Event Report: Bookshop Crawl

Yesterday I met up with my friend, A, to take part in a Bookshop Crawl for Independent Bookseller Week. The purpose, to raise awareness of Independent Bookshops.  The idea of the crawl is that you visit as many of your local independent bookshops as you can in one day. Loads of Vloggers and Bloggers all around the country took part.

So I researched the local Independent Bookshops in my area. Since the city I live in is pretty small, I wasn't surprised to have to widen my search. But the only bookshops I could find were in Hereford, where I've never been and would have no idea how to find anything. Instead, I took the train up to Bath.

  We started out the place at Good Buy Books, a small shop near the train station. When I say small... I mean tiny. It really didn't have many books, so unsurprisingly, we didn't find much to buy. I did manage to walk away with a Books Are My Bag tote bag though, so the trip wasn't totally wasted.

Second up was Toppings. Despite the fact that I lived in Bath for three years, this was only the second time I'd been in and I really regret that, because it really is a wonderful bookshop. There's a great selection of books, small tables and chairs scattered around the place and you can even get coffee while you browse. It's got an atmosphere that is exactly what makes a lot of Indie Bookshops nicer to browse than chain stores.

My browsing was slightly more fruitful as I came away with a copy of Undone by Cat Clarke.

Our final stop was, of course, the ever wonderful Mr. B's. We actually ended up going there twice. I came away with a lovely stack of books, including two that were recommended at the counter. The friendliness and constant recommendations of the staff is makes this shop, in my opinion, one of the
best.

We both really enjoyed the bookcrawl. It was exhausting and took a sizable chunk out of my bank balance, but I'm really glad I did it.

Do you have a favourite Independent Bookshop? Or just a favourite bookshop in general? Did any of you take part in the bookcrawl? I'd love to hear your opinions and stories.