tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83521047738401535942024-02-21T13:18:49.677+00:00The bookshop around the cornerA celebration of bookshopsEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.comBlogger229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-21090104521075197462020-10-03T13:12:00.000+01:002020-10-03T13:12:01.124+01:00Bookshop Day 2020<p>Today is <a href="https://www.booksaremybag.com/" target="_blank">Bookshop Day</a>, one of my favourite Saturdays of the year. It's a day for getting up early, starting a long journey and visiting <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank">as many bookshops as I can</a> between the hours of 9am and 6pm.</p><p>It's a day of adventure, of new friends, of new worlds, of new experiences, and – inevitably – of a very nice amount of tea and cake along the way.</p><p>My bank balance would end the day battered and bruised, my face would hurt from smiling so much, my feet from walking, and my mood would be one of overwhelming joy at all the experiences I'd had and the books I'd bought. It's a wonderful day and has previously included anything from five to 15 bookshops, with a minimum of one book purchased in each.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2zw1UoFtc1vSvWLj-qf2VhgQCMsaQe1IiZ_2TowByS85d6qz0vOLtUyF_wmlBQDX7ls34pwCUPkCdNflvhtKSpjb_34dqDoX8K6hX5aj10yjq1QZvQSlypPqzaI3gj2TKJlko3W4DeI/s1026/Twitter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2zw1UoFtc1vSvWLj-qf2VhgQCMsaQe1IiZ_2TowByS85d6qz0vOLtUyF_wmlBQDX7ls34pwCUPkCdNflvhtKSpjb_34dqDoX8K6hX5aj10yjq1QZvQSlypPqzaI3gj2TKJlko3W4DeI/s320/Twitter.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>For all of us 2020 has been a little different (understatement of the century), but it's not until today that I've properly felt the loss of the world as it was compared to the world as it is now. I'd dearly love to be embarking on another bookshop crawl, but for me that's simply not an option at this time.</p><p>I'm lucky in that I'm making the most of the many measures independent bookshops have put into place: I've been buying books by Twitter, email, website and phone, and I'm grateful to every independent bookseller who has listened to my requests, advised me on the possibilities and – always successfully – introduced me to a new read.</p><p>These last months have been the only time in my life when I've bought books in a way other than face-to-face and it's been hard. It's not the same as walking into a bookshop and being grabbed by a random book sighting from across the room – not forgetting the feel of the books, the noise of the pages and the wonderful smell of a good bookshop – and I admit I'm struggling to adjust to this different way of book buying, but my goodness I'm grateful for the booksellers who have supported me during this time.</p><p>Yes, it really is the booksellers who are supporting me.</p><p>They're real people with thoughts and opinions and they know when to offer a similar book to your previous read and when to go off at a tangent. They discuss the possibilities and are honest when they're not sure if what they've suggested is quite right but at least it's a good starting point. They are not an algorithm.</p><p>Now, more than ever, booksellers are worth their weight in gold.</p><p>We need independent bookshops, but for them to be there for us we need to be there for them too. This Bookshop Day, and every day, please support your local indie.</p>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-25800120975661599322019-06-21T14:05:00.001+01:002019-06-21T22:39:59.991+01:00Let's go on a bookshop crawl<h3>
An Independent Bookshop Week adventure: two people, three days, four counties, 17 bookshops, 28 books, 471 miles.</h3>
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Bookshops are magical places. I’m generally a bit of a sceptic, but I really do believe that stepping inside a bookshop – especially one of the independent variety – can have a transformative effect. <br />
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There’s the calming influence of being surrounded by so many books; the excitement of so much potential inside those books; the distraction of all those titles and spines and covers; the little individual details that make each bookshop unique; the other browsers interacting with your personal most loved or most hated books; and there are the booksellers themselves, the bookshop heroes who curated the little piece of heaven you find yourself standing in. <br />
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<a href="https://indiebookshopweek.org.uk/" target="_blank">Independent Bookshop Week</a> is the perfect opportunity to explore, engage with and celebrate everything about those individual havens, and having been running for 13 years the celebrations are clearly going well. In the past year the number of indie bookshops who are members of the Booksellers Association has also increased, up to 883, so I like to think that’s a sign lots of us browsers and readers are also doing our bit to celebrate and support our local – and not so local – indies. You can search for indie bookshops near you <a href="http://www.booksellers.org.uk/bookshopsearch" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Following the success of my IBW bookshop crawl <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">last year</a> (and countless before then, bookshop crawls are great – try one!), Books Are My Bag, the campaign to support buying books from bookshops, invited me to go on another adventure to mark the start of Independent Bookshops Week 2019. I chose East Anglia as my destination, and while it was physically impossible for me to visit every bookshop in the area, my boyfriend and I did our best, taking in 17 bookshops spread across four counties – in three days. Almost 500 miles is a long way to travel to visit two people’s handfuls of bookshops, but as I’m hoping this blog will reveal, the rewards to be found in our many destinations were definitely worth the effort. <br />
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Our adventure began at The Book Warren & Café in Wilmingham, Cambridgeshire. Found just outside the village, this café-cum-secondhand-bookshop was the perfect cheery start to set us on our way. A handful of tables and chairs fill the room, with books around the edges and chatter and community spirit wafting around the room. We ordered breakfast (coffee and a sausage sandwich for me, tea, an egg sandwich and a cheese scone for him) and sat down at a table near the general fiction shelves. <br />
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Bookshop owner Lyndsay came over to say hello in between running the café, and made us feel very welcome as she talked about her endeavour and the part the venue plays in hosting events and gatherings for the community. The book offering is limited – I picked up Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier – but it’s interesting and varied and coupled with the café, Lyndsay’s enthusiasm and the warmth of the welcome on offer, it’s easy to see why this bookshop has been so well received.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWL79M4coJTfkN67Gl331tLRlw8RmFaGLIB6VkCt2FTmBb3ykJ9STzEaBGfMcCG8mur7FP5Fr-vqzDe1dS27ViaVCaeIF-S4S-1N8NgtON3NcSJbZ0oembrb7regr2893uD0G7xOsm4k/s1600/2+Burrows.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWL79M4coJTfkN67Gl331tLRlw8RmFaGLIB6VkCt2FTmBb3ykJ9STzEaBGfMcCG8mur7FP5Fr-vqzDe1dS27ViaVCaeIF-S4S-1N8NgtON3NcSJbZ0oembrb7regr2893uD0G7xOsm4k/s200/2+Burrows.JPG" width="200" /></a>Heading north we came to the two-bookshop city of Ely. First stop was Burrows Bookshop, a sweet little place dedicated to children. Set on a busy pedestrian street, several visitors popped in to say hello during our visit, creating a nice atmosphere. I took this stop as an opportunity to add to my Michael Morpurgo collection with Escape from Shangri-La. <br />
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Topping & Company is one of the more famous names in the indie bookshop world, and the people of Ely clearly appreciate it because it was packed with Saturday morning shoppers. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvPrv2tqA5xQpoNpqLyouckD6EkeFg4yPkgG-5uN6WL3oMUF4PwlcKXtFpDAkmCnlPC-ABdaGcRSqyepS3lkLjigw-M8T_pTmXtOKIWPqueRpB_YRpmePBIuC0kYGAQhzL8eJu571pmM/s1600/3+Topping.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvPrv2tqA5xQpoNpqLyouckD6EkeFg4yPkgG-5uN6WL3oMUF4PwlcKXtFpDAkmCnlPC-ABdaGcRSqyepS3lkLjigw-M8T_pTmXtOKIWPqueRpB_YRpmePBIuC0kYGAQhzL8eJu571pmM/s200/3+Topping.JPG" width="150" /></a>Three floors of bookcases (accessed by ladder if necessary) mean this was probably the most voluminous bookshop of our destination. Recommendations tables fill every open space and spines call for attention from smart wooden shelves that make me think of an historic home library. Readers sit with cups of tea, and browse books or sit and chat. There’s a good atmosphere. <br />
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While we're exploring, the boy picks up an interesting book, The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-Yi, which I promptly nab from him and claim as my purchase. So he returns to the shelves and comes back with a British Museum book about Manga, and Vivian Maier Street Photography. <br />
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Ceres Bookshop in Swaffham, Norfolk, came next. A new and secondhand bookshop with a tea room and garden, we’d just missed the lunchtime rush on what looked to have been a very impressive selection of cakes. <br />
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Bad timing in relation to cake aside, this destination is a good size and the tables next to some of the secondhand books get a big thumbs up from this bibliophile. The whole setting conjured up visions of a community space to read, eat and congregate. <br />
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Time was tight so we had to move on without cake, but not before I got my hands on Adam Rutherford’s A brief history of everyone who has ever lived. <br />
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Hidden away in an interesting-looking arcade in the market town of Holt, The Holt Bookshop turned out to be surprisingly large stopping point. I said hello and the nice gentleman behind the counter apologetically commented he’d not decorated for IBW. As much as I like a good bit of bunting I’m not going to hold a lack of it against anyone, especially if that anyone is a beautifully stocked bookshop.<br />
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We both gravitated towards the classics section here, which contained a number of previously unknown to us titles. I was drawn to Arnold Bennett’s Anna of the Five Towns, while it was the boy’s turn to pick up a book I’d been interested in first: The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories. We also ended up with an audio book of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, and a classical CD of The Tippet Quartet, respectively. <br />
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The last Saturday stop was Jarrold & Sons in Cromer. We arrived just 15 minutes before closing, so our exploration was limited to establishing it was half stationery shop, half bookshop, and the buyers had the good sense to stock the latest publication by my favourite cookery guru: The Quick Roasting Tim by Rukmini Iyer. <br />
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End of day one: 6 bookshops, 2 counties, 9 books + 2 CDs </h4>
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Sunday trading meant day two was a more leisurely one, starting at 10.45am, the opening time of City Bookshop in Norwich. We were welcomed by an obviously very knowledgeable bookseller, who we enjoyed chatting to as we explored the varied selection of remainder, secondhand and antiquarian books. <br />
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The two floors were well laid out with much to appeal to all tastes but I jumped at the opportunity to buy Patrick Rothfuss’ The slow regard of silent things, because it’s a book I’ve long kept a look out for. The boy chose Modernism, An Anthology, and the size of it meant we were both pleased to be traveling by car! <br />
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The Book Hive opened next. Upon entering there’s a smallish lobby with a menu advertising the week’s specials, but the really special thing is walking up the stairs into the bookshop proper, which somehow feels like you’ve been invited into a person’s home – in a good way.<br />
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Individual books are placed flat on tables, allowing the browser to sweep their eyes over a mass of covers, spotting new titles and generally being inspired to read X, Y or Z.<br />
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That said, bookseller Megan also did a superb job with her recommendations (for us and others, conversation in the bookshop embraced many browsers). Based on her suggestion, I bought Olivia Lang’s To the river. I have a lot of respect for anyone who is willing to discuss taste in books and then say “read this, I think you’ll like it” and based on the fact some of her recommendations were titles one or both of us had already read and loved I was even more impressed. The boy also did some buying: Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life by Adam Greenfield, and A World of Three Zeroes by Muhammad Yunus. <br />
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My next bookshop conversation was when I was paying for my purchase in the bookshop in Jarrolds, also in Norwich. I have to admit I’d been a little uncertain about visiting a bookshop in a department store, even if it was an indie. My imagination had been of books lost among clothes or crockery. Instead this was a big, well-stocked space with an excellent range. <br />
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The book talk came from Annie at the till, who proudly shared the bookshop’s history, dedication to books and – because everyone loves a freebie – made sure I didn’t leave until I had the bookmark and badges created to accompany my chosen book: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. <br />
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Leaving the city, we headed for the coast and another indie offering Sunday opening hours: Aldeburgh Bookshop in Suffolk. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0zd2rC7N41a_88vBB0RB3KmnKUDwlbbO5jaE0dIwlmgbXwZq5m0MSST64M4bqbQSt6ZaFQsRbwFD9ZUAt2hGK-5B_UMu1oPM1_hTV2xUVsDRuCtUH4feA6mJ2FNi-tB3oekg8LoCmL0/s1600/IMG_1859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0zd2rC7N41a_88vBB0RB3KmnKUDwlbbO5jaE0dIwlmgbXwZq5m0MSST64M4bqbQSt6ZaFQsRbwFD9ZUAt2hGK-5B_UMu1oPM1_hTV2xUVsDRuCtUH4feA6mJ2FNi-tB3oekg8LoCmL0/s200/IMG_1859.jpg" width="200" /></a>Another surprisingly big bookshop, we entered through a door to the side and were met with a great mix of non-fiction, which is pretty much where I lost the boy. He quickly selected Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream by Sue Prideaux, and The Brain: A User’s Manual by Marco Magrini. Moving into the bigger room I found a good selection of fiction to tempt me, dawdling by the recommendations and enjoying a selection of books displayed at my head height. As well as Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout, I also bought a book of postcards, The Snooty Bookshop by Tom Gauld. No prizes for guessing the type of post my friends are going to start receiving... <br />
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End of day two: 4 bookshops, 2 counties, 9 books + 1 postcard book </h4>
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A little last-minute route re-arranging meant the third day of our bookshop crawl began very early, to see us loitering on the doorstep of Woodbridge Emporium in Suffolk ready for opening time. A small bookshop with a definite leaning towards both historical fiction and science fiction and fantasy, the shop was as characterful as Jules the bookseller. We enjoyed a good chat and I came away with The Magicians by Lev Grossman.<br />
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Walking a short distance down the street we came to Browsers Books, which had a particularly appealing display of non-fiction almost as soon as we entered through the door. I liked the variety here and was pleased to pick up Curtis Sittenfeld’s The Man of My Dreams, which prompted a brief bookshop chat about the author’s excellent writing. <br />
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Heading north again, we arrived at the beautiful Halesworth Bookshop, which is clearly investing a lot of energy into making itself a place for the community. I lost track of the number of book-related events taking place thanks to the energy of Abbie the bookseller. Her bubbly enthusiasm was infectious and it was great to see the steady stream of customers visiting her shop early on a Monday morning.<br />
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The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim caught my attention here, as did a beautiful mural in the children’s department (the whole bookshop was really rather lovely) but I could only take one of those two things home.<br />
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Hurrying to make up time we could only manage a brief pitstop in Beccles Bookshop, which was spacious and simply organised with a buzz of shoppers and friendly booksellers. The children's area at the back caught my attention but in the end I picked up A closed and common orbit by Becky Chambers. Then there was a quick chat with the bookseller before returning to the road.<br />
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The first thing I noticed inside Diss Publishing Bookshop was the woman walking towards me wearing the same Book Shop Heroes t-shirt as me. As icebreakers go it was a good one and we were soon joined by a second bookseller for a group photo. There was a lovely, smiley welcome to this huge bookshop by the lake which also offers art supplies, gifts and a cafe, making it the perfect stop for lunch too. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbI0nfxpZ5j6lAG_P-FWUjpRgKgezZSqt68gV2UuwTAZEbGUbAZbniq7pmux2sH5ZAMJ-wMeGB_dupFNr79_rMCiQYJ2eQ-qnFvm_rkhTrWnnsXCDDgQNfu8WJ990hbMV01iBbBk9bSA/s1600/15+Diss+heroes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbI0nfxpZ5j6lAG_P-FWUjpRgKgezZSqt68gV2UuwTAZEbGUbAZbniq7pmux2sH5ZAMJ-wMeGB_dupFNr79_rMCiQYJ2eQ-qnFvm_rkhTrWnnsXCDDgQNfu8WJ990hbMV01iBbBk9bSA/s200/15+Diss+heroes.JPG" width="200" /></a>I interspersed ordering and eating with browsing and chatting, while the boy relaxed at our table on the decking by the lake. It’s an idyllic setting. Tea and toasties revived us nicely but I missed out on trying the homemade jam Swiss roll because one of us ate that all to himself (I’m told he was too busy enjoying it to remember to leave some for me – he's still in the dog house). <br />
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Local books were top of the bestsellers here and were certainly very tempting, but I was eventually drawn to Wonders beyond numbers: A brief history of all things mathematical by Johnny Ball. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0p3zhMuN5z4bIvwQeJ29xPuLwlFRt_b-pWZGMKzLaw473i2wP92BqYVTVnoKQ9b6LtspPHCVi7cB15Wz2Thsfk7wXKJMkdNK9Jva8ohPM_Rt6KNQzM2TYI555ALxNr7jaz7-ooSSjajs/s1600/16+Harris+and+Harris+me.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0p3zhMuN5z4bIvwQeJ29xPuLwlFRt_b-pWZGMKzLaw473i2wP92BqYVTVnoKQ9b6LtspPHCVi7cB15Wz2Thsfk7wXKJMkdNK9Jva8ohPM_Rt6KNQzM2TYI555ALxNr7jaz7-ooSSjajs/s200/16+Harris+and+Harris+me.JPG" width="200" /></a>Winding roads brought us to Clare, near Sudbury, where Harris & Harris Books is to be found. I’ve long wanted to visit this bookshop and the welcome as we arrived at the door confirmed I’d not been wrong in my wish. <br />
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Kate the bookseller had the biggest of smiles and the happiest of chatter as she greeted us and showed us around her beautiful boutique bookshop. I’ll be honest, we were beginning to flag a little at this point so the welcome and wonder of this bookshop was exactly what we needed to revive us. <br />
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It may be small, but what Harris & Harris lacks in space it makes up for in quality and content. There are eye-catching details everywhere and the books have clearly been lovingly and carefully selected and despite being almost at the end of a bookshop crawl the majority of titles were ones I didn’t recognise. Which is a remarkable achievement for a small bookshop.<br />
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I was only sorry I didn’t have more time to appreciate all the details interspersed between the two floors of new and secondhand books. That sorrow was balanced by the joy of finding a new-to-me-title by Edith Wharton, The Touchstone. As the author of my favourite book I’m always thrilled to find more of her writing (all bookshops please take note!). The boy chose A history of the American people by Paul Johnson from the secondhand section. <br />
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We arrived at Between The Lines in Great Bardfield, Essex, just 15 minutes before closing but the reaction of the booksellers was so great that I was again reminded why indie bookshops are the best. There were four or five people gathered on their way to celebrate a birthday but rather than tapping their watches and rushing us out, they opened a bottle, settled in for a chat and entertained us with bookshop stories for almost an hour! <br />
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Another example of the care and consideration that goes into stocking a bookshop, we were again impressed by the unexpected and largely new to us selection on offer. I greedily grabbed another Wharton, Twilight Sleep, then ended up buying a second book when one of the booksellers saw me looking at Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household, which she praised so highly I had to find out more. Annie Ernaux’s Les annees, from the French language corner, was the the boy’s choice. <br />
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The bookshelf discoveries and the cheery, celebratory atmosphere generated by the gathered ladies (see them behind us in the photo above) were the perfect ending to our Independent Bookshop Week Bookshop Crawl. <br />
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<h4>
End of day three: 7 bookshops, 3 counties, 10 books<br /> <br />Total: 17 bookshops, 4 counties, 28 books </h4>
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<b>To find out more about all of these bookshops, come back soon as I focus on them individually.</b><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/1DHighgate/" target="_blank">The Book Warren and Cafe</a>,<br />
Over Road, Willingham, Over, Cambridgeshire, CB24 5EU<br />
Tel: 01954 260762 <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBookWarren19" target="_blank">@TheBookWarren19</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.burrowsbookshop.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Burrows Bookshop</a>,<br />
9 High Street Passage, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4NB<br />
Tel: 01353 669 759<br />
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<a href="https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/ely/" target="_blank">Toppings & Company Booksellers</a>,<br />
9 High Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4LJ<br />
Tel: 01353 645005 <a href="https://twitter.com/ToppingsEly" target="_blank">@ToppingsEly</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.ceresbookshopswaffham.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ceres Bookshop</a>,<br />
20 London Street, Swaffham, Norfolk, PE37 7DG<br />
Tel: 01760 722504<br />
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<a href="http://www.holtbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Holt Bookshop</a>,<br />
10 Appleyard, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 6AR<br />
Tel: 01263 715858 <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoltBookshop" target="_blank">@TheHoltBookshop</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.jarrold.co.uk/our-stores/cromer" target="_blank">Jarrold Books</a>,<br />
33 Church Street, Cromer, Norfolk, NR27 9ES<br />
Tel: 01263 512190 <a href="https://twitter.com/JarroldBooks" target="_blank">@JarroldBooks</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.citybookshopnorwich.co.uk/" target="_blank">City Bookshop</a>,<br />
12-14 Davey Place, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1PQ<br />
Tel: 01603 626113 <a href="https://twitter.com/CityBookshop" target="_blank">@CityBookshop</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.thebookhive.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Book Hive</a>,<br />
53 London Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1HL<br />
Tel: 01603 219268 <a href="https://twitter.com/bookhive" target="_blank">@bookhive</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.jarrold.co.uk/departments/books" target="_blank">Jarrold Books</a>,<br />
1-11 London Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1JF<br />
Tel: 01603 660661 <a href="https://twitter.com/JarroldBooks" target="_blank">@JarroldBooks</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.aldeburghbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Aldeburgh Bookshop</a>,<br />
42 High Street, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5AB<br />
Tel: 01728 452389 <a href="https://twitter.com/AldeBooks" target="_blank">@AldeBooks</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.woodbridgeemporium.co.uk/" target="_blank">Woodbridge Emporium</a>,<br />
66 Thoroughfare, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1AL<br />
Tel: 01394 382382 <a href="https://twitter.com/WoodbridgeEmpor" target="_blank">@WoodbridgeEmpor</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.browsersbookshop.com/" target="_blank">Browsers Books</a>,<br />
60 Thoroughfare, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AL<br />
Tel: 01394 388890 <a href="https://twitter.com/BrowsersBks" target="_blank">@BrowsersBks</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/HalesworthBookShop/" target="_blank">The Halesworth Bookshop</a>,<br />
42 Thoroughfare, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8AR<br />
Tel: 01986 873840 <a href="https://twitter.com/abbieyvette" target="_blank">@abbieyvette</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/becclesbooks/" target="_blank">Beccles Bookshop</a>,<br />
Exchange Square, Beccles NR34 9HH<br />
Tel: 01502 716806<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/disspublishing" target="_blank">Diss Publishing Bookshop</a>,<br />
40 Mere Street, Diss, Suffolk, IP22 4AH<br />
Tel: 01379 644612 <a href="https://twitter.com/DissPublishShop" target="_blank">@DissPublishShop</a><br />
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<a href="https://harrisharris.co.uk/" target="_blank">Harris & Harris Books</a>,<br />
7B High Street, Clare, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 8NY<br />
Tel: 01787 277267 <a href="https://twitter.com/HandHBookshop" target="_blank">@HandHbookshop</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BetweenTheLinesBardfield/" target="_blank">Between the Lines</a>,<br />
Vine Street, Great Bardfield, Braintree, Essex, CM7 4SR<br />
Tel: 01371 810087 <a href="https://twitter.com/BTLBardfield" target="_blank">@BTLBardfield</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-80009437692513187392018-11-25T20:47:00.000+00:002018-11-25T20:47:56.405+00:00A good heartFirst impressions are a big thing these days, with so many demands on our time and attention that we're often distracted from one shiny thing to the next, whizzing through life and hardly having time to stop and consider what's in front of us.<br />
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When I arrived at Borzoi Bookshop in the heart of Stow-on-the-Wold I'd been racing through an Independent Bookshops Week <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a>, so I'd already visited a lot of other bookshops and could easily have been in too much of a hurry to appreciate how special this unassuming destination is. Set in a lovely historic building, the shop front is made up of welcoming red door and two simple windows which offer only a glimpse of the treats inside. It's a far cry from the large picture windows and colourful displays many bookshops rely on to lure in readers and I loved this contrast and the feeling of cosy history that came with it.<br />
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Borzoi Bookshop is more than 30 years old and was named for the breed of dog that was the original furry bookseller, which I thought was a nice touch. I don't know how the bookshop has changed in that time, but the space I explored had the feeling of somewhere that has been cherished for years – and continues to be loved today. The low ceilings added to the sense of history, while the good variety of new titles brings everything into the modern day. The combination was comforting and reassuring and exactly what I've come to hope for in a long-serving bookshop.<br />
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The first room is snug but still larger than expected, with Molie the (thankfully quite small) furry bookseller relaxing near the door and two human booksellers available to answer questions and keep everything in order. They welcomed me in and did an excellent job of greeting browsers or leaving them in peace as preferred, with me obviously choosing to dive into conversation. This was mainly with the booksellers, but also with the other customers who'd popped in to collect an order, ask about the publication date of various new books or simply see what they might read next. It was a perfect example of a well-loved bookshop set in the heart of its community.<br />
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Equally importantly, for all of the questions I heard asked the booksellers' knowledge was impeccable and satisfied children and adults alike. Further evidence of their bookish genius was found in the content of the bookshelves and in their recommendation of my next new book.<br />
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I'd commented on titles and publishers as I'd wandered around the maze of shelves – there's a lot to be discovered if you venture beyond the front room – and almost picked a book by myself but wasn't quite sure if it was right for me. A chat about what I've read previously and what I was looking for next saw the bookseller politely agree that maybe my choice wasn't the one for this time, instead gently steering me to some alternative titles. From the selection put forward, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee stood out and having since devoured the book I can confirm the booksellers' instinct was spot on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAaZRZ1oyvLEs1pUq83_D2vHj6qx3KaBbcXQaEeMobUvCabhP9Ai8zk07Oq20_Lr9l_HO6x8dD19FHTuG-zu3pd57vRWhO7atQDQfIpW_-_xBEXKXq6jifABBXiXFtEJrcepzTt0l84g/s1600/Borz+book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAaZRZ1oyvLEs1pUq83_D2vHj6qx3KaBbcXQaEeMobUvCabhP9Ai8zk07Oq20_Lr9l_HO6x8dD19FHTuG-zu3pd57vRWhO7atQDQfIpW_-_xBEXKXq6jifABBXiXFtEJrcepzTt0l84g/s320/Borz+book.JPG" width="240" /></a>It takes a lot of courage, confidence and tact to be able to help a browser change their mind – especially when their choice of book is not bad but more not for this time – and I was very impressed by how well the bookseller achieved this, and am very grateful they did!<br />
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Which really sums up my feelings about this delightful bookshop. Borzoi Bookshop is not the flashiest or the most glamorous of indies I've visited, but it has a good heart, great books and exceptional booksellers.<br />
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<a href="http://www.borzoibookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Borzoi Bookshop</a><br />
Church Street, Stow-on-the-Wold,<br />
Gloucestershire GL54 1BB<br />
Tel: 01451 830268<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/BorzoiBookshop" target="_blank">@BorzoiBookshop</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0The Borzoi Bookshop, Church Street, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, GL54 1BB, UK51.9294726 -1.723791300000016251.928248599999996 -1.7263128000000163 51.9306966 -1.7212698000000162tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-8137968698323781852018-11-05T22:25:00.000+00:002018-11-05T22:25:22.186+00:00Taking stock of another person's joySometimes, the best way to enjoy something is by seeing the joy another person is experiencing. I loved the last stop on day three of my Independent Bookshops Week <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a>, but whatever I felt for Woodstock Bookshop is nothing compared to the reaction of my boyfriend.<br />
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We'd spent two days touring bookshops and although my enthusiasm was still high, my boyfriend was obviously still keen but flagging a little. He dawdled on the walk to the bookshop, pausing to take photos of our surroundings so that I decided to leave him to it once we'd spotted the bookshop on the road ahead. I therefore arrived without him, taking in the two snug rooms and remarkable number of people they could hold as I began to look over the shelves. It appeared to be a lovely space that was very well filled.<br />
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As I made this assessment the dawdler arrived and began to look around. He looked happy enough, then I lost him and the next thing I knew he was kneeling on the floor to get a closer look. In the two plus years since he joined me on this adventure I've never seen him go to so much effort to look at the books, and this behaviour continued for the entire time we were in the bookshop.<br />
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To be fair, Woodstock Bookshop really is a place worth going to the effort to explore, but to see my boyfriend so engrossed really emphasised to me how good the variety of stock is here. We'd visited a lot of bookshops and yet here he was, re-enthused about bookshopping and excited by the variety of previously unseen titles in front of him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1wSGqMSs2u_6fkN2r3Yj7P6coNQwLv8GY3nsy-A0ocn-WVn5M6JXSwQdt6Ny47VwUE7HA131IaCCQyxekhu1rjH-5t2EXqqNpeD8FIAdREpfb2vb3etbN7MU7O_9AyP1GHYFWtRl0Y0k/s1600/Wood+chair.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1wSGqMSs2u_6fkN2r3Yj7P6coNQwLv8GY3nsy-A0ocn-WVn5M6JXSwQdt6Ny47VwUE7HA131IaCCQyxekhu1rjH-5t2EXqqNpeD8FIAdREpfb2vb3etbN7MU7O_9AyP1GHYFWtRl0Y0k/s320/Wood+chair.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
It would be impossible for me to list off all that was special about the stock here, but for a bookshop with incredibly limited space there really was an unusual and unexpected offering of everything. Non-fiction included an array of more unexpected titles in every genre, while I found a particularly high volume of translated and/or independent publishers on the fiction shelves. Children also had a generous and well-stocked area to enjoy. I honestly don't know how Woodstock Bookshop manage to fit it all in, but I'm very impressed that they do.<br />
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My boyfriend had no trouble choosing two books to buy here, Secondhand Time by Svetlana Alexievich and Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth. I took slightly longer because I'd been so distracted enjoying his delight, eventually selecting The Infatuations by Javier Marias.<br />
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Woodstock Bookshop is a truly tiny place but has such big personality – both in books and with the friendly bookseller – that I can happily recommend it as the reason I will be returning to visit Woodstock. Which is quite a coup considering Blenheim Palace is down the road.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlgprTvhrdw75XDN97Z4t0EZOb138jiDu7EQX_SgxxUb1diJwdvHhc3sfC_HUR0VhvZKcQxlWPm-FhfTINBK9FqaFbMs-PCpz1YHY92jFAEKs6hGYouvZmXZQLn_F05urkY3jJOMyfuQ/s1600/Wood+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="1600" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlgprTvhrdw75XDN97Z4t0EZOb138jiDu7EQX_SgxxUb1diJwdvHhc3sfC_HUR0VhvZKcQxlWPm-FhfTINBK9FqaFbMs-PCpz1YHY92jFAEKs6hGYouvZmXZQLn_F05urkY3jJOMyfuQ/s320/Wood+books.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.woodstockbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Woodstock Bookshop</a><br />
23 Oxford Street, Woodstock,<br />
Oxfordshire OX20 1TH<br />
Tel: 01993 812760<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/WoodstockBooks" target="_blank">@WoodstockBooks</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com4The Woodstock Bookshop, 23 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, OX12 1TH, UK51.5691146 -1.455353400000035451.4112431 -1.7780769000000354 51.7269861 -1.1326299000000355tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-81135350437685010692018-10-21T22:06:00.000+01:002018-10-21T22:06:15.851+01:00A top trio for Bookshop Day 2018The annual autumn Bookshop Day as part of the <a href="https://booksaremybag.com/" target="_blank">Books Are My Bag</a> campaign is always going to be particularly special for me, because it's the event that first set me off bookshop crawling.<br />
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I'd done the odd two-bookshop days, but in <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2013/09/books-are-my-bag.html" target="_blank">September 2013</a>, when this blog was barely a month old, I visited eight in one day. Technically alone, I had thousands of people keeping me company in my phone as I tweeted my adventure, and from that moment on I knew I'd always love bookshop crawls and the joy of sharing the bookshop love with anyone who cared to join in.<br />
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This year wasn't quite as ambitious as some previous years have been, but there were two very specific reasons for keeping things small:<br />
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1. Bookshop Day conveniently coincided with the official opening of a new indie.<br />
2. I wanted to demonstrate how easy it is to take part in bookshop day if you don't live in London or in the same town as an indie.<br />
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More about point 1 later. As for point 2:<br />
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Over the years, the one sad thing about sharing my bookshop crawls has been the regular (but thankfully not large) number of replies along the lines of 'I can't take part because I'm not in London' or 'I can't take part because there isn't an indie bookshop in my town'. Now I admit the latter can be difficult for people in remote areas and/or who are reliant on public transport, but both of those complaints apply to my home town and in the course of one afternoon I still managed to comfortably drive to three different independent bookshops.<br />
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The crawl started with a 30-ish minute drive from my home town to East Grinstead, to see an old friend in the form of <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/07/appearances-can-be-deceiving-sometimes.html" target="_blank">The Bookshop</a>. It was drizzling slightly and very cold when we arrived, but the bookshop was easy to spot because of the crowd outside. A local author was proving popular signing copies of his books and a scout was doing well raising funds and awareness for an expedition she was due to take part in, with both next to an inviting chess board for anyone to sit and play. This combination created a nice buzz and I'm sure drew more people into the bookshop.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqyG3dWI2ksFCy6_Crg4jY14U9TEcyRBjDmmrcMT0YECWi0N5nhfjYqu8nxg2ZY1FsbcqxKpUDSm-8G30tDYKGSdW_RBzbpLDc18ThbzIDaiNS5Sr_xtlRIeaqHUxwyfpE3_vLYLJ1fk/s1600/EG+mysteries.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqyG3dWI2ksFCy6_Crg4jY14U9TEcyRBjDmmrcMT0YECWi0N5nhfjYqu8nxg2ZY1FsbcqxKpUDSm-8G30tDYKGSdW_RBzbpLDc18ThbzIDaiNS5Sr_xtlRIeaqHUxwyfpE3_vLYLJ1fk/s200/EG+mysteries.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
We had a wander to refamiliarise ourselves with the maze of bookshelves before I gravitated back to the front of the bookshop to the mystery books section. During my previous visit I'd enjoyed the randomness of this area and the temptation to again be introduced to something unexpected was too much to resist. It was also fun talking to other browsers as we tried and failed to guess the identity of the brown paper-wrapped books. My choice was battenberg, friendship, mystery, life, which turned out to be Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon. I also got my hands on the Bookshop Day freebie, the short story Roar by Cecilia Ahern. Our visit ended with a nice chat with the bookseller, who I'd not met during my previous visit, before we had to head off to our next destination.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT8pzyGubc6ASIrdFIeJAQlTDmo3KlLdrqn2ZKkd1lzrJR7j9It5ZyXI_P5VZJc7gX0BeJXe2B8aBxmMdFX0YyJU6OUxIzJP2HivVgiDoX7IBo-nAy1yprDexUnIus0r0eTxW22QQB3M/s1600/Sev+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT8pzyGubc6ASIrdFIeJAQlTDmo3KlLdrqn2ZKkd1lzrJR7j9It5ZyXI_P5VZJc7gX0BeJXe2B8aBxmMdFX0YyJU6OUxIzJP2HivVgiDoX7IBo-nAy1yprDexUnIus0r0eTxW22QQB3M/s320/Sev+front.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2015/04/hidden-depths.html" target="_blank">Sevenoaks Bookshop</a> is another place I've previously visited, but not since a change of ownership. I loved it the first time around, so was a little nervous about returning for fear it might be different (it wasn't) and also out of shame at how long it's been since I last visited the nearest bookshop to where I live (hopefully the variety of bookshops appearing on this website explains the reason). I needn't have been concerned. Having been taken over by someone previously employed by the bookshop, all continues to be good here. I was also pleased to see how well my boyfriend took to our 20-minutes away local.<br />
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Within five minutes of entering Sevenoaks Bookshop we'd ordered tea and cake and my boyfriend had chosen two books to buy. Lots of browsing later (before, during and after cake) and he'd added to his pile and I'd found a book too. Between us we bought Tolstoy's War and Peace, Mann's Death in Venice, The Tangled Tree: A radical new history of life by David Quammen, and my choice of Maugham's The Painted Veil.<br />
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Our third destination saw us driving for a little longer as we headed over to <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2014/01/village-community-in-three-bookshop-town.html" target="_blank">Faversham</a>, a town I've previously visited and loved for its secondhand bookshops, and somewhere I can now say I love for its new bookshop.<br />
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Top Hat & Tales was celebrating its official opening, and although all the festivities had ended by the time we arrived there was still a feeling of excitement as we entered the bookshop. Champagne glasses were liberally scattered around the shelves and a large bowl of cheese and olives tempted us from the corner of the room. More importantly the bookseller was obviously thrilled by how well the day had gone and was joyously recounting the highlights with others who'd been in attendance. It was wonderful to arrive and see such happiness.<br />
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A half-and-half shop, Top Hat & Tales, formerly The Hat Shop, has been adapted by its owner to stock hats and books. As both areas can help improve the head I fully approve of such a combination, and again my boyfriend was impressed as he got caught up by the unusual selection of books on offer. For a new bookshop that had obviously been 'ravaged' by hoards of celebrants on opening day it really was very well stocked. I chose Watling Street by John Higgs, a book I've been looking out for since hearing the author interviewed by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05dgjyx" target="_blank">Cerys Matthews on Radio 6</a>.<br />
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We really enjoyed our time here and both agree Top Hat & Tales is an excellent addition to the town's bookshopping offering. I look forward to returning soon so I can buy and then take my hat off to it.<br />
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So ended one of the shortest bookshop crawls I've ever been on. Short but sweet and all the other phrases that emphasise quality over quantity. The main aim being to hopefully encourage a few others to realise that a bookshop crawl doesn't have to be epic to be worth doing and – most importantly – if you're willing to travel to your nearest indie bookshop it'll definitely be worth the effort.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12uRaj_66xzc1BoazNpWiIi-2HN9MhHZDC2Gwiz9gBEtJqI70dbxnOXwqMx8BjmREYzgVNk8pEcPXUvUcgfdVK_ax3i-Rm6DStH0FOstwzn_3ZHvmTZyK_z5cGccDyiDRqw6q-yOBEbI/s1600/Bookshop+day+2018+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1435" data-original-width="1600" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12uRaj_66xzc1BoazNpWiIi-2HN9MhHZDC2Gwiz9gBEtJqI70dbxnOXwqMx8BjmREYzgVNk8pEcPXUvUcgfdVK_ax3i-Rm6DStH0FOstwzn_3ZHvmTZyK_z5cGccDyiDRqw6q-yOBEbI/s320/Bookshop+day+2018+books.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://www.eastgrinsteadbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Bookshop</a><br />
22 High Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3AW<br />
Tel: 01342 322669 <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnPye7" target="_blank">@JohnPye7</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sevenoaks Bookshop</a><br />
147 High Street, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 1XJ<br />
Tel: 01732 450933 <a href="https://twitter.com/7OaksBookshop" target="_blank">@7Oaksbookshop</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Women-s-Clothing-Store/Top-Hat-Tales-225932530893140/" target="_blank">Top Hat & Tales</a><br />
110 West Street, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7JB<br />
Tel: 01795 227071 <a href="https://twitter.com/FavHatshop" target="_blank">@FavHatshop</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-61065573796870758112018-10-04T18:11:00.000+01:002018-10-04T18:11:32.618+01:00Finding my perfect for right now bookAs I write this, all I can think about is how much I want to drop everything and get back to my book.<br />
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It's one of those rare reads that is so perfectly what you want and need to be reading at the exact time you're reading it that it's almost impossible to find the words to explain what it is you want and need to be reading at that moment. Which will only make sense to anyone who's been lucky enough to have such an experience for themself. The book in question is certainly not one I can easily describe, and probably isn't the kind of book I'd have ever thought to ask for, had I even known how to ask for it, but The Overstory by Richard Powers has me absolutely hooked.<br />
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I bought it in the second bookshop I'm going to write about here, which is the older half of the two-bookshop 'chain' that is Jaffé & Neale. The visits were part of days two and three of my Independent Bookshops Week <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOm1HXF6122O7bECVkMI03bCmxZebR7yxHesfgttdcXce1XrHHCirwQMJvdDtX6bKCnpOoN5FKLJTt5ZvpcJQrADpsc9A04bg4KuKoLBTLglEz-3STF7UOVhfYjZ3DxKWQWyB2apuFmQ/s1600/JN+S+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOm1HXF6122O7bECVkMI03bCmxZebR7yxHesfgttdcXce1XrHHCirwQMJvdDtX6bKCnpOoN5FKLJTt5ZvpcJQrADpsc9A04bg4KuKoLBTLglEz-3STF7UOVhfYjZ3DxKWQWyB2apuFmQ/s320/JN+S+front.JPG" width="320" /></a>But first to the younger sibling, Jaffé & Neale in Stow-on-the-Wold. Our visit coincided with lunchtime, so I was particularly pleased to say yes to tea and cake and the opportunity to take a moment to sit and relax. The refreshments were delicious as we chatted to the bookseller about this young (a year or two) bookshop, books and cake. We browsed the books from comfy chairs in a large back room that was flooded with light, and we occasionally brought a book over to our table or talked to the other browsers. It was a delightful lunch break.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixouQHVRt4EFbP7_hTS40nOHY-cS50tDz2aM9Iv88M7AIWmfY0EOuiEXnf0XwhDuZZaFBF_pnOIA5SvCNXDyVCnUziJzkVy3ZMiTvixM33a_m6LtvAtBfdDV_9j9JE8HcB5rHhNNPNI0w/s1600/JN+S+me+best.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixouQHVRt4EFbP7_hTS40nOHY-cS50tDz2aM9Iv88M7AIWmfY0EOuiEXnf0XwhDuZZaFBF_pnOIA5SvCNXDyVCnUziJzkVy3ZMiTvixM33a_m6LtvAtBfdDV_9j9JE8HcB5rHhNNPNI0w/s320/JN+S+me+best.JPG" width="320" /></a>After taking that time to relax and absorb our surroundings, we began to investigate more thoroughly. Having previously visited the original <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2014/12/a-moment-in-market-town.html" target="_blank">Jaffé & Neale</a> I'd had an idea of what to expect from this bookshop but – as is often the case with indies – I was still surprised by our surroundings. Yes, the cake (lemon drizzle) was exactly as delicious as I'd expected and there were naturally some nods to the original shop, but this outlet was appealing in its own right.<br />
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Fiction (for adults and children) is found in the spacious back room we'd walked through to, with the long, thin front of the shop given over to the majority of the non-fiction. It's not a way of organisation I'm familiar with but I liked that my first view of the books was of subjects I wouldn't necessarily give much thought to. It inspired me to pay more attention and almost saw me buy from here.<br />
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In fact my boyfriend did choose something from here, picking up a Landscape Photographer of the Year book – as my unofficial bookshop crawl photographer I believe he was feeling inspired. While I returned to fiction(ish), chosing This is the story of a happy marriage by Ann Patchett. It's not a title I've seen before and the realness of the subject particularly appealed.<br />
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The lightness and chatter we found here was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday lunchtime and I could easily see myself regularly losing an hour or two in the bright back room if I lived nearer.<br />
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Heading to the original Jaffé & Neale the next day I didn't expect the same level of relaxation and happy first thing on a Monday morning, so it was a very pleasant surprise to find an equally chirpy welcome at the grumpiest time of the week.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMpxM0XR0Vg2LPBzGL8NHp7xkA762pUru8i2O3SWZ6vjeH4sli3HPJ9_f4LUlZQDdH-XNymkZNOfnEpS-LrX8tAmR_9O_dhUq4oeNSyDADROqc6pSsIVsz3AjpT2nSQzI80EL2hn1mYg/s1600/IMG_4594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1600" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMpxM0XR0Vg2LPBzGL8NHp7xkA762pUru8i2O3SWZ6vjeH4sli3HPJ9_f4LUlZQDdH-XNymkZNOfnEpS-LrX8tAmR_9O_dhUq4oeNSyDADROqc6pSsIVsz3AjpT2nSQzI80EL2hn1mYg/s320/IMG_4594.JPG" width="320" /></a>I'd had to drop my less chirpy boyfriend at a railway station so he could go to work, meaning I arrived at the Chipping Norton bookshop early and feeling a little lonely as I sat in my car, reading outside a quiet shop. The next time I looked up there was a bustle of activity as the booksellers were carrying chairs and tables about. Within moments the outdoor seating area was assembled and it was time for me to say hello.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JKAA8Q2qUVcZIvcsQaLQBBwzw2oNy733D3Lgz_lzF7tmsjHOAcaw3V9Zib3sMqxegL8XnErSoDyAdOiTA1Ir5DlHm6_BDCGoHi4Z6vAOjBXRw82xhrAo4NmwJQq6UNYuaMVeHArlSDg/s1600/JN+CN+childrens.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JKAA8Q2qUVcZIvcsQaLQBBwzw2oNy733D3Lgz_lzF7tmsjHOAcaw3V9Zib3sMqxegL8XnErSoDyAdOiTA1Ir5DlHm6_BDCGoHi4Z6vAOjBXRw82xhrAo4NmwJQq6UNYuaMVeHArlSDg/s320/JN+CN+childrens.JPG" width="320" /></a>Polly and Patrick were wonderfully smiley as they welcomed me into their bookshop, giving no hint of the Monday blues that most of us are full of at that time of day (I should've realised no bookseller could ever be grumpy about going to work). They knew <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2014/12/a-moment-in-market-town.html" target="_blank">I'd visited before</a>, so they told me how the shop had changed since then – with quite a rearranging of rooms – and put the kettle on.<br />
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While they finished their last bits of setting up I re-familiarised myself with the bookshop, delighting at the way the staggered bookcases of the revamped ground floor (which is now home to non-fiction) draw you through to the children's area, before heading upstairs.<br />
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I'd been told the upstairs front room was converted into a reading room, but I hadn't quite anticipated how stunning a sight it would be (my photos don't do it justice so you'll have to visit to find out what I'm talking about). The wall of books is really something as you walk into the light-filled room, and I wasn't the only person to think so. By the time I arrived here another fan had set herself up in one of the comfy chairs facing across the room from the bookcases, with her coffee and laptop and ready to work. It was an envy-inducing sight.<br />
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This room kept me for some time, but I wanted to have a proper chat with the booksellers and I knew coffee and cake (specifically tiffin) awaited me downstairs, so off I went.<br />
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Having spent a lifetime in publishing and bookshops, Polly and Patrick are both incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their subject. A former president of the Booksellers Association, Patrick tutors others in an <a href="https://www.booksellers.org.uk/jointheba/aspiringandnewbooksellers/thinkingofopeningabookshop" target="_blank">introduction to bookselling</a> course and it was a pleasure to talk about everything he does to encourage and support the bookshop community.<br />
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We paused in our conversation to pose for a photo, which was when Patrick insisted on holding his current* favourite book, The Overstory by Richard Powers (you know where this is going).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCJZ4ED1e5jA7YL_QZiy6ZNLmwmSf5yog6fU3yu5edPEWEGu_8uMw4CpFAzAewwadf_oci-ZjLG0WiFvkalBrU7stX-ceWsc5id6SY1yo_6GyIlkGLKQt3Gr5H2smxp8vQxe2UC9nAhs/s1600/JN+CN+book+best.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCJZ4ED1e5jA7YL_QZiy6ZNLmwmSf5yog6fU3yu5edPEWEGu_8uMw4CpFAzAewwadf_oci-ZjLG0WiFvkalBrU7stX-ceWsc5id6SY1yo_6GyIlkGLKQt3Gr5H2smxp8vQxe2UC9nAhs/s200/JN+CN+book+best.JPG" width="150" /></a>I rarely buy hardback books because I like to be able to carry my current read everywhere with me, but in the few words he said about why he'd fallen for the book I knew I couldn't leave without it and my only regret – if you can call it that – is that I'm being forced to read it slowly because of the lack of portability. That said, it's a nice change to have a book that can only be read when curled up at home, comfy and warm and free from the distractions of the world.<br />
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In fact, I have the same difficulty tearing myself away from this book as I did from these two bookshops. Bravo Jaffé & Neale!<br />
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<a href="https://www.jaffeandneale.co.uk/jaffe-neale-in-stow-on-the-wold" target="_blank">Jaffe and Neale</a><br />
8 Park Street, Stow-on-the-Wold,<br />
Gloucestershire GL54 1AQ<br />
Tel: 01451 832000<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/jandnstow" target="_blank">@jandnstow</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.jaffeandneale.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jaffe and Neale</a><br />
1 Middle Row, Chipping Norton,<br />
Oxfordshire OX7 5NH<br />
Tel: 01608 641033<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/Jaffeandneale" target="_blank">@Jaffeandneale</a><br />
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*If you want to hear Patrick at his most enthusiastic, ask about his all-time favourite book.Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com2Jaffe and Neale, 1 Middle Row, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire OX7 5NH, UK51.942368599999988 -1.545127200000024551.941756599999991 -1.5463877000000246 51.942980599999984 -1.5438667000000244tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-85948596667447285362018-08-19T16:55:00.001+01:002018-08-19T16:55:28.977+01:00Annual review #5: Still loving every moment of bookshoppingIt's August, which can only mean one thing: The bookshop blog is five.<br />
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The time has flown, but looking back over those five years (and possibly influenced by my current read*) is a realisation not of years racing by but of roots growing, anchoring me deeper to my love of books, bookshops and booksellers. Of branches expanding my life in all manner of different directions and of leaves unfurling, turning to the sun as my life has become brighter and more filled with experiences with every passing year of bookshop blogging.<br />
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Yes, that's possibly the strangest and most ill-explained metaphor I've ever inflicted on anyone, but it really is what came to mind as I sat down to type.<br />
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After five years I feel remarkably lucky that I ever sat at my laptop and decided to embark on this barmy adventure that even now prompts looks of bewilderment and raised eyebrows on a regular basis. But instead of returning to the explanation of <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2015/08/annual-review-2-everyone-needs-hobby.html" target="_blank">everyone needs a hobby</a>, I tell the bewildered some of the wonderful, unexpected ways <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/08/annual-review-3-how-bookshops-have.html" target="_blank">my life has changed</a> as a result of this adventure, or of some of the adventures themselves. People are often still bemused, but they're also coming around to the understanding that a bookshop is <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/03/m40-junction-11-where-to-find-bookshop.html" target="_blank">more than four walls</a> and a load of shelves. Each individual bookshop is a <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/05/what-we-found-when-we-got-lost.html" target="_blank">community</a> unlike any other, and if they can <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/05/what-difference-can-one-person-make.html" target="_blank">influence</a> the course of one life, they can do so to others.<br />
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I can still see myself five years ago, sat on the sofa in my old home, a Victorian terrace at the dodgy end of town. The neighbours rowing through the wall, a draft through the fireplace and my best friend and housemate about to move two hours away to live with her boyfriend**. I had a job I liked but hindsight tells me I was aware it wasn't going to last forever, minimal social life and next to no friends in the same town as me. Life was okay, but it wasn't going to win any prizes if turned into a book or film.<br />
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Starting the bookshop blog gave me a sense of purpose, it was an excuse to travel, to buy books and to meet in the real world the many bookshops I'd met online through the magic of Twitter. I was quite naive when I started writing – I hadn't really grasped the challenge of keeping to a weekly schedule of writing a blog – but it was a fun learning curve and even though I know bookshops are amazing I still can't believe just how many of you take the time to regularly read this blog. Knowing how much support I have for this adventure really makes my day, and when I hear of people being inspired to visit their local bookshop as a result of one of my blogs I do a little leap of joy. I don't pretend to think I can change the world, but to know I've changed a few individual worlds is brilliant.<br />
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That said, when the Booksellers Association included me as a Bookshop Hero and invited me to go on a <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a> for Independent Bookshops Week I certainly wasn't going to tell them they'd got the wrong person. I embraced the opportunity, occasionally wore a cape in public and mostly marvelled at my luck at getting to meet so many more lovely bookshops. I've already told you about some of them, the rest are following in the coming weeks, then I'll return to the randomness of telling you about bookshops from wherever I've found myself.<br />
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The list of visited bookshops I've not yet written about continues to grow – as does the size of my book collection. I may not always be managing to write about one bookshop a week, but I'm definitely still visiting them and my rule of spending money in each bookshop I write about stands firm: If I can't find something I want to buy in a bookshop then why should I be encouraging you to do so?***<br />
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The expanding bookcases now look like this:<br />
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The bookshop blog takes up the two bookcases on the left and all the unsorted books on the top (and 'one or two' more out of picture). Before you all start commenting in horror, there is an order to the top books, they're in groups according to where and when they were bought and if I've already written about the bookshop they are from. As usual, the rest of the books are ordered according to when their bookshop appears on this blog. The bookcase on the right is one I've given over to the boy (more elsewhere) and yes, that is two boxes of books in front. We're still trying to work out where to fit more bookcases in...<br />
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Anyway, what about my highlights for the past year? It's always tough to pick bookshops out to mention here, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you my highlight of the year (decade) occurred when a bookseller sent me to <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/05/a-dream-come-true.html" target="_blank">meet a boat</a>.<br />
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I've also met an unusual <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/02/dilly-dally-among-books.html" target="_blank">bookshop pet</a>, <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/09/a-feast-for-book-lovers.html" target="_blank">dined in</a>, <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/11/in-search-of-wildlife-in-costa-rica.html" target="_blank">gone wild</a> and got the t-shirt (although <a href="https://twitter.com/Edgybooks" target="_blank">The Edge of the World Bookshop</a> is still waiting to be written up. The delightful little <a href="https://twitter.com/ImaginedThings" target="_blank">Imagined Things </a>is also on the must-write list, famous for its <a href="https://twitter.com/ImaginedThings/status/1011309829103726592" target="_blank">bad day tweet</a>, loved for its excellent books). Not forgetting <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/09/a-labyrinth-of-books.html" target="_blank">losing myself</a>, meeting a <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/12/finding-sanctuary-in-battle.html" target="_blank">new indie</a> and the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/07/putting-personality-before-brand.html" target="_blank">personality</a> of a 'chain'. Even the boy <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/04/in-which-boy-falls-in-love-with-bookshop.html" target="_blank">fell in love</a>.<br />
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It's been another great year of bookshopping, and while the rest of the world may feel like it's going to pot whenever you turn on the news, it's good to know we always have bookshops as a place of sanctuary.<br />
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Happy bookshopping,<br />
Erica x<br />
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* The Overstory by Richard Powers, bought from Jaffe & Neal in Chipping Norton.<br />
** Reader, she married him. And she didn't manage to move far enough away to escape me.<br />
*** It is incredibly rare that I visit a bookshop and choose not to write about it, but when that happens I keep quiet and give them another chance at a later date. Everyone's allowed a bad day every now and then and there are already more than enough people complaining on the internet.Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-50123340239496496772018-08-13T21:28:00.000+01:002018-08-13T21:28:53.015+01:00Erica in wonderlandBookshopping can be a bit like falling down the rabbit hole. From the outside I'm visiting a shop on a high street, which is a really rather unremarkable experience, but from the inside it leads to all manner of possibilities, encounters with weird and wonderful people and the potential for more adventures than a trip to your local newsagents can offer.<br />
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Even in the most ordinary of bookshops you never know what you're going to get if you open your mind to the possibility of all the offerings hidden behind simple paperback covers, but let's be honest, there's no such thing as an ordinary bookshop.<br />
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The second day of my IBW 2018 <a href="https://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a> began with a different Lewis Carroll reference, as we visited Madhatter Bookshop in Burford. You enter this bookshop not through a rabbit hole but a delightfully quirky door, and the first thing you see is books. Lots of them. There's also a large selection of hats, but we'll come to those later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSp-0K_DAC0UR-BHBDBDfU7awPi7UQrKDJ0CJJWlT3ECyft2y2jITYHhNs4RllI8cV2WWv3nxZe3OqU4MQkqr_2yte-Xygw4iBSBlUVsO2vCNob_TJSofgV0MVwtwccNu4bNGNqZe1D8/s1600/mh+hats+and+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSp-0K_DAC0UR-BHBDBDfU7awPi7UQrKDJ0CJJWlT3ECyft2y2jITYHhNs4RllI8cV2WWv3nxZe3OqU4MQkqr_2yte-Xygw4iBSBlUVsO2vCNob_TJSofgV0MVwtwccNu4bNGNqZe1D8/s320/mh+hats+and+books.JPG" width="320" /></a>To the right of the door is the wall of general fiction, next to the till so it's in the perfect place to chat with the bookseller while you browse. Which is exactly what I did, learning about the bookshop, the books, hats and enjoying a great selection of recommendations. This latter point was very welcome but also challenging, because even without the good advice I'd found a good five or six titles I couldn't imagine leaving behind. You see, Madhatter Bookshop's shelves are among the most unusually stocked I've visited.<br />
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Four booksellers choose the stock, each with their own reading preferences and areas of expertise, and it really shows here. Sure there were a few must-have titles that every bookshop needs to stock, but otherwise the range and diversity of the books was remarkable. These observations aren't just limited to general fiction.<br />
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Intelligent non-fiction is cleverly placed among the hats and walk into the back room and the children's section is brilliant. I also further lost myself in the classics (where I was pleased to spot the odd classic science fiction title alongside their contemporaries) and crime, which is usually my least favourite section to browse. In every instance I'd spot unexpected stand out titles generally only found in the largest of bookshops. Independent bookshops are often limited for space and therefore have to stock books accordingly, so to find such a large number of unexpected titles and authors was a treat.<br />
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Returning to the front room, I'd chosen my book (Money by Emile Zola, while the boy picked David Bellos’ The Novel of the Century) and now I couldn't leave without trying on a hat or two. I admit this isn't my area of expertise, but there was quite a mix of styles and at least two happy hat buyers visited the shop while we were there. I also enjoyed the opportunity to pose with my bookshop hero cape and a hat, while I'd never encourage anyone to visit any shop purely for the fun of trying out the stock the bookseller embraced my adventure and encouraged me to find my superhero style!<br />
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With books and hats and beautiful details everywhere there's lots to enjoy in Madhatter Bookshop, which is actually one half of a pair. We didn't have the time to venture to the second outlet on this visit – that will be a treat for another day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3-Bfz6dbSRVIQlH7vEksBqfHDB4HoutWLbxBCRQBsrxWrVXRDp9meqA_IQWgLamuIHaBRBIELTGgj1BY31Naod8eNxKOYYG8tJErnACEnKWcb6gud9nTfFP3ufq65ANqMe7omMZb930/s1600/mh+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3-Bfz6dbSRVIQlH7vEksBqfHDB4HoutWLbxBCRQBsrxWrVXRDp9meqA_IQWgLamuIHaBRBIELTGgj1BY31Naod8eNxKOYYG8tJErnACEnKWcb6gud9nTfFP3ufq65ANqMe7omMZb930/s320/mh+books.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://www.madhatterbooks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Madhatter Bookshop</a><br />
122 High Street, Burford,<br />
Oxfordshire OX18 4QJ<br />
Tel: 01993 822539<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/madhatterbook" target="_blank">@madhatterbook</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0Madhatter Bookshop, 122 High Street, Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4QJ, UK51.8075632 -1.637134999999943851.8072562 -1.6377654999999438 51.807870199999996 -1.6365044999999439tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-65728710429095488062018-08-05T19:16:00.000+01:002018-08-05T19:16:33.099+01:00Buzzing for booksWhen I think back to my encounter with Octavia's Bookshop in Cirencester – visited during my <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">IBW2018 bookshop crawl</a> – my immediate memory is of the joyful buzz of happy children.<br />
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They were noisy, chattering, enthusiastic, boisterous, happy, excited and any number of other words that convey a sense of positive noise. Some were loud, some were more mellow, but for the entire time of our visit there was an infectious buzz of chatter coming from the young readers this bookshop is aimed at. There were no piercing shrieks or angry voices, no one needed to be told off and there was certainly no bad behaviour, just a room full of children and their accompanying adults in search of their next favourite book. It was a wonderful sound and incredibly infectious.<br />
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Not that there needed to be any children in this gorgeous purple surrounding for me to enjoy it. Even empty the bookshop is a luxurious delight, with sumptuous decorations so that the Moomins scattered around the room (and flying in the window) looked like works of art in their custom-made outfits.<br />
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A large L-shaped space, Octavia's Bookshop follows the usual style of fiction and recommendations at the front, then reference then – where children's would usually be – a dedicated corner for adults. It was a nice touch and yet another reason for me to smile. I didn't see any adults in this section during our visit, but they definitely appeared to be enjoying themselves as they joined in the browsing with their youngsters. My favourites were the adults reading picture books to their children, but there's also a lot to be said for the middle grade youngsters who marched determinedly to the shelf of their favoured author to see if a new title might be available.<br />
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The thing all the children had in common was their apparent love of reading and a willingness to share it as they loudly told whoever was willing to listen just why X was their favourite author, or what they hope will happen to Y character during their next adventure. I challenge even the grumpiest of adults to not enjoy such sounds as they browse shelves holding books from a genre they're less familiar with.<br />
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We didn't get to meet Octavia herself during our visit, but the bookseller in charge was obviously as knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the books as the young customers he was serving. He also took the time to talk to us, telling me the story behind the custom-clothed Moomins and the bookshop in general.<br />
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Ordinarily in a children's bookshop I'd make a point of asking for a recommendation but this time I resisted because I'd already spotted a series that's long appealed: I chose Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens.<br />
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I'm conscious I've not described the bookshop itself in any great detail and this isn't down to any failing on its part, it really was a stunning space, but I was so taken by that buzz of children and the joy they exuded that I feel their excitement is the thing to be focused on here. Youngsters aren't shy with their opinions, and the noise about Octavia's Bookshop was 100 per cent positive.<br />
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<a href="http://www.octaviasbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Octavia’s Bookshop</a><br />
24 Black Jack Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 2AA<br />
Tel: 01285 650677<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/octaviabookshop" target="_blank">@octaviabookshop</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0Octavia's Bookshop, 24 Black Jack Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 2AA, UK51.717371700000008 -1.969960000000014651.716142200000007 -1.9724815000000147 51.718601200000009 -1.9674385000000145tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-25026382053605051362018-07-22T22:26:00.000+01:002018-07-22T22:26:13.099+01:00In conversationIt can't be repeated enough that bookshops are places to have conversations. They're one of the few real-world places where it's acceptable to talk to a stranger without looking like you're up to no good.<br />
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Which is why, when walking through the entrance to Stroud Bookshop and hearing a couple at the counter asking for a map of <a href="https://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/11/in-search-of-wildlife-in-costa-rica.html" target="_blank">Costa Rica</a> I didn't think twice about joining in as they discussed a future holiday destination. My boyfriend and I had barely seen more than the bookshop's recommends table, but within seconds we were deep in conversation with the two buyers and two booksellers, as we encouraged their idea of buying a map and shared as many tips as we could following our recent holiday of a lifetime to the country.<br />
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Okay, so we had some common ground in the form of the country, but that's part of what the bookshop experience is about: being in front of the gardening and swapping tips for growing spuds; telling the cookery books browser exactly how easy it is to use the book in their hands (but not the second one, that's for the professionals); joining in with a moan that your favourite crime writer hasn't published anything in the last month; or sharing a love of whichever obscure translation you've just finished reading with a fellow fan. And that's before we move onto the more random conversations of what's going on across the road, how well tea'd up the bookseller is, or where you bought your shoes.<br />
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Bookshops are about conversation, and don't let anyone with a fear of silent, serious places tell you otherwise.<br />
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Our conversation was lively and a great ice-breaker for getting to know the booksellers and hear more about the bookshop once the map-buyers had gone. Even if it did mean we didn't get to the large array of bookshelves for at least 20 minutes. The bookshelves were obviously worth the wait.<br />
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Stroud Bookshop is curiously arranged into three long walkways with bookcases either side that maximise the available space. It's a clever way of cramming in a lot of books without feeling claustrophobic. Browsers do have to politely pass each other but it was never too close for comfort and the walls of bookshelves were so long that there was easily enough space for many of us to be enjoying our surroundings at the same time. This was helped by the volume and variety of books, with lots of recommended titles and some excellent choices throughout the genres.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LkqmL8WYgNzKslrDHMIKeCNJbgcH_LWlsMcFlDozfGq15ZPlduuPqWP8dGKTAOBLQWJDYdMzR6ar54kOgP6ziLCxQPB58rOfw6WjpUzC-PPDyFMPUKgDEFCG3YTdhAUXoofADV97tcg/s1600/Stroud+book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1441" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LkqmL8WYgNzKslrDHMIKeCNJbgcH_LWlsMcFlDozfGq15ZPlduuPqWP8dGKTAOBLQWJDYdMzR6ar54kOgP6ziLCxQPB58rOfw6WjpUzC-PPDyFMPUKgDEFCG3YTdhAUXoofADV97tcg/s200/Stroud+book.JPG" width="180" /></a>Frustratingly, most of my pictures from here are out of focus, so you'll have to trust me on my comments (or visit and find out for yourself), but there really is a lot to see here. A clever hidden turn gives children the opportunity to be tucked away and browse without distraction, while the non-fiction offering is also plentiful. I bought a book I feel I should have read some time ago, but it's one I've somehow only encountered through recommendations: Elizabeth Strout's My name is Lucy Barton.<br />
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In a similar manner to this book, Stroud Bookshop had somehow slipped off my original list of destinations for the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">IBW2018 bookshop crawl</a> (even though it had been suggested as a place to visit). Fortunately it was easy to find and also looks to be in a rather quirky town, I'd definitely recommend taking a little time to find it.<br />
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We'd made the effort because Stroud Bookshop was recommended during conversations in earlier <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/07/putting-personality-before-brand.html" target="_blank">destinations</a>. Which just goes to show, it really is good to talk in bookshops.<br />
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<a href="https://www.booksellers.org.uk/Bookshop-Details.aspx?m=241550352" target="_blank">Stroud Bookshop</a><br />
23 High Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 1AJ<br />
Tel: 01453 756646 <a href="https://twitter.com/stroudbookshop" target="_blank">@stroudbookshop</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com2Stroud Bookshop, 23 High Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 1AJ, UK51.745031999999988 -2.215459499999951751.74441749999999 -2.2167199999999516 51.745646499999985 -2.2141989999999518tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-4803033824518371742018-07-15T21:33:00.000+01:002018-07-15T21:33:41.348+01:00A community book roomWhen it comes to long descriptions of bookshop encounters, this week's isn't going to be near the top of the list. The bookshop was small and my time there brief, but what it lacks in big adventures it makes up for with big heart.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJHOcu-bDP84jbT9tn-eCwu0_WxW_hIiWvzFqrN7MjlWH7jGn3YtPq_opLgxz0Zrrp42s9Iem7hhIBEKwlnxzaYh_gBt4Gjwrue6NXXKqdfDR5zrWiCLTK_uShU9uG6OkVS0RjEMHS5k/s1600/cbr+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJHOcu-bDP84jbT9tn-eCwu0_WxW_hIiWvzFqrN7MjlWH7jGn3YtPq_opLgxz0Zrrp42s9Iem7hhIBEKwlnxzaYh_gBt4Gjwrue6NXXKqdfDR5zrWiCLTK_uShU9uG6OkVS0RjEMHS5k/s320/cbr+front.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Cotswold Book Room in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, was destination two on my <a href="https://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">IBW2018 bookshop crawl</a>, and the first thing to note on arrival is that this is actually three rooms. The name arises from its origins, which were in a room of a house many decades ago. The location and size of the bookshop may have changed, but the name has stuck, and I think it's a good one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7MeR4IVo5LkiMJchvjmxELTr9opjfuhqjBgkLfu61vlMOCcZ-_iwhO-ZT9kPGb9xKgzCCtGixthv1BTYHVyCvhpJFTZqK2_VQXfWbkcS45gh11TFAa_CFwAQfWnduHJaOBSUOkIERgk/s1600/cbr+fiction.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="945" data-original-width="1600" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7MeR4IVo5LkiMJchvjmxELTr9opjfuhqjBgkLfu61vlMOCcZ-_iwhO-ZT9kPGb9xKgzCCtGixthv1BTYHVyCvhpJFTZqK2_VQXfWbkcS45gh11TFAa_CFwAQfWnduHJaOBSUOkIERgk/s320/cbr+fiction.JPG" width="320" /></a>The three rooms are small and there wasn't a huge amount of stock during my visit, but my boyfriend and I found plenty of books to catch our attention and the reason for the occasional area of space on the shelves was happily explained by the ladies behind the counter. It was these ladies who made the bookshop such a joy.<br />
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Conversation flowed easily as they told me about their time running the bookshop, its history and its part in the community. The word community comes up time and again when writing about bookshops, and I make no apology for repeating it here. The two ladies of Cotswold Book Room clearly put a great deal of importance in their community, and hearing about visitors to the bookshop and their other experiences really emphasised the heart within this small, simple space.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHZbgXh6PW9WNPMOqWTWR3bfF3fy8oqB3PSOZqAGrNKHDotsrZrNQ4psRctzNU4a6jIHNs3_M2TCEQ01bhWluSOGpz0YpQpLkFRn1NCekTcVBvuzFjknfKeinXQmOlS-oCGdtB5WgK_Q/s1600/cbr+cape.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHZbgXh6PW9WNPMOqWTWR3bfF3fy8oqB3PSOZqAGrNKHDotsrZrNQ4psRctzNU4a6jIHNs3_M2TCEQ01bhWluSOGpz0YpQpLkFRn1NCekTcVBvuzFjknfKeinXQmOlS-oCGdtB5WgK_Q/s200/cbr+cape.JPG" width="150" /></a>Our visit may have been brief but it was filled with laughter and interesting stories, and the ladies happily offered advice as to where might be best to pose with the cape. I picked up M R Carey's The Boy on the Bridge, which may not be the most obvious choice to remind me of such a happy, local bookshop, but it is a book I've long wanted to read so I was pleased to find it among the fiction shelves here.<br />
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Cotswold Book Room may not be the most remarkable of destinations, but I really do believe its community is the richer for its presence.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh4HRQ_D4wxnICSCHQrJRJuosjBFchzUjmhhFTARXtZfZ0mlRM30two2AWxdep3_0SmlrGNk6H84BST-VlxnP21UoO48DCZtBpGxqOp68eWPjmP2F9QtgxuCd8bv-DLvt7NmHTq_Jjoo/s1600/cbr+book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1244" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh4HRQ_D4wxnICSCHQrJRJuosjBFchzUjmhhFTARXtZfZ0mlRM30two2AWxdep3_0SmlrGNk6H84BST-VlxnP21UoO48DCZtBpGxqOp68eWPjmP2F9QtgxuCd8bv-DLvt7NmHTq_Jjoo/s200/cbr+book.JPG" width="155" /></a><a href="https://www.booksellers.org.uk/Bookshop-Details.aspx?m=481440731" target="_blank">Cotswold Book Room</a><br />
26 Long Street, Wotton-Under-Edge,<br />
Gloucestershire GL12 7BT<br />
Tel: 01453 843140Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0Cotswold Book Room, 26 Long Street, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 7BT, UK51.6377138 -2.352627500000039651.6370978 -2.3538880000000395 51.6383298 -2.3513670000000397tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-85341417792257575792018-07-08T17:28:00.001+01:002018-07-15T21:43:46.994+01:00Putting personality before brandFor this week's blog I'm looking at contrasts and welcomes, and how two very different but related bookshops can be equally appealing, as we visit the two Yellow-Lighted Bookshops in Gloucestershire as part of my <a href="https://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/join-me-on-bookshop-crawl.html" target="_blank">Independent Bookshop Week</a> 2018 <a href="https://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/bookshops-home-to-real-life-super-heroes.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a>.<br />
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But first, a small moment of insecurity from me. One of the reasons I write this blog is to show people that bookshops can be welcoming places for anyone, that they're not the scary, elitist places I feared they might be when I was a teenager. I can confirm they're definitely neither of those things (not even when they're in somewhere as well-to-do as the Cotswolds), but even with that knowledge I can still, on occasion, get nervous about visiting a bookshop.<br />
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Which was pretty much my state of mind as I arrived at The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop in Tetbury. It's daft really, because I'd been to this bookshop <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/08/a-pause-on-way-from-to-b.html" target="_blank">before</a>. I knew it was a good quality, friendly place and I could even remember exactly where it is in the town and in relation to parking (very close). And yet, the nearer we got to our destination the more nervous I got. You see, this time I was expected. And I had a cape. Neither of which fall into my usual experience of visiting a bookshop. Obviously things went well, but I reckon it doesn't hurt to remind others that even the most confident of bookshoppers can still have an attack of the nerves.<br />
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Those nerves were swiftly banished by Hereward the bookshop owner, who greeted us and offered us coffee and a bun as soon as he saw us. I obviously can't have been in my right mind because I declined the bun, but the tea and coffee he bought my boyfriend and I from the independent cafe across the road were just what was needed to recover from a couple of hundred miles in a car.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuC3njCkXcNymSWF_cj2hJM0X8oCbzjyknXD347Nj7gkoviSbfwn9OQ4fVKVmo4WLNxCPb_Rjwp289Wa7Axae2PoJfXQLmI6je10ceFILTm4l2s3GjVV3yodOCZaUdiOALrnslRwkieM/s1600/ylt+view+inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1600" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuC3njCkXcNymSWF_cj2hJM0X8oCbzjyknXD347Nj7gkoviSbfwn9OQ4fVKVmo4WLNxCPb_Rjwp289Wa7Axae2PoJfXQLmI6je10ceFILTm4l2s3GjVV3yodOCZaUdiOALrnslRwkieM/s320/ylt+view+inside.JPG" width="320" /></a>Hereward's brief distraction getting the drinks also gave me a few minutes to regain some composure after the drive. I wandered around blindly for a few moments, reacquainted myself with the different sections, admired the choice of books and then collapsed in a heap on the comfy leather sofa in the snug children's area.<br />
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The bookshop was as good as I'd remembered and I soon lost my boyfriend to the bookshelves, which is his way of paying a bookshop a compliment. The selection met the approval of both of us, with warm wooden shelves and tasteful decoration perfectly pitched to make the browser comfortable without being a distraction.<br />
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I enjoyed looking at the books on offer, but once the bookseller returned I had a question to ask and the visit went from there. I knew the bookshop was named for a book, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee, but my question was why. I won't share the story here because I want you to visit the bookshop and find out for yourselves, but as someone who is fascinated by the reasons for names I was impressed by the answer. So impressed I bought the book as a reminder of my visit.<br />
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Conversation with Hereward was pleasant and relaxed in an understated, calm way. We covered a remarkable selection of topics that gave me a feel for the area, the bookshop, books and bookselling – after years of writing this blog I'm still amazed by how much I continue to learn about this enviable but tough career choice. It was a pleasant, informative conversation, punctuated by the odd customer query and accompanied by the gentle buzz of browsers in a busy bookshop. I'm certain we could've both happily stayed here all day.<br />
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Instead (after subtly posing for a photo with the cape) we continued with day one of our bookshop crawl, which included stop three: The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop in Nailsworth (we'll come back to stop two another day).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRNpZv7BuR_k8MkvGWytvX-N-RQbCVYEj5jM0nelp6ch-3lLiaOCf752XM_HMz_wz-GKYL3aEHpIvRrOcGsnV11D-e-iUIMgx-r4wkX2ycgQdA49vPagffm3V0YtyLJ1fvjljxalrsFo/s1600/yln+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRNpZv7BuR_k8MkvGWytvX-N-RQbCVYEj5jM0nelp6ch-3lLiaOCf752XM_HMz_wz-GKYL3aEHpIvRrOcGsnV11D-e-iUIMgx-r4wkX2ycgQdA49vPagffm3V0YtyLJ1fvjljxalrsFo/s200/yln+front.JPG" width="200" /></a>Where Tetbury was refined and calm, Nailsworth was bright and bubbly. Louise the bookseller greeted us like old friends and her energy and enthusiasm were evident for all to see. I've often thought booksellers – aka bookshop heroes – are the secret ingredient to making each bookshop unique, and it was never more obvious than in a comparison of The Yellow-Lighted Bookshops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IPYF2Qf7sVshFlkrdHiVELSo6P2QqWvJ4BQ4K4Qf243SJ9DZ-9pNpLw3ZzTBRK3erDU7NKhto4OnJb47CvZfmlLqjg1a0l4Ce6j6CN6dU__6bK_t3A0wloTqzqxvEtTkXlT6ZjurLeg/s1600/yln+inside+back.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IPYF2Qf7sVshFlkrdHiVELSo6P2QqWvJ4BQ4K4Qf243SJ9DZ-9pNpLw3ZzTBRK3erDU7NKhto4OnJb47CvZfmlLqjg1a0l4Ce6j6CN6dU__6bK_t3A0wloTqzqxvEtTkXlT6ZjurLeg/s320/yln+inside+back.JPG" width="320" /></a>While both bear the same name and smart blue and gold signage outside, their ingredients differ. There were obviously some similarities in this younger bookshop, but these were more of a nod to the original than a copy. Personality – rather than brand – is the priority, enabling the two sister bookshops to have grown to suit their respective communities.<br />
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During our visit we saw a larger number of children in this second bookshop, and it was clear Louise has an enthusiasm for encouraging younger readers. She welcomed them as equals and the children's space was well-thought out with a sweet little hidey-hole for those who'd rather sit and read without distractions. She also embraced the crazy of the cloak, joining me for a photo and helping me realise there was no need to feel self-conscious about my not-so-secret superhero accessory. Louise is a true superhero.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgy2S5-j11fTUvuhXCnJcooZJclZB6TJp8LzEm3TsbIFD8M3O5EIP7XLrkx_awZpaDRHIZceO2d-jzYYL8c4CZ67PUs4_yyLUo6Le7kMpvKeYbW5HL0To03MVYiGlYVxj90oUEHIcnNU/s1600/yln+book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgy2S5-j11fTUvuhXCnJcooZJclZB6TJp8LzEm3TsbIFD8M3O5EIP7XLrkx_awZpaDRHIZceO2d-jzYYL8c4CZ67PUs4_yyLUo6Le7kMpvKeYbW5HL0To03MVYiGlYVxj90oUEHIcnNU/s200/yln+book.JPG" width="150" /></a>When it came to buying, my attention was grabbed by pretty much all of the offerings on the recommends table, so I turned to Louise for help in whittling my selection down. This prompted further conversation about books and reading and I'm very pleased with my eventual choice of Less by Andrew Sean Greer.<br />
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Where the first Yellow-Lighted Bookshop in Tetbury had been exactly the calm, relaxing influence I'd needed to recover from a tiring drive, Nailsworth's Yellow-Lighted Bookshop a few hours later was the perfect energetic boost to ensure our bookshop crawl took flight.<br />
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Which pretty much sums up the unique experience of visiting different independent bookshops: they put people first.<br />
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<a href="http://yellow-lightedbookshop.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop</a><br />
21 Church St, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8JG<br />
Tel: 01666 500221 <a href="https://twitter.com/ylbookshop" target="_blank">@YLBookshop</a><br />
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<a href="http://yellow-lightedbookshop.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop</a><br />
17 Fountain Street, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire GL6 0BL<br />
Tel: 01453 832555 <a href="https://twitter.com/ylbookshop" target="_blank">@YLBookshop</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com2The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, 21 Church Street, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8JG, UK51.6362106 -2.159977700000013151.6349786 -2.1624992000000129 51.6374426 -2.1574562000000133tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-19536217888439217952018-06-19T23:11:00.000+01:002018-11-25T20:49:06.550+00:00Bookshops, home to real-life super heroes<b>This is a not very brief overview of my adventures in bookshopping. There's simply too much to say about each bookshop to post it all here. I'll share the full story of each bookshop experience in individual blogs. Or for a few photo highlights, scroll to the end.</b><br />
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This week is <a href="https://indiebookshopweek.org.uk/" target="_blank">Independent Bookshop Week</a>, and while I personally think every week is a good week to visit an indie, I do love having an extra excuse to go on a bookshop crawl.<br />
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The theme of this year's week is Bookshop Heroes, and as part of the celebrations the Bookseller's Association suggested I might want to take a trip to meet a few more of those heroes than usual by travelling around the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/06/join-me-on-bookshop-crawl.html" target="_blank">Cotswolds</a>. I packed my bags and my boyfriend into the car and set out on a three-day adventure.<br />
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<h3>
Day one</h3>
Setting off from our Kent home, the first few hours of our Saturday were spent in remarkably clear traffic on the M25 and M4, giving us time to discuss the adventure to come and me time to psyche myself up for wearing a superhero cape in public. I may not be a bookseller but the BA was happy for me to join in with the heroic fun.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjXXC9kUBL0XFBS7BdLiMseu0vaV19RuKP3fhyphenhyphennY0K8DNK_-NewIcZrqkGmlecH-wKLYl-0-PLedY5vpymzOYuIrdmTml_wwjrCVyL1C2dUAF_kiN6gDl2FugdzkbcFbLxSfyWyavc0E/s1600/1+yl+t.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjXXC9kUBL0XFBS7BdLiMseu0vaV19RuKP3fhyphenhyphennY0K8DNK_-NewIcZrqkGmlecH-wKLYl-0-PLedY5vpymzOYuIrdmTml_wwjrCVyL1C2dUAF_kiN6gDl2FugdzkbcFbLxSfyWyavc0E/s320/1+yl+t.JPG" width="240" /></a>Even though I'd <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/08/a-pause-on-way-from-to-b.html" target="_blank">been there before</a>, I was still nervous to be arriving at our first bookshop because I'm not used to being expected. It was therefore a relief to walk into <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/07/putting-personality-before-brand.html" target="_blank">The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop</a> in Tetbury and be immediately welcomed with offers of coffee. This warm welcome and few minutes to pause and sit on the comfy bookshop sofa were exactly what I needed to recover from the long drive.<br />
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My familiarity with the bookshop meant I had more time to chat with the bookseller, leaving my boyfriend to browse and occasionally comment on how impressed he was with the choice of books on offer. The conversation included bookshops (including a recommendation of an additional destination while we were in the area), books, the Cotswolds and the reason behind the unusual name. This last part of the conversation was the reason I bought The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee, but I could have easily left overloaded with other books.<br />
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Next up came <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/07/a-community-book-room.html" target="_blank">Cotswold Book Room</a>. Probably the smallest of the bookshops during our tour, the thing that made this place special was the two ladies in charge. Cheerful and friendly and obviously filled with love for their bookshop and community, we had a great conversation with them and really enjoyed the enthusiastic welcome from these unassuming bookshop heroes.<br />
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There was a limited offering of books but it still covered all the important subjects and catered for the reading children and adults of Wootton. I was delighted to pick up The Boy on the Bridge by M R Carey. Cotswold Book Room, named because it had started life as a room in a house, may be small but its heart is big and the experience was that of a small community bookshop – which seemed perfectly fitting for this destination.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/07/putting-personality-before-brand.html" target="_blank">The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop</a> made another appearance for stop three, as we visited the sister shop in Nailsworth. I’d been expecting a slightly smaller carbon copy of the first, when in fact we were greeted by another unique bookshop, with small nods towards the style of its older sister. Both were perfect in their own way.<br />
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Louise the energetic and welcoming bookseller greeted us and all customers with a friendly smile, deftly responding to enquiries, recommending books and treating everyone like old friends. Where Tetbury had exuded reserved confidence, here the joy of books was pinned to the mast, further emphasising the different communities we were visiting. After some book discussion I selected Less by Andrew Sean Greer, because we both agreed it looked fun.<br />
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Stop four was actually an unplanned diversion because in all our conversations with the previous three places <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/07/in-conversation.html" target="_blank">Stroud Bookshop</a> kept being recommended. Three out of three recommendations meant we had to investigate.<br />
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Found in what I assume must be a market town because there were market stalls everywhere, my first instinct was that this appeared to be the most functional bookshop we visited. That's an observation, rather than a criticism: decor is simple and shelves well-filled. We missed the owner, but conversation was lively as we got chatting with both booksellers and customers. Stroud is clearly a place where people are willing to talk to strangers, something other towns might benefit from considering! Here I chose Elizabeth Strout’s My name is Lucy Barton.<br />
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Finally, our first day of bookshop crawling ended with bookshop heroes for the younger generation, in <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/08/buzzing-for-books.html" target="_blank">Octavia’s Bookshop</a>, Cirencester. “Flying” Moomins fill the window, and there’s a feeling of warmth and colour the moment you step through the door. A buzz of enthusiastic children filled the shop, which it was simply wonderful to hear.<br />
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I was particularly impressed to see the labelling of the bookselves, which are organised by age and fiction or reference, with an area towards the back – commonly the home of “children’s” – simply labeled “adult”. It was a nice reversal of the usual bookshop layout and obviously works well here. I got into the spirit of my surroundings by choosing Robin Stevens’ Murder Most Unladylike.<br />
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Five bookshops down, it was time to take a break, as we headed for <a href="http://www.theangelatburford.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Angel at Burford</a> in preparation for the next round of adventuring.<br />
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<h3>
Day 2</h3>
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Sunday was a much more gentle journey, beginning with a short walk from our hotel to the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/08/erica-in-wonderland.html" target="_blank">Madhatter Bookshop</a>. Four people manage the stock here, and their various areas of expertise were clearly demonstrated with the excellent, often unexpected, range of titles on offer. This caused me quite a lot of difficulty in my attempts to limit my purchase to just the one book.<br />
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Throw in the selection of hats for men and women and this is a bookshop you could easily spend a whole morning enjoying. We resisted the hats in the end, with me choosing Money by Emile Zola, and my boyfriend picking up David Bellos’ The Novel of the Century (which was fortunately one of the books I'd been agonising over leaving behind).<br />
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Lunch was replaced with a generous serving of tea and cake at <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/10/finding-my-perfect-for-right-now-book.html" target="_blank">Jaffe and Neale</a> in Stow-on-the-Wold. Being at the halfway point on our journey, this proved a welcome pause to sit and enjoy the bookshop surroundings from the comfort of two easy chairs. It turns out it's much less effort to investigate the bottom shelves of bookcases when you're already sitting comfortably!<br />
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Conversations with the bookseller and various browsers ensued and a fine time was had by all in what I think was the youngest bookshop of the weekend. I surprised myself by selecting Ann Patchett's This is the story of a happy marriage, while my boyfriend was again tempted into buying, this time choosing Landscape Photographer of the Year.<br />
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Meandering over to our third stop of the day, we found ourselves in the same town as Blenheim Palace. The glimpse we had through the gate looked stunning and could've made an excellent addition to our visit. That wasn't to be though because we simply had too much fun in the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/11/taking-stock-of-another-persons-joy.html" target="_blank">Woodstock Bookshop</a>.<br />
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Two perfectly-filled rooms mean this was one of the smallest places we visited but it kept us the longest. This was partly because of conversations with the bookseller, partly because I was enjoying how much my boyfriend was enjoying the bookshop and got distracted from my own mission of buying a book. Stock includes a range of unexpected titles, small publishers and a good mix of translated fiction, so we ended up leaving with three books here. I chose The Infatuations by Javier Marias, while he picked Secondhand Time by Svetlana Alexievich and Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth.<br />
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Completing our day with a glimpse of the previously-mentioned palace, we drove to nearby Oxford to spend the night in a <a href="http://www.headoftheriveroxford.co.uk/" target="_blank">Fuller's pub</a> which gave us 15 per cent off because we booked direct – further proof the internet isn't always the cheapest option.<br />
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<h3>
Day 3</h3>
It was an early start on Monday, as I dropped my partner in bookshopping at the railway station so he could go to work, before setting out on the final day alone. Not that I ever really felt alone with all the bookshop hero booksellers to keep me company.<br />
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My day started at <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/10/finding-my-perfect-for-right-now-book.html" target="_blank">Jaffe and Neale</a> bookshop in Chipping Norton, another place I'd <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2014/12/a-moment-in-market-town.html" target="_blank">previously experienced</a>. Enjoying a second breakfast of tiffin and coffee, I chatted with the booksellers and found out more about their bookshop, other bookshops and books in general. This is a cheery, bright destination and I particularly enjoyed seeing their upstairs reading room, which another browser had already made herself comfortable in.<br />
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Hearing the bookseller talk about his love for his current favourite book, I found myself compelled to buy The Overstory by Richard Powers. That said, there was an understated conviction in his words about every book discussed, so I could easily have left with an entirely new library if I'd had the car space and money.<br />
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Stop two saw me return to Stow-on-the-Wold, to this time visit <a href="https://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/11/a-good-heart.html" target="_blank">Borzoi Bookshop</a> and meet furry bookshop hero Molie. The two human booksellers had much more to say about books and the bookshop than she did, but all three were a treat to meet as I explored this attractive rabbit warren.<br />
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I was given a quick tour and a coffee and let loose to wander, taking in a good selection of history and biographies and enjoying the variety of small publishers mixed in among the big names. After some discussion, I was again easily convinced to choose a book loved by the bookseller, this time buying Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.<br />
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Travelling north, my journey took me through some truly beautiful countryside to what must be the very top of the Cotswolds and Blandford Books in Broadway. Two shops linked together, visitors have the option of turning right for general books, left for children's, or continuing to the back for cards and gifts.<br />
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I explored the lot before settling next to the fiction, being tempted by each of the books highlighted by handwritten recommendations attached to the shelves. Most of these titles were unknown to me, meaning all were very tempting, with a conversation with the bookseller helping me to narrow it down to the one chosen book: Together by Julie Cohen.<br />
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This seemed like a lovely town to explore but at this point I was on a time-limit: I had to find a convenient, safe, place to pause for an interview live on air on <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/radiogloucestershire" target="_blank">BBC Radio Gloucestershire</a>. It was a brief chat about the importance of supporting independent bookshops, with local bookshops being interviewed throughout the week. I'm always happy to help remind people of the value of these community gems and I do hope some of the listeners took note.<br />
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The media continued to call in my final bookshop of the trip, with a photographer from the local paper arriving at Cheltenham's Suffolk Anthology before me. It was a little embarrassing posing for photos when I'd barely said hello, but our surroundings were beautiful and it's nice to know my marathon bookshop crawl had caught people's attention, and hopefully inspired them.<br />
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Once the photographer had gone, we settled into chatting books, the community and the bookshop, while I also explored my surroundings and we posed for our own pictures with the capes. This was one of those rare bookshops where around 50 per cent of the fiction can already be found on my own bookshelves, so I decided to put my complete trust in the recommendations of the two women. I was confidently handed Girl waits with gun by Amy Stewart, and while I'd not previously heard of the author, there was no doubt about my decision to buy.<br />
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And with that my bookshop crawl came to an end. It was a really lovely three days of sunshine, bookshops and adventure. Where some people go on holiday and explore a foreign country, my long weekend combined all the elements of exploration (inspired by bookshops), memento-buying (of books), and meeting the locals (aka those wonderful bookshop heroes) without the expense and stress of an airport.<br />
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You don't have to visit 12 bookshops in three days, but letting bookshops inspire you to visit new places (in the real and imagined world) is definitely a recommended experience – and one that will make you a bookshop hero too.<br />
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<h4>
Day 1</h4>
<a href="http://yellow-lightedbookshop.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop</a><br />
21 Church St, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8JG<br />
Tel: 01666 500221 <a href="https://twitter.com/ylbookshop" target="_blank">@YLBookshop</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.booksellers.org.uk/Bookshop-Details.aspx?m=481440731" target="_blank">Cotswold Book Room</a><br />
26 Long Street, Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire GL12 7BT<br />
Tel: 01453 843140<br />
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<a href="http://yellow-lightedbookshop.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop</a><br />
17 Fountain Street, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire GL6 0BL<br />
Tel: 01453 832555 <a href="https://twitter.com/ylbookshop" target="_blank">@YLBookshop</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.booksellers.org.uk/Bookshop-Details.aspx?m=241550352" target="_blank">Stroud Bookshop</a><br />
23 High Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 1AJ<br />
Tel: 01453 756646 <a href="https://twitter.com/stroudbookshop" target="_blank">@stroudbookshop</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.octaviasbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Octavia’s Bookshop</a><br />
24 Black Jack Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 2AA<br />
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Tel: 01285 650677 <a href="https://twitter.com/octaviabookshop" target="_blank">@octaviabookshop</a></div>
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<h4>
Day 2</h4>
<a href="https://www.madhatterbooks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Madhatter Bookshop</a><br />
122 High Street, Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4QJ<br />
Tel: 01993 822539 <a href="https://twitter.com/madhatterbook" target="_blank">@madhatterbook</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.jaffeandneale.co.uk/jaffe-neale-in-stow-on-the-wold" target="_blank">Jaffe and Neale</a><br />
8 Park Street, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire GL54 1AQ<br />
Tel: 01451 832000 <a href="https://twitter.com/jandnstow" target="_blank">@jandnstow</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.woodstockbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Woodstock Bookshop</a><br />
23 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TH<br />
Tel: 01993 812760 <a href="https://twitter.com/WoodstockBooks" target="_blank">@WoodstockBooks</a><br />
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<h4>
Day 3</h4>
<a href="https://www.jaffeandneale.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jaffe and Neale</a><br />
1 Middle Row, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire OX7 5NH<br />
Tel: 01608 641033 <a href="https://twitter.com/Jaffeandneale" target="_blank">@Jaffeandneale</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.borzoibookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Borzoi Bookshop</a><br />
Church Street, Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire GL54 1BB<br />
Tel: 01451 830268 <a href="https://twitter.com/BorzoiBookshop" target="_blank">@BorzoiBookshop</a><br />
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<a href="http://bbooks.awardspace.com/" target="_blank">Blandford Books</a><br />
39 High street, Broadway, Worcestershire WR12 7DP<br />
Tel: 01386 858588<br />
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<a href="https://theanthology.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Suffolk Anthology</a><br />
17 Suffolk Parade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 2AE<br />
Tel: 01242 361362 <a href="https://twitter.com/CheltAnthology" target="_blank">@CheltAnthology</a><br />
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<br />Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-55607651426618136392018-06-11T06:52:00.001+01:002018-06-13T14:45:57.778+01:00Join me on a bookshop crawlOkay, so the headline of this post might be ever so slightly misleading, I'm not suggesting you all drop everything and join me in my car, but it would be good if you all joined in with a <a href="https://indiebookshopweek.org.uk/Find-Your-Indie/Bookshop-Crawl" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a>.<br />
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We are just a few days away from one of my favourite times of the year, <a href="https://indiebookshopweek.org.uk/" target="_blank">Independent Bookshop Week</a>, which runs from 16-23rd June. Launched in 2006, this is a week to highlight the important part indies play in their communities, including the excellent – some would say heroic – service they provide.<br />
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To mark the start of this celebration I'm going on a bookshop crawl. And not just any bookshop crawl. This one is going to last three days and cover I dread to think how many miles as I travel from town to town to meet 11 indies in the Cotswolds, all supported by <a href="https://www.booksaremybag.com/" target="_blank">Books are my Bag</a>.<br />
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My bookshopping adventures begin next Saturday, 16th June, when I'll be heading over to Gloucestershire to visit four bookshops, then on Sunday I crisscross the border with Oxfordshire for three more, before completing my travels on Monday, with more border-hopping to include Worcestershire. If you'd like to see the full route take a look at the list at the bottom of this post or admire my superhero character in this lovely graphic:<br />
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Books are my Bag has drawn me as a superhero because the theme of this year's IBW is bookshop heroes. They're asking book lovers to shout about their favourite bookshops and bookselling heroes, while the bookshops themselves are also asked to share their own bookshop heroes, all using the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23bookshopheroes&src=typd" target="_blank">#BookshopHeroes</a>. I'm really looking forward to following these tweets to find out about bookshops I should be adding to my must-visit list – perhaps for my next bookshop crawl.<br />
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<h3>
Join in</h3>
As I said, it's not physically possible for you to join me in my car (although it would be fun), so I'm instead inviting you to follow my adventures as they happen on <a href="https://twitter.com/bookshopblogger" target="_blank">Twitter</a>; come back here and read about them afterwards; or – and these options aren't mutually-exclusive – set off on your own bookshop crawl and have your own adventure. Just make sure you remember to join in using the hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23IBW2018&src=typd" target="_blank">#IBW2018</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23bookshopcrawl&src=typd" target="_blank">#BookshopCrawl</a>.<br />
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The 'official' bookshop crawl day is 16th June, but mine will be taking place over three days and many bookshops will be holding special events and promotions throughout the week, so there's no limit to the possibilities of taking part.<br />
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In the past I've celebrated bookshop week by walking across <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2014/07/intoxicated-by-joy-of-good-bookshopcrawl.html" target="_blank">London</a>, driving around <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2015/06/exploring-essex-for-ibw2015.html" target="_blank">Essex</a>, walking around <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/07/two-go-on-bookshop-crawl.html" target="_blank">London</a> and driving around the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/06/independent-bookshops-week-2017.html" target="_blank">south</a>, so don't feel restricted if you only live in a one-bookshop town. Part of the fun of <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawls</a> is about getting out and 'meeting' places you perhaps wouldn't usually encounter. These are new beginnings that might just become a more regular part of your life.<br />
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I write from experience, because although I can't easily re-visit the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/p/geographical-index.html" target="_blank">hundreds</a> of bookshops I've met through this blog, I have gained friends and favourite places in some unusual corners of the country.<br />
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While I don't pretend to say five minutes in an independent bookshop will change your life (it might), I do believe becoming a bookshopper, meeting booksellers and buying books in the real world has made my own life richer.<br />
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So join in the fun and see where a bookshopping adventure takes you. It could be the start of a new way of life, but even if it isn't, you'll still have a new book!<br />
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<h3>
Erica's bookshop crawl</h3>
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<h4>
Saturday</h4>
<a href="http://yellow-lightedbookshop.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Yellow-Lighted Bookshop</a>, Tetbury<br />
<a href="https://www.booksellers.org.uk/Bookshop-Details.aspx?m=481440731" target="_blank">Cotswold Book Room</a>, Wooton-under-Edge<br />
<a href="http://yellow-lightedbookshop.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Yellow-Lighted Bookshop</a>, Nailsworth<br />
<a href="http://www.octaviasbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Octavia’s Bookshop</a>, Cirencester<br />
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<h4>
Sunday</h4>
<a href="https://twitter.com/madhatterbook" target="_blank">Madhatter’s Bookshop</a>, Burford<br />
<a href="https://www.jaffeandneale.co.uk/jaffe-neale-in-stow-on-the-wold" target="_blank">Jaffe and Neale</a>, Stow-on-the-Wold<br />
<a href="http://www.woodstockbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Woodstock Bookshop</a>, Woodstock<br />
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<h4>
Monday</h4>
<a href="https://www.jaffeandneale.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jaffe and Neale</a>, Chipping Norton<br />
<a href="http://www.borzoibookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Borzoi Bookshop</a>, Stow-on-the-Wold<br />
<a href="http://bbooks.awardspace.com/" target="_blank">Blandford Books</a>, Broadway<br />
<a href="http://www.courtyardbooks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Courtyard Books</a>, Bishops Cleve<br />
<a href="https://theanthology.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Suffolk Anthology</a>, Cheltenham<br />
<br />Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-26250312481991431412018-05-31T22:26:00.000+01:002018-05-31T22:26:35.326+01:00What we found when we got lostAfter a winter that seemed to cancel out most of the spring, with the appearance of the sun we’ve been lucky enough to do a little travelling around the country. For me, more travel means more bookshop visits.<br />
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Whenever we go anywhere, I begin by researching the bookshops in the area – which ones do I already ‘know’ through Twitter and the like; where has been recommended; and what other treats are nearby? Then I move on to the surrounding area, is there another bookshop within half an hour of travel? Before finally planning the journey.<br />
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This last stage of travel preparation is the hardest because I try to balance the number of bookshops visited in relation to miles travelled, breaks, possible diversions, four or five random routes that might appeal to either of us at the time AND to consider what we might find after getting lost. Actually, it would all be a lot easier if we didn’t both have a knack for the last two.<br />
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For this week’s bookshop it was something along those lines that saw us accidentally end up in the right place at the wrong (or right) time, as we made our way from east to west across the south of England.<br />
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I’d picked out Archway Bookshop in Axminster as a possible stop off point on our long drive home from holiday, thinking it would be a good half-way point to stretch our legs and reinvigorate our minds. Instead, we ended up finding the bookshop by accident on the way to our holiday, when a random whim saw us follow a road sign thinking we were heading to the town famous for the Hovis advert. Which we later realised is actually miles away in Shaftesbury. Geography is not my strong point. In fact, we didn't even realise we were in the wrong place until we were walking around the town and Archway Bookshop came into view across the square.<br />
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The bookshop's blue sign just poked above the top of the raised area in front of us, bright enough to catch our eye, subtle enough to blend with the historic wall it's set within. The bookshop's name comes from its archway entrance, which is believed to have once been part of the walls of the abbey. In respect of the conservation area, the frontage is understated but that doesn't appear to matter in this market town. We soon discovered Archway Bookshop is popular with local readers.<br />
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Behind the subtle exterior is a wealth of books and bookshop knowledge. The first room opens into a second, larger and brighter area, where you have a choice of continuing back to the children's area or taking a striking metal staircase to the floor above. I'd never have imagined so many books could be found inside. I wandered between those first two rooms, where various fiction selections are housed, before exploring the non-fiction upstairs and soon realising I could get carried away during what was only meant to be a brief stopping point.<br />
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A recommends table with particularly unusual stock caught my attention for some time, before I eventually returned to the general fiction to pick up Matt Haig's How to stop time. Upon arrival at the counter the good sense of my choice was immediately confirmed when the bookseller commented how much he'd enjoyed this book. It's always nice when someone starts a conversation about the book I'm buying, and this was the introduction to a very pleasant chat.<br />
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We'd already been witness to many customers popping in for a browse, chat or to order/collect a specific title, so it was nice to be welcomed as warmly as if we'd been regulars. This gave me the confidence to perhaps be nosier than I'd usually be before explaining why I was there, but I don't think the bookseller minded as he introduced me to Archer the dog and happily chatted about the history of the bookshop. Our conversation even roamed to recommendations of other bookshops to visit nearby. The nature of our journey meant we couldn't follow these up at the time, but they have been noted.<br />
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Archer was a friendly addition to the bookshop and I was particularly grateful of our unplanned arrival because it happened to coincide with the start of his shift behind the counter. Tim the bookseller did admit sometimes the customers are more interested in talking to the dog than him, but I found both to be good company. As was a random customer who joined the conversation, singing the bookshop's praises when she overheard my questioning.<br />
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It was this friendliness, from staff and customers, that I took away with me as we left Archway Bookshop to continue our journey. To be welcomed as a friend by a whole group of people who you've only just met – and may never meet again – is a rare treat, I'm very glad about what we found.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEvI9njBf3nkcgZHMRvkPUW3dznZJEw0rPoJnIBb6P_KepJ7_p8dxujCFQPkExRVQ96rS6r_itmHLuQBI724-1KLGxfpzIxl-bcBAprn2Xwbrla2lwVicaDT2Z_rYBpk-5UnwIWUg7XY/s1600/Arch+book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1408" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEvI9njBf3nkcgZHMRvkPUW3dznZJEw0rPoJnIBb6P_KepJ7_p8dxujCFQPkExRVQ96rS6r_itmHLuQBI724-1KLGxfpzIxl-bcBAprn2Xwbrla2lwVicaDT2Z_rYBpk-5UnwIWUg7XY/s200/Arch+book.JPG" width="175" /></a><a href="https://www.archwaybookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Archway Bookshop</a><br />
Church Street, Axminster,<br />
Devon EX13 5AQ<br />
Tel: 01297 33744<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/Archwaybookshop" target="_blank">@Archwaybookshop</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0Archway Bookshop, Church Street, Axminster, Devon, EX13 5AQ, UK50.7812226 -2.99930380000000750.7805951 -3.0005643000000068 50.7818501 -2.9980433000000071tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-36724639045610984052018-05-06T21:59:00.001+01:002018-05-06T22:11:53.425+01:00A dream come trueSometime around the age of ten I was given a book. There was nothing unusual about this choice of gift, except that rather than the usual paperback with a brightly coloured cover, this one was a hardback with a dust jacket. I looked at the cover and decided it must be boring, so I left it on my bookshelves and forgot about it.<br />
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Time passed and one day the 1970s film adaptation of the book appeared on TV. I have a feeling I only watched it to please the relative who'd given me the book, but the moment the 90ish minutes were over I raced upstairs and started reading.<br />
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Swallows and Amazons became one of the most-read books of my tweenage (and later) years and is still a book I regularly turn to today. It's the reason I learnt to sail as a teenager, and since that first reading I've dreamed of sailing a small dinghy in the Lake District.*<br />
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I'm yet to sail there but, finally, around 25 years after that first reading, I can now say I have visited the area. We were only there for a few days, and it being April there was a fair bit of rain, but my excitement and joy at being in such a beautiful area of the country, one that is so important to me, meant I wouldn't have cared if it snowed. I was in the Lake District with my boyfriend and I was happy.<br />
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Our <a href="http://www.lake-house.co.uk/" target="_blank">hotel</a> had a view of Windermere, a short walk from Ambleside, which is conveniently where the Coffin Trail begins, an easy walk taking novice explorers to Grasmere. Having been tortured with Wordsworth's poems as a student, I couldn't care two hoots for him, his sister or his various homes, but I was very keen to visit the town for other reasons: Grasmere is the home of Sam Read Bookseller.<br />
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The walk was pleasant, included the odd gentle climb, some lovely views and – most importantly of all – the option to visit more than one tea room during its less than two-hour duration. We passed two/both of Wordsworth's former homes and some lovely little cottages, arriving at Grasmere in time for lunch. Choosing what was possibly a mostly vegetarian cafe, <a href="http://greensgrasmere.com/" target="_blank">Green's</a>, we realised we were the only visitors without a dog and so quickly befriended the woman at the table next to us. It was a lovely half-hour and the food and drink were delicious before we walked to the end of the (very short) road to explore the bookshop.<br />
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Sam Read Bookseller appears traditional and unassuming from the outside, blending perfectly into the historic countryside feel of the area. The windows could be those of a house and it could easily be missed if visitors taking the same walk didn't continue to the other side of town. That would be a crying shame because this bookshop proved to be a wonderful discovery.<br />
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Its three rooms make the bookshop larger inside than the front implies, and for an indie in a small northern village the quality and variety of stock is incomparable.<br />
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I have to admit, given the nature of the area I'd expected a raft of Wordsworths, a few Beatrix Potters and Arthur Ransomes, maps and general holiday reads. Instead the first thing I noticed was a highly intelligent recommends table in front of a bookcase of science, philosophy, biography and all manner of books to encourage people to think about the world around them. Between here and the Faber carousel next to it my boyfriend was pretty much engrossed, so this is where I lost him.<br />
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The next wall along was filled with fiction, so Sam Read Bookseller isn't a place to feel daunted if you are simply after a relaxing holiday read. The usual genres are there, with a mix of bookshop musts, bestsellers and unexpected gems to reflect the bookseller's preferences. There's even a shelf for science fiction, making this browser's smile grow even wider.<br />
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Through to the next room I was pleased to see a large selection of audio books (my new go-to entertainment in the car), as well as more non-fiction, which included a good few books on running (<a href="http://www.parkrun.com/" target="_blank">Parkrun</a> is slowly turning me into a runner), and again a wide variety of subjects and titles I've not seen before.<br />
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Heading to the third room, the first thing I spotted was a row of Arthur Ransomes (see low on the shelves in this picture). Turn a corner and this takes you to a cute children's area with picture books and colour and a chair for young visitors to get comfy. It's a small space but still very well-stocked. Although how anyone would manage to look any further than the Swallows and Amazons series is beyond me.<br />
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I was in Swallows and Amazons country and the next book on my way to collecting the series was the only option for me. My only regret with that choice was how many other excellent reads I had to leave behind – if only I'd brought a bigger suitcase. Contrarily, the next book I needed isn't set in the Lake District,* but Coot Club is still a part of the series and gets me a step closer to my aim to collect and read the whole series in order. My boyfriend's browsing also paid off, with him choosing Intuition Pumps by Daniel C Dennett.<br />
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We'd not yet been in the area a full 24-hours, but one thing that had already caught my attention was the lack of Swallows and Amazons references, so this was one of the things I asked about when talking to the bookseller (a fellow <a href="https://witchmountain.co.uk/" target="_blank">blogger</a>) about books, the bookshop and anything else that crossed our minds.<br />
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I'd known Coniston Water was home to Wild Cat Island, but the gem of information provided by the bookseller was the Ruskin Museum. Not somewhere I'd expected to be directed to for Ransome, but I'm very glad I took her advice.<br />
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The next day we drove across to Coniston to explore the museum, which was worth the entry fee and more for one single exhibit. <a href="http://www.ruskinmuseum.com/content/arthur-ransome/swallows-and-amazons-on-coniston-water.php" target="_blank">The Ruskin Museum</a> is home to Amazon, previously Mavis and one of the two original boats which inspired the series. I'm not ashamed to admit I was brought to tears by this encounter with one of the two boats I've long wondered about. To be in her presence and to imagine sailing her myself was surprisingly moving. The Ruskin Museum may not be a bookshop, but I couldn't leave this experience unrecorded so I bought Pigeon Post from the gift shop.<br />
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The main reason for our journey on day one of this particular blog was to visit Sam Read Bookseller, but thanks to the kindness of the bookseller the experience became so much more than that and I hope my words have helped to give some indication of how happy all of this made me.<br />
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<a href="http://www.samreadbooks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sam Read Bookseller</a><br />
Broadgate House, Grasmere,<br />
Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 9SY<br />
Tel: 01539 435374<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/sreadbooks" target="_blank">@sreadbooks</a><br />
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*The series is also the reason I'd love to visit the Norfolk Broads, but that's an experience for another day.Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com5Sam Read Bookseller, Broadgate House, Grasmere, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 9SY, UK54.4596156 -3.024012900000002454.4584621 -3.0265344000000023 54.4607691 -3.0214914000000026tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-6680882193716573472018-04-09T22:34:00.000+01:002018-04-09T22:41:27.309+01:00In which the boy falls in love with a bookshopWhen it comes to bookshops I'm a bit like a puppy. I see the word 'bookshop' and I get all excitable, race off towards the door and mentally run around the shop trying to enjoy as much of my surroundings as possible all in one go. In contrast, the boy sees a bookshop and is a lot more reserved. He'll point the place out and will generally enjoy exploring and seeing what treats he can find, but instances of full-blown excitement are few and far between.<br />
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Kemptown Bookshop is one of those instances. I pretty much lost him to the books, as he first explored every inch of the ground floor before progressing upstairs and down to make the most of everything on display. From popular science to art, poetry and a wealth of high quality fiction, I don't believe there was an area of the bookshop he wasn't engrossed by and even though we were on a <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/10/bookshop-day-2017.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a> there was no way I could possibly consider rushing him out of a bookshop he was so obviously enjoying. When someone's as happy that, it should be considered illegal to disturb them.<br />
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Walking in to the bookshop, you discover a good-sized, square-ish ground floor of floor-to-ceiling fiction. Colours are muted, leaving the smartly shelved books to do the talking, and talk they do. From an aesthetic point of view they look perfect, all the same height on pale grey shelves reminiscent of the beauty of <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2015/01/discover-feminine-beauty.html" target="_blank">Persephone</a>, while the content is varied, intelligent and packed with books we both love, own or want to read.<br />
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Everywhere I looked was something I've long had on my to-buy list, accompanied by others I regularly recommend. More unusually, everything my boyfriend looks out for was also on a shelf somewhere in this room of fiction. There was no way we were only buying one book here, and that was just looking at the bookcases along the walls. Cast your eye across the recommendations – including a book first aid kit – and tables of miscellany and there's even more to appeal.<br />
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Upstairs we find art and travel, with stationery bits and bobs and a selection of discounted books (the only hint of disarray in this immaculate bookshop), while downstairs is children's and more non-fiction. The stairs themselves are also variously graced with art and tasteful children's toys, meaning something for everyone without offending anyone's sensibilities. All levels continue the general feeling of lightness in look tempered by intelligence in stock, and I felt certain I was likely to find any book that might come to mind, so well-filled were all the shelves. They even have signs advertising free coffee for browsers. Kemptown Bookshop is obviously a very civilised place to visit.<br />
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We eventually had to think about leaving, so I chose Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson as my purchase. This author's massive books aren't often found on the shelves of indie bookshops so I was pleased to see not one but two of his titles here (I already owned the other or I might have broken my one book per shop rule). As for my boyfriend, he has no such limits and picked up Ted Hughes' The Crow, Steffen Kverneland's Munch and The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. It was the latter that saw him delay us longer, as the boy and the bookseller ended up deep in conversation about Mann and other much-loved books. As it's usually me who holds us up I wasn't really complaining.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kemptownbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Kemptown Bookshop</a><br />
91 St George’s Road, Brighton, West Sussex, BN2 1EE<br />
Tel: 01273 682110<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/KemptownBkshop" target="_blank">@KemptownBkshop</a><br />
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Want a second (third after the boy) opinion? Here's a <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/p/your-bookshops-16.html" target="_blank">Your Bookshops</a> guest post.Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0Kemptown Bookshop, 91 St George's Road, Brighton, West Sussex, BN2 1EE, UK50.8185762 -0.1219747000000097650.8179492 -0.12323520000000976 50.819203200000004 -0.12071420000000976tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-85251977969158753362018-03-30T15:44:00.000+01:002018-03-30T15:53:39.652+01:00M40, Junction 11, where to find bookshop heavenBookshops are the answer to most of life's problems. From discovering magic, learning to make tiramisu, or even just finding out What Katy Did Next, there's generally a bookseller who'll be more than happy to put the answer into your hands.<br />
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Another thing bookshops are the answer to is finding somewhere to relax and take stock when you're nearing the end of a 120-mile drive to visit your old school.*<br />
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Books & Ink Bookshop in Banbury – found less than 10 minutes from junction 11 of the M40 – was exactly what I needed, in the form of a warm and cheery safe haven to calm my nerves. Terrible M25 traffic earlier in the journey meant I didn't have long to enjoy the bookshop, but the brief time I had there was a treat.<br />
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This is another of those destinations I've wanted to visit since the early days of this blog, so I admit I was a little annoyed with myself that I didn't have longer to spend there this time, but Books & Ink was so lovely, so big and so easy to get to that I know this will be the first of many visits. So what was so special?<br />
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This bookshop sells new, secondhand and antiquarian books, but walk through the door and it's impossible to pigeonhole. I knew what kind of bookshop I was visiting but my eyes didn't necessarily believe it. The first thing I spotted was a case of antiquarian books, but the bookshop was bright and colourful and I was soon distracted by a good-sized children's area, followed by the overall mix of new and secondhand books. I'd venture to say I'm yet to see any other bookshop that so successfully balances the three offerings without any one overwhelming: the new, secondhand and antiquarian are in perfect harmony here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4Ea4UVMxa-K9A68l1cH4yx1oBRAJBIWxhS6Ezssm-iV-yQvFBXofKIDjHXktce795ySITnqAi9DDiLXbzHr45j4jz_1xq0wiHcMeQ1v25WZfqGPH1n-YOc2bdxmYXwEueYZ_Igv3DhM/s1600/BooksInk+Ladybird.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4Ea4UVMxa-K9A68l1cH4yx1oBRAJBIWxhS6Ezssm-iV-yQvFBXofKIDjHXktce795ySITnqAi9DDiLXbzHr45j4jz_1xq0wiHcMeQ1v25WZfqGPH1n-YOc2bdxmYXwEueYZ_Igv3DhM/s320/BooksInk+Ladybird.JPG" width="240" /></a>There were Ladybirds, Pelicans and Penguins. Observers. A range of travel. Secondhand children's books in stunningly good condition. Shelves for a pound and a great selection of subjects or book styles. For example I was impressed by the "newspapers/journalism" area, while the effort taken to bunch together the fiction criteria of "archaeology/history/mystery in the style of Dan Brown" is surely more than any bookseller should be asked to go through, and yet that effort had been made. There are also lots of nice details, from bunting and tote bags in the air to Bagpuss, poking his head out from one of the high shelves as he quietly observes us all.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpyISezGJJVxJ9o4BxcHckFjLhb4qS2N7j_0yIV5R67sf8X_rcVxaGmAW4nVkhBNMXFevL3fj1DQrO82aC_Tj_aP801dH2VK90GnSOdsHBsTYK9XoqJOcfynzVvpzr4s6PDK1hEOMn1RY/s1600/BooksInk+upstairs+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpyISezGJJVxJ9o4BxcHckFjLhb4qS2N7j_0yIV5R67sf8X_rcVxaGmAW4nVkhBNMXFevL3fj1DQrO82aC_Tj_aP801dH2VK90GnSOdsHBsTYK9XoqJOcfynzVvpzr4s6PDK1hEOMn1RY/s320/BooksInk+upstairs+view.JPG" width="320" /></a>The bookshop is maze-like but open, crammed to the rooftop but light and spacious. If you want to wander and get lost, you can, but the layout also means each area felt like an individual bookshop while remaining part of the whole. It also covers two floors. There's a lot to see. Yes, this paragraph is rather rambling, but this is how my mind was working as I wandered around, admiring details, marvelling at how cheap some of the books were and generally de-stressing. I was calm, I was happy, I could've stayed all day.<br />
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Instead I had that school talk to get to so I chose my book, Excellent Women by Barbara Pym for a mere £2, and went to say hello to the bookseller and meet <a href="https://twitter.com/BookBearP" target="_blank">Bookshop Paddington</a>. I was still a little nervous about the afternoon ahead, so rather than enjoy a proper conversation with someone I've frequently talked to on social media, it was more of a one-sided outpouring of words by me, for which I now apologise. I'm only grateful my enthusiasm and excitement didn't send the bookseller running for cover. As for Paddington, he'd taken the day off, so that's another reason for me to return to the bookshop – and next time I'll check it's one of his working days first.<br />
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My visit can't have lasted more than half an hour but that really didn't matter. Books & Ink is so well arranged and has such a welcoming feel that were you to pop in for a quick purchase or browse the afternoon away I'm certain your time would be perfectly well spent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGO0MTo_ych5kBPjbfltq3mcqHvUxTdggEUP5pQH1UHfQTJqKIU4MWKUn-nRxeg908sG8b6ZEa9Z_KilgMlI61rJBDb3KoBHjhxyvGfFksCIROcNnthWjoquyj40BYuni5oA18V5gAXSI/s1600/BooksInk+book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGO0MTo_ych5kBPjbfltq3mcqHvUxTdggEUP5pQH1UHfQTJqKIU4MWKUn-nRxeg908sG8b6ZEa9Z_KilgMlI61rJBDb3KoBHjhxyvGfFksCIROcNnthWjoquyj40BYuni5oA18V5gAXSI/s320/BooksInk+book.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.booksandinkbookshop.com/" target="_blank">Books & Ink Bookshop</a><br />
4 White Lion Walk,<br />
Banbury,<br />
Oxfordshire OX16 5UD<br />
Tel: 01295 709769<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/booksinkbanbury" target="_blank">@booksinkbanbury</a><br />
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If you'd like to know more about Books & Ink Bookshop, read what a guest blogger had to say in <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/p/your-bookshops-14-books-ink-bookshop.html" target="_blank">Your Bookshops</a>.<br />
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*For anyone interested, I was visiting my old school to talk to the sixth form about my career and the life experiences that have helped me along the way (including this blog). At least one pupil seemed interested so I feel I achieved something useful. It was both good and strange to be back at school after so long and I really enjoyed catching up with my former English teacher.Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0Books & Ink Bookshop, 4 White Lion Walk, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 5UD, UK52.0613406 -1.337685800000031152.0607306 -1.3389463000000312 52.0619506 -1.336425300000031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-72620129417976219072018-03-11T16:02:00.002+00:002018-03-30T16:15:35.539+01:00London Bookshop Crawl 2018 – Waterloo and Southwark branchI'm a bit late in sharing my latest London Bookshop Crawl exploits with you, mainly because the books have been distracting me from blogging, but finally – better late than never – here are the highlights of my participation in the day...<br />
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Most of my bookshop crawls have been solitary affairs, walking from bookshop to bookshop, meeting booksellers and occasionally saying hello to another bookshopper as our paths cross. I have now acquired myself a partner in crime to explore with, but before he entered the scene my only crawl in company had been the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/02/the-london-bookshop-crawl-2016.html" target="_blank">London Bookshop Crawl</a>.<br />
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This year I was able to return to the organised event, accompanied by my boyfriend and also in the company of some of those other bookshoppers who I've met in the past. We didn't cover as much ground as I'd've done solo, but the company and conversation more than made up for that.<br />
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As a late-comer to signing up for the bookshop crawl, I was very grateful to be able to get two last-minute spaces on the Waterloo and Southwark guided tour led by Twitter's <a href="https://twitter.com/bookingaround" target="_blank">BookingAround</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5sFe_4_lRgF8hSAL0ogoZUm7Ew3uTD09nxTOSufDmFePJJKUw3NyQVYYLSgX1yIYKqEYz5cZ6Iyhu7ea0vALODfuZu97Pi4fxcVwRHrLzNQqD4XQw5ghTxPZQMyGemyrC7o1Z6NJjeM/s1600/somerset+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5sFe_4_lRgF8hSAL0ogoZUm7Ew3uTD09nxTOSufDmFePJJKUw3NyQVYYLSgX1yIYKqEYz5cZ6Iyhu7ea0vALODfuZu97Pi4fxcVwRHrLzNQqD4XQw5ghTxPZQMyGemyrC7o1Z6NJjeM/s200/somerset+front.JPG" width="200" /></a>Our first stop was Somerset House Bookshop, sometimes known as the Rizzoli Bookshop. It was my first visit to Somerset House, and I'm pretty certain I wouldn't have spotted the bookshop to the left side of the square if I'd not been told it was there. Yes, there is a sign above the door, but it's not particularly visible from a distance and easily lost in the grand surroundings.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2G3zsdVtM93y_FfCrSZLho2U3L2BNxZU0WInUCcOT_VMs5JCwWM18byq5JuKJbZtDMj5mn1cdpKsF8LIhs5J5uupj4FdrAze9ikbDyjndsQLw7nmBEAZwpy-CQdA-LdYH4HURg68CoBY/s1600/somerset+inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1600" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2G3zsdVtM93y_FfCrSZLho2U3L2BNxZU0WInUCcOT_VMs5JCwWM18byq5JuKJbZtDMj5mn1cdpKsF8LIhs5J5uupj4FdrAze9ikbDyjndsQLw7nmBEAZwpy-CQdA-LdYH4HURg68CoBY/s200/somerset+inside.JPG" width="200" /></a>Stock is narrowly selected, but interesting, focusing on art and design themes that stretch to include photography, crafts, interiors, food and drink and a good selection of children's books. There's an understated beauty to the three-room bookshop, with cards, stationery and other bits and bobs adding splashes of bright colour. It also has a mind-boggling selection of magazines, with us unable to leave without buying The Life Of Things: Cabinet, a striking publication dedicated to the art and history of, you guessed it, cabinets. Bizzarre, beautiful and unexpectedly engrossing. With our purchase we also received a freebie goody bag, made up for the crawl.<br />
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Our next stop was the National Theatre Bookshop. I've passed by or briefly paused at this bookshop many times, but this was the first time I'd properly stopped and looked around. As someone with minimal experience of reading plays, I found it a relief to be eased into this bookshop with a few tables of fiction. There was a good mix of genres and it would've been easy to stay here to find my purchase.<br />
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Instead I explored properly, wandering the long wall of plays at the back of the bookshop. My boyfriend and I were determined to resist the urge to stay within our comfort zone of familiar drama, so we loitered by an area of new, recommends and currently showing plays, eventually selecting Sweat by Lynn Nottage.<br />
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Continuing with the dramatic, we moved on to The Calder Bookshop & Theatre. Part drama, part philosophy, this is a new and secondhand bookshop with a large selection of cheap secondhand titles out the front and a performance space hidden at the back. It was a busy bookshop and I enjoyed the randomness of browsing the books, occasionally hearing a dramatic outburst from behind the curtain, where a rehearsal must have been taking place. In an attempt to educate myself, here I bought Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Deus: A brief history of tomorrow. I really need to start working my way through all the non-fiction I've started buying.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvFZKEwQZ2S6Tm10JR56jfmn9Aop61EGGipEwaqqVb0yXC6-_MypAOSLqlpXO7yOAcCRtQ8qSSK4XsUl8wPXt8SpDKU4J7ijMlnKXJxNQZP7cBLoYVSAqS6PHP6WEB3GvNwGxyr5cyOc/s1600/tt+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1115" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvFZKEwQZ2S6Tm10JR56jfmn9Aop61EGGipEwaqqVb0yXC6-_MypAOSLqlpXO7yOAcCRtQ8qSSK4XsUl8wPXt8SpDKU4J7ijMlnKXJxNQZP7cBLoYVSAqS6PHP6WEB3GvNwGxyr5cyOc/s200/tt+front.JPG" width="139" /></a>Next up was somewhere I already know and love: <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/09/bookshop-takes-us-on-world-tour.html" target="_blank">Travelling Through...</a> Still as diverse and welcoming as I knew it would be, this bookshop is organised by location and encourages readers to look beyond the comfortable boundaries of their daily worlds. With that thought in mind, I travelled to Canada (one day I'll get there in reality) with my purchase of The peculiar life of a lonely postman, by Denis Thériault, while my boyfriend headed to the Caribbean, with V S Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas. I'm pretty certain both purchases were unlikely to have crossed our paths had we been looking at regularly organised bookshelves.<br />
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Our guided tour ended with a visit to somewhere I'm ashamed to say I'd never have found (possibly heard of) if it hadn't been on the list: The Feminist Library. Not a bookshop, although it does have a small selection of titles for sale, this important collection of books is hidden away in a very unassuming building near the London South Bank University. It's so well hidden that at first when we stopped to press the buzzer I'd been certain we must be at the wrong place. We didn't buy anything here, but it was a remarkable experience to wander its two rooms, appreciating the many decades of literature that have been collected together. It was a fascinating end to the day.<br />
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The London Bookshop Crawl took place across the city at the beginning of February, with a selection of guided walks in different areas, or the option to simply set out on your own and see what you might find. In our case the discovery was a small selection of bookshops I've long meant to visit and a varied group of men and women who had individually paid the nominal fee to take part in the tour.<br />
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It was a lovely day of books, conversation and exploration and I can't wait until next year, when I'll get to explore another area of London bookshops (that I may or may not know) with strangers who I'm sure will become friends.<br />
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<a href="https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/shopping" target="_blank">Somerset House Bookshop/The Rizzoli Bookshop</a><br />
East Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA<br />
Tel: 020 7845 4600 <a href="https://twitter.com/SomersetHouse" target="_blank">@SomersetHouse</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/bookshop" target="_blank">National Theatre Bookshop</a><br />
National Theatre, Lambeth, London SE1 9PX<br />
Tel: 020 74523456 <a href="https://twitter.com/NTBookshop" target="_blank">@NTBookshop</a><br />
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<a href="http://calderbookshop.com/" target="_blank">The Calder Bookshop & Theatre</a><br />
51 The Cut, South Bank, London SE1 8LF<br />
Tel: 020 7620 2900 <a href="https://twitter.com/CalderBookshop" target="_blank">@CalderBookshop</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.travellingthrough.co.uk/" target="_blank">Travelling Through...</a><br />
131 Lower Marsh, Waterloo, London, SE1 7AE<br />
Tel: 020 7633 9279 <a href="https://twitter.com/Trvllng_Thrgh" target="_blank">@Trvllng_Thrgh</a><br />
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<a href="https://feministlibrary.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Feminist Library</a><br />
5 Westminster Bridge Road, South Bank, London SE1 7XW<br />
Tel: 020 7261 0879 <a href="https://twitter.com/feministlibrary" target="_blank">@feministlibrary</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few of us from the bookshop crawl posed for a selfie outside Travelling Through...</td></tr>
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<br />Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-33140027894805581022018-02-11T17:47:00.000+00:002018-02-11T17:47:40.704+00:00Dilly-dally among the booksIn my years of blogging I've met many amazing bookshops, each of which stands out for having something unique and special that makes me fall in love with it. This week's bookshop wins the prize for being possibly my oddest bookshop experience (in a good way).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfFO9ivgvemJjOMXDVouAqoZ3vYpenN81_6QMhBU5Vlr5rD9Q1QAiik8K5iEtPW4VtVg5RnMK13tUov7W9mqXRgUEO4l7-Kd7t5BcswILLocNQzCr2hHAOlJelzxz5hedTiJhl1zMHQs/s1600/peters+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfFO9ivgvemJjOMXDVouAqoZ3vYpenN81_6QMhBU5Vlr5rD9Q1QAiik8K5iEtPW4VtVg5RnMK13tUov7W9mqXRgUEO4l7-Kd7t5BcswILLocNQzCr2hHAOlJelzxz5hedTiJhl1zMHQs/s320/peters+front.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The encounter was part of a bookshop crawl for Independent Bookshops Week, and the destination in question is <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/06/independent-bookshops-week-2017.html" target="_blank">The Petersfield Bookshop</a>. During the planning stage of the day, I'd looked it up and spotted that it sells secondhand and antiquarian books, its website refers to 'other things to see', but it wasn't until we were fully inside the shop that we realised just what it meant.<br />
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From the street the bookshop looks interesting, standing out in its corner position, with flags and hanging baskets for added attraction. There's a light and airy covered entryway, crammed with cheap books and also a couple of plants and other quirks that might be overlooked but should also be seen as an indication of the character to be found within.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUYQrVqqeouHIe2P4hFO6KTWfxv9z7y4VpZr8QCiU_KsOoDIu2k3duT-dKOj6y-c7GghUtgC19oMuY-DrXVhmijOH4JYrSGX1A4n1fTy0q7YG5aSMNPNmg-nkeKiCoOGVPB5ffsUQlDU/s1600/peters+wall+of+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUYQrVqqeouHIe2P4hFO6KTWfxv9z7y4VpZr8QCiU_KsOoDIu2k3duT-dKOj6y-c7GghUtgC19oMuY-DrXVhmijOH4JYrSGX1A4n1fTy0q7YG5aSMNPNmg-nkeKiCoOGVPB5ffsUQlDU/s200/peters+wall+of+books.jpg" width="150" /></a>It's taken me a long time to write about this bookshop simply because ordinary words fail to do justice to the experience of a real visit. Seemingly endless rooms of floor to ceiling books are a delight to browse, with every genre imaginable to be found somewhere. To start with the obvious: the books are a delight and had me wandering from room to room admiring their variety and number. This was good both as a visual feast and for giving me lots to choose from. I picked up Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome, which was a nice addition to my slowly growing Swallows and Amazons collection.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ClGv885NTG_hYtjwPhEi7nNktlbdZBsYwmRnnnLs8af9pZSHjVYQH5ndPq60e-1kbGL5TC5nrZ8H7alSQgfzwg0hzjlYISzedY-yyN-voJSt9X58HUwAoFnOGnqbIY5CVbOWXE_Mk0Q/s1600/peters+creepy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ClGv885NTG_hYtjwPhEi7nNktlbdZBsYwmRnnnLs8af9pZSHjVYQH5ndPq60e-1kbGL5TC5nrZ8H7alSQgfzwg0hzjlYISzedY-yyN-voJSt9X58HUwAoFnOGnqbIY5CVbOWXE_Mk0Q/s320/peters+creepy.jpg" width="320" /></a>But this is only part of the story. Within the rooms of books are all manner of knick-knacks, colourful characters and creations that I could easily imagine come to life after hours, getting up to their own mischief and moving from room to room so no two days look the same. From a slightly creepy life-sized mannequin to a fully-furnished dolls' house, a steampunk monkey or Paddington Bear on the ceiling, all kinds of creatures inhabit this bookshop, making it an adventure to explore each room even if (for some strange reason) you're not a book lover.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80LvQaKVnYJLi0G7wUri2WGHvlFinTlzxbpkiKmZG1ZHzmiTW2sSi0Wa-1wQRkFmfOPFrhAyWZZYlbQQqB0q7ebCYAhOXi_xEEVQyfzPvMyu7-BAXuBavEYNw8ZJ1qG14dNovDIw-w9g/s1600/pters+book+corridor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80LvQaKVnYJLi0G7wUri2WGHvlFinTlzxbpkiKmZG1ZHzmiTW2sSi0Wa-1wQRkFmfOPFrhAyWZZYlbQQqB0q7ebCYAhOXi_xEEVQyfzPvMyu7-BAXuBavEYNw8ZJ1qG14dNovDIw-w9g/s200/pters+book+corridor.jpg" width="150" /></a>This is all topped off with the discovery of Dilly the bookshop parrot. He comes with a warning about keeping your fingers away, but what he doesn't have is a warning about talking to him, or yourself. I lost my boyfriend for quite some time, as he browsed Dilly's room, looking at the books and whistling in conversation with the parrot. Until he rounded a corner and realised another browser had been the other half of the conversation. I imagine Dilly enjoys listening to many similar 'chats', probably looking down on the antics of us human idiots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PuI0NXX6_owIox4ODrRVSeYupguol_ML_GKDZ6nfuD_oUZmM-AYu3EBhbTeUViR9Dy2XEF0F9QWsJyd2Jnn4BhyjFATuYI7T1fFntsqzgx6aQ6IsNTNDgUY8oTXAAh3cxwwCtOD_iZ4/s1600/peters+Dilly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="1600" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PuI0NXX6_owIox4ODrRVSeYupguol_ML_GKDZ6nfuD_oUZmM-AYu3EBhbTeUViR9Dy2XEF0F9QWsJyd2Jnn4BhyjFATuYI7T1fFntsqzgx6aQ6IsNTNDgUY8oTXAAh3cxwwCtOD_iZ4/s400/peters+Dilly.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This was a wonderful bookshop, with so much to choose from and admire, not forgetting the welcoming, helpful bookseller as well as the bookshop parrot. I'd say more, but I'm going to leave the talking to Dilly and my photographs – and once again encourage you to visit for yourself.<br />
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<a href="http://www.petersfieldbookshop.com/" target="_blank">The Petersfield Bookshop</a><br />
16 Chapel Street, Petersfield,<br />
Hampshire, GU32 3DS<br />
Tel: 01730 263438<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/The_PBS" target="_blank">@The_PBS</a><br />
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Apologies, the book is currently hidden in a box of unpacked books since I moved house, but I will post a proper picture of the cover soon. Meantime, here's the steampunk monkey guarding a shelf:<br />
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And a few more, because I loved photographing all the randomness on display:<br />
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Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com2The Petersfield Bookshop, 16 Chapel Street, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU32 3DS, UK51.0058015 -0.9385065999999824351.005176999999996 -0.93976709999998242 51.006426 -0.93724609999998243tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-67133569435307686192018-01-14T20:30:00.000+00:002018-01-14T20:30:34.471+00:00Discovering the worlds between pagesI've been very disorganised recently. Which is probably a bit of an understatement, because by disorganised I mean "pretty much useless at regular blogging" and you can translate "recently" as for the entire of 2017, plus a bit either side. For 2018 I'm not making any resolutions (been there and done <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/p/new-years.html" target="_blank">that</a>), but I am attempting to make amends.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPZ5xvCPAC3BWrLVVaJGo3ceIP8N0gR2_wEfX56FW5zfm99KrPIvudWLvtrZ77ul-vqq4Gza20-6kvABwjAl4z8ywXbzxzHrw6DAmLM8uBM1ww5p2minp0pAUz6WARd6XeMW4OynZzG0/s1600/Gosh+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPZ5xvCPAC3BWrLVVaJGo3ceIP8N0gR2_wEfX56FW5zfm99KrPIvudWLvtrZ77ul-vqq4Gza20-6kvABwjAl4z8ywXbzxzHrw6DAmLM8uBM1ww5p2minp0pAUz6WARd6XeMW4OynZzG0/s320/Gosh+front.JPG" width="245" /></a>First on my list of amends is writing about a bookshop I officially visited way back in October 2016. Had I not been back since, I think this length of time between visit and blog would probably make the review null and void, but as I've returned to Gosh! Comics several times I can confirm it's still as appealing as it was during that first, fondly-remembered visit.<br />
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As mentioned very briefly in the write-up of the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/10/national-bookshop-day-2016.html" target="_blank">bookshop crawl</a> this was a part of, there was a time when the word 'comic' would've had me outright rejecting this as a bookshop. Age and <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2016/03/a-graphic-introduction.html" target="_blank">experience</a> have helped me to know otherwise.<br />
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Despite this change of heart, I admit graphic novels are still a relatively new addition to my reading selection, so I'm probably at the level of novice when it comes to commenting on this bookshop's contents. I could see for myself it had a great atmosphere and was bright, colourful and appealingly cool, but I had to look to others to judge the quality of the books. A quick look around told me the customers believe Gosh! is getting things right.<br />
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The shop was packed with youngsters, teens, twentysomethings and older. Admittedly the numbers of those visitors dropped as age increased, but there was a wide variety of browsers, and all were enjoying their chosen area of bookshelf.<br />
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The comics area downstairs was inevitably popular, but on the ground floor the graphic novel is king and that was where I felt most at home. Graphic novels are as familiar as books, and while I may not have known much about the authors and styles I decided to follow the lead of others, looking at what appeared to be most popular on the recommendations tables, or waiting to find a space near the busiest shelves. It seemed a good place to start and helped me to familiarise myself with the books and the sections.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWrtv9_ncYqJaLlukpaVvpkwFh-2MdpkNBQFSbwiN9-CIE5Q27REa6M6a0WfOggAap1Zxsoh4cgAVwO6-h9jillBsv15m8qH92BrOIbP_MEEyibJcLLmvpwCZxql4V58-RIUhabb649M/s1600/gosh+genre.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="925" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWrtv9_ncYqJaLlukpaVvpkwFh-2MdpkNBQFSbwiN9-CIE5Q27REa6M6a0WfOggAap1Zxsoh4cgAVwO6-h9jillBsv15m8qH92BrOIbP_MEEyibJcLLmvpwCZxql4V58-RIUhabb649M/s320/gosh+genre.JPG" width="185" /></a>It also paid off, because when I eventually did find my way to the front of the crowd near what happened to be the busiest shelves during that first visit I spotted a copy of Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. It had been recommended to me by a friend who I already knew to have excellent reading taste, so I like to think bookshop fate played its part in leading me to it – and more purchases since.<br />
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As a dedicated traditional book buyer, I admit graphic novels are a concept I'm getting used to in a slow burn sort of way. They'll never replace regular books for me but they are becoming a fine addition to my reading habit, and likewise I'd hope regular books will play a similar role for those who were encouraged into reading via the path of graphic novels.<br />
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Gosh! Comics must also have a valuable part to play in this journey, introducing even more readers to the endless possibilities of worlds between pages.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbYYdDn4gYiYJBfI4pZoTix16jGii473254kKQBQaae5X4AbJYNWBFXRA6dRSZ6lltMSlJ_OtSAziqxoly1JEz0Ef_8S8s1UhyxP5xEOSiCGunpPFr9Gz62hsy76wGoLoTrvqL56eJ_o/s1600/gosh+book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbYYdDn4gYiYJBfI4pZoTix16jGii473254kKQBQaae5X4AbJYNWBFXRA6dRSZ6lltMSlJ_OtSAziqxoly1JEz0Ef_8S8s1UhyxP5xEOSiCGunpPFr9Gz62hsy76wGoLoTrvqL56eJ_o/s200/gosh+book.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.goshlondon.com/" target="_blank">Gosh! Comics</a><br />
1 Berwick Street, Soho, London W1F 0DR<br />
Tel: 020 7636 1011<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/GoshComics" target="_blank">@GoshComics</a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com0Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street, Soho, London W1F 0DR, UK51.5129414 -0.1341841999999360325.990906900000002 -41.442778199999935 77.0349759 41.174409800000063tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-42290893727443448182018-01-07T18:10:00.000+00:002018-01-08T16:45:04.707+00:00Much ado about social enterpriseThere are so many bookshops and so little time, so I tend to only write about each bookshop once. Unless it features in a bookshop crawl or undergoes some kind of transformation since the first visit.<br />
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In the case of Much Ado Books in Alfriston both boxes have been ticked: this visit was part of a <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2017/10/bookshop-day-2017.html">bookshop crawl</a>, the bookshop has been remodelled since my <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2015/02/the-delight-is-in-detail.html">first visit</a>, and another transformation is due any day now.</div>
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At the time of my original visit this bookshop was beautiful, and by this visit it continued to be so on a larger scale because a private area of the upstairs had been opened up to the public. This was a welcome addition to the shelf space and allowed for an even greater variety of secondhand books and beautiful things. However a chat with the booksellers and an invitation to a party they were holding involved a loud and proud announcement of their plans for the future.</div>
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As you can see from the date of my last blog, I've spent some time agonising about the best way to explain the future of Much Ado Books to you. So instead I've decided to share the bookshop's own words instead:</div>
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"We're dedicating Much Ado as a new Social Enterprise, hoping to encourage a love of books and reading and supporting people who currently cannot access all the pleasures books can provide.</div>
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"And we're launching a new, experimental space named Prospero's Project – part bookshop, part gallery, part social club, part workshop space... A place unlike anywhere else.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvGWZuYc1yRbUJ5SgZsMHQsqpPcrnmZG2Qxw_Q7ZwrFU5yiRxw1RUpQaODQ8Glt6FhF1dVnrFzty03SKqRb1-UVpgPD6ioLKK4JERfgsRgcobGnl0kEaPtiT2u3ADq3jFQKWvs0n7XMg/s1600/much+ado+to+the+barn+distance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1600" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvGWZuYc1yRbUJ5SgZsMHQsqpPcrnmZG2Qxw_Q7ZwrFU5yiRxw1RUpQaODQ8Glt6FhF1dVnrFzty03SKqRb1-UVpgPD6ioLKK4JERfgsRgcobGnl0kEaPtiT2u3ADq3jFQKWvs0n7XMg/s320/much+ado+to+the+barn+distance.JPG" width="320" /></a>"Much Ado itself will move into our yard and barn – a new home with the same wonderful range of books." [Walk through this picture to reach both.] </div>
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They continue to admit Prospero's Project will be: "a bit experimental, perhaps a bit surprising, and it will no doubt change over time". </div>
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To explain in more detail: "You may already be aware that for decades we have raised funds for causes that support a love of reading. Our new social enterprise will build on this work.</div>
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"We have recently piloted a project providing high-quality new books for clients of local Trussell Trust foodbanks. The feedback has been very positive, and suggests the project might grow and bring books to many more people who need a little kindness.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7dUNutWr0pG_UStkMG2tq4AgCPpc5uhn2r_QF-nCQDArS9nVVPxaa6gWEV9w8xUvWx-3-x8bsDZS4fHb4WweMVqpP4RrcgNnK4RKXxgNng_7yYGFQST03aguvs8WDUykm6LvSv0TmfY/s1600/much+ado+stairs+bottom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1254" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7dUNutWr0pG_UStkMG2tq4AgCPpc5uhn2r_QF-nCQDArS9nVVPxaa6gWEV9w8xUvWx-3-x8bsDZS4fHb4WweMVqpP4RrcgNnK4RKXxgNng_7yYGFQST03aguvs8WDUykm6LvSv0TmfY/s200/much+ado+stairs+bottom.JPG" width="156" /></a>"We are also exploring ways to support a local academy, which is working its way out of special measures. Recent improvements are more than heartening, but budgetary limitations continue to affect the school's library.</div>
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"Other projects will no doubt present themselves. We hope Prospero's Project will grow in unexpected ways, letting us share the love of reading that first led us into this business."</div>
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Having first met Cate and Nash many years ago I'm in no doubt that they'll put their hearts and souls into this project to make it a success. It sounds like something wonderful – how many of us are both willing and able to do as much as we'd like to help others? The Trussell Trust is an organisation I'm particularly supportive of so I do hope this part of the project can grow.</div>
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I'm not telling you much about the bookshop during my visit (when I came away with The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell and The Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer) because in early 2018 it's due to temporarily close ready to make way for Prospero's Project, but if the new incarnation is anything like the current one, Much Ado Books is bound to live up to its hope: </div>
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"We envision a wonderful book-lover's haven; a place to lose yourself and to discover something wonderful to read."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjuqzHkWAL32eX1Knot68beJsVVh8GID19-vcVDYxK2fVFWHr8-jYK5oPdOO8Mj5tNhO0AKk9S26MOS8c-YlzHCd9nifet84-DX1EG6F_xamSF1gIpGbMOOvxgrS-BRxs2nUeTDb0xWY/s1600/much+ado+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjuqzHkWAL32eX1Knot68beJsVVh8GID19-vcVDYxK2fVFWHr8-jYK5oPdOO8Mj5tNhO0AKk9S26MOS8c-YlzHCd9nifet84-DX1EG6F_xamSF1gIpGbMOOvxgrS-BRxs2nUeTDb0xWY/s200/much+ado+books.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.muchadobooks.com/" target="_blank">Much Ado Books</a><br />
8 West Street, Alfriston, East Sussex, BN26 5UX<br />
Tel: 01323 871222<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/MuchAdoBooks" target="_blank">@MuchAdoBooks</a><br />
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PS. Another highlight of the party announcing this news, I accidentally met author Claire Fuller. This was my first proper, face-to-face conversation with a long-standing author, so it was a real treat that she's one who I respect and admire. What a relief to discover you're friendly, ordinary human beings like the rest of us.<br />
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Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com2Much Ado Books, 8 West Street, Alfriston, East Sussex, BN26 5UX, UK50.8087916 0.1557556000000204250.807537599999996 0.15323410000002041 50.8100456 0.15827710000002043tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-50630698142562070352017-12-11T08:40:00.001+00:002017-12-11T08:40:37.338+00:00Finding sanctuary in BattleLife's been a bit busy recently, so I've a raft of bookshop visits to share with you and an even bigger pile of books to read, but the news of a newly opened bookshop was too good an opportunity for me to miss.<br />
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Throw in the national Saturday Sanctuary campaign run by Books Are My Bag and the official opening of said bookshop occurring on the same day – just an hour from where I live – and it was pretty much inevitable I'd be rearranging my priorities once again. We'll gloss over the fact I couldn't visit in time to actually see the ribbon being cut by the local MP, but my boyfriend didn't realise we missed the festivities proper so who am I to set him straight?<br />
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Even several hours after the ribbon cutting, Rother Books in Battle was still crammed with eager bookshoppers, so much so it took a long time for me to find the opportunity to photograph any bookshelves for fear of disturbing the browsers. It created a nice atmosphere and I'm sure is part of the reason the feeling of celebration had lasted so far into the day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPWC7xJ2hZ5k9_nm84wdpqh5RjX8eTAiz6G49ZLGy453jlN60mnpMu3PV2CH8JlxqQjUIBTrBJ5uTw6tAhOyytLH1xyYHGCRUhNGu1BEmiTQtC2VsPNkSJmaPLnUHi8k68HJcQnrepwc/s1600/rother+reader.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1321" data-original-width="1034" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPWC7xJ2hZ5k9_nm84wdpqh5RjX8eTAiz6G49ZLGy453jlN60mnpMu3PV2CH8JlxqQjUIBTrBJ5uTw6tAhOyytLH1xyYHGCRUhNGu1BEmiTQtC2VsPNkSJmaPLnUHi8k68HJcQnrepwc/s200/rother+reader.JPG" width="156" /></a>In the words of the bookseller, the bookshop is small, but to my eyes it's two well-stocked rooms behind beautiful period windows in an historic high street building. Were I to draw a sliding scale of bookshop sizes I'd put it at small to middling, but the window running along the length of the shop, combined with whitewashed walls and a spacious entrance meant even with a crowd it never felt cramped. I even noticed one young lad had found a corner to call his own, sat on the floor to the side of the history books – I couldn't see what he was reading but he looked engrossed.<br />
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Stock was welcomingly varied, with a mix of old favourites and unusual treats. Where smaller bookshops have to take care over the titles they hold I'm used to seeing interesting selections with books notable for both their absence and presence, here was the same and I was pleased to spot those inclusions and omissions. Importantly, Rother Books had taken the trouble to include my favourite book among its titles so even if the rest of the place had been a disaster (it wasn't) the bookshop would still win a big thumbs up from me.*<br />
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Our visit ended with a chat to the bookseller, during which (and before I introduced myself) I asked for advice for a Christmas gift – one of my nieces will soon be the proud owner of Robin Stevens' Arsenic for Tea – and for myself I picked up On the beach by Nevil Shute.<br />
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Rother Books is a lovely addition to Battle High Street, and near enough to my home that I look forward to being able to visit again and again – best of luck to this long-standing bookseller who's decided to go it alone.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/rotherbooks/" target="_blank">Rother Books</a><br />
59-60 High Street,<br />
Battle,<br />
East Sussex,<br />
TN33 0EN<br />
Tel: 01424 834756<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/rotherbooks" target="_blank">@rotherbooks</a><br />
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*It's my blog and I'll be biased if I want to.Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com3Rother Books, 59-60 High Street, Battle, East Sussex, TN33 0AG, UK50.9165696 0.4846296000000620650.9115641 0.47454460000006204 50.921575100000005 0.49471460000006207tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-79898107263428709532017-11-23T22:33:00.000+00:002017-11-23T22:43:23.461+00:00In search of wildlife in Costa RicaYou've driven for an hour, sat in a plane for 11 more and your body clock is absolutely shot to pieces, so what's the first thing you do upon arriving in your hotel, a little north of the equator?<br />
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Go wildlife hunting, obviously. Only in this instance it wasn't for a sloth or brightly coloured bird hiding in the rainforest, but for an English-speaking bookseller working somewhere in a (mini) urban jungle.<br />
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We'd arrived in Costa Rica for our holiday of a lifetime with one goal each.<br />
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Him: to see a sloth in the wild.<br />
Me: to visit a bookshop.<br />
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We'd done our research.<br />
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Him: pictures, descriptions, locations, that sort of thing.<br />
Me: googling "English language bookshop, San Jose".<br />
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The first entry in my search was Mora Books, and flicking through a few pictures on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/276174472445975/photos/a.276175722445850.65757.276174472445975/276175725779183/?type=1&theater" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> I knew it was the bookshop for me. As luck would have it, when we set out to explore we realised this bookshop was also a mere five-minute walk from our hotel. It was meant to be.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyG_9_7O6vXILZUYauDzTtojsoff1VuYueIcciaiFmNtBP0XJRmQ9wT3oMYKQq0Z8OP2lvnOmrHtpMpMhVjqHQ2klCulHjm6bjpKDJ3ByBQq2ONGZgYmSkhPTucLIJrESgXV_T0r7E2o/s1600/Mora+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyG_9_7O6vXILZUYauDzTtojsoff1VuYueIcciaiFmNtBP0XJRmQ9wT3oMYKQq0Z8OP2lvnOmrHtpMpMhVjqHQ2klCulHjm6bjpKDJ3ByBQq2ONGZgYmSkhPTucLIJrESgXV_T0r7E2o/s320/Mora+view.JPG" width="320" /></a>Found on a side street very near the main shopping street of San Jose, Mora Books is a small but perfectly formed secondhand bookshop.<br />
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From the road I admit a first glance might have put off the ignorant traveller if she'd not done her research and been determined to visit the bookshop no matter what: Painted bars line the building, and looking in from the bright outdoor sunlight all you can see is darkness, a couple of men chatting and a dog. Then you look again and realise the railings are decorated with a Bernie Sanders poster, the men are chatting and relaxed, and they're all surrounded by an indescribable amount of books. Even the most timid of travellers must surely want to step inside? We did.<br />
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A brief hello welcomed us to the bookshop and we dived into floor-to-ceiling piles and shelves. Where in some places books piled on the floor can be depressing, here it was welcoming, reassuring and a fascinating challenge to explore. Crime, fiction, science fiction and all the usual treats of my favourite British secondhand bookshops were to be found. The classics section was possibly better stocked than some I've visited, as I marvelled at the sight of Aristophanes, Burnett, Eliot, Gaskell, Ibsen, and so on through the alphabet, I even nostalgically flicked through a J M Synge play, remembering my A-level studies. The temptation to buy one, just to be able to say "I travelled almost to the equator and came home with a copy of this classic" was strong, but I had to keep exploring.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwaaiFBJ_wf8NCk8rhPuGV9pI6qmmpU_27TsP8_Pk-vr9W5FL2ygSQcOJFfHrFDwha_DTGaX7WXBonSLcGEW-Yj3oM4yMAUOJn9g8FW1atQQJ_Fw-k5xmCKBLtGoDW8J98omYy9iW4UiY/s1600/Mora+piles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwaaiFBJ_wf8NCk8rhPuGV9pI6qmmpU_27TsP8_Pk-vr9W5FL2ygSQcOJFfHrFDwha_DTGaX7WXBonSLcGEW-Yj3oM4yMAUOJn9g8FW1atQQJ_Fw-k5xmCKBLtGoDW8J98omYy9iW4UiY/s200/Mora+piles.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
As mentioned, the bookshop is small, probably comparable to your average independent new bookshop in this country, but as well as the shelves of books there are piles: in front of shelves, in front of the counter, in front of other piles. There was also a sense of care to the piles, these books may not have been sorted as well as the bookseller would like (in his own words, if he's had time to tidy the bookshop, business isn't going well), but the books didn't feel dumped or neglected. Even the obviously most-read books in the worst condition* had still been looked after.<br />
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Rummaging was of a level of fun comparable to a new bookshop I remember in <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2015/04/bookshopping-before-football.html" target="_blank">London</a>, and we could have easily stayed here for the rest of the holiday, but there were sloths to see, and so I had to make my decision: The perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I love the randomness of buying a book that's long been on my to-read list, from a bookshop in Costa Rica.<br />
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Before leaving we made sure we were introduced to the bookshop dog: Harvey was just the right level of happy but distantly friendly; we asked about the bookshop cat, asleep upstairs – cats keep their own hours; and had a chat with the bookseller – a wonderfully enthusiastic man, I only wish I'd been awake enough to properly join in the conversation. His love of bookselling and friendliness were clear to see but I'm ashamed to admit jetlag has stolen much of the conversation.<br />
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Costa Rica is a wonderful country and we were lucky enough to see many wildlife treats – including tree frogs, sloths and a sleeping bat – but first impressions count and this bookshop was the perfect start to our adventure.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4TpEh9nTOi6zVCvvFXDH2htFzMKXfdGD7mbonuQfWGX_HZduXIS1061eRVdb8VPSV52dQicrhGGtrpGK40iL0FZTDCXJDrAPuo_22Za1gkrpPuTotAsyCCfTsLxVl9u2iEC2ILTmWuY/s1600/Mora+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4TpEh9nTOi6zVCvvFXDH2htFzMKXfdGD7mbonuQfWGX_HZduXIS1061eRVdb8VPSV52dQicrhGGtrpGK40iL0FZTDCXJDrAPuo_22Za1gkrpPuTotAsyCCfTsLxVl9u2iEC2ILTmWuY/s200/Mora+book.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MORA-Books-276174472445975/" target="_blank">Mora Books</a><br />
calle 5 ave 5 y 7<br />
San José, Costa Rica<br />
Tel: +506 8383 8385<br />
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* I would love to know how bibliophiles in humid countries keep their books in good condition?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-RO6wqagxZyh73rHuVE__0JNWBNnh-KfT28UP4KYG7VSpfsDuMc_BJIAcbe6MobAybp1WzT-JseO7lK63weBv2DQ1rUfYtnvAHlmE89oXFSt6w_G2wEctiRzU2Ot5b6Ze4dWEEujHmE/s1600/bat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-RO6wqagxZyh73rHuVE__0JNWBNnh-KfT28UP4KYG7VSpfsDuMc_BJIAcbe6MobAybp1WzT-JseO7lK63weBv2DQ1rUfYtnvAHlmE89oXFSt6w_G2wEctiRzU2Ot5b6Ze4dWEEujHmE/s320/bat.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3Ev_2kScItwpQ3eMiFvkq-0rNdojYzTB72vPgMf_Tdd3eqGILvb2LZ1bV_lNU9EjM52l-EJjJD3IZY99BzIzkIDdYZH2UYS818kbCw1tIRVVonasI2ofGz5yio0eKieiFrXaxnM8UsE/s1600/sloth.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3Ev_2kScItwpQ3eMiFvkq-0rNdojYzTB72vPgMf_Tdd3eqGILvb2LZ1bV_lNU9EjM52l-EJjJD3IZY99BzIzkIDdYZH2UYS818kbCw1tIRVVonasI2ofGz5yio0eKieiFrXaxnM8UsE/s320/sloth.jpeg" width="240" /></a>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com10Mora Books, Calle 5 Av. 5, San José, Costa Rica9.9359833 -84.076003899999989-15.5860512 -125.38459789999999 35.4580178 -42.76740989999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352104773840153594.post-79582818378049233432017-10-12T22:43:00.000+01:002018-04-09T22:36:07.087+01:00Bookshop Day 2017<b>**The blog's going to have to take a brief pause, come back soon and I'll tell you more about each of these bookshops and the many others I've been visiting**</b><br />
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Life's a bit busy for me at the moment, with work, family, friends and cat all demanding urgent attention in such a way that the thought of five minutes to just sit and relax is unheard of. It's good to be busy, and I wouldn't be without any of it, but it means time's rushing by at unheard of speeds and I swear someone's sped up the second hand on my watch.<br />
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Which means it was probably inevitable that the evening before Bookshop Day would arrive and I'd have no idea where I was heading for my bookshop crawl. The decision had been playing on my mind, but none of the rough routes I came up with had quite worked out once put down on paper. I was panicking about it as I walked home from work, and what may have seemed like a jokey <a href="https://twitter.com/bookshopblogger/status/916351964849590273" target="_blank">tweet</a> was actually a genuine comment on the whimpering mental state I found myself in. Thankfully, a nearby-ish bookshop came to my aid and replied with the suggestion I visit them.<br />
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A long, long time ago* I first visited <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/01/much-ado-about-social-enterprise.html" target="_blank">Much Ado Books</a> in Alfriston and fell in love with its many <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2015/02/the-delight-is-in-detail.html" target="_blank">details</a>. Later I came to also love its booksellers for their friendly welcome and consistently spot on book recommendations, so it felt like I was taking my boyfriend to meet old friends.<br />
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Which was exactly the welcome we received.<br />
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It was a wonderful start to the day to be greeted by such a lovely couple, to talk bookshop plans, bookselling in general and catch up on news. It was also a treat to be able to give my boyfriend a tour of such a beautiful – and busy – bookshop and its barn event space. It was hard to leave when we had such a warm welcome, but The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell and The Roasting Tin cookbook by Rukmini Iyer came away with us.<br />
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Next we made a flying visit to Lewes, and the Bag of Books. It was unfortunate that our arrival coincided with a rather damp lunchtime, meaning this children's bookshop was rather quiet, but on the plus side we were able to enjoy the bright, colourful space uninterrupted and it wasn't hard to imagine a bunch of very happy children also enjoying it. Patrick Ness' The Rest Of Us Just Live here was my choice, having stuck in my mind since it was a finalist in the <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/p/bamb-readers-awards-2016-competition.html" target="_blank">2016 BAMB Readers Awards</a>, I was pleased to find it.<br />
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Moving on, we overcame slow traffic to arrive at <a href="http://www.thebookshoparoundthecorner.co.uk/2018/04/in-which-boy-falls-in-love-with-bookshop.html" target="_blank">Kemptown Bookshop</a>, on the outskirts of Brighton. I've often heard good things about this place, so I was looking forward to this visit, but what I hadn't expected was the joy on my boyfriend's face as he explored. He's a fan of bookshops too, but in all our time together this is the first one where he's acted like a kid in a sweetshop.<br />
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Taking up three floors, I was more than happy with the diverse, high quality fiction offering, but throw in the popular science, poetry and art and my boyfriend was in his element. He bought Ted Hughes' The Crow, Steffen Kverneland's Munch and The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, making my choice of Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson seem rather limited by comparison. While paying the bookseller and my boyfriend enjoyed an animated conversation about books and their love of Thomas Mann and it was a pleasure to see such pleasure in literature.<br />
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The final stop of the day was the Steyning Bookshop. Opened when the booksellers converted house almost 35 years ago, this had the added bonus of free tea and cake in honour of Bookshop Day. There's something particularly soothing about wandering around a bookshop with a cup of tea in your hand.<br />
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We enjoyed browsing a diverse selection of fiction and I lost my boyfriend to the chair by popular science for quite some time – leaving me to discover a steam engine made of bookcases in the children's area and a good mix of fiction. I was thrilled to finally find a title from my must-buy list: Ted Chiang's collection of short stories, Arrival, containing the story that prompted the film of that name, while my boyfriend bought The Periodic Table, by Paul Parsons and Gail Dixon.<br />
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This took our total for the day to one tote bag, four bookshops and nine books, which isn't bad going for a girl who has a one book per shop rule...<br />
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<a href="http://www.muchadobooks.com/" target="_blank">Much Ado Books</a><br />
8 West Street, Alfriston, East Sussex, BN26 5UX<br />
Tel: 01323 871222<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/MuchAdoBooks" target="_blank">@MuchAdoBooks</a><br />
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<a href="https://bags-of-books.co.uk/" target="_blank">Bag of Books</a><br />
1 South Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2BT<br />
Tel: 01273 479320<br />
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<a href="http://www.kemptownbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Kemptown Bookshop</a><br />
91 St George’s Road, Brighton, West Sussex, BN2 1EE<br />
Tel: 01273 682110<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/KemptownBkshop" target="_blank">@KemptownBkshop</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.steyningbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Steyning Bookshop</a><br />
106 High Street, Steyning, West Sussex, BN44 3RD<br />
Tel: 01903 812062<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/steyningbooks" target="_blank">@steyningbooks</a><br />
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*Okay, not in general, but two and a half years is a long time in the life of this bookshop blog.Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00081296214039287324noreply@blogger.com4