BOOK REVIEW: The Bookshop Book – by Jen Campbell

Title: The Bookshop Book
Author: Jen Campbell
Genre: Non Fiction, Books About Books, Contemporary
First published: October 2nd 2014
Finished reading: March 27th 2016
Pages: 273

“Because whether we’re in the middle of the desert or in the heart of a city, or the top of a mountain or on an underground train: having good stories to keep us company means the whole world.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first picked up my copy of The Bookshop Book, but since I have a weakness for books about books I decided to give it a go. This book written by Jen Campbell is a non fiction read about bookshops all over the world. It does read slow at points, but The Bookshop Book is by no means boring or dense. The author basically takes you on a worldwide bookshop tour, but the bookshop descriptions are mixed up with author interviews, random facts and other interesting bookshop stories that definitely make it worth reading. If you love wandering around in bookshops, spending time browsing for that perfect new or secondhand book, you will probably enjoy The Bookshop Book. I know I did: I loved reading about all those amazing-sounding bookshops all over the world, although it really made me wish I could open my own bookshop one day…And it also makes for a great excuse to travel more to visit all those bookshops mentioned.

Bookshops aren’t just buildings where books are sold; every bookshop has its own story and an unique way of connecting with their customers and the books they sell. Some bookshop decide to sell their books in original locations, other specialize in a certain genre or simply sell what they enjoy reading themselves. What do they have in common? Their love for books they want to share with you. The Bookshop Book is full of stories about the people behind the bookshops, author interviews, random bookish facts and other bits anyone who enjoys bookshops will be able to relate to. From books being sold inside barns, disused factories, boats and buses to a book tank and a book vending machine… They all have a place in this story. It’s a journey across six continents visiting over three hundred wonderful bookshops.

The Bookshop Book is meant for anyone who loves visiting bookshops wherever they go and like to read about the people behind the books. It’s not an actual story with a plot and more a mix of random facts and bookshop stories, but really interesting anyway. It might read a bit slow at points, but most of the stories and bookshops are really fascinating. I can honestly say this book made me wish I could travel the world visiting all those places Jen Campbell mentioned, and maybe open my own bookshop one day… Recommended if you like the genre.

WWW Wednesdays #84 – March 30th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I started both my current reads yesterday evening, so there’s not much to say about them other than that I have been looking forward to read both. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley has been recommended to me numerous times, so hopefully it’s just as good as I have been told. And I have been looking forward to pick up Ice Like Fire ever since I finished the first book; I love the worldbuilding of this series!

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* After quite a few disappointing reads I decided to pick up one of my guilty pleasure books: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. Although I normally don’t like vampire stories, this series has turned out to be an exception. I loved the True Blood TV series and this first book is just as entertaining.
* Another book I really enjoyed was The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell. It can read a bit slow at points, but I loved reading about all those amazing-sounding bookshops all over the world. It really made me wish I could open my own bookshop one day…
* I read Apple And Rain by Sarah Crossan as well. After enjoying One earlier this month I was looking forward to read more of her work, but unfortunately this one wasn’t as good. I liked the poetry bits, but the story itself was not that interesting.
* The last book I finished was Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia. I read and enjoyed the first book last year, but the sequel didn’t really manage to convince me. It’s quite a fast read and still entertaining, but the introduction of a love triangle or two and Lena acting the way she does didn’t exactly make me enjoy it as much as the first book.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I have been saying I want to read Random by Tom Leveen for weeks, so I should just pick it up soon… But I might just give in and read A Darker Shade Of Magic by V.E. Schwab next (and the sequel A Gathering Of Shadows). If I’m not in the mood for fantasy, I have Stolen by Lucy Christopher on my list as well. I’ve heard great things about it, so I’m looking forward to finally pick it up. My new TBR jar pick is The Conspiracy Of Us by Maggie Hall.

WWW Wednesdays #83 – March 23rd

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I needed something light and entertaining after a few disappointing reads and I decided to give in to my guilty pleasure. I loved watching the first seasons of True Blood a few years ago, and I finally found the time to pick up the first book in the series the show was based on: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. So far it’s definitely working; I’m flying through this book! I’ve also started The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell yesterday evening, but it’s too early to tell what to feel about this book about books.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* It took me literally ages to finish Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard, and that wasn’t a good thing at all. My Red Queen reread left me liking the first book slightly less (mostly because Mare), but I still really enjoyed it. The sequel was a different matter. Glass Sword is pretty slow, Mare is really annoying and the whole plot is basically a repeat sequence of the following: Mare blindly trusts someone –> Person betrays Mare –> Mare is in deep trouble –> somehow she manages to not get killed. More complaints in my full review…
* The other book I managed to finish is Disclaimer by Renée Knight. Unfortunately yet another title I didn’t enjoy… March has been pretty unlucky so far! I couldn’t connect to the characters and the plot is a bit of a chaos and not exactly believable.
* The last is actually a DNF (probably my first DNF ever!): The Liar’s Chair by Rebecca Whitney. It was really hard to make the final decision to just stop reading this book and I still feel a bit guilty, but the thought of having to waste more time reading this story was even worse. DNF at 42%; bye bye annoying characters, unnatural and forced prose, character development and unbelievable plot!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I will probably pick up Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch as soon as I’m in the mood to read fantasy again… If not, I might read Random by Tom Leveen or Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard first depending of which genre I’m in the mood for. My new TBR jar pick is still Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl… I’ve also been wanting to start a new fantasy series; feel free to vote on my poll to help me decide which one to start next. 🙂

WWW Wednesdays #82 – March 16th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I finally picked up my last TBR jar pick The Liar’s Chair by Rebecca Whitney a few days ago, but I am not exactly enjoying it so far. The story is pretty bad and I don’t like the prose or the main character for that matter. The way the story is told feels really unnatural and forced… So I decided to put it on hold and continue my Red Queen marathon first. I finished the first book last night, so I’m about to dive into Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard as soon as I can find some free time.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

I ‘only’ finished three titles since last week week, with one of them being a quick reread… Why? We were invited to a wedding party last weekend! 😀 A lot of fun, but it did take away a lot of my reading time.
* The first title I finished was The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. It turned out to be a really interesting read and I loved the Amsterdam setting and its many descriptions! Not perfect, but without doubt recommendable.
* I then finished Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover; a book a really wanted to love, but unfortunately I didn’t. I really didn’t like the main characters or their actions and some of the prose really annoyed me… That doesn’t take away that I still think Colleen Hoover is a genius though.
* The last book is a reread I’m not going to review again, because I already wrote one last year: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. Just as enjoyable the second time around and I’m glad I did the reread, because I had forgotten a lot of details that will help me enjoy the sequel a lot better.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I will probably pick up Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch as soon as I finish Glass Sword… I’m trying to read/finish as many series as possible this year, and since the third book is recently coming out in September I’m counting this one as well. I might read Random by Tom Leveen or The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell first depending of which genre I’m in the mood for though…  And I have a new TBR jar pick: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I read the first book of the series last year and really enjoyed it, but somehow I never continued the series until now. I guess my renewed TBR jar thought it was about time. 😉

Friday Finds #38 – May 29th

FRIDAY FINDS is originally featured at Should Be Reading and showcases the most interesting books I’ve encountered during the last week and have added to my neverending TBR list on Goodreads… Below a selection of my newest additions; click on the book descriptions to go to its Goodreads page.

My finds: