Meet the Team: Julia

Each week for the next few weeks, a member of the 'Mostly Books' team is going to be quizzed about all things books.  They will talk about what it's like to work in a bookshop, which books they enjoy and will also provide a bit of background about themselves.  

First up, it's Julia!  

What's your full name? 
Julia Burrows 

How long have you worked at Mostly Books? 
Nine Years 

What's your favourite genre of books and why?  
I like Science Fiction (Sci Fi) and Fantasy and also like a lot of YA books.  Why read about everyday life when you can read about extraordinary goings on?!  I also like historical fiction as long as it is not political or about the Royal family. 

Name your favourite book
I haven’t got a favourite as there are so many to choose from, but a few of the best, in my opinion, include the Justin Cronin trilogy (The Passage, The Twelve & The City of Mirrors) which I really enjoyed and it had a good ending. 

I also really like Ready Player One by Ernest Cline which is just about to be released as a Stephen Spielberg film.  

I wrote this review as a wraparound for Ready Player One: 

James Halliday, Billionaire with a love of the 80's, dies with no heirs and hides an Easter egg within OASIS, a virtual reality containing thousands of planets that he created.  Used worldwide he leaves a message stating that whoever finds the egg will inherit everything.  Wade, our hero, solves the first clue and what follows is a race to solve the rest of the puzzle and claim the prize between the Gunter's (egg hunters) and a corrupt corporation called IOI, who want to turn OASIS into a money-making scheme. 

I loved the 80's references to games, films and movies and the pure geekiness of this book. 

What’s your favourite thing about working at Mostly Books?  
It’s all about the books!  I love being around books all the time. 

What are your main responsibilities at Mostly Books?

Keeping our customers happy and trying to making sure that things run as smoothly as possible (not an easy task).  I also return any old stock so the shop displays stay fresh and to make room for more lovely books.  The biggest responsibility, that we all endure, is reading lots of books so we can all recommend the right books for the right people.

What upcoming book are you most excited about? 
Artemis by Andy Weir, which is due out in November.  

Officially Jazz Bashara is a porter on the first habitable moonbase called Artemis, unofficially she is a smuggler who caters for the rich and the lowly, smuggling in restricted items. When she is asked to do a very dangerous job she ends up knee deep in more trouble than ever before. This is  a novel that is part thriller, mission impossible, crime and corruption with lots of lovely science.  Andy Weir has pulled off a second novel, that although different from ‘The  Martian’, is still a brilliant read.

What do you like to do in your free time? 

Apart from reading, I like to sew, knit and crochet.  I donate my creations to a charity that provides clothes, hats, blankets and burial gowns for premature and angel babies (Preemies and Angel Babies UK - See the Facebook page here). 

Tell us something that the Mostly Books Customers don’t know about you.

I have six children, thee step-children, six grand-children and another grandchild due in a week and a half! 

Thanks Julia - It's been lovely to chat. 
Julia works in the shop every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Book reviews - The Sequel!

A job description of a bookseller might include something like the following: ‘someone who gets excited about books you’re going to want to read’. We often see a new book and think “that would be perfect for...” or “we must show that to...”

But what also gets us excited is when a favourite author comes up with his or her next novel. Sometimes it's a sequel, sometimes another stand-alone. There’s obviously trepidation (what if it’s not as good as the first?). But follow-up novels are a chance it’s a chance to introduce you to a new author – and seeing an author grow and develop is definitely one of the joys of this job.

So today we’re going to tell you about some sequels that have come into the shop this week from authors who’s first books we absolutely loved (appropriate given that ‘Go Set A Watchman’ is still generating plenty of debate...). Here are some of our favourite picks:

We loved Benjamin Wood’s debut novel ‘The Bellwether Revivals’, one of the most impressive debuts of recent years. Whilst that book was a gripping exploration of the line between genius and madness, Wood’s latest book ‘The Ecliptic’ is set in an artist’s community off the coast of Istanbul, and examines the sources of – and prices paid for – artistic creativity. Woods own special genius is to blend exceptional writing, imagery and characters with a plot that grips. The story of Elspeth ‘Knell’ Conroy, her struggle to produce a masterpiece and what happens when a teenager – Fullerton – arrives on the island will suck you in and grab hold of you – much like ‘The Bellwether Revivals’ did.

We have also enjoyed recommending Ernest Cline’s ‘Ready Player One’ over the past few years. This dystopian novel, set in an environmentally-degraded future, is largely a treasure hunt set in an 80s-themed virtual reality world. Cline’s new novel ‘Armada’ is easily Julia’s favourite book of the year so far, and here’s what she says about it:

“Another amazing novel from the author of 'Ready Player One', it tells the Story of Zack whose father died and left behind a small notebook in which he outlines his theory that computer games and sci-fi films are the governments way of preparing us for an alien invasion. With strong comparisons to The Last Starfighter and Ender's Game, this enthralling read has the same unique blend of lyrical storytelling merged with other eighties culture that fans of Cline's writing style will really love.”

If you have any children going for the Summer Reading Challenge – we recommend Jennifer Gray’s follow-up to ‘Chicken Mission’ (illustrated by Hannah George). The first book was a fun, frantic adventure story involving Amy Cluckbucket, inducted into the Kung Foo School for Poultry in Tibet under the tutelage of Professor Rooster and involving hapless duck spy James Pond. The sequel ‘The Curse of Fogsham Farm’ sees Amy and her elite chicken squad go up against a vampire mink and an army of zombie chickens...imaginative fun with bags of appeal for boys and girls 7-10.

We also recommend taking a look at ‘Violet and the Hidden Treasure’ by Harriet Whitehorn (beautifully illustrated by Becka Moor). It’s the follow up to ‘Violet and the Pearl of the Orient’ and is a gorgeously illustrated, gripping mystery which should appeal to ‘Goth Girl’ fans. Involving Indian Maharajahs, a missing fortune and an unusual cockatoo, it’s quirky and brilliant. As her godmother Celeste says “Sherlock better watch out, ‘cos Violet’s about!”

There's loads more in the shop - come in for a recommendation...