The Bookshop Book - Jen Campbell

When I was given the chance to FINALLY read this book by the hilarious Jen Campbell (of the Weird Things People Say In Bookshops series - a series my colleagues at Waterstones used to laugh about how real some of the stories were), I was so excited to take the time out of my university assignment schedule and sit back and think back to some of the wondrous bookshops I have visited in the past. I had high expectations and this book did not fail them. 

This is the perfect book for anyone experienced the wonder of bookshops. As a book lover, a bookseller or a blogger, anyone that has become immersed in the world of a bookshop can appreciate this book for its creativity approach and just a simple chance to do a lot of fangirling. 

In a world where the bookshops we love are declining rapidly for the cheaper alternative of Amazon (which it is clear does not have the certain atmosphere and experience of a real bookshop), this book is something special and it is clearly the perfect book as the official book of the BOOKS ARE MY BAG campaign this year.

It shows how the passion for reading can manifest into endless visits to beautiful bookshops, meeting some of the world's most interesting people in a fun and engaging way. I loved reading about the books in countries I would never have considered visiting for their range of bookshops as well as finding out about some of the most recommended and quirkiest bookshops in my hometown, London, itself. 

One of my particular favourites was a second hand bookshop in Wigtown in Scotland which also happens to the National Book Town, somewhere I am now dying to go to!  These wonderful facts and figures I never knew about books and their shops now whirl around my head after reading this book waiting for that time in that pub quiz where I can utilise them (I don't think that day will come really). 

This book is now my to-do list, a book full of these brilliant places of creativity, romance and innovation all circling around my love for books. This book needs to be read by anyone that even has a small interest in reading and literature, but certainly for anyone who appreciates simply a good bookshop. Written in an informal and interesting manner and dispersed with interviews from the UK's much loved authors, THE BOOKSHOP BOOK should be on everyone's Christmas list and truly appreciated.