Ritwik Ghosh, twenty-two & recently orphaned, finds the chance to start a new life when he arrives in England from Calcutta. But to do so, he must not only relive his entire past but also make sense of his relationship with his mother
- scarred, abusive & all-consuming. But Oxford holds little of the salvation Ritwik is looking for. Instead he moves to London, where he drops out of official existence into a shadowy hinterland of illegal immigrants. However, the story that Ritwik writes to stave off his loneliness
- a Miss Gilby who teaches English, music & Western manners to the wife of a liberal zamindar
- begins to find ghostly echoes in his life with his aged landlady, Anne Cameron. But then, one night, in the badlands of King`s Cross, Ritwik runs into the suave, unfathomable Zafar bin Hashm. As present & past of several lives collide, Ritwik`s own goes into free fall.


...

Unique, transgressive & as funny as its subject, A Life Discarded has all the suspense of a murder mystery. Written with his characteristic warmth, respect & humour, Masters asks you to join him in celebrating an unknown & important life left on the scrap heap. A Life Discarded is a biographical detective story. In 2001, 148 tattered & mould-covered notebooks were discovered lying among broken bricks in a skip on a building site in Cambridge. Tens of thousands of pages were filled to the edges with urgent handwriting. They were a small part of an intimate, anonymous diary, starting in 1952 & ending half a century later, a few weeks before the books were thrown out. Over five years, the award-winning biographer Alexander Masters uncovers the identity & real history of their author, with an astounding final revelation. A Life Discarded is a true, shocking, poignant, often hilarious story of an ordinary life. The author of the diaries, known only as `I`, is the tragicomic patron saint of everyone who feels their life should have been more successful. Part thrilling detective story, part love story, part social history, A Life Discarded is also an account of two writers` obsessions: of `I`s need to record every second of life & of Masters` pursuit of this mysterious yet universal diarist. ...

Unique, transgressive & as funny as its subject, A Life Discarded has all the suspense of a murder mystery. Written with his characteristic warmth, respect & humour, Masters asks you to join him in celebrating an unknown & important life left on the scrap heap. A Life Discarded is a biographical detective story. In 2001, 148 tattered & mould-covered notebooks were discovered lying among broken bricks in a skip on a building site in Cambridge. Tens of thousands of pages were filled to the edges with urgent handwriting. They were a small part of an intimate, anonymous diary, starting in 1952 & ending half a century later, a few weeks before the books were thrown out. Over five years, the award-winning biographer Alexander Masters uncovers the identity & real history of their author, with an astounding final revelation. A Life Discarded is a true, shocking, poignant, often hilarious story of an ordinary life. The author of the diaries, known only as `I`, is the tragicomic patron saint of everyone who feels their life should have been more successful. Part thrilling detective story, part love story, part social history, A Life Discarded is also an account of two writers` obsessions: of `I`s need to record every second of life & of Masters` pursuit of this mysterious yet universal diarist. ...

” In the not-so-small world of surfing, Phil Jarratt has seen it all. Luckily for us, he`s a fearless, funny storyteller, with a reporter`s unsentimental eye & an endearing modesty. But his memoir is, above all, a haunting self-portrait: the boy practising drop-knee cutbacks in his mother`s full-length mirror in mid-century Wollongong becomes a man.” William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Barbarian Days Life of Brine is the memoir of Phil Jarratt, one of the world`s best-known chroniclers of surfing culture whose lifelong pursuit of the perfect wave has placed him in the midst of some of the most exciting moments in surfing`s modern history. Jarratt, who has courted controversy in his long career as a journalist, editor & documentarian, pulls no punches as he rides an exhilarating wave of nostalgia from the sixties up until now, through the heady days of drugs, alcohol & excess in Bali & Biarritz & other exotic locations in between. Filled with debauchery, reflection & insight, this is a book that will be devoured by surfers young & old. ...

“A Life in Full – The Caine Prize for African Writing” is a collection that contains the five 2010 shortlisted stories, along with stories written at the Caine Prize Writers” Workshop, which took place in Spring 2010. The Caine Prize for African Writing is Africa”s leading literary prize, & is awarded to a short story by an African writer published in English, whether in Africa or elsewhere; the 2010 winner was Olufemi Terry for his work, “ Stickfighting Days”.* The 2010 shortlist comprised of:*- Ken Barris (S Africa) “ The Life of Worm” from “ New Writing from Africa 2009”, published by Johnson & King James Books, Cape Town
- Lily Mabura (Kenya) “ How Shall We Kill the Bishop?” from “ Wasafiri” No 53, Spring 2008
- Namwali Serpell (Zambia) “ Muzungu” from “ The Best American Short Stories 2009”, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston MA
- Alex Smith (S Africa) “ Soulmates” from “ New Writing from Africa 2009”
- Olufemi Terry (Sierra Leone) “ Stickfighting Days” from “ Chimurenga” vol 12/13, Cape Town 2008



...

News, views & hilarious stories from the legend of Newsnight & long-standing quiz master of University Challenge. ` Bursting with good things` Daily Telegraph Jeremy Paxman is Britain`s bravest, most incisive political interviewer. The no-nonsense star of BBC Newsnight, Paxman is a supreme inquisitor, a master at skewering mammoth egos with his relentless grilling. Few figures in public life have escaped. From John Major to Theresa May, from Tony Blair to Ed Milib&, Paxman had them quaking in their boots. His working life has been defined by questions. ` Why is this lying bastard lying to me?` was at the front of his mind as he conducted every interview. But it wasn`t just politicians. Paxman`s interviews with Dizzee Rascal, David Bowie, Russell Br&, Vivienne Westwood are legendary. He discussed belief with religious leaders & philosophers, economics with CEOs & bankers, books with writers & art & theatre with artists. After 22 years on University Challenge, Paxman is also the longest-serving active quizmaster on British television. Now, in these long-awaited memoirs, he spills the beans behind four decades in front of the camera. He offers reflections & stories from a career that has taken him as a reporter to many of the world`s war zones & trouble spots
- Central America, Beirut, Belfast, to the studios of Tonight, Panorama, Breakfast Time, the Six O`clock News. Filled with candid stories about the great, the good & the rotters that have crossed his path, his memoirs are as magnetic to read as Paxman is to watch. Candid, uncompromising, compassionate, reflective & astute, he writes of the principles that have governed his professional life, the inner workings of the BBC, the role of journalists in political debate, the scandals & rows he`s been part of, the books he has written & the series he has made. In a book that tells some terrific stories & laughs at much of the silliness in the world, A Life in Questions charts the life of the greatest political interviewer of our time.
...

Hunter Davies` childhood lived amongst the post-war dirt & grime of Carlisle was immediately hailed as a classic memoir from one of Britain`s foremost columnists of the past half century. The Co-op`s Got Bananas! left our protagonist at the cusp of working for one of the world`s greatest newspapers
- The Sunday Times. In this much-anticipated sequel, Hunter now looks back across five decades of successful writing to reflect on his colourful memories of the living in London during the height of the Swinging Sixties, becoming editor of Britain`s first colour weekend supplement The Sunday Times magazine; befriending the Beatles; & interviewing (and partying with) the biggest names in television, film & theatre of the day. Hunter brings the story full circle to reflect on his years spent with the love of his life
- the bestselling writer Margaret Forster, who sadly passed away in February 2016. This will not only be a colourful & enjoyable memoir of what it was like to be at the epicentre of Britain`s artistic heart, but also an emotional, heart-felt tribute to family, friends & colleagues. For those captivated by The Co-op`s Got Bananas!, this sequel is a must read.

...

Katharine Stewart, who died in 2013, was one of Scotland`s best-loved writers on rural life in the Highlands. A Croft in the Hills, her first book, tells the story of how a couple & their young daughter, fresh from city life, took over a remote hill croft near Loch Ness & made a livingfrom it. Full of warm personal insights, good humour & a love of living things, it has become a classic & has rarely been out of print since itwas first published in 1960. This omnibus gathers A Croft in the Hills together with some of Katharine`s later books: A Garden in the Hills, describing a year in the life ofher Highland garden; A School in the Hills, a vivid history of the school at Abriachan which eventually became the Stewarts` family home; and The Post in the Hills, which tells the dramatic story of the postal service in the Highlands, from the point of view of Katharine`s later role aspostmistress of the smallest post office in Scotl&, run from the porch of her Abriachan schoolhouse. Each of these books glows with what Neil Gunn described as `its unusual quality, its brightness & its wisdom`. The omnibus will bring the grace, charm & wisdom of Katharine Stewart`s writing to a new generation of readers. ...

Now more than ever, we live in a society where we covet new & shiny things. Not only has consumption risen dramatically over the last 60 years, but we are damaging the environment at the same time. That is why buying quality & why Tara Button`s Buy Me Once brand has such popular appeal. Tara Button has become a champion of a lifestyle called `mindful curation`
- a way of living in which we carefully choose each object in our lives, making sure we have the best, most classic, most pleasing & longest lasting
- kettles, desks, pots & pans, scissors, coats & dresses, instead of surrounding ourselves with throwaway stuff & appliances with built-in obsolescence. Tara advocates a life that celebrates what lasts, what is classic & what really suits a person. There are 10 steps to master mindful curation & each is explained in this book, from understanding & using techniques to freeing yourself from external manipulations. Finding your purpose & priorities & identifying your core tastes & style. Learning how to let go of the superfluous & how to make wise choices going forwards. Mindful curation is a lifestyle choice that will make you happier, healthier & more fulfilled spiritual as well as helping save the planet.

...

In these elegant, unsparing & intimate stories, the Folio Prize-winning author, Akhil Sharma, exposes the paradoxes, ironies & harmonies that characterise modern life. Marrying the minimalism of Chekhov & Carver with a flair for dark comedy, A Life of Adventure & Delight is a collection full of wisdom, wonder & reflection. ...