Newsletter No 15 (Feb 1st, 2011)
Hi,
January was an eventful month for Curious Book Fans. Among many interesting reviews, I am sure you will enjoy two authors’ interviews we published: one with Deborah Harkness, author of A Discovery of Witches and second, with Martin Pevsner, author of Divinity Road.
It will be even more exciting in February as we are ready to take part in a blogging event as part of an official Penguin’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Penguin Modern Classics. We are preparing few book giveaways in February. I can only say that the first giveaway will be the new Sebastian Faulks’ book which will accompany BBC2 series about fiction. Don’t miss out – keep visiting our room full of books.
Yours, Curious Book Fans
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CBF: Which of the four characters did you most relate to and why? Martin Pevsner: The first seeds of the book came about because I began to have a repeated image in my head every night as I fell asleep about waking up in a remote area of Africa after an aircrash. |
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The idea of obliquity is perhaps nothing new, but the way that Kay describes it, argues for it and provides a framework to which it can be applied to better our own decision making is novel and makes for interesting reading. He can also be praised for the breadth of the examples used. |
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CBF: The novel is clearly based upon detailed research in a number of areas. What did you read and where did you go to research all these background details? DH: In some ways I’ve been reading and researching this book since around 1984 when I first took a course that explored the relationship between magic and science. |
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Promote your books We have opened the section for authors and publishers in our Forum with the aim to provide a place where they can promote their new books. We hope that would be the place where readers can pop in and get some interesting ideas from both main stream and self publishing authors. Please feel free to visit and post… |
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The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne Much has been written about the shocking events that toppled the Romanovs so it’s a brave author who places his fictional narrator at the heart of the Tsar’s household in the last years before the Russian revolution. John Boyne seems to specialise in writing fiction that is set in a very specific place and time, and I really enjoyed his novel “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”… |
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Bed in a Tree by Bettina Kowalewski Bed in a Tree is a lovely book stuffed full of great photography and plenty enough practical detail to keep me satisfied. In its 240 pages Bettina Kowalewski squeezes in something for all budgets that’ll be ideal for those with a very wide range of holiday aspirations and interests. It’s not just a pretty face! |
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The Trouble with Dragons by Debi Gliori ‘The Trouble with Dragons‘ is a superb book for teachers or parents looking for an original way to explain environmental concerns to young children. Whether it’s pollution, global warming or recycling, the issue is dealt with in a way that will arouse interest. |
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How the Banana Goes to Heaven by Ratna Rajaiah Food writer Ratna Rajaiah has put together a book that adds new insights to the familiar ingredients of Indian cookery. What she does do is take coconuts and chillies, mangoes and jackfruit, ragi and channa dal, ghee and jaggery, mustard seeds and curry leaves and reintroduce them to us by delving into the pages of history. |
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When I was offered the chance to read and review Oliver Burkeman’s ‘Help – How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done’ I was attracted to the relatively modest scope of the book’s claims. Nobody was telling me that this book would change my life so I thought I’d give it a go. |
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I started to read reviews of the new film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and immediately thought that this sounded like a knock-off of ‘Q&A‘. Different names, different situations but surely more than just coincidence that both the book and the film dealt with the success of a poor slum-dweller in a ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ style quiz. A bit of googling soon solved the mystery… |
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The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton Moving abroad is one of those romantic notions that most of us have at one point. Who hasn’t sat in the sun on holiday in France, Spain, Italy, or some other warm and relaxing place thinking this life would be nice? |
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Room was short-listed for the Booker Prize 2010. It’s the first of the short-listed books that I’ve read (I got the set from The Book People) but I struggle to imagine that the others could have been better – especially the one which won. |
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Empire of Silver by Conn Iggulden Empire of Silver is a well-written, absorbing and realistic book, as much as any of Iggulden’s previous works. He has a knack of writing exciting prose that sweeps you along; I have heard his writing described as like you are reading a Hollywood blockbuster, and I think this is pretty accurate. |
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Alphabet Weekends by Elizabeth Noble Alphabet Weekends is a bit of a romantic tale about two friends who have known each other for many ways in a purely platonic way. The story starts on New Year’s Eve with Natalie nursing a broken heart after having been dumped by her long term boyfriend Simon. |
