Well, if watching the extraordinary kerfuffle
surrounding Le Grand Depart of the Tour de France hasn’t inspired you to get up
off the sofa and onto a bike, then I really don’t know what will. The numbers of
Brits taking up cycling – whether as a method of commuting, or for leisure or
fitness purposes – has never been greater, but many of us are still a bit
daunted by the whole thing, and don’t quite know where to start. Well, now How to
be a Cyclist is here to help. This is a humorous, one-of-a-kind gift
book by journalist John Deering featuring
stunning, inspirational photography by Phil
Ashley. It’s an essential manual and source of wisdom for those who
would be kings of the road. Many pitfalls await the unwary
middle-aged-man-in-Lycra, but fear not, for How
to be a Cyclist will steer you through choppy waters. No more
passing out halfway up a hill. No more ridicule in the work place. No more hurty
knee. And no more sock crimes. Pearls of wisdom are scattered throughout this
book like rose petals before a princess on her wedding day. For instance, who
could deny that life is too short to drink bad coffee? That a noisy bike is
marginally more annoying than a whiney toddler? Or that style should ever be
sacrificed for speed? No bicycle repair was ever made easier by turning your
bike upside down. White shorts are for other people. A helmet perched on the
back of your head is perfect if you ride your bike backwards – These and a host
of other handy pointers jostle for attention within this A–Z guide to being a
cyclist. Written by experts who know everything there is to know about cycling,
yet never forget that there is nothing funnier than a rabbit playing a trumpet;
How to be a Cyclist is mandatory reading
for all bike riders. John Deering’s first
book was a study of his time with the chaotic but charismatic Linda McCartney
Cycling Team and went on to be voted 5th best cycling book of all time. He has
supplied many features to publications such as Procycling, The
Official Tour de France Guide and Ride Cycling Review,and contributed
regularly to Eurosport’s cycling coverage. He is also the author of
Bradley Wiggins: Tour de Force. How to be a
Cyclist (978 1909715158, £12.99, hb) by John Deering and Phil Ashley is published by
Arena Sport in September. I can certainly think of umpteen middle aged
friends who have recently become boringly evangelical about the joys of cycling
and I feel this book may just be the perfect Christmas present for all of
them.
On the same subject, I found this geeky YouTube
film explaining the joys of cycling to be both true, and
hilarious!
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And while we’re on a bit of a health kick, why not go one step
further, and after your energising bike ride, whizz yourself up an energising
juice drink? No idea where to start? Well then, The
Juice Solution: More than 90 feel-good recipes to energise, fuel, detoxify and
protect is exactly what you need. The
Juice Solution shows how to unleash the powerful health benefits in
raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts by turning them into delicious juice
concoctions. Consuming fruit and vegetables in juice form preserves nutrients
that would be otherwise lost in the cooking process and provides a quick and
easy way to enjoy your daily dose of fruits and vegetables. Organised by different nutritional needs, this book
offers a juice for any time of day. Energising juices wake up your system
without the use of stimulants. Fuelling juices, made from fibrous ingredients
and healthy fats, help keep you satisfied. Detoxifying juices flush toxins from
your body by releasing the natural antibacterial qualities found in many fruits
and vegetables. Protective juices unleash the immune-boosting properties in
certain types of fresh produce. This full colour hardback also contains guides
to choosing an electric juicer model that’s right for you, suggestions on how to
select produce to target specific health needs, and tips and tricks for making
the most of your machine. Whether you’re a first time juicer, an avid juicer, or
just looking for fresh and exciting ways to use your home juicer, this book
offers something for everyone whose looking to feel healthier. This book is an
attractively produced, 112 page hardback, with over 60 inspiring colour
photographs. The Juice Solution by Erin Qoin and Briana
Stockton (hb, £12.99 978 0992705855) is published in September by
Emex.
If it’s September titles we’re talking about, then
it must be time for some annuals to appear on the Compass list, and The Oldie Annual 2015 is likely to be one of our
most successful. This is the best of The Oldie’s writers, columnists,
cartoonists and artists from the archive in one book, and it’s a bargain at
£9.99 for 112 pages – 16 more than last year! Founded in 1992, The Oldie
is Richard Ingrams’s irreverent magazine for the independent-minded, and has
been called “the most original magazine in the country” (The
Independent.) Writers include
Raymond Briggs, Jane Gardam, Virginia Ironside, Susan Hill, Chris
Mullin and Merlin Holland, and as Joan Bakewell said in the Daily Telegraph:
“The mix of high humour and good writing is the recipe for a successful
magazine and The Oldie has got it right. It’s like sitting around a warm fire
with friends”. The Best of The
Oldie (pub. 2012) was a huge sell-out success, and the SIX
previously published Oldie Annuals are a tried and tested Christmas present for
parents and grandparents.
The Oldie Annual 2015 (hb, 978 1901170221 £9.99) is published in
September by Oldie Publications.
Whether or not you personally think of yourself as
an oldie, there’s no doubt that old age will catch up with all of us eventually
(that is if working in a boiling hot bookshop doesn’t cut you off in your
prime). I wonder what Harry Potter will be like once he retires? Have a look here for some amusing
suggestions!
One famous oldie is Rowan Williams, and the Telegraph ran a big
piece on him this week entitled Does Retirement Suit Rowan? which you can read here. It contained a review of The Poems of Rowan Williams (pb, 978 1 847774 52
1, £9.95) which is published by Carcanet and is getting lots of good
coverage – definitely worth keeping it on display. As. AN Wilson, writing in the
Daily Telegraph said: “Reading this poet, at such a period in our
history, is like feeling the first drops of rain after a long season of
drought” and all the reviews for it have been uniformly
good.
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As David Cameron decides to get rid of the stale
pale males and replace them with a collection of catwalk cuties, you may be
asking yourself whether there has ever been a worse time in history to be a man.
If so, then Stand by Your Manhood: A Survival Guide
for the Modern Man is the book you have been waiting for. Hilariously
wry, investigative and long-overdue, this hilariously unforgiving, controversial
bloke bible is by Daily Mail journalist Peter
Lloyd, and is absolutely bound to attract massive media attention
when it is published this autumn. Peter
Lloyd writes a weekly column for the Daily Mail on men’s
issues, and whilst all the material in this book is new; the newspaper promote
the book. Men are brilliant. Being a man is brilliant - except for divorce,
circumcisions, gold-diggers, penile dysmorphia, paying the bill, becoming a
weekend dad, critics who've been hating on us for, well - pretty much forty
years -oh, and those pesky early deaths. Covering all the taboo truths magazine
editors typically blanch at, this rapid
fire, politically
incorrect-yet-actually-correct handbook covers everything you need to know about
life, but were never told, including: sex, women, fatherhood, marriage and
money. Stand by Your Manhood is a unique
title seeking to highlight men’s issues in the modern age. There is nothing else
like this on the market. Funny, irrelevant and completely politically
incorrect, this is a male equivalent to Caitlin Moran’s How to Be a
Woman, and I have a feeling it could be very big
indeed.
Stand by Your Manhood (978 1849547437 £16.99, hb) is published by
Biteback in September and you can find out more and order it here.
And on the subject of laughing at men – please enjoy
this little clip of Michael Gove falling from
grace...
Who remembers the terrible case of Baby P? In
England in 2007 Peter Connelly, a 17 month old little boy - known initially in
the media reporting as 'Baby P' - died following terrible neglect and abuse.
Fifteen months later, his mother, her boyfriend and the boyfriend's brother were
sent to prison. But media attention then turned on those who worked to protect
children who quickly became the focus of the reporting and of the blame,
especially the social workers and their managers. Five years later they are
still harassed by press reporters. The Story of Baby
P: Setting the Record Straight by Dr Ray Jones is an important book
which draws together all evidence available on this high profile case and will
makes a unique and crucial contribution to the topic of press reporting and
journalism in general It will make
essential reading for everyone who is concerned about child protection and the
media's impact on it. The Social Policy
Editor of the Guardian wrote: "Ray Jones is a courageous - and all too
lonely - voice taking on the tabloids' distortions of child protection
services." He is a Professor of Social Work and a frequent media
commentator, who has written several books and numerous papers on social work
and social policy, and this The Story of Baby
P is getting quite a bit of media attention. It is certainly very
interesting to examine the media frenzy that happened following this baby’s
tragic death and what its repercussions were for the social work profession and
child protection agencies in this country. Ray
Jones was interviewed this Wednesday on ITV's Good Morning
Britain programme and there was also local BBC coverage and a piece in the
Guardian and there will be more to come. The
Story of Baby P: Setting the Record Straight (pb, £12.99,
:9781447316220) has just been published by Policy Press and you
can find out more and order it here.
Always good to have one of our books recommended as
a top summer read – and The Iraqi Christ
by Hassan Blassim (pb, £9.99 978
1905583522 ) published by Comma Press, was chosen in the Guardian’s
Best Summer Reading feature – you can read the whole article here.
That’s all for now
folks, more next week!
This newsletter is sent weekly to over 700
booksellers as well as 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.
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