{"title":"Nat Segnit","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the insightful world of Nat Segnit, where food writing meets cultural commentary. Perfect for readers who enjoy Michael Pollan or Bill Bryson, explore his engaging books and essays.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"pub-walks-in-underhill-country-book-nat-segnit-9780141045689","title":"Pub Walks in Underhill Country","description":"Pub Walks in Underhill Country by Nat Segnit is a cunning, hilarious and heartbreaking novel that takes the form of a guide for walkers but is really a whole lot more . . .   'Start by turning right out of the main entrance of Malvern Link railway station . . .'  So begins Graham Underhill's guide to rambling in the West Midlands. But  it is not many yards before Graham has gone completely off track, all  but abandoning the route ahead to exult in his love for his beautiful if  headstrong wife Sunita.  Along the way Graham treats us to his  intemperate views on mountain bikers, litter louts, landscape  photographers, and the Highways Agency, who are intent on building a  bypass through his home. At least he has Sunita. Or does he? With each walk it becomes clearer that the paths of Underhill Country lead into  treacherous terrain.   'If Vladimir Nabokov had written episodes of The Archers (with a little script advice from W G Sebald), then he might just have struck a note that chimed with the peculiar music of this beguiling first novel'  Independent  'A metafictional escapade . . . has both Nabokov and Alan Partridge as its forebears'  Daily Telegraph  'Has echoes of Mike Leigh's best films and Paul Torday's smash debut, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'  Daily Mail  Nat Segnit lives in London. His journalism and stories have appeared in several national newspapers, and his play, Dolphin Therapy, and two co-written comedy series, Strangers on Trains and Beautiful Dreamers, were broadcast on Radio 4. Pub Walks in Underhill Country is his first novel.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49510233768209,"sku":"GOR004225921","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51818155507985,"sku":"GOR006298511","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/014104568X.jpg?v=1751388780"},{"product_id":"pub-walks-in-underhill-country-book-nat-segnit-9781905490578","title":"Pub Walks in Underhill Country","description":"'If your companion is walking far ahead, it can be fun to close one eye and hold her between your thumb and forefinger, taking care in case she slips from your grasp, or, conversely, you crush her altogether!' Graham Underhill is a much-loved local water colourist, ale enthusiast, and self-published guidebook writer - the 'Wainwright of the West Midlands'. But our narrator and guide is a rambler in more ways than one, and what begins as a set of walk instructions soon gives way to what Graham would rather talk about - mostly, his marriage to the beautiful and erudite Sunita. When a well-connected environmentalist and would-be MP takes an interest in Sunita's childhood memoir Graham's happiness seems complete. Or it would, were it not for the shoddy state of the local footpath network. And inconsiderate mountain bikers. Litter louts, pretentious landscape photographers, idiots who consider light trainers suitable for mountainous terrain, and the Highways Agency's plan to build a bypass through his house. At least he has his beloved Sunita. Or does he? Graham, it turns out, is not always the most reliable guide. And neither is 'Underhill Country' the sleepy idyll it seems...Cunning, hilarious and heartbreaking, Nat Segnit's debut novel is a guidebook to stubborn optimism in the face of marital - and environmental - meltdown.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49510481232145,"sku":"GOR002626463","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50286528954641,"sku":"GOR013912962","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51365969527057,"sku":"GOR003739946","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1905490577.jpg?v=1751281963"},{"product_id":"retreat-book-nat-segnit-9781529111309","title":"Retreat","description":"Retreat takes us on a stunning journey through the many ways humans step back from daily life, both in today's world and in our past.  'Open-minded, elegantly written and comprehensive' Daily Telegraph  From mindfulness and meditation to yoga breaks and spiritual bootcamps, stepping back from daily life remains a human obsession. In this endlessly enlightening book, Nat Segnit experiences retreats around the world as he investigates why we seek solitude, what we get out of it, and what is going on in our brains and bodies when we achieve it. Along the way, he meets yogic scholars, scientists, religious leaders, philosophers and artists, gaining fascinating - and often startling - insights.  'A vivid personal quest...rich and almost eerily timely' William Fiennes, author of The Snow Geese","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49526654632209,"sku":"GOR012670026","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741139902737,"sku":"NGR9781529111309","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50278771622161,"sku":"GOR013588250","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1529111307.jpg?v=1750797214"},{"product_id":"retreat-book-nat-segnit-9781847925831","title":"Retreat","description":"'Reads at times like Eat Pray Love as written by David Foster Wallace. A rich and almost eerily timely book' William Fiennes, author of The Snow Geese  Stepping back from the world is an ancient human impulse. Over the last year we have had to retreat. But throughout history, we have chosen to.  We were doing it more and more, anyway. Mindfulness and meditation are all the rage. Wellness tourism, yoga breaks, meditation apps, and spiritual boot camps have been booming - entry-level to hardcore.  Retreat investigates this human obsession, mining neuroscience, psychology and history to reveal why we seek solitude, what we get out of it, and what is going on in our brains and bodies when we achieve it. What has it meant to the world's great thinkers, and what does it mean, in our age, as an activity we pay for?  Is isolation a means of engaging more fully with reality, or evading it? And what has retreat meant at a time when humanity has - to an unprecedented extent - been forced to withdraw? Nat Segnit has felt the pull of solitude and the fear of it, as well as the warmth of company. To answer these questions, he has been on retreats around the world and met yogic scholars, cognitive and social scientists, religious leaders, philosophers and artists.  Retreat is endlessly enlightening, sceptical and open-minded. It is about seeking happiness, fulfilment, a change of perspective, and relief from stress and anxiety. And it is surprisingly, joyously, full of human encounter. Ultimately, it is about the discovery that retreat is a mental state that can be achieved anywhere, in a monastery or shopping centre, a cave or a crowd.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49586161844497,"sku":"GOR011562381","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49632220479761,"sku":"GOR012307405","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49659084177681,"sku":"GOR012821310","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49709040369937,"sku":"CIN1847925839G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53008122708241,"sku":"GOR011602158","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1847925839.jpg?v=1751217447"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-nat-segnit.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}