Book Reviews

‘The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.’ Alan Bennett

“Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.” ― Franz Kafka

Tuesday, 25 June 2013

Giveaway - The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones



Book news - The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones



A jumble of entries, written in different hands, different languages, and different times. They tell of a rumour. A shadow. A killer.


The only interest that Oxford Professor Charles Meredith has in the diaries is as a record of Hungarian folklore ... until he comes face to face with a myth.

For Hannah Wilde, the diaries are a survival guide that taught her the three rules she lives by: verify everyone, trust no one, and if in any doubt, run.

But Hannah knows that if her daughter is ever going to be safe, she will have to stop running and face the terror that has hunted her family for five generations.

And nothing in the diaries can prepare her for that.

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About the author:

Stephen Jones grew up in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire and studied at Royal Holloway College, University of London and is the director of a major London media agency. He now lives in Surrey with his wife, three young sons and far too many books. The String Diaries is his first novel. He is planning a sequel.

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Giveaway - 3 hardback copies to be won!




The String Diaries sounds a very exciting debut novel indeed, doesn't it! It is released in the UK on July 4th 2013 and thanks to the kind folks at Headline I have three new hardback copies to giveaway! 

To enter, please leave a comment on this post telling me if you do, or ever have, kept a diary, and how secret it was...

For an extra entry please follow this blog via GFC or Bloglovin' and let me know in your comment that you are a follower. 

This is a giveaway for winners at UK addreses only please, as specified by the publisher. 

***THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED*** 

 Thank you to everyone who entered. Three winners have been chosen at random and contacted, winners to be announced July 2nd 2013.


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22 comments:

  1. Mark25 June 2013 at 12:57

    I kept a diary when I was 17/18 - it certainly wasn't great literature and was mostly me being a typical moany teenager... Then, to my great horror, my so-called best friend found it, took it away, photocopied the most embarrassing pages and shared them with our other friends. Luckily there wasn't anything truly mortifying in there.

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    1. Lindsay25 June 2013 at 13:51

      Oh no! That must have been absolutely awful at the time... thinking of teenage secrets and how painfully embarrassing things can be at that age. But good that there was nothing too bad. Thanks for entering the giveaway and commenting Mark!

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  2. Felicity Grace Terry25 June 2013 at 14:14

    A follower on GFC. I did have a diary, one of those five year lockable ones that you could open with a hair clip (I know this because our cousin opened my sisters in this way) and whilst I never used this from a very young age I did keep a book journal.

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    1. Lindsay25 June 2013 at 17:07

      Thanks for entering and commenting Tracy. I remember those sort of diaries. A book journal is a fab thing to have I think!

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  3. Jaffareadstoo.....25 June 2013 at 15:58

    Hi Lindsay - I'm a follower on GFC and a new follower on Bloglovin.

    I've kept a diary on and off for years but remember in my teens having one of those five year diaries that had a padlock on....don't know what happened to it but wish I could read it again now. !!

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    1. Lindsay25 June 2013 at 17:08

      Hi Josie, thanks for entering the giveaway and commenting. I don't think I still have diaries from a long time ago but I did keep some at one point, would be very embarrassing to me now no doubt.

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  4. Unknown25 June 2013 at 20:21

    New follower via Bloglovin.

    I've had a few different diaries. When I was in my early teens I had a physical diary that I kept up for a couple of years - at least until my mother found it. I really should have seen that coming. I've had an online journal for nearly ten years now that's a mixture of public and private. I use it in much the same way. Mostly for venting to be honest.

    Thanks for the giveaway. I've seen this book on a few different blogs and thought it looked interesting.

    endofmissc [at] gmail [dot] com

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    1. Lindsay27 June 2013 at 14:12

      Thanks for following and entering the giveaway, Carmen. Sounds like your online journal is a good way of getting things off your chest, a good thing!

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  5. Sam (Tiny Library)25 June 2013 at 21:27

    please enter me, I follow via bloglovin :)
    I would be stoked if I won this giveaway, I've had my eye on this book for a while now...

    Tinylibraryblog@gmail.com

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  6. Unknown26 June 2013 at 09:05

    Hi Lindsay,

    I've kept diaries on and off since I was a teenager. These days they are more private than secret, but I'm still not sure I'd like anyone to read what I've written!

    Sarah
    (follow on Bloglovin)

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  7. Ellie26 June 2013 at 12:36

    This book sounds amazing! I've always kept diaries full of random jottings and drawings and life stuff. I found them all when I was packing to move the other day and it was so odd to read them. I am surprised how much I talked about books even then! As well as boys, family, friends and food :)They were pretty secret and particularly now I would hate anyone to stumble upon them.

    I follow you on bloglovin.

    What a lovely giveaway, thanks Lindsay.

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    1. Lindsay27 June 2013 at 14:13

      Thanks for your comment and for entering, Ellie. I wonder if you are keeping them all when you move?

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    2. Ellie27 June 2013 at 15:44

      I am! It feels wrong to throw away all my memories like that. I'm sure it'll give me some entertainment when I am much older :)

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    3. Lindsay28 June 2013 at 08:57

      It's sure to! :)

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  8. Lisa27 June 2013 at 20:26

    Only kept one when I first met my now husband and it wasn't a long chatty one, in fact just a pocket diary with room for just a word or two but I still have it and when I read it it takes me right back to those first heady months of falling in love :) Isn't that terribly mushy!! My daughter however has kept one sporadically for a few years - I came across one from when she was about 9 - yes, I had a look, bad mum - it was really funny but very evocative of her as a 9 year old. Bless!

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    1. Lindsay28 June 2013 at 08:56

      The pocket diary sounds lovely, Lisa. I think it's special that you've still got it and can look back on that time, very romantic. Thanks for commenting and entering!

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  9. Bookish28 June 2013 at 20:41

    I started keeping a diary when I was 8 but gave up not long after I met my husband, he always wanted to know what I was writing! I still have a large collection both used and unused, think it's where my love of notebooks comes from. Thanks for a great giveaway, I've been looking forward to this book for a while.

    Old follower on GFC - Bookish

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    1. Lindsay30 June 2013 at 13:34

      Thanks for taking part in the giveaway! I love notebooks too, though I am terrible at actually sitting down and recording my thoughts at the moment.

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  10. Avril1 July 2013 at 13:30

    I bought one when I was young and wrote it for a while but found it too hard to write some things down and re-visit them so I destroyed it and stopped.
    Love the sound of this book though, thanks for sharing!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and leave a comment. It's great reading your comments and I really appreciate them :)

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