News

Finding myself watching more tv than usual now that the nights are drawing in and the weather is getting - slightly - colder, I was pleased to stumble across a new series of the book programme 'Between the Covers'. 

Last time, a key find was the novelist Mary Lawson, championed by Graham Norton. I'm not sure I'm going to follow his latest recommendation, but there were still a couple of books to add to my reading list. The participants also opened the box on whether it's acceptable to read the end of a book first...?

I was fortunate to hear Graham Norton speak about his own writing at a conference the other week. He has written three novels now and is getting good reviews. I've added them to my list. 

He was asked about choosing books to read and whether, as he is such a familiar face, he is able to browse bookshops without being interrupted. He said that as people were likely to talk to him about books, he didn't mind as he was always happy to do that! 

Last week I was in the bookshop talking about the titles nominated for the Yoto Carnegie children's prize. There have been 67 books listed for the writing prize and 58 for illustration. That's a lot of books. They have all been chosen by librarians and it's a great list to work from for Christmas gift ideas. The shortlist follows in March and young people are invited to engage with the list in discussions, reviews and events, ultimately voting for their winner which is announced in June.

But if you're keen on getting some reading ideas closer to home, we'll be having our annual book group recommendations evening on Monday 28 November. Please let me know as soon as possible now if you'd like to come along and, more importantly, if you'd like to share the details of a favourite book!

Thank you for reading.

Well, Prince Harry is going ahead with his memoir. Called 'Spare', it will be released in January. We'll have to wait and see whether the content is as explosive as is anticipated (hoped?!).

And it's interesting that in the same week, the distributor of 'The Crown' has made an announcement. It seems viewers are taking its stories of royal life behind the scenes too literally. A disclaimer is therefore being added to the new series stressing that this is a "fictional dramatisation", "inspired by real-life events".

Meanwhile the life of the 19th century novelist and poet Emily Bronte has been reinterpreted for a new film, called 'Emily', released this month. In the absence of a detailed biography, what will 'Wuthering Heights' fans make of the assumption that Emily had an affair with her father's curate? 

Oh, and in the summer there was a film about the life of Marilyn Monroe which used the novel by Joyce Carol Oates as its inspiration so, again, imagining events in the film star's life.

It can all get very confusing, this mixing of fact and fiction and when real life seems dramatic enough, do we need to imagine it to be more extreme and eventful?! How damaging is it to the memory of the people involved, and the family and friends still living?

It can be reassuring then to get back to 'make believe' and we'll be doing that in our next book group meeting as we discuss the charming tale 'Mrs Harris Goes to Paris'. Conceived in 1958 as a novella, it was released a few weeks ago as a film. Have the actors, director and producer added to our enjoyment of the story with their interpretation? Or do we sometimes need to preserve a precious book in our own imagination? 

Thank you for reading.

It's been another eventful week in national and international affairs but I wasn't surprised to read some recent research which reported that 38 per cent of us choose not to engage with the news any more.

It's so difficult to process with one 'unprecedented' event following another. 

A News Literacy Network has launched to help young people understand the role of news, its impact on us and how to develop a more accurate worldview without becoming overwhelmed with negative feelings.  

I haven't watched the news, or television generally, over the summer, but this week as I hunkered down in the darker evenings, I decided to watch programmes with presenters whose books I've read recently.

On BBC Two Bob Mortimer had joined his friend Paul Whitehouse for some more fishing. It was beautiful 'slow' tv with gentle banter and glorious scenery, and the concluding episode introduced a bit of activism from the musician Feargal Sharkey as he highlighted how our rivers have become polluted through neglect and commercial gain by the water companies. 

Meanwhile the reporter and documentary maker Simon Reeve embarked on a less exotic journey than is his wont, with a short series of programmes about the Lake District.

Here again there were wonderful shots of the stunning landscape, but also some amazing interviews with fascinating, inspiring people. They were ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

There was a young man, for example, still a teenager, who was running the family farm alone, with a little help from schoolfriends, after losing both of his parents to illness within a period of two years. And there were a couple of middle aged men who, seeking a solution to the flooding of Carlisle, had recognised that the course of the river had been altered by government intervention hundreds of years previously.

It was so encouraging to find serious issues covered in sensitive, thoughtful ways highlighting the problems but also showing how people were trying to find solutions. It was uplifting, inspiring, enabling, and refreshing!

But time is flying by and, though we're not quite at the end of the month, the book group will be meeting next week, on Monday 24 October, so do please let me know if you hope to join in the discussion. We'll be talking about 'We Have All Lived in the Castle' by Shirley Jackson. It's a slim book, so there's still time to read it if you'd like to come along to the meeting!

Thank you for reading.

Our lives seem dominated by politics and politicians at the moment and last week it was all about the Conservative Party Conference.

I was interested to follow the debate over the choice of anthem accompanying Liz Truss as she walked on stage to deliver her speech.

The song playing was 'Moving on Up' by M People. Apparently the party hadn't gained permission to use the track and members of the band weren't happy for it to be associated politically, and particularly not by our present government. Interestingly they also pointed out that some of the lyrics don't make this such a desirable theme tune after all!

Many songs have become associated with certain occasions and movements which the originators did not intend. This led me to think of poets who find their work quoted widely without acknowledgement and illustrators, too, who have had their images replicated in other media or used to inspire other pictures.

It is said that the artist should be flattered their work is so popular but, overlooking the financial implications, what is the relationship between the creator and their work when it has been released into the world - can they retain ownership or control?

Novelists often acknowledge that once their words are published, their story or message takes on a new life through the relationship with the reader and this may be different from the one the writer intended. 

After spending years perfecting, crafting and refining a story, song, poem or piece of art, it can be a hard lesson to learn that how the work is received or interpreted may be far from the original objective. It may be frustrating when it is misunderstood or misappropriated, but exciting and exhilarating to see it adopted and appreciated?

Now, if you have a story to tell, you might like to enter the New Anglia Manuscript Prize.

The Laxfield Literary Agency is once again working with the National Centre for Writing in seeking the best new writers in Norfolk and Suffolk and submissions are being accepted until the end of November.

The judging panel will comprise Chris Gribble, CEO of the National Centre for Writing in Norwich, publisher and author Phoebe Morgan, and Emma Shercliff of Laxfield Literary Associates. Find out more here.

Fnally, I was very sad to learn of the death of the crime writer Peter Robinson this week. Peter visited us at Woodbridge Library five years ago and we had a very enjoyable time listening to him talk about creating his detective DCI Banks. He was a softly spoken, thoughtful man and will be much missed.

Thank you for reading.

Things continue to look rather topsy turvy, don't they? This time there's general bewilderment about the government's decisions regarding financial affairs...

I was interested, then, to see how the French government has responded to unfair practices in one sector of business there, ensuring a level playing field for the high street and e-commerce in the book trade.

Companies like Amazon have been offering free delivery on books for years and when the government stepped in six years ago to prevent this, the online firms applied a legal loophole and made a nominal charge of just one cent instead. 

While these vast businesses can absorb postage costs to attract customers, the high street stores with smaller margins and additional expenses have to pass on these fees and are therefore not competitive. The government has subsequently proposed a fixed fee of three euros for all deliveries of orders under the price of E35.

This initiative is part of the French “cultural exceptionalism”, which has sought "to shield books and independent booksellers from the ravages of free-market forces," according to a report in the Guardian.

The French government also ensures that all booksellers, whether chains or independents on the high street or the online retailers, have to sell books at the prices set by the publishers. "It has helped preserve France’s 3,500 independent bookshops – more than three times the number in the UK – which account for 12,000 jobs."

It is encouraging to see the book trade and the high street being valued in this way, with such practical and effective action taken. And it's a valuable reminder of the importance of paying a fair price to ensure staff are looked after, taxes are paid and we retain vibrant communities through our high streets. 

As France waits for the law to be approved by the EU, I wonder if this example might be followed elsewhere?

Thank you for reading.