Category Archives: Culture

The Folio Society Celebrates Poetry

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Let January Be Your Time to Relax and Reconnect

 

Whether you over indulged over the festive season or just want to unwind, poetry is a great way to relax the mind.  The Folio Society has produced three very different, equally lovely volumes of poetry for those looking for a bit of inner peace:

 

  • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner & Three Other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  • Selected Poems by Rumi
  • The Book of Psalms

THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER & THREE OTHER POEMS
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

& Three Other Poems

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Illustrated by Harry Brockway

 

Available exclusively from www.foliosociety.com

 

 

Bound in cloth, blocked with a design by the artist. Set in Albertina. 120 pages. Frontispiece and 23 integrated black & white wood engravings. Blocked slipcase. 11¾˝ x 8¾˝.

 

UK £34.95|US $51.95|Can $69.95|Aus $69.95

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was the most innovative and influential of all the English Romantic poets. This beautiful edition emulates our popular limited edition, with four immortal poems superbly illustrated by Harry Brockway, one of the UK’s leading wood-engravers. A striking binding design by the artist and a blocked slipcase make this the perfect vessel for Coleridge’s fantastical journeys.

 

From the mystical power of ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ to the visionary magnificence of ‘Kubla Khan’, Coleridge’s work reshaped the landscape of English poetry. He forged new paths in philosophy and criticism, but it is his poems that have earned him pre-eminence. His images are embedded in our cultural consciousness: the beauty and perils of Xanadu; the ‘glittering eye’ of the ancient mariner; the ‘charméd water’ of deathly seas.

 

This edition unites ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ with three poems published as a single volume in 1816: ‘Christabel’, ‘Kubla Khan’ and ‘The Pains of Sleep’. All were exceptionally influential on later writers: Mary Shelley in Frankenstein, Bram Stoker in Dracula and Herman Melville in Moby-Dick all explicitly refer to ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.

 

The final poem, ‘The Pains of Sleep’, is one of Coleridge’s most personal, written during a nightmare-ridden period of withdrawal from laudanum, the drug to which he was addicted. It is an outpouring that uncovered his deepest soul, his sense of wasted promise and guilt, and his desperate, childlike yearning for love.

Illustration by Harry Brockway from The Folio Society edition of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

& Three Other Poems ©Harry Brockway

 

SELECTED POEMS BY RUMI
Selected Poems

By Rumi (Jallād-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī )

Translated by Coleman Barks

Introduced by Michael Schmidt

Illustrated by Marian Bantjes

 

Available exclusive from www.foliosociety.com

 

Bound in cloth blocked with a design by the artist. Set in Arno Pro. 376 pages.

Printed with metallic blue and rose gold patterns throughout. Ribbon marker.

Plain slipcase. 8¾” x 7¾”

 

UK £39.95|US $59.95|Can $81.95|Aus $79.95

 

Rumi is celebrated across the Islamic world as a visionary thinker, his verses revered as masterpieces of Persian literature. Nearly 750 years after Rumi’s death, Coleman Barks’s vibrant translations have also achieved the unlikely feat of making him the best-selling poet in the USA.  The poems have even been among the favourites of Madonna, Tilda Swinton, Beyonce & Jay-Z and Chris Martin.

 

Shortly after his birth in present-day Afghanistan in 1207, Rumi’s family were forced to flee Mongol invaders, eventually settling in Konya, in modern-day Turkey. It was there in 1244 that he encountered the eccentric Sufi dervish, Shams of Tabriz. Their intense spiritual friendship was shattered by Shams’s sudden departure a devastating loss which changed the course of Rumi’s life. Over the next 30 years, he produced prodigious outpourings of verse and prose, addressing readers with rare directness – by turns confrontational and playful, lyrical and abrupt, and his range is extraordinary. With his inclusive vision of the world and his tolerance, wisdom and humour, this 13th-century mystic continues to speak to 21st-century readers with startling immediacy.

 

Coleman Barks first encountered Rumi’s poems in 1976, when a fellow author showed him academic translations with the suggestion that ‘these poems need to be released from their cages’. Barks responded by producing what he calls ‘playful palimpsests’ – epigrammatic free-verse translations that allow Rumi’s distinctive voice to bridge vast gaps of culture, geography, language and time. Barks’s ‘Selected Poems’ capture Rumi’s spirit without imprisoning it.

 

This beautiful edition features a spectacular binding designed by Marian Bantjes. Her intricate Islamic-inspired geometric patterns also frame every page of text, evoking the music and whirling dances associated with Rumi’s poems, and encouraging us to lose ourselves in his words.

 

 

THE BOOK OF PSALMS
The Book of Psalms

(From the Authorised King James Version of the Bible)

Introduced by Valentine Cunningham

Lettering designed by Jessica Hische

 

Bound in cloth blocked with lettering by the artist. Set in Arno. 296 pages. Printed in 2 colours throughout. Gilt rose-gold page tops. Ribbon marker. Blocked slipcase. 6¼” x 4¼”

 

UK £24.95|US $36.95|Can $49.95|Aus $49.95

The Book of Psalms is the spiritual ‘heart’ of the Bible, a key instrument of communal worship for practising Christians and Jews and a focus for private devotion. The 150 Psalms also form the ancient world’s greatest collection of poetry, continuing to speak to readers with unparalleled power more than 2,500 years after they were first composed.

 

Known in Hebrew simply as Tehillim or ‘Praises’, the Psalms take us from the heights of confidence to the depths of self-doubt, from crippling despair to overwhelming joy. With their highly personal outpourings and vast psychological range, reading the Psalms remains an intense religious, literary and emotional experience.

 

The King James Version is the definitive translation of the Bible, unique in its influence on the culture and literature of the English-speaking world. Commissioned by James I in 1604, it took a committee of 47 pre-eminent scholars the next 7 years to complete. With its deliberate archaism, literal translation of Hebrew metaphors and sensitivity to the spoken word, its version of The Book of Psalms captures the essence of the original Hebrew text while achieving its own poetry.

 

In his new introduction, Valentine Cunningham explores the Psalms’ enduring power as a source of literary, religious, political and personal inspiration – and how their language has become our language.

 

This exquisite edition fits perfectly into the hand, allowing an intensely personal reading experience and an intimate connection with these soul-searching poems. Jessica Hische’s beautiful lettering and the generous layouts bring new clarity to the text, whether one is focusing on a single Psalm or experiencing their cumulative effect, reading aloud or for silent contemplation, as poetry or prayer.

 

Why Technology is Ruining Christmas By Ian Shepherd, author of The Sleighmaker

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A third of children will be sending their wish lists to Santa by smartphone app this Christmas.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Now, when the kids aren’t looking, swipe their gadgets – all of them – and hide them in a sock drawer until December 26. Because technology is ruining Christmas. And I mean ruining it.

I wrote an unashamedly traditional children’s book called The Sleighmaker, which is out this week. My publisher assures me that it will capture the public’s imagination in much the same way as The Snowman did all those years ago. Except that it won’t. Because that was then, and this is now. Raymond Brigg’s classic picture book was released in 1982, long before Britain’s obsession with all things ‘smart’. In those days, children read books for entertainment, not homework. Books were the must-have ‘device’, the original hand-held tablet.

Children still love to read – a lot. Sales of children’s books rose 16 per cent last year to £365million, according to figures released by the Publisher’s Association. But in today’s tech-obsessed households, where youngsters spend an average of six hours-a-day (yes, you read that correctly) glued to an array of ‘smart’ screens, the paperback no longer takes centre stage. Technology and its new leading lady, the smartphone (which has never been, er, smarter), steal the show. A quarter of children will use one to send Christmas wishes via Facebook on December 25. Yes, technology has written off the humble pen, too.

And so back to Christmas and the thankless pursuit of that impossibly perfect day. Nothing, even the in-laws, should be allowed to spoil it.

Except that technology in any of its guises almost certainly will. Its availability anywhere in the home will prevent kids from focusing on wonderful books like The Snowman (and The Sleighmaker). It will fill your home with irritating noises, and reduce your children’s vocabulary to monosyllabic grunts. It will also cause your children more harm that cocaine, if you believe the warnings (Earlier this year, an addiction therapist claimed that giving children a smartphone is like “giving them a gram of cocaine”. She said time spent messages pals on Snapchat and Instagram could be just as dangerously addictive for teenagers and drugs and alcohol).

A new smartphone app lets kids scan the barcode of a toy they want for Christmas before sending their parents an automated email with the details.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Now, when the kids aren’t looking, swipe their gadgets – all of them – and hide them in a sock drawer until December 26. Because technology is ruining Christmas. And I mean ruining it.

The Sleighmaker (Raj Joshi Publishing) is out now priced £11.99 in hardback, £6.99 paperback and £4.60 as a Kindle eBook. Signed copies and further information from www.thesleighmaker.com 

 

Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour U.K. & Ireland Dates Announced

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TAYLOR SWIFT’S REPUTATION STADIUM TOUR
U.K. & IRELAND DATES ANNOUNCED

TICKETS ON SALE ON FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER

Following the release of Taylor Swift’s unanimously critically-acclaimed U.K. #1 album, reputation, the ten-time GRAMMY award winner has today announced the U.K. & Ireland dates for Taylor Swift’s reputation Stadium Tour.

Taylor Swift’s reputation Stadium Tour is set to arrive in Dublin, Manchester and London. Tickets go on-sale to the general-public Friday 1 December 2017. Subscribers of TaylorSwift.com will have access to purchase tickets in advance.

Taylor Swift’s reputation Stadium Tour is produced and promoted by Live Nation and S.J.M. Concerts in the UK, MCD in Ireland, and the Messina Touring Group (MTG) and AEG Presents in North America. General ticketing and on-sale information is currently available at TaylorSwift.com.

TAYLOR SWIFT’S REPUTATION STADIUM TOUR
U.K. & IRELAND DATES

DATE MARKET BUILDING
8 June 2018 Manchester Etihad Stadium
15 June 2018 Dublin Croke Park
22 June 2018 London Wembley Stadium Connected by EE

Taylor Swift’s critically acclaimed sixth studio album, reputation, topped iTunes album charts in 111 countries and debuted at no.1 on the both the Official UK Albums Charts and the Billboard 200 album chart. Selling over 1.29 million copies in the U.S. week of release, it is the highest selling album there this year. Taylor is the only artist in history to have four albums selling over one million copies in their first week of release in the U.S. (2010’s Speak Now, 2012’s RED, 2014’s 1989 and 2017’s reputation).

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping first single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” from her sixth album, reputation, broke multiple records within hours of its release. With over 10 million streams, it is the most-streamed song in a one-day period ever, the lyric video for “Look What You Made Me Do” broke the standing record with over 19 million views, while the music video shattered the original most viewed video (28 million) record with 43.2 million views in only 24 hours.

Taylor is a ten-time GRAMMY winner, a singer, songwriter, musician and producer. She is the youngest person in history to win the music industry’s highest honour, The GRAMMY Award for Album of the Year and she is the first female solo artist to win this prestigious award twice. Rolling Stone listed Taylor as one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Time magazine has named her one the of the 100 Most Influential People in the world and one of only eight candidates for their most prestigious honour, 2014 Person of the Year. A Brit and Emmy award winner, Taylor is Billboard’s youngest-ever Woman of the Year and the only artist to have been awarded this honour twice.

The Invisible Crowd By Ellen Wiles Book Review

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Immigration is a hot topic in Britain right now. This debut novel does the topic justice. This book is a combination of great writing talent and insider knowledge. A winning duo that makes a truly wonderful book. Well worth a read.

2nd March 1975

In Asmara, Eritrea, Yonas Kelati is born into a world of turmoil. At the same time, on the same day, Jude Munroe takes her first breath in London, England.

Thirty Years Later

Blacklisted in his war-ravaged country, Yonas has no option but to flee his home. After a terrible journey, he arrives on a bleak English coast.

By a twist of fate, Yonas’ asylum case lands on Jude’s desk. Opening the file, she finds a patchwork of witness statements from those who met Yonas along his journey: a lifetime the same length of hers, reduced to a few scraps of paper.

Soon, Jude will stand up in court and tell Yonas’ story. How she tells it will change his life forever.

The Invisible Crowd By Ellen Wiles is available here.

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: JANE CABLE SUCCUMBS TO A LITTLE MAGIC

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Last week I posted the following tweet: “That moment when you start writing and you can’t stop; when you turn off the car radio because the characters are talking in your head; when you take long walks just to spend time with them.”

For me, it summed up the magic of writing and was a joyous expression of my delight at experiencing it again. And what’s more, I hadn’t even realised it had gone away. Had I become too much of a technician? Had I been trying too hard? Disappearing up my own wotsit?

I’ve made my name (such as it is) as a writer of books that are more than just romance. A twist of mystery, a twist of suspense, a twist of the ghostly. Hard to fit into a genre box – and very hard to sell to an agent or a publisher. Believe me – I’ve been there, done that, got the proverbial T-shirt. There was a time when I considered “you write well, but…” would be my most appropriate epitaph.

The stars began to align back in October when I had a manuscript turned down by a publishing house because it was ‘too dark and emotionally intense’. However they made it very clear they’d love another submission from me if I came up with something more escapist and with a simpler pay off.

Seeing the proliferation of ‘heart warming’ stories on supermarket shelves made me step back and seriously consider the market for romance. Of course, it doesn’t take an awful lot more than common sense to see that life is pretty grim for a large number of people at the moment so they want a book to be a happy place to lose themselves. They want familiarity with their fiction: Heidi Swain’s Wynbridge series, Elaine Everest’s vintage Woolworths. In short – they want a comfort read.

But could I write one? Should I write one? After all, my readers expect something different and there are a significant number who buy my books for this reason, even if not enough to make a publisher bite off my hand. While I was mulling this over I chanced across Harper Collins’ Great British Write Off where they’re looking for thrillers and ‘beautiful love stories, particularly escapist settings.’ The deadline was the middle of January; perhaps I should give it a go.

So I started to make a few plans; an outline, some character sketches, a nice punchy opening. Still I prevaricated. In the meantime a friend who would dearly love to write ‘more complex’ (their words not mine) novels, was offered a three book deal for her chicklit. And then an agent who’d been reading my full manuscript came back with a no – but once again made it very clear they’d be happy to read more of my work – without the paranormal element.

On Wednesday morning my husband went away for a few days so I started to write. And write. And write. And live and breathe my characters inside my head in a way I’d almost forgotten. Long walks around the park and up the river. Then back home again to write some more. Researching on the hoof, taking it one or two scenes at a time. Letting the magic flow. 8,000 words of magic in just three days.

In fact, I’m itching to write another chapter now. So if you’ll excuse me…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Gift Guide For Book Lovers

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We love these books. Each one is a great gift for Christmas.

The Bumper Book of Things That Nobody Knows 

A great book that gives hours of entertaining knowledge.

A witty and fascinating exploration of the limits of human knowledge of our planet, its history and culture, and the universe beyond.

There are many, many things that nobody knows…

Do animals have a sense of humour? Why do we have five fingers? What did Jesus do in his youth? Has human evolution stopped? Can robots become self-aware? What goes on inside a black hole?

Bringing together The Things That Nobody Knows and Even More Things That Nobody Knows, this bumper volume takes us on a guided tour of 1,001 gaps in our knowledge of cosmology, mathematics, animal behaviour, medical science, music, art and literature.

The Bumper Book of Things That Nobody Knows is available here. 

And Then You’re Dead: A Scientific Exploration of The World’s Most Interesting Ways To Die

As interesting as it is morbid. A great book.

What would happen if you took a swim outside a deep-sea submarine wearing only Speedos? How long could you last if you stood on the surface of the sun? How far could you actually get in digging a hole to China?

And Then You’re Dead offers serious answers to these horribly interesting questions. Paul Doherty and Cody Cassidy explore the real science behind these and other fantastical scenarios, offering insights into physics, astronomy, anatomy and more along the way. Illustrated with straightforward technical art and leavened by small doses of dry humour, And Then You’re Dead is both scientifically informative and gruesomely entertaining.

And Then You’re Dead: A Scientific Exploration of The World’s Most Interesting Ways To Die is available here. 

The Zoomable Universe

A stunning visual book. Unique and full of knowledge.

Embark on a breath-taking, cutting-edge voyage through the enormity of our reality – travelling one “power of ten” or order of magnitude at a time. Echoing the classic film by Charles and Ray Eames, acclaimed astrobiologist Caleb Scharf and artist Ron Miller guide us from the very edge of the observable universe – about 91 billion light-years away – to the subatomic realm, where the fabric of space-time itself behaves in a way that confounds all the rules of physics we currently know.

Gorgeously designed and visually inspiring, The Zoomable Universe takes a truly unique approach toward explaining our place in the universe, charting an unforgettable course through galaxies, black holes, solar systems, stars and planets, oceans, plants and animals, microorganisms, atoms, quantum fields, and much more. Illustrated with stunning colour artwork and infographics, this is an unforgettable journey that will thrill readers who want to discover more about the incredible reality we inhabit.

The Zoomable Universe is available here.

Mail Men: The Unauthorized Story of the Daily Mail – The Paper that Divided and Conquered Britain

A great and fascinating read about the most popular, yet most hated, newspaper in the UK today.

Mail Men is the gripping, unofficial story of an institution that has become the self-proclaimed voice of middle England, and the adversary of liberals everywhere. Journalist Adrian Addison investigates the secret behind the Mail‘s extraordinary longevity and commercial success but also examines the controversies that have beset the paper – from its owner’s flirtation with fascism in the 1930s to its fractious relationship with liberals, celebrities and politicians today. Revelatory and captivating, this book also gets under the skin of Paul Dacre, the once awkward reporter who has become one of the most feared, hated, secretive, and respected editors in Britain. This is an essential read if you wish to understand modern Britain.

Mail Men: The Unauthorized Story of the Daily Mail – The Paper that Divided and Conquered Britain is available here. 

The Rise of The Outsiders: How Mainstream Politics Lost its Way

Perfect for the political junkie in your life. A great book.

Politics in the West has become unpredictable and tumultuous. In recent years, voters have deserted the political centre like never before. Whether it’s Trump, Brexit, Le Pen, Tsipras, or even Corbyn, why have outsiders and populists flourished on far left and far right? Why is the political landscape shifting so rapidly?

In this landmark book, celebrated political commentator Steve Richards provides a clear and penetrating analysis of the biggest political story of the past fifty years. He argues that despite charismatic outsiders dominating the headlines, the real answers lie in the failure of the mainstream to evolve in a world still suffering the fallout of the financial crash in 2008. Exploring factors from globalization and a changing media to rising immigration and stagnant wages, he reveals just why confidence in conventional politics is at an all-time low – and why many voters (wrongly) see mainstream politicians as self-interested and aloof.

And what of the outsiders themselves? Analysing their record so far, Richards argues that the reasons for their success also sow the seeds of their eventual demise. If they do gain power, they inevitably become insiders themselves – and fail to live up to their outlandish promises. But with the world increasingly unstable in the meantime, Richards warns that there is an urgent need for conventional politicians to reconnect with voters and for the electorate to engage with the constraints on elected politicians.

Intelligent, nuanced and wide-ranging, this is the essential handbook for understanding the chaotic political times in which we live.

The Rise of The Outsiders: How Mainstream Politics Lost its Way is available here. 

Women On Childbirth: Tips and Experience From Women Who Have Done It. 

An essential book for any women who is going to give birth. A popular book from our editor Catherine Balavage.

Women on Childbirth is an essential book for any woman expecting a baby. From caesarean sections to natural births, no matter how you choose to give birth, one of these women have done it before. Catherine Balavage had a traumatic birth with her first child, which spurred her on to talk to other women about their experiences and find out more about childbirth. She then went on to have a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) with her second child. Women on Childbirth aims to empower woman with stories of childbirth, but also provide tips and information. It is essential reading for any woman who is going to give birth.

Women On Childbirth: Tips and Experience From Women Who Have Done It is available here. 

The Lies of The Land: A Brief History of Political Dishonesty

A great and timely book for our times.

Trust in our politicians is at an all-time low. We’re in a “post-truth” era, where feelings trump facts, and where brazen rhetoric beats honesty. But do politicians lie more than they used to? And do we even want them to tell the truth?

In a history full of wit and political acumen, Private Eye journalist Adam Macqueen dissects the gripping stories of the biggest political lies of the last half century, from the Profumo affair to Blair’s WMDs to Boris Johnson’s £350 million for the NHS. Covering lesser known whoppers, infamous lies from foreign shores (“I did not have sexual relations with that woman”), and some of the resolute untruths from Donald Trump’s explosive presidential campaign, this is the quintessential guide to dishonesty from our leaders – and the often pernicious relationship between parliament and the media.

But this book is also so much more. It explains how in the space of a lifetime we have gone from the implicit assumption that our rulers have our best interests at heart, to assuming the worst even when – in the majority of cases – politicians are actually doing their best.

The Lies of The Land: A Brief History of Political Dishonesty is available here. 

Uncovering the Secrets of Winning Business from Private Clients

A good business book. It has its niche and is full of knowledge for those in the UHNW community. 

Caroline Garnham, a former leading private client lawyer and head of Simmons & Simmons private client practice for fifteen years, was nominated as one of the top five leading private client lawyers by The Lawyer in 2011. She was a contributor for the Financial Times from 1986 to 1998, pioneered the area of law now known as Family Governance and proposed and drafted the Executive Entity Act for the Bahamas, which became law in December 2011.

This book draws on her extensive knowledge and intimate experience in working for some of the world’s wealthiest families. Pulling together scores of examples, she looks at the relationship of the UHNW community and their advisors from both perspectives. She believes that by understanding each other, they can work together more productively.

Caroline had a break from practicing law in December 2011 to focus her attention on making investment opportunities, exclusive luxury products and relevant information more available to the UHNW community.

She designed a digital platform which she now runs as a joint venture enterprise www.bconnectclub.com. It provides a safe and secure neutral website, where UHNWIs can find investment opportunities, luxury products and services and where subscribers can promote their case studies, news and views to this hard to reach market.

Caroline is actively advising clients. She is passionate about the need for UHNW families to use teams of trusted advisers on a regular basis. They cannot hope to know the detail of what risks lie in wait for them and need a team of advisers – which she calls a ‘Ring of Confidence’ – to keep them fully informed.

Uncovering the Secrets of Winning Business from Private Clients is available here. 

Flying Fergus By Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, written with award-winning author Joanna Nadin

Another brilliant book in the series. .

A new coach is needed – but what can a wheelchair basketball champion teach Fergus and friends about cycling?

Fergus is sure their new coach is going to be his ultimate hero, cycle champ ‘Spokes’ Sullivan, so when Grandpa introduces Charlotte Campbell, the children are all less than impressed. Charlie is the successful captain of the Paralympic wheelchair basketball team and has some interesting training methods. She gets the team doing yoga and wheelbarrow races, and enters them in the Wreck-It Run, a charity race where everyone creates their own adapted bikes from parts and must compete in pairs. Fergus is sure Charlie is off her rocker – how will this help them get faster for the International time trials?

Flying Fergus is available here.

When You Are Super Rich Who Can You Trust?

We thought this book was full of great information for the rich but also a great insight for those who are not. Even when it occasionally goes off topic, it is still fascinating. It is also nice to see a book which is sympathetic to the rich instead of just hating them and judging them. 

Caroline Garnham, a former leading private client lawyer was head of Simmons & Simmons private client practice for fifteen years. She was nominated as one of the top five leading private client lawyers in 2011 and was a contributor for the Financial Times for twelve years on tax and trusts. Caroline pioneered the area of law now known as Family Governance.

This book draws on her extensive knowledge and intimate experience in working for some of the world’s wealthiest families. Pulling together scores of examples, she looks at the relationship between the UHNW community and their advisors from both perspectives. She believes that by understanding each other they can work together more productively.

“Working as a private client lawyer for more than twenty years I developed a sympathy for you, the Super-Rich community. It is a community people find hard to feel sorry for – you do not have to worry about the mortgage being paid or where the next meal is coming from but your concerns nevertheless can keep you awake at night.

You contribute significantly in taxes which benefits us all. In Great Britain, the top 1% pay 30% of our income tax; you spend in our shops and oil the wheels of our economy – and yet in general you are poorly served and often despised.

As wealthy individuals I understand you are being fingered for money ALL THE TIME. It is hardly surprising therefore that you fly off the handle when you are being fleeced for yet more. Being pestered for money is a way of life for you which most of you hate which is why you want to preserve your privacy.”

This book is designed for you, the super-rich and those aspiring to be super rich. This book will tell you how
to manage your advisors, your wealth and how to enjoy it all.

When You Are Super Rich Who Can You Trust? is available here. 

Reflections of Life From an Essex Girl

A good book of poetry from an obvious talent.

Available here. 

It’s Your Time

Entertaining and interesting book of alternative poetry. 

It’s Your Time is a journey of life, describing the spiritual challenges we face and presenting musical lyrics to feed your soul. It serves as a place to unwind, be intense, be in love or out of love, be thoughtful, or cry. It is your space and time in words. These verses explore a wide range of topics, including hope, love, sadness, joy, empowerment, and spirituality, all bound up in lives that matter. For author Sandra Donald, the supportive mechanism of faith helped her to understand and accept that good things can come from painful experiences and that true magic is entwined with the written word.

This collection of poetry seeks to pull at strings and thoughts, unblock the blocked, capture a laugh, and reinvent the wheel for all the things you need.

It’s Your Time is available here. 

 

What will you buy?

 

Perfect Books For Christmas

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Perfect books for Christmas. Buy them now. tom hanks book uncommon typeTom Hanks Uncommon Type 

A stunning collection of short stories from the Oscar-winning actor. You will not be able to put it down.

A collection of seventeen wonderful short stories showing that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is as talented a writer as he is an actor.

A hectic, funny sexual affair between two best friends. A World War II veteran dealing with his emotional and physical scars. A second-rate actor plunged into sudden stardom and a whirlwind press junket. A small-town newspaper columnist with old-fashioned views of the modern world. A woman adjusting to life in a new neighborhood after her divorce. Four friends going to the moon and back in a rocket ship constructed in the backyard. A teenage surfer stumbling into his father’s secret life.

These are just some of the people and situations that Tom Hanks explores in his first work of fiction, a collection of stories that dissects, with great affection, humour and insight, the human condition and all its foibles. The stories are linked by one thing: in each of them, a typewriter plays a part, sometimes minor, sometimes central. To many, typewriters represent a level of craftsmanship, beauty and individuality that is harder and harder to find in the modern world. In his stories, Mr Hanks gracefully reaches that typewriter-worthy level.

Known for his honesty and sensitivity as an actor, Mr Hanks brings both those characteristics to his writing. Alternatingly whimsical, moving and occasionally melancholy, Uncommon Type is a book that will delight as well as surprise his millions of fans. It also establishes him as a welcome and wonderful new voice in contemporary fiction, a voice that perceptively delves beneath the surface of friendships, families, love and normal, everyday behaviour.

Tom Hanks Uncommon Type is available here. 

The New Mum’s Notebook 

A wonderful present for any mum. Part book part notebook. It is also a great keepsake.

Reassuring, funny and down-to-earth, THE NEW MUM’S NOTEBOOK is everything you need for the first year of life with a baby.
What do new mums want most of all (apart from sleep)? They want someone to tell them what they’re feeling is ‘normal’. That they’re doing ok. That they will be ok. The New Mum’s Notebook, written by Amy Ransom – mum of three and creator of the Surviving Motherhood blog – does all this and more.

From night feeds, napping and weaning, to which films to cue up on Netflix, finding some headspace and getting all the support, coffee and cake you need, Amy has been there – and this is the book she wishes she’d had by her side.

Divided into the first 12 months of motherhood, with 304 pages of reassurance, love and humour, as well as spaces to scribble thoughts, feelings and memories from those crazy early days, The New Mum’s Notebook will nurture a new mum in however she chooses to raise her baby. Whether it’s her first or her fifth.

Word on the street is it’s almost worth having another baby for…

‘You’ve created the book that we all wish we’d had.’ – Clemmie, mum of two

‘My go-to present for my new mummy friends’ – Kate, mum of two

‘I’ve had loads of baby record books and never ever filled one in. This book feels so different. I love it.’ – Annabel, mum of five

* Perfect for expectant mothers and new mums

* Gorgeous colour pages including lots of reassurance, self-care advice, journal pages, affirmations and simple recipes

* Divided into 12 months to take you through every stage of a new mum and baby’s first year

* Eight journal pages per month with space to write notes, thoughts, memories and all those ‘to-dos’

* 12 months of milestone charts for mum and baby

The New Mum’s Notebook is available here.

Tim Peake Ask An Astronaut 

A brilliant book full of great information. Perfect for any age group.

The awe-inspiring Sunday Times Bestseller from astronaut Tim Peake

How does it feel to orbit the earth ten times faster than a speeding bullet?
What’s it like to eat, sleep and go to the toilet in space?
And where to next – the Moon, Mars or beyond?

Ask an Astronaut is Tim’s personal guide to life in space, based on his historic Principia mission, and the thousands of questions he has been asked since his return to Earth.

Accessible, in-depth, and written with his characteristic warmth, Tim shares his thoughts on every aspect of his mission. From training to launch, from his historic spacewalk to re-entry, he reveals for readers of all ages the cutting-edge science behind his ground-breaking experiments, and the wonders of day-to-day life on board the International Space Station.

The public were invited to submit questions using the hashtag #askanastronaut, and a selection are answered by Tim in the book, which will be accompanied with illustrations, diagrams and never-before-seen photos.

Tim is pleased to announce that, as with his previous book, royalties received from the book will be donated to The Prince’s Trust.

Tim Peake Ask An Astronaut is available here. 

David Jason Only Fools and Stories

Entertaining and well written. A great read.

In his first book David Jason told us about himself from his early years training as an electrician through to making it as one of Britain’s greatest actors.

This autumn, in a follow up autobiography, he tells us about the many other lives he has lived – his characters. From Del Boy to Granville, Pop Larkin to Frost, he takes us behind the scenes and under the skins of some of the best loved acts of his career.

And in the process he reflects on how those characters changed his life too. The result told with his characteristic charm and wit is both funny and poignant, honest and heart warming.

David Jason Only Fools and Stories is available here. 

Krysten Ritter Bonfire

Who knew this amazing actress could also write? A suspenseful novel full of twists and turns. Brilliant.

Can you ever outrun your past?

From actress, producer, and writer Krysten Ritter, a gripping, tightly wound suspense novel about a woman forced to confront her past in the wake of small-town corruption

It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small-town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands.

But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town’s most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’s biggest scandal from more than a decade ago, involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends–just before Kaycee disappeared for good.

Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as she tries desperately to find out what really happened to Kaycee, troubling memories begin to resurface and she begins to doubt her own observations. And when she unearths an even more disturbing secret–a ritual called “The Game”–it will threaten reputations, and lives, in the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her.

With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote rural town of just five claustrophobic square miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of what happens when your past and present collide.

Krysten Ritter Bonfire is available here. 

A Galaxy of Her Own: Amazing Stories of Women in Space

An essential book for the young women in your life. Well written with beautiful illustrations.

From small steps to giant leaps, A Galaxy of Her Own tells fifty stories of inspirational women who have been fundamental to the story of humans in space, from scientists to astronauts to some surprising roles in between.

From Ada Lovelace in the nineteenth century, to the women behind the Apollo missions, from the astronauts breaking records on the International Space Station to those blazing the way in the race to get to Mars, A Galaxy of Her Own reveals extraordinary stories, champions unsung heroes and celebrates remarkable achievements from around the world.

Written by Libby Jackson, a leading UK expert in human space flight, and illustrated with bold and beautiful artwork from the students of London College of Communication, this is a book to delight and inspire trailblazers of all ages.

Packed full of both amazing female role models and mind-blowing secrets of space travel, A Galaxy of Her Own is guaranteed to make any reader reach for the stars.

A Galaxy of Her Own: Amazing Stories of Women in Space

Mary Woods Brighter Days Ahead 

A wonderful, engrossing, historical novel.

Brighter Days Ahead is a moving story set against the backdrop of the Second World War, from Mary Wood, the author of In Their Mother’s Footsteps.

War pulled them apart, but can it bring them back together?

Molly lives with her repugnant father, who has betrayed her many times. From a young age, living on the
streets of London’s East End, she has seen the harsh realities of life . . . When she’s kidnapped by a gang and forced into their underworld, her future seems bleak.

Flo spent her early years in an orphanage, and is about to turn her hand to teacher training. When a kindly teacher at her school approaches her about a job at Bletchley Park, it could be everything she never knew she wanted.

Will the girls’ friendship be enough to weather the hard times ahead?

Mary Woods Brighter Days Ahead is available here. 

James Duigan Blueprint For Health

The perfect book for New Year. A great plan which we will be trying from someone who really knows his stuff. There is a reason the stars turn to him.

From world-renowned health and wellbeing authority, author and founder of the BODYISM brand, James Duigan, comes Blueprint for Health. Expanding on his bestselling ‘Clean & Lean’ philosophy, this is his most comprehensive book yet, detailing the four pillars that combine to create the BODYISM blueprint of a healthy, happy life.
For each pillar, James helps the reader understand and engage with the underlying philosophy behind BODYISM, so you can make changes that last long-term. In the book you’ll find 80 delicious recipes and a series of simple movement and mindset exercises to detoxify your diet and behaviour and gently guide you towards balance in every area.
The result is a book that will empower you to think, eat, move and feel better, helping you “switch on” your body’s capacity to function at its highest level. James will inspire you to become the best, happiest and fittest version of yourself. After just 14 days of following the BODYISM blueprint you’ll grow stronger, leaner and feel unstoppable.

James Duigan Blueprint For Health is available here. 

Simon Sebag Montefiore Red Sky At Noon

A wonderful novel to really sink your teeth into. From one of the leading historical novelists writing today: a stunning book.

‘The black earth was already baking and the sun was just rising when they mounted their horses and rode across the grasslands towards the horizon on fire …’

Imprisoned in the Gulags for a crime he did not commit, Benya Golden joins a penal battalion made up of Cossacks and convicts to fight the Nazis.

He enrols in the Russian cavalry, and on a hot summer day in July 1942, he and his band of brothers are sent on a desperate mission behind enemy lines.

Switching between Benya’s war in the grasslands of Southern Russia, and Stalin’s plans in the Kremlin, between Benya’s intense affair with an Italian nurse and a romance between Stalin’s daughter and a journalist also on the Eastern Front, this is a sweeping story of passion, bravery and human survival where personal betrayal is a constant companion, and death just a heartbeat away.

Simon Sebag Montefiore Red Sky At Noon is available here. 

Before You Know it: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do

A great Christmas present. A well written, brilliantly researched novel that lets everyone know how to understand themselves- and others- better.

‘John Bargh’s Before You Know It moves our understanding of the mysteries of human behaviour one giant step forward. A brilliant and convincing book.’ – Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and David and Goliath

The world’s leading expert on the unconscious mind reveals the hidden mental processes that secretly govern every aspect of our behaviour.

For more than three decades, Dr John Bargh has been conducting revolutionary research into the unconscious mind – not Freud’s dark, malevolent unconscious but a helpful and powerful part of the mind that we can access and understand through experimental science. Now, Dr Bargh presents an engaging and enlightening tour of the influential psychological forces that are at work as we go about our daily lives – checking a dating app, holding a cup of hot coffee or getting a flu jab.

Dr Bargh takes you into his labs at New York University and Yale, where his ingenious experiments have shown how the unconscious guides our behaviour, goals and motivations in areas like race relations, parenting, business, consumer behaviour and addiction. He reveals the pervasive influence of the unconscious mind in who we choose to date or vote for, what we buy, where we live, how we perform on tests and in job interviews, and much more. Before You Know It is full of surprising and entertaining revelations as well as tricks to help you remember to-do items, shop smarter and sleep better.

Before You Know It will profoundly change the way you understand yourself by introducing you to a fascinating world only recently discovered, the world that exists below the surface of your awareness and yet is the key to unlocking new ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.

Before You Know it: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do is available here. 

 

 

 

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: TELLING THE WORLD – Jane Cable meets Bookouture publicist Kim Nash

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What is your book related job?

I work as Publicity and Social Media Manager at Bookouture (www.bookouture.com). It’s my job to let the world know about our books and authors whether this be through traditional media such as magazines and newspapers or in the online arena so in online magazines or via our social media channels.   I spend tons of time on social media too, sharing all our fabulous news and books and reviews.

When I was a little girl my dream was to work at a book publisher because I thought you got to sit and read books all day long and that’s what a book publisher did. Now most of my friends and family think that I actually do that, but I can assure everyone that any reading I do is in my own time as my job is packed all day long with promotional work. I’m very lucky to be working in my dream job though, which I absolutely adore. I thank my lucky stars every single day!

 

What is the most rewarding part of it?

There are SO many rewarding parts of my job. To see a book get a high profile ranking in the charts and the excitement that causes. Seeing authors give up their jobs to write full time, and knowing that we’ve been an integral part of them achieving their dreams. Helping an author to release their stories into the world and get readers reading them. Knowing that we’ve produced books that our readers love and introducing new authors to our readers.

What do you consider to be your major successes?

My personal success was to win Media Star of the Year at last year’s RNA awards.   It was an absolute honour to be even nominated for such a prestigious award let alone win it. And made even more special that Bookouture won Publisher of the Year on the same evening! A double whammy!

 

Have you always loved books, and what are you reading at the moment?

Yes, I’ve absolutely always loved books from reading Enid Blyton books as a child and wanting to be part of the Famous Five and wanting to fly away on that Wishing Chair and travel to the Magic Faraway Tree, to growing up and reading (and crying) to many Danielle Steele novels and being reprimanded by my mom for reading well into the night.

Last night I finished a novella by Miranda Dickinson called Christmas in St Ives which was wonderful and the prequel to Miranda’s book which is out next summer which I now cannot wait to get my hands on. Before that I read a Bookouture book called Last Cry by Anna-lou Weatherley, which was phenomenal. It’s a new crime series featuring Detective Dan Riley (who I think I fell a tiny bit in love with) and is a diversion for Anna-lou with this new series, but she’s done it so brilliantly. I’m so lucky to work for a company who publish the most talented authors and I love to read as many of the Bookouture books as I can, and certainly the ones that I’m working on, so that I can genuinely share the book love.

Being a book blogger in my spare time (of which there’s not an awful lot) and also being part of a book podcast, and running a book club too, I do try to alternate between Bookouture books and also other novels that are written published by other incredible authors and publishers.

 

Mom to ten year old Ollie, publicity and social media manager at Bookouture, Kim Nash lives in Staffordshire. Kim also co-runs a local book club, co-hosts a book podcast and also