Compass
Points
Your
weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information
and trivia!
The Ship, the Lady and
the Lake by Meriel Larken is the extraordinary story of a
Victorian steamship – in the Andes! In 1862 the English steamship Yavari was
taken to bits, and shipped to South America. In an epic logistical feat it was
carried in thousands of pieces 12,500 ft up the Andes to Lake Titicaca – which
is the world’s highest waterway. The ship was then reconstructed there, and for
over a century plied her trade up and down the lake. But by 1985 she was a sad
rotting hulk – until a young Englishwoman found her, and determined to restore
her to her former glory transforming her into a tourist attraction in the Andes.
This fascinating story is getting a lot of review coverage – including this
week’s two page article in The Spectator which called it “a gripping
tale, a personal adventure and an inspiring story of what single minded
dedication can achieve. Unusually for this kind of account it’s also a great
deal more. It’s a lovely price of writing, lively and imaginative in style;
full of action.”
During the
Jubilee weekend much attention was focussed on the Thames and the river pageant.
You can see a very different side to this great river – and many other London
waterways in Circle Line – yes it’s about
boats not trains! In 2009, sailor and Londoner Steffan Meyric Hughes thought he’d try to be the
first man to sail and row around all round London in a small boat. Along the
way, he discovers the truth behind boats, the sea and rivers, the history of the
great city’s future and great secrets of the mysterious Thames: wrecks, bombs
and intrigue. Circle Line is the story of
a unique journey on forgotten waterways, an investigation into the way we live
today; and a humorous, sometimes moving trip down memory lane.
For those
lucky enough to have sunshine rather than monsoons at the moment – your thoughts
may be turning to gardening. Two new books – Garden
Crafts for Children and The Balcony
Gardner are getting lots of review coverage – have a look at this
piece in last week’s Mirror with some great ideas on creating child
friendly gardens that appeal to grown ups too!
Do you feel
fantastic? No? Well it’s possible to change that in just nine days! Nine Days to Feel Fantastic by John Whitman has just been serialised in the
Express – get hold of a copy to find out how!
Or do you
feel you need more “ing” in your life?
More what?! The top tips of self help guru Gabrielle Bernstein have just been published in
Fabulous Magazine (part of The Sun on Sunday) which is read by
over 2 million women! And Gabrielle was also on Radio 2’s Steve Wright in the
Afternoon show – again plugging her new book!
Is it
possible that we’re raising a generation of children who won’t know how to read
books at all? No – I’m not talking about declining literacy standards – I’m
talking about children who don’t even realise you have to turn the pages of a
book – because they’re so used to their touch screen iPads (other tablets are
available.) Far fetched? Maybe not – have a look at this popular YouTube video
of the baby that thinks a magazine is just a computer that doesn’t work
properly!
We have been
inundated with requests to read the first couple of chapters of The Gingerbread House by
Carin Gerhardsen – brand new Scandinavian crime fiction published on
25 October in the UK – many apologies if you haven’t got your chapters yet - we
will get them out to you as soon we can! If you’d like to add your name to the
list of booksellers who will be in on the next big thing, then email Pat@compass-dsa.co.uk.
This
newsletter is sent weekly to over 400 booksellers. If you would like to order
any of the titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the
Compass New Titles Website.
That’s
all for now folks, more next week!
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