Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
The room was full, the engaging author filling what space remained with joyful anecdotes and the stories behind his stories. Storytelling is such a fundamental art, unique in so many ways, but none more so than in how accessible it is to all. From our earliest years of being read to, to finding some quiet space and time for our own reading. But what is particularly lovely is how a Book Club in a bookshop can be more than just about storytelling, it’s about people coming together and having a proper lovely time – books do that to people.
From time to time it’s been really interesting to revisit poems we’ve featured in past editions of our newsletter – the storytelling behind poetry can sometimes resonate heavily at a particular time, as in Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’, written over 200 years ago, is the story of how power, rule and hubris always ends the same.
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said – “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert… Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
If Wicked has left you with a hankering for more tales from the Emerald City, the beautiful collectible edition of The Wizard of Oz deserves a spot on your bookshelf!
James Percival’s award-winning James is now out in paperback, and Curtis Sittenfeld’s intimate stories about love and ambition dissect our deepest desires. The history shelves are brimming with fascinating accounts of heroism; Madhumita Murgia takes on AI; and The Sewing Book threads together all the essentials to begin making your own clothes. Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women has been adapted for teens, and little ones can explore the four seasons with Annabelle and Flower.
As always, if there’s anything you need, just pop by or reply to this email!
From Sophie
Feeling curious? Click on the book covers below to explore the book.
The full newsletter with links to books – including this week’s Signed Editions – can be found HERE
