Who, What and Why...

I never really know where to start off with a blog. There's a lot of underlying pressure to come across as interesting and funny in the hope that people will come back to read the following posts or a faint hope that in a few years time, newcomers will stumble across this site and inexplicably feel the need to go back and read the first entry.  I think I'll attempt to ignore all that and just get right to the basics of a good introduction. The Who, What and Why...

I had to start off with the most difficult of the three. Who am I? A question pondered by countless generations of philosophers and hormone raging teenagers. While most people assume that everyone's favourite topic is themselves, I always find it awkward to chat about myself in an introductory fashion.  Basically, I've been a bookseller 12 years and counting, an avid reader, lover and rabid collector of beautiful books, but also an artist, a gamer and all round geek.  I don't like telling people what to think, so I'll show bits and pieces of myself along the way and you can decide for yourself who I am. *smiles*

What is all this?  This is something I've always wanted to do, but have put off for various reasons.  Honestly, I think EVERY bookseller at some point in their bookselling career has toyed with the idea of starting a book review or book related blog.  I've never been brave enough to take the plunge before this.  This will be a site for me to express my opinions on books, old and new and comment on anything and everything book related.  

So why now? Recently, I've been pushing myself quite hard at work. My shop has just undergone a large refit that overhauled the entire layout and look of our store in just under a month.  Its been an endless series of stress filled days and honestly I don't see my working days getting any easier in the near future, but just before the renovations I promised myself that I would take some more time for myself and enjoy my working life more.  I would make the time to read and engage in more conversations about the one constant love in my life.

I absolutely adore books.  From my very first vague memories of flipping through picture books to finding an understanding voice to soothe my turbulent teenage angst to my current need to seek out new worlds to explore and friends to cheer on.

I'm count myself extremely lucky to work in a profession that allows me to be surrounded by books. To work with something I feel so passionately about.  I not only have the opportunity to pass on my own favourites to other enthusiastic readers, but I get the chance to discover lovely new stories I can't wait to read on a daily basis.  Also, if I ask really, really nicely, there are occasions when amazing publishers and reps pass on advanced reading copies for me to review.  I've tried my best to recommend these books to customers, write review cards for the bookshelves and tweet my views on these titles, but it can be frustrating being aware of having to make a sale, the confinements of  the small company issued cards to write in or the restrictiveness of only having 140 characters to express my views in.

While it's rare that I come across a book that I despise and feel the need to rant to the world about its perceived horribleness, I've also rarely come across a book that I can say is without its faults or weaknesses. Normally, it has no huge impact on how enjoyable the overall read is, but I would love to undertake the challenge of writing a comprehensive review.  I might be getting a bit ahead of myself.  I will be experimenting over the next few months with different ideas and layouts I have in my head for these reviews before settling on something that works for me.

So bear with me, stay tuned and maybe you'll discover your next must read.