Welcome to Bookstoker!
We’re here to help you find that book that you can’t put down, the book you’ll push on all your friends, the book that’ll change your life.
We read literary fiction, non-fiction, classics and children’s books, all genres and styles embraced in our aim to share the love. You’ll also find fabulous Bookstagrams and literary news.
A world of bookish delights!
Kirstin and Julie
Novels don’t come more English than this: boys at boarding school, stately homes, social class, unspoken rules. Leo Colston, our narrator, looks back at his 12-year-old self during the summer of 1900, a summer that would shatter his naivety and change his life. A great English classic and an ominous, intense, coming-of-age novel. Highly recommended!
A fascinating, partly true, tale of the tenuous relationship between a whaling community and the killer whales that help them catch their prey, set within hardships of a sparse whaling season in Australia in 1908.
Combining fact with fiction, Barrett tells the tale through the naïve and earnest Mary Davidson, the eldest daughter of the Headsman, whose humorous and surprisingly self-reflective voice guides us through this unknown world as she stumbles through adolescence, crush(es), hardship and pain. There are no attempts to give ready answers to life, and even the history of some of the characters (and the future of others beyond the year of 1908) are left open, giving the the reader much to mull over.
An unusual and endearing book: simultaneously full of a quiet suffering, hopeful yearnings, and indefatigable courage.
Rush Oh! is published by Virago, 368 pages.
Tea with us became more than an idealisation of the form of drinking; it is a religion of the art of life.
This is not just a book about tea. It is an exceptional book about life, philosophy and beyond. Japanese philosopher and historian Kakuzo Okakura initially wrote the book 110 years ago, aiming to dispel the Western myths of Japanese barbarianism. He recalls the origins of tea, its philosophical ties to Zen and Taoism and the nuances of tea as an allegory for a philosophy of life. A unique book full of a wit and sagacity that makes it impossible to ignore and one of my favourite discoveries this year.
The Book of Tea is published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 54 pages.
This is a mature love story. It charts the course of the love between a couple from mixed backgrounds, from their first meeting to post-children. Where it is thin on plot, it is jam-packed with insightful nuggets and, though not yet a guide to marriage, something each married couple should read to better remember the consideration due their partner. While the narrator’s interruptions admittedly sometimes feel slightly patronising and somewhat didactical, they well suit de Botton’s style of musings and I felt they worked within the framework of this pseudo-novel.
It’s been a long time since I read Alain de Botton’s The Romantic Movement, first published in 1994, but I remember being irritated by its tone and disappointed by its attempts at philosophical conclusions. But that was almost 20 years ago and The Course of Love reflects both his personal and intellectual growth with a book that I would recommend.
The Course of Love is published by Hamish Hamilton, 240 pages.
I’m very excited to introduce Jane, our new book reviewer. Just like Meg and Michele, Jane has been handpicked for her impeccable taste in books. She also comes with a great deal of experience from the publishing industry and currently runs her own literary agency specialising in non-fiction books. Our Souls At Night is Jane’s first contribution. Welcome Jane!
Read more about Jane here.
This is the first book I have read by Kent Haruf, and it won’t be the last. It’s one of those tender, contemplative books in which nothing much happens but through which you feel your life has been immeasurably enhanced.
David Szalay was born in Canada but has been quite rightly described as a ‘very English novelist.’ In Spring, his third novel, he writes with humour and searing honesty about a relationship set in London one rainy spring. What makes this novel great is Szalay’s microscopic examination of the exquisite possibility of love versus the far more likely possibility of deep despair when this love isn’t reciprocated.
It’s almost upon us. Summer holidays and time to read. But what to choose? We have suggestions for you – from light beach reads, to epic tomes and literary classics. Take your pick and enjoy!
I’m extremely pleased to tell you that we have a new book reviewer on our team. Apart from being an ex-publisher with tons of experience from the industry and an extensive network, London based Meg is a super bright and totally delightful person. She’s been obsessed about books since childhood and within minutes of meeting we were deep into book discussions. She has quietly been writing a few reviews for us already which are listed below. You can read more about Meg in the About section. Welcome Meg!
