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Ask a Bookseller: Dean from Heron & Willow
Bookshops are the very best places to go for book recommendations – and booksellers are the friendliest, most knowledgeable of readers!
Dean from Heron & Willow in Jedburgh, Scotland has joined us to answer your questions and share his favourite picks.
Want a recommendation of your own? Submit a question for our guest booksellers and if it's answered, we'll send you a £15/€20 National Book Token to spend in your local bookshop.
What makes Heron & Willow a great place to visit?
"Like all smaller indies, I hope there's always something unusual and unexpected to find in Heron & Willow, not just bestsellers or the usual hype books. We love recommending books of course and we have a popular children's reading and drawing nook, little curios like a fairy door and old typewriters to play with hidden around the place. We keep a well-stocked section on Scottish History as that is very popular and we also stock a selection of new vinyl as well (a hangover from my days running music festivals!). Maybe the final reason to visit is that we are in a beautiful town, Jedburgh, which has lots to see and do but is very quaint and calm too!" Dean
Can you recommend books set in Scotland, please? – Karen
I enjoyed Clear by Carys Davies recently, mainly set on an island during the Highland Clearances, about two men without a shared language and their relationship. Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher is a folk horror set on a Scottish Island. In fact, continuing my Scottish Island theme there's also Sea Bean (Sally Huband) and The Outrun (Amy Liptrot), two different but really engagingly personal non-fiction tales of people escaping to Orkney and Shetland, and how the landscape and experience changes them. And of course Douglas Stewart is amazing if you want something a little more gritty and urban.
If you could take one book to a desert island, what would it be? – Nina
Logically, I should take the largest possible book right? So, it would be The Complete Works Of Shakespeare. Or something infinitely curious like The House Of Leaves. Or maybe I'd cheat and take The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Five Parts because it is technically one book and I do love that series. Actually, I might take a notebook and write my own book whilst there.
What made you want to be a bookseller? – Anji
I'd spent my thirties working hard for little reward in music and culture, and on the brink of forty, had just moved to a new home in a new country. A bookshop was the answer to a lot of questions for me. What do I actually enjoy? How can I be useful in my community? What kind of lifestyle do I want for me and my family? I feel I'm doing ok as "rural bookseller in small town", but I’m sure I'd be lost at one of the bigger shops. This is great for me!
What is your go-to book to get out of a reading slump? – Libby
I think this is a good question because a slump can be an annoying thing. A run of books you don't like so much, or that are simply too long and a drag can really throw you off. My way out of this is to read a graphic novel. I usually go back to one I’ve not read for a couple of years that I know is enjoyable. It works for me because I enjoy the read but I also know I'll finish it in a day or two. It's a really good reset, to have the pleasure of having finished something gets me excited for the next thing.
Do you remember the first book you ever sold? – Lucy, age 8
The first day we opened was our busiest day ever. It felt like the whole town came out to wish us well and I didn't stop moving all day! So I didn’t remember, but I've checked my computer and apparently at 9:08am on the day we opened our first sale was… Pokémon Epic Stickers!
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