January Refresh yourself 10 to 3 today Back to normal 10 to 5:30 this Sat #octoberbooks

🙌 Happy New Year! 🎉
2025 is officially a wrap! I really want to hear from you 🫵 🌟 What’s one small (or big!) achievement you’re proud of from this year? 🆕 And what’s one thing you’re genuinely looking forward to in the new year? Let’s start the year by celebrating ourselves (and each other) ✨

This year has been challenging for many of us, and the Bookshop is no exception. We hope you’ve sensed the dedication and care behind everything we do, and we truly appreciate all the kindness we’ve received. Wishing you a warm and joyful Christmas🎄

🔥 FIRES AND FASCISM documentary film screening 🎥 Details: Dates/Times🕰️ 23rd January 2026, 7:00pm Tickets🎟️ £3.00, £5.00 and £9.00 Ticket link in bio #octoberbooks #filmscreening #newevent #movies #documentary #environmentalissues #worldissues #politics

📚 Hardback discount Series❗Nature 🌼 Ever wonder how the world coexists so patiently with humans? We are offering a £3 discount on these hardback titles, and this week we’re highlighting nature books! Pick a book up about rivers, butterflies, oceans.... to find out 🌍 🧡 🔥 #octoberbooks #motherearth

Event review🗣️ We Can Learn to Sing in Festive Harmony Workshop🎄 Last Saturday, we had a lovely harmonic morning with echoes of tunes spreading the festive spirit around the Bookshop! 🔔 Would anyone want to join the next harmony workshop? #octoberbooks #singingworkshop #southamptonmusic #music

New year event 🌳 Radical Abundance: How to Win a Green Democratic Future Capitalism has created a world of bullshit abundance, where we have too much of what we don’t need and too little of what we do. Details: Dates/Times🕰️ 22nd January 2026, 7:00pm Tickets🎟️ £5.00 #octoberbooks #booklaunch

Just a reminder🛎️ Students and Blue Light Card holders get discounts in-store, just show your ID at the till 🪪 and we’ve got extra shop promos sprinkled around the store. Have a look when you pop in! Happy browsing! #octoberbooks #discountcode #portswoodshopping #supportlocal #supportindie

Event review✊ Protest Days, Rebellion Nights: Songs and Stories of the Luddites by Monty + The Anywhens Clare from the Bookshop was also there to witness this beautiful night, and she said, It was "a wonderful, informative, fun and musical event of the story of the Luddites."

⛄ 12 Days of Christmas 🔢 OB Christmas Bingo is here ‼️ Our fun-filled bingo game featuring 12 exciting boxes to complete and 4 FREE boxes to boost your chances of winning 🏆 Everything from books, nature to self-care is included! 📸 Snap a screenshot or ask at the shop for a physical copy 😀

💛 Comment below with an act of kindness you’ve given or received: a tiny gesture, a gentle word, something that made your day (or someone else’s). Let’s fill this space with kindness, community, and a touch of bookshop glow. Help us gather a little kindness so we can share it forward this December🧡

📚 Hardback discount Series❗Cooking🥘 Some books were only published this year, and they include cuisines from all around the world 🌎 Pick up your pan and start cooking with these recipes today (or buy one for a friend to cook for you this Christmas)! 🧡 🔥

🎄 Christmas is near and we would love to share it with you! We are here til Christmas Eve for any last-minute shopping needs or picking up a holiday read📚 We are also here for you before the New Year ❄️ ⌚ Please make sure to check our holiday hours before heading over!

Caring Is Giving🎁 Thoughtful £20-ish Gifts Here are a few ideas to spark your festive creativity; all roughly £20, all low-waste or handcrafted, all aligned with our ethos of care ✨ Please note: All prices are accurate at the time of posting. In-store prices are final.

🌠 Late-Night Browsing at October Books is here! Extended festive hours: 📅 11th Dec (Thurs, 10am–8pm) — Biblio-Gifting Night! 📅 18th Dec (Thurs, 10am–8pm) — Southampton Science Comedy Night! Come soak up the festive vibes, we’d love to see you 🧡

📚 Hardback Series❗History 🗝️ We are offering a £3 discount on these hardback titles, and this week we’re highlighting history books! #octoberbooks #history #culture #worldhistory #christmasgift #christmaspresent #christmas #christmasshopping #supportyourlocalbookshop

♻️ Anti-Landfill Secret Santa is here! Thoughtful, low-waste, and £10-ish gifts👍 These pairings are just a taste of what you can find in-store — eco-friendly treats, unique reads, and handcrafted treasures from local makers who keep our community vibrant 🧡 *In-store prices are final

✨ Let us help find the perfect gift… for absolutely anyone on Biblio-Gifting Night🎁 On Thu, 11th Dec, 10–8, our Book Buying Group is here to help pick out the perfect present! Not just books, but our full range of food treats, calendars, notebooks, local crafter items, and unique little surprises.

Event review 🍳 We can make Vegetable Biryani “Great food and amazing teacher, the way she interacted with us made everything much clearer” “It was a lovely number of people, we could all talk to each other and went home thinking we could do the recipe! It is always a pleasure to watch Asma cook!"

Ash and Freya have started volunteering in the community garden this month, and we have seen the effort put in: 2.5 hours clearing leaves for compost, removing rubbish, tidying, and removing weeds! Let’s hope their plan comes true and the community garden blossoms! #octoberbooks #communitygarden

Shop local inside your indie bookshop this Christmas & meet our makers: @hopefulwillowcrafts 🎄crochet decor @gloryhandmade_wing 🎁cards, ornaments & omamori Magpie Cat Craft 🐈keyrings & magnets @ta.thatsu 🌊sea-glass cards Clara’s Crafts 🏷️tags & bookmarks Bee More Brian 🪵wooden magnets & décor

📻 Sara was on Radio Solent! Last Friday, she joined Katie Martin for a brilliant chat about books, community, and her top reading picks. Tune in at 12:15pm (2h15m in) to hear the conversation and maybe discover your next favourite read! Check out the show here 🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Author event: 'What Next? The savvy woman's guide to redefining retirement' Hear local author Jane Mo/ett talk about her new book, shortlisted for the pro-aging category in the Advantages of Age Awards. Dates/Times 🕰️ 6th December, Saturday 10:30am www.ticketsource.co.uk/kangaroo-coa...

📚 Hardback Series❗Travel 🚴‍♀️ We are offering a £3 discount on these hardbacks, and this week we are focusing on travel books! Recommendations, stories, and unique travel guides that will make your trip more memorable! Pick up your next journey today, share it as a gift or relax with it over a cuppa❤️

Check out new books of hope-filled books to cosy up with this winter! From sapphic love stories to inspirational journals, a discussion on modern tourism’s impact and an archive about Gaza’s memory and culture. Look for our Christmas fliers around town, bring one in for 10% off our books!

🎨 New cards from Lindsey! 🥂 How many of these venues have you visited? Come to discover the whole series in store now 🎁 A great gift for your Southampton savvy friends 🤟 #octoberbooks #greetingcards #illustration #artsandcraft #southamptonArtist #southamptonart

Who are the creatives behind the 👣 Protest Days, Rebellion Nights: Songs and Stories of the Luddites by Monty +The Anywhens ❓ Check out our Facebook page for details or just come to the event! Dates 🕰️ 4th December, Thursday 7-9pm Tickets🎟️ £10.00 octoberbooks.lemonbooking.com/events/116/d...

Last Call 🔊 We can make Vegetable Biryani with Asma Asif 🧑‍🍳 "I’m originally from Pakistan and a single mum with three boys. Cooking has always been a way for me to stay connected to my culture and share love through food." Join us👇 Details: octoberbooks.lemonbooking.com/events/117/d...

🎖️ Congratulations to David Szalay for winning the Booker Prize of 2025! ‘I don’t think I’ve read a novel that uses the white space on the page so well.’ This summary from Roddy Doyle, the Chair of judges, provides an insightful overview. Visit the bookshop to get your hardback copy today!

🔊 Migration debates are loud, but facts calm the noise. Just 0.2% of the UK population are seeking asylum. In Southampton, only 286 people. ⚓ As a port city, Southampton’s story is one of arrivals. 🧡 At October Books, no matter who you are or where you come from, you belong here.

📚 Hardback Series❗ We will be offering a £3 discount on these hardback selections, and this week we are focusing on memoirs. We don't just select any odd book, but ones that are more niche, less high street. Pick up an inspiration today, share it as a gift or relax with it over a cuppa❤️‍🔥

🏆 The 2025 Goldsmiths Prize winner is out! Congratulations to C.D. Rose! ⚡ If you love exploring bold styles in novel forms, the shortlist and winner of the Goldsmiths Prize will be a good start! Find the winner title in-store now! #octoberbooks #bookprize #christmasgift #christmaspresentideas

📚 Bring Your Own Book Club – November Edition Part 🥈 Due to popular demand, we have BYOB Part 2 in November! Dates/Times🕰️ 29th November, Saturday 11:00-12:30pm Tickets 🆓 Free of charge, booking required Details: octoberbooks.lemonbooking.com/events/114/d...

You have heard of dad jokes, in the Bookshop, we have post-person jokes. Let's start of winter with a seasonal joke😀 Comment HAHA to hear more 📬 Post-person jokes 💌 #octoberbooks #mail #jokeoftheday #communitybookshop #communityjokes

🌲 Art of Climbing Trees book launch review🎉 October Books hosted a wonderful sold out event with Henrik Dahle and his book Art of Climbing Trees. A funny and quirky evening, when we met Professor Handlebrass Gauntlett... See full review on our Instagram #octoberbooks #events #booklaunch #newbook

❗ Our Movember motto🙆‍♂️ 🥸 Movember is not just about the moustache, just like mental health is not just the mind, but body and soul too! Our Movember focus is to provide you with the tools and ingredients that makes the soul a bit more happy and bit less chilly❄️ Come see our collection!

🥦 Happy World Vegan Day 🥗 With our vegan recipe books, vegan products and our popular Monday Veg Out Cafe, October Books might not just be your community bookshop, but also your community groceries shop! What is your favourite 'Vegan aspect' of October Books? #octoberbooks #vegan #veganproducts

❄️ Shortlist for the Booker Prize 2025: add them to your winter reading list! Suzanne finished The Land in Winter and was moved by its quiet power. With its snowbound setting, subtle tensions, and echoes of lives shaped by war, it reminded us of Claire Keegan’s prose — spare and emotionally sharp.

🌍 Disarmament Week 🍉 Hope, Empathy & Gaza This week marks Disarmament Week (Oct 24–30): a time to imagine peace beyond the sound of weapons. It’s impossible not to think of Gaza, where lives are shattered by war. We hold space for grief, justice, while empathy can be a form of resistance 🧡

What’s the scariest way to spook yourself out? 👀 Step closer… if you dare. Our shelves are whispering tales of haunted woods, restless spirits, and ghostly mysteries that refuse to stay buried. 💬 Which spine-chiller would you dare to read alone at night? #octoberbooks #halloween #spookyseason

🤎 Layers of Life☕ Creative & Meditative Workshop Date/time⌚ Wednesday, 29th October, 3-5pm Tickets 🎟️ £33 Details 👉 stan.store/lindalooom/p... @linda.looom Includes: 🤲 sharing 🧘‍♀️ guided meditation 💓 space for inner reflection 🖼️ a masterpiece to bring home #octoberbooks #workshops #FrequencyArtist

🍚 We can make Vegetable Biryani with Asma Asif 🧑‍🍳 Asma will show people how to make a vegetable biryani, and attendees will enjoy it together at the end, taking the recipe with them. Dates/Times🕰️ 22nd November, Saturday 11am-1pm Tickets🎟️ £14 Details: octoberbooks.lemonbooking.com/events/117/d...

✊🏾 Black authors are celebrated here 🖤 Our shelves are filled with powerful voices, stories, and histories that deserve to be read and remembered. See our display of selected Black authors from all genres; each book offers a unique lens into Black experience, resilience, and creativity.

📚 Bring Your Own Book Club: November Edition Part 1 #bookearlyenjoylater Date/time⌚ Saturday, 8th November, 11am Tickets 🆓 Free of charge, booking required Donations can be made at the shop 🙇♀️ Details 👉 octoberbooks.lemonbooking.com/events/111/d... Watch out for Part 2! #octoberbooks #bookclub

👣 Protest Days, Rebellion Nights: Songs and Stories of the Luddites by Monty +The Anywhens ✊ Dates/Times🕰️ 4th December, Thursday 7-9pm Tickets🎟️ £10.00 Details: octoberbooks.lemonbooking.com/events/116/d... #octoberbooks #events #folktales #history #cultural #southamptontodo #weekday #nightout

🔔 We Can Learn to Sing in Festive Harmony Workshop🎄 🗣️ Light up the darkest days in this uplifting, a cappella singing workshop, learning songs about the turning seasons, darkness and light, and being cosy and warm. Tickets 🎟️ octoberbooks.lemonbooking.com/events/113/d...

📚 Today is Bookshop Day❗ We know we are your favourite bookshop 😜 We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone! Your ongoing support truly keeps our community vibrant and lively. Keep it coming! Whether it's kind words, purchases, donations, or even just a warm smile means the world to us 😊

❌ Celebrate Banned Books Week UK⁉️ This is not another Book Week, but rather raising awareness about how our freedom of speech is being controlled through the exclusion, censorship, and banning of books in schools, libraries and publications. #Octoberbooks #BannedBooksWeekUK #banned #censorship

🌍 In a time when anti-immigration rhetoric and division are on the rise, October Books' doors are open to all. 📍 Visit the display here at October Books and reflect on what colourism means in our society today. 🖤 Exhibitions across town all through Black History Month

Before his October 15th event with Daniel Ash, aka Teenage Waitress, Glenn wanted to share with us why hard copies are important. Read: octoberbooks.org/blogs/news/w... A Musical Wander with Glenn Fosbraey and Daniel Ash 19:00-21:00 15 Oct 25 Tickets: octoberbooks.lemonbooking.com/events/107/d...