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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!
Everyone at Bookbag Towers wishes you the best 2014 you could possibly imagine. Health, wealth, happiness to you, and, of course, a good book or two. We wanted to offer a wee thank you for reading our ramblings every month and so we have instituted a monthly prize draw for all newsletter subscribers. If you are our first lucky winner, congratulations! You'll find an Amazon voucher winging its way to you very soon.
As it's the start of a brand new year, we hope you won't mind too much if we include a gentle plug for our favourite people at [http://www.englishpen.org/ English Pen]. They work tirelessly to defend and promote free expression, and to remove barriers to literature. The freedom to write and the freedom to read are vital freedoms and we hope you'll take the time to have a look at their work.
'''Golden Hour'''
Our blast from the past this month is 1993's [[Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle]], which won the Booker that year. It's a wonderfully written and captivating story that exposes the mind of a ten-year-old boy in a way no ten year old could and a piece of real life in a compelling little chunk. If you haven't read it already, you should get on and read it soon.
'''Books of the Month'''
And on to to the new...
.
In fiction, Ani recommends [[The Railwayman's Wife by Ashley Hay]], a sad but beautifully told tale about the struggle to carry on when something crucial to existence has been removed. Simultaneously philosophical and accessible, it will appeal equally to those of us who like to mull and those of us who are here for a good story. Ani also loved [[The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd]], a superlative piece of historical fiction based on a true story as two sisters fight against slavery and disenfranchisement. Bold, poignant and ultimately uplifting, Sue Monk Kidd's standards certainly haven't dropped; this may be even better than ''The Secret Lives of Bees''.
In non-fiction, John has a book for history buffs. [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives!: A World without World War I by Richard Ned Lebow]] isa counterfactual or alternative history of the twentieth century which visualises how it might have been if Archduke Franz Ferdinand had not been assassinated at Sarajevo in 1914. It's a stimulating read and, at around 230 pages, just the right length not to outstay its welcome
For teens, Jill is recommending [[Running Girl by Simon Mason]], a fabulous, intricate whodunnit featuring an uptight Sikh detective and an underperforming genius schoolboy. It has an easy style that wears its quality lightly and comes highly recommended by us. For tweens, Jill also loved [[The Dark Inside by Rupert Wallis]], a beautiful story about belief, grief and forgiveness with a great many questions and a little bit of magic realism. The writing is top notch.
'''Features'''
We've the utmost admiration for indie authors who go it alone in what's a very tough market and each year we pick the ten books which stood out for us. Take a look at our [[Top Ten Self-Published Books 2013|2013 list]]. You might be surprised at the quality of what you find.
Sue loved [[The Engagements by J Courtney Sullivan]] and she was fascinated when the author popped into Bookbag Towers to [[J Courtney Sullivan Talks To Bookbag About Eavesdropping|tell us all]] about eavesdropping. You might think it's a bad habit. She thinks it's research!
Interviews about this January. Jill thought that [[Time Trap by Richard Smith]] was a riproaring adventure and loved the real locations and the book's interactive website. She had quite a few questions when the author [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Richard Smith|popped into Bookbag Towers]]. [[Skulk by Rosie Best]] was a wonderful urban fantasy with an outstanding heroine and an excellent plot. Robert was delighted when Rosie [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Rosie Best|answered his questions]]. Robert also [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Matthew Crow|chatted to Matthew Crow]] about his life-affirming novel [[In Bloom by Matthew Crow|In Bloom]]. Both Jill and Robert were impressed by [[Love in Revolution by B R Collins]] but it was Robert who won the battle to ask the questions when the author [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To B R Collins|agreed to a chat]].
Sue was slightly unnerved by the prospect of interviewing an author whose protagonist interviews himself (after allowing a suitable time lapse between preparing the questions and answering them) in [[The Currency of Paper by Alex Kovacs|The Currency of Paper]], but the opportunity to chat to Alex Kovacs was [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Alex Kovacs|not one to miss]]. Sue also had a lovely time reading Dom Conlon's [[I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson|I Am A Giant]] and [[Tommy Tickletail: A Tall Tale by Dom Conlon and Carl Pugh|Tommy Tickletail: A Tall Tale]] and she was eager to chat to the author when he [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Dom Conlon|called by]].
'''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|* 2014 01]]
== January's News from Bookbag Towers ==
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Everyone at Bookbag Towers wishes you the best 2014 you could possibly imagine. Health, wealth, happiness to you, and, of course, a good book or two. We wanted to offer a wee thank you for reading our ramblings every month and so we have instituted a monthly prize draw for all newsletter subscribers. If you are our first lucky winner, congratulations! You'll find an Amazon voucher winging its way to you very soon.
As it's the start of a brand new year, we hope you won't mind too much if we include a gentle plug for our favourite people at [http://www.englishpen.org/ English Pen]. They work tirelessly to defend and promote free expression, and to remove barriers to literature. The freedom to write and the freedom to read are vital freedoms and we hope you'll take the time to have a look at their work.
'''Golden Hour'''
Our blast from the past this month is 1993's [[Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle]], which won the Booker that year. It's a wonderfully written and captivating story that exposes the mind of a ten-year-old boy in a way no ten year old could and a piece of real life in a compelling little chunk. If you haven't read it already, you should get on and read it soon.
'''Books of the Month'''
And on to to the new...
.
In fiction, Ani recommends [[The Railwayman's Wife by Ashley Hay]], a sad but beautifully told tale about the struggle to carry on when something crucial to existence has been removed. Simultaneously philosophical and accessible, it will appeal equally to those of us who like to mull and those of us who are here for a good story. Ani also loved [[The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd]], a superlative piece of historical fiction based on a true story as two sisters fight against slavery and disenfranchisement. Bold, poignant and ultimately uplifting, Sue Monk Kidd's standards certainly haven't dropped; this may be even better than ''The Secret Lives of Bees''.
In non-fiction, John has a book for history buffs. [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives!: A World without World War I by Richard Ned Lebow]] isa counterfactual or alternative history of the twentieth century which visualises how it might have been if Archduke Franz Ferdinand had not been assassinated at Sarajevo in 1914. It's a stimulating read and, at around 230 pages, just the right length not to outstay its welcome
For teens, Jill is recommending [[Running Girl by Simon Mason]], a fabulous, intricate whodunnit featuring an uptight Sikh detective and an underperforming genius schoolboy. It has an easy style that wears its quality lightly and comes highly recommended by us. For tweens, Jill also loved [[The Dark Inside by Rupert Wallis]], a beautiful story about belief, grief and forgiveness with a great many questions and a little bit of magic realism. The writing is top notch.
'''Features'''
We've the utmost admiration for indie authors who go it alone in what's a very tough market and each year we pick the ten books which stood out for us. Take a look at our [[Top Ten Self-Published Books 2013|2013 list]]. You might be surprised at the quality of what you find.
Sue loved [[The Engagements by J Courtney Sullivan]] and she was fascinated when the author popped into Bookbag Towers to [[J Courtney Sullivan Talks To Bookbag About Eavesdropping|tell us all]] about eavesdropping. You might think it's a bad habit. She thinks it's research!
Interviews about this January. Jill thought that [[Time Trap by Richard Smith]] was a riproaring adventure and loved the real locations and the book's interactive website. She had quite a few questions when the author [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Richard Smith|popped into Bookbag Towers]]. [[Skulk by Rosie Best]] was a wonderful urban fantasy with an outstanding heroine and an excellent plot. Robert was delighted when Rosie [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Rosie Best|answered his questions]]. Robert also [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Matthew Crow|chatted to Matthew Crow]] about his life-affirming novel [[In Bloom by Matthew Crow|In Bloom]]. Both Jill and Robert were impressed by [[Love in Revolution by B R Collins]] but it was Robert who won the battle to ask the questions when the author [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To B R Collins|agreed to a chat]].
Sue was slightly unnerved by the prospect of interviewing an author whose protagonist interviews himself (after allowing a suitable time lapse between preparing the questions and answering them) in [[The Currency of Paper by Alex Kovacs|The Currency of Paper]], but the opportunity to chat to Alex Kovacs was [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Alex Kovacs|not one to miss]]. Sue also had a lovely time reading Dom Conlon's [[I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson|I Am A Giant]] and [[Tommy Tickletail: A Tall Tale by Dom Conlon and Carl Pugh|Tommy Tickletail: A Tall Tale]] and she was eager to chat to the author when he [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Dom Conlon|called by]].
'''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|* 2014 01]]
