A Pulitzer-nominated author and one of the great public intellectuals of Slavic culture bring to life the unfamiliar myths and legends of the Slavic world.
Slavic cultures are far-ranging, comprising of East Slavs (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), West Slavs (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland) and South Slavs (the countries of former Yugoslavia plus Bulgaria), yet they are connected by tales of adventure and magic with deep roots in a common lore. In this first collection of Slavic myths for an international readership, Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapšak expertly weave together a retelling of the ancient stories with nuanced analysis that illuminates their place at the heart of Slavic tradition.
Though less familiar to us than the legends of ancient Egypt, Greece and Scandinavia, in the world of Slavic mythology we find much that we can recognize: petulant deities, demons and faeries; witches, the sinister vestica, whose magic may harm or heal; a supreme god who can summon storms and hurl thunderbolts. Gods gather under the World Tree, reminiscent of Norse mythology’s Yggdrasill; or, after the coming of Christianity, congregate among the clouds. The vampire – usually the only Serbo-Croatian word in any foreign-language dictionary – and the werewolf emerge from the shallow graves of Slavic belief.
In their careful analysis and sensitive reconstructions of the origin stories, Charney and Slapsak unearth the Slavic beliefs before their distortion first by Christian chroniclers and then by 19th-century scholars seeking origin stories for their new-born nation states. They reveal links not only to the neighbouring pantheons of Greece, Rome, Egypt and Scandinavia but also the belief systems of indigenous peoples of Australia, the Americas, Africa and Asia. In so doing, they draw out the universalities that cut across cultures in the stories we tell ourselves.
The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
'Dolly Alderton at her wise, warm and witty best' Red
Since early 2020, Dolly Alderton has been sharing her wisdom, warmth and wit with the countless people who have written in to her Dear Dolly agony aunt column in The Sunday Times Style. Their questions range from the painfully - and sometimes hilariously - relatable to the occasionally bizarre. They include breakups and body issues, families, friendships, dating, divorce, the pleasures and pitfalls of social media, sex, loneliness, longing, love and everything in between.
Without judgement, and with deep empathy informed by her own, much-chronicled adventures in love, friendship and dating, Dolly leads us by the hand through the various labyrinths of life, proving that a problem shared is truly a problem halved.
'Alderton is so gifted at making people care' Marian Keyes
From the bestselling author of Storyland comes a book that will reconnect, engross and indulge readers in wild landscapes, pausing to reflect on our current relationship with nature.
How should I live my life? What values shall I live by? What sort of person should I be? What shall I aim for?
In this summation of a lifetime thinking and writing about these great questions, A. C. Grayling explores with clarity and depth the ideas that each of us must use in answering it for ourselves.
Drawing on the lives, experiences and works of a fantastically eclectic range of thinkers - taking in not only philosophers such as Confucius, Seneca and Nietzsche, but also authors from Shakespeare to Ursula LeGuin, and modern thinkers such as Martha Nussbaum and Simon May - Philosophy and Life brings together wisdom from across eras and continents in a tour de force on the philosophy of how to live your life.
A fascinating analysis of the evolution of religion from the internationally renowned evolutionary psychologist
When did humans develop spiritual thought? What is religion's evolutionary purpose? And in our increasingly secular world, why has it endured?
Every society in the history of humanity has lived with religion. In How Religion Evolved, evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar tracks its origins back to what he terms the 'mystical stance' - the aspect of human psychology that predisposes us to believe in a transcendent world, and which makes an encounter with the spiritual possible. As he explores world religions and their many derivatives, as well as religions of experience practised by hunter-gatherer societies since time immemorial, Dunbar argues that this instinct is not a peculiar human quirk, an aberration on our otherwise efficient evolutionary journey. Rather, religion confers an advantage: it can benefit our individual health and wellbeing, but, more importantly, it fosters social bonding at large scale, helping hold fractious societies together. Dunbar suggests these dimensions might provide the basis for an overarching theory for why and how humans are religious, and so help unify the myriad strands that currently populate this field.
Drawing on path-breaking research, clinical case studies and fieldwork from around the globe, as well as stories of charismatic cult leaders, mysterious sects and lost faiths, How Religion Evolved offers a fascinating and far-reaching analysis of this quintessentially human impulse - to believe.
THE TIMES NO. 7 BESTSELLER 'A blackly funny, honest, thought-provoking and compassionate book' THE TIMES ‘Full of sense, heart and hope’ PHILIPPA PERRY ‘Cariad Lloyd has changed the way we speak about grief’ SARA PASCOE _______________ Welcome to the club. I’m still here now, all these years later. You don’t leave once you’ve joined; it’s a life membership. Grief eases and changes and returns but it never disappears. But you will be okay. Somehow you will be. When Cariad was just fifteen, her dad died. She became the person-whose-dad-had-died; a mess of emotions and questions; a grief-mess. Years later, she began trying to unravel this tightly wound grief. What had happened? What effect had it all had on who she was? She started Griefcast, the podcast that talks openly, honestly and at times cheerfully about life’s most difficult moment: its end. Inspired by her own grief mistakes and lessons, and from the profound and witty insights from her incredible guests – including Philippa Perry, Reverend Richard Coles, Isabel Allende, Nish Kumar and Marian Keyes – Cariad provides a road map for all of us. For anybody who has felt lost in grief, who wants to help someone struggling, or just wants to understand this life a little better. You are not alone. _______________ 'It’s honest and warm and funny (in all the right places)' JULIA SAMUEL 'A comfy companion for anyone struggling after the death of someone close' BBC NEWS ‘A book that you should read before grief takes over your life' FI GLOVER
In his new masterpiece, renowned physician, addiction expert and author Gabor Maté dissects the underlying causes of this malaise - physical and emotional, and connects the dots between our personal suffering and the pressures of modern-day living.
This celebration of notable magical women, from the Salem witch trials to WitchTok, is a fascinating and empowering read for anyone interested in occultism or feminist history.
WINNER OF THE HWA NON-FICTION CROWN
AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE BOOK
A FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD
Elizabeth Anscombe: defiantly brilliant, chain-smoking, trouser-wearing Catholic and (eventual) mother of seven.
Philippa Foot: pathalogically discreet, quietly rebellious granddaughter of a US president.
Mary Midgley: witty scholar and careful observer of humans and animals alike.
Iris Murdoch: aspiring novelist and Francophile with the power to seduce (almost) anyone.
Written with expertise and flair, Metaphysical Animals is a vivid portrait of the endeavours and achievements of these four remarkable women. As undergraduates at Oxford during the Second World War, they shared ideas (as well as shoes, sofas and lovers). From the disorder and despair of war, they went on to breathe new life into philosophy, creating a radically fresh way of thinking about freedom, reality and human goodness that is there for us today.
'Dolly Alderton at her wise, warm and witty best' Red
Since early 2020, Dolly Alderton has been sharing her wisdom, warmth and wit with the countless people who have written in to her Dear Dolly agony aunt column in The Sunday Times Style. Their questions range from the painfully - and sometimes hilariously - relatable to the occasionally bizarre. They include breakups and body issues, families, friendships, dating, divorce, the pleasures and pitfalls of social media, sex, loneliness, longing, love and everything in between.
Without judgement, and with deep empathy informed by her own, much-chronicled adventures in love, friendship and dating, Dolly leads us by the hand through the various labyrinths of life, proving that a problem shared is truly a problem halved.
'Alderton is so gifted at making people care' Marian Keyes
Give your mind the one thing it needs this winter with the book everyone has been talking about, from clinical psychologist and TikTok sensation Dr Julie Smith
THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'Sound wisdom, easy to gulp down. I'm sure this book is already helping lots of people. Great work, Dr Julie' MATT HAIG, bestselling author of REASONS TO STAY ALIVE
'A toolkit of deceptively simple strategies for life's troubles. Everyone could benefit from the wisdom of Dr Smith' i 'BEST NON-FICTION BOOKS OF 2022'
'Brilliant. Bite-size. Easy to understand. Easy to flick through. It's like a reference to how you feel' Phillip Schofield on ITV's THIS MORNING
'Julie Smith is the psychology teacher you wish you'd had at school' EVENING STANDARD
'This book is a goldmine. I truly treat it like a handbook now' STYLIST
'It's real, it's authentic . . . Very practical and very, very helpful' LORRAINE KELLY
AS FEATURED IN THE OBSERVER, STYLIST, EVENING STANDARD, WOMEN'S HEALTH, MARIE CLAIRE AND GRAZIA
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Drawing on years of experience as a clinical psychologist, online sensation Dr Julie Smith shares all the skills you need to get through life's ups and downs.
Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, this is a must-have handbook for optimising your mental health. Dr Julie's simple but expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient no matter what life throws your way.
Written in short, bite-sized entries, you can turn straight to the section you need depending on the challenge you're facing - and immediately find the appropriate tools to help with . . .
- Managing anxiety
- Dealing with criticism
- Battling low mood
- Building self-confidence
- Finding motivation
- Learning to forgive yourself
This book tackles the everyday issues that affect us all and offers easy, practical solutions that might just change your life.
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'Sound, therapeutic wisdom that is easy to gulp down. Full of principles and advice that work and comfort whether you are in a very bad situation or an everyday worrying one. I'm sure this book is already helping lots of people. Great work, Dr Julie' MATT HAIG, bestselling author of REASONS TO STAY ALIVE
'I'm blown away by her ability to communicate difficult ideas with ease, simplicity and practicality. Amazing. Go and buy it now!' Jay Shetty
'Relatable, real and easy to digest . . . As if your wise best friend is chatting to you. An essential mental-health bible for adults and teenagers' YOU Magazine
'If you want to feel like you have a therapist sitting across from you, empowering you with how to be your best self, this book is for you!' Nicole LePera, New York Times bestselling author of How to Do the Work
'Full of sound, helpful advice with life skills, from building confidence to managing stress' Sunday Times
'Smart, insightful, and warm. Dr Julie is both the expert and wise friend we all need' Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and co-host of the 'Dear Therapists' podcast
A collection of stories of rare force and beauty, of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection from award-winning author and powerhouse talent Roxane Gay
'This book might just change your life' Sunday Times
'Wise, wonderful, moving and brilliant... will leave your heart in a much better place' Stylist
After years of feeling that love was always out of reach, journalist Natasha Lunn set out to understand how relationships work and evolve over a lifetime. She turned to authors and experts to learn about their experiences, as well as drawing on her own, asking: How do we find love? How do we sustain it? And how do we survive when we lose it?
In Conversations on Love she began to find the answers:
Philippa Perry on falling in love slowly
Dolly Alderton on vulnerability
Stephen Grosz on accepting change
Candice Carty-Williams on friendship
Lisa Taddeo on the loneliness of loss
Diana Evans on parenthood
Emily Nagoski on the science of sex
Alain de Botton on the psychology of being alone
Esther Perel on unrealistic expectations
Roxane Gay on redefining romance
and many more...
'A gorgeous, richly layered book about all forms of love. You can pick it up and turn to any page - literally any - and find a gem to soothe and fortify your soul' Pandora Sykes, Sunday Times bestselling author of 'How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?'
'Hopeful and uplifting... this deep dive into the human heart will expand and enrich your perspective on love' Evening Standard
'I underlined passages on almost every page of this wide-ranging, tender-hearted book' The Times, Books of the Year
'Uplifting... You'll laugh, cry and recommend it to your friends' Refinery29
'Wonderful' Julia Samuel, bestselling author of GRIEF WORKS and THIS TOO SHALL PASS
'This eclectic and heartwarming collection explores love in all its forms, from romantic and parental love to friendship and loss' Observer
'Conversations on Love made me laugh, shed tears, think deeply. I want every person I love to read this book' Dr Kathryn Mannix, Sunday Times bestselling author of WITH THE END IN MIND
We all play games. The nature of these games depends on both the situation and on who we meet. This book is about the games we play: those patterns of behaviour that reveal hidden feelings and emotions. It shows the underlying motivations behind our relationships and gives you the keys to unlock the psychology of others - and yourself.
