#death of a bookseller

[derangedrhythms]

All children were morbid, but I wore it better.

Alice Slater, from 'Death of a Bookseller'

[highsummonermercar]

Books about bookshops and booksellers 📚

[blogmollylane]

Currently reading: Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slate

[sunscreenstudies]

June Reads

Can you tell which was my favourite?

-> my bookstagram

[aliteratewolf]

Death of a Bookseller

Death of a Bookseller

Alice Slater

Rating: 4.0

Ohhh boy this one was tough. As someone who listens to her fair share of true crime podcasts, this book made me look at myself and how I engage with that kind of content, something that I think was part of the goal of this book. This dual narrator set up gives two vastly different perspectives of the true crime phenomenon that has taken over the podcast world and has an entire channel devoted to shows just about various true crime mysteries, shocking stories, and cautionary tales.

The first point of view we are introduced to is Roach. (It’s her last name) She’s spent her entire life thriving as the dark emo kid we all remember dipping our toes into being in our teen years, however she dived head first and never surfaced. She listens to true crime podcasts, calls the other fans of said show ‘normies’, watches true crime documentaries, and fantasizes about serial killers. She’s intrusive of other people’s experiences and asks questions that make others uncomfortable to watch them squirm. She doesn’t like most other people so of course, she has a job in retail customer service. Roach doesn’t seem to thrive in any of her environments but instead complains about each aspect of her life from her home life, her job and later in the book her boyfriend.

The other point of view is Laura. She is also closely tied to the true crime world but as a reluctant victim rather than a spectator, something she discusses only when she’s had enough alcohol to lower her inhibitions. And by ‘discuss’ I mean she’ll drop the bomb that her mother was killed by a serial killer, then answer no questions about it. It feels like in those drunken moments she wants to get the truth out, but is still unwilling to talk about it further. Laura hates the spectacle that has become true crime and protests by writing her own poetry that highlights the women and their mundane lives before everything changed.

Both of these things fuels Roach into thinking that she and Laura connect in their passion for True Crime, and won’t stop pursuing said ‘connection’ until Laura agrees and hangs out with her. However Roach’s approach to her love of true crime is the exact kind that Laura is against, and each time Roach tries to befriend the other woman, it just turns Laura more off. 

Laura seems to get the ‘ick’ from Roach right from the get go, and her prejudice against the other woman eventually turns Roach off, but not in a way that makes her leave things alone. Instead Roach becomes obsessed with showing Laura that they aren’t that different, and that if given the chance the two women would be friends. As the novel goes on her actions become more stalker than awkward attempts at friendship. If Laura knew half of the things Roach does, legal action would’ve been taken. As it stands Laura just thinks Roach is an annoying nuisance that she just has to avoid.

While reading this book, it made me think about what True Crime as a genre has become in the 21st century. It made me think of how some have moved on from studying serial killers to straight up idolizing them. Podcasts and vlogs have come up with cute nicknames for murderers and their actions while monetizing off of telling the victims stories, sometimes while cracking jokes in-between sentences. 

It made me wonder, ‘Is there an ethical way to consume true crime media?’ And right now my answer is, I don’t know. Humanity has always been drawn to the macabre and dark stories, true crime is not the first of this phenomenon. Though maybe it’s one we’ve started to take too lightly. Maybe it’s time to take a step back and look at how we as a culture consume this type of media. 

Alice Slater does a good job of showing off two different extreme approaches to true crime. Between Roach’s ‘gun-ho-writes-to-the-killer-fantasizes-about-crime-scenes’ approach and Laura’s ‘this-media-shouldn’t-exist-at-the-expense-of-the-victims’, can there be such a middle ground? Or are we doomed to be at crossroads the entire way?

[tinkerty-tonk-i-said]

Want to read a bitchy review of a book I mostly enjoyed reading but have huge issues with? Of course you do. Enjoy my thoughts on Death of a Bookseller...

[beckysbook5]

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater - Book Review!

Today on my blog I have a review for 'Death of a Bookseller' by Alice Slater. I buddy read this with @LiteracyBatman & we were both disappointed by the execution! #BookReview

Roach – bookseller, loner and true crime obsessive – is not interested in making friends. She has all the company she needs in her serial killer books, murder podcasts and her pet snail, Bleep. That is, until Laura joins the bookshop. Smelling of roses, with her cute literary tote bags and beautiful poetry, she’s everyone’s new favourite bookseller. But beneath the shiny veneer, Roach senses a…

[fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic]

Good Omens Fic Rec: A Little Life

When Professor of Botany Anthony Crowley met bookshop owner Ezra Fell one November afternoon both knew their lives had irrevocably changed. From that moment forward, Anthony and Ezra’s existence was intertwined. Their story was written in the moments and memories they created as they moved through life’s chapters of coming together, building a family and facing the challenges of being human. This is a story of unconditional love and the joy and humour, obstacles and grief that inevitably come with choosing the same person, day after day, over and over and over again.

Length: 71,624 words

AO3 Rating: Explicit/ Spice Level 🔥

Best for: Safe in Public, At Home, Romance, Angst

Triggers: Main Character Deaths, Memory Loss, Grief

Read it here, fic by GaiasEyes

*Minor Spoilers* There are so many fics that I have loved throughout my time in fan spaces, but there's a select few that have stayed with me for years. I expect this one to be added to that selection. I will always remember what this fic helped me process and feel about my own bottled up grief, and I will always remember how," grief is just the other side of love."

We start with Ezra and Anthony's first date, they have such a charm and charisma in this story. Their chemistry is electric, as it always is, but in a quiet real life way. We grow with them as they build their home and family together. Tracy and Anathema becoming the mother and sister they never had, and their little bundle of joy Adam. Moments and vignettes of their life rush past, slipping through our fingers, each with a longing to stay in that moment. But the clock is ticking down. We are also introduced to one of my favorite characters in this story, Evelyn. She will become Adam's wife, and she was such a beautiful and strong addition to this story. It can be tricky with OC's but consistently her interactions with Anthony and the family were my favorite moments. Then finally, we will bear witness as Anthony's memory and life start to fade. It's the unbearable inevitability of death that we march towards. I wanted to plead with the story to give them more time, it's not fair, don't you see how much they love each other and their family? But life is not fair, and we only have so much time here. It's horrible, it's beautiful.

This story won't be for everyone, please read the tags on it, this is an emotionally charged work. But the one thing I want to make absolutely clear is: this is not angst for angst sake. This is not trying to hurt you, and it's not trying to make you cry. This is above all a human story, and we will all experience grief and loss in our lives. So if you can manage it, even if it might be difficult for you, I really would love you to try this story. If you don't read because you're scared of the grief, you will miss out on the most wonderful romance! The fullest and happiest life. A story of devotion and care, how love is choosing to be there day after day, through the good and hard times. There are so many moments of joy and passion that I want to bottle up and live inside. I will never tire of their love story. While I would classify this as "safe in public" this really should be a distraction free read for you. Somewhere safe and quiet so that you can process this wonderful story.

Read it here, fic by GaiasEyes

A couple more thoughts/spoilers, and personal musings on grief below

So personal note, I was with my grandpa, my Pa, on his final day of life. This fic really healed something in me, it saw me, and knew how I felt as my Pa's breaths slowed, how he was no longer in his body. He was similar in age to Anthony. We should have had more time with him, he hadn't made it to his 70's. Grief is awful, wretched, and unbearable. But it's also love, and the memories of our loved ones don't leave us.

There's just so much I loved about this story, and I'm so grateful to have been able to experience it. I really especially have to commend it for how it shows us multiple angles and experiences of grief. How each of them handle it in their own ways. The support groups were some of the most affecting chapters for me. It was often when I would start crying. Because it was giving the characters and us the space to feel our grief and ask for help dealing with it. I didn't want to spoil in the main post, but losing Ezra as well was an absolute gut punch and I did need a second to process that one. I feel like I should have seen that coming, and part of me would have liked a version where we did get to see him heal and find new purpose in life, but he was so tired. He deserves to rest. I think it will be awhile before I can reread this story, but again, I'm so grateful for the experience.

[ultimate-anime-tournament]

Ultimate Anime Tournament: Round 2, Matchup 34

[koifishanonymous]

ok but what if after aziraphale gets to heaven, the metatron can't manage to get him to do what he wants so he literally shoves him out of heaven and aziraphale becomes temporarily Fallen and has no access to jesus to stop the 2nd coming and THAT'S what season 2 is about

[book--brackets]

Ohhh me too me too me too

I love you, op.

That being said, could you add the works below to the list, please ? :

The Supernaturalist (Eoin Colfer)

Skylark (Meagan Spooner)

The Once and Future King (T.H. White)

Once & Future (Kieron Gillen)

The Checquy Files (Daniel O'Malley)

Circe (Madeline Miller)

Monk & Robot (Becky Chambers)

Legacy of Orisha (Tomi Adeyemi)

Villains (V.E. Schwab)

Falling Kingdoms (Morgan Rhodes)

Chivalry (Neil Gaiman)

The Sleeper and the Spindle (Neil Gaiman)

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (Ram V)

The Unwritten (Mike Carey)

The Left-Handed Book Sellers of London (Garth Nyx)

Die (Kieron Gillen)

The Wicked + the Divine (Kieron Gillen)

I added most of these, but like some other Neil Gaiman titles, Chivalry and The Sleeper and the Spindle are short stories, not technically novels (even in graphic format)

[ded-and-gonne]

Courtesy Rob’s IG

[aquitainequeen]

Sent this to a friend who used to be a bookseller. She was most amused.

[est-pulcher]

Book cover design hot take(?)

I really like books that are like, hot pink or acid green

[trashland-llamas]

July Wrap Up

The Science of Fashion [2.0 stars]

Why are there qr codes in a book? Either write out the information or cut it from the book. If you need to include a website, you can just put ‘can find out more at [insert link]’ Otherwise book was fine.

Asgardians; Odin [2.25 stars] Olympians; Zeus [2.5 stars] Death Note Vol 7 [2.5 stars]

After chapter 58, I found it to be a slog. Just cause they're suddenly introducing new characters that are dubbed to be L's proteges and nothing else. Except that they're tasked with solving the Kira case as they're characters Light wouldn't have known about. Plus one of them is very much a copy and paste version of L while the other has mafia ties. I will wait till the next volume to cement this judgement as neither have had much screen time. Feel it'd be too soon.

Edit; Nvm, I saw a tiktok where someone had the same thoughts & a bunch of the folks in the comments agreed w/ the sentiment. Ik the actual ending is probably more satisfying seeing as it’s quite literally Light’s downfall. But I genuinely don’t care about who wins. It’s was more the tit for tat that L & Light had going on. Right now, it feels as if they’re about to unnecessarily drag it out. So yea, to me, the series ends w/ chpt. 58 or episode 25.

Soichi - Junji Ito [3.0 stars] Skull-faced Bookseller Honda-San Vol 4 [3.25 stars]

Author wasn’t kidding when they said this was promotional material for volume 3 + the anime. That said, was still enjoyable to read as I had extremely low expectations for this vol, having heard someone say it was akin to a fanfic. Not that fan fiction is overall bad, it’s not, but that’s not what I wanted as the end to this series.

Queen's Quality Vol 1 [3.5 stars] These Are The Words - Nikita Gill [3.75 stars]

There’s actually a structure to it which is a rarity I’ve found, at least from the poetry books I’ve read so far; its structured into 4 segments after the seasons & then each chapter is about a specific topic (womanhood, love, family)

Each section starts with a horoscope which I definitely looked forward to. Cause they make mini stories of themselves.

It uses simple language but I think it’s really impactful & makes the poems more generalizable. Which works for this collection as the goal was ‘hey, hopefully this has something you’ve been needing to hear.’

There is an overuse of nods to the moon in terms of metaphors and similes imo

Would recommend if you’re just entering adulthood or are in a transition period in life. That or if you’re wanting to read something hopeful

Demon Slayer Vol 19 [3.75 stars] Like a Butterfly Vol 2 [4.0 stars] Devil's Candy Vol 1 [4.0 stars] Demon Slayer Vol 18 [5.0 stars]

Fav moment would be Kanao stitching up Inosuke and him pinky promising not to take out the stitches himself + the anger she feels at her sisters’ deaths + Giyuu protecting Tanjiro when he faints during the fight w/ Akaza. (Keep confusing Akaza & Douma for each other, name wise. Cause they do have distinct enough looks)

That and all the backstories shown for the upper 12 are very heartfelt in that they add humanity to characters that don't really have that much screen time outside of these final fights. Like we get glimpses of them sprinkled earlier in the series. If anything, it emphasizes how Muzan prayed on all of them during an extreme low point and does make me feel sympathy for them. Which is especially poigant as the series is coming to a close. Like it makes me hate Muzan a lot more than I originally did.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich [5.0 stars]

[sadnessiscoldtea]

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater

Synopsise Roach would rather be listening to the latest episode of her favorite true crime podcast than assisting the boring and predictable customers at her local branch of the bookstore Spines, where she’s worked her entire adult life. A serious true crime junkie, Roach looks down her nose at the pumpkin-spice-latte-drinking casual fans who only became interested in the genre once it got…