Your bookshops #23, Five Leaves Bookshop

Nottingham is somewhere I've long meant to visit, but not quite made it to, yet. Which is why I was thrilled to hear from Radio 4 listener Sian, who got in touch to ask if I'd visited her local, which is a "real gem and very welcoming, like all the best book shops". I hadn't, so I asked if she'd tell me more...

Five Leaves Bookshop
14a Long Row, Nottingham NG1 2DH
Tel: 0115 837 3097 @FiveLeavesBooks
Published: 9th November, 2016

Five Leaves is a gem of a bookshop right in the heart of Nottingham. As an independent bookshop, it stocks lots of interesting works and offers a real alternative to the usual high street bookshop offerings.

The staff are friendly and welcoming and they’ll order you anything if they haven’t already got it in stock. It’s also got a great range of cards and other interesting, affordable items – with great slogans or graphics – such as badges and tea towels. Personally, I’ve put a pair of the lovely literary-themed earrings on my Christmas list!

Five Leaves works with local groups (such as the Women’s History Group I am involved with), the two universities in the city and many other connections, so most weeks they have an event with a speaker, readings and discussion. Themes include politics, civil rights, poetry and LGBT. Sometimes the talks are free, sometimes there is a small charge, sometimes there is a discount for the book that is being discussed, but they are always interesting.

I've bought books with strong Nottingham connections – Someone at a Distance and Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple. She wrote several of her eight novels (two of which were filmed) while living in Nottingham and I've just bought Laura Knight at the Theatre (a book of Laura Knight's theatre-based artworks) for a Christmas present.

This is only a tiny flavour of the warm, comforting, courageous space that is Five Leaves, but I hope it has been enough to encourage you to seek it out if you come to Nottingham – or even to come to Nottingham just to check it out!

Thank you Sian, as you say, my reason for visiting Nottingham will definitely be Five Leaves Bookshop. It's long been on my must-visit list so I'm really pleased to be able to feature it on my blog until I can visit for myself.