Book Reviews: 8th September

Franklin's Flying Bookshop by Jen Campbell is a charming story all about sharing the love of reading and books with friends.

All poor Franklin wants to do is talk about his favourite books with the people in the village, but every time he approaches someone, they run away – all because he’s a dragon!  Luckily for him, a young girl who shares his love of stories helps him hatch a plan to open Franklins very own bookshop – on his back!

We can’t talk about new books this week without mentioning that one of our favourite children’s series has a new book out. The Goth Girl series by Chris Riddell started back in 2013 and was an instant hit, and it’s back with Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony.

There’s a music festival at Ghastly-Gorm Hall with musicians from all over the country, and Ada can’t wait for it. Unfortunately for Ada, it’s not the only thing going on, and she has to make sure everything goes to plan while dealing with a faun in her wardrobe, Maltravers up to his old tricks and her grandmother trying to find her father a new wife. Chris Riddell once again brings us a brilliant book with his beautiful illustrations (and a free mini book inside; Fable of Faun!)

Over to YA now, and Imogen couldn’t resist recommending Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End. Having finished one of Silvera’s books (History is all You Left Me) only a week ago, Imogen already knew that he is a wonderful storyteller who understands the nature of being human – from friendship to heartache to everything in between.

In his new book, Death-Cast call people to announce their deaths in the next 24 hours. There’s nothing you can do to stop it, nothing you can do to change it – it’s just a warning to help people live their last day properly.

Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emerterio have never met, but they have one thing in common; on September 5th, they were both called. Using an app called Last Friend, they meet for the first time and try and have one last adventure – living a lifetime in a single day.

False Lights by K.J. Whittaker is a fantastic alternative history, starting with the premise that Napoleon has won the Battle of Waterloo and invaded Britain.  With Josephine presiding in London, and the population of Cornwall in open rebellion against French rule, young heiress Hester Harewood and Wellington’s former intelligence officer Jack Crowlas are drawn into the plot to free the Duke of Wellington from his incarceration on the Isles of Scilly.

K J Whittaker draws the reader into a world full of adventure, romance, treachery, and espionage, with believable characters and wonderfully evocative settings of Scilly, Cornwall and London.

And finally, you’ve probably heard more than one of the team rave about this book in the last few weeks, is Adam Kay and his darkly hilarious This is Going to Hurt.  The book is a no-holds-barred account of Adam's time working as a junior doctor on the NHS front line.

Kay now works as a comedy writer for the BBC now, and you can tell why from reading the book;  even in the saddest of moments inside the book, his way of seeing the funny side will make you laugh out loud.  It shines a light, not only on the way our hospitals are run, but the people that deal with the darkest of moments in everyday life.

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.