With apposite quotations from the Holmes stories or information about Arthur Conan Doyle on every page, along with Sidney Paget’s original illustrations from The Strand magazine, this perpetual diary would be excellent for recording birthdays and anniversaries – Ma and Pa’s wedding forever remembered on the day of Ryder’s desperate plea in 'The Blue Carbuncle'. The diary is bound in red linen with gilt-edged pages and a silk marker.

Everyone has an accent, though many of us think that we don't. What does our accent say about us – and what do we assume about other people when we hear theirs? Actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father David travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English, from Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of Received Pronunciation. Authoritative and packed with anecdotes, this book celebrates the rich variety of the English language.

Professor Crystal’s celebration of English dialects also celebrates the seminal achievement of Joseph Wright and The English Dialect Dictionary (6 volumes, 1898–1903). Crystal has taken 900 of Wright’s words and expressions whose meanings remain relevant today: from abbey-lubber (an idle person) to zwodder (a drowsy, stupid state of mind), he describes their meanings, etymology and usage and, hopefully, gives them a new lease of life. A geographical index follows the A–Z.

Across the globe there are places without diplomatic recognition or UN membership, that function semi-autonomously and are considered countries by their inhabitants. They lie on the margin of legitimacy but, as this atlas shows, can be visited in the real world. Arranged by continent, the book presents maps and details of the size, political status, location, population and language of 50 shadow states, including Antarctica, Rapa Nui (an island annexed by Chile), and the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria.