Bookshop for sale, one previous owner

When I first moved to west Kent I looked up all the local bookshops with the plan of making the most of all the bookshopping opportunities available. I've gradually worked my way around most of them, but some have taken me longer to get to than others. This is one that took a little longer.

Tonbridge, like most towns, has much to recommend it and also to deter you from wanting to visit. In the case of the latter, bad traffic between there and my home town is the main reason for my not visiting, but when I make the effort I find it's generally worth it. One of my favourite places to buy soup in Kent is in this town, and there's a really lovely castle where I like to sit and read a book. There's a river with an historic bridge that I'm sure many take for granted. It's also a good place for a parkrun. But you're not here for tourist information, you're here for the bookshop.

And this week, not only can you read about the bookshop, you can buy it too.

You see the man behind Mr Books in Tonbridge is moving back home to the north, and as teleportation of business and building is yet to be a viable option he's having to leave the bookshop behind. Which means he's had to put the business up for sale.

There's not long left for someone to buy it and I have to admit I don't understand the ins and outs of the sale (and no, I haven't got what it takes to become a bookseller) but it would be remiss of me not to tell you.

Mr Books is a secondhand bookshop of the high end variety. It's found the perfect balance between being absolutely crammed full of books in a small area while also feeling remarkably spacious, clean and tidy. Which is no mean feat. In some cases the shelves are very close together, while in others two people may comfortably pass, so when browsing you need to remember your manners and not barge past.

That said, the shop was still big enough to comfortably house a bookseller (Mr Books himself), me and my boyfriend, a family and another browser or two, so maybe I'm over-exaggerating the small spaces. It's also split over two levels in one room, which adds to the feeling of roominess.

I stuck to the general fiction shelves, but in its current form the bookshop has quite a diverse children's and non-fiction area too. Then up a few steps to where the counter is you find the pricier books. It was tempting to shop here, but knowing how much I spend on books a year I forced myself to stay in the section I could afford – which offered more than enough choice to keep the two of us happy.

Fiction was impressively varied, with personal favourites from the 80s and 90s mixed in with bookshop staples and unexpected gems. I'd initially chosen a science fiction book from one of my favourite authors, but then Joanna Russ' The Female Man caught my attention and all thoughts of earlier books were forgotten as I lost myself in this unexpected find. My boyfriend was also pleased to find a Thames & Hudson World of Art book about Georgia O'Keeffe.

I want to end this post by encouraging you to visit for yourself, but unless someone buys the bookshop it won't be there for much longer. Who's in?

Mr Books
142 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1BB
Tel: 01732 363000
@TonbridgeBlog