The Bookseller's Tale - Martin Latham

 

Description

'Entertaining, erudite, eccentric - The Bookseller's Tale is a delight' Alison Light, author of Common People: The History of an English Family

'The right book has a neverendingness, and so does the right bookshop.'

This is the story of our love affair with books, whether we arrange them on our shelves, inhale their smell, scrawl in their margins or just curl up with them in bed. Taking us on a journey through comfort reads, street book stalls, mythical libraries, itinerant pedlars, radical pamphleteers, extraordinary bookshop customers and fanatical collectors, Canterbury bookseller Martin Latham uncovers the curious history of our book obsession - and his own.

Part cultural history, part literary love letter and part reluctant memoir, this is the tale of one bookseller and many, many books.

Review

I'm not sure I am going to be able to do this book justice in my review, because it is just absolutely brilliant. Straightaway the book led me to other books I haven't heard of and now need to read. As well it provided me with an education in book history I was clearly lacking.

I detest folded corners in books and cannot bring myself to write in them either, despite being encouraged to do so by my past tutors. I now learn that folding corners used to be seen as a feminine device and that marginalia used to be a very big thing. It even used to be that people cut their favourite passages out of books and pasted them into commonplace books with their own thoughts. I also learnt (amongst so many other things) that In ancient times libraries were attached to bath houses - and the free browsing of libraries is akin to mindfulness. 

It appears books have been treated very shodily at times through the ages. One of the worst I was shocked to read about was in 1535, when the Parlement de Paris banned printing and burned twenty-three people associated with the book trade, not before earlier having ordered books to be burnt. A real life Farenheit 451.

"The Decameron" is not a book I had heard of, but when I read that in the past it was laid down that it was "not to be lent to women" I thought I needed to know more. It's this kind of snippet that has led me down a rabbit hole looking for books that reference other books and then when I get to the end of the book, I find several pages of sources - more book hunting.

There is so much knowledge in this book and I was reading it until my eyes hurt, I did not want to put it down. Surely this needs to be made into a TV documentary, it would be fascinating. I'm struggling to remember it all, luckily it's in this book and I will be referring to it in the future and re-reading. My favourite part of the book is the section on Bookshops in New York and a quote from my favourite film "You've Got Mail", it doesn't get much better than this.

The author ran the Canterbury Waterstone's bookshop and underneath it was discovered a Roman mosaic. An image that will stay with me is of the author reclining in a hammock suspended over the mosaic floor and then overhearing a customer's query, answering them through the wall. Thus providing the customer with what must have seemed like an outerworld experience, although apparently one customer did think there was a portal to another world within the bookshop anyway. So many anecdotes that were truly entertaining. 

This is an eloquently written book with more than a taste of humour that was a pleasure to read. I want to talk to everyone about it now and share all that I've learnt. I'm giving it 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley and penguinrandomehouse for the ARC to review. 

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

 

Description

Between life and death there is a library.

When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

Review

The Midnight Library is a place between life and death and so to get there you must be about to die and that is what Nora has chosen to do. Except she doesn't realise that she will end up in the library with Mrs Elm the librarian, who  helps her to choose and check out books that will enable her to live the lives she might have had.....

A little bit of Sliding Doors and Ken Grimwood's Replay, Nora gets to live alternative versions of her life. Each time she lived one I kept wanting it to be the one, for it to be the one that contained what she was looking for. I also got anxious that in each life she didn't know some of the people, what they did or she did and how was she going to be able to bluff her way through her life?

There are certainly lessons to be learned from this book. It's more than a novel, it's philosophical and self help too all to discover within it's pages. I did end up in tears at the the very end and so really have to give this book five out of five stars. 

My thanks to borrowbox and my library for the loan of the book to read.

Unravelled - Briony Marshall @lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours @brionywrites @thewritinghall

 

Excited to be a part of the book tour for this book today.

Synopsis:

“For crying out loud! I can’t even cast on now.”

Claire has never unravelled anything before, being a confident knitter. But now, to her dismay, everything she creates is a disaster, riddled with dropped stitches and glaring holes. It’s almost as if her hands have a mind of their own. Maybe it’s because her longest relationship to date has just ended, or perhaps it has something to do with the fact her career is on the ropes.

“Don’t get frustrated with your needles! The problem lies with the knitter, not the knitting,” said Adrian, owner of Oddballs wool shop. Following his advice, in the desperate hope it will cure her woolly woes, Claire begins to turn her life around. Her grand plan involves FishTank, the online dating site. She convinces Adrian that if they sign up and find love, their problems will be solved (and she’ll have at least one area of her life sorted!). The trouble starts when he has far more luck in the romance department than she does.

But it’s little wonder Claire can’t throw herself into dating. She’s already found her perfect match.

A must-read for avid knitters and those with a passion for crafting, this comical yarn will melt any reader’s heart.

Will they? Won't they? Romance enthusiasts will be rooting for the pair to be knitted together, forever!

Review:

Being a crafter and having done my fair share of knitting over the years this book appealed to me immediately. You don't have to be a crafter or knitter to enjoy the book though. But the bits where I melted at the description of yarns, their colours and a wool shop, might not be quite the same for you!

The book begins with Claire (28) having a domestic with her boyfriend of two years, it doesn't go well and so she's on Fish Tank (an online dating site) looking for Mr Right. But before that she goes looking for a self help book and literally bumps into Adrian. When she asked him what he did and he replied he owned a wool shop, I might have let out a little squeal of delight! 

What follows is a will they won't they romance of a novel between two knitters.Complete with a wool shop and a stitch and bitch group of which some maturer members even have knitting inspired tattoos! To say I loved it would be an understatement. Once the wool shop appeared I never put the book down until I had finished reading it to the end.

If you are looking for a crafting hug along with a comical look at life, then this is the read for you. If you are a crafter then really all I can say is just read it. Only don't get too downhearted that you don't have a local wool shop like the one in the book or even an owner like Adrian to go with it.

I'm giving this book four out of five stars. My thanks to Love Book Tours and Briony for my copy to review.

Author Bio:

Briony Marshall s an author from the West Midlands in the UK. She is a graduate of the University of Wolverhampton with a degree in 'Creative and Professional Writing with English'. Briony currently lives at home with her mum, dad, fiancé and fur brother: Bob the Dog. When Briony is not writing, she’s crafting, and when she’s not crafting, she’s drinking coffee.

Buy Link: 

http://hallgoodbooks.com/product/unravelled/

@lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours @brionywrites @thewritinghall

Eight Dectectives - Alex Pavesi

 

Description

'When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over' A. J. Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

'I couldn't put Eight Detectives down . . . I genuinely wanted to applaud at the end' Alex North, bestselling author of The Whisper Man

All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules. Grant McAllister, an author of crime fiction and professor of mathematics, once sat down and worked them all out.

But that was thirty years ago. Now he's living a life of seclusion on a quiet Mediterranean island - until Julia Hart, a sharp, ambitious editor, knocks on his door. His early work is being republished and together the two of them must revisit those old stories: an author, hiding from his past, and an editor, keen to understand it.

But as she reads, Julia is unsettled to realise that there are things in the stories that don't make sense. Intricate clues that seem to reference a real murder, one that's remained unsolved for thirty years.

If Julia wants answers, she must triumph in a battle of wits with a dangerously clever adversary. But she must tread carefully: she knows there's a mystery, but she doesn't yet realise there's already been a murder...

Review

You certainly get value for money in this book, as it contains several murder mysteries wrapped up in a mystery of its own. Probably the most unique murder mystery book I have ever read a true rival to Agatha Christie.

Grant McAllister wrote the murder mysteries 30 years ago and now Julia is the editor sent to talk to him at his home on a Mediterranean island.  Her editor is considering publishing them, but first Julia has more than a few questions about the mysteries. 

The book begins with one of the mysteries that Grant has written, this wasn't at first apparent and was my first experience of feeling wrong footed with this book. It then becomes apparent that Julia is interviewing Grant about the stories and presenting to him her findings of clues she thinks are hidden in the mysteries. The book proceeds with each of the mysteries followed by Julia and Grant discussing them. 

I loved the actual mysteries which were a mixture of Agatha Christie and Lawrence Block styles. The setting for the mysteries is the 1930/40s and you get a real feel for being in another time, very unlike today.  I also enjoyed Julia's observations and Grant's mathematical take on constructing murder mysteries. Unfortunately the explanation of the construction each time started to be too much for me, and indeed Julia herself pronounced them as "exhausting", which was just how I was feeling by this point. 

I had certainly realised it was a clever novel by this point (maybe too clever for me?), but with so many stories I began to forget what I had read. Whilst it was enjoyable I was a little disillusioned with it. Suddenly with more turns than a corkscrew the book began to be rewritten before my eyes. It was only then I truly saw the genius writing of this book and realised I could give it no less than 5 stars. So my advice would be keep reading, even when you feel you've lost the plot, just read until the end and you will not be disappointed.

I'm giving this book a well deserved 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

The Phone Box At The Edge Of The World - Laura Imai Messina

 

Description

*A moving, unforgettable story inspired by true events*

We all have something to tell those we have lost . . .

When Yui loses her mother and daughter in the tsunami, she wonders how she will ever carry on. Yet, in the face of this unthinkable loss, life must somehow continue.

Then one day she hears about a man who has an old disused telephone box in his garden. There, those who have lost loved ones find the strength to speak to them and begin to come to terms with their grief. As news of the phone box spreads, people travel to it from miles around.

Soon Yui makes her own pilgrimage to the phone box, too. But once there she cannot bring herself to speak into the receiver. Then she finds Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose own daughter has stopped talking in the wake of their loss.

What happens next will warm your heart, even when it feels as though it is breaking.

When you've lost everything, what can you find . . ?

Review

I usually love books set in Japan, and whilst this one did remind me in some ways of my time spent in Japan I didn't feel the presence like I have in other books.

The story is based on a real life location of the "wind phone" although they ask that tourists do not visit. It is certainly a sad story of those lost in the Tsunami in Japan in 2011, and whilst this is fiction it is obviously a very true depiction of what many suffered. 

The idea of being able to talk to those that have passed through a phone is a comforting thought and if it brings solace to those that seek it then it can only be a good thing. The book focuses mainly on two characters of Yui and Takeshi and their visits to the phone box. Strangers when they first meet the phone box unites them both through grief and overcoming it too.

Grief has affected Yui so much so that although she is a radio presenter when she isn't on air she has a an almost reclusive personality. At times I had concerns she would never find herself again and miss chances as she was so caught up in her grief. The portrayal of her actions towards the end of the book were so vivid I feared for her.  

A gentle read, although it covers a harrowing experience but with hope. There is a wonderfully comprehensive list of all the Japanese terms and the translation at the end of the book. I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo

 

Description

This is Britain as you've never read it.
This is Britain as it has never been told.

From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the twentieth century to the teens of the twenty-first, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of twelve characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They're each looking for something - a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope . . .

Review

I had so many reasons for not reading this book! It won a Booker Prize (I often don't get on with ones that do win), it has no punctuation, there are no capital letters for words beginning a sentence, it is a mix of prose and writing. It is written from a POV I know little about. Yet I read it - and I am so glad I did.

Borrowed from the library in case I hated it I slowly got into the book. Yes the lack of capital letters and punctuation annoyed me - but only for a few pages. I began to realise the depth of meaning that the writing can convey when written like this, sometimes almost like it's written in capital letters and in bold, the meaning jumps off the page.

Each story is about a different person. I hadn't realised that as I worked my way through the book. People would reappear as the backstory to someone else's story. Some stories I enjoyed more than others. I admit to getting a little confused with who was who at times, but that is more down to my memory than the writing. I especially enjoyed it when I realised I had met a character before. Once the story got a little more fleshed out I thought "ah, yes - this is so and so" just like meeting old acquaintances and seeing their story through someone else's eyes.

At times I was so saddened by the injustice the people suffered - especially by the girl who wanted to work in a Department store but had to work as a maid even though she was cleverer than her friends who did get to work in the store. 

The ending of the book was just sublime - I absolutely loved it. I see some others reviews are less favourable, especially regarding the punctuation. Really, if you read Shakespeare as he wrote it I doubt you would enjoy it - times move on, language and writing evolves and if this is the result I am all for it. 

i am giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

The Last Charm - Ella Allbright #OMCREADALONG #THELASTCHARM

 

Description

Leila’s charm bracelet tells a story of love, a story of loss, a story of hope.

This is the story of her… and the story of Jake.

When Leila Jones loses her precious charm bracelet and a stranger finds it, she has to tell the story of how she got the charms to prove she’s the owner. Each and every one is a precious memory of her life with Jake.

So Leila starts at the beginning, recounting the charms and experiences that have led her to the present. A present she never could have expected when she met Jake nearly twenty years ago…

Review

The book begins with Leila having lost her charm bracelet, she is emailing Caitlin who has found it. What follows is Leila's explanation of how she got each charm, so as to prove to Caitlin that she is the true owner of the bracelet.

We are then transported back to when Leila and Jake first met when they were children. Leila's Mum has left the family home and she and her Dad are moving out now. Jake and his parents are moving into the house, and this is how they meet. 

Living just a few doors down is Leila's grandfather and when Jake's Dad proves not to be all he should be Jake finds a father figure in him and a friendship for years to come. It's through this connection he always knows what Leila is doing in her life over the years. 

Jake has several meetings with Leila through the book and there is obviously a connection but nothing ever comes of it. It was through these meetings over the years and Leila's over the top dramatic and bitchy attitude to Jake that really wound me up. I felt she really didn't treat him very well.  Each time it would seem that they were getting on and then boom, she couldn't deal with it. Leila does have some good points though, as an artist she often describes scenes in Windsor and Newton artist colours which I loved.

I listened to this on audio and at times it did feel like this "will they, won't they" would never end as each new charm was discussed and a story retold. The narrators voice was great and really added to the story. I know if I had been reading this my eye would have been jumping ahead, but on audio I had to wait and let it all unfold. 

Then the book became unbelievably sad beyond belief and I found myself just saying no, no, no over and over it was so powerful.

I'm giving this book four out of five stars. My thanks to netgalley for the audio to review and to the One More Chapter Blogger community for the #OMCREADALONG. It was so good I finished it before the readalong!