A newly reissued edition of the beloved illustrated survey of gnome life, history, and lore, which has sold astronomically since its original publication in 1977 Did you know that gnome couples always have twin children? Or that a gnome is seven times as strong as a human? Do you want to hear some gossip from the gnome who knew Rembrandt? Dutch artist Rien Poortvliet’s charming illustrations and physician Wil Huygen’s detailed observations of the gnomes’ habits, anatomy, and lifestyle a...

What does "good luck" look like and how do you achieve it? The Japanese have been doing it for centuries!

Lucky symbols, lucky numbers, lucky charms and luck-creating rituals--how is it that a disciplined and hard-working country like Japan is so invested in the idea of luck? And what, exactly, does "good luck" mean?

This insightful book by a leading expert on the subject explores the ways in which luck-encouraging and misfortune-repelling rituals--long woven into the fabric of Japanese life-...

“A fascinating, provocative case that the metaverse will not merely transform our virtual experience—it may actually enrich the quality of our lives” (Adam Grant)—from the visionary co-founder of one of today’s most innovative technology companies

“Mind-expanding . . . This important book offers a highly persuasive argument that a new kind of virtual world, the metaverse, marks a profound new stage in this long human quest for fulfillment through creation.”—Chris Anderson, Hea...

From Hello Kitty to Maneki Neko--Japan is the epicentre of global cat culture!

Whether lurking in corners or taking center stage, cats are a ubiquitous presence in Japanese art. Depending on the situation, they may invite good fortune, prompt the viewer to meditate on a tale or provide evidence of an unseen world of magic and supernatural happenings.

In 200 charming woodblock prints, paintings, screens and figurines spanning three centuries, Japanese art expert Rhiannon Paget celebrates the r...

In this brilliant selection of essays, the award-winning, best-selling author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments offers her funny, erudite, endlessly curious, and uncannily prescient take on everything from debt and tech to the climate crisis and freedom and the importance of how to define granola—and seeks answers to Burning Questions such as...

• Why do people everywhere, in all cultures, tell stories?

• How much of yourself can you give away without evaporating?

• How can we...

In this love letter to reading, curated by Pandora Sykes in aid of the National Literacy Trust, bestselling and beloved writers share their favourite books: the ones they hold most dearly, that they return to time and again and that helped make them the writers they are.

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM :

NICK HORNBY * RUTH OZEKI * ANN PATCHETT * BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH * MARIAN KEYES * ELIZABETH STROUT * DEBORAH LEVY * TESSA HADLEY * ELIF SHAFAK * GEORGE THE POET * LEILA SLIMANI * ALI SMITH * DEREK OWUSU ...

Steeped in honey, Juventius,

your golden eyes, and as sweet too

when I press my lips to them -

three hundred thousand kisses

is not close to enough

For centuries, evidence of queer love in the ancient world was ignored or suppressed. Even today, only a few, famous narratives are widely known - yet there's a rich literary tradition of Greek and Roman love that extends far beyond this handful of stories. Here, the poet Seán Hewitt and painter Luke Edward Hall collect together, for the first ti...

The international literary icon opens his eclectic closet: Here are photographs of Murakami’s extensive and personal T-shirt collection, accompanied by essays that reveal a side of the writer rarely seen by the public.

Considered "the world's most popular cult novelist" (The Guardian), Haruki Murakami has written books that have galvanized millions around the world. Many of his fans know about his 10,000-vinyl-record collection, and his obsession with running, but few have heard about a mo...

The smash-hit Sunday Times bestseller now illustrated with over 100 spectacular full-colour images, showcasing this wondrous and wildly various lifeform as never before

'Astonishing ... it seems somehow to tip the natural world upside down' Observer

'Completely mind-blowing ... reads like an adventure story' Sunday Times

*WINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY BOOK PRIZE 2021*

*WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION WRTITING 2021*

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2021*

*SHORTLISTED FO...

From the legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us