Stores: Waterstones

A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week In the bestselling, prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson achieved the seemingly impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe. Now he turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up. A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this book will have you marvelling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again.

Signed Edition Following the recent success of the bestselling Have You Eaten Grandma? Gyles Brandreth is back with the ultimate collection of poetry. Gyles celebrates the finest uses of our English language by handpicking the ultimate anthology of poetry, from the classics, Auden, Wilde, Shakespeare to our all-time favourites, Milligan, McGough and Armitage, to even our most modern works by Rupi Kaur. With so many wonderful poets to choose from this beautiful compendium will become your definitive poetry book to treasure for years to come. He urges us to savour the perfect couplets, delicate words, and clever quips by learning these exquisite poems by heart. By appreciating, memorising and sharing these poems we can begin to increase literacy rates, improve our memories, all the while enriching our lives with the joy of language. Gyles writes emphatically about the beauty, diversity and ingenuity of the language used in these poems, and the way in which they can transform our lives.

The Museo del Prado houses the largest known collection of works by Jheronimus Bosch. Among its holdings are The Adoration of the Magi and The Garden of Earthly Delights triptychs, as well as the original of The Haywain, making it the 'home of Bosch' and the perfect institution to hold a major exhibition marking the quincentenary of the artist's death. This magnificent, richly illustrated book reproduces these masterpieces and other recently cleaned and restored paintings, and reveals hitherto unknown facets of Bosch's art. A distinguished team of Bosch scholars contribute to the volume. Pilar Silva Maroto's essay presents an updated biography of Bosch and his family, and includes all the surviving documents dating from his lifetime. It also locates the artist in the context of his home town, 's-Hertogenbosch, and offers an in-depth appreciation of his status as a painter and draughtsman. Eric De Bruyn considers Bosch's sources in texts and images; Paul Vandenbroeck, his values and ideology; and Larry Silver, the sins and their punishment, a fundamental theme in the artist's work. Finally, there is a 'conversation' between Reindert Falkenburg and The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych, and a reflection by Fernando Checa on the reception of Bosch at the Habsburg court in Flanders and in Spain in the 16th century. The catalogue entries for the paintings belonging to the Prado collection discuss the findings of recent technical research carried out specifically for the exhibition, which has shed new light on these works.

Raised on a literary diet rich in Enid Blyton tales, Kate Morton says she's still separated from slumber at night by mysteries and secrets that dance around the edges of her mind'. Having studied for the stage, she released her first novel The House at Riverton to wild acclaim in 2007, and has since continued to write books she can disappear inside'. The Lake House is one such book, which spins the threads of three mysteries through a 70-year period, connecting them with Loenneth, a grand house in Cornwall set within an abundant lakeside garden. At the start of the novel it is the tragic setting for the unexplained disappearance of 11-month-old Theo Edevane on the eve of his family's beautiful midsummer party; then, 70 years later, it is the abandoned and overgrown estate that Sadie Sparrow, a London detective constable on an enforced break from the beat, discovers while running near her grandfather's house. Alice Edevane, who was just 16 when Theo vanished, lives in London in Sadie's present as an elderly detective novelist who has spent her life trying to escape that terrible night. The narrative jumps back and forth, introducing the child abduction case Sadie has been forbidden to pursue, and going back to Alice's past a year before the party, all while thickening the plots of these mysteries with different perspectives and embellishing them with secrets.

The quest that led to Infinity Gauntlet begins here! Back from the dead, Thanos is after the power to bring the rest of the universe with him on a return trip. Can the Silver Surfer, Drax the Destroyer and others stop the cosmic iconoclast before he uses reality as a token of his affection for Death? Special guest appearance by the Impossible Man! Collecting: Silver Surfer (1987) #34-38, Thanos Quest #1-2 and material from Logan's Run #6

Signed Waterstones Exclusive Edition with exclusive endpapers A Standard Edition is available here 1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time. The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie's empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho's gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost. With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson brings together a glittering cast of characters in a truly mesmeric novel that captures the uncertainty and mutability of life; of a world in which nothing is quite as it seems.

Exclusive Edition - containing conversation with Bernard Cornwell A standard edition is available here. IN THE FINAL RECKONING, CHOOSE YOUR SIDE CAREFULLY... The epic conclusion to the globally bestselling historical series. After years fighting to reclaim his rightful home, Uhtred of Bebbanburg has returned to Northumbria. With his loyal band of warriors and a new woman by his side, his household is secure - yet Uhtred is far from safe. Beyond the walls of his impregnable fortress, a battle for power rages. To the south, King AEthelstan has unified the three kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia and East Anglia - and now eyes a bigger prize. To the north, King Constantine and other Scottish and Irish leaders seek to extend their borders and expand their dominion. Caught in the eye of the storm is Uhtred. Threatened and bribed by all sides, he faces an impossible choice: stay out of the struggle, risking his freedom, or throw himself into the cauldron of war and the most terrible battle Britain has ever experienced. Only fate can decide the outcome. The epic story of how England was made concludes in War Lord, the magnificent finale to the Last Kingdom series.

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is a thrilling, fast-paced adventure set on an alternate Earth - perfect for fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky and Michel Crichton's Jurassic Park. They're big, they're bad and they're about to become extinct... Jamie's dream was to hit the big time at a New York tech start-up. Jamie's reality was a humiliating lay-off, then a lowwage job as a takeaway delivery driver. During a pandemic too. Things look beyond grim, until a chance delivery to an old acquaintance. Tom has an urgent vacancy on his team: the pay is great and Jamie has debts - it's a no-brainer choice. Yet, once again, reality fails to match expectations. Only this time it could be fatal. It seems Tom's 'animal rights organization' is way more than it appears. The animals aren't even on Earth - or not our Earth, anyway. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures roam a tropical, human-free world. And although Kaiju are their universe's largest and most dangerous animal, they need support to survive. Tom's 'Kaiju Preservation Society' wants to help. However, others want to profit. Unless they're stopped, the walls between our worlds could fall - and the consequences would be devastating.