Her passion is fashion...but shes on a budget! Personal shopper Annie Valentine is about to hit the big time: presenting a glamorous TV makeover series! But too late Annie discovers this is TV on a shoestring. Theyre paying her buttons & her budget is zip. Can she make do with Primark when all she wants is Prada? ...

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. ...

What were the principal causes of death in the past? Could your ancestor have been affected? How was disease investigated & treated & what did our ancestors think about the illnesses & the accidents that might befall them? Simon Wills's fascinating survey of the diseases that had an impact on their lives seeks to answer these questions. His graphic detailed account offers an unusual & informative view of the threats that our ancestors lived with & died of. He describes the common causes of death
- cancer cholera dysentery influenza malaria scurvy smallpox stroke tuberculosis typhus yellow fever venereal disease & the afflictions of old age. Alcoholism is included as are childbirth & childhood infections heart disease mental illness & dementia. Accidents feature prominently
- road & rail accidents accidents at work
- & death through addiction & abuse is covered as well as death through violence & war. Simon Wills's work gives a vivid picture of the hazards our ancestors faced & their understanding of them. It also reveals how life & death have changed over the centuries how medical science has advanced so that some once-mortal illnesses are now curable while others are just as deadly now as they were then. In addition to describing causes of death & setting them in the context of the times his book shows readers how to find & interpret patient records death certificates & other documents in order to gain an accurate impression of how their ancestors died.


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Although Parliament is constantly in the news & televised daily much of its work remains a mystery to outsiders & is sometimes perplexing even to its own members. This book provides a unique insight into the work & daily life of Parliament. It sets out plainly & intelligibly what goes on & why things happen but it also analyses the pressures within the institution its strengths & weaknesses & ways in which it might change. Covering every aspect of the work membership & structures of both Houses this book also reflects the profound changes that have taken place in Parliament over the years. ...

This new edition of How People Tick" is a practical guide to over 50 types of difficult people such as Angry People Blamers Impatient People Workaholics & Gossips. Each difficult situation is described how it happens is analysed & then strategies to help you deal with the problem are suggested. Disruptive behaviour patterns can be addressed once & for all instead of having to handle one-off difficult events time & time again. Absolutely invaluable to everybody " How People Tick" is full of tried & tested tips for handling difficult people in difficult situations based on a real understanding of their behaviour. It is an essential read if you find people bewildering or just plain difficult & yet still want to understand them work with them & live with them." ...

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 Prousts 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 Prousts 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 Bottons 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 ...

This is a wonderful rhythmic North American Indian folk tale... As the leaves fall from the trees & the wind blows colder the animals wish they had fire to keep them warm. But only the Sky People living high in the mountains have fire & they guard it jealously. Rabbit has a plan however: he makes a special resin-covered headdress tricks the Sky People & steals some fire. All the animals help him in an exciting race to escape capture & each is marked in some way by the stolen fire. Then Deer manages to hide the precious fire in the woods so it can be theirs forever
- but once its hidden how will they get it back?
...