Guest Blog: Five Fascinating Facts about Rumer Godden

In this new guest blog post, Victoria Best puts the spotlight on Rumer Godden (1907-98), the prolific novelist who, among other things, gave her name to Rumer Willis, the actress daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, and to Rumer, the musician born Sarah Joyce… 1. Before she started writing, Rumer Godden ran a mixed … Read more

10 Great Quotes from Writers about Cats

What a purrfect way to pass a few minutes – sitting back and enjoying our ten favourite quotes about our feline friends.These quotes are about cats, but are anything but catty: many of the writers featured below are fully paid-up ailurophiles, or cat-lovers. ‘Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and … Read more

Five Fascinating Facts about Game of Thrones

Quick facts about A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones

We felt it was high time we gathered together the five best facts we’ve uncovered about the HBO TV series Game of Thrones, and the books on which the series is based, George R. R. Martin’s fantasy cycle, A Song of Ice and Fire.

1. George R. R. Martin’s series A Song of Ice and Fire was inspired by the pet turtles he had as a child. Martin would invent stories involving the turtles … but, because the turtles kept dying, the young Martin imagined that they must be hatching ‘sinister plots’ to kill each other off. One wonders if there was a Joffrey turtle, a Littlefinger turtle, and a Cersei turtle!

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Everyday Phrases and the King James Bible

The King James Version of the Bible was first published on this day, 2 May, in 1611. This is arguably still the definitive English translation of the Bible, containing a lyricism and beauty of phrasing which many find largely absent from the more recent translations of the Bible into English. Although the King James Bible is … Read more

10 Words Every Book-Lover Should Know

The word for a book-lover is a ‘bibliophile’, a word first recorded in print in 1824. Alternatively, there is the word ‘bookworm’, which is of an altogether more ancient pedigree: it first appears in 1580. But what words should every good bibliophile and bookworm know? Here are some of our favourites. If you enjoy these, we’ve also delved into the interesting world of words and language here.

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