'Here Phillip, a father, laid down his highest hope: a twelve year old son, Niccolites.' 'This is the tomb of Megistias, Slain by the Medes at Thermopylae. Famous prophet, he knew what was coming. Still, he wouldn't leave the Spartan side.' A superb bilingual collection of 127 short, witty and often tender epigrams that span one thousand years of the written word. The book is evidence that Ancient Greek life was not only celebrated in great heroic epics, but was also commemorated in hundreds of artfully composed verse epitaphs, preserved in anthologies and gleaned from weathered headstones. These miniature masterpieces testify to the richness and variety of ancient life and to the wry dignity of commemorations to loved ones. It is a treasure trove of the obsessions, passions, fears, drudgeries, shortcomings and victories of ordinary Greeks and a reminder of death as a goad to the well-lived life. With introduction and biographies of the poets. 178pp, paperback.

Another in the famous Teach Yourself series, the book is packed with ideas that will drive you and the confidence you might be lacking to write well about sex. That is difficult even for the most experienced authors and the book helps you craft believable, steamy and readable erotic fiction whether you have written before or are a complete beginner. Think about your favourite sexual fantasy, right now. Did an image flicker across your mind or a series of images? There's a good chance that, deep down, the very thought of that fantasy tiggered a physical reaction. Humans are sexual beings with big brains. We love stories and this is the premise behind erotic fiction. Today there is a revolution with online shopping and the eReader which has changed the game. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James was openly passed on to friends and the previously uninitiated gorged themselves and now we are all, frankly, hungry. The chapters have a practical outlook and there are several kinds of exercise - snapshot which are short and sweet carrying out fun tasks listing your sexual fantasies or likes; workshop exercises that are longer and more structured for a short story; writing exercises which are the most rewarding; editing exercises to help you review, critique and improve your work and focus points to help you hone in on the main ideas of each chapter. Get writing your Big Sexy List and enjoy the memories as you develop character, plot, setting, theme, scenes and point of view. With super quotes from published authors throughout and tips and excellent examples plus advice on self-publishing on an electronic platform, blogging, tweeting, raising your profile and generating that all-important word-of-mouth success. 240pp, paperback.

Set contains Get Started In Writing For Children, Get Started In Self-Publishing and Get Started In Writing Erotic Fiction. Buy all three in the Teach Yourself series and save even more.

Sunday Times bestselling author Caroline Taggart brings her usual gently humorous approach to punctuation, pointing out what really matters and what doesn't. In Roman times, blocks of texts were commonly written just as blocks without even spacing to help the reader interpret them. As we enter the Christian era and sacred texts were widely read it became ever more important to remove any likelihood of misinterpretation. To a potential murderer or adulterer for example there is a world of difference between 'If you are tempted, yield not, resisting the urge to commit a sin' and 'If you are tempted, yield, not resisting the urge to commit a sin'. The only surface difference is the positioning of a comma. This super helpful book clarifies the rules that do exist and sets out the options where the choice is yours and whether the use of emojis makes the world a better place. Throw in the odd semicolon and impress your friends. Inverted commas or italics? And where does that apostrophe go? 187pp.

From the author of the Sunday Times number one bestseller The Etymologicon, Mark Forsyth presents the secret of writing unforgettable phrases, uncovering the techniques that have made immortal such lines as 'To be or not to be' and 'Bond. James Bond'. He takes apart famous quotations and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, or John Lennon, and how writers through the ages have turned humble words into literary gold. With his considerable knowledge we look at alliteration, antithesis, merism, the blazon, synaesthesia, anadiplosis, periodic sentences, rhetorical questions, epistrophe, tricolon, syllepsis to Zeugma and with some laugh-out-loud examples showing for example the use of the isocolon: Brutus explaining why he killed Julius Caesar, John F. Kennedy in his inauguration address and Winston Churchill beating that with the slightly ridiculous: 'Fill the armies, rule the air, pour out the munitions, strangle the U-boats, sweep the mines, plough the land, build the ships, guard the streets, succour the wounded, uplift the downcast, and honour the brave.' Silly? Not this highly entertaining book for all wordsmiths. 205pp, shiny softback.

Son-of-a-gun (British sea slang), sour grapes (the allusion is to the fable of the fox who tried to reach some grapes hanging up on a vine), from A-1 (origin Lloyds of London) and Abracadabra, the cabalistic word shown here as a triangle symbol, to Xmas (Greek letter Chi written X) and Zest, the book explains the intriguing origins of hundreds of unusual words and expressions. For your delectation, entertainment and perusal, handily organised in alphabetical form, the answers to these etymological mysteries uncover the roots of the modern English language and shares facts and trivia along the way. There are even ten quizzes for extra fun and solutions. 286pp.

Sub-titled 'Unique Typographic Design In Sketchbooks, In Print and On Location Around the Globe', learn what typography can say about a brand or product. The book showcases the work of major international designers in branding and advertising, packaging and products, environmental and self-initiated projects. It concludes with a workbook section featuring four real-world 'briefs' related to each category. Each designer gives an insight into what each project was like from start to finish. Ian Barnard had a calligraphy project in 2016 applying calligraphy to a range of different surfaces using a variety of paint markers, brushes and pens and he shares his idea of how he collected random objects from charity shops and jumble sales like a violin or an old motorcycle helmet, resprayed them in a contrasting colour so that the type will show up. The letterers explain the harmony between concept, content and intention and the different mediums, lettering and colours to find a combination that represents the concept intuitively as opposed to literally, communicating a message without relying too heavily on words. The different styles and colours are captured in this showcase whether for whisky or a handcrafted protein lollipop, a no entry sign or a shed design. A worldwide gallery of contributors. 160 very large pages in softback, colour throughout.

Crack those cryptic clues! Verbophiles can work their way through double straight clues, double meaning clues, word exchange clues, homophone clues and anagrams. Here are all the clever crossword clues beloved of crossword compilers explained by solver Kevin Skinner in easy steps. Once you recognise the type of cryptic clue used, you are half way to finding the answer. Work your way through example crosswords provided and hone your new-found skills. The explanations show how the answers are arrived at so that next time you come across a clue of the same type, you will be able to tease out the answer for yourself and beat the compilers at their own game. First published in 1993, we have the facsimile reprint paperback, 160pp.

The exquisite calligraphy and letters of the Arabic alphabet are explained in this thorough and illuminating guide. Writing styles and the alphabet presents an understanding of a culture and civilisation that throughout the centuries has been linked to the secular and religious worlds of Islam. One of the world's major forms of writing, it is also the language of the Qur'an and in the very first verse, reading and writing with the calamus or reed pen are praised as the source of all knowledge, and all spiritual or scientific paths of change. From this text has developed a reverence for books and a love of writing. In this intriguing book the history and meaning of each letter of the alphabet is given as well as its cultural, religious and philosophical significance. There are some 300 two-colour (green and black) and black and white pictures of the letters, their variants, and calligraphic adaptations, showing that Arabic script is both and art form and a means of communication. For linguists, graphic designers, collectors of Islamic art and also a handy reference for travellers wishing to become familiar with the rudiments of the alphabet. 180pp, large softback, illus.

In this chunky volume Darwin's biographer has collected hundreds of quotations from the writings of the great evolutionary scientist, illuminating both his public and private life. The first section deals with his early education and the voyage of the Beagle where he collected the specimens that would underlie his research. Of his schooldays he says disparagingly "The school as a means of education to me was simply a blank". But then "delight is a weak term to describe the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has been wandering by himself in a Brazilian forest"; "with my pistols in my belt and a geological hammer in my hand, shall I not look like a grand barbarian?". After an earthquake in Chile, "solid buttresses 6-10 feet thick are broken into fragments like so much biscuit". Famously, "four natives of Terra del Fuego were carried to England" where "they were taught the simpler religious truths and duties". While writing On The Origin of Species Darwin observes to geologist Charles Lyell that "I believe only one or a few of each large genus ultimately becomes victorious and leaves modified descendants". Darwin's religious faith collapsed: "We can no more argue that the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been made by an intelligent being" and "I gradually came to disbelieve in Christianity, but I was very unwilling to give up my belief". Above all, Darwin was adventurous: "I am like a gambler, and love a wild experiment." 348pp, black and white photos, chronology.