Meanwhile back in the shop to celebrate selling a hundred copies of Alchemised we asked @penguinhuddleuk.bsky.social if they could find us something special for a lucky customer. They came through, and it's safe to say someone was delighted. Thank you!

Day out in Edinburgh, coming back with a very pleasing pile of books which feel just right for winter nights. Uneasy Elixers is a cracking cocktail book. Lots of classics with smart twists inspired by Edward Gorey. I'm keeping this one but it would make a fantastic present

New on the blog today, I've written about CROOKED CROSS by Sally Carson. A brilliant, terrifying novel about the rise of Nazism, the falling apart of a country’s codes of decency & the moral fortitude required to oppose persecution. Frighteningly timely. 💙📚 jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/09/c...

This afternoon! Do come down and meet lovely @amdassu.bsky.social

@amdassu.bsky.social will be in the shop on Saturday the 8th signing her new book. She is brilliant, the book is beautiful, come and say hello

Join me!

@amdassu.bsky.social will be in the shop on Saturday the 8th signing her new book. She is brilliant, the book is beautiful, come and say hello

@heavenalibooks.bsky.social @kaggsy59.bsky.social @pear-jelly.bsky.social @maxcairnduff.bsky.social Just in case you haven’t seen this programme…it’s all kinds of wonderful! #BarbaraPym #BookSky 💙📚

My #RecentRead* #TheOdessaFile by #FrederickForsyth *books I’ve really liked/loved

It's little but lovely book season, and to tell you its costing me a fortune would be an understatement. So Many Beautiful Books 📚

I like to think that this map of all the regional names for woodlice in the UK could also be a map illustrating the new tribes of humans to be found on the same landmass after The Great Digital Crash and ensuing breakdown of society.

The more I think about this, the more I wish it was more inclusive. I know where it comes from, but there are young YA books and chapter books and picture books of astounding brilliance. If Shaun Tan or Helen Oxenbury can’t win it, can you really call it Best Children’s book? A good step, but…

What a day yesterday was. We had an unexpected visit from the absolute icon that is Miriam Margolyes. Star struck doesn't cover it. She is fabulous

Everyone ready for Philip Pullman day tomorrow? We're already to go with tote bags, bookmarks, books (obviously) and postcards. We're mildly excited...

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

“I had read Hemingway and Remarque for years. I thought they knew everything about war. But they didn’t know mine.” “When I came back from the front and saw my bookshelf, I felt like a fool,” wrote 25y old Ukrainian soldier and author Artur Dron in UP. 1/

What do booksellers argue about? In our shop its mostly about where books go. Is it romance, horror, or fantasy? A gifting edition or a limited edition hardback? Did a customer put it there or do we really have someone who thinks a man called Don wrote a book called Cerventes?

Please help this wonderful publisher. The best stuff comes from independents,

These are the utterly heaven-sent people who publish the historical A-Zs of London, so if you write London-set historicals, you want to follow!

My Thatcher100 anecdote. Summer 1998. I am a keen shot and have narrowly squeezed into the GB under-25s rifle shooting and am shortly off to Canada for its annual open competition and the match vs the Canadians.

"This will be...a global legend". Join author @johnironmonger.bsky.social and @lagoonii.bsky.social for the inaugural Fly on the Wall book club! Discussing legacies, grief, & of course, polar bears, this cli-fi novel is a treasure trove. fly-on-the-wall-press.eventcube.io/events/87893...

Miriam Margolyes is coming to our shop! Next Friday, October 17th from 12.30, Miriam will be signing her brand new book, The Little Book of Miriam. There's no need to book in advance - just turn up on the day. Arrive early to avoid disappointment! www.waterstones.com/events/meet-...

My book Our Island Stories: Country Walks Through Colonial Britain shows that Enclosure was often paid for with slavery wealth. The two histories are entangled.

Not book related - but beautiful

Weird fans 👀

I did English at undergrad, media & politics at PhD. I run a research agency (when I'm not writing), using linguistics & anthropology/ethnography skills I learned at university. Through this, I pay tax & I pay people. In a very literal sense, my degrees make an economic contribution BUT... (1/2)

All set up to sell @stephenunwin.bsky.social books at a conference this morning - with the added bonus of being let out of our basement and seeing some sunlight

On the Ramblings today, more Golden Age Crime! This time, a new title from @blpublishing.bsky.social the wonderfully atmospheric Scandalize My Name! Really enjoyed this one - more here: kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/10/08/h...

Thoroughly enjoying Murder Before Evensong on 5. Is it as good as the book? (The book is always better isn't it!)

All aboard - and watch out for sirens… The Fate of Ophelia music video, Taylor Swift, 2025 | Jason & the Argonauts, Edmund Dulac, 1918 | Athenian red-figure clay vase, 425-375 BCE, Jatta National Archaeological Museum 🌊

You can't sum up Jilly Cooper better than this.

I've been feeling a bit down about this book, to be honest. I worked harder on it than I worked on any of my 14 others and very early reactions seemed to be largely skim-read appraisals about some other book I don't recall writing. It's so nice to see people starting to properly connect with it.

Starting the week with yesterday's #DogsInBookshops all very good pups indeed. The sun is shining, the air is crisp, it's looking good out there for walks and reading

What a day - and what a lot of dogs we've met. Two stopped for pictures. One very good boy interviewed for a behind the counter roll but declined in the grounds that the hourly rate isn't paid in snacks. The disappointment is palpable #DogsInBookshops

Doors open in 36 minutes. Am i ready? I am not. If ever the weather called for a good book, a comfy sofa, and possibly a borrowed dog, its today. What's everyone not at work reading today?

So many FIENDs (and TEENAGE GIRLS CAN BE DEMONS by @haileypiperfights.bsky.social) Thank you @sadiehartmann.bsky.social for sharing--an author's dream come true

Got my hands on a proof - 60 pages in, and oh, are we all in for a treat. Loving every word

Join us at Waterstones Ipswich, Fri 7th Nov, 7-8.30pm, for An Evening of British Folklore, and step into a year of stories, traditions, and celebrations with #folklore expert Mark Norman (of @folklorepod.bsky.social) as your guide! Booking essential: www.waterstones.com/events/an-ev... #Suffolk 💙📚

V interesting piece on the genre of literary fiction. One thing it's missing is the borderland between SFF and litfic, which imo is one of the most contested... www.thenovelry.com/blog/literar...

Come and meet a Leicester legend

Spooky season looking well provided for this year @blpublishing.bsky.social @penguinhuddleuk.bsky.social and Alma Classics have amazing Classics weird and horror

The Tainted Cup by @robertjbennett.bsky.social!

My faithful copy of All Systems Red (I’ve given away ~30 so this is very much a book of Theseus in some ways) which will be traveling with me today to Oxford for my Gaude I adore The Murderbot Diaires—they are just genius! Brilliant! Cannot over-praise them 🖤🖤🖤 #murderbot

So many great books around at the moment. This is some of what I'll be dipping in and out of this week. What are you reading at the moment?

Mary Portas on the radio this morning - really interesting, physical shops really are all about human connection. This is going to be well worth a read. www.waterstones.com/book/i-shop-...

Is this nature telling me its finally time to read Moby Dick?

*NEW BLOG POST* My review of #TheImpossibleFortune by Richard Osman is live on #damppebbles! Absolutely gorgeous. Hilariously funny, utterly heartwarming, and so beautifully written. I am well and truly smitten. My review ➡️ buff.ly/iqYlEIC @vikingbooksuk.bsky.social #BookSky #skybrarians #bookish

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