Mr B

Can you believe it. Mr B's is 3 years old. On 22nd June, 2006 we nervously opened our doors and waited to see if anyone came in. 9 days later we had our official launch party with the effusive and bonkers Kathy Lette kindly cutting the ribbon on the shop.

Fortunately lots of you did come in, and have carried on doing so ever since. So thank you once again for your loyal custom. We appreciate it very much, we still love selling books to you every much as bit as we did on that first day and we are still chomping at the bit with lots of new ideas to make the Mr B's experience even more enjoyable.

For now here's our birthday newsletter including such drama as our all-new Mr B's Hall of Fame,

the unveiling of our fabulous new wrapping and wax-sealing service for all those gift emergencies, an introduction to the newly arrived Baby B.

PLUS check out our next 2 superb events - inspirational life-changing French barge journeys with Damian and Siobhan Horner and readings from a brilliant new quintessentially English novel by Patrick Neate.

Read away OR just click one of the green links below, or scroll down to your section of choice.

Introducing the Mr B's Hall of Fame

We also thought we'd have some fun in honour of our birthday. Which brings us to the Mr B's Hall of Fame.

We've decide to celebrate a select group of books that:

1. we adore; and

2. we've sold in vast quantities; and

3. we believe have given lots of reading pleasure to our customers (based on consistently positive feedback).

The Academy

Those are the basic criteria but of course no-one really knows the decision-making processes of the 7 members of the Mr B's Academy who have selected the 6 inaugural inductees to the Mr B's Hall of Fame and who will induct 2 more books every year from now on.

The Golden Monkeys

Each inductee to the Mr B's Hall of Fame will receive a hand-stitched Golden Monkey reading a minute paper representation of the inducted book. We can only imagine that, with time, these will become just as sought after as "similar" gongs offered by the Nobel and Booker committees.

A Golden Monkey will be sent to the publisher of each book inducted, to be passed on to the author in question or held at the publisher's offices on the author's behalf if the author in question is deceased.

In return we're asking for a signed cover of the book to be sent to us which - if it turns up - will then be framed and arranged in the shop to give you something else random to look at whilst browsing. We'll update you all on any responses we get!

The Hall of Fame Display

Oh and you'll be able to keep track of the Hall of Fame in our permanent new Hall of Fame list amongst the other lists in our Bibliotherapy room.

So here they are: the 6 inaugural inductees!!

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

The Mr B's Review: This was chosen as our first “book of the week” because in my pre-bookselling life it was almost universally liked by everyone I recommended it to. A contemporary novel of huge scope that follows a long lifetime of diary entries of its main character, Logan Mountstuart, tracking his sometimes tragic, sometimes joyous and sometimes dramatic, sometimes mundane life. Please read it.

Upon its induction the Academy said: The Academy are proud to induct a novel that the original creators of Mr B's all rate as one of the best novels of the C21 and that generates regular effusive customer feedback.

Paperback - Penguin - £8.99. email to buy or enquire

The Lonely Hearts Club by Raul Nunez

The Mr B's Review: A fabulous short novel about a Sinatra look-a-likey working as a night porter in a hotel off Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Frankie (as he's affectionately known) decides to join a lonely hearts club and by so doing brings a fabulously eccentric, seedy and at times downright insane characters into his world. The characters are matched only by the gritty and comic portrayal of the underbelly of this catalan city. A great book to read anywhere, but, if you get the chance, a downright fantastic book to read in its natural setting - with a cerveza in a street-side Barcelona cafe.

Upon its induction the Academy said: Inducted in honour of the 170 copies of this little-known Catalan work of genius sitting in 340 happy hands, courtesy of the Mr B's team constantly harping on about it.

Paperback - Serpent's Tail - £6.99. email to buy or enquire

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

The Mr B's Review: For something fresh, different, cool, a bit crazy and not at all fluffy in any way whatsoever, then this is for you. Set in Australia, Toltz takes the reader on a fast-paced, funny, devastating and philosophical journey though the life of the dysfunctional Jasper, his complex father and disturbed uncle. It’s superbly written, with some outstanding dialogue and was short-listed for 2008 Booker Prize – not bad for a debut novel!

Upon its induction the Academy said: So many customers have joined us in our love-up of this unusual booker-shortlisted debut novel - making it one of quickest ever sellers - that we've made it our youngest inaugural inductee.

Paperback - Penguin - £8.99. email to buy or enquire

What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

The Mr B's Review: This debut novel deftly combines humour and sadness. It begins by following ten-year old Kate who spends her spare time working as a self-professed private detective. She might have a rather over-active imagination but the reader soon learns to trust her judgment when she appoints a monkey (stuffed) by the name of Mickey as her deputy in observing suspicious characters at the Green Oaks shopping centre. The author then speeds the action on by 20 years to focus on the entertainingly depressing lives of Green Oaks’ store manager Lisa and security guard Kurt. The two plots roam towards each other and on the way contain brilliant descriptions of middle-England, the sterility of the out-of-town retail environment and the comic dramas of life on either side of the shop counter!

Upon its induction the Academy said: After 3 years of trading, What Was Lost is the bestselling book in the our history and the basis for one of our most memorable events too. It's a shoe in for the inaugural list of inductees.

Paperback - Tindal Street Press - £7.99. email to buy or enquire

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

The Mr B's Review: If the name and the jacket image is not enough to make you want to buy this modern Ukrainian classic immediately, then how about the fact that it does actually feature a Ukrainian penguin! Viktor (a journalist) shares an apartment with Misha (a depressed penguin rescued from a Kiev zoo that has run out of funding). As Viktor's career as an obituary writer takes off, the pair become embroiled in a darkly comic crime caper.

Upon its induction the Academy said: A penguin and the mafia combining in a genuinely funny quality novel. We've always that to be a winning rare blend and so have loads of our customers.

Paperback - Vintage - £7.99. email to buy or enquire

Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

The Mr B's Review: 2007 Booker short-listed novel set over the course of an evening in Lahore as a charming Pakistani tells the story of his life to an American stranger who seems suspicious of the Pakistani man on the basis of his appearance. Hamid - himself a Pakistani educated in Princeton in the U.S., - explores the relationship between the worlds of the Muslim and the American through what is essentially a monologue by the young Muslim. A bravely structured (Hamid has acknowledged the influence of Camus on his style) and thought-provoking novel that is very much of our time.

Upon its induction the Academy said: A popular if sometimes controversial contemporary novel which has been one of the most talked about and frequently book-grouped novels amongst our customers.

Paperback - Penguin - £7.99. email to buy or enquire