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

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Digital Science discovery platform 'will transform scholarly search'

Holtzbrinck technology company Digital Science has collaborated with high-profile universities and research funders to develop a platform, Dimensions, which it says will "democratise and transform scholarly search". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie bookshops bullish about 2018 after Christmas sales rise

Indie bookshops are kicking off 2018 with confidence after the majority reported sales rises over the Christmas period, but some some have urged publishers to take more risks and work harder to build authors into brands this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BA to lobby for bookshop business rates discount

The Booksellers Association is to urge the government to grant bookshops a discount on their business rates, arguing that they are cultural entities which provide "huge benefits" to their communities. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association #business rates #huge benefits


Rangan Chatterjee | 'We all want a quick, magic pill, but good health is a combination of factors'

GP and television presenter Rangan Chatterjee tells Caroline Sanderson how his four-pillar plan could rejuvenate readers - and possibly lighten the load for the NHS. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Mac acquires magical adventure The Nightjar

Pan Macmillan has acquired Deborah Hewitt’s The Nightjar, a book for adult readers infused with magical adventure and Finnish mythology. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie bookshop decline over, says BA

The decline in independent bookshop numbers witnessed over the last decade could finally be halting, the Booksellers Association has revealed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Winnie-the-Pooh exhibition gives intimate insight into Milne's 'magical' world

The UK’s largest exhibition devoted to Winnie-the-Pooh for 40 years is to launch this weekend aiming to inspire children to “write their own stories or draw their own pictures”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Italy to offer indie bookshops €20k tax breaks

Italy is to introduce tax breaks for bookshops, with independents eligible for up to €20,000.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Netflix's first comic book is Mark Millar's 'The Magic Order'

When Netflix acquired Mark Millar's comic book empire in August, many assumed the streaming service would just adapt his various works for the screen. That isn't quite the case: Netflix announced today that it will publish The Magic Order as a comic... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2017-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The magic that inspired Harry Potter on display at the British Library

Magic is in the air at the British Library here — specifically the magical world of one of the most famous characters in modern literature, Harry Potter. “Harry Potter: A History of Magic,” a recently opened exhibition spotlighting rare books and artifacts that detail traditions of folklore and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forest Hill children's bookshop opens to 'exceptional response'

A new children’s bookshop Small Print Books has opened in London's Forest Hill and took £2,300 on its opening day. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers in 'Recovery Mode' at NCIBA Fall Discovery Show

The deadly wildfires that have displaced thousands loomed over the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association’s 2017 Fall Discovery Show, with one bookseller calling the event “very emotional." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bringing the magic of Harry Potter to life

Acting children's editor and Harry Potter fan Caroline Carpenter gives her verdict on the British Library's new Harry Potter exhibition. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Claughan opens new bookshop in Halifax

An independent bookshop has opened in Halifax in a 240-year-old cloth trading hall, the city’s first dedicated bookstore for four years. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dan Brown's Origin makes a strong start in UK bookshops

Although not quite the sensation of previous Robert Langdon thrillers, The Da Vinci Code author’s latest mystery sold 100,000 copies in its first week Dan Brown’s mastery of something like a code for bestsellers has returned to cheer UK booksellers, with more than 100,000 copies of his latest... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ten bookshops selected for nationwide eharmony promotion

Herefordshire's Aadvark Books, St Boswell's the Mainstreet Trading Company and Oswestry's Booka Bookshop are among the 10 destinations chosen to be showcased as "perfect bookshops for a date" on Bookshop Day (7th October). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dynamo to release magic guide with Blink Publishing

Blink Publishing is to release a fully-illustrated guide to modern magic by magician Dynamo. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Matt Lucas bookshop competition launches

Canongate has launched a singing competition to give bookshops the chance for author Matt Lucas to visit their shop. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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All aboard Wide Eyed Editions' discovery express

A spectacular lift-the-flap journey is brought to life by Tom Clohosy-Cole’s illustrations, which some readers may recognise from an expansive digital animation that accompanied a recent major literary event. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH marks 50 years of publishing 'magical' Quentin Blake

Penguin Random House has celebrated 50 years of publishing Quentin Blake with an event which the illustrator described as the “most rewarding experience” of his life. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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