5th June Newsletter
What’s On At Veranda
Welcome, welcome! Do you ever feel that you’re in a reading rut? We’ve all been there. TBR pile suddenly looks lacklustre, the old favourites seem dull. If you need a bit of inspiration, come and spend a bit of time with us. Unhurried browsing of our lovingly-curated selection, and a conversation with one of the team might just help you get your reading groove back. Go safe, go weird, go unexpected. Try a classic or a debut; short, long, non-fiction, memoir. Nothing* to lose – hope to see you soon.
PS photo credit this week to Ella Sofuoglu, perfect shot of Smerz live in Manchester
* well, very little to lose – books in the UK remain exceptional value 😁
Shop News
This week’s event
There was a distinct air of chaos on Thursday evening as we opened the doors for our much-anticipated evening with writer and translator Lauren Elkin. Tube strike, capricious weather, and a last-minute realisation that we had no beer in the fridge…it really was one of those days. But when Alice Vincent (author of last year’s phenomenal Hark) got the conversation underway, calm descended, and for the next hour, we sat spellbound as Lauren spoke about her latest book Vocal Break. An authoritative take on the female voice, this is part memoir, part feminist manifesto. It’s exuberant, beautifully written, and full of the kind of detail real music fans love to get lost in. We have a stack of signed copies at the shop, come in and take a look!
Beauty in brevity
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Killing Stella by Marlen Haushofer (tr. Shaun Whiteside) Claustrophobic domestic horror originally published in 1958
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Stone Dreams by Akram Aylisi (tr. Katherine E. Young) Set in the last years of the Soviet Union, a snapshot of ethnic tensions between Armenians and Azeris
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On Earth as it is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia (tr. Padma Viswanathan) International Booker-shortlisted, this bracing and brutal story set in a penal colony is an original and unforgettable read
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A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck Soren Johansson wakes up in Hell: a vast library he can only escape from by finding the book that contains the story of his life. Haunting and absurd
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Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami (tr. Louise Heal Kawai) Quirky, endearing tale of a teenage boy’s summertime crush on a supermarket checkout girl
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Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan (tr. Heather Lloyd) 17-year-old Cécile is seduced by the sun, sand and her first lover in this deliciously scandalous 1954 novella
Now Booking
An evening with Charlotte Edwardes
Our Recommended Reads
The Women Are Not Fine by Hope Reese
The book that’s had Emily in a tight grip this week tells the true story of a small village in Hungary becoming the epicentre of one of the deadliest series of poisonings in modern history – specifically, women poisoning their husbands. The books addresses how these women were able to commit these crimes for so long, as well as the importance of solidarity among the women of the village during a time of poverty and limited outside influences. This is a fascinating insight into the human psyche when pushed to its limits. A story of violence, desperation and survival.
You Know The Sun Bothers Me by Ryan Falzon (tr. Joe Gatt)
What we’re loving this week…
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