Wedale Bookshop
December’s Bookshop of the Month is the Wedale Bookshop found in the village of Stow in the Scottish Borders. We caught up with Gordy the owner, to talk about books, reading, the best (and worst) part of being an independent bookseller and what the future brings – read on to find out more!
1. Tell us about your vision in opening the shop in 2023 – what made you become a bookseller?
Opening a bookshop really was a lifelong ambition, held since my mid-teens! I’ve always had a love of bookshops and hoped that one day I’d have my own. To my continued surprise, I now do! I’m incredibly fortunate to have been able to act upon the dream…
2. What’s your favourite part of the bookselling day, and the least …?
I honestly like all aspects of what we do here but especially like hearing back from customers who have enjoyed a book I’d recommended to them, that’s always very satisfying especially when the choice is a bit different to their normal type of reading options! It’s also always rather lovely to see people meeting friends and family in the bookshop. It often feels a bit like a virtual village green in the bookshop, connecting us with the local community. When visitors are surprised by the range and variety of books we stock in such a small rural location, it also brings a smile to my face!
3. How do you go about choosing the books that line your shelves?
We choose books based on personal recommendations, new title lists and also from memory. I enjoy stocking books that may be a little bit overlooked or forgotten, as well as the latest bestsellers of course! For example, I’m waging a one-man campaign to get everyone reading the Mrs Bradley Mysteries of Gladys Mitchell, who is shamefully overlooked! We aim to provide a well-stocked bookshop, especially when it comes to the Borders and Scottish history, so I’m always on the look-out for new volumes which look at Scottish culture and historical subjects. I like surprising customers by the breadth and diversity of the types of books we stock.
4. What kind of books do well in your bookshops, have you noticed any trends?
Literary fiction and classics do well, as does crime fiction and, in particular, classic crime from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Our Nature and the Environment ranges do well and our Folklore and Belief section has been particularly popular, too, to the extent that we now run a popular Folklore Club, which has been great fun to attend! I would not have thought that folklore, mythology and books on witchcraft would have proved to be such big sellers here and they’ve helped shape our bookshop’s unique identity in the Scottish Borders.
5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans in the coming months that you would like to share with us?
Well, we have just taken ownership of a second bookshop in the Borders, The Reading Room, Melrose, so watch this space!