Let’s have a look at some of the titles coming in
January. First up is Ad and Wal:
A Story of
Values, Duty, Sacrifice. This is by
the British Labour MP for Neath, Peter
Hain. What would you do if you lived under the ugliest of regimes, a
byword for repression and injustice? What would you do if you knew that you
could stay safe only if you stayed quiet? Most of us like to think we’d stand up
to fight against evil.Ad
and Wal is the story of two people
who became heroes by rebelling against the regime, despite the knowledge they
were putting themselves in grave danger. Peter Hain recounts the true story of his freedom-fighter
parents in this deeply affecting portrait of love, sacrifice and tragedy. It is
a story of how two people put their deep-seated feeling for what is right ahead
of their own safety, and took on the vicissitudes of an unjust and brutal
regime. This heart warming and heartbreaking story of two white South Africans
who risked everything to battle apartheid is a parable for our time and its
publication coincides with the release of the major new film Mandela: Long
Walk to Freedom in January 2104. Peter
Hain is a superb writer, his memoir Outside In sold 4,000
copies in hardback and the Guardian said that it “Reads more like a
political thriller than a memoir.” while the Observer commented that
it was “Disarmingly understated … refreshingly honest … Peter Hain has lived
life to the full, which is more than most of our politicians can say.”
Ad and Wal is published by
Biteback in hardback (9781849546430, £16.99).
Never again need you confuse consommé with coulis,
or entrée with entrecôte.Now you can
bask in the admiration of your fellow companions as you pronounce confidently on
what to do and where to do it and effortlessly hold your own against the most
highbrow of society. The Bluffer's Guide to
Etiquette by William Hanson is
the brand new title for the 5-million-copy bestselling series. William Hanson is considered by Sky News to
be “the UK 's leading
consultant in etiquette & protocol” and is widely regarded as the
UK
And here’s a very
amusing five minute clip of The
Bluffer's Guide to
Etiquette’s author William
Hanson in action on BBC3, trying very hard to teach comedian Russell
Howard some manners…
But if you’re looking to be entertained in an
entirely different manner, then how about Sexy Ways
to Play: A Guide to Sex Toys by Emily
Dubberley. This is a fun and frank introduction to bedroom toys and
the paperback boxed set from appropriately named Connections Publishing
(978-1-85906-381-1 £12.99) even includes a toy to try straight away. Oooh er
missus indeed! Expert author with media profile Emily Dubberley is a bestselling author and
journalist specializing in sex and relationships. The UK
Who did Forbes Magazine name as the most
powerful man in the world, last month? Yes, it’s Vladimir Putin. Seen through Western eyes he is
strong-willed, unpredictable, venal, and vain. But how does he appear to his
people? The Putin Mystique: Inside Russia’s Power Cult by
Anna Arutunyan has been described as
“Gripping… a dramatic eye-opener on the Russian soul” and is a vivid and
revealing exploration of the way in which myth, power and religion interact to produce the love-hate relationship
between the Russian people and Vladimir Putin. Anna
Arutunyan is a journalist and writer, working for the Moscow
News. She was born in the Soviet Union but was raised and educated in the
United
States Moscow and has observed Putin in action over the last ten
years and in this learned but readable book she puts Putin in the context of
Russian history and culture and shows how it is almost inevitable that every
ruler of Russia Russia
And if you’d like to see another side to Vladimir
Once Christmas is over, and the January sales have
finally been and gone, our thoughts will be turning to the next opportunity to
sell some books – Valentine’s Day.
Here is an ardent selection of gift titles from Summersdale, all new in
January and essential for any romantic bookseller’s Love themed promotion.
Classic Love Poems (hardback £9.99,
9781849535151) is edited by Max Morris.
Previous edition of this title have sold 24,000 copies, and there is no doubt
that poetry is the perfect medium to express affection and passion in all its
forms – from the initial stirrings of romance and desire to enduring love in
full bloom. This exquisitely illustrated anthology contains inspiring and moving
poetry by some of the best-loved writers in the English language, from Geoffrey
Chaucer to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and from William Shakespeare to Christina
Rossetti.
I Love You is by Lisa Swerling
& Ralph Lazar who are the husband-and-wife team that created the
hugely popular Harold’s Planet and Vimrod Cards. The simplest
romantic gestures are the best – scribble ‘I Love You’ with a red crayon and it
can get you into all sorts of trouble! This is the perfect (and quirkiest) way
to say those three little words. This is a gift hardback 9781849535144,
£5.99.
Another gift hardback; I
Love You to the Moon and Back is a beautifully-designed collection of
quotations to appeal to lovers young and old. This delightful book, packed with
heartfelt quotations from romantics old and new, is the perfect way to say, ‘I
love you to the moon and back.’ (9781849535250 £5.99)
Or you may prefer You’re
The Spring in my Step, also a £5.99 hardback which is a little
quirkier, exploring how falling in love
is like finding the yin to your yang, the butter on your crumpet, the Watson to
your Holmes. This little book is packed with romantic, funny and charming ways
to tell the one you love just how much they mean to you and adds a modern twist
to the traditional declarations of love, with a fresh, contemporary
design.
Love Vouchers and Sex Vouchers are both £5.99, tear-out books of vouchers
which give you the opportunity to pamper someone you love. You can decide if you
prefer the sweet or the saucy: will you choose the romantic gestures, from
breakfast in bed to a dreamy weekend away or something a bit spicier; from a
seductive massage to a steamy shower session!
Ahhhh – all this soppy stuff has put me in the mood
for something sentimental – how about Love is
the Sweetest Thing as sung by Al Bowlly with Ray Noble – just to
remind ourselves of what it’s really all about!
Can any of us remember when journalists were daring
investigative heroes – working tirelessly to expose corruption rather spending
their days hacking celebrities’ mobile phones and trying to photograph Kate
Middleton’s bosoms? One such journalistic colossus is without doubt Chapman Pincher, now 99 years old, and going
stronger than ever. Dangerous to Know: The
Autobiography of Harry Chapman Pincher is colourful, indiscreet and
compelling – and also reveals the secret history of the century he bestrode.
Harry Chapman Pincher was one of the most
famous newspaper men of his day and his era’s foremost investigator of the
vicissitudes of the state. He is the author of many bestselling books including
Their Trade is Treachery. His name, a byword for investigative
journalism, sounded a note of real terror for those trying to safeguard the
secrets of state. Chapman Pincher came to
journalism late, after early careers as a teacher, a scientist and a soldier,
but after joining Lord Beaverbrook’s then all-powerful Daily Express in
the summer of 1945, he swiftly became the master of the journalistic scoop. His
first splash, a leaked top secret account of the development of the atomic bomb,
sparked a furious trans-Atlantic row. It was only the start of a career in which
the name Chapman Pincher became
synonymous with high-level leaks from the most secret parts of government. At a
time when national newspapers operated out of Fleet Street and journalists
hunted in packs, Chapman Pincher
preferred to hunt alone, cultivating the high and mighty at shooting parties and
other social gatherings where they were relaxed enough to share what seemed at
the time to be every secret they knew. He still revels in the bitter claim of
historian E P Thompson, that he was “a kind of official urinal” into
which senior members of the government and the intelligence services stood
“patiently leaking in the public interest”. When he finally retired from
journalism, the leaks kept coming, leading to a series of best-selling books on
the infiltration of Britain’s intelligence services by Moscow which culminated
in the allegation in Their Trade is Treachery that the head ofMI5 was a Soviet spy. It is a £20 hardback from
Biteback (9781849546515)
And talking of the head of MI5 being a secret agent,
what better way to while away fifteen minutes than watching The Top
Ten moments in Spooks as voted for by cast and crew. Oh why oh why
did they get rid of this series I cry…
And now a round up of what’s in the media this
week….
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There was a great piece in the Telegraph promoting Glitzch by Hugh
Kellett and you can find out all the details on Glitzch! here. It’s £8.99 from Bene Factum
Publishing
(9781909657212).
There’s lots and lots in the news about what will or
won’t happen if Scotland
100 Reasons to Love Ryan
Gosling by Joanna Beneke is getting lots of publicity in the
gossipy mags – and on line. The book reviewed in Reveal magazine,
Now magazine, Star magazine, QX magazine, Bent
magazine and in Out in the City magazine’s Christmas gift guide.100 Reasons to Love Ryan Gosling is £12.99 in
paperback. 9780859655019 from Plexus.
A massive spread this week in the Daily Mail
with tons of pictures this week for author Jennifer
Berkley, on trying to be a mother with lots of good plugs for her
book Falling in Honey: Life and Love on a Greek
Island, which is published in paperback by Summersdale
(978-1849532716).
A bit of exciting news for one of our independent
publishers this week (as reported in today’s Bookseller); Myrmidon
has signed a companion guide to cult TV drama Breaking Bad. It is the independent publisher's
first ever non-fiction book. The publisher signed UK
So to end with, here’s a nine
minute refresher guide to the entire Breaking Bad
series!
That’s all for now
folks, more next week!
This newsletter is sent weekly to over 600
booksellers, publishers and publicists. If you would like to order any of the
titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the Compass New Titles
Website or talk to your Compass Sales
representative.
