South Kensington Books
Our April Bookshop of the Month is a long-established independent bookseller South Kensington Books in London, where there seems to be something for everyone! We chat to its manager, Dave to find out how books are chosen to line their shelves, about their clientele in this busy, museum-laden part of town and what’s to come in the next few months. Read on more to find out!
1. We see that there has been a bookshop located at 22 Thurloe Street since the 1940s. Tell us more about the history of the shop and what it is like today.
Yes, I have only worked under the current ownership who have had the shop since 2010. But the shop has always had a tradition of selling books that reflect its location in the ‘Museum Quarter’ so lots of Art, Fashion and History but we try and offer something for everyone – we have a lot of visitors to the area so our Fiction and Children’s sections are equally as popular.
2. How do you pick the books that line your shelves?
We pick things that work along our traditional strengths, but we try to the offer the best of current publishing. We sell quality remainders alongside newly published works this means we can offer discounts on things that we think people will find interesting– so it’s often a case of taking a chance on something we see that we think will work and going for it!
3. What’s your customer base – is it mainly tourist or local? What are they currently buying – is there a particular trend?
Our customer base has shifted much more towards visitors to the area, we still have some wonderful local customers, but they are in the minority. So interesting books that have broad appeal work best – we have consistent bestsellers such as ‘The Philosophy of Walking’ by Frederic Gros and ‘The Daily Stoic’ by Ryan Holiday. Some recent popular titles have been ‘Abroad in Japan’ by Chris Broad and ‘Four Ways of Thinking’ by David Sumpter. Our all-time best seller is ‘1984’ by George Orwell. The great thing about having so many different visitors is the right book will sell consistently for a long time.
4. If you had to pick one book to recommend that was published in the last year, which would it be?
That’s a tough question. I read quite a few last year that were great. The one book that still sticks in my mind though more than most of the others is The Bee Sting. It was brilliantly written from the perspective of four different family members weaving through their past and present with twists and turns and what an ending! I know you’ve said one but if I can also give a shout to Willy Vlautin as I think he is so great and should be read by more people. His latest, ‘The Horse’, is another great book worth a try.
5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans in the coming months that you would like to share with us?
We have lot of plans – window painting from illustrator Sharon King Chai for Easter, the Exhibition Rd Festival coming in June. We have upgraded our website and have a collaboration with James Norbury offering signed copies with a new book arriving in the Autumn. We are looking to increase our events – we currently offer a service to venues, authors, publishers but are planning on organising a few more of our own – so lots to keep us busy!