Last night I visited Riverbend Books at Bulimba to attend a Book Chat with owner Suzy Wilson.
It was wonderful! A good book chatter can get you excited about books you would never choose yourself, simply by their contagious passion and Suzy is an excellent book chatter. She discussed a range of fiction, non-fiction, junior and YA books. Her passion for the book business really shone through, as did her wide knowledge of literature and attention to what people were drawn to when entering Riverbend.
Being a librarian, with an insiders view so to speak, most of her recommendations were not surprising - they really are the guaranteed good reads of the season. Some which I've read that are worth mentioning are: The Comfort of Figs by Simon Cleary, Addition by Toni Jordan, Swallow the Air by Tara June Winch, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schafer. Others included: American Wife by Curtis Siddenfeld, Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill, Wanting by Richard Flanagan, The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper, The Private Patient by PD James, The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, The Other Hand by Chris Cleave and Goldengrove by Francine Prose.
If you get the chance, I would highly recommend attending one of these sessions, held periodically at Riverbend. According to the Riverbend website, bookchats are held in winter and summer, or you can get a group of 6 people together for a tailored, private bookchat - what a great idea for a special bookclub meeting!
For those who enjoy reading and don't work with books, attending a bookchat is a terrific way of choosing your reading selections for the next little while. I'm certainly planning on reading quite a few of the books Suzy talked about, so I will post reviews as I read them.
I have so many favourite independent bookstores in Brisbane that I won't list them all here, but I will say that you can certainly see why Riverbend consistently wins so many awards - it really is just a pleasure to visit. And when you go, don't forget to ask the staff to recommend a book, you won't be disappointed!
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