Waterstones Blog

This week's Book Club book of the week is Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure by Artemis Cooper   A war hero whose exploits in Crete are legendary, and probably the greatest travel writer of our times, Patrick Leigh Fermor was a self-educated polymath, a lover of Greece and the best company in the world. This beautifully crafted biography, which was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year 2012, portrays a man of many gifts.   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. Discussing Patrick Leigh Fermor, by Artemis Cooper are Jasmin, Meg, Elinor, Jane, Victoria, Robyn, Anja, Mary, Florentyna, Sean, Helena, Ann and Dan. Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog Read a sample of Patrick Leigh Fermor   You can buy Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/15JH2yC) To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple   Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her husband, a Microsoft wunderkind, she’s hilarious, volatile, talented & troubled. To fellow mothers at the school gate, she’s a menace. To design experts, she’s a revolutionary architect. And to Bee, she is a best friend and, quite simply, mum. Then Bernadette disappears. This funny and hugely inventive story was nominated for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction.   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. Discussing Where’d You Go, Bernadette are Jasmin, Meg, Elinor, Jane, Victoria, Robyn, Anja, Mary, Florentyna, Helena, Ann, and Dan. Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog   You can buy Where’d You Go, Bernadette at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/14toELs) To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

The first Book Club book of the week for our summer selection is Seating Arrangements, by Maggie Shipstead Winn Van Meter, father-of-the-bride, has spent his life following the rules of the east coast upper crust, but now, just shy of his sixtieth birthday, he must finally confront his failings, his desires, and his own humanity. He also has a wedding speech to write... This hilarious debut novel by Maggie Shipstead won her last year’s Dylan Thomas Prize.   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. Discussing Seating Arrangements are Jasmin, Meg, Elinor, Jane, Victoria, Robyn, Anja, Gabriel, Florentyna, Helena, Ann, and Dan. Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog   You can buy Seating Arrangements at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1cUnUR2) To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is Heft by Liz Moore... In Liz Moore's Heft, the 550 pound former academic Arthur Opp leads a solitary existence in his Brooklyn home, where upstairs is a forgotten country. In Yonkers, twenty miles away from Arthur, teenager Kel Keller strives to succeed whilst simultaneously dealing with the considerable stresses of his home-life. His mother, Charlene, is an ex-pupil of Arthur's, and it is an unexpected phone call from her which upturns both Kel and Arthur's lives in ways they would never have expected... 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. Discussing Heft are Sarah, Jasmin, Meg, Elinor, Jane, Victoria, Robyn, Anja, Gabriel, Florentyna, Helena, Ann, Meg, Dan and Waterstones Retail Director Rik McShane. Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog Read a sample of Heft. You can buy Heft at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1cmjhPm) To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is Talking To The Dead by Harry Bingham... Cambridge graduate turned South Wales detective DC Fiona Griffiths sees her faced with solving a gruesome double murder - a woman and her six-year-old daughter killed with chilling brutality in a dingy flat. The only clue: the platinum bank card of a long-dead tycoon, found amidst the squalor. And Fiona herself proves to be no less of a mystery as she is inexorably back into those dark places in her own mind where another dead girl is waiting to be found...   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. Discussing Talking To The Dead are Sarah, Jasmin, Meg, Elinor, Jane, Victoria, Robyn, Anja, Gabriel, Florentyna, Helena, Ann, Meg, Dan and Waterstones Retail Director Rik McShane.       Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog Read a sample of Talking To The Dead... You can buy Talking To The Dead at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/12UT6AU) To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is Burying The Typewriter by Carmen Bugan, and we have an exclusive interview with Carmen, as well as our weekly Book Club podcast for you to enjoy... "This story starts roughly in the 1970s, a few years after I was born, about the time when I began to have memories and my father’s codename was already long established as “Andronic”, a name we learned about only last summer . . ." http://youtu.be/bS4-sXrVgto At 2 a.m. on 10 March 1983, Carmen Bugan’s father left the family home, alone. That afternoon, Carmen returned from school to find secret police in her living room. Her father’s protest against the regime had changed her life for ever. In Burying The Typewriter, Bugan tells the story of her "third life" as recorded in the secret files of the state police with in a poignant and poetic style which will enthrall, charm and unsettle in equal measure.   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. Discussing Burying The Typewriter are Sarah, Jasmin, Meg and Dan.     Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog You can buy Burying The Typewriter at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/1bvixqM) To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.      

This week's Book Club book of the week is Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike by William Fotheringham. Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pele to football: quite simply, the best there has ever been. Although specialists have surpassed his victory tally in some races, Merckx’s overall record in cycling is unlikely ever to be equaled. His dominance and victory rate – over 50 races a year for four years – make him unique not merely on two wheels but in any sport. Often viewed as a robotic winning machine, in actual fact Merckx was a curiously fragile figure in spite of his overwhelming drive to win: he was fuelled by insecurity, frequently complained of injury, had a unique sense of duty to his sport and profession, and eventually cut his career short simply due to pushing himself too hard. This is the first time the life story of the Cannibal has been told full-length in English, and it aims to paint a definitive picture of the greatest cyclist of all time. 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. Discussing Merckx are Sarah, Jasmin, Justin, Jon, Meg and Dan.     Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog You can buy Merckx at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/11t9cyf) To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is The House Of Rumour by Jake Arnott. Jake Arnott's latest novel, The House Of Rumour, takes the Tarot card deck as the structure for a novel filled with breathtaking flights of fancy... Larry Zagorski – a young Californian writer of pulp fiction - a British intelligence agent, the occultist Aleister Crowley, Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess, a transsexual prostitute and Ian Fleming... What connects them? The answer lies in 1941... But when Larry looks back on that year, he finds it hard to separate fact from fiction... Spies, religion, SF writers, cult leaders, rocket scientists, astronauts, UFO spotters, magicians, astrologists, film makers, rock stars, artists, actors, adulterers and unrequited lovers, all woven into a web where truth and illusion meet.   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. Discussing The House Of Rumour are Sarah, Jasmin, Elinor, Meg and Dan.     Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog   You can buy The House Of Rumour at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/10OH9L0)   To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes. A.M Homes' latest novel, May We Be Forgiven, recently shortlisted for the Women's (née Orange) Prize for Fiction, is a darkly comic exploration of modern family life. Harry's life is thrown into turmoil in a matter of a few pages when his high-flying brother suddenly appears to lose control. Thrust into an entirely new and unfamiliar role, that of the calm centre of a family in free-fall, Harry is forced to find a balance between his own happiness and theirs... 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. Discussing May We Be Forgiven are Sarah, Jasmine, Elinor, Meg and Dan.   You can download and read a free sample of May We Be Forgiven by clicking here.   Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog   You can buy May We Be Forgiven at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/12UUayf)   To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is Walking Home by Simon Armitage. In 2010, the poet Simon Armitage decided to walk the Pennine Way backwards. Not facing the wrong way, but rather from north to south as opposed to the more conventional south to north route, toward his childhood home. Not only that, he resolved to travel as a "modern troubadour" earning his keep by giving poetry readings and relying on the kindness of strangers. Walking Home is the story of one man's attempt to stay warm, stay optimistic, and stay the course. It's a wonderfully witty and often touching exploration of the beauty of the north of England, the generosity of its people - and why there's no need for waterproof jackets when you have a bin bag with arm and head holes cut into it.   You can read an interview with Simon about his trip 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. You can download the discussion as a podcast via iTunes Discussing Walking Home are Victoria, Robyn, Anja, Florentyna, Helena, Ann, Meg and Dan.       You can download and read a free sample of Walking Home by clicking here.   Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog   You can buy Walking Home at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/103r3YJ)   To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

Sam Byers' debut novel Idiopathy is our Waterstones eleven choice for May. In our exclusive interview he tells us a little about the book and why he was pleased to leave his twenties behind...  Katherine has given up trying to be happy. Thirty, stuck in a town and a job she hates, her mounting cynicism and vicious wit repel the people she wants to attract, and attract the people she knows she should repel. Her ex Daniel, meanwhile, isn’t sure that he loves his new girlfriend Angelica. But somehow not telling her he loves her has become synonymous with telling her that he doesn’t love her, meaning that he has to tell her he loves her just to maintain the status quo. When their former friend Nathan returns from a stint in a psychiatric ward – to find that his mother has transformed herself into bestselling author and Twitter superstar "Mother Courage" – Katherine, Daniel and Nathan decide to meet to heal old wounds and reaffirm their friendship. But will a reunion end well? Almost certainly not.   http://youtu.be/irgq5gEhLgw   Read an exclusive extract from Idiopathy here.  Find out more about our Waterstones eleven authors.   Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog You can buy Idiopathy at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/10pWvPG)    

This week's Book Club book of the week is The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain. Dining alone in an elegant Parisian brasserie, accountant Daniel Mercier can hardly believe his eyes when President François Mitterrand sits down to eat at the table next to him. Daniel's thrill at being in such close proximity to the most powerful man in the land persists even after the presidential party has gone, which is when he discovers that Mitterrand's black felt hat has been left behind. After a few moments' soul-searching, Daniel decides to keep the hat as a souvenir of an extraordinary evening. It's a perfect fit, and as he leaves the restaurant Daniel begins to feel somehow ... different.   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   This week, discussing The President's Hat are Victoria, Robyn, Anja, Helena, Ann, Meg and Dan.       You can download and read a free sample of The President's Hat by clicking here.   Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog   You can buy The President's Hat at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/ZMwtY5)   To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is Ancient Light by John Banville Alexander Cleave, an actor who thinks his best days are behind him, remembers his first unlikely affair as a teenage boy in a small town in 1950s Ireland: the illicit meetings in a rundown cottage outside town; assignations in the back of his lover's car on sunny mornings and rain-soaked afternoons. And with these early memories comes something sharper and much darker - the more recent recollection of the actor's own daughter's suicide ten years before. 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   This week, discussing Ancient Light are Jane, Jasmin, Shihara and Dan.       You can download and read a free sample of Ancient Light by clicking here.   Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog   You can buy Ancient Light at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/12oS7FG)   To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.    

This week's Book Club book of the week is Dear Lupin by Roger Mortimer & Charlie Mortimer, a collection of letters from a father to his wayward son...     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 Dear Lupin gathers in one volume the correspondence of Roger Mortimer to his only son, Charles, spanning over 20 years. Roger's letters to Charles are never lacking in humour (whether intentionally or not) and always packed with generous advice, which his son consistently ignores. The letters are a glimpse into a flawed relationship between two flawed men which is as full of pathos as it is comedy. This week, discussing Dear Lupin are Jane, Jasmin, Shihara and Dan.         You can download and read a free sample of Dear Lupin by clicking here.   Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog   You can buy Dear Lupin at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/XrKsVx)   To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.  

This week's Book Club book of the week is The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger, a tale of cross-continental internet marriage... Amina Mazid is twenty-four when she leaves Bangladesh for Rochester, New York, and for George Stillman, the husband who met and wooed her online. It's a twenty-first-century romance that echoes ancient traditions - the arranged marriages of her home country. And though George falls for Amina because she doesn't 'play games', they will both hide a secret, and vital, part of their lives from each other. 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 Discussing the novel and the issues raised by it are Anja, Victoria, Florentyna, Meg, and Dan.     Click here to download and read a sample of the book. Dan Lewis, for Waterstones.com/blog You can buy The Newlyweds at your local Waterstones bookshop (http://bit.ly/s6sdlu) or online at Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/10qIx3s)   To find out more about our Book Club selection, click here.