Independent Booksellers Week is a useful reminder not to forget your precious treasure house round the corner, besieged by mighty amazons sucking their custom into cyberspace and chains lining up treble-barrelled 3-for-2 weaponry on the high street.
There's a lot going on this week - notably the Strictly Come Bookselling promotion, which will see (as the title almost suggests) "celebs" getting behind counters around the UK and serving the public. I'm not totally convinced that the prospect of being chip-and-pinned by Gyles Brandreth (in Barnes Bookshop), Alan Titchmarsh (the Little Green Dragon, Alton) or Jilly Cooper (Stroud Bookshop) would make me want to go a-browsing. But of course anything is worth a go, and Titchmarsh and Cooper have a lot of fans. Perhaps even Brandreth has some mysterious allure.
But the most potent marketing tool for independent booksellers is, of course, word of mouth, something this site can usefully amplify. Since we last had a long look at our Best Bookshops listings, we've lost Worm Holes in York and the Ancient House in Reigate, along with Metropolitan Books round the corner from these offices. These shops really do need our vocal support.
We're currently sifting through your recommendations for bookshops from Ireland, both north and south, and there's always room for more.
