The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, Alain de BottonWe spend most of our waking lives at work in occupations most often chosen by our inexperienced younger selves. And yet we rarely ask ourselves how we got there or what our jobs mean to us. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully exploring what other people wake up to do each day and night to make our frenzied world function. With a philosophical eye and his signature combination

and the stirrings of feminist rebellion

Beth begins to dream of a new life: her old one

inviting him back to that shack for a weekend

Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan - there is no need to wait and every reason not to

a powerful and massively discreet transglobal organisation

anticipate

As the world's largest democracy and a rising international economic power

'Be philosophical - then you won't need to think about it

Film Noir Light and Shadow explores an era before CGI – a time when every photon mattered and the lighting of a set served a grander purpose than simply rendering its subjects visible

but grows up to discover he has an extraordinary gift: a sense of smell more powerful than any other human's

making it desirable

tension-packed narrative that takes the reader from Langley deep into Iraq