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Dinner with a Vampire (The Dark Heroine, Book 1)
Dinner with a Vampire (The Dark Heroine, Book 1)
Abigail Gibbs
¥54.84
The addictive, enthralling debut by online sensation Abigail Gibbs. The sexiest romance you’ll read this year. One moment can change your life forever… For Violet Lee, a chance encounter on a darkened street draws her into a world beyond her wildest imaginings, a timeless place of vast elegance and immeasurable wealth – of beautiful mansions and lavish parties – where a decadent group of friends live for pleasure alone. A place from which there is no escape… no matter how hard Violet tries. Yet all the riches in the world can’t mask the darkness that lies beneath the gilded surface, embodied in the charismatic but dangerous Kaspar Varn. Violet and Kaspar surrender to a passion that transcends their separate worlds – but it’s a passion that comes at a price. As featured on BBC Breakfast, Sky News, Sunday Times, Guardian, Mail Online, Huffington Post and Sugarscape.
Yorkshire Dales (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 130)
Yorkshire Dales (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 130)
John Lee
¥257.90
A definitive natural history of the Yorkshire Dales, covering the range of wildlife habitats, rich cultural heritage and ecological history of one of our best-loved National Parks. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a special place: its outstanding scenery and the diversity of habitats is perhaps unrivalled in any other National Park in Britain. This rich biodiversity has been a great attraction to naturalists for over two centuries. But to fully appreciate the present-day plant and animal communities, their status and the constraints upon them, it is important to understand the geology and landscape history of the National Park, including the role that human populations have played in modifying the environment. In this long-anticipated New Naturalist volume, John Lee introduces the National Park, exploring both its geology and geomorphology, and describing the role of early naturalists and the Yorkshire Naturalists Union in recording and understanding the natural history of the Dales. He describes the major habitats or groups of habitats which underline the ecological importance of the Dales. Lee covers the earliest settlement times to the modern day, and he focuses in particular on the most iconic plant of the Dales, the Lady’s Slipper Orchid, arguably the rarest of native British plants, which until recently was thought to be confined to a single plant in the Dales. Lee takes a historical approach, describing its near eradication and early attempts to conserve it – including the establishment of a secret society – concluding with recent scientific conservation approaches.
Queen Victoria:A Life of Contradictions
Queen Victoria:A Life of Contradictions
Matthew Dennison
¥66.22
A fresh, witty, accessible life of Queen Victoria. Not since Lytton Strachey has the irony, contradictions and influence of this Queen been treated with such flourish or biographical insight. 'Queen Victoria had a very complicated and psychologically fascinating personality and only a very talented biographer could get to the key of her character. Fortunately in Matthew Dennison's pithy, well-researched, beautifully written and very accessible book, she has found one' Andrew Roberts Queen Victoria is Britain’s queen of contradictions. In her combination of deep sentimentality and bombast; cultural imperialism and imperial compassion; fear of intellectualism and excitement at technology; romanticism and prudishness, she became a spirit of the age to which she gave her name. Victoria embraced photography, railway travel and modern art; she resisted compulsory education for the working classes, recommended for a leading women’s rights campaigner ‘a good whipping’ and detested smoking. She may or may not have been amused. Meanwhile she reinvented the monarchy and wrestled with personal reinvention. She lived in the shadow of her mother and then under the tutelage of her husband; finally she embraced self-reliance during her long widowhood. Fresh, witty and accessible, Queen Victoria is a compelling assessment of Victoria’s mercurial character and impact, written with the irony, flourish and insight that this Queen and her rule so richly deserve.
Me and You
Me and You
Claudia Carroll
¥45.62
Heartbreaking and uplifting, Me and You is a story about how hard it is to leave our old selves behind, the tough choices we sometimes have to make and how love and friendship can heal the most damaged of hearts. “I’m fine. I’m sorry. Please take care of him for me. And maybe one day I’ll get to explain.” Angie knows a lot about her best friend Kitty. She knows Kitty is mad and wild and loves to wear clashing colours. She knows she’s incredibly funny and generous but also very unreliable. And she knows that there is a perfect explanation for Kitty standing her up on her birthday. She thinks she knows everything about Kitty, except she doesn’t. Kitty knows that she is the happiest she has ever been. She knows she’s so lucky to have a lovely boyfriend, Simon and a best friend like Angie. But what she doesn’t know is that on this night, her past is finally going to catch up with her and change everything. If you love Marian Keyes and Melissa Hill you’ll adore Claudia Carroll’s Me and You.
Churchill’s Angels
Churchill’s Angels
Ruby Jackson
¥45.62
The first in a series of books featuring four young women whose lives will be forever changed by WWII. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn. It is 1939 and in the town of Dartford, Grace, Sally and twins Daisy and Rose, are determined to do their bit when war is declared. Grace, desperate to get away from her sad home life, signs up for the Land Army. Sally’s dream of stage school is thwarted by the war, but she finds hope in an unexpected place. For the twins, nothing has prepared them for the shock of the blitz and the nightly raids on their hometown. Rose signs on at the local munitions factory, but with her brothers away fighting, Daisy is needed at home in her father’s greengrocer shop. When she unwittingly trespasses on a wealthy estate and meets the aristocratic flying ace, Adair, Daisy initially dismisses him as a ‘toff’. But they become friends and Adair encourages Daisy to indulge her passion for aeroplanes. Could Daisy’s dream of being a pilot be closer than she thinks? And in these uncertain times, a girl would have to be crazy to fall in love, wouldn’t she?
On a Wing and a Prayer
On a Wing and a Prayer
Ruby Jackson
¥51.50
The fourth in a series of books featuring four young women whose lives will be forever changed by WWII. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn. Rose Petrie is desperate to do something for the war effort. Despite the daily hardships and the nightly bombing raids, her sister, Daisy, and their friends all seem to be thriving in their war work. Rose is doing her best down at the munitions factory, but she is dealt a blow when her childhood sweetheart, Stan, tells her he doesn’t feel the same way about her. Determined to get away and make a new start, Rosie decides to put her mechanical skills, learned from her father and brothers, to good use and signs up for the Women’s Auxiliary Service, or ATS. But Rose discovers that delivering fruit and veg in her father’s greengrocer’s van is very different to driving trucks for the army in a country under seize. While learning the ropes, Rose will learn that things never go according to plan, either in love or war. But with grit, determination and a bit of luck, Rose is determined that she, and the rest of the country, will keep shining through…
Deep Secret
Deep Secret
Diana Wynne Jones
¥58.86
A fantasy adventure about saving the universe one world at a time from Diana Wynne Jones. The companion novel to the bestselling The Merlin Conspiracy. Magids look after all worlds, steer them towards magic, and keep history happening. But Rupert Venables’ mentor has just died, and as the junior magid on earth he has to find a replacement while also trying to find the lost heir of a collapsing empire, worlds away. Rupert interweaves the fate lines to get all the candidates together at a sci-fi fantasy convention, and havoc ensues as they all converge on a very strange hotel, where everything is always linked, the walls keep moving, people are trying to kill him, and nothing is as it seems…a magical, epic story from the Godmother of fantasy.
The Way Back Home
The Way Back Home
Freya North
¥58.86
The unforgettable, poignant new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Freya North. Born and brought up in an artists’ commune in Derbyshire, Oriana Taylor had freedom at her fingertips in a home full of extraordinary people. The Bedwell brothers, Malachy and Jed, shared their childhood and adolescence with Oriana. In the rambling old house and tangled grounds, their dreams and desires could run free. But too much freedom comes at a price. Something happened the summer they were fifteen. And now, having been gone eighteen years, Oriana is back. This is their story.
George Washington:History in an Hour
George Washington:History in an Hour
David B. McCoy
¥14.81
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. George Washington – a figure synonymous with American history. His image is known worldwide, marked on American currency, postage stamps – even a state is named after him. George Washington in an Hour explores the man beneath the symbol. This is the essential chronicle of Washington’s life – his rise from middle class Virginian upbringing to America’s first President, elected unanimously twice. Explore Washington’s legacy – from securing Independence, to his instrumental role in writing and adopting the American constitution. George Washington in an Hour covers Washington’s redefinition of greatness, relinquishing power not once but twice – at the end of Revolution and his second term in Presidency. Learn why Washington is still considered one of the most influential people in history, and how his impact shaped the world in this engaging overview of his life. Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…
The Gunpowder Plot:History in an Hour
The Gunpowder Plot:History in an Hour
Sinead Fitzgibbon
¥18.05
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. ‘Remember, remember, the fifth of November’. The gunpowder plot is a famed tale of treachery that continues to fascinate and capture the imagination four hundred years on. The Gunpowder Plot in an Hour reveals the elaborate background to the infamous plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament and James I, the ultimate act of treason. This compelling and engaging account of one of the most famous historical events in English history follows the Catholic protagonists hatching their plan through to their inevitable, gruesome deaths. Learn who the Catholic traitors were, what drove them to such desperate measures, and how the plot was discovered. The Gunpowder Plot in an Hour gives a concise overview of this enduring event and is a must for all history lovers. Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…
The Silver Brumby (Essential Modern Classics)
The Silver Brumby (Essential Modern Classics)
Elyne Mitchell
¥45.22
“The Silver Brumby took me cantering into the world’s wilder places.” – Geraldine McCaughrean A silver brumby is a rare and special creature, prized both by other horses and by men… A silver brumby is special, but he will be hunted by man and horse alike, and must be stronger than both. Thowra, the magnificent silver stallion, becomes king of the brumbies. But he must defend his herd from the mighty horse, The Brolga, in the most savage of struggles. That is not the only danger. Thowra needs all his speed and cunning to save his herd from capture by man. In a desperate chase through the mountains, it seems there is no longer anywhere for him to run to…
Times of War Collection
Times of War Collection
Michael Morpurgo
¥147.35
A stunning paperback collection of classic Morpurgo novels set in World War I, World War II and the Afghanistan conflict. Told in the voice of a young soldier, Private Peaceful follows twenty-four hours in his life at the front during WW I, capturing his memories as he looks back over his life. It’s both a love story and a deeply moving account of the horrors of the First World War. In An Elephant in the Garden, Elizabeth's father is fighting on the eastern front in WW II and her mother is working at Dresden zoo when the bombs start to fall. Their home destroyed, Elizabeth’s family must flee through the wintery landscape, avoiding the Russian troops who are drawing ever closer. It would be hard enough, without an elephant in tow… Shadow is the story of Aman, a boy from Afghanistan fleeing the horror of war. A western dog shows up outside the caves where Aman lives with his mother. When they finally decide to make a bid for freedom, Shadow will not leave their side. The destinies of boy and dog are linked, always.
Collins Complete Photography Projects
Collins Complete Photography Projects
John Garrett,Graeme Harris
¥91.43
The book all amateur digital photographers need – learn how to take the perfect photograph every time, from the authors of the bestselling Collins Complete Photography Course. In this book, John and Graeme apply their years of experience as professional photographers and instructors to teaching you the techniques and tips for capturing your friends and family, children and pets, holidays, sports days, celebrations, parties, festivals, weddings, births and birthdays. This book will show you the best way to photograph them all – every important person, place and memory you’ll want to treasure. Using the same practical, project based course structure that helped so many amateur photographers get to grips with their cameras in their bestselling Collins Complete Photography Course, John and Graeme will give you the confidence to get out your camera and start taking photos. Includes tips and advice on how to get the best out of your iphone and other mobile and point-and-shoots cameras as well as your digital SLR. John and Graeme’s warm and encouraging style will build your confidence, inspire your creativity and get you experimenting with your photos. With specially shot case studies and projects, step-by-steps, troubleshooting and project reviews you’ll be learning as you shoot right from the get go. Collins Complete Photography Projects is the natural follow-up to the Collins Complete Photography Course, benefiting those who have worked their way through the first one, but it will stand alone with a concise technical section that will bring new readers up to speed. A must have photography book for anyone with a digital camera and a little imagination.
Invisible Girl
Invisible Girl
Kate Maryon
¥34.14
Gabriella Midwinter used to have a home. She wasn't invisible back then. . .For fans of Cathy Cassidy and Jacqueline Wilson, a stunning new novel from the author of Shine, Glitter, Sea Of Stars and A Million Angels. "What's strange is that the day it actually happened, everything seemed so normal." Caught between arguing parents and moving house, twelve-year-old Gabriella somehow slips through the cracks. Now she's more alone than ever before. The city streets are no place for young girls but they're all she's got. Unless she can find her brother Beckett. Unless she can find her home.
A Perfectly Good Man
A Perfectly Good Man
Patrick Gale
¥37.57
The new novel from Patrick Gale, author of Richard & Judy-bestseller ‘Notes from an Exhibition’, returning readers to his beloved Cornish coastline. "Do you need me to pray for you now for a specific reason?” “I’m going to die.” “We’re all going to die. Does dying frighten you?” “I mean I’m going to kill myself.” When 20-year-old Lenny Barnes, paralysed in a rugby accident, commits suicide in the presence of Barnaby Johnson, the much-loved priest of a West Cornwall parish, the tragedy's reverberations open up the fault-lines between Barnaby and his nearest and dearest. The personal stories of his wife, children and lover illuminate Barnaby's ostensibly happy life, and the gulfs of unspoken sadness that separate them all. Across this web of relations scuttles Barnaby's repellent nemesis – a man as wicked as his prey is virtuous. Returning us to the rugged Cornish landscape of Notes from an Exhibition, Patrick Gale lays bare the lives and the thoughts of a whole community and asks us:what does it mean to be good?
Eyes Wide Open:How to Make Smart Decisions in a Confusing World
Eyes Wide Open:How to Make Smart Decisions in a Confusing World
Noreena Hertz
¥66.22
In ‘Eyes Wide Open’ Noreena Hertz does for decision-making what Daniel Kahneman did for thinking. ? Why should you be wary of experts? ? Are emails destroying your ability to think? ? How do you know which sources of information are credible? ? Whose advice should you trust? ‘Eyes Wide Open’ will help you through the data deluge and show you how to make better and smarter decisions. By weaving together cutting-edge research with real-world examples from Hollywood to Harry Potter, NASA to World War II spies, Hertz constructs a path to more astute and empowered decision-making in ten clear steps. With razor-sharp insight and an instinct for thought-provoking storytelling, she offers counterintuitive, effective guidance for making better choices—whether you are a businessperson, a professional, a patient, or a parent. ‘Eyes Wide Open’ is a game-changing book that empowers readers to become confident and wise decision-makers —savvy to how our emotions and habits can trip us up.
Falling Upwards:How We Took to the Air
Falling Upwards:How We Took to the Air
Richard Holmes
¥84.66
Lose yourself in the clouds with bestselling and prize-winning biographer and science writer Richard Holmes in this glorious history of hot-air ballooning. Hot-air balloons have drifted through Richard Holmes’s work for many years. And now, in this heart-lifting book he tells the story of these ineffably romantic floating machines and the reckless invention of the adventurers who flew them. His subject is flight itself and the pioneer generation of rival aviators. Ballooning offered a new vision of the earth. The world pondered for the first time reliable weather prediction, observation of the stars from an aerial point of view and the exploration of remote continents. Those in previous centuries who dreamt of flight believed it would open up the secrets of heaven. In fact, as Richard Holmes shows, it revealed the secrets of the world beneath.
Driving Jarvis Ham
Driving Jarvis Ham
Jim Bob
¥45.62
A brilliantly witty story of unconventional, unwavering, and regularly exasperating friendship. Meet Jarvis Ham:tea-room assistant, diarist, lift-cadger, Princess Di fan, secret alcoholic, and relentless seeker of fame. Jarvis may be an all-round irritant, but he’s harmless, and deep down, you know, he’s got a heart of gold. Hasn’t he? As his oldest (and only) friend reflects on his life with Jarvis Ham – infatuations, questionable hairstyles, home-made charity singles, reality TV auditions, paedophile alerts at the local swimming baths – he wonders what it would have been like if they had never met. But what are you going to do? He’s a mate. DRIVING JARVIS HAM is a novel for anyone who has ever found themselves looking across at a childhood friend, and wondering why they still know them.
A Seaside Affair
A Seaside Affair
Fern Britton
¥58.86
The new wonderfully warm and witty novel from Fern Britton, the bestselling novelist and TV personality. Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Jill Mansell. When the residents of the Cornish seaside town of Trevay discover that their much-loved theatre is about to be taken over by coffee chain, Café au Lait, they are up in arms. It is up to Penny Leighton, hotshot producer and now happily married Cornish resident, to come up with a rescue plan. Armed with only her mobile phone and her contacts book, she starts to pull in some serious favours. The town is soon deluged by actors, all keen to show their support and take part in a charity season at the theatre. One of the arrivals is Jess Tate, girlfriend to TV heartthrob Ryan Hearst. His career is on the rise while hers remains resolutely in the doldrums. But when opportunity comes calling, it isn’t just her career prospects that are about to change. Trevay is about to put on the show of its life – but can the villagers, and Jess, hold on to the thing they love the most?
Master it:How to cook today
Master it:How to cook today
Rory O'Connell
¥147.35
Winner of the André Simon Food Book Award. A personal cookery lesson from one of our finest cookery teachers. Nowadays we seem to know a lot about food, but much less about actual cooking. In Master It, Rory O’Connell will teach you simple but essential skills to make you a truly good cook. At the heart of his approach are good ingredients, carefully prepared, and used in recipes that are tried, tested, carefully measured, and full of the essential tips and details that will make your dishes a success. Each chapter will teach you a particular technique – preparing a soup, roasting meat, making biscuits – and include a collection of fresh, seasonal recipes to use it in, from wild garlic soup, to roast pork with fennel seeds, chilli and garlic, to caramel and almond thins.
A French Novel
A French Novel
Frédéric Beigbeder
¥73.58
Arrested for snorting cocaine off a car bonnet, award-winning author and quintessential dilettante Frederic Beigbeder reflects on his troubled childhood, while spending a night in the cells. In his most autobiographical book to date, the author of the award-winning ‘Windows on the World’ recounts his stay in police custody, when in January 2008 he was arrested for snorting cocaine outside a Paris nightclub. As he lies in his cell, he revisits his childhood, from the carefree days when his grandfather taught him to skim pebbles at the beach in Cénitz, to his parents’ divorce; the conflicting influences of his hedonistic father and his studious, seemingly conventional brother. And then Beigbeder recalls his first, unrequited loves. This patchwork of memories is as much a portrait of the era as it is the story of a fragile, self-critical man who has finally dropped the mask. Witty, sharp, with a pitiless, self-deprecating irony, and yet tender and true, ‘A French Novel’ is a gem. Beigbeder’s search for answers in the lost country of his childhood will speak to a whole generation searching for its soul.