Today I sold some books.
I sold some Lonely Planet travel guides, 2 copies of the '4 hour working week', a copy each of Mez Packer and Jayne Joso's new books and some spiritual stuff. I sold another copy of the New Chuck Palahniuk, some Rastamouse books, kids books, some cards and some giftwrap.
I also sold some novels from our novels tables.
I packed up some books that didn't sell to return to the publishers, and I discussed with various customers (at various times of the day) CGP revision guides, Wolf Hall and Fludd by Hilary Mantel, Will Self's visit to Wood Green last week, Mapp and Lucia by E F Benson and magic.
I mistook the author Gerald Durrell for Laurence Durrell and thought of two more authors to try and get to the shop for events.
I had no coffee as the milk had curdled due to the fridge breaking last week, and started to compile a list of new manga series to stock in the shop.
I couldn't find my bicycle pump, which I thought was at the shop.
I had a pee at about 1.30pm
This was my day at work.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Will Self
On Wednesday we had our most high profile event since we opened. Will Self had agreed to come and read from and talk about his new book 'Liver'.
We are the Big Green Bookshop, but we ain't enormously big. We can fit about 50 people in there, but we figured that maybe more than 50 people would want to come along. So we approached Wood Green Library and asked if they could be the venue for the event. It made a lot of sense.
They said 'why, yes of course', like all good libraries should do, and away we went.
The capacity there was 100 (health and safety), and we decided to ticket the event, to make sure that people would definitely come along. The tickets were a fiver, but that was fully redeemable on the cost of the book on the night, so effectively, if you bought a book it was a free event!
We designed tickets in the shape of a Liver, and sales were brisk.>
Then Bob Crow, leader of the RMT, heard about the event. Me and Bob have a history going back to our school days when he used to put chewing gum in my hair and tie my shoelaces together. We've never got on. Anyway, in order to try and disrupt the event, he called a 2 day tube strike.
Well despite a few panicked phonecalls ('is the event still going ahead?', 'how do I get to Wood Green by bus?'), that didn't put off too many people, and those who couldn't make it were soon replaced by the last minute rush for tickets.
Will himself was travelling up on his bike (a man after my own heart), and everything was set.
We get everything set up and as the first of the audience started to arrive, so did Will. He was charming and friendly and as we sat and chatted, he told me not to worry about anything. I wonder how he could tell I was nervous.
We talked about short story collections and why they didn't generally sell as well as full length novels, and also about stuff that Will's been doing recently. He was interested about the shop, and talked about his visits to Wood Green when he was younger.
Anyway the library was now at capacity and after my shrt introduction, Sir William of Self stepped forward.
After lambasting the photographers that were taking photos for the local newspapers, he talked about the book and read parts of 2 of the stories. Firstly a raucous, expletive riddled section from 'Foie Humaine', which centres around a 'Colony Club' style drinking club in London. Will read brilliantly and made the tragicomedy come to life.
The second reading was something completely different form 'Lerberknodel', about a woman who, confronted with terminal liver cancer, travels to Zurich for an assisted suicide. It was heart stoppingly powerful, and it clearly moved a number of people in the audience.
After this reading he was happy to answer the audience's questions, and then signed copies of the book.
Another Happy Member of the Audience
Team Photo. Isn't he tall?
Will finally got away at about 9.30pm and thanked us for organising it all so well.
So to sum up;
We are the Big Green Bookshop, but we ain't enormously big. We can fit about 50 people in there, but we figured that maybe more than 50 people would want to come along. So we approached Wood Green Library and asked if they could be the venue for the event. It made a lot of sense.
They said 'why, yes of course', like all good libraries should do, and away we went.
The capacity there was 100 (health and safety), and we decided to ticket the event, to make sure that people would definitely come along. The tickets were a fiver, but that was fully redeemable on the cost of the book on the night, so effectively, if you bought a book it was a free event!
We designed tickets in the shape of a Liver, and sales were brisk.>
Then Bob Crow, leader of the RMT, heard about the event. Me and Bob have a history going back to our school days when he used to put chewing gum in my hair and tie my shoelaces together. We've never got on. Anyway, in order to try and disrupt the event, he called a 2 day tube strike.
Well despite a few panicked phonecalls ('is the event still going ahead?', 'how do I get to Wood Green by bus?'), that didn't put off too many people, and those who couldn't make it were soon replaced by the last minute rush for tickets.
Will himself was travelling up on his bike (a man after my own heart), and everything was set.
We get everything set up and as the first of the audience started to arrive, so did Will. He was charming and friendly and as we sat and chatted, he told me not to worry about anything. I wonder how he could tell I was nervous.
We talked about short story collections and why they didn't generally sell as well as full length novels, and also about stuff that Will's been doing recently. He was interested about the shop, and talked about his visits to Wood Green when he was younger.
Anyway the library was now at capacity and after my shrt introduction, Sir William of Self stepped forward.
After lambasting the photographers that were taking photos for the local newspapers, he talked about the book and read parts of 2 of the stories. Firstly a raucous, expletive riddled section from 'Foie Humaine', which centres around a 'Colony Club' style drinking club in London. Will read brilliantly and made the tragicomedy come to life.
The second reading was something completely different form 'Lerberknodel', about a woman who, confronted with terminal liver cancer, travels to Zurich for an assisted suicide. It was heart stoppingly powerful, and it clearly moved a number of people in the audience.
After this reading he was happy to answer the audience's questions, and then signed copies of the book.
Another Happy Member of the Audience
Team Photo. Isn't he tall?Will finally got away at about 9.30pm and thanked us for organising it all so well.
So to sum up;
- A very happy author
- A packed, engaged audience
- Loads of book sales
- New Customers
- A great new partnership with the Library
- A bit of a 'buzz' in Wood Green
- A happy Big Green Bookshop
An enormous thank you to Will for coming to do this event, and we hope this will encourage publishers to move us slightly higher up the list of bookshops when it comes to doing this kind of thing.
Oh, we have a few signed copies of Liver in the shop. Give us a ring and we'll put one aside.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Betting, Babies and Blogs
Betting.
Having failed so convincingly in the Betting Challenge recently, this clearly hasn't put me off wasting my hard earned cash chasing the big win. So I'm now setting myself a new challenge. It will be as follows.
1. It is entitled 'You've Got No Chance Mate'
2. I will bet an (imaginary) pound on a sporting, outcome with odds of 33/1 or more.
3. This will happen a maximum of once a day.
4. I will keep a running total.
5. It will be listed on the blog
6. It will be a shockingly bad idea.
7. It will start on Tuesday June 9th 2009
Babies.
Katie's going back to work next week, so i'm going to be looking after Freya on Mondays from then. It's exciting and scary and Freya will miss her mum, but there's lots and lots to do in Wood Green for babies and toddlers, so I don't think we'll be bored.
Today I went to 'Jolly Babies' at Burleigh Road Nursery. It's a wonderful place about 3 minutes walk from the shop and despite its grant being taken away fairly recently, the Nursery is still hanging on in there.
It's called Jolly Babies, and i'm sure all the babies were very jolly until the big hairy scary man arrived. But, as is sometimes the case, a big hairy scary man who gurns and says hello is not always what a 2 year old pushing a doll's pram wants to encounter.
All the parents and kids are lovely there and for your £1.50, you get unlimited tea and coffee (and biscuits), and there's fruit and stuff provided for the littl'uns.
Places like this are so important for a community (have I mentioned community before?), and so I'll be frequenting it on many a Monday in the preceding weeks.
Having failed so convincingly in the Betting Challenge recently, this clearly hasn't put me off wasting my hard earned cash chasing the big win. So I'm now setting myself a new challenge. It will be as follows.
1. It is entitled 'You've Got No Chance Mate'
2. I will bet an (imaginary) pound on a sporting, outcome with odds of 33/1 or more.
3. This will happen a maximum of once a day.
4. I will keep a running total.
5. It will be listed on the blog
6. It will be a shockingly bad idea.
7. It will start on Tuesday June 9th 2009
Babies.
Katie's going back to work next week, so i'm going to be looking after Freya on Mondays from then. It's exciting and scary and Freya will miss her mum, but there's lots and lots to do in Wood Green for babies and toddlers, so I don't think we'll be bored.
Today I went to 'Jolly Babies' at Burleigh Road Nursery. It's a wonderful place about 3 minutes walk from the shop and despite its grant being taken away fairly recently, the Nursery is still hanging on in there.
It's called Jolly Babies, and i'm sure all the babies were very jolly until the big hairy scary man arrived. But, as is sometimes the case, a big hairy scary man who gurns and says hello is not always what a 2 year old pushing a doll's pram wants to encounter.
All the parents and kids are lovely there and for your £1.50, you get unlimited tea and coffee (and biscuits), and there's fruit and stuff provided for the littl'uns.
Places like this are so important for a community (have I mentioned community before?), and so I'll be frequenting it on many a Monday in the preceding weeks.
Blogs.
Google the words 'bookshop blog', and this blog that you're reading right now comes up at number 3 out of the 4.9 million things that you can click on. If I were a shot putter in an athletics competition in Valencia, that would be a podium position. I'd get a medal, some flowers, a toy duck and a kiss on each cheek. I'd have to stand there and listen to another websites national anthem, but i'd still be a national hero.
Next month, in a random urine test, this blog will test positive for the banned substance 'nonsensidrone, and subsequently be banned from writing anything for 4 years.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
A long necked goat
I'm trying to pull together a 'Summer Spectacular' at the shop to get kids all excited about books, which involves about 40 authors, 5 films, 3 pirates, 2 character costumes, over 5 venues, plus one puppeteer, one magician, 3 storytellers, and an alpaca. 
Now I know that JK Rowling reads this blog and has a helicopter on stand by waiting for the call, and Stephanie Meyer just won't stop bothering us asking if she can come along to the shop...'whatever Steph'. Are there any authors out there who'd like to join us over the summer holidays to for a whole lot of fun in the Wood Green sun?
If you've written (or know someone who's written) a book for someone between 3 and 15 and think you can help, send us an email. It's going to be epic, and you wouldn't want to miss out would you?
And you might get to see an alpaca.
Now I know that JK Rowling reads this blog and has a helicopter on stand by waiting for the call, and Stephanie Meyer just won't stop bothering us asking if she can come along to the shop...'whatever Steph'. Are there any authors out there who'd like to join us over the summer holidays to for a whole lot of fun in the Wood Green sun?
If you've written (or know someone who's written) a book for someone between 3 and 15 and think you can help, send us an email. It's going to be epic, and you wouldn't want to miss out would you?
And you might get to see an alpaca.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Jake Arnott
Last night the Big Green Bookshop welcomed Jake Arnott (grammatically it should be Jake Isnot) to read from and talk about his wonderful new novel 'The Devil's Paintbrush'.
Jake certainly knows how to write a novel, and this is a real gem. It's a bit of a departure from his previous books and it revolves around two facinating characters. Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald, war hero of the British Empire and on his way to be court martialled for charges of homosexuality and Aleister Crowley, the Great Beast and 'Wickedest man in the World' . The book begins with these two characters meeting 'by chance' in the dining room of the Hotel Regina in Paris. From there they set off into the night together, where the full tragedy of Fighting Macs situation unfolds.
The meeting between the two actually occured, and Jake has taken this and weaved a wonderful story from it. But don't take my word for it, go and buy it.
My camera has finally decided to give up completely, so for your information, Jake was wearing a blue short sleeved shirt, about 25 people turned up and we drank approx 4 or 5 bottles of wine between us. Very restrained.
I'll be looking for a replacement camera in time for Will Self next week.
I'm also on a bit of a roll, and have been putting together some brilliant new events for July -September for which you will no doubt all join us for.
Susan Boyle will not be involved in any of these events
Jake certainly knows how to write a novel, and this is a real gem. It's a bit of a departure from his previous books and it revolves around two facinating characters. Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald, war hero of the British Empire and on his way to be court martialled for charges of homosexuality and Aleister Crowley, the Great Beast and 'Wickedest man in the World' . The book begins with these two characters meeting 'by chance' in the dining room of the Hotel Regina in Paris. From there they set off into the night together, where the full tragedy of Fighting Macs situation unfolds.
The meeting between the two actually occured, and Jake has taken this and weaved a wonderful story from it. But don't take my word for it, go and buy it.
My camera has finally decided to give up completely, so for your information, Jake was wearing a blue short sleeved shirt, about 25 people turned up and we drank approx 4 or 5 bottles of wine between us. Very restrained.
I'll be looking for a replacement camera in time for Will Self next week.
I'm also on a bit of a roll, and have been putting together some brilliant new events for July -September for which you will no doubt all join us for.
Susan Boyle will not be involved in any of these events
Dan Petrescu
This is Dan Petrescu. He played for Romania, and scored a goal against England once because Graham Lesaux closed his eyes when the nasty dirty football came near him.
This is Wood Green Pet Rescue
A friend of the shop found... well this is what she says.
I rescued 4 grey kittens from our allotment that had been dumped. they're about 5 weeks old and only just onto solid food. We called the cat rescue people and they can't take any kittens at the moment. We're keeping one, but i want the rest to go to a good home who'll give them the amount of care they need. If you're interested, please get in contact...we want the others to either go seperately to houses that already have cats, or to go together..i've had a couple offers but we really want responsible owners that'll neuter them..
Think of the alternatives
If you can genuinely help, email the shop and we'll forward your details on.
This is Wood Green Pet Rescue
A friend of the shop found... well this is what she says.
I rescued 4 grey kittens from our allotment that had been dumped. they're about 5 weeks old and only just onto solid food. We called the cat rescue people and they can't take any kittens at the moment. We're keeping one, but i want the rest to go to a good home who'll give them the amount of care they need. If you're interested, please get in contact...we want the others to either go seperately to houses that already have cats, or to go together..i've had a couple offers but we really want responsible owners that'll neuter them..
Think of the alternatives
If you can genuinely help, email the shop and we'll forward your details on.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Boo
Our monthly Kids Reading Group meets on the last Sunday of each month, and as this was as last as you could get, to day was the day. We were there to discuss Un-Lun-Dun by China (in my hand) Mieville, a book demcratically chosen last month by the ambitious youngsters.
At 528 pages it was a bold move, perhaps a bit too bold, because a few of the group didn't read it!
Those who did, however, thought it was brilliant, and they loved the negative hero aspect of it and also the crazy imagination of this rather good author (and the female lead character).
Today was also the birthday (well almost) of one of the regular members of the book group called Finn. We'd planned a bit of a surprise for him, because one of his favourite books is Tim, Defender of the Earth, by soon to be legendary Sam Enthoven.
Last year Finn wrote a review of the book for us to stick up in the shop. It just so happened that Sam came in one day and saw the review, he loved it and asked if he could use it for the paperback edition of his book. Finn was mighty proud and was very happy for this to happen.
So the sensible sized paperback is now out with Finn's quote on the back of the book. If you want to know what Finn said it was.
'If you don't like books with action-packed chapters with big scary monsters wrecking national monuments and giant cockroaches killing people, you will not like this book. I loved it..'
It's there on the back of the book, and also Sam writes on his website, that it's his favourite review.
So , enough pre-amble..we recently had a chat with Sam and thought it would be great to say thanks to Finn in some way for what he wrote. So this morning at the end of the Book Group meeting a smiling face peered through the window.
'who's that man with the snakeskin hat?' said one of the group.
When Finn saw Sam it was brilliant. He was so surprised and it was just how we'd hoped. He was presented with US Editions of both Sam's books, which Sam had signed (he told Finn he hadn't put a dedication in them in case Finn wanted to flog them!), and he stuck around for the group to ask lots of questions.
It's things like this that make me love what I do.
Go community bookshops, go!
At 528 pages it was a bold move, perhaps a bit too bold, because a few of the group didn't read it! Those who did, however, thought it was brilliant, and they loved the negative hero aspect of it and also the crazy imagination of this rather good author (and the female lead character).
Today was also the birthday (well almost) of one of the regular members of the book group called Finn. We'd planned a bit of a surprise for him, because one of his favourite books is Tim, Defender of the Earth, by soon to be legendary Sam Enthoven.
Last year Finn wrote a review of the book for us to stick up in the shop. It just so happened that Sam came in one day and saw the review, he loved it and asked if he could use it for the paperback edition of his book. Finn was mighty proud and was very happy for this to happen.
So the sensible sized paperback is now out with Finn's quote on the back of the book. If you want to know what Finn said it was.
'If you don't like books with action-packed chapters with big scary monsters wrecking national monuments and giant cockroaches killing people, you will not like this book. I loved it..'
It's there on the back of the book, and also Sam writes on his website, that it's his favourite review.
So , enough pre-amble..we recently had a chat with Sam and thought it would be great to say thanks to Finn in some way for what he wrote. So this morning at the end of the Book Group meeting a smiling face peered through the window.
'who's that man with the snakeskin hat?' said one of the group.
When Finn saw Sam it was brilliant. He was so surprised and it was just how we'd hoped. He was presented with US Editions of both Sam's books, which Sam had signed (he told Finn he hadn't put a dedication in them in case Finn wanted to flog them!), and he stuck around for the group to ask lots of questions.
It's things like this that make me love what I do.
Go community bookshops, go!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Last Chance at the Crap Betting Saloon
The last day of the 'betting challenge' is Saturday, and I have one more chance to produce a miracle.
I'm £8Oish down after a series of desparate bets to catch up with the man who clearly never loses Scott Pack. It all started to go wrong after he produced a run of wins in November and pulled about £40 ahead. As gamblers know, you should never chase a win, but this competition encourages this. So I did. And really really badly.
So I'm pretty much stuffed....unless I pull the big one out on FA Cup Final day. In order for me to win (and this is highly unlikely) I need to find a winning bet of 80/1 or more and Scott needs to lose his final bet.
My initial thoughts are to go for a big big Everton win, but seeing as they can't score ore than 2 goals in a game, I wonder whether something else might be more suitable.
I'm not going to be able to place my bet on the blog tomorrow, because I'll be joining the legendary John Hegley
for a performance of his poetry etc. at rhe Haringey independence day, so my betting decision will have to be made now.....OK Paddy Power have Everton to beat Chelsea 3-1 at 80-1. They also have Nicolas Anelka at 80-1 to score a hat-trick.
I think that the 'birdman' has my bet. It's so unlikely, but so is life.
Wish me luck
Monday, May 25, 2009
Back Home (England 1970)
Well, after a lovely holiday away from the world and all that rubbish, we're back in the Green that calls itself Wood.
Here's a few of the dreamy highlights from our time living in a tent shaped like a Dunce hat.
Inside the Tipi. It looks lovely don't it? It isn't always so lovely when it's pissing down with rain and the wind is blowing all the smoke from the wood burning stove back into the tent, but overall I give the tipi 7 forked tongues out of 10.
Ducks and Chickens squeezed out eggs for us, and kept Freya amused with their inevitable clucking and quacking.
The Eden Project. God did one of those once, but Adam and Eve screwed it up. Maybe they'll think twice this time, because it's a wonderful and inspiring place to visit.
Freya, eating food. 1. Homous on toast in Fowey (a really lovely cafe called Pinky Murphy's Cafe) and 2. Banana in the Glendurgan Gardens
They had a maze, and as is de rigeur for such occasions, we took the obligatory photo.
'Oh no, which way do I go now?....'
They also had exotic plants, which (once again) gave us more opportunities to perform the stereotypical shot.
Bellamy/Attenborough/Tool.
Here's a couple of photo's for my Mum, who we visited in Bristol on the way back to the Green.
Wild Goose Cottage in Goosham. We spent many happy times in this cottage when I was growing up, and it looks just the same.
My lovely Mum with my lovely daughter.
So, what have I missed since going away. We had no electricity, so no TV, radio, internet, to keep us up to date with all the important issues that are going on. I have heard a few snippets which I need confirming though.
1. Someone got through to the final of Britain's Got Talent by giving birth to sextuplets in 5 minutes.
2. Eminem won the Eurovision Song Contest with his version of 'Tamil Tiger Feet'
3. Peter Andre and Katie Price, the Tory backbench husband and wife team have been named as the source of swine flu.
4. Silvio Berlusconi won the Monaco Grand Prix, and don't let anyone tell you different.
5. Jonathan Ross is no longer alive on Radio 2
6. Status Quo are playing Galstonbury (i can't believe this one!!)
7. Michael Jackson is the latest casualty in the Apprentice. His rendition of 'Ben' was described by Sir Alan as 'bloody awful' and he said 'you, my son, should pull your bloody socks up'.
8. After a huge mix up, the percussion based crime novel 'The Lost Cymbal' by Den Brown is number one in the bestsellers. Den tells us all to look out for his new cannibal themed blockbuster about a tribe's search for Lenny Henry's wife,'Baking Dawn'.
Normal service will be resumed soon.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Holiday
We're about to head off for a week in Cornwall. Katie, Freya and I shall be staying here..
This is a Tipi in Mill Valley in Wadebridge, and we'll be here for a week. Look what it's like on the inside..
It's a big old tipi, ain't it. Let's hope the weather's nice.
Being in a tipi means I shall be sans electricity for a week. Off Grid. No access to the world wide web, no way to find out if the e-reader has been successfully implanted into someone's brain, or whether Waterstoats are abandoning the Hub in favour of a very affordable and reliable chap with a shed in Norfolk to look after the stock. If, in the next week, the espresso book machine turns into a Hal like computer, and refuses to print poorly constructed poetry or heartfelt autobiographies ('i'm afraid I can't do that') I'll not know a thing about it.
Never mind...
In order to give myself a chance of winning this betting challenge, i've put down a bet for each day next week that I can find one. I'll be interested to see if any of them come in.
So next Sunday, we'll be back and firing on all cylinders, particularly this one
Please do't let my absence stop you from;
a. Visiting the shop
b. Commenting on the blog
c. Commenting on the shop
d. Visiting the blog
e. Going out
f. Aspiring to greater things
g. Despising Jeremy Clarkson
h. Eating Cheese
i. Fighting crime
j. Humming to yourself as you walk down the street
k. Living the life of riley
l. Adding me on Twitter
m. Buying a ticket for the Will Self event
n. Smiling at strangers
o. Considering your self at home
p. Considering yourself one of the family
q. Drinking water out of the tap
r. recycling
s. looking both ways before you cross the road
t. baking a cake
u. sending that birthday card that you have to
w. finishing that chapter
x. introducing the word 'peachy' into your vocabulary
y. tying up your shoelaces
z. telling the whole world about the wonders of The Big Green Bookshop in cosmopolitan Wood Green.
adieu
This is a Tipi in Mill Valley in Wadebridge, and we'll be here for a week. Look what it's like on the inside..
It's a big old tipi, ain't it. Let's hope the weather's nice.
Being in a tipi means I shall be sans electricity for a week. Off Grid. No access to the world wide web, no way to find out if the e-reader has been successfully implanted into someone's brain, or whether Waterstoats are abandoning the Hub in favour of a very affordable and reliable chap with a shed in Norfolk to look after the stock. If, in the next week, the espresso book machine turns into a Hal like computer, and refuses to print poorly constructed poetry or heartfelt autobiographies ('i'm afraid I can't do that') I'll not know a thing about it.
Never mind...
In order to give myself a chance of winning this betting challenge, i've put down a bet for each day next week that I can find one. I'll be interested to see if any of them come in.
So next Sunday, we'll be back and firing on all cylinders, particularly this one
Please do't let my absence stop you from;
a. Visiting the shop
b. Commenting on the blog
c. Commenting on the shop
d. Visiting the blog
e. Going out
f. Aspiring to greater things
g. Despising Jeremy Clarkson
h. Eating Cheese
i. Fighting crime
j. Humming to yourself as you walk down the street
k. Living the life of riley
l. Adding me on Twitter
m. Buying a ticket for the Will Self event
n. Smiling at strangers
o. Considering your self at home
p. Considering yourself one of the family
q. Drinking water out of the tap
r. recycling
s. looking both ways before you cross the road
t. baking a cake
u. sending that birthday card that you have to
w. finishing that chapter
x. introducing the word 'peachy' into your vocabulary
y. tying up your shoelaces
z. telling the whole world about the wonders of The Big Green Bookshop in cosmopolitan Wood Green.
adieu
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