Dear Sir or Madam Will You Read My Book...

Last month, I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday in Nashville, TN, a city that is one of my many homes. To celebrate, I allowed myself to wander through Nashville’s newest bookstore in the lovely neighborhood of Green Hills.

Parnassus Books is an independent bookstore that opened last fall. Parnassus was more than welcomed by the community, since Green Hills had to say goodbye to its beloved bookstore, Davis-Kidd, a few years ago.

I decided that I’d buy myself a book for my birthday and, naturally, wandered through the children’s and YA section for quite a while. I finally decided on The Apothecary by Maile Meloy. I picked this title for a few reasons:

A. It has a cool cover. Yes, I judge books by the cover. Listen folks. In today’s society, when people pay lots of money to go to arts and design schools and get paid money to create attractive book covers, its okay to judge them every now and then. Now, I’m not saying that the judgment passed will actually be an accurate assessment of the book, but whatever. The Apothecary has a great cover. And you know why? Because it has the Tower Bridge on it. Which leads me to…

B. Its based in London! That was the kicker. I actually didn’t realize it was Tower Bridge until I saw the poster in the bathroom. I’d already noted the book on the shelves because…

C. It’s an autographed copy. But it was seeing the book poster that convinced me that The Apothecary would be my birthday book.

I actually didn’t start reading The Apothecary till a few weeks later, but once I started I couldn’t stop. It was one of those.

The story takes place in 1952. It’s the story of 14 year old Janie, who’s parents suddenly decide to move the family from their home in sunny California to dreary London. Janie is less that excited, to say the least. That is, until a defiant classmate, Benjamin, befriends her. Benjamin is the son of the local apothecary. His intense desire to become a spy suddenly throws Janie and himself into a mystery that is beyond belief. Their adventure takes them all over the streets of London, searching for Benjamin’s father, trying to keep safe the ancient Pharmacopoeia, and racing Russian spies to an atomic bomb.

The adventure is action packed, but Meloy has not forgotten her characters in the midst of the action. The characters are well developed, quirky, likable and believable.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can’t wait for the next. (Maile Meloy is currently working on a sequel.)

The Apothecary was a great book to get me (even more) excited about my upcoming trip to the United Kingdom. But it was certainly not the first one I’d read. Last summer I became slightly obsessed with reading British books… which may or may not have partially led to my decision to study in London this summer. I reread all the Harry Potters and a few classics, including Peter Pan and The Wind in the Willows. And on top of that, I audiobooked some of those. Honestly, what is better than a British man reading you to sleep?

Naturally, I have lots of recommendations for great British reads, but I’ve tried to narrow it down a little and just give a few of my favorite titles. So here goes…

The Harry Potters- Oh come on, you knew I’d throw these out there. I’m not going to sum up the story here because if anyone out there doesn’t know the story yet, then that person is probably not reading this blog. Moving on…

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I first read this book in college. Actually, it was on my first trip to England. It follows Christopher, who’s autistic and finds his neighbors dog murdered in the front yard and is determined to solve the mystery. Christopher's perspective is fascinating and I couldn't recommend this book enough. Although Christopher is a teenager, this book is classified as an adult book. But its a great read for teens and up. 

Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet. I read this novel for my YA class last semester. It’s a mixed up tale of a family’s drama and struggle through World War II and the later discovery of secrets that had been kept for several generations. This is one of those fantastic novels that, although it is classified as Young Adult, should definitely not be limited to young adults.

I could keep going, but I won’t. Don’t fret. I’m sure I’ll write more about my favorites when I’m visiting places like the Eagle & Child pub where Lewis and Tolkien hung out or Primrose Hill where Mary Poppins and the Banks children flew kites. 


Have I mentioned that I am so excited? I leave in 5 days!!!