Goldsboro Books Limited: This week at Goldsboro...

Hello All!

With the weekend just around the corner I thought I'd give you all a little update on how the week has panned out for us all here at Goldsboro Books.

On Tuesday Dave and I went to sell books at Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's launch party in Asprey's for her debut novel Inheritance. Having arrived at the venue far too early without anything to do (as the incredibly helpful Asprey's staff set everything up for us), we began the evening by...wait for it...trying to solve a crossword; that's right, living the high life baby! Nevertheless, having been able to contribute more than my customary single answer to the page, I felt the evening got off to a good start, and it got even better when people started trickling in. We made our way downstairs and hovered for a bit as a few of Tara's family arrived, along with the publishers Pan Macmillan, but it was when the telltale flash of bulbs started outside we knew the evening had really begun. I was collared to sell a book within the first fifteen minutes as people got straight down to business and spent the rest of the night behind the desk doing much the same really; along with literally running out of the way of photo's when people wanted pictures of the books that is. For those of you that want the lowdown on the celebrity guests I have to admit to being slighty obtuse with recognising famous people so the only person I really spotted was Rupert Everett, one thing I will say though was everyone was very kind and very patient, especially when the credit card machine broke and I had to keep a whole queue of people waiting for some time, oh dear.

Besides that the evening went smoothly, Tara gave a lovely speech in a stunning floor-length metallic silver dress, preceeded by her editor Jeremy Trevathan and then went on to sign copies of her book for her guests. She also had several photograph's with the novel, which I unfortunately got in the back of some of as I tried to retreat hastily, only to find I had moved straight into the line of some of the many photographer's clamouring for a shot.

With David having given me a free copy of the book I thought I'd stir myself from my usual prejudices regarding chick-lit and give reading it a go, and I was quite pleasantly surprised. Whilst it's not the best novel I have ever read there are several things that make it quite endearing. The first is that it maintains a persistently self-deprecating tone that is funny and light-hearted, the fact that the book doesn't take itself too seriously is definitey a bonus and it seems like she had good fun writing it, which in turn makes it more fun to read. Along with this there is some great characterisation; I particularly enjoyed the mean-spirited Uncle Quentin, who was such a vividly despicable character that I couldn't help but wonder if he was based on anyone. The plot is a good one, it makes the book chick-lit with a twist, as it contains elements of (entirely preditable but quite fun) mystery. Also, whilst openly admitting that I will never understand the world of the super-rich, Inheritance still provides some access to it and I liked those unbelievable 'would that really happen?' moments, but as Tara herself said at the party, it is a book of things you would never normally do, most of which she has done. I find that an utterly fantastic, unashamed attitude to have and it is something which probably helps to make the book. So, whilst I do admit to having to fight my way past the first few chapters, having to deal with the fact that I will never be able to empathise with the characters, and getting past the constant repetiton of the phrase 'thick, honey-coloured hair' I nevertheless found the book really quite enjoyable. Reccommended for those that fancy a light-hearted read and for chick-lit lovers everywhere.

We also had a launch last night for Death on the Marais, the second launch this month for Adrian Magson. I haven't read Death on the Marais yet but I am part-way through Red Station and I can safely say if it is half as good as that it will be an awesome read, I'm looking forward to it! It was also the 11th birthday party of Goldsboro Books last night so we had a few extra people added into the mix and I had a great time meeting some lovely new people and catching up with old ones. Extra special thanks to Hazel, Gemima and Jess though, you were a massive, massive help and guaranteed that I didn't have to do much washing up, I will be eternally grateful for that.

Also yesterday we had copies of Harbour by bestselling author John Ajvide Lindqvist signed, for those of you that don't know he also wrote Let The Right One In. Harbour is therefore now available from the website, signed and numbered! And just to add to the very busy day we had yesterday Andrea Levy came in and signed copies of the beautifully produced and booker short-listed Long Song, which are also available to buy on the website.