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As a bookseller faced with so many books to read, there are often books which don’t quite make it to the top of your TBR (To Be Read) pile, not because they don’t deserve your attention, but simply the pressure to read other books means they get usurped by the latest...
Reading Outside Your Comfort Zone One of the great delights of getting older is knowing exactly what you enjoy and refining your choices accordingly. But, as we get comfortable, there is always that danger of missing out on something we’ve written off as not for us....
My earliest memories are of books and words. I remember looking at Postman Pat picture books with my mum, hunting for Jess the cat. I remember coming home from reception class on Fridays clutching the little tin filled with paper cut out words, which I would excitedly...
Life as a Bookseller is never dull and no two days are ever the same. The variety and versatility of what we do is part of why we do it, but I don’t know whether the sheer physicality of the role is understood until people experience it. Here is a snapshot of one of...
In the same week that we celebrate International Women’s Day, we also witnessed the devastating and shocking news that Russia bombed a Children’s & Maternity Hospital in Zhytomyr in Ukraine. The press coverage is undeniable and horrifying. How in the 21st Century...
The fire was lit, the doors closed, the cats curled up and the first page turned. Where do you read yours? On the sofa? By the fire? Under a cosy blanket? We all have special places where we retreat from the world and escape between the pages of a good book. My...
I first read The Gifts by Liz Hyder back in early July, 2021. Liz is a Ludlow based author, whose debut novel for young adults ‘Bearmouth’ was published by Pushkin Press and won the Branford Boase Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Award for Older...
As promised, we are continuing our ‘Reading Journey’ series and our next instalment comes from the wonderful Beth Morrey. Continue reading to hear the books that made her and inspired her writing style used in Em & Me. Have you read Fahrenheit...
Books and well-being are at the heart of what we do and our purpose is to help people to live a life made better through books. One of the best and most grounding parts of my job is the incredible interactions and conversations that I have with our customers. There...
Love is in the air – it’s the month of Romance and here at Booka our hearts are aflutter with ‘Book Love’. Of course, for us, ‘a passion for books’ is not just for Valentines, we spend every day falling deeply and passionately in love with books. We can be quite...
‘Devotion’ by Hannah Kent, published 3rd February 2022, is a new bookseller favourite. The eagerly anticipated (and now very battered) proof, pictured above has been passed around many of team and prompted a great deal of discussion. We have signed and numbered indie...
Helen Cullen Guest Blog: 10 Irish Writers with 2020 Books In our efforts to bring you more and more online content, which is accessible to you all at home, we have been upping the ante across our social media platforms. First of all, we created the Friends of Booka...
Let’s start with what you’re currently reading . . . Natasha: I’m currently reading a proof copy of Fresh Water For Flowers by Valérie Perrin (in translation by Hildegarde Serle) and The First Bohemians by Vic Gatrell, which is essentially a history of ‘London’s...
For some of us, the idea of a desert island may seem rather inviting in the current climate of pandemic. However, as isolation becomes the reality for all of us, loneliness could fast become a real concern. With that in mind, we are reaching out to you with more and...
This is it, the final post in on three-part blog series on buying the best Christmas book gifts. Part 1 was dedicated to our younger readers: why they deserve to get books for Christmas and a diverse range of reading fun. Part 2 focused on the difficult to buy for,...
Great to see you back for the second in our three-part series. In the lead up to Christmas, we are devoting our blogs to showcasing the very best books for people in your life. Last week we looked at the best books for children, you can find out why your children...
If you like to buy books for yourself, there’s a good chance that you like to give books to your friends and family too. There are so many fantastic books available to choose from that the perfect choice can seem a little daunting. Never fear, we at Booka are...
On the 28th of November, Americans both at home and abroad will be celebrating thanksgiving. This festival is an opportunity to give thanks and spend time with family and friends, originally a celebration for making it through the first tough seasons in the new world....
It will surprise no one that the most expensive signed copy of a first edition was The Tales of Beedle the Bard, hand written by J.K. Rowling in 2007. One of only seven copies, it sold for £1.95 million at auction. Some other all-time signature greats are an F. Scott...
Almost as long as humans have been writing, they have been writing about war. Factual or fictional, it was a reality for almost everyone. Storytelling bridged the gap for those who had experienced it, and those who hadn’t, allowing recognition, reflection and...