Thursday 31 May 2007

Books, Baskets & Spies

Just when you thought that Richard and Judy (UK TV presenters) Book Club was one of the most powerful selling tools in the UK; along comes Tesco supermarkets and Random House Publishers who are teaming up to launch the Tesco Book Club. Tesco will select one Random House Group title each month which will be featured in their stores nationwide, branded with Tesco Book Club branding. The books will be Tesco Special Editions with a branded bookmark and each will feature "exclusive extra content". The Book Club titles will also be available from a specially created website at www.tesco.com/bookclub. I wonder what knock on effect this will have on stores such as Waterstones and on-line buying? Can you imagine shoppers in Tescos walking up and down the aisle: "Soap powder - check. Tins of beans - check. The latest Random House promo - check."

I’ve previously blogged about the murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko and it seems that the man charged by Britain of the crime denied involvement on Thursday, saying British intelligence (MI6 aka 6) and a self-exiled Russian billionaire were far more likely suspects. In the latest twist to a sensational murder case which has revived memories of the Cold War and seriously damaged British-Russian relations, Britain's main suspect Andrei Lugovoy sought to parry the accusations against him. Which made me wonder just how long will it be before a factional account is published? Step forward Tom Cain, Eoin McNamee, Peter Guttridge, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all …..

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