Book Meme Chapter Seven - Most Underrated Book

The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric

I have taken my review of this book from my Goodreads account. You may find the original here.

Please keep reading to see why I chose this book for this chapter.

When I first saw a book of human skin I trembled with glee.

The librarian had fetched the book and held it in delicate wrappings in front of me. ‘What is this book made of?’ she asked, a smile and a glint in her eye.

I couldn’t guess.

‘It is made of human skin.’

I don’t think she gleaned from me the desired effect. Instead of acting repulsed, shying away from the thing, I shared her smile and peered closer, reaching out a hand.

‘Please don’t touch.’ She said, pulling the book away into its embrace of wrappings.

So now it may be obvious to you why the title shone out among others at the Oxfam Bookshop that day: I had seen a book of human skin and was morbidly fascinated by the whole thing.

The Book of Human Skin didn’t fail to disappoint me.

Two of the characters were so dripping of evil that they made me shudder more than the notion of a book bound in human skin does. I didn’t think I could hate anyone as much as I hated the stepmother from Of Bees and Mist but I hated the male antagonist, Minguillo, with a passion as well as the deranged Sor Loretta who seemed to represent to me every that was wrong with religion.

Saying that, Minguillo was my favourite of the five narrators. It was just the way he saw things, the way he spoke to the reader:

Did I not take you, as promised, on a long walk in the dark, and did you not choose me as your guide, by reading on? Is not the act of reading a congress as intimate as any carried on between lovers: with only those two parties, the Reader and the Writer, behind the closed doors of the binding, alone and raptly conjoined? You must own how deeply I burrowed my way into your affections with my picturesque atrocities, because you were first entertained by them, and then embraced them. p. 466

Yes, Minguillo’s narration was indeed the most captivating, reminding me of old books that would have been around the time that this novel is set.

Not that the other narrator’s were bad at all. Marcella, the poor sister, of course is a little tragic at some points, and the doctor, her lover, is beautifully knowledgeable about skin, his obsession. Sor Loretta is delightfully grotesque. The author had developed a different speech for the nearly illiterate Gianni. It works tremendously, really making obvious the social standing of the characters.

Lovric has done an immense amount of research for this novel and it is intertwined with the plot naturally, and does not seemed forced: it gives quite a brilliant and genuine reading experience.

I can imagine people not liking this book for its content, but the writing style is not to be criticised at all, really.

Maybe I’m strange, but I find anthropordermic bibliopegy fascinating. So much so that when at university, my class was shown a delectable volume of the craft, I knew exactly what it was going to be. I grinned with satisfaction at the disgust on their faces.

*

This was definitely a hard book to think about. It’s difficult to define what an ‘underrated’ book is, especially as that opinion would vary from person to person. I regularly see The Book of Human Skin in charity shops, as if people are donating it because they didn’t like it.

I loved The Book of Human Skin. Several things attracted me to it: I like paperbacks that are designed to look like old, crumbling books – see also The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, another sadly underrated book – but also the title and the very idea of the book thrilled me. Ever since my encounter with a book of human skin at Bath Central Library I have been enthralled by anthropordermic bibliopegy.

The Book of Human Skin, Michelle Lovric, Bloomsbury, London 2011

Jack Teagle is Cool

I could wax lyrical about the city I lived in during university. I’ve yet to visit a city which I love as much as Bath. I love Bath for many reasons, and one of them is it’s shops. A lovely paper and gift shop called Maythers not only sells Paperblanks, my favourite brand of writing journals, but interesting and beautiful wrapping papers, too, as well as quirky gifts and books.

My paper hoarding from Maythers has been quite excellent in the past. I made these two books from paper I bought there.

 

So when I saw a colourful paper with head shots of characters I knew very well, I had to buy it.

This, my friends, is the masterpiece of Jack Teagle, illustrator. The wrapping paper includes some of the best heroes and villains around: a mish-mash of genres and sources: from Darth Vader to Spiderman. I knew as soon as I saw the paper I wanted to make something from it.

I left Bath and thought about making the book. I could have sworn I bought myself a couple of sheets, but alas, I couldn’t find it anyway. I had to wait until December until I actually obtained two beautiful and fresh sheets.

Along with some lovely purple book cloth from Shepherds, I knew pretty much what design I wanted to do.

Using book cloth on the corners and the spine is called ‘half-cloth binding’ and I think it all works very well.

Apologies for the terrible quality, it was late at night!

I made myself an exercise book and I covered the floral diary I had got from school.

Thanks to this fantastic wrapping paper, I introduced a youngster to the forgotten trade of bookbinding and nabbed myself a incredibly geeky notebook and diary to geek out in.

Jack Teagle is quite a brilliant artist. Thank you, sir.

Now go and check him out!

You should be expecting a postcard from Camp NaNoWriMo some time soon.

Mayther:

3 Milsom St,

 City Centre,

Bath

BA1 1DA

A Little Update

Hello. My name is Lucy. And I am a shame-faced book blogger.

As you can see, my last post was in February, and that is rather poor. It’s not even like I have had anything really interesting going on.

Well, that’s a bit of a lie, I suppose.

I have probably made about three books this year which is a bit of a poor show, considering that one of my resolutions was to do one book-binding project per week. But I have been busy! I promise. And it’s been doing book-related things, as well. Win, win. 

The Story of the Assistant Librarian

Last November I had my first proper job interview ever, for a job that I really, really wanted. I dressed up all nice, brogues and all, and had an interview at one of the Isle of Wight’s Secondary Schools. I had applied to be a Reprographics and Library Assistant.

    

Alas, even with my shiny, shiny brogues I didn’t get the job. But I persevered, applying for an assistant role in the art department at the same school in the New Year.

My interest did me a lot of good as one of the other Library Assistants moved to Art and suddenly the position was free! At the end of February I started my first ever full time job as a Reprographics and Library Assistant. That’s my official job title. It’s on my ID badge.

I love being a librarian. I especially love preparing new books for the shelves and talking to the kid about YA books I shamelessly enjoy. A lot of my time is spent comforting the hard-worked photocopier and printer after stressed and unorganised teachers abuse it, so unfortunately I'm not in the library as often as I would like. But when I am in there, I love it, even the noisy and busy break times, where I haven’t quite found my librarian’s voice yet to tell all the kids to shut up.

So that’s nice: nice as well, because although we don’t get many new books in I still get a sense of what it popular at the moment among an age range I wouldn't mind writing for. A little bit of research, if you will.

 This links nicely onto my next bit of news. I was given a very floral diary for the job and I covered it with the coolest wrapping paper ever. A kid saw it and loved it, asking where I got it. When I told him I made it I think he was quite impressed. He asked me to make him one but I said instead that I would help him to make one.

So one lunchtime he came in. I kept reasonable control of the library by only allowing five people- to sit at each table. It is a library, not a common room, after all! They are obsessed with chess. Anyway, I claimed a table for myself, laying out all the materials. My little bookbinder came in and we covered a couple of exercise books. It was really great to introduce this concept of bookbinding to somebody so young.

So what did we cover these books with, I hear you cry?

I’ll tell you that story tomorrow. 

 And Finally...

In the mean time, here is a book I made to keep all my book – related ramblings in. I love using exercise books, and for university it was especially useful having different notebooks for different classes. It felt like being back at school again!

I have been participating in this year’s April Camp NaNoWriMo. But that’s a story for another time!

 You can find me here.

What book related frenzies have you been up to?

The Bookshops of Bath - A Dedication Part Three

Topping & Company Booksellers

The Paragon, Bath

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Topping & Company Booksellers are probably best known for their fantastic author events: the majority of this Dedication will turn into an excuse to write up my experiences from two of these events.

Here is a shiny shop. It smells great, too. Books from floor to ceiling, books smothering every surface. Here is a bookshop that transports customers to another realm entirely. Here is a bookshop where every book is different from the one next to it. Topping & Company Booksellers feels like Mr B’s younger and cooler cousin.

 

When you first walk in you are asked if would like refreshment. The staff will serve you tea and coffee as you browse, with a side helping of great book advice. The shop is friendly and fresh, providing a fantastic service for any book lover. It’s a shop that makes you feel very intelligent, and harks back to the good old traditional days of bookselling.

But perhaps the most impressive asset of Topping & Co is their friends and acquaintances. Stephan Fry, Richard Dawkin and countless other authors have graced their doors, people who write to appeal to a wide audience. I have been to two author events hosted by Topping & Co. They are proper literary affairs, serving wine in a good sized and often historical venue around Bath, offering like-minded conversation and fantastic question and answer sessions.

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My first ‘Toppings’ author event was held in St Swithin’s Church, where abolitionist William Wilberforce got married in 1797. I was on my own and was enjoying a glass of non-alcoholic elderflower cordial. I’d nabbed a seat in the front row and noted the demographics of the gathering audience: there were children, lots of children, gathered across the aisle at the front with their parents, and toward the back Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts gathered with the kind of people who go to every single literary event they can in the city. The book: The House of Silk. The author: Anthony Horowitz.

So this explains the contingent of children gathered excitedly, also partaking in non-alcoholic beverages. Is explains my presence here, as well: Anthony Horowitz is the author of the fantastic Alex Rider series. I’ve read these books since they came out and was entranced by their on-the-edge-of-your-seat action. They take me immediately into a brilliant world and when I read them I get a distinct I’m-reading-Alex-Rider feeling. I have recently delved into the fantastic world of Fleming and I owe my love for Bond starting from teenage secret agent, Alex Rider.

It’s always exciting to see favourite childhood authors and Anthony Horowitz had earned more respect from me: he was working with Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg to write the next TinTin script. Not to mention he wrote various episodes of Foyles War and Midsummer Murders.

The fact that Anthony Horowitz is able to sell in different genres – that he is so successful – made seeing him all the more special. It seemed that everybody there knew about Sherlock Holmes. The closest I’d got was through the fantastic BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch (which has a Horowitz seal of approval) and the Hollywood blockbuster. Horowitz quite rightly condemns the films as ‘Indiana Holmes – entertaining in their own way but nothing to do with Doyle’s Holmes.’

I gathered that The House of Silk was methodically researched and that Horowitz really had a strong idea of the feel of this Doyle-estate officially commissioned novel. He told us that he had tried to emulate Doyle’s style by writing with a 19^th century tone whilst engaging a 21^st century audience. He says he has retained humour and was determined not to go the way of Sebastian Faulks whose officially-commissioned Bond novel apparently doesn’t feel like Bond - they do not emulate Fleming.

Horowitz admitted that he won’t write another Holmes because he felt he couldn’t do it better.

It was a brilliant evening, hosted superbly by Toppings. Horowitz was inspiring and interesting, and the bookshop allowed for this.

In the audience Q & A session, I asked him what it was like working with Peter Jackson and Steven Spielburg, who are, in my opinion two of the greatest film makers.

‘Well, I haven’t been fired yet.’

It is praise indeed to Topping & Co for filling out such a venue – every seat was taken, and demographics covered a whole spectrum of human beings. A really fantastic evening – I cunningly avoided the rush of the queue to sign books by buying The House of Silk pre-signed from Topping & Co. (Fun fact, most days it opens until 8pm. This also makes it great.) 

Okay, I’ve yet to read the book, but when I do I think I’ll be thrilled.

‘I love the scratching of the nib, I love the splattering of blue ink...We are all connected by ink...it’s the blood that links us altogether.’

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I attended my second Topping & Co author event, this time at the larger St Michael’s Church. Of course it was going to be popular, and the boyfriend and I were shoved with our non-alcoholic beverages somewhere near the back behind a pillar. At least we had managed to get seats.

We saw the illustrious figure of George R R Martin – who was supporting and Tolkien-esque Dwarvish beard – compressed under a captain’s cap. He wore braces – or, suspenders – and that itself earned a thumbs up from me. I couldn’t help but think he looked like a garden Gnome.

The entire audience was in awe of this great man who had spawned what is arguably the best television series ever.

It was entirely strange to hear him speak with a gravely, deep and very American accent. Especially strange when he read a relatively spoiler-free passage from one of his books.

He inevitably talked of Tolkien and the television series – which he proclaimed as a ‘faithful adaption’ but rather humorously thought he fans were a little strange, mocking, ‘Sirio has hair?! How dare you!’.

Every single chair was occupied and there wasn’t enough room for everybody. This time I gathered my wits to get my book signed. I was determined not to become a mess of a fan girl, as what happened when I approached Garth Nix at a Waterstones event. I needn’t have worried. Martin was talking to somebody – from Topping & Co? - and barely offered me a glance when he scribbled in my book. I shouted over my shoulder, ‘Nice braces!’ as I walked away.

Perhaps the Martin event was much more popular but Horowitz more interesting: I took six and a half pages of notes for Horowitz compared to a dismal two for Martin, the majority of which is taken up by a pants drawing of a wyvern.

The very fact that Topping & Co got such a popular author is tantamount to their own popularity and professionalism. At both events the venues were packed out, the interviewers efficient and interesting, and the merchandise stall at the back basically empty of books by the end. I really so miss Topping & Co and their delicious recipes for intense author-filled delights, as well as generous helpings of passion and drive.