Hi folks, I've finished my WordPress site so you can now find me at www.charlottechase.co.uk.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

The Summer of the Bear is one of those family-centred stories that will appeal to most people who enjoy making jam and going for walks along the blustery Scottish coast. Although I have yet to do that latter, I still thoroughly engaged with this book and the tight family unit that the story orbits around. Split between Bonn, Germany and the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, the tale tracks the interwoven lives of a family of five. After tragedy strikes them a hard blow you come to understand how they are each dealing with their grief and how important communication is in transient times. My favourite character was little Jamie, the youngest brother he often bares the brunt of his middle sister Alba, who dislikes having a young annoying brother hanging off her coat-tails. Older sister Georgie is sensitive and devoted soul who is torn between discovering love, pleasing her parents and acting as the diplomat, advising Alba to remain respectful to Jamie's curious nature.


The great Bear is obviosly the lynch-pin in this tale and some chapters are completely devoted to the inner thoughts of Bear as he hides out in the caves of the northern most tips of the Scottish Islands. It is Bear's relationship with Jamie that is both endearing and beautifully crafted by Bella Pollen as she seamlessly ties the connection between a child's toy-bear and the real great beast of a Bear that Jamie encounters.


I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a story of love, devotion and healing. This book deals with some very sore points for those who have experienced a tragedy, but Bella Pollen writes with such a peaceful pen that the tragedies are never far from being lulled by the Scottish tide.

This was one of the most talked about books on The TV Book Club list and I can vouch for it being one of the most refreshing summer reads. Don't get me wrong, this book isn't for everyone, but I munched through it so quickly that by the time I had stopped to think if it was for me I was finishing the last page and wishing the book was longer. This is the ultimate coming-of-age and going-past-age story. Filled with angst, love, depression, murder, suicide and of course punk-rock music, this novel encapsulates a time in the not so distant American past when the American Dream was just about tangible. Of course it does have quite a few characters that are so smarmy you really love to hate them and there are a couple that you wish would just get a grip, but over all they are such a ridiculous bunch of goofy people that you can't help but empathise with them.

My favourite chapter is told through a series of Power-point slides. Jennifer Egan is now in my top favourite list of authors for this chapter alone. Using a series of diagrams she adds a new, younger and arguably wiser voice to the book and it is fascinating how much insight you can gain into a character's family through a series of diagrams. I won't spoil it for you because it really is a fantastically original book, but I will say that I think I have spotted the odd goon at a few gigs I've been too and boy do they look like an interesting group of rockers... A 8/10 for the dark humour and subtle poignancy that deals so well with self-adjustment and growing pains.

1. An independent young woman
2. A mysterious young man
3. An unlimited supply of black and white material
4. An array of cats, candles, twigs and/or branches
5. A complicated pre-destined agreement
6. A house that both welcomes and confuses
7. A circus train
8. A brave young boy
9. Courageous flame-haired twins
10. A whole load of make-believe
11. An assortment of jars of various sizes
12. And one man who can make time tick

One whisk is also advised, although you should ask an adult for assistance and always put the lid on to prevent any magic escaping.

This my friends, is a list of the assorted wonders that you will find within the realms of Erin Morgenstern's fantastical new fairytale, The Night Circus. Summoning up characters from the 19th Century, Erin welcomes you to Le Cirque des Rêves. You will need good walking shoes and a torch to find your way back home. This travelling circus is only open at night, so if you want to visit it is advised you catch a kip at work or have an afternoon snooze. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the circus and can be seen cavorting in red scarves as the autumn leaves start to fall.

PS. Look out for the fortune-teller, she really is quite good!

I read Night Road before going on holiday and I have to say I wasn't expecting much from it. I hadn't come across Kristin Hannah before and I hadn't really seen any publicity for this novel. I was really surprised to find that a day later I had finished the book and was ready to read it all over again.

Kristin admits to being a 'helicopter mom' hovering over her own son as he grew up and being on hand to assist him in any decisions he had to make; be it his choice of jumper to which university to apply to. With this in mind she builds her story around a wealthy couple Jude and Miles Farraday who are blessed with twins, Mia and Zach. Seeing their children grow up as polar opposites - Mia shy and geeky, Zach sporty, handsome and popular - Jude is relieved when Mia makes a new friend on her first day of High School, Lexi who brings the timid Mia out of her shell.

The story of Lexi, Mia and Zach is both exhilarating and  heartbreaking. It defines teenage pressures and challenges parenting methods adopted by so many loving parents. Jude and Miles have clearly been created from Kristin's own experience with her son and the relationships that they forge with Lexi is a subtle balance between gratitude and caution. A teenage tragedy which can effects many families each year, hits the Farradays and it is Kristin's portrayal of the breakdown of the tight family unit that really tugs at the heart strings.

I think Night Road is really under-rated and its simplistic nature is its best quality. Anyone can relate to this story in some way or another and this is what makes it a classic story.  I give it a 7/10 for its nonconfrontational tone and its ability to remain composed whilst still depicting grief as a healing process.

Strewth Bruce, what a month August has been! A holiday in (very sunny I'll have you know) Cornwall, a joining of the wonderful SYP committee, and a brother moving to Japan - all very exciting and all distracting my blog entries. I've also been making a very snazzy WordPress site and once I am ready I shall link you all and you shall marvel at my whizzy skills. For now though I apologise for my lack of presence on the blogosphere and I shall reassure you that I have not been slacking on the reading front. This weekend I will be writing up a selection of tasty books including:


The Night Circus - Erin Morgernstern
The Night Road - Kristin Hannah
A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
Roadside Crosser - Jeffrey Deaver
Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs


aaaand I've just received a toe-wiggling proof-copy of Legend Press's Looking for Mrs Dextrose by the uber talented Nick Griffiths. Hurrah!


For now it's time to catch some zzzzzzzzzzzzzs but watch this space - it's going to get pretty meaty!

Sounds gross right? Well it pretty much is - it is also marvellous and stuffed full with villainy. This story is told by 5 different people, aristocrats Marcella and Minguillo Fasan, medical assistant doctor Santo, Peruvian nun Lor Soreto and manservant Gianni. Michelle Lovric stitches her book together with these five strands and by doing so she sculptures a 3D story that can be approached by every angle. Only releasing information in  teasing snippets, she leaves the reader willing her to reveal more.

Marcella is a our damsel in distress whilst her brother, Minguillo attempts to bury the key and keep her dead to world. Enter Doctor Santo, a knight in shining armour who dwells in poverty and falls for our damsel. Can love overcome everything, or is Minguillo Fasan too powerful and deceitful? Selling his sister to an asylum and then a convent, Minguillo thinks he is set to inherit his father's estate...but Marcella has a few friends, and they've got a few plans of their own...

 I found myself galloping through the book much quicker than I had Grace William Says It Loud - I suspect this is because the text is much more flirtatious and diverts your attention to a detached history - whereas Grace Williams was a bit harder to digest as it was so horrific.

Similar to Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine the circular structure of the narrative lends itself to the fickle reader as passages are short and sharp, startling and seductive. Lovric's writing effortlessly switches voices keeping both the story and the reader connected as you move through the Venetian canals and board a ship to the exotic mountains of Peru.

This is a great commuter book, the chapters are in bite-size chunks so you've got time to chomp on a few chapters before you need to hop off the train.

I'm giving this book a 8/10, it is repulsively seductive and unnaturally charming. You might want to take a closer look at those leather-binded books on your shelf though...

The Man in the Moon by William Joyce looks to be one of the most exciting children's books I have seen in a while. It has yet to be released in Canada (and I presume America) so it might take a while to get over here but as soon as it does I will definitely be snapping it up! Publishers Simon & Schuster released a few sneaky excerpts on their Facebook feed today and I was completely mesmerised by the illustrations. Have a flick through here and see what you think. It looks pretty pricey but I'm sure it will, for many children, be a book that is treasured for many years.

Another book that has grabbed my attention is FArTHER by Grahame Baker-Smith, published by Templar. The artwork is just magical as Grahame marries photographic collages and illustration. I'm hoping to get his book later this week so I will let you all know what I think of the storyline as soon as I can! For now though have a look at some of these gorgeous pictures from the very talented
Mr Grahame Baker-Smith  .

Being an unusually hot week in London, I decided it was too hot to carry a book, so leapt back into the cooling Kindle lagoon. Not only was I pleasantly surprised that after reading three of her books, I still enjoyed Trisha's 'chick lit' but I also found it a slight relief, as the other books I am reading recently seem to be of a darker nature.

Time and time again I have found myself drawn back to Trisha's cosy countryside characters, with their romances and the odd historical lesson or Shakespearian reference thrown in for good measure. It lets you drift and doesn't demand a great deal of concentration or commitment. You can pop back to Sticklepond village any-time you like and find familiar faces in both The Falling Star and The Green Man pub. I love how Trisha's characters subtly overlap so that names ring bells as though they are somehow a past neighbour or an old friend. An even better aspect to this is of course by reading on the Kindle you a free to search previous books, so if like me it irritates you when you can't place a name or remember who is who, you can simply type it in and voila! The lovely Kindle tells you exactly where you read it first and where else it is likely to crop up. Unfortunately the downside to this is that you occasionally come across spoilers as it does drag up all the places the word appears so you can find yourself reading ahead of your current place.

In this book you meet Chloe Lyons who runs a chocolate business, her aunty and granddad are pagans and her ex-lover / rock star has now become the village vicar. She has raised her little brother (now an 18 year old Goth) as her mum has ditched her for a life of partying. Old flames of course return  but can love be rekindled? Can Paganism and Christianity see eye to eye or is there going to be trouble in rural Sticklepond? This is funny romance packed with countryside comforts. What more could you possibly need from a 'laze with a glass of wine' book?

This is once again a feel-good book from Trisha Ashley and I feel thoroughly refreshed from my swim in the Kindle Lagoon!

Yesterday I ventured into a brilliant independent bookshop in Wimbledon called Copperfield's Second Hand Bookshop. I won't bore you with all the details as I was in there for ages and looked slightly suspicious as I cruised around the shelves gawping at the vast range of books stacked so neatly in such an efficient way. The important thing is that I found a very small and very modest looking book called Soldier Fritz and the Enemies He Fought. The cover is a gorgeous green with gold embossing and it was one of those times when a small book booms out at you and you just can't ignore it.


As some of you may already know I have a soft spot for old children's books and an even softer spot for books with inscriptions. This little book ticked both boxes as its pages were not only full of lively stories of victory and triumph but it also had this inscription...


'Presented to Arthur Stroud as a reward for constant attendance during the year 1880 - Holy Trinity Sunday School, Richmond'.

And that was me hooked.

Soldier Fritz and his enemies are now on my bookshelf, but not being content with knowing I had a piece of history on my shelves, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know who Arthur Stroud was and how old he was when he was awarded this prize? Of course I will never know if he was chuffed to receive it or if his mother dragged him to the church every Sunday but thanks to the National Archives I have been able to dig a little bit deeper and I now have a sketchy outline of who this young boy was.


Arthur Stroud lived with his Mum and Dad, George and Martina, and had two brothers, George (older) and Albert (younger). He was born around 1867, making him 13 when he was given Soldier Fritz. Now isn't that something? To think that his grandparents would have been born around the early 1800's makes history seem shorter, as though we are not as far from the late 1700's as I once thought. Quite a productive trip into town.

So I would like to say congratulations Arthur! Whether or not you were dragged to church, you looked after your books and I hope you enjoyed the story. 131 years later and I'm wondering what happened to that thirteen year old boy who grew up in Richmond?

Book three for me out of the TV Book Club list and so far it has been my favourite. At times the subject matter is hard to digest as the institutionalisation of children and adults is such a delicate topic. There is no skirting around the edges when it comes to discussing child abuse, humiliation and degradation.

Reviewing a book by Terry Pratchett is like walking into a garden centre and telling the head gardener that roses are really quite wonderful. It doesn't really need to be done. Everything he writes is literally (and I use this word in the most literal sense) magical. So for that reason this review is purely self-indulgent as it gives me a chance to reflect on what I liked most about a book that has kept my commute lively.

For starters this book is aimed at young adults, which doesn't make it that much different from his other books only that perhaps Tiffany Aching is a bit younger than some of Terry Pratchett's other characters. The action is crammed in like pickles in a jar and truth be told I did snort on a few occasions. Yes, folks it really is that funny and it is such a relief to find a book that doesn't take itself too seriously.

As for the Nac Mac Feegles which gave a stonkingly good performance throughout the magical tale, I would like to see a book dedicated entirely to them and their way of life. If you have yet to meet the Nac Mac Feegles, fear not for they are a friendly folk, that is if you are not accidently digging up the mound under which they live in the mountains. Hearty drinkers and raucous fighters, these tough guys make the story what it is - a story of companionship, loyalty, love and above all MAGIC.



I would recommend this to anyone looking to keep a certain someone entertained through what looks to be a few very rainy weeks of summer.

This book is both creepy and disturbing and that's exactly what it is intended to be. Through a swift and light-hearted narrative the novel captures the reader by drawing you in to the mind of a seemingly friendly and fun girl.

However, the water does not remain calm, so to speak, as soon you are dragged under by a strong current which takes a dark turn leaving you  repulsed, confused and compelled to continue reading...

This is a tragedy like no other, the protagonist is blinkered from the real-life dangers surrounding her suburban bubble. Only the outsider (now insider as you adjust to her internal monologue) can see that she is in a destructive relationship that has the power to corrupt her fragile life and mind. This is not a book for the faint-hearted. I was swept up by it but then again I won't be returning to this dark ravine.

Last Thursday I was treated to a night at the theatre. We went to see Chicken Soup with Barley the rejuvenated 1950's play by Arnold Wesker. Focusing on a Jewish family and spanning 20 years from 1936 to 1956, this extraordinary play blurs the lines between realism and idealism. Sarah Kahn is an East End Jewish mother, fighting to protect her family from the Mosley's fascists marching outside her flat. Sarah is a staunch supporter of Communist ideals and whilst her family might be on her side, their beliefs don't appear to have the same sticking power. Or at least, they have grey areas, whereas she only sees in black and white.
Twenty years on and Sarah is still fighting the battle, whilst others have drifted to the suburbs, she is still attending meetings, and making her voice heard. Samantha Spiro gave an excellent performance as the politically driven mother of two, however for me, it was Danny Webb, who plays her husband Harry Kahn, that really stole the show.

Whilst Samantha performed monologues to the sold-out audience, it was Danny that I was watching. Throughout the 20 year span, Harry Kahn encounters two strokes. To begin with, I was not really aware of his stage presence as Sarah held my attention as she proclaimed her commitment to the Communist party. However, as the silences became more weighted, and Harry's posture became more afflicted, I became absorbed by his every move. His speech deteriorated and his physical presence was painful to watch, which made it all the more powerful. Not only was it tragic to watch a man slide into a decline, but it added to my appreciation for Sarah as she carried on with her duties and tried to hold her ever-disjointed family together.

A brilliant performance by both leads -  made even better by being in such an intimate theatre. Although words are obviously important to a play, sometimes silences can hold even more weight. It is at these times when you can really appreciate the power of a frown or a smile, and being that much closer to the actors made all the difference.

Well this was the second book I read from the TV Book Club list and I have to say I was more than a tad disappointed. Bear in mind that I am a ginormous fan of Gothic literature and vampires pretty much float my boat. But recently I feel there's been a smidgen more than overkill (excuse the pun) on this genre.

 The Radleys is great if it is the first book about vampires you have ever read. If, however, you grew up worried that Buffy and Angel might never be together, or found yourself lured into the Stephanie Meyer/ L.J Smith debate, torn between pale and sparkly or pale and dishy, then this might not be the book for you.

 It's been done before folks, and no doubt it will be done again.

I loved Being Human  on BBC3 and this felt like Matt Haig had watched it and then moved it from Bristol to yet another suburb. I struggled to find the humour and having a family of abstinent vampires is surely just a rewrite of the popular veggie Cullen family.

I think perhaps I was the wrong audience for this book. I was a tough cookie to please and unfortunately this book did not so much as float my boat as leave me grounded on a fairly nondescript sandbank.

I'm giving it a 5/10 for trying to compete in a vampire infested market.

Just to be clear the 1/8 means it is the first of the 8 books that I have read out of the pile sent by the lovely people at the TV Book Club, I don't think it's the first they have discussed.


I am so glad I started with this book, it's that lovely chunky size which means you can really chew on it for days. Set in Provence, France, Deborah Lawrenson's sensual tale is one of a love shrouded in mystery. Eve and Dom buy a derelict farmhouse in the lavender sea of Provence and take their time sinking into their surroundings and relish their isolation from the hustling modern world.


However, as with all old properties in novels, this farmhouse has a story that it slowly begins to unveil and a resident it has yet to disclose. 


Lawrenson elegantly captures the sights, sounds and smells of the richly perfumed Provence and draws her readers into a rural history tainted by misunderstandings. I can see why the Book Club selected The Lantern for their summer read, I could almost feel the sun beating out of the pages and luckily enough, the lavender in our front garden aided the sweet fragrances that Lawrenson so accurately describes. 


These books are going to be rated, a rarity for me so here goes. I give it a well deserved 7/10. You can read it wherever you choose, a lush field, a cool poolside or a stuffy train carriage. It really doesn't matter where you are, you'll all be drawn into the same beautiful French landscape. Oui! Oui!

This week I have had a bit of a teen-fiction splurge, starting with Alan Gibbons' An Act of Love and finishing today with Ally Carter's Only the Good Spy Young. Call me fickle but I did enjoy Only the Good Spy Young a fraction more. I was in the sort of mood where I could quite easily get lost in a fictional boarding school for young spies.

Everyone has those moments, mine lasted for a few days, during which time I looked forward to the end of the day when I could sit back and stealthily sweep through the corridors of Carter's elite institution. It was everything I was looking for in a girly teenage novel. It had attitude, sass and a ton of girl power. Yup, I was hooked. To make it even better this is just one of a series of books by Ally Carter all set around the lives and loves of the Gallagher Girls. I like to approach teenage books like I would a blind date. If I don't expect much from it I can either be pleasantly surprised or I can walk away and not feel like I have burnt a long standing bridge.

I must say this book did surprise me and as I steadily became swept up in the storyline I became aware that I was genuinely coming to like Cammie and her friends. Definitely a series I will be revisiting and one I will be recommending to anyone who is looking for some effortlessly cool hair-flicking, butt-kicking action.

Hurrah! The postman delivered two very large parcels for me today. Ok, yes I wasn't in and the lovely postman waited all of 20 seconds for my doting partner to stumble down the stairs and skid through the hallway. Luckily said partner is quite the intrepid explorer, and not satisfied with the little red card shoved through the letterbox, he rather heroically legged it down the garden path to chase the rather bemused postman and reclaimed my two treasured parcels.

If you get time this month I would strongly suggest you put on the kettle and read this novel.  I will warn you that you should choose your spot wisely as you will not be getting up anytime in the near future. This is one of those 'down it in one' books. 


Published by Legend Press (a bloody good publishing house between you and me) Swiss author Zoe Jenny's novel The Sky is Changing is the first of her publications to be written in English which according to her website makes " her one of the first authors to write and publish novels in different languages in original form". 
The story traces the life of Claire, a former dancer living in London after the 7 July bombings. Claire has reached a cross-roads in her life as she is unable to place herself in a society that is struggling to identify itself as a survivor. Yearning for a child of her own, Claire reaches out to Nora, her seven-year -old swimming pupil, and soon finds that the bond between them is growing alarmingly strong.

When Grandma recommends a book to me, 9 times out of 10 it is one of those rare books that I will end up reading time and time again. 


Ferney is no exception.  


 Set in rural Somerset this novel follows the entwining paths of two soulmates, Ferney and Gally, as the surrounding hills remain the constant landmark in their ever changing lives. What I loved about this novel is the historical timeline that presents the third element to their romance. Detailing rural life the predestined lives of the lovers meanders through the ages, from medieval times to the present day.


It is clear that James Long, a former BBC correspondent is an avid historian as he masterfully resurrects the dull pages of history books and brings long lost characters back to life. 


This book has bucket-loads of sparkle and if you think the Doctor is the only Time Lord, you've got another think coming.

This book was a bit of an odd choice for me - I grabbed it based on front cover alone and took a risk ignoring the blurb. And it paid off! The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W. Durrow is to be quite frank one of the most depressing books I have ever voluntarily read but is also strangely liberating and certainly not a story that has been told before.

Rachel Morse is a young girl, half Danish and half American whose appearances set her apart from the crowd. She is caught between two races that are struggling to coexist. As a beautiful black girl with stunning blue eyes, Rachel attracts alot of attention - mostly unwanted-  and has to struggle to redefine herself and separate her new life from the harrowing experiences of her childhood.

This novel is incredibly bold and powerful. It doesn't skirt around the issues or imply unspoken words. It writes every insult and describes every impact. It reacts to every sound and expresses every tension. As with quite a number of my favourite books it gives each character their own chapter in which they can expose their inner vulnerabilities and demons, allowing you to stitch each fabric together and see the devastating pattern unfold.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Perhaps not for those who feel a little bit bleak, but if you do read it I urge you to see it through to the end. Moving and astoundingly beautiful it is one story that will stay with me for a very long time.

Knowing little about the colonial war in Algeria I dived into this novel blindly searching for a history I had yet to learn. Set in 1961 and spanning 50 years, Suzanne Ruta's To Algeria, With Love is a tragically composed account of both political and romantic affairs. The retrospective tone to the novel sheds a regretful light on the protagonist Louise as she slowly but surely unwraps the secrets that she has carried with her on her life journey. 


As a young American  Louise flies over to France expecting a continental education that will set her apart from her idle peers. However the education she receives is not from the stately institution but from the lucid Wally -  an Algerian who has fled the war gripping his country. Working long hours in a factory and sending money home to his wife and children, handsome Wally also acts as an ironic tour guide to lost American students. I found his character hard to grasp as he unflinchingly drifts from mentor to confidante to lover - not to say I didn't like him, I just found his mentality patronizing. More to the point, his affair with Louise  develops as naturally and casually as it possibly can with the North African political turbulence dominating their idyllic French landscape. 


In present day, New York is still coming to terms with the horrific events of 9/11  - a subject which draws both middle-aged Louise and Aissa together as they are faced with colliding cultures. Suzanne Ruta has approached this subject with sensitivity as she draws parallels between the war on terror and the innocent lives taken in Algeria's war-torn past.


Admittedly I read this as an oral history-esque interview with chapters giving independent voices to two main characters: Louise's voice is one of nostalgic sorrow - a woman who is not only coming to terms with her shadows but is also searching for the Algerian son she so regretfully gave up.  Aissa, a contemporary Algerian writer meets Louise in present-day New York whilst he is on a literary tour.  During a loose and undeniably one-sided conversation spanning a couple of years, Louise honours Aissa with the burden of reporting on the current whereabouts of her long-lost son whilst conceding that her choices were predetermined.


This novel is so intricately woven it is almost impossible to give you a full sense of its depth. Somehow you just become part of the pages, making it incredibly hard not to sympathise with the young and foolish Louise however opinionated you may be. 


Highly recommended, not a tear jerker but most certainly one to make you think.

Hurrah! Forward Poetry is releasing an anthology of poems associated with service men and women past and present and That Dark Suit  has been chosen to be in the collection. This has made me quite giddy and ever so slightly gob-smacked. The Colour of War  is being published 30th June 2011 and will be sent to libraries and museums across the UK as well as a selection of military bases. They have also asked for photos so I am sending one of Grandad in his uniform -  we shall have to wait and see what happens. I will post more about it when the anthology is in circulation but for now I am a very happy chappy. 

After a recommendation I decided to try out South Africa's best-selling crime writer Deon Meyer. 13 Hours has the reader clock-watching from the start, hurtling you forwards into the aftermath of a gory murder of a young American tourist. Meyer's main character Detective Inspector Benny Griessel is a recovering alcoholic, bouncing on the pulse of Cape Town and with everything to prove. Allocated as mentor to the younger, fresher generation of police cops, Griessel's every move is tinted with a bitter need to push himself and re-establish his dwindling career. He has just 13 hours to rescue the innocent companion of the murdered traveller and secure his future as a Captain.


Against the clock and with countless police graduates demanding his attention and an international scandal about to blow a hole through the South African tourist industry - this D.I can't afford to lose. Sounds like a perfect plot for a movie, right? Yup, it's already in the pipeline. And if you fail to imagine what Meyer's Cape Town looks like you can head over to www.deonmeyer.com where the author has provided snaps of his chosen locations, validating the landscape of his riveting story.


Read 13 Hours if you're ready to run. This race has already started.

Wowzer what a month April has been! The London Book Fair kicked off with a buzzing start for its fortieth year  and Earls Court was heaving. I went along on the Sunday to set up our stand and  to be honest I was doubting that it would all be ready for the Monday morning opening. It felt like one of those horrific Changing Room episodes where hammers are flying in all directions and the carpets not laid and the family are pulling up on the driveway. However I was relieved on Monday morning when I found Earls Court transformed from a manic building site into a swanky international exhibition centre. I managed to get an hour off on Tuesday to attend the Graphic Novels for Boys  seminar held in the Children's Theatre, where a panel of authors, publishers and illustrators discussed the most effective ways  of encouraging young boys to read. The guests included representatives from SelfMadeHero and Panini/Marvel and Eoin (It's pronounced Owen) Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series which has since been adapted into a best-selling graphic novel. The panel mainly discussed the process of adapting classic novels and the best ways in which to launch graphic novels on to a competitive market. It would seem young boys are pretty hard to impress and unless you dangle a 'gross-out factor' ie, torn limbs and boggling eyes, in front of their faces, comics are unlikely to hold their attention let alone encourage them to read a sequel. Most notably the panel also suggested that young girls are similarly drawn into reading fiction through first following graphic novels, in particular the Manga publications. 


I think what I find most intriguing about graphic novels is their accessibility. Any age group can still embrace graphic novels without the sometimes judgemental social stigma that was once associated with comic strips. Now consumers can either go to their newsagent or bookseller, order online, or download an app allowing them one-tap access to hundreds of graphic novels.  I for one read on my Android phone as well as ordering novels from Amazon. I think it is this tranferable nature of the graphic novel that makes them so popular and such a great starting point for the younger generation. Anthony Browne once said 'Illustrated books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older' and I whole heartedly agree.

From the author that gave us the award winning The Cutting Room comes Naming the Bones a mysterious novel set in a dark and meloncholy Scotland. The protagonist, Murray Watson is a university lecturer who has dabbled in a love affair that could ruin his career. Taking a sabbatical, he decides to dedicate his time to  researching the poet who has inspired his academic studies and ventures off in pursuit of finding the truth behind the modern Romantic hero. As a novel it was superb and I was gently carried along by the Louise Welsh's soothing currents. However this was not how it was sold. The blurb informs the reader that Naming the Bones  is 'Welsh's darkest novel so far'. I hate to rain on birthday parties but I struggled to find the darkness. I enjoy reading novels that have me gripped and although I was spurred on to read the next chapter out of guilty curiosity, I wasn't ever fearful for the live's of the characters or the intrusion of suspicious strangers. Perhaps it was because the backdrop of this novel was the tragic fates of young Romantics and so suicide seems to be an acceptable theme, but because the nature of Watson's research is retrospective I didn't find the novel particularly 'dark'. 


Saying that, Naming the Bones was entertaining and Welsh's syntax portrayed the grim back-alleys of Glasgow and the characters that inhabit the murky shadows. I would recommend this to anyone who fancies a casual fling with a retrospective mystery. Perhaps even a brief tour of the Shetland islands, I hear it's lovely there this time of year.

Last Saturday I took a rather early train from London Paddington to the sunny if a tad windy city of Oxford for the Sunday Times Literary Festival. OK, so admittedly the Children's Laureate Launch was aimed at children and their dedicated parents but I figured I could subtly hand my ticket in and join the mass of Jacqueline Wilson, Anne Fine, Michael Rosen and Anthony Browne fans. To an extent I was right, once I was in, I climbed the stairs in the Sheldonian Theatre to sit above the guest panel in the upper circle. The awkwardness came at the start of the day when I had to queue with around 200 children clasping Tracey Beakers and Flower Babies ready to be let in. It wasn't even the sort of event where you could sidle up to a family and pretend to be part of their clan. As soon as I so much as took a step towards the next family in line, I either got a sympathetic smile or a protective arm around a younger child. I'm not sure why that happened, I don't think I look particularly threatening and at just over 5"1 I'm hardly likely to hoist a 9 year old over my shoulder and take a high jump over the 15 foot gates. Anyway after the rather embarrassing queue I was finally in and seated and starting to wish I had got a drink before I arrived. I figured that the organised talk by four of the most talented laureates would be a real insight into the workings of a children's writer and I think I was just curious to see what made them tick. Each of them were greeted with a huge round of applause and faced their eager audience with warm smiles. So folks, here is a quick round-up of what each of the four guest speakers said:


Writer of Madame Doubtfire, Flower Babies, The Jamie and Angus Stories and many, many others, Anne Fine spent her time as laureate campaigning against the age ranges set on books, claiming that the ability to read does not necessarily have a correlation to a child's age. She talked of how, like many of the other guest panellists, she was a child of Enid Blyton and learnt to read at an early age, exceeding the expectations of her primary school teachers. She raised the issue of difficult literature and suggested that if a book is hard to read, it is often the book that you will get the most out of. Apparently easy reading is not somewhere to be beached up. One thing I did find very promising from her talk was that she has found that her writing has not got better with time, she has just got better at spotting problems that are about to pounce on her - reckoning that people's best work is often the raw materials they produce early on in their career...now that does sound good!




What a trooper! Poor Jacqueline Wilson had the most horrendous cold and had to stop numerous times to sip water in a vain attempt to stop her sudden bouts of coughing. Jacqueliune really held the children's attention as most of them had come to see their heroine in the flesh. She talked of her love for family stories and how as she grew up in a reasonably small family she enjoyed reading about characters with many siblings. Little Women, What Katy Did Next and Ballet Shoes were among her faves and they all came with high recommendations for the  parents in the audience who were clearly scribbling down reading lists for their children. As laureate, Jacqueline backed a campaign to bring families together to read out loud to each other, something that I really benefited from as a child - I can't really imagine a house where this doesn't happen. I think it's so important to encourage children's imaginations and who can do the voice of the BFG better than your dad??




Michael Rosen was introduced as a performer and he really gave a stonking  
performance.Writer of We're Going on a Bear Hunt and You're Thinking About Doughnuts, he had everyone in stitches as he told us of his brother teaching him to read parrot fashion and how he would rather not meet the Queen thank you very much. He also explained in detail how he felt about the government and how he is baffled by their love of worksheets. One thing that stuck in my head from Michael's speech was this little nugget of information that seems so obvious that I'd never really thought about it. Having a house full of books is like having two university graduates live in the house. The amount of information available to the child sky rockets and their imagination and willingness to learn is mind boggling increased. But apparently this piece of gold from the University of Nevada wasn't 'worksheet friendly' enough for the government so Michael's laureate campaign was put on the back-burner.




Illustrator and author Anthony Browne brought Willy the Wimp to life in fantastic drawings. Growing up reading comic books such as The Dandy and Beano, Anthony was fascinated by the power of pictures and the space between words and pictures. His campaign promotes the importance of picture books and the importance of allowing children to explore impossible worlds through picture books. Being pushed forward onto more grown-up books where their imaginations are left stranded as they fail to conjure up ice-cream streets and lollipop trees never sounds like a good idea to me.


So that's pretty much a summary of what was said, after the speeches there was a chance for questions, most of which were along the lines of 'Jacqueline Wilson what inspired you to write [enter title here] ?' And after the questions were answered and parents proudly smiled at their child's question it was time for the floor to move and the crowd surged forwards upon the four great Laureates for book signing. It was at this point that I sidled to the door and out into the lovely sunshine, hopping onto an open-top bus tour around Oxford.

Witty, intelligent and exquisitly charming, this novel reads itself - you are merely the passenger.

On a mild March evening members of The Society of Young Publishers met at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Square to drink a glass of wine and to discuss the accelerated development the Russian publishing market. It was fascinating and one of those times where you are alerted to the fact that you know nothing about much, including Russian literature and the incredible path it has taken over the last 20 years. 
Five guest speakers came along:


Andrew Nurnberg : Founder of Andrew Nurnberg Associates
Lynette Owen: Copyright Director of Pearson Education Ltd.
Amy Webster: International Key Accounts Manager at the London Book Fair
Amy Webster led the discussion by first explaining that the London Book Fair has held a market focus for the past 8 years and focuses on emerging economies,  increasing trade links and international relations. This year the focus is of course Russia and 2012 will be focused on China, a powerful presence on the international market. Call me ignorant but I did wonder why they had chosen Russia, as the only literature I was aware of were the classics, but that was my error and their exact reason for choosing such a creative country. The London Book Fair is helping to launch 50 publishers, and 40 Russian authors onto the centre-stage of the Western market. Russian literature currently gets the least British investment and yet has so many talented authors, so the book fair seems the perfect place to showcase these talents and open up the minds of our sometimes culturally complacent audience. The long standing tradition of highly recognised works of literature has now been handed down to a fresher, energetic market and I for one will be milling around the London Book Fair and exploring the vibrant marketplace.


Although I thought I knew about the Soviet Union and its subsequent collapse in 1991, I had never considered the impact liberation had on literature and other modes of creative output. Andrew Nurnberg gave fantastic accounts of his experiences not only with the Russian government but also with the big cheeses that now run the ever-expanding industry. The State ran publishing houses that didn't agree to advances based on copies sold but on the thickness of the book: the more you wrote the more money you made. Not a great model for those that were unable to write what they wanted. Print runs were and still are limited as resources will always be expensive, but they are no longer controlled by the State. The collapse opened up the floodgates and allowed new waves of writers, publishers, editors and designers to roll around Moscow and St. Petersburg, free from censorship and finally able to publish materials they knew people would buy and cherish. However, the initial surge of interest in the industry soon subsided as people realised publishing is not the industry where you sit on mountains of gold. Only a few were left to construct the marketplace and build committees, setting the path for future generations - these people of course made mountains of gold (and will quite happily pay extortionate amounts of money to entice a best-selling yet loyal author away from their local independent publisher). 


Although China is currently the biggest fish in the water, releasing  210,000 titles a year, Russia is catching up, producing no fewer than 100,000 new titles - it would seem the race is on!


There is a big problem with piracy in Russia, a threat that was touched on at the SYP Question Time. Although it doesn't seem to be a big deal over here, in Russia it is very common and mostly free, people don't want to profit from scanning in books, they just want to share the novels. A very noble thought, but not a structure the publishing industry can hope to cling to.


Lynette Owen discussed the decline in educational book sales after the Soviet collapse. The immediate reaction of many people in Russia after 1991 was to buy exciting books that 
they had never before been able to read - much like a child in a sweet shop, they went nuts for fiction and abandoned their long love affair with academic books, and the industry felt this change in tides. New publishing houses didn't want to produce books that would require specialist staff and result in a slow return on investments, they wanted to produce best-sellers and fast. The international market also felt the pinch as the Russian market clamped down and revelled in its own local writers. 
Now however, the tides are changing again. Russia is opening its doors to the world's trade and is beginning to pick up an interest in non-fiction textbooks, particularly economics, business management and surprisingly, self-help guides.
Further more, the luck has changed for British publishers and authors as Russia has finally updated its copyright clause. Moving from the Life+ 25 years to the more widely accepted Life+ 75 years Russia is now playing fairly.


Rosamund Bartlett gave us a fantastic insight into the mind of Anton Chekhov who has been an invaluable influence on her academic career. From a Russian degree at the University of Durham to becoming a lecturer and teaching Chekhov to her students, Rosamund explained that she came to see Chekhov not just as a Russian writer but as a great writer. Among her vast publications include the translated letters of Chekhov, his stories and a biography of both Chekhov and Tolstoy, both of which I will definitely be reading. Not only that but she told us the wonderful story of the fall and rise of Chekhov's home in Yalta. 
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yalta was absorbed by the Ukrainian boundaries, and the once government-funded house and museum came under disrepair as the Ukrainian government turned its back on the cornerstone of Russian literature. Writing his biography, she visited the house and was devastated to see it had fallen from glory, the modest house now resembled a mouldy hazard. Campaigning to save Chekhov's house has been the ambition of Rosamund for years.  By hosting fund-raisers such as Chekhov Anniversary Readings at Hampstead Heath and by finally receiving backing from the Ukrainian government, Rosamund Bartlett has been able to see Chekhov's house slowly but surely return to the author's home.


Our last and by no means least, guest speaker was Zinovy Zinik, who raised the unexpected topic of emigration. He suggested that emigration can be used as a literary device for authors, explaining that you can only truly write about your homeland once you have left it behind. The past becomes the novel and you as the author are able to view your past with refreshed eyes. Zinovy explained that he sees himself as a Soviet citizen, yet as he left in the 1970's, trading a one-way ticket for his Soviet passport, he can no longer return to his country has it technically no longer exists. Just as, he explained he considers himself Jewish, having moved to Israel, he does not attend a synagogue or consider himself a Jew. Even more fascinating was his suggestion that identity is often a fictitious product of our minds. Our past is wrongly imposed on us as strangers ask where we originate from and what profession we trade in. Further questions were raised of Russian authors who had fled the Soviet control, are they still free to write about their homeland after so much has changed? Are they aware of the newly liberated and culturally conscientious society? Or are they burdened by their memories of Russia's past and unable to move on? Zinovy's new book The History Thieves concentrates on the assumed identities of individuals and how they make connections with the rational and irrational, reality and imaginary. Zinovy argues that fabricated memories occur when our present selves look back on our past, often in a nostalgic light recreating the past as we wish to remember it. Another book I shall have to read soon!


Well that's it for another SYP event, the countdown to the London Book Fair begins!

As it is St. Patrick's Day I thought I would add a topical post to the blog. One of my favorite plays has to be Translations by Brian Friel written in 1980. I studied it for A levels and haven't forgotten it since. The play is about a rural village in Donegal and its inhabitants who are experiencing a brash intrusion from English officers who are imposing their cartography on the Irish countryside and anglicizing the Gaelic place-names.  


The residents of Baile Beag have little or no experience of the world beyond their village and so the abrupt invasion comes as a shock as they see their landscape and lifestyles changing at a rate that is beyond their control. Being a romantic, the scene I most vividly remember is between Maire and Yolland who fall in love -  being from both Irish and English cultures, they initially struggle to express their feelings. Much like Colin Firth and Lúcia Moniz in Love Actually the intentions of Maire and Yolland are identical and ironically in-sync, yet the words spoken are different. 


I really think this play is wonderful and being a play of course there is tragedy, not just the eradication of a culture, who primarily did not record their history, but also the intimate tragedies that often come to fall upon small communities where grief is magnified within the boundaries of their society.


So folks, I for one will not be celebrating St.Paddy's day by getting squiffy, I will instead curl up with a really good play and let Brian Friel take me back to a time before we imposed our harsh Anglo Saxon words on to such a beautiful language.

One of the many perks of my job is that I sometimes get sneak peaks of books that are newly released, and Love You More was one of them. I read it in two days - and considering I work full-time that meant I spent all my free time reading this book, I just couldn't put it down. It's a crime thriller based around State Trooper Tessa Leoni who arrives home after off-duty to discover her six year old daughter missing. The next morning her husband is dead on her kitchen  floor and she readily admits to killing him in self-defence. It sounds like a pretty open and close case, however there are so many twists and turns in this book that I really couldn't predict the next sentence let alone the fantastic ending. It was the first novel I'd read by Lisa Gardner and I'll definitely be reading more. I did get the occasional awkward glance from other passengers though as I gasped at the tremendous speed at which this novel moves and how quickly your suspicions are flipped as you discover new traitors. A must read, really a must.