Category: bookshops

bookshops

Books in the Wild: Main Character Books

veritywilde

It’s Saturday and I’m back with another bookshop post and it’s another post for a specialist romance bookshop, which makes my third this year after The Spicy Librarian and Saucy Books. And I would like to go on record with how happy it makes me that we have specialist romance stores popping up and increasing. I’m not a romantasy reader but I do credit that genre with helping make this happen and so it’s probably apt that I was in Main Character Books (the day) after the new Sarah J Maas came out as you can see from the window.

Main Character Books is in Spital Square, in Spitalfields which is a five minute or so walk from Liverpool Street Station (if you manage to use the right exit, which I am so bad at you wouldn’t believe) and near lots of interesting looking food spots.

I’m staring with their selection of classics because there are some really, really pretty ones. I don’t need any more hardback editions or special-design paperbacks, but they’re beautiful and I’m tempted every time. As you may be able to see at the bottom left there is the Virago Designer edition of Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women that I have on my shelf.

I mostly took this for the merch – not for the SJM, and I’m not really giving you many photos of the romantasy selection beyond this, because it’s not what I’m interested in, but trust me when I say that there is plenty of it, the stuff you’ll have heard of and new things to discover.

What I am interested in is the contemporary section of which this is a small part. Alongside the more usual/common authors and books I found stuff that I haven’t seen in physical copies before, old favourites and quite a few US format paperbacks of books that just aren’t available over here yet (and aren’t on Kindle either) which were very, very tempting.

Among the books I hadn’t seen before was the new Jenny Holiday Book Club Boyfriend which came out in July and has a formerly-famous heroine and a grumpy bestselling author hero and enemies to loves and forced proximity vibes which sounds like it might be fun. (also next to it and partly out of shot is Kate Stayman London‘s vampire book – she has a new one out at the moment which also looks interesting, but I’m not sure I can cope with an enemies to lovers romance set in the world of US politics at the moment – may be after the midterms?

And finally before I go, a copy of Season of Love by Helena Greer in the wild – which I don’t think I’ve seen before and which made me very happy because I enjoyed it so much and feels like I read it more recently than I did but it was actually one of the last things I read in 2025. Yes I did buy a couple of books and no I won’t tell you now, you’ll have to wait for the next Books Incoming.

Have a great Halloween if that’s your thing, otherwise I hope you’ve safely tucked away at home in the warm with some good food!

bookshops

Books in the Wild: Airport autumn 2026 edition

veritywilde

Slightly belatedly as we’ve been back a few weeks now, but for this Saturday’s post I’ve got my thoughts on the bookshop selection at Birmingham airport.

I’m going to start with a disclosure: I was disappointed with the selection this time. I think that’s partly because I’ve actually done quite a good job of getting (and reading) advance copies of some of the autumn releases this year, but I think there was actually quite a lot of repetition in what was here and not as much variety. This is the top of the airport fiction chart and I’ve already read the Lucy Foley Miss Marple, I’m pretty convinced that Yesteryear and Taipei Story will have big Kindle price drops at some point and I don’t want to read them enough to pay these prices and then we have a lot of thrillers that aren’t really my thing.

In the bottom half of the chart you can see some of the stuff from the top half filling some gaps (or is it vice versa?) and then the Hawthorne and Horowitz that I read back when it came out in the spring, and the Mel Giedroyc (twice!) which I read and (surprisingly) really, really loathed. The Kathryn Stockett has had mixed reviews and is really long so I skipped on that, and I’ve actually already got the Richard Osman so I was pretty short on choices for the traditional holiday Buy-one-half-price.

Moving to the airport non-fiction, we have my two purchases (as you know) Regime Change and The Cauldron, but I’ve already read the Kennedys and the Windsors thanks to a Kindle offer, I still haven’t read the Miriam Margolyes book I already own, Journey across Japan is actually a follow up and the Patrick Radden Keffe is about the death of a child and although the other books of his that I’ve read have been really good, I know that I’m not in the headspace to read about that. I was tempted by the Lucy Worsley, but I wasn’t sure how much new stuff would be in there, and I was also tempted by The Beckhams, which is by Alexander Larman who has written some books on the Royals that I’ve read – but it was really skinny and the print was large so I didn’t think it was worth it!

Swan Song by Charles Spencer was the big release at that point – and I don’t know if you can tell but that’s in actual hardback format, not airport paperback, which is why I’m including this one. I’m not bothering with anyt of the other paperback-paperback photos, because it really was the usual suspects – Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and other Taylor Jenkins Reid books, lots of Colleen Hoover, Frieda McFadde etc and also quite a bit of Alexandra Potter. I had been hoping for the latest Three Dahlias or the new John Green Hollywood Ending in Airport format but no such joy.

Hey ho – if you’re going through an airport soon, may your bookshop visit be more satisfying!

bookshops

Happy Bookshop Day!

veritywilde

It’s Bookshop Day 2026 in the UK – so today please take yourself down to a bookstore – preferably an Indie if you have one near you – and buy some books! Lots of shops are holding events and I would be going to one of my local ones if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve got a day out in London planned! There’s usually a special Books are My Bag bag too – which are often available for a few days after too.

Happy Book-shopping!

bookshops

Books in the Wild: Daunt Notting Hill

veritywilde

Happy Saturday everyone and I’ve got another bookshop for you, and another with not a lot of photos because it was busy and it is small! And yes I’ve cropped my photo of the exterior – because there was a lady sitting on the bench outside and I try not to do that.

This is one of their displays – as you can see it’s got a real range of books, but tending towards the more literary than genre end of book selection. And because of the size here, there’s no space to break down by genre of fiction – so it’s one fiction section upstairs and you’re going to have to have a bit of a browse to see what they have. But if you have an author or a book you’re looking for that does make life easier because you don’t have to play guess the section for your author.

Downstairs they’ve got a large section for children’s and young adult books – where I spotted the new Lissa Evans as you can see – as well as more specialist non-fiction than the general non fiction section upstairs. I really liked the large section of picture books for toddlers – but that may be because I’m most frequently buying for a toddler when it comes to children’s books at the moment!

Because it was so busy upstairs when I was there (and also close to closing time!) I found it quite hard to figure out what sort of book purchaser this one is best for – but busy is good when it comes to keeping bookshops open. And Daunt Notting Hill is literally 50 meters or so away from Notting Hill Books, so you’ve got an option for a really book heavy afternoon if you want to go out that side of London – you can do Saucy Books, Notting Hill Books and across the road from that one there’s also Books for Cooks – which I did have a quick wander around and has more cookbooks than you can imagine – and also a kitchen demonstration area at the back which suggests they host some really tasty events!

Have a great Saturday – go buy some books!

bookshops

Books in the Wild: Saucy Books 2

veritywilde

It’s been more than a year since I originally went to Saucy Books in Notting Hill – and they’ve moved! They’re about three doors down from the original location but it’s much, much bigger.

Now I should say I don’t have loads of photos because I was having a delightful chat about books rather than doing anything else and so the pictures don’t do justice to the much bigger size. This is a built out section full of contemporary romance that’s basically the size of the original store!

This is the other side of it – as you can see there’s loads of books here that I’ve already read (among them Book Lovers, Husband Material, Star Shipped, The Bodyguard) as well as some that I still want to (Atmopshere, Father Material, And Then There Was You). There is also a huge section – easily the same size as this again of Romantasy and Romance-with-Dark-Covers. And it’s still got loads of space for events and signings – it’s clearly a much, much better space for a bookshop (given how much revenue can come from events) than the old one was.

I’m finishing with their cork board to vote for your favourite trope – I’m not going to tell you what I picked, but do tell me yours in the comments!

bookshops

Books in the Wild: Persephone again

veritywilde

I know you already know what I bought in Persephone AND I wrote about the store two years ago last time I was there, but it felt strangely wrong not to give it a proper post this time too because it genuinely is such a delight to visit.

Perseophone do an offer where you get a slight discount if you buy three books, and I bought Mrs Miniver, Vain Shadow and Madame Solario this time, but I could easily have bought six or even nine. Every time I go there there are more amazing sounding books that I’ve never come across before. And of course they also come with a bookmark matching their end papers.

Mrs Miniver is on this table, but I was also tempted by Out of the Window (left hand end) which is from 1930 and about sexual attraction and is one of five novels written by the first woman to hold an editorial role at the Guardian, Sofia Petrovna which next to it and is a novel about Stalin’s Great Purge, Sally Carson’s Crooked Cross (not on this table) which is a contemporaneous account about the rise of the Nazis in 1930s Bavaria (which also has a sequel) and Hop, Step and Jump by Winifred Watson who wrote Miss Petigrew Lives for a Day which was one of the first Persephones I ever read.

They’ve also got a couple of books that are compilations of writing for the New Yorker during World War Two – fiction and dispatches – and books for adults by Richmal Crompton (of Just William fame) and Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden) among many others. Oh and I also bought a pin badge. And a tote bag. Did I come back from the trip with three new tote bags? Yes I did. I managed to resist most of the merch in Mr B’s Emporium because I knew I was going to get one from Persephone and I already had two new Booths bags too…

Have a great weekend!

bookshops

Books in the Wild: The Spicy Librarian

veritywilde

Happy Saturday, I’ve got another bookshop this week from the Bristol Odyssey and this time it’s The Spicy Librarian, a relatively new romance specialist (and bar!) in Leamington Spa. And it’s even great timing because today is Romance Bookstore Day in the US so I’m vaguely timely for once.

Firstly, I want to say that it’s big! I know their instagram says it’s Europe’s biggest independent romance bookshop, but I was not prepared. And it’s got a lovely corner plot too so hopefully everyone going past gets a good eyeful!

And let us take a moment for how pretty this is! Look at the indoor tree! And the rug! And the seats and tables for you to have a drink and a sit down with a book.

And this is the table underneath it, which I think gives a good idea of the selection – which felt very carefully curated. There’s authors here that you will see in other stores – Tessa Bailey, Lila Sage, Josie Silver – and then Kayla Olson, whose first book didn’t get a paperback release over here, the second did and now the third is getting into more stoies and then some stuff I hadn’t seen anywhere else (r at least don’t remember seeing anywhere else!) like The Singer Sisters (actually two years old), Fallen Willow and Forsaking Midnight which was a very new release at the time.

I was expecting the store to be really heavy on the romantasy and also on the self-published, but actually it’s more balanced than that. It has got a big romantasy section but as well as the usual suspects there were some lesser spotted ones – or at least lesser spotted by me, admittedly not a romantasy reader or connoisseur.

But there was also a lot of other romance as well – this is part of the contemporary romance section – with quite a lot of sports romances but I promise there were other things there too. I could easily have bought more than I did. I’ve spent a lot of time in various romance sections of bookstores and there were plenty here that I hadn’t seen before – including a bunch of US imports that aren’t in Kindle in the UK.

And finally as well as the (licenced) bar, there is merch. I’m not meant to be acquiring any more tote bags and although I did acquire tote bags over the course of the weekend, on Friday afternoon my will power was in tact. It was also about 30 degrees so I managed to resist the hoodie, but whether I’d be as strong on a chilly day in the autumn who can tell.

bookshops

Books in the Wild: Mr B’s Emporium

veritywilde

After last weekend’s Conference book haul, this week we start on the bookshops that we visited around our weekend at conference. You’l have to wait and see what I bought from them though, so sorry about that

Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights is tucked around the corner from the Jane Austen centre near Queen Square in Central Bath. It’s been there 20 years and won a tonne of awards (including the UK’s best independent bookstore twice!) and I don’t know how I hadn’t been there before.

There were genuinely so many pictures from my visit that I could have chosen to illustrate this, but I’ve gone for this one because I think it does a good job of conveying how excellent the selection of books they have is. We were in there for ages – so often you go into a book shop and find the same books that you’ve seen everywhere else (or at least I do) but this is not that. Yes it’s got some of the “usual” stuff in there (like Meet the Newmans – now in paperback!), but it’s also got a whole load of books that I’d never come across before and suddenly wanted to read.

All the fiction is in together in alphabetical order but there are sections picking out highlights from particular genres too – this is a romance one, featuring the new Annabel Monaghan which you know I loved, the TJR I still need to read, the latest Ashley Poston and Alexandra Vasti and some other stuff I’ve seen before along with Rooting Interest which I totally hadn’t and Heart the Lover which has got a Booker Longlisting so I wouldn’t have normally thought at about.

It’s also got a beautiful children’s section, which I managed to catch looking like there’s no one in it (there was) because I do try not to put pictures of unsuspecting people’s children on the internet so you’ll have to trust me that it was busy because there’s a whole area behind that you can’t see with the picture books where the toddlers were hanging out. And it has friendly staff, in every section but particularly the children’s one, who will ask you if they can recommend you anything or find you anything or order you anything. We were in there late morning on a Monday it it was doing such a steady trade in customers that it was a delight to see.

I leave you with the Terry Pratchett hardback corner, which is basically all you would have needed to show me to demonstrate that this was a bookshop I would love. I have so much trouble resisting these beautiful hardbacks – I’m writing this looking up at my fancy bookshelf where I can see my copies of Guards! Guards, Monstrous Regiment, Going Postal, Making Money and Raising Steam all of which you can also see here – still sort of regretting that I didn’t buy another one to add to them. On the wall to the side just out of shot is also a poster guide to where to start and the interconnections of the series which is a really good touch because as I have said before, you don’t need to start these at the beginning and in fact unless you’re a regular fantasy reader you probably shouldn’t.

Basically, if you’re in Bath don’t miss this one – I think between the three of us we came away with six books at least – and this the day after Book Conference at a point when we all had made resolutions not to buy too much stuff!

bookshops

Books in the Wild: South Kensington Books

veritywilde

Remember in Books Incoming the other week, where I had a mad week with five books on the Tuesday and a sixth on the Wednesday? This is where the sixth book came from on my way to Rufus Wainwright. And apologies for the sign going right through the middle of the shop front – so inconsiderate of the council to put it there!

Here’s the front window – and as befits a bookshop smack bang in London’s Museum quarter, it’s a mix of fiction and books to appeal topeople coming fresh from the V&A.

Lets start just inside the door with the Bestsellers and New Fiction. Yesteryear is the top seller – which really isn’t a surprise because it’s ad so much buzz about it and there’s also the new Elizabeth Strout, which is everywhere too. In the new fiction shelves below there are a few that I’ve got on the pile too – like Births, Deaths and Marriages by Laura Barnett, The Wedding People, The Correspondent and some Christina Lauren too.

On the other side we’ve got Prisoners of Geography, which I’m sure I bought for some one at some point at the top but there’s quite a lot below that I’ve read – like Island Calling, Murder at World’s End and The Impossible Fortune – and stuff I’ve got on the pile like The Eights and Atmosphere.

As far as the rest of the shop goes, beyond the new books, they’ve got a huge selection of fiction and non fiction for £4.99. So if you’re not looking for something in particular and just want to browse for something to take a chance on without breaking the bank, this is a really good option – especially if you want non-fiction. My purchase was Constellation of Genius, as seen in last weekend’s Books Incoming, but I was very tempted by Tripped, having really enjoyed Blitzed nearly a decade (!) ago – however I have a lot of German history books already on the pile (Weimar Germany and Nazi Germany) and so I can’t really justify another one… yet.

Have a good weekend!

bookshops

Books in the Wild: Gay’s The Word

veritywilde

Happy Saturday! Independent bookstore week starts today *and* it’s Pride Month, so I thought Books Incoming could wait another week so that I could write about Gay’s The Word instead.

Gay’s The Word opened in 1979 and says it’s the UK’s oldest LGTB+ bookshop. It’s on Marchmont Street – just down the road from Judd Books as you head towards the Brunswick Centre, which is home to Skoob and also Brunswick Bookshop, which makes for a very easy four bookshop afternoon should that sort of thing be your jam – we know that it is mine. It’s not a big store, but it’s got a deceptively large amount of books in there, many of which I haven’t ever spotted in an actual shop before which is always a delight.

I should say that I’m annoyed with myself because I didn’t take as many photos as I should have on my two visits in the last few weeks, but hey ho, I can’t be perfect all the time. I’m particularly that I didn’t take a photo of this shelf this week – because there were definitely more biographies on there this week and this one doesn’t actually have the book that I bought on it.

I’m not a big Young Adult reader, but I have friends who are who I will be dragging down here to have a look because this is big, varied and again had loads of stuff I hadn’t seen before, even though I feel llike the algorithm serves me a lot of YA.

This is also a few weeks old – this week it had Father Material on it as well as Star Shipped, and K J Charles‘s How To Fake It In Society (which is a hard back or I would have been tempted). I’ve got the Rose Dommu on the (virtual) shelf as well as Murder at the Hotel Orient. On the top shelf, International Relations – a m/m fake dating romance with a diplomat who needs a husband to get an ambasadorial post – looks right up my street and in the middle Show Stopper – about teens at a musical theatre competition is the one I’m going to be telling my YA reading friends about. On the non-fiction side, I’m waiting for A Queer Inheritance – which is about queer lives at properties that are now run by the national trust – to come out in paperback, and I also really want to read Queen James but it’s just as chunky in paperback as it was in Hardback.

And that’s your lot for today. Go visit an indie for bookshop week, and for double points buy a book by an LGTBQ+ author. And if you’re in or around Sheffield this pride month, don’t forget Juno Books too.