Issue 13 - October 2011 (PDF - Chipping Norton Times

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
on eBay before the ink was dry – but publishers have not
been adverse to maximising internet potential themselves:
whenever there was a lull in proceedings, Charley
Boorman happily signed extra copies that were earmarked
to be sold over the internet and by mail order as
collectibles. At a signing by Rita Marley (promoting her
book about her life and marriage to Bob Marley), two
rather-large security men prowled the line of expectant
fans, informing us that Rita would not (and that was a very
definite not) be signing anything other than copies of her
book. This rather upset the plans of about 90% of the
queue, judging by the number of album sleeves, tour
posters and flags in abundance and frankly seemed a tad
churlish, bearing in mind that she was surely only able to
get the book published due to having lived and sung with
one of the twentieth-century’s most important musicians.
I wonder what would have happened if the entire queue
had said "fair do" and gone down the pub instead. But of
course the large men won; I and most others, duly paid
£16-99 for the book, got it signed and kept our Wailers’ CD
booklets in our pockets.
So I guess we'll buy the books we want, for whatever
reasons we want and, if the mood takes us, put the cream
on the cake with an autograph. The price of a signature is
whatever we choose to pay and it is generally a genuine
pleasure to meet someone whose work you admire, be
they author or television personality.
I was ever-so-pleased when my wife bought tickets to
see Michael Palin reading extracts from the latest
instalment of his autobiography at the Oxford Playhouse. I
was even more-so-pleased to find out that our "special"
ticket included an hour in The Green Room, where we
would get to meet Michael; "we" turning out to be about
fifty souls who'd paid "upwards" of the normal price for
this privilege. Forty-nine normal people and one carrying a
Tesco's bag bulging with "Around The World..", "Pole To
Pole" et al and a Python book. My wife was not impressed.
"Will you put that bag down," she hissed repeatedly as we
loitered self-consciously near the bar, pretending not to
watch as Michael professionally "worked" the room.
When he finally made his way to our neck of the woods,
he was apologetic about how long he'd taken: "Sorry to
keep you waiting" he said, smiling and perhaps noticing
the large bag propped up on the bar. "Don't worry," I
replied, "I once waited forty-five minutes for Francesca
Simon...." Which is, I believe, where we came in.
36
Nicholas John
Nicholas John will be appearing at the Cheltenham
Literature Festval as part of the Gloucester Writers'
Network event on Tuesday 11 October 7.30pm.
(Event no. L182 Montpellier Gardens)
COTSWOLD BOOKSTORE
20 High Street, Moreton-in-Marsh
01608 652666 email: cotsbookstore@tiscali.co.u
NEWS
A big thank you to all those who attended our recent signings for
Panama Oxridge, Rebecca Tope and Phil Rickman. We’d love to
hear from you when you’ve read Thyme Running Out.
REVIEWS
Netherwood by Jane Sanderson Paperback at £6.99
This is a tale of two very different Yorkshire families a century
ago, one headed by a miner, the other by Lord Hoyland, the
mine owner. When young, beautiful, Eve Williams is widowed
and faces ruin she finds that her skills as a baker are her
salvation and that of her family and many of her friends. Though
Eve holds centre-stage with her friends and family, Lord Hoyland
and his are also star and both strands of the plot are told equally
well. There seems little to challenge Eve’s rise ever upward to
success and new love so this is a happy read which should not
have been my cup of tea . However, it was, and good, Yorkshire
tea at that. Perfect for Downton Abbey fans.
The Very Picture of you by Isabel Wolff
Paperback at £7.99
Though this is normally the sort of book I’d not pick up, when I
received it as a proof, I decided to give it a go. I’ll confess that I
quite enjoyed it. Young, very single, Ella is a portrait artist who
has painted many famous figures and can command a large fee.
However, it is a portrait requested by her sister that causes her
the biggest problem. The two main themes are this painting (the
portrait of her sister’s future husband) and the unexpected and
unwanted contact with her father who left the family when Ella
was still a child. Though the central love story was given away by
the blurb (don’t do that people!) and the truth about Ella’s
missing father was rather telegraphed it was the atmosphere of
the portrait sessions that made this book worth reading. The
painting sessions and the conversations between sitters and
artist seemed very real and I suspect that the author paints or
spent many hours observing an artist at work. A light, enjoyable,
if predictable romance.
This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel
Hardback at £12.99
It is eighteenth century Geneva and young Victor Frankenstein
feels himself unfavourably compared to his twin, Konrad.
However, when Konrad falls seriously ill, Victor embarks on a
dangerous journey through the dark arts to save him. With him
on his adventures come friend Henry and beautiful cousin
Elizabeth. Soon his passion to save his brother conflicts with his
growing love for Elizabeth for she and Konrad are betrothed.
Though I initially worried that it was following the ‘vampire trail’
(seeing like a wolf and hot breaths come into it) the author kept
to what he does best, that is, writing a great adventure yarn for
youngsters with the stirrings of young love included. A duology,
this and I look forward to part two.