Charlie Hood

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Over the last 2 weeks I've reacquainted myself with one of my favourite writers; T. Jefferson Parker. He's been writing excellent Southern California crime writing for almost 30 years since his debut in 1985 with Laguna Heat. Lately his writing has been very much about a young police officer named Charlie Hood. I have just broken one of my long standing rules, which is do NOT read several books by the same author in a row. I have found in the past that this will almost always effectively make you disenchanted with that author. But nevertheless I just finished reading four Charlie Hood novels back to back, and they were all excellent! I read LA Outlaw a few years back and so this time I read The Renegades, Iron River, Border Lords and The Jaguar.

Book signing

 Billy Bob Buttons; Tor - Assassin Hunter

Saturday 21 July from 11.00, Billy Bob Buttons will sign his new book Tor - Assassin Hunter. Welcome to the Uppsala shop.

Billy Bob Buttons in the bookshop

Before I Go To Sleep

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One of the most thrilling books I have ever read! If you're looking for well-written suspense - this is the book for you! Quite breath-taking and absolutely absorbing.

The Seven Wonders

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I love the historical crime novels of Steven Saylor. Gordianus the Finder is a wonderfully wraught character, Saylor spins expert webs of mystery in his stories and the history of the pieces is nothing short of excellent. As far as I can tell. They're wonderfully snug vibrant, lusty, curious, alive novels and I always look forward to a new one appearing. The Seven Wonders is a prequel to the other novels; it takes place when Gordianus is a mere 18 years old and travels around the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World with his tutor Antipater of Sidon. As we get to know the wonders as they stood at that time Gordianus also solves a new mystery at each one. But perhaps there's a great one tying them all together....?

Jellicoe Road

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This is an absolute must-read! A moving story about being a teenager and finding new pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that's your past, to figure out your presence and having to make decisions that might change your entire future. One of the most talked- and blogged-about books in Sweden this summer - and very well deserved!

Gold

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The most eagerly awaited UK novel of 2012. I liked it, Mr Cleave's characters come off as very believable and though I've never followed athletic cycling (which is the setting of the novel although it's not what it's about...) I really enjoyed this. There are bits when I feel ever-so-slightly emotionally manipulated, but the topics touched upon ARE heart-wrenching so perhaps it's not so suprising. The writing is often pitch-perfect and the roller-coasters of feeling we're subjected to are fascinating and, yes , gripping. 

Age of Miracles

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This much-lauded debut novel is a breath of Ray Bradbury. It's the coming-of-age story of Julia who happens to grow up at an extra-ordinary time in the earth's history: the planet has for some reason started slowing down, spinning more slowly thus lengthening days and nights. There's an eerie feel to the whole novel, of living on the brink of change so vast it's uncomprehensible. Julia is a great protagonist and her personal story against the weird backdrop makes the novel quite beguiling. 

Kings of Cool

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Don Winslow writes a cool stream. This is a prequel to the fantastic novel Savages (which has just been filmed by Oliver Stone) and lets us in on how the mirthsome threesome became who they were and who the preceeding generation was made up of. It also contains nods to several other Winslow novels which those in the know will find great fun. A cool read, but read Savages first.

Lord of Misrule

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This National Book Award winning novel was our book-of-the-month choice for June. It's a novel set in a rural horse racetrack environment circa 1970 and although the terminology and the language were difficult to start I think that is also where the strenght of the novel lies; the language is poetic, almost magical and the veil of almost-understanding is what lifts the story and the characters to a high level. These people will remain. It's a classic, I think and I can see why it was chosen.

Books of the Month – June 2023

Hernan Diaz
Trust
Paperback

Modern Fiction of the month

*Join the reading group

Sei Shonagon
The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon
Paperback

– The Diary of a Courtesan in Tenth Century Japan

Classics of the month

*Join the reading group

Sidney Karger
Best Men
Paperback

Feel-Good of the month

Benjamin Stevenson
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone
Paperback

Mystery of the Month

*Join the Crime reading group

Eli Cranor
Don’t Know Tough
Paperback

Noir of the month

Adam Oyebanji
Braking Day
Paperback

Sci-Fi of the month

*Join the reading group

Shauna Lawless
The Children of Gods and Fighting Men
Paperback

Fantasy of the month

*Join the reading group

Sonora Reyes
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
Paperback

Teen/YA of the month

Laura Kate Dale
Gender Euphoria
Paperback

– Stories of joy from trans, non-binary and intersex writers

Queer book of the month

*Join the reading group

Mark Hodkinson
No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy
Paperback

– Memoirs of a Working-Class Reader

Non-Fiction of the month

Books of the Month – May 2023

Ayşegül Savaş
White on White
Paperback

Modern Fiction of the month

*Join the reading group

Christopher Isherwood
Goodbye to Berlin
Paperback

Classic of the month

*Join the reading group

Stephanie Butland
Found in a Bookshop
Paperback

Feel-Good of the month

Sulari Gentill
The Woman in the Library
Paperback

Mystery of the month

*Join the Crime reading group

Gabriel Iglesias
The Devil Takes You Home
Paperback

Noir of the month

Sequoia Nagamatsu
How High We Go in the Dark
Paperback

Sci-Fi of the month

*Join the reading group

Ava Reid
The Wolf and the Woodsman
Paperback

Fantasy of the month

*Join the reading group

Andrew Joseph White
Hell Followed with Us
Paperback

Teen/YA of the month

Yukio Mishima
Confessions of a Mask
Paperback

Queer book of the month

*Join the reading group

Edward Chisholm
A Waiter in Paris
Paperback

– Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City

Non-Fiction of the month

Books of the Month – April 2023

Bonnie Garmus
Lessons in Chemistry
Paperback

Modern Fiction of the month

*Join the reading group

Elizabeth von Arnim
The Enchanted April
Hardback

Classic of the month

*Join the reading group

Ashley Poston
The Dead Romantics
Paperback

Feel-Good of the month

Deanna Raybourn
Killers of a Certain Age
Paperback
Hayley Scrivenor
Dirt Town
Paperback
Emily St John Mandel
Sea of Tranquility
Paperback

Sci-Fi of the month

*Join the reading group

Daniel Abraham
Age of Ash
Paperback

Fantasy of the month

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Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland
Chaos and Flame
Paperback

Teen/YA of the month

Sara Jaffe
Dryland
Paperback

Queer book of the month

*Join the reading group

Oliver Mol
Train Lord
Paperback

– The Astonishing True Story of One Man’s Journey to Getting His Life Back On Track

Non-Fiction of the month

Books of the Month – March 2023

Stacey Swann
Olympus, Texas
Paperback

Modern Fiction of the month

*Join the reading group

Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse Five
Paperback

Classic of the month

*Join the reading group