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Language & Reference Books

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From the curiosities of our lexicon and grammar to crafting a poem, here you’ll discover our bestselling language and reference books. Explore our vast selection of dictionaries and thesauruses (or thesauri, if you prefer), language learning guides, and books on creative writing. Whether you want to learn a new language or perfect your punctuation, we’ve got something for everyone.

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Our Bestselling Language & Reference Books

The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2025
Added to basket
The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2025
Lia Leendertz
£12.99
Hardback
The Art of Explanation
Added to basket
The Art of Explanation
Ros Atkins
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Night Sky Almanac 2025
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Night Sky Almanac 2025
Radmila Topalovic
£9.99
Hardback
Guinness World Records 2024
Added to basket
Guinness World Records 2024
Guinness World Records Limited
£22.00   £13.99
Hardback
Playfair Cricket Annual 2024
Added to basket
Playfair Cricket Annual 2024
Ian Marshall
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners
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Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners
Olly Richards
£10.99
Paperback
The Very Short Story Starter
Added to basket
The Very Short Story Starter
John Gillard
£11.99
Other printed item
Short Stories in French
Added to basket
Short Stories in French
Richard Coward
£10.99
Paperback
The Flavour Thesaurus
Added to basket
The Flavour Thesaurus
Niki Segnit
£20.00
Hardback
Word Perfect
Added to basket
Word Perfect
Susie Dent
£10.99
Paperback
Interesting Stories about Curious Words
Added to basket
Interesting Stories about Curious Words
Susie Dent
£14.99
Hardback
Guinness World Records 2023
Added to basket
Guinness World Records 2023
Guinness World Records
£22.00   £5.00
Hardback
Being You
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Being You
Anil Seth
£10.99
Paperback
Expected Goals
Added to basket
Expected Goals
Rory Smith
£9.99
Paperback
Interesting Stories about Curious Words
Interesting Stories about Curious Words: From Stealing Thunder to Red Herrings (Hardback)
Susie Dent
£14.99
Hardback
5+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 2-3 working days
The doyenne of Dictionary Corner returns with another lexicographical marvel that unearths the etymologies of well-known phrases and sayings to hugely entertaining effect.
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Our Best Language Books

Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners
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Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners
Olly Richards
£10.99
Paperback
Great Italian Stories
Added to basket
Great Italian Stories
Various
£10.99
Paperback
Short Stories in French for Beginners
Added to basket
Short Stories in French for Beginners
Olly Richards
£10.99
Paperback
Dutch in 3 Months with Free Audio App
Added to basket
Dutch in 3 Months with Free Audio App
DK
£9.99
Paperback
Portuguese in 3 Months with Free Audio App
Added to basket
Portuguese in 3 Months with Free Audio App
DK
£9.99
Paperback
Short Stories in German for Beginners
Added to basket
Short Stories in German for Beginners
Olly Richards
£10.99
Paperback
Great Spanish Stories
Added to basket
Great Spanish Stories
Various
£10.99
Paperback
Short Stories in Spanish
Added to basket
Short Stories in Spanish
John King
£10.99
Paperback
Spanish in 3 Months with Free Audio App
Added to basket
Spanish in 3 Months with Free Audio App
DK
£9.99
Paperback
Short Stories in French
Added to basket
Short Stories in French
Richard Coward
£10.99
Paperback
French in 3 Months with Free Audio App
Added to basket
French in 3 Months with Free Audio App
DK
£9.99
Paperback
15 Minute French
Added to basket
15 Minute French
DK
£9.99
Paperback
15-Minute Japanese
Added to basket
15-Minute Japanese
DK
£9.99
Paperback
German in 3 Months with Free Audio App
Added to basket
German in 3 Months with Free Audio App
DK
£9.99
Paperback
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Our Best Books to Learn Languages

Nuovo Espresso 1
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Nuovo Espresso 1
Luciana Ziglio
£29.95
Paperback
Elementary Korean
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Elementary Korean
Ross King
£24.99
Paperback
Genki 1 Third Edition
Added to basket
Genki 1 Third Edition
Japan Times,The
£49.99
Paperback
Minna No Nihongo Textbook 2nd Edition
Added to basket
Minna No Nihongo Textbook 2nd Edition
3A Corporation
£27.50
Multiple items
Portuguese
Added to basket
Portuguese
Amelia P. Hutchinson
£39.99
Paperback
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Fiction in Translation

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
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Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
Hwang Bo-reum
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Added to basket
More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Satoshi Yagisawa
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Kairos
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Kairos
Jenny Erpenbeck
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
The Wind Knows My Name
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The Wind Knows My Name
Isabel Allende
£9.99   £7.99
Paperback
My Brilliant Friend
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My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante
£9.99
Paperback
The Kamogawa Food Detectives
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The Kamogawa Food Detectives
Hisashi Kashiwai
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
Convenience Store Woman
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Convenience Store Woman
Sayaka Murata
£9.99
Paperback
Until August
Added to basket
Until August
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
£16.99   £14.99
Hardback
Minor Detail
Added to basket
Minor Detail
Adania Shibli
£10.99
Paperback
Heaven
Added to basket
Heaven
Mieko Kawakami
£9.99
Paperback
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
Added to basket
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
Mariana Enriquez
£9.99
Paperback
Time Shelter
Added to basket
Time Shelter
Georgi Gospodinov
£9.99
Paperback
Boulder
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Boulder
Eva Baltasar
£11.99
Paperback
When I Sing, Mountains Dance
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When I Sing, Mountains Dance
Irene Solà
£9.99
Paperback
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair
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The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair
Joël Dicker
£10.99
Paperback

Our Best Reference Books

The Wager
Added to basket
The Wager
David Grann
£10.99   £8.99
Paperback
The Theory of Everything Else
Added to basket
The Theory of Everything Else
Dan Schreiber
£9.99
Paperback
The Flavour Thesaurus
Added to basket
The Flavour Thesaurus
Niki Segnit
£20.00
Hardback
Word Perfect
Added to basket
Word Perfect
Susie Dent
£10.99
Paperback
Rice's Language of Buildings
Added to basket
Rice's Language of Buildings
Matthew Rice
£20.00
Hardback
The Universe
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The Universe
Andrew Cohen
£9.99
Paperback
The Art of Statistics
Added to basket
The Art of Statistics
David Spiegelhalter
£10.99
Paperback
Superintelligence
Added to basket
Superintelligence
Nick Bostrom
£11.99
Paperback
Coin Yearbook 2024
Added to basket
Coin Yearbook 2024
John W Mussell
£9.95
Paperback
Nature's Calendar
Added to basket
Nature's Calendar
Kiera Chapman
£14.99
Hardback
The Almanac
Added to basket
The Almanac
Lia Leendertz
£12.99
Hardback
Covid By Numbers
Added to basket
Covid By Numbers
David Spiegelhalter
£10.99   £4.00
Hardback
How Minds Change
Added to basket
How Minds Change
David McRaney
£10.99
Paperback
The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
Added to basket
The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
Hana Videen
£15.99
Hardback
How to Read a Tree
Added to basket
How to Read a Tree
Tristan Gooley
£22.00
Hardback
The Code Book
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The Code Book
Simon Singh
£10.99
Paperback
Private Eye Annual
Added to basket
Private Eye Annual
Ian Hislop
£12.99
Hardback
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Luxury Editions & Giftbooks

Cloudspotting For Beginners
Added to basket
Cloudspotting For Beginners
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
£20.00
Hardback
Night Sky Almanac 2025
Added to basket
Night Sky Almanac 2025
Radmila Topalovic
£9.99
Hardback
How to Win At Chess
Added to basket
How to Win At Chess
Levy Rozman
£20.00
Hardback
Brilliant Maps
Added to basket
Brilliant Maps
Ian Wright
£14.99
Paperback
Explanatorium of Science
Added to basket
Explanatorium of Science
DK
£20.00
Hardback
The World War I Book
Added to basket
The World War I Book
DK
£19.99
Hardback
History Year by Year
Added to basket
History Year by Year
DK
£30.00
Hardback
A History of Women in 101 Objects
Added to basket
A History of Women in 101 Objects
Annabelle Hirsch
£25.00
Hardback
Terrible Maps
Added to basket
Terrible Maps
Michael Howe
£14.99
Hardback
Complete Flags of the World
Added to basket
Complete Flags of the World
DK
£12.99
Paperback
The Royals
Added to basket
The Royals
Rab MacGibbon
£16.95
Hardback
A History of Christianity
Added to basket
A History of Christianity
Michael Collins
£16.99
Hardback
Immune
Added to basket
Immune
Philipp Dettmer
£28.00
Hardback
A Book of Noises
Added to basket
A Book of Noises
Caspar Henderson
£16.99
Hardback
Time
Added to basket
Time
Colin Stuart
£9.99
Hardback
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Our Best Children's Reference Books

Guinness World Records 2025
Added to basket
Guinness World Records 2025
Guinness World Records Limited
£22.00   £11.00
Hardback
See Inside Your Body
Added to basket
See Inside Your Body
Katie Daynes
£10.99
Board book
Kay's Anatomy
Added to basket
Kay's Anatomy
Adam Kay
£8.99
Paperback
Lift-the-Flap Picture Atlas
Added to basket
Lift-the-Flap Picture Atlas
Alex Frith
£12.99
Board book
A Child's First Bible
Added to basket
A Child's First Bible
Kenneth N. Taylor
£12.99
Hardback
Look Inside Space
Added to basket
Look Inside Space
Rob Lloyd Jones
£9.99
Board book
See Inside How Things Work
Added to basket
See Inside How Things Work
Conrad Mason
£10.99
Board book
The Diary of a Young Girl
Added to basket
The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank
£8.99
Paperback
Kay's Marvellous Medicine
Added to basket
Kay's Marvellous Medicine
Adam Kay
£8.99
Paperback
Knowledge Encyclopedia Animal!
Added to basket
Knowledge Encyclopedia Animal!
DK
£20.00
Hardback
Egyptology
Added to basket
Egyptology
Dugald Steer
£25.00
Hardback
Rotten Romans
Added to basket
Rotten Romans
Terry Deary
£6.99
Paperback
Jürgen Klopp
Added to basket
Jürgen Klopp
Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
£9.99
Hardback
The History of Information
Added to basket
The History of Information
Chris Haughton
£20.00   £17.99
Hardback
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