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Behind-The-Books Blog
Articles by Sara
Dial ‘M’ for Merthyr
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Last week, as part of Rachel Caine’s UK tour to celebrate the launch of Fall of Night, I was excited to find myself back in my home country (well, technically ‘principality’) of Wales. After a brilliant event at Howell’s School Llandaff, and a quick hop on the train to an equally great book signing at [...]
Having a Ball with Jane Austen
Thursday, May 9th, 2013
If you’re a fellow Janeite (a fan of Jane Austen, for anyone who hasn’t read Persuasion too many times), you’ll be happy to know that this Friday 10th May, at 9pm, BBC Two will be showing Pride & Prejudice: Having a Ball. The programme will involve a team of experts staging an authentically Austen-esque ball, much [...]
Bookish Bags
Monday, April 29th, 2013
Today, the arrival of our fabulous Morganville canvas bags (which we’ll be taking along on Rachel Caine’s UK tour very soon) made me crave more handy bookish things to carry too much stuff around in. And thankfully there is a wealth of choice out there on the Internet; below are a couple of my favourites (click on the [...]
Happy Shakespeare Day!
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013
There are lots of weird and wonderful ‘national days’, including some more bizarre than others (Pi Day or Towel Day, for example). But today has, I think, a worthwhile theme – as well as being St George’s Day, it’s also the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth and death. So dig out the lace ruff and [...]
A Boy and his Dog
Friday, April 12th, 2013
It sometimes seems very strange what goes viral in the media and on the Internet, but lately there’s a very cute story circulating which made me smile. Five-year-old Julian Becker and his massive pet dog Max have been posing for photos every day, taken by Julian’s mother to send to her husband when he’s travelling. [...]
Twitter Favourites: Sixth Form Poet
Monday, April 8th, 2013
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 [...]
Chocolate + Charity: The best combination ever…
Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
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 [...]
Thanks Ireland – and not just for the Guinness…
Monday, March 18th, 2013
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 [...]
Wednesday Cover Story: The Changing Face of Lolita
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
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 [...]
Once upon a wedding…
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
While I have no plans to get married any time soon, I have noticed that weddings seem to be in vogue lately. After Stylist Magazine’s recent article, ‘Is Marriage Back in Fashion?’, they’ve also added a wedding blog to their website. And it seems that wedding planning is now all over the Internet – sites [...]
A surprising new literary voice…
Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
I have an on-off relationship with poetry. I disliked it for most of my school days, thinking it was a bit stuffy and pretentious. Then I discovered the right poems and devoured as much as I could in my sixth form and university days. Now, though, I must confess that my poetry reading is in [...]
A Different Way to Celebrate Pancake Day
Tuesday, February 12th, 2013
This week most people are either looking forward to Valentine’s Day or trying to ignore it. Me, I’m looking past it at something much more important – today is Pancake Day. I really hope someone reading this blog has forgotten this fact and now joyfully realises they have an excuse to gorge themselves on sweet [...]
Twitter Favourites: Professor Snape
Thursday, January 31st, 2013
If you’re an avid follower of our blog, you might remember my previous post on the Twitter Revolution that’s been sweeping our office. It made me decide to showcase some of my favourite posters here, so you can all enjoy their 140-character words of wisdom. This week’s Twitter Favourite has another literary theme – it’s [...]
Literary Films 2013: Coming Soon
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013
Last week I celebrated some of the best literary films out now, but there are many more to look forward to in 2013. There are plenty of bookish films to get us through to spring, especially if you don’t mind watching a bit of teen fantasy. There’ll be zombies in Warm Bodies (8th February) and [...]
Literary Films 2013: Out Now
Monday, January 14th, 2013
With the cold, dark mornings and the absence of Christmas to make them feel festive, I find there’s not much to get excited about at this time of year. Cinema, however, is one exception. There are some great films out already, and I’m looking forward to even more of them coming soon. And many of [...]
My Not-Quite-Resolution for 2013
Friday, January 4th, 2013
It’s the time of year when everyone’s talking about New Year’s Resolutions – January has only just begun, and the determination to keep fit / try a new hobby / not stuff your face with chocolate is still fresh. Personally, I haven’t really set myself any specific resolutions this year, knowing that trying to stick [...]
Make Your Envelopes Festive!
Monday, December 17th, 2012
So, it’s my last blog entry before Christmas, and I feel obliged to include some festive cheer. One thing that got me in the sleigh-bells-and-twinkly-lights mood recently was seeing the new Christmas stamps unveiled by Royal Mail, which I discovered on the BBC website. They’ve been illustrated by Axel Scheffler, famous for his drawings in classic [...]
Celebrating the Illustrated Book
Monday, December 10th, 2012
Last week the Guardian website published a list of writers’ favourite classic book illustrations, as part of a joint campaign with the Folio Society to celebrate beautiful books. Many of the illustrations were from children’s books, and I remember a few from my own childhood – it’s surprising what memories they can evoke. This one, [...]
The Mystery Book Sculptor
Monday, December 3rd, 2012
As Chiara mentioned in an earlier blog post, last week was Scottish Book Week, prompting us all to ponder on our favourite Scottish books and authors. Since then I’ve come across a Scottish literature celebration of a different kind. Scotland’s mystery book sculptor, who I somehow missed in the news when she first turned up [...]
A Day in the Life of a Writer
Monday, November 26th, 2012
Do you ever wonder what the working day of a full-time writer might look like? Or perhaps you write yourself, and have some peculiar routines that help get you in the mood? Recently I came across an article on the daily routines of famous American writers, and some of their confessions fascinated me. Take Joan Didion, who [...]
Currently we are...
…Reading
Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn. Chiara: I was captivated by Gone Girl and both Sophie and Rachel Caine recommended this earlier book of hers so have opted for this as my holiday read. It's a long flight to San Francisco...…Tweeting
- @crookslesley is pondering 'larger than life' characters who live on beyond the page in today's blog http://t.co/5mQvBUJqcH
(about 7 hours ago) - RT @DE_Meredith: "...this wonderfully evocative story telling." Full review here: http://t.co/4wp0TH1Kbk @AllisonandBusby @AgentSophieL
(about 7 hours ago) - @ShannanTimbrell @rachelcaine Hey, sorry to hear you missed the tour, but our #Daylighters competition still runs: http://t.co/TyCp56egZJ
(about 9 hours ago) - RT @Bookishcrick: Declaration of independents! http://t.co/ubfJblS1if
(about 9 hours ago) - @booksbutterfly @DE_Meredith Exactly, Gollum or a magpie distracted by pretty, shiny things, either description works.
(about 11 hours ago)
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