Our Books
We stock a range of over 6,500 titles, with our largest sections devoted to children’s books, fiction, cookery and biography. Rosamund de la Hey was formerly children’s marketing director at Bloomsbury Publishing so there is an understandable bias towards this area of publishing. She likes nothing better than being asked for advice on what to buy for children, or better still discussing this with the children themselves. Not to be outdone, Bill de la Hey is always on the lookout for new and exciting cookbooks, although it will take some doing to beat his favourite, the Women’s Institute SOUPS, the source for many of the in-house soups of the day.
If we don’t have the book you are looking for in-store, we would be happy to order it for you. If our wholesaler has it in stock they supply on a next day delivery service to collect in-store (which works out quicker than amazon). Our website will soon be launching a shopping basket facility, but in the meantime, do just email us on info@mainstreetbooks.co.uk if you’d like to order a book.
BOOK GROUP:
We have now had our meeting to discuss The Outlander by Gill Adamson and No Great Mischief by Alastair MacLeod, here’s a brief summary of the response...
The Outlander – quite a few people felt it started rather slowly and it took a while to get the main character into focus, most agreed that the quality of the writing was very strong and interest was expressed in her poetry and short stories. There was a general feeling that the latter third of the book was the strongest with the pace really picking up. Everyone enjoyed the quirky characters encountered on the journey in particular the pugilist preacher and the dwarf bar/general store owner.
No Great Mischief – this was very popular across the board, prompting much discussion about family history through the generations, and in one case, almost prompting the reader to throw it out the window in outrage at what was happening to the characters. As I failed to get a copy in time (as someone pointed out, much like the cobbler’s children going bare foot), I am now inspired to read this.
We have chosen the following books for our next meeting:
Lady’s Maid by Margaret Forster – I for one am looking forward to this having not read her for many years
A Scattering by Christopher Reid – winner of the 2010 Costa Book Prize
Next meeting date: Tuesday 16th March
Book Group Recommended Reads:
A Painted House by John Grisham
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
BOOK LISTS:
Whether a teacher or a parent, if you would like advice on book lists for children, please feel free to book a time with Rosamund, she would be delighted to help.