The boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved on by Alain de Botton's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false - and yet that religions still have important things to teach the secular world. Rather than mocking religions, agnostics and atheists should instead steal from them - because they're packed with good ideas on how we live and arrange our societies. Blending deep respect with total impiety, de Botton (a non-believer) proposes that we should look to religions for insights into how to build a sense of community, make our relationships last, get more out of art, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, and much more. For too long non-believers have faced a stark choice between either swallowing peculiar doctrines or doing away with consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas. At last Alain de Botton has fashioned a far more interesting and truly helpful alternative.

Author Biography: Alain de Botton was born in 1969 and is the author of non-fiction essays on themes ranging from love and travel to architecture and philosophy. His bestselling books include How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Art of Travel, and The Architecture of Happiness. He lives in London and founded The School of Life (www.theschooloflife.com) and Living Architecture (www.living-architecture.co.uk). For more information, consult www.alaindebotton.com.                                            

Every story can change a life. 
 Growing up isn't easy. Many young people face daily tormenting and bullying, making them feel like they have nowhere to turn. This is especially true for LGBT kids and teens who often hide their sexuality for fear of bullying. Without other openly gay adults and mentors in their lives, they can't imagine what their future may hold. In many instances, gay and lesbian adolescents are taunted - even tortured - simply for being themselves. 
 After a number of tragic suicides by LGBT students who were bullied in school, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage uploaded a video to YouTube with his partner Terry Miller to inspire hope for LGBT youth facing harassment. Speaking openly about the bullying they suffered as teenagers, and how they both went on to lead rewarding adult lives, their video launched the It Gets Better Project YouTube channel and initiated a worldwide phenomenon. With over 6,000 videos posted and over 20 million views in the first three months alone, the world has embraced the opportunity to provide personal, honest and heartfelt support for LGBT youth everywhere. 
 "It Gets Better" is a collection of expanded essays and new material from celebrities, everyday people and teens who have posted videos of encouragement, as well as new contributors who have yet to post videos to the site. While many of these teens couldn't see a positive future for themselves, we can. We can show LGBT youth the levels of happiness, potential and positivity their lives will reach if they can just get through their teen years. By sharing these stories, "It Gets Better" reminds teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone - and it WILL get better.                                  

Although we are materially better off than ever before, surveys show that we are depressed and listless. In his revolutionary book, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard shows that happiness is not just an emotion, but a skill that can be developed. Free of mumbo jumbo, The Art of Happiness contains twenty-minute exercises to train the mind to recognize and pursue happiness by concentrating on life's fundamentals, revealing the significant benefits that changing the way we view the world can bring to each of us.

Review: 'A remarkable book... It exudes inspiration and intelligence' - Independent on Sunday

Author Biography: Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk who had a promising career in cellular genetics before leaving France to study Buddhism in the Himalayas thirty-seven years ago. He is also a bestselling author, translator and photographer, and an active participant in current scientific research on the effects of medication on the brain. He lives in Tibet and Nepal and is involved in humanitarian projects in both these countries. Find out more at www.www.matthieuricard.org                                            

A prominent Viennese psychiatrist before the war, Viktor Frankl was uniquely able to observe the way that both he and others in Auschwitz coped (or didn't) with the experience. He noticed that it was the men who comforted others and who gave away their last piece of bread who survived the longest - and who offered proof that everything can be taken away from us except the ability to choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances. The sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision and not of camp influences alone. Only those who allowed their inner hold on their moral and spiritual selves to subside eventually fell victim to the camp's degenerating influence - while those who made a victory of those experiences turned them into an inner triumph. Frankl came to believe man's deepest desire is to search for meaning and purpose. This outstanding work offers us all a way to transcend suffering and find significance in the art of living.

Author Biography: Viktor Frankl was born in Vienna in 1905 and was Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School. His wife, father, mother and brother all died in Nazi concentration camps; only he and his sister survived, but he never lost the qualities of compassion, loyalty, undaunted spirit and thirst for life (earning his pilot's licence aged 67). He died in Vienna in 1997. www.viktorfrankl.org                                            

Daniel Kahneman, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his seminal work in psychology challenging the rational model of judgment and decision making, is one of the world's most important thinkers. His ideas have had a profound impact on many fields - including business, medicine, and politics - but until now, he has never brought together his many years of research in one book. In "Thinking, Fast and Slow", Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think and make choices. One system is fast, intuitive, and emotional; the other is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities - and also the faults and biases - of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behaviour. The importance of properly framing risks, the effects of cognitive biases on how we view others, the dangers of prediction, the right ways to develop skills, the pros and cons of fear and optimism, the difference between our experience and memory of events, the real components of happiness - each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions. Drawing on a lifetime's experimental experience, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our professional and our personal lives-and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" will transform the way you take decisions and experience the world.

Review: Daniel Kahneman is among the most influential psychologists in history and certainly the most important psychologist alive today...The appearance of Thinking, Fast and Slow is a major event -- Steven Pinker, Author Of The Language Instinct This is a landmark book in social thought, in the same league as The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith and The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Author Of 'the Black Swan' Daniel Kahneman is one of the most original and interesting thinkers of our time. There may be no other person on the planet who better understands how and why we make the choices we make. In this absolutely amazing book, he shares a lifetime's worth of wisdom presented in a manner that is simple and engaging, but nonetheless stunningly profound. This book is a must read for anyone with a curious mind -- Steven D. Levitt, Co-Author Of 'freakonomics' This book is a tour de force by an intellectual giant; it is readable, wise, and deep. Buy it fast. Read it slowly and repeatedly. It will change the way you think, on the job, about the world, and in your own life -- Richard Thaler, Co-Author Of 'nudge'





Author Biography: Daniel Kahneman is a Senior Scholar at Princeton University, and Emeritus Professor of Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002.                                            

In the past decade, Malcolm Gladwell has written three books that have radically changed how we understand our world and ourselves: "The Tipping Point," "Blink," and "Outliers." Regarded by many as the most gifted and influential author and journalist in America today, Gladwell's rare ability to connect with audiences of such varied interests has ensured that each title become a phenomenal bestseller with more than ten million copies in print combined. <br>Now, Gladwell's landmark investigations into the world around us are collected together for the first time. Beautifully repackaged and redesigned, including for the first time illustrations throughout each book, MALCOLM GLADWELL: COLLECTED is a perfect treasury of prose and provocation for Gladwell fans old and new. <br>

Review: "In the vast world of nonfiction writing, Malcolm Gladwell is as close to singular talent as exists today."-- New York Times Book Review                                                       

       Bills, boyfriends, Bikram yoga...nobody said life was easy. But you can make it a whole lot less stressful with this ingenious guide to modern life. In LIFE'S TOO SHORT, Grace Saunders shares her shortcuts to success at work, at home and at play, along with terrific tips from those in the know. Whether you're a single lady, a committed career woman or a mega-busy mum, this book should be your bible. Need a quick fix for...How to plan a wedding without becoming Bridezilla How to find jeans that don't give you a massive muffin-top How to move house without having a nervous breakdown How to ease that agonising shoe spending guilt? Sit back and relax. LIFE'S TOO SHORT is just what you've been looking for.

Author Biography: Grace Saunders was a fashion journalist and stylist at Elle magazine for six years before becoming a freelance lifestyle journalist and best-selling author of The Fabulous Mum's Handbook and Family Life Made Easy. She lives in North London with her husband and three children.