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Behind-The-Books Blog
Ever wondered what goes on in a little but lovely office where books are born? Welcome to the door that opens into the world of A & B... no need to knock, come right in!
Would you like fries or a book with that?
Friday, January 27th, 2012
I was interested to see some of the different responses online, whether praise or furore, to the news that McDonald’s were giving away Michael Morpurgo’s Mudpuddle Farm books with Happy Meals this month. Read the news here and here. and Perhaps it’s the visualization of a book in the place where you more often find [...]
Bring back The Letter!
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Last week the blog Letters of Note, posted a letter written by author John Steinbeck to his then teenage and love-struck son, Thomas, back in 1958. Although it has been in the public domain since the 1980s, this recent spotlight has shot the letter to sudden fame. It has since been reproduced in last weekend’s [...]
Wednesday Cover Story: Hardback v Paperback
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
There are some covers which are lovely pieces of design in themselves, but don’t actually “sell” the book to the reader. One example I came across recently was the hardback cover to The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach. I had seen the book on a table in my local bookstore but it would never [...]
Happy Year of the Dragon!
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Yesterday, as I recently discovered, was the Chinese New Year. The literal translation of its Chinese name is ‘Spring Festival’, and so it marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. I wish it was feeling like spring already, but I’m afraid it’s a bit early for it here in the UK!
Nevertheless, I [...]
5 things you should know when moving flat
Monday, January 23rd, 2012
You will have noticed that I did not post a blog on Friday. This is because, instead of blogging, I was completing a feat comparable to an Iron Man.
Yes, that’s right, I had to move flat.
And before you scoff at my hyperbolic analogy, I will explain that this feat involved getting everything done (obtaining keys [...]
What the Dickens? Part One
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
Talk about poor timing. During 2012, the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth, the Charles Dickens museum in Camden will shut between Easter and Christmas (read more here…) That seems like a very long time to me and a shame considering the attention the man is due to get this year.
But then again, we do [...]
The fascination with the Crusades
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
I’m a bit of a sucker for documentaries on the Beeb and honestly think no-one does them better, so I’m getting super-excited about the 3-parter that starts on BBC 2 tonight at 9.30pm. And to make my life complete, it’s all about the Crusades. A truly mesmerising period in history that has spawned a gazillion [...]
It’s literary hashtag time again!
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Literary-themed hashtags sweep Twitter on a seemingly regular basis at the moment. For example, @Foyles runs an almost weekly literary hashtag competition and participation is high. Last week’s chosen theme was #bookrailway and the entry, Now We Are Six Minutes Late, won for its ‘realistic sense of exasperation’!
Whether it is driven by procrastination or to [...]
The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) reviewed…
Monday, January 16th, 2012
As I’ve mentioned before, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to make the most of London by exploring some of the city’s interesting places and events. So when I received an e-mail advertising discounted tickets for Shakespeare’s Complete Works (abridged), I thought: Perfect! I will be exploring London’s theatre scene, and also nurturing my [...]
A very Scandinavian week
Friday, January 13th, 2012
This week has seen some cosmic element pulling all manner of Nordic things into my life.
I discovered COS (Collection of Style) on Regent Street, the new sister store of Swedish chain H&M (full of sleek, classic but modern styles that don’t break the budget); every interior of a house I’ve seen (and loved) in the [...]
Quote great literature while you cook
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
As A&B’s resident foodie, it’s perhaps not surprising that I’ve discovered a lovely new blog The Gossip Bowl which celebrates vintage recipes (with a dose of the literary…) As they proudly highlight themselves on their site, Virginia Woolf wrote: ‘One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.’ Too true.
I [...]
Wednesday Cover Story: A cover that mirrors the content
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
I am in the process of culling the number of books in my house as a cathartic (and sensible) clearout before moving flat. And amongst my sagging bookshelves I found a copy of Little Bird, by Camilla Way - which I remember picking up many years ago when HarperCollins was having their own clearout of [...]
Have you seen Wally?
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
As I picked up the most recent issue of The Bookseller I was greeted on the front cover by this charming, spectacled fellow.
As I fondly remember squinting over various editions of Wally’s adventures, I was delighted to see that Wally has been popping up here, there and everywhere in unusual and crowded settings for 25 [...]
Spending January at the cinema
Monday, January 9th, 2012
For me, January is the month of cinema trips, as a) there’s nothing much else to do, b) it’s cold and I want to sit in a warm darkened room for a couple of hours, and c) it’s Oscar season, so all the good films are out! Last year I remember seeing some of the [...]
Pick a font, any font
Friday, January 6th, 2012
As Chiara mentioned in the first blog post of 2012, I have some very wordy/worthy books on my current reading list. I haven’t finished Just My Type yet, though it’s so eminently dip-in-able that I could probably get two books going in tandem.
If you haven’t come across this book yet and have any kind of [...]
Can you help me with my New Year’s Resolution?
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
Ah, January. The month of hiding under the duvet, missing the twinkly lights of Christmas, and giving up on New Year’s resolutions. My resolutions this year include the standard ‘get more exercise’ and ‘eat less junk food’…even I’m betting they don’t last long. There is one resolution, however, which I might be able to prolong [...]
Wednesday Cover Story: The Super Matt Finish
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
As Chiara mentioned in her blog yesterday one of my Christmas books (a wee pressie to myself for being such a good girl all year) was The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal. The book has been a genuine word-of-mouth success and that should surprise no-one once they start to read it - [...]
So what will we all be reading at the start of 2012?
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
And so we are back! The feasting and festivities are over and whilst we could dwell on the end of the holidays, the extra pounds we’ve gained, and the fact that we’ve been greeted by a wet and windy January, let’s focus on more positive things and the inevitable questions:
What books did you all read [...]
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
And so, here we find ourselves again - at the end of another year. In 2011 we’ve welcomed some wonderful new authors to our list, introducing you to a whole new array of reading choices. For our crime-fiction lovers we brought you inter-war mysteries from Jacqueline Winspear, Swedish police procedural from Kjell Eriksson, and medieval [...]
More literary inspired Xmas shopping
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Ever since I wrote a blog confessing that I just didn’t understand the acclaim for Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (which, by the way, my brother was scandalised at - it’s his favourite novel), the author seems to be haunting me. First there was the news story about the discovery of a lost Kerouac book, [...]
Currently we are...
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...Reading
The Things We Cherished, by Pam Jenoff. Susie: I picked it up at a trade fair a few months back, drawn to the cover which features the same image as we've got on The Hidden Dance! I thoroughly enjoyed it and will certainly pick up another of Jenoff's books in the future.
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