Musings
A collection of stories, thoughts and news
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| MusingsWhat Am I Doing Here
What on earth am I doing up here? Autumn 2024 You may not know who I am – I’m a part time Red Lion bookseller. I’m the one who rambles on about children’s books and often recommends contemporary fiction, as well as nature writing, a bit of high fantasy and occasionally, historical fiction. Right now
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Here Comes The Fun
We were delighted to welcome Ben Aitken to the woods this summer for our Words In The Woods day festival. Ben is bestselling author of Here Comes The Fun: A Journey into the Serious Business of Having a Laugh (Icon, July 2024). Perhaps you have read The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of
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How Small Changes Can Make A Big Difference to Teachers
Blog post by author Michelle Auton In teaching there is always so much to do, so why do we want to be worrying about wellbeing as well? With over a fifth of teachers leaving the profession in the first two few years of their career and stress and workload being cited as the main reasons
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You will find kindness in the corners of a bookshop
You will possibly find dust in those corners as well but that’s a different blog. There are many ways to purchase a book. Some people don’t feel the safety or the conviviality of a bookshop is for them. They may prefer the anonymity of clicking a button and that’s okay. There are different tribes of
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| Musings
Espionage, betrayal, scandal, corruption and murder. An author event about true events
Behind one of the greatest tragedies in UK policing history lies an incredible political scandal which has been likened to that of the Post Office scandal. The audio link above is a small excerpt from an interview with Colne Radio when Matthew Young recently interviewed the authors of No Ordinary Day who are coming
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| Musings
Article from The Big Issue, 2024 Indie bookshops survive closure
Article for The Big Issue 2024 INDEPENDENT BOOKSHOPS SURVIVE CLOSURE We were asked to comment for the recent article published in The Big Issue. Please read here https://www.bigissue.com/culture/books/independent-bookshops-closure-survive-ba/
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| Musings
Deaths, Disasters & Destinies, Anglo-Norman History in Twelve Lives
By Val Morgan, author, 2024 Being asked to write a blog piece about my new book by Red Lion is a real pleasure for me as Red Lion Books is a great supporter of local writers and their work. I was delighted when I knew my book would be displayed in the medieval history section
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Taking Inspiration from Real Life Stories by Liz Trenow
Taking inspiration from real life stories By Liz Trenow, 2024, Colchester based best-selling author of The Secret Sister, The Last Telegram, The Forgotten Seamstress, The Silk Weaver, Searching for My Daughter and five other novels. When searching for inspiration for my novels the most important thing is that I feel passionate about the subject. I’m
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| Musings
A diamond has been hiding in plain sight
By Anna Johnson, 2024 Unraveller – Frances Hardinge A diamond has been hiding in plain sight on the shelves of the Red Lion bookshop and I must sheepishly admit that I was late in noticing it. I’ve just emerged from the world of Unraveller, and it was enthrallingly imagined, intricately plotted and heart wrenchingly humane.
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In the age of beautiful copies, giveaways, and freebies, are our reviews still honest?
By Regina Lopez Puerta For the past couple of years, I’ve been swinging between the world of bookselling and the world of book influencing. They often collide, but surprisingly, they also divert. In a way, a bookseller has to be a book influencer as well. We’re often invited to events, get free copies
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This is your shop
We received the following message from a young customer who was recently won the ‘Top Young Reporter of the Year’ award. Congratulations Rosie It’s Rosie, I’m not sure if you remember me but wrote an article about the shop last Autumn. I was lucky enough to win Top Young Reporter of the Year and also received
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Rivers, Bodies, Stars with award winning poets
We are thrilled to have an event scheduled with award winning poets, Rebecca Goss, Emily Hasler and Joanna Ingham Amongst other accolades, Rebecca is the winner of the Sylvia Plath award 2022, Joanna won second place in the BBC Wildlife Poet Competition and Emily received an Eric Gregory Award. Their new work is strongly focussed
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Hunger Games comeback – is this the Dystopian Renaissance?
By Regina Lopez Puerta When I opened my phone yesterday, I felt I was transported all the way back to 2013. Suddenly, I was back in my childhood bedroom, a mockingjay pin on my jacket, Katniss posters all over my wall, scrolling through billions of fan theories about this fascinating world; and it was all
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Anna reviews This Family by Kate Sawyer
This Family by Kate Sawyer It’s a new beginning. She should be happy. And she is. She is. But where there are beginnings, there are always endings too.’ I enjoyed Kate Sawyer’s first novel The Stranding, a powerful reimagining of the end of the world but I loved her most recent novel, This
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Local poet, Ricci Read, preaches
Being a poet is a lifestyle. It is a commitment to being your rebellious, authentic self. I preach that poetry shouldn’t follow any rules! I hope to inspire others to find and use their voice to tell their own stories. Of course, it can be fun to write a haiku or a sonnet. It can
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Daisy Jones & The Six: It Could’ve Been Great
For a book whose central conflict lies around being good vs being great, that emphasises the need to make history with one’s art, the new series falls short of that. Don’t get me wrong, the screen adaptation is perfectly good, and that is exactly why it fails. Because it could’ve been great. I did
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When authors recommend other authors
Blog note: Author Kate Worsley has kindly provided Red Lion Books with a list of books that inspired her latest novel ‘Foxash‘, from ‘Fenwomen‘, a feminist Akenfield, to ‘Love on the Dole”s 1930s Salford. Foxash is published on 27th April and will be launched in Manningtree that evening. Book here FOXASH Kate’s recommended
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To read or not to read?
Blog note: Author Regina Lopez Puerta’s first language is Spanish, not English. This is why we have retained the American spelling of realised Incidentally, Regina will be hosting Spanish classes at Red Lion Books. Please email us@redlionbooks.co.uk for more information. There’s a piece of advice my Dad gave me when I was little
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A new book club on the block (Jo interviewing Louise & Regina about YA titles)
Hello Louise. Hello Regina , this is going to be fun, interviewing my lovely colleagues. How are you both today? Regina: Hi Jo! It’s great to talk to you, we’re very excited to share great news with our customers. Louise: I’m great today, Jo and super excited to be doing this interview Could
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Guest blog from regular customer Chris Coates
“I asked the doctor to take my fingers off; he refused, so I pulled them off myself and felt absolutely no pain in doing it”. I suppose it’s inevitable that as a middle-aged man I’ve started reading military history, but I’ll say this for Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Paul Ghislain Carton de Wiart’s Happy Odyssey: