Our staff have been kind enough to write a few words about their interest and love of books, just one reason why we think we have the best service around.
|
Jacqueline Cookes
(Owner of a bit of paradise called Mostly Books) My passions are reading, gardening and meeting with friends, many of whom came into my world via Mostly Books. I have four wonderful daughters, all of whom at one time or another have provided skills and talents to make the shop what it is today. Currently my bookkeeper is Jo, the eldest daughter and my manager is Tamra, the second. I have three grandchildren, now all resident in Australia...sooo much closer than England. They have re-vitalized my interest in picture books and I have immense pleasure in sharing books with them. I have always endeavoured to introduce local writers and illustrators to my customers and over the years have arranged a vast number of different functions, currently "Books and Coffee" with a local writer is proving quite successful. We are currently enjoying an enlarged space, with which we are able to provide a meeting place for young and older persons to enjoy the world of books. Do drop in to suggest titles you would like to see or activities you would like to participate in. |
|
Tamra Dempsey
I started with Mostly Books in 1994, and as you can imagine, I have seen lots of changes. Do you remember the downstairs site? And the opening of the new site upstairs? I ran those two shops concurrently for three years before we decided to close the downstairs site. I had the upstairs shop well established when it was destroyed by the horrific fire in August 2004. But we weren’t to be dissuaded and reopened in our current site in October 2004. My own reading may be a little different from the norm. When I started in 1994 I was passionate about crime writing, then I expanded my horizons to various other types of fiction. I am now reading the occasional biography/autobiography. I have an avid interest in Diet/Nutrition books, I scour all the new diet books and adore all the cookbooks. If you need a brief synopsis of any of the latest and greatest diets (including CSIRO!) just ask! |
|
Tracy Leigh
I'm Tracy, and I love working at Mostly Books! My background is partly in English Lit, but I read very widely. My favourite reading areas are:
For fun, besides reading, I like quilting and sewing, shopping for more fabric for my fabric collection and playing with my animals. My whole family is involved in fauna rescue in our spare time, and between us we rescue birds, lizards and possums. |
|
Judi Lamprell
Hello there. I am one of the latest staff members and I have always been a lover of books, so I feel very lucky to actually be working in a bookshop. I even love to just feel and look at them, books not bookshops! I always feel that a book shop is more of a special place rather than just a shop. They live and breathe so the term book shop doesn't do them justice. My father gave me the love of books. I can't remember ever not being able to read. My hubby John and myself (with our children Nicole and Michael, at times) have done a fair bit of travelling over the years so my favourite reading apart from bios is, of course, travel. I can't resist books on the Middle East, Morocco, Africa, and on my favourite animal, elephants. We adopted an orphaned baby elephant in Nairobi after poachers had decimated his mother. We also sponsor a beautiful little girl in Tanzania and we were privileged to be able to meet up with her and her family early in 2006. So a big part of my heart is in Africa. The rest of my heart is in travel, swimming, picture framing, acting, our small zoo at home and what I couldn't do without, family gatherings. |
|
Samuel Williams
Hi, I'm Samuel – one of the newest staff members at Mostly Books. I'm in Year 12 at school, and somehow, in between the homework, drama, debating, choir and bagpiping that I enjoy, I always find time to read. Though my English teachers keep close watch on me to make sure I'm reading broadly, my 'home genre' has always been fantasy – particularly children's and teenage fantasy. I grew up on Deltora Quest, Artemis Fowl, and (of course) Harry Potter. I'm getting better, though – these days, I'll read just about anything that's recommended to me, (especially if it's exciting!) I also like to write a little bit myself; mostly book reviews, but occasionally a short story or two. Since before the fire in 2004, I have always loved to escape to Mostly Books on Saturday mornings – so now I am very lucky to be able to escape there every Saturday morning! My work would definitely have to be the highlight of my week. Something about being among books is good for the psyche, I think. Plus, now I have an excuse to stay up late reading! ("But Dad, I have to know how this book ends! It is my job, you know.") |
|
Brittany Vonow
I’m one of the newest members of the Mostly Books staff and it is my first job! Though I can’t compare it to anything, the experience of working with books and people is great and I'm loving it. My favourite genre of book is classics – Leo Tolstoy, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo are just a few of my favourite authors. I also love the Lemony Snicket series, finding them just as I was just getting sick of the ‘happily ever after’ cliché ending. I’m slowly learning about other books to read, especially Russian literature and picture books. I don’t think you can ever get too old to read a good picture book! Apart from reading I enjoy playing the guitar, singing in my school choir and musicals, playing netball and tennis and meeting up with friends to see a movie. |
|
Evelyn de Vries
Hello, I am Evelyn and also lucky to work here at Mostly Books. What better job can you have when you love to read and the range here is amazing. We also have some of the best customers who give us great tips on even more interesting reading. I am even lucky to be able to catch the train to work so that I can squeeze that extra bit of time in to read. Getting to meet and listen to some of our local authors at the store has been a humbling experience, we have so much talent right here on our doorstep. I also enjoy a range of crafts including quilting, lead-lighting, mosaicing (making mosaics? Where's the dictionary) and my garden, all of which are catered for in the store. What more could I ask for! |