Where does curiosity come from?
A bookshop like ours is a little like a magnet made of sponge – it both attracts and soaks up all sorts of stuff. Add in a little curiosity and the picture of a bookshop as a portal to the wonders of a literary world starts to form – to be enjoyed by everyone drawn to our door, customers and booksellers alike.
The magnet attracted us to a number of interesting characters and circumstances this week – Thursday evening had us as the booksellers for a talk at Kellogg College in Oxford with the actor Brian Cox – a fascinating and enjoyable talk about acting and what it was like to be the thoroughly unlikeable Logan Roy in Succession. On Friday I had the pleasure of spending some time with Jon Cruddas, the MP for Dagenham & Rainham and author of ‘A Century of Labour’, a timely journey through the 100 years since the creation of the Labour Party. A political movement inspired in part by William Morris, the artist whose designs have inspired us for the Coles logo – a little serendipity can be soaked up too!
Our sponge soaks up ideas, some the result of the novelist’s imagination, some from an author’s passion and articulation of their thoughts, ideas and research. The key word in all this is ‘curiosity’ – it’s like the fuel which keeps us driving forward, the foot on the pedal, the extra gear. Curiosity of course is wholly dependent on which way we’re looking – inwards to the self and you see nothing, outwards to the world and you see the wonder of everything.
Curiosity can sometimes need a little nudge and to that end, we’ve started polishing up the search functionality on our website – at the top right of each web page, your search will start to show some of the book covers associated with your quest, down at the bottom right there is a new Advanced Search. These are the first of a batch of improvements as to how the 200,000 or so books we have on our website can be browsed.
Where does curiosity come from? In my case a childhood of frequent trips by train from the North of England to London – I can still feel the cold of the glass as my nose pressed against the window – looking outwards as a world of wonder hurtled by …
From a Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson
Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle,
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And there is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart run away in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone for ever!
Be curious – the broader the vision, the stronger the magnet and more absorbent the sponge.
Occasionally, a book comes along that seems like a novelty, but is truly covered in gold dust. Fourteen Days is that book. In this collaborative novel, great voices from the Authors Guild of America turn the dreaded lockdown novel on its head; as the tenants of a dilapidated Manhattan building gather to share stories, they forge connections stronger than ever before. Each character is written by a different, masterful author, like Margaret Atwood or John Grisham, giving them completely unique voices. Another top pick this week is for children aged 5-8; Murray and Bun is a new series from Adam Stower, best known for his lively illustrations in David Walliams’ beloved books. The first story of this energetic duo involves Vikings and trolls! This is sure to be a favourite for young readers of Bunny vs. Monkey, Dog Man, and Adventure Mice.
In fiction, Val McDermid keeps us on our toes with a Karen Pirie thriller. As DCI Pirie discovers an author’s unfinished manuscript, she connects the dots between the make-believe and the case of a missing university student; does the manuscript hold the truth to this cold case? In Christy Edwall’s debut, Margit grapples with feelings of aimlessness by obsessing over the mysterious abduction of forty-three Mexican students, a world away from her reality in London. Helen Oyeyemi concocts sunny thoughts with Parasol against the Axe, a dazzling love letter to Prague, storytelling, and the exciting adventures that await in any vibrant city. Francesca Kay’s fourth novel is set in an Oxfordshire village in 1546, where a husband and wife have conflicting desires as he fancies a chapel to commemorate him.
In non-fiction, The Modern Bestiary is a quirky collection of facts about curious creatures, from immortal jellyfish to rats who drive. If you’d prefer to stick with furry felines, Shaken Not Purred is a lovely little gift book for the cocktail extraordinaire, including tips on glassware, kitty-themed party games, and recipes for the classics with a twist. The Beginner’s Guide to Knitting is a staple to get started on some woolly basics. Travel through France with Peter Bills for a whistle-stop tour of 150 years of French rugby, and examine the erasure of privacy in Pegasus, named after the world’s most powerful surveillance system, capable of watching our every move. This is a chilling exposé on how governments track their citizens.
Finally, for little ones, My First Journey Around the Earth is a playful journey around different environments. There are holes to peek through and flaps with sweet animals underneath, making this book a joyful experience.
As always, if there’s something you need help with, or a book you need ordering, please call or email us!
From Sophie
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