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Stephen King delays e-book in favour of print

josette — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:56:02 GMT

Stephen King, the author and digital pioneer, has held back on an e-book version of his new novel, hoping to encourage print sales.

Stephen King fans hoping to download his new novel will be disappointed, following a decision by the bestselling horror writer to support the print version of the book.

Joyland, published on June 4 in the US and June 7 in UK, will only be available in print format, a radical decision for an author widely thought of as a digital pioneer. In 2000, he made one of his short stories, Riding The Bullet, only available as an ebook, priced at $2.50. The decision by such a high profile author was considered to be a turning point in e-publishing.

Speaking of Joyland, King told the Wall Street Journal: "I have no plans for a digital version. Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one."

King's decision to get behind traditional book retailing has been welcomed in America, where book stores have have been hit hard by online e-book pricing.

Joyland will be published by Hard Case Crime, an independent US publisher that specialises in lurid pulp fiction artwork on its book covers. In 2005, Hard Case published The Colorado Kid, by King.

"Part of the reason he publishes with us it to support our authors but I also think he enjoys the pulp presentation," Charles Ardai, owner of Hard Case, told the Wall Street Journal.

Later this year, another King novel will be published by Simon & Schuster. Doctor Sleep has been billed as a loose sequel to The Shining, one of King's most famous books.

Recent figures from the Publishers' Association suggested that sales from printed books in the UK are holding up in the face of growth from digital formats. Sales of printed books slid just one per cent to £2.9bn. Digital sales rose 66 per cent to £411m.

From The Telegraph

The Hive: 'The most hyped release in fiction this spring' which has kick-started the school gates mini-drama

josette — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:53:35 GMT

We’ve had it up to here with the wizards-and-magic fiction genre. Ditto the romantic-vampires-and-werewolves one.

We’re over the sado-masochistic-millionaire-boyfriend genre (so last year) although there are signs of an over-50s romcom trend exploiting the grey pound.

But where will publishers find a new bestseller genre? One answer came last weekend.

The Hive, a novel by Gill Hornby (right), is published on Thursday to a hubbub of excitement. The bidding war between publishers was reportedly vicious.

The Telegraph called it “the most hyped release in fiction this spring.” Reviews were good and the publishers Little Brown sent 50 free copies to Mumsnet to start the ball rolling. The book is set mainly at the gates of a school, St Ambrose Primary, at which local mothers meet to drop off and pick up their uniformed charges, to gossip and *** and invite each other to lunch.

The stage is set for plot lines full of female friendship and betrayal, flighty husbands, car boot sales and *** tea.

Ms Hornby, right, has a fine literary pedigree, being the sister of Nick Hornby and the wife of Robert Harris, not to mention being convenor of the annual River Café Quiz.

She’s scored a bullseye in identifying a key territory for class warfare, power struggles, sexual dynamics and other ingredients of a Good Read.

As the novelist Amanda Craig noted in her Independent review: “The school gate is the modern equivalent of the village well.” (And the parish pump, the local council chamber and the water cooler.)

It’s not, however, the first sighting of the phenomenon.

Last October, The School Gates by Nicola May was published, by the author herself: a tale of interparental dynamics at Featherstone Primary School in fictional Denbury, starring yummy mummies, earth mothers, tragic au pairs and at least one gay dad. It may have been announced with less fanfare than The Hive and have picked up mainly online reviews, but it kick-started a mini-genre that’s consolidated by the arrival of Ms Hornby.

Stand by for a flood of me-too titles along the same lines: When The Bell Goes, Enemy at the Gates, Primary School for Scandal…

From The Independent

'UK critics harshest', says Brown

josette — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:51:34 GMT

Bestselling author Dan Brown has told BBC Breakfast he gets "kicked around" by UK critics more than those in other countries.

Speaking this morning (20th May) during his first appearance to support the publication of his latest book, Inferno, Brown said he always sets out to "write the book that I would want
to read . . . I set out to write a book that is to my taste, and apparently a lot of other people share my taste, they like to read the types of books that I like to read."

He added: "Some of your critics here are not those people, apparently, but you know, life goes on . . . The books, across my country and elsewhere internationally, do get much better reviews than they do in the UK. It seems somehow to be sport to kick me around a bit."

Brown also confirmed that he gets up each day at 4 a.m. to start work, finding it more productive to work when there is "nobody to talk to". He said that immersing himself in the world of Dante's Inferno meant he had "some very unpleasant dreams" when writing the book, with the opening scene, where the main character Robert Langdon is waking from a nightmare, inspired by his own experiences.

He said: "For me, there is a very close tie between the dream state, when your mind is creating something out of nothing, and the writing state, when your mind is creating something out of nothing."

Brown will be speaking at the Dublin Writers' Festival tonight. Tomorrow (Tuesday 21st) he will be on Simon Mayo's BBC Radio 2 Drivetime show and interviewed by Mark Lawson on BBC Radio 4's arts programme "Front Row", with his only live UK event taking place later that day at the Freemasons Hall in central London. Tickets have not yet sold out for the event, which is hosted by Waterstones.

The UK critics' verdict on Inferno thus far has included: "bilge, but one hell of a page turner" from theDaily Mail; the Daily Telegraph saying Brown's "ambition wildly exceeds his ability"; and the Guardiandescribing the book as being "engineered with miraculous efficiency, a tasty cocktail of high culture and low thrills".

From The Bookseller

Revision Guides for Postage

foreternity — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:02:21 GMT

I've decided that it's finally time to clear out the old revision guides. I'll take online postage only as I don't have time to go to the post office this week but have a post box nearby.

Please bear in mind that these are all several years old and you will need to compare them with current syllabuses because they like to tweak them a bit.

All from CGP.

GCSE Mathematics The Workbook Higher Level - Third Edition - for the 2003 exams and beyond (just the workbook, I don't have the answer book)

KS3 Mathematics The Revision Guide (Levels 5-8) - Second Edition - for 2005 and beyond

KS3 English SATS Revision Guide - First Edition - for the 2001 and 2002 SATS

EDEXCEL Modular Science (GCSE) The Revision Guide Book One - First Edition - for 2005 and beyond

EDEXCEL Modular Science (GCSE) The Revision Guide Book Two - First Edition - for 2005 and beyond

newbooks Readers' Conference 2013

littlereader — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:18:14 GMT

Anyone else planning to go along to this? It's on Saturday 22nd June 2013 in Winchester.

http://www.newbooksmag.com/index.php?module_instance_id=11661&option=publish_revision&revision_number=3&data_ref_id=12233&t=1354027625#11661

What books came into your house today? MAY

pennyt — Wed, 01 May 2013 05:50:59 GMT

Make us all envious again and tell us about all those swaps, purchases, trolley-jumpers, charity shop bargains that you have to sneak onto the burgeoning TBR piles...

New Reading Challenge ~ Read a book from the week and year that you were born.

wyres — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 18:44:21 GMT

Does anyone fancy doing this challenge that I've pinched from Hazel's Reading Group. Hazel's group had been set a challenge to read a book that was in the New York Times Top 10 in the week and year that they were born. Hazel has just read and really enjoyed Love Story by Erich Segal.

1971 This is Hazel's year and what you have to do to find your year is change both the year dates in the address bar. ETA Click on the 1971 in blue for the link to the website.

I looked up mine and I've picked Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin as my challenge. I've no idea when I'm going to read it but I will at some point and will report back.

So the challenge is ~ Choose a book from the week and year that you were born that was in the New York Times Top Ten books.

Good Luck to anyone who fancies giving it a go.

Wyres ~ Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin. I enjoyed this but would have found this a much scarier story if I'd not seen the film of the book directed by Roman Polanski.

Suzann 2 ~ Bullet Park by John Cheever (if a copy appears!).

Magsfife ~ Airport by Arthur Hailey.

Tolly18 ~ Farewell my Lovely by Raymond Chandler. Definitely a book of its time!

Annie130 ~ 79 Park Avenue by Harold Robbins. Started but gave up on it.

Eightlegs ~ Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. Enjoyed it but it’s not the kind of thing she’d read a lot of, it was a bit predictable.

Seanat ~ Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

Pennyt ~ Ship of Fools by Kathleen Anne Porter (if a copy appears!).

Jobar ~ On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

Steveyp ~ The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge.

Janetandjohn ~ Kingsblood Royal by Sinclair Lewis.

Alison44 ~ Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman. Loved it.

Denise4891 ~ The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier. Read and enjoyed.

Sam1978 ~ The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough.

Josette ~ Goodbye, Janette by Harold Robbins.

Windysisters ~ The Goodbye Look by Ross Macdonald.

Mandyj ~ Stephania by Ilona Karmel. Read and enjoyed, wants others to experience it too.

Aileen11 ~ Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. Read it already, only a short book 100 pages or so and gave it a 4/5.

Sony08 ~ The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.

Nutty_mum_303 ~ Curtain by Agatha Christie.

I think I've added everyone so far. If I've missed anyone please let me know. Ta.

Are You My Mother ~ Louise Voss

angelicfi — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:08:24 GMT

From Good Reads

From the age of nineteen, Emma Victor has had to bring up her much younger sister Stella. It has shaped both their lives. Now Stella is almost grown up, and Emma's nurturing instincts extend to her work as an aromatherapist, and inform her relationship with the unreliable but irresistible Gavin. But something is missing, and Emma has to confront her deepest need - a need she's been denying for years - and embark on a search for her birth mother.

ARE YOU MY MOTHER? chronicles Emma's search for her birth mother and for a sense of her own place in the world in this compelling, funny and profoundly moving novel about love, identity and the need to belong

At the young age of 19 Emma's adoptive parents die and she is left to bring up her little sister , Stella. Putting everything on hold Emma might as well have become a mother herself.

Previously she had begun a tentative search for her birth mum and given it up as life got in the way. Following a chance meeting on a train with a homeless man and Stella now old enough to live her own life ,prompts her into beginning her search in earnest. Helped by her film making friend Mack she tracks down all the possibilities and starts to work her way through them.

The story depicts her family life, her no good for nothing boyfriend Gavin and the characters she meets throughout the search. The book takes it's title from the much loved children's book of the same name, about a baby bird who when he finds his mum missing feels isolated and abandoned ( a wonderful child's book) and this is how Emma feels deep down.

Fantastic well constructed read covering a topic I have little knowledge or experience of.

Kindle loan question..?

jobar — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:28:24 GMT

An American author has just loaned me a copy of her book to read but when I click on the link it takes me to Amazon.com and there is no instruction to download to my Kindle.

Has anyone any idea of whether this will work with an amazon.co.uk account ?

Hi from a newbie

zombiehoney85 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:36:00 GMT

Hi,

ive just signed up today and have started listing my books that i have to swap. just wanted to check if i should be sending recorded or not once i get my first swap?

thanks

* Kindle/ebook freebies 2013 *

pennyt — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 08:53:37 GMT

There are thousands of free ebooks out there and more released every day. Please let us know of any particularly good ones you come across.

If you're looking for free Kindle books, this link will take you to the complete list of Kindle freebies on Amazon: Kindle Freebies

Or find more, organised by genre or searchable by author, at CostFreeBooks.

And don't forget Project Guthenberg for free classics.

Does anyone have a Dyson?

kahlan — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:54:55 GMT

I am looking for a handheld vacuum to do my stairs. I live in a town house so I have two flights of stairs and my normal vacuum (which is very good) is far too heavy for the stairs; I also have two cats who shed all the time so I need to have a vacuum cleaner which strong suction. I did buy a cheap handheld (it cost me about £40) but I suppose as one might expect from the price, it just doesn't do the job - it has no suction at all.

So I am now looking at Dyson handhelds, specifically the DC44 Animal. My worry is that they are very expensive and I don't want to make a costly mistake. Reviews on Amazon are varied but mostly good; however, I would like to hear reviews from people I know and trust, so if anyone has one or experience of one, I would really appreciate your input before I spend the money. Thanks!

Peaches for Monsieur le Curé

lovelytreez — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:16:56 GMT

Peaches for Monsieur le Curé – Joanne Harris

Published
24/05/2012

Publisher
Doubleday

My Rating – fabulous 5 stars!

Peaches for Monsieur le Curé is the perfect antidote for a typically British Summer (wet and dismal!) as you’re immediately swept to the sultry setting of Paris in August. A voice from the past returns to haunt Vianne Rocher, now living on a houseboat with Roux and her children, Anouk and Rosette. It is eight years since she left Lansquenet in the South West of France and she “seems” to be settled and happy but something is calling her back and, after all, “What harm could it do?”.

Readers who have shared the trials and tribulations of Vianne’s stormy life from Chocolat to The Lollipop Shoes will be equally enthralled by this latest instalment. Our story takes place during the month of Ramadan, beginning with the sighting of the new moon and the return of Vianne to Lansquenet. There are two narrators, Vianne and her arch-enemy, Reynaud, the village curate. The passing years seem to have mellowed Vianne and she keeps a low profile in the village. Once she was the threatening newcomer, the one who shook the foundations of this sleepy village but new tensions are emerging with the growth of a Muslim community. What follows is a thrilling narrative with two communities thriving on their own fear and ignorance. Reynaud is no longer the golden boy but will Vianne forgive and forget past grievances?

I loved Peaches for Monsieur le Curé and I only wish that every book I read had the same power to transport me elsewhere in the midst of characters so vivid I feel I know them. Joanne Harris weaves a seductively spellbinding narrative exploring what makes any community tick – our fear of the unknown, how easily prejudices take root spreading unease and tension. She’s not afraid to tackle the controversial subject of the niqab, the face veil which was banned by the French government in 2011. Indeed “Peaches” certainly provides a lot of food for thought! If you enjoyed Chocolat and The Lollipop Shoes you will relish this latest story and we can all live in hope that we haven’t heard the last of Vianne and her family.

postal charges from april 2013

christel — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:39:36 GMT

Apologies if this has a thread elsewhere but I can't find it. Was horrified to take a normal size book to PO last week and be charged 2.60 as a packet..it was in a jiffy bag but even if in plastic would be too big for large letter.This means my OH and I will probably no longer use the site :( after some great swaps. Have to rely on Charity books at station Instead. Want to thank everyone for some great swaps we are on pensions and this is a bit steep for us now. Might still be able to swap thin books!

Could I swap a dvd box set on here?

jenwales — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:25:28 GMT

Just wondered if I could swap a dvd box set on here since I can't sell it and nobody I know wants it?

The Shadow Year - Hannah Richell

lovelytreez — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:25:06 GMT

The Shadow Year – Hannah Richell

Published
20/06/2013

Publisher
Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )

ISBN
9781409142980

Source
www.lovereading.co.uk

My Rating
4 stars

With two gradually converging storylines, one set in the 80s, the other in the mid-noughties, Hannah Richell weaves an intriguing tale of secrets and lies, of family and friendship, which captivates the reader from the opening lines.

The principal setting is a dilapidated, isolated cottage in the Peak District. Five friends from university stumble upon this remote idyll in the summer of 1980. Their education is over, they need space to breathe so they decide to go on a gap year with a difference. Instead of travelling the world they embark on a journey of self-discovery, holed up together in splendid isolation. But are they truly self-sufficient or are they merely playing house?

In 2006, Lila discovers the same derelict cottage at a time when she needs time alone to recover from a personal tragedy. It looks as if the previous occupants left in a hurry and she wonders who they were and what became of them.

The author cleverly teases out the narratives, scattering little crumbs of clues for the reader. You think you have all the pieces and the jigsaw is complete but you can never be completely sure of who is being truthful and who is witholding vital information.

I can't say I was particularly fond of any of the characters but this made them and the story all the more compelling. A cleverly constructed story which will keep you reading until the wee small hours. Think The Good Life crossed with The Secret History!

Titles, Tasters and Temptations - what we're reading in MAY

pennyt — Wed, 01 May 2013 05:49:12 GMT

So what are you all reading at the moment?

I'm starting the month in the company of Giordano Bruno in Sacrilege (S J Parris), and very much enjoying it so far:

Summer, 1584. The Protestant Prince William of Orange has been assassinated by a fanatical Catholic, and there are whispers that Queen Elizabeth will be next. Fear haunts the streets of London, and plague is driving many citizens away.
Giordano Bruno, radical philosopher and spy, chooses to remain, only to find that someone is following him through the city. Confronting his stalker, he realizes it is the woman he once loved – she is on the run, having been accused of murder.

Bruno travels to Canterbury to help clear her name, and also on behalf of Sir Francis Walsingham. The Queen’s spymaster has long suspected Catholic influence in the ancient centre of pilgrimage, and instructs Bruno to work to expose any enemy plots.

As Bruno begins his hunt for the real killer, he is drawn into the heart of a sinister conspiracy hiding in the shadow of England’s holiest shrine…

ebooks vs. paper books

johnself — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:48:53 GMT

Which do you prefer, and why?

[Poll]

Feedback

craigtoun — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:21:50 GMT

How long should someone have to wait after receipt of book before being given feedback?

I have....

fancy — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:01:17 GMT

....a copy of London in the Eighteenth Century by Jerry White for postage. It's brand new and quite a thick and heavy paperback. It'll cost £2.60 2nd class.

Anyone?

Book Chain May

tolly18 — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:24:32 GMT

From the given title and author please select one word and post another title and author containing that word. Please avoid little linking words such as: the, a, an, by, of, etc.

The last contributor in April was a1j2j3 and the title and author are:

Songs of the Hump-back Whale - Jodi Picoult

Blog: How do you organise your books?

josette — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:55:46 GMT

Tate Britain has rearranged its paintings in chronological order – can that teach those of us with chaotic bookshelves anything?

Books … how do you stack yours? Photograph: Elliot Elliot/Getty Images/Johner RF

The art-world professionals have applauded the revamp at Tate Britain. Why? Because the paintings have been rehung in chronological, rather than thematic, order.

To the untrained eye, this doesn't feel particularly remarkable. I mean, how many ways can you arrange an exhibition? You could put all the portraits in one room, animals in another, landscapes in a third and the abstracts in the corridor. Arranging them by size might look neat, I suppose, as would exhibiting them by predominant colour. Red room, yellow room, blue room etc. But it wouldn't really add or explain anything. Nor would lining them up alphabetically – the default filing system for most people's book and CD collections – achieve much. Unless you were going to Tate Britain purely to look at some Turners in which case you could just follow the arrows to the Ts and give the Reynolds and the Stubbs a miss.

Or you could curate an exhibition in the way I have arranged my books at home. Most people looking at my shelves might assume they were stacked randomly; but that is far from the truth. It's just that they are arranged in a way to reflect both the chaos in my head and the lack of physical space. The books I have had the longest are nearest to being recognisably alphabetised: from time to time, I make efforts to put them in alphabetical order and then give up. And when I do take a book out of the shelves, I seldom put it back where I found it.

The most valuable books also have to be kept away from direct sunlight, which means not-so- valuable books that were once alphabetically ordered then have to go near the window. And the even less valuable books that were near the window then have to go on the floor, where they then need sorting into those I want to keep if I ever get round to building new shelves and those I am going to cart off to Oxfam. Somehow, though, I don't think Tate Britain is quite ready for this system.

From The Guardian, posted by John Crace.

JK Rowling invented Quidditch after a row with her boyfriend

josette — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:54:04 GMT

The Harry Potter author reveals the origins of the fictional sport of Quidditch in a book full of her "second thoughts", to be auctioned for charity, writes Hannah Furness.

The fictional sport of Quidditch was only invented because JK Rowling had an argument with her boyfriend, the Harry Potter author has disclosed. JK Rowling said she designed the game in a Manchester hotel room after rowing with her then-boyfriend.

The sport is now one of the most famous elements of the Harry Potter books, played with broomsticks, hoop goals, and a flying ball with wings. The author, who famously wrote the first of the series while enduring financial hardship, has now disclosed some of the secrets behind its creation for charity.

She will auction a hand signed, annotated first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, containing insights into how she wrote it. The book, to be sold by Sotheby's to benefit literacy charity English PEN, contains a note on Quidditch, which Rowling said "infuriated" men.

"[Quidditch] was invented in a small hotel in Manchester after a row with my then boyfriend," she has written alongside the text. "I had been pondering the things that hold a society together, cause it to congregate and signify its particular character and knew I needed a sport.

"It infuriates men...which is quite satisfying given my state of mind when I invented it."

^{A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopherís Stone, by JK Rowling (Sothebys)}

The disclosure is a fraction of more than 1,000 extra words Rowling has added to her children's novel. On another page, she writes: "I wrote the book in snatched hours, in clattering cafes and or the dead of night. For me, the whole story of how I wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is written invisibly on every page and legible only to me."

As well as writing over 43 pages of her "second thoughts" upon reading the book again, she has also included 22 ink illustrations. Intended to show the characters as Rowling envisioned them, the hand drawn pictures include one of a baby Harry Potter sleeping on the Dursleys' doorstep and an Albus Dumbledore chocolate frog card.

Others show a "brooding" Snape, the Mirror of Erised, Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, and a man with two faces. The book is one of 50 first editions to be sold at the auction, and annotated by their authors.

Rowling's efforts will be sold on May 21 as part of the First Editions: Second Thoughts sale, alongside texts by Julian Barnes, Seamus Heaney, Yann Martel, Hilary Mantel, Ian McEwan and Sir Tom Stoppard.

Dr Philip Errington, director of printed books and manuscripts at Sotheby’s, said: “This can undoubtedly be regarded as the definitive copy of any Harry Potter book.

"Not only is it a fine copy of a first edition of the first book, but the author has significantly personalised it with numerous written comments and many impressive and evocative illustrations.

"The personality of the author leaps from these pages and we are treated to a remarkable insight into her creative genius.”

From The Telegraph

Indie booksellers call for action on Amazon's tax avoidance

josette — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:52:03 GMT

Independent retailers angry at lack of government intervention on web retailer's tax payments

Booksellers Frances and Keith Smith outside No 10 Downing Street to hand in a petition Amazon to pay their fair share of UK tax. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Independent booksellers have hit out at the government following this week's news that Amazon has paid only £3m on £4bn sales, saying it is time for talking to stop and action to begin.

"It seems that tax has become the issue of the day – and quite right too because, far away from the corridors of power and the gleaming HQs of Amazon and Google, it's people like us who are feeling the pressure caused by tax avoiders – but it's also people like us who are fighting back against them," said booksellers Keith and Frances Smith, who own two bookshops in Warwickshire.

"More and more huge corporations have found ways by clever accounting to reduce their tax liabilities and vast amounts of cash are accumulating in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens – some under the jurisdiction of the British government. Billions and billions of dollars, pounds and euros are being taken out of our economies and we are all feeling the results. David Cameron intends to discuss the issue at the G8 conference, but will any real action be taken?"

Nearly 170,000 people have signed a petition which the Smiths launched on Change.org in December, calling on Amazon to pay a proper rate of corporation tax. Last month, they handed it in to Downing street. "Our petition, quite unexpectedly, took off. Celebrities including Charlie Higson and Stephen Fry got behind us; we had other book retailers get in touch as well as the Booksellers Association and many, many others," said the Smiths, who own Warwick Books and Kenilworth Books.

"All around us the high street is, essentially, collapsing. It's too simplistic to say that this is just because of online retail – online is a reality and we compete as best we can. It's simply not fair that Amazon starts at a an advantage on every sale because it's not paying its fair share of tax. We love competition, we love making our shops inviting for customers. We are not happy to sit by and watch our high streets fall to pieces because of the sharp practice of a few companies and the inaction of our government."

They added: "The bare facts are these. When you buy a book from Amazon on the Amazon UK site and pay for it, the book is dispatched from a warehouse in the UK, delivered to you using either Royal Mail or a UK distributor, but your purchase is not registered in the UK so no corporation tax is due to the HMRC.

"On the other hand when Warwick Books and Kenilworth Books sell a book, we pay corporation tax on our profits and add a few thousand pounds per year to government coffers as a result – thus paying our bit towards the infrastructure we all enjoy in a civilised society. It doesn't seem too much to expect from our leaders that they stand up equally for small retailers like us as they seem to do for bigger companies."

The Smiths said they didn't know if their campaign would make any difference. "We are just two people who were fed up with seeing our local high streets ruined by the Amazon behemoth. But there does seem to be a growing feeling that, while these companies are welcome to trade here, it's high time they started putting their hands in their pockets, the way we have to. A strong society relies on a fair tax system."

Responding to the protest, a spokesman for Amazon said: "Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within."

From The Guardian

London mayor, Boris Johnson, launches reading festival

josette — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:50:03 GMT

London's Trafalgar Square is to play host to a giant reading festival for families to enjoy this summer.

The free outdoor event will feature famous authors and celebrities reading on stage backed by an enormous interactive screen, with thousands of children following along.

The Get Reading festival, set to take place on 13 July, is part of a major literacy campaign being led by theLondon Evening Standard and has been organised in partnership with the e-reader firm Nook.

Yesterday, Boris Johnson kicked off preparations for the one-day event at a primary school in Battersea, London, alongside Evgeny Lebedev, owner of theLondon Evening Standard and The Independent.

Boris read on a Nook eReader from The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, one of his favourite childhood books, he said. His literary hero, he revealed, is Mr Toad. Surprise surprise.

The Mayor added: "I would like to see a London where kids are no longer illiterate at age 11. The target must be to stamp out illiteracy of 11-year-olds, and this is where the Standard's literacy campaign has done such pioneering work. Think of the potential - almost one in five kids are leaving primary school unable to read or write, think of what they would go on to achieve, think of the economic benefits that would bring to London if we could turn that round and turn these kids onto reading. I hope as many Londoners as possible can make it to Trafalgar Square for the giant read-a-thon packed full of literacy-boosting activities and famous book lovers.”

Boris was followed by Mr Lebedev, who read from Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant.

Mr Lebedev added: “As the enthusiasm of the children this morning shows, reading has opened their lives to the wonderful stories that only books can bring. The Trafalgar Square read-a-thon will be a celebration of all that our literacy campaign has achieved and promises to be fantastic fun!”

Jim Hilt, managing director of Barnes & Noble, owners of Nook, said: “This festival is going to be a celebration of books, creating excitement around our favourite children’s stories. We came to the UK to be a part of the fabric of community by creating affordable access to reading and we believe that this festival will further the campaign.”

St Mary's executive headteacher Jared Brading said: "We will definitely be taking our pupils to the Trafalgar Square festival. It will be a wonderful opportunity to combine reading with a great day out."

Get London Reading was launched two years ago to help struggling readers and has so far raised £1m, including £500,000 from the Mayor’s Fund for London. The money supports almost 700 reading volunteers trained by the Standard's campaign partners Beanstalk who help more than 2,000 children at hundreds of primary schools across the capital.

Additional details on the Trafalgar Square Get Reading line up - to be held on Saturday 13 July 11am to 5pm - and how the public can register will be revealed shortly.