Blog

Review: The Wide, Wide Sea

21 Jul 2021

  The Wide, Wide Sea, written by Anna Wilson and illustrated by Jenny Løvlie,  is published by Nosy Crow in collaboration with the National Trust and will make a valuable addition to any bookshelf, school library or topic box. This lyrical text explores two days in the life of a little girl enjoying the excitement of sharing the delights of … Read more

Review: The Book Of Trespass

16 Jul 2021

  Nick Hayes’ The Book Of Trespass shocks, challenges and informs our understanding and acceptance of land ownership and the law in England.  William the Conqueror began the process of exclusion, defining the royal forests as spaces from which commoners were barred then parcelling up huge areas to gift to his barons who assumed ownership and exclusive power over use … Read more

The 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist

12 Jul 2021

The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best sci-fi novel published during the previous year. Since celebrated author Arthur C. Clarke gave a grant to establish the award in 1987, notable past winners have included Margaret Atwood, China Miéville, Colson Whitehead and Emily St. John Mandel. Always interesting and diverse, the shortlist serves as an … Read more

Review: Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City

08 Jul 2021

  Rob Biddulph is an award-winning author and illustrator of picture books, but this is his first published novel and we can easily see it garnering more awards for him! Peanut Jones is miserable because her beloved artist father has gone missing but whilst looking through the collection of illustrated post-its he drew for her, she discovers a secret compartment … Read more

Books Make Good Companions

03 Jul 2021

As a social enterprise, The Bookery actively seeks to help people within our community. Many of our projects focus on health and wellbeing including reading to residents in care homes and dementia cafes, promoting national campaigns about books on health, community engagement activities and supporting individuals through employment and volunteering activities. Loneliness is seen by many as one of the … Read more

Football Books To Take Extra Time Over

29 Jun 2021

With the country once more in the grips of football fever thanks to the Euros, now is the perfect time to seek out some of the more interesting and possible overlooked books which show the economic, social and psychological angles of our most beloved national sport.   Africa United: How Football Explains Africa by Steve Bloomfield Travelling to twelve countries … Read more

Review: Lost Children Archive

25 Jun 2021

  A thrillingly ambitious novel that spotlights the cruelties and injustices of child migration from Central America to the USA. Telling the stories of one family’s road trip to the deserts of Arizona to find the homeland and memorials of the last free Apaches and the desperate train journey taken by some ‘illegal’ child migrants, Luiselli creates compelling drama and … Read more

Review: Skyborn

17 Jun 2021

  Past mysteries and present crises collide in a whirlwind adventure that explores family, friendship, and standing up for what you believe in. The Quinn Family Circus is in need of a new headline act. Ever since Bastjan’s mother died in a terrible aerobatic accident, ticket sales have been declining. Now, in desperation, the ruthless ringmaster is looking to Bastjan … Read more

Review: Crazy

17 Jun 2021

  Jane, somewhere around a mid-point in life, finds herself at a moment of reckoning. A creative writing tutor, she suffers from both an unsteady sense of conviction in her task and acute, shifting physical pains that strike at unpredictable moments. Reflecting on the formative relationships in her life, she recalls the conflicts and currents of childhood and family life … Read more