Wallingford Bookshop
Nestled in the historic Oxfordshire market town of Wallingford, the Wallingford Bookshop is our February Bookshop of the Month. First opening its doors forty years ago, the bookshop has seen many changes over the years. We talk to the owner Helen about the history of the shop, their book club and events, and what's currently selling well for them. Read on to discover more!
1. Tell us more about the shop – how did it come into being and has much changed in that time?
The shop celebrated its 40th birthday last September. It was opened by Mary Ingrams in 1983 and has been lovingly looked after by three careful lady owners since. The shop has always been located at 10c St Martin’s Street and the shop front with its distinctive arched windows remains our logo today. The books and displays change (all the time), but the ethos of the shop (knowledgeable booksellers, happy atmosphere, great books) has remained pretty consistent. We value our customers greatly and always hope that they leave the shop a little more cheery than when they arrived.
2. What is your favourite, and least favourite, part of a normal working day?
My favourite part of the day is interacting with our customers, who are a fantastic bunch. Helping a customer find that perfect book is a joy. Unboxing new books is also great fun – it’s always Christmas at the bookshop. Least favourite part of the day is probably doing the washing up!
3. Have you noticed any trends in the books your customers are buying lately?
Romance, fantasy and romantasy novels continue to grow in popularity, perhaps reflecting that people may be looking to escape the reality of cold January days and a double election year. However, sales of current affairs books remain strong. AI and gut health are also very popular topics just now.
4. We see that you run a monthly book club – how do you choose the books that get discussed?
I rather autocratically choose the book each month, often a couple of months in advance. I choose a mix of fiction and non-fiction and try to vary the publishers each month. We’ll give any genre a go, so long as it’s well written. The book clubbers love it if the author wants to come along (they’re a lovely bunch).
5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans for the shop in the coming months that you would like to share with us?
We are developing our schools’ business and are running a number of book fairs for 5-18 year olds this year, which is exciting. Every year, there is a festival in Wallingford (Bunkfest) and last year we were part of the Spoken Word fringe festival for the first time, We had poetry pop ups in the shop, which our customers enjoyed. We’re hoping to build on this with some poetry readings / workshops throughout the year, and are looking into the possibility of setting up a writers workshop.