That’s the thing with a new boiler – you immediately notice the whisper quiet, efficient performance, it seems to kick out more heat than the old one, looks better and you wonder why you didn’t change it years ago. The only tricky bit is figuring out how the timer works – that’s way more complicated than before!
And so it is with websites.
Back at the beginning of the year we’re all eager to forget, we made the decision that we’d like to have our entire bookshop online, not just our Coles Signed Editions. Shopping habits are changing, and if we were going to keep Coles pootling along in this ever-changing world we were going to have to move with the times. So we started planning our new website, and despite all that has gone on through the last months, we’re thrilled with the results of our labours – and judging by the comments we’ve had from many of you, you quite like it too. Thank you. But we have in our DNA that characteristic which keeps us looking for improvements, we want to be better, and although better is an ever-moving target, our aim will always be true. Thank you also for all the suggestions we’ve had over the last week, please do keep them coming – we’re bringing over the entire order history from the old site, little tweaks here and there, improvements to the navigation, more images so you can get a better idea of why we love a particular book – we’re progressive, and our website will continue to reflect that – for both our Coles Signed Editions and the thousands and thousands of unsigned books which we offer in the book shop. But these things take time, so please bear with us whilst we figure out how the new boiler works, and particularly the timer!
Last week’s Newsletter was a rushed affair, time was not our friend – but we’re back this week doing what we do best – recommending fabulous books which we love and know our customers will too. Our Coles Signed Editions this week kick off with the magnificent ‘The Betrayals’ from Bridget Collins, Bridget’s last novel ‘The Binding’ was a great success with our Coles Book Club last year and The Betrayals is a corker too; this week we also have works from some of the greatest novelists – Rose Tremain, Jonathan Coe, Anthony Horowitz, Conn Iggulden, Michel Faber, Neil Gaiman & Martin Amis – it’s like Fantasy Football but with authors! – Jo Nesbo’s ‘The Kingdom’ and Lee & Andrew Child’s Jack Reacher novel ‘The Sentinel’ are the perfect thrillers for a winter’s eve; Irish actor Gabriel Byrne demonstrates he’s not the usual suspect; if we were ever going to run off with the circus, it would have to be Giffords – especially after seeing their cookbook – check out the Bauru Beef Sandwich shown on the website – wow!; and also in the kitchen this week are those cheeky ‘Bosh!’ chappies along with Tom Kerridge – feeling hungry? Jay Morton keeps us motivated and Anthony Quinn tells the tale of Jurgen Klopp’s motivated football season; Neil Warnock is our kind of guy – he knows how to get the best out of everyone and everything; travelling is tricky at the moment and so thank heavens for Michael Palin – a lovely box-set of his paperback diaries is just the ticket; HRH Princess Michael of Kent is no slouch when it comes to crafting the perfect historical novel; younger readers will be enchanted by The Book of Hopes and Counting Creatures, David Baddiel heads into the future; Simon Sugden’s photography is a remarkable record of long forgotten places and Megan McCubbin & Chris Packham go Back to Nature; Christie Watson reflects on the importance of care and compassion; lurking in the back of a warehouse were some signed copies of Ian Ogilvy’s memoir from a few years ago – ‘Once a Saint’ – we remember it well; we’re now taking pre-orders for ‘Unspoken’ by Guvna B and we can’t wait for the new Jackson Lamb thriller from Mick Herron, ‘Slough House’ is due in February. And finally, just in case your lottery ticket comes good this week, the last few Taschen Art Editions of David Hockney’s ‘My Window’ are being made available. The previous three Art Editions have now all sold out and are already rocketing in value – books as investments? each and every one is priceless.
Happy Thought by Robert Louis Stevenson
‘The world is so full of a number of things,
I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.’
