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For non-believers too, it has a commanding status: it is one of the great works of world literature, woven to an unparalleled degree into our language and thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis book tells the story of the Bible, explaining how it came to be constructed and how it has been understood, from its remote beginnings down to the present. John Barton describes how the narratives, laws, proverbs, prophecies, poems and letters which comprise the Bible were written and when, what we know - and what we cannot know - about their authors and what they might have meant, as well as how these extraordinarily disparate writings relate to each other. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis incisive readings shed new light on even the most familiar passages, exposing not only the sources and traditions behind them, but also the busy hands of the scribes and editors who assembled and reshaped them. 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Barton shows that if we are to regard the Bible as 'authoritative', it cannot be as believers have so often done in the past.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dr John Barton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47514673643818,"sku":"9780141978505","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0812\/4075\/2426\/files\/Ahistoryofthebible.jpg?v=1707576090"},{"product_id":"footnotes-a-journey-round-britain-in-the-company-of-great-writers-by-peter-fiennes-9781786077707","title":"Footnotes : A Journey Round Britain in the Company of Great Writers","description":"\u003cp\u003eThrough past and present, the country and the city, Peter Fiennes takes a literary journey through the British Isles\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"As enjoyable a guide to the relationship of writers to the landscape of Britain as one could hope to read: beautifully written, moving in its reflections, and often very funny.\" Tom Holland\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"The premise of this book is simple, or that is what it seemed when I started.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePeter Fiennes follows in the footsteps of twelve inspirational writers, bringing modern Britain into focus by peering through the lens of the past. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe journey starts in Dorset, shaped by the childhood visions of Enid Blyton, and ends with Charles Dickens on the train that took him to his final resting place in Westminster Abbey. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the wilds of Skye and Snowdon, to a big night out in Birmingham with J. B. Priestley and Beryl Bainbridge, Footnotes is a series of evocative biographies, a lyrical foray into the past, and a quest to understand Britain through the books, journals and diaries of some of our greatest writers. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd as Fiennes travels the country, and roams across the centuries, he wonders:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Who are we? What do we want? They seemed like good questions to ask, in the company of some of our greatest writers, given these restless times.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA Guardian Travel Book of the Year\n\u003cbr\u003eShortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Fiennes is a perceptive reader and a good-humoured guide and his book offers a superb commentary on the connections between lesser-known places and writers. Footnotes is a passionate, partisan call for readers to take action before the British countryside may be encountered only between the pages of a book.\" TLS\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Honing his easy-going and often witty style in this new book, Fiennes takes us on the journeys of famous writers. There's an infectious enthusiasm and self-deprecating authority to Fiennes's insights and he's a most agreeable companion. There will be many nature titles vying for a place on Christmas lists this year. This one should be towards the top\" Guardian\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Marvellously quotable... Fiennes' literary journey makes for a provocative and engaging book.\" Financial Times\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peter Fiennes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48487023575338,"sku":"9781786077707","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0812\/4075\/2426\/files\/9781786077707.jpg?v=1716210641"},{"product_id":"shakespeare-and-company-by-sylvia-beach-9780803260979","title":"Shakespeare and Company","description":"","brand":"Sylvia Beach","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48487081836842,"sku":"9780803260979","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0812\/4075\/2426\/files\/9780803260979.jpg?v=1716211368"},{"product_id":"in-the-margins-on-the-pleasures-of-reading-and-writing-by-elena-ferrante-9781787704169","title":"In the Margins. 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The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is a technical craft, but also a way of training oneself to see the world with new openness and curiosity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a deep exploration not just of how great writing works but of how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"George Saunders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49156787077418,"sku":"9781526624246","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0812\/4075\/2426\/files\/9781526624246.jpg?v=1724321773"},{"product_id":"the-year-of-reading-dangerously-how-fifty-great-books-saved-my-life-by-andy-miller-9780007255764","title":"The Year of Reading Dangerously : How Fifty Great Books Saved My Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eA working father whose life no longer feels like his own discovers the transforming powers of great (and downright terrible) literature in this laugh-out-loud memoir.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAndy Miller had a job he quite liked, a family he loved and no time at all for reading. Or so he kept telling himself. But, no matter how busy or tired he was, something kept niggling at him. Books. Books he'd always wanted to read. Books he'd said he'd read, when he hadn't. Books that whispered the promise of escape from the 6.44 to London. And so, with the turn of a page, began a year of reading that was to transform Andy's life completely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is Andy's inspirational and very funny account of his expedition through literature: classic, cult and everything in-between. Crack the spine of your unread \"Middlemarch\", discover what \"The Da Vinci Code\" and \"Moby-Dick\" have in common (everything, surprisingly) and knock yourself out with a new-found enthusiasm for Tolstoy, Douglas Adams and \"The Epic of Gilgamesh\". \"The Year of Reading Dangerously\" is a reader's odyssey and it begins with opening this book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Andy Miller","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49285963088170,"sku":"9780007255764","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0812\/4075\/2426\/files\/9780007255764.jpg?v=1726646794"},{"product_id":"at-the-existentialist-cafe-freedom-being-and-apricot-cocktails-by-sarah-bakewell-9780099554882","title":"At The Existentialist Cafe : Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails","description":"\u003cp\u003eShortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eParis, near the turn of 1932-3. Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond Aron, who opens their eyes to a radical new way of thinking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"It's not often that you miss your bus stop because you're so engrossed in reading a book about existentialism, but I did exactly that... The story of Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, Heidegger et al is strange, fun and compelling reading. If it doesn't win awards, I will eat my copy\" Independent on Sunday\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Bakewell shows how fascinating were some of the existentialists' ideas and how fascinating, often frightful, were their lives. Vivid, humorous anecdotes are interwoven with a lucid and unpatronising exposition of their complex philosophy. Tender, incisive and fair\" Daily Telegraph\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Quirky, funny, clear and passionate. 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The sort of book you choose for a friend and end up wanting to keep' rachel joyce\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a medical handbook with a difference. Whether you have a stubbed toe or a severe case of the blues, within these pages you'll find a cure in the form of a novel to help ease your pain. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYou'll also find advice on how to tackle common reading ailments - such as what to do when you feel overwhelmed by the number of books in the world, or you have a tendency to give up halfway through. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen read at the right moment, a novel can change your life and The Novel Cure is an enchanting reminder of that power.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ella Berthoud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49285974098218,"sku":"9780857864215","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0812\/4075\/2426\/files\/9780857864215.jpg?v=1726647173"},{"product_id":"once-upon-a-tome-the-misadventures-of-a-rare-bookseller-by-oliver-darkshire-9781529177121","title":"Once Upon a Tome : The misadventures of a rare bookseller","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Peculiarly hilarious!\" - William Gibson\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Every page is a pleasure\" - Lindsey Fitzharris\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Utterly charming\" - Tom Holland\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Laugh-out-loud\" - Garth Nix\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"A must read\" - Fergus Butler-Gallie\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Brims with self-effacing charm\" - Caitlin Doughty\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Unfortunately I have mislaid the book in question\" - Neil Gaiman\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWelcome to Sotheran's, one of the oldest bookshops in the world, with its weird and wonderful clientele, suspicious cupboards, unlabelled keys, poisoned books and some things that aren't even books, presided over by one deeply eccentric apprentice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSome years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd on Sackville Street (est. 1761) to interview for a job. Allured by the smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap, he was soon balancing teetering stacks of first editions, fending off nonagenarian widows and trying not to upset the store's resident ghost (the late Mr Sotheran, hit by a tram).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDarkshire came to love Sotheran's, not just for its illustrious history (or for producing the most cursed book of all time), but also its joyous disorganization and the unspoken rules of its gleefully old-fashioned staff, whose mere glance may cause a computer to burst into flames.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy turns unhinged and earnestly dog-eared, Once Upon a Tome is the rather colourful story of life in one of the world's oldest bookshops and a love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oliver Darkshire","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49285981339946,"sku":"9781529177121","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0812\/4075\/2426\/files\/9781529177121.jpg?v=1726647370"},{"product_id":"the-diary-of-a-bookseller-by-shaun-bythell-9781781258637","title":"The Diary of a Bookseller","description":"\u003cp\u003eLove, Nina meets Black Books: a wry and hilarious account of life in Scotland's biggest second-hand bookshop and the band of eccentrics and book-obsessives who work there\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'The Diary Of A Bookseller is warm (unlike Bythell's freezing-cold shop) and funny, and deserves to become one of those bestsellers that irritate him so much.' 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