Mostly Books Meets...

This week we're talking to children’s author and martial arts expert, Mary Stevens.

Mary, whose books are written under the name M.C. Stevens has the very definition of a portfolio career. Her main role is as a karate and self-protection teacher but, among other things, she’s also a fitness teacher and a Patron of Reading for a high school. Somehow, amongst all of this, she’s managed to write a series of children’s books.

Mary and I first met at an author’s event at her publisher, OUP, and we’ve been working together ever since. Her first book, which is about a pair of Warrior Monkeys, was published in June 2019. A second book quickly followed and the latest addition to the series, Warrior Monkeys and the Rescue Quest, is published on 5th November.

This week we're talking to author and bookseller, Martin Latham.

What Martin doesn’t know about books isn’t worth knowing. Having worked as a bookseller for 35 years, he’s seen it all. Starting out in an independent bookshop on the King’s Road in Chelsea, he worked in second hand bookshops and a couple of branches of Waterstones before opening Waterstones Canterbury in 1990. In that role, he’s seen and done a lot with my favourite anecdote being the fact that he was responsible for putting the cost of an archaeological dig through the petty cash.

Martin’s experiences as a bookseller and his clear love of literature are captured in his book, The Bookseller’s Tale, which was published in September.

This week we're talking to one of the UK's top illustrators and cartoonists, Chris Riddell.

Chris has written and illustrated an exceptional range of books and is the winner of many awards, including the UNESCO Prize and the Greenaway Medal, which he won on no less than three occasions. In addition to his books, Chris is also a renowned political cartoonist for the Observer. He was the Children’s laureate from 2015-17 and was awarded an OBE for services to illustration and charity in 2019.

Chris's own books include the highly-acclaimed Ottoline titles and the Award-winning Goth Girl series. He has had six books published in the last six weeks, the latest of which, a stunning edition of Alice in Wonderland, comes out today. He’s been busy!

In the podcast this week, we talk to best-selling author Robert Harris.

Robert’s first novel, Fatherland, was published in 1992 to critical acclaim and he has since gone on to publish a further 13 novels, the latest of which, V2, was published on 17th September.

Robert specialises is historical fiction and he’s well known for producing page turning thrillers that keep the reader guessing until the end. His work has been translated into forty languages, several of his books have been turned into films, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

In Episode 5 of Mostly Books Meets, we chat to journalist, author, and podcaster, Elizabeth Day.

An experienced journalist, who has written for publications including The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Mail on Sunday. Elizabeth’s first book was published in 2011 and she went on to publish a further three novels, including the Party which was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick.

In 2017, after a relationship breakup, Elizabeth came up with the idea of a new podcast: How To Fail With Elizabeth Day. In the podcast, she speaks to successful people about three perceived failures and how they dealt with them. The podcast was an instant success and, after eight episodes, it had been downloaded more than 200,000 times and she had a book deal.

The resulting book, How to Fail, was a Sunday Times best seller and the follow up, Failosophy is published on the 1st October.

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In Failosophy Elizabeth Day brings together all the lessons she has learned, from conversations with the guests on her award-winning How to Fail podcast, from stories shared with her by readers and listeners, and from her own life, and distils them into seven principles of failure. Practical, reassuring and inspirational, these principles offer a guide through life's rough patches. From failed exams to romantic break-ups, from career setbacks to confidence crises, from navigating anxiety to surviving loss, Failosophy recognises, and celebrates, the fact that failure connects us all.

It is what makes us human. With insights from Malcolm Gladwell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lemn Sissay, Frankie Bridge, Nigel Slater, Emeli Sande, Alain de Botton, Mabel, Fearne Cotton, Meera Syal, Dame Kelly Holmes, Andrew Scott and many, many more, Failosophy is the essential handbook for turning failure into success.

Mostly Books:

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Elizabeth Day

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In episode four of Mostly Books Meets, Sarah chats to Matson Taylor, the debut author of The Miseducation of Evie Epworth.

Childhood Book: Paddington by Michael Bond

Most Recently Read: Another Planet: A Teenager in Suburbia by Tracey Thorn

Book That Changed His Life: Katherine Mansfield Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield

Book That Everyone Should Read: The Miseducation of Evie Epworth

July, 1962 Sixteen year-old Evie Epworth stands on the cusp of womanhood.

But what kind of a woman will she become? The fastest milk bottle-delivery girl in East Yorkshire, Evie is tall as a tree and hot as the desert sand. She dreams of an independent life lived under the bright lights of London (or Leeds). The two posters of Adam Faith on her bedroom wall ('brooding Adam' and 'sophisticated Adam') offer wise counsel about a future beyond rural East Yorkshire.

Her role models are Charlotte Bronte, Shirley MacLaine and the Queen. But, before she can decide on a career, she must first deal with the malign presence of her future step-mother, the manipulative and money-grubbing Christine. If Evie can rescue her bereaved father, Arthur, from Christine's pink and over-perfumed clutches, and save the farmhouse from being sold off then maybe she can move on with her own life and finally work out exactly who it is she is meant to be.

Moving, inventive and richly comic, The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is the most joyful debut novel of the year and the best thing to have come out of Yorkshire since Wensleydale cheese.

Matson Taylor

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https://matsontaylor.com/

Mostly Books:

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In Episode three of Mostly Books Meets, Sarah talks to bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris, about her new book, Stories of Hope.

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz is one of the bestselling books of the 21st Century. Now, in this essential companion, Heather Morris presents an inspiring manual for life, with a series of tales of the remarkable people she has met, the incredible stories they have shared with her, and the lessons they hold for us all. In Stories of Hope, Heather will explore her extraordinary talents as a listener - a skill she employed when she first met Lale Sokolov, the tattooist at Auschwitz-Birkenau and the inspiration for her bestselling novel.

It was this ability that led Lale to entrust Heather with his story, which she told in her novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz and the bestselling follow up, Cilka's Journey. Now Heather shares the story behind her inspirational writing journey and the defining experiences of her life, including her profound friendship with Lale, and explores how she learned to really listen to the stories people told her - skills she believes we can all learn. 'Stories are what connect us and remind us that hope is always possible.' Heather MorrisIncludes an exciting sneak peek extract from the upcoming fiction title from Heather Morris.

An international phenomenon, The Tattooist of Auschwitz has sold over five million copies. Cilka's Journey has sold over a million copies worldwide.

In this episode of Mostly Books Meets, Sarah chats to author and screen writer, Gideon Defoe.

After graduating from what he refers to as a slightly pointless degree in Archaeology and Anthropology, Gideon worked in bars and at a range of temp jobs whilst he worked out what he wanted to do with his career.

His first book, ‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists’ was written to impress a girl and I hope that she was impressed because, not only did the book go on to be a huge success, four further books were published in the same series and his first book was made into an award winning animation film in 2012 featuring the likes of Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman and David Tennant.

Lately, Gideon has turned his attention to non-fiction with his new book ‘An Atlas of Extinct Countries’ and, having recently moved out of the big smoke to Oxfordshire, there’s a lot going on.

The Atlas of Extinct Countries was published on 3rd September and is available from Mostly Books (https://bit.ly/2DKkt9V) and all good bookshops

First Book: Doctor Who and The Brain of Morbius (https://bit.ly/3nLnkk0)

Last Book: We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson (https://bit.ly/35QwG7M)

Book that changed your life: Structural Anthropology (https://bit.ly/3il9eVc))

Book that everyone should read: An Atlas of Extinct Countries (https://bit.ly/35NVcq8)

In the first episode of 'Mostly Books Meets....', Sarah chats to children's author and poet, AF Harrold.

Childhood Book: Gentleman Jim by Raymond Briggs (https://bit.ly/3sAaSaa)

Most Recently Read: Goblins by Philip Reeve (https://bit.ly/3sFAu5V), The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf (https://bit.ly/2N7jJQt) & a selection of Russell Hoban Novels.

Book that Changed His Life: Why I Am Not A Christian by Bertrand Russell (https://bit.ly/3oUaXTU)

Book That Everyone Should Read: The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice by A.F. Harrold (https://bit.ly/3bKYlLl)

We’re booksellers, talking to people who love books about books. In this weekly podcast, we speak to authors, journalists, poets and a whole bunch of people from the world of publishing all about books. Books they’ve written, books they’ve read and books they think everyone should read. Throw in some chat about reading, writing and life in general and you’ve got the gist of Mostly Books Meets.

Mostly Books Meets is a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
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