Never has contemporary fiction been more widely discussed & passionately analysed; recent years have seen a huge growth in the number of reading groups & in the interest of a non-academic readership in the discussion of how novels work Drawing on his weekly Guardian column ' Elements of Fiction' John Mullan examines novels mostly of the last ten years many of which have become firm favourites with reading groups He reveals the rich resources of novelistic technique setting recent fiction alongside classics of the past Nick Hornby's adoption of a female narrator is compared to Daniel Defoe's; Ian Mc Ewan's use of weather is set against Austen's & Hardy's; Carole Shield's chapter divisions are likened to Fanny Burney's Each section shows how some basic element of fiction is used Some topics (like plot dialogue or location) will appear familiar to most novel readers; others (metanarrative prolepsis amplification) will open readers' eyes to new ways of understanding & appreciating the ...

All growth is spiritual growth Authors Drs Cloud & Townsend unlock age-old keys to growth from Scripture to help people resolve issues of relationships maturity emotional problems & overall spiritual growth They shatter popular misconceptions about how God operates & show that growth is not about self-actualization but about God's sanctification In this theological foundation to their best-selling book Boundaries they discuss? What the essential processes are that make people grow? How those processes fit into a biblical understanding of spiritual growth & theology? How spiritual growth & real-life issues are one & the same? What the responsibilities are of pastors counselors & others who assist people in growing-and what your own responsibilities are in your personal growth ...

We are attracted whether we know it or not to the hidden aspects of things & people Some teenagers enjoy cutting themselves with razors Some men pay good money to be spanked by prostitutes The average Briton spends over a day a week watching television People slow their cars to look at gory accidents & go to sentimental movies that make them cry In this revealing & witty account Paul Bloom examines the science behind these curious desires attractions & tastes exploring one of the most fascinating & fundamental engines of human behaviour Drawing on insights from child development philosophy neuroscience & behavioural economics How Pleasure Works shows how certain universal habits of the human mind explain what we like & why we like it ...

How Posters Work is more than a standard exhibition catalogue Conceived as a useful & illuminating primer in visual thinking it explores principles of design through a range of historical & contemporary works uncovering ideas relevant not just to the design of posters but to 2D design more generally How Posters Work has a unique focus on visual language Rather than provide a history of the genre or a compilation of collectibles the book is organized around active design principles Concepts such as Simplify Focus the eye Exploit the diagonal Reverse expectations & Say two things at once are illustrated with a diverse range of posters from avant-garde classics & rarely seen international works to contemporary pieces by todays leading graphic designers Illustrated with over 150 works from the collection of Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum How Posters Work provides a stunning education in seeing & making demonstrating how some of the worlds most creative designers have mobilized principles of layout composition psychology & rhetoric to produce powerful acts of visual communication ...

What a marvellous book this is de Botton dissects what Proust had to say about friendship reading looking carefully paying attention taking your time being alive & adds his own delicious commentary The result is an intoxicating as it is wise amusing as well as stimulating & presented in so fresh a fashion as to be unique I could not stop & now much start all over again' Brian Masters Mail on Sunday De Botton not only has a complete understanding of Proust's life but what is particularly charming about this small readable book is its tongue-in-cheek benignity its lightly held erudition & its generous way of lending itself to what is not only the greatest book of the century but also the darkest & the most eccentric' Edmund White Observer It contains more human interest & play of fancy than most fiction de Botton in emphasizing Proust's healing advisory aspects does us the service of rereading him on our behalf providing of that vast sacred lake a sweet & lucid distillation' John Updike New Yorker De Botton's little book is so charming amusing & sensible that it may even itself change your life' Allan Massie Daily Telegraph This engaging book is one of the most entertaining pieces of literary criticism I have read in a long while' Sunday Telegraph A very enjoyable book' Sebastian Faulks ...

How Rich Countries Got Rich is a narrative history of modern economic development from the Italian Renaissance to the present day In it Erik S Reinert shows how rich countries developed through a combination of government intervention protectionism & strategic investment Reinert suggests that this set of policies in various combinations has driven successful development from Renaissance Italy to the modern Far East Yet despite its demonstrable success orthodox development economists have largely ignored this approach & insisted instead on the importance of free trade Reinert presents a strongly revisionist history of economics & shows how the discipline has long been torn between the continental Renaissance tradition on one hand & the free market theories of English & later American economics on the other He argues that our economies were founded on protectionism & state activism & could only later afford the luxury of free trade When our leaders come to lecture poor countries on the right road to riches they do so in almost perfect ignorance of the real history of mass affluence ...

Selected by Sarah Moss as a Book of the Year 2017 in The Big Issue Ten years old & irrepressibly curious Ellie lives with her fisherman father Peter on the wild North Yorkshire coast It's the 1980s & her mother's breakdown is discussed only in whispers with the promise better by Christmas' & no further explanation Steering by the light of her dad's sea-myths her mum's memories of home across the water & a fierce spirit all her own Ellie begins to learn
- in these sudden strange circumstances
- who she is & what she can become By the time the first snowdrops show her innocence has been shed but at great cost This vivacious & deeply moving novel portrays adult breakdown through the eyes of a brightly imaginative child sensitively explores questions of responsibility & care & above all celebrates the power of stories to shape nourish & even save us

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Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Following her sister&s death from drug addiction a high school student is forced to leave her private school to return to her old crime-filled neighborhood where she re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of step dancing ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play A trio of teen-orientated dance flicks In SAVE THE LAST DANCE Sara Johnson is forced to move to Chicago following the death of her mother There she finds life very different to the one she left behind in the quiet Midwestern town Things look up for Sarah when she meets Derek who shares her passion for dancing HOW SHE MOVE is the story of an intelligent & driven high school student whose academic dreams are dashed when a tragedy leaves her parents struggling to make ends meet She moves back home where she rekindles her passion for dance & gets involved with the local step dancing teams As they compete for big money prizes she realises that this might be her last chance of ever making it out of the projects In the comedy ALL YOU&VE GOT a volleyball player at an upscale private high school is troubled by her famous father&s absence at her games When the school burns down & all the privileged girls have to transfer to a &ghetto& school the volleyball team is forced to earn its stripes Actors Tracey Armstrong Cle Bennett Nina Dobrey Romina D& Ugo Kevin Duhaney Julia Stiles Sean Patrick Thomas Kerry Washington Fredro Starr Terry Kinney Efren Ramirez Ciara Laila Ali Daniella Alonso Adrienne Bailon & Julissa Bermudez Certificate 12 years & over Screen Widescreen Languages English
- Dolby Digital (51) Duration 4 hours & 49 minutes (approx) Region Region 2
- Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players

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'A blueprint for the future' Russell Brand THE WORLD NEEDS TO CHANGE We have unleashed an ecological mega-crisis which is threatening the future of life on Earth The actions we take over the next decade are critical They will determine the destiny of our descendants & the fate of our world IS IT TOO LATE? How Soon is Now? presents a compelling manifesto for personal & planetary change It proposes a revolutionary new narrative for a unified social movement Through global cooperation we can face this collective threat
- ecologically socially politically & spiritually We can launch a new operating system for human society based on regenerative principles THE CHOICE IS OURSAccepting this crisis as our initiation we can choose to evolve to the next level of consciousness as a species We can do more than survive we can thrive
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