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.