Treated like Herons – 4 February 2023

I write with book and event news and a general warm feeling at the arrival of February. If you can tear yourself away from the Six Nations, and I appreciate that’s a difficult thing to do for some of us, there are some rather wonderful things to enjoy.

Author event – Treated Like Animals by Alick Simmons
We are really excited to welcome Alick Simmons to the shop to speak about his book Treated Like Animals. Alick will be joining us at 5pm on Saturday 18th February to give a talk on the book and I think we can persuade him to sign copies for you too. 
Alick’s book looks at why there is a hierarchy in how we treat different animals and asks how we can improve the lives of all animals. Alick is a veterinarian and naturalist; this is his first book and comes with endorsements from Chris Packham, Stephen Moss and many others.
This is such an important and timely topic and particularly on my mind after seeing the incredible Old Vic adaptation of Olga Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of The Dead.
We look forward to seeing lots of you on 18th February. Entrance is free but do email if you plan to come along. Pets welcome if they wish to join in the debate…

Book groups are filling up quickly so sign up now for the fiction and/or the non-fiction groups for February. A huge thanks to those who came to the January groups; we had some brilliant discussions and so enjoyed meeting lots of new people.

New Books – trying to choose which of the many excellent new titles to mention in each newsletter, to the inevitable exclusion of others, is really tricky. So do follow us on Instagram where I try to post something about every new title that comes in.

Here’s an amuse-bouche to whet your appetite.

Fiction

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
I loved her debut, Stay With Me, a funny and heart-wrenching novel about childlessness and expectations of women in Nigeria, so I am really excited to read this. A Spell of Good Things is a novel about the economic divide in Nigeria about family secrets, gender roles, corruption and fraud – huge topics explored through two main characters caught up in tragic events.

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Open this book of an afternoon and after reading the opening sentences you’ll be cancelling all future plans for the day. “Before I look down, I know it’s there. The crow’s head I was clutching in my dream is now in bed with me.” Probably keep the lights on if you’re alone…

Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera
Herrera’s first short story collection has been described as science fiction, noir and philosophical fiction à la Borges and Calvino. Basically it’s bonkers, inventive and great fun.

Poetry

An Amorous Discourse in the Suburbs of Hell by Deborah Levy
A love song between an angel and an accountant; a slapstick comedy and a work of art.

Haruko/Love Poems by June Jordan
Admittedly this is a new edition of poems originally published in 1994 but I had to mention it here for we need love and revolution.

Non-fiction

Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt
This has just been Radio 4’s Book of the Week and I was hooked on this story about the women who built the CIA and yet couldn’t get a pay rise…

Red Memory by Tania Branigan
Fifty years on from the cultural revolution, a scar still runs deep in Chinese society and yet stories are repressed and rewritten. Branigan explores what this haunting absence and national amnesia does to individuals.

Children’s

We are thrilled that there is a new Marv story to add to the marvellous series by Alex Falase-Koya, illustrated by Paula Bowles. Marv and the Blizzard Zone follows superhero Marv as he takes on a supervillain who is attacking ice skaters at the local rink by freezing them solid.

From ice to rain: my favourite new picture book is Lizzy and the Cloud by Terry and Eric Fan. And not only because the main character and I share a name, an anorak and a hair style. Though that’s a big help. While on a family walk, Lizzy chooses her favourite cloud from the Cloud Seller. She cares for him diligently, watering regularly. The illustrations are stunning and the story so sweet and poignant.

We look forward to seeing you in the shop in February.