Month: March 2012

The Tiger’s Wife – Téa Obreht

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Apart from winning the Orange Prize for Fiction, I didn’t know much about this book. It was lent to me last year by Mr. and Mrs. S when I spied the attractive cover on their coffee table. It took me a few months to finally get around to reading it, and now that I have finally finished, I’m still not sure what to make of it.

It took me a while to get into The Tiger’s Wife – even after two weeks, I had hardly read two chapters. By this point I realised that I would have to make a conscious effort to carry on, or I would be stuck on one book all month! I did eventually start to enjoy the book, but the plot was patchy; at times intriguing and magical, at others I found it dull and long-winded. Continue reading →

The Slightly Foxed Bookshop – London

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*** Please note: Sadly The Slightly Foxed Bookshop on Gloucester Road is now closed. Please visit this website for more information. ***

During the two weeks of my work experience at Slightly Foxed, there was one thing on my list of things to do that I really had to do – even if it took me all the way to the other side of London following a complicated route chosen for me by the Transport of London website – and that was to visit The Slightly Foxed Bookshop. Located a stone’s throw from Gloucester Road tube station, the shop is very easy to find, even if you are new to London and useless with a map! As an added bonus, there is also a conveniently placed Caffè Nero next door so that you can enjoy a well deserved hot drink whilst reading through your purchases.

The shop was originally Gloucester Road Bookshop, owned and run by Graham Greene’s nephew, until Slightly Foxed – the ‘real readers’ literary quarterly magazine took it over in 2009. In the few years that it has been open, it has become a much loved part of Gloucester Road, holding events and launches, not just for Slightly Foxed’s own editions and magazines, but also for other like-minded publishers such as Candlestick Press.

Continue reading →

A Clash of Kings – George R. R. Martin

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I do love discovering a new series, especially one that has me completely hooked and needing to read the next book. The A Song of Ice and Fire series is the first in a number of years to have captured my attention in this way. (NOTE: If you have not finished the first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, you will find some spoilers in this post).

So we left the characters of A Game of Thrones in a variety of different states. The Starks of Winterfell are dispersed across the Seven Kingdoms, in shock and mourning the death of Eddard Stark. In King’s Landing, Eddard’s daughters are seperated; Ayra hiding from King Joffrey’s men and Sansa alone amongst the Lannisters. In the north, Bran and Rickon remain in Winterfell with their trusted Maester Luwin and their direwolves. Further north still, Jon Snow is growing into a man, about to leave the safety of the Wall and plunge into the unknown, icy lands beyond. And an exhausted and emotionally drained Cateyln Stark watches as her eldest son is hailed King of the North by his followers. Continue reading →

Camden Lock Books – London

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A while ago I heard rumour of a wonderful little gem of a bookshop in one of the tube stations in London. Because I was nowhere near London at the time, I promptly forgot all about it. When I was offered a work experience position at Slightly Foxed, ten minutes from Old Street Station, I heard it mentioned yet again and was told that I simply had to visit. It sounded brilliant, and so off I went one lunchtime to check it out.

Strangely, the bookshop is named Camden Lock Books, as that was where the owner, Jason Burley, opened his first bookshop in 1984. The name is a bit odd as it is located nowhere near Camden, but little quirks like this are always appreciated by a bookworm like me. Continue reading →