Newsletter

“Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.” 
Jessamyn West

You’ll find plenty of truths in our Book of the Month THE SLAP, the controversial new novel by Christos Tsiolkas.
See the competition page to win a copy and read an interview with the author.

The other recommended titles this month are MICKA an affecting first novel by Frances Kay, the sparkling ELECTRICITY by Ray Robinson and SERENA by Ron Rash, a dramatic story set in the woods of North Carolina. Our guest review is THE EXTRA LARGE MEDIUM by Helen Slavin, provided by the Downs Book Group, Brighton.

Do you agree with our reviews? Would you like to have your say? Leave your comments at the bottom of any review - we’d love to hear them.

Can you Spot the Bookshop?
Congratulations to Russel Hide
the winner of August’s competition for spotting Labyrinth Bookshop in Glastonbury. A £10 National Book Tokens gift card is on its way.

The 30 winners of PRIVATE LIFE by Jane Smiley are: Wendy Moncaster, Nottingham; Jane Graham, Glasgow; Nathan Coombe, Torquay; Helen Gibson, Carrickfergus; Jean Garrett, Stafford; Sarah Bruch, Llanelli; Janet Devine, Holmfirth; Indra Wignall, Preston; Laren Gwilliam, Hereford; Janet Stirrup, Prescot; Claire Reavy, London; Anne-Marie Pusey, Peacehaven; Peter King, Colchester; Mel Back, Exeter; Geraldine Smith, Northampton; Catherine Radomski, Nottingham; Anne Plumb, Bar Hill; Jackie Mysko, Hitchin; Emma Richmond, Peterborough; Allan Fullarton, Washington; Joy Portas, Northampton; Claire Deakin, Market Drayton; Kate Fargher, Brighton; Maria Ellis, Welling; Juie Mayer, Oswestry; Claire Woods, Norwich; Wendy John, Leeds and Garry Fletcher, Rainham.
Many thanks to Faber and Faber, the publishers.

Welcome to all the new groups who have recently registered with us. Now is the time to request your FREE BOOKS! Just go to the offers page. This is for ALL registered groups (sorry, UK and Ireland groups only) not just new ones. If your group is not registered then just fill in the form. It’s a very simple process.
N.B. You only need to register once.
Does your bookgroup info need updating? Email us at info@bookgroup.info and we’ll amend your directory entry for you.

Read about our Bookgroup of the Month, the Penistone Library Readers Group, Barnsley.
Fill in the questionnaire if you’d like to be a BGoTM and win a £10 book gift card if you’re chosen.

This year’s Guildford Book Festival between 14 – 23 October promises an exciting and varied programme of events including readers day and a short story competition. It features many of Britain’s finest writers and personalities including writer and comedian Arthur Smith, BBC broadcaster Bill Turnbull, leading historian Dan Cruickshank, comedienne Jenny Éclair, actors Steven Berkoff and Ron Moody, designer and TV presenter Kevin McCloud and Katie Fforde and Adele Parks who will be doing a Literary Lunch. See the website for the full programme and booking information.

Get your tickets for The Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival - 19th 21st to September – they’re going fast!

Tickets are still available for the fourth Henley Literary Festival which takes place from September 29th to October 3rd.

Has your group tried poetry? A new reading group scheme based on the T S Eliot Prize, the UK’s top poetry award, will launch on 21 October,
when the Poetry Book Society will make three poems from each of the ten shortlisted poets (who will include Seamus Heaney and Simon Armitage) available on its website. It will also include reading group notes on the poems and group discounts on the books. There will be online voting and discussion and a prize draw for tickets for the T S Eliot Prize Readings in January. Find out how your reading group can take part at www.poetrybooks.co.uk/projects

We’ve teamed up with Large Print Bookshop, the UK's leading stockist of large print books. This is an invaluable resource for those looking to find out more about books for the visually impaired. Nearly all of the books listed on their site are printed in 16 point font size.

Catch the fascinating BBC4 series In Their Own Words: British Novelists a three-part series looking at the story of the British novel in the 20th century, told by the authors themselves. (Available on BBC iplayer).

The Biography Club is a new website focussing solely on biography. It features new book releases, news reports from the world of biographies, interviews, a forum, online seminars, advice pieces from authors, and more.

See the 10 books that have made it to Guardian First Book Award longlist.

The Man Booker 2010 shortlist is announced Christos Tsiolkas’s THE SLAP (our book of the month) and David Mitchell’s THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET, both much-tipped when they appeared on the longlist, have been overlooked, while Peter Carey goes for a hatrick with PARROT AND OLIVIER IN AMERICA.
Who would you nominate for the Not the Booker Prize 2010?

James Naughtie and readers talk to the Canadian writer Yann Martel about his novel LIFE OF PI, which won the 2002 Man Booker prize, on Radio 4 Bookclub on Sunday 5th September and Thursday 9th both at 4pm and on podcast and the i-player too.
Journalist Tim Butcher is talking about BLOOD RIVER his word-of-mouth best-seller an account of his journey in the steps of Stanley and other explorers on the Congo. If you’d like to be in the audience on Wednesday 20th October at the BBC studios in Central London, tickets are free and available from www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006s5sf

If you’re looking for an independent bookshop in your town our list could tell you if there’s one near you, or if you own or manage an independent bookshop we can list your shop free on the site. Your entry will appear on the town page of the regional directory and on the list of independent bookshops. Just complete the registration form or email us at info@bookgroup.info for more information.

If you enjoy Bookgroup Info and find it useful, please help support the site by buying books through us. If you click through from any link to Amazon from this site and buy books (or anything), Bookgroup Info gets a small percentage. It all helps to keep us going!

Please do remember to forward the newsletter to other members of your group so that they can take advantage of the offers and competitions.
Please email us at info@bookgroup.info if you wish to unsubscribe to the newsletter.

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