News

After a spell of book adaptations making the big screen, this summer's blockbusters are a mix of action heroes, comic fantasy and biographical thriller. So I was interested to read an article by the broadcaster and novelist Simon Mayo recently as he introduced his latest venture.

In the time of Mozart, Mayo was told, successful and popular books wouldn't be turned into films (obviously) but instead they became operas.

It's hard to think that trend will be replicated today. But it could happen...

Simon Mayo's bestselling book 'Itch', the first of a trilogy, has just opened in London as a family opera. 

It's an intriguing idea and having read and thoroughly enjoyed 'Itch', I'm very disappointed that I won't get to see this performance. 

Like most of Simon Mayo's books it is a high concept thriller, brilliantly executed in terms of plot, characterisation, pace and drama. It would be incredible to see how it translates onto the stage and in music.

There have been other musical presentations of children's stories, usually for the younger audience. Author illustrator James Mayhew tells and draws stories on stage as an orchestra plays and the children's writer, actor and BBC announcer Zeb Soanes reads stories alongside musical accompaniment. He has also created a musical adaptation of his children's stories about 'Gaspard the Fox'.

It will be interesting to see how 'Itch' the opera is received, and what other book adaptations might follow. 

Thank you for reading.

There was news this week of the sale of a book collection of the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. First editions and signed copies including that of F Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' will be auctioned in the autumn.

It is said that Watts enjoyed reading while touring with the band and sought out these notable books not because he thought they would gain in value but because he took satisfaction from tracking them down and having them in his possession.

Signed first editions of modern writers are still sought after, but these days authors are taken to warehouses ahead of the release of their latest books, and will sign thousands of copies which are then distributed to bookshops for sale. 

While it's nice to have the signature of your favourite author in a pristine first edition hardback, I prefer to keep books with associations - a personal message from an author, the date and place they were signing, and even my notes on the occasion when I heard them speak. It doesn't make the book more valuable to any collector but it's a special souvenir for me.

My most treasured book is a paperback of Ted Hughes' poems. I heard him read from it at Cheltenham Literature Festival. I can picture him on stage now, and can even hear his voice. He said something about each poem before he read it and I wrote notes which I have kept as loose pages slipped into the book. I didn't get his signature, but I kept the ticket and programme notice and, for me, it is a very special book.

Thank you for reading.

How often do we get the chance, or make the choice, to do nothing? What would we do with that time anyway?  

Life is busy and we are bombarded with stimuli in the form of television, radio, social media, the seemingly ever present hum of traffic as well as the general noise and activity of others in the communities in which we live.

This week I read a memoir of a Japanese man who decided to make doing nothing his purpose in life (scroll down for details). It's an interesting concept and it's astonishing the things he's asked to do for others in taking on this role. 

There are clearly elements of performance by the people who approach him as well as the roles he undertakes, and indicative of the Japanese way of life, but it's fascinating how people want someone to be alongside them, not doing anything, just being there.

After a busy few weeks, I decided to take a couple of days away doing nothing. With good weather, rural surroundings and no commitments, I'm looking forward to seeing if I'll rise to the task. The trouble is, though I may not do any actual work, there are still exciting new books I want to read. And that leads to ideas for articles, events and reviews. Perhaps if I resist, focus solely on my environment, the people I meet and the moment that I'm in, and nothing else, I really will return refreshed and reinvigorated. I'll let you know if I can manage it!

Thank you for reading.

Our relationship with technology continues to bring new challenges and surprises. This week the BBC Weather service had 'a technical glitch' where the daily temperature forecast for the whole country for a whole week was a constant seven degrees. 

Even though the error was acknowledged on news reports and a presenter noted that the screen behind him was displaying unseasonal, incorrect numbers, nothing was done to change or remove the information.

And if the powers-that-be thought it was unnecessary to remove the dodgy information because it was so obviously wrong, one  woman in Wales proved that some people blindly follow their trusted sources of information.

Happily interviewed for the radio news, this woman explained how she had overdressed for her working day. She was so reliant on the BBC Weather app each day that she dressed for winter and was prepared to tell the nation how uncomfortably hot she became as a result. 

There was a time when we'd choose what to wear by drawing back the curtains and assessing for ourselves what the day had to offer. Or if we wanted to plan ahead, we'd follow some 'old wives' tales' by hanging seaweed outside the door, watch when cows lie down in a field or take note of a red sky in the morning. 

People who worked outside in the elements were sometimes sought for their opinions - farmers, fishermen, and sometimes wise women in a community, those who worked with herbs and plants.

We'll be finding out about these intuitive women of centuries past when we meet novelist Margaret Meyer on Tuesday as she tells us about the inspiration behind her new book 'The Witching Tide'. It's sure to be a fascinating evening. 

With the hot weather we're enjoying at the moment I'm glad that I don't live or work in a city. But being in a market town or village, we can sometimes feel overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Life here is just as vibrant as anywhere else, though, as I found two writers commented this week.

In a broad-ranging and entertaining conversation with the Reverend Richard Coles at the Riverside Cinema in Woodbridge on Wednesday we heard about the inspiration for his new series of murder mystery novels.

"I think the first lesson I had as a vicar," he said, "was to explode the very persistent myth that only things of national interest happen in big cities. They don't, they happen in Woodbridge and in Finedon [his former parish in Northamptonshire] and in Champton St Mary [the fictional parish of Canon Daniel Clements] and all sorts of places because human beings are human beings and when you put them all together human dramas play out." 

Village life in all its richness is presented in his latest novel, 'A Death in the Parish' and we very much enjoyed hearing all Richard had to say about how the books have come together and his plans for future stories too.

Barbara Kingsolver, picking up her second Women's Prize, spoke about rural life as the inspiration for her novel 'Demon Copperfield'. In an article for the Guardian, she said: “I understand why rural people are so mad they want to blow up the system.

'“That contempt of urban culture for half the country...The news, the movies, TV, it's all manufactured in cities about city people. We're nothing. We don't see ourselves at all. And if we do show up, it's as a joke, the hillbillies. We are the last demographic that progressive people still mock with impunity." 

It's village life in the 17th century that we turn to in a few days' time, though, when novelist Margaret Meyer will be joining us to present her new book 'The Witching Tide'.

Margaret was inspired by the notorious witch trials that took place in coastal Suffolk and has written a stunning and acclaimed novel based on these real events. You can read more in my article for Suffolk magazine here.

She'll be visiting two days before the official release of the book, so come along and be the first to hear all about it! Scroll down for details and get your ticket online here.

Finally, it's our book group meeting tomorrow when we will be discussing 'The Slaves of Solitude' by Patrick Hamilton (details below). Please reply to this email to let me know if you can be there.

Thank you for reading.