The rediscovered book
Ah, simple pleasures – often overlooked, easily forgotten, and yet worth their weight in gold. Ironically, seeking out the simplicity in life requires a bit of effort, but once re-acquainted with this old friend, a certain clarity of purpose emerges. The noise and bustle of everyday life is still there, but its influence seems a little less important. Sure, stuff still needs to get done but with a healthy dollop of a simple approach the tasks can seem a little more manageable, a little more pleasurable, in fact a little less like a task.
The new year is always a good time for reflection, a little bit of taking stock, an opportunity to look forwards and perhaps embrace a bit of change. As our little bookshop business continues to grow, our embrace of simplicity gets a little stronger, a little more huggable. We think complexity in business is something to be avoided if at all possible – buying a book, whether online or in the shop, is a pleasure and it should be a simple one. Last year some friends of ours with a small warehouse up the road started helping us with packing and shipping some of our online orders. Some books are still shipping from the shop, some will come to you from the warehouse – all will still have our packaging made from recycled material, all of which can in turn be recycled.
Our newsletter starts the year with a slightly different, nay simpler look. We have some other exciting plans for 2025 and we look forward to sharing them with you as the year unfolds – but one thing is certain, simplicity will be our guide.
‘Vergnügungen’ (Pleasures) by Bertolt Brecht
First look from morning’s window
The rediscovered book
Fascinated faces
Snow, the change of the seasons
The newspaper
The dog
Dialectics
Showering, swimming
Old music
Comfortable shoes
Comprehension
New music
Writing, planting
Traveling
Singing
Being friendly.
Happy New Year! The clean slate of January brings promise and ambition, so this week’s selection of unsigned books offers a focus on all the things you might want to improve on: sleep, exercise, diet, and general wellbeing.
Lemn Sissay’s poetry brings forth a burst of optimism; or you may prefer to start the reading year off with a bang alongside a classic like Phantom of the Opera, or a thrilling crime.
Ben Tomlinson’s romance, Loverboy, will win over the young adult crowd with its humorous relatability, and it’s a No Brainer with the next instalment in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
As always, if you want anything ordering in, or you need anything, do let us know!
From Sophie
Feeling curious? Click on the book covers below to explore the book.
The full newsletter with links to books – including this week’s Signed Editions – can be found HERE
