Produced by probably one of the most recognisable DIY presenters in the UK, TV star Tommy Walsh, his latest guide, “Tommy Walsh Outdoor DIY” is full of practical advice on tackling the home improvement duties on the exterior of your home and in the garden.

Walsh has also turned his hand to interior decorating and building, but it’s out in the elements that he performs to his best strengths. His previous publications, such as “Bathroom DIY” and “DIY Survival”, have covered everything from shower cubicles to electric underfloor heating, but this book will give you all the know how you will need for completing jobs such as constructing patios and decking, repairing brickwork and cleaning drains.

Of course, as well as his impressive expertise it is Walsh’s charming personality that has made him such a favourite on television and in the book he comes across as engaging and considerate to the complete beginner. None of the content is patronising in any way and he knows that his readers will have at least some degree of common sense.

For each job, every step is clearly illustrated and every tool and material is listed, so you can rest assured that all aspects will be covered. This book would be perfectly suited to someone who feels they know a bit about DIY, but is missing out on some of the basics. Though everything is explained concisely, the banal and obvious has been omitted.

“Tommy Walsh Outdoor DIY” is published by Collins, who are renowned for their manuals and tutorial handbooks and is available in paperback. This is easily one of their bestsellers.

For anyone working in GUI design, marketing or web/software development, this book has some really useful conceptual information to help you create usable and perceptive designs. The authors, William Lidwell, Kritina Holden and Jill Butler, cover almost every design concept (most of which you’re probably familiar with) such as the 80/20 rule, Ockham’s razor and the Fibonacci sequence. Clear and informative visual examples of each concept are provided as well as useful facts about their use (did you know that Le Corbusier derived two Fibonacci sequences based on key features of the human form to create his famous Modulor? Le Corbusier developed the Modulor to discover mathematical proportions in the human body and used his findings to improve both the appearance and function of architecture.)

If you need help with enhancing usability, you’ll refer to this book often. From the ‘Expectation Effect’ – how user expectations affect perception and behaviour – to the ‘Rule of Thirds – creating aesthetic positions for the primary elements of design – there are 100 principles to guide you into making sensible and realistic design decisions. It will also help you to appreciate good design and see instantly where others have failed.

The authors certainly don’t tell you how to do your job; the value here is in understanding the principles of design and not the techniques. If you’re after a single point of reference for common design guidelines (that work!), this is the book to buy. Brilliantly indexed both alphabetically and by category, you’ll easily find the answers you’re looking for to solve that nasty usability issue. By understanding the key concepts you’ll find that the quality of your work improves and the feedback you receive is positive.

It’s essential reading for anyone who works in or is studying design.

Many people think that bingo games are entirely dependent on the luck of the draw, but with the help of “The Basics of Winning Bingo”, any player will begin to see how much there really is to game. This book aims to give an introduction to beginner bingo players, but has plenty of handy tips and tricks for others at a more intermediate level.

The book is published by Cardoza Publishing and, at only 64 pages long, will be an ideal carry-round guide for the aspiring bingo player. The author, Avery Cardoza, is not only a noted expert on the game, but has also written a series of poker-based titles, such as “How to Win at Gambling” and “World Series of Poker Official Guidebook”.

But with this handy manual, Cardoza has looked to not only help players win at bingo, but also to make the game more accessible for a wider audience. There are a staggering 100 million bingo players around the world and with the release of this book, there are sure to be plenty more that will be added to this figure.

“The Basics of Winning Bingo” covers every aspect of the game, such as the basics of play, the bingo language, and selection of winning patterns.

The advice offered in this book can also be used for playing both the real money and free bingo games on the many bingo sites on the web, and it serves as an ideal companion for any new, budding player.

Scared of flying? This book could be your passport to freedom. Filled with facts about aircraft and safety, I can guarantee that once you read this you’ll be booking that dream holiday to Barbados before you know it!

This book describes everything you need to know to quash your fears; from take-off to touchdown to the facts behind turbulence. Have you ever wondered what fuel dumping is? Pondered how the aircraft stays up in the air? Wanted to know why the flaps are put on at take-off and landing? More importantly, what happens if an engine stops? How do you know what height to climb to? Find out why the crew goes through the ‘emergency’ drill on every flight, even though it’s rarely needed.

Rest assured that you’re in good hands – Captain Godfrey has over 20,000 flying hours and was CAA examiner for flight tests and training for British Airways.  He qualified as a glider pilot just one day after his 16th birthday and held his private pilot’s license by the age of 18. At 20 was the youngest person ever to have held a flying instructors rating in the UK. He’s now retired and devotes his time helping others to overcome their fear of flying.

Phobias can strike at any time and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Don’t let your fears hold you back and ruin your life; grab the bull by the horns and start by reading this book. Remember that you’re not the only one and hundreds of other people have overcome their fear of flying by taking onboard the advice of Captain Godfrey.

Start slowly – your first flight after reading this book should be a short one. Consider a flight to Belfast which, from most UK airports only takes about an hour. Once you’ve managed that (and with the help of this book, you will!) you’ll wish you read it years ago.

Lace is a classic women’s novel. Written by Shirley Conran in 1982 it was made into a highly successful mini-series. The numbers don’t lie – over two million copies have been sold in the UK alone. It’s an intriguing tale of love, hate, deceit, and shame; you really won’t be able to put it down.

The plot centres around five main characters. Famous film star Lili is trying to trace her birth mother and knows that a mysterious benefactor sent money to her adoptive parents to pay for her upkeep – her mission is to find out who that was. The story jumps back to 1960, where we meet four schoolfriends, Pagan, Kate, Judy and Maxine. The girls are close and we follow them as they progress through school and blossom into beautiful young ladies. Each girl begins an illicit romance and eventually, one of the girls becomes pregnant. The baby is named Elizabeth Lace and put up for adoption – the mothers name listed as ‘Lucinda Lace’ – but who is the mysterious Lucinda Lace?

As the lives of the four girls’ progresses, each one of them maintaining a fabulously successful career, they receive news that the baby has died. The years of lies, resentment and shame cause them to fight and they each go their separate ways. Lili in the meantime is determined to find her mother, the woman who abandoned her and left her to suffer – she will stop at nothing until she uncovers the truth.

Eventually, the four women are summoned to New York, where Lili asks “Which one of you bitches is my mother?” It’s a spellbinding end to the novel, which will leave you gagging for more. Luckily Conran agreed and Lace 2 followed with the explosive revelation of the true identity of Lili’s parents.

For the perfect holiday novel, you can’t go wrong.

Are you struggling with your sense of style? Have you fallen into a pit of fashion despair? If you want a cheap fix then you really should buy this book. Listed as one of the ‘Four Fashion Books Every Fashionista Should Own’ it’s written by one of the world’s leading fashion dictators; Nina Garcia tells us straight how it’s done.

If you’ve never heard of Nina Garcia, here’s the deal: Ms. Garcia was Fashion Director at Elle magazine and is now at Marie Claire so she has an incredible pedigree when it comes to commenting on and guiding the direction of women’s clothing. Not only that, she was also a judge on the popular fashion and lifestyle show, Project Runway.

For the essential rules on balancing classic styles with high trends, blending textures and colours, and what to wear on those special occasions, it’s all here. This really is a style bible that takes you on a wonderful fashion journey – by the end of it you’ll be wearing those ‘impulse purchase’ clothes you thought you’d never wear again!

A big advocate of the little black dress, Nina Garcia will help you find the perfect frock for your shape and she’ll also help you figure out the essential accessories to go with it. Her advice is to “buy the best you can afford” – after all we can’t all indulge in haute couture – yet her advice has meaning. Even those Primark purchases will look a million dollars when you follow Nina’s tips.

This book is beautifully illustrated and makes the perfect gift for your style-challenged friends – it’s also a book you’ll keep forever and continue to refer to when you’re having a fashion lull.  If women’s clothing is not your forte then this is one investment that will pay dividends – you never know, it might even help you increase your entries in your other ‘little black book’!

Presently enjoying well-deserved fame for his translations of Stieg Larsson’s thrilling and unique Millennium series of crime novels, Reg Keeland has a large number of other accomplishments to his name.

Born Steven T. Murray in Berkeley, California, he uses the pseudonym Reg Keeland for translations into UK English. Brilliantly translating from Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian and German, Keeland won the Golden Dagger Award in the UK in 2001 for his translation of Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell’s novel, Sidetracked.

Keeland received the UK’s Galaxy British Book Awards ‘Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year’ in 2009, ITV3’s ‘International Author of the Year Award, UK’ in 2008, and the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize in South Africa in 2008 for his translation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Amongst many other works, he has also notably translated the Swedish author Karin Alvtegen’s three psychological thrillers, Missing, Betrayal and Shame. His translation into English of Stieg Larsson’s much-anticipated second Millennium novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, was published to critical acclaim in July 2009. His translation of the third novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, will be released in English in October 2009.

Keeland is also working on translating another Henning Mankell thriller, Son of the Wind, due to be published in English in 2012, amongst several other works by German and Swedish authors for release in 2009 and 2010.

If, like me, you seem to have a permanent bad hair day then help is at hand. ‘Great Hair: Elegant Styles for Every Occasion’ is full of easy to do styles that are shown in full colour photographs so it’s easy for you to achieve the catwalk look in the comfort of your own home. There are 100 styles to choose from so you can be sure there’s one to suit your mood.

This book is perfect if you’re struggling to afford that expensive designer re-style – it’s jam-packed full of useful tips and tricks to get the most from your hair (and the half-empty bottles of hair products in your bathroom cabinet!). If you think you know how to handle your GHD hair straighteners, think again – author Davis Biton shows how to get unique effects in a matter of minutes (straighteners are not just for straight hair – you can curl with them too – who knew?).

If you have long hair then most of the styles and advice in this book will appeal to you. If you have a short or mid-length style then you might find the content a little limited. It’s a great book for students currently studying hair design as there are lots of ideas for up-do’s such as chignons, braids, twists and weaves, all illustrated clearly using step-by-step colour photos.

Davis Biton is a leading international stylist and the creative force behind the Davis brand. He specializes in hair extensions and styling for special occasions and this is obvious in the book. Almost every style is designed for long hair and if you’re not a hairdresser then you might need some help achieving the looks Mr. Biton appears to do so effortlessly.

A good book if you’re experienced with hairdressing – a little complicated if you’re not.