8,386
edits
Changes
October 2010 Newsletter (view source)
Revision as of 13:13, 18 October 2010
, 13:13, 18 October 2010no edit summary
Have you heard of the British Library's web archive? It's a thing we've been meaning to tell you about for a long time and failed miserably in getting around to. Basically, it's a collection sites of cultural, historical and political importance to the UK and you can have a look at it [http://www.webarchive.org.uk here]. Part of the plan is to keep a record of how the web has evolved over the years by taking 6-monthly snapshots of a selection of cultural websites. And guess what? Bookbag is included in the blog section - are we a blog? - and snapshots of our site have been archived for posterity since 2008. It tickles us pink to think that we've been included. Take a look - the whole website is just fascinating!
We also wanted to draw your attention to a particular competition we're running this month. Actor Ralph Fiennes brings to life some of Kipling's best known poetry and prose in a wonderful audio CD, recorded in the study at Bateman’sBateman's, Kipling’s Kipling's Jacobean house in East Sussex where he wrote many of his books and where he lived for the last thirty years of his life. It presents the many-sidedness of Kipling's talent, in prose and verse, and shows him to be probably the most versatile English writer of his time. The reading of ''My Boy Jack'', about his son John, killed at the age of one month over eighteen, and recorded in the room where it was written, is almost unbearably poignant. And you can win a copy [[Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling|here]].
'''Features'''
There have been two important prizes given since our last newsletter, and our ''Features'' section has the lowdown on both. We were very happy that [[Ghost Hunter by Michelle Paver]] won the [[Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010|Guardian Children's Fiction Prize]] but were less sure about the biggie - the [[Man Booker Prize 2010|Booker]] went to [[The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson]]. Do you think the judges got it right?
We've also got some interesting new interviews. If you're into that whole paranormal romance thing, you're going to love [[Angel by L A Weatherly]]. It's a breathtaking helter-skelter of a story, and we persuaded Lee to [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To L A Weatherly|tell us]] all about it. The New Scientist's annual books of answers to tantalising questions have always entertained and educated us here at Bookbag, so the opportunity to interview Mick O'Hare about this year's offering [[Why Can't Elephants Jump? by Mick O'Hare|Why Can't Elephants Jump?]] was [[The Interview:Bookbag Talks To Mick O'Hare|too good to miss]]. For a long time [[Cold Enough To Freeze Cows by Lorraine Jenkin|Lorraine Jenkin]] has been one of Bookbag's favourite authors and we simply couldn't resist the opportunity to [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Lorraine Jenkin|ask her a few questions]].
'''Golden Hour'''
We're harking back to 1985 and [[The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood]] in Golden Hour this month, and not just because Vintage Classics have kindly reissued it. It's a dystopian parable with lots to say about womanhood, that is rightly deserving the tag ''modern classic''. We have long admired Atwood here at Bookbag Towers and we think this is a remarkable book and , illustrative of her entire canon.
'''Books of the Month'''