GoodRead - A Monster Calls

As you guys know, I was at an event hosted by the lovely people at Walker Books (not read it? Here's the link and there s no hints of Cassandra Clare in my write-up as I haven't read the latter Mortal Instruments books just yet so no spoilers for me!). While I was there, I saw a copy of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. An illustrated edition of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I asked if I could take it as... well... I had to. EVERYONE LOVES THIS BOOK AND I HAVEN'T READ IT!!! Walker were very kind and said I could. And so, I started reading it once I got home Saturday evening.

From the original idea of Siobhan Dowd, A Monster Calls follows Conor who, one night, wakes up to find a monster staying outside his bedroom window. The monster isn't what Conor was expecting - he has seen worse in his nightmare - the nightmare. The nightmare he's been having since his mother started her treatment. But the monster wants something different. It says Conor called it and now, the monster won't leave till its told three tales to Conor. After that, Conor will tell the monster a fourth tale - and this tale is the worse of them all.

This fourth tale must be the truth.

So... this book. Is it worth it? Is it worth going out of your way to read? Is it worth hunting down the illustrated edition?

YES! YESYESYES!!!

This book... I'm not sure where to begin on my thoughts and feels on this book but this book is wonderful. Simply wonderful.

I get why people have said this book made them cry. It didn't with me - sorry, I don't cry when I read - but this book hit me in the feels. If I didn't have to go to sleep and had to read it in two sittings, I would have read this in one go and yes, I fear I would have cried a manly tear (I hear you guys sniggering... don't judge me!).

There's something beautiful about Patrick's writing. It's simple and yet, there's something about how he spun this tale that just fits. Maybe it's because of the idea from Siobhan Dowd, who sadly died before she could finish this (she had, according to the author's note, the characters, the premise and the beginning) but Patrick paid perfect respect and tribute to Siobhan and to the subject matter (yes, this book did hit a nerve with me).

The illustrations by Jim Kay are wonderful. They fit with the story in two ways: they aided the story and yet, moved the story forward. Both with very little detail and yet, with so much detail.

This book is faultless. Buy it. Just buy it - but buy the illustrated edition. Trust me when I say this.



PS - this is being turned into a movie. To the movie people making this movie, PLEASE DON'T SCREW IT UP!

Jen Campbell talks Bookshops!!!

I am very excited to welcome Jen Campbell to the blog. Jen has written The Bookshop Book, a book about... well, bookshops and the joy their bring. Jen travelled the world, visiting unique bookshops and writing them up in this quite unique book. So cool that it's this year's Books are My Bag's book! Go Jen! 

So, when the lovely Em asked if I wanted to ask Jen some questions, I jumped at the chance! Before I start the Q&A, I must quickly thank Em from the publisher for setting this up and Jen for taking out to answer these questions! 

Jen, thank you so much for doing this. First question: what made you write a book dedicated to bookshops?

Hi! Thanks for having me!

Well, I love books, and bookshops. I’ve got my first job as a bookseller when I was at uni, and have been working in new and antiquarian bookshops for the past seven years. I’m also a writer and my first book came out in 2012, called ‘Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops’ - a book about all the funny things that have been said to me (there are quite a few!). When the book came out, I got to go on book tour and met all these amazing booksellers in fantastic bookshops (like Wigtown: a bookshop town on the west coast of Scotland by the sea: twelve shops all on one street. One of them is the largest secondhand bookshop in Scotland with a bed in amongst the books. Another is a feminist bookshop run by a lady called Gerrie who not only sells books but is also a humanist celebrant, so she marries people too! Sometimes in the bookshop itself!). So, I was going to all these places, and in turn going off and researching other strange bookshops - travelling bookshops; tiny bookshops; bookshops in the middle of a rainforest. And I thought, ‘Hey, I need to write about this.’

Did you travel to some of the bookshops you feature in the book? 

Yes, I did :) The book looks at over 300 bookshops across six continents, so I didn’t get to go to all of them. (I now have a bucket list of places to visit that’s as long as... well... it’s long!). I visited most of the bookshops in the UK, the bookshops in Paris, Berlin, the ones in Amsterdam (I lived on a houseboat for a few days there), and I’d been to a couple in the States previously on holiday. As for the others, I’d get up early in the morning and Skype with booksellers in Australia/New Zealand and Asia; then I’d go to work at the bookshop, come home and Skype with booksellers in America and Canada. So I was constantly in several different time zones in my head. It was a little mad, but lots of fun.

You found some pretty cool and very unique bookshops. How did you discover them and what was your reaction to each new discovery?

It was a domino effect, really - every bookshop I talked to I’d ask them about their favourite places, likewise with authors. I obviously also researched myself - so much research! - and it was a constant delight to discover places you would never think existed. Like a Book Town in Norway next to the largest glacier in mainland Europe, where booksellers transport books around the snow on kicksleds and sell them in converted barns.

Out of all the bookshops featured, which is your favourite?

Ahhh. Don’t make me choose! I love Shakespeare and Company in Paris; I have a soft spot for Librarie Papillion in Mongolia, who sell books to herders of the Gobi desert; there’s a bookshop in Greece that’s also a laundrette; there’s a travelling library in Kenya on the back of a camel, and one in Colombia on the back of a donkey. There are bookshops on boats, in old factories, in rainforests... I can’t pick!

If you could revisit any of these bookshops, would you and which one would you visit? 

This is one I didn’t get to visit, but I’d love to get to El Ateneo in Buenos Aires: a beautiful bookshop in a converted 1920s Tango dance hall. Give it a Google; it’s magnificent.

You spoke to several well-known and very respected authors about bookshops. Was there an author that made you have a bit of a geek out? 

I was thrilled that so many wanted to talk to me about their love of books, and all of them had excellent things to say. Meeting Audrey Niffenegger for coffee was particularly special - her passion for books is outstanding - and I had a bit of a fangirl moment chatting to Ali Smith. I adore her.

The Bookshop Book is this year's official Books Are My Bag book. How did you feel when you heard this news?

I’d met Meryl Halls - who runs Independent Booksellers Week - before, and we’d discussed doing something together in the future. Earlier this year we met up for coffee and had a chat. The Bookshop Book, which I was writing at the time, seemed to be the perfect match for their BAMB campaign. We knew it would be silly not to team up, so we had a chat with Constable (my publishers), and off we went!

One final question: as this book is about bookshops, you must feel passionate about bookshops. Why are bookshops, indie bookshops especially, so important?

 I think my feelings about bookshops are best summed up in the dedication of ‘The Bookshop Book:’

bookshops are

time machines

spaceships

story-makers

secret-keepers

dragon-tamers

dream-catchers

factfinders

and safe places

(this book is for those who know this to be true)

GoodRead - Tormenting Lila

I blame Conspiracy Girl for my sudden "Oh heck, I might fall into a reading slump" feeling I had the past few days. I really enjoyed Conspiracy Girl (review here if you missed it) and I fancied reading something else by Sarah Alderson (I bought Out of Control on Thursday. Before Black Friday. FOOL!!!) but I didn't want a novel. I wanted something short. And then I remembered that, months ago, I bought this so attacked it while on route to Walker Books for today's blogger event.

Set around 8 months after the events of Losing Lila (which I haven't read. Whoops!), we catch up with Lila and Alex trying to spend some alone time with each other. I mean, is that too much to ask? Well, apparently not as Lila's brother, his hopefully-in-the-near-future girlfriend and two of Lila's closest friends decide to gatecrash. And when they visit an island that might have a serial killer on it, will they get off alright?

I liked it. It was nice to revisit these characters - it's been an age since I read Hunting Lila (review for that is here) and because I haven't read Losing Lila, I wasn't sure if I should due to spoilers. So, if you haven't read this series, there are a few spoilers so you might want to read the series before this.

But the characters are the main reason I enjoyed this short. I liked Lila and Jack's interaction, smiled at Nate and Suki - I forgot how much they made me laugh in Hunting Lila - and as for Alex... Sarah Alderson knows how to write swoon-worthy leads.

What interested me with this short is this is a gateway into another novel Sarah had written (and one I haven't read!) - The Sound. So, The Sound and Lila are set in the same world (like Out of Control and Conspiracy Girl) and yet, these two are so different. Lila is quite paranormal while we have a serial killer thriller in The Sound.

With rumours that Sarah might be writing a third book for Lila (are you, Sarah?), I shall be intrigued to see where she takes the characters... But first, I need to get back up to speed with her other books!

GoodRead - Cold Wind

I started this yesterday and finished is on the way to Walker Books's Bookish Brunch (not read my post of that yet? Go here, my friends). I wasn't ready to get into a novel is my excuse. I wanted to read something to stop me falling into a reading slump...

This story starts in a bar. A woman walks in one wintery night. She's searching for something... or someone...

Now, I'm not 100% certain how I feel about it. I liked it, but it didn't bowl me over. I think, while I liked the style of the story - fairytale but not at the same time - I got confused over it. And while one of the things was explained, I felt that there was a few things that weren't tied up or explained very well...

Maybe I'm being picky. Like I said, I was reading something to help me not fall into a reading slump and while this is ok for something to past the time, it just wasn't enough for me...

GoodRead - Warm Up

Ok, I admit it. I still haven't read Vicious. I know, I know. Am a bad person. It sounds like The Avengers but if they were evil. Which is perfect for me.

But after reading Conspiracy Girl (review here) and failing to fall in my love with one of my Xmas reads within the first two chapters (not in the right mindset), I felt a pull to Warm Up, a prequel (of sorts) to Vicious and I thought "Why not?"

It has been 297 days since David died. And came back. He may have survived that avalanche but the fall out is worse. He's trapped himself in his house, too scared to leave due to the events after he woke up and found that he's now different from before. He has a new gift - and this gift scares him. But it's not the gift he should be scared of...

Ok, am going to say it. I nearly read this in one sitting. It is SO short and yet SO addictive! I can not WAIT to read Vicious. I know this isn't much of a review, but I think if you are curious over Vicious, you might want to read this as it gives the tiniest of tastes of what this story is about.

Like I said, this is a very short story and I wished it was a tad longer. I wanted to spend more time with Daniel - even though I felt like I knew enough about him. I just wanted more.

But yes, I can't wait to find time to read Vicious now! Maybe over Christmas if I fancy something to hide me from my Christmas TBR pile...

Walker Books Bookish Brunch

I was VERY kindly invited to Walker Books' Bookish Brunch. So, dealing with a train journey, the London underground and downing my first drink that contain caffeine of the day (just to scare everyone at Walker with my sudden hyperness! I had an mental image of this...)

You think book publishers would be too scared/frightened to invite me to these type of events...

But after meeting so many lovely other bloggers and vloggers (too many to list but I met Julianne [aka the Queen of Hats], Lucy from Queen of Contemporary and Sarah from SCJammycustard [or Cluminessisacurse - what is your right name?] for the first time and chatted to those who I haven't seen in what feels like FOREVER! I miss meeting up with you guys!), Walker sheperded us into a room (that had tea! TEA! Walker are my kind of people! [yes, that was my first tea of the day! On weekends, am usually on my third by then!]) and show us some exciting reads for next year. Well, January to June/July with one expectation. 

Ok, confession. I lost my notes on half of the books - I had them then I got my second cup of tea when we had a break and they went walkies. So, you will have to bear with me. And because there are FAR TOO MANY BOOKS, am going to pick some that I think you MUST check out and research! 

That ok? Ok. Let's get cracking! 

The first two is Jandy Nelson's The Sky is Everywhere and I'll Give You The Sun. Ok, I know The Sky is Everywhere has been out for AGES, but there is a cover redesign (out in Feb, I do believe) which fits perfectly with I'll Give You The Sun. Already huge with US vloggers/bloggers, I'll Give You The Sun looks like the book fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell might love. With themes of love (in all forms [straight, gay, family, friends, lovers, etc), the idea of art and grief, the leads being twins (so dual narrative and two very different timelines), this seems to be the one to watch. 

(and if I have my way, the books I shall be reading within the next few weeks... might have to give up my Christmas TBR pile but WHO CARES?!)

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13b by Teresa Toten has the feel of the maybe-cancelled US show The Red Band Society. With an OCD support group at its heart, our hero falls in love. But how can he tell the girl he's falling off when his OCD is standing in the way? This sounds quirky, interesting and give the love story a different edge.

Lottery Boy by Michael Byrne follows a 12 year old runaway and his dog on the streets of London. One day, he finds a winning lottery ticket and he has 5 days to claim it. But he's 12 and you must be 16 to buy a ticket. Soon, the wrong people hear about the ticket and he's on the run. It has, according to the publisher, a Slumdog Millionaire feel to it and, after chatting to the author (who is very nice and I don't think I scared him that much while we spoke all things book), and very intrigued on how this book plays out. Plus, if I remember right, this has been optioned so we might see this in TV/film form... 

Already published in the US, Evil Librarian is for those of us who were fans of the silliness yet creepiness of Point Horror and Goosebumps. A new librarian has come to school and... well... he's evil. I think the title says it all. Imagine Buffy meets Glee and you have an idea... 

Remix by Non Pratt follows best friends who go to a music festival. So, 2 days, two best mates, one music festival... what could possibly go wrong? Non spoke at the event and she explained what inspired this book: two questions. The first: why aren't there more books about ex-boyfriends? The second: why isn't there more books about best friends? If you're a fan of her debut novel, Trouble, you're in safe hands. But, music festivals with friends and humour - this sounds like a yummy read! I might have upload a random 6 seconds of her talking on Vine... Sorry Non. 

If you don't know my thoughts/reactions over The Name of the Blade trilogy by Zoe Marriott, please go here! But this book is A MUST for me! Urban fantasy, Japanese mythology, so much diversity & LGBT that you begin to wonder why other books do this, this is going to be wonderful and heartbreaking for me. 

The only book that isn't being published in the January to June time period is Patrick Ness's The Rest of Us Just Live Here. As someone who is only just getting into his writing (though I have followed him on twitter for what feels like ages. HE'S FUNNY AS HECK!), am excited/scared to read this once. Set in a world similar to ours - expect it's like being inside a YA novel, we are hit by the question: what if your not the Chosen One? How do you carry on with your life in this world when your school gets blown up - again. What if you don't get the girl - because the Chosen One has her? What if...

And, to make things more scary for me, Walker were very kind and gave me A Monster Calls and The Knife of Never Letting Go. One thinks I need to get the tissues at the ready when I read these three beasts *gives Walker Books and Patrick Ness death glare in advance of my tears*... 

But this event was wonderful! The books I have listed (and the others I haven't) sound really good and should excite most of you guys. I must thank Walker again for inviting me (and sorry if I freaked anyone out). Oh, and thank you to Jim who gave me a spare copy of Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase (yes, know that's not Walker, but I had to thank him and I can't remember if I did in person or not...) 

PS - Oh, just remembered. After the presentation and we all had a talk over the books and a catch-up, Walker had a board up, asking the question "What Would You Give Up For The Sun?" and we all had a go. It's a very hard question to ask and most of us aren't very arty and I tried really hard to draw something cool and nice. 

But compare it to this, I don't know why I bothered... 

GoodRead - Conspiracy Girl

I know this comes out in February. I know - but as soon as I saw I was approved on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it at once. Rare for me to actually read something WAY before publication date. But it's been AGES since I read Sarah Alderson and I fancied reading something that could leave me on the edge of my seat.

Everyone knows about the Cooper Killings, and the lone survivor was a fifteen year old Nic Preston. Now eighteen and emotionally scarred by the deaths of her mother and stepsister (and the horrors of the media and trial), Nic is trying to rebuild her life. But when someone breaks into her apartment, it looks like history is repeating itself...

So when Finn Carter comes on the scene as her protector, Nic can't help but be furious. Not only is Finn a computer hacker, rule breaker and very much a heart breaker, he's the reason the murderers walked free. But, as much as she hates to admit it, Finn's her best chance of staying alive. 

But who wants her dead? And, more importantly, why? 

It's been a while since I read a Sarah Alderson book (though I have most of her works on my kindle. Expect Out of Control [which I must get soon] and The Sound [which I have seemed to misplaced]), but I forgot how easy it was to read her writing and how, within a few chapters, you become addicted to the story and how breathless you can be at times. 

If you have read Out of Control, you might notice tiny little Easter eggs. Another thing I liked - even though I haven't read Out of Control yet. 

The leads - Nic and Finn - I liked them. Both of them were strong characters but flawed. It was interesting to see how their relationship evolved over the span of the book (which was a few days in real time - yes, the book moves quickly). 

There are some flaws. My main fault is NetGalley's fault (which am not going to go into - what would be the point?). But there are two tiny points - the word flying was used quite a bit in this book. Maybe it was because of the main unspoken fault that I was aware of it but once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it. 

The second is a slight worry that some of you guys who read thrillers will read this and go "It's a bit paint-by-numbers". 

But I had a great time with this book. I am planning to read more of Sarah's books in future, but if you fancy an addictive read, this might a book you should investigate... Or, if anyone in TV land fancies turning this into a drama for BBC Three or E4, you should! I would watch it! 

SMILE - Human Beings Make Life So Interesting...

I have no idea who turned this scene for Sky One's The Hogfather (based on the Terry Pratchett novel of the same name) into gifs. No idea - but I love Death! So, thank you Terry Pratchett, Sky One and everyone else in connection with this!