This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
By The Dart Book Review To e-read or not to e-read? That is


the question. Admittedly not a serious worry up against the recession, however, it is having a big effect on the worldwide publishing business. According to the Publishers Association’s Statistics Yearbook, printed books still remain the choice for the majority of readers, despite a whopping increase in digital sales of 366% last year. I am torn between the two though I’m told one doesn’t


substitute the other and many people read from books, e-readers and audio books. If you travel the e-reader is invaluable – all those books available in something the size of 1 small paperback – though it’s a toss up as to which is more waterproof by the side of the pool. However, nothing replaces the feeling of browsing in a bookshop: stolen moments of peace promising adventures amongst the shelves with the excitement of a new discovery. Certainly not the same as the soulless online purchase which has two big advantages: convenience and price – very important factors in today’s cash-strapped world. Summer brings a wealth of choice for that perfect holiday


read - with much new fiction and crime fiction to wile away those hours on an aeroplane or by the pool. This month’s recommendations are: Whatever It Takes (Headline Review) Large P/B £11.99 by Adele Parks. Definitely a good poolside read with the added bonus that it’s all set in Dartmouth - so there’s a familiar setting there too. Not being a real fan of chickLit it wasn’t my first choice, however, it was unputdownable and devoured in a couple of rare, searingly hot days - a book that sucks you in but doesn’t involve too much brainpower so it allows you enough headspace to concentrate on the kids in the pool with no worries or frustrations if you miss a couple of sentences! And for those who fancy a bit of


Scandinavian fiction without the gloom and guts of Wallander and Larsson try The Hundred-Year- Old Man Who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared (Hesperus Press) P/B £8.99 by Jonas Jonasson. Its been a European bestseller over the last 2 years and has only just found a publisher in the UK. Described as a fun, feel- good book for all ages it tells the story of a centenarian who escapes


by Emma Jones


from his old people’s home. While waiting for a bus, he steals a suitcase full of money belonging to a criminal gang, who chase him across Sweden. Along the way, the reader hears the story of his eventful life and the part that he played in some of the most significant events of the 20th century. By all accounts it’s a hilarious story, likened by a Danish reviewer to ‘Forrest Gump at the Wheel’. No doubt Hollywood studios won’t be far behind. If you’re looking for more conventional suspense driven


Scandinavian crime fiction, try camilla Lackberg’s The Drowning (Harper Collins) H/B £12.99. And my quirky award of the month goes to Albert of Adelaide (Serpent’s Tail) H/B £12.99 by Howard L Anderson. Albert is a duck-billed platypus, who has escaped from a zoo in Adelaide to look for somewhere that may, or may not, exist: Old Australia, a place where humans never venture, and animals still rule. Albert knows it’s somewhere in the middle of the Outback - not the ideal habitat for a water-loving animal - but now he’s lost and close to death. He’s saved, though, by Jack, a pyromaniac, sardine-loving wombat, who promptly gets him into even worse trouble taking him to a marsupial-only bar run by a kangaroo called O’Hanlin, getting him drunk and then burning the bar down. And this is just the beginning of Albert’s adventure...A glorious romp of a novel, Albert of


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