Friday 29 June 2012

Compass Points 5


Compass Points
Your weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information and trivia!

Who doesn’t love a bit of Mick Jagger? (but which bit?) Mick is the definitive look at the leader of the world’s greatest rock-and-roll band on the eve of its 50th anniversary, and is destined to become the definitive biography of Jagger. It contains some truly sensational material with stunning insights and revelations – and is going to be serialised in the Daily Mail on the 8th July! This is sure to attract a lot of attention ready for the book’s publication on the 10th July – so make sure you have plenty of stock – it’s going to be the biography every Stones fan must read!

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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