Receipts From The Bookshop

Receipts From The Bookshop

A Bookseller's Year

'Funny, self-deprecating, warm and uplifting... a joy'
AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird

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.

Authors: KATIE CLAPHAM