Meet the Team: Imogen

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.

This week, it's Imogen!

What's your full name?

Imogen Hargreaves

How long have you worked at Mostly Books?

Four years, last month

What's your favourite genre of books and why?

I read anything from picture books all the way up to YA, sprinkled with some adult fantasy and sci-fi occasionally.

Name your favourite book.

I don’t have a favourite! Picking between them all would be almost impossible, but some of the ones on my favourite shelf at home at the moment are the two Sarah J Maas series, Harry Potter (obviously), Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, V E Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic series, Noah Can’t Even, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Illuminae, The Call, The Princess Bride, all the Maggie Steifvater books, Fangirl and Carry On by Rainbow Rowell... there’s a load of other books, but I seem to have forgotten their titles now I need them.  Either way, I have a lot of favourites – if it’s funny, magic-y, likely to make me cry and beautifully written, I’m going to love it.

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

I have a job in which it’s sociably acceptable to geek out about books, so there are many things I love about it.

What are your main responsibilities at Mostly Books?

Not burning down the shop when the boss is away?!?!

The day to day running of the shop is something we all have to do, from looking after customers to ordering books back in and making sure the shelves are always good.  I look after local authors, contacting them when their books are sold, and I also deal with the customer order shelf – making sure customers know their books are in or reminded if they’ve forgotten!  Behind the scenes, I return damaged books to their suppliers and have a merchandising shelf ready for any bunting and things to put in the window.  I’ve also claimed all the blackboards (and windows!) in the shop to decorate each month for events, books, and (if you’ve seen the one outside) occasionally humour.

What upcoming books are you most excited about?Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo, which is a book DC asked her to write about Wonder Woman – there will be four in the series by four different authors. Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas, the sixth book in her throne of Glass series and it’s about my favourite character! The new Philip Pullman – I’m also looking forward to rereading His Dark Materials. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green is also high on my list, I’ve been waiting years for a new book from him! 

What do you like to do in your free time?

I write a lot and get crafty – the handmade bookmarks in the shop are not-so-secretly made by me! I also, of course, attempt to bring down the amount of books in my To Be Read pile. 

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

I don’t know... umm.... I’m learning to handletter, with both calligraphy pens and watercolours. I also go exploring a lot with my best friend – we did the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge late last year and have gotten lost in various places in Wales more times than I can count. Along the same lines of exploring, I used to be a Sea Cadet and have been tall ship sailing around France, the south of the UK and Scotland.

Thanks Imogen, it's been good to chat!
You can find Imogen in Mostly Books on Monday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday.

Our Favourite Books of 2013 Part 3: Imogen's Picks

In January, Nicki picked her favourite books of 2013. Last month if was the turn of Julia to select her favourites, and this month staff member Imogen rises to the challenge of selecting just a few of her favourites from 2013...

According to my list, I read over two hundred books in 2013. They ranged from fantasy, to historical, YA and adult, but what I can say about most of them is that I loved them. So when I was asked to choose a few to talk about, my brain stopped, and my only thought was: how could I choose? Luckily, there were a few that really stood out from the rest.

My first favourite book is the last one I read (having finished it on the 28th of December) but instantly, I knew it was the best Sci-fi I had read all year. ‘These Broken Stars’ by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman is a double narrative book, from the point of view of Tarver Merendsen, a war hero and officer, and Lilac LaRoux, the apparent stuck up daughter of a rich and famous man.

The story follows them as they meet on board a spaceship (with a bit of the usual fighting, arguing, hating each other) but then tragedy strikes, and the spaceship crashes in a strange world.

Trying to find help and other survivors, the pair start to travel this alien world - but everything is not what it seems. When they start to hear strange whispers and see strange visions, they begin to pull apart the stories they were told to get to the dark truth of what is really going on.

What is it about this book I like? Everything. The characters are so convincing, when you read it, they feel real, and (if you read it in the middle of the night like I did) you swear that the whispers you read about…you almost hear. It is an amazing YA book, and one that I am sure will turn out to be a brilliant series.

'The Universe Verses Alex Woods' by Gavin Extence was by far my favourite adult book. A book without magic or other worlds, even I would not have thought this would have made it to my list. But I loved it. From the very first sentence, I was hooked. Why on earth was this 17 year old boy coming back into the country with an urn, marijuana and seeming to be proud of it?

The story, filled with humour, friendship and unlikely heroes, is one that will make you smile and cry, and remind you of what friendship is.

I loved this book because of its simplicity- but also because it’s a story you want to be involved in…just to say ‘I knew a boy that was hit by a meteorite!’

And lastly, here is the fantasy that people would expect from me. ‘Crown of Midnight’ by Sarah J. Maas. I believe there is only one thing better than a fantastic first novel: an even better second one! This follows on from ‘Throne of Glass’ (my favourite book of 2012).

Celaena, as the newly appointed King's Champion, finds it hard to adjust to life killing the king's enemies, so she does everything she can to rebel against it without getting caught. With spies round every corner, and treachery lurking in the shadows of the castle, Celaena does not know who to trust - can she even trust the people in her heart?

A fantastic, fast paced fantasy that leaves you with the best cliff hanger (the kind that makes you scream and curse the author because of how amazing they are) as you close the last page: this book is what fantasy is all about.

So those are my three books of 2013, but I didn’t just read new books last year. My actual favourite one that tops absolutely everything else I read was ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ By John Green, which was technically published in 2012. This is a rollercoaster of a read - one that makes you laugh and cry…sometimes both at the same time (trust me, it’s possible). I think, sometimes, books are not read because they are labelled - for example, this is a 'Young Adult' book. But if there is any book that should be read by everyone, it’s this. Because being YA…it just means that its suitable for teenagers- it doesn’t mean only teens should read it.

This is a book that will really make you think, make you want to go back no matter how many tears you have to see through.

3 4 Friday - young love can seem earth-shattering (literally and figuratively) with these top teen reads

Is there any area of publishing hotter than teen fiction? It's a few years since Twilight and The Hunger Games, so who are the current names to watch that keep teens hooked on books?

For today’s 3-4-Friday – three of our current favourite teen reads...

‘Soulmates’ by British author Holly Bourne has an original and extremely clever concept at its heart – we all know young-love is earth-shattering, but what if it were so...literally?

When Poppy and Noah meet, they have no idea what they are. But when they fall in love, thunderstorms, lightning strikes and lashings of rain are only the beginning of their problems as the world around them falls more and more into disrepair, and the chase is on – led by a shadowy international agency – to stop them before they accidentally destroy the world...witty, intelligent and crackling with energy.

If you like something grittier and set in the real world, then we can definitely recommend ‘Split Second’ from top Brit teen thriller writer Sophie McKenzie.

After a terrorist attack on a London market, two teens are bound together by what happened. Thinking at first they are very much alike, as the story goes on it begins to seem that one knows more about the attack than first thought. This is a tight and tautly-written book, that shows what can happen when courage and loyalties are tested...

Finally, a US pick by Imogen, who was persuaded out of reading dystopian fiction by the lure of John Green. He hit the big time with ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ and has teamed up with two other teen writers (Maureen Johnson and the unlikely sounding Lauren Myracle) to bring some festive fayre in 'Let It Snow'.

Through three intertwining short stories, we follow Jubilee, on Christmas eve, as she gets stuck in Gracetown after the train has to stop, Tobin, when his friends go to meet the cheerleaders from that train, and finally, Addie, who is still smarting from her week-old break up. Heartwarming, funny with a unashamedly festive theme, it’s enough to put a smile on your face while waiting for Christmas Day to come...