A couple of months ago, I wrote a short post about the brilliant time I had at Ainsley Harriott’s house and posted some photos of the very delicious food he cooked for us (well, cooked for the video we were recording, but we got to eat it, and it sounds cool to say that Ainsley cooked for us, so I’m sticking with it).

The book is out on Thursday, and to celebrate its publication, we’ll be posting recipes from the book on Twitter – four great recipes in under 140 characters – that’s how simple they are to prepare! We’re using hashtag #foodin140 to group all the recipes together, and if you’re on Twitter and you’ve got some great recipes, we’re encouraging you to use it as well! Just shorten your recipes down, and include #foodin140 at the end.

You can find us on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/eburypublishing

Katie - Digital Marketing Executive

Last Seen in Lhasa by Claire Scobie. The moving true story of a deep friendship between a Western writer searching for a rare plant in the mountains of Tibet and the Tibetan nun she meets there.

Look inside the book

Chosen by Sue - Commissioning Editor

Shhhh - I have a secret to tell you.

Don’t tell anyone, because otherwise they’ll all be down on the 4th floor balcony with their cream and sugar but…

…

we have a strawberry on our strawberry plant.  Actually we have around 6 strawberries on two plants.

Do you see one there, hiding in the straw?  Okay, they’re not at the eating stage yet, but they soon will be…

Our tomato plants are also doing brilliantly.  In fact, almost all of our plants are thriving. A couple of them look a bit odd, but I’m sure they’ll bounce back!  I know it’s only three weeks in and we haven’t actually eaten any of the fruits of our labour yet, but hurrah for us!  Hurrah for urban gardening! Hurrah for Joe Swift for coming and showing us how to do it!

Can you tell I’m feeling enthusiastic? More news soon.

Katie - Digital Marketing Executive

Change Your Thinking with CBT by Dr. Sarah Edelman. A practical, sensitive guide to overcoming anxiety, stress and depression with cognitive behavioural therapy.

Chosen by Julia - Editor

Growth!

From this:

to this:

And from this:

to this:

Look at those strawberries, too!

More photos on Flickr

Katie - Digital Marketing Exec

Cracking the Freemason’s Code by Robert Cooper. An intriguing insight into the secretive world of freemasonry, explaining its history, rituals and symbolism, by an international authority.

Look inside this book

Chosen by Sue - Commissioning Editor

Despite the less than stellar weather, the balcony garden is looking great!  The grow bags finally arrived, and all of the plants have now been planted out.  There are flowers on the tomatoes and one or two flowers on the strawberries too!  Here’s hoping for a bumper crop!

Flowers on the tomato plants!

Flowers on the strawberries

Our growing garden

To see more photos and keep up to date with the garden, visit our Flickr page

Katie - Digital Marketing Exec

Inspired by the discovery of a 900-year-old grave and a bundle of rare documents, Frank Ching researched his family tree through thirty-four generations and nearly a millenium of ancestral history. The result was Ancestors, a dramatic history of his family and of China itself.

Writing Ancestors changed my life. I was very touched to hear from distant relatives, of whose very existence I hadn’t been previously aware, and I also learned that my book had inspired clan elders to update the family genealogy.

The chief editor of the new genealogy, Qin Zhihao, was an inspirational figure. One day, he asked if members of my family could help with the task of updating the information. I had to tell him that my only son, Jonathan, was still a teenager. However, he was quite interested in the project and accompanied Anna and me to Wuxi, where we visited the grave of our Song dynasty ancestor, the poet Qin Guan. The photograph of our visit was included in the new edition of the genealogy.

Work on the new edition brought together many members of the clan who did not know each other, as well as Qin family members overseas. When the Herculean task of publishing the genealogy was completed, the clan decided to set up a fraternity association so that its members could continue to meet, research their family histories, update family developments and provide assistance to Qin family members who come to Wuxi in search of their roots.

Interestingly, clan histories do not only bind members of a clan within China; they reach out to the Chinese diaspora around the world. The year 2009 marks the nine-hundredth-and-sixtieth anniversary of the poet Qin Guan’s birth in 1049. China has traditionally marked time in sixty-year cycles, so that means this year is the completion of sixteen sixty-year cycles. The completion of another sixty-year cycle will not happen again until the year 2069. The clan in Wuxi is planning a celebration of the occasion in late October (after China celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on October 1). They are hopeful that many of Qin Guan’s descendents will be drawn to Wuxi to honor the poet, whose grave has recently been renovated. (more…)

Who Moved My Cheese? By Dr. Spencer Johnson. The ultimate business bestseller about dealing with change - perfect for the recession!

Look inside this book

Chosen by Julia - Editor

Just got back from a very pleasant day on what must surely be the happiest film set ever. Round Ireland With A Fridge is being shot on location in leafy Wimbledon and I popped in to see Tony Hawks and his merry band of boys and girls.

In a casting masterstroke, Tony plays himself. The legendary Ed Bye directs. And today, Josie Lawrence was in filming her scenes as Tony’s madcap agent. There was a wonderful family atmosphere on set, and an incredibly chilled-out atmosphere.

Filming moves on to Wales next week and then to Dublin for the film’s thrilling finale. A very strange experience for me as Round Ireland With A Fridge was one of the first books I ever published at Ebury – over 10 years ago. And Tony’s been trying to get this film off the ground for almost as long. Now through tenacity, some very generous backers (huge fans of the book) and sheer bloody-mindedness, they seem to be on the home straight.

Pictures of Tony, Ed and Josie on and around set.

Can’t wait to see the finished thing.

Jake - Publisher