Welcome

"A bookshop so perfect you might have dreamt it."  Maggie O'Farrell

Based in the beautiful Scottish Borders village of St Boswells (just off the A68), we are passionate about books, coffee and the pleasure of shopping for beautiful things. Whether you are based locally, visiting the area on holiday or just passing through on the way to Edinburgh or Newcastle, there are lots of reasons to visit.  The bookshop is the heart of what we do, with over 6,500 titles in stock (and space for many more as we grow). We believe that reading should start from the earliest possible age, so our children’s section is particularly important to the shop, from Edward Ardizzone to Harry Potter. That said, we cater for readers of all ages and tastes, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for we can order it from a range of over 750,000 titles often for next day delivery.

“Among the attractions of this airy artistic venue, which include cupcakes and rustic gifts, is its emphasis on children’s books, which is its special niche, and an excellent reason for a detour off the A68.”  Rosemary Goring, The Herald

“… a gem of a bookshop in the Borders village of St. Boswells…and I'm glad to say that not only did it live up to expectations, it surpassed them.”  Cornflowerbooks.co.uk

The Telegraph Best Small Shops Awards - We've just had the fantastic news that the shop has been shortlisted in the Bookshop category.  The winners will be announced on Sat 25th February.  Thanks to all our lovely customers for voting for us!

Follow us on twitter: @mainstreethare

• Scottish Independent Bookshop of the Year 2011 - The Bookseller Industry Awards 2011 (we were awarded Highly Commended in the overall UK Independent Bookshop of the Year)
• Independent Retailer of the Year 2011 - Scottish Borders Business Excellence Awards
• Children's Independent Bookseller of the Year 2010 - The Bookseller Industry Awards
• New Business of the Year 2010 - Scottish Borders Business Excellence Awards
  

News and author events:

BOOK GROUP:

We run two book groups at the shop, see the books homepage for more information.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

Watch this space for news of our 2012 programme.

For more information, see our Events page.

RECENT EVENTS:

SATURDAY 26th Nov - HOW TO COOK by ISABELLA BEETON and GERARD BAKER - Gerard Baker proved very convincingly that some men can multi-task.  He gave a wonderful, informed talk about Mrs Beeton and food history, all the while cooking up a some delicious food.  The goodie bags of chocolate cake were also well worth waiting for.

Tues 15th Nov -  JANICE GALLOWAY blew us away reading from the second volume of her memoirs, ALL MADE UP.  When she threatened to read more (and about sex no less!)  if no further questions were asked, the room fell silent - I think we could have listened to her all night.

Sun 30th October – JEREMY PAXMAN entertained a packed house with a fascinating talk about his new book, EMPIRE: WHAT RULING THE WORLD DID TO THE BRITISH.  Anyone posing a question certainly had to be ready to have one asked in reply.  When asked by his friend in the audience, writer Tom Fort, what type of colonial he might have been, some were surprised to hear 'missionary' as Jeremy's response.

Sat 1st Oct – CRESSIDA COWELL taught a crowd of 150 children the basics of Dragonese while explaining the inspiration behind her bestselling (and huge in-store favourite) HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON series. 

Thurs 29th Sept – Australian PAUL CARTER played a blinder and turned the air blue talking about his third book, IS THAT BIKE DIESEL MATE?  “The Andy McNab of the Oilfields rides again.” The Telegraph

Wed 14th Sept - Lunch with an Author - MADELINE MILLER -  We were very lucky to host Madeline Miller's first ever reading of THE SONG OF ACHILLES.  What a delightful author, she wears her erudition lightly both on the page and in person.  We're all just hoping that she emulates Donna Tartt's success, but not the ten year wait in writing a second novel.

‘To rewrite Homer’s Iliad as a modern novel was a bold move, but it has paid off superbly. ... If I were to give a prize for the best work of fiction this year, this would be the runaway winner.  As a first novel it heralds the arrival of a major new talent.’  A. N. Wilson

Saturday 3rd Sept, 7.30pm - Bestselling crime writer, JOHN CONNOLLY gave us a masterclass in crime fiction, talking about his writing heroes, keeping the audience laughing throughout, meanwhile his Charlie Parker novels deprived some of us from sleep.

BOOKS, BORDERS & BIKES 20/21st Aug - Another stellar line up at this unique literary festival set in front of the magical Traquair House, with writers ranging from DAVID STARKEY to MARK THOMAS.  We very much enjoyed providing the bookshop once more.  

Thursday 21st July - Local author and seasoned jounalist, Mark Douglas Home gave us excellent insight into the rigours of writing his first novel, THE SEA DETECTIVE - the secret was writing 1,000 words per day and being able to hear his characters voices.  Good advise for any aspiring writer.  The good news is that he's working on his next novel so we will meet sea detective Cal McGill once more.

Saturday 18th June - BOOK GROUP AUTHOR LUNCH with Maggie O’Farrell and Bella Bathurst
Maggie O’Farrell and Bella Bathurst charmed over 90 people at our first Mass Book Group Lunch.  The sell out event was held as part of our celebrations for Independent Bookseller’s Week and National Reading Group Day.

Talking about her book THE LIGHTHOUSE STEVENSONS, Bella admitted her lack of skill with maths hadn’t put her off approaching the subject of lighthouse engineering, it just meant she had to be quick on her toes with well-informed audiences. Maggie, meanwhile touched a familiar nerve with some of the audience when she recalled delaying delivery of the manuscript of THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE until her vocabulary returned after the birth of her daughter.

A very enjoyable afternoon was had by all.

Thursday 2nd June - AND THE BAND PLAYED ON  by Christopher Ward
Everyone knows the story of the Titanic, but what happened afterwards?  Christopher Ward is the grandson of Jock Hume, the band’s 21-year-old violinist, who died leaving an unborn child – the author’s mother. On a beautiful sunny evening at Mainstreet, Christopher entertained a well informed audience with his personal journey to discover the full impact of his grandfather's death.  As a very special touch, we were treated to a haunting rendition of Nearer my God to Thee played on one of Jock's own violin's by Catriona Price. 

Thursday 19th May - Esther Freud, Helena McEwen  and Alison Gangel in conversation with literary agent, Jenny Brown. 

This made for a fascinating evening looking at the different ways of writing using personal history.  Like many writers, Esther Freud and Helena McEwen have creative lives beyond the pages of their books, this is reflected in both their new novels set in the worlds of drama and art school respectively.  Alison Gangel is the author of a powerful memoir of her Glasgow childhood where music talent provided her means of escape. 

Thursday 24th March - ALISTAIR MOFFAT gave a fascinating talk about his new book, The Scots: A Genetic Journey, recently serialised in The Scotsman.  Luckily Alistair is an author in command of his subject - the audience wasn't taking any prisoners with a lively Q&A session.

Thursday 3rd March - we were very lucky to have author, JASPER FFORDE speaking at the shop in the week his new novel, One of Our Thursdays is Missing, hit No.1 on the bestseller charts.  He kept the audience highly amused with a wry journey through his road to publication, ten years of rejection leading to sales of over 2 million books worldwide (and now a No. 1 bestseller).

Tuesday 23rd Nov - local author, SYLVIA LOCH gave a fascinating talk about her first novel, An Algarve Affair.  The story takes it's inspiration from actual events, and Sylvia made it clear that some people had to die before she could publish! 

THURSDAY 11th November - IAN RANKIN and RICHARD HAVERS - Rock and Writing.  We had an excellent evening with Richard taking Ian through a quasi music/lit desert island disks.  It was hard to call a halt to the chat with an audience keen to ask many more questions.

THURSDAY 21st October:  JUDY STEEL was 'in conversation' with Nicholas Watson to discuss her new autobiography, charting her life in politics (through husband, David) and the Borders.

WEDNESDAY 27th October: JONATHAN STROUD kept over 90 local school children entertained talking about his writing, in particular his sardonic creation, Bartimaeus the irascible djini.  His new novel charting Bartimaeus' adventures, The Ring of Solomon, is out now.

“Not since Gulliver's Travels has a children's writer managed to combine a thrilling tale of magic and adventure with such deliciously pointed comedy.” Sunday Times

Shortlisted for Scotland and the North Independent Bookseller of the Year 2010

Shortlisted (and Highly Commended) for Independent Bookseller of the Year 2009 (Bookseller Retail Awards) and The Scottish Countryside Alliance Rural Enterprise Award 2009

'The Judges loves the energy and innovation at the heart of this bookshop in the Scottish Borders which began in June 2008 and is already achieving great things. "From a standing start, they have built an incredibly professional business," enthused one judge. The store's family-friendly layout, lively front-of-house children's area, free storytelling for pre-schoolers and the numerous author events were just some of the store's praiseworthy achievements." ' The Bookseller magazine

Shortlisted for Scottish Independent Bookshop of the Year 2009 (The British Book Awards)