Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (audiobook)

Pages: 150 

Publisher: Manila Press 

Released: 4th of July 2023 

The moving international sensation about new beginnings, human connection, and the joy of reading.

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover's paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.

Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.

When Takako's boyfriend reveals he's marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle's offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.

As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.

What I Have to Say 

This was such a sweet book, but it was almost written in two halves. The first half was pretty much a love story to Japanese Literature. It sang with the joy of reading and made me want to read some of the authors mentioned. 

The second part is more about family. I was a little disappointed as there wasn't so much set in the bookshop and I wanted more warm cosy bookshop vibes, but it was a still a nice little story with touching emotions. 

The audio was good, the voice actress is half Japanese so there's no pronunciation issues with the Japanese words and she was exactly right for the voice of Takako. 

4 stars

My thanks go to Netgalley and Manila Press for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Tilly and the Lost Fairytales by Anna James

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books 

Released: 19th of September 2019 

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. The curl-up-on-the-sofa snuggle of a series from a uniquely talented author.

Tilly Pages is a bookwanderer; she can travel inside books, and even talk to the characters she meets there. But Tilly’s powers are put to the test when fairytales start leaking book magic and causing havoc . . . 

On a wintery visit to Paris, Tilly and her best friend Oskar bravely bookwander into the land of fairytales to find that characters are getting lost, stories are all mixed-up, and mysterious plot holes are opening without warning. Can Tilly work out who, or what, is behind the chaos so everyone gets their happily-ever-after?

What I Have to Say 

The second book in the Pages & Co series and it's managed to be even better than the first! Though I am biased as I just love fairy tales and anything involving them. And it was set in Paris! What could be better?

The fairy tales and how they worked with book wandering was definitely the best part. It was obvious that James had really thought about the oral tradition of fairy tales, as well as the fact that there are so many different versions of them and how this would affect the rules of book wandering that she had already put in place in the first book. I loved her idea of wild and changeable fairy tales and how easy it is to wander off the path and get completely lost inside the story, unable to return home. It connected beautifully with the heart of fairy stories, and the danger and moral messages contained in them, so beautifully. And it made it fun and exciting when Tilly and Oskar end up lost inside a book of fairy tales.

The politics of the book wandering community was possibly the only thing that put me off the book, though I feel that's more about my own incredible fed-upness about real world politics at the moment, more than the politics in the book itself (although they did seem to mirror our political climate a bit). However, the political scenes and issues were interesting and menacing and I'm looking forward to seeing how they impact further on Tilly and Oskar's book wandering.

I'm also so excited to see how the fact that Tilly is half fictional will impact things, especially with the new abilities that were revealed in this book! I can't wait for the next instalment.

My thanks go to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing me with this free copy for review. 

The Boy Next Story by Tiffany Schmidt

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 272 

Publisher: Amulet Paperbacks 

Released: 21st of May 2019 

This is the second title in a paperback original series about a girl whose classic literary crushes manifest in real life, this time told from Rory Campbell’s point of view and inspired by the timeless classic Little Women. Rory likes Toby, but Toby likes Rory’s sister Merrilee, even though Merrilee is already dating Toby’s friend Fielding—and it’s all about to get even more complicated at Reginald R. Hero High . . . where our leading ladies’ romantic fantasies come true, often with surprising consequences. Perfect for younger readers of YA or older readers of middle grade, this squeaky-clean series is sure to charm any reader who’s ever had a book boyfriend of her own.

SPOILERS FOR THE GREAT GATSBY AND LITTLE WOMEN IN THIS BOOK.

What I Have to Say 

I adored Merrilee's tale in A Date with Darcy and I've been excited ever since to see what will happen with Rory and Little Women. It was really great to see more of Rory, especially a new side of Rory. I don't remember much of her in A Date With Darcy other than her role as Lydia in the party scene with Merrilee's Romeo, but what was great about this book was that that we didn't just see more of Rory. We saw her side of her relationship with Merrilee. We saw her as the prickly little sister and now we get to see Merrilee as the older sister who keeps leaving poor Rory out of things. We see why Rory sarcastic and bitchy to Merrilee. We see the defences she's built up in response to the very close relationship between Merrilee and Lily. 

It broke my heart though. Merrilee's story came with enthusiasm and a love of books and a boy who you know she's misjudging from the start. Rory's story comes with a lot of loneliness and longing and a constant of anxiety about how they're going to do the bit in Little Women with Beth. I fell in love with Rory so much in this book and I wanted to cry at everything that went wrong for her. 

This book had everything. Romantic gestures, strong emotions and even references the Magic School Bus! But I do have two parts that I had problems with. The first was that I felt that Toby switched his attention from Merrilee to Rory a little too quickly. Especially considering we all knew that it was coming, not just from the plot of little woman, but because the other characters made no secret of the fact that they knew it too, I feel like we could have had a lot more little things to show the feelings that he had for Rory that he wasn't noticing because of his feelings for Merrilee. 

The second was that it spoilt the Great Gatsby for me!! I signed up for this book to read about Little Women, I wasn't expecting to get a book I hadn't read ruined for me in the process. Though I can forgive it, because it sounds like it's not something I need to read anyway. 

Looking forward to see what's more to come in this world where life imitates art! 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Amulet Paperbacks for providing me with this free copy for review. 

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 240

Publisher: Puffin
Released: 4th of October 2018 

The original, magical story with a brand new cover from Quentin Blake! 

October 2018 marks 30 years since Matilda was published! This brand new jacket comes with a never-before-seen illustration of Matilda as the Chief Executive of the British Library - one of the careers that Quentin Blake himself has imagined that Matilda might have at 30 years old.

Matilda Wormwood

A remarkable child with a magical mind.

Mr and Mrs Wormwood

Matilda's parents - liars, swindlers and TV addicts.

Miss Trunchbull

Headmistress of Crunchem Hall and the world's biggest bully.

Bruce Bogtrotter

Chocolate-cake-eating extraordinaire!

These are just some of the unforgettable characters from this classic story by the world's number one storyteller - now with a brand-new cover design from Quentin Blake to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of Matilda.

What I Have to Say 

I grew up as a book loving child in a house full of books. Matilda was one of my favourite movies. I must have watched it hundreds of times over the year. So it seems crazy to me that up until now I hadn't actually read the original book! I have no idea why I never read it, I think it's a book I would have adored as a child. 

Unpopular opinion time: I never really got along with Roald Dahl. I read a lot of the books but there were only a couple that I actually liked and if I'm honest, even those I liked the movies more than the books. I just find them a bit gross. The descriptions of a lot of the characters, especially the villains, the way that Dahl as the narrator talks about the kids... Reading this as an adult, made the bits that I didn't like really clear to me. Especially as I could compare the bits I really enjoyed about Matilda to the bits  I really didn't like about the other books. Such as the Twits, which I really hated and is mostly comprised of the gross grotty bits.

Aside from my dislike of Roald Dahl, I really did enjoy reading this book. Despite how I feel about it, Dahl is a massive part of my childhood and it really took me back to that and to the movie that I really loved. It was nice to see the new illustrated cover by Quentin Blake (be sure to check out the other covers that have been released for the 30th anniversary) and it's so great to finally know that I've read this book and what I've thought about it. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

My Reading Companions

It's Sunday! Hope you're all having a nice lazy day with lots of time for reading. I thought this would be a nice time to do a little post about my pets. Everyone wants pictures of cute pets right! So allow me to introduce my reading companions and what they add to my reading experience (gotta keep it book related somehow right?)

Meet Hera (left) and Jess (right), two Cocker Spaniels who live with me and my family. We've had them for quite a while now, re-homing them both when they were puppies.

Hera is the oldest, we got her in 2009 and she's been my baby ever since. She hangs out curls up with me on the couch, sleeps in my bed and follows me out the room in order to look over me when I'm away from the rest of the family. My favourite thing is reading in bed with her nestled up with me under the covers. You don't know comfort until you've had a dog snuggled against you as a hot water bottle.

Jess is less good at being a reading companion, despite her being the one pictured snuggling with me in the picture at the top of the page (it's a very posed picture and Hera won't snuggle on command). One of my strongest memories of her as a puppy was trying to read Teri Terry's The Book of Lies on my kindle while I was watching over her. She kept licking the screen and losing my place by turning the pages. It wasn't so funny at the time but now it's a good memory. Nowadays though, she does sometimes come settle in the basket I have for them in my room, so she has become better at allowing me time to read as she's grown up.

Neither of them have ever destroyed a book. Hera did have a run in with one when she was a puppy, but she didn't harm it and luckily it was only one particular book she wanted. Jess will steal everything from forks to wet wipes, phones to make up brushes, but luckily books have never held any fascination for her so they're both completely safe in our house full of books!

For me, my dogs are truly the best company when it comes to reading I love having my dogs with me when I'm reading and just the sound of their breathing helps me relax so much. I can't imagine what my life would be like without dogs.

Do you have any stories about reading with pets? Or just stories about pets? I'd love to hear about them in the comments! 

Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Released: 18th of September 2018 

Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents' bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.

One day Tilly realises that classic children's characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering' - crossing over from the page into real life.

With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.

What I Have to Say 

There are some books that you just want to curl up and live in. Not only is Tilly and the Book Wanderers one of these books, but it also shows you a world where you can do just that! Throughout the book, Tilly explores some of her favourite books, much beloved children's classics such as Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Seeing the characters from the books interacting with Tilly and her family was a wonderful part of this book. Alice was perfect and I loved the glimpses of Lizzy Bennett and Sherlock Holmes even if they weren't named. 

The best part of this book was definitely the bookshop though. It was definitely my dream bookshop. Tilly gets to live in this amazing independent bookshop with winding shelves full of books and loads of comfy chairs and sofas. Add in a cafe where you can get delicious often book inspired cake and hot chocolate whenever you want and book characters occasionally popping up for a chat? Tilly is truly living any bookworm's dream. 

The plot was  excellent as well. All the mystery around Tilly's mother and the little details that were scattered throughout the book that led to the thrilling conclusion were fantastic and though it was maybe a little predicatble, it had enough surprises to throw at me and a really satisfying conclusion. 

I can't wait for the next book in the Pages & Co. Series. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me with this copy for review. 

Bookshop Girl by Chloe Coles

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 240

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 14th of June 2018 

Bennett's Bookshop has always been a haven for sixteen-year-old Paige Turner. It's a place where she can escape from her sleepy hometown, hang out with her best friend, Holly, and also earn some money.

But, like so many bookshops, Bennett's has become a 'casualty of the high street' - it's strapped for cash and going to be torn down. Paige is determined to save it but mobilising a small town like Greysworth is no mean feat.

Time is ticking - but that's not the only problem Paige has. How is she going to fend off the attractions of beautiful fellow artist, Blaine? And, more importantly, will his anarchist ways make or break her bookshop campaign?

What I Have to Say 

This was really, really not the book for me. I'm just not a fan of the cringy teenage girls embarrassing themselves in front of their crush at every turn type of book. I just don't like the second hand embarrassment. It's okay in some books, but I think there is a balance that needs to be achieved. This was way too much. It was like Paige was doing something completely ridiculous and cringe-worthy on every single page. 

The plot wasn't that great either. I found it predictable in so many ways, from the total tool that Paige decided to be totally in love with, and embarrass herself in front of every single time that he turns up to the random subplots that had absolutely nothing to do with anything. I mean did we really need the bit with the bath bomb or the dead cat? What even was that? 

In short, this was just not my sort of book. I didn't enjoy this sort of thing when I was a teenager and I don't now. It might be better for someone who's more into that kind of thing, but I'm honestly not sure. 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.