BOOKMARK News Items

The nights are drawing in, and the fire-side armchair is calling. That can only mean one thing – more reading time! To get us in the mood for the BOOKMARK event in Perth on 26th September, we have The Winds From Further West by Alexander McCall Smith and, if, like me, you’re also a fan of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective series, you might like to know that From A Far And Lovely Country is now out in paperback: these are gentle stories of intrigue, with a much-loved core cast, and are very true to their Botswana setting (ISBN: 9780349145945, paperback, Little, Brown Book, 2024).

One that will be going on my (rather large) reading pile when it arrives mid-month is The Glassmaker by Tracey Chevalier. Chevalier is famous for her book The Girl With The Pearl Earring, but I also loved At The Edge Of The Orchard (ISBN: 9780007350407, paperback, The Borough Press, 2017), which takes us from east coast to west coast America, from harshness to fraught hope. A good read, that’s stuck with me.

While taking a look at The Glassmaker, I saw Tracy Chevalier had reviewed and recommended a new debut novel, The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Intrigue continues with two new murder mysteries.  First is a new story from Bella Mackie, What a Way to Go  and next up is a new outing for Jackson Brodie in Kate Atkinson’s Death At The Sign Of The Rook.  Also new out is Pat Barker’s The Voyage Home, and finally, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell - it’s been out a while, but in case you missed it, it hits all the buttons for Japanophiles.

I hope you enjoy these recommendations; let me know if you have other recommendations to share.

Kate
BOOKMARK member

PS: The Adventure into Books Book Blether group meets at 7pm on the first Wednesday of each month. On 4th September we will be blethering about The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson. Should be a lively discussion, and I can’t wait to hear from Laura at the BOOKMARK Festival in October. What a treat! All are welcome to the Book Blether group.

PPS: On 13th September, Adventure into Books is hosting an evening with poet Jim Macintosh, talking about his new collection We Are Migrant. The event will be held at St Catharine’s Community Centre, Blairgowrie. Please get in touch with the bookshop if you would like to reserve a ticket.

For full synopsis of the above titles, please click here