Newsletter
July 07
A message from The Book
Monkey
Fed up with the
desperate and fruitless scramble to get a newsletter out before the end
of the month, I have renamed this the July Newsletter, thus turning a
very late June newsletter into a wonderfully prompt July one! A minor stroke
of genius and I don't think Mr B noticed a thing;-)
First birthday
and another award shortlisting!
 Had
you been passing Mr B's last month, you would have caught a whiff of
chocolate, peppermint icing and a decidedly celebratory ambience. That's
because we celebrated our first birthday with a colossal and
utterly divine cake (made by Blackstone's Kitchen)
and because
we have been shortlisted for another award. This time, we're
straight into the national shortlist for "Independent Bookseller of the
Year" at the Bookseller Magazine Retail Awards (completely unrelated
to the other award earlier this year). Mr & Mrs B get to dress up all
fancy for the award ceremony at the Natural History Museum on 20th
September where the winner will be announced. Mr B's is the only
bookshop to be shortlisted for both awards. Woohoo!
Just click one of the links below, or scroll down to your section of
choice.
Events
~
Mr B's Reviews
~ When
in Rome..... ~
Pre-order discounts
Quirky Quiz
~
Noticeboard
And don't forget to pre-order your Harry Potter!
Click here to find out more!
|
Events
Caroline Carver ~ Patrick Gale ~
Robert Twigger ~ Tessa Hadley ~ A. C.
Grayling
|
Best-selling thriller writer
Caroline
Carver
launches her new novel
"Gone without Trace"
Thursday 12th July - 6.30 - 8.30p.m. at Mr B's
Wine & nibbles
FREE EVENT!
All welcome.
|
We
are thrilled (pun intended) to be hosting the charismatic writer Caroline
Carver for the launch of her new thriller Gone
Without Trace, which takes on the harrowing theme of human
trafficking.
Caroline is well qualified to scare the bejeebies out of everyone, having
been scared witless several times herself. She's been lost in the desert,
survived sand-storms and cyclones and driven through storm-swollen rivers,
each time thinking she might not make it. She's also been bred tough! Her
mother set the land-speed record in Australia in the 1950's, and her New
Zealand father was a jet-fighter pilot who fought in Korea.
In
previous books, including The Black Tide, Dead Heat and Blood Junction,
Caroline has taken us through the Alaskan wilderness and into the
Australian outback - she's chilled our blood with murder, sabotaged
planes, relentless criminals and sinister plots.
Come and meet Caroline, talk to her about her new book, buy it(!), get it signed and prepare
to be chilled to the core. |
|
Best-selling author
Patrick Gale
introduces his new novel
"Notes from
an Exhibition"
Thursday 19th July - 6.30 p.m. at Mr B's
Tickets in advance £3
(includes a glass of wine and nibbles)
|
We are over the moon that we have best-selling author Patrick Gale coming to Mr B's to
read from and sign his new novel Notes
from an Exhibition,
which tells the story of an extraordinary but deeply troubled artist.
Fresh onto the shelves this week, this book looks set to further Patrick's
wonderful reputation as one of Britain's leading contemporary novelists.
One early book review website ends by saying "If Notes from an Exhibition
is not mentioned when the major literary prizes are brought round, I shall
be surprised".
Patrick's previous novels include Rough Music,
The Aerodynamics of Pork
(click for review), and
Tree Surgery for Beginners; he is also Armistead Maupin's
biographer. He lives near Land's End and raises cattle for open market and
grows broccoli for Sainsbury's! Clearly such a renaissance man cannot fail
to inspire us all.
With just over a week until
this rare chance to hear Patrick reading and speaking in such an intimate
venue, we'd recommend hurrying to book your tickets as soon as
possible!!
|
|
* Potions &
Commotions Party *
Friday
20th July from 11.15pm
with prizes for the best-dressed witches and
wizards, a Grand Golden Snitch Hunt, a Quirky Quidditch Quiz and much
more.
|
It's Potter time! Grab the nearest
passing owl/dragon and get on down to Mr B's!! Muggle-minded we are not. We're
having a midnight party and
giving out special WottalottaPotterPoints
cards!
The books will be hotter than the hottest of potions
that night, so you will have to reserve your copy beforehand.
E-mail us now to reserve your copy at Mr B's for just £3 deposit
and as well as an invite to the best Harry
Potter Party in town, you get a "WottalottaPotterPoints Card" - get money
off for every point you collect by shopping at Mr B's between now and 20th
July - collect all nine points and get your HP
absolutely FREE!
Be there,
or be a muggle!
|
|
Best-selling writer and
adventurer
Robert
Twigger
introduces his new book
"Lost Oasis:
A Desert Adventure - In search of Paradise"
Wednesday 22nd August - 6.30 p.m. at Mr B's
Tickets in advance £3
(includes a glass of wine and nibbles)
|
To say Robert Twigger is a bit of
an adventurer is to put it mildly! He has studied
Martial Arts with the Tokyo Riot Police; caught the world's
longest snake - documented in his Channel 4/National Geographic
film Big Snake; was the first person to cross Western Canada in
a birchbark canoe since 1793 and has hunted bona fide Zombies in
Haiti. He has written five books, won various awards, made
several documentary films and lectured extensively.
In this latest book,
Lost Oasis: A Desert Adventure,
he follows the footsteps of seasoned explorers such as Theodore
Almasy (the inspiration for The English Patient) who tried to
locate the lost oasis of Zezura, reportedly home to hordes of
treasure, flocks of birds and a lush, verdant valley. |
|
Leading British philosopher
and author
A. C.
Grayling
introduces his new book
"Towards the
Light: The story of the struggles for liberty & rights that made the
modern West"
DATE CHANGE!
Now on
Wednesday 12th September - 6.30 p.m.
Elwin Room, Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institute (BRSLI), 16-18
Queen Sq, Bath
Tickets £4 in advance
|
We are
honoured to be hosting Anthony Grayling, one of Britain's
leading contemporary philosophers who has written and edited
many books on philosophy. He is a regular reviewer for the
Literary Review and the Financial Times and
has
written widely on contemporary issues including war crimes, the
legalisation of drugs, euthanasia, secularism, and human rights.
He wrote a
weekly column in The Guardian called "The Last Word", in
which he turned his attention to a different topic every week.
In these columns, which also formed the basis of a series of
popular books (commencing with The Meaning of Things in
2001), Grayling made the basics of philosophy available to the
layman. He is a regular contributor to Guardian Unlimited's
Comment is free group blog.
His new
book, Towards the Light is
an inspirational history of ideas in action. He looks at the
rights we enjoy in the West today, from the basic right to vote
in elections to freedom of conscience, and how these were won in
a series of hard-fought struggles over 500 years.
The triumphs
and sacrifices of these hard-won victories should make us value
these precious rights even more highly, especially in an age
when, as Grayling shows, democratic governments under pressure
sometimes find it necessary to restrict rights in the name of
freedom. |
|
Local author
Tessa Hadley
introduces her new book
"The Master
Bedroom"
Thursday 11th October - 6.30 p.m. at Mr B's
Tickets in advance £3
(includes a glass of wine and nibbles)
|
We are delighted
to be welcoming Tessa Hadley to Mr B's to read from and talk
about her new novel The Master Bedroom.
Tessa is a Senior
Lecturer in
literature and creative writing at Bath Spa University and has
written already two highly acclaimed novels, "Accidents in the
Home" (longlisted for the Guardian First Book) and "Everything
Will Be All Right".
Her new novel sees
a single woman becoming the object of two men's affections - a
father and his teenage son, in a richly drawn novel exploring
the web of connections between parents and children, revealing
how each generation replays the stories of the one that came
before, in new and startling patterns.
|
|
* * *
|
Reviews
|
|
Life Class
by Pat Barker
Just out, this is another
brilliant piece of World War I fiction from the author of the
Regeneration trilogy. It focuses on the life of a group of students of
the Slade School of Art immediately before the start of the war. Paul,
Kit and the fascinating Elinor are caught up in the kind of worries,
frustrations and love triangles you'd expect of any young artists. With
the start of the war and the rush to enlist, their lives are overturned
and whilst Paul and Kit tend to wounded soldiers in the Belgian Red
Cross, Elinor struggles to keep the pressures of war from invading her
life and painting.
Inspired by the lives of
real Slade students this book has more layers than a millefeuille, is a
must for Barker's existing fans and a great introduction to her
wonderful writing for anyone who hasn't tried her out before.
Hardback - Hamish Hamilton
-
£16.99 -
Click here to buy online
|
|
 |
Wildwood: A journey through trees by
Roger Deakin
Roger Deakin's
first book, Waterlog, is something of a cult classic. It is a
poetic tale of his remarkable journey across Britain - made by
swimming wild in the country's rivers and other waterways. This
second (and, sadly, final) book has been met with similar high
acclaim as Deakin again goes on a wilderness journey, through
the forests and woods of Britain and beyond and more
metaphorically through our relationship with trees. From the
willow groves of the Somerset Levels to the dense forests of the
Ukraine, Deakin's engaging and at times nostalgic writing, makes
the reader pine (sorry) for a sunny day-off to go and appreciate
the woods around us and the nature living amongst them.
Hardback - Hamish Hamilton - £20 -
Click here to buy online
|
|
 |
Silk
by Mary Schoeser
Continuing our extravaganza of fashion delights and array of
delicious coffee-table books, here is another opulent addition
to our shelves.
This meticulously researched book offers a sensual tour through
the history of silk, from its early development in China,
tracing its role as a status symbol and use in historic fashion
right through to the innovative use of silk by contemporary
designers. Schoeser concludes with a detailed look at new silk
technologies and the future possibilities for creative design.
In addition, Bruno Marcandalli presents the science of
sericulture and silk manufacture and Julien Macdonald writes on
silk’s significance in the world of current day fashions.
The illustrations are exquisite, from close-up patterned detail
of hand-printed silks to the use of silks in romantic
impressionist paintings, from swimwear to ancient tapestries.
Hardback – Yale University Press - 2007 - £29.99 - Click here to buy online
|
|
|
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The latest
offering from the modern master of describing the western
landscape is new in paperback this month and has recently picked
up the 2007 Pulitzer Prize (so don't be put off by the fact that
it's also been chosen for Oprah's book club). In "The Road"
McCarthy dips a toe into the sci-fi genre as he follows father
and son survivors across a stark post-apocalyptic landscape,
catching impressionistic glimpses of the world that is now gone
forever, and struggling to keep alive their memories of that
world. Not a comfortable read, but a profound one and one that
demonstrates the bottomless human capacity to have faith amidst
desolation.
Paperback - Picador - £7.99 -
Click here to buy online
|
|
 |
Lay of the Land by
Richard Ford
Completing
the heavyweight American author
new-in-paperback double bill, is Richard Ford with the long-
awaited return of Frank Bascombe, the character that also
appears in "The Sportswriter" and its Pulitzer-Prize winning
follow up "Independence Day". With his usual penchant for
self-analysis, Frank feels that he is now in the "Permanent
Period" of his life - more stability, fewer chances to mess
things up, fewer dreams not to achieve. As with the previous
books this novel just looks-in on Frank's life for a few days,
but that's enough time for us, and Frank, to figure out that
things are still not quite as simple as he might like them to
be.
Paperback – Bloomsbury - £7.99
-
Click here to buy online.
|
|
|
Buddhism for Sheep
- illustrations by Chris
Riddell
It's not new and
it's not topical but we can't stop chuckling at this little humour book.
Sheep are just plain silly and so coupling the fundamentals of buddhism with
drawings of sheep by a master illustrator is, frankly, inspired.
This is the kind of
quality read for the loo that you get at Mr B's.
Hardback - Ebury Press – £5.99 -
Click here to buy online
|
 |
Stealing the Wave: The Epic Struggle between Ken Bradshaw and
Mark Foo by Andy Martin
Aloha. I'm
informed by various regular Mr B's customers that the surf's not
cookin' of late and so here's a little something to read in the
meantime. In the mid 1980s, two surfers are battling for
supremacy in Hawaii, surfing's spiritual home. Ken Bradshaw is
an old-school Texan veteran who was considered a master on his
board in the seventies. The young challenger Mark Foo is a slim
Chinese-American with lightning cool moves. When Foo steals a
wave under Bradshaw's nose, a rivalry starts which lasts over
ten years and ends in tragedy.
Now, I've checked
out my "riptionary" and although I'm a kook/barnyard, I think I
can safely say that this book is not Bammerwee, it is Bitchin'!
Paperback – Bloomsbury - £12.99
Click here to buy online
|
|
 |
Leroy
Grannis: Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s
by Steve Barilotti
Fast
becoming an off-the-wall best-seller at Mr B's this is another
kickin' surf book - this time a glorious hardback, coffee-table
book in full Technicolor of the iconic photographs of Leroy
Grannis from the world's surfing hotspots in the 60s and 70s.
Think bronzed bodies, golden bowl haircuts (à la Mr B himself), Scholgs, floral bikinis, toothy smiles and some jaw-dropping
surfing shots.
Hardback – Taschen - £24.99
- Click here to buy online
|
|
 |
You and your Big
Mouth
.....
Everyone
likes to spread the word on a great book, so we’re inviting you to send us
an email with a quick review of any book you’ve liked. We’ll
write it onto a Customer Thoughts card
which we’ll stick on our shelves for others to muse over. Or else
come into the shop and fill in a customer thoughts card yourself.
Here's one we've
picked out to share with you...
Carter
Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
One of our
customers says: "A
rip-roaring pulp-fiction/literary nonsense that fabulously
evokes the spirit of early 20th Century America and will keep
you glued to your armchair long after the fire goes out".
Paperback
– Sceptre 21s - £7.99
- Click here to buy online
|
|
|
When
in Rome.....
So where are you off to then? There's nothing like reading fiction
or travel writing set in the place you are holidaying, so the Book
Monkey has picked out some delightful books to read while you off
deserting us and enjoying yourselves in your favourite summer holiday destination.
 |
Venice
Venice by Jan Morris
- If
your summer break is going to be spent messing around on the
Grand Canal then you are spoilt for choice with Venice often
inspiring so many great writers. If we had to pick just one to
accompany our gelato it would be Jan Morris' elegant but
meandering ode to the city.
Click here to buy
|
 |
Brazil
Brazil by John Updike
- If you're jammy enough to be headed to Brazil then let
Updike's sensual and tragic fable of love on the wrong side of
town be your guide to survival in the switchblade-ridden streets
of Rio, the empty boulevards of Brasilia and the mystical
western wilderness.
Click here to buy |
|
 |
Tuscany
Where Angels Fear to Tread
by E.M.Forster -
Unjustly overshadowed by Room with A View this brilliant short
novel sees widow Lilia Herriton seduced by the Tuscan
landscape and by an Italian stallion many years her junior. Cue
classic Forster mix of tragedy and family satire. Warning
- Not a great one to lend your girlfriend if she seems to have
taken a shine to any of the locals.
Click here to buy |
 |
Morocco
A Year in Marrakech
by Peter Mayne - If
you want to take more from your long weekend in Marrakech than
an unwieldy carpet and a pair of yellow slippers, then read
Peter Mayne's atmospheric, almost hashish-scented, tale of his
year amidst the Souks in 1953.
Click here to buy |
 |
Canada
Voyageur by Robert Twigger - Mmmm.
Smell that mountain air! If you're off to Canada then take
Voyageur with you - as you're patting yourself on the back after
your 2 hour guided hike you can contemplate how Robert and team
managed paddling 2000 miles across the Rockies in a Birchbark
canoe fuelled only by porridge and the odd slice of elk.
Click here to buy |
 |
Cyprus
Bitter Lemons of Cyprus by Lawrence Durrell - Enhance
your time in Cyprus with Durrell's bitter-sweet description of
his time settling into his idyllic new home - an idyll that was
splintered by the beginnings of conflict between the islands
Turkish and Greek communities. The only book in the shop to have
had a soft drink named after it.
Click here to buy |
 |
Greece
Mani by Patrick
Leigh Fermor - Excellent,
another excuse to big up the lord of travel-writing, Patrick
Leigh Fermor. If Greece is the word for you this summer then
take along his description of the beautiful and remote Mani
peninsula, with its ancient tower-filled towns, which Fermor
made his home and which remains a relatively unspoilt tourist
destination.
Click here to buy
|
 |
Devon and Cornwall
Peril at End House
by Agatha Christie - When
in the deepest South-West, why not trust Christie to keep your
fingernails trimmed low with a healthy serving of murder
mystery. Hopefully you will have a less stressful holiday than
Hercule, as everyone's favourite Belgian sleuth discovers that
sometimes it really is impossible to leave your work at home.
Click here to buy |
 |
Staying at Home!
Crow Stone by Jenni Mills - If
your boss/bank-manager/bookshop colleagues won't let you go
away this summer, then pop yourself down in Victoria Park (in
your waterproofs) and tuck in to the latest Bath-based novel. Jenni Mills sets her tense thriller in the archaeological
labyrinth beneath the city.
Click here to buy |
 |
Kazakhstan
Baber's Apple by
Michael Marr - If
you are off to Kazakhstan for the summer, then frankly you've
probably got bigger issues to solve than what book to take. That
said, if Borat has convinced you to go East, why not pack local
author Michael Marr's first novel set partly in suburban Britain
and partly in Kazakhstan. We have to confess we've only just
come across this one BUT we've heard great things, it sounds
superbly quirky and we can't wait to get stuck into it.
Click here to buy |
|
* * *
|
Are
you a pre-order boarder?
Take a look above the
counter at Mr B's and you will be delighted to see a new "pre-order
board". Each month we pick some new hardback titles which you can
pre-order and get 10% off!
|
|
Coming up in Hardback -
* 10% off *
if you pre-order at Mr B's |
 |
Starbook: A magical tale of love and regeneration by Ben Okri
The first
novel from Booker prize winner Okri for five years tells of a
prince and a maiden who are both tested by trials in a mythical
land.
Hardback - Harvill Press - £14.99
Pre-order from Mr B's and get 10% off!
- Just email or call. |
 |
Winnie and Wolf by A.N.Wilson
The story of
the extraordinary relationship between Winifred Wagner and Adolf
Hitler that took place during the years 1925-40, as seen through
the eyes of the secretary at the Wagner house in Bayreuth.
Hardback -
Harvill Press - £18.99
Pre-order and get 10% off! -
Just email or call.
|
 |
Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell
Chief
Inspector Wexford, a severed human hand and a post-mortem
revealing a cracked rib as the only clue.....all the ingredients
for another brilliant whodunnit from the mistress of crime.
Hardback -
Harvill Press - £18.99
Pre-order and get 10% off! -
Just email or call.
|
|
* * *
|
The Book Monkey's Quirky Quiz
So...who
won May's quirky quiz ?!
QuirkyQuizGate - In
a scandal second only to Watergate, Mr B's has done a loyal follower out
of a Quirky Quiz Prize (and Vlashka out of a biscuit). There was indeed
a correct answer to the April Quirky Quiz which went sailing straight into my Spam folder so I never saw it. Humble apologies. Damn spam.
Dennis Woodcock, the unlucky spam victim, if belatedly, nabs his
£5 prize.
I also have to
apologise for the typo in the last Quirky Quiz. I did of course mean A.M.Homes and not A.E.Homes - although frankly, you can
hardly expect perfect
spelling from a monkey. The lucky winner of this month's quiz
is Pauline Sandell - you get £10 off your next purchase at Mr B's.
However, there was hesitation at the last minute and Rachael Eldritch-Boersen's
biscuit got a lick, so he gets £2 off his next purchase too! Congratulations!
|
QUIRKY QUIZ QUESTION
If
you know the answer to the following, email us on
books@mrbsemporium.com or pop into the shop:
One for silly anagram-lovers this month.
Rearrange Mr B's July special guest author "Patrick Gale" to
give what sounds like a handy place to hang a young hog (1,6,4)
The first ten people to answer all three correctly will be allocated a dog
biscuit in Vlashka’s dinner bowl. The first person’s biscuit to
be eaten will be the winner!
The lucky winner will be announced in next month’s newsletter
and will get £5 off their next purchase at Mr B’s shop in
Bath
or off an email book order.
|
|
Answers to
April's Quirky Quiz
Question:
Are the following authors
men or women?
A.M.Homes
Ahdaf Soueif
Pat Barker
Answer: They
are all women
|
|
* * *
|
Noticeboard
Don’t miss out on some of the great things our friends and neighbours
are getting up to …
--------------------* * *---------------------
International Guitar Festival -
Bath
27 July - 11
August
www.igf.org.uk
Concerts
Bath Recital Artists'
Trust
Sea Wang & Bram
Simmonds (Piano) - Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt
Saturday
28th July - 8pm - Pump Rooms -
boxoffice@bathfestivals.org.uk
Exhibitions
7 - 29 July,
opening reception Saturday 7 July 6-8pm
Atticus Arts, Queen Street -
www.atticusarts.com
Perspective:
A new collection by acclaimed artist Austin Cole
“Perspective” can be
summarised by three simple words: Charming, sophisticated, urbane.
Art lovers will not be disappointed by this renowned artist’s new
work. Inspired by New York City, London and our very own Bath,
Cole’s original etchings and mono-prints possess hints of nostalgia
for familiar cities but from an insider’s privileged view. Creating
his works using traditional methods, viewers will find it effortless
to admire his flawless technique, subtlety of satire and
sophisticated presentation. With an impressive career grabbing the
attention of international and European collectors alike, Atticus
Arts is honoured to host his very first solo exhibition in Bath.
Cinema
See what's on at the Little Theatre Cinema in Bath -
Click here to go to website.
|
|
