My Independent Bookshop; Independent Booksellers Week 2014

Back in May I told you about a wonderful new initiative where we could all become booksellers in the form of My Independent Bookshop. I promised faithfully that I would update the shop with new stock every month, basically this is a way of me playing at being a bookshop owner whilst also (if you happen to buy books through it) giving money to an indepent bookshop at the same time, clever huh?

Well I got way too busy with work and so when June came, and almost went, there was no update. Shame on me. However when I saw it was Independent Booksellers Week this week I had a brainwave… I should come up with a selection of books to sell in my bookshop for a week that celebrate bookshops and books that will make you go back to bookshops and buy more books.

So that is what I have done HERE. Three books written by bookshop owners (well two are letters but that counts), three books with bookshops very much at their hearts and three books about reading which will make you want to run to your local indie bookshop and buy more books. So have a gander and let me know what you think! Oh, and let me know if you have set up your own My Independent Bookshop!

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Savidge Reads Books, My Independent Bookshop

It has always been a dream of mine to have a bookshop that one day I could call my own. I think it is most bibliophiles dreams if we are honest, an excuse to fill up pretty much every space in a building we can with books before passing the right ones on to other lovely readers. Well now I do have my own bookshop of sorts Savidge Reads Books.

Apparently it lies in some unnamed city on a road called Fiction Street. No, I haven’t gone mad or all Second Life (is that what it’s called?) on you, fear not. I am just one of the many, many book lovers who has joined the initiative that Penguin Random House and Hive.co.uk have set up to encourage people to shop locally and support local books from local book lovers. I can hear you asking the question that I was asking when I heard about it ‘how on earth does it work and how on earth does another online retail site benefit local bookshops?’ Well check out this video here to see…

Basically, if you couldn’t watch the video, book lovers open a shop, choose some books to recommend, people buy them and Hive donate money from that purchase to a local bookshop of the sellers choice. Alas Scarthin Books (I was thinking of me and Gran’s joint favourite bookshop) aren’t listed but the wonderful Oxton Village Books down the road, now housed in the local museum and art gallery – cultural perfection, are and so I have nominated them.

My plan is that on the first of every month my bookshop window will change. I am going to recommend three different favourites (can you guess what they currently are?), three recent reads I have loved and reviewed in the last month and three books you might not have heard of or tried (despite my best efforts) and really, really should. I am hoping My Independent Bookshop will start allowing you to label shelves as that would show them off really nicely.

I am also thinking of a fourth shelf to use for some other books but am not sure what, contemporary favourites and then have a classic favs? A crime shelf? What do you think? I would (as always) love to know your thoughts, you may inspire me. So do go and have a gander, feel free to buy some of my wares and join (let me know if you have joined or do join please) and I will let you know in a month’s time when the new stock is in, as it were. This is going to be so much fun, and hopefully good for local bookshops!