- This Life – Martin Hagglund
Despite religious teachings, there is no such thing as immortality. Our time in this world is the only thing of value we can ever possess. Yet capitalism constantly beguiles us to steal it. Via profound engagements with some of the great philosophers and theologians in history, Hagglund strips away the illusions of religion and capitalism to return to life itself. The final lesson is this: existence is a collective project. In illuminating this profound truthy, This Life announces itself as the first great work of existential philosophy of the 21st century.
- Dark Matter and Dark Energy – Brian Clegg
All the matter and light we can see in the universe makes up a trivial five percent of everything. Something concealed holds galaxies together. This ‘something’ is dark matter—invisible material in five times the quantity of the familiar stuff of stars and planets—with dark energy pushing our universe to expand faster and faster. With dark matter and dark energy making up 95 percent of reality, cosmologists have uncovered the biggest puzzle that science has ever faced to help unlock the secrets of the universe.
- Am I Dreaming? – James Kingsland
When a computer goes wrong, we are told to turn it off and on again. Am I Dreaming reveals how the human brain is remarkably similar. By rebooting our hard-wired patterns of thinking—through so-called ‘altered states of consciousness’—we can gain new perspectives into ourselves and the world around us. From shamans in Peru to tech workers in Silicon Valley, this eye-opening insight into perception and consciousness is also a provocative argument for how altered states can significantly boost our mental health.
- Rage Inside the Machine – Robert Elliott Smith
An investigative journey into the unexpected sources of prejudice and morality in artificial intelligence and how this is now having grave consequences for our society. Rage Inside the Machine challenges the long-held assumption that technology is an apolitical and amoral force. Shedding light on little-known historical stories and investigating the complex connections between scientific philosophy, institutional prejudice and new technology, this book offers a new, honest and more truly scientific vision of ourselves.
- Lifespan – David A. Sinclair
For decades, the medical community has looked to a variety of reasons for why we age, and the consensus is that no one dies of old age; they die of age-related diseases. That’s because ageing is not a disease—it is inevitable. But what if everything you think you know about ageing is wrong? What if ageing is a disease? And that disease is curable.
In Lifespan, Dr David Sinclair, one of the world’s foremost authorities on genetics and ageing, argues just that. He has dedicated his life’s work to chasing more than a longer lifespan—he wants to enable people to live longer, healthier, and disease-free well into our hundreds. In this book, he reveals a bold new theory of ageing, one that pinpoints a root cause of ageing that lies in an ancient generic survival circuit.
Readers will discover how a few simple lifestyle changes—like intermittent fasting, avoiding too much animal protein, limiting sugar, avoiding x-rays, exercising with the right intensity and even trying cold therapy—can activate our vitality genes.
- Outgrowing God – Richard Dawkins
Should we believe in God? In this brisk introduction to modern atheism, one of the world’s greatest science writers tells us why we shouldn’t.
Richard Dawkins was fifteen when he stopped believing in God.
Deeply impressed by the beauty and complexity of living things, he’d felt certain they must have had a designer. Learning about evolution changed his mind. Now one of the world’s best and bestselling science communicators, Dawkins has given readers, young and old, the same opportunity to rethink the big questions.
- The School of Life – Alain de Botton
Emotional intelligence affects every aspect of the way we live, from romantic to professional relationships, from our inner resilience to our social success. It is the ultimate soft skill of the twenty-first century. Drawing on his work in the hugely successful School of Life organisation. Alain de Botton presents a compendium of emotional intelligence. Using his trademark mixture of analysis, anecdote, insight and practical wisdom, he considers how we interact with each and with ourselves, and how we can do so better.
From the reigning master of popular philosophy, this is an essential look at the skill set that defines our modern lives.
- Serotonin – Michel Houellebecq
Florent-Claude has been unhappy for years. His mind made up; he leaves his partner to start a new life without so much as a goodbye. Now alone, he rekindles old friendships and flames, getting through the days with the help of a new brand of anti-depressants called Captorix.
- Vignette – Jane Lopes
Sometimes we just want someone to hand us a bottle of wine. Sometimes we want to learn more about that wine. And sometimes we want to feel something about wine. Sommelier Jane Lopes recommends the 100 bottles of wine (and some spirits and beers) to best expand your wine journey, giving you a complete palate education of the important styles, grapes, regions, and flavours of this magical and ever-growing world. These are wines to live with, learn from and take solace in – a joyous, surprising, and revelatory response to that age-old question, “What should I drink?” Vignette is part memoir and part wine book, but a lot more fun than either alone.
- Inspired by Nature – Hans Blomquist
Celebrated art director and stylist Hans Blomquist examines the essential components of a well-loved home. Nature is at the heart of his decorating philosophy, and contact with the natural world has been linked to reduced stress levels and improved mood. Still-lifes and displays of treasured pieces are key to his look, and Hans explains how to style vignettes that will add visual interest as well as a connection to our past.
Using contrasting yet harmonious textures that will engage our senses, his favoured earthy palette creates a sense of calm and tranquillity just where we need it most.
- Family, Food and Feelings – Kate Berry
This inspiring, hand-on-heart look at modern families is full of instantly recognisable parenting moments and advice on how to deal with them (be it negotiating blended families, having those difficult conversations or tackling book week), delicious seasonal recipes for dinners and after-school snacks kids can make themselves, plus (finally) some new ideas for using those last black bananas in the fruit bowl.
Life-affirming, warm and incredibly real, Family, Food & Feelings will be your friend on the shelf for good days and bad, and everything in between. Because we’ve all been there, and we’re not alone.
- Starbird – Sharon King-Chai
Starbird is an original fable about freedom and love. This unique book shimmers with shiny silver foil throughout its pages, and Sharon King-Chai’s intricate illustrations of plants and animals are utterly beautiful.
Starbird’s songs weave the richest dreams and delight all who hear him, but when the Moon King traps him in a cage, the colour and life in his voice begin to drip away. What follows is a story with the feel of a timeless myth, with the message that that captivity dims even the brightest star.
A heartfelt, lyrical story, and an exquisite gift for any child or adult.
