This is an independent bookshop in the small market town renowned for Ledbury poetry festival – the UK’s biggest. “Despite being the age of Google Maps, I sell loads of Ordnance Survey maps,” says owner Lindsay Jackson. “People still have a hunger to hold things in their hands. There’s nothing like unfolding a map, seeing where everything is and discovering new places – or realising you’re lost.”
Top five sellers
•Anecdotal Evidence Wendy Cope
•Jane Austen at Home Lucy Worsley
•Where Poppies Blow John Lewis-Stempel
•The Nature of the Malverns Editors Ian Duncan, Peter Garner, Peter Creed
•Small Island By Little Train Chris Arnot
Five recommendations
• A Very English Scandal John Preston
“A jaw-droppingly outrageous true story of intrigue and cover-up in 1970s British politics.”
• Meadowland John Lewis-Stempel
“A year in the life of a Herefordshire meadow – beautifully written, verging on poetic.”
• Rebecca Daphne du Maurier
“A classic, dark psychological thriller – arguably ahead of its time in 1938. It’s incredible; I’ve read it five or six times and each time find something different.”
• Shotgun Lovesongs Nickolas Butler
“Moving story of five friends growing up in small-town America.”
• Girl, Balancing Helen Dunmore
“I don’t normally read short stories but I loved this new collection; it was so poignant and made me cry.”
Ledbury Books and Maps, 20 High Street, Ledbury, HR8 1DS; ledburybooksandmaps.co.uk
