Last year in the run up to Christmas I had one of the most lovely days out courtesy of a birthday gift from my husband. He had (with only the tiniest of hints) bought me a gift voucher for a book spa at the joyously named ‘Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights’ in Bath.
The excitement began for me the moment I emailed Mr B’s to book myself in. As soon as I had a date sorted I was asked to write back with some information about what I liked to read, and the authors I most enjoyed. The purpose of this was to pair me up with a bookseller best suited to my tastes. I duly wrote back with a long list of books and authors I love, the type of reading and reader I am and what styles appeal to me most. I love to talk about and write about books, and I had to apply some serious self editing to stop my reply becoming and epistle.
On the day itself I arrived at the glorious shop in Bath a few minutes early and was given an immediately warm welcome before being led upstairs to a small and quirky room tucked away between book shelves. I was offered tea and cake before I met the lovely Amy who was to be my book spa host for the next couple of hours.
After I was furnished with tea and a deliciously rich chocolate brownie we got down to the business of books. Amy had the information I had previously sent and we started chatting through the books I had listed as favourites. We chatted for about half an hour as Amy asked me lots of questions about what I enjoyed about particular types of books what genres I especially enjoyed and the types of books I would not want to read. I could immediately see why I had been paired with Amy we had lot of books in common. After lots of book chat Amy went off to find me a selection of books to look through. Meanwhile I wandered around the top floor of the book shop picking up books at will, and flicking through the Mr B’s Christmas catalogue.
Eventually Amy returned with a pile of around 20 books she had hand chosen for me based on everything we had talked about. I was very excited. We settled ourselves down into some comfy chairs amongst the books and Amy began to explain why she had chosen each one and what she thought I would enjoy about it. I was bowled over by her knowledge and her accuracy of choice. Some of the books she brought to me I had already read; which I saw as a good sign, she clearly had a great understanding of the books I love to read.
As Amy diligently went through the books, she then handed them to me and I put them into piles of definites, maybes and probably nots, (of which there were hardly any!) It was such a treat to spend so long chatting books and getting ideas from someone who clearly had a huge understanding and love of books and reading. Amy said she actually found it quite hard to find books for me, because I had been so enthusiastic about so many genres and styles. She struggled to pare down her selection.
After a wonderful time chatting and flicking through the pages, Amy left me to look through the books again on my own. The book spa includes a £55 voucher to spend on books, so it was time to narrow down my choices and decide what I was going to buy. It was hard. There were a couple which I think I new I instantly wanted to read. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman was one these. It was a novel I had read about previously and felt confident I would love. I decided I wanted to choose books which were different to each other and preferably by authors I had never read before. I wanted something long and epic, I wanted something that evoked memories of travel or inspired me to travel more, but I also something old fashioned and genteel.
After much heart searching I eventually narrowed my choices down to the 7 you can see in the picture below. I wandered back down stairs with my choices and was congratulated by Amy and a couple of the other booksellers on my final selection. It was clearly down to their expertise not mine! The treat of handing over all the books, having them put in to a Mr B’s tote bag with a mug and not having to pay more than a few pence (I had slightly exceeded the £55 limit) was beyond exciting. I practically skipped to the station with my bounty, already deliberating with myself over which I would read first.
Mr B’s is a wonderfully welcoming, well stocked book shop. The staff are generous with their time and have a wealth of knowledge and bookish understanding. There are many reasons to visit Bath, but I would return simply to visit Mr B’s alone.
