Arts, Language & Literature
Peas & Queues
Sandi Toksvig
The queen of Radio 4, Sandi Toksvig, delivers an entertaining and fascinating guide to what to do and why in the confusing world of modern manners – n…
Nijinsky
Lucy Moore
The first major biography for forty years tells the tragic story of ballet's great revolutionary, Nijinsky – now in paperback.
Noise
David Hendy
Orwell Prize-nominated David Hendy explores the role of sound, noise and listening in 100,000 years of human history, now in paperback.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Betty Edwards
The world's most popular drawing-instruction book from a leading expert
Spell It Out
David Crystal
A unique journey through English spelling, untangling the fascinating origins of its greatest eccentricities.
The Great Animal Orchestra
Bernie Krause
A fascinating and unique exploration of nature's music, from plants and animals to wind and rain.
The Library Book
Famous writers on libraries real or imagined, past and future; why libraries matter and to whom.In aid of The Reading Agency
Da Vinci's Ghost
Toby Lester
The untold story of Vitruvian Man, the drawing that captured the spirit of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance – and that still haunts our own
Lives of the Novelists
John Sutherland
This is the most complete history of fiction in English ever published – now in paperback.
You Talkin' To Me?
Sam Leith
A witty, elegant enquiry into the art of persuasion, updated for the witless, inelegant Trump era
Van Gogh
Gregory White Smith
The definitive and explosive biography, based on new material, by the bestselling, prize-winning authors of Pollock.
The Story of English in 100 Words
David Crystal
An eye-opening tour of the English language through the ages
Movie Lists
Paul Simpson
At last! A film book that is really useful! And fun! These enthusiasts' lists, arranged by genre, director or actor, answer that most difficult of…
The Sound of the City
Charlie Gillett
The rise of rock-and-roll – in a nutshell, with particular attention paid to the business side of the equation.
It's All in a Word
Vivian Cook
'Delightfully eclectic', 'browsable treat', 'serious study', 'brilliant gift idea', things all said of Vivian Cook…