Just My Typo

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2012 MAN BOOKER PRIZEAN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEARA DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEARAN EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF THE YEARThe fantastically inventive, ingenious and hilarious second novel from Ned Beauman, author of the acclaimed and prizewinning BOXER, BEETLE.HISTORY HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE HUNGOVERWhen you haven't had sex in a long time, it feels like the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone.If you're living in Germany in the 1930s, it probably isn't.But that's no consolation to Egon Loeser, whose carnal misfortunes will push him from the experimental theatres of Berlin to the absinthe bars of Paris to the physics laboratories of Los Angeles, trying all the while to solve two mysteries: whether it was really a deal with Satan that claimed the life of his hero, the great Renaissance stage designer Adriano Lavicini; and why a handsome, clever, charming, modest guy like him can't, just once in a while, get himself laid.From the author of the acclaimed BOXER, BEETLE comes a historical novel that doesn't know what year it is; a noir novel that turns all the lights on; a romance novel that arrives drunk to dinner; a science fiction novel that can't remember what 'isotope' means; a stunningly inventive, exceptionally funny, dangerously unsteady and (largely) coherent novel about sex, violence, space, time, and how the best way to deal with history is to ignore it.LET'S HOPE THE PARTY WAS WORTH IT

We say a lot about ourselves by what we don't say. Words and phrases like 'collateral damage', 'wardrobe malfunction', 'vertically challenged', and old favourites like 'unmentionables' (trousers, apparently) or 'lady of the night' - all are ways of not using particular words.  UNMENTIONABLES is a rollicking exploration of the history of euphemistic usage, looking at how taboos connected to sex, death, religion, war, politics, business and matters of status have produced an extraordinary linguistic creativity, and how euphemistic speech has changed over the centuries.  It looks at how euphemisms are born, and how they die (or 'experience a negative outcome') and it explores why it is that we create euphemisms, and the different purposes - from the benign to the sinister - that they serve. (Is 'euphemism' a euphemism for lying?)Lively, entertaining, and crammed with fascinating nuggets of information, UNMENTIONABLES is a celebration of the richness of language. Why have just one word for something when you can have ten other words instead?

Hergé is best known in Britain and throughout the world as the creator of Tintin, the dauntless young reporter-hero of the strip cartoon that first appeared in 1929 to instant acclaim.  The Adventures of Tintin remain a constant point of reference throughout this new book which draws on fresh material found in the extensive archives of the Hergé Foundation as well as interviews with those who knew Hergé intimately, including his friends and colleagues.This lavishly illustrated book examines the life and passions of a man who, despite his fame, preferred to avoid the limelight, finding inspiration in modern art, the latest scientific developments and world affairs, and seeking enlightenment in Zen Buddhism and philosophy. It establishes the pivotal role played by cinema in his development of the strip cartoon, from the slapstick of the 1920s through the suspense of the pre-war Hitchcock thrillers to the early works of Steven Spielberg - the one filmmaker he believed could bring Tintin successfully to the screen.Apart from the strip cartoons that made his name, Hergé was an accomplished graphic designer and typographer and his highly advanced work for advertising is reviewed as well as his later attempts at becoming an abstract painter.Not only was Hergé fascinated by modern art, but he also became an avid collector. He greatly admired the Pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, buying major works of theirs, and they in turn paid tribute to him.

In Robert Peston's new book he explains in his characteristically straightforward way how the world got itself into the current economic mess - and how we might get out of it. 'How do we fix this mess? I don't know. But don't stop reading now. Perhaps if we have a clearer understanding of what went wrong, we'll have a better idea of what needs to be done. This book is a map of what needs to be fixed.'The record-breaking unbroken growth between 1992 and 2008 wasn't the economic miracle that it seemed. It was based on a number of dangerous illusions - most notably that it didn't matter that the UK and US year after year consumed more than they earned.But we couldn't go on increasing our indebtedness forever. The financial crash of 2007/8 and the subsequent economic slump in much of the west was the moment when we realised we had borrowed more than we could afford to repay.So who got it wrong? Bankers, investors and regulators? And were they greedy, stupid or asleep? What was the role of government? And what part did we, as consumers, play in all this?How do we get through this difficult period of transition to a more sustainable economy, one based on investment and exports, rather than on borrowing and consumption? With the same probing lucidity he brought to WHO RUNS BRITAIN?, Robert Peston takes us step-by-step towards a common sense way to fix this mess.

In today's increasingly competitive and insecure economic environment, we often question the reason for work: why am I doing this? Why is it so hard? And what can I do about it? Work may seem just a means to an end: we do it to earn the money to enjoy life outside the workplace. Here, Timothy Keller argues that God's plan is radically more ambitious: he actually created us to work. We are to work together to make the world a better place, to help each other, and so to find purpose for our lives. Our faith should enhance our work, and our work should develop our faith.With deep insight, Timothy Keller draws on essential and relevant biblical wisdom to address our questions about work. There is grace available if we have taken the wrong attitude, idolising money and using our careers to glorify ourselves rather than God. Keller shows how through excellence, integrity, discipline, creativity and passion in the workplace we can impact society for good.Developing a better attitude to work releases us to serve others humbly, to worship God everyday, and leaves us deeply fulfilled.

The Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 were the most notorious mass killings in their day. Never fully explained, they brought London and all of England to the verge of panic. Forty-three years later, the equally notorious 'opium eater' Thomas De Quincey returns to London. Along with his Confessions, he is known for a scandalous essay about the killings: 'On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts'. Days after his arrival, a family is killed in the same horrific way as the earlier murders. It seems someone is using the essay as an inspiration - and a blueprint. And De Quincey himself is the obvious suspect. Aided by his daughter Emily and two determined Scotland Yard detectives, he must uncover the truth before more blood is shed... and London itself falls prey to attack. In MURDER AS A FINE ART, gaslit London becomes a battleground between a literary star and a demented murderer - whose lives are linked by secrets long buried, but never forgotten.