Books & Reading

Revised and updated for the twenty-first century, Steering the Craft is Ursula K. Le Guin's carrier bag of the essentials of a writer's craft, a generous gift from one of the great thinkers about how - and why - to write.This handbook is an accessible...

'A MARVEL' PHILIP PULLMAN Can you remember the first time you fell in love with a book? The stories we read as children matter. The best ones are indelible in our memories; reaching far beyond our childhoods, they are a window into our deepest...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781476790152Author Mortimer J AdlerFormat HardbackPage Count 448Imprint TouchstonePublisher Simon & SchusterWeight(grams) 522gDimensions(mm) 213mm * 147mm *...

Bill Bryson's biography of William Shakespeare unravels the superstitions, academic discoveries and myths surrounding the life of our greatest poet and playwright. Ever since he took the theatre of Elizabethan London...

Anxious about the apostrophe? Confused by the comma? Stumped by the semicolon? Join Lynne Truss on a hilarious tour through the rules of punctuation that is sure to sort the dashes from the hyphens. We all had the basic rules of punctuation...

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Last Act of Love, Cathy Rentzenbrink's Dear Reader is the ultimate love letter to reading and to finding the comfort and joy in stories.'Exquisite' - Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups'A warm, unpretentious...

From bestselling author Bill Bryson comes this compelling short biography of William Shakespeare, our greatest dramatist and poet. Examining centuries of myths, half-truths and downright lies, Bill Bryson makes sense of the man behind the...

'Kiley's writing is delightful and so easy to cosy down with...Best book of the year!' Reader ReviewA fairytale ending isn't just for fiction...The Borrow-a-Bookshop is recovering, seven months on from the winter flood that destroyed all its stock,...

Rediscover this deep, practical anatomy of the novel from 'the strongest ... literary critic we have' (New York Review of Books) in this new revised 10th anniversary edition.What do we mean when we say we 'know' a fictional character? What constitutes a...

From the very first book publication in 1920 to the recent film release of Death on the Nile, this investigation into Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot celebrates a century of probably the world's favourite fictional detective. ...

Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionLonglisted for the Orwell Prize for Political WritingThe Ministry of Truth charts the life of George Orwell's 1984, one of the most influential books of the twentieth century and a work that is ever...

This study of the history of reading goes from the earliest examples of the clay tablets and cuneiform of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt via the invention of printing in the 15th century to the birth of a mass reading public and today's digital revolution...

Learn about the greatest works of literature, and the lives of those who wrote them in The Literature Book.Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Literature...

In this remarkable little book, Will Durant answers the questions that most people would have wanted to ask him - what are the conclusions he drew from the experience of a long lifetime; what eras, individuals, and achievements stand out as being the...

The first authorized copy of this mysterious, much-speculated-upon, one-of-a-kind, centuries-old puzzle"For the first time, a complete reproduction [of] The Voynich Manuscript, has been published, featuring essays exploring what is known about the book...

A love letter to the joys of childhood reading from Wonderland to Narnia.When Lucy Mangan was little, stories were everything. They opened up new worlds and cast light on all the complexities she encountered in this one.She was whisked away to Narnia -...

Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway's most beloved works. Since Hemingway's personal papers were released in 1979, scholars have examined and debated the changes made to the text before publication. Now this...

Mumsnet 'Best Books for Christmas 2016''Ideal for anyone who has ever wondered what on earth to read next' SJ WATSON'Witty, engaging and informative. The sort of book you choose for a friend and end up wanting to keep' RACHEL JOYCEThis is a medical...

Women prisoners gain insight and inspiration through their creative reading practices. Drawing on extensive interviews with ninety-four women prisoners, Megan Sweeney examines how incarcerated women use available reading materials to come to terms with...

The bestselling phenomenon - a 6,000-year adventure through the history of books and readingA FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST AND MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE 2023'Outstanding, universal and unique' NEW YORK...

Here is a treasure-house of over seven centuries of English poetry, chosen and introduced by Christopher Ricks, whom Auden described as 'exactly the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding'. The Oxford Book of English Verse, created in 1900 by Arthur...

From the bestselling author of UNDERLAND, THE OLD WAYS and THE LOST WORDS - an essay on the joy of reading, for anyone who has ever loved a bookEvery book is a kind of gift to its reader, and the act of giving books is charged with a special emotional...

What is The Tiger Who Came to Tea really about? How is Meg and Mog related to Polish embroidery? And why does death in picture books involve being eaten? Fierce Bad Rabbits explores the stories behind our favourite picture books, weaving in tales of...

A guide to writing fiction by the Booker Prize-winning author of Vernon God Little.Part biography, part reflection and part practical guide, Release the Bats explores the mysteries of why and how we tell stories, and the craft of writing fiction. DBC...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781528719087Author George OrwellFormat PaperbackPage Count 402Imprint Read BooksPublisher Read Books

ONE OF THE WHITE REVIEW'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019Elizabeth Hardwick's iconic essay collection Seduction and Betrayal is a radical portrait of women and literature, reissued with a new introduction by Deborah Levy.'Hardwick's sentences are burned in my brain.'...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781528719841Author Virginia WoolfFormat PaperbackPage Count 514Imprint Read BooksPublisher Read BooksWeight(grams) 648gDimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 29mm

'A hugely entertaining and well-written tour of the links between math and literature. Hart's lightness of touch and passion for both subjects make this book a delight to read. Bookworms and number-lovers alike will discover much they...

A Sunday Times BestsellerChristopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was a matchless writer, debater and humanist. Throughout his life he shone the light of reason and truth into the eyes of charlatans and hucksters, exposing falsehood and decrying hypocrisy...

Eric Hayot teaches graduate students and faculty in literary and cultural studies how to think and write like a professional scholar. From granular concerns, such as sentence structure and grammar, to big-picture issues, such as adhering to genre...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.AwardsWinner of National Book Critics Circle Awards.Book InformationISBN 9780375726217Author Nicholson BakerFormat PaperbackPage Count 400Imprint Vintage BooksPublisher Random...

Why biography? This collection of essays on the problems and functions of biography, and particularly the biography of writers, thinkers and artists, investigates a subject of enduring importance for those interested in culture and society. In the last...

The bestselling phenomenon - an enthralling 6,000-year journey through the history of books and readingA FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST AND MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEAR'Outstanding, universal and unique' NEW YORK TIMES'A literary phenomenon.' TLS'Masterly...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781948226134Author Jane AlisonFormat PaperbackPage Count 272Imprint CatapultPublisher CatapultWeight(grams) 272gDimensions(mm) 209mm * 139mm * 20mm

An invaluable companion for any writer seeking to make the writing life a more complex and cooperative venture "Illuminating, deeply endearing essays."-Ron Charles, Washington Post "A lovely, loving letter to aspiring writers."-Diego Baez, Booklist ...

From the former U.S. Poet Laureate, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winner, an illuminating dissection of poetic form for students, enthusiasts, and newcomers alike A Little Book on Form brilliantly synthesizes Hass's formidable gifts as both a...

Terry Eagleton looks back across sixty years to an extraordinary critical milieu that transformed the study of literature Before the First World War, traditional literary scholarship was isolated from society at large. In the years following, a younger...

A celebration of all the weird and wonderful books to be found at an antiquarian bookshop. Books have the power to enrich the soul, to enliven the senses, to expand our horizons... and others are simply mad. This...

Since Gutenberg's time, every aspect of print has gradually changed. But the advent of computational media has exponentially increased the pace, transforming how books are composed, designed, edited, typeset, distributed, sold, and read. N. Katherine...

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A small masterpiece. There is something funny, notable or awe-inspiring on every single page' Jenny Colgan, Spectator A joyful celebration of books - the perfect gift for bibliophiles, word lovers and anyone who's ever...