Day 14 - Lewes and a Bit of Brighton

Lewes

Lewes has many independent bookshops for its size. Most are on the High Street about ten minutes uphill from the train station. Some bookshops aren't on official lists. They are only discovered by walking the streets or reading this blog. 

90.  Bow Windows Bookshop is at 175 High Street. It was founded in 1964 by Dawson Books, a book supplier to libraries. 

The shop has rooms beyond rooms. It is about 2 narrowboats in size, in a bendy sort of way. The building felt like a crypt and was slightly cool. There were secondhand books on many subjects and not as expensive as I'd expected. Outside were bargain books. Inside, hardbacks varied from £3 to expensive. They were old books, well kept. Anyone who likes old fiction, old writers, or old science would like this shop.

Library books absorb sound. When a critical mass of them gather together the building becomes strangely silent. Bay Windows Bookshop is like that. When you enter the back room you enter the sound event horizon and sound doesn't escape. If there were an explosion in the corner, all you would hear is a faint "Shhh!" noise. 

91. A and Y Cummings is at 84 High Street. Cumming's is only a small shop at about 3/4 Narrowboat. It has some remarkably good books that were affordable. It is a traditional antiquarian bookshop, where price depends on the quality of the cover rather than the quality of the writer. 

Unusually for an antiquarian bookshop, Cumming's does not sell books via the internet. You have to visit to see what's available. In spite of this it is doing well with local trade. 

I was put off when I first entered, thinking that the shop would be too expensive. Some books were, but I was surprised that some seemed under-priced. Perhaps they were reprints. It is definitely worth a visit if you're prepared to pay £20 or more for a good book. 

92. Barbican House is at 169 High Street. It doesn't advertise itself on the street, lest customers should inadvertently pop in and buy a book. It is part of the Castle visitors' centre. Inside the centre there is a sign, hidden discreetly behind the door so it doesn't attract attention. 

The books are on history and archaeology, and amount to about six bookcases. Prices are reasonable. I felt six bookcases was insufficient. Books were well curated by a very helpful and informative book curator, John Bleach. Books are donated by members of the archaeological group. It has been selling secondhand books for twenty years. 

93. Bag of Books is at 1 South Street. I found that Google Maps has difficulty navigating this area. Following the GPS navigation system it is possible to get locked in an endless and potentially fatal pedestrian loop. I suggest heading towards the bridge over the river, turning off the phone and following street signs. 

Bag of Books is a children's bookshop that has been going for 25 years. It is mainly for younger readers but has books for teenagers too. The shop is long and thin, like a narrowboat. It even has a low roof like a narrowboat. It's quite cosy. The range of books was good. I don't know of any other bookshop for children in the area. 

94. Lewes Book Centre is at 38 Cliffe High Street, not far from Bag of Books. It looks like a big secondhand bookshop. 

It is advertised as open from 10:30am. Unfortunately it wasn't open by 10:40am so I couldn't visit it.

95. Boon Books is at 18 High Street. This is a remainders bookshop that has been going for four years. Behind the shop front lies a large space for books, measuring about two narrowboats in size. The books are good value and cover a wide range of topics. 

They are currently developing an online version of the shop so they can enjoy the frustration,  technical problems and extra costs of other online bookshops. 

96. British Bookshops is at 34-35 High Street. It is a stationer and bookshop. 

This bookshop felt disturbingly like WH Smith. It was quite big, about four narrowboats, and had a range of new books with 15% off. It also sold stationery. One of the assistants said it operated as a chain in South East England. In 2011 it was bought out by WH Smith. It lacks personality. 

Brighton

97. Raining Books is at 28 Trafalgar Street. It is five minutes walk from Brighton train station. Raining Books has been running for twenty years. The shop is a converted house and surprisingly big, covering about four narrowboats of space over two floors. The shop fits well within the "chaotic bookshop" genre. 

There is a certain amount of order within the chaos. Books are classified carefully and then wedged into the shelving, usually with top poking out so the title cannot be seen. Once in place, the book is safe and will not be removed for another twenty years. Books are also stored on the floor to save shelf space. 

The range of books is excellent. The shop owner will offer help when tracking down books. Each book has a coloured dot on the front which matches a price chart on the wall. Most paperbacks are around £3. 

The shop is owned by Raining Books. The building needs some repair and may be a bit damp in the basement.

98. Dave's Comics is at 5 Sydney Street. This was a big shop selling graphic novels and books. It has been running for twenty years.

It was about five narrowboats in size, over two floors. It was very popular too. Superheroes were upstairs. I went up but nobody showed superhuman abilities. 

Downstairs the guy at the front desk told me about the shop and then about his life story. It never occured to me that he might be a superhero with the power to trap people in an endless conversation that sucks all life from them, until their husk falls lifeless on the floor and turns to dust. What could I do? He didn't seem to pause to breathe and spoke forcefully. I tried smiling and nodding. It didn't work! I tried to edge to the door, but I was caught in his force-field that stopped me from moving. I couldn't work out how this conversation would end and I felt my brain seize up. And then... his phone rang! In that moment of distraction I turned and made it to into the safety of a busy street. Phew! 

99. Books for Amnesty is at 15 Sydney Street, not far from Dave's Comics. 

Books For Amnesty is a chain of bookshops that helps fund Amnesty International. This one was not big, about 1.5 narrowboats. It had a few books from a range of topics: some fiction, some psychology, a few political books and so on. Prices were not as cheap as other secondhand bookshops. It was arranged by subject area. I suspect there are bigger Books For Amnesty in other cities. It wasn't an outstanding shop.

Day 13 - East Sussex Coastline

Today I visited Hastings, St Leonards, and Eastbourne. These seaside towns are suffering the effects of austerity - cuts to public services and welfare benefits.  Some of the bookshops had closed down. Some will close soon as owners don't earn enough live on, and they will lose benefits under the  Universal Tax Credit rules.

Someone working in house conveyancing in Brighton also told me that house prices are starting to fall, "because of Brexit".

Hastings

80. Printed Matter Bookshop is at 185 Queens Road, five minutes walk from Hastings train station. Owner Lee has run it for two years since leaving a prison resettlement scheme in London where he worked with vulnerable adults. Changes to welfare benefits affected his scheme so Lee started the bookshop.

The shop is the size of a small office. It is caters for local people's interests. This part of East Sussex is a radical area so it has lots of left wing political books, some children's books and some fiction. Titles are very engaging but the range is limited. The books are new.

Books are not selling well in Hastings. Lee's lease is up for renewal next June. He may not renew, depending on trade.

81. Bookbuster is at 39 Queens Road. This sells secondhand and remaindered stock. It's about the size of a narrowboat. It has a good range including left wing politics and esoteric spiritual books, along with fiction and classics. The shop is carpeted and it is easy to browse. Tim, the owner, is friendly. He doesn't need much prompting to share his views about the failings of the political classes.

Tim has run the shop for six years. He has noticed a fall in sales since The Works opened opposite him, which also sells remainder books. Tim too may eventually have to close the shop as a consequence of benefit changes.

82. Albion Bookshop is at 34 George Street, five minutes walk from Queens Road. Many shops in George Street open at 11am. Albion Bookshop opens around 11:30 as the owner has to get the books out and he has a limp.

Usually I estimate a bookshop size by count paces across the floor. This shop didn't seem to have a floor.

It was less like a bookshop; more like a crime scene.

There were some islands of order within the scene. There were books on transport, esoteric religions, fiction , the Second World War and the Third Reich. I suspect the owner needs help from a curator.

83. The Hare and Hawthorn Bookshop is a 51, George Street. It also opens at 11am, or slightly after. This has been going for a year. It started as a bookbinders and bookshop, but dropped the bookbinding to give more space and time to the bookshop.

The bookshop is quite small and spacious. It's about the size of a narrowboat. At the back of the shop are cards, calligraphy pens, quill pens and gifts. The owner said this helps bring in customers.

The shop was a local bookshop and seemed quite popular with customers. I asked him why he'd called it "Hare and Hawthorn". He didn't know. He thought it sounded nice.

St Leonards On Sea

St Leonards is about ten minutes walk from Hastings, along the sea. It has a busy town centre. It is also suffering from financial problems. 

84. The Corner Bookshop is between White Rock and Schwerte Way. It is on the way from Hastings to St Leonards. It sells secondhand books.  Unfortunately Wednesday is the day it's closed and today is Wednesday.

85. The Book Jungle was at 24, North Street. Like The Corner Bookshop, it was also closed but for different reasons:

86. The Scarlet Pimpernel "They seek him here, they seek him there. Those Frenchies seek him everywhere" (from Baroness Emmuska Orczy). The Scarlet Pimpernel is actually at 25 London Road in St Leonards. He's a disgruntled French guy who doesn't like internet sales. I asked what brought him to England twenty years ago to open a bookshop. He said it was a long story. Given that his short story about internet sales took an hour, I didn't want to pursue the long story.

Mr Pimpernel owns this antiquarian bookshop. He does a lot of trade on the internet. Books are well catalogued and stacked high on two floors, totalling about four narrowboats in size.

Books were priced on an antiquarian scale, so is expensive to those who treat books as reading things. 

Mr Pimpernel been collecting books for many years. He says you have to wait a long time for books to become more valuable. Although he was probably past retirement age he had no intention of retiring soon. When he wasn't disgrunting, he was quite entertaining.

Eastbourne

87. Camilla's Bookshop is at 57 Grove Road. When I entered this shop most of my childhood books flashed before my eyes. This is not because I had died. Most of my childhood books were on the shelves and flashing before my eyes. It is absolutely packed with books. I have not seen a greater collection of secondhand books.

Books are on three large floors, totalling around six narrowboats. There were another two floors that were not open to the public but were filled with books to be sold on the internet. The shop has been going since 1987. It is well curated and books are cheaper than they should be. There are over one million books in the shop I was told. The range of topics covered was vast. I saw maths, science and engineering books I thought I'd never see again.

Being so big I asked the shopkeeper if anyone had ever been locked in overnight by mistake. Yes, he said. It has sometimes happened and the police complain. Locked in a shop overnight with a million books to read, at least the customer would leave a little bit older and a little bit wiser.

88. The Cookshelf was at 2, North Street. It sold cookery books. It went out of business on 9th April 2019.

Brighton

I shall carry on with Brighton and Lewes tomorrow, but today I visited one bookshop in Brighton.

89. Magazine Brighton is at 22 Trafalgar Street. It was set up to sell magazines and to provide an outlet to students who want to sell magazines. It also seems to have some books.

It was the size of a small office. It is quite popular with students. It is an example of a shop being a useful community resource and succeeding because it's more than a shop. The items were very attractive and yes, I did end up buying a magazine about books. 

Day 12 - Travel to Brighton

Today I travelled to Brighton. For the next two days I shall visit bookshops in East Sussex.

I read today in the Cambs Times that Burrows Bookshop in Ely is due to close. I reported this on 23rd September, on Day 1 of my challenge.  This blog publishes pre-breaking news!

Day 11 - Closed on Mondays

Today I returned to London to visit bookshops in North and South London. I used the overground train between Highbury & Islington and New Cross. This took me through some poor neighbourhoods.

I am running out of shops to visit in London. I'd only planned six bookshops today. Three of them close on Mondays, which seems to be a London bookshop thing.

75. Holloway Road Stationers at 357 Holloway Road is five minutes walk from Holloway Road Tube Station. It has sold both stationery and books for forty years. In the past eight years it has given less shelf space to books because of falling demand. Profit margins are higher on stationery than books.

The shop is still the main local bookshop in the area. It has books on education, puzzles, fiction, literature, and a miscellaneous selection based on what customers have requested.

The shop was quite busy when I was there. He was friendly to customers who came in for various items and passed the time of day by discussing which bodily organ they'd recently had lopped off.

Kieren, the owner, has the bookshop lease for ten years but he is due to retire in five.


76. Ink@84 is at 84, Highbury Park and is ten minutes walk from Arsenal underground. It is a bookshop with a cafe. It has only been open for three and a half years and is the idea of author Betsy Tobin who manages it with Tessa Shaw. Betsy's books are available in the shop.

The bookshop is about two narrowboats in size and arranged into subject areas. It feels like a relaxing local bookshop inside. There's a good children's section. It also has a licence to kill, with a range of beers, wines and light refreshments when they put on events.

The shop had visitors drinking coffee and discussing books during my visit.


77. New Beacon Books is at 76 Stroud Green Road, close to Finsbury Park Tube Station. It sells books by Afro-Caribbean writers, only not on a Monday. I was surprised to see so many wigs for sale  in Finsbury Park.

78. Ripley and Lambert at 542 Kingsland, near Dalston Junction overground station. It sounds like a firm of solicitors, in which case it would be open on Mondays. But it isn't; it is a bookshop selling books about films and it is closed on Mondays.

79. The Word Bookshop at 374 New Cross Road is ten minutes from New Cross and New Cross Gate overland lines. It sounds like a Christian Bookshop. "We get calls from people who're annoyed because we're not a Christian Bookshop", admitted the owner of this left-wing, radical academic bookshop. He has wondered about changing the name.

The shop is in a Goldsmith's College building with a Goodyear Tyres sign hanging over it. It is very small yet it uses its space well. It provides course books to Goldsmith's students at the start of the academic year, and is also a local bookshop. It has a good range of children's books, graphic novels, and books by local authors. Their range of left-wing books is particularly attractive.

The shop has been open for three years. It runs a scheme where students can read and re-sell books they bought from the shop. This helps keep prices down for them.

The shop is a out of the way in South London. The unusual book selection make this shop worth a visit.

Day 10 - Lincoln

The most interesting booksellers I have met are in Lincoln. They are a talkative bunch. Many are elderly and their stories are more interesting than their books. Only outlines are given here for reasons of privacy.

If you arrive by train to Lincoln you need to take a slight turn to the left as you exit the station and walk up High Street. Most bookshops are off this street or the one it leads onto, called Steep Hill. The name is incorrect. It is a Very Steep Hill.

Central Market is a pedestrianised area to the right near the bottom of High Street. It has three bookstalls in it.

68. Unicorn Tree Books is at units 35-40 in Central Market. The owner used to work for SPCK books. She started Unicorn Tree thirteen years ago, originally selling fiction. Then the Christian bookshop in Lincoln closed. she now uses half of the space for Christian Lifestyle and prayer books, and bibles. Prices are good.

The bookshop is small but popular. The name is strange.


69. Full Circle Books is at the opposite end of the market to Unicorn Tree Books. It has a small selection of reasonably priced pulp fiction books.

It's been running for 33 years and is full-time. He also repairs watches and fits straps. Books are cheap. Worth a visit for escapist fiction.

70. Shane Chapman has a stall for Rare and 1st Edition books. He has about 800 books on display in a cube shape with magazines underneath.

Books are military, aviation or transport. The transport books are half price at the moment, and they seem good value.

Mr Chapman has been selling books for 21 years but feels the rare books market has declined a lot over the years. He now runs the shop out of personal reasons rather than to corner the Rare Books market. He is welcoming and very easy to talk to.

71. Westgate Antiques is at 24, Westgate. Steep Hill leads into Bailgate, off which is Westgate. It is twenty minutes walk from the train station due to the hill.

Westgate Antiques is run by Anne and her husband, who started it when he retired. It is a converted house which smelt damp due to lack of heating. Both are now in their eighties and it will stop trading when they get too old.

Westgate is open Fridays and Saturdays. The owners don't advertise it as they don't want too many customers.

One room is filled with books. The curation was Avant Garde. Books are stacked so high and close together that you can't see what they are. Even if you could, you could not get them out of the pile.

The books I sampled were more expensive than on the market.

72. LIndum Books is at 4 Bailgate. Its green front stands out. It looks like an archetypal bookshop.

The bookshop was too popular for its size. It couldn't hold more than two customers downstairs at a time, or three if unusually thin. The layout of the bookshop also created bottlenecks. There was a constant stream of people into the shop. The owner was very friendly and due to her popularity I was unable to speak to her.

Books were new and secondhand. Books were engaging and classified in traditional subjects with a "miscellaneous" section for oddments. There were dyslexic-friendly books in the children's section. The shop was small (a narrowboat sized) so it didn't have a great variety. Book prices seemed average.

73. Jews Court Bookshop is at 2-3 Steep Hill. It is well worth a visit if you're interested in things ancient or literary.

It is run by the Lincolnshire Society for Archeology and History, staffed by volunteers. Many books have been donated by the Society and reflect the members themselves, well-preserved, and idiosyncratic. The books are often surprisingly cheap. The range of books is of course limited to history and literature. There is an extensive collection of books stored away for events.

The Society also publishes books.

74. The Arboretum Bookshop is at 123 Monks Road, about 10 minutes walk to the east of the marketplace. The shop is a converted house. If it seems closed try pushing open the door. The owner hasn't replaced many of the broken fluorescent lights. She's waiting until they've all gone and will replace them together.

The owner has been collecting books from auctions since she was young. Eventually she had too many books for her house and so swapped it with the 123 Monks Road twenty-five years ago, which had just ceased trading as a freezer business. People also donate unwanted books.

Books are not curated so much as presented to the public as a piece of conceptual art. Some books face spine inwards so only page leaves can be seen. The owner says she knows where subjects are, but titles are not visible so this cannot be verified. The only certainty is that there are a lot of books in a space just bigger than a narrowboat. It it were a narrowboat, it would sink due to the weight of books. It also smells damp.

Book prices are standard for the area: about £2 for a paperback. The owner is elderly and I suspect she may retire before long.