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Showing posts from April, 2021

Blog tour: Kate in Waiting

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Welcome to the blog tour for Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli . More about the book… [PRINCIPAL CAST LIST] Kate Garfield,  Anderson Walker Best friends, and contrary to popular belief, not co-dependent. Examples: Carpooling to and from theatre rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient.  Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment.  Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway. But  when Kate and Andy's latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off-script. Enter Stage Left: Matt Olsson He is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson. Turns out, communal crushes aren't so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson's friendship... More about the author… Becky Albertalli is the author of the acclaimed novels Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (film: Love, Simon ), The Upside

Book review: A Trip of One's Own

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Synopsis: Kate Wills wasn't expecting to be divorced after less than a year of marriage. She hadn't anticipated restarting a life that had, for the last 12 years with her partner, seemed so stable. Luckily, her job as a travel journalist offered her the perfect opportunity to escape from it all. But this time, her jet-setting felt different. Kate felt more alone, particularly against a backdrop of never-ending hen dos, weddings and baby showers. So she began to search history for female travellers to inspire her. From a 4th-century nun to a globe-girdling cyclist, Kate discovers that throughout history, there have been astonishing women who've broken free from more burdensome expectations, clearing the path for us to do the same. A Trip of One's Own  is a funny and heartfelt invitation to take that trip: to Paris, to Whitstable, and maybe down that street you've always wondered about. How did this book end up in my hands? I was happily allowed to access the book v

Blog tour: Guardians of the Planet

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Welcome to the blog tour for Guardians of the Planet: How to be an Eco-Hero by Clive Gifford . More about the book… This environmentally positive book contains everything children need to become guardians of the planet. Kids can learn how to become keepers of the coasts, friends of the forests, home heroes and much more through a mix of compelling facts, creative activities and proactive tips. Key environmental topics are clearly explained, and the easy-to-follow projects and suggestions help to put the issues in an everyday context. From reusing clothes and composting food to reducing water waste and giving wildlife a helping hand, this book will encourage children to engage with environmental problems and inspire them to take care of our wonderful planet. The book includes an introduction by ClientEarth, an organization that uses environmental law to protect oceans, forests and other habitats, as well as all people, and a foreword by Brian Eno. Printed using waterless ink on FSC pap

BOTH Publishing: By Books on the Hill

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Our kickstarter started April 2nd 2021 Making exciting good quality fiction accessible to a minority group currently not provided for by today’s UK traditional mass book market and providing a new tool for booksellers to use in their drive to increase diversity and inclusion.   Who Are We Working With We have been so fortunate that many great authors have agreed to contribute to this project. All are brilliant authors and are names I am sure you will recognise. Stan Nicholls, who has been a great support to me particularly with my PhD. He is the author of many novels and short stories but is best known for the internationally acclaimed Orcs: First Blood series. Steven Savile, the fantasy, horror and thriller writer, now lives in Stockholm whose father is a customer of our bookshop. The horror duo that is Thana Niveau and John Llewellyn Probert, both well established and engaging authors and also residents of Clevedon. Adrian Tchaikovsky is an Arthur Clark Award winner and best

Blog tour: Together

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Welcome to the blog tour for Together by Luke Adam Hawker . More about the book… One year on from the anniversary of the UK’s first lockdown, Together takes a gently philosophical, and very relatable, look at how we have dealt with a difficult year and how we can cope with hard times in general. Simple but striking text is paired with beautiful illustrations from hugely talented artist Luke Adam Hawker. When a monumental storm arrives, day-to-day life changes overnight. We follow a man and his dog through the uncertainty that it brings to their lives. Through their eyes, we see the difficulties of being apart, how the world adapted to spending more time at home, the rollercoaster of emotions that we can all relate to, and the realisation that by pulling together we can move through difficult times with new perspective, hope and an appreciation of what matters most in life. Together is very much a product of the new ways in which many of us have learned to work during lockdown. Having

Book review: Blank

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My dear booklovers, tomorrow is the publication day for Blank , the companion book to the hit podcast of the same title by writer Giles Paley-Phillips and comedian Jim Daly . What is it about? Blank is an informal, insightful podcast in which well-known people from acting, writing, politics and sports chat about their lives and how they get through tough moments like public failure, writer's block, social anxiety, imposter syndrome, identity crisis, and how they deal with parenting, grief, social media, their careers and switching off. The book is a compendium of the common experiences and lessons encountered while talking to guests such as Jon Ronson, Dawn French, Michael Rosen, Gary Lineker, Stephen Mangan, Dame Kelly Holmes, Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, Fiona Murden, Rufus Sewell and many more. Blank moments allow us to reset and see things differently. Far from being setbacks, they can be the impetus for clarity and creativity. Identify your blank moments and jump in – you n

Blog tour: The Imposter

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Welcome to the blog tour for The Imposter by Anna Wharton . About the book… Chloe lives a quiet life. Working as a newspaper archivist in the day and taking care of her Nan in the evening, she's happy simply to read about the lives of others as she files away the news clippings from the safety of her desk. But there's one story that she can't stop thinking about. The case of Angie Kyle - a girl, Chloe's age, who went missing as a child. A girl whose parents never gave up hope. When Chloe's Nan gets moved into a nursing home, leaving Chloe on the brink of homelessness, she takes a desperate step: answering an ad to be a lodger in the missing girl's family home. It could be the perfect opportunity to get closer to the story she's read so much about. But it's not long until she realizes this couple aren't all they seem from the outside… But with everyone in the house hiding something, the question is – whose secrets are the most dangerous? About the au

Blog tour: Thought Economics

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Welcome to the blog tour for Thought Economics by Vikas Shah . About the book… Since 2007, entrepreneur and philanthropist Vikas Shah has been on a mission to interview the people shaping our century. Including conversations with Nobel prizewinners, business leaders, politicians, artists and Olympians, he has been in the privileged position of questioning the minds that matter on the big issues that concern us all. We often talk of war and conflict, the economy, culture, technology and revolutions as if they are something other than us. But all these things are a product of us - of our ideas, our dreams and our fears. We live in fast-moving and extraordinary times, and the changes we're experiencing now, in these first decades of the twenty-first century, feel particularly poignant as decisions are made that will inform our existence for years to come. What started out as a personal interest in the mechanisms that inform our views of the world, and a passion for understanding, has

Blog tour: Running Behind Time

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Welcome to the blog tour for Running Behind Time by Jan Turk Petrie . About the book… It’s the Summer of 1982, and Beth Sawyer is thrilled to have landed the title role in a play. It may only be in a fringe theatre in Shepherd’s Bush, but it’s the start she’s always dreamed of.   It’s the Summer of 2020, amid the global pandemic, Tom Brookes is furloughed. Unable to face lockdown in a tiny city flat, he moves back to his mother’s cottage in the sleepy Cotswold village of Stoatsfield-under-Ridge.  Neither of them expects an everyday train journey to throw their normal lives so spectacularly off-course.   This is the story of an extraordinary encounter between two people who should never have met.  About the author… Jan Turk Petrie lives in the Cotswolds area of England. She is the proud author of the future-world, fast-paced thriller series  The EldĆ­svĆ­k Trilogy . A former English teacher with an MA in creative writing from the University of Gloucestershire, Jan has also written numero