Where Is Your Bookmark? (A Bookstore Vacation / Spelling the Month in Books / BBHOP)

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

Advertisement: A Novel Holiday Idea

Borrow-A-Bookshop invites you to live out your dreams of running your very own bookshop in a historic Deveonshire harbour village . . . for a fortnight. [opening of prologue in The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday]

 and

'Gran needs me, sorry,' I say, not making eye contact because I know I've said this a thousand times before and it wears a bit thin with people. [first line of first chapter in The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday]

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

'I want to know everything about you,' I say, and it's true. I really do.

Elliot's eyes leave mine for a moment and it feels like winter coming, I'd been so warm under his gaze. He gets up, reaches for his phone on the counter and skips a few songs.

'Or we could stop talking?' he says.

I draw my neck back, trying to work out what he means.

'We could . . . dance?' [excerpt from 56% of The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday]

After finishing The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton, I was in the mood for something lighter and recently began reading Kiley Dunbar's The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday. I am not too far in yet. The novel opens with the advertisement listing an unusual type of holiday which immediately drew me in. The first line of the first chapter is not particularly revealing, although it is clear our protagonist often uses that excuse to get out of something, whether true or not. 

I have not yet made it to excerpt 56% which is shared above but two thoughts came to mind instantly about this scene--a romantic moment, perhaps? And why doesn't Elliot want to talk about himself? 

The Borrow-a-Bookshop Bookshop Café invites literature lovers to run their very own bookshop … for a fortnight.

Spend your days talking books with customers in your own charming bookshop and serving up delicious cream teas in the cosy café.

Bookworms, what are you waiting for? Your holiday is going to be LIT(erary).

Apply to: The Borrow-a-Bookshop Bookshop Café, Down-a-long, Clove Lore, Devon.

Jude Crawley should be on top of the world. She’s just graduated as a mature student, so can finally go public about her relationship with Philosophy professor, Mack.

Until she sees Mack kissing another girl, and her dreams crumble. And worse, their dream holiday – running a tiny bookshop in the harbour village of Clove Lore for two weeks – is non-refundable.

Throwing caution to the winds, Jude heads down to Devon, eager to immerse herself in literature and heal her broken heart.

But there’s one problem – six foot tall, brooding (but gorgeous) Elliot, who’s also reserved the bookshop holiday for two weeks…

As Jude and Elliot put their differences aside to run the bookshop, it seems that Jude might be falling in love with more than just words. Until she discovers what Elliot is running from – and why he’s hiding out in Clove Lore.

Can Jude find her own happy ending in a tiny, tumbledown bookshop? Or is she about to find out that her bookish holiday might have an unexpected twist in the tale…

The perfect cosy, romantic read for any bookworm! Fans of Jenny Colgan, Cressida McLaughlin and Philippa Ashley will love this feelgood romcom. [Goodreads Summary]

Does this sound like something you would like to read? What are you reading at the moment? 

Originally a feature called Last Year I Was Reading created by Maria from ReadingMaria. 

I liked it enough to continue on my own, but have tweaked it

 to feature Five Years Ago I Was Reading. 

(I would have gone back ten, but I read so little in 2011)

Five years ago, I was reading The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys, a quiet novel about a woman who longs for love, who has never really experienced love, and when she does . . . Well, it is beautiful and sad all rolled into one. The novel is set during World War II and is about a group of women who volunteered for the Women's Land Army in an effort to help the war effort--and whatever other more personal reasons they have for needing a change. On a nearby estate are a group of Canadian soldiers waiting for their orders. The Lost Garden came to my attention because of Catherine, Book Club Librarian, her contribution to that year's postal bookclub, and while I wasn't sure about it at first, I ended up really enjoying it. It is a different kind of love story from the one I am reading at the moment. 

Have you read The Lost Garden? If so, what did you think? What were you reading five years ago? 

Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers 

share a list of five books, read or unread, or bookish things,

 that share a common theme. 

Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.

This week I am combining my Connect Five Friday with Jana's (Reviews from the Stacks) "Spell the Month in Books" feature. Since there are five letters in the word April, it seemed a good fit. Thanks to Carla of Carla Loves to Read for pointing me in this direction! I decided to go with books on my TBR shelf whose titles begin with the first letter spelling out the month's name. (Covers are linked to Goodreads.)

A - Akata Witch (Akata Witch #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

P - Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors (The Rajes #1) by Sonali Dev

R - Red At the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

I - Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan

L -  Little Gods by Meng Jin

Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? 

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Does the cover of a book affect whether you are more willing to read it? (submitted by Julie @  JadeSky)

Yes and no. An attractive cover is likely to get me to pick up a book and take a closer look to see if it is something I would want to read, but no amount of an appealing cover is going to convince me on its own to read a book that does not interest me subject/author/genre wise. 

On the other side of it, a not-so-attractive cover is not the death knell for a book. If the blurb entices me, the cover does not matter. Add in recommendations from friends or trusted book bloggers, even better. 

What about you?

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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