit, she hesitates, thereby implicating herself. All that she can do is wait to see if her decision is justified. And waiting is something Ayisha has never been very good at.

In Vintage's 21st anniversary year, this book is a mission statement about the paramount importance of reading to our quality of life. In any 24 hours there might be sleeping, eating, kids, parents, friends, lovers, work, school, travel, deadlines, emails, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, the news, the TV, Playstation, music, movies, sport, responsibilities, passions, desires, dreams. Why should you stop what you're doing and read a book? But people have always needed stories. We need literature -- novels, poetry -- because we need to make sense of our lives, test our depths, understand our joys, and discover what humans are capable of. Great books can provide companionship when we are lonely or peacefulness in the midst of the commuter rush. Reading provides a unique kind of pleasure and no-one should live without it. The ten essays in this book tell us about the experience of reading, why access to books should never be taken forgranted, how reading transforms our brains, and how literature can save lives. In any 24 hours there are so many demands on your time and attention -- make books one of them.

Stop what You're Doing and Read This!

Mother and daughter: the most precious bond in the world. At six years old, Belinda Brabbage has amassed a wealth of wisdom and secret worries. She knows all the best hiding places in her Worlds End flat, how to zap monsters with her pig-shaped torch and that strangers will tempt you into their cars with offers of Fizzy Fish. Even so, it's impossible to know how to behave when you don't really understand who you are. Mummy doesn't like to be plagued with questions about her family but, when she isn't concentrating, she lets small nuggets slip, and Belinda collects them all, knowing they are pieces of a complicated jigsaw. Exhausted single mother Alison hasn't been able to picture the future for some time. Struggling from day to day, the ultimatums she sets herself for turning her life around slip by. But there is one clock she cannot simply re-set. Deny it though she may, Belinda is growing up. Having stumbled across Alison's portfolio that mapped her life as a prima ballerina, her daughter already has a clearer idea of who she once was. Soon Belinda will be able to work out for herself who she is - and what she does for a living. With options running out, Alison travels to London's suburbs to consult a blind clairvoyant, who transports her to a past she feels exiled from. However unlikely they sound, his visions of pelicans and bookshelves appear to herald change. A chance meeting with an affluent couple affords a glimpse of the life Alison desperately wants for her daughter. But can their offer of friendship be trusted? More "What Maisie Knew' than "Belle de Jour, ' Davis's unflinching new novel of a mother who turns to prostitution is populated with a deeply flawed and inimitably human cast, whose tumultuous lives are shored up by carefully-guarded secrets. Praise for An Unchoreographed Life 'I felt it had something of a feel of Joanna Trollope about it and would appeal to a range of readers interested in traditional and non-traditional families and life paths.' Liz Broomfield 'Beautifully written and so thought provoking, Alison and Belinda will stay with you long after you reach the final page.' Louise Voss Praise for the Author "Davis is a phenomenal writer, whose ability to create well rounded characters that are easy to relate to feels effortless.' Compulsion Reads 'That Jane Davis is an important new writer is a given.' Grady Harp 'Jane is not afraid to get stuck into some meaty themes and present her characters with thought-provoking emotional dilemmas.' Sharon Avidreader 'Jane is an excellent storyteller and writes very unusual tales that are hard to put down.' Sue Darnell 'This author never fails to make you think about wider issues.' MIF 'Clever stories, brilliantly told.' Sarah Diss

An Unchoreographed Life

Felting brings crochet enthusiasts into an exciting new dimension of their hobby in Felted Crochet. This resource provides instructions for easily creating 30 beautiful accents for home and wardrobe. &break;&break;Crocheters will learn techniques for experimenting with felted crochet, as well as discovering what works in felting crocheted items and what might be better for knitted projects. Step-by-step techniques, including 125 stunning color photos and illustrations, give beginners and experts details for creating purses, bags, blankets, vets, pillows and more. This second-to-none resource brings an attitude of fun and creativity to any crochet project!

Felted Crochet

My Counterfeit Self

An Unknown Woman

Parents: Ask yourselves how would you react if your 14-year old daughter claimed to be seeing visions? Teenagers: would you risk ridicule and scorn - knowing others besides yourself will be affected - to voice a seemingly impossible claim? As Streatham, South London, still reels from the riots in neighbouring Brixton, Graham Jones, an ordinary father, grows fearful for his teenage daughter Judy who faces a world where the pace of change appears to be accelerating. But even he cannot predict what will happen next. A series of events is about to be unleashed over which he will have no control, and the lives of his family will be turned upside-down. Judy Jones knows what it means to survive. Having already defied medical predictions, not only surviving after she was buried when a wall collapsed, but learning to walk again. She understands that she is changed. She has even learned to love her scars. But when Judy claims to be seeing visions, her father will call it a miracle, and, the headline-hungry press will label her The Miracle Girl. Horrified that her only child is becoming public property, Elaine's claim on her daughter seems to be diminishing. Present when she came close to losing Judy a first time - knowing it was the paramedics and surgeons who saved her - she demands a medical explanation. But Judy, refusing to become caught up in her parents' emotional tug-of-war, is adamant. She must tread her own path, wherever it takes her. Delusion, deception, diabolic - or is it just possible that Judy's apparitions are authentic? Gather close all that you hold dear. Life can change in a split second. This intense and emotionally charged portrait of a family deep in crisis will have you reflecting on everything you believe to be true. Praise for These Fragile Things: "Davis is a phenomenal writer whose ability to create well-rounded characters that are easy to relate to felt effortless." (Compulsion Reads) "An elegant and understated prose style with a very satisfying rhythm. This is really very good writing indeed." (Debi Alper) "Leaves one panting to read more." (Jill Foulston)

These Fragile Things

Elizabeth Gourley

Ellen Talbott

After breezing through a history and overview of equipment, the authors emphasize the how-to in such elaborate processes as tubular beaded crochet. Every one of the more than 25 projects focuses on a specific tool or technique, complete with color graphs, a list of materials, size and measurements, a color photo, and diagrams. ...Directions...are presented with plenty of details.” —Booklist.

Art of Seed Beading

Michael Clarke

Moorhead Wright

This bibliography, originally published in 1977, details original material on international relations since 1870 written in English and appearing in non-recurrent multi-author works published between 1945 and 1975. The authors have distinguished between core topics such as foreign policy, defence, and international organisation, and peripheral areas such as interntional economics, international law and diplomatic history. Essays have been selected which make an enduring and substantial contribution to the study of IR. .

A Classified Bibliography

Essay Collections in International Relations

Representations of Christ in J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey

When Tom Fellows proclaims that a Venn diagram is a far better way of illustrating modern family ties than a traditional tree, his young daughter Andrea has no idea that he is referring to their own situation.It is only when she loses both parents in a shocking car accident that she takes an interest in her own genealogy and begins to realize that her perfect upbringing was not all that it seemed... Half-truths & White Lies is a beautifully crafted, thought-provoking novel that questions the influence of the people who are missing from our lives. It examines the thin line between love and friendship, looking at our complex emotional needs. It also explores how one woman's life is dictated by her desire for children, whilst another's is shaped by her decision not to have them.

Jane Davis

About

Books

Join the club