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Behind-The-Books Blog
Articles by Sara
Here’s to children’s books!
Monday, May 21st, 2012
Last week I accompanied author Rachel Caine to an event at Peters Books in Birmingham, and I was very impressed by the place. Peters is the country’s leading children’s library supplier, and getting a tour around their showroom was fantastic. In amongst life-size crocodile, gorilla and giraffe soft toys were 24,000 different children’s books – [...]
Literary spotlight on Charlotte Street
Friday, May 18th, 2012
I’ve been reading a little about Danny Wallace new debut novel entitled Charlotte Street. I don’t know much about Danny Wallace myself, aside from the fact that he’s also a journalist, but the title of his book caught my eye. Because there is in fact a Charlotte Street just around the corner from the office [...]
What’s your favourite first line?
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
There seems to be a trend in the book world lately for ‘best first lines’. I first came across this article from the Guardian listing ten of the best opening lines, including of course ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of [...]
My Top 5 Funny Books (to cheer you up in this weather)
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
It won’t stop raining, the news is full of corrupt politicians and press moguls, and apparently we’ve sunk into a double-dip recession. At this point, I think we all need cheering up. So it seems the time is right for my top five funny books, to keep you chuckling as you take refuge from the [...]
It’s UK Coffee Week!
Monday, April 23rd, 2012
These days every week of the year seems to have some kind of special theme – and this week, I’ve discovered, is UK Coffee Week. My first thought was that it’s probably all organised by Starbucks in an attempt to herd more highly-caffeinated commuters into their stores, but when I checked the UK Coffee Week [...]
Personal picks from the upcoming World Shakespeare Festival
Monday, April 16th, 2012
Earlier in the year I mentioned the World Shakespeare Festival, which forms part of the ‘cultural Olympiad’ taking place across the UK. Now, as the beginning of the Festival nears – it launches on 23rd April – there’s much more information available on the events. Below are a few of my highlights (see here for [...]
Exploring Chinese publishing
Thursday, April 12th, 2012
Next week publishers across London will be flocking to Earl’s Court to attend the London Book Fair. Each year the LBF chooses a country for its ‘Market Focus‘ programme, with the aim of establishing international publishing links. This year the chosen market is China. Until I did a little reading, I have to say that [...]
A chocolate-themed blog
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
As we’re approaching the Easter weekend, I thought I’d write my blog this week on what, to me, is the most important aspect of the holiday: chocolate. Chocolate has invaded our lives lately (not that we’re complaining). Recently we girls in the office were lucky enough to each receive a free, and very large, bar [...]
The literary history around the A&B office…
Monday, March 26th, 2012
Today I discovered the impressive literary history of The Fitzroy Tavern, a pub just around the corner from our office which I have passed many times. The tavern is famous for its history as a meeting place for London’s artists and intellectuals, from the 1920s to the 1950s. How could I have overlooked this, having [...]
Do you always want the happy ending?
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
Recently I read this article on The Guardian website, which made me actually want to post an argumentative comment underneath it (don’t worry, I didn’t – I know it would only be a downward spiral from there). In her blog post entitled ‘Sob stories: classic books I’m too cowardly to finish’, Imogen Russell Williams claims [...]
More favourite literary gifts…
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012
I’ve just discovered the perfect gift shop – The Literary Gift Company – and hoped to delight my fellow colleagues with such a discovery, only to fine I’m actually a bit late off the mark, as the other A&B girls were well aware of this online treasure trove (and blogged about it too here, before [...]
India keeps inspiring us…
Monday, March 5th, 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 [...]
Happy St David’s Day
Thursday, March 1st, 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, [...]
Pans and batters at the ready – it’s almost Pancake Day!
Monday, February 20th, 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 [...]
Top 5 Literary Love Stories
Tuesday, February 14th, 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 [...]
Thoughts of snow and books
Monday, February 6th, 2012
With the snow falling over London this weekend, I began to think about snow and, of course, its links with the written word. Doing a degree in English Literature taught me that you can take almost any theme, apply it to a few books, and find a wealth of interesting stuff. In literature snow can [...]
What upcoming film adaptations are you looking forward to?
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
Last week’s issue of Stylist included a list of book adaptations due to hit the big screen this year, and as a frequent cinema-goer, I’m looking forward to quite a few of them. First, on the 10th February, comes eerie horror, The Woman in Black. I haven’t read the book, but I’m quite interested to [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Currently we are...
…Reading
Going Too Far, by Catherine Alliott. Susie: I rarely read 'girly' books but came across Alliott a few years ago. I've read 3 of her books thus far, and was delighted to spot this one for 30p in a charity shop. I've not opened it as yet but am hoping for another witty, grown-up, middle-class romcom, with lots of 4x4s and country houses!
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