Kassia St Clair - 11th October 2018

Journalist and author, Kassia St Clair, will be at Mostly Books from 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm) on 11th October, talking about her new book The Golden Thread.

Kassia's debut book The Secret Lives of Colour took the publishing world by storm and The Golden Thread is expected to do the same with the fascinating story of the world's fabrics and how they have affected history.

From the mummies of Ancient Egypt; via the silken dragon robes of Imperial China and the woollen sails of Viking longboats to the Indian calicoes and chintzes that powered the Industrial Revolution -- fabrics, manmade and natural, have changed and shaped the world we live in.  At the event, Kassia will introduce guests to an alternative history of civilisation and human creativity as she talks about the inspiration behind The Golden Thread.

Tickets are £5, including a drink with £2 redeemable against the price of the book on the night.  Copies of The Secret Lives of Colour will also be available to purchase in paperback. Tickets are available from Mostly Books and from EventBrite.

Meet the Team: Jenny

In July & August 2017, members of the 'Mostly Books' team were quizzed about all things books. 

They talked about what it's like to work in a bookshop, which books they enjoy and also provided a bit of background about themselves.

The Mostly Books team has a new addition for the month of August - Jenny Kapellari- who is with us as part of an ERASMUS placement scheme organised by John Mason School.

What's your full name?
Jennifer Kapellari

How long have you worked at Mostly Books?
I started working here on 30th July and I will stay until the end of August.

What's your favourite genre of books and why?

My favourite genre is fantasy, because it is an awesome opportunity to relax from the reality. It takes you to places you have never been before. 

Name your favourite book

It is hard to choose one as my favourite book, but I think it would be “Erebos” by Ursula Poznanski.

 

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

I think that the atmosphere in Mostly Books is very special. It just keeps you calm even on stressful days and it is always a pleasure to talk to the customers. Of course, the team is lovely, and I appreciate that I can learn more and more every day.

What upcoming book are you most excited about?  
I am not really the person who waits for a book to be published but looking through little bookshops like Mostly Books.

What are your main responsibilities in Mostly Books?

Since I am an intern, Sarah tries to give me an idea of everything what is going on in the shop. So, I am doing anything what is coming up.

What do you like to do in your free time? 

I love travelling around the world and explore different countries and cultures, but I also enjoy listening to music or reading a good book at home. 

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

I used to dye my hair in nearly every colour of the rainbow: red, blue, green, violet and pink. 

Thanks Jenny, it's been good to chat!

You will find Jenny in Mostly Books from Monday to Friday until 24th August.

Find Wally! 16th June - 14th July

Where's Wally?  The world’s favourite children’s book character in specs and a stripy shirt is back! Wally is travelling the country, visiting ten different local businesses in Abingdon along the way. Wow!  Launching at the beginning of Independent Bookshop Week, the campaign runs from 16 June to 14 July. Those who find him can win prizes including stickers, books and more. The search is on!  

Anyone who wishes to take part can pick up a “Find Wally!” search list with the names of all the participating businesses, and collect an “I found Wally” card when they spot Wally.  Collect the cards and hand them in at Mostly Books to win Wally stickers and an entry for other, larger prizes to be drawn at the 'Where's Wally' prize draw on 14th July. The grand prize includes a copy of Where’s Wally? The Sticker Book and a copy of Where’s Wally Now? Deluxe Edition. 

Bookshop Party: 16th June

Join the team throughout the day for a celebration of Mostly Books being under new management for a whole year (no, we can't believe it either!).  There will be lots of lovely freebies to get hold of plus bubbles and cake to enjoy whilst browsing the shop.  There may even be a few authors milling around if you're lucky!!  No booking required - just turn up and join in the fun!

There's Been a Whole Lot of Events Going On

It's been a busy month of events for Mostly Books with members of the team hosting authors and pop-up bookshops in a variety of different venues.

On Monday March 26th, YA author Peadar O'Guilun visited John Mason School with students from Larkmead School also in attendance.  Peadar talked about the world he created in his books The Call  and The Invasion to the group whilst keeping them entertained with his unique style of observational comedy.  The following day he did a similar event at Matthew Arnold school.  Peadar travelled from Dublin just to do these events and, given how much the team love his books, we were really happy to host him.

 

On Tuesday 17th April, Didcot resident James Bishop visited Rush Common School to talk to pupils about his newly published book Iguana Boy Saves the World with a Triple Chesse Pizza.  James, who was a runner up in a national writing competition run by TV's Lorraine, attended Rush Common as a boy so we were keen to get him back to the school to promote his book.  The event was the first in James' book tour and it went really well! The children loved the book and enjoyed chatting to James as he signed their copies. 

On Saturday 21st April, Mostly Books hosted a pop-up bookshop at the Kennington Festival of Arts at Kennington Village Centre.  The festival was a celebration of books, humour, art, poetry and music and the books on offer reflected this.  Talks were hosted by Korky Paul, Slyvia Vetta and Michael Smith, to name a few, and were interspersed with music, dance and a great selection of food and drink.  

On Friday 27th April, the Mostly Books team returned to Chandlings School to host a book fair that had been postponed after the beast from the east caused the school to close over World Book Day week.  The book fair is an annual event at Chandlings where children are able to browse a selection of books laid out in the school library before choosing one to take home with them.  It's always a really fun day as we get to chat to the children about the type of books they enjoy and help them to choose something that they will love.

The inaugural Thames Con took place on Saturday 28th April and Mostly Books was there!  The team hosted a book signing with Korky Paul and also offered a wide selection of books related to the celebrity guests in attendance.  It was a lot of fun as the team was next to the entrance which meant that they were able to see all of the wonderful costumes as people arrived.  It goes without saying that Sarah and Julia couldn't resist getting a sneaky picture with some stormtroopers!

On Wednesday 2nd May, book writing royalty Cressida Cowell came to Abingdon.  Cressida is best known for her series of novels: How to Train Your Dragon which have been adapted for the big screen in an award-winning film franchise.  Cressida did two school events, involving six different schools, and came into the shop for a book signing so there was a lot going on!  It was an absolute pleasure to meet such an accomplised author and to watch as she talked to the schools.  Her passion for writing and illustrating is apparent and and the children were totally enthralled.  Cressida was talking about her book The Wizards of Once which came out in paperback on 3rd May.

Mostly Books also provided books for the Abingdon Quilt Exhibition and school events with Korky Paul (Unicorn and Thameside) and Jay Jay Burridge so it's been a busy few weeks!

You can see more photos of our events on our Facebook page here.

Cressida Cowell is coming to Abingdon - 2nd May 2018

We are extremely excited to announce that award winning author, Cressida Cowell, will be coming to Abingdon on 2nd May 2018.

Cressida is a children's author who is best known for her series of novels: How to Train Your Dragon.  The series has been adapted for the big screen in an award-winning film franchise created by by DreamWorks Animation.  As of 2015, the series had sold more than seven million copies around the world!

In September last year, Cressida published the first book in a new series: The Wizards of Once.  The book is being released in paperback in May and we are lucky enough to be included on Cressida's tour of the UK.

Cressida will be doing two school events during the day and will be in the shop for a book signing which will start at 4.30pm.  Get the date booked in the diary because we expect it to be extremely popular!  Copies of The Wizards of Once will be available to purchase together with copies of some of Cressida's previous publications.

Get a free signed poster when you pre-order a copy of The Wizards of Once to be signed at the event.

Scarlett Thomas at Chandlings

On the afternoon of 12th September, 100 excited year 5 & 6 pupils piled into the Lantern Hall at Chandlings School to be greeted by acclaimed author Scarlett Thomas.

After a brief introduction by librarian, Elspeth Greig, and our very own Sarah from Mostly Books, Scarlett took to the floor.

After starting off with an introduction to all things magic and the characters in her new book Dragon's Green, Scarlett soon whipped the children into a frenzy when she started asking them questions such as whether they had magical powers, what those powers were and whether they would take the place of a friend who was going to be eaten by a dragon(!).

Scarlett introduced all of the Kharakters that exist in Dragon's Green and asked

the children to nominate one of their teachers to go up to the front to be analysed!!  Mr Hancock was the (un)lucky volunteer and after a number of questions were answered by the children (our favourite being 'Is Mr Hancock nice or scary?'), it was decided that he was a Bard with a smattering of Witch (yes, it's true, boys & men can be witches too).* 

The children were then asked a bunch of questions about themselves and the answers helped Scarlett identify five pairs of pupils to come to the front of the hall.  Based on the answers that they were given, each pair was aligned to one of the five main characters in Dragon's Green: Euphemia Sixten Bookend Truelove (otherwise known as Effie), Maximilian Underwood, Wolf Reed, Alexa Bottle (known as Lexy) & Raven Wilde.  All 10 children were given magic crystals to take away with them as a reminder of everything that Scarlett had talked about.

When Scarlett opened the floor for questions, the children interrogated her on a range of topics including the stories, the process of writing and what made Scarlett become an author. 

 After the talk was finished, a long queue formed for the children to meet the author and to give them the opportunity to have their book signed. 

It was a brilliant afternoon and a great way for the pupils at Chandlings to start their new school year.  A huge thank you to Scarlett and the team at Chandlings for making it such a great success.

Dragon's Green by Scarlett Thomas was published in paperback on 7th September.  

* If you would like to find out which Kharakter you are, you can take a quiz on the WorldQuake website (click here to go to the quiz).