We’re kicking off Jamestown week at the LBC. I’m pretty excited, since I’m the one who nominated this book (this means my reading taste rules). I posted about reading this book back in March. I had said that it was one of the best books I’ve read this year—and it still is, months later. I’ve read a lot of books since then (look here), but not many books have Sharpe’s inventiveness and skill.

I’ve been trying to pinpoint what about this book I liked so much. I find it really hard to describe coherently what I enjoy when I read. It’s almost as if I lack the right language. There are many things to appreciate about this book—the language, the pathos, the various characters—but I suppose it all came down to it’s believability. Yes, everything felt real to me when I read this book. I know it’s a fantastical novel, but I could imagine it.
Antoher thing I respect about Sharpe is that he stuck with Soft Skull for Jamestown. Many authors, after some success with smaller publishers, jump ship to the larger houses. I understand their reasoning, but I appreciate loyaltly to a small, but great press. So Sharpe rates high in my book.

This week we’ll be hearing from various folks, including Richard Nash of Soft Skull and Matthew Sharpe himself. I hope people check in daily and are encouraged enough to go read this book.