Steampunk Softies offers a charmingly raffish cast of characters for you to make, ranging from the sinister Doctor to the adventurous Aviatrix, and the alluring Lady to the grubbily authentic Prospector. All share key steampunk characteristics – they’re firmly rooted in a past that never quite existed (the past of Jules Verne, Philip Pullman, and countless romantic fantasy games), and they have the accessories and accoutrements that make the steampunk genre such a delight for enthusiasts. Despite all their meticulous detailings, all the Softies are simple enough for even a sewing novice to make, with clear blueprints and step-by-step illustrated instructions supplied for every character. And many have dual roles to add a little practicality to their punk existence – the Lady makes an excellent paperweight, for example, while the Illusionist’s cloak doubles as a screen cleaner. You’ll soon find that you’re creating your own fantasy scenarios around these little creatures’ intriguing personalities as well as crafting your own special characters. Go on – get sewing and unleash your inner steampunk!

Price : £ 6.75

Read more…

In today’s rushed existence it’s difficult enough to find time to speak to your other half in the mornings let alone sit and have breakfast with them so why not bring back some much-needed love to the breakfast table with Love Toast? All you have to do is get to your loved one’s slice of bread before they do and stamp your message of love in the middle. A great addition to breakfast in bed on Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day. We all know that all food tastes better with love so if you can actually put love on the food then it’s bound to taste amazing. Just make sure you don’t stick it in the toaster!

Price : £ 6.99

Read more…

THE DUD AVOCADO gained instant cult status on first publication and remains a timeless portrait of a woman hellbent on living. It is, as the GUARDIAN observes, ‘one of the best novels about growing up fast’. Sally Jay Gorce is a woman with a mission. It’s the 1950s, she’s young, and she’s in Paris. Having dyed her hair pink, she wears evening dresses in the daytime and vows to go native in a way not even the natives can manage. Embarking on an educational programme that includes an affair with a married man (which fizzles out when she realises he’s single and wants to marry her); nights in cabarets and jazz clubs in the company of assorted “citizens of the world” an entanglement with a charming psychopath; and a bit part in a film financed by a famous matador. But an education like this doesn’t come cheap. Will our heroine be forced back to the States to fulfill her destiny as a librarian, or can she keep up her whirlwind Parisian existence?

Price : £ 6.99

Read more…

‘Thank god…that occasionally books of the stature of Laurence Rees’ superb “Auschwitz: The Nazis and the ‘Final Solution'” are published that try to redress the balance…fascinating’ – Andrew Roberts “Evening Standard”. In his highly acclaimed bestseller “Auschwitz” author and broadcaster Laurence Rees tells the definitive history of the most notorious Nazi institution of them all. we discover how Auschwitz evolved from a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners into the site of the largest mass murder in history – part death camp part concentration camp where around a million Jews were killed. Rees uses Auschwitz as a window through which to examine the Holocaust in its broader context.He argues that far from being an aberration the camp was a uniquely important institution in the Nazi state one that played a vital role in the ‘Final Solution’. “Auschwitz” examines the mentality and motivations of the key Nazi decision makers and perpetrators of appalling crimes speak here for the first time about their actions. Fascinating and disturbing facts have been uncovered – from the operation of a brothel to the corruption that was rife throughout the camp.The book draws on intriguing new documentary material from recently opened Russian archives which will challenge many previously accepted arguments. Auschwitz lay at the hub of a complex system of extermination that spread throughout Nazi Europe. Rees addresses uncomfortable questions such as why so few countries under Nazi occupation protected their Jews and why the Allies did little directly to prevent the killing even after they knew about the existence of the camp.Laurence Rees’ unforgettable account of the notorious Nazi camp is a story of murder brutality courage escape and survival and a powerful study of how a human tragedy of such immense scale could have happened.’Excellent’ – Boyd Tonkin “Independent”. ‘…a key to understanding man’s inhumanity to man’ – Ian Thomson “Guardian”. ‘Well-written…with striking testimonies from bystanders perpetrators and victims…The interviews with SS men and sundry European Fascists are genuinely revealing and must have been exceptionally difficult to negotiate’ – Michael Burleigh “Daily Telegraph”.’Devastating…Rees’ research is impeccable and intrepid…Ultimately he does at the gut level what Hannah Arendt achieved some 40 years ago at the level of philosophy: he forces the reader to shift the Holocaust out of the realm of nightmare or Gothic horror and acknowledge it as something all too human…Scrupulous and honest this book is utterly without illusions’ – David Von Drehle “Washington Post” USA. ‘This magnificent book…exciting and disturbing at the same time’ – Rafael Nunez Florencio “El Mundo” Spain. ‘I believe that Rees’ book will be included in the canon of fundamental works shaping our knowledge about the Holocaust’ – Wladyslaw Bartoszewski former Polish Foreign Minister and one-time inmate of Auschwitz.

Price : £ 7.69

Read more…

Twoflower was a tourist the first ever seen on the Discworld. Tourist Rlncewind decided meant idiot. Somewhere on the frontier between thought and reality exists the Discworld a parallel time and place which might sound and smell very much like our own but which looks completely different. It plays by different rules. Certainly it refuses to succumb to the quaint notion that universes are ruled by pure logic and the harmony of numbers. But just because the Disc is different doesn’t mean that some things don’t stay the same. Its very existence is about to be threatened by a strange new blight: the arrival of the first tourist upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land. But if the person charged with maintaining that survival in the face of robbers mercenaries and well Death is a spectacularly inept wizard a little logic might turn out to be a very good idea…

Price : £ 12.99

Read more…

The God Delusion caused a sensation when it was published in 2006. Within weeks it became the most hotly debated topic with Dawkins himself branded as either saint or sinner for presenting his hard-hitting impassioned rebuttal of religion of all types. His argument could hardly be more topical. While Europe is becoming increasingly secularized the rise of religious fundamentalism whether in the Middle East or Middle America is dramatically and dangerously dividing opinion around the world. In America and elsewhere a vigorous dispute between ‘intelligent design’ and Darwinism is seriously undermining and restricting the teaching of science. In many countries religious dogma from medieval times still serves to abuse basic human rights such as women’s and gay rights. And all from a belief in a God whose existence lacks evidence of any kind. Dawkins attacks God in all his forms. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war foments bigotry and abuses children. “The God Delusion” is a brilliantly argued fascinating polemic that will be required reading for anyone interested in this most emotional and important subject.

Price : £ 13.69

Read more…

Now available in this newly designed vibrant and abridged CD edition of one of your all time favourite Roald Dahl children’s books read by the legendary author himself. Poor James has lived miserably with his two beastly aunts ever since the day his parents were eaten up by an angry rhinoceros. Then something very peculiar happens something so magical that it completely changes James’s wretched existence. And he embarks on an amazing and unbelievable journey. Accompany James on his amazing adventures in this new audio tape read by the enigmatic author himself as it was intended to be heard. A sluciously luscious adventure for age 6+.

Price : £ 4.99

Read more…

Now available in this newly designed vibrant and abridged CD edition of one of your all time favourite Roald Dahl children’s books read by the legendary author himself. Poor James has lived miserably with his two beastly aunts ever since the day his parents were eaten up by an angry rhinoceros. Then something very peculiar happens something so magical that it completely changes James’s wretched existence. And he embarks on an amazing and unbelievable journey. Accompany James on his amazing adventures in this new audio tape read by the enigmatic author himself as it was intended to be heard. A sluciously luscious adventure for age 6+.

Price : £ 4.99

Read more…