Some of you may remember my blog post about the John Barrowman book signing. In it I said I would soon be giving my review of Hollow Earth. You may have thought that I'd forgotten all about it (or you may have forgotten yourself) but don't worry, I remember and though this is a little later than 'soon', I'm giving this post over to my review.
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Friday, 15 March 2013
Red Nose Day
Just a short post today in honour of Comic Relief.
I have a few fond memories of Red Nose Day. At school it was one of my favourite days in the year because we got to dress in 'home' clothes and do something fun, like wear a wig. One year our teachers all came to school in their pyjamas. We did have fun and we used to raise quite a bit of money too.
I have a few fond memories of Red Nose Day. At school it was one of my favourite days in the year because we got to dress in 'home' clothes and do something fun, like wear a wig. One year our teachers all came to school in their pyjamas. We did have fun and we used to raise quite a bit of money too.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
So You Want to Work in Publishing?
Week six of my second trimester is almost over (yes, really!), so now seems like the time for some good old reflection. Before I started my MSc Publishing course I knew we would be required to participate in 'live projects', producing a book and a magazine. During our first trimester our work was all geared to providing us with the skills needed to complete these projects. The individual proposals we all worked on for the book live project had me imagining an exciting collaboration to produce a beautiful, interesting book. There were so many good ideas and I couldn't wait to get started on it.
The reality, as is so often the case, has been somewhat different.
The reality, as is so often the case, has been somewhat different.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars
This is my first attempt at a book review since I was in high school, so please forgive me if this sounds rusty.
I'm sure you've all heard of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. It's one of those books that is so famous, lines of it exist independently. You know what I mean - "the world is not a wish-granting factory" and "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." To be honest, it is not my usual type of book. In fact, I probably would never have read it had it not become such a big thing on tumblr and had several of my friends not recommended it. I approached it with a bit of trepidation, unsure, exactly, what to expect, but as it turns out I actually really enjoyed the book.
A book that deals with teenagers suffering from cancer has the potential to be unbearably sad, but John Green has managed to interweave tragedy and humour into a punchy, heart-rending and yet heart-warming narrative. I defy you not to like Hazel, the protagonist and narrator. She was witty and fiesty and made me think about what it must be like to be in her situation. Her anger at the way people respond to kids with cancer was interesting and made me contemplate what my own reaction would be. I think it's true that we can drown cancer sufferers in pity and we do talk about their bravery and how hard they seem to fight. We do it, perhaps, because we can't imagine what they arre going through and we admire them. But until reading TFIOS I never considered how this might seem to someone with cancer. Hazel doesn't see herself as brave and she doesn't want to be; she just wants to be 'normal' and treated like her old high school friends.
It is Hazel's relationship with Augustus Waters that forms the main heart of the story, and I found it a refreshing love story. Augustus is charming and humorous and I think the reader ends up falling a little in love with him along with Hazel. I loved their trip to Amsterdam to visit Peter Van Houten, author of Hazel's favourite book. It was such a romantic gesture for Augustus to spend his wish on the trip and I found the descriptions of Amsterdam enchanting. I think it makes the (spoiler alert; although, to be honest if you don't know this, where have you been?) return of Augustus' cancer all the more of an emotional punch.
Green does not shy away from describing the brutality of the disease. We see how it eats away at Augustus and experience through Hazel and those around her the pain that it causes to the patient and their loved ones. I had a lump in my throat at several points, but Green never gets bogged down in the sorrow. Hazel maintains her wit and her bursts of anger at the universe and the people in it struck me as realistic. I came away from this book with a different perspective on what it must be like to suffer from cancer. This book will make you laugh and cry. Don't let the subject matter put you off. I can promise you that you won't regret picking up this wonderful book.
Annette xx
I'm sure you've all heard of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. It's one of those books that is so famous, lines of it exist independently. You know what I mean - "the world is not a wish-granting factory" and "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." To be honest, it is not my usual type of book. In fact, I probably would never have read it had it not become such a big thing on tumblr and had several of my friends not recommended it. I approached it with a bit of trepidation, unsure, exactly, what to expect, but as it turns out I actually really enjoyed the book.
A book that deals with teenagers suffering from cancer has the potential to be unbearably sad, but John Green has managed to interweave tragedy and humour into a punchy, heart-rending and yet heart-warming narrative. I defy you not to like Hazel, the protagonist and narrator. She was witty and fiesty and made me think about what it must be like to be in her situation. Her anger at the way people respond to kids with cancer was interesting and made me contemplate what my own reaction would be. I think it's true that we can drown cancer sufferers in pity and we do talk about their bravery and how hard they seem to fight. We do it, perhaps, because we can't imagine what they arre going through and we admire them. But until reading TFIOS I never considered how this might seem to someone with cancer. Hazel doesn't see herself as brave and she doesn't want to be; she just wants to be 'normal' and treated like her old high school friends.
 | |
| The Fault In Our Stars cover |
It is Hazel's relationship with Augustus Waters that forms the main heart of the story, and I found it a refreshing love story. Augustus is charming and humorous and I think the reader ends up falling a little in love with him along with Hazel. I loved their trip to Amsterdam to visit Peter Van Houten, author of Hazel's favourite book. It was such a romantic gesture for Augustus to spend his wish on the trip and I found the descriptions of Amsterdam enchanting. I think it makes the (spoiler alert; although, to be honest if you don't know this, where have you been?) return of Augustus' cancer all the more of an emotional punch.
Green does not shy away from describing the brutality of the disease. We see how it eats away at Augustus and experience through Hazel and those around her the pain that it causes to the patient and their loved ones. I had a lump in my throat at several points, but Green never gets bogged down in the sorrow. Hazel maintains her wit and her bursts of anger at the universe and the people in it struck me as realistic. I came away from this book with a different perspective on what it must be like to suffer from cancer. This book will make you laugh and cry. Don't let the subject matter put you off. I can promise you that you won't regret picking up this wonderful book.
Annette xx
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Meeting John Barrowman
It's been another really busy week, but the highlight was attending a book signing on Wednesday at Waterstones by THE John Barrowman. That's right, Captain Jack was in Edinburgh to sign copies of Bone Quill, his newest novel, and there was no way I was going to miss the chance to see him in person. I've never met anyone famous (anyone exciting anyway) and I've loved John since the moment I first saw him on Doctor Who. Plus, I'm making it a point of attending as many book/publishing related events as I can, and a book signing is definitely publishing related.
Needless to say, Waterstones was chock-a-block with fans, but luckily my friend, Jen, arrived early and got a spot near the start of the queue for us. The level of excitement and impatience amongst the crowd as we waited was almost tangible, and when John and his sister, Carole (who co-authors the books with him) started to descend the stairs everyone cheered. Immediately phones were whipped out as people tried to get pictures. I attempted to take some myself, but I was shaking through sheer excitement so much that they came out a bit blurry! Still, as Jen pointed out, they are proof that we did indeed meet him.
Both John and Carole were so nice. Carole asked me how I was, which I thought was really sweet of her. And John was so gracious when I embarrassed myself and asked him if he'd be interested in teaming up with Merchiston Publishing for a potential e-book. I was coerced into asking this by my so-called friends (thanks guys) and my excited tutor who found out I was attending the book signing. I am still in a state of utter horror that I actually asked him about it; sorry, John! But the silver lining is that I actually spoke to him and he was lovely. He's just like you see him on TV; completely down-to-earth. It was a brilliant, if slightly surreal experience, and now I have two books signed by one of my favourite actors. As days go, that was pretty darn good!
I shall be reading Hollow Earth (the first of the two books) next, so stayed tuned for my review at some future date.
Annette xx
Needless to say, Waterstones was chock-a-block with fans, but luckily my friend, Jen, arrived early and got a spot near the start of the queue for us. The level of excitement and impatience amongst the crowd as we waited was almost tangible, and when John and his sister, Carole (who co-authors the books with him) started to descend the stairs everyone cheered. Immediately phones were whipped out as people tried to get pictures. I attempted to take some myself, but I was shaking through sheer excitement so much that they came out a bit blurry! Still, as Jen pointed out, they are proof that we did indeed meet him.
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| John & Carole Barrowman |
Both John and Carole were so nice. Carole asked me how I was, which I thought was really sweet of her. And John was so gracious when I embarrassed myself and asked him if he'd be interested in teaming up with Merchiston Publishing for a potential e-book. I was coerced into asking this by my so-called friends (thanks guys) and my excited tutor who found out I was attending the book signing. I am still in a state of utter horror that I actually asked him about it; sorry, John! But the silver lining is that I actually spoke to him and he was lovely. He's just like you see him on TV; completely down-to-earth. It was a brilliant, if slightly surreal experience, and now I have two books signed by one of my favourite actors. As days go, that was pretty darn good!
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| One of my signed books |
I shall be reading Hollow Earth (the first of the two books) next, so stayed tuned for my review at some future date.
Annette xx
Friday, 22 February 2013
Baking and Book Covers
Wednesday was a very busy day.
As part of my publishing course we are involved in 'live projects', attempting to produce two books in both print and electronic format. In order to raise funds for this, we held a bake sale on Wednesday at our campus. The idea was instrumented by our brilliant marketing team, headed by Kelly Hamister, and we all brought in baking to tempt the people of Merchiston. The result was a feast for anyone with a sweet tooth. We outdid ourselves - authentic American chocolate chip cookies, rock cakes, chocolate truffles, and Chinese onion biscuits (which were delicious!).
The marketing team went with a vintage theme in honour of one of the books we hope to publish. They dressed up for the occasion and they had music, which created a brilliant atmosphere. Passers-by were certainly intrigued and by lunch a lot of the baking had been sold. By the end of the day quite a few of the treats had sold out. I'm very happy to report that the bake sale raised £241! I don't think any of us expected it to be such a huge success and we are all very proud of our marketing team. This money will go towards our marketing materials, such as bookmarks and promotional teabags.
That evening I attended the 'Do You Judge A Book By Its Cover' event at Blackwell's on South Bridge. I must confess to being ever-so-slightly obsessed with book covers. One of the things I love most about physical books is how pretty they look lined up on my book shelf. Since starting my publishing course this interest in cover design has grown as I've learned just what goes into making a book look the way it does. InDesign and I may have our issues, but I enjoy the creativity involved in designing a book cover. So, when I heard about this event, I was determined to attend.
The book at the heart of the event was Far Rockaway, by Charlie Fletcher. The paperback cover was designed by Astrid Jaeckel, a student from the Edinburgh College of Art, as part of a competition held in conjunction with the College. Both author and illustrator were present at the event, along with Anne McNeil from Hodder, Jonathan Gibbs from Edinburgh College of Art, and Janet Smyth from the Edinburgh Book Festival.
The discussion was based around Far Rockaway but it threw up a lot of ideas and discussion about book cover design in general. Anne McNeil stated that the jacket design should encompass the heart of the book and reach out to potential readers. I found it interesting when she spoke of the collaborative process involved in designing a book's cover. Until I started this course I didn't give much thought to the process. My only exposure to it was while on work experience at Luath Press. The designer would come in for meetings with authors on a Tuesday, and though I saw the author, designer and publishing team sitting together at these meetings it always seemed to me as if the designer was the one directing everything. The more I learn about publishing, however, the more I am realising that departments have to collaborate and that no decision can be made without consultation.
One of the main things I took away from the event was the importance of the market. McNeil spoke at length about the influence of bookshop trends and the decision that is often taken to make a cover more 'commercial' so that it will be easily identifiable to the readers. This is something I can relate to. Just today I spied a book in a book store and the style of the cover immediately alerted me to the fact it was a historical romance in the vein of Philippa Gregory. So, you see, there is so much more to a book's cover than the image. It is a fascinating process, one based on careful consideration and involving more than just the designer. It is, I would argue, one of the most crucial decisions made about a book. I know that attractive covers have influenced my purchases in the past.
I have my suspicions that I am just a nerd, but if you think about it I'm sure you will be able to think about book covers that you have loved and loathed. Let me know which ones. We can maybe start a club!
Annette xx
As part of my publishing course we are involved in 'live projects', attempting to produce two books in both print and electronic format. In order to raise funds for this, we held a bake sale on Wednesday at our campus. The idea was instrumented by our brilliant marketing team, headed by Kelly Hamister, and we all brought in baking to tempt the people of Merchiston. The result was a feast for anyone with a sweet tooth. We outdid ourselves - authentic American chocolate chip cookies, rock cakes, chocolate truffles, and Chinese onion biscuits (which were delicious!).
 | |
| Some of the sweet treats we served up |
The marketing team went with a vintage theme in honour of one of the books we hope to publish. They dressed up for the occasion and they had music, which created a brilliant atmosphere. Passers-by were certainly intrigued and by lunch a lot of the baking had been sold. By the end of the day quite a few of the treats had sold out. I'm very happy to report that the bake sale raised £241! I don't think any of us expected it to be such a huge success and we are all very proud of our marketing team. This money will go towards our marketing materials, such as bookmarks and promotional teabags.
That evening I attended the 'Do You Judge A Book By Its Cover' event at Blackwell's on South Bridge. I must confess to being ever-so-slightly obsessed with book covers. One of the things I love most about physical books is how pretty they look lined up on my book shelf. Since starting my publishing course this interest in cover design has grown as I've learned just what goes into making a book look the way it does. InDesign and I may have our issues, but I enjoy the creativity involved in designing a book cover. So, when I heard about this event, I was determined to attend.
The book at the heart of the event was Far Rockaway, by Charlie Fletcher. The paperback cover was designed by Astrid Jaeckel, a student from the Edinburgh College of Art, as part of a competition held in conjunction with the College. Both author and illustrator were present at the event, along with Anne McNeil from Hodder, Jonathan Gibbs from Edinburgh College of Art, and Janet Smyth from the Edinburgh Book Festival.
The discussion was based around Far Rockaway but it threw up a lot of ideas and discussion about book cover design in general. Anne McNeil stated that the jacket design should encompass the heart of the book and reach out to potential readers. I found it interesting when she spoke of the collaborative process involved in designing a book's cover. Until I started this course I didn't give much thought to the process. My only exposure to it was while on work experience at Luath Press. The designer would come in for meetings with authors on a Tuesday, and though I saw the author, designer and publishing team sitting together at these meetings it always seemed to me as if the designer was the one directing everything. The more I learn about publishing, however, the more I am realising that departments have to collaborate and that no decision can be made without consultation.
One of the main things I took away from the event was the importance of the market. McNeil spoke at length about the influence of bookshop trends and the decision that is often taken to make a cover more 'commercial' so that it will be easily identifiable to the readers. This is something I can relate to. Just today I spied a book in a book store and the style of the cover immediately alerted me to the fact it was a historical romance in the vein of Philippa Gregory. So, you see, there is so much more to a book's cover than the image. It is a fascinating process, one based on careful consideration and involving more than just the designer. It is, I would argue, one of the most crucial decisions made about a book. I know that attractive covers have influenced my purchases in the past.
I have my suspicions that I am just a nerd, but if you think about it I'm sure you will be able to think about book covers that you have loved and loathed. Let me know which ones. We can maybe start a club!
Annette xx
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
'Jellicles Come to the Jellicle Ball'
Last Friday I went to the Edinburgh Playhouse to see Cats. It bought the tickets as a Christmas gift for my mum because she loves the musical to pieces. I can't even remember when I first became obsessed with Cats. I was probably about 9 or 10 and the DVD of the specially recorded performance had just come out. Mum bought it and we watched it over and over. I quickly got my hands on a copy of the original soundtrack and soon I knew the words to every song. My friends and I even used to stage 'productions' of it in my bedroom. I saw it in the theatre for the first time about ten years ago and this is the second live production I have been to see.
Maybe it is the immediacy of the memory or maybe it was because we were in the second row and had the most amazing view ever, but this is my favourite production so far. It was spellbinding and the cast were terrific. I can't praise them enough.
Look at that stage! We spent ages picking out pieces of the rubbish. My favourite was the huge tin of Felix. The opening with the flashing cats eyes took my breath away. It is one thing to see it on a DVD, but to experience if for real is thrilling.
And then the cats came out. I simply love the fact they interact with the audience so much. It makes it all the more fun. As I said before, the entire cast was wonderful, but I have to mention my personal favourites. First of all, Oliver Savile as Rum Tum Tugger blew me away. The Tugger is one of my favourite cats, and Savile had all the panache, sex appeal and haughtiness that the role demands. He got him down to an absolute T. When he swooped into the audience to ask one of the ladies to dance we were all cheering and his air guitar with his tail at the curtain call was hilarious. Melissa James was an amazing Bombalurina. Her facial expressions were spot-on especially during the Macavity number. From now on she will be the standard by which I measure all other Bombalurinas. On the night one of the understudies was playing the role of Mistofelees. I think it was Joel Morris, but I could be wrong. At any rate, this was the best performance of Mistofelees I've seen. His expressions of wonder and pride when he brought Old Deuteronomy back from Macavity's clutches were perfect. That particular number was a stand-out. The whole audience were singing and clapping along and the pyrotechnics were amazing.
The role of Grizabella is, of course, the most important and while I don't think anyone will ever be able to banish Elaine Paige from my mind, Joanna Ampil in this production was spectacular. She put her heart and soul into the performance and her rendition of Memory was breathtaking. I could feel every emotion while she was singing.
But, the show for me was well and truly stolen by Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. I am probably ridiculously biased here. They have always been my favourite Cats right from the very first time I watched the DVD. In fact, when I was a kid I wanted to be Rumpleteazer. I'd still say that if I was an actress that would be my dream role (closely followed by Christine in Phantom). I adore the DVD interpretation of them, but the actors playing them in this production stole my heart. I have to confess to being totally distracted by their every antic in the background during Gus the Theatre Cat and Mistofeeles. They played them with such humour and affection. Their little hugs and kisses on the cheeks were adorable and I must confess to doing an inward 'aww' when, during Gus the Theatre cat, Mungojerrie put his hand on Rumpleteazer's heart when Gus sings 'I'd a voice that would soften the hardest of hearts.' They were perfect and future Mungojerries and Rumpleteazer's will have a lot to live up to!
It was a brilliant night and I urge you all if you haven't seen it yet to get yourselves down to the Playhouse. The cast make this one production you don't want to miss! I fancy going back to see them myself.
Annette xx
Maybe it is the immediacy of the memory or maybe it was because we were in the second row and had the most amazing view ever, but this is my favourite production so far. It was spellbinding and the cast were terrific. I can't praise them enough.
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| The most amazing set ever |
Look at that stage! We spent ages picking out pieces of the rubbish. My favourite was the huge tin of Felix. The opening with the flashing cats eyes took my breath away. It is one thing to see it on a DVD, but to experience if for real is thrilling.
And then the cats came out. I simply love the fact they interact with the audience so much. It makes it all the more fun. As I said before, the entire cast was wonderful, but I have to mention my personal favourites. First of all, Oliver Savile as Rum Tum Tugger blew me away. The Tugger is one of my favourite cats, and Savile had all the panache, sex appeal and haughtiness that the role demands. He got him down to an absolute T. When he swooped into the audience to ask one of the ladies to dance we were all cheering and his air guitar with his tail at the curtain call was hilarious. Melissa James was an amazing Bombalurina. Her facial expressions were spot-on especially during the Macavity number. From now on she will be the standard by which I measure all other Bombalurinas. On the night one of the understudies was playing the role of Mistofelees. I think it was Joel Morris, but I could be wrong. At any rate, this was the best performance of Mistofelees I've seen. His expressions of wonder and pride when he brought Old Deuteronomy back from Macavity's clutches were perfect. That particular number was a stand-out. The whole audience were singing and clapping along and the pyrotechnics were amazing.
The role of Grizabella is, of course, the most important and while I don't think anyone will ever be able to banish Elaine Paige from my mind, Joanna Ampil in this production was spectacular. She put her heart and soul into the performance and her rendition of Memory was breathtaking. I could feel every emotion while she was singing.
But, the show for me was well and truly stolen by Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. I am probably ridiculously biased here. They have always been my favourite Cats right from the very first time I watched the DVD. In fact, when I was a kid I wanted to be Rumpleteazer. I'd still say that if I was an actress that would be my dream role (closely followed by Christine in Phantom). I adore the DVD interpretation of them, but the actors playing them in this production stole my heart. I have to confess to being totally distracted by their every antic in the background during Gus the Theatre Cat and Mistofeeles. They played them with such humour and affection. Their little hugs and kisses on the cheeks were adorable and I must confess to doing an inward 'aww' when, during Gus the Theatre cat, Mungojerrie put his hand on Rumpleteazer's heart when Gus sings 'I'd a voice that would soften the hardest of hearts.' They were perfect and future Mungojerries and Rumpleteazer's will have a lot to live up to!
It was a brilliant night and I urge you all if you haven't seen it yet to get yourselves down to the Playhouse. The cast make this one production you don't want to miss! I fancy going back to see them myself.
Annette xx
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