Book Review: The Girls by Emma Cline

This book speaks of a world I found so horrifying and dangerous yet because it was told from the conscience and justifications of a 14 year old girl, I could almost find myself relating. For a debut novelist, Emma Cline has certainly demonstrated a fantastic grasp on verbalising the inner workings of the young female mind, so this was such an exciting find!

Fourteen-year-old Evie Boyd’s attention is caught by a gang of girls that live in her northern Californian town. With the “endless, formless summer” stretching ahead of her, Evie is seduced by a life spent amongst the girls in the out-of-town commune in which they inhabit. Cline’s story is based somewhat on the Manson cult, which I actually hadn’t heard of, but from a bit of Googling seems like a very big deal back in the 1960s. With Charles Manson at the centre, a large group of girls carried out gruesome murders with a pure kind of loyalty to their leader. Russell is the ‘Charles Manson’ in this tale, but Russell is consciously cast aside in order to focus on ‘the girls’.

Some criticism has been given to Emma Cline’s style of writing as there is a tendency to over-dramatise the insignificant; dresses “stuttering with loose stitching”, the “domestic rot of the kitchen sponge”. I found that this allowed me to more vividly and sharply imagine Evie’s world, with rich senses of colour and smell. Often these details were described when Evie was at home and feeling listless; the rush and roar of excitement for her new life had not yet come and she seemed to express disdain and boredom of the everyday.

I keep saying on this blog that I don’t really enjoy books that flick back and forth in time but once again, this one’s blown that out of the water. We experience older, grown up Evie’s life, as she narrates the tale. Her story as an adult is told with the same rich intensity. Sadly this Evie doesn’t seem to have made much of her life since the commune, and the very last passage in the book where she is walking on the beach almost willing the male passer-by to cause her harm suggests she is still an outsider desperate to be noticed. 

4/5

Book Review: Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende

First of all, I LOVED this book!

The book tells the story of Maya, a teenager 'in hiding', who has been sent to live with a family friend in Chiloé, an island on the archipelago off Chile. While Maya settles into this community, we learn about the series of events back in her Californian hometown that lead to her to escape. The story masterfully undulates between the present and the past, in a way that is somehow not nearly as annoying as I have found in other books that do the same!

Maya had been virtually abandoned by her parents at a young age, leaving her Chilean grandmother and her warm and loving grandfather to bring her up. Upon the death of her grandpa, Maya spirals down a path of self-destruction, stealing and using drugs. Concerned, her grandparents send her away for rehabilitation in Oregon, but Maya runs away, and is picked up by a truck driver who drugs and rapes her at a motel. Fearing for her life, and left penniless in Las Vegas, Maya falls into a gang of criminals operating around the city, dealing in counterfeit money.

The harrowing account of the depths of Maya’s addiction to drugs during this time was the thing that shocked me the most. Maya is headstrong and determined, and I was willing for her to pull herself out her circumstances, but her addiction traps and I was reading the pages very rapidly hoping she survives.

Allende tells the story in short little chunks; there are no chapters as such, although the seasons are marked. I liked this way of storytelling – it allowed for small anecdotes to be relayed, without dwelling on one thing for too long.

From a bit of research, I have heard that Allende gives genius depth to her characters. I think the depth to Maya was captured so well due to all the stories of all the other characters that she meets, especially on the island of Chiloé. From the circle of witches to the oldest lady on the island, the community and its history and politics are woven into the story so that by the end we have a wonderfully rich image of Maya’s home.

There is just so much packed into this book that it would be impossible to talk about everything, so I’m simply going to say I loved it (again) and I’m glad that I’m back to my positive book reviews after my last one (sorry Elizabeth Heathcote). Giving it a solid 4/5.

#IBW2016 Tag

I'll be honest, 2016 hasn't been a good year so far for reading. However, having just watched some of the Independent Bookshop Week Tag videos though (including the original, here, by Vintage Books), I feel very inspired by lots of new titles. I thought I would have a go myself because who doesn't love a good tag.

IBW 2016 is happening from 18th-25th June, so get involved and do the tag if you wish!

1. What book(s) are currently in your bag?

Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse has been my bag now for longer than I care to admit. I've just got the part where the main character, Hannah finds a thread of possible truth about her husband which might explain why he didn't return home from his business trip to New York. This was my 'post-interview' book a few months back, and it even featured when one of the interviewees asked me what I was currently reading. Despite all this, I'm still only about half way through it. As I said... not a good book year. 

2. What’s the last great book you read?

As already stated a few times in this blogpost (if this were a CV or a cover letter, it would have been thrown in the dustbin by now for careless repetition), I haven't been reading much in 2016, so I just found my 'Notes' App on my iPhone where I have listed all the books I read in 2015. There were some corkers, but it's a toss up between Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding (because it's impossible to deny that it isn't a great book) and The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Therialt. 

 


3. What book have you gifted the most?

As Will from the original Vintage Books video said, I don't think there's one book that I tend to give as a gift. It very much differs from person to person. In my family we tend to put book wishlist on Amazon so that we get the ones that we're really after, so it really depends. Saying that, I've had some great ones bought for me which weren't on there. (Side note: I still haven't quite gotten used to this whole 'using the word 'gifted' as a verb' thing!). 

4. What’s your favourite independent bookshop?

I'm going to cheat and pick two...

The first is the Minster Gate Bookshop in York. It's all about the setting for me; picture an old creaky building living in the shadow of York Minster with stairs that somehow keep producing rooms upon rooms of books. This bookshop is a wonderful escape from the busy streets of York. They sell new and old books on everything and even prints, pictures and old maps. 

The second is Shakespeare and Company in Paris. I first visited here on a school art trip to Paris years ago and fell a little bit in love. Every square inch of this place has a book crammed into it, I'd never seen anything quite like it! It feels like a little, intimate den of possibilities. With a piano on the second floor, the occasional Parisian (or tourist) will play to you while you float through the shop with delight. When I saw this shop in the film Before Sunset, I was so excited! Ask for any books that you buy to be stamped whilst you're at the till. It's just what you have to do! 

Shakespeare and Company featured in Before Sunset

Yep, I got mine stamped!

5. What’s been your favourite book recommended by a bookseller (or fellow Booktuber)?

I had to think about this one for a minute, but I think my favourite book recommended by a Booktuber was Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman, recommended by Just Kiss My Frog. The way Leena talks so passionately about all the books she's read just makes me want to rush out and buy every single one. I have chosen this one because for me, it was a gateway drug to everything else Caitlin Moran ever wrote. Upon finishing this book I went into a sort of mad frenzy. I was addicted; watching every interview on YouTube, reading every column in The Times and buying everything she had previously and subsequently written. Thanks Leena, thanks Caitlin Moran, I can now say with confidence that I am a feminist!

6. What’s your favourite bookshop memory?

Meeting the YA Book Prize winners in 2015 at Foyles bookshop in Charing Cross. This was one of the events I attended when I worked in publicity, and I was so lucky to spend the evening with some wonderful and insightful authors including Louise O'Neill and Sally Green! I met some fabulous people that evening, some of whom I am still in touch with now. I even wrote a blog post about it, which is available here. 

YA Bookprize Shortlistees

7. What do bookshops mean to you? What do you love about them?

Bookshops are a place for wonder and discovery. I love meandering around the tables at the front of Waterstones, looking at all the books that I've caught discussions on or seen in the Bookseller list. This excitement was heightened when I used to work in publicity and a number of them were ones I was working on! I love gazing in awe at the beautiful cloth-bound Penguin Classics. I love letting my eyes be drawn in by interesting covers (everyone knows that books really are judged by their cover, at least initially!). I love the feeling that you might find something that can speak to you in a way that nothing ever has before.  

8. What are the books that made you? Which books have most affected or influenced you?

I know I just talked about this one but I've been thinking long and hard and I have to choose How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran. She has single-handedly identified everything that is unfair/unequal/annoying about being a woman today and even laid it out very kindly in handy chapters! 

9. What book do you recommend readers gift for Father’s Day?

If I knew the answer to this, I'd be a very happy lady!

10. What book is currently at the top of your TBR pile?

Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin. 

A Book-Lovers Paradise

I'm breaking my blogging hiatus (sorry about that) with a post inspired by a YouTuber called Rhiannon Ashlee. For the first few videos of Vlogtober she's been in Scotland, and it reminded me of the mind-blowing bookshop I visited when I was on holiday in the Scottish Borders, called Barter Books in Northumberland.

Barter Books is one of the largest secondhand bookshops in Britain and it's based on a swap system. The magnificent setting for the bookshop is the Victorian railway at Alnwick, stuffed with shelves on every topic and packed with perfect little corners to sit for hours upon end if you wish.

With its electric toy train encircling the first room of books, to its numerous quotations linking bookcases and its majestic sun-shaped light display on the wall the bookshop has a charming and unique character, that had me constantly looking upwards in awe. Enjoy open fires in the winter and the Station Buffet, a delightful café ideal to sit and read in.

This magical bookshop is well worth a visit if you're in the area. Let me know if you have been and tell me what you thought!

Dear Stranger: Letters on the Subject of Happiness

I first came across Dear Stranger through an extract published in The Times. Published by Penguin in partnership with the mental health charity, Mind, Dear Stranger is comprised of 'letters' written by various authors, journalists and bloggers on the subject of happiness (including Marian Keyes, Rachel Joyce, Alain de Botton, Caitlin Moran). The extract was Caitlin Moran's letter. That was enough for me to decide to put this book on my birthday list, because I have a full-blown obsession! Observe the brilliance of the below quote from Caitlin Moran's letter.

"...you must not treat yourself any less courteously than you would a loved one, or a team-mate. You cannot spend days bitching at yourself, saying 'You are worthless', 'You said a stupid thing', 'You always make these same mistakes, and your knees are fat. Indeed the mistake you keep making is to have fat knees. You are a terminally fat-kneed clown.'

You would not stay silent if you saw someone being so repeatedly vile to someone else - if someone spoke to your brother, or sister, like this. You would find them. You would ride into battle on a horse against them. And yet, look at all the things you are saying to you."

Most of the letters are just two to three pages of thoughtful snippets about mental illness, depression, recovery and happiness, each providing food for thought on the subject. I love reading something that I know will stay with me long into the future, and this book certainly provides many sentiments that will do that.

Also contributing to the book is the illustrator of Alfie childrens' story books, Shirley Hughes, childrens' illustrator, Nicholas Allan and Private Eye cartoonist Tony Husband, with thoughtful insights given in picture-form.

The letters in the book are set out like chapters, one for each contributor, which makes it easy to flick through and read them in any order that takes your fancy. It's not necessary to read them consecutively as they appear in the book, though of course you could if you wanted to. This would be a great book to read alongside a novel (I know some people hate this idea), because reading a few pages really isn't at all taxing.

The last thing I will say about Dear Stranger is that I was rather disappointed that Stephen Fry didn't appear in the list of contributors. As the President of the Mind charity, I would have thought this would be a no-brainer for him, and I think he could have done something really interesting, but no such luck. His autobiographies serve much the same purpose, I suppose.

All profits from the sale of Dear Stanger (at least £3 per copy sold) will be donated to Mind (a registered charity, number 219830), available on Amazon here and through Waterstones here.

Goldsboro Books: Crime in the Court

Due to technicality issues involving not having a working laptop in London for about three months, there haven't been any blog posts for a while, but I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

I am late to the game to write about this, but I went to Crime in the Court last Thursday (June 25th), an event held at Goldsboro books, which is a lovely independent bookshop just off Leicester Square which specialises in signed first edition copies.

This was the fourth annual Crime in the Court event, which takes place in the lovely space outside Goldsboro bookshop. Crime writers of all sorts attended the event as well as fans, publishers, publicists, agents. As the publicity agency I work for was responsible for the PR for four of the authors there, it was great to all have an informal chat and a glass of wine.

I have listed the authors who attended below: 

Rebecca Whitney, Elizabeth Haynes, Terry Stiastny,

Susan Wilkins, Clare Mackintosh, Antonia Hodgson,

Louise Millar, Christobel Kent, Kate Rhodes,

RC Bridgestock, Charles Cumming, SD Sykes

William Shaw, V.M.Giambanco, Ali Knight

Elly Griffiths, L.C.Tyler, Dreda Say Mitchell & Tony Mason,

Elena Forbes, Julia Crouch, Mick Herron,

Colette McBeth, T.R.Richmond, Vaseem Khan

Jenny Blackhurst, Robin Blake, Sabine Durrant

JS Law, Clare Carson, Erin Kelly,

Jane Lythell, Stuart Prebble, Simon Toyne

Anya Lipska, Fergus McNeill, SJI Holliday,

Helen Giltrow, Claire McGowan, Eva Dolan,

Mark Billingham, SJ Watson, Sharon Bolton,

Renee Knight, David Hewson, Emma Kavanagh,

Sarah Hilary, Alison Joseph, Cal Moriaty,

Saul Black, Diana Bretherick

I highly recommend any crime fans to go next year as it's always great to meet authors whose books you have enjoyed. I even got my copy of The Insect Farm by Stuart Prebble signed  - definitely a highlight!

Book Review: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

I hope you're all having a lovely Easter weekend!

I thought I'd stop by with another book review. I bought Bridget Jones's Diary a few years ago whilst I was at university, and somehow it took this long to make its way into my hands again. Most of my reading time occurs on the train to and from London for work. If like me, you read in public spaces, let me warn you now, you will laugh out loud and you won't be able to control it!

Bridget writes to us in diary entries for a year, detailing her hysterical exploits in love, work and friendship (I'm sure you've seen the film...who hasn't!). Despite knowing all the words to the film backwards, it was nice to read the book, as there were some differences in plot! In the book, Bridget's mother gets into quite shocking situation with a criminal who relieves the family and friends of all their money, leaving Mark Darcy to save the day!

I loved this book, and although some of the references now are rather outdated (confusion over how to use the TV recording set and lack of mobile phones), it doesn't affect the story at all! In fact, I think I really read this book at the right time as I am about to move to London, and I have just got a job in Publishing, like Bridget! So from that perspective it was fun to read!

I recommend this book if you have done a lot of 'heavy' reading recently and want something lighter for a change!

I am rating this book 5 stars because Bridget Jones is the ultimate chick-lit novel! It doesn't really come better!

A Month In Book-World

So much has happened in my first month of work in PR, it's madness! I thought I'd share some of it here, in case it helps anybody who is thinking of working in books, publishing or PR to find out what goes on. My first month was quite events-heavy (no complaints, I met some amazing people!).

The first thing on the schedule was the YA Book Prize, an event to celebrate and recognise the growing success of young-adult fiction. This was the first year that it has run, and I think all will agree, it's a fantastic idea. 

The event, hosted by The Bookseller, was held at Foyles in Charing Cross and was a fantastic evening. Most of the authors including Sally Green (Half Bad), Non Pratt (Trouble) and YA Book Prize winner Louise O'Neill (Only Ever Yours) were there to celebrate. 

Highlights for me were spending the evening amongst such a talented bunch and meeting some really lovely people, including Rosianna from YouTube (I fangirled a little bit), who was on the judges' panel and was there to announce the award! 

Rosianna Halse Rojas announcing the winner

Louise O'Neill accepting her award

 The shortlisted books on display in Foyles, Charing Cross

The Shortlistees

A few days later the British Library held The Folio Prize Fiction Festival. Panels of shortlisted authors (a favourite of mine was Jeanette Winterson) were given a topic to discuss (conflict, desire, betrayal etc.). Watching these was fantastic, as they all had thought-provoking, insightful things to say on their topics, and it was interesting to watch the small panels of authors bounce off each other. The floor was then opened for the audience to ask questions, which was a nice idea.

From a work perspective, the main job was to look after the authors and running the book signings after each lecture. Having this responsibility was a first for me, and the experience of meeting authors I love was incredible! A couple of the authors really stood out to me during their lectures, and I definitely want to check them out based on how they came across; Colm Toibin (Nora Webster), Ali Smith (How to be Both) and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (Dust).

I took lots of photos of the weekend, but here are a few of my favourites...

Book signing with Yvonne, A M Homes and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Jeanette Winterson 

 Press photos 

 Colm Toibin 

 Ali Smith

 Lecture: On Inheritance with A M Homes, Jeanette Winterson and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor in conversation with Mark Lawson

 Lecutre: On Endings with Jon Dunthorne, Jon McGregor, Justine Picardie and Suzi Feay in conversation

On Betrayal: Ben Lerner 

The Monday after the Folio Prize Fiction Festival weekend, was prizegiving event. This was held at St Pancras Rennaisance Hotel, and was a very fancy affair with frocks and cocktails! The main job here was to welcome guests through the doors, helping the authors sign the books and being on hand when they went up on the stage. Congratulations goes to Akhil Sharma for winning the Folio Prize on the night, for his book Family Life! I will leave you with this picture of the team (I am on the right!).   

xx

What I'm Wearing

I'm about to start work in London tomorrow, at the PR company I previously had an internship with. As I was sorting out what I was going to wear (trying to be organised and do it the night before as my brain barely functions when I get up at 6.30am!), I thought I'd share it.

Laying out my outfit on my bed is a thing I've done forever - does anyone else do this? I even tuck things in on the bed so I can see how it'll look. After I photographed this outfit I even put tights underneath the skirt to make sure they'd go! To clarify, the top is a mustard colour but I don't think it came out very well in the photos - I don't want to start another 'blue/black or gold/white dress' situation!

I haven't decided what's going to go over the top of this yet, because if the weather is anything like it has been today, I'll need about six layers!!

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Top - Warehouse, bought in the sale
Skirt - Monsoon
Necklace - Vintage

xx

Graduate Work Tip

Here I am, being good and finally getting round to doing this post, which has been in my brain for a really long time now.

As I have said here before, being a graduate and looking for a job is seriously no easy thing. Along with the difficult application forms, getting your CV right and knowing what it is you even want to do (argh!), there's the stress of it all! I found that after weeks of solidly filling out applications to jobs, I was losing motivation and getting, if I'm honest, kinda depressed. Speaking to various friends, I know I wasn't alone in this.

One simple, yet amazing little tip I wanted to share is document what you apply for. It sounds like an obvious thing, but imagine if you spend a month applying for jobs, you'd definitely start losing track of what you'd already applied for. My method was using an Excel spreadsheet.

Surprisingly, I found this a really motivating thing to do. I found huge satisfaction out of watching the list grow as I put the effort in. It's something that you can always come back to. Now I'm coming to the end of the work experience I'm currently doing, I can come back to this list and add to it as I start applying again. As a fan of lists, I just love the organisation of this, and it actually encourages me to apply for more.  

More to come, 

Good luck guys!

x

Errrrm...Change of Plan!

Oh how the tides have turned and the seas have changed! In my last post, I was set to go to Oxford to do a Masters degree. I am not in Oxford. I am not doing a Masters degree. I am about to finish my last week at a local high street drug/beauty shop whose name rhymes with 'hoots', and start some work experience at a literary PR/Marketing firm in London. About a week before I was meant to go to Oxford, I had a very 'un-me' panicky and emotional outburst, where I realised I actually didn't want to go at all. I realised I don't want to do more education, I just want a job I'm happy with. Even if that means I'm at the bottom, working my way up.

Life is a big question mark in all departments currently, and although this is stressful, anxiety-inducing and unsettling for someone who needs some kind of control, I'm grateful for the opportunity.

Songs listened during this blogpost: Hozier - Take Me To Church, Paramore - Still into You, Interpol - All the Rage Back Home, Royal Blood - Little Monster

Summer Progress

I'd be so intrigued to read other peoples' blog posts about the summer directly after they've finished university. If you're not lucky enough to have a job lined up ready and waiting (we all know those annoying people!) then the summer can be a stressful and pressuring slog.

Having left university, I had 100% ruled out all possibility of doing a Masters degree. For me it seemed like too much of an academic direction to go in, when I knew I wanted to get into the publishing industry. It also just seemed like A LOT of hard work when I'd just finished my BA (Hons) degree, complete with dissertation! After a bit of searching around into the world of publishing, I noticed first that a Publishing degree was a thing, and second that lots of people seemed to have one, or were talking about it. I am told that it is not necessary to have an MA in publishing to get into the industry, but my attempts were clearly not working (many rejections - most likely on the grounds of not enough experience). I applied for the MA at Oxford Brookes, not really thinking too much of it (as I was still hoping a job might come my way!), but after the personal statement was written and telephone interview was held, I got in! As of now - the MA is the official plan! Mental!

I'm very much looking forward to living in Oxford for the year, as I've heard good things about the city!

I'd love to hear about anybody else's plans for the future, or how your post-uni summer is going?

Finishing University

The inspiration for this blogpost has come from my general fear and anxiety of finishing uni and being booted out into the big wide world of uncertain ends and questionable job prospects. 


I, like thousands upon thousands of other people, am having to come to terms with the fact that unless I get my arse in gear, I'm going to be sitting round watching Jeremy Kyle all day, every day (this is what I tell people now when they ask what I'm doing after university, because this question, as I'm sure you all know, is very wearing when you don't know the answer). 


I vainly hope that perhaps in a year's time, I can come back here and be pleased and reassured of the progress I have made! So, future self: congrats if you're not a homeless, jobless, Jezza K watcher (although if you are homeless, how are you watching JK?). 


Getting back into the blogging scene (not that it ever fully kicked off), led me to remember a quote by Plato that one of my friends told me the other day; "the unexamined life is not worth living". In my blogging endeavors, I intend to do some kind of self-reflection, and I suppose in that sense, you could argue it is an 'examination' of my life. Plato, are you happy with this - lemme know in the comments ;) 

x