The Open Book

Bookshop residency in Scotland's National Book Town

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Day 4

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Huge thank you to everyone who came by the shop for our meet the author event this afternoon! We really enjoyed getting to meet so many people in town. Especially another budding author/illustrator!

Between the event and the sunny morning, we wound up having 26 people visit the shop today. That’s the most we’ve seen yet! Though everyone keeps telling us that it’s very quiet this time of year. Perhaps that’s for the best, since it gave me time to get some writing done.

We had a busy day even before our event began, since we realized that the Bladnoch Distillery isn’t open on Sundays or Mondays, so today was our last chance to visit. We snuck in there for a cheeky morning tasting at 11am (Scotch breakfast, anyone?), and then walked off the whiskey fumes by visiting the Martyr’s Stake to watch the official inauguration of the new boardwalk. Very moving to hear about the history of the site and the reason behind the new walkway.

On my way back to the shop to start setting up our treats, I couldn’t resist popping into New Chapter Books to snag a copy of a witchy book that caught my eye. Luckily, people partook of our offerings at the event, so I’ve got enough suitcase room for a few bookish souvenirs now.

Total visitors: 26!

Daily sales: £22.00

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Filed under books wigtown bookshop booklover bookworm reading

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Day 3

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We got a rare glimpse of sunshine today. Despite the (relatively) nice weather, we didn’t have too many visitors, though. Perhaps everyone was out walking! We explored a bit more of town, touring a few of the antique shops, as well as sampling lunch at Cafe Rendezvous for the first time. The scones were delicious! For dinner, we ventured down to Garlieston to eat at the Harbour Inn, which several people have recommended. They were right - we thoroughly enjoyed the sea bass. But we liked the toasty fire and the views of the harbor even more! Total visitors: 6 Total sales: £4.50

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Day 1 at The Open Book was a whirlwind!
We were a bit tired from our adventures getting here - Google Maps took us the scenic route, which would’ve been nice if not for the fog that rolled in while we were up a narrow road on a cliff’s edge in Galloway Forest Park. Luckily, we dodged all the guinea fowl, deer, and frogs hopping across the road to get to the store just half an hour late.
After setting up a display for Women’s History Month and a travel display featuring places we’ve been, my mom and I went for a walk to get the lay of the land.
Wigtown is a dream come true for book lovers like us! I’m an author and my mom was a newspaper editor, so we’re both big readers. I can already tell that our biggest challenge will be keeping our suitcase under airline weight by the time we leave Wigtown!
Total visitors: 10
Total sales: £2.00

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On Day 2 we started to find our rhythm.
We figured out our opening times for the week - aiming for around 10am-3pm most days! And we got our signs hung.
I also made a flyer for the event we’re hosting this Saturday. My Canva skills are not great, but thankfully several friendly people around town let us hang the poster in their windows anyway!

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Everyone here is so welcoming. We’ve met so many interesting people already, including another Ellen who works at the Farm Shop! (It’s rare to meet Ellens in our age range, we both agreed.)

On my way into New Chapter Books to drop off a flyer, I got roped into helping out with a photoshoot. We were aiming for a Dali-inspired image with books flying through the frame, but I’m not sure how close to the original we came.

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After sacrilegiously tossing several romance novels around, I stopped by The Old Bank Bookshop, where I picked up an intriguing-looking fantasy novel about booksellers from Joyce and Ian. As a fantasy author and a temporary bookseller (at least for this week!) the Left-Handed Booksellers of London seems right up my alley. We popped into The Galloway Bar for a wee dram of scotch to warm us up before heading back home for the night.

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Before I dive too deep into my new book, though, I need to finish reading the copy of Jessica’s memoir. I love reading about Wigtown while I’m here - it makes the whole story really come alive!

We didn’t have many visitors today, due to the rain, but I’m excited to see what tomorrow will bring.
Total Visitors: 5
Sales: £5.50

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The final post, for real now…

Instead of selling books, we seem to have successfully purchased quite a few, so here’s our haul. The challenge will be fitting them into our suitcase…

We made such a great discovery after our shift today, that we wanted to share it with you: At The Sign Of the Dragon is a bookshop selling sci-fi and fantasy books, tucked away from the main streets of Wigtown in an unassuming garage. We missed it at first, and thought it had closed down, but upon closer inspection, we were able to find this hidden gem! Do stop by if you can, it’s certainly worth it!

Also, thank you very much to Mr. Shaun Bythell at The Book Shop, who very kindly signed all three of his books that Nami bought and had some lovely words for us.

Thank you for having us, Wigtown! We had a great time.

Filed under theopenbook wigtown books scotland

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Day 4 aka the Last Day

Footfall: 8
Books sold: 1 (by ourselves)

Today was an unusually quiet day, but we also had an unusually long lunch break in between which may explain the lack of sales. Nonetheless, we had another lovely day back at the shop after our day out yesterday.

We started the day off with a slice of coffee cake and a scone with jam and cream from Reading Lasses. Not a bad breakfast!

Back at the shop, we rearranged the display. Today’s theme was “Around the World”, though we were sad to discover that there were no travel books on Japan.

For lunch, we met up with the rest of the family at Cobwebs for the first time. There were some roasts, a lovely soup, and a big hairy spider (don’t worry, it was stuffed). We then headed of to Reading Lasses for even more cake – you can tell it was our last day!

We had a few visitors in the afternoon, but will close up shop now and take one last wander around town to buy any more books we need.

We’ve really enjoyed our stay in Wigtown and we hope anyone reading this blog will be inspired to come down and pay a visit!

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Day 3

Footfall: 10
Books sold: 2
Books bought: 3

A bit late, but here is a summary of our third day in lovely Wigtown. Marina opened the shop alone today, as Nami had plans to go to a gin tasting at a nearby distillery with the other family members who were staying in Newton Stewart.

It was a somewhat slow day, but a few visitors came by. One older gentleman came looking for a specific travel guide, which we unfortunately did not have in stock. He instead left with a children’s book for his granddaughter, which was very sweet.

For lunch, I again went to Reading Lasses for the soup and sandwich combo. On the way back to the shop, I popped by a couple of stores: Byre Books and the Wigtown Emporium.

I had been quite curious about Byre Books since the day we had arrived in Wigtown. It looked so whimsical and magical, tucked away behind a little path with lots of greenery. The warm light in the window beckoned me to enter, and I found some great gems there such as a six-volume set of Gibbon’s Roman Empire, which would be a little too heavy for our suitcase. I did end up buying Visions by Michio Kaku.

At the Wigtown Emporium, I was greeted by a very sleepy corgi (of whom I sadly did not take a photo). It was nice to finally pop by this shop, as it’s right across the street from the Open Book, and - from what we had heard - they sell everything there from sticks for Dumbledore costumes to vintage clothes and soap. I discovered a Penguin Clothbound Classics edition of Dickens’ Bleak House in great condition and knew I had to get it.

The afternoon shift was uneventful, though I did get some studying done. The wind knocked our boards around a bit, so hanging them up might not be the best option on windy days. After closing up, I went to the famous Book Shop and marvelled at the shelves upon shelves of books. I will definitely be coming back here before we leave. For now, I bought a collection of short stories by H.G. Wells for Nami.

That’s it for now! The shop will be closed on Sunday, as we will be going clay pigeon shooting (though the rainy weather does not seem ideal). Also here’s your reminder that Sunday is Mother’s Day, for those of you living in the UK who might need to get a last-minute bouquet!

See you on Monday for our last day at the Open Book.

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Day 2

Footfall: 13
Books sold: 1

Started our second day with this iconic view from our living room window, overlooking the Wigtown High Street. Today was International Women’s Day, so we selected some books for the display and prepared the board. It took a while to find a good collection of books, but we were quite happy with it in the end.

Marina started reading “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982”, which seems in sync with the theme of the day. So far, it’s been a very interesting read.

We also added our stickers to the world map - the first Open Bookers from Japan!

For lunch, we went to Reading Lasses down the road, which we were looking forward to because of the plentiful good reviews left by previous Open Bookers. It did not disappoint! Nami had a pea and coriander soup with a farm pate and caramelised onion sandwich (not pictured), and Marina had the Nourish Bowl, which was very nourishing indeed. We loved the cute teacups and cakes - we had a rose and pistachio cake and a chocolate and velvet cake, both delicious.

Today was a quiet day at the bookstore, with a few people popping by. A local gentleman popped by in the morning to see how we were getting along, which was very kind. Apparently he used to be a bookseller for thirty odd years in Wigtown.

The only book we sold today was “Eagles and Angels” by Juli Zeh, which we sold to ourselves. What a coincidence that we found the book, as Marina had just recently read “Leere Herzen” by the same author.

We’re looking forward to the weekend and plan to open tomorrow from 10:30 to 16:00 again, but will be closed on Sunday. Hope to see you there!

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Day 1

Footfall: 11
Books sold: 5

Not a bad start. Got very excited when we sold our first book. Proceeded to buy three books at the Old Bank Bookshop, where we were greeted by Joyce and Ian in their costumes for World Book Day.

Had some lovely cake and tea from Cafe Rendezvous across the street.

Tried our hand at creative writing on the board, but quickly realised we were not that talented. But oh well, we tried.

All in all, a good day. Closing up now to go see the event at the town centre.

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Excited to start our bookshop journey after two years of waiting!

We arrived yesterday afternoon and were very warmly welcomed by Joyce from The Old Bank Bookshop down the road, who kindly gave us a tour of Wigtown. Then, she and her husband Ian invited us for a lovely meal in Newton Stuart, where we also met Alastair Chisholm, a children’s book author, and Andy from the Wigtown Festival Company.

What a great start to a fantastic holiday!

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Friday at The Open Book was a really lovely day – there were lots of customers visiting the area, and while I didn’t always have what they wanted (One Day is popular at the moment, for obvious reasons!) others did find something else that tickled their fancy.

I headed out to lunch at ReadingLasses (I can’t seem to stay away) and got the broccoli soup and a brownie – they really are famous for a reason. While I was there I met a lovely woman who is opening a chocolate shop nearby – check out OmeTeotl to find out when she’ll start selling her artisan cocoa!

On my way back, I stopped into The Wigtown Emporium and loved exploring the three rooms for treasure. I couldn’t leave without taking home a bronze camel, and I seriously love the elephant – not sure where I’d put it in my one-bed flat in London though! There’s plenty to see so I really recommend a visit.

That evening, I headed to the Newton Stewart cinema to see Wicked Little Letters. Again, I really recommend checking out what’s showing if you’re in the area and spending an evening in the cinema’s grand surroundings. If you can handle a bit (a lot) of blue language, I also suggest seeing this remarkable and hilarious true story.

Customers: 13

Takings: £10.50

Outgoings: Bronze camel, locally-made soap, a magnet and yes, some books

Currently reading: The Glass Cliff by Sophie Williams (finished), Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson

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