Books & Press: New review

The Uninvited Guest, by Sadie Jones

The Times said: "A crowd of survivors must be sheltered at Sterne — a strange and rather unsavoury group of shocked, restless people whose arrival sets off a chain of increasingly peculiar events. The wild card here is the youngest child, the neglected Imogen, what on earth is she up to? The literary ghost story is in vogue at the moment and this one is beautifully done." See Details »

Books & Television

The Little Paris Kitchen / BBC2

The latest in the long line of cookery programmes on television. Rachel Khoo serves up a modern twist on classic French cooking Rachel Khoo was determined to get to grips with French cooking, so to learn more she moved to Paris, not speaking a word of French, and enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu, the world-famous cookery school. Six years later, she still lives and works in Paris, cooking up a selection of classic French dishes from all over the country and giving them a fresh makeover with her own modern twists. From a Croque Madame muffin and the classic Boeuf bourguignon, to a deliciously fragrant Provencal lavender and lemon roast chicken, Rachel celebrates the culinary landscape of France as it is today and shows how simple these dishes are. See Details »

Books & Movies

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is already being lauded as the movie sensation of 2012. 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before and survival, for her, is second nature. See Details »

Books & radio

Escape from Camp 14 - BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week/ from Monday, March 26

By Blaine Harden. The story of Shin Dong-hyuk, who was born inside Camp 14, one of five sprawling political prisons in the mountains of North Korea, in 1982. During his incarceration he endured manual labour and torture, but managed to escape to the West in 2005. Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall. Read by Kerry Shale. See Details »

Books & Radio

Book at Bedtime - Stonemouth / Radio 4

By Iain Banks. Stewart Gilmour is back in Stonemouth. After 5 years in exile his presence is required at the funeral of patriarch Joe Murston, and even though the last time Stu saw the Murstons he was running for his life, staying away might be even more dangerous than turning up. See Details »

Books & Television

The Book Show/ Sky Arts 1

Alex James is a guest and talks about his new book which has very little to do with debauched rock music! As a hugely successful rock star in his late 30s, Blur bassist James realises he has only one career path. It's time to move to a very big house in the country and set up a farm. Swapping hedonistic nights in the Groucho for early morning starts, this book details James' transformation from rock god to cheesemaker. See Details »

Books & Social Networking

Who's talking about what on the Internet?

In this Charles Dickens' bicentennial year, we find out what bloggers are saying about the great man and what their davour Dickens' book is.Also, what are bloggers saying about new reviews, authors and bestsellers. Find out on our unique social networking page.. See Details »