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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Sarah Waters to tour high street bookshops

Sarah Waters will be going on a two-week tour, largely of high street bookshops, to promote her... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookshop memories: your pictures and stories

When we asked you to share anecdotes and photos of your favourite independent bookshops, the stories poured in. From romance surrounded by Shakespeare to an encounter with a falconry-loving policeman, here is a selection of your bookshop memoriesSee all the contributions and add your own on... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry gears up for The Great Bookshop Debate

Authors want both online and bricks and mortar retailers to thrive, Louise Doughty has said.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones to open 'The Southwold Bookshop'

Waterstones has announced the opening of its fourth shop in two months in Southwold, Suffolk.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Bookshop boom' under way as Winstone's opens second branch

A mini UK bookshop boom appears to be under way as a fifth new store opening is announced in a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harper Voyager Expands Digital-First Publishing

HarperCollins science fiction and fantasy imprint Harper Voyager is ramping up its Voyager Impulse digital-first line with plans to launch 31 original ebook titles beginning this summer and on through winter 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookshop memories: share your photos and stories

As Foyles closes the doors of its world famous, 111-year-old London store and opens a new one share words and images that stir your memories of independent bookshopsShare your photos and stories via GuardianWitness With Amazon still throwing its considerable weight into the ongoing dispute... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Lev Grossman and Deborah Harkness: Magical Flights of Fantasy

As Lev Grossman celebrates the August release of The Magician’s Land, the final volume in his Magicians trilogy, and Deborah Harkness celebrates the July release of The Book of Life, the final volume in her All Souls trilogy, the two credit the zeitgeist, as well as the skills they honed in... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Magic in the Air at Middle-Grade Buzz Panel

There definitely were common elements to the five novels presented during the middle-grade editors buzz panel Friday morning that was moderated by Holly Weinkauf, the owner of Red Balloon Books in St. Paul, Minn.: all five mixed up fairy tale themes with real-life issues to produce excellent... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Magic Up Her Sleeve: Annie Barrows

After meeting in the past in 2007’s The Magic Half, Miri and Molly land safely in the present—but not for long. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Want to help your local bookshop? Visit it | The New Reading

Yes, it's called My Independent Bookshop, but what does Penguin Random House's new site do for booksellers?I've just opened my very own bookshop at myindependentbookshop.com, the new book recommendation site from Penguin Random House. I enjoyed choosing the font for my logo (Shakespearean), the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My Independent Bookshop launches to consumers

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Luxury French publisher Assouline to open bookshop in London

Luxury international bookseller and publisher Assouline is to open a new store in London’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Petition to save Kew Bookshop

The owners of West London independent Kew Bookshop have launched a petition to stop the planned... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SIBA Sets Dates for 'Fall Discovery Show'

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH launches My Independent Bookshop

Penguin Random House UK has launched My Independent Bookshop - a consumer book recommendation... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marlborough's White Horse bookshop saved

Two businessmen have bought the freehold of Marlborough's only bookshop in order to keep it... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What’s Cooking at... Avid Bookshop

Just how well do cookbooks do at Avid Bookshop in Athens, Ga.? The bestselling book at Avid – period – is "Top Chef" judge Hugh Acheson’s James Beard Award–winning cookbook, "A New Turn in the South." Store owner Janet Geddis spoke to PW about her store's cookbook-themed events and the books her... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scribd’s Andrew Weinstein on Bookshops, Territorial Rights and…Scribd

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK’s ValoBox: Selling, Sharing Books at Point of Discovery

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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