This is your introduction into the fascinating world of these hand-crafted objects of utility and sentiment. Classic in simplicity of form, spoons can be carved into an almost endless assortment of shapes ranging from primitive to contemporary. 23 full-size patterns -- ready for you to use -- are included.

Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting, is up to his old tricks with his new work of transgressive short fiction. Irvine Welsh's first short-story collection since his debut work The Acid House presents five extraordinary stories, which remind us that he is a master of the short form, a brilliant storyteller, and—unarguably—one of today's funniest and most subversive writers. In "Rattlesnakes" three young Americans, lost in the desert, are accosted by two armed Mexicans. A Korean chef and a Chicago socialite find themselves connected through the disappearance of a pooch named Toto in "The D.O.G.S. of Lincoln Park." And in the title story, Mickey Baker—an ex-pat English bar owner living on the Costa Brava—tries to keep all of his balls in the air: maintaining his barmaid's weight at the sexual maximum, attending to the youthful Persephone, and dodging his ex-wife and Spanish gangsters. In typically Welshian fashion, the characters and settings are anything but typical. These stories will make you laugh and gasp.

Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce by marrying the English king's beloved illegitimate daughter, Joanna, who slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband. But as John's attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales---and Llewelyn---Joanna must decide where her love and loyalties truly lie. The turbulent clashes of two disparate worlds and the destinies of the individuals caught between them spring to life in this magnificent novel of power and passion, loyalty and lies. The book that began the trilogy that includes Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning, Here Be Dragons brings thirteenth-century England, France, and Wales to tangled, tempestuous life.

A WWII-era Welsh barmaid begins a secret relationship with a German POW in this “beautiful” novel by the author of A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself (Ann Patchett). Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Set in the stunning landscape of North Wales just after D-Day, this critically acclaimed debut novel traces the intersection of disparate lives in wartime. When a prisoner-of-war camp is established near her village, seventeen-year-old barmaid Esther Evans finds herself strangely drawn to the camp and its forlorn captives. She is exploring the camp boundary when an astonishing thing occurs: A young German corporal calls out to her from behind the fence. From that moment on, the two begin an unlikely—and perilous—romance. Meanwhile, a German-Jewish interrogator travels to Wales to investigate Britain’s most notorious Nazi prisoner, Rudolf Hess. In this richly drawn and thought-provoking “tour de force,” all will come to question the meaning of love, family, loyalty, and national identity (The New Yorker). “If you loved The English Patient, there’s probably a place in your heart for The Welsh Girl.” —USA Today “Davies’s characters are marvelously nuanced.” —Los Angeles Times “Beautifully conjures a place and its people, in an extraordinary time . . . A rare gem.” —Claire Messud, author of The Woman Upstairs “This first novel by Davies, author of two highly praised short story collections, has been anticipated—and, with its wonderfully drawn characters, it has been worth the wait.” —Booklist, starred review

'Who made an ache under my rib?'. Asks the poet on the first page of Love from Wales, and just what makes the Welsh a passionate race? This new selection of poetry and prose on the theme of love by Welsh poet Tony Curtis and novelist Sian James offers some lively answers. Love from Wales features extracts from novels and short stories, as well as complete poems and letters, ranging from the eleventh century to the present. The book includes many translations from the original Welsh. We begin in the Spring section, with the awkward adolescents of Dylan Thomas's Extraordinary Little Cough and Dannie Abse's Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve, then move towards the full Summer love of Gillian Clarke's Choughs who 'mate for life' and John Ormond's lovely poem to his wife, Design for a Quilt. Then it's onward to Autumn where love ripens into Alun Richards's The Scandalous Thoughts of Elmyra Mouth. Here we find Caradoc Evans's sly tale of a farmer's son sent off to market to find a wife akin to A Heifer Without Blemish. Finally, to Winter and Alun Lewis's poignant Post-script for Gweno, R.S. Thomas's stern Like That, and Vernon Watkin's moving Great Night Returning. Other writers featured include: Jean Earle, Gwyn Thomas, David Lloyd George, Richard Llewellyn, Emyr Humphreys, Jean Rhys, Idris Davies, John Tripp, and many more.