Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey is exactly as the name would suggest; an epic journey through the cities, barren landscape and thick overgrown jungles of Eastern Asia. He has gone to many far-flung destinations in his travels and has visited rural families, street vendors and local farmers in his quest to uncover the secrets of Far Eastern cuisine.
Of course the author will need no introduction to anyone who is a fan of TV cookery programmes. Stein is easily one of the UK’s most celebrated chefs and was named the BBC Food Personality of the Year in 2004. He also received an OBE in 2003. He has many cookery titles to his name, including “Rick Stein’s Seafood”, which won the highly acclaimed James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year Award for 2005.
From the best pho soup in Vietnam to the finest jhol fish stew in Bangladesh, Stein has gone to great lengths to compile the 150 recipes in this book. For anyone who has been following the TV series of the same name, they will know how much the chef has gone through just to find the best-tasting recipes, and here he shares the finer secrets of each one.
It is easy to see that this will be a must for any lover of Eastern cuisine, but the dishes are so vast and varied that there is sure to be something that will satisfy any taste bud. What’s more is that it is a joy to read, and the recipes are a joy to cook.
Lives riven with impossible choices, invisibly scarred with regret and charged with hope, dread, love and trauma – these constitute the stuff and substance of so much of human life. Jodi Picoult fashions them into beautifully poignant prose.
An author who has produced fifteen novels in seventeen years, Picoult writes about exceptional subjects in a way that touches us all. Her capacity to evoke powerful identifications with the dilemmas and issues of her stories, if not the individual characters, show her as a novelist who can speak to everyman, from postal worker to high court judge, bus-driver to billionaire banker.
Picoult’s debut novel Songs of the Humpback Whale uses marine biology to render a profoundly human tale in which sudden loss brings new understanding and love. None of us are free from contingency, from the unexpected and unbidden. An oceanographer is forced to use his intuitive knowledge of tracking whales to re-find his abruptly departed wife and daughter, realising that he must, as with whales, try to imagine the world (and himself) through his wife’s eyes.
Her most recently published novel, Handle with Care, seems to deal with a rare infantile illness which will inevitably result in a future of broken bones and physical agony, but it also powerfully addresses us all with a fateful question: what would we do? Would we risk poisoning our deepest friendship in order to secure legal compensation? Would we have terminated the pregnancy if we’d known? Picoult uses the extraordinary to confront us ordinary people with profound ethical issues we might otherwise ignore.
“The Unofficial Guide to Cruises” is over 700 pages of information covering the best cruise deals and cruise ships from around the globe. The most popular cruise routes are covered extensively, with an impressive 500 ships and 100 cruise lines listed by value and quality of service. For anyone looking for cheap cruises, the “Unofficial Guide” also has some handy tips on how to get the lowest price tickets and free cruising days.
The book has been written by Kay Showker – a highly respected expert on cruises and the islands of the Caribbean – and Bob Sehlinger, who has also written unofficial guides for Disneyworld, Las Vegas as well as Orlando and Central Florida.
However, the majority of the book’s content will not be of benefit to the seasoned cruise-ship traveller. It is more of a guide for newcomers to the world of cruising and the type of advice it gives will normally not be anything new to the experienced cruise traveller – there is no inside knowledge to be gained from reading this book.
That having been said, the easy-to-follow content and clear and comprehensive information has made it widely regarded as a must for novices. The Chicago-Sun Times hailed it as an “A tourist′s best friend!”, while the New York Times described it as “indispensible”.
If you are planning your first cruise holiday, this book is highly recommended.
“How to Design and Build Your Own House” is a comprehensive manual of everything you need to know about the design, layout and building of a home. The book was written by Lupe DiDonno and Phyllis Sperling, who also worked together on “How to Redesign & Renovate Your House or Apartment”.
This book explains each step of the process and will help you get your design ideas onto a blueprint. There is also extensive advice on what tools will be suited to the job and when you will need to call on the professionals. Fitting bathrooms, shower enclosures and plumbing are just some of the other interior areas covered. The easy to read and practical advice offered in the book will also make it a handy reference for anyone looking to undertake smaller DIY or home-improvement projects.
Each chapter is split into categories such as “Functional Space Planning” and “Design Elements”, which aim to educate the reader about how space and rooms can be best utilised. There is also a chapter dedicated to solar power and energy conservation.
Designing your own house may seem easy and fun to do, but this book will help you see what is really important when it comes to layout and how you can use space to its full potential. For anyone building their dream home this book will prove to be indispensable, even if you are using an architect and will enable you see things from a very different perspective.
The “You Can Do It: The Complete B&Q Step-by-Step Book of Home Improvement” guide contains almost 400 pages of in-depth and clearly explained instructions on how to tackle most common DIY tasks in the home. Covering everything from fitting bathroom furniture and shower enclosures to installing underfloor heating, this is undoubtedly a book that will be suited to beginners in DIY.
The manual will prove indispensible for anyone facing DIY tasks at home. For every job, each step is clearly explained and there is no need for any prior knowledge of home improvement. It could easily turn a complete novice into a respectable DIY’er and has the potential to save you lots of money.
The authors are Nicholas Barnard and Ken Schept, who also collaborated for “Outdoor Living: The Complete B&Q Step-by-step Guide to Designing and Enjoying Your Garden”. The authors come from quite different backgrounds; there is Barnard, whose design knowledge has also led him to write a book on Indian Textiles, while Schept has more expertise in the nuts and bolts of building and DIY.
As well as the easily accessible content, what has made this book such a big seller are the concise pictures and diagrams that are used throughout. Even if you do become confused by what is being explained in the text, every picture can show you exactly how to carry out the job at hand. The range of tasks listed is quite impressive and no doubt took a long time to compile, so it is hardly surprising it has been such sought after book.
Andre Agassi is easily one of the most talented and colourful players ever to take to the tennis court, and in his autobiography, he reveals the real story of how he rose to the top after being a child prodigy.
As many tennis fans will know Agassi’s story is not without its darker moments, and he spent many of his formative years disparaging the sport that would make him a worldwide celebrity. Forced into the game from an incredibly early age, he had a very turbulent childhood, turning professional by the time he reached sixteen.
The player’s style in the late 80s and early 90s served to revolutionise the sport and in “Open”, Agassi reveals what was going on behind the scenes at the height of his career. Of course, the celebrity focus on Agassi would eventually get too much for him and after failed relationships with Brooke Shields and, briefly, Barbara Streisand, he finally found true love with fellow tennis star Steffi Graf.
This is certainly a life story that is worthy of an autobiography and to date, Agassi has won wide acclaim for his candid storytelling and sharp writing style. It is a rare occasion when an autobiography of a sports personality shows good writing ability, but here Agassi has told his amazing life story with an exceptionally taut and well written delivery. This book will not be just for fans of Agassi or the sport of tennis in general, but has enough gravitas to appeal to a wider audience.
“Great Gambling Scams” is not just highly recommended for people involved with different forms of gaming, but is a truly entertaining read for anyone with even a remote interest in gambling. The book covers some of the biggest cheats and crooked games in the history of gambling and focuses on some of the infamous gamblers who were able to cheat casinos and bookmakers to earn a handsome living.
The stories of fifteen mastermind groups are documented – such as three Eastern Europeans who went from zero to one million in winnings after only a short while in the Ritz Casino. The famous story of the MIT students in Las Vegas, who developed a highly-complex way of counting cards, is also covered. And the stories don’t stop at the casino, as some of the biggest scams in sports betting have also been retold to great effect.
The author, Nigel Goldman, runs his own bookmaking business and has been a speaker on gambling-related programmes on radio and television. His writing style is truly gripping and makes every twist and turn of each story seem as if you were watching it happen right in front of you. Other popular titles from the author include “High Stakes: How I Blew 14 Million Pounds” and “Make a Million from Online Poker”.
This book will easily make a great Christmas or birthday gift for anyone who is interested in the subject, but Goldman is by no means only appealing to gamblers and card counters; it is fortunate that such a good writer has covered such an interesting subject.
Bolton performer, actor and writer Peter Kay is easily one of the most successful comedians of the last 10 years. Not only does he have a huge following across the country, but he can also claim four British Comedy Awards and three awards from the Royal Television Society to his name. His TV shows, such as the BAFTA-winning “Phoenix Nights” and “Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere”, have been huge hits.
In the book world, Kay is also no stranger to success. “Saturday Night Peter” is the follow-up to his well received autobiography “The Sound of Laughter”, and picks up from when he began his first foray into touring the comedy circuit. Here Kay describes not only the shows and venues he visited throughout the tour, but also the low-budget accommodation, long car journeys, and the exposure to characters that would be the inspiration for his material.
Of course, “Saturday Night Peter” will be high on the list for any fans of the Bolton comedic genius and is packed full of his sharp-witted and unique observational humour. Some critics have suggest that the story of his rise to fame seems a little bit too easy compared to most comedians, but the fact of the matter is that Kay was always a good, natural stand-up comic. Many of the book’s subjects, such as the weird and wonderful tribute acts he met on the road, were the original source material for “Phoenix Nights”, and it is a great insight to see how Kay draws his inspiration.
Easily one of the biggest and most comprehensive guides on all things fashion “The Fashion Book” is published by Phaidon Press Ltd. This huge undertaking was, of course, far too much for one author alone, and between the five that are involved – Richard Martin, Alice Mackrell, Melanie Rickey, Angela Buttolph and Suzy Menkes – there is a wealth of expertise and knowledge on offer.
In a similar vein to “The Art Book” –which is also from the same publisher – this compendium has over 500 pages, detailing the life and works of the biggest names in the fashion industry. Short biographies on influential designers such as John Galliano, Coco Chanel, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney, as well as a whole host of models and photographers, are included. In addition to the A to Z format of the book, there is also a cross reference section regarding the different techniques used and collaborations between the big names.
Everything from women’s clothing to men’s fashion accessories gets a mention, and considering the amount of work that all these designers have collectively produced, it is quite astonishing that the authors were able to squeeze it all in.
There is no doubt that “The Fashion Book” is a must for any follower of style, and it’s glossy and glamorous layout will make it the perfect coffee-table book. Since it was realised in 2001, it has quickly become a bible for the fashion industry.
The latest tempting title from the world-famous TV chef Mary Berry is full of mouth-watering and tasty recipes for cakes, desserts and puddings. As well as her role in cookery programmes on television, Berry is considered one of the top authorities on all things baking. She has over 40 books to her credit, including “Simple Cakes” and “Cook Now, Eat Later: Be One Step Ahead with Over 130 Delicious Recipes to Prepare in Advance”. The UK newspapers have often been in praise of her recipes and The Times once referred to here as a “cookery writing pioneer”.
Across the 400 pages of this book there is an astonishing 250 recipes that are explained in Berry’s easy to follow writing style, and are laid out in such a way that any beginner baker will be able to tackle any recipe. Of course, there is a vast variety of different recipes in the book, from the classics such as Victorian sponge and chocolate cake to more challenging desserts like hazelnut meringue and bread and butter pudding.
“Mary Berry’s Baking Bible” is also filled with stunning glossy photographs of all the delicious recipes, which are a sure-fire way to tempt you into the kitchen. However, if you already have some of Berry’s previous titles on your book shelf, it will be worth knowing that the Bible does repeat some earlier recipes. But if what you are after is the ultimate compendium of her creations, this will be the right book for you.
