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, 16:16, 19 January 2010Created page with '{{adsense4}} If you'd like to sign up for our monthly newsletter, just drop us [mailto:subscribe@thebookbag.co.uk an email]. We won't bother you more than once a month, but…'
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If you'd like to sign up for our monthly newsletter, just drop us [mailto:subscribe@thebookbag.co.uk an email]. We won't bother you more than once a month, but we'll tell you about what we've been reading at Bookbag and any news from the site. We promise never to pass your details on to anyone else. In fact... we won't even tell each other.
== January's News from Bookbag Towers ==
Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! What resolutions have you made? We're going to spend more of our time enjoying the many many wonderful books out there, and less of our time worrying about the uh... not so wonderful ones. We're just about emerging from the Christmas fug of turkey, wine and chocolate, and can't wait to get down to some serious reading.
The eagle-eyed amongst you might have spotted that there was no December newsletter. This January edition is a bumper double issue - which is to say we were all utterly swamped in the run-up to Christmas here at Bookbag Towers, and something had to fall by the wayside. Apologies. Did you miss us?
We have some great [[Features|features]] for you again this month, including an interview with [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Gary Blackwood|Gary Blackwood]]. Keith fell in love with his [[Mysterious Messages - A History of Codes and Ciphers by Gary Blackwood|Mysterious Messages - A History of Codes and Ciphers]] and couldn't resist the opportunity to ask him a few questions. Keep an eye out for a review of Gary's equally excellent ''The Great Race'' appearing on Bookbag soon.
Over November and December, our most read new review was [[100 Facts About Pandas by David O'Doherty, Claudia O'Doherty and Mike Ahern]], an enjoyable stocking filler with a quirky sense of humour. Did you know that ''All pandas are born female. They will only turn male if they get a fright within their first 48 hours of life. It is for this reason that zoos with a high female bear population often employ a panda spooker to surprise newborn girls into manhood''?
'''What we've been reading...'''
In fiction, Nikki recommends [[A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman]]. It's an incredibly moving story of two strong women struggling against the ties of circumstance in troubled Sri Lanka. John lapped up [[Brodeck's Report by Philippe Claudel]] - a brilliantly absorbing story of the horrors of World War II and the years afterward in a secluded French village. It's a great story, finely told. Jill was blown away by [[Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett]], and not just because she got to use the word ''Steinbeckian'' in her review. It's a wonderful mix of Revenge Western, Americana and supernatural horror that blend to fantastic effect in this very successful debut novel. Robin was charmed by the beautifully poetic and courageous [[The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi]]. While tending to her comatose husband in civil war-torn Afghanistan, a wife begins to address the taboos of her society, confronting issues of female oppression and sexuality.
In non-fiction, Sue was very impressed by Chris Mullin's autobiography [[A View from the Foothills by Chris Mullin|A View from the Foothills]]. Mullin was never one of the 'big beasts' of New Labour but this well-written and considered book may well prove to be the definite volume about the Blair years. The reissue of his novel [[A Very British Coup by Chris Mullin|A Very British Coup]] was very welcome too. George really enjoyed [[Taking the Medicine by Druin Burch]] - a fascinating history of pharmacology and medicine and the development of evidence based research.
In children's books, and for the little ones, Keith was enchanted by [[One Smart Fish by Chris Wormell]]. The mix of a magical story, gentle humour, appropriate primer on evolution and Chris Wormell's wonderful illustrations make for a fine addition to any young child's bookshelf. If older readers only know the Disney film, they'll lap up the original [[Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and Sara Fanelli|Pinocchio]], which has wonderful illustrations from Sara Fanelli. Jill was awash with excellent sequels for teens, including [[Blade: Mixing It by Tim Bowler]], [[The Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd]] and [[Time Quake by Linda Buckley-Archer]]. She also loved [[Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak]]. It's a gritty novella about tough lives in tough neighbourhoods at tough economic times. Short, sharp and punchy, it has moments of savage humour and pure pathos. There's poetry in every life - even when it's seeped in violence.
'''Reviewers'''
We're always on the look out for people to join our panel of reviewers at Bookbag. We need people who understand that the reader wants to know what the reviewer thinks about the book and not just what's written on the back cover. If you think that you're one of these special people that we're looking for, we want to hear from you. You can find details of how to apply [[Reviewer Vacancies|here]] on the site. Don't be shy!
'''Competitions'''
We have [[Competitions|competitions]] for some great books going this month, and every month, so get entering!
And that's about it for this month. If you're passing Bookbag Towers do pop in and see us – we're at [[The Bookbag|www.thebookbag.co.uk]].
'''''All at Bookbag Towers'''''
(PS – if you don't want to receive further copies of our newsletter please [mailto:unsubscribe@thebookbag.co.uk email us] and we'll see that you're deleted from the mailing list.)
[[Category:Newsletters|* 2010 01]]
If you'd like to sign up for our monthly newsletter, just drop us [mailto:subscribe@thebookbag.co.uk an email]. We won't bother you more than once a month, but we'll tell you about what we've been reading at Bookbag and any news from the site. We promise never to pass your details on to anyone else. In fact... we won't even tell each other.
== January's News from Bookbag Towers ==
Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! What resolutions have you made? We're going to spend more of our time enjoying the many many wonderful books out there, and less of our time worrying about the uh... not so wonderful ones. We're just about emerging from the Christmas fug of turkey, wine and chocolate, and can't wait to get down to some serious reading.
The eagle-eyed amongst you might have spotted that there was no December newsletter. This January edition is a bumper double issue - which is to say we were all utterly swamped in the run-up to Christmas here at Bookbag Towers, and something had to fall by the wayside. Apologies. Did you miss us?
We have some great [[Features|features]] for you again this month, including an interview with [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Gary Blackwood|Gary Blackwood]]. Keith fell in love with his [[Mysterious Messages - A History of Codes and Ciphers by Gary Blackwood|Mysterious Messages - A History of Codes and Ciphers]] and couldn't resist the opportunity to ask him a few questions. Keep an eye out for a review of Gary's equally excellent ''The Great Race'' appearing on Bookbag soon.
Over November and December, our most read new review was [[100 Facts About Pandas by David O'Doherty, Claudia O'Doherty and Mike Ahern]], an enjoyable stocking filler with a quirky sense of humour. Did you know that ''All pandas are born female. They will only turn male if they get a fright within their first 48 hours of life. It is for this reason that zoos with a high female bear population often employ a panda spooker to surprise newborn girls into manhood''?
'''What we've been reading...'''
In fiction, Nikki recommends [[A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman]]. It's an incredibly moving story of two strong women struggling against the ties of circumstance in troubled Sri Lanka. John lapped up [[Brodeck's Report by Philippe Claudel]] - a brilliantly absorbing story of the horrors of World War II and the years afterward in a secluded French village. It's a great story, finely told. Jill was blown away by [[Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett]], and not just because she got to use the word ''Steinbeckian'' in her review. It's a wonderful mix of Revenge Western, Americana and supernatural horror that blend to fantastic effect in this very successful debut novel. Robin was charmed by the beautifully poetic and courageous [[The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi]]. While tending to her comatose husband in civil war-torn Afghanistan, a wife begins to address the taboos of her society, confronting issues of female oppression and sexuality.
In non-fiction, Sue was very impressed by Chris Mullin's autobiography [[A View from the Foothills by Chris Mullin|A View from the Foothills]]. Mullin was never one of the 'big beasts' of New Labour but this well-written and considered book may well prove to be the definite volume about the Blair years. The reissue of his novel [[A Very British Coup by Chris Mullin|A Very British Coup]] was very welcome too. George really enjoyed [[Taking the Medicine by Druin Burch]] - a fascinating history of pharmacology and medicine and the development of evidence based research.
In children's books, and for the little ones, Keith was enchanted by [[One Smart Fish by Chris Wormell]]. The mix of a magical story, gentle humour, appropriate primer on evolution and Chris Wormell's wonderful illustrations make for a fine addition to any young child's bookshelf. If older readers only know the Disney film, they'll lap up the original [[Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and Sara Fanelli|Pinocchio]], which has wonderful illustrations from Sara Fanelli. Jill was awash with excellent sequels for teens, including [[Blade: Mixing It by Tim Bowler]], [[The Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd]] and [[Time Quake by Linda Buckley-Archer]]. She also loved [[Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak]]. It's a gritty novella about tough lives in tough neighbourhoods at tough economic times. Short, sharp and punchy, it has moments of savage humour and pure pathos. There's poetry in every life - even when it's seeped in violence.
'''Reviewers'''
We're always on the look out for people to join our panel of reviewers at Bookbag. We need people who understand that the reader wants to know what the reviewer thinks about the book and not just what's written on the back cover. If you think that you're one of these special people that we're looking for, we want to hear from you. You can find details of how to apply [[Reviewer Vacancies|here]] on the site. Don't be shy!
'''Competitions'''
We have [[Competitions|competitions]] for some great books going this month, and every month, so get entering!
And that's about it for this month. If you're passing Bookbag Towers do pop in and see us – we're at [[The Bookbag|www.thebookbag.co.uk]].
'''''All at Bookbag Towers'''''
(PS – if you don't want to receive further copies of our newsletter please [mailto:unsubscribe@thebookbag.co.uk email us] and we'll see that you're deleted from the mailing list.)
[[Category:Newsletters|* 2010 01]]
