*Twit Twoo* Our Valentine’s Day 2015 Gift Ideas…

It’s one week to go until the big day, but no fear! SP are here with a list of some of our more romantically-inclined books for you to treat your special loved one with….

*note* These books are guaranteed to make your partner much happier than a Fifty Shades of Grey ticket.

1. Love Letters in the Sand by Khalil Gibran

Love Letters in the Sand, composed of extracts from some of Gibran’s most famous works, including The Prophet, is a collection of beautiful poems by one of the world’s greatest mystics. They evoke that special joy and excitement in the newness of love and the desire it awakens in you.

2. She Comes First by Ian Kerner

Continually recommended by Suzi Godson, sex columnist for The Times, She Comes First, by Ian Kerner, is a witty, well-researched and revealing guide to bringing a woman to orgasm every time through cunnilingus. Oral sex has long been regarded as foreplay, a mere prelude to intercourse; now, Ian Kerner ushers in a new sexual era where it can be the focus of sexual “coreplay”. Essential to both beginners and experienced lovers.

3. Victoria by Knut Hamsun

This beautiful and moving story of young love is a classic of European literature, by Nobel Prize winning author Knut Hamsun.

It follows Johannes, the miller’s son, and Victoria, daughter of the lord of the manor, as they enjoy a brief moment of ecstasy that is as transitory as their dreams. They are forever separated by their class, and circumstances force them into perverse cruelty to each other.

Yet, Victoria cannot live without her Johannes.

4. Talk Dirty To Me by Sallie Tisdale

Published as part of our celebrated Independent Voices collection, Talk Dirty to Me is a frank, funny, and provocative journey through gender and desire. It ranges from romance and pornography, prostitution and morality, to fantasies and orgasm. Sallie Tisdale guides us through her research of peep shows, sex shops, and even the pornography collection of the British Library.

5. The Life That I Have by Leo Marks

This poignant, haunting poem, originally written for the author’s fiancée Ruth who died in a plane crash in 1943, was given to the SOE agent Violette Szabo as her code poem, before she was dropped into occupied France in 1944. It afterwards became famous through the film of her life, Carve Her Name With Pride, starring Virginia McKenna, and has been a source of inspiration ever since for loved ones everywhere.

See some of Elena Gaussen Marks’ beautiful illustrations below…

6. Love: The Joy That Wounds by Rumi

The love poems by the great thirteenth-century Persian poet, Jelaluddin Rumi, founder of the Whirling Dervishes of Sufism, are both mystical and a mystery. Are they addressed to his mentor, the wandering Shams of Tabriz (who converted him to a life of joy when he was thirty-eight), or to God, or to a lover?

Reflecting the complexities and paradoxes of love and devotion – separation, cruelty, and break-up – they are poems of great power and emotional intensity, of exuberant passion and overflowing imagination.

Happy Valentine’s! (You can thank us later….)

August news from Souvenir Press

Our August newsletter went out to all our e-newsletter subscribers yesterday, but if you’ve not signed up yet, fear not! You can now view our August newsletter online. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, find out about an exciting summer e-book offer, and discover the latest news from some of our authors.

You can also read the back issues of the Souvenir Press newsletter here.

Want to sign up so you get the newsletter straight to your inbox next month? No problem – you can sign up here.

Enjoy!

 

Author Corner: Jena Pincott on the Surprising Science of Pregnancy

The latest post in our Author Corner comes from Jena Pincott, author of Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? The book explores the weird and wonderful science of pregnancy – the why rather than the how-to, and is a fascinating must-read for curious mums- and dads-to-be.

 Her guest blog post tackles 12 old wives’ tales about pregnancy, including morning sickness, baby brain and labour pain. All these and more can be found in her new book Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? which is available now from Souvenir Press in hardcover, paperback and as an e-book.

 Science vs. Pregnancy Myths

Science tackles 12 old wives’ tales about pregnancy.  Guess which ones endure?

Myth #1: Girls steal their mothers’ beauty:  False. You might even argue that being pregnant with a girl enhances your beauty! Statistically speaking, women carrying girls have more sex during pregnancy than those carrying boys.  Our breasts also grow larger when carrying a girl than a boy.

Myth #2:  You’re eating for two. Not really. You’re actually eating for 1.1.  Even in third trimester, this means eating only, say, three bananas more daily than you would pre-pregnancy.

Myth #3:  You’ll crave dirt and clay.  Possibly true. The scientific explanation: Clay seals the stomach — and, in the past, may have helped to protect mother and foetus from toxins, bacteria, and viruses.

Myth #4: Basketballs are boys, watermelons are girls:  False.  Truth is, your belly can be both a basketball and a watermelon during different phases of the pregnancy.  If you’re pregnant with your first child, you’ll carry higher for longer into the pregnancy because the ligaments holding up the baby are tighter.

Myth #5: Girls make us sicker than boys:  Somewhat true.  A hormone called hCG contributes to pregnancy sickness. Generally speaking, female foetuses put out higher levels of hCG than do male foetuses.

Myth #6: More babies come out on a full moon.  False. The full moon doesn’t trigger labour, according to multiple studies that track births and the lunar calendar. (Note:  Nor are more loony people admitted to psych wards at this time.)

Myth #7:  You can induce your own labour.  Mostly false. In studies, most home-induction remedies such as walking, sex, spicy foods, castor oil haven’t had any significant effect on triggering labour.  BUT there is limited evidence that nipple stimulation (breast pumping) helps the process along if you’re already close to going into labour naturally.

Myth #8: The Chinese birth calendar accurately predicts gender.  False. Multiple studies have shown that when it comes to predicting gender, the Chinese birth calendar is no more accurate than flipping a coin.

Myth #9: Babies look like their fathers.  Not necessarily.  Of course some do, but this doesn’t happen as a rule. The strange thing is that we really think babies often look like their dads— possibly because fathers favour look-alikes. From an evolutionary perspective, this may have reduced the risk of infanticide.

Myth #10: Pregnancy is a turn-off for men. Nope. To the contrary, some studies find that men are generally as attracted or more attracted to their wives during pregnancy than beforehand. While couples may not have sex as often as before (expectant fathers may have a lower sex drive), pregnancy is not the turn-off they fear. From an evolutionary perspective, the pregnant woman benefits from her mate’s support, and sex helps couples bond.

Myth #11:  You’ll forget all about the pain.  Maybe. There’s a 50/50 chance that, five years from now, you’ll think labour pains were less painful than they felt at the time.  Only a small percentage of women look back at their labour pain and remember it as worse than they felt at the time.

Myth #12:  You’ll get pregnesia.  Probably. Many (but not all) studies find that pregnant women experience difficulty storing and retrieving memories. This may be due to hormones or the foetus diverting resources to grow her own brain. While your visual memory is intact (in fact, your ability to recognize and remember faces is better than ever), your ability to remember to do what you  say you’re going to do, or recall a name or street address, may be impaired.   Women carrying girls may be especially afflicted.

 

Latest reviews

What better way to end the working week than with a round-up of all the latest wonderful reviews and media attention that Souvenir Press titles have been attracting over the last week or so?

Have a read of the most recent reviews, and please do let us know if you see any on the web that we’ve missed!

Welcome to Biscuit Land by Jessica Thom

“Jess writes openly and honestly about living with Tourettes and about the ways in which it can and does affect her daily life. I found this an informative, honest and very moving account and found I learned a lot about Tourettes… I’m really glad to have read this book, to have had the opportunity to get to know Jess Thom a little through her words and to have discovered more about what Tourettes is like through her open, moving and brave first-hand account.” – The Little Reader Library blog (read the full review)

“Teaching the world about Tourette’s… celebrate the creativity and humour.” – The Daily Express (read the full article)

Telling Tales in Latin by Lorna Robinson

” I live in perpetual search of the perfect Latin textbook, and this book is very close indeed! … An excellent choice of text to teach children aged 9 and upwards the rudiments of Latin, and as the book has all the vocabulary needed for the OCR exam, it is a very versatile text.” – The Garden Window blog (read the full review)

She Comes First by Ian Kerner

“Before you give up on oral sex… if you yourself don’t know what the options are… get yourself a copy of Ian Kerner’s manifesto She Comes First: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pleasuring a Woman and make sure your boyfriend reads it too… It is a veritable paean to the art of good oral sex, packed with instructive sentences… I cannot recommend it highly enough.” – Suzi Godson, The Times

Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? by Jena Pincott

“In-depth, yet accessible, this is a great read for any info-craving mother (or father)-to-be.” – BBC Focus

“Pregnancy is a weird and wonderful time for your body… Jena Pincott reveals some of the quirkiest secrets of this fascinating experience.” – Prima Baby

Where the Ghosts Walk by Peter Underwood

“Britain’s number one ghost hunter… A monumental volume, destined to become one of the very best in the landscape of paranormal literature.” – Cornish Guardian

The FitMama Method by Marie Behenna

“So informative and written in such warm, friendly manor. It’s full of useful information on diet and fitness during pregnancy, breathing techniques and birthing positions.” – EverythingIsRosy blog (read the full blog post)

Have you written a review of a Souvenir Press title and want it to be included in our next review round-up here on the blog? Leave me a message in the comments, on Facebook, on Twitter, or by email using the address in the Contact Us page.

This week’s review round-up

With more wonderful reviews coming in this week for a whole variety of different Souvenir Press titles, this is your chance to read extracts of them all in one place. As always, we’ve got a great mix of titles in here – just another reminder of the eclectic mix we publish here at Souvenir Press.

Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? – Jena Pincott

“A fun take on the traditional pregnancy book… with lots of unusual information… A great read… It really gives you an understanding about what’s happening to you, both physically and psychologically.” – Book of the Month, Pregnancy & Birth magazine (review not online at present)

The Book – Alan Watts

“Watts’ views are therefore now more relevant than ever … this last great taboo – the question of who or what we are – could never be more pressing.” – Philosophyonline.co.uk

Modesty Blaise – Peter O’Donnell

“A rollicking adventure that outpaces James Bond at his most lethal.” – Daily Mail

Terribly English – Rupert Besley

“What’s funny about the English? … Quite a lot… A guide book with a difference… a gem.” – Let’s Talk (review not available online)

Are you a blogger interested in reviewing any of the titles from Souvenir Press? Take a look at our blog post, ‘Calling All Bloggers’ for information on how to get in touch. I’ll be happy to send you a copy of our latest catalogue to peruse – just give me a shout.

Have you seen a review that we’ve missed? Let me know!

Introducing: Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?

This is the next post in our series introducing you to our new spring titles for 2013. If you missed our previous post, you can read about How Puzzles Improve Your Brain.

Our second title, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies by Jena Pincott is published today. Already it is attracting a lot of attention from the media and bloggers alike, particularly after it was featured in The Daily Mail at the beginning of the month.

A pregnancy book like no other, it looks at the why of pregnancy, rather than the how-to. The QI of maternity books, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies is packed with facts that will intrigue and surprise expectant mums and dads. Science writer Jena Pincott provides a deeper understanding of what is happening to both mother and baby as mum’s pregnancy progresses.

Find out:

What the shape of your bump really means
Why labour so often starts in the early hours of the morning
How your sense of smell changes during pregnancy
Where the maternal instinct comes from
What foetuses learn when they eavesdrop

And much more. Using research from the latest studies in biology, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology and epigenetics, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies is a fascinating supplement to the typical maternity guide, and will answer countless queries that expectant mums and dads will have about the surprising science of pregnancy.

In the next couple of weeks we looking forward to bringing you a guest blog post from author Jena Pincott herself. She will share with you some of her favourite pregnancy facts, taken from Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies. Given that she started researching the book during her own pregnancy, it will be particularly interesting to see which facts have intrigued her the most.

Available now in hardback, paperback and as an e-book, now is your chance to uncover some amazing facts about pregnancy and discover the answers to questions that you might not have even thought of!

Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?

How many times have you been told that chocolate is bad for you? Maybe it’s time to have a re-think: a recent study shows that during pregnancy, and in moderation, chocolate could actually be beneficial for both mother and baby.

In the Daily Mail today, and on their website, you can read an exclusive extract from Jena Pincott’s new book Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? published later this month by Souvenir Press. It uses the latest medical understanding to uncover the surprising science of pregnancy, and answer some of the most common questions.

From morning sickness to the shape of your bump, find out what your body is telling you about your unborn child. It turns out that how your body changes during pregnancy can reveal a lot about what your baby will be like when he or she arrives. You can predict their tastes and their temperament, and there’s even a way to predict the gender of your unborn child before the 16-week mark which is generally recognised by doctors as the earliest date when you can tell with any accuracy whether your baby will be a boy or a girl.

Published simultaneously in hardback and paperback, you can find full information about Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? on the Souvenir Press website.