How great are these guys! Combining a love of music and books – two things no one ever minds combining – they’ve been performing literary-inspired songs together, for five years. Titles including For an Ending (based on A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness) and How not to Woo a Woman (based on the Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry). […]
Did anyone see the article on Anthony Burgess in last weekend’s Guardian? It reminded us here at A&B HQ, that this brilliant author was not only the creator of two of our favourite fiction titles – ‘Nothing Like the Sun‘ and ‘Kingdom of the Wicked‘, but that somewhere on our archive was a book that […]
My weekend was cheered immensely by the news that a long-lost Sherlock Holmes story has been discovered. Found by historian Walter Elliot, it’s the first unseen Sherlock story unearthed in eighty years. The 1,300-word tale starring the famous detective in a collection of short stories written for a local bazaar. The wooden bridge in the Scottish town of […]
Travel Better London and TFL are partnering up for a poem competition about travel etiquette in London. Passengers who pen the best poem will see their masterpiece and a cartoon of themselves on a poster in a special campaign across the network. The poem must be 4 – 6 lines long and feature any of the […]
Two beautiful covers to reveal to you today and we really can’t choose between them! A&B are incredibly excited about new author, Menna van Praag’s April release, The House at the End of Hope Street. This is a book for book-lovers, a richly told tale of lives less ordinary, with fantastic, strong female characters. Menna’s second […]
Lists released by the British Library’s Public Lending Right reveal Allison & Busby authors’ books are some of the most borrowed in the UK! Superstar, Anna Jacobs was the sixth most borrowed author (adult fiction) of 2013-14, with Heir to Greyladies a top title. Take a look at the full series here and keep an eye out […]
I’ve decided to jump on Guardian Books bandwagon and discuss my To Be Read pile. Mainly because I always look forward to starting something new and because I have a long weekend off work so there’s lots of time to get stuck into something! I’m currently halfway through the masterpiece that is The Little Friend […]
Can you imagine how the unbeatable Sherlock Holmes will cope as he reaches his elderly years and has to face the mundane battles, such as memory loss and dementia, as well as coming up against the fantastical criminals in his day-to-day detective work? New film, Mr Holmes, directed by Bill Condon offers a vision of Sir […]
Q. I am a huge fan of your writing style, having read all of the John Peace series. I have enjoyed them so much that I have a beautiful hardcover collection in my library. I am looking for a hardcover edition of Tested by Fate, as that 3 part series is my next read. Any ideas […]
WIN: Laurie R. King beekeeper goodies and a series set!
The University of Liverpool has conducted a study that shows people who read regularly for pleasure have greater levels of self-esteem, are less stressed, and can cope better with difficult situations than lapsed or non-readers. After reading about this, I came across the below infographic comparing reading and other stress-relieving activities. I was quite surprised […]
Veering off books and all things cultural for one moment – today I came across a brilliant new app that will potentially save thousands of lives. Despite my general dislike of our over-reliance on our smartphones, this new app, called GoodSAM, has proved that technology can save the day. The app lets you flag up […]
Yesterday, arguably the most exciting literary announcement was made: Harper Lee is to release a second novel! Since the release of To Kill a Mockingbird, her beloved first novel, 55 years ago, Harper Lee has lived away from the spotlight. This new novel is expected to be a ‘sequel’ to her first. Unknown to some, […]
All time favourite children’s book, the bonkers and brilliant Alice in Wonderland is to celebrate it’s 150th Anniversary this year. The festivities are already underway and include a BBC documentary exploring the life and imagination of Lewis Carroll, a postal stamp set, featuring ten scenes from the book and – my favourite – a 150th […]
The Wellcome Trust are launching a new exhibition in February, perfect for any crime fans out there: ‘Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime‘. Using real-life case studies, the exhibition ‘travels from crime scene to courtroom, across centuries and continents, exploring the specialisms of those involved in the delicate processes of collecting, analysing and presenting medical evidence. […]
We’re all aware of the hotly anticipated film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, due to hit screens in February. But what of the other book-to-screen productions coming up in 2015? A huge fan of Gone Girl, the book and the film, I’ll be saving space in my diary for the next Gillian […]
On Saturday 24th January, Penguin Random House, together with Goodreads, Mashable and the National Book Foundation, celebrated National Readathon Day by encouraging people all across the world to read between noon and 4pm in their respective time zones. Their aim was to highlight how fortunate those with the power of literacy are, compared to that […]
It’s always a good day when you find out one of your favourite books is being made into a film. This week’s revelation is J. G. Ballard‘s High Rise. The director has already started tweeting cryptic photos of the set and an early teaser poster has been released: Copyright Jay Shaw Starring actor-of-the-moment Tom Hiddleston and Sienna […]
This week I began reading Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth and, at the risk of appearing biased, have been totally captivated by it. What we know as the fairy tale, Rapunzel, is traced back to its origin, any glossing-over or ‘Disneying’ forgotten. The stories of the three central female characters are cleverly woven together: Charlotte […]
It’s the perfect weather to be tucked up inside with a book at the moment and yet I don’t seem to be getting through any of the three reads I have on the go with much pace. But there’s a new reading craze that tells me I’m not alone in this and neither should I […]
It cannot be denied that stories from the past, recent or distant, are incredibly popular with modern audiences. From success of television drama The Tudors, telling of Henry VIII’s reign, to the feature-length Titanic, we are intrigued by historical events. However, to what extent is fictionalising the past misleading audiences and is it ethically correct […]