Am I the only one to think that birthdays and Christmases can be a slightly underwhelming experience for bibliophiles? Don’t get me wrong, anything that puts a fresh tome into my eager hands is not to be sniffed at, but the voucher/Book Token route and, in my case, the ‘Would Like to Read’ list my […]
Do you remember that person at school – the one who was ‘really into’ politics and philosophy, who perhaps enjoyed making a big fuss out of the fact that he/she was reading Nietzsche or classic Russian literature, the one who was a bit too obsessed with poetry and who liked to wow everyone with their […]
London is full of many great things, one of which is bookshops. There are the iconic bookstores like Foyles in Charing Cross and Waterstones’s flagship store in Piccadilly and then there’s the army of indies that are peppered around the city: More or less every weekend that I’ve been in London, I’ve unintentionally found myself […]
When we heard about the What Kids Are Reading poll, which our very own Rachel Caine topped, it didn’t surprise me that Roald Dahl was #1 in the Most Read list. As a child of the 80s, Dahl was an integral part of my reading diet. He was also responsible for my one and only […]
The images on many book cover designs make for fabulous posters. In fact I’ve always thought the covers to our Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R King would brighten up any room quite wonderfully. Now, however, I see that so many more of our cover images look fabulous blown up to poster-size […]
‘Men are April when they woo, December when they wed: maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives.’ As You Like It My thoughts this past week have been on issues wedding-related: scheduling, planning travel and, of course, pondering frocks. While my brain was in wedding mode I […]
After watching a cringy, yet hilarious episode of Come Dine With Me, I began thinking about dinner parties. I often have friends round for dinner but I wouldn’t go as far to call it a dinner party. It’s not quite as refined as that. More fajitas and margaritas, than canapés and champagne. But that got […]
This month’s issue of Booksmonthly features a review of the latest paperback in The Rose McQuinn series by Alanna Knight, Deadly Legacy, set in Edinburgh in 1901. The review says: ‘The atmosphere is superbly created and executed – the cover image sums up the narrow, lonely back streets that Alanna describes, and the story is […]
With Easter on the way, and having attended the South Bank’s annual Chocolate Festival (also in Bristol on 30th and 31st March) on the weekend, I’m craving some chocolatey goodness. And it turns out there’s good reason to indulge yourself this April; The Sick Children’s Trust, a charity that provides families of sick children with […]
Earlier this month, Sir Michael Caine celebrated his 80th birthday, and as the publishers of Alfie and Get Carter, it was appropriate we highlighted it on our blog (speaking of which, there’s still time to enter our Michael Caine giveaway). Now we hear that the director John Boorman has also turned 80 years old this year […]
Following our Wednesday Cover Story this week and the ongoing e-book v physical book debate, I couldn’t help but laugh at this French video I came across on YouTube. Tweeted it the other day, but I feel it deserves to be shared here, on our Friday Fun slot… Chiara Priorelli, Publicity & Marketing Manager
Every type of food, that is. Some people go on holiday to sight see. I go on holiday to eat. And I feel that’s okay as I am now a member of a foodie-filled office. I’ve just back from a lovely four days in Berlin; the city was beautiful, covered in snow and with the […]
Earlier this week, over dinner with friends, I was asked the all-too-common question: will e-books eventually kill the book? Won’t everyone ultimately opt for the cheapest possible bargain? I proceeded to explain that undoubtedly, e-books have made a dent in the sales of physical books, especially mass market paperbacks. Unless you are averse to reading […]
I’m all in favour of the technology that has made me a more frequent library user. Online catalogue, check. Online reservation for when I spot a review, check. I would never read half of what I hear about otherwise. And, of course, online renewal – thank goodness, otherwise I’d have been beggared by overdue fines. […]
Find out who won our beautiful hardback Bitter Greens and some gorgeous bookends!
St Patrick’s Day, which took place yesterday, is for many probably just an excuse to get down the pub and have a pint of Guinness while inventing spurious Irish ancestors and enjoying the general craic. Perhaps it’s also a good time, however, to think about what great contributions Ireland has made to our literature. For […]
It’s not every day you get to work at the office in your pj’s. And it’s not that surprising seeing as I kept having to fight the urge to curl up under my desk for a kip. But today, we could, and we did. So, give it up for some Red Nose Carpet fashion from […]
Today, revered actor Sir Michael Caine celebrates his 80th birthday, and, considering he’s something of a national treasure, it’s a milestone that is getting some deserved attention. A new exhibition launches today at the Museum of London featuring never-before-exhibited photographs of the iconic actor, as well as footage from his cult classics films like Alfie, […]
Who won our two classic novels that became iconic films featuring Sir Michael Caine. Was it you?
Saturday 20th April, 11am-12pm COURTYARD BOOKS, BISHOP’S CLEEVE A&B’s crime writing extraordinaire Rebecca Tope will be signing copies of her new books Malice in the Cotswolds and Shadows in the Cotswolds. Rebecca has written twenty novels in her career as well as working as a bee keeper, antenatal teacher and funeral director. Join her at Courtyard […]
As our weekly Wednesday Cover Stories prove, book covers are always an intriguing (and sometimes controversial) topic. It’s particularly interesting to take a book and look at all the different packages it’s come in over the years. That’s precisely what this site does, with one book – Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. The site showcases 185 […]