Books published by publisher Ebury Press

More hilarious tales of holiday disaster from the bestselling author of The Tent, The Bucket and Me. It's 1989, and Emma and her best friend Dee head to the USA to make their fortune. But completely inept and virtually unemployable, they discover that they can't even get a job in McDonald's. Forced to travel from California to New York with only pennies in their pockets, they bounce from scrape to scrape, surviving on their wits and the kindness of strangers. Bad luck and misfortune throw everything their way -- snakes, earthquakes, black magic and incontinent dogs. They even get kidnapped by a sex-crazed midget in a Ferrari. This never happened to Jack Kerouac. Startlingly honest and ridiculously funny, I Left My Tent in San Francisco is the miraculous story of how the hapless pair made it back alive to tell the disastrous tale.

Say stuffing balls to Christmas and survive the festive season with The Funny Christmas Stocking Filler Book Guaranteed to entertain and amuse, this book contains everything you need to get you from the turkey to the Queen’s speech! It’s the perfect distraction from rubbish Christmas telly and tipsy relatives, and could even help you dodge the washing up. The Funny Christmas Stocking Filler Book is packed full of hilarious games, dubious jokes and fun Christmas facts. Involve your sleeping relatives in a game of human buckaroo, play sprout golf or the Christmas movie charade game, or entertain the family with amazing Christmas trivia. For best results, consume with alcohol!

In this groundbreaking debut essay collection, featuring never-before-seen photos, actress Lily Collins―star of Mortal Instruments and Rules Don’t Apply―is opening a poignant, honest conversation about the things young women struggle with: body image, self-confidence, relationships, family, dating and so much more. For the first time ever, Lily shares her life and her own deepest secrets, proving that every single one of us experiences pain and heartbreak. We all understand what it’s like to live in the light and in the dark. For Lily, it’s about making it through to the other side, where you love what you see in the mirror and where you embrace yourself just as you are. She's learned that all it takes is one person standing up and saying something for everyone else to realise they’re not alone.By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Lily’s honest voice will inspire you to be who you are and say what you feel. It’s time to claim your voice! It’s time to live your life unfiltered.

Danny is back with more hilarious true-life stories of hopeless modern manhoodA husband andnow a new father, Danny Wallace is a man who struggles to understand theunspoken rules of society...For example,when do you hug? And when do you NOT hug?How do youreact when you realise that yesterday's underpants might still be in yourtrousers?What do you doif you think you might have a man-crush?And whathappens when you think you may have accidentally ordered your wife a prostitutefor her birthday?Following thebestselling Awkward Situations for Man and based on his incrediblypopular columns, Danny Wallace entertains us with more stories from his oftenembarrassing and bewildering life.No one said itwas easy being a man. And Danny is finding it harder than ever.(Previouslypublished as More Awkward Situations for Men)Danny's firstsolo book, Join Me, was described as a 'word-of-mouthphenomenon' by The Bookseller and 'one of the funniest storiesyou will ever read' by the Daily Mail. His second book, YesMan - in which he decided to say 'Yes' to everything - wasdescribed as 'hilarious' by several national newspapers. The Warner Bros. filmadaptation of Wallace's book Yes Man, starring Jim Carrey inthe lead role, was released in December 2008 and grossed $230,000,000worldwide. Danny's third book Friends Like These, describedby The Bookseller as 'another comedy masterpiece' is currentlyin development as a major project by Miramax. In 2011, Danny Wallace was namedPPA's Columnist of the Year for his weekly column in ShortListMagazine, 'Danny Wallace is a Man', which formed the starting point forhis book Awkward Situations for Men. Danny lives inNorth London with his wife and baby. Find out more about Danny at www.dannywallace.com.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'The beautiful game has taught me a lot, but I’ve had quite a life outside of football too. This book is full of my best stories – kickabouts with jumpers for goalposts with Bobby Moore, mine and Sandra’s disastrous honeymoon to Torquay in a dodgy car and my funniest ‘Mr Pastry’ moments – as well as my thoughts on the important things in life. I’m finally sharing what I’ve learned on and off the pitch: from growing up poor in Poplar to the heights of the Premiership and even lying in a coffin with a load of rats on national television. It’s everything I know about true team spirit, hard work, tough times, why family are so important and why everyone deserves respect no matter whether they’re royal or sleeping rough – and, of course, the real joy of a jam roly-poly.'

How To Practise is a major inspirational work, by one of the world's greatest spiritual teachers. It is broken down into the basic steps to enlightenment: how to practice morality, how to practice meditation, and how to practise wisdom, whilst simultaneously delving deeper into His Holiness' more general teachings, his spirit, wisdom and sense of humour. The book, meant to be used as part of daily practice, is easy to understand and filled with anecdotes. It includes guidance on peace of mind, generosity, compassion, and much more besides. Beautifully packaged, this is the ultimate gift from the Dalai Lama, and a wonderful gift to give to anyone interested in having a richer, more fulfilled life.

Since Pratchett began writing about Discworld in 1983, his ideas involving the fanciful flat landscape, which rests on four gargantuan elephants and a turtle, have stretched across 40 novels, multiple stories, and several reference guides. This first of four Science of Discworld companion volumes, originally published in 1999, has now been reissued with updated scientific research that brings the series into the twenty-first century. In alternating chapters, the book adds another whimsical episode to Discworld lore and contrasts the magical "rules" of Pratchett's realm with the human world's more logic-oriented science. In the Discworld sections, an experiment at Unseen University goes awry, forcing its wizards to create a new universe where planets, including Roundworld (aka Earth), form into balls instead of discs. The nonfiction science chapters explore such themes as the origin of the universe, tectonic plates, and the evolution of mankind. For Pratchett and Discworld devotees the volume is, of course, compulsory reading, but even science buffs who would normally eschew anything resembling fantasy will find much here to pique their interests. --Carl Hays

When times are tough - whether because of illness, bereavement or receiving bad news - it can be hard to find the right words. Help comes in the form of this beautifully packaged gift book, comprising 100 life-affirming poems handpicked by an expert on poetry. Grouping the poems by theme - from 'Hearing Bad News' to 'How To Carry On' - this gem of a book features contributions from classical poets such as John Keats, Emily Brontë, W.H. Auden and Christina Rossetti alongside lines from more contemporary poets such as Philip Larkin, Elizabeth Jennings, Raymond Carver, Carol Ann Duffy and Wendy Cope. It adds up to a wonderful pick-me-up - a self-administered drug guaranteed to make a dark day brighter and act as a great lyrical crutch.