A funny & fascinating look at over 300 of the worlds most important inventions from the steam engine to the light bulb
- now in
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A fresh new look brings this parenting classic up-to-date for a new generation of mothers & mothers-to-be. Taking an irreverent & humorous look at the trials & tribulations of motherhood Radio 4s Libby Purves has created an invaluable survival guide so that even the most unpromising madonna can cope with the baby years. This is a parenting book with a difference- rather than a serious tome laying down the law Libby Purves lighthearted book shamelessly describes how to cut the corners & bend the rules that never mattered much anyway. Forget the other parenting books that hide the real truth- this is the true battle manual for mothers on the front line! This timeless guide to coping with motherhood has been revised bringing it up-to-date for a whole new generation of mothers & mothers-to-be. Based on Libby Purves own experience of domestic havoc with two babies & on the wit & wisdom of fifty like-minded mothers this motherhood companion guide is full of down-to-earth tips & hilarious anecdotes. Topics covered include pregnancy preschoolers sibling fights fraught outings nannies & careers. This is an invaluable guide to being an imperfect mother- & more importantly enjoying it. ...

An anecdote-driven narrative of the classic footballer's 'DOs & DO NOTs' from the ever-popular Arsenal legend & football pundit Paul Merson aka ' The Merse'. When it comes to advice on the pitfalls of life as a professional footballer Paul Merson can pretty much write the manual. In fact that's exactly what he's done in this hilarious new book which manages to be simultaneously poignant & gloriously funny. Merson was a prodigiously talented footballer in the 80s & 90s gracing the upper echelons of the game
- & the tabloid front pages
- with his breathtakingly skills & larger-than-life off-field persona. His much-publicised battles with gambling drug & alcohol addiction are behind him now & football fans continue to be drawn to his sharp footballing brain & playful antics on Sky Sports cult results show Soccer Saturday. The book delights & entertains with a treasure chest of terrific anecdotes from a man who has never lost his love of football & his inimitable joie de vivre through a 25-year association with the Beautiful Game. The DO NOTs include: DO NOT adopt ' Champagne' Charlie Nicholas as your mentor DO NOT share a house with Gazza DO NOT regularly place GBP30 000 bets at the bookie's DO NOT get so drunk that you can't remember the 90 minutes of football you just played in DO NOT manage Walsall (at any cost) How Not to be a Professional Footballer is a hugely entertaining moving & laugh-out-loud funny story.

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An anecdote-driven narrative of the classic footballers DOs & DO NOTs from the ever-popular Arsenal legend & football pundit Paul Merson aka The Merse. When it comes to advice on the pitfalls of life as a professional footballer Paul Merson can pretty much write the manual. In fact thats exactly what hes done in this hilarious new book which manages to be simultaneously poignant & gloriously funny. Merson was a prodigiously talented footballer in the 80s & 90s gracing the upper echelons of the game
- & the tabloid front pages
- with his breathtakingly skills & larger-than-life off-field persona. His much-publicised battles with gambling drug & alcohol addiction are behind him now & football fans continue to be drawn to his sharp footballing brain & playful antics on Sky Sports cult results show Soccer Saturday. The book delights & entertains with a treasure chest of terrific anecdotes from a man who has never lost his love of football & his inimitable joie de vivre through a 25-year association with the Beautiful Game. The DO NOTs include: DO NOT adopt Champagne Charlie Nicholas as your mentor DO NOT share a house with Gazza DO NOT regularly place GBP30 000 bets at the bookies DO NOT get so drunk that you cant remember the 90 minutes of football you just played in DO NOT manage Walsall (at any cost) How Not to be a Professional Footballer is a hugely entertaining moving & laugh-out-loud funny story.

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As a mother are you comfortable in your skin? Want to know how best to be a stay-at-home or working mum? Babies have very simple needs yet many parents are overwhelmed with elaborate advice on how to meet them. In How Not to F*** Them Up leading child psychologist Oliver James argues that your under-threes do not need training; it's getting your head straight as a parent that's important. Drawing on extensive interviews & the lastest clinical research James identifies three basic types of mum: the Hugger the Organiser & the Fleximum. Outlining the benefits & pitfalls of each How Not to F*** Them Up shows you how to recognise which style suits you best & outlines simple strategies to reconcile personal ambitions with the needs of your family. Empowering & provocative Oliver James will help you make the best choices for bringing up a happy confident child. ...

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the bookshop comes bestselling author Richard Wilsons triumphant follow up to Cant Be Arsed & Dont Even Think About It! How Not to Talk Like an Arse is Mr Wilsons hilarious & topical self righteous stab at the modern day vernacular taking aim at the invention of ridiculous nonsensical words that not only are just plain crap but also make those who dare speak them sound like complete twits. Richard waxes lyrical on awful words such as Ciao Hurting Fashionista & Staycation. He also lets loose on how those words were created & how they escaped & survived in the wild instead of being killed at a young age. Written in Richards utterly fantastic ranting style this sharp-shooting of the ridiculousness of the modern english language
- & the morons who use it
- is a must-have for everyone this Christmas.

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How to defeat stress worry & anxiety to achieve more in business & life. From the international bestselling author of Self-Confidence. Are You A Worrier? Do you seem to worry more than most? Do you find that insignificant things stress you out? Do you sweat the small stuff & the big stuff too? Well now's the time to stop worrying & start living. Worry stress anxiety -- whichever label you prefer to use -- can have consequences that impact not only our lives but the lives of others around us. When we worry it's like the engine of our mind is constantly being revved up. It doesn't allow us time to switch off & rest. It tires you out. & when you're tired you're less likely to think straight. & when you're not thinking straight it's easy to make stupid mistakes & confuse priorities... But relax. There is a way forward. In How Not to Worry Paul Mc Gee shows us that there is a way to tackle life's challenges in a calmer & more considered way. It is possible to use a certain degree of worry & anxiety to spur us on towards positive constructive action & then leave the rest behind. With down to earth real life advice How Not to Worry helps us understand why worrying is such a big deal & the reasons for it exposing the behavioural traps we fall into when faced with challenges. It then helps us to move on with tools & ideas to deal with our worries in a more constructive way. ...

The craft of sitcom is possibly the hardest of all screenwriting genres demanding a complex set of skills. How NOT to Write a Sitcom is a troubleshooting guide aimed at both the novice & the practising sitcom writer. It illustrates & explains the many pitfalls in concept characterisation plotting & dramatic/comedic writing which pepper the hundreds of scripts submitted every year. Each point is illustrated with an example of the error & each section contains practical suggestions & exercises for the writer to apply to their own writing. The book makes no assumption of the reader other than an interest in the form. It contains interviews with current producers as well as interviews with successful practioners of the craft. Marc Blake is a script consultant writer & teacher of writing for sitcom. In this book he acts as a script mechanic for writers
- stripping a sitcom down to its component parts isolating the faults & fixing them. What script editors & producers are looking for are scripts that work. Naturally they want a genius in embryo but above all they first want to see something that is roadworthy.
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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 Hornbys adoption of a female narrator is compared to Daniel Defoes; Ian Mc Ewans use of weather is set against Austens & Hardys; Carole Shields chapter divisions are likened to Fanny Burneys. 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 writers craft. How Novels Work explains how the pleasures of novel reading often come from the formal ingenuity of the novelist. It is an entertaining & stimulating exploration of that ingenuity. Addressed to anyone who is interested in the close reading of fiction it makes visible techniques & effects we are often only half-aware of as we read. It shows that literary criticism is something that all fiction enthusiasts can do. Contemporary novels discussed include: Monica Alis Brick Lane; Martin Amiss Money; Margaret Atwoods The Blind Assassin; A.S. Byatts Possession; Jonathan Coes The Rotters Club; J.M. Coetzees Disgrace; Michael Cunninghams The Hours; Don De Lillos Underworld; Michel Fabers The Crimson Petal & the White; Ian Flemings From Russia with Love; Jonathan Franzens The Corrections; Mark Haddons The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time; Patricia Highsmiths Ripley under Ground; Alan Hollinghursts The Spell; Nick Hornbys How to Be Good; Ian Mc Ewans Atonement; John le Carres The Constant Gardener; Andrea Levys Small Island; David Mitchells Cloud Atlas; Andrew OHagans Personality; Orhan Pamuks My Name Is Red; Ann Patchetts Bel Canto; Ruth Rendells Adam & Eve & Pinch Me; Philip Roths The Human Stain; Jonathan Safran Foers Everything Is Illuminated; Carol Shieldss Unless; Zadie Smiths White Teeth; Muriel Sparks Aiding & Abetting; Graham Swifts Last Orders; Donna Tartts The Secret History; William Trevors The Hill Bachelors; & Richard Yatess Revolutionary Road. ...

The key tenet of THE HOW OF HAPPINESS is that every human being has a happiness set point which depending on how high or low it is can determine how positive or negative they feel. This book offers a practical approach to help readers increase their set point & find a level of happiness above that which they would normally feel & feel more satisfaction in life. Based on scientific research & trials this is a groundbreaking book that offers a practical plan to enable readers to achieve a more positive outlook at home at work & in their personal life. It will also be of enormous benefit to the hundreds of thousands of people who suffer from depression in the UK as it provides the tools to feel better about life. ...