Meet the Team: Sarah

What's your full name?

Sarah Dennis

How long have you worked at Mostly Books?

I started working in the shop in January, legally took ownership at the end of May and was handed the keys to the shop in an official ceremony on 24^th June.

What's your favourite genre of books and why?

I like a bit of everything, ranging from crime fiction to autobiographies.  I really enjoy books that make me think and those that introduce me to places or information that I haven’t previously encountered.

Name your favourite book.

I’m going to have to stick with the common theme from all of the team – it’s impossible to choose just one!   I absolutely love Khaled Hosseini’s books; The Kite Runner is most well known but A Thousand Splendid Suns and And the Mountains Echoed are brilliant as well.  

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a phenomenal piece of literature and has the ability to transport the reader to an entirely different place and time.  Michael J. Fox’s autobiography - Lucky Man: A Memoir moved me to tears; although it has been years since I read it, his strength of character still resonates.  When I’m looking for something lighter, I’m a huge fan of crime fiction with Lee Child and John Grisham being two authors that I regularly go back to.

What's your favourite thing about working at Mostly Books?

Absolutely everything!  I have spent a lot of my career working in offices so having the freedom to run my own my business in such gorgeous surroundings is a complete privilege.  Every day I learn more about the book trade and how to keep the business running smoothly.  I’m lucky to have a great team to work with who make each day so much fun and it’s lovely to chat to all of our customers, both regulars and visitors alike.  The best part is that I get to be surrounded by books all day, every day.  It’s an absolute dream come true and I can’t quite believe that this is my job!

What are your main responsibilities at Mostly Books?

In addition to recommending and selling books to our customers, I spend a lot of my time on back office activities.  I make the final choice on stock selection and am responsible for maintaining relationships with publisher reps and wholesalers.  I largely manage the events that we run (although the team are becoming more involved as time progresses) and liaise with the publishers to secure authors for those events.   All aspects of running the business are my responsibility including finance (e.g. invoices, staff payments etc), system maintenance and writing the weekly newsletter.  No two days are the same and it’s up to me to make sure that everything works!

 

What upcoming books are you most excited about?

This is going to Hurt by Adam Kay is going to be amazing.  I’ve had a sneak preview and can highly recommend it - I can’t wait to hear people’s reactions to it.  The new Dan Brown, Origin, should be a fun Christmas read too.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I don’t have a lot of free time at the moment but, when I do have a minute to myself, I try to keep fit by running, swimming and doing yoga.  I’m a massive foodie and love eating out as well as enjoying delicious food at home.  I love going to the cinema and enjoy any type of live event, be it a music concert, sports event or theatre.   

Tell us something that the Mostly Books customers don't know about you.

I’m a huge fan of travel and really enjoy exploring different parts of the world.  I have been lucky enough to do two extended backpacking trips, one when I first left University where I explored India and South East Asia and, more recently, when I went across to South America and continued my exploration of Asia.  The second trip took place during 2014 / 15 and I blogged throughout the travels.  If you’re interested in reading about it, my blog can be found here. 

Thanks Sarah, it's been good to chat!

Sarah is usually in the shop on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday.

3 (for 2) for Friday - A Bear, A Boy and His Sister

It’s time to celebrate this week, because we have three jolly exciting events to tell you about for this week's 3 4 Friday #fridayreads. There are prizes, competitions and an eagerly awaited new book. All of them are worth finding out about, we hope you agree...

Dan Brown’s new book might have got people pretty excited on Tuesday, but next Tuesday is the one we’ve been eagerly awaiting – the new book from ‘The Kite Runner’ author Khaled Hosseini. We were very lucky to be able to read an advance copy of ‘And The Mountains Echoed’ hence the anticipation. It is another masterfully told story, spanning generations but still firmly rooted in Hosseini’s familiar themes of the bonds that tie families together in often extreme circumstances. The story of Abdullah and his sister Pari looks set to become another classic, and we would be delighted to reserve you a copy for £15.99 (£3 off the recommended price).

This year it is Usborne’s 40th anniversary, a very British publishing success story that now sees its books in over 150 countries worldwide. To celebrate, we have transformed our window – come and take a look at the group of very different readers with their noses in some great books. We also have a fabulous 3-for-2 on Usborne’s range of ‘see inside’ lift-the-flap books on topics as diverse as The Body, Ancient Rome and (our favourite) Outer Space - we think astronaut superstar Commander Hadfield would approve...

Perfect for inquisitive minds, and normally sold for £9.99, we think these books make wonderful gifts.

And finally – a very special visitor comes to Mostly Books on Saturday, June 1st at 2pm. Yes, Hugless Douglas – the loveable bear on the search for a hug – will be appearing IN PERSON at the end of half-term week – and his creator David Melling has very kindly agreed to be here to sign books.

So to celebrate we are staging a half-term ‘Where’s Douglas?’ hunt around Abingdon. Find Douglas in the shops and buildings around Abingdon and you could be in with a chance of winning a GIANT Hugless Douglas. The hunt starts next week so come and collect your sheets and start hunting!

More information here...