The Bookery

Robert Burns: Poetry, Songs and Values

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Robert Burns (1759-1796), a well-known Scottish poet and lyricist, has given us many much-loved texts: ‘Auld Lang Syne’, ‘A Red, Red Rose’ and ‘A Man’s A Man for A’ That’ to name but a few. Writing in both Scots and English, his poetry and songs are read and studied around the world. He became a Scottish cultural icon and an inspiration to the founders of liberalism and socialism. This Burns’ Night, we’ve gathered a few favourites from Rabbie Burns’ canon … Read more

Children’s Book of the Month: Jan 2019

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This year we’re introducing a Book of the Month at CCB! We plan to highlight some of our favourite titles and would love to hear your thoughts about the books, and any BOTM suggestions you have! January’s Book of the Month is a fantastic children’s story by Lucy Strange set during WWII – a tale loved by young and old! Lucy lives in a lighthouse with her family during the second world war. Her father has a key job as … Read more

Costa Book Awards 2018

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It’s that time again – the Costa Book Award 2018 category winners have been announced! There are five categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry, and Children’s Book. An overall winner across the categories will be chosen on January 29th. The Costa Book Awards, which have been running since 1971 to honour outstanding books written each year by authors based in the UK and Ireland. This year’s category winners are…

CCB’s 2018 Bestsellers!

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2018 was a wonderful year of books! As we step ahead into an exciting 2019, with lots of new plans, projects and people, we thought we’d take a look back at the Top 10 CCB bestsellers of last year… 10 | Gentleman in Moscow | Amor Towles Buy Now 9 | Becoming | Michelle Obama Buy Now 8 | This is Going to Hurt | Adam Kay Buy Now 7 | Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls | Elena Favilli  & Francesca Cavallo  Buy … Read more

Festive facts for Christmas!

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There are hundreds of Christmas stories, that have recorded traditions and started them. In preparation for Christmas, we thought we’d share a few literary Christmas facts about the stories we love and the people who wrote them: Christina Rossetti wrote the words to the Christmas carol ‘In the Bleak Midwinter.’ T. S. Eliot’s poem ‘Journey of the Magi’ was originally commissioned to be included in a Christmas card. In Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Tiny Tim was originally going to be … Read more

Crediton Local History Book Round Up

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We’ve put together a selection of local histories and perspectives perfect for shedding some light on Crediton’s story, and the surrounding area. Crediton Through the Ages is a perfect introduction to the town. Starting with Crediton’s 300 million year old Permian geology, Crediton Through the Ages works forward through early settlements, religious establishments, various industries, the Prayer Book Rebellion and Civil War, the fire, and institutions and individuals – all of which have contributed to the town’s unique character. Another … Read more

Review: Melmoth

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A wonderfully unsettling exploration of guilt and its insidious power to wreak people’s lives. Helen escapes her mundane life to work for a charity in the Phillipines. Unexpectedly, she falls in love but tragically, through “her own pride and cowardice”, betrays her lover and he is condemned to prison. Trying to flee her guilt, Helen exiles herself in Prague, denies all pleasures and eeks out a humble existence. She is befriended by Karel and Thea but their lives are thrown … Read more

Review: The Silence of the Girls

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The Silence of the Girls is an imaginative and ambitious re-telling of The Iliad. It takes a confident, not to say brave, author to base a novel on the greatest legend of Western culture, but Pat Barker has already created a highly regarded body of work and The Silence of the Girls will undoubtedly enhance her reputation. The story is narrated by Briseis, concubine and slave of Achilles, a minor character in the original text but at the centre of … Read more

Interview: LoveReading

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You may have heard of LoveReading, the online book recommendation website? This year LoveReading has announced exciting new projects and features to serve adult and child readers, and writers. We’ve been chatting to the staff at LoveReading about their story and their plans: What does LoveReading do?  LoveReading is on a mission. A mission to help engender a love of reading. We do that by curating a recommended reading list for our users, to encourage more people to get excited … Read more

Interview: Miriam Darlington

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Miriam Darlington was born in Lewes, Sussex, and now lives in Totnes with her two dogs, one cat, two children and one husband. She has tracked and studied wildlife for most of her life and is an avid bird-watcher, expert owl-finder, and top otter-spotter. She has a degree in Modern Languages, a PhD in Nature Writing, a certificate in Field Ecology and is a Nature Notebook columnist at The Times. Her first book, Otter Country, was published in 2012. She … Read more