The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Left-Handed Booksellers of London, #1) in EPBOT Readers

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The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Left-Handed Booksellers of London, #1)

Garth Nix

Start date: May 4, 2023

Finish date: June 30, 2023

Discussion: FoE Book Club

Why we're reading this: Winner of April 2023 Poll
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What Members Thought

Nov 29, 2020 Shilo Quetchenbach rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks, favorites, best-books-read-in-2020

This was delightful and zipped along at a breakneck pace from beginning to end, which is how I ended up listening to an audiobook in just 3 days.

From the first, I adored everything about this novel. The entire concept of the Left-Handed Booksellers, both selling books and keeping the Old World and its entities (benign and malevolent) in check. Merlin, in particular, a charming gender-fluid Left-Handed Bookseller and rogue who gives off definite Doctor Who vibes. The Tenth Doctor, maybe, or Capta This was delightful and zipped along at a breakneck pace from beginning to end, which is how I ended up listening to an audiobook in just 3 days.

From the first, I adored everything about this novel. The entire concept of the Left-Handed Booksellers, both selling books and keeping the Old World and its entities (benign and malevolent) in check. Merlin, in particular, a charming gender-fluid Left-Handed Bookseller and rogue who gives off definite Doctor Who vibes. The Tenth Doctor, maybe, or Captain Jack. Or perhaps Howl vibes (from Howl's moving castle). His and Susan's mutual simmering attraction gets hints and nods and stolen moments here and there - my absolute favorite sort of love story.

I hated to stop listening. I'm so glad I decided to stick with the audiobook, even though I wasn't keen on the narrator at first. She grew on me. This is one I'll definitely be listening to again, and perhaps I'll even go back and finish/reread the Sabriel books.

---edit 2023---

This was so interesting to read after going back and reading all the Old Kingdom novels! I loved it just as much the second time around. The breakneck pace never lets up (especially in audio) and you just get swept along for the ride.

I will say that Garth Nix has improved a LOT in his writing of romance since the earlier Old Kingdom books. This one was much more to my taste and I found it more organic and believable.

I love Merlin. All the characters are excellent, and I love Susan's cheerful practicality, but Merlin really shines and has a ton of personality. That's a change, too, from the often rather bland romantic interests in the Old Kingdom books. I also love that Merlin seems to be gender fluid. Sometimes he dresses as a man, sometimes she dresses as a woman, and the pronouns he/she are used pretty consistently throughout the book. Vivienne calls Merlin her brother consistently, no matter whether he's presenting as a man or she's presenting as a woman, which I found to be an interesting choice.

I love how Garth Nix still keeps the dark and creepy creatures; even though here they're mythical creatures and not zombies, they still have the same vibe. It was very interesting seeing Old Kingdom style and sensibilities play out in 1980s London.

I reread this in preparation for the next book releasing and I can't wait to dive into it! ...more

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Mar 08, 2021 travelgirlut rated it liked it

A fun book full of magic and mayhem. I wish there had been more use of the 1980s setting since the only thing that really made it feel like it was from back then was the lack of cell phones. I also would have loved a lot more of the bookstores and book-related things. It was surprisingly lacking from a book with "Booksellers" in the title. But like I said, it was a fun romp, and I wouldn't mind seeing more from the booksellers in future books! ...more

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