"It was love at first sight"...

Stories. They are what people long to hear and in return tell.

How was your day? What did you do at the weekend? How did that date go?

Every coffee date, lunch break, obligatory nicety, entices a tale; an invitation to open the gateway of reminiscence and retell. When you look back through the history of literature itself, origins arise from the passing of myth and tale from member to member of clan and civilization, from generation to generation. (A picture of campfires automatically comes to mind…)

Hence my storytelling of, low and behold, storytelling.

Literature is more than what is simply written on paper. It is what one has felt, endured and imagined; time capsules that hold the key to unlocking a puzzle not yet solved, all in neat little packages of paper and ink. These compact paper universes; to an English student and bookworm like myself; are the candy sitting on the shelves of sweet-shops, we the nagging children yearning for a taste. As I’m sure many of you will be able to relate to (if not, maybe a book blog isn’t the thing for you…) there is no better moment than opening the bell-clad door of a bookshop and being met by that old friend… ‘Ah,’ your brain exhales, lungs welcoming the new scents, ‘the smell of books’. 

This, my friends, is what I am here to share. My own little campfire if you will, sharing my excursions to bookshops tucked away in all sorts of nooks and crannies of the country and beyond; although I intend to keep the flames firmly capsulated in the fireplace at my feet, laptop at a safe distance.  What beauties I uncover and inevitably purchase at these said bookshops, and trust me there will be ample, I will also share; providing my own written reviews of the literature ranging from the ancient shores of Ithaca (big up Homer) all the way up to the present day. So sit back, relax (grab that cup of coffee, shot-gun that comfy sofa) and enjoy.

(Oh and P.S. did you like my title? it's the first line from Heller's Catch-22. First and last-liners are what I live for, so be ready for a regular occurrence of those too...)