Blog
Literature at the Fringe
9 August, 2012
Everyone’s talking so much about the Olympics, and Great Britain’s gold run, that they’ve forgotten about another of GB’s gems that’s going on right now – the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. London’s not the only capital to have seen a sudden influx. But while we’ve got all the athletes, Edinburgh’s got all the thespians. I greatly […]
Wednesday Cover Story: In light of World Cat Day…
8 August, 2012
As you all of course know today is World Cat Day! Or perhaps I’m the only one who’s accidentally strayed across this fact… And in spite of being a little allergic to cats, I do think we should take the opportunity to celebrate our feline friends in this week’s Wednesday Cover Story. To begin, take […]
Where were the Fifty Shades readers in sunny Marbella?
7 August, 2012
Having just spent a week in Marbella, home away from home to TOWIE ‘stars’ and WAGs, I was fully expecting to see acres of Fifty Shades books on the beach. In past years the beautiful, and much-maligned, Costa del Sol town has been a great guage of what the world is reading. Two summers ago […]
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 […]
Reading Statistics never looked this good…
3 August, 2012
I get sent a lot of emails from graphic designers or illustration agencies promoting their work (I think I’m on a listing somewhere…) but one graphic that did catch my eye this week was actually sent through by an American website OnlineTeachingDegree.com… summarising reading statistics in one eye-catching visual presentation. Created by: www.OnlineTeachingDegree.com Now […]
Not watching the Olympics this weekend? Then try this…
2 August, 2012
Now that the Olympics have really begun, I find I’m feeling less pessimistic about it all. I was certain that, despite Danny Boyle, the opening ceremonies would be a let down, but actually I was impressed. They paired James Bond and the Queen as a skydiving duo, and there was a giant Voldemort – I […]
Wednesday Cover Story: The Mary Russell Colour Competition
1 August, 2012
For those of you anxiously awaiting the next instalment in Laurie R King‘s hugely successful Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series, you won’t have to wait much longer. Garment of Shadows will be out in October with the most suspenseful of plots yet… for Sherlock Holmes finds himself searching for his wife who has mysteriously […]
Art inspired by The Railway Detective
31 July, 2012
We love hearing from our readers and take great pleasure in getting news from our authors about particularly lovely fanmail they’ve received. In today’s world where everyone seems so busy, it’s nice that readers still find the time to write to the authors they love. And so we’d like to share this delightful illustration that […]
The Olympig Games…
30 July, 2012
Last week Michael Bond was in the office. Best known for his Paddington Bear creation, he also writes our fabulously funny Monsieur Pamplemousse series starring sniffer dog extraodinaire, Pommes Frites. Lesser known are his Tales of Olga da Polga, any mention of which makes our publicity manager’s eyes glaze over with childhood nostalgia. Olga in […]
Getting into the Olympic spirit…
27 July, 2012
The Booed… Anyone else a bit confused about the Olympic Games starting a few days before the opening ceremony? Not half as confused as the North Korean women’s football team whose faces were shown on a screen next to the South Korean flag, just before kick-off. As the two countries are technically still at war […]
Review of The Dark Knight Rises
26 July, 2012
Last week I went to see the new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, and promised you all a review. In a nutshell – I enjoyed it… for what it was…but it wasn’t anything special. As good as the previous two in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy? Absolutely not. The strength of the first film (Batman Begins) […]
Wednesday Cover Story: Out of the mouths of babes
25 July, 2012
Our Wednesday Cover Story blogs are a simple but excellent in their premise: we talk about the design of books, what they say, what response they elicit from us. It all boils down to whether they pull their weight as a sales tool but on many levels we’re not all that different from this six-year-old […]
Kjell Eriksson spotted in Nairobi airport
24 July, 2012
Yes, that’s a fact. The week before last, I spotted Kjell Eriksson in Nairobi airport. Well, not the actual man himself, but his books – but I was thrilled nonetheless. There I was, in this miniscule bookshop at 5am in the morning – passing the time waiting for my connecting flight – when I spotted […]
Literary places I’d love to visit…
23 July, 2012
I recently read an article in The Guardian on the top ten homes in literature, and immediately I began to think of the literary places I’d love to visit. The columnist’s choices included Miss Havisham’s decaying home, Thrushcross Grange in Wuthering Heights, and Dr Jekyll’s residence – intriguing, yes, but there are others I’d prefer… […]
The (Unintentional) Book Thief
20 July, 2012
It’s a long-running joke in our house that we’re destined to be penniless due to my inability to return library books on time. Personally, I like to think of the overdue fines as small (but regular) contributions towards keeping libraries afloat, but for some reason this justification is no longer washing with my other half. […]
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 […]
Wednesday Cover Story: Christopher Buckley’s new look
18 July, 2012
Presenting my new favourite covers of the moment – the gorgeously retro design for the reissues of Christopher Buckley‘s brilliant satires Thank You For Smoking (which was made into a very good film starring Aaron Eckhart) and Little Green Men. I’m a big fan of Buckley’s books and already have all his titles gracing my […]
Bookswapping in Zanzibar
17 July, 2012
Back from my honeymoon in Tanzania. The first week was spent marvelling at wildlife on safari (6am starts and the joys are watching elephants amble by only 50 yards from our tent meant there was little time for reading). The second week however was spent melting on a beach in Zanzibar and a lifestyle that […]
Shocking reads…
16 July, 2012
Recently I’ve been reading a book called Sheepshagger by Niall Griffiths, and while it’s a very good read, it’s also quite shocking at times. No, the title isn’t meant literally, but it contains a lot of violence described in very minute detail, and is generally a very visceral book. Despite feeling slightly sick in parts […]
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, […]
A&B Classics
12 July, 2012
It’s always great when I get to work on a book I really enjoy, and lately with the new additions to our Allison & Busby Classics collection, I’ve been spoilt for choice. Aside from oohing and aahing at the lovely covers, I’ve also really enjoyed reading the books. Bias aside, even if I didn’t work […]
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