*all images via GoodReads
Billy & Me | Giovanna Fletcher
I’ve done a full review of this on Blogger’s Bookshelf already, so head over there for the full view and feels!
In summary, Sophie May, a young girl from the sleepy British countryside whose life is suddenly turned upside down with the arrival of a film crew and it’s dashing star Billy Buskin. It turns out that Billy is quite taken with Sophie (and visa versa!) and after not too long he decides to whisk her away to the bright lights of London town. There Sophie is forced into the spotlight and has to muddle her way through a scary, new, judgemental town, testing her relationship with Billy and the family and friends she left behind to the max!
Billy and Me was a light and fluffy read, which made me both cry and laugh – though let’s face it, I’m a crier. If anything the ending will leave you feeling all the things for Sophie and for a debut novelist Mrs Fletcher did well!
Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore | Robin Sloan
Clay Jannon needs a job. The young graphic designer from San Fran, recently made redundant thanks to the good ol’ recession is getting pretty desperate…which is when he stumbles into a curious little shop. The shop in question is a 24 Hour Bookstore, it’s owner? Mr Penumbra. Penumbra’s a charming, yet mysterious old man and offers Clay the night shift job at the store. Clay takes it on with much gusto, clambering the precariously placed ladder for Penumbra’s odd clientele for books they don’t buy, but check-in and out – like a library system. He’s unperturbed by the strange behaviour of Penumbra’s customers at first, until he starts to look a little closer at the books they’re checking out. Before too long Clay’s embarks on a mission to unveil the mystery of the store, the code inside the books and even Penumbra’s own story. What he finds though, may not be what he expects.
All in all, I did enjoy this. The twists and turns were refreshing and I don’t think I’ve read a book quite like this one before. It was great to see the contrast between the old and new worlds, of books, code-breaking and tradition in comparison to computers, tech and quests to discover the unknown.
However I don’t think it lived up to the huge hype that was piled on it from pretty much every book blogger/vlogger/GoodReader-er(?…I don’t know?) I came across. Had I not known anything about it or the praise it receive, maybe my expectations would’ve been lowered? Or maybe I need a re-read? I think this might be a grower for me.
Harry: A History | Melissa Anelli
‘Harry…’ is a non-fiction book written by Melissa Anelli, web-mistress of The Leaky Cauldron (one of the largest Harry Potter fansites in the world) and American journalist. It chronicles the story of the Harry Potter fandom leading up to and through the release of Deathly Hallows in 2007, from it’s early beginnings with the publication of Philosopher’s Stone, through the earliest Internet fansites, the evolution of Wizard Rock, Rowling’s first interactions with the fans, right up to the biggest book release in publishing history and the so-called ‘End of an era’. Told in Melissa’s own words, she gathers her information from some of the book’s publishers, editors, and even Jo Rowling herself, as well as other fans voices, both big and small, to paint a picture of what that time in literary history and Potter-mania was like.
I’ll stop there as I’m planning on doing a full on review for Blogger’s Bookshelf but I’ll tell you this, if there’s one emotion that sums up my feeling when I finished ‘Harry…’ it’s nostalgic. For someone who lived and watched most of the events that happened in the book from the sidelines, it was fantastic to relive the magic of that unique moment in history all over again…not to mention the fact that this has gotten me far too excited to – potentially (let’s not jinx this, though she did favourite my tweet so we’re obviously besties :P) – meet Melissa at LeakyCon!