Memories of the past, joy for the present

There are certain places that get into your soul, sticking with you no matter how many years you leave between visits. For me, Rochester is one of those places.

I moved there more than a quarter of a century ago (surely I'm not old enough for that statement to be possible?) when I left another town that's also firmly lodged in my heart, so I could climb the next rung of the career ladder. The career has since changed significantly, my love of both of those previous homes continues, possibly in part because of their similarities.

Aberystwyth had gorgeous sunsets over a wide expanse of sea, and an independent new bookshop that swallowed up most of my spare cash. Rochester had gorgeous sunsets over a wide expanse of tidal river, and no independent new bookshop*. I was happy with where I lived but having come to appreciate chats in independent bookshops, I'll admit I was a little lonely when I first arrived in Kent: the beautiful surroundings and my love of books were my main company for some time.

Thankfully, some things change and six years ago – yes, during the pandemic – Store 104 opened on Rochester High Street.

It's an unusual destination in that it describes itself as "an independent, family-run, book, yarn and gift shop". I'll admit, anywhere that puts the word "gift" in its descriptor usually sends me running, but I only looked at the website after my visit, by which time I'd already fallen for the place thanks to its fascinating selection of books and rather sweet cafe (which doesn't even get a mention online, it's a well-kept secret).

My visit to Store 104 was planned so I could meet up with someone in the cafe, so I made sure to arrive half an hour early to give me time to properly look around.

From the door, your first glance is of a large selection of greeting cards to the right, or a small bookcase of gifts that appeared to be mainly notebooks on the left, however immediately beyond is a view of dark wooden bookcases and lots of novels to choose from. A large, wooden staircase takes people upstairs to the yarn, which looked beautiful but is beyond my knowledge base. Instead I continued deeper into the shop, to the non-fiction and then to scout out the cafe for later.

Returning to the novels, I set about choosing my purchase. During my first walk through I'd spotted some Persephones – including one I've been looking out for by Winifred Watson – so I had thought I'd found my book without much effort, but when it came to properly looking I realised the shelves deserved more attention.

The space available for fiction may cover fewer than four bookcases, but the quality on offer is excellent. Many face-forward books were so interesting I could've been convinced they'd been displayed that way just for me, and when I looked along the spines there were even more options that I'd not previously encountered but quickly found myself wanting to read. The Persephone ended up back on my to buy list and I had to choose something else. That something was Air by Christian Kracht.

Later, when my purchase was sat on the table in the cafe, one of the staff got talking to me about another book by the author. I had to confess I'd not previously heard of them, and I enjoyed the praise and brief moment of conversation.

Which leads me nicely to the cafe. I was meeting someone to discuss potential work now I'm in the world of freelance editing. I won't go into the details of the conversation, what I can tell you is that we both had triple cheese toasties and cups of tea, later moving on to more tea and the almond and cherry tray bake. It was all delicious. Top marks are granted for making a simple toastie exceptionally tasty.

[There really should be a photo of the cafe and/or food here but I apparently forgot to take any.]

It should be noted the menu is limited. That toastie (with optional extra sauces) really was the only savoury option available during my visit this Monday, however there were lots of baked goods and an extensive selection of coffees and unusual cold drinks. 

What was most important was the space. I was in there for almost two hours so as well as personally feeling comfortable, I was able to witness the comings and goings of others. This ranged from noisy groups of friends to quiet readers, including smatterings of conversations with staff and other customers occasionally breaking out around the room. How I wished I'd found a space like this all those years ago.

When I started writing about this week's bookshop I really hadn't expected it to bring up so many memories of my lonely first years in the town so I hope you'll forgive the self-indulgence. Those years may have been difficult, but without them I wouldn't have fallen in love with this historic corner of England and – more importantly – I wouldn't have eventually come to meet many of the people who ensure Rochester will be forever in my heart. 

I couldn't benefit from Store 104 all those years ago, but I love knowing that if a lonely young Erica arrived in Rochester today she would swiftly be able to find a place within the community.

Store 104

104 High Street,

Rochester,

Kent,

ME1 1JT

*At the time there were two secondhand bookshops in Rochester, and I mean them no disrespect with this statement. I've even written about how much I loved one of them, here, which means I should also draw your attention to my favourite secondhand bookshop in Aberystwyth. (Please excuse typos and broken links if you click through to those blogs, I've opted to leave the past as I wrote it, accepting all mistakes as being of their day.)

There's something special on Silver Street

When I re-started this blog I promised I'd share bookshop adventures new and old, so here's a visit from 2019, to a bookshop that makes the word "thrive" sound like an understatement.

One of the most common questions I'm asked when on my bookshopping adventures is along the lines of "where is your bookshop?" or "when will you be opening your own bookshop?" and my answer is always the same: I'm a bookshopper, not a bookseller.

I love bookshops and admit I share the dream of having a bookshop of my own, a bookshop filled with books, sunlight, tea, and the community spirit generated by a mass of friendly customers. The dream is perfect. The reality is something a little less idyllic as it involves all of the above and a lot of hard work. It also requires that certain something – what I definitely think of as a secret ingredient. 

There's no way to describe that something, it's not a secret booksellers are keeping from us, but – now I'm aware of it – I realise it's there in every successful independent bookshop I've ever met. The first time I realised there was such a mysterious secret ingredient was when I visited Drake the Bookshop in fledgling form, sometime around its seven monthiversary.

At the time Drake was located in a corner space of part of a sort of upmarket indoor market. The bookshop lacked two walls a door and the all-important bookshop window, but even without those things it was clear to see something special had been created. I didn't know Drake would go on to become a success, but what was written all over the bookshop space was that here is a bookshop that cares about its customers AND knows how to make sure they know it. Richard and Mel knew how to balance fun with books and business (as I've previously mentioned, we've all got to eat), and their determination to serve the readers of Stockton was – and still is – there for all to see.

Fast forward four years and, in 2019, I returned to Stockton to see how things had changed. Drake the bookshop had moved and become a 'proper' bookshop with windows and a door (who am I kidding, it was *always* a proper bookshop, it had simply expanded into a more traditional physical space). The bookshop had (I'd guess) at least three times the space of its original unit and as a result the variety and volume of stock significantly increased. I write in the past tense, because since that visit I hear they've expanded again.

During that visit in 2019 and so I assume today, there was a lovely seating area that could accommodate any number of popular reading and literary groups (I lost track of all the options but having been following their progress online, I really, really want to join in their silent book club, or any silent book club – please take that as a hint local-to-me cafes and pubs).

Back in 2016, Drake had just arranged its first author event. At the time of my last visit the bookshop was in the final throes of arranging another ambitious author road trip, affectionately known as GNAT. Jump to 2026 and I see that a few days ago the latest Great Northern Author Tour (yes, GNAT) took place, and having read their write-up of the day I'm pleased to see the event – like the bookshop – has gone from strength to strength. 

These are some of the changes over the years but other things I've experienced at Drake remain the same: a carefully chosen selection of books; a warm welcome for every visitor (including for one young family that was simply passing by in the street, the enthusiasm of Drake is definitely not contained within its four walls); and a reassuring confidence in all things bookshop. This confidence was best demonstrated in conversation with Richard and Mel, when I paused from my browsing to catch up on book and bookshop news and Richard handed me Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession, saying "read this". I love it when people make recommendations so the book became my purchase of the visit and later turned out to be exactly the book I needed to read – it recently also became exactly the TV adaptation I needed to watch. I love it when adaptations do justice to the original, but please do read the book first.

During the 2019 visit we also bought No one is too small to make a difference, by Greta Thunberg; Out of the Wreckage, A new politics for an age of crisis, by George Monbiot; How to be invisible, by Kate Bush; and Memoirs of a book thief by A Tota and P Van Hove. I say we, the majority of these were actually chosen by The Boy, who clearly enjoyed browsing while I caught up.

We travelled around 300 miles to visit Drake the Bookshop, which is why it's been a few years since our previous visit but we also know we will be back. The people of Stockton need only walk down the street to get there, I hope they know how lucky they are. 

Drake the Bookshop
26-27 Silver Street,
Stockton-on-Tees,
TS18 1SX

Discovering a bookshop around the corner

There's something particularly magical about going out for a day trip to achieve one thing, then innocently discovering there's a bookshop around the corner.

Which is exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago, when we paid a first visit to a relative who had recently relocated to Wendover. Prior to the conversation about moving I had a vague idea the town might be somewhere in the middle of the country, maybe a little rural, but I was otherwise ignorant. I can now tell you it appears to be a friendly, pretty, small town in the Chilterns, somewhere near Aylesbury. 

If I've got that wrong, please understand it's because our visit was limited to exploring the new home, lunch out, and an unexpected stop in Real Magic Books. While it was lovely to visit a family member, clearly my main memory of the day is the bookshop. Yes, I do have a one-track mind.

We first saw the bookshop as we really did turn a corner. There it was in a small parade of shops on our left as we walked past, stomachs growling as we headed to lunch. Despite the large front window, I was unable to see much inside and I filed the memory as "if we have time, it would be nice to pop in on our way home".

During that walk to lunch I was still only toying with the idea of re-starting this blog, and knowing we'd be visiting again meant I really wasn't too serious about delaying us to buy books. I look back at that slightly younger me in horror: Why on earth would I have not gone into a bookshop?

Thankfully, curiosity got the better of me. We had a pleasant lunch and as we began our walk back I casually dropped in: "could we just pop in here for five minutes". Reader, we were longer than five minutes.

Within seconds of stepping inside I was absorbed in a table dedicated to Rough Trade Books. From his spot on the sofa, the bookseller told me the book in my hand related to an event taking place in the bookshop the following evening when two authors were coming along – one with their band. I briefly toyed with attempting to extend our visit from a couple of hours to a couple of days, before confessing to the bookseller we were only there for the afternoon. Next time I may have to make plans that coincide with a bookshop event, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Real Magic Books is a bright and airy space which somehow felt larger than its big window had implied from outside. Big fans were wafting air around, and test match cricket on the radio meant relaxed chatter seemed to bubble around the shop. Immediately in front of you from the door are two round tables of themed books – at this time one was for Rough Trade, the other for Pride. These lead you on to a huge rectangular table of recommendations that are thoughtfully chosen for their content while also looking beautiful to this browser.

On the right, a wall of books with their covers face-forward provides literal and metaphorical colour, capturing your attention as you dart around a range of fiction and non-fiction titles. On the left, I was drawn to an enjoyable selection of fiction and then non-fiction crammed into more regularly displayed bookcases. There's also a welcoming children's section tucked away to one side.

Sticking to my one book per bookshop rule, I'd been clinging onto that very first title I picked up, On the bus without a phone by Babak Ganjei, but the last bookcase I came to, the nature shelves on the end next to the till, made me break my resolve and somehow Living on Earth by Peter Godfrey-Smith also ended up coming home with me.

While making my purchase I chatted some more with the bookseller, who was "only" looking after the bookshop for his friend but still did an excellent job telling me about the place and making us all feel at home.

Real Magic Books is a very welcome unexpected discovery and doubles my reasons for now wanting to return to Wendover as often as possible. Its stock is intelligent and unusual, its space is bright and welcoming and – sadly not open on that random Wednesday afternoon in June – upstairs it's home to Real Magic Records, which I suspect will provide a third reason for me wanting to return.

Real Magic Books
2 Kings Head Parade, High Street, Wendover, Aylesbury, HP22 6DX

A new beginning

I've been contemplating restarting this blog for a little while, but it was this week's bookshop that finally gave me the push I needed to commit to writing. Partly because it's a lovely bookshop, partly because of how much The Boy nagged me to come out of retirement to write about it.

The bookshop is called The Best of Times, and it was conveniently in its first week of opening at the same time as we were having a weekend away in Broadstairs.

We're regular visitors to the area, having friends nearby and also finding it the perfect place to stay when attending gigs at Dreamland. We love the calm of the beach, the compactness of the town and the good variety of pubs selling real ale (including one based in a secondhand bookshop). The one thing we always found a let down was its lack of a new, independent bookshop. Until now.

Located on a side road just on the edge of the main town area (still only a two-minute walk from Morelli's), The Best of Times is tucked alongside a bar in what felt like a mini community hub. The area was buzzing. Advertising itself as a bookshop and cafe meant a steady stream of people were popping in for coffee and cake, as well as those of us there to browse the books. As locations go, this one seems perfect for being near enough to draw in visitors while far enough from the beach to avoid the crush of sandy-footed tourists who are just trying to escape the sun (I'm sure they're welcome too).

Entering through the front door, a wall of bookcases draws your eye to the back of the small room, where we see a display of cakes next to a large, welcoming serving hatch. It was from here that owner Gavin Boyter was greeting customers. To the right are more books, and hidden behind that first wall is a staircase down to the main fiction area.

I was interested to see the layout of the books, with science fiction and crime novels the very first titles I set eyes on in that initial wall of bookshelves. Small bookshops often don't have the space to give science fiction its own area, so I found this a bold and welcome move. Opposite was an interesting selection of non-fiction, meaning there's no choice but to continue exploring downstairs to the cellar if you're looking for a beach read.

The steps down alternate white and Penguin orange, which perfectly complement the bright and cheery bookshop interior. They lead to what I found to be a very interesting recommendations table, balancing fiction (including the proprietor's own work) and non-fiction, before you turn into a cosy space where you can sit and eat your cake while browsing a truly excellent selection of books. 

Another cleverly placed "wall" of bookcases allow the browser to walk around both sides, with the fiction on full display in the main area of the room, and more non-fiction behind. The behind area includes cookery books placed on part of an historic bread oven that's built into the wall, and a spooky book nook – the photos say it all.

But back to that excellent selection of fiction. Not an inch of bookshelf space felt like "filler". Everything on offer was intelligent, thought-provoking and highly readable. The Boy and I were both fascinated by all of it, with many authors on the shelf for their less obvious works, rather than their personal best sellers (there were obviously a few of those too). It made for very interesting browsing and had us both giving a lot of thought to our purchases.

In the end I picked up a Raymond Carver book of short stories called Cathedral, while The Boy chose The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald, and Perec's Things: A story of the sixties, with A man asleep. 

I should also reiterate that the excellent selection on offer was all in the bookshop's first week of opening: it still had that recently opened feel, with obvious spaces where books were spread across gaps as stock is being acquired, but not once did we find anything lacking. Seeing how good the bookshop is already, I cannot wait to return when it's at full capacity.

For now, I'm going to settle down in the garden at home with my latest purchase, reading my book and remembering recent sandy days.

The Best of Times
1 Chandos Road, Broadstairs, CT10 1QP

Remember me?

Hello! *waves*

It's been a while since I've written anything here, so I thought I'd jot down a few words to let you know I'm back.

Back to blogging that is.

I never stopped visiting bookshops, I have a wealth of photos on my phone and books on my shelves that all testify to this. However work got to the point that even though I'd visited lots of lovely bookshops and had lots of things to say about them, the thought of sitting at a computer in the evening after all day at one was simply too much. I also found myself a boyfriend to join in my bookshopping travels, and I quite liked spending my evenings with him.

So I visited the bookshops, I bought the books, and I enjoyed the experience. I just didn't tell you all about it – unless you were lucky enough to cross my path in person, in which case I've not held back telling people why the most recent bookshop I visited was the greatest experience of all time. Repeatedly. Until I visit the next bookshop and witter on about that instead.

Now the world has changed: bookshops are thriving (hurrah) and I've gone freelance* – which means there are even more bookshops than ever for me to visit and my time is more my own to write about them. Fortunately for me, one thing that hasn't changed is the boyfriend. He's still here and enjoying visiting the bookshops with me. It's The Boy who deserves credit for suggesting I come out of retirement.

Anyway, back to this blog. The intention is to follow a similar plan to the one I committed to back in August 2013: this blog is to continue to be a celebration of bookshops. I'll try to post weekly, but reality tells me I'll probably be more random, especially when I'm focusing on bigger freelance projects, because we all need to pay the bills. I also don't want to blog at the expense of my lovely local, which briefly brought me out of retirement in 2024 and is somewhere I adore and visit as often as possible.

This time my blogs will be balancing recent visits – I've been to two excellent bookshops in the last week – with those from any time during my hiatus, which means I already have lots to tell you and can't wait to start writing.

I hope you enjoy sharing my bookshopping adventures, past and present.

Thanks for reading,

Erica

* If you're reading this blog considering if I'm any good as a freelance copy editor, please look away now. Everyone knows editing your own words is the hardest thing, so typos will creep in, grammar will occasionally wobble, and I'll use whatever punctuation I feel like. Please consider this site to be a relaxed conversation with anyone who cares to dive in. It is definitely not a perfectly crafted piece of writing.

My local independent bookshop

I have received a wonderful gift. In real terms it’s not actually a gift for me. It doesn’t belong to me and no one gave it to me, but as a thing for me to cherish, it’s high up there on the list of special things.

It’s a new independent bookshop in the town where I live.

 

No one reading this will be surprised by the revelation that I love independent bookshops. I may not have been able to publish here for a while but I’ve not stopped visiting the local bookshop of whatever town or village I find myself in, and I’ve continued my commitment to buying a book in every good bookshop I visit (which means 99.9% of them). But this is different.

 

This is a bookshop I can easily return to again and again.

 

I don’t need to buy one book to write the bookshop and address in the cover as an aide memoire of the wonderful time I had there.

 

In this bookshop I need to buy one book, and then another, and another, and another. Visiting again, and again, and again because finally I can.

 

And so do you.

 

Because this bookshop needs me and my regular purchases as much as I need it.

 

 

Station Books on Tunbridge Wells High Street isn't a treat to be stumbled across for a one-off visit, it's to become a regular part of my shopping, the place where I'll re-stock my reading pile in much the same way I'd re-stock the bread bin (if I was civilised enough to own a bread bin, and also so much more special than that).

And what a good local it is.

 

I couldn’t have imagined a bookshop more suited to both Royal Tunbridge Wells and my very niche requirements.

 

When I walked in and turned left to review the first bookcase, the very first title I read was that of my all-time favourite book*. I then looked up and picked out shelf after shelf of classics that I either already love or have long wanted to read.

 

Next are two bookcases of contemporary fiction and again there were rows of titles I’m curious about or have read and recommended more times than I can remember. If visitors look no further, they’ll find a wealth of words to lose themselves in here.

 

Indeed, when he arrived to meet me, I lost The Boy to these three bookcases as he settled into a comfy chair and attempted to whittle down a long list of future reads.

 

Next we have a rarity in the world of the small independent bookshop: a couple of bookcases dedicated to science fiction and fantasy and horror. I don’t know much about the last category, but the first two are the treats I hunt for whenever I’m in a bookshop. Even larger stores often only manage a shelf or two to these titles, so to find so much choice for this lover of different worlds was more than I could have ever hoped for. I naturally picked up my first purchase from here (Calypso by Oliver K Langmead) and I look forward to working my way along the shelves and enjoying recommendations during future visits.

 

Moving on, the non-fiction bookcases had me wanting to buy up half their contents, and the nearby boardgames are the icing on the cake in terms of things I long for. My niece is also going to benefit from the good selection of children’s books and I love the efforts made to support young dyslexic readers.

 

I’m not going to list off the entire contents of the bookshop – I want you to visit for yourselves to find your own favourite bookcase. But I will tell you it’s a longer room than you’d expect from the front and even in its status of “soft opening, minimal viable product on the shelves” I was sorry I only had the space of a lunch break to linger.

 

And linger I shall. Again, and again, and again as I return to enjoy the luxury of having an independent bookshop open its door in my town.

 

When I was younger, I didn’t understand the rare and precious gift that was my local independent bookshop. Teenage me was lucky enough to have one nearby where I spent all my pocket money on £1 Penguin Classics*, then student me fell in love with another local which kindly ordered in Iris Murdoch’s entire catalogue and allowed me to buy as I could afford them.

 

Then I relocated and discovered I was in an independent bookshopless town. A few years later the same again, and again. Until then, I hadn’t considered it possible that there could be places without bookshops. I grew up visiting them and I simply assumed they were everywhere. I took them for granted. I didn’t realise there could be an absence until I experienced it. I don’t want to experience that absence again.

 

I don't have the words to say how happy I am to finally have an independent bookshop here in the town I now call home. It’s not really mine, or yours, but it is the town’s. It’s our local bookshop and I'm sure you'll all join me in supporting our local independent bookshop.

Welcome to Tunbridge Wells, Station Books.

 

Station Books

10 High Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1UX 

(Of course I still wrote the name and address in the cover, you can't break the habit of a lifetime/eleven years.)

 

* My favourite book is The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, which I first encountered as a £1 Penguin Classic in my first independent bookshop.

Bookshop Day 2020

Today is Bookshop Day, one of my favourite Saturdays of the year. It's a day for getting up early, starting a long journey and visiting as many bookshops as I can between the hours of 9am and 6pm.

It's a day of adventure, of new friends, of new worlds, of new experiences, and – inevitably – of a very nice amount of tea and cake along the way.

My bank balance would end the day battered and bruised, my face would hurt from smiling so much, my feet from walking, and my mood would be one of overwhelming joy at all the experiences I'd had and the books I'd bought. It's a wonderful day and has previously included anything from five to 15 bookshops, with a minimum of one book purchased in each.

For all of us 2020 has been a little different (understatement of the century), but it's not until today that I've properly felt the loss of the world as it was compared to the world as it is now. I'd dearly love to be embarking on another bookshop crawl, but for me that's simply not an option at this time.

I'm lucky in that I'm making the most of the many measures independent bookshops have put into place: I've been buying books by Twitter, email, website and phone, and I'm grateful to every independent bookseller who has listened to my requests, advised me on the possibilities and – always successfully – introduced me to a new read.

These last months have been the only time in my life when I've bought books in a way other than face-to-face and it's been hard. It's not the same as walking into a bookshop and being grabbed by a random book sighting from across the room – not forgetting the feel of the books, the noise of the pages and the wonderful smell of a good bookshop – and I admit I'm struggling to adjust to this different way of book buying, but my goodness I'm grateful for the booksellers who have supported me during this time.

Yes, it really is the booksellers who are supporting me.

They're real people with thoughts and opinions and they know when to offer a similar book to your previous read and when to go off at a tangent. They discuss the possibilities and are honest when they're not sure if what they've suggested is quite right but at least it's a good starting point. They are not an algorithm.

Now, more than ever, booksellers are worth their weight in gold.

We need independent bookshops, but for them to be there for us we need to be there for them too. This Bookshop Day, and every day, please support your local indie.