Christmas picks lined up by independent bookshops

Indies hope to highlight 'books that are a bit quirky and a little bit different' and might be overlooked by chain retailersThe nation's independent bookshops have pooled their collective expertise to identify the best of this year's crop of Christmas books, in a bid to pick out the hidden treasures that might otherwise be lost in the glut of seasonal bestsellers.Simon Jenkins, a Guardian columnist and chairman of the National Trust, tops the list with England's 100 Best Views, an illustrated non-fiction guide to England's Roman roads, cliff-tops, follies, mountains, ancient castles and rolling forests, pushing Donna Tartt's long-awaited novel The Goldfinch into second place.The third most popular title is Patrick Barkham's Badgerlands: The Twilight World of Britain's Most Enigmatic Animal, which traces the story of badgers from their prehistoric arrival in Britain to the present day when the national badger cull is hitting the headlines.Publishers' schedules are notoriously over-stuffed at Christmas, the biggest selling season for books. About 14% of the year's total book sales are made in the final four weeks of the year. The poll of 200 independent bookshops aimed to pick out the less predictable titles that are at risk of getting lost in the Christmas publishing rush."As an independent bookseller we look for books that are a bit quirky and a little bit different, and more thoughtful than a celebrity autobiography", said bookseller Richard Thorne of Rossiter Books,... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]

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