New non-fiction for November

In the summer of 1941, German troops surrounded the Russian city of Leningrad - now St Petersburg - and began the longest blockade in recorded history. By the most conservative estimates, the siege would claim the lives of three-quarters of a million people. Most died of starvation. At the centre of the embattled city stood a converted palace that housed the greatest living plant library ever amassed - the world's first seed bank. After attempts to evacuate the collection failed, and as supplies dwindled, the scientists responsible faced a terrible decision: should they distribute the specimens to the starving population, or preserve them in the hope that they held the key to ending global famine? 'The Forbidden Garden' tells the remarkable and moving story of the botanists who remained at the Plant Institute during the darkest days of the siege, risking their lives in the name of science.

A year-long course in noticing, you can start in any month and follow the stories unfolding around you -wherever you live. Featuring monthly guides, birdsong to listen out for, beautiful illustrations, checklists and tips, Homecoming will help you connect to nature, boost your wellbeing and plug you back into the rhythm of the seasons.

With these self-care and mindfulness practices, discover a path through the uncharted, invisible territory of grief and learn how you can change, grow and heal through the different types of losses in life. Find strength in the unseen through the practical actions of meditation, journalling, creativity and physical self-care as you cultivate presence to tend to your pain and honour your loss.

Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon, wife of Prime Minister Anthony Eden, once famously said: 'For the past few weeks I have really felt as if the Suez Canal was flowing through my drawing-room.' With her impressive intellect and acerbic wit, she was a highly influential muse to many leading figures over several decades. At Oxford in the 1940s she fascinated dons and undergraduates alike. She went on to work in the film world for Alexander Korda and for George Weidenfeld at Contact Magazine. She was a close friend of Cecil Beaton, James Pope-Hennessy, Lucian Freud, Isaiah Berlin, and Lord Goodman. She fascinated Greta Garbo. After an early Bohemian life, she became a politically active wife to Eden when he was Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, particularly during the Suez Crisis in 1956. Her death at 101 in 2021 has opened the way for this enthralling and revealing biography by the widely admired biographer Hugo Vickers.

Christmas 1975 and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody is riding high in the charts. In a residential street just outside Cardiff a loud knocking breaks the stillness of the evening. When Rob Parsons, a young lawyer, opens his door, he finds a homeless man standing before him, clutching a bag of belongings and a frozen chicken. Rob and his wife Dianne invite Ronnie Lockwood into their home, cook his chicken and offer him shelter for the night. What happens next is an astonishing story of human kindness, self-learning, incredible pain, unbelievable hope and the sheer power of love to change a life. 'A Knock at the Door' is the true story of this homeless man who entered the home of a young couple, became a dustman and lived as part of their family for over forty-five years until his death.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has never had it easy. Born a child of two worlds - her mum's working-class Liverpool, and her dad's idyllic Bahamas - she was never supposed to be a world champion. Her early childhood wasn't easy. She was raised by a single mother, and at times it was a struggle for her to keep up with other athletes who had more funding around them. But she persevered. Now, in her intimate, heartfelt autobiography, she tells her story as she never has before. She opens up about the pressures of representing Britain at the London Olympics while just sixteen years of age, and about her complex relationship with mentor-turned-rival Jessica Ennis-Hill. We follow Johnson-Thompson through the series of devastating injuries that robbed her of multiple Olympic titles, and through her elation after winning her world championships in 2019 and 2023.

Fans of Randall Munroe ask him a lot of strange questions: How fast can you hit a speed bump, driving, and live? When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British Empire? When will Facebook contain more profiles of dead people than living? How many humans would a T-Rex rampaging through New York need to eat a day? In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations and consults nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by comics. In celebration of 10 years of unusual insight, Randall Munroe has revised his classic blockbuster to ask what if? x 10. Featuring brand-new 2-colour annotations and illustrations, this special anniversary edition will leave you feeling much smarter, whether you have a Nobel Prize or not.

Life is a beautiful game - but how should you play it? For Sven-Goran Eriksson the game is almost over. As one of the world's most revered and respected football managers, he has led some of the finest sportsmen on Earth - led them to great victories as well as heartbreaking defeats. But to reach dizzying heights, you must risk crushing lows. And, always, there is the next challenge. Now, facing life's ultimate test, Sven looks back on what he has achieved, experienced and learned over a lifetime in service to the beautiful game of football. It is a journey that has taken him, from a small club in his native Sweden, across every continent, competing on the world's stage. Recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, Sven talks candidly about his extraordinary successes (as well as overcoming his failures). He shares the lessons he has learned on the way - about life, leadership and love.

If Nick Drake came to my house and knocked upon the door I'm sure I'd be more happy than I've ever been before. In this title, Mackenzie Crook - the creator of Detectorists and Worzel Gummidge - explores the power of art to impact our lives, expressed through an imaginary visit from the late, great singer-songwriter. A tender homage to a classic book by Joan Gale Thomas, Crook's first book for adults is infused with his characteristic warm humour, both in the story and his beautiful illustrations. It's a book for anyone who has ever wished they had the chance to tell their hero how much they meant to them.

Ronald Blythe (1922-2023), author of the inimitable 'Akenfield', was a prolific and poetic chronicler of rural and spiritual life, nature and literature. He spent a joyful century close to his Suffolk roots, time travelling in his imagination and publishing forty books and thousands of essays. His wide creative network included John and Christine Nash, Cedric Morris, Benjamin Britten, E.M. Forster, Patricia Highsmith and Richard Mabey. From finding Thomas Hardy in February rain and John Clare in country tracks, to talking to his white cat and reading through a dragonfly's wings, the Blythe gift was to marvel in the everyday. Drawing on unparalleled access to letters, notebooks, published works, drafts, and conversations from decades of friendship, Ian Collins tells the full story of Ronald Blythe.