Newsletter
- August 08
A message
from The Book Monkey
Whilst Mr B and co have
been busy preparing the fab new Bibliothingymabob, I've been out
attracting some lovely young ladies who also happen to be brilliant new
authors too. Bethan and Jennie (or Beth and Jen, to me) will be
kick-starting our new events program in the Autumn with two wonderful
new novels and there's plenty more to follow - as you'll see - and more
in the pipeline too.
The observant and
Bath-based amongst you will have noticed that Team B has expanded.
They've drafted in two wonderful new booksellers by the name of
Lydia
and Ed, to ease my workload. There'll be more about them in the next
newsletter but suffice to say that they both know and LOVE books and
will stop at nothing to help their customers tracking down and choosing
their books.....the key traits in any member of Team B.
Team B has also picked out
some delightful reads to take your mind off the rain or to accompany you
on your quest to find some sun AND they've cobbled together some more
pictures and descriptions of the shop's sumptuous new rooms, so without
further ado here is your August newsletter................
Just click one of the green links below, or scroll down to your section of
choice.
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Events at Mr B's
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Rising Talents |
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Thursday
11th September - 6.30pm at Mr B's - Tickets £3 (inc wine & nibbles) |
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Brilliant young author Bethan Roberts
reads from "The Good Plain Cook"
Bethan received much praise (and the Jerwood/Avon Young Writer's Prize) for her first novel "The Pools".
This second novel has also been very well received. Based loosely on events in the lives of Peggy
Guggenheim, her lover and their respective daughters who lived together in
Sussex for three years in the 1930s when the world was on the cusp of
change. When a local girl, Kitty, answers an advertisement for a good
plain cook, she has no idea what she's letting herself in for. An
unsettling tale of awakening sexuality and predatory parents.
 Bethan will be
reading from her new novel, answering questions and signing books. Come
and hear another of Britain's newest talents! And as a taster read the Mr B's
Book Group e-interview with Bethan by clicking
here
Email
books@mrbsemporium.com or give
us a call on 01225 331155 to reserve a ticket
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Rising Talents |
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Thursday 18th September - 6.30pm at Mr B's -
Tickets £3 (includes wine & nibbles) |
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 Lawyer-turned-novelist
Jennie Rooney reads from "Inside
the Whale"
You may have heard her
recently on Radio4 on Woman's Hour - Jennie is a bright new talent who has
successfully made the leap from lawyer to writer with her first novel
"Inside the Whale".
There's nothing we like more
than a city-worker who's jacked it all in to write a book (or do anything
else come to that). When we used to work in the office world we spent
lunch hours drinking our 5th Cappuccino of the day, whinging about our
jobs and, of course, reading. Jennie was a little more productive -
remarkably she started writing her debut novel during her lunch breaks
from her job as a commercial lawyer, so that once Chatto & Windus got wind
of her talents she was well placed to ditch The Firm like a bad habit and
begin living her dream as novelist.
And what an excellent first
book - a bittersweet and funny tale with an array of superbly drawn
characters. Nearing the end of their lives, Michael and Stevie tell their
story - looking back at a time when the war re-shaped their lives and when
love was found and lost. It's one of those books you'll soon be hearing
everyone recommend to you.
Come and be inspired by a
refreshing new voice on the literary scene.
Email
books@mrbsemporium.com or give us a call on 01225 331155 to
reserve a ticket.
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Slow,
Green & Happy Lives
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Tuesday 30th September - 6.30pm at Mr B's -
Tickets £3 (includes wine & nibbles) |
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Twitcher-King
Stephen Moss reads from "A Sky Full of Starlings"
Stephen Moss lives, like
many a bird enthusiast, in the avian playground that is the Somerset
Levels. As with every birder I know, at the start of the year he delights
in opening a fresh pad to begin the annual list of sightings. But on 1st
January 2007, with his first book "This Birding Life" barely out of tens
of thousands
 of Christmas stockings, he decided to chronicle his year of
sightings. And, being a naturalist, writer and the producer of some of
TV's greatest domestic wildlife shows - "Springwatch" and "Birding with
Bill Oddie" to name but two - his birding year is most definitely worth
reading about.
Stephen's descriptions of
birds common and rare and their interaction with our modern world will
inspire both the uninitiated nature-lover and existing bird enthusiasts.
Whilst Stephen travels widely during the year there is understandably
plenty of emphasis on the birds residing in and visiting the wonderful
countryside of the South West.
Come and be inspired by an
author with an enormous passion for his subject and boost your
appreciation of our local wildlife and natural landscapes.
Email
books@mrbsemporium.com or give us a call on 01225 331155 to
reserve a ticket. |
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Our Local
Writers |
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Saturday 4th October - 6.30 - 8pm at Mr B's -
FREE LAUNCH EVENT with wine & nibbles |
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 John
Barlow and Matthew Paul
launch
"Wing
Beats: British Birds in Haiku"
Forming the
perfect segue between our event with Stephen Moss on 30th
September (above) and our Pass on a Poem evening on 8th October
(below), bird-lovers and poetry-lovers alike should come and join us at the launch of a wonderful
new book published by Snapshot Press.
This is a truly
unique book for both nature and poetry lovers which explores
both British avifauna and the history and intricacies of haiku
poetry, considering the relationships between these in a global
context.
It is written and
compiled by renowned Haiku poets John Barlow and Matthew Paul
including contributions from, among others, Alan Summers from
Bath Spa University (www.withwords.org.uk) and has gorgeous
photographic watercolour illustrations by Sean Gray as well as a
foreword by bird expert and BBC wildlife producer Stephen Moss
(now where do we know him from?).
For more information
on the book,
click here
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"Pass on
a Poem" - In celebration of National Poetry Day
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Wednesday 8th October - 6.30 - 9.30pm at Mr B's
- Free event but reservations required - see below for details |
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On Wednesday 8th
October, the eve of National Poetry Day, Mr B's will be hosting a
very special "Pass on a Poem"
evening in the sumptuous setting of our very special new
Bibliotherapy Room.
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Is there a published poem close to
your heart?
Pass it on! |
We first came across
"Pass on a Poem" when Bel Mooney hosted an event at her
house to which we were very kindly invited and we thought it
would be wonderful to host the next Bath instalment of these
live poetry events at Mr
B's.....so what is "Pass on a Poem"?
"Pass on a Poem" is a
national project designed to encourage as many people as possible to enjoy more poetry
or, as the case may be, to discover
it for the first time by hearing it read aloud. The project
organises and encourages live poetry events in intimate, informal and relaxed settings.
The audience at the event are also the readers as each person
brings along one published poem of their choice (but not their
own work) and reads it aloud. The events (which are
growing in frequency all the time) take place all over the
country and are detailed at
www.passonapoem.com.
 To
attend you really don't need any
previous experience of either poetry or reading it live (trust
us, none of us do!). We all sit down with wine and nibbles in
hand and each
reader is introduced, explains briefly why they have chosen that
poem and then reads it out. Readers are invited to explain
the personal reasons for their choice rather than to analyse the
poem in literary terms. There is no formal discussion of the poems
afterwards, but all the details are posted on the pass on a poem
website after each reading.
So do come along to Mr B's to Pass on Your
Poem. In the spirit of the project this will be a free event,
open to anyone. However, there are only 24 places available
so if you want to come along you must reserve your place as soon
as possible. There will be wine & nibbles.
The
poem you choose must be a published poem and should be no longer than 40
lines and once you reserve your spot we'll then take your
details and ask you to tell us your chosen poem one week ahead
so that we can draw up a coherent running order for the evening.
Email
books@mrbsemporium.com or give us a call on 01225 331155 to
reserve a ticket and for further details.
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Our Local
Writers
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Wednesday 22nd October - 6.30pm - Venue and ticket prices to be
confirmed |
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Special
Guests read from Miles Kington's
hilarious posthumously published "How
Shall I Tell the Dog?"
 Join us to
celebrate the publication of this hilarious posthumous
publication from one of Bath's most loved writers, Miles
Kington.
Britain, and Bath
in particular, was deeply saddened when Miles Kington -
Independent columnist, inventor of languages, humorist,
broadcaster and jazz musician and afficianado - died of cancer
in January 2008. During his illness Miles engaged his unique
comic writing talents in creating a series of letters to his
literary agent supposedly suggesting increasingly absurd ideas
for books that he might be able to write in order to cash in on
his illness. The result is "How Shall I Tell the Dog?" a book
that is as head-shakingly and mischievously hilarious as any
other in the formidable Kington canon.
 Special
guest close friends of Miles will lead the event by reading
excerpts from "How Shall I Tell the Dog?"
This is an
especially poignant event for all at Mr B's as Miles was one of
our earliest customers (sniffing out any new bookshop in its
first week was one of his endless list of talents), keenest
supporters and one of the very first authors to read here. We
are delighted to be organising this event for "How Shall I Tell
the Dog" and we look forward to welcoming you all to hear this
brand new collection of his characteristic humour.
Full details of special guests and venue to follow but email
books@mrbsemporium.com or give us a call on 01225 331155 as
soon as possible to reserve a ticket for this very special
evening
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Our Local
Writers
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Thursday 30th October - 6.30pm at Mr B's - Tickets £3 (including
wine & nibbles) |
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Triple-Bill Bath Spa
Graduate Poetry Reading -
Susan Taylor, Julie-Ann
Rowell and Alyson Hallett
Fresh from
their appearance at Dartington's wonderful Way with Words
Festival, we're delighted to invite you to hear three poets read
their work here at Mr B's. All three are graduates of Bath Spa
University's wonderful courses and all three have excellent
recent work to share with us. Julie-Ann Rowell celebrates the
recent publication of "Letters North" from Brodie Press. Alyson
Hallett (whose work many of you walk over every single day -
hers is the poem carved into the pavement of Milsom Street)
released her latest collection "The Stone Library" in 2007.
   Susan Taylor's
"The Suspension of the Moon" is her latest collection, released
in 2006. The trio have developed a wonderful synergy in their
readings together, which they collectively call "Sun on the
Water".
email
books@mrbsemporium.com or give us a call on 01225 331155 to
reserve a ticket. |
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Mr B's Bibliotherapy Room & Reading Booth
What's one of those? and a couple more piccies
Some of
you may already have seen our lovely new floor of reading delights
but if you haven't, here are a few more pictures to whet your
biblioappetites. There are several features to the room all geared
towards making book browsing and buying a fantastically relaxing
and
civilised experience - a place where books can breathe, your
mind can de-stress and your legs can rest.
Bibliotherapy Room - A Virtual Tour
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The fireplace
wall (with gas fire for toasty winter book browsing) will have
an ever-increasing
collection of portable
Mr B's
Delightful Lists hanging from it. These are our
own
reviews/recommendations
grouped by themes such as "Beginner's pack to psychology" "Gift
ideas for young teens" "Things to read when in Italy" etc. so
you can find inspiration and browse the shop from the comfort
of a chair.
Click here to see a sample Mr B's Delightful List.
A
selection of books from the lists are showcased on the
shelves nearest the fireplace, all face-out
so no need to bend
your neck to read the spines! The lists we showcase here will
permanently rotate giving you a constant supply of new
recommendations to browse.
Free tea and coffee is available in the funky black flasks
right next to
Bibliophocles, our shiny
black bust - the earliest bibliotherapist (more on him below). |
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The Reading
Booth - In the corner is
an intriguing little room which we think is the UK's only Reading Booth.
For £3.50 for a half-hour session you can slide shut the
glass-panelled door, sink yourself into the leather
chair with a coffee/tea, cookie jar, a stack of books, music
or audiobooks and headphones and dissolve into reading heaven.
Or you can buy Booth Vouchers for someone you know could do
with some precious peaceful reading time.
Integrated
Travel Section -
You can
relax on the lovely window seat or at the mahogany table or on
drawing room chairs as you peruse our fabulous expanded travel section.
Alongside each country and region's travel guides and maps
we've now added our top suggestions for inspirational and
relevant fiction and non-fiction to read whilst you're there.
Off to Tuscany? Well, in one fell swoop you can pick up Lonely
Planet Florence, E.M.Forster's "Where
Angels Fear to Tread" and John Dickie's "Delizia:
The epic history of Italians and their Food". You get the
idea. Come and give it a go!
And that's just
ONE of the New Rooms - on the way to the Bibliotherapy Room
you'll pass through our fabulous new Art, Photography,
Architecture, Garden/Nature, Design, Fashion and Style
sections - a wonderful range of visual books with the usual Mr
B's range of essential and lesser-known titles.. |
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A Potted History of Bibliotherapy -
Part I - The Legend of Bibliophocles, the first ever
Bibliotherapist
Some
customers have scurrilously suggested that we might have just
plucked this Bibliotherapy thing from thin air. How wrong they
are......
It is a
now little known fact that there was an eighth member of the
notorious Seven Sages of Greece. The identity of the Eighth
Man, as he was known to the Athenians, has been shrouded in
mystery for over 2,500 years.
Mr B's
is proud to announce not only that it has discovered conclusive
evidence of the Eighth Man's identity but that we have obtained
a bust of the great man himself. The bust of
Bibliophocles, for
such is his name, is currently on display in Mr B's brand new
first floor "bibliotherapy room", so named in honour of the
school of book-retail therapy that Bibliophocles founded in the
6th century BC on the spot that was later to become
Plato's Academy. This hitherto esoteric form of therapy is now
practiced openly and legally by Mr B's with no initiation ritual
required (although the Book Monkey, an adept of the ancient cult,
is available for hire).
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The
Greeks laughed their faces off the first time they heard about
Bibliophocles' school of book-retail therapy.
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Reviews
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Sea of Poppies
by Amitav Ghosh
In the running for the 2008 Booker
Prize and deservedly so, this is the new novel from the
much-acclaimed author of The Glass Palace. In nineteenth
century India, amidst her poppy-fields alongside the Ganges,
Deeti has a vision of a tall-masted ship ocean-faring ship
that she could never have laid eyes on. A ship just like The
Ibis which at that moment is wending its way to Calcutta
ultimately steered to its destination by Zachary who began the
voyage as the ship's carpenter. Deeti and Zachary are just two
of the innumerable brilliantly-drawn characters whose fate is
to be intertwined with this old-slave carrying vessel. Ghosh's
writing is superbly descriptive, speckled with humour as well as
drama, as you find yourself immediately immersed into a world
of opium factories workers, exploitative Western businessmen and
Rajas with their dynasties in decline
Oh, and
it might just be one of the most beautifully produced hardback
novels of 2008. Oh, oh, AND this is just part 1 of a trilogy.
Hardback - John
Murray - £18.99
Click here to buy online OR
Email
us to reserve a copy for collection
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The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
by Kate Summerscale
Scooper of the 2008 Samuel Johnson
prize and praised across the literary reviewers for its
wonderful research and for being as gripping a read as any novel
out there, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is a particular treat
for our region as the true crime it describes took place in the
Wiltshire village of Rode. Scotland Yard's Mr Whicher (the
real-life Inspector Morse of his day) leaps on the train to
Trowbridge the night following the murder and begins to piece
together the evidence of a murder at Road Hill House apparently
committed by another of the house's occupants. Summerscale has
investigated Mr Whicher's own investigation in minute detail and
the C21 century reader gets to relive what a story that gripped
a nation back in 1860.
Trade Paperback
- Bloomsbury - £11.99
Click here to buy online OR
Email
us to reserve a copy for collection
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Brown's Bath
by Peter Brown
For a city as
stunning as Bath you'd be surprised how few really high quality
coffee-table or gift books on the city are out there. August
2008 brought this new corker to the fold though. Peter Brown
(known locally as Pete "the Street" for his easel's
ever-presence on Bath's streets come rain or heavy rain) has
produced a wonderful hardback anthology of his distinctive oil
paintings and charcoal drawings. In every image a familiar Bath
street vista, nook or cranny is given fresh life by Pete's
paintings. In April snow, summer rain and even,
occasionally, golden sunshine Peter captures the ever-changing
tones of our Georgian city and helps us realise how lucky we are
to be in a city so closely surrounded by verdant hills with
spectacular views. Peter's comments alongside each colour plate
give an insight into how it was created (and, in many cases, the
comments of us nosy Bathonians as he painted!).
All in all a
wonderful testament to Peter Brown's talents and the
keepsake-of-the-city book to have been published since we opened
Mr B's.
Hardback - Brown's Fine
Art - 2008
Click here to buy online
OR
Email
us
to reserve a copy for collection
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Tepper Isn't Going Out
by Calvin Trillin
Hilarious novel
published in the U.S. that we came across by accident when
searching for another of Trillin's books for a customer (one of
his better known George Bush-bashing efforts I think). This
short upbeat novel is a really entertaining read with lots of
commentary on modern society and unwieldly bureaucracy thrown
in. Murray Tepper loves to find a good parking spot, even though
he now rents a space in a fancy garage. There's nothing he likes
more than the challenge of cruising the Manhattan streets in
search of a space that will be good for 48 hours or so (provided
the street cleaners won't be doing that side of the road the
next morning). Once he's in a spot he likes to sit and read his
paper there despite the many interruptions from hopeful parkers
asking if he's going out. But he's not. He's staying in, because
his spot is good for a while yet.
Gradually Tepper
comes to the attention of the New York mayor who dislikes any
sort of subversion and the media who think there must be more to
it and begin to portray Tepper as a modern-day sage. And so the
lines grow outside his car and the media circus surrounding his
parking efforts spirals out of control, but Tepper just carries
on doing his thing (in between his hilarious day job finding
likely lists of people to market research new products on).
Paperback – Random House USA -£8.99
Click here to buy online
OR
Email
us to reserve a copy for collection
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What I Talk
About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Taking Raymond
Carver's title "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" and
"running with it", Japan's greatest living novelist has turned
his attention to one of his great loves - running. Murakami is
more known for his many novels involving cats, lonely nights in
bright-lights Japanese cities, people sitting in wells and a
perpetual written soundtrack of jazz tunes, but has gone for
something more reflective this time around.
Realising that a
writer's life is not a slimming one unless you mix-in a bit of
exercise, Murakami has been a running addict for many years. In
this new slim hardback book he looks at his hobby/obsession and
considers what it means to him and how it impacts the way he
thinks and works. This is a book that will be loved by Murakami
fans, by fans of running and by readers new to both. An
enthusiastic philosophical book from a literary great
Hardback - Vintage -
£9.99
Click here to buy online
OR
Email
us to reserve a copy for collection
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Away by
Amy Bloom
Amy Bloom's first
novel in eight years has a storyline that will appeal to those
that have enjoyed Rose Tremain's 2008 Orange Prize-winning "The
Road Home". In "Away", the emotive, witty and, above all, tough
Lillian Leyb has arrived in 1920s America believing her daughter
to have been killed in the pogroms of her Siberian homeland. But
news reaches her that perhaps her daughter is still alive and so
begins an American road-trip with a difference as Lillian makes
her way towards home across the vast North American continent.
Adversity follows adversity, tough encounter follows tough
encounter in a gripping and at times moving novel with a
remarkable heroine.
Paperback –
Granta - £7.99
Click here to buy online
OR
Email
us to reserve a copy for collection
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In Tearing Haste by the
Duchess of Devonshire and Patrick Leigh Fermor
A wonderful
collection of letters between travel-writing genius, polymath,
war legend (and Mr B's hero) Patrick Leigh Fermor and Deborah
Devonshire (aka the littlest Mitford sister). These two
wonderful writers trade thoughts on many of history's
major events and many of their own private interests - not least
time spent at Fermor's idyllic home in the Southern Pelopennese.
The book opens with short extracts from each writer's thoughts
on the other, before getting in amongst the correspondence
proper. Chronologically we are invited into their banter in
letters starting shortly after their first meeting in 1956 and
ending in 2007 (but in reality the chat continues as the 86 and
93 year-olds continue to write to one another). Paddy writes
diaries of walking trips in his adopted Greek homeland, Debo
describes comings and goings at Chatsworth and they engage in
the kind of humorous and bizarre exchanges that no-one would
have time for in 2008 (and that just wouldn't work in a text
message).
A wonderful and revealing
book, albeit one that shows that Fermor's sense of humour wasn't
always up to the rest of his abilities - when asked to come up
with 28 fake book titles for the Chatsworth library door you are
left rolling your eyes at suggestions like "Will Yam Make
Peace?" by Thackeray and "Reduced to the Ranks" by D.Motion!
Hardback - John
Murray - £25.00
Click here to buy online
OR
Email
us
to reserve a copy for collection
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Netherland by
Joseph O'Neill
Tipped for the
2008 Booker Prize, Joseph O'Neill's novel "Netherland" adds to
the "Post 9/11 New York Life" genre which is finally and
inevitably burgeoning (following in the footsteps of Don
DeLillo's "Falling Man" and Mohsin Hamid's "The Reluctant
Fundamentalist"). Somehow though, O'Neill manages to build the
unusual niche topic of American cricket.
The novel's focus
is Hans van den Broek, a Dutch banker plying his trade in
Manhattan. The immediate impact of 9/11 on his life is the
departure of his English lawyer wife and their young son to the
perceived relative safety of London and the unravelling of his
young marriage. Finding himself alone and frustrated Hans seeks
out a cricket team of moderately talented and hugely
enthusiastic Indians, Pakistanis and West Indians forced to play
at off-peak times on sub-standard pitches. But wannabe cricket
entrepreneur Chuck Ramkisoon has great plans for the promotion
of the sport in New York and Hans finds himself drawn to this
larger than life (and really rather sketchy) self-styled
sporting entrepreneur.
A wistful moody
novel about life (and cricket) in terrorist-era New York.
Hardback -
Fourth Estate -
£14.99
Click here to buy online
OR
Email
us to reserve a copy for collection
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Paperback Tracker
Here are some
great books which our customers have loved in hardback which are
now out in paperback. Pop into the shop or e-mail
books@mrbsemporium.com
to reserve your copy now.
Discovery of
France by Graham Robb
Life Class
by Pat Barker
Wildwood by
Roger Deakin
Wild Places
by Robert Macfarlane
Crow Country
by Mark Cocker
Mrs Woolf & Her
Servants by Alison Light
First Among
Sequels by Jasper Fforde
The Road Home
by Rose Tremain
Uncommon Reader
by Alan Bennett
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Mr B's Delightful Lists
- Ed's
Favourite Art titles - Part One
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We are delighted to have added Ed Scotland to the Mr B's team.
Although he'll be a familiar face to many of you from his days with
our much-missed friends at Blackstone's Kitchen, he's got previous
in the book trade, at Tate Gallery Bookshop no less. He's the
perfect man to introduce you to the concept of our lists with a few
highlights from the very personal list he's pulling together of
hand-picked favourites from our newly massively expanded and
improved art section. We'll get our second newbie, Lydia Frater, to
introduce some of her favourites next time around. For now, it's
over to you Ed -
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Christo & Jeanne-Claude by Rudy Chiappini
This book is a great overview of the couples’s often monumental
works of gift wrapping. There is something magical about simple
idea of covering an object, half birthday surprise, half
magician’s handkerchief, which make the viewer stop and think,
both about the logistics involved and about the objects
themselves. These are headline grabbing pieces, shameless in
their mass appeal but I remain unapologetically impressed even
if only by there bigness. If the stone hearted amongst you are
not transported then least be drawn in by the quality of the
preliminary drawings etc. which were presold to finance the
projects themselves.
Hardback – Skira – £34.95
Email us to reserve or
enquire further |
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Peter Blake by Natalie Rudd
This is an affordable introduction to one of the pop art masters
and a great hero of mine. His collections of ephemera and the
uses he puts them to gives us the opportunity to reappraise the
throwaway stuff which is mass produced everywhere and has been a
constant background note in our lives. It is rarely concentrated
on with such love and evident humour. His shrines to the
wrestlers of yesteryear are particularly inspiring and give a
certain credibility to my own childhood collection of Batman and
Zorro stuff.
Paperback -
Tate - £14.99
Email us to reserve or
enquire further
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Patrick Heron by Mel Gooding and Patrick Heron
First out I have to admit that there is a neat little
alternative Heron title in stock, but take a look inside and I’m
sure you will agree that the larger scale reproductions do more
justice to his work. Heron belonged to the St. Ives school and
alongside Ben Nicholson represent the best of there output, in
my opinion. The cover does this book no justice as the image
detail is not really representative of his work. Don’t think
po-faced abstract, think uplifting and plain beautiful use of
colour and placement. I’m a particular fan of his Horizontal
Stripe series and the beautiful Azalea Garden.
Paperback -
Phaidon - £22.95
Email us to reserve or
enquire further
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London’s War the Shelter Drawings of Henry Moore by Julian
Andrews and Henry Moore
During the bombing of London the people who could not afford
private shelters, descended to the safety of the underground
tube system and huddled in their thousands in the semi dark.
Moore came down to these tunnels with photographers from Picture
Post and for once I will readily agree that these rough sketches
capture better than any photograph I have seen this strange
nether world. The drawings offer haunting similarities to image
from the liberation of the European death camps and also the
stone cast remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Paperback -
Lund Humphries - £29.95
Email us to reserve or
enquire further
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Gee’s Bend: The Architecture Of The Quilt by Paul Arnett and
others
If you look through just one title from this list then I would
recommend that it is this extraordinary book. Marvel at how a
relatively small community of black sharecroppers from the
backwoods of America pre-empted the work of the abstract art
movement. They achieved this with little education, very limited
resources and absolutely no fanfare. Each quilt is a revelation,
beautifully reproduced, and then placed in context. This book
practically dares the reader to simply right off their work as
craft and anyone interested in art history should be aware of
these ladies and their work. Hopefully I’ve successfully hidden
my partisan love of this book.
Hardback -
Tinwood - £30
Email us to reserve or
enquire further
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You see him
here.....you see him there...
Mr B's as Official Bookseller
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Here are some
of the great local literary events coming up where Mr
B's will be the official bookseller.
For tickets to
these events, click on the links provided below.
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Theatre Royal Special Events
Every few
weeks Bath’s Theatre Royal invites a prominent author to speak
about their book in the Theatre prior to a sit-down lunch in
The Vaults restaurant. |
Coming up
5th September
-
Casanova -
Book ahead for
this talk by Iain Kelly on his much anticipated biography of
the world's greatest lover.
3rd
October - Esther Rantzen - Much-loved British broadcaster
and charity-dynamo introduces her new inspirational book
demonstrating how life is just starting to get really
interesting when you hit your 50s.
28th November
- Alan Titchmarsh with his new book in paperback
"England Our England" and new fiction title "Folly"
5th
December - Foreign Correspondent Ann Leslie - "Killing
My Own Snakes"
Tickets
and further information–
www.theatreroyal.org.uk
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Calcot Manor Hotel Meet-the-Author
Lunches
Monthly
lunches followed by author talk and book-signing in this
beautiful Cotswold hotel and spa near Tetbury, Gloucs.
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Coming
up
Mon 8th September – Stephen Clarke:
"Dial M for Merde"
- Travel
writer and political humorist, turned novelist.Author of the
bestselling ‘Merde’ novels, including the international
bestseller A Year in the
Merde. Now the last in the series,
Dial M for Merde.
Mon 6th October – Max Pemberton:
"Trust
me, I’m a Junior Doctor"
- Max Pemberton is a doctor, Telegraph columnist and now
bestselling author. His book
is described as "an eye-opening and amusing look at being on
the bottom rung of the NHS ladder". Based on his weekly columns in The Telegraph, it
now comes out in paperback.
Mon 1st
December - Stephanie Calman: "How (Not) to Murder Your
Mother" - The author of "Confessions of a Bad Mother"
returns with a typically pithy and humorous analysis of the
mother/daughter bond.
Tickets
and further information from Mr B's or from
www.calcotmanorhotel.co.uk
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Bath Spa Poetry Society
Monthly
poetry readings by renowned poets, generally held at the Bath
Royal Literary and Scientific Institute at 16-18 Queen Square,
Bath.
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Coming up
Season resumes in October - WATCH this space for details |
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Bath Library
Mr B's is
delighted to work with our local library as booksellers for
this event which forms part of their 2008 National Year of
Reading season |
Thurs 18th September (7.30pm) -
Saul David and Adam Tinniswood
- Two of Britain's best historical authors come to Bath
library to read from and discuss their latest books,
"Victoria's Wars" and "The Verneys", respectively.
Tickets £2 in
advance (£3 on the door) from
www.bathfestivals.org.uk
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The Second Daily Telegraph Bath Festival of Children's
Literature
After last
year's colossal success the Bath Festival of Children's
Literature is back |
Friday 19th September until Sunday 28th September -
Mr B's is again
proud to be the official bookseller to the festival's Schools
Programme. We'll be taking care of around 60 events as
Britain's best children's authors visit our local schools
during the 10 days of the festivals. So watch out for members
of the Mr B's team at your school during September!
To see the
superb ticketed events programme of the 2008 Festival, at The
Guildhall and elsewhere in the city, visit
www.bathkidslitfest.co.uk. |
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An Evening with Pam Ayres
A one-off
appearance by poet and national treasure |
Saturday 18th October (7.30pm) - Pam Ayres at The Forum -
Mr B's is
delighted to be acting as official bookseller for Pam Ayres on
her forthcoming appearance at The Forum in Bath. The
appearance forms part of a 20-date autumn tour for Pam who is
celebrating the release of a new collection of her poems next
month.
Tickets are
bound to go swiftly so contact
www.bathfestivals.org.uk asap to reserve. |
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The Book Monkey's Quirky Quiz
- Win £5 off at Mr B's!
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Thanks to those who
guessed June's Quirky Quiz question and thanks too to all those who
told us it was too easy!! Hoist by your own petard is the phrase
that springs to mind...a toughie follows for the August Quirky Quiz
and we're expecting lots of correct answers!
Every clever clogs that
answered the quiz was allocated a biscuit in the normal (for round
here) fashion and Vlashka's sniffer was set to work.
She bee lined for the
biscuit of Inna Boldyreva (who, if we may make be permitted to make
presumptions from a name, may well have got the Russian-themed
question correct whether it was easy or not!). Well done Inna you get £5 off on your next
purchases at Mr B's!
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AUGUST
QUIRKY QUIZ QUESTION
Question:
What is the origin of the phrase "Hoist by your Own Petard". In
honour of our Miles Kington celebration event on 22nd October,
answers written in Franglais will be preferred (by
Vlashka.....see immediately below).
Email us on
books@mrbsemporium.com with your answer.
The first ten to answer correctly will be allocated a biscuit in
Vlashka's bowl and the winner will be the first to be eaten!
Any biscuit belonging to an answer written in FRANGLAIS will be
coated with gravy. The lucky winner
will be announced in next month’s newsletter
and will get £5 off their next purchase at Mr B’s shop in
Bath
or off an email book order.
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Answer to June's Quirky Quiz
Question:
Author Ed Docx sets part of his Booker prize
nominated novel "Self-Help" in St. Petersburg.
What 2 other
names did that city have in the twentieth century?
Answer:
Petrograd and Leningrad. And here's a free Soviet era joke
kindly provided by one of customers along with his answer:
Q: Where were you born? A. St
Petersburg
Q. Where did you marry? A. Petrograd.
Q. Where do you live? A. Leningrad.
Q. Where would you like to live? A. St
Petersburg |
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Noticeboard
Check out what's going on elsewhere - including some
comp tickets and other special offers for Mr B's customers
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Patrick O'Brian
Reading Group
Monday 6th October at
7.30pm - BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, £2 entry (£1 members/students)
Inaugural meeting of a
new group that will discuss the wonderful historical maritime
fiction of Patrick O'Brian, facilitated by Bath resident and Mr B's
regular customer Ruth Mannion Daniels. We know from Ruth just how
deeply many readers feel about Patrick O'Brian's series of "Aubrey
and Maturin" novels, and this new group aims to provide a forum to
meet and discuss the novels and the myriad of areas of interest that
spring from them, from politics to medicine and science to culture.
Bring along a copy of "Master and Commander" to meeting no.1.
For the
as-yet-uninitiated who might like to use the group as a springboard
to reading O'Brian's
novels, Mr B's is offering 10% off Master and Commander to anyone
planning to attend the first meeting.
Barefoot Books
Young Storyteller Competition
Bath-based publishers
Barefoot Books have created a competition that invites all children
under the age of 14 to show off their story-telling skills. Show
them off adequately and you could win significant prizes for your
school and (this is where it gets REALLY interesting) a trip to New
York City and the chance to perform your story at the legendary FAO
Schwarz toy store right there on 5th Avenue. Ent | |
