Snow forecast tomorrow - Happy Easter!

It's hard to believe that we have snow forecast. Everything in true Cornish fashion is in full bloom. Pink camellias, daffodills, cowslips, magnolias - it's looking so colourful and Spring like at the moment. Hey ho.

We've been busy getting in new lines of cards, there are some beautiful images of old books from the Bodlien Library that I think are going to be very popular. Our children's cards have already gone down a treat, I prefer the Beano cards, Mum prefers Dan Dare and Anna is going for Dr Seuss but there are lots of other ranges as well. Steve wasn't convinced by the Ladybird cards but they're selling in droves. Hey, he can't be right all the time!

We have some truly glorious journals and stationary sets on their way but not until May. Damn shame because I suspect they are going to be my bestseller in the stationery lines this year.

Updates will be sporadic over Easter. I have a few going out today and then radio silence whilst we cope with children, visitors and a busy shop. If you can't make it down to see us pop in online. www.hurleybooks.co.uk If we don't have what you are looking for call us, 01726 842200 or 01726 825245

Hope you all have a great weekend.

The Books We Read at School

What were your recollections of English Lit? Was it having to read something incomprehensible in two weeks and then be able to quizzed on it, write essays about it and generally be tortured in ways that you hadn't realised existed. How awful it all was and I was a reader! Imagine if you weren't? Looking back at Hardy and Dickens brings me out in a cold sweat even now but there were gems that I am eternally grateful for.


Last year I re-read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Quite rightly this always scores highly in any poll of best loved, best written, most important book of the decade, century millennium. Coming back to it was amazing, it is such a beautiful book but now that I'm an adult I understand themes that completely passed me by. My feet are still firmly in Scout's shoes but now I understand Atticus's fears. Which made me wonder about some of those other classics that I have never read as an adult, with all my years of experiences to add to the novel how would they read?


Being a parent made me look at Mockingbird differently but can you imagine how reading Lords of the Flies affected me, I'm looking at my own boys through very narrowed eyes! As a student I enjoyed 1984 and Animal Farm, as a voter and, as I get older, an observer of history I find them two of the most incredible call to arms.


And what about the books I have studiously avoided because they were on the alternative syllabus, in avoiding Wilkie Collins and DH Lawrence have I overlooked Steinbeck and Salinger.


What's to be done with English Lit? Maybe it's all for the better now but I wonder how many people there are out there who studiously avoid reading the "classics" because they remember the torture of Chaucer but forget the brilliance of Mockingbird. For what it's worth I'm loving Steinbeck, Lawrence is pants and no one will ever make me read a Dickens ever again in my life.

Hurley Books shortlisted for Independent Bookseller of the Year

I can't begin to tell you how chuffed we all are by this nomination.  We have been named on a shortlist of just five shops in the south-west. There are 4 regions with 6 shops in each and the regional winners will be announced in April; the Independent Bookseller of the Year will be then selected from one of the four regional winners and announced on May 17th. As well as the award the winner will receive £5000 from Gardners, the UKs leading book wholesaler.

I've seen the competition so I won't be practicing my acceptance speech just yet but it's still a great thing for a little bookshop in a small fishing village to be selected.

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/114265-gardners-offers-5000-to-2010s-best-indie.html

St Austell Readers Day 14th July

Hurley Books will be the official bookshop for St Austell Readers Day on the 14th of July. The event is being organized by Cornwall County Library Service and is going to run a series of events and talks by local and national authors.

So far the Library Service have confirmed Tessa Hainsworth "Up with the Larks", EV Thompson, best known for the Retallick books and teenage author Chris Higgins.

We'll announce full details when we have the programme.

and those rather late Christmas lights

12 foot tall and beautiful. This stunning papier mache model led the candle lit procession to the front of the harbour where the village, serenaded by the loudest samba band in the world, counted down the switch for the lights. Best selling author EV Thompson then lit the lights amidst lots of laughter and noise.

EV Thompson came to sign his latest book and switch on the Christmas lights!

Just realised that I never actually got round to writing this one up! On Saturday 5th December EV Thompson came to sign copies of his latest book Churchyard and Hawke.  EV Thompson has been writing historical fiction with a cornish theme for many years and has a huge following.  We were lucky enough to have him do a signing event in our shop because for many years he lived in Mevagissey, in fact in many of his books and on many jacket covers you will recognize familiar places.  I wonder if you recognize the fine house on the front of Churchyard and Hawke?  I was really nervous about the whole event, having never staged a signing before but it was a doodle, EV was the most friendly and self effacing chap and his fans were treated like old friends.  We had queues everywhere and had to fit his postal signings in between the in the flesh signings.  We run a large mailing database for all of Mr Thompson's fans who live overseas or up country so we had loads of those to get signed and dispatched as well.

We sold around 100 hardback copies on the day which was phenomenal, apparently we even gave the local Waterstones a run for their money.