Particular Books

Funny and surprising on every page, "Is That a Fish in Your Ear? "offers readers new insight into the mystery of how we come to know what someone else means--whether we wish to understand Asterix cartoons or a foreign head of state. Using translation as his lens, David Bellos shows how much we can learn about ourselves by exploring the ways we use translation, from the historical roots of written language to the stylistic choices of Ingmar Bergman, from the United Nations General Assembly to the significance of James Cameron's "Avatar." "Is That a Fish in Your Ear? "ranges across human experience to describe why translation sits deep within us all, and why we need it in so many situations, from the spread of religion to our appreciation of literature; indeed, Bellos claims that all writers are by definition translators. Written with joie de vivre, reveling both in misunderstanding and communication, littered with wonderful asides, it promises any reader new eyes through which to unders tand the world. In the words of Bellos: "The practice of translation rests on two presuppositions. The first is that we are all different: we speak different tongues, and see the world in ways that are deeply influenced by the particular features of the tongue that we speak. The second is that we are all the same--that we can share the same broad and narrow kinds of feelings, information, understandings, and so forth. Without "both "of these suppositions, translation could not exist. Nor could a nything we would like to call social life. Translation is another name for the human condition."

The New Yorker" was launched in 1925, and offers reporting, criticism, essays, fiction, poetry, humour, and cartoons. From the very outset, the founders, Harold Ross and Jane Grant, declared that their sophisticated magazine was 'not edited for the old lady in Dubuque'. "The New Yorker" has also offered great literature in short stories from such acclaimed writers as John Cheever, Roald Dahl, Alice Munro, Haruki Murakami, Vladimir Nabokov, J.D. Salinger, and Shirley Jackson. From the very first issue, the now iconic monocled dandy Eustace Tilley made "The New Yorker's" covers unique and pointed. These signature traits have continued right up to the present day in the striking and sometimes controversial covers from such artists as Peter Arno, William Steig, Saul Steinberg, Jean-Jacques Sempe, and Art Spiegelman. These covers were selected by Francoise Mouly.

Scott Schuman is back with a completely new collection of beautiful images of the men and women who have caught his attention. From its origins on the streets of New York, his much-loved blog, thesartorialist.com remains a vivid and growing source of inspiration for readers everywhere. In "The Sartorialist: Closer", Scott Schuman looks more deeply and with greater breadth at human style, telling diverse and compelling stories of its expression around the world. These images encompass the varied taste and visual attitude of people as far afield as Seoul, London, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and beyond. Presenting a rich tapestry of global style and always capturing an inspirational moment, the images in this new book continue to reflect Scott's unique sensibility and vision. This book features one of two possible jackets, both equally stylish and desirable. You may receive either the male or female cover if you order through this site, but the content inside will be the same.

Bee Wilson is the beloved food writer and historian who writes as the "Kitchen Thinker" in the "Sunday Telegraph", and is the author of "Swindled!". Her charming and original new book, "Consider the Fork", explores how the implements we use in the kitchen have shaped the way we cook and live. A wooden spoon - most trusty and loveable of kitchen implements - looks like the opposite of 'technology', as the word is normally understood. But look closer. Is it oval or round? Does it have an extra-long handle to give your hand a place of greater safety from a hot skillet? Or a pointy bit at one side to get the lumpy bits in the corner of the pan? It took countless inventions to get to the well-equipped kitchens we have now, where our old low-tech spoon is joined by mixers, freezers and microwaves, but the story of human invention in the kitchen is largely unseen. Discovering the histories of our knives, ovens and kitchens themselves, Bee Wilson explores, among many other things, why the French and Chinese have such different cultures of the knife; and why Roman kitchens contain so many implements we recognize. Encompassing inventors, scientists, cooks and chefs, this is the previously unsung history of our kitchens.

It is a collection of 100 postcards, each featuring a striking "Vogue" cover. From early aspirational illustrations to modern celebrity photography, this is a stunning selection of "Vogue's" most dazzling images. Since its launch in 1892, "Vogue" has brought sophistication to its readers around the world. Early illustrations from artists including George Wolfe Plank, Olive Tilton, Pierre Brissaud, and Eduardo Garcia Benito saw ethereal figures of fantasy develop into red-lipped flappers, and as colour photographs began to appear, the women transformed again: from Surrealist images by Horst P. Horst to 'women in the life of the moment', captured by Irving Penn. From the fifties onwards, "Vogue" women became more accessible still, as models and stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Goldie Hawn, Cindy Crawford, and Cher, with their own distinct personalities, appeared through the lenses of Richard Avedon and Snowdon. "Vogue" covers now are the epitome of style and beauty, with such illustrious photographers as Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz, Steven Klein, and Patrick Demarchelier photographing stars like Lady Gaga, Kirsten Dunst, and Kate Moss, celebrating female icons across modern culture.

"Swimming Studies" is a wonderful, unique book from the writer and artist Leanne Shapton, author of "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry", along with her artwork. As a teenager, Leanne Shapton trained for the Olympic swimming trials; now an artist, she is still drawn inexorably to swimming, in pools and on beaches across the world. What do you with an all-absorbing activity once it's past its relevance, and yet you can't quite give it up? Is it possible to find a new purpose for its rigours and focus? "Swimming Studies" is an original, meditative work that explores what it is like to move from a world of competition and discipline to one of recreation and introspection. Giving a fascinating glimpse into the private realms of swimming, and drawing, Shapton tells an intimate story of suburban adolescence, family ties, and the solitary underwater moments that now ground her artistic habits. "Whenever I come across something of Leanne Shapton's, I feel like I have found a hidden treasure". (Amy Sedaris).

Written by the author of Important Artifacts and Personal Property, this book creates an authorly and artistic response to travel, work and being a passenger. It is part of a series of twelve books tied to the twelve lines of the London Underground, as Tfl celebrates 150 years of the Tube with Penguin.

Welcome to the highly inspirational world of Keri Smith. Within the pages of The Pocket Scavenger, readers will be instructed to collect a spectrum of quirky items: something that is miniature, a stain that is green, something from the year you were born, a used envelope, and more.Then, once their quarry is in hand, they'll apply an alteration dictated solely by chance: create a funny character, conceal it, add polkadots, remove a section, add stripes, scribble on top, duplicate it (make a copy), fold, cut into pieces & rearrange, turn into an article of clothing, trace it/use the shape as basis for a new drawing, make it 'pretty', and so on. It's funny, moving, silly and serious. The way you look at things will never be the same again. Keri Smith is an author/illustrator turned guerilla artist. She has several bestselling books, including the phenomenonal Wreck This Journal, This is Not a Book, How To Be An Explorer of the World, Mess and Finish this Book, all published by Particular Books. Read more at her website WWW.KERISMITH.COM

"Was She Pretty?" is a beautiful exploration of modern love, relationships and jealousy from Leanne Shapton, the author of "Swimming Studies" and "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry". "A dreamy exploration of relationships and jealousy ...pithy and deadpan ...it's no self-help book". ("Salon"). In this singular exploration of modern love and all its demons, we learn how Martin still takes calls from his ex into another room; Lucy's ex only dated actresses; Steve's got him into S and Alec's ex-girlfriend had a thing for father figures. Through Leanne Shapton's beautifully illustrated snapshots of paranoia, jealousy and anxiety, "Was She Pretty?" explores the dangers of knowing about a lover's former lover, the discomfiting truths the exes can reveal about ourselves, and the secret hatred and admiration we can feel for those almost-strangers. Leanne Shapton is an artist, illustrator, and writer who was born in Toronto and lives in New York. She is the author of "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry". Her latest book, "Swimming Studies", is published July 2012.

This beautiful box set contains the finest combination of three books, Wreck This Journal, This Is Not A Book and Mess, from the best selling author Keri Smith. Wreck This Journal is a unique interactive book that inspires the inner rule- breaker in all of us to discover creativity in unorthodox ways -- by tearing up, drawing in, and generally destroying the book itself. Meanwhile, This Is Not A Book questions the conventional uses of books, and encourages various other ways of engaging with a book's physical shape in order to find new means of entertainment. Mess completes this series by challenging readers to embrace disaster amid intentionally chaotic situations, and be open to whatever unexpected outcomes may result from these messes.

Dear Reader, One dark and stormy night, I found some strange scattered pages abandoned in a park... I collected and assembled them, trying to solve the mystery of this unexpected discovery, and I am now passing the task on to you. Your mission is to become the new author of this work. You will continue the research and provide the content. In order to complete the task, you will have to undergo some secret intelligence training, which I have included in this volume. Since no one knows what lies ahead, please proceed with caution, but know... This book does not exist without you. Yours truly, Keri Smith Bestselling author Keri Smith is a freelance illustrator by trade, and has illustrated for the Washington Post, The New York Times, Ford Motor Company, People, The Body Shop and Hallmark. She is the author of Wreck This Journal, How To Be An Explorer of the World and Mess. She lives in Canada.

A truly one-off collection of Alexa's writing, doodles and photographs, It combines stories of early style inspirations such as her grandpa and the Spice Girls with discussion of figures of obsession like Jane Birkin and Annie Hall, and reflects on heartbreak, how to get dressed in the morning, the challenges of taking a good selfie, and more. Interspersed with pages from Alexa's notebooks and many a photo of a good night out, It appears in real cloth with hand-crafted marbled endpages covered in polkadots, stripy head & tail bands and luxuriously creamy paper. Witty, charming and with a refreshingly down-to-earth attitude, It is a must-have for anyone who loves fashion, worries about growing up, or loves just about everything Alexa Chung. Alexa Chung is a model and the co-host of the daily music television programmeFuse News, airing in the US. She is also a contributing editor to British Vogue. The recipient of numerous style awards, Alexa has won the prestigious British Style Award (voted for by the public) three years in a row. She currently lives in New York City.

This is a collection of 100 postcards, each featuring a different jacket from Pelican Books, Penguin's iconic non-fiction series. Covering subjects from socialism to sex, psychoanalysis to atomic physics, and written by great thinkers ranging from Sigmund Freud to Martin Luther King, Pelican brought accessible, intelligent books to a generation, making knowledge everybody's property. In 1936 Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin, overheard a woman at a King's Cross Station bookstall asking for 'one of those Pelican books'. She meant Penguin, but Lane, concerned a rival might snatch up the name, decided to launch a new range of non-fiction books. Pelican was born. Allen Lane said he 'believed in the existence in this country of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it'. The gamble paid off. Customers queued in the streets for the first Pelican, George Bernard Shaw's The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism, which sold a million copies in six weeks. In the years to come Pelican Books - including H. G. Wells' A Short History of the World, Freud's Psychopathology of Everyday Life and J. K. Galbraith's The Affluent Society, as well as guides to everything from jazz to witchcraft, guerrilla warfare to smashing atoms - would educate a generation. They became, in Lane's words, 'the true everyman's library for the twentieth century'.

Dogs and photography have gone hand in paw almost since the medium was invented and our passion remains undiminished, with pictures of adorable, bright-eyed dogs all over the internet. The photographs in this book offer an alternative to all the fluff. They approach the dog as a dignified, intelligent and noble being, and they consider our relationship with man's best friend for the extraordinary thing it really is. Elegant, beautiful, surprising, sometimes comical, full of drama and heart, these images show the world's best-loved animal in a remarkable new light.

From the cutting-edge London design agency Here Design - writer and poet Philip Cowell, and award-winning designer Caz Hildebrand, author of The Herbarium, this playful, original, beautifully designed book brings to life the punctuation marks we use every day, including: The dashing dash - So-called "quotation marks" The colon: and on and on. The shouty exclamation! The three dots of... (Not forgetting the brackets) And even more

A new, beautifully illustrated picture book from the bestselling author of The Fox and the Star, winner of Waterstones Book of the Year 2015. Deep below the earth, Worm dreams of having more space. There's not much room down there. Above, Bird waits, through sun and rain and wind. As the day goes on, will they both find what they are looking for? From the author of The Fox and the Star, this is a book about searching and hoping, and how the smallest moment can be beautiful.