Last Saturday, I had a lovely bookish treat – going bookshopping with Madame Bibi Lophile! We’ve known each other in the blogosphere for goodness knows how long – well over a decade – but never met before. When I posted a lament about all the best secondhand bookshops in London closing or worsening, she put forward recommendations for travelling further south – and so I asked her to give me a tour of some of her faves. Since they’re spread out, Madame B put together an itinerary of a handful – and I suspect there is scope for a second trip for others.
We had such a fun morning/afternoon – the sun was shining, the company was excellent, and (thank goodness) we both bought lots of books. I’ve been bookshopping before with people who are very abstemious, and it is lovely but not the same as finding someone else also ready to load up with literature.
The photo is what I bought (out of order) – let’s go through it, place by place.
We started at Greenwich Oxfam – a little bookshop, very well stocked. There was an awful lot of good-quality recent literature there, so clearly Greenwich has some book reviewers and/or people who pass on books to charity quick-sticks. I bought my first couple of books:
1. The Literary Almanac by Francesca Beauman
I remember this one being promoted a lot around the time it was published, and I love the idea of seasonal reading in it – particularly since she treads far beyond the usual recommendations.
2. Starlight by Stella Gibbons
Somehow this is a Gibbons I hadn’t got my hands on yet. Which is a terrible oversight, since it is about impoverished sisters living together who are imposed upon by a new landlord, which sounds very up my street.
Next up was Bookshop on the Heath in Blackheath ‘Village’ (I am a bit allergic to Londoners who claim their corner of London is ‘just like a village!’ because it really just proves they’ve never lived in a village.) This bookshop had an excellent stock and a surprise downstairs, and while they definitely had the highest prices of the day, I found some gems I was happy to pay a bit extra for.
3. The Devil We Know by Pamela Frankau
Finding early Frankau is pretty difficult, so it was exciting to stumble across this one, even if it did break my always-pretty-flimsy resolution not to buy anything big and heavy to lug around London.
4. Garden Open Today by Beverley Nichols
5. Men Do Not Weep by Beverley Nichols
This bookshop had SO many books by Beverley Nichols – spread liberally through the shop, since he wrote so many difference genres. They even had two copies of his detective novel The Moonflower, and you could decide whether you wanted to may £30 or £75 for it… Anyway, I found a couple I didn’t have, and was very glad to snaffle them away.
We stopped for lunch in Blackheath, and a lovely ice cream for our ongoing walk. Before we got to the cafe, we walked past Blackheath Bookshop – which turned out to be a Waterstones. I do like how they let the shops they take over retain their local identity. We popped in quickly because I wanted to buy…
6. On the Calculation of Volume vol.4 by Solvej Balle
I haven’t read the third one yet, but when I learned that the fourth one was out, I decided I had to get it. And somehow I had £10 on my Waterstones card, which always seems to accrue without me spending a lot. The lady in front of me had her Waterstones card on her watch, so I felt very atavistic to use a plastic card.
Our next stop was Halcyon Books, which has a cafe and everything. They have a lot of secondhand paperbacks at a very reasonable price – and an extremely tiny hardback fiction selection, though apparently it used to be bigger. It was also the place I saw the first of two British Library Women Writers titles – Tea Is So Intoxicating by Mary Essex. I still find it thrilling to find them in the wild. I bought…
7. The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty
I sometimes love her and sometimes don’t, but very willing to give this one a try.
8. A Childhood by Jona Oberski
I didn’t know anything about this novel of World War Two, but I love Pushkin Press editions and can generally rely on them to be well-written and interesting. Whether I have the stamina for something this possibly bleak is another question.
9. Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster
Since I read and loved the New York Trilogy last year, I’ve been keen to try more Auster. There were a few to choose from on this book-buying trip, but this was the one that spoke to me most.
Onwards! Our next stop was a shop that Madame Bibi hadn’t been to before – Crofton Books. It was definitely a bookshop in the fine tradition of teetering piles on the floor – and, indeed, one of them almost teetered right onto my head. There might have been books that I would have loved in the midst of those stacks, but I wasn’t feeling like embracing danger. I found one book, on the more orderly shelves.
10. Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
I absolutely loved Such A Fun Age, and have been meaning to get hold of her next novel. I’ve heard less positive things about it, but now I can give it a try myself.
And finally we stopped at Kirkdale Books, whom I’m followed on social media for many years. It’s a beautiful mix of new and secondhand books, as well as some lovely gifty things – but it was the only shop I came away from empty-handed. A shame, but I would definitely go back – I think it was just luck of the draw this time.
Such a fun day! And it continued to be fun, as I took my bags of books out to see Night Shift by Rachel (my Tea or Books? c0-host) at Drayton Arms pub theatre. It was so good! Very proud of her.
Now, which of my books should I read first?
Ohhhh, I know just what you mean: it’s most fun when the booklover with you is also keen to buy at a similar rate, with a similar obsessiveness or enthusiasm (depending what one’s willing to admit). And what a fine variety! (I think you’ll like that Auster, and I thought the second Kiley Reid was just as good, only it’s not the same, and how could it be.)
I feel the same way about pudding. Is there anything more depressing than the companion who, faced with the dessert trolley, says ‘Oh, I think I’ll have the fruit salad’!
Oh the worst! Or the people who say ‘I don’t want a dessert, but don’t let me stop you!’ as if I could then indulge on my own…
Ah glad to hear about the Reid, that is encouraging! And the Auster, too. Thank you!
Lots of good ideas of books for me to follow up here. Am I right in thinking ‘’Mary Essex’ was a pseudonym for Ursula Bloom? I’m reading ‘The Wonder Cruise’ just now.,
That’s her! She seems to have gone for a wittier, less romantic style for her Mary Essex novels.
How fantastic! I’ve met Madame Bibi a few times, mostly for trips to the cinema, and she is absolutely delightful in real life, just as friendly and generous as one would expect from her presence on the blogosphere.
It sounds like you had a fantastic day out, and what a super collection of finds – I’m sure you’ll get a lot of pleasure out of them!
Aww lovely. And I haven’t forgotten that we should have another London meet up!
If you like Oxfam bookshops, try the one in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. It has masses on the shelves, including a spinner of old Penguins – with many more in the back – on a wide range of subjects.
Ah yes, I have been to it a couple of times (I have a friend who lives there). I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t travel just for an Oxfam bookshop in the way I would for an independent secondhand bookshop, but they’re always worth popping into if you’re nearby.
I loved reading about your outing, albeit whilst rather green about the gills with envy! It sounds like a perfect day. I’m happy to learn, although not at all surprised, that Madame Bibi in the flesh lived up to her delightful blog persona!
I did laugh at your comment about Londoner’s villages! And I do speak as one who lives in what I think you would allow to qualify as a ‘proper’ village!
As to where to suggest you start with your new books? Well, you are rather spoilt for choice I think so I would just advise that you see where your reading muse leads you. I shall eagerly anticipate lots of inspiring reviews from you and Madame Bibi – ever more temptations to add to my tbrs!
It was very lovely! And I’m glad we’re on the same page with villages :D (mine is population <200, how about yours?)
My village is definitely smaller than 200 too.
The Almanac by Francesca Beaumont was a surprise present from my closest friend (we enjoy sending each other books out of the blue) and I loved it for Beauman’s writing style, the structure and the absolutely gorgeous illustrations. Have to say I didn’t always share her enthusiasms and she does use the book to heavily publicise Persephone Books (understandable and not necessarily a bad thing although she should, perhaps, have disclosed the connection) but nonetheless it remains a treasured and much thumbed volume.
Ah yes, from a flick through I definitely see what you mean about Persephone and a bit intriguing that she wasn’t more open about that! But I’m looking forward to leafing through and finding recs.
Come and Get It, indeed! Well done, Simon! You ask which to read first. May I suggest Men Do Not Weep? The title intrigues. Besides, I really like the spine and am curious about the cover illustration.
Yes, who knows what course Nichols will take with that title!
Halcyon is my local, Simon. Glad you had such a good outing!
Oh lovely! I can imagine it’s a very tempting place for a cuppa.
What a wonderful haul, and how lovely to meet up with Madame B!! I am very jealous of Men Do Not Weep and a shop full of Beverleys! Also very happy I collected my set of his crime novels when they were reasonably priced!!! 😬😳
She did say to me at the till “We have more!” and I had to say that I already owned all the others :D (My Moonflower was thankfully less than that too.)
What a day! Sounds absolutely perfect. So much fun to meet a blogging friend. I have met several, and they have always turned out exactly as I envisioned them. I’m a big fan of your and Rachel’s podcast, and I listen faithfully. Wonderful news about Rachel’s play.
Aw thank you! And yes, I felt so, so proud to see Rachel’s work on stage.
I had a really lovely day Simon, thank you! It’s great to read this as a reminder of all your excellent buys. So pleased to hear about Rachel’s play too, how exciting!
Thank you for making it so fun! And what a lovely day we had for it.
What a great day out, how do you recognise each other? do you wear roses in your button holes?
Fabulous!! Thank you for posting. Jealous of course even though I just had a similar adventure. Yes n wonderful to have co shopper also buy books. My problem is book shopping and co shopper quits in 10 minutes. Glad u had such a sweet day!
What a lovely day! And yes, you need your co-shopper(s) to have the same gluttonous instincts. I recall four of us filling our friend Gill’s estate car in Hay over two days a few years ago …
Hey, my neck of the woods! I know Bookshop on the Heath, Blackheath Bookshop (aka Waterstone’s in indie clothing) and Halcyon – though have never been in to the latter, as I mostly passed it while lockdown was still in effect. Delighted to know it’s good; I’d really like to go properly.
I controversially thought Come and Get It was better than Such A Fun Age; structurally, it’s a mess, but I thought all the material about money and people’s attitudes to it was so fascinating, and that Reid was trying out something more original.