Books / The Small City Bookshop
A day in the life of The Small City Bookshop
We wander down through East Bristol and into Redfield, via St George Park and the tunnel of trees that deliver you onto Church Road. Peer into the windows of the various independent shops as we go. It’s a nice walk to work.
A quick to-do list to get the blood pumping – unlock the door, alarm off, turn on the computer, set up the till, board out, ramp down, sign flipped, lights on – and we’re open.
Nicola, our children’s bookseller, isn’t far behind as we’re straight into Storytime. Onto the fluffy rug and there’s a hush of little upturned faces. Stories over, tiny hands clapping and a few tears – it’s hard to leave a bookshop.
is needed now More than ever
Before we’ve had our first sip of coffee, a regular pops in to pick up their book order from yesterday. Their list is out again – written on the back of a receipt – and they want the next book in the series already.
Then it’s the ‘Last-Minute-Birthday-Present’ crowd. Parents fly in with children in tow – another classmate’s party to attend, another gift to buy. Books are found and they spin out of the shop in the same whirlwind on which they arrived.
Shop exterior, July 2025
Next, we’d love to read a page or two, but emails wait for no one. There are customer orders to process, book vouchers to sort for school fetes, author events to talk through with publishers and our pop-up bookshop to discuss with festival organisers.
Mercifully we’re drawn away from admin by a customer seeking a book recommendation for a friend. We mull over what kind of book therapy they might need while another customer who has come in for the new Elif Shafak paperback joins the conversation. We offer some suggestions and both customers leave with a list of three more books that they’ll be back for soon.
We’re considering another coffee but a delivery of the books we ordered yesterday is here. Two more boxes swiftly arrive – the delivery driver is practically running but still has time to tell us he’s pleased it’s stopped raining. He’s already out of the shop and off.
Nic is here for her lunchtime shift, with the list (yes, list) of books that she’s read this week (yes, week). She’s eyeing the delivery boxes with glee. She loves unboxing new books, so we leave her to get stuck in.
Shop interior
We turn our attention to a large order we’ve received for a local school’s new library and get it sent off for delivery. A publisher rep arrives to show us their upcoming books. Try not to think about the Christmas titles yet. It’s July.
The post arrives. More bookmarks. We have so many bookmarks.
Kayla is here to organise tomorrow’s book club. There’s been a vote on next month’s selection which means there are books to be ordered, a growing list of recommendations from the group to be disseminated and plans for the pub to be finalised.
Long day, but it’s time to start preparing for an author event – tables moved, 50 chairs set up, drinks and glasses laid out and interview questions at the ready. The audience are already starting to queue at the door.
The shop dog, Pam
Visit The Small City Bookshop at 201 Church Road, Redfield, go to www.thesmallcitybookshop.co.uk or follow @thesmallcitybookshop for more information.
All photos: The Small City Bookshop
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