This preview highlights titles to be published in October
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Hillam (800k Instagram followers) is a comic adventure in which cats and humans swap places, and poses the question: what if our cats were responsible for taking care of us for a change?
Dean Kinsella Everything Is Great (NoContextBrits): Highlights from the Best Country in the World Quercus, 31st, hb, £12.99, 9781529435290 Containing more than 100 memes and photos, and a wealth of facts, stats and quotes about all things British, this “Greggs family platter of delights” is drawn from Twitter handle @NoContextBrits which has 1.8 million followers.
Rubik, a Hungarian architecture professor, the eponymous cube celebrates its 50th birthday this year. This vibrant and nostalgic gift book contains quotes, stats and facts,
The Queen Consort The Secret Diary of Queen Camilla Constable, hb, £18.99, 9781408721209 Written by Hilary Rose of the Times, this behind- the-scenes spoof looks at how royal life is really lived from the perspective of our chain-smoking monarch. Publication date now 26th September.
John Smith
Ysenda Maxtone Graham Screams!: Shrieks of Horror and Yelps of Pleasure From Modern Life Abacus, 31st, hb, £14.99, 9780349146560 From the pitfalls of knicker envy to the weaponising of email sign-offs, a gently humorous take on the modern world by the author of British Summer Time Begins”.
Official Rubik’s Rubik’s: 50 Years of the World’s Most Famous Cube White Lion, 24th, hb, £14.99, 9780711298279 Invented in 1974 by Ernö
Poetry
Marina Diamandis Eat the World Canongate, 31st, hb, £16.99, 9781837262182
One to Watch
”I thought if/I ate the world/I would finally/be full/I would never/be hungry again.” Raw and moving poems of love, solitude and the struggles of youth characterise this illustrated début poetry collection, from the award-
winning singer-songwriter also known as Marina and The Diamonds, who has an online following of more than seven million. She also delves into the traumas, highs and lows of relationships in poems that are “profoundly autobiographical”.
Kim Jong-Fun Party Hard the North Korean Way Wildfire, 24th, hb, £12.99, 9781035425280 “For the baby-faced dicta- tor in your life, a guide to throwing shindigs that go off like an intercontinental ballistic missile”. Political parody in which the Revered Marshall Kim Jong-un instructs his adoring subjects on how to party down in a one-party state.
Language, literature & essays
Adrian Chiles The Curious Columns of Adrian Chiles Profile, 10th, pb, £10.99, 9781805221814 “I thought it was weird to have a favourite spoon. Then I realised I wasn’t alone.” Broadcaster Chiles’ weekly column in the Guardian has a dedicated following
for his insights into everything from the use of the present tense in history podcasts to his naked doppelgänger on “Only Fans”. This bumper collection takes us on a “bright, bemused tour of British life”.
Sarah Clegg The Dead of Winter: The Demons, Witches and Ghosts of Christmas Granta, 10th, hb, £14.99, 9781803511535 Focusing on the darker side of Christmas traditions, and set to be “sumptuously produced”, an alluring, atmospheric exploration of the strange folk tales and arcane traditions that still haunt the festive season and winter more widely; from English mummers plays and modern pagan rituals at Stonehenge to wassails, and hoodenings which involve wooden hobby horses.
Darren Freebury-Jones Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers: How Early Modern Playwrights Shaped the World’s Greatest Writer Manchester UP, hb, £25, 9781526177322 Who were the playwrights who influenced William Shakespeare? Drawing on the work of John Fletcher, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and others this study argues that we need to see early modern drama as a communal enterprise with everyone borrowing from one another.
David Grossman The Thinking Heart Cape, 3rd, hb, £9.99, 9781787335509
“One hundred and fifty years of conflict. What does that do to a person’s soul, to the spirit of a nation? To both the occu- pied and the occupier?” In 11 essays, the renowned Israeli writer traces the years leading up to the events of 7th October 2023, documenting the struggle being fought on both sides and the many who simply want to live in peace.
linguistic celebration of words and phrases that capture the winter—and festive—season.
Ndyia Swaby Amy Ashwood Garvey and the Future of Black Feminist Archives Lawrence Wishart, 25th, pb, £15, 9781913546397 Highlighting the forgotten social justice activism and legacy of Ashwood Garvey (also the first wife of Marcus) this charts the Black feminist researcher author’s journey as she pieces together her subject’s biography.
Malu Halasa Sumūd: A New Palestinian Reader: Essays, Memoir, Fiction, Poetry and Art from The Markaz Review Seven Stories, 10th, pb, £19.99, 9781911710127 The Markaz Review publishes literature and art from across the Middle East. This anthol- ogy—which also includes illustrations by Palestinian artists—celebrates the power of culture in Palestinian resistance through memoir, short stories, essays, books reviews, personal narra- tive and poetry.
Paul Anthony Jones A Winter Dictionary: A Collection of Words for the Festive Season Elliott & Tompson, 24th, hb, £16.99, 9781783968237 From frost-dogs (tiny particles of falling snow) to stepmother’s breath (a sudden cold snap), a
Sport
Tommy Fury Lightning Can Strike Twice: My Life as a Fury Sphere, 10th, hb, £25, 9781408732267
One to Watch
How could another champion come out of the family that had already produced Tyson Fury? In his first book, professional boxer and social media star (5.5 million Instagram follow- ers) Tommy Fury reveals how he
defied the pressures and weight of expectation on his shoulders, and reflects on his many iden- tities: boxing champ, TV star, mental health advocate, fiancé and father. Illustrated with personal photos, his story is a “genuinely compelling one”, says Sphere. “It’s a bumpy ride so fasten your seatbelts,” says Fury.
Adrian Tomine Q&A Faber, 10th, pb, £12.99, 9780571392360 Billed as “Stephen King’s On Writing for graphic novels”, this guide by graphic novelist, screen- writer and New Yorker cover artist Tomine showcases his working methods, and gives insights, guidance and advice for aspiring graphic novelists.
Mind, body & spirit
Sara Haydon Winter Magic: A Witch’s Yule Allen & Unwin, 31st, hb, £12, 9781805462828 From making pine needle bundles and hand-dipped candles to a magical and nourishing witch’s soup, this “witchy, festive book with a Nordic twist” is billed as hygge for the modern witch.
Lindsay Squire & Lisa Salsi (illus) Witchcraft: A Graphic
History: Stories of Wise Women, Healers and Magic Leaping Hare, 17th, hb, £14.99, 9780711295254 This graphic compendium of stories explores the origins of witchcraft, encompassing self- empowerment, feminism, eco-spirituality, plant magic, green wisdom and more.
Natural history & pets
Britt A Bunyard
The Little Book of Fungi Princeton UP, hb, £12.99, 9780691259888 One of four new additions this month to Princeton’s delightful illustrated mini-nature reference series, which would make classy stocking fillers for any nature lover. Also out: The Little Book of Weather by Adam Scaife (9780691259994); The Little Book of Whales by Robert Young (9780691260129); and The Little Book of Dinosaurs by Rhys Charles (9780691259895).
Gregory Berns Cowpuppy Text, pb, £12.99, 9781923058163 A neuroscientist buys a farm in rural Georgia and populates it with cows. He falls in love with his cows, and in particular with BB his “cowpuppy”. This charts that unexpected friendship, along with his scientist’s journey into the secret world of cows.
Caleb Carr My Beloved Monster Allen Lane, 31st, hb, £25, 9780241735213
TheBookseller.com
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© Brendan Walter
© Nicky Johnston
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