Harry Potter is preparing to leave the Dursleys and Privet Drive for the last time. But the future that awaits him is full of danger, not only for him, but for anyone close to him — and Harry has already lost so much. Only by destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes can Harry free himself and overcome the Dark Lord's forces of evil. In this dramatic conclusion to The Harry Potter Series , Harry must leave his most loyal friends behind, and in a final perilous journey find the strength and the will to face his terrifying destiny: a deadly confrontation that is his alone to fight. In this thrilling climax to the phenomenally bestselling series, J.K. Rowling reveals all to her eagerly waiting readers.

Told from the perspective of his innumerable sexual conquests, Casanova's Women renders a vivid flesh-and-blood portrait of the famed philanderer, clearing away the myth while illuminating the lives of the women who have too long languished in the shadows. The eighteenth-century Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova used his magnetic personality to talk his way into the beds of more than two hundred women. Charming, brilliant, and devastatingly attractive, he claimed to like women and to understand their emotional and sexual needs. To those he truly loved, he was the perfect lover--thoughtful, generous, and imaginative. To others he could be ruthless, selfish, and dishonest. Judith Summers's exuberant and candidly erotic biography reveals how Giacomo Casanova, a sickly son of Venetian actors, went on to transcend the rigid social boundaries of the eighteenth century to keep company with kings and beguile beautiful women. With original research culled from period diaries, wills, correspondence, and memoirs, this unique look at the legendary lady-killer gives voice to the many women on whose naked backs Casanova's reputation was built.

One May evening in London, Adam Kindred, a young climatologist in town for a job interview, is feeling good about the future as he sits down for a meal at a little Italian bistro. He strikes up a conversation with a solitary diner at the next table, who leaves soon afterward. With horrifying speed, this chance encounter leads to a series of malign accidents, through which Adam loses everything—home, family, friends, job, reputation, passport, credit cards, cell phone—never to get them back. William Boyd's electrifying follow-up to the Costa Award-winning Restless, Ordinary Thunderstorms is a profound and gripping novel about the fragility of social identity, the corruption at the heart of big business, and the secrets that lie hidden in the seamy underbelly of every city.

You negotiate every day in all types of situations and in many ways. This book will help build confidence and get better results with practical advice on the basic principles of negotiation, how to prepare, how to keep cool under pressure and how to understand and use body language to your advantage. The book contains a quiz to assess strengths and weaknesses, step-by-step guidance and action points, top tips to bear in mind for the future, common mistakes and advice on how to avoid them, summaries of key points, and lists of the best sources of further help.

The key to giving great presentations is in creating a clear, effective message and delivering it in a style that fits your personality and communicates confidence and authority. This practical book breaks down the process into manageable segments to help you build your case! Begin with a self-assessment quiz to identify your strengths as well as your biggest fears. Step-by-step guidance takes you through the entire presentation process from how to prepare a knockout speech and plot out summaries of your key points to quick ways to manage nerves to professional tips for boosting your message, dealing with unexpected problems, even ways to use body language to win over your audience before you even utter a word! The ability to communicate effectively is a key to career advancement and opening doors of opportunity in life and, like any other skill, can be learned with expert guidance in this comprehensive professional resource.

A good working relationship with your supervisor requires planning and thoughtful strategy and this book offers effective tips on how to develop the skills you need to create a productive working environment or improve your current work situation. Fully revised and updated, Manage Your Boss will give you insight and advice on how to survive personality clashes, improve your chances of promotion, increase your influence and even build enough trust so you effectively delegate upwards! Implementing an effective boss gameplan can turn dread and avoidance of your office into a more secure and fulfilling work environment which actually makes you look forward to heading into work each morning.

Stress has become a “catch-all” term to identify a host of symptoms AND their triggers. This book helps break down the multi-layers of stress starting with a self-assessment quiz to understand the causes and recognize the symptoms and offers insight into ways to find the right solutions to put you back in control of runaway emotions. You’ll also learn about common stress management mistakes and how to avoid them plus find practical advice on finding a work/life balance and tips on building better relationships.

Dealing with difficult people at work has become an essential survival skill in today’s office place. Whether an impossible customer or an occasional tense situation with a coworker or the more extreme case of an office bully, this fully revised and updated edition of Tackle Office Nightmares offers clear solutions and step-by-step advice on a wide range of these interpersonal workplace issues. You’ll learn how to diffuse situations before they get out of control and separate the facts to determine the difference between an uncomfortable, awkward situation and an actionable human resource issue such as discrimination. You’ll also learn the best practices to keep your work life as peaceful as possible and when it’s appropriate to step in to help others. With a tough job market and more demands placed on employees, workplace stress is on the rise. This practical and informative book will help diffuse workplace conflicts, which directly affect office productivity, employee health, and business survival.

Can the worlds of science and philosophy work together to recognise our destructive emotions such as hatred, craving, and delusion? Bringing together ancient Buddhist wisdom and recent breakthroughs in a variety of fields from neuroscience to child development, Daniel Goleman's extraordinary book offers fresh insights into how we can recognise and transform our destructive emotions. Out of a week-long discussion between the Dalai Lama and small group of eminent psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers, Goleman weaves together a compelling narrative account. Where do these destructive emotions (craving, anger and delusion, known in Buddhism as the three poisons) come from? And how can we transform them to prevent them from threatening humanity's collective safety and its future?

Life at work has become increasingly demanding with endless emails and 24/7 connectivity which now requires workers at all levels to become experts at managing their time effectively. This fully revised and updated business resource helps you establish and prioritize your work flow. You’ll find step-by-step guidance on how to manage overwhelming information overload which usually begins at your email IN box. You’ll also learn how to create systems to organize your tasks and establish routine protocols so you’ll quickly know when to delegate, when to send something to the recycle bin and when in the process you need to act to have maximum effect in completing the task.

Eighteen of Britain's most exciting authors have written brand new stories especially for this spellbinding collection: Andrea Ashworth, Kate Atkinson, Celia Brayfield, Christopher Brookmyre, Lewis Davies, Isla Dewar, Emma Donoghue, Maeve Haran, Joanne Harris, Jackie Kay, Gil McNeil, John O'Farrell, Ben Okri, Michele Roberts, Meera Syal, Sue Townsend, Arabella Weir and Fay Weldon. Miracles, mystery, romance and humour — from Louisiana mud-swamps where enchantment is for sale to a bra-making workshop where dreams come true, this is British fiction at its fizziest, least predictable and best. The National Council recently launched its Magic Million Appeal, with the aim of raising one million pounds to fund services for single parents and their children so that they can get the help and support they need, when they need it. GBP1 will go straight to the charity with every copy sold of MAGIC.

Bedtime will be eagerly anticipated when you read this wonderful lullaby picture book, populated with a rich cast of animal favourites, from rabbits and bears to owls and seals, as every parent and child prepares for a safe night's sleep. With boundless energy, the text takes a ride through a night-time of possibilities as stormy weather assails the characters. Each fearful moment is calmly laid aside with warm cuddles and sweet caresses of reassurance. Combining soothing text that gently addresses bedtime fears with adorable art that will be familiar to Debi's many fans, this picture book will become a firm family favourite along with hot milk and bedtime kisses.

«Peking, 1914. Eight-year-old Eastern Jewel peers from behind a screen as her father, Prince Su makes love to a servant girl. Caught spying by her thirteenth sister, Eastern Jewel’s sexual curiosity sees her banished to live with distant relatives in Tokyo, then forced into a passionless marriage in freezing Mongolia. Increasingly isolated, at night she is plagued by disturbing fantasies and unsettling dreams. But she refuses to be pinned down by anyone – least of all a man – and in the dazzling city of Shanghai she puts her thrill-seeking nature to work spying for the Japanese, spurning everything she once held dear… Based on the real-life story of Yoshiko Kawashima, Chinese princess turned ruthless Japanese spy, «The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel» is an intoxicating tale of sexual manipulation and self-discovery that spans three countries and a world war.»

It's 1946. Juliet Ashton, a 32-year-old writer, has found a certain recognition through her light-hearted column for the Spectator which lifted the spirits of her readers during WW2, but she can't think what to write next. But then Dawsey Adams writes to her from Guernsey — by chance he's acquired a book Juliet once owned — and, emboldened by their mutual love of books, they begin a correspondence. Dawsey belongs to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and as Juliet investigates the strange-named reading group, soon she stumbles upon a whole number of islanders eager to write and tell her of their experiences of the German occupation of Guernsey. Entranced by her new friends, Juliet decides to visit the island to meet them properly. A moving tale of friendship, tolerance and forgiveness in the wake of a period of unthinkable hardship and horror, this is set to become a classic.

«As featured in the first year set texts reading list in «Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone», «Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them» is an extensive introduction to the magical beasts that exist in the magical, non-Muggle world. Some of the animals featured in the A–Z you will have already met in the existing Harry Potter books: for example Hippogriff, Flobberworm, Kappa – others you certainly won’t: read on to find out exactly what a Chizpurfle is, or why one should always beware of the sinister Lethifold... As Albus Dumbledore says in his introduction, this set text book by Newt Scamander has given the perfect grounding to many a Hogwarts student. It will be helpful to all Muggles out there too... On reading the book you will also find that Harry, Ron and (in one instance) Hermione – couldn’t resist graffitiing the book, and adding their own hand-written opinions.»

Did you know that: there are 700 ways of committing a foul in Quidditch? The game first began to evolve on Queerditch Marsh? What Bumphing is? That Puddlemere United is oldest team in the Britain and Ireland league? (Founded 1163.) All this information and much more could be yours once you have read this book: this is all you could ever need to know about the history, the rules – and the breaking of the rules – of the noble wizarding sport of Quidditch.

«The international bestseller, reissued with a new introduction and all the stories from «M is for Magic». Part of The Bloomsbury Phantastics series — three books tracing the tradition of fantasy from Edgar Allan Poe to Neil Gaiman and Susanna Clarke. When Coraline explores her new home, she steps through a door and into another house just like her own – except that things aren’t quite as they seem. There’s another mother and another father in this house and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. Coraline must use all of her wits and every ounce of courage in order to save herself and return home… but will she escape and will life ever be the same again? Elsewhere in this collection, a sinister jack-in-the-box haunts the lives of the children who ever owned it, a stray cat does nightly battle to protect his adopted family, and a boy raised in a graveyard confronts the much more troubled world of the living. From the scary to the whimsical, the fantastical to the humorous, «Coraline & Other Stories» is a journey into the dark, magical world of Neil Gaiman.»

Elizabeth Stavely sits in the Bodlean library with trembling hands. Before her is a fragment of parchment which has about it a dusty fragrance of roses, of sadness and great age. Here is the clue she has been looking for, to a story that has been untold for four hundred years. It is as though a voice is whispering softly to her across the centuries. Constantinople, 1599: merchants from all over Europe are vying with each other to gain trading rights in the Ottoman empire. Paul Pindar, a wealthy merchant, has been entrusted with the mission to deliver an extraordinary musical clock to the Sultan. But a disaster has befallen it on its journey from England, and the organ-maker Thomas Dallam must attempt to repair the effects of the seawater on the precious artifact. Pindar is troubled too by a secret sadness: the woman he once loved is now lost to him, drowned in a shipwreck. But there have been rumours of a new young slave with golden hair and skin like milk, sighted behind the gates of the Sultan's harem. Could this be his Celia? Deep inside the most private quarters of the Sultan's palace, a different drama unfolds: Hassan Aga, the Chief Black Eunuch, lies spreadeagled and helpless, his life slowly ebbing away. Beside him is an intricate ship made of spun sugar, perhaps carrying the poison that is about to take his life. A veiled figure stands over him, and as she moves away the light catches the huge emerald on her finger, causing it to glow like a cat's eye.The Aviary Gate is a tale of ancient alliances and intrigues, of forbidden love and dangerous secrets. Lush, magical and utterly absorbing, it is a masterful novel from one of our most acclaimed authors.

An alphabet book with a story about two children and their pet gazelle who head off, treasure map in hand, on an underground journey into a place where monsters and pirates roam. Will they find the treasure? Will they get out alive? Will the alphabet ever be the same again?