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Someone once said that books furnish a room. They also change our lives. We go to books for consolation and companionship, to be transported, moved and entertained, sometimes even to be terrified. The books furnishing our rooms tell the story of our lives and also help us to make sense of them. This is not a work of reference; it doesn’t prescribe a canon or tell you how to read. Instead 1000 Books to change your life celebrates the transforming power of literature. 50 leading novelists, writers and critics draw the arc of a life lived in books, from birth to death. With Kate Clanchy on motherhood, Ali Smith on reading as a child, and Jonathan Franzen, Jonathan Coe, Nigella Lawson and Sarah Waters on the volumes that changed their lives. This book is a reminder of the difference that books make. Organised around themes inspired by Shakespeare's 'Seven Ages of Man', the book ranges from birth to death, taking in topics at all points in between, and covering both fiction and non-fiction, graphic novels as well as literary classics. Commentaries by Ali Smith, Nigella Lawson, Jonathan Franzen, Sarah Waters, Jonathan Coe, Barney Hoskyns, Amanda Craig and Nicholas Royle, to name a few, are complemented by Top Ten lists chosen by Time Out's unrivalled team of critics. Part of the 1,000 series launched with the bestselling 1,000 films to change your life 1,000 books is a similarly inspirational book.

The midnight hour approaches in an almost empty all-night diner. Mari sips her coffee and glances up from a book as a young man, a musician, intrudes on her solitude. Both have missed the last train home. The musician has plans to rehearse with his jazz band all night, Mari is equally unconcerned and content to read, smoke and drink coffee until dawn. They realise they've been acquainted through Eri, Mari's beautiful sister. The musician soon leaves with a promise to return before dawn. Shortly afterwards Mari will be interrupted a second time by a girl from the Alphaville Hotel; a Chinese prostitute has been hurt by a client, the girl has heard Mari speaks fluent Chinese and requests her help. Meanwhile Eri is at home and sleeps a deep, heavy sleep that is 'too perfect, too pure to be normal; pulse and respiration at the lowest required level. She has been in this soporfic state for two months; Eri has become the classic myth — a sleeping beauty. But tonight as the digital clock displays 00:00 a faint electrical crackle is perceptible, a hint of life flickers across the TV screen, though the television's plug has been pulled. Murakami, acclaimed master of the surreal, returns with a stunning new novel, where the familiar can become unfamiliar after midnight, even to those that thrive in small hours. With After Dark we journey beyond the twilight. Strange nocturnal happenings, or a trick of the night?

2 classic books for the price of 1: Vintage Fantasy is a limited edition gift pack which consists of beautifully designed separate volumes of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Haruki Murakami's cult bestseller The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. Vintage Fantasy is just one of ten Vintage Classic Twins to collect. Each twin consists of two books: a specially designed limited edition of one modern classic title and one established classic work. The books in each pair have been carefully selected to provide a thought-provoking combination. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Alice is one of the most beloved characters of English writing. A bright and inquisitive child, one boring summer afternoon she follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole. At the bottom she finds herself in a bizarre world full of strange creatures, and attends a very strange tea party and croquet match. This immensely witty and unique story mixes satire and puzzles, comedy and anxiety, to provide an astute depiction of the experience of childhood. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle: Toru Okada's cat has disappeared and this has unsettled his wife, who is herself growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has started receiving. As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.

The «Blair Years» is the most compelling and revealing account of contemporary politics you will ever read. Taken from Alastair Campbell's daily diaries, it charts the rise of New Labour and the tumultuous years of Tony Blair's leadership, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in our national life. Here are the defining events of our time, from Labour's new dawn to the war on terror, from the death of Diana to negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland, from Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, through to the Hutton Inquiry of 2003, the year Campbell resigned his position at No 10. But above all here is Tony Blair up close and personal, taking the decisions that affected the lives of millions, under relentless and often hostile pressure. Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain, Alastair Campbell is no stranger to controversy. Feared and admired in equal measure, hated by some, he was pivotal to the founding of New Labour and the sensational election victory of 1997. As Blair's press secretary, strategist and trusted confidant, Campbell spent more waking hours alongside the Prime Minister than anyone. His diaires — at times brutally frank, often funny, always compelling — take the reader right to the heart of government. «The Blair Years» is a story of politics in the raw, of progress and setback, of reputations made and destroyed, under the relentless scrutiny of a 24-hour media. Unflinchingly told, it covers the crises and scandals, the rows and resignations, the ups and downs of Britain's hothouse politics. But amid the big events are insights and observations that make this a remarkably human portrayal of some of the most powerful people in the world. There has never been so riveting a book about life at the very top, nor a more human book about politics, told by a man who saw it all.

The City of London is still confined to a square-mile enclave, as it was when its residents crossed the river to see Shakespeare's newest plays in Southwark. At that time, up the river there was another city — Westminster, seat of the Royal Court, the Law Courts and Parliament — but within 200 years the two settlements had fused, making London the largest city on earth, the first to reach a population of one million. In the nineteenth century, London's population grew to six million and the building boom began. Poorer people and dirty industries congregated in the east; the better-off lived and worked in the west. The Victorians built breathtaking edifices, the crown jewel of which was the new Houses of Parliament. After the destruction of the Second World War, the post-war era saw the arrival of the modern movement and the wholesale use of poured concrete, glass and steel. Now, in the twenty-first century, London's architecture is as vibrant as ever — the last ten years have seen the building of many of London's greatest landmarks, including the Swiss Re headquarters and the London Eye. «Building London» is a visual record of that remarkable story, detailing how the city was built and introducing the great architects and engineers. It contains rare images from the earliest days of photography, as well as evocative photographs from the last 100 years, ensuring all of London's iconic buildings are featured.

Many legends have grown up about the sexual rapacity of Catherine the Great. While it is true that she shocked the Russian court with the number and age of her lovers, there is no truth in the rumour of her death by stallion. Unhappily married to the Grand Duke Peter, a man who preferred to play with his toy soldiers in the bedroom, they failed to produce an heir, and Catherine turned her attentions to a certain Sergey Saltykov who fathered the future Tsar Paul I. Six months into the reign of Peter III, Catherine, supported by the Imperial Guard, staged a successful coup against her husband and became Empress. It was her ambition to transform a vast but semi-barbaric country with the cultural and political reforms of Enlightenment Europe. In this timely and fascinating biography, Virginia Rounding reveals an extraordinary woman in all her complexity.

2 classic books for the price of 1: Vintage Fear is a limited edition gift pack which consists of beautifully designed separate volumes of The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm and Angela Carter's groundbreaking reworking of these stories, The Bloody Chamber. Vintage Fear is just one of ten Vintage Classic Twins to collect. Each twin consists of two books: a specially designed limited edition of one modern classic title and one established classic work. The books in each pair have been carefully selected to provide a thought-provoking combination. The Complete Fairy Tales: The folk tales collected by the Grimm brothers created an astonishingly influential imaginative world loved by millions of readers from their childhoods. However, it is also a world where a woman serves her stepson up in a stew and an evil queen dances to death in a pair of burning shoes. Violent, funny, wise and beautiful, these stories have intrigued children, adults, scholars, psychologists and artists for centuries. This is the only complete edition of the tales available featuring the 279 stories in an acclaimed, modern, unexpurgated translation. The Bloody Chamber: From familiar fairy tales and legends – Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves – Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.

»Vintage Crime» is a limited edition gift pack which consists of beautifully designed separate volumes of «Crime and Punishment» by Fyodor Dostoevsky and Patricia Highsmith's thrilling novel «Ripley's Game». «Vintage Crime» is just one of ten «Vintage Classic Twins» to collect. Each twin consists of two books: a specially designed limited edition of one modern classic title and one established classic work. The books in each pair have been carefully selected to provide a thought-provoking combination. «Crime and Punishment»: A troubled young man commits the perfect crime. Raskolnikov is desperate for money, but convinces himself that his motive for murder is to benefit mankind. So begins one of the greatest novels ever written, a journey into the criminal mind, a police thriller, and a meditation on morality and redemption. «Ripley's Game»: Tom Ripley detested murder. Unless it was absolutely necessary. If possible, he preferred someone else to do the dirty work. In this case someone with no criminal record, who would commit 'two simple murders' for a very generous fee.

October 1914: the destroyer Svea emerged from the Stockholm archipelago bearing south-south-east. On board was Lars Tobiasson-Svartman, a naval engineer charged with making depth soundings to find a navigable channel for the Swedish navy. As a child, Tobiasson-Svartman was fascinated by measurement; nothing is as magical as exact knowledge. His instinct for his profession is reflected in the comfortable domesticity he enjoys with his wife — herself meticulous in every detail. Close to the waters where soundings are taken Tobiasson-Svartman alights on a barren skerry, presumed uninhabited, and is surprised to discover there a young woman, Sara Fredrika. Despite her almost feral appearance, something about her strikes him to the core. The mission is a success and the Svea returns to Gothenburg. Tobiasson-Svartman, however, remains haunted by this chance encounter; his equilibrium has been disturbed, and he is now compelled to find any pretence to return to the remote islet. In «Depths», Mankell confirms his status as a writer beyond the crime genre. By delving deep into the male psyche, he has produced a novel both as tense and compelling in every way as the Wallander series, but also powerful, moving and ultimately tragic.

Collected here for the first time are some of the numerous essays and lectures by Norman Davies, author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed «Europe, The Isles and Rising '44». Spanning more than fifteen years of his remarkable career, this highly accessible collection addresses many of the issues that continue to dominate the political and cultural climate of Europe today. In «Europe East and West», Davies argues for a comprehensive view that challenges Western stereotypes and no longer ignores the history and experience of Eastern Europe. He shows that the conventional exclusion of Central and Eastern Europe has led to serious shortcomings in our understanding of one of the most crucial episodes of European history, namely the Second World War. The essays confront prevalent distortions and prejudices; taken together, they also form a meditation on the art of history writing itself. From the classical origins of the idea of Europe to the division between East and West during the Cold War; from the Jewish and Islamic strands in European history to the expansion of Europe to other continents; from the misunderstood Allied victory in 1945 to Britain's place in Europe; from reflections on the use and abuse of history to personal recollections on learning languages — this companion volume to the bestselling «Europe» looks at European history from a variety of unusual and entertaining angles in an equally stimulating and accessible way.

»Vintage Monsters» is a limited edition gift pack which consists of beautifully designed separate volumes of «Frankenstein» by Mary Shelley and Jeanette Winterson's «Sexing the Cherry». «Vintage Monsters» is just one of ten «Vintage Classic Twins» to collect. Each twin consists of two books: a specially designed limited edition of one modern classic title and one established classic work. The books in each pair have been carefully selected to provide a thought-provoking combination. «Frankenstein»: One freezing morning, a lone man wandering across the artic ice caps is rescued from starvation by a ship's captain. Victor Frankenstein's story is one of ambition, murder and revenge. As a young scientist he pushed moral boundaries in order to cross the final scientific frontier and create life. But his creation is a monster stitched together from grave-robbed body parts who has no place in the world, and his life can only lead to tragedy. «Sexing the Cherry»: «Sexing the Cherry» follows the adventures of Jordan, an explorer, and his mother, the gigantic and violent 'Dog Woman'. Jeanette Winterson's stunning novel celebrates the power of the imagination as it juggles with our perception of history and reality; love and sex; lies and truths; and 12 dancing princesses who lived happily ever after, but not with their husbands.

'Who can resist a book that recommends love and chocolate as part of a balanced diet?' asked Allison Pearson in the «Daily Telegraph» about Guiliano's «French Women Don't Get Fat», a mould-breaking book that unlocked the secrets of 'The French paradox' and sold well over a million copies worldwide. By letter, by email, in person, readers have inundated Mireille Guiliano with requests for more advice. Her answer is: this buoyant new book full of advice, ideas and fresh, French recipes for each season. Elaborating on the wise counsel of her first book, but with many more easy-to-make recipes, anecdotes, tips and a wealth of global experience, Guiliano talks us through food and dining, from her childhood in Alsace-Lorraine, renowned for its cuisine, where she learned to cook with her mother and grandmother, to Provence with its richly unusual but healthy dishes, where she expanded her repertoire though not her waistline...and to the present where she cooks and wines and dines for maximum enjoyment, sharing the traditions and secrets she's gathered along the way. In the voice that entranced more than a million honorary French women, she demonstrates that equilibrium — being bien dans sa peau — is the key to a long and healthy life. Full of irresistible food, menus, stories and advice on everything from wine to detoxing, from yoghurt to yoga, as well as beauty tips and how to tie a scarf, this is an essential book about how to savour the gastronomic and everyday joys of life — in moderation, and, above all, with pleasure.

It is 1963 in New York, and things have never been better for the Corleones. They've taken out their Mafia rivals, and legitimised the Family. Outside the fortified building owned by Michael Corleone, newly undisputed Boss of Bosses, a parade of people — among them former mob rivals and an emissary from the Mayor of New York — wait to ask the great man for favours. Only one thing remains to be done. Traitorous former Corleone capo Nick Geraci has powerful friends and far too much to say, and needs to be brought in. But then everything changes. As fireworks explode over First Avenue, news arrives that Jimmy Shea, President of the United States and an old friend of the Corleone's, has been assassinated...

»Vintage Satire» is a limited edition gift pack which consists of beautifully designed separate volumes of «Gulliver's Travels» by Jonathan Swift and Michel Houellebecq's controversial bestseller «Atomised.» «Vintage Satire» is just one of ten «Vintage Classic Twins» to collect. Each twin consists of two books: a specially designed limited edition of one modern classic title and one established classic work. The books in each pair have been carefully selected to provide a thought-provoking combination. In the course of his famous travels, «Gulliver's Travels»: In the course of his famous travels, Gulliver is captured by miniature people who wage war on each other because of religious disagreement over how to crack eggs, is sexually assaulted by giants, visits a floating island, and decides that the society of horses is better than that of his fellow man. Swift's tough, filthy and incisive satire has much to say about the state of the world today and is presented here in its unexpurgated entirety. «Atomised»: Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust is all too rarely reciprocated. Both are symptomatic members of our atomised society, where religion has given way to shallow 'new age' philosophies and love to meaningless sexual connections. A dissection of modern lives and loves, it is by turns funny, acid, infuriating, didactic, touching and visceral.

He is one of the most haunting characters — in all of literature. At last, the evolution of his evil is revealed. Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck. He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him. Hannibal's uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and brings him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle's beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki. Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to heal. With her help he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France. But Hannibal's demons visit him and torment him. When he is old enough, he visits them in turn. He discovers he has gifts beyond the academic, and in that epiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomes death's prodigy.

Meet Lydia Albright, one of Hollywood's hottest movie producers; Lydia's best friend and tinseltown's favourite celebrity Celeste Solange; Ueber-agent to the stars Jessica Caulfield, who knows everything and everyone that matters; and script writer Mary Anne Meyers, who can't believe her luck at having escaped the slush pile and signed on for Lydia's new blockbuster, Seven Minutes Past Midnight. When Seven Minutes Past Midnight falls prey to her boss' petty jealousies, Lydia needs all hands on deck. And with Celeste's dear husband casting his latest arm candy in the lead of his next film, instead of, as promised, Celeste herself, she's more than happy to help out an old friend. The same goes for Jessica, who could do with a project to take her mind off the new hot-shot in her agency, whose sole intent seems to be sabotaging her career. In Hollywood, no vicious deed goes unpunished, not if the four have anything to say about it at least, and there is no reason why they shouldn't see the movie through on their own — especially if it means settling a few old scores along the way...

When Tiro, the confidential secretary of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events which will eventually propel his master into one of the most famous courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island's corrupt Roman governor, Verres. The senator is Cicero, a brilliant young lawyer and spellbinding orator, determined to attain imperium — supreme power in the state. This is the starting-point of Robert Harris' most accomplished novel to date. Compellingly written in Tiro's voice, it takes us inside the violent, treacherous world of Roman politics, to describe how one man — clever, compassionate, devious, vulnerable — fought to reach the top.

»Vintage Sin» is a limited edition gift pack which consists of beautifully designed separate volumes of «Inferno» by Dante and Philip Roth's shocking novel, «Sabbath's Theater.» «Vintage Sin» is just one of ten «Vintage Classic Twins» to collect. Each twin consists of two books: a specially designed limited edition of one modern classic title and one established classic work. The books in each pair have been carefully selected to provide a thought-provoking combination. «Inferno»: On Good Friday evening in the year 1300, Dante finds himself lost in a dark and menacing wood. The ghost of Virgil offers to lead him to safety but the path lies through the terrifying kingdom of Satan. On his journey deep into the underworld, Dante crosses paths with both old acquaintances and famous characters from history as he witnesses the strange and gruesome sufferings of the damned. «Sabbath's Theater»: Once a scandalously inventive puppeteer, Micky Sabbath at sixty-four is still defiantly antagonistic and exceedingly libidinous. But after the death of his long-time mistress, Sabbath embarks on a turbulent journey into his past. Bereft and grieving, besieged by the ghosts of those who loved and hated him most, he contrives a succession of farcical disasters that take him to the brink of madness and extinction.

Following the critically acclaimed success of «Dublin», this riveting sequel takes the story of Ireland from the seventeenth century onwards, picking up at the Reformation, and with it, the devastating arrival of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell heralds the inauguration of two hundred years of Protestant dominance, throughout which many of the Irish people were impoverished and dispossessed. Dublin is made a Protestant capital, and Catholics become an underclass. Set against the dramatic backdrop of Irish political history, this powerful saga is brought to its conclusion. Journeying through the centuries right the way up to the twentieth century's Easter Rising and Independence, passing through turbulent milestones such as «The Year of the French», the «Famine» and «The Home Rule Movement of Parnell» along the way.

Raised in Tokyo, author Naomi Moriyama first travelled to the West as a college student, and promptly gained 25 pounds eating a typical Western diet. Returning home for the holidays, she found that the weight melted off as she reverted to the healthy diet of her homeland. The experience inspired her first book «Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat». Healthy and effective, «The Japan Diet» is based on the traditional Japanese style of eating and is filled with over 40 simple, delicious recipes: satisfying soups, fresh vegetables, delicate grilled fish; mouthwatering meals that will keep you satisfied for longer. And with a 7-day Healthy Eating Plan built on the foundations of the Japanese diet, but based on ready meals, takeaway foods and convenience items from supermarkets, this book is also ideal for those dieters without the time to cook. With clear, practical advice and handy shortcuts, this diet offers a fresh and easy approach to a healthier, slimmer lifestyle.

In Japan, people live longer than anywhere else on Earth; obesity is virtually unknown, and 40-year-old women look like they’re 20. The secret: Japanese homestyle cooking, and an approach to eating that is not about self-deprivation, but about celebrating and savouring food. Raised in Tokyo and on her grandparents' mountainside farm, author Naomi Moriyama first travelled to the West as a college student, and promptly gained 25 pounds eating an American diet. Returning home for the holidays, she found that the weight melted off as she returned to the healthy, soulful food of her mother’s tiny kitchen: satisfying soups, fresh vegetables, delicate grilled fish; mouthwatering meals that never left her feeling hungry. Filled with delicious recipes and evocative reminiscences, this book is for all those who are tired of counting calories and carbs, and finding themselves on diets that don’t work. Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat offers a delightfully fresh and easy approach to a healthier, slimmer, and longer lifestyle

Most people have heard of the Stauffenberg Plot — the attempt to kill Hitler launched by the German Resistance Movement on 20 July 1944. But it is not widely known that this was only one of a long series of similar attacks. «Killing Hitler» is an account of the surprisingly numerous attempts on the life of Adolf Hitler. The Germans, Soviets, Poles and British all made plans to kill the Fuhrer. Lone gunmen, disaffected German officers and the Polish Underground, the Soviet NKVD and the British Special Operations Executive were all involved. Their methods varied from bombing, poisoning or using a sniper, to infiltrating the SS, or even sending Rudolf Hess back to Germany under hypnosis. Many of the plans did not make it beyond the drawing board, some were carried out. All of them failed. Alongside the dramatic and largely unknown stories of Hitler's numerous assassins, this book presents a fascinating investigation of a number of broader issues, such as the complex motives of the German Resistance, the curious squeamishness of the British, and the effectiveness of the Nazi security apparatus. Drawing on memoirs and original archival sources in Poland, Germany, Russia and Britain, «Killing Hitler» offers a unique perspective on the history of the Third Reich. Hitler's would-be assassins ranged from simple craftsmen to high-ranking soldiers, from the apolitical to the ideologically obsessed, and from enemy agents to his closest associates. Few of these men and women are known to history. This is their story. It is the story of their plans, their motives and their failures. But it is also an account of the remarkable survival of a tyrant.

»Le Bal» depicts the life of the Kampfs who, having recently gone up in the world thanks to luck with the stock decide to throw a ball in order to launch themselves into society. Their daughter Antoinette, who has just turned fourteen, dreams of attending. But Madame Kampf is resolved not to present her daughter, already so grown up, to her admirers. Instead, Antoinette is forced to sleep in the laundry room, as her bedroom is used as coatroom. In an unpremeditated fury of revolt and despair, Antoinette takes her revenge. It is swift and it is horrible. A cruel, funny and tender examination of class differences, of the dynamic between mother and daughter, «Le Bal» is ultimately dedicated to the torments of childhood. «Snow in Autumn» pays homage to Mirovsky's beloved Chekhov and chronicles the life of a devoted servant following her masters as they flee Revolutionary Moscow and emigrate to a life of hardship in Paris.

Sisters. Rivals. And the love of one man. Isabella and Beatrice d'Este are as different as night and day. Wordly and ambitious, Isabella's beauty and intellect are legendary across the courts of Europe, while her younger sister, a tomboy, prefers horses and the hunt. When Isabella is betrothed to the Marquis of Mantua, all her ambitions seem to come true — until Beatrice marries Ludovico, the powerful Duke of Milan. Suddenly, Isabella finds herself drawn to her sister's husband, a man as charismatic as he is dangerous. Once close, the sisters are now fierce rivals, for Ludovico's affections but also for the larger prize, to be immortalized by Milan's court painter, Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci's glittering genius is at its zenith, with such masterpieces as «The Last Supper» and the «Mona Lisa», but he constantly struggles not to let his noble patrons' incessant demands compromise his own artistic vision. Meanwhile, the black clouds of war are looming on the horizon. As Ludovico's gamble for power in Western Europe begins to fall apart, the sisters must choose — between passion and family, loyalty and survival.