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It’s been a long time coming, but here is my ‘Meet the Bookstagrammer’ post - I’ve been posting on here for a little while now, mainly as a way of recording my thoughts about the books I have read, a kind of electronic book journal really but this has slowly become more interactive, and I also post reviews on-line, and in summary on Twitter.

I have a joint honours degree in English Literature/History, and am also a qualified primary teacher, but have been a bookseller since 2019, which is a joy (although it is NOT sitting around reading books all day!) I work within a brilliant team, and our little crooked town has a whole host of bookish folk who love to chat. Receiving proof copies and the opportunity to review a new author ahead of publication is something I love to do - I will always look for the positive in a book, whilst being honest about my opinions.

My taste in books is definitely dark chocolate with a bitter cherry twist, except when it isn’t. I’m very old school, and need a physical book (preferably a beautiful hardback) as I can’t concentrate on audio or read on a screen. I love poetry but mostly enjoy all sorts of fiction both of the contemporary kind, and also classics (Austen and Bronte girl), but my favourite type of read would have to be something with a gothic or magical realism/dystopian flavour.

Favourite authors? Margaret Atwood is my Queen, along with all the other Queens (and occasional Kings). Least favourite genre? A nonfiction sport book - although I would give one a go if I had nothing else to read. What can I say? As Cecil says in A Room with a View - “I’m a bookish kind of fellow”.
#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammeruk #meetthebookstagrammer #meetthebookstagrammeruk #booksta #bookworm #bibliophile by @bethys_books

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2 years ago

Clumsily jumping on this trend and showing you a few of the books that I have loved - these are all in my bookish wheelhouse, but of course, there are many many more!

Do we share any favourites, or do you actually hate my taste in books??
#bookstagram #bookstagramuk #booksellerrecommends #favouritebooks #ihateyourtasteinbooks by @bethys_books

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3 days ago

If you are heading away to Greece this would be a fabulous book to put in your hand luggage. A real page-turner that is seeped in Greek sunshine, plenty of toxic characters and a plot that twists along revenge and resentment, lust and loyalty! Another one that keeps you hooked up to the last sentence and then makes you appreciate all the clever moments of misdirection and sneaky red herrings!
#deadheat #sabinedurrant #bookstagramuk #summerreading #pageturner by @bethys_books

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4 days ago

Domestic noir with the feel of Celia Fremlin meets Cold Comfort Farm, this is the perfect combination of dark humour and English village eccentricity. Set in the Cotswolds in a time that could be anywhere between the 1950s and the 1970s, our girls, Janet and Susan enjoy a bucolic dream life of growing produce, feeding hens and making cheese whilst running the village Gift Shop. They are lovers as well as partners, but this is accepted as they don’t talk about it - our all-knowing narrator points out that this might be different if they were men.

Life changes on an instant after Susan becomes discontented and books a holiday. Lonely Janet, whilst working a craft fair has a very unexpected moment of connection with Alan, which results in a baby, and then subsequently a body in the septic tank!! There is much dark humour around this, and both of the characters are drawn with a lot of kindness and a lack of judgement. There is a real theme of the importance of friendship, as well as the way people can be bonded by awful events as well as sharing a child and a home.

This is such an enjoyably quirky read, perfect accompaniment to a mug of tea and a scone topped with home made jam and a good dollop of cream. Just make sure you keep away from the septic tank at the bottom of the garden!
#bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #domesticnoir #thegirls #johnbowen by @bethys_books

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6 days ago

Birthday books with the raven bookend that my work book pals bought for me last week 🐦‍⬛📚

Do you have any of these on your radar?
#birthdaybookhaul #birthdaybookstack #booksellerlife #booksellerrecommends by @bethys_books

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8 days ago

Sometimes you just need a good, straightforward chunky read, with characters that you love and are rooting for (and also awful ones that you are hoping to see fail!) and a plot that keeps you hooked. This is one such book. Set in the 1930s in Mississippi in the aftermath of the Depression, we follow the journeys of both Birdie, a quirky young woman and Meg, a bright, mistreated girl in an Orphanage. Both these characters are wonderfully engaging and sympathetic - the treatment of Meg by the frankly witch-like Miss Garnett made my blood boil!!

This is a small town where Black people are segregated and seen as lesser, and women are expected to behave according to the principles of the bible. Desperate for money to help both her own, and her sister’s family, the intrepid Birdie, along with Charlie, a young woman down on her luck, come up with an audacious plan, the Calamity Club. Birdie and Charlie recruit a group of women to sell ‘dance’ lessons at the old family home and this is where the story becomes both very humorous but also very tense as I was expecting them to be busted by the awful Sheriff at any moment!

Beneath the lightness of touch and the humour in the dialogue are some very dark truths about the way in which some people were treated, and the attitudes that were prevalent within society. It is a wonderful read, and I defy anyone not to absolutely love both Birdie and Meg - I very much hope they both have the happiest of endings.
Many thanks @penguinhuddlebooks for the gorgeous proof copy and a brilliantly immersive read.
#kathrynstockett #thecalamityclub #bookstagramuk #summerreading #historicalfiction by @bethys_books

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9 days ago

Two for Tuesday showing both the early bound proof copy, and the later limited edition proof (that arrived gift wrapped) of Kathryn Stockett’s The Calamity Club. Receiving the very early copy felt like I had discovered a home bound edition in a drawer!

I have now started it and it is just as fabulous as I had hoped it would be - thoughts will be coming in the next couple of days. So many thanks @penguinhuddlebooks and @penguinfigtree for both of these editions.

Have you read it yet or is it on your TBR?
#bookstagrammer #booksellerrecommends #twofortuesday #booksellerlife #thecalamityclub by @bethys_books

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11 days ago

“This place is a set of Chinese boxes. You can go on opening them to infinity”….

Travel to the Estrella de Mar on the Spanish coast with Charles, a coastal community that could have been transported from 1950s South of England. The inhabitants are wealthy retired professionals, by day enjoying art classes, amateur dramatics and tennis but at night some very different games. Charles has travelled to look out for his younger brother, Frank who has confessed to setting a fire in which five people died.

This is a confusing, dark and surreal world - fuelled by criminal instincts and exploring the levels to which people descend to feel alive. At the centre of the story is an idealist who also happens to be an amoral sociopath and Charles becomes slowly beguiled and corrupted.

This was one of my holiday books, but it was far from being the murder mystery/thriller that I expected. These elements are absolutely part of the story, but merely at surface level. Beneath there is a much more unsettling tale and a very bleak glimpse at human nature.
#bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #jgballard #literaryfiction by @bethys_books

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16 days ago

Best place to be at 7 in the morning 🌞👩‍🌾 by @bethys_books

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16 days ago

Slightly later than usual (blame it on the sunshine and being out of the country) are my books for June (with the exception of The Offing by Benjamin Myers and Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy) - so that’s 11 books for me.

I’m so lucky to be sent so many great books. If you want to read some of my more in depth thoughts on them head to the individual posts. As ever it would be hard to pick a favourite, but if pressed, Land is certainly up there as one of the BEST books I have read this year.

Do we have any in common?
#bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #booksellerrecommends #monthlyreads #monthlyroundup by @bethys_books

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18 days ago

Well, I somehow seem to have managed to join a trend - Mid Year Book Celebration, inspired by @ktlee.writes and their very thought provoking template.

This is the snapshot for today, but some of these could be different on a different day. I’ve read some great books so far this year - 62! Lots and lots of debuts (which made choosing my ultimate favourite really tricky - I could easily have narrowed this down to about 4). The Offing was only a disappointment because I expected to love it but instead enjoyed it!

There are several coming out that I am really looking forward to getting my hands on, but Taipei Story was the first to come to mind. And ‘Best Book’!!!!

Do we have any similarities?
#bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #midyearbookcelebration #bookstagramchallenge #midyearreadingcheck by @bethys_books

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20 days ago

Palma - a wonderful city to visit! Featuring some very hot dogs, an azure sea, the most delicious tapas and an evening where even I quite enjoyed the football. by @bethys_books

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21 days ago