Happy Easter! Hope everyone finds some time to enjoy
the bank holiday weekend whether you are spending it bookselling or just
scoffing tons of chocolate!
And talking of chocolate, don’t forget about this
new one from Choc Lit – The Soft Whisper of
Dreams by Christina Courtenay
is a contemporary romance set in Devon . Maddie
Browne thought she’d grown out of the recurring nightmare that plagued her as a
child, but after a shocking family secret is revealed, it comes back to haunt
her – the same swing in the same garden, and the swarthy arms which grab her
from behind and try to take her away. In an attempt to forget her troubles,
Maddie travels to Devon to spend time with her
friends, Kayla and Wes. However, it becomes clear that relaxation will not be on
the agenda after a disturbing encounter with a gypsy fortune teller. Not to
mention the presence of Wes’s dangerously handsome brother, Alex… There is no
doubt that swarthy West Country romance is very definitely in vogue at present,
and any of you on Twitter will know that there are masses of very keen Choc
Lit fans out there just waiting for the books. Christina Courtenay is Chairman of the Romantic
Novelists’ Association, and previous novels have won the Big Red Reads
Best Historical Fiction Award, the Best Historical Romantic Novel of the
Year and the Best Historical Read Award from the Festival of
Romance – so this author knows her stuff. Here is a selection of the reviews for
The Soft Whisper of Dreams which have
been posted on Twitter in the last week… “This has definitely been my
favourite book of 2015 so far. I am a big fan of Christina Courtenay, and all of
her books have been pretty fab.” “Mystery and romance… intriguing…Christina
Courtenay has a way with describing settings you want to visit for real!” “A
real treat… a real page turner and well put together. The characters are well
drawn and there's an element of thriller as well as romance. I shall certainly
be reading more.” The Soft Whisper of
Dreams (£7.99, pb, 978 1781892237) has just been published and you
can find out more and order it here
However, if that sort of book is just too soppy and
sappy for a gritty urban bookseller like you, then how about Fishnet (pb, 978 1910449066 £8.99) by Kirstin Innes which is published next week by
Freight? This is a shocking, utterly compelling novel about one young
woman’s journey into the world of escorts, sex, and prostitution as she searches
for her missing sister. This gripping story with its empowering, feminist
storyline has been meticulously researched by Kirstin Innes within the sex industry – it has a
shocking dénouement and is sure to attract attention. Kirstin Innes is a freelance journalist and this
is her debut novel. She won the Allen
Wright Award for Excellence in Arts Journalism and writes for the
Scotsman, Scotland
Find out more about Fishnet and order it here
Find out more about Fishnet and order it here
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And now let’s move from a novel with an empowering
feminist storyline, to one which actually celebrates misogyny – one journalist
describing it as “a sustained rant against women”. And you won’t be
reading anything from its author on Twitter as his account has been suspended.
He’s also excoriated the BBC for broadcasting garbage; suggested Benedict
Cumberbatch is more Hello! than Hamlet, hates critics, has sued
Julie Burchill for implying he was “hideously ugly” and apparently threatened to
kill theatre critic Nicholas de Jongh. Cripes! Sod
the Bitches by Steven Berkoff
is out from Urbane Publications on 13 April and it’s safe to say it will
undoubtedly cause a bit of a stooshie as my Scottish colleagues would say! You
can read a major double page spread all about it which came out this week in the Standard here. Sod the
Bitches (978 1909273825, £12.99, hb) contains many of the familiar
Steven Berkoff themes, from his use of
crude street patter to discussion of sex wars; class wars; dislocation and
abandonment of love in a thankless and unyielding world. This is a challenging,
brutally honest novel that will inspire, enrage and divide and you can find out more and order it here
Well! Which of these three very different novels
would you actually want to live in? A world of “swarthy romance”, one that is
“dangerous and complex” or one that is “thankless and unyielding”? Tough choice?
Do you sometimes get confused between the world outside your cosy bookshop and
the one inside the books on the shelves? Are you in fact living in a dystopian
novel? Here’s a fun article by Waterstone’s bookseller Andrew Drennan
who argues that it can be very hard to tell the difference nowadays between the
dystopian future of an author’s imagination and the world we currently live
in!
One of the best things about reading a really great
book is the way you can completely lose yourself in its pages as I’m sure you’ll
agree. But what if you kept up a running commentary on the book as you read it –
maybe on Twitter, or Facebook? Have a look here at how some classic novels would look if they came with
internet comments next to them!
Did you watch the election debate last night? What
did you think? I think I agree with the Telegraph’s point that it was all
somewhat exhausting to watch: "Shout, shout, interruption, shout. The stress
of it. It was like sitting through a two-hour penalty shoot-out - between seven
different teams." The general view seem to be that it was the fringe parties
who made their views felt most strongly – all good news for Nigel Farage and his Biteback book The Purple Revolution: The Year that Changed
Everything (pb, £8.99, 978 1849548632) which I think it has been
reviewed pretty much in every newspaper in the last week! This never-before-told
inside story of UKIP and its charismatic leader told by Nigel Farage himself is not an autobiography, but
rather the untold story of the journey UKIP has travelled under his leadership,
from the icy fringes of British politics all the way to Westminster
The debate was also good publicity for Nicola Sturgeon: A Biography by David Torrance (pb, £8.99 9781780272962) just
published by Birlinn. This is the first and only biography of the leader
of the SNP and Scotland Westminster
You can find out more and order Nicola Sturgeon: A Biography
here
Well after all that political argy bargy I think we
need something a bit more relaxing, so what could be better than a bit of ol'
blue eyes himself. Red Planet are publishing The Dead Straight Guide to Frank Sinatra by
Chris Ingham (pb, 978 1905959563, £14.99)
this month. 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sinatra, and
The Dead Straight Guide to Frank Sinatra
is packed with an extraordinary amount of information on this iconic singer.
Every one of his films and albums is reviewed from a fresh new perspective and
its 400 pages are packed with interesting titbits of info, and great pictures.
There is plenty here in this chunky little paperback (228x 152mm) for both the
Sinatra novice and the committed fan.
And here’s the man himself back in
1962 . Nice huh – or how about this
recording of Come Fly with Me – ahh now that’s what you need to give
you that Friday feeling!
And here are some of the week’s best Tweets – remember
you can see them all first hand by following us @CompassIPS or click here
if you are a Twitter virgin!
Great window
for alluring clever period mystery The Man Who Bought London thanks @WaterstonesPicc @HesperusPress
Just
listening to the entertaining Shann Nix Jones talking on Steve Wright show about
her book: nice one @HayHouseUK
Looky here @CompassIPS 4.30pm today @BBCRadio4 @HarriettSG
discussing Pascal Garnier The Islanders
Wanna Cook? #BreakingBad is going to be on UK TV on 15
April. OMG #bestnewsallday. Get the guide @myrmidonbooks
Who else
thinks #Poldark2015 and #wildswimming go together like cream and jam on
a scone? @wildthingsbooks
Congrats @CaoilinnHughes winning Shine/Strong Award for
Gathering Evidence - science and poems - love it! @Carcanet
That’s all for now
folks, Compass Points is now on holiday - back on 17
April!
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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