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April 2008 ~ Issue One of BooksMonthly ~ Return to the Cover page

Penguin Books New Titles

Gillian McKeith's Food Bible ~ The Complete A-Z Guide to a Healthy Life

Gillian McKeith

The book that puts your health in your hands. It's now proven beyond all doubt that eating more leafy green vegetables helps to prevent cancer, that many of the obese children of today will die before their parents, that good nutrition is the very best aid through the menopause and can even help to ward off Alzheimer's disease . . . and simply having bags more energy and vitality is a tremendous benefit in itself, considering the stresses of modern life. This book brings together for the first time Gillian's life's work and offers the very best information on how food affects your health, wellbeing, ageing, ability to fight disease and quality of life. It is innovative in its design and extremely user-friendly with a comprehensive A-Z section on all the common illnesses and diseases — a must-have book for anyone who cares about their health. Dr Gillian McKeith (PhD) is an internationally acclaimed holistic nutritionist. Gillian is the presenter of You Are What You Eat, the hit Celador primetime television programme for Channel Four. Gillian is the author of the bestselling You Are What You Eat and You Are What You Eat Cookbook, Dr Gillian McKeith's Ultimate Health Plan, Dr Gillian McKeith's Shopping Guide and Gillian McKeith's Wedding Countdown Diet. www.drgillianmckeith.com

Revenge of the Wedding Planner ~ Sharon Owens

Moving into Katie Fforde territory with this charming and sweetly funny new novel

Mags and Julie are partners at Dream Weddings, catering for the over-the-top and sometimes downright bizarre requirements of Belfast's brides and grooms to be. They rub along well but are as different as chalk and cheese. Mags is married to the love of her life, has four kids and a complicated extended family. Julie is impossibly glamorous, and doesn't remotely believe in love or marriage.When Julie embarks on a life crisis, running away from her live-in lover and throwing herself in to a hair-raisingly sexy fling with Jay, it is Mags who is left to pick up the pieces. When Julie eventually comes back, she brings Jay with her, and that is where the real trouble starts. Add to the mix Dream Weddings' most high-profile celebrity clients yet, and the biggest, most ambitious wedding they have ever organized, and the fireworks really begin . . . 'A delightfully warm read you'll devour in one sitting' Company Sharon Owens was born in Omagh in 1968. She moved to Belfast in 1988 to study illustration at the Art College. Her previous novels, The Teahouse on Mulberry Street, The Ballroom on Magnolia Street and The Tavern on Maple Street, are all published by Penguin.

Gig

The Life and Times of a Rock-star Fantasist ~ Simon Armitage

Simon Armitage's brilliant, hilarious, deadpan memoir of a lifetime's worth of gigs

From punk to mod to New Romantic, and eventually to acclaimed poet, Simon Armitage writes about a life where music and poetry have been core. And about a place, the village of Marsden in West Yorkshire, where he can stand and look out across a huge circumference of inspiration and influence: Joy Division, the Smiths and The Fall to the west, the Comsat Angels and Pulp to the south, Andrew Marvell and Larkin way out east, Ted Hughes and Plath just to the north.
Gig is a warm, vivid, wonderful book about music, poetry, family and — always — the North. 'I suspect that promoters of literary events . . . nurse a secret desire to be organizing Glastonbury rather than the Ledbury Poetry Festival, or chopping out cocaine on a mirror rather than filling a Tupperware bowl with mini-cheddars, or introducing David Bowie at Wembley Arena rather than Simon Armitage in Marsden Church Hall. Because invariably . . . they refer to the contemporay poetry reading as a "gig".' Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire in 1963, and continues to live near Huddersfield. He is one of the leading writers of his generation. He was named the Sunday Times young author of the year, and has won the Forward Prize, a Lannan Award, and an Ivor Novello Award for his song lyrics in the Channel 4 film, Feltham Sings. His Selected Poems is published by Faber.

Renegade ~ The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith

Mark E. Smith

The first autobiography by the legendary leader of The Fall. 'Reams of stuff have been written about me in the past, but never in my own words: this is the proper one' Mark E. SmithStill going after thirty years, The Fall are one of the most distinctive British bands, their music — odd, spare, cranky and circular — an acknowledged influence on The Smiths, The Happy Mondays, Nirvana and Franz Ferdinand. And Mark E. Smith IS The Fall. For the first time we get to hear his full, candid take on the ups and downs of a band as notorious for its in-house fighting as for its great music; and on a life that has endured prison in America, drugs, bankruptcy, divorce and the often bleak results of a legendary thirst. Mark E. Smith grew up in Prestwich, Manchester. He founded The Fall at the age of nineteen and for thirty years has been the hub around which the band has operated. The term 'living legend' is used too easily, but in the case of Mark E. Smith it is entirely appropriate. it is entirely appropriate.

Kieron Smith, Boy ~ James Kelman

The most emotionally resonant novel to date from one of Britain's greatest novelists

Rejected by his brother and largely ignored by his parents, Kieron Smith finds comfort — and endless stories — in the home of his much-loved grandparents. But when his family move to a new housing scheme on the outskirts of the city, a world away from the close community of the tenements, Kieron struggles to find a way to adapt to his new life. In his brilliantly evoked post-war Glasgow, Kelman depicts the city during a period of profound social change, with flourishing sectarianism, yet high hopes for the future. And in his central character, he creates a universal portrayal of the unique obsessions of childhood, whether fishing, climbing, books, brothers, dogs, ghosts, faces or souls . . .  Warm, funny, with searing insight and astonishing empathy, in Kieron Smith, James Kelman has created an unforgettable boy. 'Probably the most influential novelist of the post-war period' The Times'One of the world's greatest living writers' Big Issue'A true original . . . A real artist . . . It's now very difficult to see which of his peers can seriously be ranked alongside him' Irvine Welsh, Guardian James Kelman was born in Glasgow in 1946. His books include Greyhound for Breakfast, A Disaffection, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and How Late it Was, How Late, which won the 1994 Booker Prize. His more recent novels are Translated Accounts and You Have to be Careful in the Land of the Free.

Bard of Erin ~ The Life of Thomas Moore

Ronan Kelly

A remarkable first book on a singular Romantic figure. Colm Tóibín has called Thomas Moore 'the most influential figure in shaping the Irish psyche'. Through his Irish Melodies, Moore created an iconography of silenced harps, misty landscapes and round towers that lives on today, more than a century and a half after his death.
In Bard of Erin, Ronan Kelly tells the story of Moore's extraordinary life. From humble beginnings in Dublin to glittering social and literary success in London (at one point his popularity was eclipsed only by that of Sir Walter Scott and his close friend Lord Byron), Moore lived in the glow of fame and under the burden of national expectation. Ronan Kelly's biography is a gripping and definitive account of a great romantic figure. Ronan Kelly was born in Dublin in 1974. Bard of Erin is his first book.

Hush, Little Baby ~ Shane Dunphy

Five startling true stories of hurt and healing

Five heart-stopping true stories of terror and triumph, told by the man who tried to make life better for these troubled children . . . Clive, a thirteen-year-old victim of terrifying demonic visions, tells frightening stories of abuse and imprisonment. Could they be genuine? Patrick, twelve, bravely setting out to find the truth about his birth family — however painful it may be . . . Six-year-old Johnny, tiny and undernourished, desperately tries to recover from a brain injury inflicted by his drunken and violent father . . . At fourteen, Katie is so aggressive that the authorities have put her in special care, away from other children. What could be the cause of such fury? And in a grim island prison, a lumbering bully ponders his crimes against his twin children, Larry and Francey — while his sadistic and conniving wife, the real monster behind his actions, tries to fool the state into returning the traumatized boy and girl to her care. 'That rare beast: a serious work of non-fiction that reads like a thriller . . . by turns funny, angry, touching and, ultimately, almost unbearably moving, it is a stunning achievement.' John Connolly on Wednesday's Child. In fifteen years as a child protection worker, Shane Dunphy saw children growing up in horrific situations. He also saw their amazing ability to survive those unpromising beginnings. Shane is now a tutor on childcare courses and a respected commentator on child protection issues.

If Not Now . . . ~ Denyse Devlin

A gripping, thought-provoking and sexy story about mid-life love and all its complications

Just when she has resigned herself to being alone long-term, Marina Ffrench, a widow in her forties, meets a man and falls in love all over again. A midlife relationship, she thinks, will be straightforward — kids reared, careers established, mortgages almost paid off . . .However, midlife passion carries excess baggage. Luke, her man, may have a gorgeous villa on the Italian Lakes, but he also has a pious and eccentric Irish mammy, an Italian ex-lover who is as invasive as dry rot, and a son embroiled in a suspect engagement. And Marina has to admit that her own life is just as complicated — and getting more so by the day, given the number of stray souls and ghosts from the past that are turning up in her Cork home.Gradually, she and Luke come to see that love second time around is hard work. But in their efforts to find a happy ending for everyone, unwittingly they are creating a disaster that may destroy their shared future and the happiness of both families . . . 'Devlin shares Anne Tyler's knack with everyday imagery that feels effortless and familiar and wondrously vivid all at once' Image Magazine on The Catalpa Tree. Having grown up in a diplomat's family, and later having worked as a translator in the Middle East, Denyse Devlin travelled extensively and had many homes around the world before settling down in Co Cork in the late 1980s. She lives there with her husband and their two teenage daughters. Still Water is her fifth novel.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist ~ Mohsin Hamid

'A tale of enormous tension and a subtle and elegant analysis of the state of our world today' Philip Pullman. What happens when, in the wake of 9/11, a well-educated Muslim man finds his new life in America suddenly overturned, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and even love . . . ?

31 Dream Street ~ Lisa Jewell

The gorgeous new bestseller from the queen of feel-good fiction. '31 Dream Street is the kind of modern romance that rainy weekends were made for . . . another jewel from Lisa' Heat

Slam ~ Nick Hornby

The much-anticipated first teenage novel by the internationally bestselling author of Fever Pitch. One risk. One mistake and my life would never be the same. Skater genius Tony Hawk had a few things to say. And a few things to show me. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see your own future?

TheBlade Itself ~ Marcus Sakey

Danny Carter thought he was safe in his new life – until his old one came looking for him. 'Truly excellent — like vintage Elmore Leonard crossed with classic Dennis Lehane' Lee Child

Absolution~ Caro Ramsay

The launch of an electrifying new talent in Scottish crime fiction — the 'female Ian Rankin'. When DCI Alan McAlpine is drafted in to lead the hunt for Glasgow's Crucifixion Killer, memories of a tragic young woman are reignited. And his growing obsession soon has terrible repercussions on his team — and the hunt for the killer . . .

TheBastard of Istanbul ~ Elif Shafak

A violent secret that hides beneath the streets of Istanbul threatens the peace of two interwoven families. One rainy afternoon in Istanbul a woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I need to have an abortion,' she announces. What happens that afternoon is to change her life, and the lives of everyone around her.

More Bollocks to Alton Towers ~ Alex Morris, Jason Hazeley, Joel Morris and Robin Halstead

Some more Bollocks to Alton Towers. A charming, celebratory tour of the curious, the unusual and the just plain silly, Far From The Sodding Crowd will take you to places you've never (but should have) been.

WickedWhispers ~ Jessica Callan

Fun, raunchy and packed full of eye-popping revelations, this is gossip heaven for anyone who likes a bit of scandal. In this slick and terribly indiscreet memoir, showbiz writer and ex-Daily Mirror 3am columnist Jessica Callan lifts the lid on what celebrities get up to at those after-show parties.

At the Same Time ~ Susan Sontag

Preface by David Rieff

'These sixteen pieces brim over with vitality. Every one of them opens up fresh lines of thought' John Gray, New Statesman. A powerful and intimate collection of essays from one of America's most fearless thinkers, written in the final years of her life.

Eleven Houses ~ A Memoir of Childhood

Christopher Fitz-Simon

A luminous memoir of a very peculiar childhood. Christopher Fitz-Simon was born into an extraordinary Irish family, and his childhood coincided with the Second World War – or, as it was known in the southern Irish state, the Emergency. Eleven Houses is a crystalline memoir of his family's odd progress through those odd years, an account by turns hilarious and heartbreaking.

King of the Jews ~ The Arnold Rothstein Story

Nick Tosches

'I read everything by Nick Tosches' Johnny Depp. Legendary writer Nick Tosches takes on legendary mobster Arnold Rothstein in his most provocative and passionate book yet.

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