Today is the last day in my series of bookshop visits. I shall review two more bookshops I visited in Norwich then review the Bookshop Challenge in a separate post.
Norwich
109. Bookbugs and Dragon Tales opened up just 9 weeks ago. It is at 41-43 Timberhill. It is a few minutes walk from Norwich market.
In my opinion Bookbugs is wrongly described as a children's bookshop. It is really a children's activity centre with books. One of the stars of the show is the building itself, a cavernous building with stone walls and decorated with soft furnishings. When you enter you think you're in a coffee shop. There are places to sit and drink, with a few books around the sides. Downstairs is wonderful - it's like being in a cave! There are two rooms with low ceilings, one very quiet and the other an empty activity room. The quiet room would make an excellent counselling space.
The building isn't very big. It's less than a narrowboat in size. Fortunately there aren't many of those book things to get in the way. This is slightly odd for a bookshop.
Events run every day: Monday has Bounce a Baby and Adult Relaxation, Tuesday has Adult Art, Story-telling, Wednesday has Toddler Drama, and so it goes on. There are many activities for adults too.
The centre was filled with customers when I visited. People were arriving for the Inclusive Play session. I also saw someone looking at the books.
The concept of Bookbugs makes sense when you speak to Leanne, one of the owners. She worked for 17 years in the performing arts. She runs it with her husband who works for Bertram Books. She wanted the shop to be a 'community space' for children. It is intentionally under-stocked. The range of children's books is good. There are books for young and older readers, books on science topics and also books to help children cope emotionally. There is a small section for adults, and some interesting books on teaching.
I liked Bookbugs. They are starting some sessions for children with autistic spectrum disorders, and I think the quiet downstairs will be ideal for them. The people in the shop were very friendly. The shop has a ten year lease, so I hope it will continue to be popular.
110. Bookman is in Bagley's Court in Norwich. Don't to find it using Google Maps because Google can't see a pedestrian access. That's what I like about Norwich - it's very 'old school'. You need to walk along Dove Street, and there's an entrance off it to the courtyard. Alternatively, ask someone. People are friendly here.
The Bookman mainly sells books online, but he has a shop open 11am-4pm Tuesday to Saturday. However, this is Norwich so don't believe everything you read. He was closed at 12:25pm today. There was no indication of when he would return.
I don't know how many books are on sale.
111. Norwich Library is at The Forum on Millenium Plain. It was completed in 1994, then accidentally burnt down, then won the Lottery and was rebuilt. Personally I preferred the old library because the current one is ostentatious. However, it is really, really well stocked.
I asked the information centre how many books there were. She was very nice but didn't know. Unlike a bookshop, nobody seems to own the library and so people have difficulty with questions like, "Why did Norwich get so much money for its library?", or "Why do you need so many books?"
The range of books is incredible. There are three floors, in a semi-circular layout so it's hard to estimate sizes. I paced around the edge to work out the circumference, then the radius and area of the circle to concluded that overall the space is about 12 narrowboats in size. There are a lot of books, usually around four bookcases per topic.
The advantage libraries have is that books are free and returnable so you don't have to get rid of them. If you like buying books and live on a boat you very quickly have a lot of books and sunken boat due to their weight. The disadvantage is that if, like my brother, you read a fantastic book and return it to a library which burns down two weeks later, you may never find that book again.
Maybe my next blog series will be about libraries....
Norwich
109. Bookbugs and Dragon Tales opened up just 9 weeks ago. It is at 41-43 Timberhill. It is a few minutes walk from Norwich market.
In my opinion Bookbugs is wrongly described as a children's bookshop. It is really a children's activity centre with books. One of the stars of the show is the building itself, a cavernous building with stone walls and decorated with soft furnishings. When you enter you think you're in a coffee shop. There are places to sit and drink, with a few books around the sides. Downstairs is wonderful - it's like being in a cave! There are two rooms with low ceilings, one very quiet and the other an empty activity room. The quiet room would make an excellent counselling space.
The building isn't very big. It's less than a narrowboat in size. Fortunately there aren't many of those book things to get in the way. This is slightly odd for a bookshop.
Events run every day: Monday has Bounce a Baby and Adult Relaxation, Tuesday has Adult Art, Story-telling, Wednesday has Toddler Drama, and so it goes on. There are many activities for adults too.
The centre was filled with customers when I visited. People were arriving for the Inclusive Play session. I also saw someone looking at the books.
The concept of Bookbugs makes sense when you speak to Leanne, one of the owners. She worked for 17 years in the performing arts. She runs it with her husband who works for Bertram Books. She wanted the shop to be a 'community space' for children. It is intentionally under-stocked. The range of children's books is good. There are books for young and older readers, books on science topics and also books to help children cope emotionally. There is a small section for adults, and some interesting books on teaching.
I liked Bookbugs. They are starting some sessions for children with autistic spectrum disorders, and I think the quiet downstairs will be ideal for them. The people in the shop were very friendly. The shop has a ten year lease, so I hope it will continue to be popular.
110. Bookman is in Bagley's Court in Norwich. Don't to find it using Google Maps because Google can't see a pedestrian access. That's what I like about Norwich - it's very 'old school'. You need to walk along Dove Street, and there's an entrance off it to the courtyard. Alternatively, ask someone. People are friendly here.
The Bookman mainly sells books online, but he has a shop open 11am-4pm Tuesday to Saturday. However, this is Norwich so don't believe everything you read. He was closed at 12:25pm today. There was no indication of when he would return.
I don't know how many books are on sale.
111. Norwich Library is at The Forum on Millenium Plain. It was completed in 1994, then accidentally burnt down, then won the Lottery and was rebuilt. Personally I preferred the old library because the current one is ostentatious. However, it is really, really well stocked.
I asked the information centre how many books there were. She was very nice but didn't know. Unlike a bookshop, nobody seems to own the library and so people have difficulty with questions like, "Why did Norwich get so much money for its library?", or "Why do you need so many books?"
The range of books is incredible. There are three floors, in a semi-circular layout so it's hard to estimate sizes. I paced around the edge to work out the circumference, then the radius and area of the circle to concluded that overall the space is about 12 narrowboats in size. There are a lot of books, usually around four bookcases per topic.
The advantage libraries have is that books are free and returnable so you don't have to get rid of them. If you like buying books and live on a boat you very quickly have a lot of books and sunken boat due to their weight. The disadvantage is that if, like my brother, you read a fantastic book and return it to a library which burns down two weeks later, you may never find that book again.
Maybe my next blog series will be about libraries....
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