Meet the Team: Jenna

What's your full name?

Jenna Washington

How long have you worked at Mostly Books?

Just over a year. I started off as a work experience girl and luckily everyone here liked me- so they decided to keep me!

What's your favourite genre of books and why?

I enjoy a good crime and thriller book occasionally, but I generally read YA books. Nothing can beat the satisfactory feeling of working out who did a crime, or who killed who, and getting inside the mind of a criminal, policeman or even innocent bystander and seeing their point of view always makes a book more interesting. Any books with seriously crazy plot twists make me so happy, and YA books generally have quite a few of those. Quirky characters always surface too, and the fact I am a teenager means that I find some books heavily relatable and can relate them to my life- something that is not always a good thing.

Name your favourite book.

Without meaning to sound cliché, I don’t have just one favourite book. The Morganville vampire series by Rachel Caine will always have a special place in my heart as it was the first ever series of books I finished, and I feel completely and utterly head over heels in love with one of the main characters. I must have re-read the entire series about four times because of him. “First Love” by James Patterson is another one of my favourites, as I loved it so much I did a book review on it in order to get my initial work experience here at the shop. Sandra Brown is an amazing thriller author I loved, with her book “Sting” being one of the best thriller books I have read this year.

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

How unpredictable the shop is. Honestly, literally anything can happen here. For example, I walked in last Saturday morning to find the entire back garden full of building work and supplies, and the sink to have disappeared into thin air. Hearing stories from the week is always an interesting thing to listen to on a Saturday morning, and having children yelling the word “UNDERPANTS” randomly throughout the day keeps the atmosphere lively and exciting.

What are your main responsibilities at Mostly Books?

Working Saturdays is very different to working weekdays  - the shop is so much more hectic. So, I spend the day running around helping people find books, coming up with recommends and manning the till. I generally have the job of changing around posters and making sure the reviews are around the shop and on the books. Little jobs that don’t get done through the week, like making up goody bags, I do if we have a spare moment. Recently I have been doing things a bit out of the ordinary, like helping out with redecorations and helping out at the Harry Potter Quiz, taking photos and running the stall.

What upcoming books are you most excited about?

I am SO excited about “Top Ten” by Katie Cotugno which is about two very unlikely friends reminiscing on the top ten moments from their friendship. I feel like a lot of books that are written are about the future of characters, not many go back and inspire readers to think about their own friendships in this way. There is also “My Sister's Bones” by Nuala Ellwood, which is about the bond between two sisters and how that is tested when something tragic happens.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I am just about to start year 12 to do four a-levels: Maths, Further Maths, Biology and Chemistry. In between doing my GCSE’s a few months ago and the upcoming workload, I don’t actually have much free time. However, I have spent the last couple of weeks doing the National Citizen Service, where I’m meeting new people and learning new skills like how to canoe and gorge walk, as well as more useful day to day skills like first aid and budgeting food.

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

Before I worked at Mostly Books, I used to take dance classes on Saturday mornings. I can dance street and freestyle, Latin and ballroom! My Foxtrot is pretty good, if I may say so myself.  

Thanks Jenna, it's been good to chat!

Jenna works in the shop every Saturday. 

Extra staff in the shop this Monday...

We're very much in the thick of the Christmas season now, and a few early 'runners' have emerged during December in terms of our Christmas bestsellers. Here's a top 10 from the past 4 weeks or so:

1. History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil Macgregor (and that's despite not being able to get hold of copies for a while at the start of the month)
2. I Never Knew That About the River Thames by Christopher Winn (we're on the river here!)
3. Help by Kathryn Stock (several local bookgroups have been reading this I believe)
4. F in Exams by Richard Benson (the big stocking-filler hit of the year for us, and easily the book causing the most laughter from casual browsers...)
5. Golden Acorn by Catherine Cooper (by dint of having done an event with her a few weeks ago)
6. One Day - David Nicholls (mmm, can't imagine why that's there...)
7. Four Tales - Philip Pullman (a gorgeous collection of four of his 'fairy tales' and a very Christmassy-looking book to boot)
8. Do Nothing, Christmas is Coming - Stephen Cottrell (the third year running this has featured in our top ten!)
9. Top Gear - the alternative highway code (I'm slightly ashamed to say)
10. Steve Backshall's Deadly 60 (cometh the hour, cometh the 'wild' man...we waited almost two months for these to come in, and we're expecting big things of this title over the next couple of weeks...)

An interesting list, as always. Now, a bit further down (at about #17) is Anne Holt's 1222, one of our big crime recommends this Christmas. Published on Dec 1st, it promises to introduce Norway's biggest female crime writer - already huge in other European countries - to a wider UK audience.

But more interestingly, it's a title published by Atlantic Books, and - courtesy of a fantastic initiative from members of the Faber Alliance - we have Atlantic Books CEO Toby Mundy working in the shop tomorrow (Monday Dec 13) from lunchtime onwards, assisting customers as a Mostly Books staff member. It's going to be a great opportunity to come and get some (additional) expert advice from a hugely respected figure in the publishing world, so if you are in Abingdon tomorrow afternoon, do stop by.

Toby will be staying on in the evening to talk about his experience in publishing, and the books they publish. Officially, we are now full for that event, but there is a waiting list and we will try to squeeze you in. Tickets are £3, and include suitably festive refreshments into the bargain...more details here.