Alfie and who?

This is Alfie who called in today.

He knows exactly where the biscuit tin is and will never pass the shop door again.

I'm ashamed to say that this fine dog's name escapes me.

Perhaps the owner could phone us with a reminder - 01608 652666

Ah! David has remembered. It's Henry.

However, just in case your dog's ability to clean up biscuit crumbs has made David confuse him with our inanely grinning vacuum cleaner, we'd still like confirmation from the owner.

Thanks Bridget. Yes - It's Henry. Now - have I got your name right!

Megan

Here's a smart new friend to the bookshop.

Megan responds well to 'Meg' and also to the word 'biscuit' and soon took to Nina and encouraged her in the tricky business of opening the tin of dog biscuits we keep under the counter.

Great to meet you Meg, and your owner too!

Please call in again.

Literary Fiction (mostly!)

As some of you may know, I was recently on the other side of the world, on holiday*. While away, Nina and David set about doing some of those things that have needed doing for some years. Dusting, for instance.

The main change was to try to collect most books by local authors in one place on a bookshelf. There we now have Henry Porter, Jane Bailey, Rebecca Tope, Veronica Stallwood, Anne Grangerand guest author, Lesley Cookman, as well as books of local interest.

Of course, that left M C Beaton's Agatha Raisin books rather hidden in comparison so we devoted four shelves to her books where they were easier to see. (Room enough for her Hamish Macbeth series and the two new sets of books by her too)

This left space for us to order in some more 'literary' novels to be grouped together. Such titles as Snow Geese by William Feinnes, Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, A Life of Pi by Yann Martell and Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky as well as works by Hemmingway, Cormac McCarthy and Arundhati Roy and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We have called this book case'Literary Fiction (mostly!)' so please feel free to disagree with our choices.

* nzhols.blogspot.com

Cheltenham Festival Books

With the Cheltenham Festival starting for the 100th time on the 15th March and lasting four days, we thought we'd better have a few books in for the horses to read.

We have 'The Cheltenham World of Jump Racing' by Mick Fitzgerald. He was winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1999 on 'See More Business' and is well known, since his retirement, as a TV presenter.

Also the excellent and recently published 'The Masters of Manton'

www.themastersofmanton.co.uk .

The Centenary History looks a good bet too. This hardback is by Robin Oakley so there's pedigree there.

Samuel Lake and Phil Rickman

There is a book due in September that is sure to be my favourite children's book of 2011. Perhaps a few of you can work out what that will be?

However, I think I have already read my favourite adult book of the year in February. It was a proof copy so I cannot quote from it or show a jacket but I can let slip the title. Published in July, 'The Homecoming of Samuel Lake' is a superb novel that you will want to read more than once and to tell all your friends about. I'll come up with a review nearer the date but meantime, note the title.

Another review we'll put on the blog soon is for Phil Rickman's 'To Dream of the Dead'. Not only is this detective novel a good read, but it could easily have been set in Moreton in Marsh, rather than near Hereford, as much of the background could apply to our town. Disputes about new housing projects, small shops versus supermarkets, even a deluge that threatens to flood the town. However, Moreton-in-Marsh does not have a Merrily Watkins, vicar and amateur detective nor a very gruesome murder.

We hope to have a special price on this book soon and may, perhaps, see if we can entice Phil over from Hereford for a signing.

Today's news is that David has had yet another birthday. If this was an innings, he would have declared long ago!

Marilyn baked him a lovely cake and, despite my sworn intention to keep to my diet, David forced me to have a slice. Delicious.

Why the diet? Well, my three weeks in New Zealand was very bad for my waistline.

I had intended to complete my blog as we toured round but there were difficulties in using the laptop at the time. However, it is gradually coming together. Seehttp://nzhols.blogspot.com/

We were moved this week to hear of the disaster in and around Christchurch. We had stayed there for two nights and there was still plenty of evidence of the previous 'quake.

Tony

Happy New Year

Here's wishing you all a Happy New Year (and sorry we were too busy to squeeze in a 'Merry Christmas' a few weeks ago)

Can a whole month have gone by without us noticing it? It may have been something to do with the double whammy of the Christmas build up and the build up of snow and ice!

Nina bravely hiked in to open the shop on the day that the snow came down and then, having slept under the counter all night, opened up on Sunday 19th December. Meanwhile, David and I were still digging our way out onto the main roads.

As you might expect, the harsh weather kept most of our customers indoors for the week and so we were much quieter than normal.

A big thank you to those of you who did make it through the drifts to buy your Christmas gifts from us.