What a time to be alive: That and other lies in the 2016 campaign is the ugly and un-sanitised diary behind the curtain of the double dissolution election campaign. A poll fought between two wildly ambitious men who want to win their first election, whatever it takes. Mark Di Stefano finds out what is happening behind the scenes and how the two campaigns manufacture, massage and manipulate their parties, policies and principles. What a time to be alive documents the daily ride of an historic election campaign, week by long week, taking you into the bizarre world of staged photo ops, booze-drenched regrets and dirty direct messages. The exposure of the unscripted moments with political leaders, their over-worked staff and secretive minders, shows how the sausage that is this Australian election, is made and reveals what is really inside.

“This is the book where self-help turns into helping the world—and then turns back into helping yourself find a better life. Fascinating and timely!”—Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet What does it take to achieve a successful and satisfying life? Not long ago, the answer seemed as simple as following a straightforward path: college, career, house, marriage, kids, and a secure retirement. Not anymore. Staggering student loan debt, sweeping job shortages, a chronically ailing economy—plus the larger issues of global unrest, poverty, and our imperiled environment—make the search for fulfillment more challenging. And, as Colin Beavan, activist and author of No Impact Man, proclaims, more exciting. In this breakthrough book, Beavan extends a hand to those seeking more meaning and joy in life even as they engage in addressing our various world crises. How to Be Alive nudges the unfulfilled toward creating their own version of the Good Life—a life where feeling good and doing good intersect. He urges readers to reexamine the “standard life approaches” to pretty much everything and to experiment with life choices that are truer to their values, passions, and concerns. How do you stop placing limits on your potential impact? How do you make your choices really matter in everything from your clothing purchases to your career? How do you find the people who will most support you in your quest for a good life? To answer these questions and more, Beavan draws on classic literature and philosophy; surprising new scientific findings; and the uplifting personal stories of real-life “lifequesters”—people who are breaking away from those old broken paths, blazing fresh trails, and reveling in every step along the way. “There is a movement afoot for a better life and Colin Beavan is its prophet, with a new book as powerful as his already classic No Impact Man.”—John de Graaf, coauthor of Affluenza

Deryn Rees-Jones's new collection won a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation. It explores relationships with men and the wider cultural constructions of masculinity In poems such as Making Out, and From His Coy Mistress, the dilemmas of modern women are confronted with dark humor and sharp technique in a series of blistering narratives, while intensely realized love poems chart the passionate initiation of new relationships. Love, in all its permutations, suffuses the book, and sensuous details abound. Rees-Jones's first collection, The Memory Tray, was shortlisted for a Forward Poetry Prize for Best First Collection.

*MATT HAIG’S NEW NOVEL THE LIFE IMPOSSIBLE IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW * Order THE COMFORT BOOK. Available now! THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEEL TRULY ALIVE? Aged 24, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth. 'I wrote this book because the oldest clichés remain the truest. Time heals. The bottom of the valley never provides the clearest view. The tunnel does have light at the end of it, even if we haven't been able to see it . . . Words, just sometimes, really can set you free.'

"To come across Gavin in person or in anecdote was always a pleasure. He was an inspiration and.. a true journalist" - James Brown Gavin Hills wrote about football and nightclubs, computer games and drugs. He reported on wars and famine, child soldiers in Africa, guerillas in South America and his own struggles with mental health at home. And also about football casuals, parties in Eurodisney and the Berlin Love Parade. He won an Amnesty International Award for his reporting. He got marriage proposals from his readers. He was loved by everyone who met him, and by quite a few others who had only read his words. His writing could be hilarious and heart-breaking, sometimes even in the same sentence. He wrote for The Faceand The Idler, for national newspapers and skateboard magazines. He founded Phat, the short-lived but innovative lads mag that inspired Loaded. He edited the official Manchester United and England football magazines. Selected by his long-time editor at The Face magazine, Sheryl Garratt, with a new foreword by Miranda Sawyer, Bliss to be Alive is a unique journey through the late eighties and nineties with this brilliant and much-missed writer. One of the most original journalists of his generation, he died tragically in May 1997. "An inspirational catalyst, Hills' writing lights up the page" - Robert Newman "Big, beautiful, bonkers, a little balding, bold and brave like a lion, a true crusader. Nothing I write about Gavin is good enough: not funny enough, not wild enough or tender enough, and it doesn't do what In want to, which is make him alive again." - Miranda Sawyer

In What A Time To Be Alone,The Slumflower will be your life guru, confidante and best friend. She’ll show you that being alone is not just okay: it’s just about the best freaking thing that’s ever happened to you. As she says, ‘You’re bad as hell and you were made with intention.’ It’s about time you realised. Peppered with insightful Igbo proverbs from Chidera’s Nigerian mother and full of her own original artwork, What A Time To Be Alone will help you navigate the modern world. We can all decide our own fates and Chidera shows us how, using a three-part approach filled with sass, wisdom and charm. Learn how to celebrate YOU – decide your self-worth, take time to heal and empower yourself in this messy world. Don’t worry about THEM – avoid other people’s demons and realise that everyone is protecting themselves from something – no matter how aggressive their method. Feel the togetherness in US – sustain and grow healthy relationships and avoid toxicity in your friendships. Own your story. Create your own narrative. Read this book. #WATTBA

Trauma does not just happen to a few unlucky people; it is the bedrock of our psychology. Death and illness touch us all, but even the everyday sufferings of loneliness and fear are traumatic. In The Trauma of Everyday Life renowned psychiatrist and author of Thoughts Without a Thinker Mark Epstein uncovers the transformational potential of trauma, revealing how it can be used for the mind's own development. Epstein finds throughout that trauma, if it doesn't destroy us, wakes us up to both our minds' own capacity and to the suffering of others. It makes us more human, caring and wise. It can be our greatest teacher, our freedom itself, and it is available to all of us. Western psychology teaches that if we understand the cause of trauma, we might move past it while many drawn to Eastern practices see meditation as a means of rising above, or distancing themselves from, their most difficult emotions. Both, Epstein argues, fail to recognize that trauma is an indivisible part of life and can be used as a tool for growth and an ever deeper understanding of change. When we regard trauma with this perspective, understanding that suffering is universal and without logic, our pain connects us to the world on a more fundamental level. Guided by the Buddha's life as a profound example of the power of trauma, Epstein's also closely examines his own experience and that of his psychiatric patients to help us all understand that the way out of pain is through it.