I DON’T HAVE an ideal memory to be a bookseller. Point out a volume on my bookcases at home and invariably what comes first to my mind won’t be the plot and it certainly won’t be the names of the characters, but a feeling — often quite a strong one — I associate with it.
“Oh, that’s a great book!” I’ll exclaim. Or, equally often, “oh no, I wouldn’t if I were you…”
But, beyond the bare outline of where the action takes place and very roughly what sort of things happen in its pages, I might struggle to remember exactly why it made such a mark, or failed to.
Keen readers will likely finish a couple of thousand books in their lifetimes, equivalent to ploughing through every single book on the shelves of Backstory. Even those who struggle to find the time, or the concentration, outside of holidays might slowly work their way through a hundred or so.
Very few are likely to make a genuinely lasting impact. For the next issue of our Backstory magazine, I’m interested in the exceptions to this rule.
What is the book that changed your life? For some people, the answer might be obvious: a novel set in an intriguing foreign destination might have prompted a move abroad; a religious text a life of hitherto unplanned devotion.
For others, the change may seem less profound, but nonetheless, on reflection, that lasting hobby, that new friend, that decision to change careers… the seeds were sown by a book.
So please hit reply to this email and let me know about the book that changed your life. Tell me the title and then all about the impact it’s had on you.
We’ll print a selection of responses in the next issue, using only your first name if you like. The best three will win a year’s subscription to our magazine to give to a friend.
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Event announcement
Wendy Joseph KC at Backstory — Wednesday 9 October, 7.30pm
Join us as we welcome Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC, with many years’ experience as a murder judge, to talk about whether our justice system works. Have we got any better at delivering what is right and fair to both the perpetrators and the victims of society’s most heinous crimes?
Upcoming events
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18 September, 7.30pm David Hepworth, Hope I Get Old Before I Die: Why Rock Stars Never Retire The music journalist charts the remarkable staying power of icons like Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. Why are they still playing to vast crowds, and what keeps them going?
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25 September, 7.30pm Gabriel Gatehouse, The Coming Storm: A Journey Into the Heart of the Conspiracy Machine — With the US election on a knife-edge, the BBC foreign correspondent will guide us through what is at stake based on his deep reporting of the conspiracy theories tearing America apart
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2nd October, 7:30pm Freya Bromley, The Tidal Year — A story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it's also a tale of female rage, sisterhood and falling in love after loss.
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11 October, 6.30pm Poetry open mic night Free. No need to book a ticket, just turn up, whether you want to read or just hear some new poetry.
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6 November, 7.30pm Andrew O’Hagan, Caledonian Road SOLD OUT
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28 November, 7.30pm Tim Shipman, Out SOLD OUT
The Backstory chart
Hardback
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Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna I devoured this book, set over the course of one sweltering weekend in London, as the deeds and desires of several interconnected characters collide.
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Want, collected by Gillian Anderson The actress collects and introduces the anonymous fantasies of women from around the world.
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The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer Bob’s back! This is the follow-up to his love-it-or-hate-it caper, The Satsuma Complex
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Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd A travel writer falls under the spell of an MI6 handler in 1960s London.
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We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida. It’s Japanese and it’s got cats on the cover. What more need I say?
Paperback
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Butter by Asako Yuzuki Still going strong!
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Orbital by Samantha Harvey A luminous novel about six astronauts orbiting the Earth and observing its beauty and fragility.
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Murder on Lake Garda by Tom Hindle You only need travel to Balham High Road for this tale of “a wedding party to die for”.
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Kala by Colin Walsh One of my favourite books of last year. A dark, twisty tale of friendship and suspicion set on the Irish coast.
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Moscow X by David McCloskey I can’t wait to read this second thriller by the author of Damascus Station.
Join our club
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Subscribe to our gorgeous and irreverent magazine all about books and bookshops. From as little as £9 a year.
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Join our fiction or non-fiction book clubs, which meet every month on Zoom with each book’s author. We’ve heard from winners of the Pulitzer, Nobel and Women’s prizes, and big names like Patrick Radden Keefe, Caleb Azumah Nelson and Christina Lamb. Join for £15 a month or come to a one-off session for £16.
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Take out a Backstory book subscription, tailored to each individual recipient. These start from £60 for three months (or £45 for kids) and make brilliant presents.
Happy reading!
Tom