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August rain ... September sun?


Last Christmas, Emma Jane Kirby on Radio 4's World at One did some lovely pieces on two of the Penguin Guides. You can now read her take on all the pre-war Guides and I thoroughly recommend her final piece on Devon (with some excellent PCS input from James Mackay!).  There are links within this that will take you through the series.

My suggestions for the slim remainder of this month and into September follow the usual mantra - ie, if you haven't visited the Bawden or Marx exhibitions you should seize the chance as I won't be reminding you next time!

My searching this month has produced the following nuggets.

First up is a visit to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh which has a tempting little exhibition entitled The Lost Words. Curated by Compton Verney, with Hamish Hamilton and Penguin Books, this is a collaborative project between writer Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris. If you haven't yet come across the book that is the centre of this exhibition, Penguin Books have a pleasing blog entitled The Making of a Modern ‘Spell-Book’.

Moving south a little, The Bowes Museum in beautiful Barnard Castle, is hosting The BFG in Pictures until the end of September. This Quentin Blake exhibition is touring from the House of Illustration.

Harold Jones is the subject of the Imaginative Book Illustration Society's Autumn Meeting on 4 October 2018 in London. Although not specifically Penguin related, Jones' illustrations will be well known to many as he was the creator of numerous dust jackets and illustrated books, including the collection of nursery rhymes, entitled Lavender's Blue (OUP 1954). The speaker is Ian Beck, himself an illustrator and author.

PBFA Book Fairs are always popular with members of PCS and September has a couple that might be of interest. On 2 September there is an Antiques and Collectors Fair at the Alexandra Palace and 14-15 September is the weekend for the York National Premier Fair. A full list of all PBFA book fairs can be seen here.

A strong showing for Penguin Random House UK who have five titles on the six-strong shortlist for The Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2018, which celebrates the best of science writing for a non-specialist audience. I am drawn to Sarah-Jayne Blakemore's book which is subtltled ‘The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain’(!) but the book that I am most intrigued by is ‘Liquid’ by Mark Miodownik with its wonderful cover illustration. Links to all of the titles can be found here.

Finally, my blog recommendation for this month is Ramblings on my bookshelves which is a regular posting by a hooked bibliophile and Penguin collector. Enjoy!

Caroline Maddison

NB
If you have heard of any exhibitions that might interest members or have comments or recommendations please get in touch with me.


Posted on Monday, 27th August 2018