Brighton Publisher Launches First Ten Titles
Published 6th Nov 2009 by Stripe Publishing

Everyone has at least one Robert, Richard, Paul, Michael, Matthew, Andrew, Christopher, David, James or John in their life!

Brighton-based fledgling publisher Stripe is aiming to put a smile on faces across the land with the launch of its credit crunch-beating The Random Book of... series. Comprising ten standalone, hardback titles – each priced at a recession resistant £9.99 – the series digs deep through history to take an off-beat look at the achievers, deceivers, winners, losers, rulers, spoilers givers, murderers, funny men and bad men called Robert, Richard, Paul, Michael, Matthew, Andrew, Christopher, David, James and John.

The accessible but stylish hardbacks, which feature illustrations by award-winning Times daily pocket cartoonist Jonathan Pugh, have already won some critical plaudits going straight into Waterstone’s top 40 humour-selling stores just a week after launch (see attached).

Publisher Dan Tester explained: “Our aim with The Random Book of… series was to bring some cheer to the Christmas gift market for both the recipient and the buyer. Open any of the books at any page and you will find something hilarious, interesting, outrageous or preposterous and at £9.99 it’s a recession-resistant stocking filler of a gift. From the pre-launch research we undertook working with the Office of National Statistics, results show that the vast majority of the UK population has at least one friend or relative called Robert, Richard, Paul, Michael, Matthew, Andrew, Christopher, David, James or John so the market is huge. It’s also a great gift for people who either can’t cope with Christmas shopping, haven’t got the energy, are time poor or have simply run out of ideas.”

The Random Book of… series deals with random facts such as:

Which:

• Matthew has his DNA safely stored in space in case the Earth goes belly-up?
• Richard invented one of the world’s most popular children’s toys by accident and then ran away to join a religious cult?
• Andrew was the first to have jumped with a frameless parachute, invented the air vent, and was killed by a beam while building a hot-air balloon?
• Paul picked up an 18-stone man with his mouth and ripped out five front teeth?
• James was a band originally called Venereal and the Diseases?
• David was later revealed to be gay, along with his wife?
• Robert bought London Bridge and shipped it brick by brick to Arizona?
• Christopher was stupid enough to attend a drugs trial with a stash of cocaine in his pocket?
• John led 10,000 officers, wrote a bestseller and appeared, with his dog, in TV ads for patio awning?

The Random Book of… series, comprising ten titles, is published by Stripe with each book priced £9.99.

The series is available form all good retailers including Waterstone’s, WHSmith and online at Amazon.

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