‘Harry Wallop is one of the sharpest and funniest journalists writing in Britain today. He has an instinct for the killer detail that truly brings a story to life.' – Jay RaynerThis is the story of how we became defined by what we consume.Discover what the thickness of froth on your morning coffee or where you buy your jeans really says about you, and the role of retailers and big business in this new class system.In this revealing account, award-winning journalist ...

David Mitchell, who you may know for his inappropriate anger on every TV panel show except Never Mind the Buzzcocks, his look of permanent discomfort on C4 sex comedy Peep Show, his online commenter-baiting in The Observer or just for wearing a stick-on moustache in That Mitchell and Webb Look, has written a book about his life.As well as giving a specific account of every single time he's scored some smack, this disgusting memoir also details:the singular, pitbull-in...

THE SUNDAY TIMES-BESTSELLING BOOK BY ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST-LOVED COMIC WRITERS**Pre-order now: David Mitchell's new book Dishonesty is the Second-best Policy**There are many aspects of modern life that trouble award-winning comedian David Mitchell, such as:Why is every film or TV programme a sequel or a remake?Why are people so f***ing hung up about swearing?Why do ...

The world is full of pointless things. From rail replacement bus services to chip forks. From war to windchimes. From people who put cushions on beds to people who read the bit they write about the book on amazon. Look around you right now. Just about the only thing that isn't pointless is you. You look amazing. Join Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, the hosts of BBC1 quiz show Pointless as they take you on a journey through The 100 Most Pointless Things in the World. Filled with play...

Being a housewife in the 1950s was quite a different experience to today. After the independence of the wartime years, women had to leave their jobs when they married and support their husband by creating a spotless home, delicious meals and an inviting bedroom. A 1950s Housewife collects heart-warming personal anecdotes from women who embarked on married life during this fascinating post-war period, providing a trip down memory lane for any wife or child of the 1...

News, views and hilarious stories from the legend of Newsnight and long-standing quiz master of University Challenge.‘Bursting with good things’ Daily TelegraphDuring 25 years as BBC Newsnight’s supreme inquisitor, Jeremy Paxman proved himself as the master of the political intervview. From John Major to Theresa May and Tony Blair to Ed Miliband, he has them quaking in their boots. But it wasn’t just politicians. Paxman’s interview...

A collection of short pieces on topics dear to Paul Henry’s heart – some outrage him, some will outrage you, and others will outrage everybody. A smattering of sample topics: tipping; political zealots of all persuasion; dog owners; people who just stop at the top of escalators; roadwork signs that haven't been put away; closed-minded people; queueing; people who steal the magic from chidren's eyes; rubbish on the street; surcharges; children on planes; Twitter; wine serve...

For each of the 101 topics, a question from that topic is provided along with a model answer to that question. The questions are typical of those asked in part 2 of the IELTS speaking module and the model answers are suitable responses, though candidates are advised to modify the model answers and add to them as appropriate.

On the way to a show in Skipton, in North Yorkshire, I noticed a road sign to a town called Keighley. So later, during the show, I mentioned this, asking the audience 'Is that your rival town?' And the room went chillingly quiet, until one woman called out with understated menace, 'Keighley is a sink of evil.'Based on his award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, Mark Steel's ‘In Town’, is a celebration of the quirks of small town life in a country of increasingly homogenized high streets....

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain, Quentin Letts, comes his blistering new book on how Britain's out-of-touch, illiberal elite fills its boots.'HILARIOUS' Daily Mail'With its vicious takedowns, Quentin Letts' laugh-out-loud Patronising Bastards will have the lefty-elite running scared' The SunNot since Marie Antoinette said 'Let...

Carol Thatcher has one of the most famous surnames in the world. The daughter of former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, Carol is a national treasure with a unique story to tell. Her remarkable mixture of bravery, honesty and humour won her a place in the nation's hearts on ITV's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here...! when millions of viewers voted her the second 'Queen of the Jungle'. In this candid memoir, she tells us about what it was like to grow up as the 'Milk Snatcher's' daughter...

Lynsey Hanley was born and raised just outside of Birmingham on what was then the largest council estate in Europe, and she has lived for years on an estate in London's East End. Writing with passion, humour and a sense of history, she recounts the rise of social housing a century ago, its adoption as a fundamental right by leaders of the social welfare state in the mid-century and its decline - as both idea and reality - in the 1960s and '70s. Throughout, Hanley focuses on how shifting tr...