You need to be in a book club

Hello from Clemo,

I hope you are all recovered and back into a routine after that splendid May Half Term. We had a ball in Clemo Books and want to thank everyone who paid us a visit whilst on their holidays. One little girl walked out with her new book and said to her grown up: “that’s my favourite bookshop now!” Another customer heard her, looked at me, and we both swooned with the cuteness of it all.

On Monday we met up for our monthly book club meet up to discuss The Palm House by Gwendolyn Riley. Read on to see what we thought and find out June’s Clemo Club pick. Book clubs really are so wonderful - there were new members and long-time book worms present on Monday eve and we had a lovely time. We sat on the table which I sat on alone waiting for the first members to arrive when we started Clemo Club in January 2022 and it felt very full circle!

Also we’re celebrating Pride Month in June with a blog post from Sonny, Clemo’s Sunday/Monday bookseller. It’s a joyous read, I shed a tear, and I hope you do too. You can follow their writing over on their Substack. Follow Clemo Books on Instagram where we’re rounding up our favourite LGBTQIA+ reads.

Last up we’ve got events - Amanda James is in on Saturday 6 June, 11am for a book signing to celebrate her new book The Secret Library, more storytelling sessions in the calendar, AND there have been extra tickets added to the Robin Ince event on Thursday 25 June (we’ve moved it down the road to The Pagan Arms so more of you can come along.)

Thanks again for all of the congratulations on our Penguin Children’s Bookshop Grant win! Remember Clemo Books is open 7 days a week now and you can email hello@clemobooks.co.uk or call 01637 520906 to pre-order your next read.

Happy reading, Jaimie

The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley

Laura and Putnam have been friends for a long time. Theirs is a happy meeting of minds, with long evenings spent huddled in an ancient pub by the Thames, where they share office gossip, reflect on their teenage passions, and lament the state of the world.

Recently, though, Putnam has been harder to reach: he has lost his father, and the magazine to which he has dedicated his life has been hijacked by an insufferable new editor, Simon ‘call me Shove’ Halfpenny. Laura has her own problems: with a prickly mother and a tricky past, and in a beautiful and indifferent city, her day-to-day life is precarious. But as Putnam starts to sink into despondency, she must try to bring him back.

The book had mixed reviews from Clemo Club members - literary fiction at it’s finest the characters were front and centre with plot less important and that’s what some of us enjoy, a book that doesn’t spoon feed you, leaves you questioning and searching. Dialogue between characters was pure joy with really believable conversations, dry British humour and workplace wit.

Some members felt really sad and a bit of despair for what the protagonist Laura had to endure - an inattentive mum, a sexual assault at a young age at the hands of a celebrity predator, and not really feeling at home in one place. But she did have her friend so a small silver lining.

Some members really recommend My Phantoms, another of Riley’s books, so that’s going on our TBR. Have you read our May pick? Comment below what you thought! June’s pick is The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams, we’ve got copies in store now if you’d like to join Clemo Club or just read along.

Clemo Club

Happy Pride Month

June is Pride month here in the UK! Sonny has written a wonderful piece about what pride means in our little bookshop. Clemo Books is also in the Transparent Presence Ally Business Directory. Transparent Presence is a vital charity here in Cornwall creating a network of safe spaces for members of the trans community - if you are reading this and can donate to them or become an ally please do.

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What’s on in Clemo Books

Keep an eye on our events page as we’ve got lots happening here in the bookshop. Amanda James, Robin Ince and Paul Taylor-McCartney are all coming up soon. PLUS we have SEND friendly storytelling sessions scheduled up until September.

Get involved