Bath and Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights

My literary pilgrimage of the UK continues: the latest place I got to tick off my list was lovely Bath, land of Roman ruins and elegant Georgian buildings. Bath is also famous among book lovers for being the home of Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, an independent bookshop that has been twice voted the best in the UK.

The moment I stepped in, I could see why. Visiting Mr B’s was a little like going to a smart and interesting friend’s house and carefully perusing their bookshelves: you know you’re going to find promising books of whose existence you were previously unaware. And even better than that, you know that whatever you find will come with a personalised recommendation. Mr B’s Emporium manages to recreate this feeling by making copious use of reader to reader as well as bookseller to reader recommendations. There are staff favourite shelves, themed displays, reader reviews pinned to the walls, you name it. My visit left me full of ideas for creating a sense of connection among readers that I’d love to try at my library.

Sadly Bath is far away enough that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take advantage of their events, but I got the impression that this is a bookshop that knows how to place itself at the centre of a vibrant community of readers. Allow me to give you the tour:



Best idea ever — and of course that now I want to see if I can adapt it for my library. The books mentioned included The Thief, I Kill Giants and The Fault in our Stars, which immediately made me feel at home.




Any bookshop that places The Brides of Rollrock Island among the staff favourites is a bookshop after my own heart.

It was nice to get a little glimpse of the Patrick Ness event they had a few weeks before my visit.




Tintin wallpaper, because why not?






Cushion signed by visiting authors.

...to go along with this signed lampshade.

And look what I found :D
And since I’m at it, here are a few pictures of Bath itself:


The Roman Baths.



Mandatory classic Bath shot.

The city and the Somerset hills seen from Prior Park.

1839 graffiti on the bridge.








Slightly creepy doll and man in period gear outside the Jane Austen centre.

Here Lived Jane Austen - Number 4 Sydney Place.

Bath also has the coolest independent shops.











As you can probably tell from the pictures, I was very lucky with the weather, and the result was an absolutely lovely long weekend. To those of you who know the UK, what’s the next bookshop or bookish place you think I should visit?