Find the best thing to do every day of the year, from one-day events like India`s Holi festival or the cheese-rolling race at Cooper`s Hill in Engl&, to seasonal events like Alaska`s caribou migration & weather-dependent adventures like completing the Tour de Mont Blanc. This vibrant, practical & addictive book covers the 365 best festivals, sporting events, adventures & natural phenomena. For anyone looking for inspiration for where to go when, Best Place to be Today offers a wealth of ideas, inspiring photos, & dates galore. ...

Rough Guides' The Best Places to Stay in Britain on a Budget reviews over 250 establishments, from the Isles of Scilly to Orkney & Windermere to Winchester, taking in rural B& Bs, cool townhouses, historic inns, hikers' hostels & canal boats. Our selection

Includes:: everything from comfortable GBP12 dorms to ornate GBP80 doubles, showing that you can stay in wonderful accommodation without breaking the bank. Full-colour pictures & maps show what to expect & how to get there, while practical details cover everything from check-out times to breakfast options. We've highlighted our favourites with feature reviews & lists showing our top picks for families, luxury, bargains, public transport access, outdoor activities & more, while sharp contributions from our experienced writers help you make your mind up. Whether you want to stay in a big city's buzzing heart, halfway up a mountain or in rolling farml&, The Best Places to Stay in Britain on a Budget has it covered.

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The second novel in Ovidia Yu`s delightfully charming crime series set in 1930s Singapore, featuring amateur sleuth Su Lin. What we came to think of as the betel nut affair began in the middle of a tropical thunderstorm in December 1937... Singapore is agog with the news of King Edward VIII`s abdication to marry American heiress Wallis Simson. Chen Su Lin, now Chief Inspector Le Froy`s secretarial assistant in Singapore`s newly formed detective unit, still dreams of becoming a journalist & hopes to cover the story when the Hon Victor Glossop announces he is marrying an American widow of his own, Mrs Nicole Covington, in the Colony. But things go horribly wrong when Victor Glossop is found dead, his body covered in bizarre symbols & soaked in betel nut juice. The beautiful, highly-strung Nicole claims it`s her fault he`s dead... just like the others. & when investigations into her past reveal a dead lover, as well as a husb&, the case against her appears to be stacking up. Begrudgingly on Le Froy`s part, Su Lin agrees to chaperon Nicole at the Farquhar Hotel, intending to get the truth out of her somehow. But as she uncovers secrets & further deaths occur, Su Lin realises she may not be able to save Nicole`s life
- or even her own.` Charming & fascinating with great authentic feel. This book is exactly why I love historical novels` Rhys Bowen`I really enjoyed this wonderful gem of a book. The diversity & rich history portrayed in the book are what make The Frangipani Tree Mystery a brilliant read. The fact that it`s a fusion of crime & historical fiction adds brownie points to the package!` Bookloves Reviews
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For decades, Omar Yussef has taught history to the children of Bethlehem. When a favourite former pupil, George Saba, is arrested for collaborating with the Israelis in the killing of a Palestinian guerrilla, Yussef is convinced that he has been framed. With George facing imminent execution Yussef sets out to prove his innocence. As Yussef falls foul of his headmaster & the local police chief, time begins to run out for this teacher-turned-detective. His classroom is bombed & members of his family are threatened. But with no one else willing to stand up for the truth, it is up to Omar to act, even as bloodshed & heartbreak surround him. ...

Leningrad, 1952. Andrei, a young hospital doctor, & Anna, a nursery school teacher, are forging a life together in the postwar, postsiege wreckage. But their happiness is precarious, like that of millions of Russians who must avoid the claws of Stalin`s merciless Ministry of State Security. So when Andrei is asked to treat the seriously ill child of a senior secret police officer, he & Anna are fearful. Trapped in an impossible, maybe unwinnable game, can they avoid the whispers & watchful eyes of those who will say or do anything to save themselves? ” The Betrayal” is a powerful & touching novel of ordinary people in the grip of a terrible & sinister regime, & a moving portrait of a love that will not be extinguished. ...

The Betrayers by David Bezmozgis: read it in a sitting; remember it for the rest of your life. ” This unforgettable novel squanders no words in its brilliant, deft depictions of love, of memory, of compassion &, ultimately, despite its title, of loyalty”. (Edith Pearlman). ” Taut, fierce, forensically insightful. Compulsive & profound”. (A D Miller). ”A moral thriller”. (Aleksandar Hemon). ” Definitively establishes him as one of the foremost writers of his generation”. (Ben Fountain). Two men meet on a park bench in Jerusalem: a politician, on the eve of a controversial stand against his government, & a Mossad agent, sent to dissuade him with the threat of blackmail. Neither backs down. Escaping the furore he`s unleashed, the politician & his lover head to Crimea & a resort on the Black Sea to lie low. But the fierce battle between political principles & personal loyalties has followed them to this faded Russian backwater, & a shocking encounter awaits them. In its depiction of a man whose principles are tested to the utmost extremes, The Betrayers cuts to the very heart of our troubled times. David Bezmozgis was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1973 & emigrated with his parents to Toronto in 1980. His first novel, The Free World, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize & was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His collection Natasha & Other Stories was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year & won the Commonwealth Writers` Regional Prize for First Book. In 2010 he was selected as one of the New Yorker`s `20 under 40`, celebrating the twenty most promising fiction writers under the age of forty. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages. ...

`I pity this house; the curse of God is hanging over it`. Set in Lombardy during the Spanish occupation of the late 1620s, The Betrothed tells the story of two young lovers, Renzo & Lucia, prevented from marrying by the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Forced to flee, they are then cruelly separated, & must face many dangers including plague, famine & imprisonment, & confront a variety of strange characters
- the mysterious Nun of Monza, the fiery Father Cristoforo & the sinister ` Unnamed`
- in their struggle to be reunited. With a vigorous portrayal of enduring passion, the Betrothed`s exploration of love, power & faith presents a whirling panorama of seventeenth-century Italian life & is one of the greatest European historical novels. It is a new series of twenty distinctive, unforgettable Penguin Classics in a beautiful new design & pocket-sized format, with coloured jackets echoing Penguin`s original covers.

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Liliane Bettencourt was the world`s richest woman, & the tenth wealthiest in the entire world. But at 93, became embroiled in incredible controversy
- controversy so great it almost took down the French government. It`s all become Europe`s biggest scandal in years, uncovering a shadowy corporate history, a buried WWII secret, & much more
- so much that the former President of France has become embroiled in the controversy.

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This title is shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2012. This acclaimed book by Steven Pinker, author of ” The Language Instinct” & ” The Blank Slate”, argues that, contrary to popular belief, humankind has become progressively less violent, over millenia & decades. Can violence really have declined? The images of conflict we see daily on our screens from around the world suggest this is an almost obscene claim to be making. Extraordinarily, however, Steven Pinker shows violence within & between societies
- both murder & warfare
- really has declined from prehistory to today. We are much less likely to die at someone else`s hands than ever before. Even the horrific carnage of the last century, when compared to the dangers of pre-state societies, is part of this trend. Debunking both the idea of the `noble savage` & an over-simplistic Hobbesian notion of a `nasty, brutish & short` life, Steven Pinker argues that modernity & its cultural institutions are actually making us better people. ” One of the most important books I`ve read
- not just this year, but ever... For me, what`s most important about ” The Better Angels of Our Nature” are its insights into how to help achieve positive outcomes. How can we encourage a less violent, more just society, particularly for the poor? Steven Pinker shows us ways we can make those positive trajectories a little more likely. That`s a contribution, not just to historical scholarship, but to the world”. (Bill Gates). ” Brilliant, mind-altering... Everyone should read this astonishing book”. (David Runciman, ” Guardian”). ”A supremely important book. To have command of so much research, spread across so many different fields, is a masterly achievement. Pinker convincingly demonstrates that there has been a dramatic decline in violence, & he is persuasive about the causes of that decline”. (Peter Singer, ” New York Times”). ”[A] sweeping new review of the history of human violence...[ Pinker has] the kind of academic superbrain that can translate otherwise impenetrable statistics into a meaningful narrative of human behaviour.. .impeccable scholarship”. (Tony Allen-Mills, ” Sunday Times”). ” Written in Pinker`s distinctively entertaining & clear personal style...a marvellous synthesis of science, history & storytelling”. (Clive Cookson, ” Financial Times”). ” Pinker`s scholarhsip is astounding.. .flawless.. .masterful”. (Joanna Bourke, ” The Times”). Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Until 2003, he taught in the Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences at MIT. He conducts research on language & cognition, writes for publications such as ” The New York Times”, ” Time” & ” Slate”, & is the author of six books, including ” The Language Instinct”, ” How the Mind Works”, ” The Blank Slate” & ” The Stuff of Thought”.


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This delightful edition of The BFG, by Roald Dahl is illustrated in full colour by Quentin Blake & accompanied by the Puffin Audiobooks CD read by author & comedian, David Walliams. The audiobook features original music & sound design by Pinewood film studios. On a dark, silvery moonlit night, Sophie is snatched from her bed by a giant. Luckily it is the Big Friendly Giant, the BFG, who only eats snozzcumbers & glugs frobscottle. But there are other giants in Giant Country. Fifty foot brutes who gallop far & wide every night to find human beans to eat. Can Sophie & her friend the BFG stop them? Let`s hope so
- otherwise the next child a gruesome giant guzzles could be YOU. Listen to THE BFG & other Roald Dahl audiobooks read by some very famous voices, including Kate Winslet & Steven Fry. Look out for new Roald Dahl apps in the App store & Google Play- including the disgusting TWIT OR MISS! & HOUSE OF TWITS inspired by the revolting Twits.
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