Search Results for: Lifestyle

You may not have the green fingers or the resources to build the Hanging Gardens of Babylon but it is still possible to create a blossoming haven in your own back garden. This practical book guides you through the mysteries of the seasons, with simple, easy-to-follow tips on the best way to make your garden grow.

Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer

Travel opens our minds to the world; it helps us to embrace risk and uncertainty, overcome challenges and understand the people we meet and the places we visit. But what happens when we arrive home? How do our experiences shape us?

The Kindness of Strangers explores what it means to be vulnerable and to be helped by someone we’ve never met before. Someone who could have walked past, but chose not to.

This is a collection of stories by accomplished travellers and adventurous souls like Sarah Outen, Benedict Allen, Ed Stafford and Al Humphreys, who have completed daring journeys through challenging terrain, adventuring from the Calais Jungle to the Amazon, from Land’s End to the Gobi Desert, from New Guinea to Iran and many other places in between. Each has a story to tell of a time when they were vulnerable, when they were in need and a kind stranger came to their rescue.

These are stories that make our hearts grow, stories that will restore our faith in the world and remind us that, despite what the media says, the world isn’t a scary place – rather, it is filled with Kind Strangers just like us.

All royalties go directly to fund Oxfam’s work with refugees.

Whether your dilemma is something as simple as a what to have for dinner or you are trying to make a life-changing decision, the Poetry First Aid Kit has the answer. Seek a solution within these stanzas and let the enlightening limericks and illuminating iambic pentameter help you resolve the dilemmas in your life.

When your partner spends too much time on their Xbox:


Why so pale and wan, fond lover?
Prithee, why so pale?
from ‘Why So Pale and Wan?’, John Suckling



From dating and house-shares to digital detoxing and growing up, Poetry for Millennials is the answer to all your hardships and woes. It offers relatable verse from some of our greatest literary figures to help you laugh away the most common millennial problems *after wiping away your tears*.

Whether your problem is a commonplace challenge or a drastic decision, the world of literature is sure to provide an inspiring answer.
Soothe your stresses with these heartfelt passages and let the beauty of the prose help you resolve the dilemmas in your life.

I arise from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are shining bright.
I arise from dreams of thee,
And a spirit in my feet
Hath led me – who knows how? –
To thy window chamber, sweet!
Percy Bysshe Shelley

A revised and updated edition of the bestselling guide to all things Ambridge, For the Love of the Archers contains extensive all-new content that will keep any fan of the show enlightened and entertained.

It’s been over 70 years since the familiar dum-di-dum-didum-di-dum of “Barwick Green” first brought The Archers to our airwaves, and in that time millions of listeners have followed the everyday lives of country folk in Ambridge.

Bringing together a wealth of fascinating facts, amusing insights and expert trivia about characters, controversies and country customs in one handy volume – now fully revised and updated to include recent developments – this companion is the perfect gift for avid addicts and keen newcomers alike.

Long-time Archers super-fan Beth Miller will be your highly engaging guide to every aspect of radio’s most enduring drama, including the following recurring features:

– Welcome to Ambridge takes you on a tour of all the key locations
– Meet the Characters profiles all your favourite personalities
– Memorable Moments celebrates some of the most entertaining and emotional episodes
– Gone But Not Forgotten remembers the dearly departed
– Quiz Night at the Bull tests your knowledge of the programme at regular intervals
For all this and much more, dive into this incredible miscellany and become a true Ambridge expert.

A revised and updated edition of the bestselling guide to all things Ambridge, For the Love of the Archers contains extensive all-new content that will keep any fan of the show enlightened and entertained.
It’s been over 70 years since the familiar dum-di-dum-didum-di-dum of “Barwick Green” first brought The Archers to our airwaves, and in that time millions of listeners have followed the everyday lives of country folk in Ambridge.
Bringing together a wealth of fascinating facts, amusing insights and expert trivia about characters, controversies and country customs in one handy volume – now fully revised and updated to include recent developments – this companion is the perfect gift for avid addicts and keen newcomers alike.
Long-time Archers super-fan Beth Miller will be your highly engaging guide to every aspect of radio’s most enduring drama, including the following recurring features:
Welcome to Ambridge takes you on a tour of all the key locations Meet the Characters profiles all your favourite personalities Memorable Moments celebrates some of the most entertaining and emotional episodes Gone But Not Forgotten remembers the dearly departed Quiz Night at the Bull tests your knowledge of the programme at regular intervals For all this and much more, dive into this incredible miscellany and become a true Ambridge expert.

This beautiful collection of poetry and prose through the seasons rhapsodises on the spectacle of colour and everything green and flourishing in the garden. The perfect book for a moment’s reflection, whether you are cooped up on a rainy day in your potting shed or admiring the fruits of your labour on a sunny evening from the pergola.

These entertaining collections gather together the wisest and wittiest quotations from some of Britain’s best-loved historical figures. Packed with humorous, perceptive and compelling quotes, they are sure to delight readers everywhere.

‘One hates an author that’s all author.’
Lord Byron
With quips, quotes and insults from beloved literary figures such as William Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway to modern literati including Zadie Smith and Will Self, this charming book reveals your favourite authors’ opinions on subjects from families, food and friendship to writing  masterpieces, being married and silencing dim-witted critics. Literary Wit and Wisdom will ensure that you’re never at a loss for the perfect witticism.
 

Do you know…
Which famous author died of caffeine poisoning? Why Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was banned in China? Who was the first British writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature? Banned books, feuding authors, literary felons, rejected masterpieces – it’s all in these pages, along with tips for aspiring writers and lists of the most iconic works. A treasure trove of compelling facts, riveting anecdotes and extraordinary characters, this is every book-lover’s dream: a book about books and the people who write them. Read on!

‘Hard is his heart that loveth naught in May’ – Geoffrey Chaucer.
12 June: ‘Male glow-worms, attracted by the light of the candles, come into the parlour. The distant hills look very blue’ – Gilbert White, 1791.
Join some of England’s best-loved writers in this day-by-day celebration of an English year, from the frosty mornings of January through to the buds of spring and blooms of summer, from the autumn harvest to the festivities of Christmas. Diary entries by literary figures such as Gilbert White, Dorothy Wordsworth and Thomas Hardy guide us through the year, accompanied by poems and quotations celebrating the changing seasons, and passages explaining the origins of some of our oldest festive traditions.

‘One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.’


Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own


Prepare your senses for a feast of delicious food scenes in literature accompanied with recipes to bring them to life in your very own kitchen, including Turkish delight Edmund wouldn’t be able to resist, roast goose the Cratchits would be proud of and cucumber sandwiches Algernon would be loath to share.
This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys spending their days with a book in one hand and a saucepan in the other.

Travel writing matters

Explore the world through this beautiful collection of the finest travel writing published in British media in the 21st century – as judged by some of the most respected travel writers in the world: Levison Wood, Monisha Rajesh, Jessica Vincent and Simon Willmore

The world has changed, but our desire to explore new places remains as strong as ever. The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century includes 30 outstanding travel stories published in British media over the last two decades, as chosen by some of the top names in travel writing today. Through travel’s most talented storytellers, you’ll face adversity along the Congo’s raging River Lulua, make new friends aboard Iraq’s night train, and embark on life-changing pilgrimages from India to Saudi Arabia.

This book is an ode to travel and all that it offers, but it’s also a celebration of a genre that brings the world closer to us. At its best, travel writing encourages empathy and inspires change. Join our award-winning writers in marvelling at the power and beauty of travel, and let them inspire you to fall in love with the world all over again.

Did you know…
Shakespeare is the most filmed author of all time: he’s been credited on more than 1,000 movies and TV shows. ‘Obscene’, ‘gloomy’, ‘fashionable’ and ‘generous’ are among the countless new words that Shakespeare introduced. (Actually, ‘countless’ is one of his too.) It’s also because of the Bard that we say ‘catch a cold’, ‘naked truth’ and ‘green-eyed monster’.  Almost all the moons of Uranus are named after characters from Shakespeare, including Titania, Oberon and Puck? For further fascinating insights, dive into this masterful miscellany and become a Shakespeare buff.
There’s never been a better time to take a fresh look at William Shakespeare’s eternal works. A treasure trove of wit, imagination and emotion, his plays and poems continue to surprise, inspire, console and delight us. Whether you’re a lifelong lover of the Bard or a curious newcomer to his world, this companion will lift the curtain on the unforgettable characters and stories of Britain’s greatest dramatist.

This pocket-sized miscellany – packed with doggy facts, stories of the world’s most impressive canine feats and famous mutts from literature, history and art, and tips on looking after your pooch – is perfect for anyone who values the trusty companionship of their favourite hound.

‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.’ Hamlet



This entertaining collection gathers together William Shakespeare’s wisest and wittiest quotations. The Wit and Wisdom of William Shakespeare proves that brevity is the soul of wit and is sure to delight all lovers of the Bard’s uniquely perceptive and influential works.

This entertaining collection gathers together William Shakespeare’s wisest and wittiest quotations.

Quotable Shakespeare proves that brevity is the soul of wit and is sure to delight all lovers of the Bard’s uniquely perceptive and influential works.