Available only in bookshops – a magical voyage of discovery

As the curtain raises on Independent Bookshop Week, Helen Dunmore argues that, despite the convenience of shopping online, readers need to browse real shelves packed with real booksThe 10 best independent bookshops in the world – our readers recommendWe read not only with our eyes, but with our hearts. Every sense is in play. We shiver with fear, weep, laugh aloud, blaze with anger, are seduced, aroused, enchanted. We read with our senses of taste and smell, with skin and brain and intuition. We read intellectually, emotionally, erotically. We read in order to understand our lives, to become what we are not and through this to question what we are. For a few hours we enter the minds and bodies of lovers, criminals, artists. We are insiders, present as latitude is defined or Anne Boleyn murdered. We enter the minds of explorers and scientists, even though we may not be able to do the maths. Ages fly before us, and we step on to other continents. Our identity shifts. We understand other languages, even if we do not speak them. We live in 16th-century London, or Hogwarts. We run on the moors with Cathy and Heathcliff. We are watched by Big Brother, and sense our own weakness in the face of implacable totalitarianism. Related: David Nicholls: Browsing bookshops then buying online is a 'genteel form of shoplifting' Related: Weird and wonderful bookshops worldwide – in pictures Related: A life in writing: Helen Dunmore I can give you no conception of my welcome here. There... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #big brother #david nicholls #buying online #genteel form #helen dunmore

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Available only in bookshops – a magical voyage of discovery'


Cowell, Barr and Hannah to take part in Independent Bookshop Week

Authors including Cressida Cowell, Damian Barr and Sophie Hannah will take part in Independent Bookshop Week (IBW).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 23:53:15 UTC ]
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Indie bookshop pre-orders boom as Mantel publication nears

Indie bookshops are cashing in on a pre-order boom for Hilary Mantel’s new book and are hosting everything from midnight openings to silent discos this week. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-01 15:13:26 UTC ]
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Flooding forces Shrewsbury children’s bookshop to close

Button & Bear children’s bookshop in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, has been forced to close today (Wednesday 25th February) owing to rising floodwaters. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-25 14:31:43 UTC ]
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The Lasting Magic of THE SNOWY DAY

THE SNOWY DAY is the most borrowed item from the NYPL. One reader considers why Ezra Jack Keats' 1962 children's book is beloved by generations. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-02-19 11:38:57 UTC ]
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Record number of stores in the running for Independent Bookshop of the Year

The British Book Awards, or Nibbies, have revealed the regional shortlists for the 2020 Independent Bookshop of the Year with a record 49 bookshops from nine regions across the UK and Ireland vying to be named the country’s best indie retailer for books.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-18 22:49:23 UTC ]
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Prosecco-swilling Gay's the Word bookshop burglars caught red-handed by police

A pair of Prosecco-drinking burglars have been sentenced after police caught the two men knocking back alcohol during a break-in at Gay's the Word bookshop.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-13 04:34:38 UTC ]
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When Historical Fiction Goes Magical

James Wood writes about the novelist Daniel Kehlmann, who evokes an era of doctrinal fervor—and brings to life a mythical trickster.  Continue reading at New Yorker

[ New Yorker | 2020-02-10 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Patrick Modiano on the Bookshop Owner Who Escaped the Nazis

The copy of Françoise Frenkel’s No Place to Lay One’s Head that was recently found, I’m told, in Nice, in an Emmaus Companions charity jumble sale, had a curious effect on me. Perhaps because it had been printed in Switzerland in September 1945 for Geneva-based publishers Jeheber. That... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-27 09:49:55 UTC ]
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Sales on the up for French independent bookshops

French independent bookshops increased their sales by 7.1% last year, despite a 1.3% drop in December because of continuing yellow vest social protests and the start of transport and other strikes against national pension reform on 5th December, according to the Booksellers Observatory. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-12 12:12:56 UTC ]
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WI15: Bookshop Hopes to Change Bookish E-commerce

The new online bookstore intended to benefit indies is nearly ready to go, and will launch January 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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BA hails increase in indie bookshops for third consecutive year

The number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the third consecutive year, according to new data from the Booksellers Association.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-09 17:00:46 UTC ]
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English language bookshop Coven reaches crowdfunder goal

Coven, an English language bookshop and café in Paris, has fulfilled its crowdfunding goal of around £21,000 to open a store dedicated to "intersectional feminism, engaged literature and ethical hospitality". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-08 16:28:22 UTC ]
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Wakefield indie to shut bricks and mortar bookshop and move focus online

Wakefield indie Rickaro Books will close its bricks and mortar bookshop in March and move its focus to its website selling rare and antique books.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-07 01:28:46 UTC ]
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Galway's Kennys Bookshop marks 80 years of trade

The independent family-run Kennys Bookshop & Art Gallery in Galway, Ireland, is celebrating 80 years in business this year after attributing its success to "innovation and experience". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-06 04:40:44 UTC ]
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English language bookshop crowdfunder has week to raise £7,000

A crowdfunding campaign to create a “feminist safe haven” bookshop in Paris has only a week left to raise the remaining £7,000 needed to secure premises, after securing two-thirds of its financial target. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-02 16:26:28 UTC ]
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'Feminist safe haven' English language bookshop to launch in Paris

A Kickstarter is under way to create a 'feminist safe haven' bookshop in Paris called COVEN to offer English language books, a café and range of events. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-20 11:14:17 UTC ]
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New indie bookshop opens in Barnsley

A new independent bookshop has opened in Barnsley, run by a mother and son team who became fed up watching the big chains leave their town. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-19 02:33:27 UTC ]
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A Magic Beyond: A Guide To Harry Potter Music

Here's all you need to know about Harry Potter music, including who wrote it, where you can buy it, and where to see it live. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-12-17 11:34:55 UTC ]
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George R R Martin opens Sante Fe bookshop

​George R R Martin has opened an independent bookshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-17 08:15:25 UTC ]
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TLS launches online bookshop with Monwell

The Times Literary Supplement has opened a new online shop selling books, prints of its covers and illustrations alongside branded merchandise. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-16 03:59:25 UTC ]
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