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Archive
Behind-The-Books Blog
Review of The Changeling
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Recently, thanks to the lovely Lesley, I was given two months’ free subscription to Lovefilm.com, and, a month in, I’m loving it! It comes as a surprise each time I find a new DVD waiting for me – like a little present.
The latest to drop through my letterbox was The Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie and [...]
Vote for the oddest book title!
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Here’s to weird book titles! Time to vote for who you think should win the 2009 Diagram Prize - which awards the book with the oddest title of the year. The shortlist has been selected and the winner will be announced on the 26th March. The shortlist is as follows:
The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel [...]
Too cool for the simple garden gnome?
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
I don’t often read the free London papers, just when I’m stuck without a book usually, but while crammed onto the Central Line the other day, I (really) couldn’t avoid reading over one girl’s shoulder. Apparently the average garden gnome is going to have his work cut out for him this coming year as a [...]
Author Blog Awards - Nominations Open!
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
The Author Blog Awards competition is now officially open! For a brief summary of how the competition works read our previous blog about the awards or visit CompletelyNovel.com. You can now nominate your favourite author blogs or micro-blogs (from now until 2 April) to give them a chance of being shortlisted for the awards. It’s [...]
Discovering Columbia Road Market
Monday, March 8th, 2010
I’m a west Londoner but I have to admit to a real love for the east end of town. This past weekend I visited a friend near Brick Lane who took me to perhaps my favourite part of London, Columbia Road Market. It took me a while to get there, arrived quite late at 1pm, [...]
Drink to get more children reading!
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Who doesn’t enjoy curling up on the couch with a good book and a glass of good wine? The two go together nicely and make for a relaxing evening.
But now I’ve discovered how wine and books can pair up for a much more worthy cause.
The Fledgling initiative aims to produce and sell delicious wine to [...]
Mindfulness and the Big Poster Challenge
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
For some reason, my name seems to have found its way onto an online database under Creative Director. Now that’s a fine title to possess, but sadly I can’t claim to hold such official creative prowess. (Would the A* in my Art IGCSE count?…)
So whilst I have to disappoint the illustrators, photographers and creative agencies [...]
Eric Lampaert steals the show
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Last weekend saw me watching a man screeching and grimacing like an orc from Lord of the Rings.
No, I wasn’t at a Tolkein convention or even an amateur dramatics class - I was at Hertford’s very own comedy club. Cheaper and nearer than Jongleurs - it’s become my comedy venue of choice over the last [...]
The Olympics – now coming to a city near you
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
So the winter Olympics have come to a roaring, cow-bell-clanging end. I watched some heart-breaking moments involving heavy rain and a defective exit gate on the men’s parallel giant slalom on Saturday and was quite gobsmacked that it wasn’t considered necessary to restart the run between Detkov and Bozzetto – am I the only one? [...]
A London Cuppa..
Monday, March 1st, 2010
I’ve recently cut out caffeine and although I never used to drink more than a cup or two a day, I’m really missing my tea! There’s only so much hot water and lemon you can drink and even the fruit teas are beginning to lose their appeal.
So I’m searching for other ways to brighten up [...]
Reading ONE DAY, by David Nicholls
Friday, February 26th, 2010
I was going to merely comment on One Day, by David Nicholls in our Currently we are reading column, but realise I have too much to say about it…
Proof that you should never judge a book by its cover. This one is a garish orange, close-up silhouette of a couple presumably about to kiss. Blegh. [...]
T-shirt joy at JOY!
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Have you ever noticed how once you see one example of something they keep cropping up where ever you go? This week for me it has been t-shirts, ones with funny/naughty slogans, they have been here, there and everywhere, often leaving me staring after people in the street in a confused fashion. And when I [...]
High-flying artist causes a buzz online
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Now I’ve seen it all.
For centuries people have mounted hunting and fishing trophies on their walls (which always give me the creeps), then in the 1990s we had Damien Hirst’s macabre series of animals preserved in formaldehyde (it makes me shudder just to think of them), and now we have…dead fly cartoons.
OK, admittedly these aren’t [...]
When credit cards just won’t do
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
With the snow showing no sign of letting up, this year is possibly the very best for keen skiers in Europe. However, skiing is a very expensive hobby and there are always those looking to cut corners and save a bit of cash.
Pity this poor guy though who tried to sneak onto a ski lift [...]
Author Blog Awards 2010
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
I’ve just been alerted to the upcoming launch of the Author Blogs Awards - run by CompletelyNovel.com. The aim of this award is “to highlight to readers the great content that you can find in author blogs, reward those authors who write excellent blogs, and encourage other authors to start their own.”
Here’s how it will [...]
What you said about Glass Houses (Morganville Book 1)
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Before Christmas, we ran a competition with our friends The Reading Agency and teen reading groups around the UK. We gave them the first installment in our Morganville Vampires series, Glass Houses, and asked for reviews - and in turn have now received some great and detailed responses.
Plenty of our reviewers mentioned how accurate the [...]
Snapshot: Ann Cleeves & Martin Edwards
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Taken last night at the-one-and-only Goldsboro Books (London) where I joined a merry crowd to celebrate the launch of crime-writers Ann Cleeves’ new book Blue Lightening (a new case for Shetland detective Jimmy Perez) and Martin Edwards‘ new book The Serpent Pool (the latest in his Lake District mystery series).
Chiara Priorelli, Publicity & Online Marketing [...]
An interesting lesson in crafty marketing…
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
I received an email the other day from a finance company wishing to advertise on our website with a link back to their site. I didn’t think it was appropriate, and said as much, but they insisted it would be a “textual advert” and somewhat hidden within the content on the page. Still unconvinced but [...]
Avatar pilates, of course
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
My pilates class takes place on a Monday evening straight after work. Usually, it’s the most I can handle on the first weekday back at work: gentle breathing, relaxing, stretching. I always leave the class feeling refreshed and ready to face the week ahead. Also, the muscles do ache a bit in the following days [...]
Valentine’s (hic!) Day
Monday, February 15th, 2010
For Valentine’s Day you could have found me and the other half squinting in rapt concentration, aiming for a swirl (but slopping more instead) and making some interesting noises through pursed lips under a London railway arch. Sounds romantic, no?
Guided through a systematic approach to wine-tasting in the Vinopolis caverns around London Bridge, we attempted [...]
Currently we are...
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...reading
Not on the Label: What Really Goes into the Food on your Plate, by Felicity Lawrence Chiara: What are we doing to our food?! A hard book for a foodie like me to read, but an important eye-opener.
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