more weird things customers say in bookshops

They're actually quite different shopping experiences, so use them depending on what you're after.Ĭan we have Lola? She's kind of the cutest thing ever. Online is great for buying things you already know about, but bookshops are great for discovering books you never knew existed. Though of course not everyone has the £3 for coffee either, so if you'd rather buy online for price, then that's up to you (and Hive is a good way to buy online at a slight discount whilst still supporting bookshops).Īt the same time, if you have a good bookshop near you that you want to support who offers great service, interesting events, and an eclectic stock, then see if you can use both online and offline for different things. A book stays with you for much longer than two cups of coffee.

As a bookseller, I see customers sometimes complain about paying £7.99 for a paperback, whilst holding a Starbucks coffee that cost them £3. As for supporting independent bookshops, often - though not always - it's about perspective. A lot of US publishers produce beautiful poetry pamphlets for about $6 plus shipping. I spend a lot of time researching small presses - and if you go for chapbooks (pamphlets), those aren't very expensive. How do you go about finding lesser-known or independently published books? What advice would you give to someone trying to support independent bookshops and publishers while also being on a tight budget? I'm a firm believer that reading makes us better writers. They feed into each other, definitely, though I need to be in a different head space for each. Do you consider reading part of your daily writing practice, or are the two things separate activities for you? I have probably read each poem twice by now, because I can't stop returning to her gorgeous verse.

Jen recently completed the 100 Poem Challenge, where she wrote 100 poems within 48 hours to raise money for charity. And her writing isn't half bad, either (it is, in fact, full good). Jen's unique taste for fairy-tale retellings and seldom-seen works of magical realism from small presses has taken over my Amazon shopping cart more than a few times (yes, I am one of those people who buys things from Amazon, which is part of why I asked Jen for advice on supporting bookshops and independent publishing houses). Jen runs a popular channel on YouTube's warmly regarded bookish corner of the Internet, called BookTube by its many viewers. Jen Campbell is known widely for her book, Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshopsand its sequel, More Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops, but her fan base extends far beyond the page these days.

More weird things customers say in bookshops