In a world where scientific discovery and exploration is slowly but surely unravelling the myriad mysteries of the universe it’s gratifying to know that some idiot can still find time to come up with such a ludicrous invention as Glow In The Dark Loo Roll. It may not be a Hadron Collider (the less said about black holes and anti-matter the better) but whilst it won’t enlighten us as to what happened at the beginning of time it will shed some light on the subject at hand and it’s a lot funnier. Like all things luminous it needs light to charge itself up so to speak and the amount of light it gets will determine how long it glows for. Why we’re bothering to get technical about it is a mystery it’s Glow In The Dark Loo Roll for heaven’s sake. As serious as a giraffe in flippers though considerably more useful and isn’t it reassuring to know that all those research grants aren’t going unwasted?

• Gift – Novelty

Price : £ 8.99

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One of the first celebrity photographers, David Bailey socialized with many of the cultural icons of the 60s – he lived with Mick Jagger, married the legendary French film actress Catherine Deneuve and had relationships with the models Jean Shrimpton and Penelope Tree. Along with Brian Duffy and Terence Donovan, he was one of the ‘Terrible Trio’ – self-taught East End boys who rebelled against the precious style of fashion portraiture as practiced by society photographers like Cecil Beaton and Norman Parkinson. His own fame was confirmed when director Michelangelo Antonioni used him as inspiration for the character of fast-living photographer Thomas Hemmings in cult film “Blow-Up” (1966). Outside the world of fashion photography, Bailey has pursued numerous personal and commercial projects; documenting the streetscapes of London, photographing the people and places of Havana, Cuba, and producing an intimate series of portraits of model Catherine Bailey, his current wife. He has also created record-sleeve art, feature films, documentaries and around 500 commercials.The vigour and variety of his work has made him the subject of numerous exhibitions, including a major traveling show that opened at the Barbican, London, in 1999 entitled “The Birth of Cool”. This handsome monograph provides an overview of Bailey’s career, including works from key monographs such as his debut “Box of Pin-Ups” (1964) and the controversial series “The Lady is a Tramp” (1995). The book, on a photographer whose reputation only continues to grow, will appeal to all photography enthusiasts and students, and to anyone with an interest in popular culture of the 1960s onwards.

Price : £ 6.12

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One of the first celebrity photographers, David Bailey socialized with many of the cultural icons of the 60s – he lived with Mick Jagger, married the legendary French film actress Catherine Deneuve and had relationships with the models Jean Shrimpton and Penelope Tree. Along with Brian Duffy and Terence Donovan, he was one of the ‘Terrible Trio’ – self-taught East End boys who rebelled against the precious style of fashion portraiture as practiced by society photographers like Cecil Beaton and Norman Parkinson. His own fame was confirmed when director Michelangelo Antonioni used him as inspiration for the character of fast-living photographer Thomas Hemmings in cult film “Blow-Up” (1966). Outside the world of fashion photography, Bailey has pursued numerous personal and commercial projects; documenting the streetscapes of London, photographing the people and places of Havana, Cuba, and producing an intimate series of portraits of model Catherine Bailey, his current wife. He has also created record-sleeve art, feature films, documentaries and around 500 commercials.The vigour and variety of his work has made him the subject of numerous exhibitions, including a major traveling show that opened at the Barbican, London, in 1999 entitled “The Birth of Cool”. This handsome monograph provides an overview of Bailey’s career, including works from key monographs such as his debut “Box of Pin-Ups” (1964) and the controversial series “The Lady is a Tramp” (1995). The book, on a photographer whose reputation only continues to grow, will appeal to all photography enthusiasts and students, and to anyone with an interest in popular culture of the 1960s onwards.

Price : £ 6.12

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George Hall doesn’t understand the modern obsession with talking about everything. ‘The secret of contentment George felt lay in ignoring many things completely.’ Some things in life however cannot be ignored. At fifty-seven George is settling down to a comfortable retirement building a shed in his garden reading historical novels listening to a bit of light jazz. Then Katie his tempestuous daughter announces that she is getting remarried to Ray. Her family is not pleased – as her brother Jamie observes Ray has ‘strangler’s hands’. Katie can’t decide if she loves Ray or loves the wonderful way he has with her son Jacob and her mother Jean is a bit put out by all the planning and arguing the wedding has occasioned which get in the way of her quite fulfilling late-life affair with one of her husband’s former colleagues. And the tidy and pleasant life Jamie has created crumbles when he fails to invite his lover Tony to the dreaded nuptials. Unnoticed in the uproar George discovers a sinister lesion on his hip and quietly begins to lose his mind.The way these damaged people fall apart – and come together – as a family is the true subject of Mark Haddon’s disturbing yet very funny portrait of a dignified man trying to go insane politely.

Price : £ 4.15

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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

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