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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Bookshops could benefit from business rates shakeup

A raft of changes announced in the budget today could ease the heavy burden of business rates shouldered by independent and chain bookshops. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon policy chief says physical bookshops are 'natural growth’

Amazon will see how customers respond to its Seattle bricks and mortar store before considering opening any in the UK, its vice president of global public policy has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling will reveal more about the American world of magic on Pottermore

The upcoming movie 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' based in the world of 'Harry Potter,' is set in America. Upcoming stories published on the site Pottermore will reveal more about the magical culture in the US. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #site pottermore #upcoming movie #fantastic beasts #harry potter #magical culture


J.K. Rowling will reveal more about the American magic world on Pottermore

The upcoming movie 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' based in the world of 'Harry Potter,' is set in America. Upcoming stories published on the site Pottermore will reveal more about the magical culture in the US. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four new J K Rowling writings to reveal US magic history

J K Rowling is set to release four new pieces of writing through her Pottermore website, telling the history of magic in North America. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon confirms second bookshop opening

Amazon is opening a second physical bookshop this summer, it has been confirmed, after new signage was spotted outside the shop’s future premises at open air shopping centre Westfield UTC in San Diego, California.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling reveals new story, the 'History of Magic in North America'

J .K. Rowling has some good news for fans of her "Harry Potter" universe, especially ones on this side of the Atlantic. The author's website, Pottermore, will publish a four-part story this week called "History of Magic in North America." The story will provide the background for "Fantastic... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Segrue to open indie bookshop in Radlett

Book sales rep David Segrue is set to open an independent bookshop with his wife Amanda in May. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones’ James Daunt: ‘Student of Bookshops’

From Brexit (no) to bookstore social space (yes) Waterstones' managing director James Daunt is certain about one thing: He wants 'to sell more books.' The post Waterstones’ James Daunt: ‘Student of Bookshops’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Regional independent bookshop of the year winners crowned

Relative newcomers, shops reinvigorated by new owners and an institution still innovating in its 70th year are among the regional winners of this year’s British Book Industry Awards’ Independent Bookshop of the Year, sponsored by Gardners. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rick Stein to open bookshop with Ron Johns

Celebrity chef Rick Stein is set to open a bookshop with his wife Sarah and Cornish bookseller Ron Johns next month. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent Bookshop of the Year regional shortlists revealed

A record year for submissions has led to the highest ever number of regional shortlisted entries in this year’s British Book Industry Awards Independent Bookshop of the Year category, sponsored by Gardners Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Anderson's Bookshop Wins $3K in Sourcebooks Contest

Sourcebooks is awarding Anderson's Bookshop $3,000 after booklovers voted it their favorite indie bookstore in a six-week campaign sponsored by the press. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Libreria opening marks trend in designer bookshops

Design-led bookshops are revitalising high-street bookselling, according to those behind the movement. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hackney bookshop opens with indie focus

The people behind Camden Lock Books have opened a new independent bookshop in Hackney, east London. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lee Child on Amazon’s real-life bookshops – and why we should be worried

The world’s biggest online retailer wants to invade the high street. What’s in it for them?In December, Amazon US released its 2015 in-house all-format all-category bestseller list, and then the newspaper USA Today came out with its own industry-wide all-sources version. What was the difference?... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookshop obscura

Philip Jones explores the reshaped landscape for book sales, from “non-traditional" retail outlets to revitalised "traditional" booksellers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daunt: bookshops 'don't need digital distractions'

Booksellers should not get distracted by consumer data, but focus on getting to know their customers in person, Waterstones managing director has told a meeting of international book magazines, hosted by The Bookseller last week. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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St. Mark’s Bookshop Could Close on Wednesday

A default judgment in a case filed by Baker & Taylor against the troubled East Village New York bookstore could force an auction of everything in the store. It has already put a restraining order on the store's checking account. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Depository is coming to Australia – but there's nothing like a local bookshop

While the Amazon-owned online retailer’s first major step into Australia means more competition, it’s not all doom and gloom for independent booksellersHead down Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and walk towards the neon lights until you see the words “Totally Weird Shit” on an awning. Walk through... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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