
The great thing about Twitter (other than the endless fake accounts) is how closely it can connect us with the people we have long admired. This is particularly pertinent when it comes to authors, who are generally considered an elusive bunch of people. Yet some of the world’s most famous writers are ardent fans of [...]
So what does May have to offer booklovers? May sees the release of several new books from literary heavy hitters, so if you like your prose mind-bending and your characters conflicted, it’s a good month for you. There’s new work from American legend Toni Morrison, plus John Irving, Irvine Welsh and Hilary Mantel, who has [...]
Do you consider yourself dedicated to the written word? You may need to think again after perusing The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide. After seeing this book I’ve become obsessed with the concept of literary tattoos. You may have been to the book signings, whinged over the casting for the movie version [...]
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching! To celebrate the pink decorations, second-rate flowers and declarations of love that are February 14th, The Nile has five tales of classic romance to give away to one lucky winner. These editions are part of the wonderful new range of Vintage Classics available from Random House, with beautifully reworked covers. [...]
A book cover can cause as much consternation and argument as the story contained inside it. For every person that falls in love with cover art, there’s another who thinks the very same design resembles something recently regurgitated by a bird. New editions of old favourites seem to cause the most discontent. Every new edition [...]
Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale Gwen Cooper Year: 2010 Pages: 320 I’ve said it before but it bears repeating; I am a total sucker for a good animal story – and they don’t come much more enchanting and endearing than Homer’s. Found on a construction site at just a few weeks of age, the [...]
Recently The Nile launched its Movies and Music departments, so Jordan and I thought a post about our favourite book to film adaptations might be in order. The adaptation is a tricky undertaking for filmmakers; on the one hand you’ve got a legion of loyal book fans desperate to see their beloved story told on [...]
I know it’s hard to believe, but it won’t be long until we wake up to that magical day of champagne, far too much food and far too much family. Not to leave out gift exchanging of course, a pastime I will never be sick of. This year my goal is to buy my loved [...]
The Queen of Palmyra Minrose Gwin Year: 2010 Pages: 416 Millbrook is a small, fiercely segregated Mississippi town that Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words could have been written about; in the summer of 1963 it swelters with the heat of injustice and oppression. Eleven year old Florence Forrest doesn’t know it, but she is [...]
We’ve heard about the end of literature countless times. New mediums of entertainment come along, a warning bell is rung somewhere and everybody throws up their skirts and runs around yelling ‘the book is dead!’ Recently, talk about the Armageddon on literature has gotten a little more specific. An article in the New Yorker has [...]