Yvonne
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house during the last week.
Be warned that Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Your host for this week is: Kathy over at ‘BermudaOnion’s Weblog’
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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The latest addition to my virtual bookshelf this week, is another of those ‘I must resist opening that email … but maybe just a quick peek’ offerings from NetGalley.
The fact that the book is called ‘The Bookstore’ and much of the story is set in a second-hand bookstore in New York, is justification enough for me to have ordered this book and is a real added bonus.
Nothing beats a good rummage around a second-hand bookshop … Apart from maybe a good rummage around a new bookshop if I am feeling flush with cash!!
Looking forward to this one!
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THE BOOKSTORE
A witty, sharply observed debut novel about a young woman who finds unexpected salvation while working in a quirky used bookstore in Manhattan. Impressionable and idealistic, Esme Garland is a young British woman who finds herself studying art history in New York. She loves her apartment and is passionate about the city and her boyfriend; her future couldn’t look brighter. Until she finds out that she’s pregnant.
Esme’s boyfriend, Mitchell van Leuven, is old-money rich, handsome, successful, and irretrievably damaged. When he dumps Esme—just before she tries to tell him about the baby—she resolves to manage alone. She will keep the child and her scholarship, while finding a part-time job to make ends meet. But that is easier said than done, especially on a student visa.
The Owl is a shabby, second-hand bookstore on the Upper West Side, an all-day, all-night haven for a colorful crew of characters: handsome and taciturn guitar player Luke; Chester, who hyperventilates at the mention of Lolita; George, the owner, who lives on protein shakes and idealism; and a motley company of the timeless, the tactless, and the homeless. The Owl becomes a nexus of good in a difficult world for Esme—but will it be enough to sustain her? Even when Mitchell, repentant and charming, comes back on the scene?
A rousing celebration of books, of the shops where they are sold, and of the people who work, read, and live in them, ‘The Bookstore’ is also a story about emotional discovery, the complex choices we all face, and the accidental inspirations that make a life worth the reading.
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DEBORAH MEYLER
Deborah Meyler was born in Manchester, England, read English at Oxford University, and completed a master’s thesis on Edith Wharton at St. Andrews University. Following on, she
After her husband had beeen recruited by Cambridge University Press, in New York, they moved and Deborah found work in a bookshop, until the first of the couple’s three children was born.
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I can’t wait to discover all your own great new finds this week … so please stop by and share your link
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New one for me. No work would get done if I work in a bookstore for sure!
Hi Mystica,
You and me both! I couldn’t possibly sell a book until I had read it first … LOL
It is bad enough in the charity shop where I volunteer. I am responsible for the bookshelves and sorting the books which are donated. I constantly have a pile of books set aside with my name on to buy and it is only after some severe culling that I only come away with a single bagful at a time…. Well, I can get lots for my money, which takes no account of the fact that I don’t have the storage space for them all at home!
My idea of the perfect job though!
Great to hear from you and have a good week.
I can’t wait to read The Bookstore! Eagerly awaiting release here. Enjoy!
Hi Sam,
This was a free e-copy which was offered for review on NetGalley, do you not get NetGalley in Australia then? if you do, it might be worthwhile checking them out.
I have to limit myself to only accepting books which I know I am going to read, as I get regular emails up to 3 times a week, promoting some fantastic titles and it would be all too easy to download them all, with little or no hope of ever getting to read them … just a bit greedy, don’t you think?
Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.
Esme’s boyfriend sounds like perfect boyfriend material until I read the ‘irretrievably damaged’ part.
Having read several books featuring book stores recently I’m keen to read this.
Hi Tracy,
Mitchell doesn’t sound like a very pleasant character to me, more like a real spoilt brat,
so just what he is going to make of the situation, when he finally decides to come back on the scene as if he has never been away, is going to be very interesting!
I know that you aren’t a fan of ebooks, but I wonder how you feel about reading books as a file on your computer? as NetGalley do offer this as an alternative option, then you wouldn’t miss out on all the great ‘freebies’ they have on offer!
Either way, I do hope that you get the opportunity to read ‘The Bokstore’.
Have a good week and thanks for stopping by.
The Bookstore sounds REALLY good.
THANKS for your post.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Mailbox Monday
Hi Elizabeth,
There have been a few mixed reviews about this book, so I am going to reserve judgement until I have read it, but surely any story set in and around a bookshop, can’t be all bad, can it?
This would be my dream job and it would just be nice if my voluntary role, managing the bookshelves of a charity shop, could turn into a paid position. I do get to sort and handle some pretty ill treated and mis-used books, however when a good clean bag of great titles get donated, there is always cause for excitement … I am just like a child in a sweet shop and everyine else thinks it is so very funny!
There are some very disparate characters in ‘The Bookstore’, so I am hoping for some great descriptive passages, which will bring them to life, as they mingle in the book aisles.
Thanks for stopping by and have a good week.
I agree…how can a book about a bookshop be bad. 🙂
Will be looking forward to your thoughts.
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
The Bookstore is on my list of books to read. I can’t wait.
My mailbox was empty all week, not a single book! 🙁
Hi Judy,
Thank you so much for deciding to visit Fiction Books this week. I love ‘meeting’ new people, so your visits will always be welcome and your comments always appreciated.
I really do have to be very strict with myself, when it comes to the NetGalley ‘freebie’ offers, or I would be literally drowning in books, even if they are only electronic copies, my Kindle might even go into meltdown! I just couldn’t resist ‘The Bookstore’, hopefully not for the wrong reason that it is set in a bookstore, rather than for its storyline.
I have quite a few ’empty’ weeks when I don’t get a single book, but that just doesn’t have any impact on my TBR shelves, the amount of ebooks on my Kindle, or my wishlist, which is longer than a years worth of grocery shopping lists! Somehow though, I still feel disappointed not to have a Mailbox Monday post to prepare.
Have a great week and enjoy whatever book you decide to read.
I have a copy of The Bookstore too. It looks good! The synopsis had me at New York and bookstore. Hope you like!
Hi Lucy,
I never put ‘2 and 2 together’ when I read your Mailbox Monday post. I can’t believe the size of ‘The Strand’ bookstore, that would be a day out for me, although I’m not too sure that hubbie would be too impressed!
We have a large book warehouse, not too far from where we live, however it isn’t as light and bright as ‘The Strand’, the books are quite expensive for secondhand and are not always in very good condition.
You are sure to get to read ‘The Bookstore’ before me, as my ‘pending’ pile is huge, so I look forward to reading your thoughts about it.
The Bookstore sounds interesting, enjoy!
http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2013/08/mailbox-monday_26.html
Hi Mary Ann,
Anything centred around somewhere where books are involved, just has to be worth the read, doesn’t it?
‘The Owl’ sounds more like a meeting place and drop-in centre for just about every eccentric person in the area and I can’t wait to see what Mitchell makes of it all, when he comes back on the scene!
Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments.
The Bookstore sounds very good. I enjoy books about books. Oh my gosh, NetGalley. I love them! Such an awesome source for us book-a-holics and book reviewers 😉
Hi Naida,
I too, could become quite addicted to NetGalley, although I have been quite good so far and have actually only taken on six titles, in the past four months since I joined!
To be honest, as a blogger, what with all the ‘freebies’ out there and the constant supply of author and publisher review requests, I need hardly ever buy a book again.
The trouble is, I just love mooching around bookshops, charity shops and markets, just about anywhere where I can browse books. Working as I do in a charity shop, is really such bad news for a bookaholic, as there is a constant supply of fantastic material, from genres that I probably wouldn’t even bother checking out in a bookshop, all at great prices and with staff discount, even better!
What could be better than a book about books and a bookshop, so I am really looking forward to reading ‘The Bookstore’.
Thanks for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated.
What I love about the description of the The Bookstore is 1) the NYC setting and 2) the fact that it has an ensemble of quirky characters. i’ll put it on my list of books to read… hopefully it will be as good as it sounds.
I’ve recently been checking out volumes of short stories; I’m stocking up for the High Holidays, when I plan to spend some afternoons on the couch reading for hours at a time 🙂 I love being able to jump around to different authors, and when a short story is well-written it can be just as satisfying as a novel.
Hi Hila,
Coming as I do, from the UK, I would have perhaps preferred ‘The Bookstore’ to be ‘The Bookshop’ and to be set in a bohemian, slightly quirky area, perhaps in London … especially as the author is British and now living back in her home country. That small detail aside, no book set in a bookshop can be bad, so I am really looking forward to reading it.
I don’t tend to read an awful lot of short stories and if I do want a book to dip in and out of, would probably go for a non fiction book, or perhaps a poetry book or two (although definitely not a memoir).
The prospect of having a whole afternoon to relax and read, is a distant memory for me, but it sounds like the perfect way to go and I hope that you have fun.
The Bookstore is on my list of ,must-read books. It sounds like my favorite kind of story.
Here’s my Book Begining post:
http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2013/08/friday-focus-friday-56-book-beginnings_30.html
Hi Catherine,
Have you downloaded ‘The Bookstore’ yet, I wonder? It is a ‘freebie’ over at NetGalley right now, so it might be a good opportunity for you to grab it and have it in reserve for future reading.
Given that the author actually worked for six years in a bookstore, when she was living in the US, I am wondering just how much of the story is fiction and how much is based on real events, people and emotions that she experienced personally.
I am definitely looking forward to reading this book.
Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your comment