Book News: May 2011
from The Book Case, who have been providing our community with books for over 25 years
TOP TEN: April bestsellers at The Book Case
Five books about our local history were joined by two books of verse by national locally-based poets amongst The Book Case's hot sellers in April - plus a thoughtful and practical book from a local woman plumber & entrepreneur. The remaining two bestsellers comprised a Costa winner about a netsuke collection, and a heartrending children's book.
1. The Mills of the Hebden Valley - HBATC (?5.00) An informative illustrated booklet about the history of our area. Lots of old photographs, information and maps so you can see the history all around you!
2. Fustianopolis: Hebden Bridge, the growth of a textile town - HBTAC (?5.00) Another well-researched illustrated pamphlet from HBTAC, on the local specialisation in hardwearing fustian with photos, information and memories.
3. A Look into the History of Warley - June Illingworth (?5.99) Illustrated A4 booklet with a potted history of the area and a guided tour around the town and area.
4. Hebden Bridge: a short history of the area - Peter Thomas (?5.99) Peter Thomas's account of the history of our area from ancient times to the present day takes its accustomed place in our Top Ten.
5. The Hare with Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal (?8.99) The story of a netsuke collection which passed from hand to hand, and by a twist of fate, found its way back to Japan again. Costa Biography winner.
6. Full Blood - John Siddique (?9.99) "Intelligent, sensual, highly erotic, manly and beautifully mortal - the result of a fifteen-year labour of love". John will be talking about the ideas and imagery in his new book of poems on 25 May at the Methodist Hall.
7. A Year in the Bull Box - Glyn Hughes (?7.99) A book of poems following the course of a year's cancer from acceptance to joyous life again through closeness to nature. From the award-winning poet, artist and novelist.
8. The Joy of Plumbing - Hattie Hasan (?6.95) From the Lumbutts-based founder of Stopcocks Women Plumbers, a thoughtful book to inspire women to break down employment stereotypes.
9. The Good Ship Calder High and other tales from the 1950s - Peter Thomas (?5.00) This account of life at the experimental new school in Mytholmroyd - and other local goings on in the 1950s - continues popular.
10. Running Wild - Michael Morpurgo (?6.99) Will and his mum are on holiday in Indonesia, when the tsunami comes crashing in. The elephant Will is riding begins to run ...
NEWS
Local interest
Borrowers of the Night: the Clifton Wood Murder - Anna Best (?10)
On New Year's Eve, 1832, twenty-year-old Elizabeth Rayner was murdered at Clifton near Brighouse. The murder was never solved, and now Elizabeth's great-niece x 4 has reexamined the records of the coroner's inquiry to try and solve the mystery of who killed her and why. "The information I uncovered was more complex and fascinating than I could ever have imagined and the book charts my discoveries, deductions and, ultimately, my conclusion."
Local Authors
Call of the Wild - Rachel Bull (?5.00)
Local artist Rachel Bull has produced a little booklet telling in pictures the story of a plastic duck who comes to life - it was inspired by the Hebden Bridge Duck Race.
Empire of Gold - Andy McDermott (?7.99)
From a Halifax-born ex-Crossley Heath pupil, a blockbusting adventure story: when archaeologist Nina Wilde and her husband, ex-SAS soldier Eddie Chase, are given the chance to work on an Interpol investigation into smuggled artefacts, they are stunned to realise that the artefacts hold clues to the location of a lost Inca settlement hidden somewhere in South America.
Locally-based poet Amanda Dalton's play Powder Monkey will be performed again at the Manchester Royal Exchange, 2-18 June 2011. It's about being at war and making peace, friendship and territory, children in an adult world and in a world without adults. Stella and AK are 12 years old. AK's a soldier; Stella has battles of her own.
Orange Prize Shortlist 2011
The shortlist was announced on 12th April and the winner is announced 8th June.
Emma Donoghue - Room (?7.99) - Jack is five. He lives with his Ma. They live in a single, locked room. They don't have the key. Jack and Ma are prisoners.
Aminatta Forna ? The Memory of Love (?7.99) - Freetown, Sierra Leone: a devastating civil war has left an entire populace with terrible secrets to keep. In the capital's hospital Kai, a gifted young surgeon is plagued by demons. Elsewhere in the hospital lies Elias Cole, a university professor.
Emma Henderson ? Grace Williams Says It Loud (?7.99) - The doctors said no more could be done and advised Grace's parents to put her away. On her first day at the Briar Mental Institute, Grace, aged eleven, meets Daniel. Debonair Daniel, an epileptic who can type with his feet, sees a different Grace.
Nicole Krauss ? Great House (?16.99) - During the winter of 1972, a woman spends a single night with a young Chilean poet before he departs New York, leaving her his desk. Two years later, he is arrested by Pinochet's secret police and never seen again. Across the ocean, in the leafy suburbs of London, a man caring for his dying wife discovers a lock of hair among her papers that unravels a terrible secret.
Tea Obreht ? The Tiger's Wife (?12.99) - 'In April of 1941, without declaration or warning, the German bombs started falling over the city and did not stop for three days. The tiger did not know that they were bombs...' A tiger escapes from the local zoo, padding through the ruined streets and onwards, to a ridge above the Balkan village of Galina. His nocturnal visits hold the villagers in a terrified thrall.
Kathleen Winter ? Annabel (?12.99) - In 1968, in Labrador, a mysterious child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor girl, but both at once. Only three people share the secret - the baby's parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbour, Thomasina. Together the adults make a difficult decision: to go through surgery and raise the child as a boy named Wayne.
Manchester Fiction Prize 2011
There's a cash prize of ?10,000 for the writer of the best short story submitted. It should be up to 3,000 words in length, and can be on any subject in any style, but must be fiction, new work, not previously published or submitted for consideration elsewhere during this competition. It's open to anyone 16 and up. Closing date 12th August 2011. Leaflets available at the shop.