Freight’s Friday Feature

Fridays are days for fun things! On Fridays we’re going to write
a wee bit about things that we enjoy.
We hope you enjoy them too.

So I’ve been wanting to do a post on the audiobook for World War Z by Max Brooks for quite some time now. I’m still a little bit cynical about ebooks, but this one absolutely floored me with its awesomeness.

Last week, Freight Books read…

So at the moment I’m still trekking through Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada, but I’m always keen to do a wee book review on book review day!

The Bookseller’s Dozen #2

Our new monthly feature of Scottish independent bookshops.

Far from the Madding Crowd is a very friendly bookshop located in Linlithgow. The atmosphere is entirely relaxed and welcoming, and very child friendly. They host many author and reading events, and boast a wide variety of ‘books & maps, gifts, toys, jewellery, cards & stationery, tea, accessories, homewares, vintage & antiques, and much more all under one roof’. It is a brilliant example of an independent bookshop that functions beautifully as a social space – it’s not just a place to buy books, it’s somewhere to meet friends and attend themed book events. We love their dedicated Scotland room!

Last week, Freight Books read…

The Museum of Unconditional Surrender, by Dubravka Ugrešic (my copy is by Pheonix), translated by Celia Hawkesworth. This book is hard to come by if you want a new copy, it seems. I think it is only being published in America at the moment, and this is something that needs to be rectified as soon as possible!

I think we’ll kick this off with a quote from a section that comes between the acknowledgements and Chapter 1, but which is very much what the book is about. I hope the author won’t mind me typing out this swathe. First, though, we need this picture:

Last week, Freight Books read…

The Bear, by Claire Cameron (Harvill Secker). This is the first book i’ve read from the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist. In the author’s note, Claire Cameron explains that this story is based on real events that occurred in October 1991 when a bear attacked Raymond Jakubauskas and Carola Frehe while camping on Bates Island on Lake Opeongo (where the book takes place).

Last week, Freight Books read…

Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes (Angry Robot). This is a bit old now, but deserves reviewing because it is different, and has stuck with me for over a year, much like the animals in the novel (more of which soon). I came across a review for this on the fantastic blog Pechorin’s Journal, which deserves a mention simply because I think the author, Max Cairnduff, has exactly the same taste in books as me. For a good book suggestion, come here, but for a suggestion from my bookshelf, go see Max.

So, Zoo City. This is a novel set in contemporary Johannesburg, but in an alternate reality where people who commit crimes get magically attached to an animal.

Last week, Freight Books read…

The Mussel Feast, by Brigit Vanderbeke, translated by Jamie Bulloch (Peirene Press). A quick word about Peirene Press, who are doing some excellent things and deserve to be better known. They run a subscription service where you can get the three books they publish a year sent to you. Their specialism is contemporary European novellas that take less time to read than a film takes to watch. You should find out more about them.

Tell It Like It Is

Tell It Like It Is is a new column for the blog, featuring Freight employees giving their own views on matters relating to the publishing world. These views are even more personal than the usual personal views being read, and in no way stand for Freight’s philosophy, way of thinking, or direction of movement.

So, A S Byatt has really shaken things up over the last few weeks, hasn’t she. Not in global terms, but in terms relating to the state of publishing in the UK at present. For those of you not keen, interested or inclined to read the London Evening Standard, she said this on the back of only one Briton making it to the shortlist of the inaugural Folio Prize.

Last week, Freight Books read…

I remember that life in that room seemed to be occurring beneath the sea, time flowed past indifferently above us, hours and days had no meaning. In the beginning our life together held a joy and amazement which was newborn every day. Beneath the joy, of course, was anguish and beneath the amazement was fear;

Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin (Penguin). I was unsure what to make of this book when I picked it up, fearing an indelicate approach to a sensitive subject matter. At the time when it was published (1956) the question of sexuality and morality was extremely controversial, and a book like this one would have been provocative to say the very least. Baldwin tactfully explores the central character’s confusion, frustration and shame and shows the extent to which the suppression of sexuality can torture and alter the soul.

Under the Covers

Love is strange. Love is beautiful. Love is dangerous. Love is never what you expect it to be. Here PENGUIN brings you the most seductive, inspiring and surprising writing on love in all its infinite variety.

This week is the third week of our Under the Covers feature, and I suppose sort of tying in with the whole bedroom suggestion of the feature, I’m going to pick on the Penguin Great Loves collection. These covers are absolutely stunning, and I struggle to actually read the books from fear of inflicting any damage to the aesthetic package. The collection focuses mostly on classical, romantic/erotic literature, and offsets the passion and emotion of each title with a subtle but suggestive cover, laden with symbolism.