Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

Title: Blackberry Wine
Author: Joanne Harris
Published: 1999
Length: 336 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

From the author of Chocolat, an intoxicating fairy tale of alchemy and love where wine is the magic elixir.

Jay Mackintosh is a 37-year-old has-been writer from London. Fourteen years have passed since his first novel, Jackapple Joe, won the Prix Goncourt. His only happiness comes from dreaming about the golden summers of his boyhood that he spent in the company of an eccentric vintner who was the inspiration of Jay’s debut novel, but who one day mysteriously vanished. Under the strange effects of a bottle of Joe’s ’75 Special, Jay decides to purchase a derelict yet promising château in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. There, a ghost from his past waits to confront him, and his new neighbour, the reclusive Marise – haunted, lovely and dangerous – hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters. Between them, there seems to be a mysterious chemistry. Or could it be magic?

How and when I got it:

I actually have no idea, but I assume I picked it up at a library sale at some point in the last 5 years or so.

Why I want to read it:

I’ve read Chocolat and one other book by this author, and I know I really enjoyed her writing. I’m assuming the cover was one of the things that attracted me to this book — so pretty!

The synopsis makes the plot sound intriguing — hints of magical realism? It’s hard to get a true sense of what it might be about, but I’d like to give it a try.

What do you think? Would you read this book?

Please share your thoughts!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

• Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
• Add your link in the comments or link back from your own post, so I can add you to the participant list.
• Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!