Reviewing a vast range of books including novels, poetry collections, short stories, and more. Staff reviews from the people at World of Books to guest writers and even kids’ reviews!
My love for reading spans many genres but my favourites are crime thrillers, romance, fantasy and historical. Check out my last review for Dead at First Sight by Peter James. I have just finished reading Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce, published in 2019 by Wildfire. This novel explores abusive, toxic relationships, painting a very dark story. My pal, Kim, recommended that I read the novel as she couldn’t put it down and she was right!
Whilst lockdown has seemingly upped my threshold for reading – returning to books that are ‘must-reads’ like Lord of the Flies and Catch-22 alongside ploughing through mainstream bestsellers like Where the Crawdads Sing – it’s actually a book that I read at the very beginning of the year that is my standout title so far.
My name is Vanessa and I work as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at World of Books Group here in Goring-by-Sea. I love reading and enjoy crime thrillers, romance, and classic novels so I am really lucky to work at World of Books! I like to read a variety of genres otherwise it can get a little boring if you read the same type of books all the time, but my favourites are crime thrillers and whodunnits.
As an inquisitive reader, I have a tendency to fixate on certain genres. Often a particular subject or an individual writer, exhaustively reading around it before moving on to something else that has piqued my interest.
The majority of what I read is non-fiction. I find reality a lot more interesting than fiction, being drawn towards subjects of people or culture, particularly ‘subcultures’ and people who sit outside of what is considered ‘normal’. But then I suppose nobody wants to read about the most normal, beigest, or mundane characters, do they?
I was first introduced to the grump that is Ove by my aunty who’s a librarian and has dedicated most of her working life to encouraging teenagers and young adults to read more books. I hadn’t heard of A Man Called Ove before, nor the author and columnist Fredrik Backman; both had completely bypassed my radar when the novel was first published back in 2012. I picked it up in my *ahem* early 30s and I wasn’t disappointed with the recommendation.
When it comes to autobiographies I tend to go for the ones that allow me to experience life vicariously through the author’s experiences. This usually leads me down the path of rock stars or footballers. Their hedonistic tales are ones that seem so out of this realm that they’re on the verge of fiction. The ones that are as far removed from the 9-5 rat race, the better.