BESTSELLERS OF 2008
FEBRUARY
Six local interest titles made The Book Case’s top ten in
February - four of them from our own stable. A library event produced good
sales of a hardback novel, and Khaled Hosseini and Patrick Gale emerged as our
Richard & Judy winners.
1. Hebden Bridge: a short history of
the area - Peter Thomas, £5.99. From ancient times to the present
day, an illustrated history of the town and area, showing how we have changed
over the centuries. A Royd Press publication.
2. A Cotton-Fibre Halo - Angus Bethune Reach, ed. Chris Aspin, £7.99. Companion volume to Fabrics, Filth and Fairy Tents, covering the textile workers of Manchester and the surrounding area in 1849. Young journalist Angus Reach revolutionised investigative reporting but sadly died at 36. Royd Press.
3. Gold Pieces - Phyllis Bentley, £5.95. The exciting 1968 children’s classic by the popular Halifax author about the Cragg Vale Coiners. Our next Phyllis Bentley reprint will be "Ned Carver in Danger", about the local Luddites. Royd Press.
4. Fabrics, Filth and Fairy Tents - Angus Bethune Reach, ed. Chris Aspin, £6.95. Our first publication, reporting on the textile workers of West Yorkshire in 1849, with lots of interviews. Royd Press.
5. Room of Lost Things - Stella Duffy,
£14.99
Author Stella Duffy appeared with Paul Magrs at a
Calderdale Libraries event at Todmorden Library. We a couple of signed
copies of this new novel, set in south London.
6. Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini, £7.99. In 1970s Afghanistan, twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon. Now a film.
7. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini, £11.99. From the author of "The Kite Runner", a gripping drama of beauty, destruction, sadness, and suspense, a chronicle of the last thirty years of Afghan history, and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, and the salvation to be found in love. A Richard and Judy choice.
8. Notes from an Exhibition - Patrick Gale, £7.99. When troubled artist Rachel Kelly dies painting obsessively in her attic studio, her saintly husband and adult children have more than the usual mess to clear up. A Richard and Judy choice.
9. The Forest of Bowland: with Pendle Hill and the West Pennine Moors - Andrew Bibby, £7.99. A Freedom to Roam guide from the local author and journalist, produced in association with the Rambers’ Association.
10. Pies and Prejudce - Stuart Maconie, £5.95. Exiled Northerner tours the North (including Hebden Bridge) to find his own Northern soul ... He approves of John Morrison’s Milltown writings! Now in a mass market edition.
JANUARY
Richard and Judy have exerted their usual spell at The Book Case, so there are an unusual number of novels in our top ten, with four books of local interest
1. Power in the Landscape: water-powered mills in the Upper Calder Valley, £5. This colour-illustrated pamphlet from Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre with the history of watermills in the area is back at the top. There is an accompanying DVD and/or CD.
2. On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan, £6.99. A honeymoon couple at a seaside hotel in 1962. A story about how the entire course of a life can be changed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini, £11.99. A Richard and Judy choice. From the author of "The Kite Runner", a gripping drama of beauty, destruction, sadness, and suspense, a chronicle of the last thirty years of Afghan history, and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, and the salvation to be found in love.
4. Gold Pieces - Phyllis Bentley, £5.95. Our reprint of the exciting 1968 children’s classic about the Cragg Vale Coiners. Our next Phyllis Bentley reprint will be "Ned Carver in Danger", about the local Luddites.
5. Mr Pip - Lloyd Jones, £7.99. A Richard and Judy choice. A reclusive white man reopens the school on a Pacific island, planning to introduce the children to Dickens. But on an island at war, the power of fiction has dangerous consequences. An unforgettable tale of survival by story.
6. Weird Calderdale - Paul Weatherhead, £7.99. We’re delighted this account of strange and incredible events from the Calderdale area is again available and selling strongly.
7. Notes from an Exhibition - Patrick Gale, £7.99. A Richard and Judy choice. When troubled artist Rachel Kelly dies painting obsessively in her attic studio, her saintly husband and adult children have more than the usual mess to clear up.
8. Letters of Ted Hughes, ed. Christopher Reid, £30 (£25 at The Book Case) This selection begins when Ted Hughes was seventeen, and documents the course of his resolutely private life. Critics’ choice for 2007. In the same spot as last month.
9. Kite Runner - K Hosseini, £7.99. In 1970s Afghanistan, twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon. Now a film.
10. Folktales from Calderdale Vol. 1 - John
Billingsley, £7.50.
The Witches of Eagle Crag, the Cliviger
Boggart, the Bride Stones, the Eve Stone, Stoodley Pike, Great Rock, Tom Bell's
Cave, the Miller's Grave and Churn Milk Joan are included. The first edition is
nearly sold out!