Welcome to Waterstone's bookclub

Marian Keyes - live web chat - Friday, 20th March

We had a fantastic a live webchat with Marian Keyes between on Friday 20th March - you can read the questions and answers on the thread below.

Marian Keyes is a publishing phenomenon. Though she didn't start writing until ten years ago, she is now one of the most successful Irish novelists of all time. She describes herself as "an accidental novelist." Though she was brought up in a home where a lot of oral story-telling went on, it never occurred to her that she could write. Instead she studied law and accountancy and finally started writing short stories in 1993 "out of the blue." Though she had no intention of ever writing a novel ("It would take too long") she sent her short stories to a publisher, with a letter saying she'd started work on a novel. She was born in Limerick in 1963, and brought up in Cavan, Cork, Galway and Dublin; she spent her twenties in London, but is now living in Dún Laoghaire with her husband Tony. She includes among her hobbies, reading, movies, shoes, handbags and feminism.

About This Charming Man:

Lola has just found out that her boyfriend - charismatic politician Paddy de Courcy - is getting married. To someone else. Heartbroken, Lola flees the city for a cottage by the sea. But will Lola's retreat prove as idyllic as she hopes? Journalist Grace wants the inside story on Paddy de Courcy's engagement and thinks Lola holds the key to it. Grace knew Paddy a long time ago. But why can't she forget him? Grace's sister, Marnie, might have the answer but she also has issues with the past. Her loving loving husband and beautiful daughters are wonderful, but they can't take away memories of her first love: a certain Paddy de Courcy. What will it take for Marnie to be able to move on? Alicia Thornton is Paddy's wife-to-be. Determined to be the perfect wife, Alicia would do anything for her fiance. But does she know the real Paddy? Four very different women. One awfully charming man. And the dark secret that binds them all.

Read more about Marian on her author page and watch a video

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March 16, 2009 in Books | Permalink | Comments (40)| TrackBack (0)

James Frey - live webchat - 11th March, 2009

James Christopher Frey is an American writer. His first book, the memoir, A Million Little Pieces, was published by John Murray in 2003. Its follow-up, My Friend Leonard (also a memoir) was published by in 2005. Both books became New York Times number one bestsellers. In late 2005 and early 2006, investigators discovered that elements of his memoir, A Million Little Pieces, had been fabricated. It was a great book in any case, so everybody's happy. Frey, along with his family, currently resides in New York City. His latest book is Bright Shiny Morning .

About Bright Shiny Morning:

This is a bold and dazzling new story from the controversial creator of A Million Little Pieces. Welcome to LA. City of contradictions. It is home to movie stars and down-and-outs. Palm-lined beaches and gridlock. Shopping sprees and gun sprees. Bright Shiny Morning takes a wild ride through the ultimate metropolis, where glittering excess rubs shoulders with seedy depravity. Frey's trademark filmic snapshots zoom in on the parallel lives of diverse characters, bringing their egos and ideals, hopes and despairs, anxieties and absurdities vividly to life. Some suffer, like the otherworldly wino who tries to save a spoilt teenage runaway. Others gain, like the canny talent agent who turns sexual harassment to blackmailing advantage. Some are loaded, or grounded, and have luck on their side. Others, like the countless actresses-turned-hookers, or schoolboys-turned-gangsters, are doomed.

Read more about James on his author page

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March 10, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (50)| TrackBack (0)

The Book Circle - The Story of Forgetting

Welcome to the Book Circle.

The March Cardholders' Choice of the Month is The Story of Forgetting by debut author Stefan Merrill Block. Join in the discussion below to share your views on this enthralling, yet heartbreaking, read.

About the book:
Fifteen-year-old Seth Waller is devastated when his mother is diagnosed with a rare, early-onset form of Alzheimer's. When he was growing up, his mother always brushed aside questions about her past and family, and Seth realises that soon he will lose his chance to find out any more. He decides to uncover the truth about her life, their family history and the condition, and what he discovers is more surprising than he ever could have imagined. Inspired partly by Stefan Merrill Block's own family history, The Story of Forgetting is a moving and inspiring novel of love, loss, hope and genetic destiny.

Read more about Stefan with our exclusive Q&A

"This book enthralled me. So much so, that I read it in two sittings. The author writes with such in-depth knowledge, understanding and compassion about a subject most would not want to experience. The impact of early onset Alzheimers Disease on one family really gets into the core of your emotions and intellect. It is everything a book should be."
Joyce Hyde

The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block

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February 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)| TrackBack (0)

The Book Circle - The Other Hand

Welcome to the Book Circle - our brand new book club.

We're launching with Chris Cleave's The Other Hand, join in our discussion below to share your views on this emotional read.

About the book:

The Other Hand tells the story of two very different women—a young refugee from the Nigerian delta and a suburban English housewife-whose lives collided years ago on a beach in Africa. Told in alternating voices, with humanity and humour, the story follows the course of their friendship as they struggle to save themselves and each other from the cruelties of life. In the end, their bond will face the ultimate test when each woman must make a devastating decision.

"This is truly an amazing, heart-wrenching book. I'm speechless at its beauty and cruelty and can't bring myself to write or say anything about the actual storyline for fear of not doing it any justice or giving anything away. What I will say is that Chris Cleave has captured the fear and single-mindedness of being alone, vulnerable and terrified, and has blown me away with this book."
Nicola Golding - Waterstone's Bookseller

Read more about Chris on his author page

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February 02, 2009 in Books | Permalink | Comments (11)| TrackBack (0)

Jeffery Deaver - live webchat

Jeffery Deaver is one of America's bestselling crime writers and he joined us here on Tuesday 27th January in a live web chat - and you can read the full transcript of the Q&A with readers below. His latest book is The Bodies Left Behind.

A spring night in a small town in Wisconsin...A call to police emergency from a distant lake house is cut short...A phone glitch or an aborted report of a crime? Off-duty deputy Brynn leaves her family's dinner table and drives up to deserted Lake Mondac to find out. She stumbles onto the scene of a heinous murder...Before she can call for backup, though, she finds herself the next potential victim. Deprived of her phone, weapon and car, Brynn and an unlikely ally -- a survivor of the carnage -- can survive only by fleeing into the dense, deserted woods, on a desperate trek to safety and ultimately to the choice to fight back. The professional criminals, also strangers to this hostile setting, must forge a tense alliance too, in order to find and kill the two witnesses to the crime...

The author of more than twenty bestselling novels, Jeffery Deaver has been nominated for six Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. In 2004, he was awarded the Crime Writers Association of Great Britain's Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for Garden Of Beasts and the Short Story Dagger for "The Weekender". Translated into 35 languages, his novels have appeared on a number of bestseller lists around the world, including the New York Times, the London Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Read more about Jeff on his author page

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January 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (81)| TrackBack (0)

The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams

The final bookclub title for 2008 is David Walliams' The Boy in the Dress - the first children's book (although it clearly has crossover appeal for the adult market) that we've discussed - and it should be really interesting to see what our panel make of it, and get a "grown-up" perspective on the book, including the delightful Quentin Blake illustrations...We look forward to hearing from you...

From the publisher:

The sparkling debut children's novel from David Walliams, co-creator and co-star of the multi-award-winning Little Britain. Dennis was different. Why was he different, you ask? Well, a small clue might be in the title of this book! Charming, surprising and hilarious - The Boy in the Dress is everything you would expect from the co-creator of Little Britain. David Walliams's beautiful first novel will touch the hearts (and funny bones) of children and adults alike. We are delighted to be publishing David's book, which brings this exceptional creative talent to the world of children's storytelling. Walliams' playful wit and zestful imagination combine in a highly original story which we know children themselves will adore.

From the author:

"I am thrilled beyond measure to be working with the legendary Quentin Blake. I have adored his work since I was a child, and having him illustrate the book is a great honour."

David Walliams

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October 28, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (25)| TrackBack (0)

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

From the publisher:

Love is as strong as death, as hard as Hell. The nameless and beautiful narrator of The Gargoyle is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and wakes up in a burns ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned. His life is over - he is now a monster. But in fact it is only just beginning. One day, Marianne Engel, a wild and compelling sculptress of gargoyles, enters his life and tells him that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly burned mercenary and she was a nun and a scribe who nursed him back to health in the famed monastery of Engelthal. As she spins her tale, Scheherazade fashion, and relates equally mesmerising stories of deathless love in Japan, Greenland, Italy and England, he finds himself drawn back to life - and, finally, to love.

Read more about Andrew Davidson on his author page ...

From a Waterstone's reviewer:

"This is an absolutely astonishing debut novel, beautifully written, ambitious and powerful. Its themes are vast in scope: redemption through suffering, the nature of beauty, mysticism, religion, madness... and above all the redeeming and enduring power of love. In a multi-faceted Russian doll of a narrative which contains stories within stories to illustrate a love that conquers time, Davidson draws on the legends and story-telling traditions of various civilisations and cultures, as well as on the Bible and Dante's Inferno... In short, this is not a book to be read lightly and then tossed carelessly aside. In the vein of say, The Shadow of the Wind, The Name of the Rose, or The Time Traveller's Wife, this story speaks to both heart and mind and lingers in the imagination long after the reader has finished."

Waterstone's Cardholder

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September 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (86)

One Morning Like A Bird by Andrew Miller

From the publisher:

1940. Tokyo. Japan is at war with China, and Yuji Takano is clinging to the life he has made for himself as a young poet - the company of his friends, the monthly meetings of the French Club at Monsieur Feneon's house, the days of writing and contemplation made possible by an allowance from his father, a professor of Law at Tokyo's elite Imperial university...But the world is closing in on Yuji. His father is disgraced, the allowance is scrapped, and the threat of conscription is coming ever closer. And then there is Monsieur Feneon's nineteen-year-old daughter Alissa, a girl with her own very definite ideas of what she wants, and whose fate becomes inextricably bound up with Yuji's. One Morning Like A Bird unfolds a tale of growing up and growing free of the self-delusions that make doing the right thing so difficult - especially in a world where everyone is struggling to save themselves. It is also the story of Tokyo: a vast and almost impossible place, its history plagued by fires and earthquakes, and in 1941, a city that teeters on the brink of its greatest catastrophe.

From a Waterstone's reviewer:

Andrew Miller evokes meticulously a specific time and place; Tokyo in 1940. His hero is a young poet, Yuji, living at his family home in reduced circumstances. Yuji’s father, a law professor, has been unfairly disgraced because of something he wrote fifteen years earlier. World War II is gathering momentum; the newspaper has pictures of storm troopers on the Champs-Elysees. Yuji’s world is changing and privileges formerly taken for granted are gradually being eroded. Yuji’s family and friends, his lover, his values, his way of life, are described with sympathy.

This is, perhaps, a small masterpiece.

Adele Winston

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August 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (22)

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

From the publisher:

From the author of the international bestseller Incendiary comes a haunting, warm and beautiful novel about the tenuous friendship that blooms between two disparate strangers—one an illegal Nigerian refugee; the other a recent widow from suburban London.

Published in more than twenty countries, Chris Cleave’s first novel, Incendiary, won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award and was an Observer Book of the Year and a New York Times Editor’s Choice. Incendiary is also a major feature film, starring Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams, to be released in 2008.

The Other Hand tells the story of two very different women—a young refugee from the Nigerian delta and a suburban English housewife—whose lives collided years ago on a beach in Africa. Told in alternating voices, with humanity and humour, the story follows the course of their friendship as they struggle to save themselves and each other from the cruelties of life. In the end, their bond will face the ultimate test when each woman must make a devastating decision.

From the author:

Thank you so much for reading The Other Hand, a novel I feel very tenderly about. I hope you enjoy it! You are among the first readers of the novel in the world, and you are certainly the first book club to take it, so this is going to be a critical experience for me in more than one sense. Your reaction to the novel will help me in two direct ways - when I’m answering journalists’ questions about it over the coming months; and when I’m working on my current writing project. I take readers’ feedback to heart – you are the only teachers I have and your engagement is the only way I can make myself better, so I am truly grateful for any comments you have. And if you have any questions, I will be very pleased to answer them in the forum.

Having thanked you for your engagement, I would also like to thank Waterstone’s for their support. Waterstone’s is a unique retailer, run by people who genuinely love books and enjoy working with readers to seek out the best ones. From talking with them I know they make this work because they respect readers as much as writers do, which is all a writer can ask of a bookseller. Thank you.

Chris Cleave, 25th June 2008

Read more about Chris on his author page

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June 26, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (78)

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

From the publisher:

Welcome to LA. City of contradictions. It is home to movie stars and down-and-outs. Palm-lined beaches and gridlock. Shopping sprees and gun sprees. Bright Shiny Morning takes a wild ride through the ultimate metropolis, where glittering excess rubs shoulders with seedy depravity. Frey's trademark filmic snapshots zoom in on the parallel lives of diverse characters, bringing their egos and ideals, hopes and despairs, anxieties and absurdities vividly to life. Some suffer, like the otherworldly wino who tries to save a spoilt teenage runaway. Others gain, like the canny talent agent who turns sexual harassment to blackmailing advantage. Some are loaded, or grounded, and have luck on their side. Others, like the countless actresses-turned-hookers, or schoolboys-turned-gangsters, are doomed.

"Out of the many characters in Bright Shiny Morning, one dominates them all - the city of Los Angeles. Frey etches out the city's persona through the experiences of a cross-section of its inhabitants, from the highest to the very lowest. It is testament to his skills that even the most profoundly unsympathetic of these individuals cannot fail to get under your skin and the novel is always engaging although don't expect a story in the conventional sense."
Tom Goddard, Waterstones.com

An ambitious and wide-ranging first novel from the author of the controversial rehab memoir, A Million Little Pieces which paints a vivid fictional portrait of the city of Los Angeles and its many and varied inhabitants...Did you feel that James Frey suceeded in creating believable and sympathetic characters here? How did you find the unconventional narrative structure of the book? Did it affect your overall enjoyment of the book? Does the book provide a rounded portrait of the city that gives a real impression of sense of place and what the city is like? Did you empathise with any of the characters more than others? Amberton, Dylan, Old Man Joe - who did you feel was the most convincing character?

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May 02, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (68)

About the bookclub

The Waterstone's bookclub is an open forum for the discussion of books and all related topics. Featuring titles from Chick Lit to Science Fiction and everything in-between, whatever your views, we look forward to reading your comments…