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WELCOME TO OUR NEW AUTUMN TITLES

There’s a plethora of new books being published between now and the end of the year – it’s always the busiest time in the publishing schedule, and publishers inevitably have an eye on the – gulp – Christmas market, of course.  However, there’s a huge number of genuinely worthwhile books being published, both fiction and non-fiction, and we’ve selected a few to tell you about.  There’ll be more to come next month.

THE WORLD AROUND US:

For would-be stargazers, we recommend  the ‘Stargazers’ Almanac 2008’ from the small but delightful Hawthorn Press, our price £10.99,  rrp £12.99,  pbk 32pp.  The book contains 12 monthly charts, each featuring two views of the night sky looking north and south; a visual guide to the phases of the moon; and information about key planets and other objects.  Observing notes cover the science, history, folklore and myths of the stars and planets.  Amongst other things, it gives information on the British Astronomical Association’s Campaign for Dark Skies – yeah!
Printed on environmentally friendly paper and packaged in an attractive gift box, it’s the perfect present for beginners, children and back-yard astronomers – no telescope needed!  Patrick Moore (amongst others) rates it too.

Still dealing with universal principles, we liked the look of ‘Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control it’ by Steve Taylor, published by Icon books, our price £10.99,  rrp £12.99,  256pp.  We all know the feeling of time dragging when we’re bored or in pain, or of appearing to rush past more and more quickly as we get older.  Why does it slow down dramatically in accidents and emergency situations, when sports people are ‘in the zone’ or in higher states of consciousness?
Steve Taylor explains why we have these different perceptions of time, using evidence from modern physics and unusual states of consciousness to suggest that our normal sense of time is an illusion, ‘created’ by our minds.  On a practical level, the book shows us what we can do to control our sense of time passing, and uses insights from Buddhism to show how we can live fully in the present moment.
If you’ve ever wondered about these things in the depths of a sleepless night, this could be the book you need…..

Jekka McVicar, probably this country’s foremost authority on herbs, has revised and updated her classic text ‘Jekka’s Complete Herb Book’ our price £20.00, rrp £25.00, published Kyle Cathie, 304pp, 500+ colour photos.  As well as looking gorgeous, the book covers cultivation and propagation advice for myriad species and varieties of thyme, oregano, marjoram and rosemary; introduces less familiar herbs such as Good King Henry, Jacob’s Ladder and purslane; includes suggestions for designing and planting herb gardens; tips for drying and preserving; and the history of individual herbs.  Culinary, cosmetic and medicinal use also covered – it really is a bible for herb-growers and a real treat.

If you’re uneasily aware that you’re hopelessly urban and know practically nothing about the natural world around you, don’t miss The Armchair Naturalist: How to be Good at Nature Without Really Trying by Johnson P. Johnson, published October by Icon Books, our price £8.99,  rrp £9.99.  Johnson is known as ‘the naturalist’s naturalist’ for his lifelong research into Britain’s flora and fauna so despite the apparently frivolous title, it's packed with accurate and useful information.  It’s also gloriously illustrated with line drawings and woodcuts.  As the blurb promises, ‘Astonish your friends as you plunge your hands into nettles without being stung.  Impress even the most demanding of passing ramblers with your ability to date ancient hedgerows.  Be secretly amazed at your newfound talent for predicting the weather, befriending sea birds, and knocking up a nourishing breakfast from even the most unpromising undergrowth.  The Armchair Naturalist – your best friend in a world where half of all blackbirds are, in fact, brown.’  Great stuff!

Green Books are reissuing a new colour edition of their handy household guide, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, in paperback,  96pp,  our price £4.95.  Its A-Z guide of everyday household items explains how we can recycle most of our unwanted things – old mobile phones, unwanted/out of code medicines, different types of plastic – and how you can sometimes make a bit of money whilst doing your bit for the planet.  Packed with ideas and invaluable to the would-be recycler.

Recent but forgotten history comes from an unexpected source in The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, by Ilan Pappe, published by Oneworld Books, 320pp, our price £8.99,  rrp £9.99.  Pappe is a respected Israeli historian, senior lecturer in Political Science at Haifa University, who charts the formative period in Israeli history.  Between 1947 and 1949, over 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed, civilians massacred and around a million men, women and children were expelled from their homes at gunpoint.  Denied for almost 6 decades, had it happened today it could only have been called ‘ethnic cleansing’.  Pappe decisively debunks the myth that the Palestinian population left of its own accord.  Not surprisingly the book has caused a furore in Israel and is a major contribution to the continuing argument over the rights and wrongs of the Israel/Palestine debate.

FOOD AND COOKERY:

Some of this autumn’s goodies coming up……

Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table by Nigel Slater  Our price £14.99  rrp £16.99.  Published Fourth Estate, 01.10.07.
The British have a relationship with their food that is unlike that of any other country.  Once something that was never discussed in polite company, it is now something with which the nation is obsessed.  But are we at last developing a food culture or are we just going through the motions?
‘Eating for England’ is an entertaining, detailed and somewhat tongue-in-cheek observation of the British and their food, their cooking, their eating and how they behave in restaurants, with chapters on – amongst other things – dinner parties, funeral teas, Indian restaurants, dieting and eating whilst under the influence.
Whilst we miss having another of Nigel’s glorious cookbooks, we know this’ll be hugely entertaining and enlightening – if you enjoyed his idiosyncratic memoir ‘Toast’, you’ll know what an extraordinarily good writer he is.

And now for genuine gastro-porn – Nigella’s new one, ‘Nigella Express’ published Random House, our price £20.00, rrp £25.00,  392pp.  We can already vouch for the instant squid recipe and are longing to try the caramelised croissant (preferably with lashings of cream).  The thing is, the recipes work – they really are straightforward and quick, and whilst often self-indulgent, they’re actually quite healthy (usually…..).
Fab.

CALENDARS AND DIARIES 2008:

Where do we begin?  Whilst, sadly, we can’t offer you the range for which we were rather famous, there are some old favourites that we can supply.

Moleskine (‘the legendary notebook of Hemingway, Picasso and Chatwin’) are back with a range of 2008  diaries.  Full details – and pictures – will follow shortly.

Incidentally, we can order any of the Moleskin range of notebooks, journals, sketch books, music books etc. etc. – contact us for prices if you’re interested.

Gardening and Planting by the Moon 2008, published by Foulsham, our price £7.99, rrp £8.99.  One of our steadiest sellers over the years.  It provides a daily chart of moon phases, with detailed notes on what to plant when, and when to harvest.  The widest range of people swear by it – it must work!

The Animals Diary 2008 by Mark Gold, published Jon Carpenter, our price £5.00,  rrp £5.00,  128pp.  An excellent  diary and resource for anyone who’s concerned about the way we treat and mistreat animals.  It includes notes on vivisection legislation, the new Animal Welfare Act, the validity of animal-based medical research, the effect of livestock farming on global warming, bird flu: a disease of factory farming – and much more.  Calendars and holiday information, photos, veggie recipes and a handy directory of relevant organisations.  Published 01/10/07.

Llewellyn publish a wide range of pagan/New Age diaries and calendars which have traditionally been very popular.  Their best-sellers are Witches’ Calendar 2008, our price £10.99,  rrp £11.99, and the 2008 Astrological Calendar, with full-colour artwork by Linda Holt Ayriss, our price £10.99, rrp £11.99.  Not to mention that perennial favourite, We’moon Diary 2008, our price £13.99,  rrp £15.99.  With its dramatic artwork, packed with information for women on the spiritual path, it sells year after year.  The 2008 We’moon Calendar is also available, our price £9.99,  rrp £11.99.

Also available from Llewellyn are the 2008 Astrological Pocket Planner, 192pp, with tables and charts, our price £5.95.
2008 Daily Planetary Guide, spiral bound with daily ephemeris, 208pp, our price £7.50,  rrp £8.50.
2008 Herbal Almanac, covering herbal uses in gardening, cooking, crafts, health, beauty and myth/lore.  Pbk, 336pp, our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99.
2008 Magical Almanac, pbk, 384pp, including the Moon’s sign and phase, incense and colour correspondences, astrological data and Pagan and business holidays.  Our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99.
2008 Moon Sign Book, pbk,  including astrology almanac, new and full Moon forecasts, weekly gardening guide etc.  384pp, our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99.
2008 Sun Sign Book, pbk, 384pp, including horoscopes for each month with special highlights on relationship, health and finances.  Our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99.
2008 Tarot Reader, pbk, 216pp, with information on the latest decks, spreads, new card interpretations, readings etc. plus provocative discussions on the Death card, Tarot and Kabbalah and more.  Our price £6.99,  rrp £7.99.
2008 Witches’ Datebook, spiral bound, 144pp.  One week to 2 page-spread.  Includes Sabbat recipes, Moon rituals, meditations, articles, dates for planting and harvesting, Pagan and business holidays, Moon signs and phases etc.  Our price £7.99,  rrp £8.99.
2008 Witches’ Spell-a-Day Almanac, pbk., 264pp.  A collection of spells,one for each day of the year, each one categorised by purpose - health, love, money, purification etc.  Astrological data included.  Our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99.

For particularly beautiful diaries, don’t forget the range produced by Frances Lincoln Publishers, which we used to stock.  The Royal Horticultural Society Diary 2008 comes as a Desk Diary, 112pp, 56 colour illustrations, our price £9.99,  rrp £11.99 or as a Pocket Diary, 112pp, 56 colour illustrations, our price £4.99,  rrp £5.99.  Both are illustrated with colour prints from four great 19th century anthologies of rare and unusual plants from around the world – stunning.

The British Library Diaries 2008 also come as a Desk Diary, 112pp 56 colour illustrations, our price £10.99  rrp £12.99, and as a Pocket Diary,  112pp, 56 colour illustrations, our price £4.99,  rrp £5.99.  These feature images of Georgian Britain, cities, towns and countryside, from the great collection gathered
by George III.  With lavish double-page images, it presents a beguiling picture of late 18th century Britain (at least its more attractive aspects!).  Delectable.

BIOGRAPHY:

The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters edited Charlotte Mosley, published Fourth Estate, hdbk, 624pp, our price £20.00,  rrp £25.00.
The Mitford family was undoubtedly fairly bonkers, but this collection of letters between the six sisters, many previously unpublished, is likely to be excellent value and hugely entertaining.  Charlotte Mosley is the daughter-in-law of Diana, and has had access to the whole archive of their correspondence – and correspond they did!  Endlessly writing to each other, even when at complete loggerheads over political disagreements, they confided, commiserated, teased, raged and gossiped – often scandalously.   They all seem to have been born writers – and if you’ve never read the two early memoirs by Jessica (who was our favourite sister, of course), ‘Hons and Rebels’ and ‘A Fine Old Conflict’ are wonderful reading.

The Beat Generation: a Beginner’s Guide by Christopher Gair, published by Oneworld, 192pp, our price £8.50,  rrp £9.99.  The Beat poets still inspire endless books and memoirs, but if you want to find out more about this group of writers this is a good place to start.  It covers the origins, adventures and inner workings of the movement that influenced everything from bebop to the Beastie Boys.

Sophie Scholl and the White Rose by Annette Dumbach & Jud Newborn, published Oneworld, 256pp, our price £6.99,  rrp £7.99.  Newly re-issued, it traces the inspiring – and ultimately tragic – story of five young German students at the University of Munich, led by Sophie Scholl and her brother, who resisted the brutal Nazi regime.  Despite their early deaths – Sophie was only 22 when she was executed – their lives demonstrate an incontestable argument for the power and possibilities of action over passive acceptance and apathy.    Recently the subject of a very moving film.

There’s a new collection of diaries due out in October from Tony Benn – More Time for Politics: Tony Benn Diaries 2001-2007, ed. Ruth Winstone, pub. Hutchinson.   Hdbk, our price £16.00, rrp £20.00. When Tony Benn left Parliament after 51 years he quoted his wife Caroline’s remark that now he would have ‘more time for politics’.  And so this has proved: in the first seven years of this century he has helped reinvigorate national debate through public meetings, mass campaigns and appearances in the media, passionately bringing moral and political issues to wide audiences.  And throughout, as ever, he has been keeping his diaries.  Bringing us up to date, this volume makes clear that Tony hasn’t mellowed despite having a son in the new cabinet.  He’s still confrontational, challenging – and very, very popular.  Quite right too!

Also addictive, are the forthcoming Letters of Noel Coward, edited by Barry Day, published by Methuen.  Coming in November, our price £20.00,  rrp £25.00.  With correspondents including Chaplin, Roosevelt, Fred Astaire and the late Queen Mother, it should provide an in-depth portrait of a complex and hugely talented man as well as a deliciously gossipy and – we hope – bitchy read.

Another political celebrity portrait will be revealed in November, when Fidel Castro’s memoirs Fidel Castro: my Life is published by Allen Lane, our price £20.00,  rrp £25.00.  His 47 years in power have seen him outlast 9 US presidents – and survive numerous assassination attempts.  Still contentious and controversial, Castro has undoubtedly had an extraordinary life, encountering many of the most powerful and influential political figures of the last 50 years.  The book should provoke huge quantities of opinion and debate.  

It might be instructive to compare it with another biography coming in October, ‘No Way Home: a Cuban Dancer’s Memoir’ by Carlos Acosta, the mesmerising Cuban classical dancer.  Published by Harper Press, hdbk, 320pp, our price £17.00,  rrp £20.00.  Born the son of a poor family, often hungry, and named after the planter who had owned his great-great-grandfather, he dreamt of a career in football.  Part of a street gang at the age of 9, he started to win break-dancing competitions.  His father enrolled him in ballet school, partly to nurture his obvious talent, partly to keep him out of trouble and curb his wildness.  He’s now an international star but paid the price of great physical discipline and hardship, loneliness and displacement from his homeland.  As the human story of one – albeit famous and successful – Cuban, it should make an interesting comparison with Castro’s overview of Cuba in the last 70 years.

FICTION:

The Gathering by Anne Enright was published earlier this year by Cape, hdbk, 272pp, our price £10.99,  rrp £12.99, but it’s well worth re-mentioning – it’s also on the MAN Booker shortlist this year.
The nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan gather in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother Liam. It wasn’t the drink that killed him – although that certainly helped – it was what happened to him as a boy in his grandmother’s house, in the winter of 1968. His sister Veronica was there then, as she is now: keeping the dead man company, just for another little while.
The Gatheringis a family epic, updating the Irish literary tradition with new twists.    It is also a sexual history: tracing the line of hurt and redemption through three generations – starting with the grandmother, Ada Merriman – showing how memories warp and family secrets fester.  Anne Enright is a wonderfully stylish writer - highly recommended.

A new book by J.G.Ballard is always an event – just out in paperback is ‘Kingdom Come’, published Harper Perennial, 304pp, our price £6.99,  rrp £7.99.  Dystopian as ever, he tells the story of unemployed advertising executive Richard Pearson who – in the wake of his father’s mysterious death – turns on the career that he worked so hard for and in so doing uncovers the sinister forces that lurk beneath the consumer dream.

I’m sorry to mention Christmas as we segue gently into early autumn, but Hesperus are going to publish the delicious-looking ‘A Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire’ by Charles Dickens in their Classics list in November. 112pp, pbk. our price £5.99, rrp £6.99. Published in its entirety for the first time since 1852, this is a Christmas number of Dickens’s periodical Household Words, and is one of his earliest collections of stories for the holiday season.  It includes traditional ghost stories, some inspiring whilst others are chilling, as well as tales of romance, theft, justice and family reunions.  And, apparently, some surprising ruminations on topics as diverse as disability and interracial love.  Sounds delectable for longer, colder nights to come…..

Hesperus are also publishing a lovely selection of their trademark neglected titles by famous writers this autumn:

Amongst them you’ll find ‘The Lesson of the Master’ by Henry James (foreword by Colm Toibin, whose ‘The Master’, about Henry James, is one of the best novels of the last two years) pbk. 122pp
Our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99.  Described as a ‘meditation on marriage, sacrifice and artistic integrity’, it has a characteristically Jamesian ending that is both ironic and deeply ambiguous.

G. K. Chesterton’s first foray into detective fiction is ‘The Club of Queer Trades’, 124pp, our price £6.99,  rrp £7.99.  Set in the world of late Victorian London, it introduces us to would-be private detective Rupert Grant and his brother, the outlandish and seemingly insane retired judge Basil, who is in fact by far the more astute of the two.  They undertake a series of bizarre and improbable cases and it gradually becomes clear that all the investigations are linked to the enigmatic Club of Queer Trades.

‘The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow’ 112pp, our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99, is a collection of entertaining essays by Jerome K. Jerome – he of ‘Three Men in a Boat’ - originally published in 1886.  He writes in his own introduction: ‘What readers ask nowadays in a book is that it should improve, instruct, and elevate.  This book wouldn’t elevate a cow.  I cannot conscientiously recommend it for any useful purposes whatever.  All I can suggest is that when you get tired of reading ‘the best hundred books’, you may take this up for half an hour.  It will be a change’.  That’s the stuff!

‘The Eternal Husband’ by Dostoevsky, 200pp, our price £6.99,  rrp £7.99, is ‘a brilliant and unjustly neglected work from one of Russia’s greatest writers – a remarkable psychological novel examining they duality of human consciousness’ as it follows the lives of two men, the husband and the former lover of a  woman who has recently died.

‘Janet’s Repentance’ is the third in George Eliot’s ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’, written on the brink of her career as a novelist.  112pp our price £5.99,  rrp “£6.99.  Her central character, proud, desolate and alcoholic, unexpectedly finds her own redemption when a disturbingly evangelical and puritan clergyman arrives in town..

And that’s just some of their autumn publications.  E-mail us if you want to know more about them.

Crime fiction – ones to watch:

If, like me, you’re a Dave Robicheaux fan, you’ll need to have the new paperback from James Lee Burke, ‘Pegasus Descending’, published by Phoenix, our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99,  320pp.  20 years ago, a bar buddy had been killed in an armed robbery which Dave hadn’t been sober enough to prevent.  Two decades later, several incidents in Dave’s life link to those involved, and Dave finds himself back in the orbit of the individuals responsible this violent death – and, as usual, he just can’t let go…..James Lee Burke is a shining star in the world of crime fiction.  If you’ve not met Dave Robicheaux before, don’t hesitate – introduce yourself!

There’s a new paperback from Tony Hillerman, too, featuring the deceptively mild-mannered Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police, ‘The Shape Shifter’, published by Allison and Busby, our price £5.99,  rrp £6.99,  288pp.  Although technically retired, Leaphorn has occasionally been enticed back to work by his former colleagues – and this time it’s his ‘last case’, still unsolved, that continues to haunt him and tempts him back.  Can he solve a crime he’d thought impossible to solve last time round?  Hillerman’s books are full of the atmosphere and rugged beauty of the Southwest USA, and native American legends, lore and landscape are woven into the texture of the plots.  Brilliant stuff.

The big one this autumn is, of course, the last in the Inspector Rebus series from Ian Rankin, ‘Exit Music’,
pub. Orion, our price £15.00,  rrp £18.00,  400pp.  It's late autumn in Edinburgh and late autumn in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus.  As he tries to tie up some loose ends before retirement, a murder case intrudes.  A dissident Russian poet has been found dead in what looks like a mugging gone wrong.  By apparent coincidence a high-level delegation of Russian businessmen is in town, keen to bring business to Scotland.  The politicians and bankers who run Edinburgh are determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically.
But the further they dig, the more Rebus and his colleague DS Siobhan Clarke become convinced that they are dealing with something more than a random attack - especially after a particularly nasty second killing.
Inevitably Rebus finds himself in the firing line and it looks as though he may never make it to retirement….unmissable!

LOCAL INTEREST:

Devon and the Slave Trade by Todd Gray
Published by The Mint Press 24th September 2007 in paperback, 178mm X 250mm, 256 pages including 37 black and white illustrations of engravings and documents.  Our price £13.99,  rrp £14.99.
Examines Devon's role in African slavery using local and national archives. The main themes are slaving voyages, plantation accounts and the efforts made to bring about abolition and emancipation.  Local boy Sir John Hawkins’ role in the early slave trade is fairly well known, but modern readers are likely to find much that is both unexpected and surprising.  Todd Gray is an academic who has effectively become Devon’s local historian.  He writes with sympathy and passion for his subject and has the ability to make what could be the dry bones of history both relevant and fascinating.

Complementing the massive research contained in Devon Bells and Towers by John Scott, which we have already featured, comes Devon’s Churches: a Celebration, by John Lane and Harland Walshaw, published by Green Books.  Hbk,  256pp, fully illustrated with black and white photos, our price £16.95,  rrp £18.95.  The book contains double-page features on 80 major churches and 100 further churches are listed in lesser detail.  The history of Devon is told in its churches, including the chapels and aisles built by the wool trade.  They’re also famous for their craftsmanship, particularly their wood carving.  By taking you deep into the parts of rural Devon you might not otherwise visit, the book provides a pilgrimage through the landscape, as well as a guide to the churches.  Fabulous!

Mayflower: a Voyage to War by Nathaniel Philbrick, published Harper Perennial.  Pbk, 352pp, our price £7.99,  rrp £8.99.
It’s easy to forget the story that lies behind the Pilgrim Fathers’ voyage across the Atlantic, or to dress it up as ‘heritage’, especially in Plymouth.   We tend to forget – if we ever knew – what happened when the ‘Mayflower’ landed on the other side of the ocean.   But Philbrick’s book tells the story of the tumultuous events, the violence and subterfuge that marred the history of the early settlers.
For amidst the friendships and co-operation that sprang up between the settlers and indigenous people, whose timely assistance on more than one occasion rescued the Pilgrims from otherwise certain death, a dark conflict was brewing.  It erupted in King Philip's war, a terribly bloody conflict which decimated the English population and all but obliterated the Wampanoag.
Following the Pilgrims from their perilous journey from England on a battered, leaky ship, through their first bitter North American winter (during which half of them died), to their equally bitter battle against the native Wampanoag tribe, Philbrick paints a vivid and panoramic picture of conflict and colonialism, co-operation and betrayal.  In so doing he brings to life a cast of compelling, even heroic, characters, and sets the scene for the development of the American nation.

POETRY:

Rumi: Swallowing the Sun, published Oneworld,  Hbk 192pp, our price £8.99,  rrp £9.99.
800 years after his birth (September 30th 2007 is his actual birthday, allowing for Gregorian calendar shuffling), the great Sufi mystic Mevlana Jallaluddin – known as Rumi in the West - is the best-selling poet in the world, his words still resonating with contemporary concerns of both East and West.  This beautifully presented edition draws from the breadth of Rumi’s work, spanning his career from start to finish.  With a new translation from Franklin D. Lewis, it’s a treat for followers of Rumi’s work and for readers discovering the great poet for the first time.

If you just want to dip your toes in and see what the fuss is about, try Shambhala’s little Pocket Rumi Reader, pb 252pp, our price £4.99, rrp £5.99.  Pocket sized but containing hundreds of Rumi’s poems plus a bit of prose.  Perfect for reading on the bus or park bench.  UNESCO has declared 2007 the International Year of Rumi.  A good chance to find out more if you’re not already acquainted with his work.

MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT:

First up, a new title from Satish Kumar, one-time Jain monk, now resident in Devon and long-time editor of Resurgence, the highly respected magazine of ‘deep ecology’.  The Spiritual Compass: Simplicity, Compassion and Truth published by Green Books in November, 192pp, hardback our price £9.95.  Satish explains the need to integrate spirituality into our everyday lives by making it implicitly present in business, politics, farming, cooking and in our relationships.  He draws on the Indian Ayurvedic tradition to illustrate that there is no dualism between spirit and matter – all matter is imbued with spirit and spirit manifests through matter.  This integrated worldview – which he himself lives out so admirably – forms the core of his book.  (You may like to note that Satish will be the subject of a 50-minute BBC Natural World Documentary, Earth Pilgrim, in November.)

A Path for Parents: what Buddhism can Offer by Sara Burns comes from Windhorse Publishers, our price £9.99,  rrp £10.99.  The author, who is both a mother and a Buddhist practitioner, has written a refreshingly honest account of how parents can grow spiritually among the everyday experiences of life with children.  The book goes well beyond anecdote to provide a practical framework for spiritual growth within the context of family life – not always easy when the doors are slamming and siblings yelling at each other….

Windhorse are also beginning a new series called ‘Buddhist Wisdom for Today’.  First in the series is a new edition of The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, edited and with an introduction by Sangharakshita.  Pbk, 160pp, our price £8.99,rrp £9.99.  This is the most widely known of the Buddha’s teachings, highly valued as a unique treasury of wisdom and practical guidance on how to live our lives.  The introduction gives an in-depth explanation of the text whilst always remaining practical and accessible.  The Sunday Times, no less, describes it as ‘Probably the best ‘life coaching’ manual you’ll ever read, the key to living with clarity and awareness’.  Forget the rest – this is the best!

There are some nice-looking new tarot decks and packs on the market this year.  One that should hit the spot is the Mystic Faerie Tarot, artwork by Linda Ravenscroft, published by Llewellyn, our price £17.50,  rrp £20.00.  Each suit reflects an appropriate nature spirit while remaining true to the spirit of tarot archetypes.  Includes a 288-page book that introduces tarot and the major and minor arcana in detail so perfect for beginners as well as more experienced tarot readers.

Summer books still available to warm your winter!

For openers, two books you might have missed first time round:

‘Every Secret Thing’ by Gillian Slovo our price £7.20  rrp £8.99
First published in 1996, recently reissued by Virago, this is a powerful memoir of the author’s childhood in South Africa as one of the daughters of activists and communists Ruth First and Joe Slovo.  In the wake of her father’s death, she attempts to unravel the truth of their childhood where the girls always had to come second to political activisim, her parents’ relationship and the persecution that finally drove them into exile and culminated in her mother’s assassination in Mozambique in 1981.  A salutary reminder of the reality of apartheid South Africa before Mandela’s release.

and
‘Indemnity Only’ by Sara Paretsky our price £5.60  rrp £6.99 pb.
We are big fans of Paretsky – creator of  Chicago’s tough and idealistic PI, Vic Warshawski., one of the earliest (and still one of the best) women investigators in fiction.  Follow Vic as she takes on Chicago’s vested interests despite physical threats and danger of all kinds.   ‘Indemnity Only’, the first book in the series has been out of print for quite a while so it’s very good news that it is now back in print.

‘The Meaning of Night’ by Michael Cox our price £6.40  rrp £7.99 pb.
Twenty years in the writing and short-listed for the Costa First Novel award last year, this is an astonishing Victorian mystery, a tale of obsession, love and revenge…..hugely stylish.

‘The Memory Keeper’s Daughter’ by Kim Edwards our price £6.40  rrp £7.99 pb.
A Richard & Judy title but none the worse for that!  A story of deception and secrets and the impact of a single action on the lives of a family.

‘The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox’ by Maggie O’Farrell our price £6.99  rrp £7.99 pb.
A young woman discovers she has a great-aunt in a psychiatric unit that her family has never talked about – a mesmerising story of a life stolen and then reclaimed.  Maggie O’Farrell is one of our best writers.

‘Imperium’ by Robert Harris our price £5.60  rrp £6.99 pb.
Robert Harris back in cracking form in Ancient Rome with a story told by the confidential secretary of an ambitious Roman senator and lawyer – the young Cicero.

‘A Spot of Bother’ by Mark Haddon our price £6.99  rrp £7.99 pb.
George’s family begins to fall apart at the same time as he begins to lose his mind.   A ‘disturbing yet very funny portrait of a man trying to go insane politely’.  Very different from ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ and equally well worth reading.

‘The Inheritance of Loss’ by Kiran Desai our price £6.99  rrp £7.99 pb.
Booker prize-winner last year, a beautifully written story set in Nepal in the NE Himalayas as a rising insurgency impacts on a family and their conflicting desires and interests.

‘Suite Francaise’ by Irene Nemirovsky rrp our price £6.99  £7.99 pb.
A recently rediscovered novel whose author died in Auschwitz.  The novel – intended to be the first in a sequence – was written in occupied Paris, tracing the lives of ordinary French people in extraordinary times.  Hauntingly beautiful.

‘One Good Turn’ by Kate Atkinson our price £6.99  rrp £7.99 pb
A sequel to ‘Case Histories’, again featuring Jackson Brodie, ex-army, ex-police, ex-private detective – this time himself a suspect in an apparent road-rage incident at the Edinburgh Festival.  According to the author, the book’s ‘about cleaning, about money, about East European call-girls…..’
Kate Atkinson is always a delight.

‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak our price £10.40  rrp £12.99 hdbk.
Narrated by all-knowing Death, this unusual novel traces the story of Liesl, the ‘book-thief’ of the title, fostered by a Bavarian couple after her ‘Kommunist’ parents disappear in ‘thirties Germany.  Featuring accordions, a Jewish fist-fighter, a blond boy obsessed by Jesse Owens and the aforementioned book thefts – and largely based on the childhood of the author’s grandmother.  It’s unlikely that you’ll finish it dry-eyed.

‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’ by Haruki Murakami our price £6.99  rrp £7.99 pk.
A new collection of Murakami stories, hurrah!  To quote the Observer critic:  ‘Weirdness fills these engrossing stories.  Although Murakami’s style and deadpan humour are wonderfully distinctive, his emotional territory is more familiar – remorse, unresolved confusion, sudden epiphanies – though heightened by the surreal… For all its peculiarity, Planet Murakami offers a recognisable landscape of our fears’.

‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’ by Paul Torday our price £5.60  rrp £6.99 pb.
Despite its unlikely title (qv A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine), this is a beguiling and funny tale about – well, about Dr Alfred Jones, a fisheries scientist - for whom diary-notable events include the acquisition of a new electric toothbrush and getting his article on caddis fly larvae published in 'Trout and Salmon' - who finds himself reluctantly involved in a project to bring salmon fishing to the Highlands of the Yemen - a project that will change his life, and the course of British political history forever.

‘The Railway Viaduct’ by Edward Marston our price £5.60  rrp £6.99 pb.
As the train passes over the Sankey Viaduct, a dead man is hurled into the canal below……Latest in a delightful series of 19th century mysteries in which Inspector Robert Colbeck investigates against a background of the railways of Victorian England. Packed with historical detail and highly recommended for the many lovers of period detective fiction.

‘Thomas Hardy: the Time-torn Man’ by Claire Tomalin our price £7.20  rrp £8.99 pb.
Superb biography, now in paperback, of the conflicted novelist and poet, and his long-suffering wives.   Claire Tomalin on top form.

‘The God Delusion’ by Richard Dawkins our price £7.20  rrp £8.99 pb.
Leading Darwinist takes on God(s) and religion in this exuberant, no-holds-barred attack on faith and religious belief of all kinds.  Excellent for stirring up endless dinner-party debates……We sold tons of this book in hardback last Christmas!

‘Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’ by Bill Bryson our price £5.60  rrp £7.00 pb.
A kind of Alastair Cooke in reverse, Bill Bryson turns his beady eye away from the vagaries of his adopted country, back to his childhood in Des Moines, Illinois, and the curious world of fifties America.  ‘It was a happy time, when almost everything was good for you, including DDT, cigarettes and nuclear fall-out’.

AND NOW FOR SOME DIFFERENT BOOKS

July 7th saw LIVE EARTH, a 24-hour, 7-continents concert series bringing together more than 100 musicians and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis (from the Live Earth Web site).  It planned to reach this worldwide audience through an unprecedented global media ‘architecture’ – TV, radio, Internet and wireless channels.

To go with the concert, there is, of course, the book, published by Virgin Books.
The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change – or Live Through It. 160pp Our price £6.39  (rrp 7.99) pbk.  Author: David de Rothschild.

This official companion to the concerts is a ‘fun, compelling and sly deconstruction of a survival guide – that offers equal parts practical advice, factual information, tongue-in-cheek suggestions and blue-sky dreaming of ways to save the world’.  Clearly one of this year’s necessary titles.

And backing it up, of course, is Al Gore’s massively influential book-of-the-film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ published by Bloomsbury 336pp our price £11.99 (rrp £14.99) pbk, which comes highly recommended  [with a recent less technical edition produced for young adults, 192pp our price £7.99 (rrp £9.99) pbk].  Likewise, ‘Climate: the Force that shapes our world and the future of life on earth’, by Jennifer Hoffman et al published by Rodale 288pp.  For our price £20 (rrp £25) hdbk, you get  ‘spectacular state-of-the-art imagery and the latest scientific knowledge highlighting a breathtaking guide to nature’s most cataclysmic forces.  Explaining how our modern lifestyles shift the earth’s climate, the authors sound a warning bell.  They offer steps we can take before it’s too late to avoid the global disaster’.  Fabulously illustrated with 400 colour photos.

For a different kind of overview, we’re delighted that there’s new volume coming from Studs Terkel, the extraordinary 95-year-old oral historian of the USA.  If you’ve not come across him before, we highly recommend his memoirs, ‘Talking to Myself’ published by New Press 384pp our price £10.39 (rrp £12.99) pbk.  Or alternatively go straight to his new book, ‘Coming of Age: Growing Up in the 20th Century’ New Press 496pp our price £8.79 (rrp £10.99).  It weaves together the voices of those who were born and lived through the last century – from an angry farmer to a resigned bank president – and those who were at the vanguard of their movements, be they unionists, gay rights activists or artists.  There’s nothing like his books to restore your faith in human beings – and the power of listening.

Something else to get your political teeth into - a caustic overview of Blair’s 10 years in power, ‘Fantasy Island’ published by Constable & Robinson 320pp our price £6.39 (rrp £7.99) pbk by Guardian journalist Larry Elliot has the sub-title ‘Waking up to the incredible economic, political and social illusions of the Blair legacy’.  A merciless alarm call, it dissects a country mired in debt, drifting into a crisis of unemployment with a diplomatic and military role it cannot afford.  Essential reading.

‘The Blair Years’ could well be the most compelling and revealing account of contemporary politics that we’re likely to read.  Taken from Alastair Campbell’s daily diaries, it charts the rise of New Labour and the tumultuous years of Tony Blair’s leadership, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in our national life.
Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain, Alastair Campbell is no stranger to controversy.  Feared and admired in equal measure, hated by some, he was pivotal to the founding of New Labour and the sensational election victory of 1997.  As Blair’s press secretary, strategist and trusted confidant, Campbell spent more waking hours alongside the Prime Minister than anyone.
The Blair Years is a story of politics in the raw, of progress and setbacks, of reputations made and destroyed, under the relentless scrutiny of a 24-hour media.  Unflinchingly told, it covers the crises and scandals, the rows and resignations, the ups and downs of Britain’s hothouse politics.  But amid the big events are insights and observations that make this a remarkably human portrayal of some of the most powerful people in the world. Our price £20 (rrp £25) hdbk 816 pages published by Hutchinson.

SOME LOCAL INTEREST

Lost Devon’ (Felicity Goodall) and ‘Lost Cornwall’ (Joanna Thomas), both published this month by. Birlinn, 224pp our price £13.59 (rrp £16.99) hdbk.  Heavily illustrated, these books uncover traces of these counties’ histories that have all but vanished over the centuries, through their architecture, landscape, redundant transport systems and cultural relics.

A new novel from Marion Molteno (she won the 1999 Commonwealth Writers Prize/Africa with ‘If you can Walk, you can Dance’), this one is set in the Scilly Isles.  ‘Somewhere More Simple’ published by Longstone Books our price £7.96 (rrp £9.95) pbk follows three ‘returners’ to the islands. As they become caught up in the mystery of a local schoolgirl’s disappearance on the mainland, they are forced to explore the mysteries of their own pasts.  ‘An absorbing, lyrical exploration of coming to terms with love and belonging, set against the vividly evoked atmosphere of the islands’.

‘Dreams of the Road: Gypsy Life in the West Country’ by Martin Levinson and Avril Silk published by Birlinn 228pp our price £11.99 (rrp £14.99) pbk, celebrates the rich culture of travelling people in the south-west at a time when they find themselves at a crossroads as legislation threatens centuries-old nomadic patterns.  Well illustrated, it collects together memories, anecdotes, fears and hopes of Gypsies living in the south-west.

And a cookbook to celebrate local cuisine, ‘Jam with Lamb: Seasonal West Country Cooking’ also published by Birlinn 256pp our price £16 (rrp £20) hbk by Richard Guest of the Castle Hotel in Taunton.   With full colour illustrations, the books offers a huge range of recipes based on the very best of locally farmed and produced products, as well as ingredients that can be found in the wild in the four counties of the south-west.  It also includes a huge amount of practical information on where to get the ingredients, as well as on local suppliers themselves.  A real celebration of West Country food.

The West Country claims King Arthur as its own in the face of stiff competition – but Christopher Hibbert’s new eponymous biography of the ‘real’ King Arthur, published by Tempus 168pp our price £10.39 (rrp £12.99) hbk. traces the sixth-century British warrior who captured the imagination of generations.  The author fills in the historical background of late- and post-Roman Britain and outlines the development of the myths surrounding Arthur as well as bringing together the most recent research – Glastonbury and Cadbury come off better than Cornwall however!

More food but down-to-earth stuff this time, to be published 30th July – ‘Student Food in Colour’pub. Foulsham 128pp our price£5.59 (rrp £6.99) is out in time for the next intake of new students heading off to fend for themselves this autumn.  Fully illustrated (in colour, obviously), this is food that’s cheap, healthy and easy – and will appeal to students who want something reasonably sophisticated and more demanding than basic spag bol.

(PSST!  Note for foodies – the new Nigel Slater is out in October. ‘Eating for England’ rrp. £17.99 hbk.  More details to follow).

Of further green interest – but much more lyrical than the titles listed before – is a new volume due in September from the impressive poetry publisher Bloodaxe Books, ‘Earth Shattering: Ecopoems’. 192pp.  Edited by Neil Astley (who was responsible for the 2 brilliant collections ‘Staying Alive’ and ‘Being Alive’ both £10.95), ‘Earth Shattering’ contains over 200 poems to alert and alarm, to celebrate the natural world or lament its vanishing.  Poets range from Wordsworth and Clare, Hopkins and Hardy to Margaret Atwood, Helen Dunmore, Gary Snyder, Rilke, Derek Walcott, Mary Oliver and Alice Oswald.  It comes in at £8.99

For those looking for spiritual refreshment instead, Windhorse Publications have a produced a very accessible series of books called ‘The Art of Meditation’.  Usefully, they have chosen to focus on different areas in each book, ‘the breath’, ‘the heart’ and now, ‘the body’ 144ppour price £5.59 (rrp £6.99) each.  The author, Paramananda, shows us ‘how to bring a kind and inquiring awareness to our physical experience’.  Through a variety of thoughtfully led meditations, he teaches us how to listen to our bodies, to hear the messages we often ignore.

And lastly – great excitement - 2 recent novels for fans of local author Patrick Gale and San Francisco-based cult author Armistead Maupin.  Patrick Gale’s new opus is ‘Notes from an Exhibition’ published by Fourth Estate 384pp our price £10.39 (rrp £12.99) hbk.  It moves from contemporary Penzance to 1960s Toronto, following the fallout from the death of troubled artist Rachel Kelly.  She leaves behind an acclaimed body of work – but also a legacy of secrets and emotional damage that will take months to unravel.  ‘What emerges is a tale of enduring love, and of a family which weathers tragedy, mental illness and the intolerable strain of living with genius’.  Patrick Gale’s books always come recommended, with a good deal of Cornish background detail.

And Armistead Maupin finally brings us up-to-date with Michael Tolliver, hero of the cult ‘Tales of the City’ series after a gap of nearly 20 years.  ‘Michael Tolliver Lives’ published by Doubleday 288pp our price £14.39 (rrp. £17.99) catches up with the 55-year-old gardener and in his own words takes us back over the years since we last saw him.   Having lost so many friends and lovers to AIDS, he survives into middle age, nurses his dying fundamentalist mother, finds a new younger lover and renews his connections with a wise octagenarian who was once his landlady……bring it on!