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Wednesday 30 November 2011

£2.00 off Justin Thyme

I'm afraid we've done a silly billy thing. Somehow, despite the certain knowledge that one of the most sought-after books this Christmas will be the paperback edition of Justin Thyme, we have managed to run out of it completely.

Therefore, to reduce the disappointment, we have decided to cut the price of the hardback by £2.00 bringing it a little closer to the price of the paperback.

The hardback, from now till the New Year, will be £10.99 (the paperback is £7.99).

The hardback edition will make a super Christmas present (especially if combined with the amazing sequel, Thyme Running Out, at £12.99)!

Meanwhile, the secretive author, Panama Oxridge, is busy writing the third book in this amazing sequence. However, we are not quite sure what century he is in, right now, so he may have finished it or perhaps he's not started it yet. Time travel can be very confusing.

Monday 28 November 2011

New Games Workshop Blog

I have just set up a Games Workshop blog for those interested in our new venture.

It goes under the name of
Mygamesworkshopmim.blogspot.com
and will develop over the coming months into a news sheet for GW at Cotswold Bookstore, a diary of what models I've been toying with and, perhaps, some photos of models belonging to some of our customers.

So, if you have a few models you'd like to see on our blog, drop in and talk to Tony.

News from local clubs would also be of interest.

Saturday 26 November 2011

Cotswolds_Best

We were pleased to receive a visit from Anne Cooper today.

She is the organisation behind Cotswolds_Best on Twitter and keeps everyone informed of what's happening in the area. Well worth following is Anne.

http://www.thebestof.co.uk/local/north-cotswolds is worth a look too, if you want people to know about events or services.

Nice to meet you Anne. Here she is, looking pensive after something David has said. As you do.

White Dwarf Magazines

It's nearly December and the December issue of White Dwarf is with us.

Note that we still have a few copies of the October (Dreadfleet) and November (Necrons) issues but they will have to be returned next weeek.

If you've missed them, call in soon.

I will soon be setting up a separate blog for our Games Workshop section of the shop with news of how I'm getting on with my attempted mastery of the brush and paint pot, with pics of models that are shown us and news of anything new in the shop.

I'll link it from the shop blog so that you can find it easily and will let you know the blog name, soon.

The December issue has 'An exciting Dreadfleet Campaign booklet inside' plus some new Citadel Finecast VEMs (Very ugly monsters)

Friday 25 November 2011

The Prize Winner

Recently the Bookseller's Association ran a prize draw and we were lucky enough to have one of our customers win.

I'll rephrase that. Not just one of our customers but one of our FAVOURITE customers. All three of us agreed that the £100 book token couldn't have gone to a nicer person.

Jean Barlow is one of our regulars and it is typical of her that she spent the whole hundred pounds on presents for some of her friends.


Here she is receiving the £100.00 book token from David. As you can see, she is a fan of The Fight for Fordhill Farm by Ben and Charlotte Hollins and Nicky Ross. The other book she wanted in great numbers was The Guernsey Literary and  Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

Monday 21 November 2011

Lost Christmas - review

Lost Christmas by David Logan
Hardback at £8.99
When 11 year old Richard (or Goose, as he is known), hides his Dad’s car keys, a chain reaction of disasters occur.
Now jump forward one year. Goose is living with his Nan, who we first meet trying to cook the Christmas Turkey in the washing machine. She suffers from Alzheimer’s but Goose dare not tell people how bad she is for fear of ending up in a home as his parents are both dead. His father’s best friend, Frank, fences goods that Goose steals but tries to look out for him.
It is Frank who first comes across Anthony, a stranger who quotes facts like The Guinness Book of Records and seems to know an unusual amount about everyone he meets, more, indeed, than he knows about himself. A stolen bangle, a missing letter, Goose’s dog and a family drifting apart after the death of their daughter are all linked by the stranger’s knowledge and one by one, he brings them and Goose together in a moving story.
Described in one review as ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ meets ‘Shameless’ this is an uplifting and frequently funny tale of ‘What if’ with a Christmas theme.
Though billed as a book for youngsters, adults should not miss this one. (An ideal pressie for a youngster if you can borrow it later!)
(Now being filmed starring Eddie Izzard)

Sunday 20 November 2011

Trisha on Youtube

 For those of you who have enjoyed The Magic of Christmas by Trisha Ashley (and I did) here's a little Youtube interview with her.



There's already good feedback from some of our customers and it is selling well.

Hands up those who would like to see other Trisha Ashley novels in stock?

OK Perhaps we'll start with A Winter's Tale which sounds fun.

PS Talking of Christmas, The price of our Chocolate filled Advent Calendars has dropped to only £2.99. I think we paid more than that! We just bought too many and don't want to eat them all oursleves.

Friday 18 November 2011

E-reader

Kindly Caroline, from the Gloucestershire Echo, recently ask us for a few words on the paper book v the e-reader debate. Here's what they got -

David Whitehead and I have run the Cotswold Bookstore in Moreton-in-Marsh for the past ten years and not surprisingly, do not always agree. (You should here us on the correct way of sharpening a pencil!) Certainly, on the future of the ‘real book’ when under increasing attack by e-readers, we have different views.
His opinion is optimistic. He believes that this new gadget, the Kindle, in most cases, will be taken up with initial enthusiasm but will soon be discarded, and paper books returned to. Perhaps the e-reader will be revived in time for the next summer holiday (and don’t forget your charger!) but a paperback in the hotel foyer may look much more interesting. The Kindle, with its new lower price, may well be a popular Christmas gift but may even result in introducing more people to the joys of reading. He also points out that the e-reader cannot duplicate everything the ‘real book’ has to offer. Colour pictures for instance. The larger books such as art books and those on photography will also continue in paper form as will many books for younger children.
My view is very different for, if the present e-book is seen as a major threat to paper books, think how the future e-book will compare. It will have colour images, an inbuilt dictionary, an interactive index, a sound chip for the partially sighted and a dozen other features that are being designed as I type. Will the paper book still compete?
Of course the e-reader will still not replicate all the features of a book. You cannot loan your favourite read to a friend. You cannot make it a feature in your living room. It will not proclaim your interests to a visitor. However, all these aspects are those of habit and will soon be forgotten.
It is not the loss of the book itself that will change some of our lives, it will be the loss of the small, independent bookshop. In rural areas particularly, it is often a central meeting point, a place to see friends and exchange news. A place to deposit shopping while popping to the chemists. A place to sit awhile if the walk home is arduous. Even, in our case, a place to leave the dog while you go to the butchers!
Many will survive for a while. Those who own their premises and do not have to face escalating rent or those who diversify among them. There may be many ‘bookshops’ who make more money on coffee and cakes than they do on books. We have recently taken on Games Workshop models and games to widen our appeal. The future though, holds fewer bookshops than the present, and with the closure of many libraries too, there will be fewer places for children to sit quietly and look at a picture book, perhaps the biggest loss of all.
Of course, it is mainly the Internet and supermarkets which have all brought this about, but I think that the e-reader will have the final say and it could well be the most popular gift this Christmas. I naturally think I’m right about the pencils but I hope I’m wrong about e-readers.

Thursday 17 November 2011

Lesley Cookman's Ninth

Just arrived, mrather later than expected, the ninth of Lesley Cookman's 'Libby Sarjeant' murder mysteries, Murder at the Manor.
Lesley's books are similar in many respects to the Agatha Raisin books by our own best selling author, MC Beaton. There's a romantic element, a nice neat murder or three, plenty of laughs, larger than life characters and, of course, an involving mystery.
Usually Libby and her psychic sidekick, Fran, are found near their home village of Steeple Martin, in Kent, but in the new book they are off to Dorset after a murder at a writer's weekend.  The authors present seem a rum bunch with pornography and 'Spank Monthly' being mentioned but Leslie does point out in her 'Acknowledgements' that real writer's are a much nicer bunch than those she portrays.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Robin Hobb - Caveat Emptor

One of my favourite authors is Fantasy writer, Robin Hobb.
From the first book in The Farseer Trilogy, starting with Assassin's Apprentice I have enjoyed her work.
Right through another three trilogies, The Liveship Traders, The Tawny Man, The Soldiers Son and on into The Rain Wild Chronicles, she has maintained her high standards of plotting with sympathetic yet very human characters set in a totally believable landscape and social context.
Even the books written earlier under the name of Megan Lindholm were of interest and the pair comprising The Reindeer People and Wolf's Brother were already up to the Robin Hobb standard. Indeed, these are two of my favourites.
(Fans of Hobb may not be aware of these two, but I'm pleased to say that they are back in print and available at the shop)

So, where is all this leading? Right to her own comments on a con trick designed to take your money and disappoint you, apparently in her name.

Have a quick read of her blog and take care -  under Caveat Emptor.
Her site is a goody too - http://robinhobb.com those jackets make you want to read them all, don't they?

(PS Anybody read anything by Jennifer Fallon?)

Tuesday 15 November 2011

'What time is it Eccles?'

When is Sci-fi not Sci-fi? When it's by Stephen King?

Stephen King has jumped genres in his latest though he seems, according to reviews I've read, to feel no compulsion to explain his time travel portal any more than did Edgar Rice Burroughs explain the portal that transported John Carter to Mars, 100 years ago.

(Film coming up on that, by the way. Shame it's Disney but you never know, they might not make a bad job of it)

Now if you want a really good explanation of Time Travel, look no further that Justin Thyme by 'Panama Oxridge'.

Hey! Don't stop reading. You may have read comments about  JT on this site before but we have just discovered a small box of signed copies of the paperback. Only a few mind so if you want one, be in touch.

Back to Mr King. Some reviewers love it, others hate it, but it's flying out here. If you've read it - let us know what you think.

(Blackout, a Time Travel book by Connie Willis has received rave reviews and if you've not read The Time Traveller's Wife then you've missed a wonderful love story as well as great Sci-Fi.)

Wednesday 9 November 2011

More Chocolate


With only 45 days to till Christmas day, we thought we'd put a little Christmas cheer in front of you.

We have diaries and Advent cards and calendars and even top quality Christmas Crackers this year.

Also a great range of Naxos Christmas music and Carols at only £5.99 and £9,99 for a double disc.

They include Carols from Tewkesbury Abbey and Worcester Cathedral.

Oh! and must mention - our chocolate filled Advent calendars are only £3.99 each and we've ordered far too many.

Please prevent us from having to eat them all by buying six each.

Young pup

This must be the smallest and youngest dog we've ever had in the shop.

This Chocolate Lab, called Bramble, counts her age in weeks, not in years and seems to do a great deal of sleeping.

Looking forward to seeing you with your eyes open Bramble!

Sunday 6 November 2011

Inheritance - Christopher Paolini


Well, here it is. Doesn't it look great. However, you can't have it yet!

We have a limited supply of the final book in the 'Inheritance Cycle' by Christopher Paolini so, if you want yours first thing on Tuesday morning, call in at the shop or phone us quickly. Some have already been put aside as advance orders.

With 850 pages, this massive and long awaited book will be snatched up.

The final confrontation with Galbatorix for Eragon and his dragon, Saphira.

And if you've missed this sprawling fantasy epic, start with Eragon which we have in stock.

Thursday 3 November 2011

Lost Christmas

'It's a Wonderful Life' is required viewing, in our household, every Christmas (along with the Alistair Sim version of 'A Christmas Carol, of course).

So, when I read the blurb on the back of this new book for youngsters, (It's a Wonderful Life' meets modern Manchester in this heartwarming story of an orphaned boy who meets a mysterious stranger on Christmas Eve) I had to have it in the shop.

I'll try squeezing it in with the three proof copies I've got and let you know what I think as soon as I can.

Of course, the line on the front saying 'Now a major film starring Eddie Izzard' might help it along.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Independent Survival

Thanks to 'camden lock books' and 'The Bookseller' of course, an excellent article on the survival of the Independent Book Shop'.

It ends with a ten point list on the way ahead.
The one they've missed is, 'Have enough capital to start with so that you can buy your own premises, avoiding rent and overdraft charges'.
I like the point about running a bookshop as a hobby though. I'm sure that's what we're doing.