Lesley, Author at Allison & Busby

Why doesn’t everyone have a library card?

13 November, 2012

I adore my library. I really would be in financial straits if I’d actually purchased all the books I’ve read this past month alone. Which is why I was truly perplexed to read in the Guardian that visits by UK adults to libraries have dropped almost 10% in the past five years. Errr, hello people: […]

Turn on, tune in, drop out.

2 November, 2012

It’s come to my attention that just the other week the last UK analogue signal was switched off in Northern Ireland. As I now rely on a certain satellite TV provide,r some of this passed me by, but what caught my eye in the news was that the digital switchover also entailed the end of an […]

Anyone for a soggy commute?

23 October, 2012

Since the move to our new offices, we’ve all been adjusting our commute morning and evening. Some of us have had to factor in a couple of extra minutes power-walking to make our train, some of us are negotiating new tube connections. None of us are Boris Bike users (I personally think being a pedestrian […]

Ten years on at The Globe

12 October, 2012

A lot can change in a decade. Back in 2002 it’s fair to say that the Royals were at something of a low ebb: the Queen Mum had passed away and the interview process for their next National Treasure™ (a.k.a. Kate Middleton) had only just begun. The shiny, new, and optimistic Euro was in the […]

Mr Darcy, 2013 calendars and other stationery thoughts…

5 October, 2012

We’re approaching the end of 2012 and I’m already thinking ahead to buying Christmas cards (yes I still write them, yes it doesn’t seem such a great idea in practice), then there’s wrapping paper and ribbon for bedecking presents before I get started on the compulsion to buy 2013 diaries, calendars etc. My name is […]

Oxford brings books to life

24 September, 2012

I spent a few nights in Oxford last week and the city certainly was enjoying a healthy business in the its literary connections. There were Alice in Wonderland books, tea towels, chess sets, river cruises, sweets and tea cups among other items. And while stopping in at the Eagle and Child pub I raised a […]

Friday night – just as I like it

11 September, 2012

I like surprises, which is just as well as last Friday I was treated to two. Firstly a friend wasn’t well enough to use her tickets to see As You Like It at the Globe so I was the lucky one making use of them, peering down from the Gods. I’ve been well and truly […]

Reaching a reader…98 years late

4 September, 2012

Got an idea? Want to ask a question? Today it only takes a few keystrokes into Twitter, Facebook or an email to reach a mind-boggling number of people on the other side of the world instantly. Which is probably why I like this story about a record-breaking message in a bottle so much. Stumbling upon […]

Cake: a fixed point in a crazy, mixed-up book world.

23 August, 2012

This summer has been oddly full of excitement and exertion of various kinds. We’ve win enough Olympic medals to fill a double scull, Fifty Shades of Grey has gotten the nation more than a little hot under the collar and there have been unconfirmed sightings of even myself at the gym. But sanity does seem […]

Literary Everests…

14 August, 2012

We’ve been spoiled for Team GB achievements these past weeks: our cup of golden glory runneth over. And it’s in the light of this success that I read some of the responses online to the ‘official’ ten most difficult books as proposed by literary site The Millions on Publisher’s Weekly. If you like scaling the […]

The ultimate enhanced ebook

6 August, 2012

From that title I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought I was about to extol the properties of some flashy new app or ebook release complete with flashing lights, theme tune and a long list of interactive / social media functions. Well, I’m not. I’m going old-school. I had a lovely break last week which […]

Portrait of the author

19 July, 2012

Last summer I finally ‘did’ the whole National Portrait Gallery one afternoon. By the end of it my legs were absolutely aching but it was well worth it. I particularly loved seeing the original portraits of authors that I’ve come across in biographies or on frontispieces in the past. If the idea of that appeals […]

Share the love

13 July, 2012

Did you know that last Friday was National Kissing Day? Can’t say I noticed anyone getting any more action than usual, but then half the population probably had their heads buried in a certain book or three. In belated honour of this osculatory event (someone’s been at the thesaurus), dab on a bit of Vaseline, […]

Festival in Val D’Orcia

10 July, 2012

Now that we’re in ‘summer’ (using the term very loosely, of course) we’re also in the middle of festival season. But, having experienced the dubious delights of a UK festival with a tent perched on a hill with a mud-slide threatening, the idea of the gorgeous Tuscan countryside is more than a little appealing. For […]

My Olympic hurdle: 6 a.m. alarm call

6 July, 2012

We’ve got Olympics on the brain here in the A&B office. Well, on the brain in that we’re trying to plan out what stationery we need to get in before London comes to a standstill, which deliveries will be rescheduled, which commuting routes we need to rethink. All that boring logistics might take the shine […]

Quotes to sit on

3 July, 2012

I think we must have now reached saturation point with the ‘Keep Calm etc etc’ slogan. A card shop around the corner has mugs emblazoned with the message on special offer now, which makes me hopeful at least. If you are feeling in need of a decent motto, keep an eye on the Guardian’s competition […]

The Hollow Crown

28 June, 2012

I’ve been getting prepped for the BBC’s season of Shakespearean history plays which kicks off this Saturday. The Sky+ is set just in case and lord help the other half if he wants to watch something else. There has been a great deal of attention paid to the casting, which reads like a who’s who […]

Love Charing Cross Road

26 June, 2012

Occasionally we need reminding that we live in a culturally vibrant city. Someone must have shared this idle thought of mine as a new festival day is launching on Saturday 30th June celebrating the area around Charing Cross Road. If you’re not familiar with this part of London, it’s a hive of booksellers of all […]

Babies + Books = Bookstart

14 June, 2012

At an event about a month ago which I will refer to as the ‘Push Party’ for lack of anything better than Baby Shower, my friends and I initiated something of a new tradition. We all sought out a book from our childhoods that we vividly remember, bought a copy and inscribed it to the […]

What the Dickens? Part 4

7 June, 2012

For my latest Dickens post, I have taken inspiration from my most recent and possibly favourite Dickens read, Little Dorrit. If you didn’t catch the BBC adaptation I would also urge you to seek it out, Claire Foy was excellent. Now, although there is a Little Dorrit Court and a Little Dorrit Park in Southwark, […]