Connections

In sixth form, me and a couple of friends were keen fantasy readers. We read so many series and would have animated discussions about these characters and worlds that we’d discovered. I still read predominantly fantasy now, but as I don’t get to see those friends as often, I don’t have as much opportunity to share my thoughts on these books.

Last week, one of these friends got in touch to recommend a fantasy book she’d read, and it was like regressing back to being 17 again. We set up a WhatsApp group for the three of us to have our own book club and share recommendations. I was honestly so happy. I couldn’t stop grinning at the thought of us 10 years on behaving exactly as we did at school and getting overexcited about a new series. To be fair, the WhatsApp currently consists of one friend who’s finished the series sending GIFs while she waits for us to read more, but it’s become a more communal experience all the same.

It’s precious, the excitement you can feel about sharing a book with someone else when you just know they’re going to love it too. At a time when we’re craving connection, sharing stories is special because books connect us so intimately. Whether it be fantasy or any genre, we build a world inside out head when reading and it’s a wonder to share it with someone else.

I don’t normally feel quite so philosophical about reading because it’s such a part of my life, what with working in publishing too. Perhaps I take it for granted. But this was a reminder of why I love this bookish life I’ve chosen. I hope you’ve found people to share stories with too.

The TBR pile’s time to shine

It’s been a while since I’ve been here and, like many people at the moment, I find myself with a little more free time and I’d really like to get back into sharing bookish thoughts here.

Like many book-lovers around the world, I’m trying to use this time to get through the ever-present TBR pile. It’s a great opportunity to read those hardbacks that you don’t want to have to carry around on your commute! Here’s a few that I’d like to get to:

  • Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
  • City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
  • The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
  • Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
  • Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
I think that should be plenty to keep me going for now. If you’ve read any of these, please leave a comment with any thoughts as I’m not sure where to begin…! I’ve also pre-ordered a couple of books that are out in April and May, so I’ve got a few deliveries to look forward to. If you’re in the UK, I recommend checking out Hive.co.uk – they give a percentage of every sale to independent bookstores, so it’ll help support them at this time. Let me know what’s on your reading list for the next couple of months!

Another tip I have is to check out whether your library offers an audiobook or ebook lending service. My library uses an app called BorrowBox, and I’m getting audiobooks on that to listen to at the moment.

I’m working from home for the foreseeable future so my TBR pile is sat looking at me… I’m also hoping I can write here more and also do some creative writing. Anybody else have any bookish goals?

For the love of bookselling

On Friday, I went to a talk at the British Library by Tim Waterstone, the founder of Waterstones. He’s written a memoir called The Face Pressed Against the Window: A Memoir, in which he speaks about his childhood experiences, the time he spent in bookshops and the subsequent working life that drove him to chase his dream of opening a chain of leading bookstores.

Waterstones talk

I wanted to hear him speak because I worked at Waterstones when I was 16 and, I must confess, back then I didn’t think too much about who owned the company or how it began. (Give me any bookshop and I’d have been happy to work there.) Even since then, while I can wax lyrical on my love of Waterstones, I’ve never really considered its origins so I really enjoyed hearing a bit more about it. My bookselling experiences at such a young age inspired me to begin a career in publishing, so I like keeping up with what’s happening at Waterstones.

Early on in his career, Tim worked for W H Smith for eight years before being made redundant. At that time, the one thing they asked of him was that he shouldn’t go and open a chain of rival bookstores. So he did exactly that. He has very happy memories of being allowed to spend hours in his local village bookshop, before going on to run errands for them when he was a little older, which taught him a great deal about the running of a good bookshop. When he was speaking, what really shone through was his appreciation of a well-run, well-stocked bookshop with knowledgeable booksellers: a concept he went on to implement in his shops. He described the early years of Waterstones and it sounded like all involved had a real excitement for and love of the craft of bookselling.

In the Q & A section, Tim was asked for his thoughts on Amazon, something I’m sure he must have been asked about a number of times, but I was really interested to hear his humble response. He praised the fact that they had done a lot of great things for opening up the marketplace and noted that Amazon and Waterstones’ market share are pretty much the same in the UK now, which I thought was intriguing. It may be my cynicism but his answer was not the one I’d expected. He was also full of praise for publishers who have wised up to the implications of ebooks and are focusing their efforts on creating beautiful physical books now.

He also expressed very well the enjoyment that can be found from a great bookshop. He mentioned his love of Waterstones Piccadilly, which is a love I definitely share. Let alone my favourite bookshop, it’s one of my favourite places in London.

I’ve not read his memoir yet but I’m sure it will be of interest to anyone else who might like to learn more about the origins of the UK’s leading bookshop chain.

New year, new blog, right?

This will be a place for me to share my thoughts on books, reading and publishing. I’ll be writing about pretty much anything that takes my fancy.

To tell you a bit about me, I’m an editor of children’s educational books working in London. I’ll read anything but mostly it’s YA and Fantasy. I also love the odd bit of non-fiction. A few books I’ve enjoyed in 2018 are Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas, Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton and Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne. And just so we’re right up to speed, I’m just about to start reading Circe by Madeline Miller.

I thought I’d begin by stating my plan to not buy any books until February. No, seriously. I suffer from that common bookworm affliction of buying too many books and not reading them all. We all have books on our shelves that are yet to be read. Here are a few of mine that I really want to read.

  • Vox by Christina Dalcher
  • Misogynation by Laura Bates
  • Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
  • The Secret History by Donna Tartt
  • The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

So I’ve banned myself from buying books until 26 February. Why then? That’s because The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon is published then. If you’ve not read her books, I really recommend them. The Bone Season is a fantastic series. It’s got great characters, a fast-paced plot and her world-building is second to none. This new book has dragons in it so I’m sold already.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of the sort of stuff I’ll be writing about here. Give me a shout if you’ve read any of the above or have recommendations!