** Mr B's is opening on SUNDAYS from 11a.m. - 5p.m. from 19th November
'til Christmas! **
Newsletter
November 06
A message from The
Book Monkey (Editor)
And so I return,
with sword in hand, some words of Haiku wisdom and a belly full of dried
fish. But no sooner had I filled the shelves with my funky Japanese
delights than Mr B thrust a huge red sack at me and
yelled at me to fill it with wildly entertaining, original, sassy,
wintry, deliciously different reads and to write to tell you all about
it!
So I bring you today
an elephantine number of events,
a raucous of reviews,
a feast of
festive treats and a quirk of a
quiz
(with prize!). Just scroll down or
click on the links above.
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Events - What's Mr B got in store?
BBC Special Correspondent and former presenter of BBC Breakfast
Jeremy Bowen
*Tickets going fast so book now!*
Wednesday
15th November - 7.30 p.m.
Brunswick
Room, The Guildhall, Bath
Mr B's is
honoured to present one of Britain's most renowned journalists reading
from his new memoirs "War Stories" which collates his experiences
as a war correspondent over 20 years, from the Gulf to the Balkans to The
Lebanon.
Jeremy
will be signing books and meeting readers after his talk.
Tickets in
advance £3 (redeemable against purchase of "War Stories")
To buy
tickets - call 01225 331155, email
books@mrbsemporium.com
or pop into the shop!
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Launch Party for "The Art of Skiing" by local author Jenny de Gex
Thursday 23rd November - 6.30 p.m.
A gorgeous coffee-table
book celebrating the art of the ski poster
The perfect Christmas
present for anyone who loves skiing, art or both!
Free! Mulled wine and
wintry nibbly bits !
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Mr B's Big Fat Santa Double! -
For Adults and Kids!
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Local
travel writer Jeremy Seal
reads from his book "Santa: A Life"
newly out in paperback
Thursday
7th December - 6.30p.m. at Mr B's
Tickets £2
(includes a glass of wine and mince-pies!)
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Kids'
author Kate Lee
brings in lots of fun stuff to mess
around with & reads from her new touch-and-feel Santa book "Just the Job for Santa"
Ages 2 - 6
Saturday
9th December - 10.30a.m. at Mr B's
Tickets £2 per family (includes juice,
coffee & mince-pies!)
Tickets redeemable against purchase of
the book
Buy a ticket and you could win a FREE
ski holiday for 4 in the Rockies courtesy of Travel Alberta UK!!
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Reviews
Some deliciously different present ideas
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War Stories
by Jeremy Bowen
Addictions are usually dangerous and may or may not be fun; but
they can usually be counted on to generate good stories. Jeremy
Bowen's addiction to war reporting was no exception. War
Stories tells the stories, but also analyses the addiction and
traces Bowen's progression from moustachioed war junkie to clean
shaven BBC Middle East Editor. Along the way it gives an
insight into the birth of Total War Reporting in the digital
age. Compelling reading.
Price: £17.99.
Click here to buy online or
come and see him in person at the Guildhall on 15th November and
get £3 off! (see above)
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A Book Addict's
Treasury by Julie Rugg & Lynda Murphy
A quirky
compilation of snippets, writings, sayings and anecdotes over
the ages all to do with books - loving books, collecting books,
devouring books, smelling books, storing books - with lots on
the wonderful pleasure of book-buying (a chapter we love at Mr
B's!), the art of properly settling down to a good book. The
quote on the front makes me laugh too -"Outside a dog, a book is
a man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read". Groucho Marx
Was £9.99.
Mr B's "we can discount too" price £7.99 -
Click here to buy online
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They call me
naughty Lola - London Review of Books - personal ads
This is a simply hilarious collection of the funniest, saddest,
strangest, most intriguing personal ads ever placed in the London Review
of Books. Guaranteed to cheer up even the
most miserable grump!
Some examples:
"You were reading the
BBC In-House Magazine on the Jubilee Line (on
12
Nov),
I
was coughing hot tea through my nostrils. Surely you can't have
forgotten? Write now to smitten, weak-kneed, severely burned, bumbling F
(32, but normally I look younger). I'll be quite a catch when my top lip
has healed. And this brace isn't forever. Box no. 7432"
"I
am not an accountant. Box no. 7542"
"Meet
the new me. Like the old me only less nice after three ads without
any sexual intercourse. 42 year-old fruitcake (F). Box no. 2611"
Price
£8.99.
Click here to buy online.
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Watching by
Suzy Chic translated by Sarah Adams
A lovely
uplifting, gem of a new book for both kids and adults from one
of our favourite independent publishers - what's more, it's
terribly "green", with a lovely central message about patience
and caring and the rewards these can bring. A little
morph-like character is offered a flower by his favourite tree,
but told it will become a fruit if he leaves it to grow...and
then another tree if he plants it rather than eating it. It has
gorgeous watercolour illustrations and will send a little tingle
down your spine! - Price £8.
Click here to buy online.
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We're Going on a Bear Hunt
by Michael Rosen
and Helen Oxenbury - Celebratory POP-UP edition
This is one of the
the coolest pop-up books you'll ever see! The very popular bear
hunt book goes 3D - you can even pull the tabs to make everyone
go squelch in the mud, pop out from behind trees, swirl around
in the snow..... and the lift the flap bear at the end is very
scary! Was £14.99.
Mr B's "we can discount too" price £11.99 -
Click here to buy online.
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Japan is Mr B's new Country of the Month! -
We have lots of wonderful translated Japanese fiction and poetry
and three great travel-writing title featured from our new
country of the month. Here's one of the excellent travel writing
titles:
Mishima's Sword - Travels in search of a Samurai Legend
by Christopher Ross
Mishima was pretty weird. Actually, extremely weird, but
in lots of interesting ways. Japan's most famous writer
committed Hara-kiri in 1970 with the sword in search of which
Ross travels. From the suitably weird standpoint of a character
in Robert Twigger's
"Angry White Pyjamas", Ross narrates this fascinating and funny,
biographical, philosophical, cultural, travelogue within the
framework of a death that resonates deeply in Japan to this
day.
For anyone interested in Japan, but especially for anyone
interested in a book that is not like other books.
Price:
£7.99 -
Click here to buy online.
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Snowbooks is Mr B's new Independent Publisher of the Month -
We're not
the only ones who are fans of this young independent publisher.
Earlier this year (only their third) they were named Small
Publisher of the Year at the
2006
British Book Trade Awards.
Their eclectic mix
of titles, the design quality of all of their books which make
many of them perfect gifts (and of course their rather festive
name!) made Snowbooks the perfect choice for our
run-up-to-Christmas independent publisher of the month.
Have a look in the shop window next time you're passing to see
books such as thrillers "Adept" and "Ex Machina" by Robert Finn,
AA Milne's short stories and other writings for adults "The
Sunny Side" which Snowbooks have resurrected, the brand new
anthology of Peter Cookeralia "How Very Interesting" and the
excellent new "Crafter's Companion". If all that's not enough,
how about this:
The Celestial Omnibus by E.M.Forster
One of three titles published by Snowbooks which collect
hard-to-find writings by celebrated authors in beautiful slim
white hardbacks. This title features six E.M.Forster stories
(including the first he ever wrote) which first appeared in
various literary reviews and magazines. The other two titles in
the series are Virginia Woolf's "The London Scene" and Jerome K.
Jerome's "Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow". Price (in each
case): £9.99 -
Click here to buy online. |
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Ask
not what you can do for Mr B's but what Mr B's can do you for you!
Mr B's Christmas Specials
Mr
B's may be just about as different from a supermarket as it's
possible to be....but that doesn't mean we can't give some discounts
for Christmas. Ok, so we can't offer you Jamie Oliver at 50p but
we've selected a few great Christmas gifts and taken a few quid off
in true festive spirit!
Here's a sampler of some of the gift books on special offer at Mr
B's 'til Christmas - with many others discounted in-store!
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£5 off!
The Power of Art by Simon Schama
Now only £20
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£3 off!
The
Dangerous Book for Boys - by Conn Iggulden
Now only £15.99
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£2 off!
The Book of
General Ignorance - Foreward by Stephen Fry and Four Words
by Alan Davies
Now only £10.99
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£5 off!
Beatrix
Potter - The Complete Tales
Now only £24.99
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£2 off!
Peter the
Lord's Cat and other unexpected obituaries from Wisden
edited by Gideon Haigh
Now only £6.99
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£3 off!
1000 places
to see before you die - by Patricia Schultz
Now only £9.99
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Mr B's "Something Different This Year" Present-Finding Service
Stuck on ideas? Want to wow a new girlfriend with some fab new
literary gem? Want to keep your auntie quiet with an engrossing
read? No time to wade through the shelves?
Then
email
books@mrbsemporium.com
or pop in to Mr B's - tell us who it's for, what kind of
thing they like and we'll do the thinking for you! We'll come up
with a list of possible presents designed to be a little different
and you can take all the credit for the thought!
No
obligation to buy and absolutely free!! |
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The Book Monkey's Quirky Quiz
So...who
won October's quirky quiz?!
In contrast to
September, we were inundated with answers to last month's quiz - several of
you very anxious for us to know that they had NOT googled for the
answers. Well done to you all! I did google the answer and shame on me -
but then I grew up in a circus so how was I to know that kind of thing. Vlashka, it must be said, was dazed by
the number of biscuits and panicked slightly when choosing - fearing
this was too good to be true. She did pick a winner thought - well
done Carol Norton! We'll be in touch with you to let you know how to
claim your £5 off at Mr B's.
This month's quiz has a touch of the
wintry about it.
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Answer me this, book-lovers, and you could
get
£5 off your next purchase from Mr B’s!
QUIRKY QUIZ QUESTION
What Peter Matthiessen nature classic is an anagram of "New
Leotard Shop"
If
you know the answer, email us on
books@mrbsemporium.com or pop into the shop.
The first ten people to answer 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. |
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Answers to September's
Quirky Quiz
Question: Name all seven dwarfs?
Answer:
Doc,
Grumpy, Happy, Sneezy, Bashful, Happy, Dopey
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Noticeboard
Don’t miss out on some of the great things our neighbours
are getting up to …
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Shopping
Charity Fair - in aid
of "Teenage Cancer Trust"
Gorgeous gifts from
some exclusive craft, interiors and design artists and shops
December 5th & 6th at
St John's House, Frome - December 7th & 8th at 28 Combe Park, Bath
Bath Christmas Market
30th November to 10th
December - Lots of gorgeous stalls around the Abbey
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Lectures,
Readings,
Recitals
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI)
–
16-18 Queen Square
Throughout November - lots of readings and lectures – see
www.brlsi.com
for details
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Concerts
The
Bath Recital Artists Trust
–
Pump Rooms
Sunday 26th November at 8 pm
Stanislava Vajarova (Soprana), Orpheus Papafilippou (Violin) and
Christopher Pittas (Piano) - playing De Falla, Gershwin, Britten,
Shostakovich and more
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