We're Back!

Hi there... it's been a long time, I know.

But the recommends section in the window hs been going down quite well I'm pleased to say. Which makes me happy.

After a bit of a blitz into the work of Christopher Fowler recently (his memoir PAPERBOY was one of our initial reccomends if you remember), I just got my grubby mits on the new book from David Almond MY NAME IS MINA.


It's a gorgeous book - as you might imagine from an author I hold in such high esteem - and while it's a little plot-lite it's wonderfully written. A prequel to SKELLIG, this tells us more about Mina, the precocious little girl with the enquiring mind from Almonds debut novel.

Essentially, MY NAME IS MINA is her journal. And like her, it's fizzing with life and ideas, and utterly rapt in the sheer wonder of the world around us and the life we live in it.

It's a joy to read - not least beause it taps so directly into the feeling of being enraptured by the world. The sense we have as children of the enormity of the world and the universe. It brought all that bubbling to the surface agsain for me, and it was a delight to feel it - though a bitter sweet delight as I realised how much that sense of the world has been eaten away.

But if you want to see the world through fresh eyes once again. Wipe the sleep and scales from your mind. I can heartily recommend this one. It may seem slight - but it won't disappoint you.

Likewise a new collection from Wordsworth of the Ghost Stories Of Oliver Onions.

If you don't know your Onions (sorry - couldn't resist!) you're in for a treat. He's one of the greatest British authors of ghost stories, that ever lived. Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood both sang his praises, and his abilities with character, mood and atmospher, put him right up there with the very best of M.R. James.

Best known for 'The Beckoning Fair One', this is 600+ pages of pure shivering delight.

Also out now is ELECTRIC EDEN...

...a fantastic tome that I'll try to write about another time - or just as likely rope in my fine friend, fellow scribbler and occasional volunteer instore (he makes sure I get the odd holiday) Jeremy Winship. Click HERE to get the basic details... expect more soon...

Children's Books & Dave McKean...

Dave McKean is one of the finest graphic artists working today. His remarkable work with Neil Gaiman on The Sandman, Mr. Punch and so on earned him a legion of admirers.

Recently he's been most visible in the UK doing children's book covers and illustration. And god, do we ever need him - check this one for David Almond's book THE SAVAGE...


Great, itsn't it? Full of emotion. Full of mystery. Beautiful, and slightly threatening at the same time.

Remember when children's book covers were dark, tantalising, spooky things that drew you in and made your wary of them at the same time? I do. Those covers were part of the texture of my childhood. Covers that graced the bookc of Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones and others... you can expect an ongoing thread to crop up on this blog about it, as I bemoan the current state of illustration and cover design.

But for now, let's take some solace from one of the good guys. The outstanding Mr. Dave McKean... he's just done a set of stamp designs, based on British Folklore and Legend, with tiny stories/descriptions by one of my favourite authors, Neil Gaiman.



Fantastic aren't they? They'd make you excited to receive some mail. But I can't help wondering what might happen when you give the things a lick...

Available at your local Post Office right now.