‘ABSOLUTE HEAVEN’ INDIA KNIGHT
‘WARM AND UPLIFTING’ AJ PEARCE
‘THE PERFECT ANTIDOTE TO THE WORLD RIGHT NOW’ JENNIE GODFREY
Many of us dream of owning a bookshop, but for Katie Clapham it happened by accident, when she moved back to the seaside town she grew up in and went into business with her mum.
Once a week, Katie sits behind the counter and chronicles the day’s comings and goings – mostly people who were actually hoping to catch her mother. The triumphs here are small but hard won: a tea crisis averted, a book title correctly identified from a cryptic clutch of clues. Not to mention the emotional rollercoaster of being named the Seventh-Best Bookshop in the Country by The Times on a day where takings came to around £16.98.
Customers appear for a browse and a chat, in search of a recommendation or the perfect gift. Others enter the shop for more unexpected reasons − to borrow a screwdriver, locate a priest or simply to ask if there’s ‘a nice place for an omelette around here’. Each day brings its own joys and frustrations, though not always in equal measure . . .
Funny, surprising and affectionate, here is a bookseller’s year in all its weirdness and wonder – a life-affirming celebration of bad weather, good books and the irreplaceable role of a local bookshop.
‘WARM AND UPLIFTING’ AJ PEARCE
‘THE PERFECT ANTIDOTE TO THE WORLD RIGHT NOW’ JENNIE GODFREY
Many of us dream of owning a bookshop, but for Katie Clapham it happened by accident, when she moved back to the seaside town she grew up in and went into business with her mum.
Once a week, Katie sits behind the counter and chronicles the day’s comings and goings – mostly people who were actually hoping to catch her mother. The triumphs here are small but hard won: a tea crisis averted, a book title correctly identified from a cryptic clutch of clues. Not to mention the emotional rollercoaster of being named the Seventh-Best Bookshop in the Country by The Times on a day where takings came to around £16.98.
Customers appear for a browse and a chat, in search of a recommendation or the perfect gift. Others enter the shop for more unexpected reasons − to borrow a screwdriver, locate a priest or simply to ask if there’s ‘a nice place for an omelette around here’. Each day brings its own joys and frustrations, though not always in equal measure . . .
Funny, surprising and affectionate, here is a bookseller’s year in all its weirdness and wonder – a life-affirming celebration of bad weather, good books and the irreplaceable role of a local bookshop.
Reviews
It's charming and funny, as well as poignant and heartwarming. But it also feels like an act of resistance to write about, and celebrate, some of the wonderful things this country once took for granted
Funny, self-deprecating and always warm and uplifting, Katie Clapham's weekly reports are both a joy and a much-deserved tribute to the world of local booksellers . . . the perfect cheer-up and a must-read for anyone who loves books
Terrific and very readable - especially good if you're in an attention deficit or reading drought phase. This will get you back on the horse. Buy with confidence!
Katie's lovely, warm-hearted book is a celebration of the books that adorn the shelves of her inviting shop and its loyal customers
I absolutely devoured it . . . exactly the right mixture of funny and wry . . . Receipts takes you through a year in the life of a bookseller via glinting little vignettes of books, customers, regulars, events, milestones and incidents big and small. It's one of those books with a light surface but a lot to say about English society running underneath, and if you liked 84 Charing Cross Road you will absolutely love it
An utterly delightful peek into the real life of an English village bookshop, as told to us by the owner herself. A must-read for everyone who's ever felt at home in a bookstore
Receipts from the Bookshop is the book I didn't know I needed. The perfect antidote to the world right now. Warm, funny, sharply observed and captures the magic of bookshops perfectly. From one bookseller to another, thank you! I loved it