We went to The Book of Mormon for Dad’s birthday tonight and it was HILARIOUS. Hands down the best show I’ve ever seen in The West End.
*sings* THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Sounds to me like a good motto for this blog!
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Month: January 2015
Book Post
So my Mum is the biggest cute-head in the entire world. I told her I was feeling a bit stressed and she sent me The Creative Colouring Book for Grown-Ups (Michael O’Mara Books, £9.99) The designs are BEAUT and perfect for de-stressing!
The Fire Sermon
The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig
HarperCollins UK, £16.99 Hardback
Publication date: 26 Feb 2015
From: NetGalley
Rating: *****
Born as twins. Raised as enemies.
One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega; the only thing they share is the moment of their death.
The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts.
The Alphas are the elite. Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they’re free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts.
Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation. But Cass has a secret: one that Zach will stop at nothing to expose.
The potential to change the world lies in both their hands. One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they’re not careful both will die in the struggle for power.
***
I think I should start off by apologising: to my housemates, to my friends and to my agents at work for not shutting up about this book. It has been two days and it is all I can talk about because it is SO good. I haven’t been so hooked and excited by the first book in a series since The Bone Season (Samantha Shannon) came out, and due to a good bout of flu (thanks, patient zero in the agency, you know who you are) I was bed-bound and read The Fire Sermon in one sitting. You honestly couldn’t prise my kindle away from me.
The Fire Sermon is the first in the dystopian trilogy (*implores Haig to extend this*) and takes place about 400 years in the future. Earth is terra nova after a nuclear blast decimated the majority of the population and their technology. As the world attempts to rebuild itself they notice key differences: each pregnancy produces twins, always one boy and one girl. One twin is strong and perfect. The Alpha. The other has some form of mutation: a missing limb, three eyes, one eye, premonitions. The Omega. When this mutation is discovered, normally at birth, the Omegas are branded and split from their twin. They are subjugated; sent to poor settlements in the barren countryside and treated appallingly by Alphas – they would be killed if not for their mortal link to one another. If an Omega is killed their Alpha also dies. They are separated but dependent on one another to survive.
Cass is a seer. Her twin, Zach, is the Alpha. Her mutation isn’t physical and she is able to hide it for years and years. Eventually she is discovered, branded, and wrenched from her family and Zach. She lives in poverty among the Omegas until she is summoned to Wyndham where Zach has risen to power and has taken on the alias ‘The Reformer’. Afraid Cass may be killed in a plot to topple him from power, he locks her in the Keeping Rooms where she is interrogated by a fellow seer, and fellow Omega, The Confessor, about a fabled island solely inhabited by Omegas, free from the persecution of the Alphas. Cass uses her wits and her gift to outsmart her twin and escape from the fortress, rescuing another Omega, Kip, from his imprisonment and together they begin searching for the island…
Francesca Haig’s world-building is so accomplished. I hope you have a spare 6-8 hours, because once you read that first chapter you’re a goner. Haig has managed to make a world that seems so impossible, yet so realistic. The oppressed vs. the oppressors and subsequent resistance is a common theme in dystopian literature – think Hunger Games, think Divergent – but throw in the bond between siblings and the concept that you can’t kill your oppressor without killing one of your ‘own’ and you have a book which is a cut above the rest.
It doesn’t really need to be said that I can’t wait for the next book, I’ve just gushed at you forever and had to physically stop myself giving away any more clues or plot spoilers. GO. AND. READ. THIS. BOOK. You won’t regret it and I bet you’ll even have a little cry.
Thank you to HarperCollins for this advanced reading copy via NetGalley.
The Fire Sermon is published next month, 26 February 2015, and you can preorder your copy from HarperCollins here or Amazon here.
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10 Things I’ve Learnt at a Literary Agency
‘So what do you do?’
‘I work in Publishing at a Literary Agency.’
Cue slightly scrunched up face.
‘….and what does that involve?’
‘Oh, I pretty much get paid to read all day.’
While this statement isn’t exaaaaaaactly true, it definitely satisfies my relatives and family friends who are a bit baffled by my job. I don’t blame them. When I was at university I was convinced I wanted to work at a publishing house, so much so that I didn’t even take into consideration that an agency could be an option, I guess I didn’t really take into account that authors had agents. But, after one internship, one summer, I was set. Three and a half years and two agencies later I’m very happy I chose to do some research and broaden my publishing horizons, because sometimes I do get to read ALL day, which is the dream.
So here are some things I’ve learned, things I wish I had known and tips for anyone who is looking to be a literary agent’s assistant. I hope they help!
1. Meet as many people as you can. Publishing is incredibly inclusive. Everyone knows everyone and everyone bonds via books and authors. Go to networking events, go to author evenings, join the Society for Young Publishers (they throw a great pub quiz & career speed-dating night) and do all the internships you can get your little book-readin’ hands on.
2. Never underestimate the importance of knowing email formulas for publishing houses and editors. Gold dust, my friend.
3. Never admit to knowing how the franking machine works. I wish more than anything I could go back in time and casually shrug and state that I’m just useless with things like that, because it’s hell. It breaks, without fail, on the first day of any holiday I take. I like to think that it misses me. I bloody hate it. Although, during the festive season, it does provide me with some amusement to change the words of ‘O Christmas Tree’ to ‘O Franking Machine’. It weirdly fits.
4. It sounds really obvious, but read as much as you can. This was never really an issue for me as you couldn’t wrestle books away from me growing up. But, I have to say, since moving into my flat in central London, my commute is almost non-existent (I know, cry cry, I’m incredibly lucky) and I miss my reading sessions on the tube. I got through the entire Game of Throne series with startling rapidity whilst attempting not to make any eye-contact or touch any sweaty strangers one summer. Further to that point, it is so, so valuable to have a knowledge of what other books are being published, so you are able to place your authors within the marketplace.
5. Learn how to read a royalty statement. I can probably guarantee that I’m the only one in the office who finds inputting royalty statements into our system extremely therapeutic. On quiet afternoons, I can be found sidling downstairs to steal a bundle from our accountant. So calming. It’s also a good chance to get your head around royalty rates and unearned balances.Your agent WILL ask you to find the sales for a certain period, so it helps if you can identify the home, export and high-discount sales!
6. Proofread as much as you can (she says whilst making a million typos).
7. Get on board with eBooks. I won’t weigh in on the current controversial Amazon debate here, but I think we can agree that Amazon and eBooks aren’t going anywhere. I hands down prefer physical books (I’m such a hoarder), but boy do I love a Kindle deal, and when I ripped through my (print) copy of Wool by Hugh Howey on holiday in Mexico, I was beyond grateful that I could download the sequel immediately.
8. Get organised. My desk is covered with trackers: contract trackers, invoice trackers, publication schedules, agenda notes, tax forms tracker etc. etc. You need to know what stage each contract is at, who has it, WHERE IS IT?! at all times. It seems like a bit much, but my super professional panda highlighters really help.
9. Tweet, tweet, tweet. Tweet publishers, tweet bloggers, tweet authors, TWEET EVERYONE. Books gain SUCH a buzz on twitter. The Miniaturist, The Shining Girls and Mrs Hemingway, for example, saturated my timeline and created such a sense of anticipation months before publication. Authors work alongside Publicity and Marketing Departments to self-promote their work, so it’s v. important to support them online too!
10. Do not get despondent. Sometimes you will read 50 submissions in a row without finding anything that inspires of excites you (I once read a 600 page manuscript on bears) and sometimes it can seem like you will never make your way out of the internship-circle-of-doom. But it will happen, something always comes along. *insert inspirational quote of your choosing*
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Seating Arrangements
Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead
Blue Door/HarperCollins, £7.99 Paperback
First published: 24 May 2012
From: Oxfam Books, Upper Street
Rating: ****
The Van Meters have gathered at their family retreat on the New England Island of Waskeke to celebrate the marriage of daughter Daphne to an impeccably appropriate young man. The weekend is full of lobster and champagne, salt air and practiced bonhomie, but long-buried discontent and simmering lust seep through the cracks in the revelry. Winn Van Meter, father-of-the-bride, has spent his life following the rules of the east coast upper crust, but now, just shy of his sixtieth birthday, he must finally confront his failings, his desires, and his own humanity.
***
Maggie Shipstead’s debut novel is almost perfect. ALMOST. It has all the components of the type of novels I adore. I love the deconstruction of the ‘perfect family’, throw in a big, beautiful house on the east coast of America and I’m sold. (I think at this point this concept is the only thing keeping me going with The Affair. Sorry, Noah and Alison. Actually, I take that back Noah, you’re a bit of an arsehole).
Seating Arrangements is a very impressive debut and a worthy winner of The Dylan Thomas Prize (2012). It focuses on the Van Meter family, their future in-laws and the bridal party in the days leading up to eldest daughter Daphne’s wedding. On the surface everyone is on their best behaviour, but secrets, tensions and honestly very startling desires begin to surface. Don’t they always. Keep it in your pants, people.
My main grievance lies with Winn, arguably the main character and patriarch of the Van Meter family. Shipstead has a wonderful ability to create very human and honest characters, and throughout I felt embarrassed and sorry for him: but not in an endearing way, in a tempted-to-skip-a-few-pages way. His desperation to belong to the elitist members clubs on the island comes at a price and he consistently lets down his family and takes them for granted. He fails to provide his other daughter, Livia, with the emotional support she needs, preferring to worry more about gossip and their reputation. I loved Livia. She’s funny, cynical, vulnerable and provided a much-needed relief from Winn’s desperation.
So if you like books about big family gatherings, lobsters, drunken Aunts, drunken everyone come to think of it, temptation and exploding whales (I’m not making this up), then this is the book for you. I didn’t fall in love with this book, but it was definitely entertaining and I would, and have, recommend it to friends and family! Shipstead is one to watch. Sigh, I better add her next novel, Astonish Me, to my TBR pile.
God knows what the run up to my wedding (if I ever manage to trick a boy into marrying me) would be like. I imagine that 90% of my family will be less focused on lobsters and more focused on vino.
You can buy Seating Arrangements from HarperCollins here or Amazon here.
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Weekend Finds
Found in Oxfam Books on Upper Street:
Season to Taste by Natalie Young (Tinder Press) and The Game by A.S. Byatt (Vintage Books)
An afternoon well spent. Two books to be added to my TBR pile and I also had a tuna sandwich and carrot sticks. YUM.
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Love, Nina
Love, Nina: Despatches from Family Life by Nina Stibbe
Penguin Books, £8.99 Paperback
First Published: 7 November 2013
From: Santa (Dad)
Rating: *****
In 1982 Nina Stibbe, a twenty-year old from Leicester, moved to London to work as a nanny for a very particular family. It was a perfect match: Nina had no idea how to cook, look after children or who the weirdos who called round were. And the family, busy discussing how to swear in German or the merits (or otherwise) of turkey mince, were delighted by her lack of skills. Love, Nina is the collection of letters she wrote home gloriously describing her ‘domestic’ life, the unpredictable houseguests and the cat that everyone loved to hate.
***
Love, Nina is one of those books that was everywhere. All over my twitter feed, in all the papers, on huge adverts in Tube stations and in all the bookshops. So much so that I am actually astounded it has taken me almost a year and a half to get my hands on a copy. I wasn’t put off by the fact it was everywhere, it just didn’t occur to me to buy it – despite the rave reviews I was quite apathetic towards it’s existence. Well, I was a bloody idiot. You’ll find that this is a common theme on here…
HOW DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ THIS BOOK?
When I received Nina Stibbe’s book on Christmas morning, I had a cursory flick through, still trying to play it cool, and just like that was hooked. This book is hilarious. Not in a lame, LOL, cringe, oh she’s JUST like us, way, but in a heart-warming, genuinely funny and honest way.
The book is made up of Nina’s letters to her sister, Victoria, and details her life as a nanny for Sam and Will (who pretty much steal the show), her friendship with their mother, Mary-Kay Wilmers, the nanny-circuit and the vast array of literary characters visiting the house (Alan Bennett, Claire Tomalin & John Lahr to name a few). I’m such a sucker for epistolic writing, I can’t explain why, but something about it just makes me so, so happy. And these are the kind of letters I would expect from my barking little sister if she were to take off and au-pair after University. (Who am I kidding, she’s 17. I would be getting my updates from her Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat story. I moved out over a year and a half ago and I have NEVER received a letter from her, although, come to think of it, this might have more to do with the small incident of the builders stealing all of our mail. No, I still don’t think it happened. Still not over that by the way, builders.)
I can’t recommend this book highly enough and I’m hoping that most of you would have read it when it first came out, like a sensible person, so we can gush about it together. But if you didn’t, then I’m also quite jealous that you get to read it from scratch.
Bravo, Nina Stibbe – this is a cracker of a book and after this I can’t wait to read her debut novel, Man at the Helm.
You can buy Love, Nina from Penguin Books here, or Amazon here.
Love, Cxo
To be reviewed…
So excited to add Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Picador) and The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee (Chatto) to my to-be-read-and-reviewed list! I’ve heard WONDERFUL things about both books & am glad to be going home for the weekend to get some good readin’ done.
War in Pieces
I have a confession to make. I have never finished War and Peace. Never not once. I don’t even think I’ve made it past 100 pages. I made excuses around the fact that my edition (pilfered from my grandparent’s house) was about a trillion years old and far too precious to read on my commute, but honestly, I was secretly pleased to have given up.
At around 1125 pages, it’s a whacking great challenge. I’m sure even Tolstoy’s wife Sophia, and their 14 children, (blimey, Sophia!) would have sighed before plastering a wide fake grin on their faces when presented with this gigantic tome*. So, as I said, I didn’t feel too bad.
*Sidebar, this is completely untrue – Sophia was actually a writer herself and copied out SEVEN drafts of War and Peace as she was one of the only people who could read Tolstoy’s handwriting. Relationship goals right there.
Here, Reader, is where I have to swallow my words. I have had a monumental Tolstoy-turnaround. BBC Radio 4 has produced an utterly brilliant 10-part adaptation of War and Peace which I listen to on my walk to and from work. I’m lucky enough to only live 15 minutes away so I listen to roughly half an episode a day. And I bloody love it. These bitesize portions of Tolstoy allow me to enjoy the story without feeling completely overwhelmed by the HUNDREDS of characters. Having not properly read the book – my only complaint of this radio version was how long it took to identify said characters and the relationships between the main five families, I was mixing up my Bezukhovs and Kuragins for the first couple of days!
This family tree definitely helps and does NOT count as cheating. I’ll just leave this here for casual perusal….
Here is the link to the BBC adaptation: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04wz7q2/episodes/guide
Go, go, go, go, go!
I’m off to buy some Russian nesting dolls and to listen to the rest.
Do svidaniya!
Cxo
Currently Reading…
This picture doesn’t do justice to the previously mentioned BEAUT gold cover. Nice try instagram.
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Cat in the Flat 