"On a mission to create a haven for booklovers - a place buzzing with book chat and recommendations."
Juliette Bottomley is the co-owner of Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, a multi-award-winning independent bookshop in the heart of beautiful Bath.
“Since we opened our doors in 2006, we have been on a mission to create a haven for booklovers - a place buzzing with book chat and recommendations. With our famous Reading Spa bibliotherapy sessions, Recommendation Station and bespoke Reading Subscriptions service, we have become renowned for finding the right books for the right customers. Each year we hand-select around 100 titles which we personally review to create a beautiful Christmas Catalogue, each one illustrated by a different book illustrator (this year it is the brilliant Nadia Shireen).
I have picked out some personal favourites from this selection across various genres which will hopefully help to inspire those on the hunt for Christmas presents. Happy reading!”
Here's the link to our Christmas Catalogue, and we've also included the link for each book featured below.
Cultures and languages intermingle with class in this sparse novella set in Tokyo. Claire speaks broken English with her grandparents – refugees of the Korean war – having been raised in French-speaking Switzerland, and her Japanese is rusty at best. Lost in translation with her own family, Claire will need their help to recognise the cure for her feeling of rootlessness. One of this year’s most elegant explorations of what really forges our culture identity.
Rich Gundersen was born with logging in his blood. When he puts his family’s savings on the line to buy a plot of ancient redwoods, his belief in a dying industry is put to the ultimate test, and a dark secret is revealed. Based on true events that devastated a Californian community in the 1970s, Damnation Spring tells the story of ecological disaster and its insidious echoes across the generations.
The Treekeepers by Kieran Larwood
Liska is a shapeshifter in the magical city of Arborven, a place built around a gigantic tree that gives extraordinary power to its inhabitants. But with great power comes hierarchy and corruption. When the tree comes under threat, Liska must try to unite the city and do everything possible to protect her home. A beautifully written and compelling tale of nature and power from a Mr B’s favourite.
The Treekeepers - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
Flo the Flamingo is going to throw the most amazing, cultured pool party the neighbourhood has seen. She certainly won’t be inviting her stinky, bitey neighbours, the Beastly Bunch. But when Flo’s party is a flop and all her guests desert her, it turns out the beasts next door might have just the kind of energy the party needs. A fun, riotous picture book that celebrates friendship, acceptance ….and parties.
The Beastly Bunch - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
Marram by Leonie Charlton
Facing a crippling grief, Leonie Charlton recommits to her life by trekking the Outer Hebrides with her best friend and two ponies. But her plans fall off course as she is forced to acknowledge that this is not something she can easily run away from. Ingratiating herself in the Hebridean landscape might just be her saviour. A heart-breaking, life-affirming and wonderful memoir, perfect for fans of The Salt Path and The Outrun.
Facing a crippling grief, Leonie Charlton recommits to her life by trekking the Outer Hebrides with her best friend and two ponies. But her plans fall off course as she is forced to acknowledge that this is not something she can easily run away from. Ingratiating herself in the Hebridean landscape might just be her saviour. A heart-breaking, life-affirming and wonderful memoir, perfect for fans of The Salt Path and The Outrun.
Marram - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
Diary of an Invasion by Andrey Kurkov
Though best known for his satirical novels, since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Andrey Kurkov has been documenting the human face of Ukraine’s increasingly volatile socio-political climate. Written from the war-torn Kyiv countryside, Diary of an Invasion contemplates Pushkin, hipster bookshops, and Putin’s dreams of a new USSR in spare, captivating prose. This is an urgent and essential book penned from the front lines of these unprecedented times.
Though best known for his satirical novels, since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Andrey Kurkov has been documenting the human face of Ukraine’s increasingly volatile socio-political climate. Written from the war-torn Kyiv countryside, Diary of an Invasion contemplates Pushkin, hipster bookshops, and Putin’s dreams of a new USSR in spare, captivating prose. This is an urgent and essential book penned from the front lines of these unprecedented times.
Diary of an Invasion - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
The Nutmeg’s Curse by Amitav Ghosh
An accessible and wide-ranging work of environmental philosophy, The Nutmeg’s Curse charts the links between thought and policy from the colonisation of the Banda Islands in the 17th Century to our current climate, political and social crises. Ghosh has an unmatched ability to present an argument that exists at the convergence of various disciplines: combining history, geopolitics, economics, and indigenous storytelling, Ghosh reveals the trajectory we’re travelling along, and presents solutions for correcting our course.
An accessible and wide-ranging work of environmental philosophy, The Nutmeg’s Curse charts the links between thought and policy from the colonisation of the Banda Islands in the 17th Century to our current climate, political and social crises. Ghosh has an unmatched ability to present an argument that exists at the convergence of various disciplines: combining history, geopolitics, economics, and indigenous storytelling, Ghosh reveals the trajectory we’re travelling along, and presents solutions for correcting our course.
The Nutmeg's Curse - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
Grimwood by Nadia Shireen
Prepare to laugh your head off…before it gets bitten off! Ted and Nancy are two young foxes who have moved to the strange woodland of Grimwood, a place filled with some very unique animals. Treebonking squirrels, an over-dramatic duck, a murderous eagle, a DEFINITELY NOT CUTE rabbit with anger issues, and many more make up this wild and wonderful place. But Ted and Nancy’s happy new life is about to come under threat when the dastardly mayor of neighbouring Twinklenuts reveals his plans for the forest. Cute, hilarious and full of mischief, the Grimwood series is guaranteed to leave the whole family in fits of laughter.
Prepare to laugh your head off…before it gets bitten off! Ted and Nancy are two young foxes who have moved to the strange woodland of Grimwood, a place filled with some very unique animals. Treebonking squirrels, an over-dramatic duck, a murderous eagle, a DEFINITELY NOT CUTE rabbit with anger issues, and many more make up this wild and wonderful place. But Ted and Nancy’s happy new life is about to come under threat when the dastardly mayor of neighbouring Twinklenuts reveals his plans for the forest. Cute, hilarious and full of mischief, the Grimwood series is guaranteed to leave the whole family in fits of laughter.
Grimwood: Let the Fur Fly! - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
The Trio by Johanna Hedman
Thora, August and Hugo are students from different worlds, whose lives will become magnetically entangled over two euphoric Stockholm summers. When many years have passed and estranged Hugo is visited by August and Thora’s daughter, difficult questions reopen old wounds, and past and present become blurred. The Trio is an intimate portrayal of friendship, jealousy and regret, a perfect read for fans of Deborah Levy and Andre Aciman.
Thora, August and Hugo are students from different worlds, whose lives will become magnetically entangled over two euphoric Stockholm summers. When many years have passed and estranged Hugo is visited by August and Thora’s daughter, difficult questions reopen old wounds, and past and present become blurred. The Trio is an intimate portrayal of friendship, jealousy and regret, a perfect read for fans of Deborah Levy and Andre Aciman.
The Trio - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
Vine Street by Dominic Nolan
London, 1935. Sergeant Geats knows Soho like the back of his hand. He knows the jazz clubs, the wise guys, the prostitutes and pimps. And he ain’t afraid to crack a few skulls to keep them all in line. When a working girl is found strangled, nobody seems to care, but Geats knows better. An epic, savagely brilliant crime novel with a stunning sense of place, perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and James Ellroy.
Vine Street - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
London, 1935. Sergeant Geats knows Soho like the back of his hand. He knows the jazz clubs, the wise guys, the prostitutes and pimps. And he ain’t afraid to crack a few skulls to keep them all in line. When a working girl is found strangled, nobody seems to care, but Geats knows better. An epic, savagely brilliant crime novel with a stunning sense of place, perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and James Ellroy.
Vine Street - Mr B's Emporium (mrbsemporium.com)
For centuries, medicine has been the realm of men; funded by, researched for, and catered to. This timely book unpacks the myriad ways that women have been demonised and their bodies traumatised, and the incredible ways in which they have fought back. Cleghorn makes a compelling case for demanding change in a realm which has led to countless misdiagnoses, habitual blame and a criminal lack of funding for research into women’s health.
A warm blanket, candlelight and a cup of something hot are required for reading this dark and ghostly collection of winter tales. Let the gothic masters sweep you through the Yorkshire Moors, tantalise you with the mysteries of a glittering London market, and ensnare you in the legacies of an ancient family mansion. With stories from Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Jess Kidd, Andrew Michael Hurley and many others, you’ll know you are in good hands.
3 comments:
It is a great list;)
Thanks for this lovely selection! More for my wish-list, including Damnation Spring.
What a fabulous selection. That's my Christmas sorted!
Helena Pielichaty
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