Receipts From the Bookshop

A Bookseller's Year
A year in the life of an independent bookseller at a small family bookshop in a fading seaside town, for fans of Nina Stibbe

'ABSOLUTE HEAVEN' INDIA KNIGHT
'WARM AND UPLIFTING' AJ PEARCE
'THE PERFECT ANTIDOTE TO THE WORLD RIGHT NOW' JENNIE GODFREY

Many of us dream of owning a bookshop, but for Katie Clapham it happened by accident, when she moved back to the seaside town she grew up in and went into business with her mum.

Once a week, Katie sits behind the counter and chronicles the day's comings and goings - mostly people who were actually hoping to catch her mother. The triumphs here are small but hard won: a tea crisis averted, a book title correctly identified from a cryptic clutch of clues. Not to mention the emotional rollercoaster of being named the Seventh-Best Bookshop in the Country by The Times on a day where takings came to around £16.98.

Customers appear for a browse and a chat, in search of a recommendation or the perfect gift. Others enter the shop for more unexpected reasons − to borrow a screwdriver, locate a priest or simply to ask if there's 'a nice place for an omelette around here'. Each day brings its own joys and frustrations, though not always in equal measure .

Funny, surprising and affectionate, here is a bookseller's year in all its weirdness and wonder - a life-affirming celebration of bad weather, good books and the irreplaceable role of a local bookshop.

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