Welcome to Waterstones.com

Welcome to the Waterstones.com Meet the team page.

This is the place to get acquainted with the Waterstones.com team and find out about our quirkier sides.

A non-fiction reader by inclination, Helen has a comprehensive and totally irrelevant backlist of ancient history and literature at home. She loves Ovid's "enthralling and poetic Metamorphoses and Suetonius' Twelve Caesars. A source for Robert Graves' excellent Claudius novels, the latter is a 'colourful' set of biographies that proves that even compared to our own age of gossip-fuelled obsession with celebrity, there's nothing new under the sun".

When not rocking the Roman vibe, Helen dabbles in popular science. "Richard Feynman has been an inspiration for many a year and his more general writings such as, What Do You Care What Other People Think? and Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman! are typical of the man: intelligent, funny, interested and interesting. Feynman wears his intellect lightly, except where it matters - the physics."

Helen also claims "a penchant for wittily creative fiction. There's little that can beat the dark joy of Jeannette Winterson's Oranges are not the Only Fruit or the absolutely divine Wise Children by Angela Carter. Throw in the complete back catalogue of Collette and Zola, and that's my reading life pretty well sewn up".

We also happen to know that organic gardening, Leonard Cohen and mountain biking get a look in too!

Greg loves Irvine Welsh's Marabou Stork Nightmares for its ingenious structure and dark denouement and he loves Morvern Callar by Alan Warner because it is bloody, funny, and Scottish.

Greg loves the writing of Charles Bukowski, and Glasgow Celtic. He's also keen on staying out until all hours at publisher parties, then turning up to work early to make everyone else look old.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - "An utterly compelling thriller from the late Swedish author, weaving a tale of incest, mass murder and political intrigue against the backdrop of a Swedish industrial dynasty."

Liz arrived on our shores in 2008. She loves it here but she still struggles with life in a country where netball isn't shown live on TV and hamburgers don't come with Doofers. She loves sport and chocolate biscuits and tries hard not to confuse us with her Kiwi accent, with intermittent success.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - "One of the most intriguing stories I've ever read, this book will keep you engrossed from beginning to end."

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne - "Definitely an all time favourite, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is an endearing story for all ages."

Tom loves Affluenza by Oliver James because he is obsessive, envious and likes to keep up with the Joneses. He also likes Charlie Brooker's Dawn of the Dumb because like the journalist, he is rude, slightly unhinged and outrageous.

Tom sometimes listens to dub-reggae but these days he's keener on the seminal goth classic, Floodland by the Sisters of Mercy.

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra - "Both intelligent and entertaining and sustains its suspense throughout its substantial length, making it an utterly absorbing read."

The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch - "Apply 20% of your time and energy to achieve 80% of your happiness and objectives. With a bit of clever thinking you can gear your time to achieve a lot."

City of Thieves by David Benioff - "This is a highly entertaining story which is very funny in places - it shouldn't be seeing as it's set in the siege of Leningrad in WWII, a place populated by corpses, starving people with frostbite and cannibals."

Rebekka made the brave jump from fashion to books. In a sweet bid to fit in, she arrived on her first day at Waterstones in corduroy slacks and a musty tweed jacket with leather elbows.

Rebekka has recently become a mobile technology obsessive, talking about our Waterstones Apps to anyone who'll listen and scanning barcodes and stuff with her phone.

Running on marketing-time means she's in and out of the office with more energy than a sugar soaked 5-year-old, with an unfailing optimism to boot.

Rebekka's probably one of the only people at Waterstones to have never read a Harry Potter but she's an avid non-fiction fan, reading all sorts like How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux.

Alex loves Lanark by Alasdair Gray for its unparalleled scope of imagination and its Scottishness.

Alex also loves all things techy, and it's a good job because he buys our eBooks. He's been known to dabble in a little science fiction and fantasy but his wizardry is most apparent in the kitchen, if you think you've tasted a great lemon drizzle, you havnae, this boy can bake.

Sulk: Kind of Strength Comes from Madness V.3 by Jeffrey Brown - "Continuing to massively enjoy Sulk vol. 3 by Jeffrey Brown which is mostly brilliant for showing just what happens when unicorns take on vampires. Stephenie Meyer eat your heart out (or get lanced by a unicorn)."

Bijoux loves David Simon because she is a colossal fan of his hard hitting HBO series, The Wire. For its pure strength of human spirit she loves Alice Walker's The Colour Purple.

Bijoux is also a DJ, and has a deep love of hip hop and world music. With all that on her plate she still manages to find time to misbehave after 5:30 pm, when it is best to stay well well clear.

Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets by David Simon - "Probably the most important writer of true crime in the world. For fans of The Wire or those completely new to Simon's Baltimore."

Adam loves The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave because the man's a bonafide genius and can occasionally be seen on Brighton beach in his speedos. Nick Cave goes on the beach sometimes too.

Adam joined us in the Spring of 2009 and it was quickly apparent that he is to customer services what Rick Stein is to heading down south for a good 'ole clam bake. Adam rocks, on his guitar, and in dark rooms.

Appetite for Self-Destruction by Steve Knopper - "Point and laugh as the music industry flounders. An excellent book, chronicling the music industry and its attempts to survive in the digital age."

Kate loves The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson and The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke - much more than just brilliant crime writing. She also loves The Crow Road by Iain Banks for its pace, intensity and hip humour.

When Kate is not working she loves spending time in the office, working some more. The second fussiest eater on the team, she is also an avid follower of Formula 1 and Newcastle United.

"I am currently working my way through the Waterstones 11. The Free World by David Bezmozgis and The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht were both really enjoyable. Next up is Sarah Winman's When God Was a Rabbit - a certain bestseller and likely award-winner."

Dom loves Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut for its brilliant black humour and resonant anti-war message. He loves Australian ladies. He thinks that Ian MacDonald's Revolution In The Head will always be the best book about The Beatles. Dom is a gentleman, except for first thing in the morning when he is rude and aggressive.

Dom claims to love books about music, politics and art but as soon as he feels comfortable in the anonymity of an overseas holiday, he settles down into some proper chicklit or indeed anything with a pink cover. Once, when he'd had three sweet sherries, he confessed that while struggling as a "late developer" he found great comfort in Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.