Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer

The walking stick was not for walking. Clem knew that there were places in the forest where danger lurked. And where it did not lurk, danger squatted, crouched, or lounged. There was one place where danger reclined, but Clemency usually avoided it. The walking stick she carried in case of danger, in case she came upon a wolf or a troll who needed to be shown what for.

Extract from Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer, by J.T. Petty.

Lately I have taken to just reading whatever comes my way rather than searching out specific books, reason being that specific books tend to cost money, whereas "whatever comes my way" tends to be books on sale, books downloadable cheap/free off the internet, or books lent me by friends.

But when I read an extract this morning from the book "Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer" by J.T. Petty, I was so taken by the prose that I knew I had to have it - it's more entertaining than half the adult fiction I've read in the last three months. Don't you love books where the very sentence construction makes you gasp, let alone the plot?

What followed this afternoon was an all too familiar scenario - Sapienzas, small but with excellent customer service, didn't have it. Agenda, with crappy customer service and a children/teen section that isn't even alphabetised, sold me their last copy, but I had to find it myself in the jumble.

*sigh*

I love Sapienzas, I really do, they're always so helpful while they try to track down copies of whatever obscure book I've asked for. The lady who works there (one day I'll ask her what her name is) is always helpful, and even my most bizarre requests don't faze her. "Hi, I'd like a book for a friend's birthday, I want something that is funny like chick lit but suitable for a more mature woman, if you know what I mean, as in not full of sex and binge drinking, thanks," and she nods, and has a look at the shelves, and hands me half a dozen :-) But on the other hand, when I want something specific, they've rarely got it unless it's a bestseller. But on the OTHER hand, they'll happily order me anything my little book-loving heart desires *grin*

So, if you want to read this book, you could (1) ask me to lend it you, (2) order it off play.com, or (3) phone up the nice folks at Sapienzas on 21233621 and say that you'd like to order a copy.

Scuse me, off to have an early supper and see what Clem gets up to next.

Comments

[Andre]

Sapienza's are great! They're helpful, friendly and they don't mind if you take your time browsing... unlike Agenda and Mireva - who have terrible customer service (but a good selection of books nonetheless).

[Andre]

I forgot to say something about the extremely helpful lady - not only does she try her best to help you, but, she will also reccomend other book shops if Sapienzas don't have the book and if you don't know the way she will give you directions.

[nadya]

I love that lady who works at Sapienza's. You can see that she has a genuine passion for books. And here I was thinking that I was the only one who loved reading children's books. Have you tried the Lemony Snicket ones? The Series of Unfortunate Events. We can do a book swap if you like. And then I can do some more book bashing with it....:))

[MaltaGirl]

Andre, I love it when people help you like that, it's brilliant. That's why I always order through Sapienzas, I want to give them my custom because they deserve it *grin*

Nadya, I haven't read any of Lemony Snicket's because they're in hardback and relatively expensive. I loved the film "A Series of Unfortunate Events", I thought it was brilliant and I love that terribly dry sense of humour, heheh. YES I'm definitely up for book swapping but we'll have to warn Toni and Coemgen to wear protective gear beforehand...

[Tanya]

I'm buying all my books from Play these days, they're so cheap and arrive quite quickly. They also pack them seperately so our dear old Maltapost can just stick them thru my letterbox and saves me spending a day trying to get them on the phone when they drop a note in etc etc. For recommendations I find The Good Book Guide to be great; I have a subscription to the monthly mag and I also visit their website from time to time http://www.thegoodbookguide.com/gbg/default.asp
I also search the net for award nominated books/authors to get a good insight into the good contemporary stuff.
Hope this helps :-)