Check out your writing style

Cory Doctorow

If I had £1 for every new writing student who tells me they want to be the next JK Rowling, I'd have finished the house renovations long ago and be basking under a Seychelles sun. The basis of creativity is originality and who would want to be the second anything? Then I fell on http://www.iwl.me/ and curiosity took over. I Write Like... tells you whose writing yours resembles and I just couldn't resist it could I? (Please God it's not JK Rowling, I thought.) I pasted in a few paragraphs of prose, pressed Analyse and hey presto, my writing most resembles the style of David Foster Wallace. Well...that isn't so bad; David Ullin, book editor of The Los Angeles Times dubbed him 'one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last 20 years' and his great 1996 novel, Infinite Jest was included in Time magazine's All-Time List of 100 Greatest Novels (1923-2006). (Info from Wikipedia, what would I do without it?) Sadly, the author came to a tragic end two years later so I had another go with a different couple of paragraphs and hey presto for the second time, my writing emerged in the style of Cory Doctorow. OK, I buy that, publishers please note.

Special Days and Writing

We have special days for all sorts of things now, including Talk Like A Pirate Day (19 September), World Frog Day (20 March), Towel Day (25 May) and the one I heartily approve of - International Chocolate Day (13 September) so it's good to know that schools are devoting a special day to celebrate writing. Everybody Writes Day takes place this year on Thursday, 21 October when primary and secondary schools leave off the curriculum to indulge in writing activities of one sort or another. Everyone has to participate, not just the pupils and staff but site manager, catering staff and parent volunteers too. This is a Booktrust project (Booktrust, for those who don't know, is an independent national charity based in London for the promotion of reading for pleasure) in partnership with The National Literacy Trust (also a London-based indy charity that changes lives through literacy). http://www.booktrust.org.uk/ and http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/

Planning your own Everybody Writes Day

You can begin planning your own day by logging onto the site at http://www.everybodywrites.org.uk/ and downloading some PDFs of guides for both primary and secondary schools or ask for hard copies. You can also download the logo and find some advice on publicising your Day. If you want to know what schools have done in the past, watch a video clip of Macaulay Primary School's Everybody Writes Day (I tried to download it but you can't be good at everything) or check on activities in other schools suggested on the site. Your project could involve staging an alien spaceship crash landing in the playground to trigger a school newspaper project, a series of after-school workshops for parents and children to write a family history, or even working with a graphic designer and your local authority to make some leaflets promoting recycling to teenagers. Imagination is everything in the writing world and without that writers would have nothing to write about.

The University of Sheffield evaluated Everything Writes in 2009 to see what effect it had on pupils' attitudes to writing and on their standard of work. The report can be downloaded from www.everybodywrites.org.uk/download.php?file=/downloads/EW_final_evaluation_2009.pdf  Their research found that the project had a positive impact on:

• pupils, teachers and schools;
• boys' attitudes to writing;
• children who are reluctant writers and those at risk of underachieving.

Other literary days worth noting in the diary:

• World Literary Day (8 January)
• World Book Day (14 March)
• International Children's Book Day (2 April)
• International Special Librarian's Day (13 April)
• International Creativity and Innovation Day (21 April)
• World Copyright Day (23 April)
• World Press Freedom Day (3 May) and
• International Literacy Day (8 September)

Maybe someone will think about launching an International Blogging (or Stop Blogging) Day soon...or even a Month - ever heard of Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month? I'll stop now before it becomes obsessive.

Boots on the Ground by Dusk - tribute to Pat Tillman

Boots on the Ground by Dusk is a poignant, impassioned tribute to former professional footballer, Pat Tillman from his mother, Mary Tillman who wrote it along with journalist Narda Zacchino. A relentless seeker of truth, Mary obsessively overturned every stone to see what would crawl out after her son's death in Afghanistan two years after he gave up the job he loved to join the US Army with his brother. Pat sadly lost his life in more than suspicious circumstances during an enemy ambush. She unearthed more questions than answers when she was told Pat had died by friendly fire. Did he fall or was he pushed? The Tillman story eventually made headlines in the USA when she uncovered what the White House and Pentagon were concealing. A film documentary about Pat's life and death by director Amir Bar-Lev is doing the rounds too.

It's a powerful read when you get to the nub but some of the earlier account is repetitive and it doesn't really get going with the investigation in earnest until three quarters of the way through. From then, the shocking revelations can't fail to have their effect. The earlier part was Mary's more personal tribute to her son, dipping in and out of anecdotal information about his childhood and how he progressed to footballer and into the army, some of it necessary to the development of the plot but it lost a bit of the bite by beginning at the beginning and not hooking me with a more immediate and exciting opening.

Learn more at http://www.bootsonthegroundbydusk.com/ The Pat Tillman Foundation has been set up to support people who have left the the army and are following other courses into new careers. Mary Tillman is donating all the profits to the Foundation and the publishers are giving a $1 donation for every Tillman book they sell. To buy the book, contact www.blurb.com/bookstall/detail/1500065

ADHD Awareness Week and where to find information

A cute new idea for helping children understand where they're coming from has been launched in time for ADHD Awareness Week - that's this week, 19-25 September. It's all about raising awareness of this confusing condition and it's aimed at reaching children themselves. While parents and other adults find it hard enough to comprehend Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with all its co-morbid connections and the accusations flying around that they don't know how to bring up their children, ADHD children themselves must be even more in the dark about what's wrong with their 'norm'.

What's Up With Astra?


Medikidz explain ADHD



Now Medikidz, who publish a range of graphic novels to explain childhood illness imaginatively in comic form, have come up with a great ADHD comic book, beautifully produced in bright primary colours to explain ADHD to the kids that suffer from it. It's authored by Dr Kim Chilman-Blair and Marvel Comics expert, John Taddeo, who contributed to the drawings; and it's peer reviewed by Professor Peter D Hill. In it, Medikidz, a team of five super-heroes from planet Mediland are on a mission to explain clearly the medical background to ADHD; each of them is an expert on a different part of the body. I found it great fun and enjoyed reading it - it's a lot clearer than some of the ADHD websites I've come across so maybe adults should read it too. It explains how the brain works in the case of ADHD sufferers and outlines the main symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Where we parted company was the recommendation of drugs as the main antidote, followed by therapy and that side effects were mild. I wouldn't want my child to be pumped full of chemicals, certainly not in the long term, if other solutions were out there, not to mention the millions, yes the steadily risiing millions of £s these stimulants cost the NHS each year. I wondered if Medikidz was backed by a drugs company as we see their adverts so often on school wall charts and info packs under the guise of educational resources but it seems the series is put together by a medical team with a bright idea. However, in the UK, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines stress that medication should be used in extreme cases only and that side effects should be monitored regularly as some can be more severe than others. A good site to check out is http://www.handle.org/ based in the USA where alternative drug-free methods are used to help control ADHD symptoms with a high success rate. Dr Chilman-Blair said: 'There is a great amount of confusion about what ADHD is and why it occurs and while this information is often explained to parents, the children themselves are often overlooked.' Log on to http://www.medikidz.com/ to find out more and buy a copy of the book (or get it from http://www.amazon.co.uk/).

ADHD: The Essential Guide



by Diane Paul



While we're on the subject of ADHD information and it's ADHD Awareness Week, I might as well throw in a plug for my own book, launched at the end of 2008. This is a guide for parents and carers of ADHD children and it pulls together all the disparate info parents need in one place. This includes ADHD's definition, the signs and symptoms, causes, what parents should do, the drugs controversy, talking and alternative therapies, nutrition, support from schools and families and transition to adulthood as yes, it may get less of a nuisance but it doesn't necessarily go away. There's a big help list so you can find all the organisations to contact and a long list of recommended books and research material. It can be obtained from bookshops, amazon and the publisher at http://www.need2knowbooks.co.uk/

Seven Myths about ADHD Debunked

You can download a free version of the Seven Myths and full explanations from www.additudemag.com/resources/printables.html What are they? I'll give you a clue:

• 1: ADHD isn't a proper medical disorder
• 2: ADHD children are unfairly advantaged because they're given special considerations
• 3: ADHD children will outgrow their condition
• 4: ADHD is for boys only
• 5: ADHD is about bad parenting
• 6: ADHD children on medication can become drug addicts later
• 7: ADHD sufferers are just stupid or lazy and never make anything of their lives

The Children's Bookshow tour



Children's Laureate Michael Rosen

 My earlier children's post on reading has aroused more interest than any other, so you might like to know that The Children's Bookshow is going on tour beginning on 22 September at the Oxford Playhouse. This is an annual event designed to coincide with Children's Book Week and the idea is to introduce children to the top authors, illustrators, storytellers and poets to inspire them to foster a lasting love of books. The tour was launched in 2003 to celebrate books and authors featured in Simply the Best Books for Children, published by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education and it has grown from there. During the next two months, it will visit 17 theatres and is expected to attract thousands of children. At each venue, an author will take the stage for an hour and enthrall children with their storytelling. At Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre, for example, Children's Laureate Michael Rosen will be centre stage on Thursday 21 October at 10.30am. Schools can hold free workshops attended by an author or illustrator too, giving the pupils a chance to work on their own writing and receive a published book. Promoting books to children from an early age in this way is a great idea and let's hope future generations who've had this experience will  help to ensure that book publishing and reading continue, given that the book world is experiencing so many threats of annihilation from new technology, lack of funding and other drawbacks.

Call 07789 853142 or email thechildrensbookshow@gmail.com for tickets for Michael Rosen's performance and the other venues across the country. You could claim a free school workshop with one of the authors. Visit Michael's website at http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/ to read more about his writing. The Children's Bookshow can be contacted at 9a Peploe Road, London NW6 6EB or phone Kate Tull 07740 256330 or Sian Hardy 07789 853142, email as above, website http://www.thechildrensbookshow.com/

Read and Write Fest in Sheffield

A few weeks ago, I trained it to Sheffield and walked straight into a wonderland of water fountains as I left the station. I don't hear a lot about Sheffield, living in Manchester but I didn't imagine it would sweep me off my feet the moment I left the station. On my right gleamed a huge metal water wall which accompanied me all the way down to the road and put me in a good mood. Clever. I wished the boffins at Manchester's Piccadilly Station would come up with something as creative, inspiring, innovative and welcoming to visitors after a long train journey. I didn't see a great deal more of Sheffield as I was heading for a meeting opposite the station for creative writing tutors of the Open College of the Arts and remained there all day but I'm assured the city centre is just as original.

Off the Shelf

So I lift my hat (or would do if I could find one to fit my little head) once again to their annual writing and reading festival, Off the Shelf which happens this year from 9-30 October all over Sheffield. The activities they've put together are too numerous to go into in this small space but it's worth sending for a brochure to see what's on among the author visits, workshops, poetry, storytelling, talks, exhibitions, competitions and more...whew, I'm fair out of breath now. You can get one by emailing offtheshelf@sheffield.gov.uk or phone 0114 273 4400 or you can download one from the Off the Shelf website.

What's On?

Let's have a cherry pick..

• Crime writer Val McDermid discusses her latest novel Trick of the Dark set in Oxford's colleges on 9 October at the Showroom Cinema;
• Jenny Eclair is at the Pennine Theatre on 13 October with her new book, Chin Up Britain! based on her successful stage show Grumpy Old Women;
• an interesting event at the Sheffield City Hall Ballroom on 27 October with Manchester Camerata, is themed around 'letters'. 'The Yiddishbukk by Osvaldo Golijov was written in 1992 based on remnants of verses quoted in a letter from Kafka to Milena. The music commemorates three children interned by the Nazis, the writer Isaac Bashevis Singer and Leonard Bernstein. An extract from The Diary of Anne Frank will be included';
• Alastair Campbell will be at The Octagon on 28 October reading from his political memoirs Prelude to Power, answering questions and explaining why, being a Yorkshireman, he supports Burnley FC;
• You can attend a first rate Masterclass with poet John McAuliffe on 24 October;
• Or attend Write Down Your Street Free Workshops working with professionals, creating your own story or poem saying what's good about where you live; free writing workshops go on until February all over the city ending with a showcase, open mic and exhibition of work;
• Finally, as I've no more space, Sheffield Readers' Day 2010 is worth attending. It takes place in the Town Hall with special guest, Jack Sheffield and books offered by Bloomsbury, so this sounds like the big one. The authors will all be there: Howard Jacobson, just short listed for the 2010 Man Booker with The Finkler Question; Jane Rusbridge with her first novel, Devil's Music; Anne Zouroudi, a local writer with The Lady of Sorrows, Louise Levene, the Sunday Telegraph critic and Radio 4 presenter introducing her first novel, A Vision of Loveliness and Marika Cobbold, Swedish author with Aphrodite's Workshop for Reluctant Lovers, love, angst and divine intervention and we all need a bit of that.

You can follow the festival on Facebook - Off the Shelf Festival of Writing and Reading,

also on Twitter - otsfestival or checkout the website on http://www.offtheshelf.org.uk/

Puss in Books

Superpuss Bootsy Adelman

Harry the Cat
'Oprah Schmopra'

Washington superpuss, Bootsy Adelman thinks she's a cat above the rest when it comes to celebrity status. For Bootsy has been featured in a book along with her person, PR supremo Marc Adelman; and her English cousin, Harry the Cat from Manchester (aged 20) is quietly gnashing his teeth - at least, the ones he has left. So what's all this about? When Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former US Democratic Senator John Edwards wrote her best-selling book, Saving Graces (Broadway Books 2006), she included Bootsy among the many stories she told about her experiences on the campaign trail with John, who was the VP nominee with John Kerry in 2004. Said Marc, who worked very closely with the couple from 2002-05, 'I used to bring Bootsy up to the Edwards' children all the time, so we were both mentioned in the book. It was a New York Times best seller and when Oprah had Elizabeth on the show, she told her that she'd read every word of it.' So Oprah knows about Bootsy too huh? Harry the Cat is now gnawing his left paw. Elizabeth's second book, Resilience (Broadway Books 2009) was also a best seller and she's become a high profile speaker with the media in her own right. Saving Graces describes her life growing up in a military family; her years as a mother, when she had a child every decade from the 1970s to the 2000s; the tragic death of her teenage son Wade in 1996; her support of her husbands' campaigns for Senate, the Presidency and Vice Presidency and her fight with breast cancer, which was diagnosed in 2004. What's significant is the value of support she received from the people around her in the community and the strength she drew from strangers. Think about that, Harry!

Blair versus Brown

Predictably, given the media hype, Tony Blair's memoirs, A Journey are outstripping sales of some of the top fiction blockbusters written by authors like Dan Brown and JK Rowling, according to Waterstone's and it's already tops at Amazon.co.uk. Sales have apparently left Lord Mandelson's book, The Third Man standing. The profits from the book are being donated to the Royal British Legion for a new sports centre for injured troops. We won't go into that...but much of the gories have been extracted from the text by the media already, including Mr Blair's drinking habits and his tottering relationship with Gordon Brown, so as this looks like another political rubber-necking exercise for the curious, I'll give it a miss. What does interest me now that I've mentioned author Dan Brown, is The Daily Telegraph's article on Oxfam's most received and best selling books list where Brown's (not Gordon's) books are top of the most donated and he is their 10th best-selling author, reputed to be the highest paid author in the world (although the charity's best-seller is Ian Rankin). Sorry? I'll just check that. I'm aware the Da Vinci Code sold phenominally well at 81 million copies worldwide so when did quality of writing cease taking precedence over media hype? Some popular authors don't write that well, even with the help of editors but they are often great storytellers. (I have names.) Having read the controversial book, (Brown's, not Blair's) I hoped that creative writing students would avert their eyes and look for a more instructive example of how to structure a novel, create a convincing plot that you couldn't drive an amphibian truck through, believable characters who you could root for and prose worthy of the legacy left by Dickens and Austen. Why am I teaching people how to write?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Shaffer and Barrows

The originator of this book, Mary Ann Shaffer, from West Virginia became fascinated with the island of Guernsey when in London in 1980. She flew there and, while stranded by a fog, she found a book to read called Jersey Under the Jack-Boot. Years later, she decided to write a book about Guernsey under the jack-boot and its repercussions on the islanders' lives immediately after the war. Sadly, Mary Ann died in 2008 but before she did and knowing the book had been sold worldwide, she asked her niece, Annie Barrows to help her finish it. It's a light-hearted little confection, written in letter form, something that I normally find hard to digest. However, my irritation at the flurry of letters back and forth between the protagonist, Juliet, her publisher and the disparate group of islanders, who reminded me of some of the cast of Last of the Summer Wine, influenced my judgment only for a short while. I was soon captivated by the group of oddball but charming characters who verge on the caricature, though they don't go quite over the edge and in some ways it reminded me of Wodehouse; the Sunday Telegraph likened it to Nancy Mitford. When writer Juliet gets a letter from Dawsey Adams in Guernsey after the war because he owns a book that once belonged to her, it opens up a can of letters from some of the other islanders, all members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and quite why they adopted this bizarre title is made clear in the book so I won't spoil it. From them, she learns about their lives under the German Occupation and a tragic love story begins to emerge. Once she goes over there, her life changes forever. Somehow the author manages to balance the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis with a light-hearted insight into the human condition. And from under the froth emerges the theme  that there is good and bad in every group of people, whether nationality, race, religion or the residents of a small island. I keep falling upon this theme of how people behave in times of duress and novels about the second world war. It must be something in the air. You might be interested to know that Annie Barrows, whose background is in libraries, bookstores and publishing has authored the Ivy and Bean children's series and The Magic Half. Log onto http://www.anniebarrows.com/ if you would like to visit her. The book is published by Bloomsbury Publishing, who published the first book I ever wrote.

Penguin launch new Dhammapada translation by Dr Valerie Roebuck

Penguin Classics are to launch one of the best-known and best-loved works of Buddhist literature - a new translation of The Dhammapada by Dr Valerie Roebuck on 14 September 2010 from 3-7pm at Cardiff University. Beginning with a Symposium at 3pm, Dr Roebuck will talk about 'Translating the Dhammapada: Problems and Pleasures'. Other speakers will be Dr Elizabeth Harris from Liverpool Hope University, Dr Mahinda Deegalle from Bath Spa University and Dr Naomi Appleton from Cardiff University. The book launch from 6-7pm is free and open to anyone who would like to attend. Contact Naomi Appleton on, AppletonN1@cf.ac.uk  to reserve a place for either or both parts of the event. Although the official launch takes place on 14 September, the book is already on sale now.

The Dhammapada forms part of the oldest surviving body of Buddhist writings and is traditionally regarded as the authentic teaching of the Buddha, spoken by him in his lifetime, memorised and handed on by his followers after his death. A collection of simple verses gathered in themes such as 'awareness', 'fools' and 'old age', The Dhammapada is accessible, instructional and mind-clearing, with lessons in each verse to give ethical advice and to remind the listener of the transience of life. Valerie Roebuck has previously translated The Upanishads (Penguin India 2000; Penguin Classics 2003). She graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA(Hons) in Oriental Studies and a Ph.D for a thesis on South Indian Bronzes. She is a freelance scholar and lecturer, an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Manchester and an Associate Member of the Centre for the History of Religion in Asia at the University of Cardiff. She practises and teaches meditation in the Samatha tradition of Buddhism.

The Record Players: DJ Revolutionaries by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton

Swotting up on DJs isn't everyone's cup of tea but you never know who logs onto your blogsite, so I like my blogs to be as eclectic as possible. I well remember (just about) the late Jimmy Savile drawing lunchtime crowds at Manchester's Plaza Ballroom where he was manager in the 50s, if only to see the technicolour of his hair and watch his strange antics, never mind the records he played. This particular type of madness was a great draw for students and office workers who considered themselves to be normal but held Savile in great regard in those days. I bet none of us had an inkling he would not only be knighted one day but that he would be so monumentally discredited after his death when the sordid truth of his private life was revealed. He was the first DJ to use twin turntables and a mike, which is what established him as number one in his early career. In the book, the authors interview 46 of the world's greatest DJs, including Grandmaster Flash, Frankie Knuckles, John Peel, Terry Farley and Tiesto. We discover how the first DJ came about, the development of different musical genres and the progress of the DJ from unsung pioneer to overheated superstar. Music covers Northern Soul to disco, rock'n'roll and techno. And as a social history, it gives an insight into the civil rights movement, changing fashions, sexual mores, politics and every facet of music culture from the 40s until today. The authors have written extensively on dance music, including Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, and the definitive DJing manual, How to DJ (Properly). They founded their website http://www.djhistory.com/ as an archive of dance music and if you're a dance music collector or a DJ you will probably have been there frequently. This is their fourth book and it is due for publication 30 August 2010. It can be obtained from http://www.djhistory.com/  The duo have a weekly podcast on http://tinyurl.com/chn2sa 

Top Tips for Children's Reading

Research carried out by distant learning organisation, Learndirect shows that more than 54 per cent of parents admit to brushing up on their English and maths to improve aspects of their lives, such as work and almost 32 per cent of parents want to brush up on their basic English and maths to support their children's learning and development, such as reading together. Now Learndirect have teamed up with top children's author, Peter Corey to help parents boost their children's reading skills and help families re-charge during the final week of the summer holidays - with tips for reading together as a family and top recommended reads. Two free online storybooks help prepare children starting or going back to school and these can be found on www.learndirect.co.uk/readtogether.

Peter's top 10 tips for making reading a great experience for kids of all ages

1. Read little and often - 10 to 15 minutes a day is fine. For younger children, use bedtime or bathtime if there's no time during the day;
2. Try to make reading fun, so don't pressure your child if they're tired or lose interest. Laugh at the funny stuff and enjoy rhyming words - this can be very rewarding;
3. Enjoy the story - talk about it and encourage your child to ask questions. You can then see how well they've understood what they've read;
4. Enjoy the pictures too. They can make words easier to understand and bring the story to life;
5. Be brave in your choice of reading. Search around, even if you think you've found you and your child's favourite author;
6. Borrow books from the library. They have lots of choice and can match the right person to the right book;
7. Long words can be broken down into smaller parts to make them easier. Some English spellings don't make sense but don't worry if you or your child stumble - it might be the word's fault;
8. Don't be afraid to judge a book by its cover and check what's written on the back. It should help you decide if you and your child will enjoy the book;
9. Kids enjoys repetition as it helps them understand stories, so don't worry if they want to read the same book again and again;
10. Always praise your child for trying hard to read and let them know it's OK to make mistakes. We all get words wrong. Practice makes perfect and solving reading problems together is part of what makes storytime fun.

Shakespeare and Company in Paris

Just opposite the Notre Dame in Paris in the Latin Quarter lies a magnet for booklovers and the curious. For 37 rue de la Bucherie is where 96-year-old  American, George Whitman opened his now famous bookstore, Shakespeare and Company in August 1951. Since then, over 50,000 people are thought to have slept there - yes, beds have always been provided for those without a place to lay their heads - and such luminaries as Henry Miller, Anais Nin, Lawrence Durrell and Allen Ginsberg have stopped by for tea.

In the 60s and 70s when I lived and worked in Paris, Shakespeare's was one of my favourite haunts. Going in there was like entering one of Alice's adventures in Wonderland, dwarfed as I was by the masses of shelves and dusty old books tumbling in all directions. George was an interesting sort of character, with his pointy beard and quiet manner and he managed to convince us all that he was the illegitimate great-grandson of the poet, Walt Whitman. We were never sure whether to believe him or not but I liked to think it might be so. 'Would you like some peaches?' was usually his opening gambit. He would take a bowl of them out of a fridge that stood incongruously among the books and if you didn't like peaches, a glass of iced tea would do just as well. In those days, it was rumoured that the upper floor was full of mattresses for anyone who wanted to stay but I never ventured up there. A writer could pick up any amount of crazy conversations if they were short of dialogue and I remember well a young American wearing a huge backpack asking another similarly attired teenager, 'Are you heading for Katmandu?' The reply: 'Yeah, I'm heading for Katmandu.' It all seemed so cliched, until I actually found myself in Katmandu some years later, and understood what they were on about.

So who is George Whitman and where did Shakespeare and Company come from? The story goes that George was born in New Jersey but his parents moved to Salem, Massachusetts when he was a baby. His father, who was actually called Walter Whitman was indeed a writer but, as a physics professor, he wrote about science in the home and community, not poetry. After the Second World War, George studied French at the Sorbonne and acquired a collection of English books which he sold first in his hotel room and later from a barge. Eventually, he settled for the 17th century building that is now legendary, changing its name from Le Mistral to Shakespeare and Company in the 1960s after Sylvia Beach, the originator died. Sylvia Beach, an American living in Paris opened her English bookstore and library at 8 rue Dupuytren in 1919 and two years later moved it to the rue de l'Odeon where it attracted many famous writers and artists like Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and James Joyce, until France was occupied in 1941. Beach became famous for publishing Joyce's Ulysses in 1922 as it was banned in the UK and USA.

Nowadays, Shakespeare and Company is in the capable hands of George's 29-year-old daughter, Sylvia since George has retired and she has regenerated it by organising biennial festivals for writers. The fourth such event took place in June this year with 'Storytelling and Politics' and it drew hundreds of people to a white tent overlooking Notre Dame for three days to hear some notable literary speakers. Things are different now and I'm told the beds are interspersed among the bookshelves but they're still there, as is the library. Monday evening readings attract well-known authors and Sunday afternoons are for tea. Young volunteers, known as 'tumbleweeds' man the shop now, some criticised for their coolness to customers but for me, it was George Whitman who had the cachet and the graciousness that made Shakespeare and Company the legend that it became.

Shakespeare and Company is open every day from 10am until 11pm, except for Saturdays and Sundays when it opens at 11am. Metro: Cluny-La Sorbonne. (Tel: 00 33 (0) 1 43 25 40 93)

Kindle's new UK Store and e-books: will they replace print?

If you're into e-books and e-readers, you might like to know that Amazon, the on-line bookseller has made over 400,000 books available in the UK from their new Kindle Store. This includes 84 best-selling titles, national newspapers, magazines and over 9,000 blogs. Let's hope that extends to mine. Some contemporary classics are exclusive to the Store, such as Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, and Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead. Amazon have already begun accepting pre-orders for the new Kindle itself. Among its features are a new electronic-ink screen, which Amazon claims has 50 per cent better contrast than any other e-reader, a new sleek design with 21 per cent smaller body than the previous model, although it still has the same 6 inch-size reading area and a 15 per cent lighter weight at 8.7 ounces (247 gms). The new Kindle with Wi-Fi costs £109 and with Free 3G wireless and Wi-Fi, £149. You can learn more about the UK Kindle Store at www.amazon.co.uk/kindlestore and full details of the new Kindle and Kindle Wi-Fi at www.amazon.co.uk/kindle3G and www.amazon.co.uk/kindleWi-Fi 

Is this the end of printed books?

I don't know about you but personally, there is nothing like the feel and look of a paper book; it's a sensory experience not to be missed; not to mention the thrill of browsing round a bookshop or possessing the rows of books lining my bookshelves, lovely to see, great to hold, flick through and dip into. Some of them I will read again (and again), some come in handy for research, some I will lend to my most trusted friends as I know they will return them and some are signed by the authors. Hah! They can't do that with an e-reader. E-book readers have been slow to take off but they are doing well in America and now gaining popularity in the UK. For some, they will be another 'must-have', to leave around for visitors to see that they have the latest gadget, though little used; they will make good gifts and I would consider buying one to take on my holidays as reading is mostly what I do when I'm away, in the shade, in a quiet corner (typical!). I don't think traditional books will ever die out but if Kindles and their like help to encourage non-readers to begin reading books, newspapers and blogs, and as long as e-books are not viewed as a cheap alternative to print books, they will have their place in the market.

The Piano Teacher by Janice YK Lee

I always buy books that have the word 'piano' in them and there seem to be lots of them around nowadays. However, this one had very little to do with pianos and pianists; the protagonist, Claire just happens to be a piano tutor in 1950s Hong Kong and having an illicit relationship with Will, the driver of her pupil's parents, the Chens. The pupil herself, Locket has her own story but that's just one of the many mysteries that the author unravelled while I was glued to her book. Will has been targeted by a flighty young Eurasian woman with a taste for the high life among Hong Kong's hedonistic set. Trudy Liang lives for the moment. We flit between the 40s and 50s gaining a fascinating insight into the class-ridden snobbery of expat life in the colony pre, during and post war. Some of these people have nowhere else to go and lived by their wits during the Japanese occupation. As both a historical and social document, it's worth reading. It pulled me into another world where I could imagine these people and the world they inhabited. Lee spent years researching the background to her story and pays extraordinary attention to detail. We see Will experience the cruel and foul conditions of the Japanese prison camp, while Trudy saves her skin (for a while) under the protection of the enemy. He could join her on the outside but his integrity gets the better of him. This is a story of love and betrayal. Will's experiences during the war have taken their toll on his ability to open his heart and his relationship with Claire is doomed from the start. It also shows us to what lengths some people will go to save their own skins at the expense of destroying the lives of innocent people and how it takes a war to make saints and sinners of us all.

Teach us to Sit Still by Tim Parks

Since the 1980s, metaphysical counsellor Louise Hay has devoted her life to helping people heal their lives by getting rid of the negative attitudes that she believes can bring about physical illness. Her philosophy: 'We are each one hundred per cent responsible for all our experiences, our future. The point of power is in the present moment. When we really love ourselves, everything in our life works. We create every so called illness in our body. We must release the past and forgive everyone.' One of her books in particular, You Can Heal Your Life became an international best seller and it included advice and exercises that could be put into instant use. Forgiveness is cleansing. I've tried it and it works. Louise came to this conclusion when she was diagnosed with cancer, which she says disappeared after she had a thorough mental and physical cleansing, clearing herself of all resentment.

A Sceptic's Search for Health and Healing

Best-selling author and translator (this is book number 21), Tim Parks wasn't a believer in alternative therapies or 'new age mumbo jumbo' and throughout his healing process, he maintained his sceptical stance.  But he decided to write a book about his healing journey and how he discovered that body and mind are indeed linked. Once you get past the medical opinions about his prostate, which came to nothing and move on to his quest for an alternative solution for the relief of his chronic bladder pain, the read becomes more fascinating. It's also worth bearing in mind that when the medical profession give up on you, it is simply an indication that they have reached the limit of their knowledge and not that your condition is necessarily untreatable; there may possibly be someone somewhere else that can help you. Like many people who reach this stage, Tim turns to alternative therapies for help. In India, he consults an ayurvedic doctor who tells him about energy flow and blockage caused by 'mental tussle', but sesame oil enemas don't appeal. He becomes fascinated by internet postings of people with similar physical symptoms - so many different opinions and treatments. His health becomes an obsession but he's convinced by now that 'medicines are not the answer'. But sitting down all day at a desk could restrict blood flow to the contracted muscles and affect surrounding nerves in the pelvic floor and even affect muscles away from that area. And the antidote was relaxation and massage. How the author resolves his problem is for readers to discover but it begins with a book called A Headache in the Pelvis by David Wise and Rodney Anderson - breathing and meditation form the main part of his healing journey. Being an award-winning writer, it's no surprise that Parks expresses himself so well in print. His journey will be of interest to anyone with chronic pain. Interspersed with his own story, he studies the effects that illness has had on other writers, artists and well-known people. Published by Harvill Secker, London 2010.

Six-word Story Comp

How would you like to win a week at an Arvon writing centre? Poet Karen McCarthy has the tough job of choosing a winner from the entries for the Arvon Foundation's story competition. And this year, the theme is one of those six-worders that crop up in the media every now and again.

Remember Hemingway's famous six-worder? 'For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.' Actually, I've never read one as good as that. If you think you can top it - send it to: competition@arvonfoundation.org or tweet to @arvonfoundation.  The closing date for entries is 1 September 2010. View their website for information about courses: http://www.arvonfoundation.org/

The Kindest Thing by Cath Staincliffe

Enjoy is perhaps not the most appropriate word to describe the story of a woman who is accused of assisting her sick husband to die but author Cath Staincliffe's words sucked me into them and held me firmly in their grasp from beginning to end and enjoy them I did. It left me feeling reflective. What is so fascinating about Cath's new novel is the change of style from her usual Sal Kilkenny mysteries and  Blue Murder TV series starring Caroline Quentin to this more literary study of a topical subject that could face anyone. Deborah is persuaded, against her better judgment, to help husband Neil to end his life. Neil is dying of motor neurone disease and he wants to go out with dignity, feeling well; the irony of this is that he doesn't die a good death but I won't spoil the ending. The magnetism of Cath's writing has as much to do with her thorough research as it has to do with her syntax. For anyone who thinks 'there's a book in everyone', think again. Books are on shelves, between covers and it isn't a simple matter of dropping words onto a keyboard. Cath spent hours learning about legal and court procedures and gleaned much about everyday life in a woman's prison by going into one and talking to the prisoners. She recreates the 'warm, worn wood of the dock' realistically. Her research is meticulously woven into the fabric of her plot. I'm inclined to find flashbacks and time switches distracting but they are hardly noticeable here as they are so necessary to understanding the loving relationship that has built up since the couple met at university; it is done brick by brick until the wall is up and a loving family unit has been created; only to be tragically destroyed. We follow the effect of Deborah's actions on the lives of the couple's two children and get an insight into the workings of the mind of a woman in grief for the husband she loves while she fights to defend herself against his murder - or manslaughter. It's not so much a plot as an examination of the lives of two people and an insightful study of human reactions, thoughts, feelings and fears from the viewpoints of the people whose lives are touched by Deborah's actions. Five stars.

The Kindest Thing is published by Robinson UK, 2010

Big Fat Lies: Is Your Government Making you Fat? by Hannah Sutter

Food survey

According to a survey carried out by weight-loss specialists All About Weight, 64 per cent of Britons don't have time to lose weight. The organisation, dedicated to promoting the right attitudes towards food and lifestyle, conducted an online survey that produced 1,230 respondents, who showed that they had no time to diet or exercise because of their busy lifestyles (presumably they had enough time to halt their busy lifestyles to eat enough food to put on the weight in the first place). 38 per cent of respondents didn't have time to shop for healthy food choices (how does that differ from shopping for unhealthy food choices, I wonder?); 32 per cent blamed stress at work leading to the lure of convenience foods and 23 per cent blamed their busy lifestyles. 'Have you lapsed on a fitness programme in the last three months because of pressure on your time?' ticked 64 per cent of the boxes and 'lack of time to prepare healthy food choices at home' 40 per cent.

Now for the book

Now I can segue nicely to a book on this very subject written by diet lawyer Hannah Sutter who takes up the cudgel against the government, the NHS, the Food Standards Agency and 'numerous other associated authorities' to uncover 'a series of highly disturbing fictions that underpin government health policy and have implications for the weight and health of all of us.'

So, what's it about? Levels of obesity are said to be rising, despite the government's message to eat less fat, just eat less in general and to get more exercise. I haven't read Hannah's book myself yet but think it deserves a mention at this point, given the recent government 'obese vs fat' controversy and remembering that not everyone who qualifies for those labels are that way through eating too much or munching too many crisps.

Hannah Sutter

So far, Hannah's book has been well reviewed by her medical peers. Professor Iaian Broom, director of the Clinical Obesity Research Centre at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen says: 'The metabolism of starch requires insulin and overproduction of insulin will result in fat accumulation. Big Fat Lies helps bring this message out from behind the cupboard and rightly answer questions and the whole emphasis on starch in our daily diet.' Award-winning writer, lecturer and broadcaster Dr John Briffa says, 'Big Fat Lies is a passionate polemic book challenging the anti-meat brigade and the nonsense that somehow cheap starch is good for us.' H'm, as a non-vegetarian member of the anti-meat brigade I'd like to know more about that.

Big Fat Lies is published by Infinite Ideas Ltd.

NLP: Principles in Practice

Round about 1989, I read a book called Heart of the Mind by Connirae and Steve Andreas. It was about Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and it covered such life crises as having to respond resourcefully to criticism, asserting oneself respectfully, positive motivation, making decisions and dealing with disaster, all essential coping strategies for procrastinating writers. I still have it and dip into it occasionally. NLP expert Lisa Wake, who lives in Yorkshire has just released her latest book on this growing therapy.

A bit about the author

Lisa Wake was a nurse who moved into management before she left the NHS to launch her own business. Awaken Consulting & Training Services Ltd. She helps businesses grow by 'awakening greater possibilities and choice'. Lisa trained to be an NLP trainer and is now a Neuro-Linguistic psychotherapist as well as coach, facilitator, change agent, trainer, supervisor and mentor. In 2007, Lisa was awarded the status of Master Trainer of NLP because of her contributions, which included writing and developing NLP concepts.

Who will read the book?

In this book, Lisa reveals the tools, techniques and mythology behind NLP and the research that underpins it. "The book is designed to be read by a wide range of audiences," she said. "Currently...there are a number of universities offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate programmes that include NLP either wholly or partially. Large organisations in the public and commercial sectors have adopted the principles and practices..." Since 2000, a 'considerable shift' has been noted in the teaching of NLP in management processes as a mainstream topic. "NLP has also been adapted and integrated into psychotherapy practice and is now a mainstream psychotherapy recognised by the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Educational programmes are littered with some of the tools and techniques of NLP, with NLP being integrated from Government policy level down to grass roots," she said.

What's in it?

In the book, Lisa describes the various techniques, how they work and link back to the overarching theory and principles of NLP. Relevant literature supports or challenges the model. 'Each section then concludes with a recommended exercise to follow and examples of how the technique can be applied across a number of different contexts." Her client list is impressive and includes big business and NHS Trusts.

NLP: Principles in Practice is published by Ecademy Press in the UK. Lisa's website is at http://www.awakenconsulting.co.uk/

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I experienced some difficulty getting into this but once I got past the cryptic colour introduction I discovered it was possibly one of the best books I'd read in a long time. Beautifully written, I remained glued to its every page and at 553pps that was a long read far into the night(s). Holocaust themes are making their mark as older generations are beginning to talk and that's as it should be. Fine detail has been held back for too long. Amazing stories have come from my own friends and family and it seems that hardly anyone I know has been left untouched in some way by the atrocities of the 1940s. This book is realistic and poignant with believable characters and a rivetting plot. It's narrated by Death, who comes to claim his victims and there are lots of them.At the same time, he reveals the sad story of the book thief, 9-year-old Liesel, whose parents are in a concentration camp. Fostered by a German family, she forms a strong spiritual attachment to the Jewish refugee hidden in the cellar, an attachment strengthened by their mutual love for the written word in the books she steals. It isn't a happy story but it's a story about Nazi Germany in 1939 so what more can I say?

Published by Black Swan (2007) Ideal for a book group.

Harry the Cat blogs The Lady

She's gone out, so I thought I'd teach her a lesson for shoving that pill down me this morning. I'm Cocoa, the office cat (aka Harry the Cat). Of course, everyone knows that writing from the point of view of cats, dogs, goldfish and trees is a no-no in the proper writing world but nobody reads her blogs anyway so it doesn't matter. For my first effort, I'll review this magazine in her out-tray called The Lady. Apparently, it's had a revamp. She wrote something for it once I remember, so she's bound to say something nice about the New Look in case she wants to send them something else. She's been reading it since her enforced stay at Miss Wilkinson's School for Gentlewomen in the 1950s, I know that. I don't want to be catty but that model woman in this week's issue doesn't have a whisker on her face and...oops, she's back. Pretend to be sleeping, that always works.

Always a big follower of The Lady, I thought I'd leave it a while to settle before I decided whether to continue buying it after all these years. On the downside, I think probably the worst change has been the addition of an office dog's column...disbelief, shock, horror on this one. It's a dog...dogs can't write...hello? Penny Smith though is always a pleasure to read, no matter where and her sense of humour makes up for it. In general, I think I'd like to see stronger themes come out of the articles, for most of them don't tell me anything new or impart any information I could think 'wow' about, even (and especially) from the big names. What is the point of interviewing Julie Andrews just to tell readers how nice she is, as if we didn't know. So what's new? The old Lady articles used to inform and educate. I remember reading about Suzanne Lenglen and thinking wow, that's really interesting. (Suzanne who?) Quite - go look up a back copy. Forgotten achievers of the past had another 15 minutes of fame and topics we took for granted had an airing, like the history of tea. Why would readers of a certain age want to read about a young model person, especially when the adverts specialise in retirement homes and electric stairlifts? Twiggy perhaps (congratulations on that one) or whatever happened to Jean Shrimpton or Barbara Goalen. I know, yes, who? And another thing - have you noticed how often free product plugs creep into the articles, especially book titles (good heavens, what am I saying?) The difference is that that is the purpose of this blogsite. When the adverts become more entertaining than the articles, it's time...who's walked across my laptop with dirty feet?

Just dealing with the forensics

Beryl Bainbridge First Time Author Prize

Do book prizes sometimes make you wonder exactly what it was that caught the judges' imaginations because it sure as anything doesn't catch yours? Now's your chance to have a say for yourself for The People's Book Prize is voted for by the public and the first winner of the Beryl Bainbridge Prize for a First Time Author is 27-year-old Adam Perrott, author of children's book Eerie Deirdre Darkly. Unfortunately, Patron of the prize, Dame Beryl Bainbridge, died only three weeks before the presentation in London last week. Adam is carer to his two children, aged 3 and 7 months and says he is 'just daddy to them,' and they weren't aware he had become an award-winning author. His book was a smash hit when it came out in 2009 and sold its first print run in eight weeks. It's a comedy about a little girl and features monsters, hotel inspectors, talking tarantulas and a one-eyed octopus called Barbara. It is now available as a free audio download at http://www.eeriedeirdredarkly.com/ Adam's second book is currently being edited and will be out next year. If you want to know more about The People's Book Prize, log onto http://www.peoplesbookprize.com/

Deafness and Hearing Loss - The Essential Guide by Juliet England

Need2Know Books, an imprint of Forward Press have just brought out this particular guide but they have a whole stable of them on a variety of hot topics and they are becoming v fashionable (but then I would say that as an N2K author wouldn't I?). Oddly the cover of this particular one features two women signing, dressed in brightly coloured, patterned frocks, one woman wearing dangling earrings - all the things I was told to avoid when doing deaf awareness training, as they can be so distracting. The author, Juliet England is a writer with a severe hearing loss, so she writes from experience. Juliet explains the different types and degrees of deafness and the help and aids available from communication techniques to cochlear implants and more. The deaf world is little known to those of us with hearing but we could become a part of it at any time, so it's fascinating to learn about the ways in which it could affect every aspect of our lives. The book is clearly written with step-by-step explanations. This is an easy to read, informative guide to hearing loss and how to cope with it in a hearing world. The case studies are particularly useful. It's available from bookshops or direct from Need2Know in Peterborough and you can see the full range at http://www.need2knowbooks.co.uk/ The ADHD guide is particularly enlightening, especially for people who believe it doesn't exist and more particularly because I wrote it. Plug...plug...why not, you only live once and if you have IBS or are stressed out from next door's barking mutt or trying to juggle the baby with the board room, you will find instant help from the guide to Stress. And if you're an expert on a specific health topic and have a way with words, why not contact Need2Know - they're on the lookout for topic authors.

The Messenger by Daniel Silva

Published by Penguin Books (2006), if you're a follower of Silva's books, this is one of the Gabriel Allon Thriller series. It was lent by a friend, so it's not my usual cup of tea. Allon is an art restorer and secret Israeli spy, who blows his cover in this book. He's delegated to keep an eye on American art expert and beauty (of course), Sarah Bancroft, recruited by Israeli Intelligence to infiltrate an evil cell of Al-Qaeda terrorists, whose financial backing comes from the Saudis (infiltrators of everything). The terrorists attack the Vatican at the start and finish with the between story dedicated to Messenger Sarah's jet-setting life with the wealthy Zizi, ace villain. It's pacey, slick and action-packed. It's also well-researched on both sides' surveillance systems but tough on the poor Messenger who gets slapped around so much and whose personal relationship with Allon never materialises; the woman who does captivate the professional killer remains a shadowy figure in the background and was set up to be there for him when he emerged. I didn't really care about the gun types used but doubtless some readers would relish such attention to detail and it did feel like chunks of two separate stories in a circular structure. Most shocking was the publisher's sloppiness in the amount of literals in the text, something that would never have passed muster in Allen Lane's day. Silva, who lives in Washington DC has written 13 books, 10 in the Allon Series. The Washingtonian compares him to Greene and LeCarre. What do you think?