As Halloween approaches,
can I draw your attention to Tales of the Troubled
Dead: Ghost Stories in Cultural History (£14.99, pb 978 1474417372) which
has just been published by Edinburgh University Press. Why do ghosts, even
in the age of science, still haunt our storytelling? Catherine Belsey's fascinating answer to this question traces
Gothic writing and tales of the uncanny from the ancient past of Homer and the
Icelandic sagas, through to the present. Taking the Ghost in Hamlet as a
turning point in the history of the genre, she uncovers a ghostly trail vividly
charted through accredited records of apparitions and fiction by such writers
as Ann Radcliffe, Washington Irving, Emily Bronte, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry
James, M. R. James and Susan Hill right through to recent blockbusting movies.
The Financial Times have just reviewed it and said it was ‘an
engaging examination of the persistence of these tales in the western canon.’
And if anyone fancies a bit of a frightening
Friday, then have a look at these top ten legendary ghosts!
Great review here
of
the The BBC National Short Story Award 2019 anthology (£7.99, pb, 978 1912697229) on Storgy.com
which says ‘A short story has the ability to move, intrigue and seduce in
ways that are specific to the form. Of the five short stories included in The
BBC National Short Story Award 2019, each bring those merits and more to the
forefront.’
I’m getting very excited indeed about
the forthcoming series of War of the Worlds from the BBC – trailer here.
Don’t
forget that Legend Classics have a handsome edition of War of the Worlds (£8.99,
pb, 978 1789550634) which is available now! ‘Yet across the gulf of space,
minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish,
intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious
eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us…’
Burning Up: A Global History of Fossil Fuel
Consumption (£18.99, pb, 978 0745335612) by Simon Pirani is a a
major contribution to understanding the greatest crisis of our time. It recounts
the history of fossil fuels' relentless rise since the mid twentieth century; of
all the fossil fuels ever consumed, more than half were burned in the last 50
years. Dispelling explanations foregrounding Western consumerism, and arguments
that population growth is the main problem, Pirani shows how fossil fuels are
consumed through technological, social and economic systems, and that these
systems must change. It was mentioned in the New Statesman this week and you
can read that piece here.
It’s published by Pluto
An excellent signing session at the Royal
Academy Bookshop last weekend, with John Hockney talking about and signing lots of copies of The Hockneys: Never Worry What the Neighbours Think (£25, hb, 978 1789550733). This title is shaping up
to be a big bestseller for Legend this Christmas!
We were delighted to see Hassan Blasim's Iraqi
Christ named in Literary Hub's
'10 Best Short Story Collections of the Decade' you can see that here. In
2014 it bagged the Iraqi author Blasim and his translator Jonathan Wright the
Independent Foreign Fiction prize, now the International Booker. (It was first published
by Comma, and is now published in the US by Penguin as The Corpse Exhibition,
which is what it’s listed as here.)
Some great PR for Red Door's Mindfulness at Work and Home focussing on Mental Health Day this week, there were pieces
in Forbes Online (10 Oct) and BA Up to Speed (11 Oct) and there’s
a feature tomorrow in the Daily Telegraph Weekend (12 Oct). There will
also be articles in the December issues of Northern Woman and Flight
Time. Its author Gillian Higgins has been practicing as a war crimes barrister for the
past 20 years. Juggling life at the bar and bringing up her daughter led her to
mindfulness, as she wanted to be more present, feel less reactive, sleep better
and improve her ability to respond to the challenges that a career and
parenting can bring. She has pioneered work in the field of mindfulness amongst
her fellow professionals and is building her reputation as a leader in this
field. You can find out lots more about the book on Gillian’s excellent website
www.practicalmeditation.co.uk
A truly terrific review for Patrick Kidd's The Weak
Are A Long Time in Politics (£9.99, hb
978 1785905339) in the Times last weekend, which said ‘Kidd’s language
is as joyously absurdist as Wodehouse's … I predict his masterly volume will be
considered vastly more enjoyable, and insightful, than any of the dour official
chronicles of our era.’ They also gave a big thumbs up to Peter Brookes' brilliant new collection of acerbic
sketches of contemporary political life, Critical
Times (£20, hb, 978 1785905209), featuring
several cartoons from this master of satire and multiple winner of the Cartoonist
of the Year. Both have just been published by Biteback.
Bookshop Day
on 5th October was a big hit again this year following Super Thursday on 3 Oct (which
saw 426 hardbacks hit the shelves) seems to have driven footfall to the independent
bookshops over the weekend, according to the Bookseller. Booksellers
have hailed Philip Pullman and Bill Bryson as the highlights of this year with a
bumper weekend of events taking place up and down the country. Many indie
booksellers think 2019 is shaping up to be a stellar year for publishing. Hungerford
Books owner Alex Milne-White said he was optimistic for booksellers in the
run up to the festive period, enthusing he couldn't remember there being as
many highly anticipated titles this time last year. Hazel Broadfoot of Village
Books in Dulwich said ‘I feel quite optimistic for my bookshop because
there are loads of really good books out there. It’s a really exciting season,
there are stacks of good things.’ Richard Drake of Drake the Bookshop in
Stockton said ‘What is really exciting is the number of signed copies
that are around, meaning the indies have a slightly different offer to give to
our loyal (and new) customers.’ Blackwell's head of marketing and
publicity Zool Verjee said ‘the excitement builds towards a very promising
Christmas’ while Julie Danskin, manager at Golden Hare Books in
Edinburgh, said ‘Indie bookshops all do their own thing so it's nice
when there is a national campaign like this. We each put our own spin on it and
chat throughout the day. It's always really successful.’ I hear Golden
Hare Books were giving away free cakes, which sounds like my sort of books promotion!
Here’s hoping all bookshops large and small have an awesome autumn, and a fantastic
festive season!
And for this week’s Hot Topics, I don’t
think there’s any topic much hotter than the ongoing spat between Rebekah #Wagamama
Vardy and Coleen #WagathaChristie Rooney! Here's a summary of the story, here
are
the best memes so far and here's
the
brilliant Marina Hyde’s summary in the Guardian!
That’s all folks, more next
week!
This weekly blog is written for the UK
book trade. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please
talk to your Compass Sales Manager, or call the Compass office on 020 8326
5696. Every Friday an e-newsletter containing highlights from the blog is sent
out to over 700 booksellers and if you’d like to receive this then please
contact nuala@compassips.london
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