In an era dominated by convenience and efficiency, you’d think life would be easier and, most importantly, happier. Shouldn’t all the time saved by technology leave us with more for ourselves? The Atlantic columnist, game designer and philosopher Ian Bogost thinks not. From digital tickets to automated taps, he argues that the simple, tactile pleasures of daily life have been replaced by sleek but soulless design.

Through engaging anecdotes and sharp analysis of our dematerialized lives, Bogost uncovers how modern conveniences not only fail to deliver on their promises but also rob us of moments that keep us grounded and human. The Small Stuff is not a nostalgic trip through the analogue world of a bygone era but instead reframes our view of the material world from merely utilitarian into a site of joy and gratification. Finding happiness, Bogost shows us, doesn’t require complete self-transformation, but simply noticing the sensory pleasures all around us.

Humorous, thought-provoking and practical, The Small Stuff is a manifesto for re-enchanting us with the world, by observing and enjoying the small moments that make up our lives.

Geraint Anderson is a genuine phenomenon.

Ever since he wrote his bestselling memoir Cityboy, which followed Geraint as he embarked upon a wildly successful (and not at all fraudulent) investment banking career, publishers have been begging him to reveal how he climbed the corporate ladder with such ease. Did he achieve his remarkable brilliance through diligence and hard work?

No, he did so because he is a psychopath.

In this remarkable book, Geraint explains that the world is rapidly becoming such a brutal place that soon it will only be psychopaths who succeed – whether the aim is to become top dog in business, politics or, indeed, the clergy. Within these pages, you will quickly learn how to think like a stone-cold killer and, in so doing, become the very worst version of yourself.

This is the first book of its kind – a realistic manual that explains exactly how to be a winner in today’s dog-eat-dog capitalist world. You may not like a lot of what Geraint has to say, but that’s only because it’s radical, disturbingly honest and usually involves a surgical scalpel.

So, stop behaving like a limp-wristed fruit picker and, instead, buy this book. Become what you were always destined to be: a warrior, a winner… a psychopath!

'Fun, but still deeply, rigorously researched' – Professor Neil Shyminsky

Your brain is the most remarkable thing in the known universe.

Always trying to mend itself, and always trying to protect you, it’s in a constant state of flux – adapting, reconfiguring, finding new pathways . . . And it has an astonishing capacity for recovery. Only it doesn’t always get it right.

Rachel Barr struggled through years of devastating loss, heartache, and uncertainty until neuroscience gave her the first spark of self-belief she had felt in her adult life – and proof that, because of the brain’s near-infinite potential for neuroplastic change, it’s never too late to carve out neural pathways to form new habits, new skills, and new ways of thinking.

Whether you want to nerd-out on Neuroscientific acronyms, finally understand what’s going on in your head, or take refuge in a book that’s like a warm hug for your mind, How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend is a delight-filled, evidence-based guide to taking better care of your brain – so it, in turn, will take better care of you.

Are you exhausted from trying to be exceptional? It’s time to break the cycle of burnout and choose ordinary.

In The Courage to be Ordinary, Ichiro Kishimi speaks to everyone burned out by hustle, comparison and the pressure to prove their worth. His message is disarmingly simple: stop trying to stand out.

Being ordinary isn’t failure – it’s freedom. Freedom from constant competition, from chasing approval, from feeling habitually tense. Letting go of the need to be special will finally give your strengths the space they need to shine.

It’s time to release the pressure and embrace the superpower you really need to succeed: The Power of Ordinary.

A captivating history of obsessive collectors: from ancient looters and idolaters to fin de siècle decadents, Freudian psychos, and hoarders.

Collectors are often praised for their taste in art or contributions to science, but there can be a darker side: their passion is sometimes driven by dangerous obsession. Roman emperors who lusted after statues; Chinese scholars obsessed with rocks and flowers; fin de siècle dandies surrounded by bibelots. History is full of stories about those who love things more than people, presenting a danger either to themselves or others.

In this sweeping history from antiquity to today, James Delbourgo tells the extraordinary story of the mad collector as a cultural figure from the tyrant and idolater to the sexually repressed “psycho” of the Freudian imagination and the modern-day hoarder. His conclusion is surprising: Because they are driven by passion rather than profit, obsessive collectors also have been cultural heroes, seen as authentic and true to themselves. Some may be mad, but theirs is a noble madness.

The tech disruptor. The tortured poet. The rebellious scientist. The monstrous artist.

You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables, and what it is prepared to tolerate.

Taking us from the Renaissance Florence of Leonardo da Vinci to the Floridian rocket launches of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Helen Lewis unravels a word that we all use – without really questioning what it means – and asks if the modern idea of genius is distorting our view of the world.

'Brilliant, timely and compulsively readable' OLIVER BURKEMAN

‘A provocative, witty book’ TLS

'Elegant and accessible.' Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music

But why is it so evocative? There’s no logical reason why a rousing, percussive tune should invoke swashbuckling pirates, or a slow melody on the flute remind you of a summer day from childhood. And yet, as research shows, it consistently does – and what’s more, if you hear pirates, others likely hear pirates as well.

For all that listening to music can feel like an intensely subjective experience, it holds objective, measurable power over the way our brains function. Exploring the strange and magical science of music perception, musician and psychologist Elizabeth Margulis examines the nature of ‘musical daydreams’. From the intense link between music and memory (music is more likely to prompt Proustian-style flashbacks than food, madeleines or otherwise) to why you keep returning to the music you loved at sixteen – and for that matter, the music your parents loved at sixteen – Transported reveals the compelling new science behind why music is so integral to who we are.

'Timely… there couldn’t be a better moment to explore the power of music to free our minds, inspire our imaginations, and awaken lost memories.' Renée Fleming

'Fascinating… Her book is the message in a bottle, urging us to connect more deeply with our inattention.' Wall Street Journal

What if children are a great audience for art?
What if they are in fact better equipped to engage deeply with stories than adults?
What if humans' ability to appreciate art is, if not innate, awakened early in childhood?

Well, then we'd better do our best to make some good kids' books.

Barnett has published more than 60 children's books, which have been translated into 30+ languages and have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, winning many international prizes along the way. Make Believe is his incisive, intimate, and timely invitation to approach children's literature not only as an art form worthy of deep study and criticism, but as a portal into the lives of the children. And at a time when we are faced with a national literacy crisis, he champions the profound joys of literature and the importance of reading for pleasure.

Written with humor and academic rigor, Make Believe reads like a letter from one's smartest and funniest friend.