There's something special on Silver Street

When I re-started this blog I promised I'd share bookshop adventures new and old, so here's a visit from 2019, to a bookshop that makes the word "thrive" sound like an understatement.

One of the most common questions I'm asked when on my bookshopping adventures is along the lines of "where is your bookshop?" or "when will you be opening your own bookshop?" and my answer is always the same: I'm a bookshopper, not a bookseller.

I love bookshops and admit I share the dream of having a bookshop of my own, a bookshop filled with books, sunlight, tea, and the community spirit generated by a mass of friendly customers. The dream is perfect. The reality is something a little less idyllic as it involves all of the above and a lot of hard work. It also requires that certain something – what I definitely think of as a secret ingredient. 

There's no way to describe that something, it's not a secret booksellers are keeping from us, but – now I'm aware of it – I realise it's there in every successful independent bookshop I've ever met. The first time I realised there was such a mysterious secret ingredient was when I visited Drake the Bookshop in fledgling form, sometime around its seven monthiversary.

At the time Drake was located in a corner space of part of a sort of upmarket indoor market. The bookshop lacked two walls a door and the all-important bookshop window, but even without those things it was clear to see something special had been created. I didn't know Drake would go on to become a success, but what was written all over the bookshop space was that here is a bookshop that cares about its customers AND knows how to make sure they know it. Richard and Mel knew how to balance fun with books and business (as I've previously mentioned, we've all got to eat), and their determination to serve the readers of Stockton was – and still is – there for all to see.

Fast forward four years and, in 2019, I returned to Stockton to see how things had changed. Drake the bookshop had moved and become a 'proper' bookshop with windows and a door (who am I kidding, it was *always* a proper bookshop, it had simply expanded into a more traditional physical space). The bookshop had (I'd guess) at least three times the space of its original unit and as a result the variety and volume of stock significantly increased. I write in the past tense, because since that visit I hear they've expanded again.

During that visit in 2019 and so I assume today, there was a lovely seating area that could accommodate any number of popular reading and literary groups (I lost track of all the options but having been following their progress online, I really, really want to join in their silent book club, or any silent book club – please take that as a hint local-to-me cafes and pubs).

Back in 2016, Drake had just arranged its first author event. At the time of my last visit the bookshop was in the final throes of arranging another ambitious author road trip, affectionately known as GNAT. Jump to 2026 and I see that a few days ago the latest Great Northern Author Tour (yes, GNAT) took place, and having read their write-up of the day I'm pleased to see the event – like the bookshop – has gone from strength to strength. 

These are some of the changes over the years but other things I've experienced at Drake remain the same: a carefully chosen selection of books; a warm welcome for every visitor (including for one young family that was simply passing by in the street, the enthusiasm of Drake is definitely not contained within its four walls); and a reassuring confidence in all things bookshop. This confidence was best demonstrated in conversation with Richard and Mel, when I paused from my browsing to catch up on book and bookshop news and Richard handed me Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession, saying "read this". I love it when people make recommendations so the book became my purchase of the visit and later turned out to be exactly the book I needed to read – it recently also became exactly the TV adaptation I needed to watch. I love it when adaptations do justice to the original, but please do read the book first.

During the 2019 visit we also bought No one is too small to make a difference, by Greta Thunberg; Out of the Wreckage, A new politics for an age of crisis, by George Monbiot; How to be invisible, by Kate Bush; and Memoirs of a book thief by A Tota and P Van Hove. I say we, the majority of these were actually chosen by The Boy, who clearly enjoyed browsing while I caught up.

We travelled around 300 miles to visit Drake the Bookshop, which is why it's been a few years since our previous visit but we also know we will be back. The people of Stockton need only walk down the street to get there, I hope they know how lucky they are. 

Drake the Bookshop
26-27 Silver Street,
Stockton-on-Tees,
TS18 1SX

Discovering a bookshop around the corner

There's something particularly magical about going out for a day trip to achieve one thing, then innocently discovering there's a bookshop around the corner.

Which is exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago, when we paid a first visit to a relative who had recently relocated to Wendover. Prior to the conversation about moving I had a vague idea the town might be somewhere in the middle of the country, maybe a little rural, but I was otherwise ignorant. I can now tell you it appears to be a friendly, pretty, small town in the Chilterns, somewhere near Aylesbury. 

If I've got that wrong, please understand it's because our visit was limited to exploring the new home, lunch out, and an unexpected stop in Real Magic Books. While it was lovely to visit a family member, clearly my main memory of the day is the bookshop. Yes, I do have a one-track mind.

We first saw the bookshop as we really did turn a corner. There it was in a small parade of shops on our left as we walked past, stomachs growling as we headed to lunch. Despite the large front window, I was unable to see much inside and I filed the memory as "if we have time, it would be nice to pop in on our way home".

During that walk to lunch I was still only toying with the idea of re-starting this blog, and knowing we'd be visiting again meant I really wasn't too serious about delaying us to buy books. I look back at that slightly younger me in horror: Why on earth would I have not gone into a bookshop?

Thankfully, curiosity got the better of me. We had a pleasant lunch and as we began our walk back I casually dropped in: "could we just pop in here for five minutes". Reader, we were longer than five minutes.

Within seconds of stepping inside I was absorbed in a table dedicated to Rough Trade Books. From his spot on the sofa, the bookseller told me the book in my hand related to an event taking place in the bookshop the following evening when two authors were coming along – one with their band. I briefly toyed with attempting to extend our visit from a couple of hours to a couple of days, before confessing to the bookseller we were only there for the afternoon. Next time I may have to make plans that coincide with a bookshop event, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Real Magic Books is a bright and airy space which somehow felt larger than its big window had implied from outside. Big fans were wafting air around, and test match cricket on the radio meant relaxed chatter seemed to bubble around the shop. Immediately in front of you from the door are two round tables of themed books – at this time one was for Rough Trade, the other for Pride. These lead you on to a huge rectangular table of recommendations that are thoughtfully chosen for their content while also looking beautiful to this browser.

On the right, a wall of books with their covers face-forward provides literal and metaphorical colour, capturing your attention as you dart around a range of fiction and non-fiction titles. On the left, I was drawn to an enjoyable selection of fiction and then non-fiction crammed into more regularly displayed bookcases. There's also a welcoming children's section tucked away to one side.

Sticking to my one book per bookshop rule, I'd been clinging onto that very first title I picked up, On the bus without a phone by Babak Ganjei, but the last bookcase I came to, the nature shelves on the end next to the till, made me break my resolve and somehow Living on Earth by Peter Godfrey-Smith also ended up coming home with me.

While making my purchase I chatted some more with the bookseller, who was "only" looking after the bookshop for his friend but still did an excellent job telling me about the place and making us all feel at home.

Real Magic Books is a very welcome unexpected discovery and doubles my reasons for now wanting to return to Wendover as often as possible. Its stock is intelligent and unusual, its space is bright and welcoming and – sadly not open on that random Wednesday afternoon in June – upstairs it's home to Real Magic Records, which I suspect will provide a third reason for me wanting to return.

Real Magic Books
2 Kings Head Parade, High Street, Wendover, Aylesbury, HP22 6DX

A new beginning

I've been contemplating restarting this blog for a little while, but it was this week's bookshop that finally gave me the push I needed to commit to writing. Partly because it's a lovely bookshop, partly because of how much The Boy nagged me to come out of retirement to write about it.

The bookshop is called The Best of Times, and it was conveniently in its first week of opening at the same time as we were having a weekend away in Broadstairs.

We're regular visitors to the area, having friends nearby and also finding it the perfect place to stay when attending gigs at Dreamland. We love the calm of the beach, the compactness of the town and the good variety of pubs selling real ale (including one based in a secondhand bookshop). The one thing we always found a let down was its lack of a new, independent bookshop. Until now.

Located on a side road just on the edge of the main town area (still only a two-minute walk from Morelli's), The Best of Times is tucked alongside a bar in what felt like a mini community hub. The area was buzzing. Advertising itself as a bookshop and cafe meant a steady stream of people were popping in for coffee and cake, as well as those of us there to browse the books. As locations go, this one seems perfect for being near enough to draw in visitors while far enough from the beach to avoid the crush of sandy-footed tourists who are just trying to escape the sun (I'm sure they're welcome too).

Entering through the front door, a wall of bookcases draws your eye to the back of the small room, where we see a display of cakes next to a large, welcoming serving hatch. It was from here that owner Gavin Boyter was greeting customers. To the right are more books, and hidden behind that first wall is a staircase down to the main fiction area.

I was interested to see the layout of the books, with science fiction and crime novels the very first titles I set eyes on in that initial wall of bookshelves. Small bookshops often don't have the space to give science fiction its own area, so I found this a bold and welcome move. Opposite was an interesting selection of non-fiction, meaning there's no choice but to continue exploring downstairs to the cellar if you're looking for a beach read.

The steps down alternate white and Penguin orange, which perfectly complement the bright and cheery bookshop interior. They lead to what I found to be a very interesting recommendations table, balancing fiction (including the proprietor's own work) and non-fiction, before you turn into a cosy space where you can sit and eat your cake while browsing a truly excellent selection of books. 

Another cleverly placed "wall" of bookcases allow the browser to walk around both sides, with the fiction on full display in the main area of the room, and more non-fiction behind. The behind area includes cookery books placed on part of an historic bread oven that's built into the wall, and a spooky book nook – the photos say it all.

But back to that excellent selection of fiction. Not an inch of bookshelf space felt like "filler". Everything on offer was intelligent, thought-provoking and highly readable. The Boy and I were both fascinated by all of it, with many authors on the shelf for their less obvious works, rather than their personal best sellers (there were obviously a few of those too). It made for very interesting browsing and had us both giving a lot of thought to our purchases.

In the end I picked up a Raymond Carver book of short stories called Cathedral, while The Boy chose The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald, and Perec's Things: A story of the sixties, with A man asleep. 

I should also reiterate that the excellent selection on offer was all in the bookshop's first week of opening: it still had that recently opened feel, with obvious spaces where books were spread across gaps as stock is being acquired, but not once did we find anything lacking. Seeing how good the bookshop is already, I cannot wait to return when it's at full capacity.

For now, I'm going to settle down in the garden at home with my latest purchase, reading my book and remembering recent sandy days.

The Best of Times
1 Chandos Road, Broadstairs, CT10 1QP