Monthly Archives: June 2011

The sun always shines on TV

29/06/2011 – 15:19

Welcome to a rather glorious Wednesday where the sun is shining brightly here at Hive Towers. Every day the sun shines I think, yay, a good day for the tennis! My, I can’t believe how much weight Nadal’s lost though. Wish I knew his secret. Or, of course could just have something to do with him being a multiple-Grand Slam-winning tennis champion. Hey-ho.

However. As entertaining as Wimbledon is, there is plenty happening in the literature world as well as the sporting one. Manchester Children’s Book Festival is going strong as these very words are being typed and if you’re in the Herefordshire area this weekend I’m sure you’re looking forward to the Ledbury Poetry Festival. There are some excellent events happening at the festival from the 1st July for ten days, with authors such as Carol Ann Duffy, Jo Shapcott, Stuart Maconie and Michael Rosen all taking part in talks and readings. You can find out more about the Ledbury Poetry Festival here www.poetry-festival.com . Go nuts!

I found out this week about the Jurassic Park trilogy coming out on the how-did-we-ever-watch-films-before-it-amazement that is Blu-ray later this year. The first movie, for me, is up there with the Lord of the Rings trilogy (although Jurassic Park predates) so I am hoping that the Blu-ray transfer will do the dino disaster movie justice. If you’re like me, it’s something to get very excited about.

If you can’t get to any music festivals this summer, why not see if your favourite artists are featured in our live DVDs & Blu-ray range on the homepage? There are some legendary concerts that even I didn’t know had been released on Blu-ray, so have a browse through and see if there any there you’d like to see and relive again in glorious high-def.

What have we got to look forward to in July? Well I guarantee you that festival season will be going as strong as ever, with more festivals on literature and poetry happening in the many parts of the country. Find out more here www.literaryfestivals.co.uk or check your local indie’s Hive homepage to see if they are taking part and what they are doing.

So whoever you’re supporting in the tennis at the moment, be it Nadal, Federer or our dear own Andy Murray, I hope you enjoy the rest of the week watching your champion… and I leave you with the thought too, have you considered what books are you planning on taking on holiday with you this year?

Laters!

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Festivals, festivals… and more festivals!

22/06/2011 – 17:28

Good afternoon to you all on this blustery and rainy day here at Hive Towers. Seems it doesn’t matter what the weather is like, poor folk like me still suffer with our hay fever and if you are too, you have my eternal sympathy.

However we must smile and plod onwards as there is much to look forward to, and indeed being enjoyed as we speak. I hope you’re all watching Wimbledon and enjoying the tennis, we’re looking forward to Nadal’s autobiography coming out in August. The Spanish tennis champion’s autobiography is certain to be a top read.

We are also smack bang in festival frivolities too, with Worcestershire Literary Festival and Lowdham Book Festival currently underway all the while Independent Booksellers Week is still going strong this week. I hope you’ve found out if your local indie is taking part and if so, what events they are doing. There are some terrific authors championing the event, so make sure you log onto http://www.independentbooksellersweek.org.uk and keep up-to-date of what’s happening in your area with your indie. Alternatively search for your favourite shop on Hive to see what they are up to, too.

We’ve got a great selection of recommended reads as chosen by some of our independent booksellers on the homepage. Have a look at the titles and see if there is anything there that might tickle your fancy. And did you know you could actually cook with the classic bedtime drink Horlicks? Nope, neither did I but there’s a fantastic little book showing you how to in various ways on the books homepage.

So as one door closes, another opens; Manchester Children’s Book Festival starts next week as Worcestershire’s festival ends. I’ve been looking at all the book and literature festivals that are coming in the next few weeks and blow me there are a lot that are going to be happening up and down the country! Have a look here to see if there is one in your area at http://www.literaryfestivals.co.uk/ so you don’t miss out, and take advantage of what your town or county has to offer and whet your literary appetite.

And congratulations are in order too, to Andrea Levy and her book The Long Song which won the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction earlier this week.

I’m off now to carry on getting stupidly and beyond-all-hope excited about the Lord of the Rings trilogy extended editions coming out on Blu-ray next Monday. Laters!

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Anyone for strawberries and cream?

16/06/2011 – 10:34

Good morning to you all… by Jove, have we a wealth of things to get excited about this week! I think we should get started!

Well, where does one even begin? At the top of course with Independent Booksellers Week being celebrated between the 18th and 25th June, a perfect time for us all to show that we <3 our indies. By searching for your nearest independent bookshop here on Hive and clicking onto their page or website, you’ll be able to see what events and indeed authors they might be having at their shops; there might be signing events, meet & greets and even things for children to get involved in too. For more information on IBW and the events, please go to http://www.independentbooksellersweek.org.uk and enjoy celebrating independent bookselling!

As if that is not enough it’s also National Crime Writing week, the Edinburgh International Film Festival is underway and if you’re as excited about Wimbledon as I am, then you’ll no doubt be looking forward to the start of it next Monday… and don’t forget your strawberries and cream! If you’re in the east Midlands area this weekend or next week, why not go and experience the Lowdham Book Festival in Nottingham? There are some great books that have been nominated for the new East Midlands Book Award, be sure to check the nominees out here on Hive in the books section. For more information on the events, award and the festival, go to www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk/awards

So all that remains is to remind all you lovely people – have you got your Father’s Day gifts for this Sunday sorted? Find out if your pappy has any missing Terry Pratchett titles from his collection as we highlight the master of Discworld himself in the Books section.

I leave you now for another week, urging you to go to your local indie and enjoy the fun of IBW… and even more great things to look forward to next week!

Have a great week!

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Festivals and awards aplenty!

09/06/2011 – 10:15

Well hello to you all! Happy Thursday!

I’m hoping that you have enjoyed the first blog and seen a more jovial and informal side to Hive. This is where we like to have a bit of fun and discuss events, news and promotions, and hopefully being informative too. So once a week when you log in, please remember to click through to the blog and see my new updates and posts!

We’re way into June now and there are some top events to look forward to this month, and the start of the festival period begins too. The Edinburgh International Film Festival begins next Wednesday which also runs alongside the more local-independent-bookshop-friendly Lowdham Book Festival. During this festival the winner of a brand new award, excitingly making its début, the East Midlands Book Award, will be announced. There are some fantastic titles which have been nominated, the books themselves can be found being promoted in the fiction section in books on Hive.

The Orange Prize for Fiction winner 2011 was announced last night, so big congrats to Tea Obreht and her novel, The Tiger’s Wife which scooped the coveted prize. Don’t forget to get your pre-order in for the paperback which is due to be published at the end of this month.

And earlier this week we launched our phrase books promotion, where you can find lots of great phrase books to take on holiday this year starting from less than a fiver each… and pocket-sized, too! Also don’t forget to take advantage of our special deals on great barbecue books for this is National Barbecue Week – so get those coals on, crack out a beer and get that sausage sizzling! And speaking of sizzling, there’s also 30% off Mills & Boon eBooks, too…

See you all next week for National Crime Writing Week!

(We all know the butler did it though.)

Details on the events discussed in this blog can be further found here:

Edinburgh International Film Festival

http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/

Lowdham Book Festival

http://www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk/awards/

Orange Prize for Fiction 2011

www.orangeprize.co.uk/

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ABC, 123…

01/06/2011 – 14:41

Welcome. Good day to you.

I’d like to start with a quote on our very first blog here at Hive.

As Julie Andrews sang on top of that mountain in Austria some 46 years ago… let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start, when you read you begin with…

Well, hopefully shopping on Hive.

Okay, so I’ve allowed for artistic license there, but the sentiment is right and that’s what we’re aiming for you to think about when you go to order your next book online. Here at Hive we are very excited about Hive’s launch; we’ve put a lot of hard work into creating it and cannot wait to see how it’s going to change the way you order your books and indeed, how you receive your booty too. The best thing undoubtedly about it all is that you can still order your book or DVD from the comfort of your own home with moggy firmly on lap, and then you can go and pick it up from your local indie bookshop. That way you can say hi and see what other goodies they might have in store for you there to see! This works so well with the news and events feature we’ve given to the bookshops for their pages, so why not twin picking your new purchase up with going on the same day as your shop is holding their next amazing event? You never know what they might be holding in their wonderful shops, so don’t miss out; order your book and go and say hi!

I’ll leave the technical and sales stuff in the ‘About Us’ section for you to read. This is Hive’s blog, so expect to read about new titles and releases, events, media, technology, the odd promotion… in fact anything I have an opinion on and feel you should know about. And that’s not including all the wonderful things you can learn about your local independent bookshops and what’s going on with them in their world. Rejoice!

But what have we got for you at the moment on Hive? Well, we have a positive plethora of promotions for you to take advantage of, including books to tie in with National Barbeque Week, Dummies eBook guides and Scottish fiction and non-fiction eBooks. It’s also that time of the year when you might be thinking about where you’d like to go away for the summer and to help you decide we have a fantastic Lonely Planet eBook promotion for you to indulge in. With over 100 destinations to choose from, we’re confident you’ll find the eBook you need for your perfect holiday this year. Bon voyage!

So for the moment enjoy Hive. There’s much to explore, browse and purchase, whether it be a new recipe book you’re after, a Disney Blu-ray for the wee ones or the new Charlaine Harris for the eReader. It’s all here for you to see and be impressed with.

Hive: the only thing we don’t do is walk the dog.

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