From the Arab Spring to the Royal Wedding, the rescue of the Chilean miners to the fall of the News of the World and the London Riots, compelling tweet-by-tweet accounts freeze-frame the breaking of the biggest news stories of the past twelve months, alongside profiles of top tweeters, striking visual analysis and fascinating statistics. In the year the 'micro-blogging' website celebrates its fifth anniversary, Twitter continues to grow at an incredible rate. A global phenomenon, there are now an estimated 200 million accounts around the world, with everyone from the British monarchy to Lady Gaga tweeting their perfectly formed 140 character messages. And it shows no sign of slowing down: during two hours on the night of Osama bin Laden's death, average activity peaked at a record-breaking 3,440 tweets per second. The Twitter Year gathers together some of the funniest, sharpest and most insightful voices on Twitter to bring you a unique celebration of modern global communication.

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what Chinese parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it... Amy Chua's daughters, Sophia and Louisa (Lulu) were polite, interesting and helpful, they had perfect school marks and exceptional musical abilities. The Chinese-parenting model certainly seemed to produce results. But what happens when you do not tolerate disobedience and are confronted by a screaming child who would sooner freeze outside in the cold than be forced to play the piano? Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. It was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how you can be humbled by a thirteen-year-old. Witty, entertaining and provocative, this is a unique and important book that will transform your perspective of parenting forever.

Li Jing, a high-flying financier, has just joined his father for dinner at the grand Swan Hotel in central Shanghai when, without warning, the ground begins to rumble. It shifts like a pre-historic animal, then explodes in a roar of hot, unfurling air. As Li Jing drags his unconscious father out of the collapsing building, a single shard of glass whistles through the air and neatly pierces his forehead. In an instant, Li Jing's ability to speak Chinese is obliterated. After weeks in hospital, all that emerge from his mouth are unsteady phrases of the English he spoke as a child growing up in Virginia. His wife, Zhou Meiling, whom he courted with beautiful words, finds herself on the other side of an abyss, unable to communicate with her husband and struggling to put on a brave face — for the sake of Li Jing's floundering company, and for their son, Pang Pang. A neurologist who specialises in Li Jing's condition — bilingual aphasia — arrives from the US to work with Li Jing, to coax language back onto his tongue. Rosalyn Neal is red-haired, open-hearted, recently divorced, and as lost as Li Jing in this bewitching, bewildering city. As doctor and patient sit together, sharing their loneliness along with their faltering words, feelings neither of them anticipated begin to take hold. Feelings Meiling does not need a translator to understand. A sensitive exploration of the power of words and of silence, The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai is a wonderfully evocative debut about love and language, duty and passion, in a vibrant modern city.

Patricia Borlenghi brings a fresh take to familiar stories, making them ideal for children under five, while Eleanor Taylor adds humour, sweetness and a lot of refreshing detail with the images in this charming book. Each tale is the perfect length for a bedtime story, or a classroom read. This treasury will take pride of place on home, school and library bookshelves up and down the country.

A prelude to fame, Just Kids recounts the friendship of two young artists — Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe — whose passion fueled their lifelong pursuit of art. In 1967, a chance meeting between two young people led to a romance and a lifelong friendship that would carry each to international success never dreamed of. The backdrop is Brooklyn, Chelsea Hotel, Max's Kansas City, Scribner's Bookstore, Coney Island, Warhol's Factory and the whole city resplendent. Among their friends, literary lights, musicians and artists such as Harry Smith, Bobby Neuwirth, Allen Ginsberg, Sandy Daley, Sam Shepherd, William Burroughs, etc. It was a heightened time politically and culturally; the art and music worlds exploding and colliding. In the midst of all this two kids made a pact to always care for one another. Scrappy, romantic, committed to making art, they prodded and provided each other with faith and confidence during the hungry years — the days of cous-cous and lettuce soup. Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. Beautifully written, this is a profound portrait of two young artists, often hungry, sated only by art and experience. And an unforgettable portrait of New York, her rich and poor, hustlers and hellions, those who made it and those whose memory lingers near.

Raymond Blanc shares the secrets he's learned over a lifetime of cooking with legendary good humour and style. With a range of achievable and inspirational recipes for cooks of all abilities, Kitchen Secrets is all about bringing Gallic passion and precision into the home kitchen. Raymond has done all the hard work, refining recipes over months and even years until they are quite perfect. Every recipe includes explanations and hints to ensure that your results are consistently brilliant. Dishes that once seemed plain, or impossibly complex, suddenly become simple and elegant; the book's sixteen chapters include classics like watercress soup, chicory and Roquefort salad, cep ravioli, greengage cassoulet, chicken liver parfait, confit salmon, moules marniere, grilled dover sole, home cured ham, pot au feu, lambs liver persillade, roast wild duck, lamb cutlets, galette des Rois, cherry clafoutis and Maman Blanc's own chocolate mousse. With more than 100 recipes from both series of Kitchen Secrets , this is guaranteed to be a must-have for anybody with a love of French cuisine and finesse.

The sea is the first wonder of the world. Source of all life, key to our survival and home to innumerable and astonishing life forms, the sea has fascinated humanity from its very beginnings. At once remote yet all around us, beautiful and strange, wild and peaceful, it is a host of paradoxes and has provided the inspiration for great poetry, literature, art, music — and photography. This spectacular book showcases some of the most stunning images of our oceans: the drama of waves crashing into the land, breathtaking views from the air, glacial images of the Antarctic, the vast wilderness of mid ocean, the weird and wonderful wildlife found beneath it, beautiful yachts and working boats that power across its surface and the heavenly island paradises surrounded by tranquil waters. With evocative text and page after page of glorious photography, this beautiful book will be a valued and much-loved source of wonder and inspiration.

In 1962, actuary Walter Cousins makes the biggest mistake of his life. When mild-mannered Walter — 'a man who weighs risk for a living' — sleeps with the sharp-tongued, not-quite-legal British au pair, Diane Burroughs, he can have no sense of the magnitude of his error. For this brief affair sets in motion a tragedy of epic proportions, upending Sophocles's immortal tale of fate, free will, and forbidden desire. At the centre is Ed King, an infant given up for adoption who becomes one of the world's richest and most powerful men. But beneath the sizzling story of Ed's seemingly inexorable rise to fame and fortune is a dark and unsettling destiny, one that approaches with ever-increasing suspense as the book reaches its shattering and surprising conclusion. An assured, propulsively written epic novel of unstoppable force, Ed King is a classic of contemporary American life: a daringly told story of a man and a myth, of blindness and narcissism, and of the precarious foundations on which carefully constructed lives are built — and timeless stories are created. From the bestselling author of Snow Falling on Cedars, a dazzling, darkly funny, extraordinary modern take on an ancient tragedy, quite unlike anything we've seen before.

I'd gone along there, as a Pommy writer passing through, to do a quick interview and be asked how I thought I could get to the bottom of the place if I was passing through so quickly. You are always asked this by Australians. They can't believe that you have come to their country and aren't prepared to give at least seven years of your life to savouring the distinctive flavour, fathoming the peculiar mystery, of every one-horse town the bus happens to spill you out in. Australia: the sixth largest country in the world — and most of it empty. Of the inhabited continents, it has the driest, hottest and harshest terrain. Undaunted, and somewhat bemused by the challenge, Howard Jacobson set off on an adventure around Australia — all the way around. Travelling across Darwin, the Kimberleys, Perth, Kalgoorlie, Alice Springs, the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney and almost every one-horse, godforsaken town in between, Jacobson attempts to find out exactly what it is that makes the people of Australia tick. Along the way, he ponders questions of Aboriginal land rights, national identity, and the most flummoxing matter of all: the Australian male. Peppered with brilliantly witty observations and larger-than-life characters, In the Land of Oz is a wry, incisive and hugely affectionate portrait of life Down Under.

BARYSHNIKOV: IN BLACK IN WHITE is a stunning book of photographs of one of the great dancers of the 20th century. Taken by leading dance photographers, here are over 170 chronologically ordered photographs that chart Baryshnikov's evolution and capture his legendary athleticism, energy and charisma. Stunningly designed, with an introduction by his biographer and New Yorker dance critic Joan Acocella, BARYSHNIKOV: IN BLACK IN WHITE is the definitive visual companion to Baryshnikov's extraordinary career.

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person in history to leave the Earth's atmosphere and venture into space. His flight aboard a Russian Vostok rocket lasted only 108 minutes, but at the end of it he had become the most famous man in the world. Back on the ground, his smiling face captured the hearts of millions around the globe. Film stars, politicians and pop stars from Europe to Japan, India to the United States vied with each other to shake his hand. Despite this immense fame, almost nothing is known about Gagarin or the exceptional people behind his dramatic space flight. Starman tells for the first time Gagarin's personal odyssey from peasant to international icon, his subsequent decline as his personal life began to disintegrate under the pressures of fame, and his final disillusionment with the Russian state. President Kennedy's quest to put an American on the Moon was a direct reaction to Gagarin's achievement--yet before that successful moonshot occurred, Gagarin himself was dead, aged just thirty-four, killed in a mysterious air crash. Publicly the Soviet hierarchy mourned; privately their sighs of relief were almost audible, and the KGB report into his death remains secret. Entwined with Gagarin's history is that of the breathtaking and highly secretive Russian space program — its technological daring, its triumphs and disasters. In a gripping account, Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony reveal the astonishing world behind the scenes of the first great space spectacular, and how Gagarin's flight came frighteningly close to destruction.

Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house and his regular visits from his nephew give him the opportunity to relive some of the most frightening stories he knows. But as the stories unfold, a newer and more surprising narrative emerges, one that is perhaps the most frightening of all. Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror, it transpires, are not so much works of imagination as dreadful lurking memories. Memories of an earlier time in which Uncle Montague lived a very different life to his present solitary existence.

'How is it possible to read Howard Jacobson and not lose oneself in admiration for the music of his language, the power of his characterisation and the penetration of his insight? ... The Finkler Question is further proof, if any was needed, of Jacobson's mastery of humour' The Times Wonderful ... Jacobson is seriously on form' Evening Standard 'There are few writers who exhibit the same unawed respect for language or such a relentless commitment to re-examining even the most seemingly unobjectionable of received wisdoms' Daily Telegraph 'Full of wit, warmth, intelligence, human feeling and understanding. It is also beautifully written with that sophisticated and near invisible skill of the authentic writer' Observer.

It's a busy night in the North Pole as the elves help Santa pack the sleigh, but with every load of goodies, the sleigh becomes heavier and heavier. How many reindeer will be needed to ensure that all the gifts are delivered to all the children? Get ready to turn the wheel and count along as more reindeers join in...

Aimee and Alan have unusual pasts and secrets they prefer to keep hidden. Aimee's deceased mother struggled with mental illness and hallucinations, and Aimee thinks it could be hereditary. After all, she sees a shadowy river man where there isn't one. And then there was that time she and her best friend Courtney tried to conjure a spirit with a Ouija board... Alan is Courtney's cousin. His family moved to Maine when Courtney's father went missing. It's not just Alan's dark good looks that make him attractive. He is also totally in touch with a kind of spiritual mysticism from his Native American heritage. And it's not long before Aimee has broken up with her boyfriend... But it's not Aimee or Alan who is truly haunted — it's Courtney. In a desperate plea to find her father, Courtney invites a demonic presence into her life. Together, Aimee and Alan must exorcise the ghost, before it devours Courtney — and everything around her.

At the end of the nineteenth century, China is rocked by humiliating foreign attacks and local rebellions. The only constant is the power wielded by one woman: the resilient, ever-resourceful Tzu Hsi, also known as Empress Orchid. Moving from the intimacy of the concubine quarters into the spotlight of the world stage, Orchid makes a dramatic metamorphosis from a strong-willed young woman to a wise political leader, who must not only face the perilous condition of her fading empire but also a series of devastating personal losses. Yearning to step aside yet growing constantly into her role, only she can hold the nation's rival factions together. In this sequel to the bestselling novel Empress Orchid, Anchee Min brings to life one of the most important figures in Chinese history, a very human leader who assumes power reluctantly, and who sacrifices all she has to protect both those she loves and her doomed empire.

It's winter in Paris and Madeleine is having problems at school. A new girl, Mirabelle, is bullying her. Madeleine is too ashamed to ask for help from her friends, Madame Pamplemousse and Camembert, but she's befriended by a woman called Madame Bonbon, who runs an alluring-looking sweet shop. The sweets Madame Bonbon gives Madeleine have the most bewitching effect, at first making her feel much stronger and able to confront Mirabelle. But soon they start drawing her into a strange, enchanted world from which she finds she cannot escape. For Madame Bonbon is really someone else in disguise — an old enemy from Madame Pamplemousse's past who has come to Paris seeking her revenge...

Sketching Interiors: From Traditional to Digital, highlights four basic drawing skills for interior sketching across three different media-pencil, ink, and marker. The in-depth approach to various elements of sketching, including details of perception, texture, negative space, elevation, contour, and the treatment of interior and exterior spaces, will help students perfect freehand and drawing skills. Throughout various exercises inspired by field studies, students will learn best practices for creating and presenting work for clients. Additionally, the book introduces the techniques of transforming hand drawings into sophisticated digital drawings using Photoshop, an invaluable resource for both new and seasoned designers.

While Mrs North, Marvin's teacher, is on holiday she asks him to look after Waldo — her dog. Suddenly, Marvin has become the luckiest boy in school. He'll get to sniff about Mrs North's house, look in her wardrobe, check out her bathroom and rummage in her fridge... Well that's what Stuart and Nick, his best friends, would like to do. But Marvin takes things a little more seriously. After all, he gets paid $3 a day and he will get a bonus on top if everything goes smoothly. What could possibly go wrong? Just how long can Marvin hold on to his luck... Louis Sachar tells this tale with a refreshing and bold frankness and again the characters are vividly portrayed in this the fourth of the series.