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The Books That Made Me The first book I ever truly loved was The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown. It was the story that opened my eyes to the obsessive magic of reading, and it’s the only book that I’ve ever begun again as soon as I finished it. It stood out from...
Fiction: Shot With Crimson by Nicola Upson Clever, fascinating and filled with intrigue, Shot With Crimson is one of Nicola Upson’s Josephine Tey Mysteries (a superb crime series which can be read in any order). Their protagonist is real life novelist Josephine Tey, a...
Fiction: The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page From the author of the phenomenal bestseller The Keeper of Stories, comes an utterly beautiful and charming novel full of mystery and secrets waiting to be uncovered… Returning to her Uncle Wilbur’s stationery shop, brings...
To the Future and Beyond The word is out, the dream is becoming a reality. Booka Bridgnorth is being built. Tim of all trades is busy painting the shop-front, local builders GMC have started the shop-fit. We are on our way to being the proud owners of two independent...
Fiction: The Good Liars by Anita Frank Now 6 years later the events of that summer have resurfaced to haunt the inhabitants of Darkacre Hall. Dilapidated and worn down, it is the home of the once respected Stilwell family, now a shadow of their former selves;...
Fiction Book of the Month: Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare’s best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline’s story. A fierce, feminist, intensely gripping novel; captivating and...
Fiction: The Illusions by Liz Hyder The Illusions is another gloriously captivating piece of storytelling from Liz Hyder, author of ‘The Gifts’; magical and mesmerising, full of passion, creativity, secrets and delight. Bristol, 1896 and two young women...
With Independent Bookshop Week upon us and in person events very much on the agenda of authors and their readers, It feels the perfect time to reflect on one of my greatest pleasures: in conversation events. It seems extraordinary that it was eight years ago, in early...
The Books That Made Me First things first, I’m over the moon that Booka Bookshop have chosen Perilous Times to be their Book of the Month! I’m a Shropshire Lad myself – I lived in Ratlinghope for most of my teenage years, between the Stiperstones and the Long...
FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee In perilous times like these, the realm doesn’t just need a hero, it needs a knight in shining armour. Legend tells that King Arthur and his knights lie sleeping beneath the land, ready to rise to our aid...
The Books That Made Me Reading took off for me when I was nine when my family moved house and I had a term left of my final year at junior school. With no way of getting home, my mum arranged for a neighbour to collect me from the village library which was next to the...
Fiction: The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller If you’ve read Unsettled Ground, Claire Fuller’s Costa Award winning novel, you will know that her writing combines heart and melancholy without sentimentality, her quiet storytelling all the more powerful for its...
On average, British women hoard approximately £285 worth of unused clothing within their wardrobes. This is the equivalent of £34 million worth of useless purchases in Shropshire alone. With Love From… is a new project launching in Oswestry, Shropshire. Our vision is...
Since working at Booka, twice I’ve been asked for recommendations for erotic fiction, or as it’s known nowadays: ‘spicy reads’. Romance seems to come with certain connotations: covers featuring scantily clad women embracing men with bulging muscles, lots of ‘held...
FICTION: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld New from New York Times bestselling author, Curtis Sittenfeld, Romantic Comedy is a smart, insightful, and funny social commentary on modern relationships, societal expectations, and the ungovernable laws of attraction....
The Books That Made Me On my wall I have a book that is framed in a silver-coloured box frame with a hinged front, so that I can access it should I need it. I almost feel like this box frame should have a sign next to it saying, “break glass in an emergency”. Because...
World Book Day The above title will make most booksellers snort with laughter. World Book Week or fortnight is more like it. Nevertheless, it is a highlight within the Booka calendar where we focus on our work with schools and young readers. We host an all singing,...
Fiction: Spilt Milk by Amy Beashel This is a raw, gut-punch of a novel following teacher, social media influencer and mum, Bea Straw, in the aftermath of a brutally honest comment – the worst thing a mother could possible think, let alone say – which has...
The Books That Made Me I have friends who can reel off plots from books they read forty years ago. Character names, surprising twists, beautiful or frustrating endings, the minutiae remain impressively at the forefront of their clever minds ready for intricate...
I wonder where to begin. Perhaps with the earliest distinct memory I have of reading a book on my own: it was a picture book of the Three Billy Goats Gruff story, and what I remember most are the pictures in the background: the detailed little houses in the hills –...