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In Strictest Confidence


Craig Revel Horwood - 2018
    Join Craig and a host of Strictly stars - including Ore Oduba, Judy Murray and the unforgettable Ed Balls - on the show and live tours and get the real stories from behind the scenes.The Aussie-born judge shares his famously forthright views on the changes in the show's line up, from Bruce Forsyth and Len Goodman's departures to the arrival of Claudia Winkleman and Shirley Ballas, as well as the dancers and stars.Away from Strictly, Craig reveals fresh heartache over failed romances, his pain at losing his dad and how his work kept him from flying to Australia for the funeral. He marks the milestones in his life, including turning fifty and moving from London to live in a 'gorgeous' country pile, as well as going under the knife for a second hip operation plus a few nips and tucks.The multi-talented dancer, director and choreographer also discusses his award-winning shows, including Sister Act and Son of a Preacher Man, and spending a year in drag as Miss Hannigan in Annie. Plus, he reveals all about his foray into movies, choreographing Hugh Grant for Paddington 2 and making his big screen debut in Nativity Rocks.With his famous wit and a wealth of backstage gossip, My Fab-u-lous Life! is the perfect read for all his fans as well as those of Strictly Come Dancing.

Tap to Tidy: Organising, Crafting & Creating Happiness in a Messy World


Stacey Solomon - 2021
    Whether it's a love of getting crafty, meticulously organising or making fun-shaped snacks!I find it hard to sit still, but losing myself in a craft project or tidying a drawer is my form of meditation. It's a chance for me to forget about the things going on in the world around me for a minute.I hope this book helps you to lose yourself for a moment, too - and that you enjoy reading it and even, maybe, having a go at some of the bits inside.

The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath


Ian Green - 2021
    Floré would never let the slavers of the Empire rise again. As a warrior of the Stormguard Commandos, she wrought horrors in the rotstorm to protect her people. She did her duty and left the bloodshed behind.Fight for your family.Floré’s peace is shattered when blazing orbs of light cut through the night sky and descend on her village. Her daughter is abducted and Floré is forced into a chase across a land of twisted monsters and ancient gods. She must pursue the mysterious orbs, whose presence could herald the return of the Empire she spent her entire life fighting.Destroy your enemies.Now, Floré must take up the role she had sworn to put aside and become the weapon the Stormguard trained her to be, to save not only her daughter, but her people...Read this action-packed and unique fantasy adventure from debut Scottish author, Ian Green. Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series or Sam Sykes' Seven Blades In Black.

Period. It's About Bloody Time


Emma Barnett - 2019
    Period. is an agenda-setting manifesto to remove the stigma and myths continuing to surround the female body. Bold and unapologetic, Emma Barnett is on a crusade to ignite conversation among women--and men--everywhere.

Perfect on Paper


Gillian Harvey - 2021
    Successful career, loving husband, two kids and a gorgeous townhouse. At least, that's how it looks like from the outside.In fact, she's never felt more invisible. Her boss barely remembers her name, her husband is distracted by his new TV job and her daughter has never found her more embarrassing!But when she's given a chance to turn her life upside-down she wonders whether she should risk everything she loves for a life that's more than just 'perfect on paper'...?

A Winter Memory


Lulu Taylor - 2021
    They met as students and Helen fell in love, not just with Angus but with the romantic Ballintyre family and their beautiful house on the edge of a loch. But marriage to Angus has not proved happy.Now, years later and with a family, Helen and Angus have been forced to move back to live at Ballintyre with his older brother, Charlie. Helen is surprised to find that Sylla, Charlie’s wife, has disappeared and no one seems to know where she is. Helen is worried, not least because Charlie and Sylla lost their teenage daughter, Rose, only a year before. Surely someone should be looking for her . . .Sylla Ballintyre has spent her life ministering to her husband, Charlie, and coping with the presence of his overbearing mother, Josephine, until the tragedy of losing Rose drained her happiness away. When she stumbles on the path to freedom, she knows she must take it, whatever the cost.As Helen struggles with the fallout of recent events and its effect on her life, Ballintyre House becomes the setting for revelations of love, obsession and betrayal that have resonated beyond the present and into the past, affecting the lives of all those who have called it home.

Pandora


Susan Stokes-Chapman - 2022
    London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents' famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle's suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. Edward sees the ancient vase as key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as a chance to restore the shop to its former glory, and to escape her nefarious uncle. But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason. Gorgeously atmospheric and deliciously page-turning, Pandora is a story of secrets and deception, love and fulfilment, fate and hope.

The Forevers


Chris Whitaker - 2021
    They saw it ten years back, when it was far enough away in space and time and meaning. The changes were gradual, and then sudden. For Mae and her friends, it means navigating a life where action and consequence are no longer related. Where the popular are both trophies and targets. And where petty grudges turn deadlier with each passing day. So, did Abi Manton jump off the cliff or was she pushed? Her death is just the beginning of the end. With teachers losing control of their students and themselves, and the end rushing toward all of them, it leaves everyone facing the answer to one, simple question... What would you do if you could get away with anything?

Chris Stein / Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk


Chris Stein - 2014
    While a student at the School of Visual Arts, Chris Stein photographed the downtown New York scene of the early ’70s, where he met Deborah Harry and cofounded Blondie. Their blend of punk, dance, and hip-hop spawned a totally new sound, and Stein’s photographs helped establish Harry as an international fashion and music icon. In photos and stories direct from Stein, brilliant writer of hits like "Rapture" and "Heart of Glass," this book provides a fascinating snapshot of the period before and during Blondie’s huge rise, by someone who was part of and who helped to shape the early punk music scene—at CBGB, Andy Warhol’s Factory, and early Bowery. Stars such as David Bowie, the Ramones, Joan Jett, and Iggy Pop were part of Stein’s world, as were fascinating downtown characters like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Hell, Stephen Sprouse, Anya Phillips, Divine, and many others. As captured by one of its greatest artists and instigators, and designed by Shepard Fairey, this book is a must-have celebration of the new-wave and punk scene, whose influence on music and fashion is just as relevant today as it was four decades ago.

Aces Back to Back: The History of the Grateful Dead (1965 - 2013)


Scott W. Allen - 2014
    

Reflections: The Sunday Times bestselling book of life lessons from superstar presenter Holly Willoughby


Holly Willoughby - 2021
    It feels so authentic . . . Encompassing and inclusive . . . Reads beautifully and fluidly and feels like having a chat with your best friend' - Elizabeth Day on HOW TO FAIL'The book is a triumph...an accessible insight into the woman behind the brand' Grazia________________________Have you ever found yourself in that moment where you just wonder - what's next? I could carry on as I am but there's a yearning for something else. That's where this book started for me...Presenter. Fashion icon. Wife. Mother. Holly Willoughby lights up the nation's TV screens every day but, like all of us, she has struggled with moments of self-doubt, feelings of guilt, anger and detachment. Here she shares how she has learned to reconnect with herself in order to face her fears head on. With her trademark warmth, Holly shows how listening to her inner voice and celebrating life's little moments of beauty and joy - like looking up at the moon or finding the perfect red lipstick - helped her feel whole again. Reflections is an empathetic, encouraging book that will inspire you to live your most beautiful, authentic life.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:-'I rarely read and read this book in two days! Much of what Holly wrote about resonated with me and I've taken so much practical advice away with me.'-'Like little snippets of therapy'-'This book is brilliant. Holly addresses many things that we all face in life and gives her best advice on how to overcome them. Fantastic for anyone but mostly anyone who suffers any kind of anxieties or self consciousness. -'Amazing . . . Holly is just fabulous and I can't put it down, so nice to know we aren't in this journey alone' -'So beautifully written and relatable in lots of ways. It will be a book that I am sure I will keep taking off of my book shelf to keep going back to read for a long time'

The Giver Quartet


Lois Lowry - 2013
    

Mistakes in the Background


Laura Dockrill - 2008
    Enter the weird and wonderful world of Laura Dockrill …I draw like a left-handed baby, I can hardly spell my own name and watching me use a glue-stick is a bit like watching a large bear trying to ram his own head into a pocket-sized cat-flap …no, really.But once the book is finished, when I can see the pages coming together, getting thicker and thicker, detailed and covered with stories and my imagination recorded on pages …everything at last makes sense (to me at least).I did this because I have got things to say. I've got pictures I want you to see and characters I want you to meet - the crying ice-skating boy, the Rolf Harris obsessive, the rude girl in McDonalds with the chocolate milkshake and the try-hard Mighty Boosh watching mum.I don't keep a diary. I think they’re crap.But this is much more than a diary. This is my map.

The Best Things


Mel Giedroyc - 2021
    It's the story of a family who lose everything, only to find themselves, and each other, along the way.Sally and Frank Parker have it all.Then one day, because of Frank, they don't.As the bailiffs move in and the money runs out, Sally realises that she and her children don't have a clue about how to survive.Or do they?The Parkers are about to discover that the best things in life aren't things at all.

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby


Cherise Wolas - 2017
    But the wonderful man I just married believes as I do―work is paramount, absolutely no children―and now love seems to me quite marvelous.These words are spoken to a rapturous audience by Joan Ashby, a brilliant and intense literary sensation acclaimed for her explosively dark and singular stories.When Joan finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, she is stunned by Martin’s delight, his instant betrayal of their pact. She makes a fateful, selfless decision then, to embrace her unintentional family.Challenged by raising two precocious sons, it is decades before she finally completes her masterpiece novel. Poised to reclaim the spotlight, to resume the intended life she gave up for love, a betrayal of Shakespearean proportion forces her to question every choice she has made.Epic, propulsive, incredibly ambitious, and dazzlingly written, The Resurrection of Joan Ashby is a story about sacrifice and motherhood, the burdens of expectation and genius. Cherise Wolas’s gorgeous debut introduces an indelible heroine candid about her struggles and unapologetic in her ambition.