Literary power couple Zadie Smith and Nick Laird chat to Nihal Arthanayake about their collaborative project, ‘Weirdo’, a children’s book featuring exquisite illustrations from Magenta Fox. 

In this episode, Zadie and Nick discuss the joy of removing words from their work, the virtues of rawness in writing, and the inspiration they take from the internal life of their ageing pug, Maud. #PenguinPodcast   

‘Weirdo’ is available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/3eC4wkr

The Penguin Podcast: Zadie Smith and Nick Laird with Nihal Arthanayake

Who needs a ladder when you’ve got a giraffe with an extended neck? 

The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company certainly doesn't. They don’t need a pail, either, because they have a pelican with a bucket-sized beak. With a monkey to do the washing and Billy as their manager, this business is destined for success. Now they have their big break—a chance to clean all 677 windows of the Hampshire House, owned by the richest man in all of England! That’s exciting enough, but along the way there are surprises and adventures beyond their wildest window-washing dreams.

Included in Fantastic Mr. Fox and Other Animal Stories, on sale September 26

Available for purchase at:
<a href="http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781611761832,00.html?Fantastic_Mr._Fox_and_Other_Animal_Stories_Chris_O%27Dowd">Penguin.com - Audiobook (CD format)</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Mr-Other-Animal-Stories/dp/1611761832">Amazon - Audiobook (CD format)</a>
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fantastic-mr-fox-and-other-animal-stories-roald-dahl/1114771370?cm_mmc=affiliates-_-linkshare-_-ev0de4uoclu-_-10%3a1&ean=9781611761832&isbn=9781611761832&r=1">Barnes & Noble - Audiobook (CD format)</a>

The Giraffe and The Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl, read by Hugh Laurie

Tiny Tales for the Piano Vol. 1

Merry-Go-Round

Here is a Facebook challenge where we had to come up with a 30 second idea representing the picture given. Musically I went with the idea of us all tentatively coming out of lockdown and the joy of meeting up with our loved ones again.

A NEW BEGINNING (30 second Composer Challenge)

Today we present an excerpt from a talk that David gave in front of a live audience. It covers procrastination, what type of people are the most susceptible to getting stuck, and how to stop procrastinating on your taxes….and everything else.

Ep: 89 - How to Stop Procrastinating On Your Taxes (...And Everything Else)

Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Dr Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her. Desperate for a solution, Camilla asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. But, without the blueprint to life she was hoping for, Camilla began to create her own. Now armed with a PhD in biochemistry, Camilla dismantles our obscure social customs and identifies what it really means to be human using her unique expertise and a language she knows best: science.

Through a set of scientific principles, this book examines life's everyday interactions including: Decisions and the route we take to make them; Conflict and how we can avoid it; Relationships and how we establish them; Etiquette and how we conform to it.

Explaining Humans is an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms, written from the outside looking in. Camilla's unique perspective of the world, in turn, tells us so much about ourselves - about who we are and why we do it - and is a fascinating guide on how to lead a more connected, happier life.

Explaining Humans Chapter 2

The first novel from the award-winning, best-selling author of Everything I Know About Love. 

32-year-old Nina Dean is a successful food writer with a loyal online following, but a life that is falling apart. When she uses dating apps for the first time, she becomes a victim of ghosting, and by the most beguiling of men. Her beloved dad is vanishing in slow motion into dementia, and she's starting to think about ageing and the gendered double-standard of the biological clock. On top of this she has to deal with her mother's desire for a mid-life makeover and the fact that all her friends seem to be slipping away from her.... 

Dolly Alderton's debut novel is funny, tender and painfully relatable, filled with whip-smart observations about relationships and the way we live today.

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, read by Holliday Grainger

‘Gavin and Stacey’ co-creator and actor Ruth Jones chats to Nihal about her second novel ‘Us Three’ - a story about enduring female friendships. 

She talks about objects that have inspired her including a pair of pink trainers and Wales (the country). Plus why she never ever wants to return to Glastonbury #PenguinPodcast 

‘Us Three’ is available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/3i9x6u9

The Penguin Podcast: Ruth Jones with Nihal Arthanayake

Three years after a virus wiped out 99% of the men on earth, a mother and son are on the run . . .

All Cole has left in the world is her boy, Miles.

With men now a prized commodity, keeping him safe means breaking hastily written new rules - and leaving her own sister for dead.

All Miles has left in the world is his mother.

But is one person enough to save him from the many who would kill to get their hands on a living boy?

Together, Cole and Miles embark on a journey across a changed, hostile country, towards a freedom they may never reach. And when Cole's sister tracks them down, they'll need to decide who to trust - and what loyalty really means in this unimaginable new world.

The compulsive and long-awaited new thriller from the author of Richard and Judy bestseller The Shining Girls and the prize-winning Zoo City

Afterland

“The Trunchbull” is no match for Matilda!

Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It'll take a superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves and Matilda may be just the one to do it!

On sale July 3, 2013

Available for purchase at:
<a href="http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781611761849,00.html?Matilda_Roald_Dahl">Penguin.com - Audiobook (CD format)</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Matilda-Roald-Dahl/dp/1611761840/ref=tmm_abk_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1372085784&sr=8-1">Amazon - Audiobook (CD format)</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Matilda/dp/B00DD4LVCG/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1372085784&sr=8-1">Amazon - Audiobook (downloadable format)</a>
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/matilda-roald-dahl/1100017610?ean=9781611761849">Barnes & Noble - Audiobook (CD format)</a>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/matilda-unabridged/id659767923?uo=4">iTunes - Audiobook (downloadable format)</a>
<a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00D8J55SW&qid=1372086147&sr=1-1">Audible - Audiobook (downloadable format)</a>
<a href="http://www.emusic.com/book/roald-dahl/matilda/10131750/">emusic.com - Audiobook (downloadable format)</a>

Matilda by Roald Dahl, read by Kate Winslet

Terror groups and separatists run riot in the sprawling region, and France has had <a href="https://espresso.economist.com/9f5a14374960400c7f537198d1e26acd?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">some success</a> in keeping the peace. But how, and when, to draw down its troops? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Trade Organisation’s history-making new leader, has <a href="https://espresso.economist.com/81517079882bbb04ab3b2c1fb244f336?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">quite the task</a> ahead to rebuild trust in and among the institution’s members. And the <a href="https://espresso.economist.com/4f4c7d3dd85ea84eb208d7cd031dbfe7?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">worrying shifts</a> in subsea soundscapes.&nbsp;Additional audio courtesy Jana Winderen. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

Desert stands: France in the Sahel

Penguin Books publishes blockbusting, prize-winning, celebrated, controversial, heart-warming, thought-provoking and inspiring books by a range of authors from Ali Smith to Zadie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Paxman and Jamie Oliver to Oliver Goldsmith.

The Penguin Podcast: Ruth Jones with Nihal Arthanayake

Penguin Books UK

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