Icon News & Events
The Etymologicon – now available as an audiobook!
Posted on 2012/05/03 in General, tagged as
Mark Forsyth’s brilliant and all-conquering bestseller The Etymologicon is published today as an unabridged audiobook, by AudioGo. And we have a sneak preview for you here – what does Queen Gunhilda have to do with your mobile phone? Visit the AudioGo website here to buy either CD set or the downloadable version.
Read an extract from The Shrink and the Sage: A Guide to Living – out now!
Posted on 2012/05/03 in General, tagged as
The Shrink and the Sage: A Guide to Living, written by British philosopher Julian Baggini, and therapist Antonia Macaro, is published today. From what Aristotle can teach us about practical wisdom to how the work of psychologists such as Daniel Kahneman can improve our decision-making, they offer eminently practical advice to many common personal dilemmas. Upbeat, enjoyable and thought-provoking, this brilliantly readable intellectual agony uncle… Read more »
See Kate Monro at the Queen’s Park Book Festival
Posted on 2012/05/02 in General, tagged as
Kate Monro, author of The First Time: True Tales of Virginity Lost and Found (Including My Own), will be at Queen’s Park Book Festival on 20th May, in the Qwerty tent, at 4pm. The First Time is a groundbreaking and very personal insight into modern sexuality. To find out more about the book go here or watch the video below. Tickets are £10 for the day (£8 concs) or £15 for a weekend ticket. To find out more about the festival go here. Journal of… Read more »
‘A profound understanding of Jones the man emerges’
Posted on 2012/04/30 in General, tagged as
Ireland’s Independent has reviewed Bobby’s Open by Steven Reid. Dermot Gilleece says, ‘I wasn’t disappointed. Acknowledging that few golfers have had more words written about them than Jones, [Reid] still manages to turn a number of fascinating fresh furrows.’ You can read more of the review here. Bobby’s Open is the inspirational story of a golfing legend and one of the game’s defining contests. Steven Reid joined us in the office last week to s… Read more »
Mark Forsyth – an ‘unruly’ look at the English Language
Posted on 2012/04/25 in General, tagged as
Mark ‘Etymologicon’ Forsyth was a guest of the wonderful people at Lost Lectures recently, and there gave a talk on, in their words, ‘what is considered ‘correct’ English: dispelling myths, highlighting inconsistencies and generally poking fun at what all our teachers taught us to be true. From prepositions to plurals he goes to the far reaches of the archives to tease out the most ridiculous rules that apparently govern our language, silencing e… Read more »
Mark Forsyth talks about Shakespeare’s 448th birthday
Posted on 2012/04/23 in General, tagged as
Mark Forsyth, author of The Etymologicon, discusses why Hamlet is EXACTLY 30 years old, wears a hat and has a beard, and recounts some scurrilous gossip about the Bard, who would be the ripe old age of 448 today. Find out more about The Etymologicon here and it’s successor, The Horologicon, here.
When you make a decision to do something your brain fires up about 1/3 of a second before you are consciously aware of making the decision
Posted on 2012/04/19 in General, tagged as
The Universe Inside You provides fascinating facts and mind-boggling science of the human body. You can share some of these facts with your family and friends using our infographic: Click the image to view a larger version. Many more facts can be discovered in The Universe Inside You, available now to buy now. To find out more about the book go here.
What connects the Grand National, yobs, wonks and a Dylan Thomas obscenity? Etymologicon author Mark Forsyth explains all…
Posted on 2012/04/14 in General, tagged as
See more about Mark Forsyth’s brilliant, Sunday Times Number One bestseller The Etymologicon here, and it’s sequel The Horologicon – which is published in November – here.
The Shrink and the Sage
Posted on 2012/04/13 in General, tagged as
Julian Baggini and Antonia Macaro’s brilliant new ‘Guide to Living’, The Shrink and the Sage has arrived at Icon HQ today. Should we be happy pessimists? How much should we care about our appearance? What should you do before you die? Philosopher Julian and therapist Antonia present their unique brand of self-help – with a distinctly cerebral edge in their new book, and attempt to answer questions like those above. In need of a little wisdom in y… Read more »
Third Man in Havana – caught in the slips at Icon
Posted on 2012/04/04 in General, tagged as
Tom Rodwell’s Third Man in Havana is published next month, by our sports imprint Corinthian, and copies have just arrived at the Icon pavilion in time for tea. The book follows Tom’s travels around the work finding the heart of cricket in exactly all the places you might least expect to find it. He plays games with the NYPD, with Jamaican prisoners, with blind children in Sierra Leone and at Beersheva Cricket Club in Israel – whose pavillon is co… Read more »
