Diary of an independent bookshop
Booksellers can't afford to be censorious
Nic Bottomley: It's my job to meet customer demand. I leave the moral judgments up to them
What's the definition of an era-defining book?
Swords were drawn and antlers locked among the panel ruling on which are the benchmark books of each 20th century decade.
Cutbacks at Waterstone's? Great news
So the high street giant is heading down the Tesco aisle to narrow-choice, discount bookselling. Sad news? Not for me.
Every little helps
Discounted supermarket copies of the forthcoming Harry Potter will resurface in many a small bookshop, but why feed the mouth that bites you?
Presents all correct?
Desperate customers made this Christmas a frantic but rewarding season for independent bookshops.
Do sell a book by its cover
You can't judge the content, but a beautiful cover and a quirky title goes a long way to clinching the sale. And if a penguin's involved, even better.
How to hug your customers
Some retailers don't seem to like customers. They seem to regard browsers as time-wasters and chatty customers as inconveniences who are interrupting their paperwork. That's madness. We like to hug our customers.
Booker winners are vital to independents
A Booker prize is a badge of readability which opens up the backlist to readers and booksellers alike, says the owner of Mr B's Emporium, Nic Bottomley.
You can't always get what you want
Just the ticket ... Mick Jagger
Photograph: Remy de la Mauviniere/AP
Taking stock
Where better to choose your stock list?
Behind our counter is a cupboard. Unremarkable when shut, it is in fact - as anyone who opens it soon discovers - a cubbyhole of tardis-like qualities. In it teeters an ever-growing pile of publisher's catalogues: catalogues that were requested, ordered, cold-mailed to us and "dropped-in" by reps, and that now seem to sprout organically from roots which stretch all the way down the M4 into central London.
Pester power
Inside Mr B's ... after the floor had been cleaned
The co-proprietor of newly opened bookshop Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights kicks off his blog diary of the highs and lows of independent bookselling by revealing how he snared a famous author for his grand opening (read his introductory article here).
Declaration of independence
Independent bookshops are supposedly on their knees - so what would drive a lawyer with no retail experience to open one? Introducting a regular blog on the trials and tribulations of the book trade, Nic Bottomley, proud co-proprietor of Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights, explains his decision
