Blog
March is Maisie Month!
6 March, 2012
This March has been named Maisie Month, in honour of Maisie Dobbs, the character in Jacqueline Winspear‘s acclaimed mystery series set in and around London in the 1930s. Not only can you celebrate the release of two new books in the series, The Mapping of Love and Death (paperback) and A Lesson in Secrets (hardback), […]
India keeps inspiring us…
5 March, 2012
This week sees the release of new film Trishna, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles set in India. I’m interested to see this one and to find out how close they’ve kept to the book, and it also got me thinking about the rising influence of Indian book-to-film adaptations here in the […]
A glimpse of Lucknow
2 March, 2012
Earlier this week, Jeremy Paxman launched his new series, Empire, on BBC1 which looks at how a small island like Britain managed to become such an imperialist power. It is indeed interesting to think about the fact that less than 6000 British officials managed to preside over 2 million people in India, but what drew […]
Happy St David’s Day
1 March, 2012
It’s St David’s Day, and as I hail from Carmarthen, a little town in South West Wales, I feel it’s my duty to inject some Welshness into my blog post this week. For anyone who doesn’t know, St David’s Day (or Dydd Gwyl Dewi, as the Welsh would say) celebrates the life of Saint David, […]
Wednesday Cover Story: A bit of déjà vu…
29 February, 2012
Today I came upon the cover of The Greatcoat – a ghost story by Helen Dunmore – and a striking cover at that. The book has just come out this month, but I could have sworn it was an old title as I was sure I’d seen the cover before, some time ago. My original […]
Literary Lottery
28 February, 2012
We’ve all done it haven’t we? Day-dreamed about winning the lottery, that is, especially following the glut of recent UK winners. But holidays, palatial residences and an indulged book-habit aside, I have recently added another item to the ‘when I’m rich’ list. Taking inspiration from the anonymous donor who has upped the prize fund for […]
The books making Oscar headlines
27 February, 2012
I used to get excited and stay up all night to watch the the Oscars – an annual ritual, a bit like my camping out all night to get tickets to Wimbledon – but that was when the a) you could actually watch Academy Awards on terrestrial TV and b) the ceremony was much more […]
A hard day’s work…
24 February, 2012
On my usual route home via Waterloo, I passed Sleeping Beauty somewhere between Platform 9 and 10. And I mean that quite literally. Propped in the middle of the bustling station was a plush bed, with a very real sleeping beauty comfortably esconced under the covers. It was all part of the promotion for the […]
A Prized Posession
23 February, 2012
The numbers of Kindles on my route to work has burgeoned since the Christmas holidays. Quelle surprise, you may rightly say, but what threw this into focus this week was a wonderful surprise gift: a first edition of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell signed both by the author Susanna Clarke and the illustrator Portia Rosenberg. […]
Wednesday Cover Story: Don’t read this book if you’re stupid
22 February, 2012
I bought this collection of short stories by Tibor Fischer, some years ago and must admit, purchased it solely on the basis of the title – the most blatant and yet brilliant marketing ploy I’ve ever seen. It’s a challenge, encouraging you to think: ‘well, I’ll prove to you I’m not stupid by reading it!’. […]
Happy Pancake Day!
21 February, 2012
In honour of today, Pancake Day, an excuse to share a pertinent poem from one of my all-time-favourite books by illustrator-and-poet Shel Silvertein (as featured in his collection Where the Sidewalk Ends). Happy eating! Chiara Priorelli, Publicity & Online Marketing Manager
Pans and batters at the ready – it’s almost Pancake Day!
20 February, 2012
Stock up on flour and eggs, and don’t forget the lemons! Tomorrow, 21 February, is Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as Pancake Day. And the day is not simply celebrated in the kitchen, but all around London as well. There are an assortment of Pancake races happening throughout the city, including the Parliamentary Pancake Race, which […]
Friday Fun: Cello and Beat-Box Mix
17 February, 2012
Some people spend hours trawling YouTube and watching all sorts of weird and wonderful videos out there. I’m not one of them. But this particular video was brought to my attention (now a YouTube sensation, especially after his stint on the Today show in America) and deserves to be shared. This talented 23-year-old, Kevin Olusola, […]
A double connection to Alfie
16 February, 2012
The new stage production of Alfie (based on the novel by A&B author Bill Naughton) is ending its run at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton this week (18 February), before moving on the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyne (22 February) and beyond. See full listings here… We have an obvious connection to the stage show seeing […]
Sharing the love (digitally)
15 February, 2012
So how are we all today? Regretting those calorie-laden chocolates and unimpressed by the already-wilting flowers? Well, a good love story never gets old, so in (belated) honour of Valentine’s Day Allison & Busby are delighted to offer a selection of our best romance novels at 99p (in their digital formats) for a limited time […]
Top 5 Literary Love Stories
14 February, 2012
Like many people, I’m not really that interested in Valentine’s Day. I don’t want to sound like a bitter single person, but there’s definitely a part of me that doesn’t see the point in the roses, overly gushy greeting cards and insanely overcrowded restaurants. Valentine’s Day does, however, give me the excuse for a good […]
Opening the door to new young book prize judges
13 February, 2012
We all know that there are book prizes of all shapes and sizes: genre-specific awards from organizations like the CWA and RNA (and speaking of – Mary Nichols just been shortlisted for the RoNA Rose Award!); debut awards that shine a light on exciting and fresh new authors; the literary equivalents of those slightly po-faced […]
A few snaps from John Wilcox’s Book Launch
10 February, 2012
Last night we enjoyed a merry evening at the lovely Goldsboro Books celebrating the launch of John Wilcox‘s eighth book in his acclaimed Simon Fonthill series, The War of the Dragon Lady. And here are a few snaps from the night. The Man of the Moment – sporting a conspicuous suntan, having just returned from […]
A tribute to orphans
9 February, 2012
This week is World Orphan Week (6 – 12 February) and so, it seems like a pertinent time to help raise awareness with our own literary spin on the matter and pay tribute to our favourite orphan: the inimitable Mary Russell – otherwise known as Sherlock Holmes’ post-Watson-crime-solving-partner, and wife. You can join Russell and […]
Wednesday Cover Story: Yes, it’s A NOVEL
8 February, 2012
Whilst recently browsing the reviews on I Love A Mystery I was struck by the eye-catching cover to At the End of the Road, by Grant Jerkins – love the colours, the layout, the bird overlapping the text, and the general atmospheric image. And, I like how they’ve played with presentation of the book as […]
What the Dickens? Part Two
7 February, 2012
(For Part One click here) Walking around the city of London on a weekday evening, it’s not all that surprising that I start feeling peckish. Even after a long day, I can’t entirely blame this on my propensity to think of my stomach, as in addition to the obvious cafés and fast food places on […]
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