Time is playing tricks on me at the moment. I can't believe that it was just last week that we met the lovely Angela Harding in her studio in Rutland. It was wonderful to see where she works and to hear more about the processes involved in creating designs for book covers, magazine illustrations, cards and gifts.
And the next day it was our monthly book group meeting, when 'Piranesi' divided the room. Always good for a lively discussion!
Tomorrow it's our annual recommendations evening and I'm full of anticipation for the titles which will be championed this year. Whether they are familiar books or something entirely new and surprising, there's something very special about getting a personal recommendation.
Most of the time, of course, we rely on publishers to convince us to read a book. The content of the praise quotes and blurbs on book covers often causes consternation in our book group discussions. So I was interested, and entertained, by an article in the 'Times' last week where the journalist offered a crash course in 'publisher speak'.
If you've wondered what is really meant by the enigmatic descriptions promoting a book or its author, look no further.
The comprehensive glossary reveals that 'atmospheric', for example, means 'nothing happens, no plot'. 'Dazzling prose' means 'too many adverbs'. And if the author is described as a major new talent then this is 'their second book, the first was ignored'. If they're a 'master storyteller', though, you can interpret this as meaning they write 'the same novel every year, too successful to be edited'.
There's much more in this vein and you can find the complete article here.
I'm sure we won't have any of these phrases tomorrow night but if you'd like to come along to check, please reply to this email to let me know. We're closed for any more recommendations, but everyone is welcome to listen to the titles being championed. And if you can't join us, I'll be sure to let you know all the titles mentioned.
Thank you for reading.