Other books that might interest you

• 

  Lost in a Good Game - Why we...

  Pete Etchells

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  'Etchells writes eloquently ... A heartfelt defence of a demonised pastime' The Times
  'Once in an age, a piece of culture comes along that feels like it was specifically created for you, the beats and words and ideas are there because it is your life the creator is describing. Lost In A Good Game is exactly that. It will touch your heart and mind. And even if Bowser, Chun-li or Q-Bert weren't crucial parts of your youth, this is a flawless victory for everyone' Adam Rutherford
  
  When Pete Etchells was 14, his father died from motor neurone disease. In order to cope, he immersed himself in a virtual world - first as an escape, but later to try to understand what had happened. Etchells is now a researcher into the psychological effects of video games, and was co-author on a recent paper explaining why WHO plans to classify 'game addiction' as a danger to public health are based on bad science and (he thinks) are a bad idea.
  
  In this, his first book, he journeys through the history and development of video games - from Turing's chess machine to mass multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft- via scientific study, to investigate the highs and lows of playing and get to the bottom of our relationship with games - why we do it, and what they really mean to us.
  
  At the same time, Lost in a Good Game is a very unusual memoir of a writer coming to terms with his grief via virtual worlds, as he tries to work out what area of popular culture we should classify games (a relatively new technology) under.

  Show book

• 

  Let Them Eat Flax! - 70 All-New...

  Joe Schwarcz

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Award-winning author Joe Schwarcz continues his crusade against purveyors of poppycock as he investigates the surprising and sometimes sinister science of everyday food and life
  		 
  Do you know if your waiter sings in the bathroom?
  		 
  Or if the lady who whipped up the icing on your cake wore false fingernails?
  		 
  When was the last time you microwaved your dishcloth?
  		 
  Is your orange juice pasteurized?
  		 
  The bestselling popular science author of A Grain of Salt serves up “interesting factoids about the way that science has helped shape our everyday lives” (Joe Culotti, PhD, professor of molecular and medical genetics, University of Toronto).
  		 
  What difference does an atom make? It could mean life or death! Get the lowdown on oxygenated water, the healing powers of prayer, and the health benefits of chocolate. Could there be a link between McGill University and Jack the Ripper? Find out how cinnamon helps to counter high cholesterol, and learn just how sweet sugar alternatives can be.
  		 
  In the tradition of Schwarcz’s five previous bestsellers, Let Them Eat Flax fries scientific baloney with humor, wit, and information. From food poisoning to the secret of the Stradivarius violin, fertilizers to spontaneous human combustion, Schwarcz investigates explosive subjects and delivers the unbiased, scientific facts readers need to make informed decisions in their everyday lives.

  Show book

• 

  Skywriting by Word of Mouth

  John Lennon

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  John Lennon wrote Skywriting by Word of Mouth, an impressive collection of writings and drawings, during Yoko Ono's pregnancy with Sean, and always planned to have it published. The book's publication was a wish that seemed to end with Lennon's assassination in 1980 and the theft of the manuscript from the Lennons' home in 1982. When it was recovered and first published in 1986, Skywriting received immediate critical and popular acclaim. Filled with Lennon's extraordinary creative powers and lavishly illustrated with his own drawings, the collection reveals his fertile creative spirit up close and in full force. Included in Skywriting are "Two Virgins," written when the public learned that John and Yoko were living together as husband and wife, and John's only autobiography, "The Ballad of John and Yoko." In addition there are notes on his falling in love with Yoko, the breakup of the Beatles, his persecution by U.S. authorities, and his withdrawal from public life. This is a book with John Lennon's spirit on every page—a spirit the world needs to remember.

  Show book

• 

  The Flight of the Iguana - A...

  David Quammen

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The award-winning author of The Song of the Dodo examines weird and wonderful aspects of nature in this collection of wise, witty, and insightful essays. 
   
  From tales of vegetarian piranha fish and voiceless dogs to the scientific search for the genes that threaten to destroy the cheetah, David Quammen captures the natural world with precision. Throughout, he illuminates the surprising intricacies of the natural world, and our human attitudes towards those intricacies. A distinguished essayist, Quammen’s reporting is masterful and thought provoking and his curiosity and fascination with the world of living things is infectious.

  Show book

• 

  The Olive Season - Amour a New...

  Carol Drinkwater

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “A lovely balance of memoir, travelogue and olive-growing how-to . . . Some of her adventures are quite funny.” —Publishers Weekly In this memoir, the author of The Olive Farm returns to the ten-acre property for which she and her fiancé scraped together their savings to buy—just back from their wedding on a tiny Polynesian island, loaded down with luggage and a large hand-painted didgeridoo. As Carol and Michel settle in as husband and wife, they experience the glamor of southern France at dinner parties in the company of aristocrats and at the world-renowned Cannes film festival, as well as the dirt-caked, sun-baked life of farmers—especially after their gardener heads to Algiers to arrange his youngest son’s wedding. For Carol, though, what matters most is that her longtime dream of motherhood finally promises to come true—and over the course of The Olive Season, she shares the story of her hopes and fears as she anticipates another kind of growth and nurturing. Alternately entertaining and emotionally poignant, this memoir is a rich portrait of love, longing, and the constant uncertainties of the cycle of life.

  Show book

• 

  Uncle John's Bathroom Reader...

  Institute Bathroom Readers'

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Strange-but-true stories, colorful characters, and big-league bizarreness for fans of America’s pastime!   Why is baseball such a great subject for a Bathroom Reader? Because it’s steeped in history and tradition, it’s rife with scandals and controversy, and most of the men that dedicate their life to it are just a little bit . . . weird. Uncle John’s spirited take on the game takes you deep into that history to paint a detailed picture of where the game came from and where it may be going. You’ll go behind the scenes at spring training, listen in on pitcher’s mound conferences, and meet the players, coaches, fans, and broadcasters who make this the greatest game in the world! Swing for the fences as you read about . . .   * Minor league mishaps * The violent history of umpiring * The true story of Lou Gehrig’s heroic rise and tragic fall * The man who pitched a no-hitter while tripping on LSD * The origins of gloves, baseballs, bats, uniforms, helmets, and more * Baseball’s most famous call and how it was saved for posterity * The best and worst teams of all time * Animals in the outfield * The birth of Little League * The Abner Doubleday myth * and much, much more!

  Show book