News

The Christmas stamps have gone on sale and I'm looking forward to catching up with distant friends and family through the exchange of cards in the post very soon.

There's something particularly special about getting mail through the letterbox, and to have a row of beautiful pictures and designs on the mantelpiece. We all need things to lift our spirits this year more than ever.

We don't need Christmas or birthdays to send happy mail, of course. I read recently of a couple who decided they were fed up with being swamped by bad news so pre-addressed and stamped 500 postcards and left them in busy London streets asking the finder to write some good news on the back and post it to them. They received more than 300! Their initiative is called Hello Stranger and images of the cards are on their Instagram feed. Possibly material for a book at some point?!

I've been enjoying books with a lighter, more positive theme recently so, in addition to the titles I'm recommending below, I would suggest the authors Clare Chambers and Katherine Heiny for fiction which has a wry, upbeat tone while still having an interesting and entertaining storyline, and good writing of course.

And I hope you're still considering joining me in meeting Angela Harding in her studio in a couple of weeks' time. I can assure you of a really uplifting and enjoyable hour of conversation, finding out about how she works and what inspires her beautiful designs as well as taking a peek into her workroom with its printing presses and projects in progress.

It would be a great help if you are able to reserve your place in good time because it assists me with preparations and book ordering! And I'd be thrilled if you could spread the word, too. I know that Angela has a considerable following and this event is geared at not only supporting her by encouraging sales of her new book, but also Browsers Bookshop of course. Events like these help ensure the future of a beautiful independent bookshop on the high street.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

There's not much to cheer us in the news these days so it's good to remember that we have so many books to choose from to inform and entertain us.

I'm particularly pleased that the BBC 2 programme 'Between the Covers' is returning this week for some light and interesting discussion and recommendations. 

And recently I've been working on a feature article for 'Suffolk' magazine inviting the county's booksellers to share their ideas on the best books to buy this Christmas. Look out for the piece in next month's issue - available in all good newsagents!

I can confirm too that we'll once again hold our annual Browsers Book Group recommendations evening. I've reserved the venue for the evening of Monday 6 December. There'll be more details in next week's newsletter, but save the date if you'd like to come along!

I hope you have already noted the afternoon of Sunday 28 November for our online meeting with the printmaker Angela Harding? 

This will be a lovely occasion finding out all about the creation of her beautiful illustrations (the cover of the children's book 'October, October', recommended below, is another of Angela's designs). I can assure you that Angela is wonderful to listen to being both entertaining and inspiring. You can reserve your place here.

And for another literary diversion this week, why not listen in to author Joanne Harris on Desert Island Discs? Joanne visited us in Woodbridge to launch her novel 'The Strawberry Thief' which continued the story of her bestseller 'Chocolat'. In this programme, she tells presenter Lauren Laverne about how the popularity of that book affected her life, her use of social media, how she is coping with illness, and how she seeks to help other authors.

Have a good week, and thank you for reading.

For many of us the past 18 months have been difficult to measure without the usual landmarks of holidays and celebrations. For others it has been a unique opportunity to take stock and to create something rather special.

Earlier this year, the illustrator and printmaker Angela Harding was invited to compile a record of her extensive portfolio of work and this month a beautiful new book will be published for us all to share in her meticulous, stylised appreciation of the natural world.

You will have seen her work in magazines such as 'Country Living', the covers of bestsellers such as 'The Salt Path' and the children's book 'October, October' and recently on advent calendars, jigsaws, greetings cards and even tea cosies!

Many of these designs are included in the book as well as some new pictures too. They have all taken many hours to complete, studiously carved in lino with colours applied through silkscreen.

Although I had originally invited Angela to visit us in Woodbridge to talk about her work, and how this book came about, the ongoing covid situation made an event seem increasingly unwise.

I realise this will come as something of a disappointment but I think we have a rather wonderful outcome as an alternative.

Angela has invited us to meet her in her studio through Zoom. She will be able to show us the printing presses she uses and her hand tools. There will be examples of work in progress and even the view from her window over the fields beyond.

Angela loves the opportunity to visit Suffolk, having a boat on the Deben and coming here each summer to sail the rivers, but she is also keen to share with us the inspiration she gains from the countryside on her travels in Scotland and the south-west as well as her home in Rutland.

This will be a fascinating, inspiring and entertaining event for a Sunday afternoon, on 28 November. 

The difficult events over the past months have caused us all to look at life, work and relationships differently.

For some people this has prompted profound changes, for others it's been a case of being more aware of the life we're leading, and better appreciating those people who help us to live it to the full - doctors, nurses, teachers, shopkeepers and delivery drivers all immediately spring to mind.

However, we shouldn't forget that we all have a part to play. And I was intrigued to read about a recent arts event which sought to illustrate this fact.

It was staged over 12 hours and invited 'workers of the world' to step forward to describe what they do for a living. Participants were invited to answer questions or to carry out their everyday jobs in front of an audience.

A coffee roaster served coffee while explaining how she loved talking to customers. A former drug dealer described how he had changed his life around. A decorator spent hours papering walls. A cook prepared a dinner to share with the audience. A midwife explained the birth of a baby and an astrophysicist talked about the stars. And the cast list continued. 

Described as an 'epic documentary theatre performance', it was called 12 Last Songs and took place at Leeds Playhouse last week. 

"We had some amazing moments in rehearsal where we were bowled over by the extraordinariness of people and their lives," the co-artistic director Richard Gregory told the 'Guardian'. "So many people are unaware of how remarkable the ways they spend their time are."

We'll be looking at other people's lives through literature when we meet together for book group again tomorrow evening... 

Thank you for reading.

The winner of this year's Booker Prize will soon be announced - the ceremony revealing which of the six shortlisted titles will triumph takes place on Wednesday 3 November.

But last week the Browsers Booker Book Group gave its verdict...

(Before I go any further it's worth acknowledging that I don't think we've ever preempted the judges' decision!)

Certainly this year we found that the books were more readable than the novels which are usually selected. In particular, 'Great Circle' (spanning 600 pages) and 'The Fortune Men' provided more conventional plotlines and attention to 'story'.

One book, 'A Passage North', proved notably 'difficult' with some sentences lasting 20 lines, some paragraphs spanning 10 pages, and no real conclusion or explanation of the events which had been introduced earlier in the novel, our readers said.

Another of the books, 'Bewilderment', was considered 'bleak', 'intense', 'claustrophobic', but imaginative, and relevant and important in addressing climate change issues, according to our readers.

'No One is Talking About This' provoked the most divided and animated responses of all the titles. Described by two of our readers as a book of two halves which was crude, full of jargon with random thoughts and ideas, our other reader declared it brilliant, using form and contemporary language and devices to illustrate the impact of social media.   

The book which achieved most positive comments from our three readers was 'The Promise' by Damon Galgut. Although it was described as an uncomfortable and unpleasant read, which required concentration and application to follow the narrative thread, it was considered an absorbing family saga with profound comments about contemporary issues concerning race in South Africa.

In a vote by our group, this was the book which was considered the likely winner, with 'The Fortune Men', written by the one British author on the shortlist,  coming a close second. We'll have to wait and see what the judges decide.

Our regular book group meeting takes place again in a week's time (scroll down for details). We'll be discussing 'An Island' by Karen Jennings. If you'd like to come along, please reply to this email as I need to have an idea of numbers.

And next week I hope to be able to let you have details of an exciting author event taking place in person in Woodbridge next month. It's been a while, so I hope that the speaker will be of interest and you'll want to come along!

Thank you for reading.