Using methods practiced in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, this accessible guide to overcoming anxiety includes practical exercises to encourage self-awareness and record sheets that, when completed, will demonstrate progressive changes in thought patterns.

Calibrated to provide the appropriate level of challenge for most adults, this puzzle collection is designed to inspire creativity, allow your brain to relax, and feel rewarded for achievement. The selection of 160 activities includes colour by number, word and number games, mazes and spatial puzzles.

Eric R Kandel, recipient of a Nobel Prize for his pioneering research, demonstrates how studies of brain disorders, including autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, have improved our understanding of the close connections between neurological and psychiatric illnesses. He discusses the ways in which these findings are not only contributing to the development of effective treatments but are also helping to explain the mysterious origins of consciousness and creativity in the intricate interactions of brain cells.

The Lebanese diet includes a wide range of superfoods including olive oil, chickpeas and pomegranate seeds, as well as fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, nuts, seeds and a small amount of meat – often prepared with a dash of spice. This illustrated collection of simple recipes uses readily available, inexpensive ingredients to create traditional dishes including Hummus, Shawarma Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce.

Jerome K Jerome’s account of Montmorency’s appalling behaviour; the coming of the Pekinese to England; a heartfelt epitaph to a Newfoundland dog by Lord Byron: Mark Bryant’s anthology is an engrossing collection of poetry and prose, arranged by themes including clever dogs, the hounds of hell, and in memoriam.

In the popular imagination the Freemasons are often regarded as a sinister secret society practising arcane rituals: Jasper Ridley’s reassessment traces the origins of Freemasonry in the medieval craftsmen's guilds and its spread throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Dispelling the more lurid misconceptions, Ridley sheds new light on the organization's beliefs, activities and current role in society.

Brian Clegg explores a question fundamental to science: would numbers still exist without people to think about them, or is mathematics just a tool to help us understand the universe? Beginning with the devising of a new system to count goats, he traces the history of numbers, explaining their application to our everyday lives and asking whether the direction of contemporary physics has become too influenced by mathematics.

Using his database of 130,000 words and phrases, the lexicographer known as ‘Mr Slang’ explains the origins of some of the most witty, colourful and disreputable expressions in the English language. He takes us into the worlds of boxers, drunken sailors, doctors and lovers, as well as the more literary realms of PG Wodehouse and Shakespeare, that master of the double entendre who is the earliest source for nearly 300 slang terms.

An unsettled mind and intrusive thoughts that cannot be dismissed are key factors in the persistence and severity of anxiety and depression. Based on the techniques of cognitive behavioural therapy, this workbook offers advice on how to identify unhelpful negative reflections, avoid faulty interpretations of their significance and adopt mental self-control strategies to break the cycle, promoting positive thoughts and mindful self-acceptance.

Victorian newspaper reports, Old Bailey transcripts and coroners’ inquests offer a catalogue of grisly and often bizarre crimes: husbands murdering their wives, suicidal lovers, and mistresses taking revenge on their rivals in love. Drawing on these archival records, this book identifies three main types of offence: crimes of passion; theatrical crimes such as the fatal stabbing of the actor William Terriss at the door of the Adelphi; and unsolved mysteries.

In this illustrated book of Persian cuisine, Atoosa Sepehr has adapted traditional recipes to suit a more modern lifestyle, using readily available ingredients and including meat-based and vegetarian options. With descriptions of key flavours and techniques, the dishes reflect regional differences and include Marinated Olives with Walnuts and Mint from northern Iran, Prawns, Barberries and Saffron with Rice from the south, and Flower Baklava with Sticky Syrup, which should, for authenticity, be served with black tea.

How did a commodity that was once the prized monopoly of kings become an essential ingredient of everyday life and then the cause of a global health epidemic? James Walvin traces the history of how the demand for sweetness has been met, from early Mediterranean sugar plantations, to the immense human and environmental cost of the Caribbean plantations and the slave system, the industries that followed, and the dawning awareness of the obesity problem.

From ‘alcohol-free wine’ in the Home Comforts chapter to ‘serially monogamous’ in Uncomplicated Relationships, Simon Brett presents a collection of oxymorons – ‘the undiscovered beauties of the English Language’ – that includes the obvious (‘safe bet’), those that need a bit of explanation (victimless crime), and some tongue-in-cheek (Young Conservative).

Many of the martial arts of East Asia claim a history dating back thousands of years; this introduction to the subject traces the evidence to the Middle Ages and unravels the legends that claim a more ancient provenance.

‘Cat: a pygmy lion who loves mice, hates dogs and patronizes human beings’, wrote Oliver Herford (1863–1935); but far from taking offence, we have sung the praises of cats in poetry and prose since the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead asked, ‘Who is this Cat?’ This anthology is arranged by theme, from the ‘Fireside Phoenix’ to ‘Requiescat’, and includes writers and poets from Aesop to Jerome K Jerome – and many famous literary cats.

Venice has inspired writers since the sixth century, when Cassiodorus described the lagoon-dwellers as living ‘like sea-birds in huts’. Selected by John Julius Norwich, this anthology includes the impressions of both inhabitants and visitors over the centuries. In letters, diaries, travelogues and verse, Byron, Casanova, Goethe, Wagner, Dickens, Ruskin, Henry James, Jan Morris and others reflect on the island city’s architecture, its atmosphere, music, ceremonies and people.

The Antarctic remains a formidable challenge to explorers, as these 32 first-hand accounts make plain. Their subjects range from Cook’s 18th-century voyage, via 20th-century heroes such as Scott and Shackleton, to Lynne Cox’s epic, icy swim in 2002.

In 1939 Polish Army lieutenant Slavomir Rawicz was sentenced to 25 years forced labour in a Siberian prison camp. In this controversial story of endurance, Rawicz describes his imprisonment and alleged escape to India across the Himalayas and Gobi Desert.

Mark Linley reveals secrets of his craft and provides tips and assignments as he guides readers to produce drawings that really are funny. From doodling to focusing on facial features, he explains how to caricature friends and famous people. First published in 1999.

The nine walks in this book cover central London from Kensington to Clerkenwell. They explore each area's history and the varied communities – Italian, Chinese, artistic and gay – that have shaped it. Each walk can be accomplished in less than an hour, and has a map marking places of interest.