Let’s open with a #fridayfreebie as they say on Twitter!
When the Professor Got Stuck in the Snow
by Dan Rhodes (pb, 978 1910709016, £8.99)
has already had quite a bit of pre-publicity – it’s one of the first titles from
hip and happening new publisher Aardvark Bureau. You will no doubt
remember that this is the laugh-out-loud satire on dogma, which tests the limits
of freedom of expression, originally self-published by Dan – once a lowly
stockroom assistant in a branch of Waterstones! The original hardback editions
of this title are now changing hands for upwards of £100 – and it attracted
plenty of attention – the Guardian calling it “A zippy little farce… a
hoot!” It begins at the Women’s Institute in the village of Upper Bottom
Loving these great pics of book pillows - cushions to snuggle up on while you read! I
especially like this Pride and Prejudice one!
Nick Lezard has chosen A Doctor’s
Dictionary: Writings on Culture and Medicine for the Saturday
Review Guardian Book of the Week. Art and medicine collide in these
fascinating essays by this the notable doctor and poet, which explore the links
between art and medicine, culture and science. Bamforth uses his wide experience of medicine
around the world, to examine various interesting cases; including the mysterious
‘Stendhal’s syndrome’, which caused 106 tourists in Florence Paris , the Australian outback, and south-east
Asia . He has published a history of modern
medicine as told through literature (The Body in the Library), as well as
five collections of poetry and writes regularly for literary and medical
journals. The Guardian previously said of his writing: “Bamforth’s
work is rich in perceptual acquaintance, making it not only intelligent but also
extremely sensual. To read him makes the patterns of our minds richer.” and
to be a Guardian Book of the Week is a real achievement which should lead
lots of interested readers to this title. A Doctor’s
Dictionary by Iain Bamforth
(pb, 978 1784100568, £16.99) is published by Carcanet this month and you
can find out more and order it here
Another doctor – another dictionary – another time –
but still a very good opportunity to view
this clip I think!
Burnham, Cooper, Corbyn or Kendall? Who knows – but
your customers can certainly find out all they could possibly want to know about
the history of Labour party leadership in an essential new title from
Biteback coming in September. British Labour
Leaders by Charles Clarke and Toby S
James (hb, 978 1849548168 £25.00) is a handsome hardback, published
on the eve of the Labour Party conference in September, which considers the
qualities of leaders from this historic party, among them some of the towering
figures of British political history, and places each in the context of their
respective time and political landscape. From Keir Hardie to Ed Miliband, and
featuring eight Labour prime ministers since the inauguration of James Ramsay
MacDonald; this book offers an analytical framework by which those leaders may
be judged, and a detailed personal biography of each. Charles Clarke’s previous book The Too
Difficult Box won the Practical Politics
Book of the Year at The Political
Book Awards 2015 and this new title is certain to provoke discussion
and debate.
And in the interests of balance, of course
Biteback are publishing British Conservative
Leaders (hb, £25.00, 978
1849549219) which takes us from Robert Peel to David Cameron, featuring
twenty-two Conservative prime ministers also by Charles Clarke and Toby S James which you can order here and British Liberal Leaders (hb, £25.00, 978
1849541978).
Some of you may have cynically assumed this last book might be
rather a slim volume; but of course the Liberals have a good claim to be the
oldest political party in the world. From the Whigs of 1679 to the formation of
the Liberal Party in 1859, and then to 1988 and the merger with the Social
Democratic Party to form today’s Liberal Democrats; politicians of all these
labels have held to a core of liberal principles: the belief in individual
liberty with the aim of enlarging freedom for all. This book is the story of
those parties’ leaders, from Earl Grey, who led the Whigs through the Great
Reform Act of 1832, to Nick Clegg, the first Liberal leader to enter government
for more than sixty years. It is edited by Duncan
Brack, Tony Little and Robert Ingham and you can find out more and order it here.
And before we leave the subject of party leaders,
let’s just remind ourselves again of the side-splitting sight of Cameron
rapping! When’s Cassetteboy going to turn his attention to Jeremy
Corbyn, that’s what I want to know?!
What is the number one gardening book on Amazon at
present? Well I’m pleased to tell you that it is Gardening in Your Slippers: New Poems for Garden
Lovers (hb, £9.99 978 1783340750) by Liz
Cowley. This together with Liz’s previous poetry collection; Outside in my Dressing Gown: Poems for Garden
Lovers (hb, £9.99 978 1783340798) are selling like pink begonias – so
don’t miss out on these super little hardback s, they are absolutely perfect
gifts and will carry on blooming and bearing fruit right through the autumn to
Christmas.
You Magazine (4 million readers) said they will “plant a
smile on your lips” and Joanna Lumley has praised the poems as being
“straight from the heart.” Liz
Cowley was recently interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live
show which you can listen to here and both titles are published by Gibson
Square
Still on a botanical theme, look out for Painting Flowers by Jill Winch (£7.99, pb, 978 1784047436) published
by Arcturus in October. This inspirational title shows you how to create
beautiful watercolours with this step by step guide. Topics include: equipment,
accurate drawing, getting started with watercolour and useful techniques and how
to paint leaves and stems. It includes a section on the increasingly popular
method of using watercolour pencils to illustrate flowers. Jill Winch is an award-winning botanical artist
and has been teaching people to paint and draw flowers for many years. She
breaks the process down into manageable steps; taking examples from a wide range
of flowers and throughout the book, Jill's own beautiful paintings provide
inspiration and guidance. Art for adults is a huge growth market, and you can
find out more about this lovely book and order it here.
And while we’re on the subject of art, we must of
course mention the rise and rise of the adult colouring book – again this market
is very well served by Arcturus Publishing. New in October from them
comes the the Calm and Creative
Colouring Book (pb, 978 1785990366, £6.99)
which you can order here. The popularity of adult colouring books
seems to know no limits and perhaps that's not surprising, as this peaceful
activity improves concentration, reduces worry and stress, and provides
enjoyable, all-important downtime. In a world that is always hurrying towards
the next goal or deadline, stillness and calm have become increasingly valuable
and “mindfulness” – in particular – is undoubtedly one of the buzz words of the
moment. These books, with their wealth
of patterns and pictures, offer a creative outlet for busy adults, removing the
pressure of having to start with a blank page and providing a framework for
self-expression. Whatever the reason for their success, there is no doubt that
if you’re not stocking them you are missing out – by their very nature colouring
books get “used up” – leaving your customers clamouring for more!
Previous
successful titles from Arcturus include: The
Meditation Colouring Book (pb, £6.99, 978 1784046323) The Mindfulness Colouring Book (pb, £6.99 978
1784049775) and The Calm Colouring Book (pb, £6.99, 978 1784046316).
Compass is on
Twitter! Follow us @CompassIPS. Here are some of our favourite tweets from last
week...
I can
confirm that Janice Galloway's new stories are GLORIOUS. (Gutted I won't be at
@edbookfest to see her).
We're
all brand new, even our FB page is new. Follow us there too! httpfacebook.com/pages/Aardvark-Bureau …
"I
intend to live forever - or die trying!" Groucho Marx #Anniversary
Thanks
to The Beatles Photo blog who have given us a nice plug! Our new Beatle photo
book has just hit the shelves... http://fb.me/6H53qATfY
Calling all
picnickers! Don't forget to nominate your favourite heritage picnic spot!
The
Hairdresser of Harare a "moving account of contemporary Zimbabwe
The
Peculiar Life of a Lonely Pancake. #LiteraryCakes @HesperusPress
That’s all for now
folks! More next week!
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