Have a read of our November Catalogue’s Editor’s Letter, in which we bring you up to speed with our top titles for the month ahead.

I think we can all agree that the bombardment of ‘gift ideas’ features as we approach Christmas can get irritating, so we will diligently limit ourselves to drawing your attention to one gift-potential-y title only, then speak only of literary merit for the rest of this letter. We’re considerate like that.

That title is Ties. Billing itself as ‘The Ultimate Handbook of Knots,’ Ties details how to tie every knot the average city-dwelling human could ever need to tie. From the cravat to the bandana and from the shoelace to the preppy ‘over-the-shoulder jumper’ knot. The steps of tying each knot are illustrated with clear and stylish black and white drawings and the entire, pocket-sized volume is beautifully presented with specially designed endpapers and a graphic one-off cover commissioned and in the works for the English edition. Originally published in Sweden, this title sold out its first print run in three months flat; a fact that’s a testament to its clever, Scandi-cool, novelty, brilliant-gift-y nature. Though, of course, all books are for all people really, it is worth mentioning that this title is particularly nifty for the notoriously hard-to-buy-for adult male demographic. But of course, girls can tie knots too. Just saying.

Our Graphic Novel pick of the month is Snapshots of a Girl. Beldan Sezen’s autobiographical comic is being billed by publisher Arsenal Pulp Press as if “the events of Blue is the Warmest Colour took place to a funny, self-deprecating German-Turkish immigrant.” Though similar to Blue in its subject matter – the lives of contemporary lesbians – Snapshots of a Girl is markedly different in tone. Sezen’s story of navigating coming out is resplendent with self-deprecating asides, making it funny and light despite the frequent references to homophobic microagressions faced.

In light of November’s bumper crop of children’s titles, we have decided to have two children’s picks this month. Both represent the best of entirely alternate factions in children’s literature and neither are to be missed. Up first is Seriously, You Have to Eat. Hot on the heels of You Have to F**king Eat (Canongate, 2014), which itself was a sequel of worldwide bestseller Go the F**k to Sleep (2012), this title presents the same no-nonsense humour about the struggles of caring for a young child in a format that’s actually appropriate to read with said child, not just to laugh over sardonically with other parents.

Up second is The Almost Everything Book, which presents a distinctly more gentle and sweet image of childhood. A modern version of classics like Oh, What a Busy Day by Gyo Fujiwaka (most recent edition: Sterling, 2010) and The Best Storybook Ever by Richard Scarry (Goldenbooks, 2012), The Almost Everything Book captures a child’s imaginative delight of the ordinary tasks of the world, from having breakfast to choosing ways to get to school. This title is written and illustrated by Julie Morstad, whose style will be familiar to readers from her illustrations of Sara O’ Leary’s bestselling When You Were Small series (Simply Read, also available from Turnaround).

Finally to fiction, where our pick of the month is a thriller. The Illusion of Innocence provides, amidst its heart-in-throat twists and turns, fascinating insights into the development of Victorian Police Work. Resplendent with a gloriously pulp-era cover, this title is the pinnacle of literary guilty pleasures.

Our catalogues available 6 months in advance in print and online. To start receiving print copies, email publicity@turnaround-uk.com. To read more about any of our November titles, including those above, view our November catalogue here.