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<p><b>'Almost as miraculous as the songs it exists to celebrate.' PETE PAPHIDES<br/>'The only ABBA book that the world will ever need.' TONY PARSONS<br/>'Writing perfection on musical perfection: book heaven.' CAITLIN MORAN</b><br/><b><br/>Through exclusive interviews and over a decade of deep research, renowned music journalist Jan Gradvall explores the secrets to ABBA's success.</b><br/><br/>More than half a century after their songs were recorded, ABBA still make people the world over dance and sing their hearts out. After interviewing the four members for an article in 2013 - at which time the band had not been interviewed for over thirty years - Jan Gradvall was granted unique access to them for the next decade. In <i>The Book of ABBA</i>, the band share their thoughts and opinions more openly than ever before, while Jan reveals the context in which their sound developed - and shows how the story of ABBA is also the story of Sweden and the globalisation of pop culture.<br/><br/>From their chart-topping ABBA <i>Voyage</i> - their first album in forty years - to the two-million-ticket-selling concert-experience of the same name, it is undeniable that, in the history of pop culture and music, there has never been a group like ABBA. With remarkable intimacy, Gradvall's book brings readers closer than ever to one of the world's most notoriously private music icons.</p>

<p>In 1984, pop came out of the closet - even if not all of the artists felt that they could - and, in the process, charted the course of the rest of the decade.<br/><br/>In <i>1984: The Year Pop Went Queer</i>, writer and musician Ian Wade charts where these artists, including Queen, George Michael, David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Madonna - who all enjoyed chart success in 1984 - were during that epoch-making year. It studies the impact these groundbreaking musicians had before, during and after on the gay community and popular culture, and it demonstrates how they were able to break down barriers, raise consciousness and set in motion the first nascent ripples in a pond that are still being felt today.<br/><br/>As a backdrop, it explores the strides made in the name of the cause and how the wider surrounding culture reacted with equal parts glee, bafflement and disgust.</p>

Dive into the literary world of Taylor Swift like never before. Between the pages of this interactive journal you will meet iconic characters of classic literature, soak up the magic of folklore and fairytales, delve into the imagery of tortured poets, and so much more. Welcome to Taylor's cosy library and lose yourself in the pages of ancient and modern literary classics. The journal is organised into ten themes, from the unreliable narrator of The Great Gatsby, the feminism of The Bell Jar, coming-of-age struggles of To Kill a Mockingbird or the social commentary of The Crucible. Discover the influence of Wuthering Heights running through songs like Enchanted and ivy, or the inspiration of The Picture of Dorian Gray in mirrorball and Anti-Hero. Deep dive into each topic with prompts, questions and invitations to create, doodle and dream, making this a private diary just for you Discover visual easter eggs with the Music Video Muse, which explains the visual storytelling behind Taylor's music videos Write your own lyrics or start a book club! With all your bookish knowledge, you too can be a songwriter or continue your literary journey. If you haven't read the books, no problem! SwiftNotes are provided for every literary work to give you a crash course. With a gorgeous ribbon and every page filled with beautiful illustrations, this will be a journal to treasure and return to time and again.

<p>Wonderfully engaging, expansive and ambitious, <i>Sound Tracks</i> tells the history of our relationship with music in sixty detective stories, each focusing on the discovery of a musical instrument - or its fragments - in archaeological digs around the world. Taking us from the present day - finding a 100-year-old wax cylinder recording on a flea market - all the way back to the dawn of time - the thrilling discovery of a prehistoric flute - long-lost music is itself reconstructed as we enter the worlds of those who created it.<br/><br/>We feel the delight of a child in Peru in 700 AD, playing with a water-filled pot designed to chirp like a bird; we appreciate the difficult task of a soldier sending signals by trumpet to the next watchtower on Hadrian's Wall; we can almost hear the sounds of the sixty-four bells buried in a tomb in China in the 5th century BC.<br/><br/>Graeme Lawson takes us on a grand tour of the world's greatest musical discoveries, revealing that music is part of human DNA - not just in its role as pastime, entertainment or religious expression but also as a medium in which we commemorate our pasts, communicate with each other, and shape our identities, relationships and communities.<br/><br/>Written with verve and passion and brimming with astonishing insights, <i>Sound Tracks</i> is an enthralling alternative history of humanity in which the silences of the past are filled with a wonderful treasure hoard of forgotten sounds and voices.</p>