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Ever wondered what it's REALLY like to be a Premier League footballer? My name is James Milner and I'm not a Ribena-holic. Let me share insights into what it's like being a professional footballer, across my different experiences with Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City and now Liverpool (not forgetting a six-match loan spell at Swindon). Plus my highs - and a few too many lows - playing for England. There isn't a current player who's been playing Premier League football as long as I have, and that gives me a pretty rare perspective into how the top-flight game has changed over the past seventeen years. In this book, I explain how a footballer's working week unfolds - what we eat and how we prepare for matches technically, tactically, mentally and physically - and talk you through the ups and downs of a matchday. I reveal my penalty-taking techniques, half-time team talks and the differences between playing against Lionel Messi, Wilfried Zaha and Jimmy Bullard. I've played for managers ranging from Terry Venables, Peter Reid and Sir Bobby Robson to Martin O'Neill, Fabio Capello and Jurgen Klopp. I tell you what it's like sharing a training ground and a dressing-room with team-mates such as Lee Bowyer, Mario Balotelli and Mo Salah. I also reveal the behind-the-scenes work that went into Liverpool's Champions League success - and the celebrations that followed. So this isn't an autobiography. The whole point of Ask A Footballer is that you, the fans, asked me questions and I have used my own experiences to answer them. I hope you like it, and don't find it too boring.

Should you hold a mouse by its tail? A grasshopper by its leg? A butterfly by its wing? How do you pick up a prickly hedgehog? A slithering snake? A hissing cat?Most of us don't have nearly enough experience of being around animals. We feel a bit apprehensive when it comes to touching them. Maybe we're scared we'll hurt them, or that they'll hurt us. That is a huge shame, because connecting with animals is a magical life skill that can make you feel at peace and aligned with nature. Luckily, animal photographer and former zookeeper Toshimitsu Matsuhashi is here to give you advice and show you the very best way to care for the animals in our lives, from beetles to hamsters and from chickens to dogs. Fully illustrated with fascinating information (did you know that you should go for the smaller rather than the bigger horn when you pick up a stag beetle?), How To Hold Animals leaves no stone unturned and teaches us all how to be kind to the animals around us.

A field guide for parents about the secret lives of 21st century teenagers - from relationships to self-harm, from drugs to sexting - and how you can help them and yourself through these turbulent years. "When I turned into a teenager, I watched my parents panic with questions they were unprepared for: is the computer killing his brain? is he watching porn? are those cuts on his arms? what the hell do we do now? The child-rearing tactics they'd read about in parenting manuals or learned from their own parents were useless. Anyway, how do you punish someone who's already so miserable? Things They Don't Want You To Know is a field guide for confused parents who are currently custodians of any teenager who's feeling lost, alone, depressed or horny. I'm not an expert, a psychologist, or even a particularly good person, but I do understand the unique kinds of troubles that come with trying to grow up in the current climate, and I wanted to share what would have helped me, my friends, and everyone else I spoke to while writing this book. It might be hard to read what I write about self-harming, body piercings, gender confusion, drugs and social media angst. It might involve unpleasant surprises and be occasionally disgusting, but it could also help you to understand and support your kids. They won't thank you, but they might hate you less."

Believe in the impossible... A magical story celebrating the power of imagination, from the bestselling author of STORIES FOR BOYS WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT. Oleg and Emma entered their den to find a cardboard spaceship standing exactly where they usually sat. Slowly, the front door opened and out stepped a boy. 'My name's Sebastian Cole,' he said. 'But you already know that.' When Oleg and Emma invent a new classmate called Sebastian, they are amazed when he appears - very much real - in their secret den. Sebastian isn't like the rest of their classmates. He's never eaten pizza, he's not sure what goose bumps are, and he has a satchel that seems to hold an endless supply of hot ice cream. But as the trio begin their adventures, more impossible things keep happening, from a runaway goat appearing at school to a sighting of some snowwomen walking down the road. Things soon take a turn for the dangerous when the three friends are pursued by the mysterious Institute of Unreality, who want to capture and erase Sebastian, restoring order to the world. With the help of a cowboy gardener, an imprisoned scientist, and the rest of their class, can Emma and Oleg protect their new friend and keep the magic of the impossible alive? After inspiring countless young readers with tales of extraordinary people in the world around them, Ben Brooks' first children's novel is a magical adventure that celebrates friendship, the power of imagination, and ice cream.

Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan does not wish to linger on the grisly scene before her eyes. Two mutilated corpses. In a church. In Clontarf. Her profiling background screams one fact: this is just the beginning of a sickening message. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old case is playing out on a TV documentary, the convicted professing his innocence and historical police errors being exposed daily in the media. Frankie's superior, commissioner Donna Hegarty, makes no bones about who she expects to clean things up - both in terms of past mishandlings and the present murders. But not everyone working the cases wants the truth to come out. And the corridors of power have their own vested interest. Soon Frankie pinpoints just what is making her so nervous: the fact that anyone could be the next victim when justice is the killer. The Killer In Me is a fast-paced thriller in which lies are safer that the truth, the past is never far from the present, and the ability to kill could well, it seems, live in everyone.

The New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Department Q series is back, with a terrifyingly relevant stand-alone novel about an America in chaos. A NO. 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER OVER 23 MILLION COPIES SOLD WINNER OF THE GLASS KEY AWARD "The president has gone way too far. . . . These are practically dictatorial methods we're talking about." When Democratic Senator Bruce Jansen is elected president of the United States, it is a personal victory for Dorothy "Dottie" Rogers. She has secured a job in the White House, has proved to her Republican father that she was right to support Jansen, and is proud to see the rise of an intelligent, inspiring leader who shares her ideals. But the triumph is short-lived: Jansen's pregnant wife is assassinated on election night, and the alleged mastermind behind the shooting is none other than Dottie's own father. When Jansen ascends to the White House, he is a changed man, determined to end gun violence by any means necessary. Rights are taken away as quickly as weapons. Checkpoints and roadblocks destroy infrastructure. The media is censored. Militias declare civil war on the government. The country is in chaos, and Dottie's finds herself fighting for the life of her father, who just may be innocent.

'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland 'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of Books The fifth China thriller sees Li Yan and Margaret Campbell uncover an insidious conspiracy on the eve of the Beijing Olympics THE SUFFERER A prodigious Chinese swimmer kills himself on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. Days later, a champion weightlifter suffers a fatal heart attack prior to competition. THE LISTENER Detective Li Yan senses a conspiracy surrounding the fatalities, and finds a female athlete willing to talk. But she will only trust one person: Li's fiancee, Margaret Campbell. THE RUNNER When Campbell's contact herself vanishes, the gun is fired on a race against time. And Li must now outrun, and outwit, an enemy bent on pushing him beyond endurance.

THE PRIZE-WINNING SATIRICAL BESTSELLER FROM THE ACCLAIMED ROBERT MENASSE MORE THAN 500,000 COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE A "HOUSE OF CARDS" FOR THE EU This is the tale of a continent, a city and its inhabitants as they navigate their way through the confusing tangle of 21st-century life. The Capital is a brilliantly entertaining satire, a crime story, a comedy of manners . . . and a wild pig chase. "First-class satire" Guardian" "A deliciously vicious and timely satire" Financial Times "Mischievous yet profound" Economist "Thoroughly entertaining" Spectator "A romp" Politico ************************************* Brussels. A hive of tragic heroes, manipulative losers, involuntary accomplices. No wonder the European Commission is keen to improve its image. The fiftieth anniversary of the European Commission approaches, and the Directorate-General for Culture is tasked with organising an appropriate celebration. When Fenia Xenopoulou's assistant comes up with a plan to put Auschwitz at the very centre of the jubilee, she is delighted. But she has neglected to take the other E.U. institutions into account. Meanwhile the city is on the lookout for a runaway pig. And what about the farmers who take to the streets to protest against restrictions blocking the export of pigs to China?

THE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 100 MILLION COPIES SOLD. In the Jin capital of Zhongdu, Guo Jing learns the truth of his father's death and finds he is now betrothed, against his will, to two women. Neither of them is his sweetheart Lotus Huang. Torn between following his heart and fulfilling his filial duty, he journeys through the country of his parents with Lotus, encountering mysterious martial heroes and becoming drawn into the struggle for the supreme martial text, the Nine Yin Manual. But his past is catching up with him. The widow of an evil man he accidentally killed as a child has tracked him down, intent on revenge. Meanwhile, his true parentage at last revealed, Yang Kang, the young prince Guo Jing must face in the Garden of the Eight Drunken Immortals, is forced to choose his destiny. Will he continue to enjoy the life of wealth and privilege afforded to him by the invader of his homeland, or give up all he has known to avenge his parents? Translated from the Chinese by Gigi Chang

'If you can imagine it, it exists ... somewhere' The new spellbinding fantasy adventure from the bestselling, award-winning author of The Last Wild trilogy. 1945. They have survived the Blitz, but when Simon, Patricia, Evelyn and Larry step through a mysterious library door, it is the beginning of their most dangerous adventure yet. They discover the magical world of Folio, where an enchanted kingdom of fairy knights, bears and tree gods is under threat from a sinister robot army. The many stories of the Library are locked in eternal war, and the children's only hope is to find their creator - a magician who has been lost for centuries. What they discover will change not just their own lives, but the fate of the world, for ever ... 'One of the best writers for children working today'The Guardian

Memphis, Tennessee, 1939 Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge, until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth... Aiken, South Carolina, present day Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career, a handsome fiance, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland 'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of Books In the second novel in the China series, Li Yan and Margaret Campbell are reluctantly reunited, on the trail of a killer reenacting a series of gruesome rituals THE SECOND OPINION The Chinese police have once more been forced to enlist the services of American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell: this time to investigate a series of four horrific ritual executions that have taken place in Beijing. THE THIRD DEGREE Detective Li Yan is determined to discover just how one of the victims in particular, an American diplomat, became caught up in the slaying. And he is arguably even more determined to have nothing to do with Campbell. THE FOURTH SACRIFICE The polarity that once attracted Yan and Campbell eventually pulls them back into partnership. Yet the closer they are drawn to the truth, the nearer they come to a killer prepared to use extreme force to conceal it.

The first of Peter May's China critically acclaimed thrillers featuring Beijing detective Li Yan and American pathologist Margaret Campbell. LI YAN A grotesquely burned corpse found in a city park is a troubling mystery for Beijing detective Li Yan. Yan, devoted to his career as a means of restoring the respect his family lost during the Cultural Revolution, needs outside help if he is to break the case. MARGARET CAMPBELL The unidentified cadaver in turn provides a welcome distraction for forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell. Campbell, married to her work and having left America and her broken past behind, throws herself into the investigation, and before long uncovers a bizarre anomaly. THE FIREMAKER An unlikely partnership develops between Li and Campbell as they follow the resulting lead. A fiery and volatile chemistry ignites: exposing not only their individual demons, but an even greater evil - a conspiracy that threatens their lives, as well as those of millions of others.

'A suspenseful and heart-wrenching thriller about ambition, obsession, and what happens when the lies we tell about ourselves become indistinguishable from the truth' ROBIN WASSERMANNo one keeps more secrets. No one is better at hiding them. With an ending you will never see coming and characters that will stay with you forever, THE LAST ACT OF HATTIE HOFFMAN is a gripping psychological mystery perfect for fans of THE ROANOKE GIRLSEighteen-year-old Hattie Hoffman is a talented actress, loved by everyone in her Minnesotan hometown. When she's found stabbed to death on the opening night of her school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of the community.Sheriff Del Goodman, a close friend of Hattie's dad, vows to find her killer, but the investigation yields more secrets than answers: it turns out Hattie played as many parts offstage as on. Told from three perspectives, Del's, Hattie's high school English teacher and Hattie herself, The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman tells the story of the Hattie behind the masks, and what happened in that final year of her life. . .Wonderfully evocative of its Midwestern setting and with a cast of unforgettable characters, this is a book about manipulation of relationships and identity; about the line between innocence and culpability; about the hope love offers and the tragedies that occur when it spins out of control.

THE RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK - 'ONE OF THE BEST NOVELS I HAVE READ FOR A VERY LONG TIME' RICHARD MADELY 'A dazzling tale of romance and survival' (Guardian)Follow the path to the freezing north. Follow your ambition. Follow your heartFlora Mackie was twelve when she first crossed the Arctic Circle on her father's whaling ship. Now she is returning to the frozen seas as head of her own expedition of exploration.Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan but his yearning for new horizons leads him to the Arctic as part of a rival expedition. When he and Flora meet there is an instant connection that slowly builds to become an all-consuming love. The affair survives the growing tensions between the two groups. Then, after one last glorious summer on the Greenland coast, Jakob joins his leader on an extended trip into the interior, with devastating results. The stark beauty of the Arctic, where pack ice can crush a ship like an eggshell, and the empty sweep of the tundra, alternately a snow-muffled wasteland and an unexpectedly gentle meadow, are vividly evoked. Against this backdrop Stef Penney weaves an irresistible love story, a compelling look at the dark side of the golden age of exploration, and a mystery that Flora, returning one last time to the North Pole as an old woman, will finally lay to rest

A CURSED PLACE. A COLD CASE. A KILLER WHO LEFT NO TRACE.The huge International bestseller.Gripping, unputdownable and packed with twists, The Mountain is a thriller that you will never forget."Can be compared (with no fear of hyperbole) to Stephen King and Jo Nesbo" - Massimo Vincenz, La Repubblica.Jeremiah Salinger blames himself. The crash was his fault. He was the only survivor. Now the depression and the nightmares are closing in. Only his daughter Clara can put a smile on his face. But when he takes Clara to the Bletterbach - a canyon in the Dolomites rich in fossil remains - he overhears by chance a conversation that gives his life renewed focus. In 1985 three students were murdered there, their bodies savaged, limbs severed and strewn by a killer who was never found. Salinger, a New Yorker, is far from home, and these Italian mountains, where his wife was born, harbour a close-knit, tight-lipped community whose mistrust of outsiders can turn ugly. All the same, solving this mystery might be the only thing that can keep him sane.Translated from the Italian by Howard Curtis