A SPECTATOR AND EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 'A joy. Each chapter instantly became my favourite' David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas 'Wonderful' Lucy Mangan 'The right book has a neverendingness, and so does the right bookshop.' This is the story of our love affair with books, whether we arrange them on our shelves, inhale their smell, scrawl in their margins or just curl up with them in bed. Taking us on a journey through comfort reads, street book stalls, mythical libraries, itinerant pedlars, radical pamphleteers, extraordinary bookshop customers and fanatical collectors, Canterbury bookseller Martin Latham uncovers the curious history of our book obsession - and his own. Part cultural history, part literary love letter and part reluctant memoir, this is the tale of one bookseller and many, many books. 'If ferreting through bookshops is your idea of heaven, you'll get the same pleasure from this treasure trove of a book' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express

The death of a scholar, the birth of a detective... Oxford, Spring 1353. When young bookseller Nicholas Elyot discovers the body of William Farringdon floating in the River Cherwell, all the signs point to suicide. Soon, however, Nicholas discovers evidence of murder. Who could have wanted to kill this promising student? As Nicholas and his close friend Jordain try to unravel what lies behind William’s death, they learn that he was innocently caught up in a criminal plot. When their investigations begin to involve town, university, and abbey, Nicholas takes a risky gamble – and puts his family in terrible danger in order to uncover the truth. A thrilling historical mystery full of twists and intrigue, perfect for fans of Ellis Peters, Paul Doherty and E. M. Powell.

The legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the great tales of American folklore, supposedly stemming from Washington Irving's famous short story. But what if there was more to the ghostly fable than meets the eye? What if Irving's account was based on fact? And what if the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow was not unique, but merely one of a strange line of malevolent spirits sighted across the world, bringing misfortune to all that witness them? Within this book you will find long-forgotten lore about the headless spirits that have plagued mankind for centuries, and perhaps even now seek ingress into our world. The Headless Horseman, and others like him, is at large in the dark places of the world, and should one encounter such a revenant, it is said that tragedy will surely follow...

In California, Agnes, a giant Pacific octopus, pens a series of postcards to strangers from both above and below the pier.

How Bill de Blasio’s mayoral victory triggered a seismic shift in the nation’s urban political landscape—and what it portends for our cities in the future In November 2013, a little-known progressive stunned the elite of New York City by capturing the mayoralty by a landslide. Bill de Blasio's promise to end the "Tale of Two Cities" had struck a chord among ordinary residents still struggling to recover from the Great Recession. De Blasio's election heralded the advent of the most progressive New York City government in generations. Not since the legendary Fiorello La Guardia in the 1930s had so many populist candidates captured government office at the same time. Gotham, in other words, had been suddenly reclaimed in the name of its people. How did this happen? De Blasio's victory, journalist legend Juan González argues, was not just a routine change of government but a popular rebellion against corporate-friendly policies that had dominated New York for decades. Reflecting that broader change, liberal Democrats Bill Peduto in Pittsburgh, Betsy Hodges in Minneapolis, and Martin Walsh of Boston also won mayoral elections that same year, as did insurgent Ras Baraka in Newark the following year. This new generation of municipal leaders offers valuable lessons for those seeking grassroots reform.