Mr. B’s Emporium of Reading Delights
This week, in the middle of winter and at the start of a New Year that’s feeling decidedly same-y, we’re seeking wonder in the everyday. We need an antidote to All This (gestures to COVID, politics, BREXIT, homeschool, laundry, Tuesdays in January).
For us, one of the easiest ways to access awe is through bookstores. As holders of the imaginary, of knowledge and curiosity, these special places out in the world give us access to lives that we might otherwise not know and avenues in our own worlds that we currently may be unable to tread. Even during the harshest of lockdowns (hello, UK), the doors of independent bookstores may be closed, but what they contain can still be made available to us.
Over the next week, we’re going to focus on a handful of independent bookstores that help us find our way in uncertain times. Like a great café or bakery, a local dive bar or a music venue, we’re aware that we each have our go-to independent bookstores, so let us know what yours are, so we can bring them into our guide and into other people’s lives.
Mr. B’s Emporium of Reading Delights
“Book lovers — welcome to your spiritual home.”
What is it: How bookstores look in movies, Bath’s Mr. B’s Emporium has all the delight, whimsy, and charm of a highly idiosyncratic world created especially for bibliophiles. A dream conceived on a honeymoon by newly married lawyers Nic and Juliette Bottomley, since it opened in 2006 Mr. B’s Emporium has twice been named best UK Independent bookstore and The Guardian has named it as one of the top ten bookstores in the world.
Why you’ll love it: For us, it’s the friendly staff who have an exhaustive knowledge of books and aren’t afraid to share it — every time we’re there we eavesdrop on excited conversations about much-loved recommendations — while also kinda apologizing when it feels like they may be upselling us as they get enthused about something. It’s also the magical kid’s section, with its fairytale tree and park bench corner. It’s The Imaginarium, an in-store spot for visiting writers-in-residence. It’s the fine touches: the wall of comic book pages, the winding staircase, the fireplace, and claw foot bath (book filled, of course). It's maybe also the fact that Mr. B’s Emporium is set off the main street, down an alleyway, so it feels like a find, though other book lovers have been lured this way before.
What you need to know: It’s so much about reading here: about opinions on books and chatter on authors, about bringing into your world books you may not have previously considered. The staff will gently guide you through but also leave you alone if you are more of a private browser.
How to bring this into your life wherever you are: For At-Home Times, go with their specially tailored to you Reading Subscriptions, which are like a through-your-letterbox monthly bibliotherapy session. One to save for Later (which we are), the Reading Spas – meaning a cozy tea and cake moment in the bibliotherapy room with a pile of books chosen especially for you. During All Times, watch storytime on the YouTube channel or listen to their podcast with more recommendations and meandering chats, Talking to Book People.
Why we think it matters: Books are personal but sometimes the way they are sold feels nothing of the sort. Book buying becomes transactional, with stores that pile it high, discount massively, and rotate them fast. Reading lists become bestseller lists. At Mr. B’s Emporium book-finding feels more person to person, one world brought into another, a love shared and passed on. Here books are restored as the wonders that we, and they, believe them to be.
In their own words: “Mr. B's is a beautiful, energetic and innovative bookshop on John Street in the heart of Bath. It's a bright labyrinthine space where book-related chatter and advice seems ever-present and you never know what you might encounter next, from claw-foot bath book displays to toilets illustrated by Chris Riddell.”
Something to do when this is all done: Take a bookshop tour of wherever you are (you could even attempt this virtually). See Louise Boland’s Bookshop Tours of Britain for inspiration.
While local: We recommend Landrace Bakery and Colonna Coffee, and If Lost featured places: Meticulous Ink and Magalleria.
