A library in Cumbria is wrapping books in plain paper, to encourage readers to expand their choices and pick up something they wouldn’t normally read. It’s not a new idea (Google ‘blind date with a book’, and you’ll see what I mean) but it’s a great one. Covers are hugely important. as I write this, […]
Reading
Book review: Someone Else's Skin, by Sarah Hilary
There is surely no tougher critic of a police procedural than an ex-cop, but Someone Else’s Skin did not disappoint. Sarah Hilary’s debut crime novel is meticulously researched, and the characters so brilliantly real I could have been reading about my former life. What the back cover says: Detective Inspector Marie Rome. Dependable; fierce; brilliant at […]
Guest post: The Missing One, by Lucy Atkins
I recently read The Missing One by debut novelist, Lucy Atkins, which comes out on 16 January. It is a compelling and at times uneasy read, about a woman looking for the truth about her mother, and I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed it so much I asked Lucy to explain how the story […]
Are books your bag?
It both shocks and saddens me when I hear that a third of all parents never read to their children, or that the number of bookshops in the UK has halved in just seven years. Set that against the terrifying speed at which libraries are closing, and the rise of ebooks versus print, and suddenly […]
Don't turn your back on books.
The threat to society presented by the closure of libraries is as real as that faced by the destruction of the rain forests, or the extinction of the honey bee. In addition to issuing books, libraries support local writers; introduce children to books; run parent-and-toddler sessions; host author talks; run workshops; offer access to IT […]
J K Rowling has done women a disservice
The news that Robert Galbraith, author of The Cuckoo’s Calling, is actually J. K. Rowling, has overnight propelled the crime title from 5,076th position to the top of Amazon’s sales charts. Amazing what a name can do. I applaud Joanne Rowling, not just for her writing (chapter one of The Cuckoo’s Calling reads beautifully) but […]