We’ve independently chosen our favourite titles to sell in our bookshops and online. And remember – we offer Free Postage in ROI on orders over €30 – just choose the Free Postage option at checkout.
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The perfect gift! Which Haruki Murakami novel shares its title with a Beatles song? In Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, what is Charlie's surname? What is heavy-drinking Rachel Watson known as in the title of a 21st-century bestseller? And what do you get if you add the number of Bennet sisters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to the number of Karamazov brothers in Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov? With four hundred questions covering books from literary classics to modern bestsellers, through iconic children's books and books you say that you've read but really you haven't, The Penguin Book Quiz is as appropriate for making you look well-read at a party as it is for a book-loving family to tuck into after Christmas dinner: it's as enjoyable to read as it is to play. Featuring the work of everyone from Antony Beevor to Zadie Smith, books from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Ulysses, and with movie, music, television, theatre and literary references abounding, this entertaining quiz tickles the fancy (and the brains) of light and heavy readers alike. Answers:- Norwegian Wood- Bucket- The Girl on the Train- Eight (five sisters, three brothers). ISBN 9780241986035 -
Discover 101 inspiring ideas for more useful things you can do with your knob. From herding sheep to mountain rescue, controlling traffic, space exploration or taking the perfect group selfie, you too can use your willy to make the world a better place. ISBN 9781529102949 -
The New York Times number one bestseller from the Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation star. In Amy Poehler's highly anticipated memoir, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much). Powered by Amy's charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by. ISBN9781447283317 -
What is The Tiger Who Came to Tea really about? How is Meg and Mog related to Polish embroidery? And why does death in picture books involve being eaten? Fierce Bad Rabbits explores the stories behind our favourite picture books, weaving in tales of Clare Pollard's childhood reading and her re-discovery of the classic tales as a parent. Because the best picture books are far more complex than they seem - and darker too. Monsters can gobble up children and go unnoticed, power is not always used wisely, and the wild things are closer than you think... ISBN 9780241354797 -
This fabulously fun flipbook allows you to generate 60 million brilliantly beastly insults for all occasions. Wacky, zany, and sometimes plain silly, this book will ensure you'll always have the last word, not to mention the last laugh! - Hilarious heckles for silencing sassy siblings. - Teasing taunts to make best friends snigger. - Madcap comebacks to confuse mum and dad. - Playful put-downs for frenemies and enemies. ISBN 9781786270290 -
'The right book has a neverendingness, and so does the right bookshop.' This is the story of our love affair with books, whether we arrange them on our shelves, inhale their smell, scrawl in their margins or just curl up with them in bed. Taking us on a journey through comfort reads, street book stalls, mythical libraries, itinerant pedlars, radical pamphleteers, extraordinary bookshop customers and fanatical collectors, Canterbury bookseller Martin Latham uncovers the curious history of our book obsession - and his own. Part cultural history, part literary love letter and part reluctant memoir, this is the tale of one bookseller and many, many books. The Bookseller's Tale is a joy. I read the first chapters in a single binge-read, and each chapter instantly became my favourite ... I loved this gnarly old bookshop in nifty book form' David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas 'Entertaining, erudite, eccentric - a delight' Alison Light, author of Common People ISBN 9780241408810 -
The 2 Johnnies' massive success has taken them as far afield as Sydney, Compton and Abu Dhabi. But for them nothing compares to living in Ireland. And in C'Mere and I Tell Ya they dig into the tastes, habits and rites of passage that have made them who they are. Whether it's ... dressing for the debs ('I'd say my cravat was the talk of Templemore for weeks') - succeeding in a band ('I did backing vocals for six months and it turned out I was singing the wrong lyrics') - doing a Strictly fundraiser for your GAA club ('Remember you're not Julia Roberts and the local butcher isn't Richard Gere, so keep it in the pants') - recognizing the no-go moves at a stag ('Nobody wants to see a sixteen-stone man in a pink thong. Nobody')... Johnny B and Johnny Smacks capture it perfectly. And they have down-to-earth advice for every conceivable situation - and a few inconceivable ones. C'Mere and I Tell Ya is a one-stop celebration of Irishness, chicken goujons and being sound. ISBN 9781844885084 -
Enter the genre-defining worlds created by five masters of speculative fiction in The Science Fiction Puzzle Book. Featuring the prolific works of Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein and Ursula K. Le Guin, become part of their futuristic, dystopian and world-building adventures with this series of enigmatic puzzles. Containing more than 100 enigmas, riddles and conundrums, all taking inspiration from their extraordinary stories and vivid worlds, explore new galaxies and new technologies while solving challenges all written in the distinctive and brilliant styles of these five stars of science fiction. 'A knotty puzzle may hold up a scientist for a century' - Isaac Asimov, The Robots of Dawn. ISBN 9781787394889 -
'One truth I have learnt, as middle age enmeshes me like Virginia creeper, is that I shall never change-because my capacity for self-improvement is absolutely nil.'Jilly Cooper's observations from her days as a much-loved newspaper columnist cover everything to do with sex, socialising and survival - from marriage, friendship and the minutiae of family life, to the tedium of going to visit people for the weekend, the stress of hosting dinner parties and the descent of middle age. Entertaining and full of heart, this classic collection of journalism from the legendary author explores the highs and lows of everyday life with wit, wisdom and warmth. 'Joyful and mischievous' Jojo Moyes 'Fun, sexy and unputdownable' Marian Keyes 'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding 'No one else can make me laugh and cry quite like Jilly Cooper.' Gill Sims 'Jilly Cooper's non-fiction is just as entertaining as her novels.' Pandora Sykes ISBN 9780552178082 -
Having just turned 40, Bernard O’Shea found himself hurtling towards a mid-life crisis. His waistline expanded, his flexibility abandoned him, his wardrobe was invaded by elasticated beige trousers and sandals – could this be the male menopause? In his hilarious and often alarmingly honest style, Bernard documents his journey, first fighting the menopause tooth and nail – buying into every fad diet and hair-growth pill, even returning to Mass to find faith – before recruiting the help of a therapist, some experts in mindfulness, and, as always, the support of his long-suffering wife. Can Bernard navigate the manopause to come out the other side with his dignity intact? He’s about to find out … ISBN 9780717189687 -
Kant's Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write opens a window on Messud's own life: a peripatetic upbringing; a warm, complicated family; and, throughout it all, her devotion to art and literature. In twenty-nine intimate, brilliant and funny essays, Messud reflects on a childhood move from her Connecticut home to Australia; the complex relationship between her modern Canadian mother and a fiercely single French Catholic aunt; and a trip to Beirut, where her pied-noir father had once lived, while he was dying. She meditates on contemporary classics from Kazuo Ishiguro, Teju Cole, Rachel Cusk and Valeria Luiselli; examines three facets of Albert Camus and The Stranger; and tours her favorite paintings at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. In the luminous title essay, she explores her drive to write, born of the magic of sharing language and the transformative powers of 'a single successful sentence'. Together, these essays show the inner workings of a dazzling literary mind. "A profound book about the intrication of literature and life, about the modest, miraculous ways art helps us to live" Garth Greenwell. ISBN 9780349726557 -
P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever is a picture book written by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter and illustrated by Maria Tina Beddia. It takes you through the alphabet with examples for each letter... the only problem being, they're English words with silent letters and bizarre spellings... E is for Ewe... K is for Knight.. and of course, P is for Pterodactyl... Adults and kids alike will love this fun picture book with humourous illustrations by Maria Tina Beddia. Great for Ages 7-99. ISBN 9781492674313 -
In the beginning, everything was fine. And then along came Zeus... Ahh Greek myths. Those glorious tales of heroism, honour and... petty squabbles, soap-opera drama and more weird sex than Fifty Shades of Grey could shake a stick at! It's about time we stopped respecting myths and started laughing at them. Did you know Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, was born of some discarded genitals? Or that Hera threw her own son off a mountain because he was ugly? Or that Apollo once kidnapped a boat full of people while pretending to be a dolphin? And let's not even get started on Zeus - king of the gods, ruler of the skies and a man who's never heard of self-control. In fact, if there's one thing most Greek myths have in common, it's that all the drama could have been avoided if SOMEONE could keep it in their toga... Horrible Histories writer Susie Donkin takes us on a hilarious romp through mythology and the many times the gods (literally) screwed everything up! Stephen Fry's Mythos by way of Drunk History, Zeus is a Dick is perfect for those who like their myths with a heavy dollop of satire. 'Who knew mythology was so bonkers? I am grateful - it had me laughing from the first page to the last.' - Miranda Hart. 'It's about time someone called him out on all this' - Hera, goddess of marriage, wife of Zeus. 'Worst. Father. Ever.' - Artemis, goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus. 'Oh yeah, focus on him. I never did anything wrong. Nothing to see here' - Poseidon, god of the seas, brother of Zeus. 'Just a real dick, honestly' - Many, many people. ISBN 9781529348958 -
Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious-curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood. As it turns out, they aren't the only curious ones. They've since amassed a rabid fan base, making Stuff You Should Know one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Armed with their inquisitive natures and a passion for sharing, they research and discuss a wide variety of topics-always working to uncover the weird, fascinating, delightful, or unexpected pieces of any given subject, and then talking about it together in an accessible and humorous way. The pair have now taken their near-boundless "whys" and "hows" from your earbuds to the pages of a book for the first time-and with it comes loads of new content, covering subjects about which they've long wondered or wanted to explore in greater detail. Follow along as they dig into the underlying stories and interesting ways things fit into the world, touching on everything from the origin of Murphy beds, to the history of facial hair, to the psychology of being lost. An additional layer of visual material allows the duo to further embellish their engaging storytelling and bring these topics to life in a snappy new way-including charts and graphs, illustrations, and sidebars for rabbit-hole tangents and wandering digressions. Have you ever wondered about the world around you, and wished to see the magic in everyday things? Come get curious with Stuff You Should Know. With Josh and Chuck as your guide, there's something interesting about everything (...except maybe jackhammers) ISBN 9781409199380 -
From the feisty and fabulous "Joan Rivers of the pet influencer community" (Paper Magazine), beloved social media star and canine fashion icon Izzy the Frenchie wittily explains why it's so important we all wear face masks to battle COVID-19. French bulldog and doggy celebrity Izzy loves going out and about just like the rest of us, but she also knows how important it is to be stylish and safe. In Wear the Damn Mask, the four-legged "sassy fashion lover" (Vogue) shows how you can effortlessly be both. 9781982171223 -
Keep the blues away with the power of positivity. Is the world getting you down? Struggling to find the silver lining to that cloud? Put your best paw forwards and ask yourself, "What would Snoopy do?" Learn to be more like the world's most famous beagle. Embrace joy, champion your friends, lead the way, and spread happiness wherever you go. 9780241467350 -
In 1894, Ruth Smythers, `Beloved wife of The Reverend L. D. Smythers', wrote: `One cardinal rule of marriage should never be forgotten: give little, give seldom and, above all, give grudgingly...' The Methodist wife didn't intend to be amusing, but this brief treatise written for young brides is side-splitting today and an eye-opener to how our love lives have changed in just over a century. ISBN 9781849539760 -
Say "I love you" to the Star Wars fan in your life with this collection of lessons in love and friendship from a galaxy far, far away. Relationships can be complex - your dad could have turned to the dark side, your partner could be a princess, or your best friend might speak in more than 7 million forms of communication and never stop talking! This book shares some wise advice for romances, friendships, and family relationships from fan-favourite Star Wars characters such as Han and Leia, Rey and Kylo Ren, and Finn and Poe. The perfect Valentine's Day or anniversary gift for your scruffy-looking nerf herder, best friend or long-lost sibling, Star Wars: I Love You. I Know is a light-hearted guide to relationships, featuring quotes, classic moments and characters from the Star Wars galaxy. ISBN 9780241500804
