Books Books Books

We are very excited to announce that Hollie McNish will be at the bookshop on Tuesday, February 25th for a Poetry Reading! She is the bestselling author of Lobster and Slug and won the Ted Hughes award for new work in poetry with her poetry and parenting memoir Nobody Told Me. Matt Haig described her as, “One of the best poets we have.” Kae Tempest says she, “writes with honesty, conviction, humour and love”, words which are searingly true. She has two further poetry collections, Plum and Cherry Pie, one modern adaptation of the ancient Greek tragedy Antigone and, alongside fellow poet Sabrina Mahfouz, co-wrote Offside, a play relating the history of UK women’s football. As you can see, she loves writing! If you wish to attend, it is obligatory to register by contacting us. The venue may change at short notice from the bookshop to another location if there is an overabundance of attendees! Doors will open at 18h30, with the reading to begin at 19h and we will be serving drinks and snacks. Please make sure in your email you let us know the number of people you will be bringing. If you turn up on the night…

Our last used books swap was so popular, we’re doing it again! Join us on Saturday, November 30th, from 10am-2pm. Come by with your used books, and take one new-to-you used book for every book you bring (no textbooks, manuals, or encyclopedias, please!). We look forward to seeing you there!

How often have you wandered the streets of unknown cities and have, accidentally, wandered into a bookshop? Who doesn’t know the feeling of being on holidays and buying so many books you need an extra suitcase? This October, to celebrate fall and say goodbye to summer we’re hosting a book swap event. The goal is to leave your best (and worse?) books that you’ve read and leave with new ones. All the books in the book exchange are second hand, and part of our second-hand books will be part of the exchange! As well as books (and more books), we will provide you with tea and cozy vibes. So, will you be joining us on October 12th from 10am to 2pm? How many books will you bring? We’re looking forward to seeing you, and hearing about the adventures your books have gone through. Extra: to add a bit of autumn spice, there will also be a surprise shelf… come and find out what that is!

Come and join us on Tuesday 25 June at 7pm (doors open at 6:30) for the launch of The Road – A Guide to Crossing the Nepal Himalayas by Bike; a guidebook which aims to bust the myth that Nepal is only an extreme travel destination. The book provides a step by step guide to crossing the 1650km Middle Himalayan range (1000-3000m) by gravel or mountain bike. As well as a guidebook, the book also serves as a travelogue, with stories, anecdotes and stunning photos of daily life in this little visited part of the Himalayan mountains. We will be joined by the author, Richard Williams, and mountain biking legend Christoph Sauser (who wrote the foreword to the book), who will be in conversation with Matthew about this epic adventure. Light refreshments will be provided. All book profits will go to supporting projects in Nepal through the Swiss-based Driftwood Association that Rich established: driftwoodassociation.org.

Calling all poetry lovers! Kathleen Jamie will be at UNIL on Tuesday, May 7th for Conversations Towards Nature. BLDG Geopolis, Room 227, at 17:15. Admission is free. Kathleen Jamie, poet and essayist, is one of the leading voices in environmental writing in the UK today. Her books meditate deeply and movingly on the relation between human communities and the natural world, and is currently Makar (Poet Laureate of Scotland). Her latest volume of poetry, Cairn, is published by Sort of Books (2024). The bookshop will have a stand there, so stop by and say hello!

Julianne DiNenna will be in the bookshop on Thursday, April 25th to read from her recently published book of poetry, Girl in Tulips and other Non-Communicable Family Diseases. Doors will open at 18:30, with the reading to commence at 19:00. Please sign up here if you plan to attend. Girl in Tulips is part lyric, part incantation and prayer, part memoir of love and longing. We travel into the underworld of wards with intimacy, wonder, provocation, observing the intricacies of family relationships while tottering on the edge of hope, as DiNenna’s poems take us through the zodiac and seasons of childhood illness, calling us to bear witness to the unseen, the unheard. These poems tell the story of one girl’s struggle for life, the sacredness of childhood and innocence, with tenderness, astonishment, and transformation.

Happy birthday Books Books Books! The bookshop turned 15 recently and, like all teenagers, it’s is hard to deal with sometimes, and a sublime pleasure at others. To mark the occasion, we’ve had some spiffy new bags printed and would like to invite you to tea on Saturday, 2nd December anytime for 2pm until close at 6pm. As well as serving the most delicious cake known to humanity we are also organising a treasure hunt. You will have to answer a number of book-related questions either through the sheer power of your literature knowledge, or by finding the appropriate book in the shop. All entries will be put in a draw for book tokens and other prizes. And if the promise of tea, cake and book-swag is not enough to tempt you, then all of our books will be offered with a 15% discount throughout the day! Signing up isn’t obligatory, but it would be useful if only to make sure we have enough of the chocolatey stuff. You can do so here: https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/e92P3Vza If you can’t make it – maybe you’re flying to Fiji that day, or it’s too late to cancel your daughter’s wedding – then Rachel and…

Anybody who has read the DSM entry on Autism Spectrum Disorder will know it lists deficits in areas of communication and interaction. But what it is really like to view life from behind the autistic lens? This was the question psychologist and psychotherapist Marie-Laure Del Vecchio asked when she, and co-writer and photographer Joe James, starting collecting stories from people on the autistic spectrum. The result is The Autistic Experience: Silenced Voices Finally Heard. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, often shocking, these stories from people across the globe explore all aspects of autistic life – from the earliest childhood memories to the challenges facing the autistic parent or grandparent. From school days to office life, from teenagers to those in their seventies, across all genders, from people who are homeless to NASA scientists to Olympic medallists, A graduate of UNIL, Marie-Laure set up her own practice in Lausanne two and a half years ago. In her professional life, she seeks to value human diversity, particularly by working with neurodivergent people. She chose to move away from a pathologising view of autism and to focus instead on the distinctive features of this neurotype, and approaches autism as a way of functioning, a way…

Rebelling against the idea that ‘If you’re not online, you don’t exist,’ Jonathan created a pocket-sized review which collects together poetry, essays, fiction, illustration and fine art for those “wishing to maintain contemplative life in the digital age.’” Editions are only available in print and exclusively in bookshops. All correspondence with the publisher is conducted by post rather, and their single webpage simply lists two mailing addresses, one in Freibury Germany, the other in Austin, Texas.  Matthew will be chatting to Jonathan on Tuesday, 23rd May at the bookshop on the role and relevance of Printed Books in the Digital Age. Doors open at 18.00 and we’ll start the conversation at around 19.00.  If you would like to join us – and I hope you will! – please sign up via Doodle – or send us a letter. As always, there will be drinks and snacks and friendly people to chat to (plus a bookshop to explore).  Jonathan Simons is the founding editor of offline publishing house Analog Sea and its literary journal, The Analog Sea Review. As a poet and essayist, he has written for publications including The London Magazine, PN Review, El País, subTerrain Magazine, and The Analog Sea Review. His work has been covered by,…

Zoe Perrenoud will be in the bookshop on Saturday, July 30th from 2-4pm to sign copies of her new book, Bloodlender! Zoe came into the bookshop ten years ago, when we were back on Rue de la Mercerie. She was just finishing up a writing course, and said that she would write a book and hold an event in the bookshop. We are thrilled that the event is finally coming to fruition with BLOODLENDER! An ancient magic. A secret garden. A deadly curse. Haunted by her father’s unsolved murder, all sixteen-year-old Sophie wants is to keep a low profile. Instead, there’s a dangerous magic stirring in her veins… and she has no idea how to stop it. After she accidentally puts her mother in a coma, Sophie is forced to move in with the elusive Delville family, whose historic French manor holds secrets even darker than hers. Their son, Gauthier, is dying from a mysterious illness, while deep in the abandoned garden, old ghosts are stirring.  As she struggles to control her powers, Sophie learns that she is Gauthier’s last hope. But when new evidence about her father’s death threatens to shatter their growing bond, she faces the ultimate dilemma: get revenge or save the…