Blog
The Silk Road
23 March, 2016
With the number of TV channels at our fingertips these days, your average night at home on the sofa becomes something of a lucky dip of entertainment. One such surprise was stumbling upon David Baddiel’s latest show, a four part travelogue along the 2000-year-old trade route of the Silk Road. From East to West, Baddiel’s […]
Selfie-destruct
16 March, 2016
Most of us have been taking photos of ourselves for years, but it wasn’t until recently that this common phenomenon was given a name: the selfie. Since then, not a day goes by when we don’t either see them posted online or nearly get hit in the face by people too engrossed in getting the […]
Making a Murderer
3 March, 2016
Every once in a while, a show comes on TV that just blows everything else out of the water. After finally succumbing to Netflix a few weeks ago, I discover the thriller-documentary ‘Making a Murderer’ and I am now utterly addicted. (Source) Exonerated after spending nearly two decades in prison for a crime he did […]
Computer says show*
26 February, 2016
When you really enjoy the theatre and haven’t been for nearly 2 years due to a (not so little) thing like a rapidly rampaging toddler, you jump at the chance of a spare ticket from a friend. However, I’ll admit though that when I checked out the website for Beyond the Fence I wasn’t expecting […]
Harper Lee – the best kind of One-Hit-Wonder
22 February, 2016
The passing of Harper Lee on Saturday garnered a number of column inches and that rare thing on TV – footage of bookshops and books of shelves on the evening news. As one of a generation (or two? Three?) who studied To Kill a Mockingbird at school (and thankfully didn’t come away with a distaste […]
I can’t believe it’s not batter!
9 February, 2016
IT’S PANCAKE DAY! The one day a year when the average Joe feels no remorse in gorging on doughy goodness, because everyone’s doing it, right? (Although the fact that several pizza chains have 2-for-1 offers every Tuesday throughout the year means that collective dough indulgence is now commonplace…) Having willingly filled myself to bursting point […]
Doctor Faustus Returns!
3 February, 2016
My week has been brightened my the news that Kit Harington is returning to the stage for Christopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus. My favourite Game of Thrones character (‘You know nothing, Jon Snow’) will take on the title role in the 400-year-old story of the man who swaps his soul for the ability to do as […]
An Anniversary Reading List
28 January, 2016
If you had come across me about this time in 2006 I was probably on the rumpled side. You see, I was doing the clichéd post-student thing of sleeping on friends’ and family’s sofas and floors, not just for the ‘fun’ of it, but so that I could do work experience placements and short-term jobs […]
Hogwarts Casts a Love Spell
20 January, 2016
Just when you thought the Harry Potter franchise had done everything possible in the name of wizarding awesomeness: the theme park, the studio tour, the two-part theatrical production coming this year – think again. Following the success of the Hogwarts Christmas meal last month, couples can now book to have their Valentine’s Day meal in […]
A Prescription for Fiction
13 January, 2016
Life is too short for bad books. I recently came across bibliotherapy: the art of prescribing fiction to cure life’s ills in an attempt to help, heal or provoke. So you’ll never have to read a bad book again. The School of Life in London runs a bibliotherapy session where you meet with one of their trained consultants […]
The story is after you!
6 January, 2016
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Oh, sorry, was that a little too enthusiastic for you? OK, granted, it’s grey outside, it’s a long way until pay day and you’re suddenly regretting the seconds you helped yourself to over Christmas. But if the idea of leaving your hibernation on the sofa with a good book is hard to […]
Jackanory 50th Anniversary
10 December, 2015
I’ve recently found out my childhood, while wonderful, was missing out on one thing: ‘Jackanory‘. A BBC children’s television series designed to stimulate an interest in reading (not that I needed any coaxing). The format usually involved an actor reading from children’s novels or fairy tales, such as The Snow Queen or A Bear Called […]
A Mind to Murder: a personal tribute to PD James by Mandy Morton
25 November, 2015
When someone famous dies we are treated to a glut of views and tributes from people who knew them, worked with them or were inspired by them. With these insights, we build up a lasting understanding of who they were and the imprint they have left behind. After the death of PD James in November last year, the expected tributes were fast and […]
The Met’s Secret Archives
18 November, 2015
Calling all amateur sleuths – for the first time the secret archives of the Metropolitan Police are going on display in a new exhibition at the Museum of London. The city’s most inaccessible museum must surely be The Crime Museum, a macabre collection of evidence and criminal tales which was created in 1875 but has only […]
A ‘Real-Life’ Amazon Book Store?
11 November, 2015
Yes, it’s happening, Amazon opened their first brick-and-mortar store on 3rd November last week. Waterstones have already spoken out with the slightly-hilarious-yet-aggressive notion that they hope the store “falls flat on its face”. But how should we, the general public and fellow book-lovers, feel? Personally I am a little confused about how I feel. Whenever […]
Bletchley Park – guest post by author Mary Nichols
4 November, 2015
We’re delighted to feature this post from our author Mary Nichols. If it whets your appetite for what is on display at Bletchley Park, we’re offering subscribers to our monthly customer Books Bulletin the chance to win a family ticket. Scroll down to sign up now! In the interests of research for We’ll Meet Again, […]
Going…going…GONE!
28 October, 2015
Abebooks revealed last week what they think of as their most unusual item on their site: Edith Wharton’s baby rattle. £10,500 and it’s yours! It’s just a rattle. The Guardian describes it as simply a ‘sterling silver and coral’ rattle, engraved ‘Edith’ which Wharton even gave away to her friend’s daughter. For those looking for a pricier […]
Have my cake and eat / read it
21 October, 2015
As a mum to a toddler (toddler – when did that happen?!), my reading this past year has been more Julia Donaldson than Julian Stockwin. (See my last post here before starting maternity leave – ha! So many left unread…) Basically, if you find yourself in need of a slightly frazzled person to recite children’s […]
A week with the Editorial Department
14 October, 2015
Want to know what goes on behind the scenes here at A&B? Here’s a snapshot of a week in the editorial department… MONDAY While Sophie, our editor, travels to Ely to see our lovely author Mary Nichols, discussing future projects and consuming lemon meringue pie, looking très chic… …Kelly is stuck on the Saw ride […]
Rail’s Golden Age
7 October, 2015
In light of Birmingham’s main station reopening after a £750m makeover, the National Railway Museum in York is using its latest exhibition to celebrate the architectural styles from the past and the Golden Age of train stations. Most of our current railway stations favour a futuristic design on the outside, with a bright and spacious […]
‘Freedom is a powerful drug’: A&B author Sarah Grazebrook talks Suffragettes
30 September, 2015
Next month sees the release of the eagerly anticipated Suffragette movie starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham-Carter, Meryl Streep and many more names of note. It inspired us to ask A&B author Sarah Grazebrook, who wrote about the suffrage movement in her novel Crooked Pieces, what is so inspiring about this moment in history. ‘Man is […]
