BBC Radio 4 has a documentary about John Wyndham coming up. One of the makers, Dan Rebellato, writes in glowing terms about the author at The Guardian. I have read Day of the Triffids and The Chrysalids, and thought both books were fantastic. I was also an impressionable 13-year-old when the BBC televised its adaptation of Day of the Triffids (see above) and I still vividly remember that serial.
I came across this book yesterday. The stunning, beautiful cover stopped me dead. I love that scary tiger face.
We don’t have a lot to go on but Shikar and Safari: Reminiscences of Jungle Hunting by Edison Marshall was first published in 1947 and concerns gunning down animals in East Africa and India. There is something very striking about a tiger’s face.
The book’s author Edison Marshall (1894-1967) was an interesting character, who wrote short stories and novels and was very successful from the 1920s until the 1950s. His novel, The Viking, was adapted into the 1958 smash hit movie, The Vikings, starring Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh and Kirk Douglas.
One of Marshall’s biggest successes was Benjamin Blake, a historical romance novel set in 18th century England. Tyrone Power starred in the movie version.
and novelist
Shocking news from AbeBooks this week – Jay Z and Justin Bieber appear on AbeBooks’ list of the top bestselling signed books of November.
AbeBooks, of course, is famous for selling unique antiquarian books from centuries past, amazing first editions from the legends of literature like Steinbeck or Hemingway and some of the most beautiful rare books ever printed.
We don’t usually sell books by rappers or teenage pop stars. We’re not even selling that many copies of the Keith Richards’ autobiography – the Rolling Stones are perhaps the ultimate Baby Boomer band and Baby Boomers are our core customers.
I picked up the Bieber autobiography in an airport bookstore the other day. I noticed that the text had been printed in a very big font as if there wasn’t enough to fill the book so a little enlargement was necessary. I shouldn’t really be surprised about the Jay Z book, after all, he’s a respected entrepreneur and recently spoke at the New York public library.
I’m guessing that some very lucky teenage girls are going to wake up on Christmas morning and find a book signed by Bieber lying among their presents. That’s probably the ultimate gift for a teenage girl.
The list also includes George W Bush and Sarah Palin.
AbeBooks’ Bestselling Signed Books for November 2010
1. Decision Points by George W. Bush
2. The Instructions: A Novel by Adam Levin
3. Decoded by Jay Z
4. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
5. Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
6. Great House by Nicole Krauss
7. America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag by Sarah Palin
8. The Wake of Forgiveness by Bruce Machart
9. Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever by Justin Bieber
10. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
Frank Keating in The Guardian celebrates 50 years of This Sporting Life by David Storey. Keating, probably correctly, claims the book (about a talented but selfish rugby league player) is the best novel written by a former British sportsperson. I love that book and also adore the movie – one of Richard Harris’ finest hours (and Rachel Roberts too) and in glorious black and white too.
Storey (recalls) on the first day’s shooting of the film at Huddersfield’s ground where the cynical local team, hired as extras, waited in a bored, heel-kicking cluster for Harris’s entrance.
“They were at the other end of the pitch going, ‘Oh, Jesus, look at this flower coming out.’ Harris just took one look at them and ran down the whole pitch towards them. And as he ran, he got faster and faster until they suddenly realised with horror that he was going to run right into them, which he eventually did. It was that initial gesture of total physical commitment, indifference and carelessness, that caught the players’ admiration and they really took to him in a major way.”
Former England rugby star Brian Moore won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2010 last night for his autobiography Beware of the Dog: Rugby’s Hardman Reveals All. The book details his experiences of being sexually abused, being adopted and being a massive rugby star while also holding down a career as a solicitor.
