A beautiful collaboration between Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch and illustrator Pamela Tait, resulting in visual reinterpretations of the band's most-loved songs. From the imagined lives of the passengers riding Glasgow buses in the early 1990s to questions raised about the status quo and musings on the meaning of religion, Stuart Murdoch, front man of Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian, has written some of the most captivating lyrics of the past two decades. Belle and Sebastian recorded their first critically acclaimed album Tigermilk in three days in 1996, and over the course of their career have played a sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic, and famously forgot their drummer, dressed in his pajamas, outside a Walmart. Their songs have animated many film soundtracks, developing a cult following that has helped to define the sound of music as we know it today. Belle and Sebastian: Illustrated Lyrics combines words selected from over twenty-four years of Belle and Sebastian songs with specially commissioned illustrations from Scottish artist Pamela Tait, whose intricate and whimsical characters Stuart Murdoch stumbled upon and fell in love with when he rediscovered old fan email Pamela had sent to him over a decade ago. Set with expressive typography, and with notes on the illustrations from Tait at the back of the book, this is an exceptional publication that will seduce even the most devoted fans into “seeing” these wonderful songs afresh.

Music.

"Deep beautiful, and true--a classic from cover to cover." --#1 New York Times bestselling author Eoin Colfer There are more secrets in the ocean than in the sky... Ten-year-old Julia loves the mysteries of the ocean and marine biology, just like her scientist mother. Her family is spending the summer on a remote island where her mom is searching for the elusive Greenland shark, a creature that might be older than the trees, and so rare that it’s only been seen a few times. But the ocean is reluctant to give up its secrets, and Julia tries not to worry as her mother returns disappointed at the end of each day. Determined to prove that the shark is real, Julia sets off on a quest to find it herself, armed with a set of coordinates, a compass, and her trusty rain jacket. She soon realizes that there are some journeys you shouldn’t go on alone. As Julia comes face to face with the dark and wondrous truths of the sea, she finds the strength to leave the shark in the depths and kick up towards the light. Through a unique blend of poetic prose and stunning illustrations, Julia and the Shark tells an unforgettable story full of dark depths and starry skies, courage and hope. This lyrical, deeply moving middle grade novel about one family’s fierce love and resilience is perfect for starting conversations about mental health and how it’s okay to not be okay.

No one dies in Office Girl. Nobody talks about the international political situation. There is no mention of any economic collapse. Nothing takes place during a World War. Instead, this novel is about young people doing interesting things in the final moments of the last century. Odile is a twenty-three-year-old art-school dropout, a minor vandal and a hopeless dreamer. Jack is a twenty-five-year-old shirker who's most happy capturing the endless noises of the city on his out-of-date tape recorder. Together they decide to start their own art movement in defiance of a contemporary culture made dull by both the tedious and the obvious. Set in February 1999 — just before the end of one world and the beginning of another — Office Girl is the story of two people caught between the uncertainty of their futures and the all-too-brief moments of modern life. 'A love story on bicycles' Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief 'Wonderful storytelling panache' The Wall Street Journal 'Fresh and funny' The New York Times 'A sweetheart of a novel' Kirkus Review 'Meno has constructed a snowflake-delicate inquiry into alienation and longing' Booklist

Extravagant visual tribute to the spandex, rouge and eyeliner days of 80s glam rock glory. Colour photographs, interviews, lyrics and keepsakes of the uninhibited teased-hair days of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Steven Blush edited the successful punk rock history American Hardcore (Feral House) and also wrote the screenplay to the feature-length documentary of the same name that debuted at Sundance and will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Taking a personal approach to the subject matter, Timothy Gray reads criticism and listens to music as though rock 'n' roll not only explains American culture, but also shores up his life. In It's Just the Normal Noises, Gray examines a wide array of writing about roots music from the 1960s to the 2000s. In addition to chapters on the genre-defining work of Peter Guralnick and Greil Marcus, he explores the influential writings of Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock, the editors of No Depression magazine, and the writers who contributed to its pages, Bill Friskicks-Warren, Ed Ward, David Cantwell, and Allison Stewart among them. A host of memoirists and novelists, from Patti Smith and Ann Powers to Eleanor Henderson and Dana Spiotta, shed light on the social effects and personal attachments of the music's many manifestations, from punk to alt country to hardcore.