Waterstones Blog

Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer is our Book Club book of the week... Rubbernecker tells the story of Patrick, a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome, whose father’s passing has led to an obsession with death. Now studying anatomy at university, Patrick sees something no-one else does while dissecting a body in class. And whilst he learns one truth from a dead man, he’s entirely unprepared for the lies closer to home. Told with Bauer’s trademark pitch-black humour, Rubbernecker took us all by the scruff and didn’t let go.   Read a sample of the book. You can Reserve & Collect Rubbernecker at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/1lOWsZp), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1cPapY2), or in ePub (http://bit.ly/1cP7n65)   The Book Club Podcast We think our Book Club selection are books not only worth reading, but worth talking about. Each week, we're bringing together a group of Waterstones Cardholders and our own booksellers to talk about our Book Club book of the week.       You can download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes.        

To kick off this year's first batch of Waterstones Book Club titles, we have Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project. Here's Graeme on writing the book and our Waterstones Cardholder reading group discussing it... I read a mixture of non-fiction and fiction. Probably half of my non-fiction reading is about writing in all its forms, from drama to songwriting. There’s always something new to learn or an idea that helps a problem I’m working on. Right now: The Cheeky Monkey by Tim Ferguson, who taught me comedy writing. My other non-fiction reading is very broad, with a good dose of science – I once wanted to be a theoretical physicist. Jared Diamond’s The Third Chimpanzee started me on a jag of reading about evolutionary psychology and provided material for The Rosie Project. My fiction reading is driven by my wife, a voracious reader who knows what I will like, and publishers who send me advance copies to review. And occasionally I choose a book myself, based on reviews and recommendations. I read an advance reader copy of Matthew Quick’s Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and enjoyed it so much I grabbed The Silver Linings Playbook. As a screenwriter-novelist, I’m always interested in the craft of adaptation – and this one is a really interesting case study, as well as a totally recommendable book. Writing has made me a critical reader: it’s hard to relax and just enjoy the story. Reading Ben Schrank’s Love is a Canoe (an advance copy for the Australian edition), I couldn’t help focusing on craft as he interwove his stories of past and present (I was reminded, just a little, of A.S. Byatt’s Possession). But in the end, content triumphed over form and I settled back and enjoyed an insightful take on relationships with a good dose of humor. 1. Do you have a reading ritual? I often read before I go to sleep – so there’s always a stack of partly read books by the bed. It’s a dangerous practice, because if a book pulls me in, I’m going to miss out on sleep. But I don’t have any rituals around reading itself. I just read. 2. Do you have a favourite time to read? I read when I can. That can be any time of day – and even at odd hours, since I get a lot of reading done on international flights where I’m trying to get myself into a different time zone. 3. Do you have favourite music to listen to while you read? Or do you like to read in silence? I’m a (late) baby-boomer, so I don’t spend my life plugged into music. I listen to music when I drive, but not when I’m reading or working. I guess I like to focus on one or the other. 4. Do you have special reading clothes? Are you kidding? People have special reading clothes? This is a bit like the questions I get asked about writing rituals, and the answer’s the same – I just do it, in whatever I’m wearing (note that I read in bed quite a bit…). When I was a database designer – in my previous life – no one ever asked if I had special database design clothes. But the work was just as hard and almost as creative. 5. Do you read every day? If you count the newspaper, email etc… But books – not every day, although most days before going to sleep I’ll read a chapter of something. It’s as close as I get to a ritual. 6. Do you Drink and Read? I said I read in bed… And I do drink… So the answer is a firm yes. “Do I read drunk?” is a different question, appropriately (if not accurately) answered by “I never drink to excess.” But in the hypothetical situation in which I drank too much, yes. 7. Do you read different books at different times? Novels when I’m travelling – which is quite a lot. Non-fiction at night. A few facts to go to sleep on… 8. How many books to you have going at the same time? I’m going to go upstairs and count the number by my bed. I’m back. 9. Plus one in my bag. About half and half fiction and non-fiction.  I may not finish them all, especially the Dylan biography. Read a sample of the book The Book Club Podcast

With the nights drawing in, the novelist William Boyd reads two poems taken from his selection of Ten Bedtime Poems... William Boyd took some time out of talking about James Bond to read for us from Ten Bedtime Poems, a selection of poetry for grown-ups which he has chosen for Candlestick Press. The collection includes an introduction by Boyd and comes with an envelope - making it the perfect alternative to a traditional greetings card for any literature lover.       You can Reserve & Collect Ten Bedtime Poems from your local Waterstones bookshop (bit.ly/18nvYxV), or buy it online at Waterstones.com (bit.ly/18nvY0B) Find more readings, interviews and discussions on our iTunes podcast.

In the first of a new podcast series, Rob Chilver and Kate Neilan discuss reinventions - from authors reinventing our favourite characters, to bringing back some of our family favourites... In this episode, Rob and Kate discuss William Boyd's new James Bond novel, Solo; Jeeves and the Wedding Bells, Sebastian Faulks homage to P.G. Woodhouse; Terry Pratchett's Dickensian Dodger; and a new Christmas classic, The Snowman and the Snowdog You can also download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes. Rob works as a senior bookseller at a university branch of Waterstones. He’s a big fan of crime and thrillers as well as American literature, which he studied at UEA and the University of Kent. His favourite books are vary from Carter Beats The Devil and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, to The Day of the Jackal. Kate is a Waterstones customer and secondary school teacher, who reads like her life depends on it. She’ll read almost anything, but particularly loves cold crime, good quality sci-fi and fantasy, as well as Young Adult fiction. She studied English Literature at Durham, where she wrote her dissertation on girls and women in Children’s Fiction.

Augustus by John Williams - of Stoner fame - is one of our two Book Club books of the week. Find out what our Book Club thought of this intriguing epistolary novel... This being the year of  Stoner we were intrigued to discover what else John Williams had written. He wrote only four novels, as well as several collections of poetry and numerous essays. All four are very different. As a bit of an I, Claudius fan I was intrigued to stumble across Augustus - a National Book Award winning novel, first published in 1972. As you may have gleaned from the title, the novel tells the story of the Emperor Augustus but does it by means of fictionalised letters and diary entries from real life characters of the period so we view the man throughs the thoughts of Virgil, Horace, Mark Anthony et al. Although on the surface a very different novel to Stoner it nevertheless shares significant similarities. Both essentially are the stories of two men coming to terms with their their own mortality, it’s just that in Stoner that man is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Missouri and in Augustus he is the leader of the Roman Empire. It’s an absolutely fascinating book and deservedly holds the accolade of the finest American historical novel every published.   The Book Club Podcast We think our Book Club selection are books not only worth reading, but worth talking about. Each week, we're bringing together a group of Waterstones Cardholders and our own booksellers to talk about our Book Club book of the week.   You can download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes.     You can Reserve & Collect Augustus at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/1amxK1Q), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1amxJek), or in ePub (http://bit.ly/1amxOi9)  

In a special episode of our Book Club podcast, Simon Garfield joined our reading group to discuss his book On The Map... On the Map is a title which we have loved since the hardback came out last year, selecting it as our Book of the Month for October 2012, and nominating it for our inaugural Book of the Year. From Egyptian philosophers and treasure islands, to Google Maps and Facebook – via crafty collectors and the Ordnance Survey – Garfield tells the story of the human endeavour to explore, record, and locate ourselves, creating a fascinating history of an ever-changing world and the individuals who have mapped it. Each chapter explores a different story in the history of cartography, interspersed with “pocket maps” on subjects such as London Underground maps and a death map of Soho, with map reproductions, photographs and illustrations throughout.  We think this is a brilliant addition to this Book Club selection, offering a thoroughly entertaining and accessible non-fiction choice of near universal appeal. Watch an interview with Simon Garfield about On The Map here   The Book Club Podcast We think our Book Club selection are books not only worth reading, but worth talking about. Each week, we're bringing together a group of Waterstones Cardholders and our own booksellers to talk about our Book Club book of the week. In this podcast, our book group got the chance to discuss On the Map with the book's author Simon Garfield - who also introduced his latest book, To The Letter. You can download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes.     Read about Simon Garfield's latest book To The Letter here in this exclusive post  You can Reserve & Collect On the Map at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/1bz1wwU), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1bz1y82), or in ePub (http://bit.ly/1bz1CEN)  

Dave Eggers' A Hologram for the King is one of our two Book Club books of the week. Here's what our Book Club thought of it... A Hologram for the King sees Dave Eggers delivering the novel of his career. Following one man’s last-ditch effort to stave off foreclosure, provide for his family and – finally – do something great, this is a book powerfully of the moment. Think Death of a Salesman in the Saudi desert…   The Book Club Podcast We think our Book Club selection are books not only worth reading, but worth talking about. Each week, we're bringing together a group of Waterstones Cardholders and our own booksellers to talk about our Book Club book of the week.   You can download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes.     You can Reserve & Collect A Hologram for the King at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/1eJeDhu), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1eJeAlM), or in ePub (http://bit.ly/1eJeESN)

One of our two Book Club books of the week this week is Vikas Swarup's The Accidental Apprentice. Listen to our podcast to find out what our own book club thought of it... From Vikas Swarup, the author of Q&A, the novel which became Danny Boyle's multi-award winning Slumdog Millionaire, comes The Accidental Apprentice. An extraordinary novel, The Accidental Apprentice which once again gets to the heart of contemporary India's problems - corruption, child labour, and forced marriage, to name but a few - while leaving the reader feeling strangely elevated.   The Book Club Podcast We think our Book Club selection are books not only worth reading, but worth talking about. Each week, we're bringing together a group of Waterstones Cardholders and our own booksellers to talk about our Book Club book of the week.   You can download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes.     You can Reserve & Collect The Accidental Apprentice at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/1bVmXsW), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1bVmV46), or in ePub (http://bit.ly/1bVn087)

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis is one of our two Book Club books of the week. Find out what our reading group made of it in our podcast... Set against the background of the Great Migration, in which six million black Americans headed north over a period of six decades to escape the iniquities of Jim Crow, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis tells in turn the stories of one woman, her eleven children, and one grandchild – the twelve tribes of the title. A startlingly accomplished novel which will leave you feeling both stimulated and moved. The perfect book club book, in short. Read a sample of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie Read our interview with Ayana Mathis from last year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival   The Book Club Podcast We think our Book Club selection are books not only worth reading, but worth talking about. Each week, we're bringing together a group of Waterstones Cardholders and our own booksellers to talk about our Book Club book of the week.   You can download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes.     You can Reserve & Collect The Twelve Tribes of Hattie at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/H1ma07), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/19MNsx2), or in ePub (http://bit.ly/19MNrcq)

A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee is one of our two Book Club books of the week. Find out what our reading group made of it in our podcast... A Thousand Pardons is a superbly well-written, sharply observed page-turner about our need for reinvention. Ben is sleepwalking to disaster and, when his recklessness puts him under the spotlight, his family starts to unravel. Dee writes about scandal with grace, clarity and wit.   The Book Club Podcast We think our Book Club selection are books not only worth reading, but worth talking about. Each week, we're bringing together a group of Waterstones Cardholders and our own booksellers to talk about our Book Club book of the week.   You can download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes.     You can Reserve & Collect A Thousand Pardons at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/H1n5xs), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/H1n9gL), or in ePub (http://bit.ly/H1nct1)

Jennifer Saunders spoke to us about her biography Bonkers and a life of cumulative luck...She told us how she was inspired to write Bonkers having read Clare Balding's autobiography, how she battled her talent for procrastination to get her life on the page, and also confessed that she loves a good murder. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpfyNnSwhUo&feature=youtu.be You can Reserve & Collect Bonkers from your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/162ZZl4), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1bopkIC), or download the ePub edition (http://bit.ly/16302xc)   For more information about the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and to buy tickets, click here (http://bit.ly/GD2KgS)

Historian Jerry Brotton spoke to us ahead of his event at the Cheltenham Literature Festival about the subjectivity of maps... Brotton's book A History of the World in Twelve Maps looks at the real reasons maps have been made throughout the centuries - from the earliest stone tablets, right through to state of the art digital techniques. He also told us about his ongoing work with Adam Lowe - creating a physical 3D map of the earth... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roG3gSZitsg&feature=youtu.be You can Reserve & Collect A History of the World in Twelve Maps from your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/GzH3y4), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/15IboBe) or download it in ePub format (http://bit.ly/1bpELwL) For more information about the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and to buy tickets, click here (http://bit.ly/GD2KgS)

Writer, broadcaster and rare book dealer Rick Gekoski spoke to us about our fascination for the absent and the paradigm shift of the digital era... Lost, Stolen or Shredded started life as a Radio 4 series of the same name, but Gekoski explained to us how he came to expand it into a book - packed with quite personal stories like his longing for James Joyce's lost poem Et tu, Healy? - as well as the fascinating tale of the robbery which made the Mona Lisa a star attraction - even when it wasn't there... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zq_qiR0y10&feature=youtu.be You can Reserve & Collect Lost, Stolen or Shredded from your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/19SvGJA), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1aHlLsD) or download it in ePub format (http://bit.ly/19eqpAN)

Renowned novelist and former Children's Laureate Anne Fine spoke to us about her latest book Blood Family... She also told us why she chooses to write novels which are firmly grounded in reality, discussed some of her proudest achievements from her time as Children's Laureate, and gave us the title of her next Killer Cat book. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQmlhQgHhi4&feature=youtu.be You can Reserve & Collect Blood Family from your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/GzHd8P), buy it online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/19jVlK7) or download it in ePub format (http://bit.ly/19evVDM)

M.J. Carter discussed her debut novel The Strangler Vine with us this afternoon... She told us what drew her to the world of the East India Company of the 1830s, how it feels to finally get her characters onto the page, and why making things up is more fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiPQ5IlWtXY&feature=youtu.be The Strangler Vine is set to be published on 30th January 2014. You can pre-order it your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/Yu5LpV), or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1fWdpB3) For more information about the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and to buy tickets, click here (http://bit.ly/GD2KgS)