It began with a blinding light, a divine revelation from a mysterious intelligence that called itself VALIS. And with that, the fabric of reality was ripped open and laid bare so that anything seemed possible, but nothing seemed quite right.Part science fiction, part theological detective story in which God plays both the missing person and the perpetrator of the ultimate crime, VALIS is both...

Here is a story told inside out and back to front Five Dunbar brothers are living – fighting, loving, grieving – in the perfect chaos of a house without grown-ups. Today, the father who left them has just walked right back in. He has a surprising request: Who will build a bridge with him? It is Clay, a boy tormented by a long-buried secret, who accepts. But why is Clay so broken? And why must...

Does a stolen antique car hold the clue to a secret fortune? Wife-and-husband treasure-hunting team Remi and Sam Fargo head to England to help Viscount Albert Payton recover a fortune that was lost along with the family's good name a hundred years ago. It is believed this treasure was linked to the theft of a Rolls-Royce prototype called the Grey Ghost which legendary detective Isaac Bell...

The mischievous, adventurous Peter Rabbit is hopping into cinemas for the first time ever on 16th March. This is the chapter book based on the major new movie. Peter Rabbit is always breaking into Old Mr McGregor's garden and stealing his vegetables. And it's always getting him into trouble! But everything is about to change . . . Will Peter finally be able to take control of the vegetable...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER\'Nerd royalty\' BEN GOLDACRE \'Totally brilliant\' TIM HARFORD \'Required reading across the world\' NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask.Millions visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe\'s...

She knows your secrets. Now discover hers… You've never met anyone like Alice. She sees the best in people. And the worst. She always seems to know exactly what everyone around her is feeling: a thousand different emotions. Every. Single. Day. In amongst all that noise, she's lost herself. But there's one person she can't read. And that's the person who could change her life. Is she ready to...

The Rebel is Camus\'s \'attempt to understand the time I live in\' and a brilliant essay on the nature of human revolt. Published in 1951, it makes a daring critique of communism - how it had gone wrong behind the Iron Curtain and the resulting totalitarian regimes. It questions two events held sacred by the left wing - the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian Revolution of 1917 - that...

Journey from the Earth's surface, through the atmosphere and out into space. In this book, you can travel from centre of the universe to discover the stars, planets, moons and comets that call our solar system home.

Jack Reacher, "the coolest continuing series character" (Stephen King), returns in a brand new, pulse-pounding read from Lee and Andrew Child. Reacher had no idea where he was. No idea how he had got there. But someone must have brought him. And shackled him. And whoever had done those things was going to rue the day. That was for damn sure. Jack Reacher wakes up, alone, in the dark,...

For much of their history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious and sexual minorities. It is no surprise then that many who passionately believe in social justice have come to believe that members of marginalized groups need to take pride in their identity if they are to resist injustice. But over the past decades, a healthy appreciation for the culture and heritage of...

Baby Touch: Colours is part of Ladybird's best-selling Baby Touch series, designed to help stimulate a baby's senses from birth. Encouraging interaction and play, the Baby Touch books are lots of fun for the very youngest babies, as well as toddlers. Baby Touch: Colours is a bold, bright board book perfect for little hands to explore. With a big touch-and-feel on every double page, it helps...

The international bestseller from the Booker Prize-shortlisted author 'Ghosh has established himself as one of the finest prose writers of his generation' Financial Times Set in Burma during the British invasion of 1885, this masterly novel tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy lifted on the tides of social and political chaos, who goes on to create an empire in the Burmese teak forest....

The bestselling category killer comes to paperback with a new chapter and a full publicity and marketing campaign THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Book of the Year: Waterstones, The Times, Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, iPaper and Bookshop.org 'A spirited, inspiring, brilliantly illustrated history of female artistic endeavour' Laura Freeman, The Times 'Will...

A darkly funny account of family life from the author of The Haunting of Hill House and The Lottery 'Sometimes, in my capacity as a mother, I find myself sitting open-mouthed and terrified before my own children' As well as being a master of the macabre, Shirley Jackson was also a pitch-perfect chronicler of everyday family life. In Life Among the Savages, her caustically funny account of...

Nausea is both the story of the troubled life of a young writer, Antoine Roquentin, and an exposition of one of the most influential and significant philosophical attitudes of modern times - existentialism. The book chronicles his struggle with the realization that he is an entirely free agent in a world devoid of meaning; a world in which he must find his own purpose and then take total...

Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.’ Set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Civil War, Margaret Mitchell’s magnificent historical epic is an unforgettable tale of love and loss, of a nation mortally divided and a people forever changed. Above all, it is the story of beautiful, ruthless Scarlett O’Hara and the dashing soldier of...

"The Midnight Rose is a spellbinding tale of family secrets, sacrifice and the everlasting power of love, from Lucinda Riley, international bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series. India, 1911. Anahita Chavan, from a noble but impoverished family, forms a lifelong friendship with the headstrong Princess Indira, the privileged daughter of Indian royalty. Becoming the princess's...

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court - but at a steep cost. Though she now possesses the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people. Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, the mesmerising High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates his dark web of political...

Shah of Shahs depicts the final years of the Shah in Iran, and is a compelling meditation on the nature of revolution and the devastating results of fear. Here, Kapuscinski describes the tyrannical monarch, who, despite his cruel oppression of the Iranian people, sees himself as the father of a nation, who can turn a backward country into a great power - a vain hope that proves a complete...

'Everyone who cares about freedom and justice for women should read The Second Sex' Guardian Simone de Beauvoir famously wrote, 'One is not born, but rather becomes, woman'. In this groundbreaking work of feminism she examines the limits of female freedom and explodes our deeply ingrained beliefs about femininity. Liberation, she argues, entails challenging traditional perceptions of the...