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Receipts From the Bookshop: A Bookseller's Year
Many of us dream of owning a bookshop but for Katie Clapham it happened by accident, when she moved back to the seaside town she grew up in and went into business with her mum.
Once a week, Katie sits behind the counter and chronicles the day's comings and goings - mostly people who were actually hoping to catch her mother. The triumphs here are small but a tea crisis averted, a book title correctly identified from a cryptic clutch of clues. Not to mention the emotional rollercoaster of being named the 7th Best Bookshop in the Country by The Times in a week where daily takings came to around £16.98.
Customers appear for a browse and a chat, in search of a recommendation or the perfect gift. Others enter the shop for more unexpected reasons - to borrow a screwdriver, locate a priest or simply to ask if there's 'a nice place for an omelette around here'. Each day brings its own joys and frustrations, though not always in equal measure . . .
Funny, surprising and affectionate, here is a bookseller's year in all its weirdness and wonder - a life-affirming celebration of bad weather, good books and the irreplaceable role of a local bookshop.
Once a week, Katie sits behind the counter and chronicles the day's comings and goings - mostly people who were actually hoping to catch her mother. The triumphs here are small but a tea crisis averted, a book title correctly identified from a cryptic clutch of clues. Not to mention the emotional rollercoaster of being named the 7th Best Bookshop in the Country by The Times in a week where daily takings came to around £16.98.
Customers appear for a browse and a chat, in search of a recommendation or the perfect gift. Others enter the shop for more unexpected reasons - to borrow a screwdriver, locate a priest or simply to ask if there's 'a nice place for an omelette around here'. Each day brings its own joys and frustrations, though not always in equal measure . . .
Funny, surprising and affectionate, here is a bookseller's year in all its weirdness and wonder - a life-affirming celebration of bad weather, good books and the irreplaceable role of a local bookshop.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2026
About the author
Katie Clapham
6 books25 followersKatie graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London with a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing and an MA in Poetic Practice.
After spending three years working in editorial production for an orthopaedic research journal, Katie left London to do some soul searching on the Isle of Skye in the depths of winter. When she came back she opened a bookshop with her mum in her home town of Lytham St. Annes (Storytellers, Inc., December 2010). Named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2011 and Young Bookseller of the Year in 2012, Storytellers, Inc. has been nominated for Bookseller Industry Awards seven times over four years. Katie sits on the executive committees of the BA Children’s Book Group and for World Book Day, and reviews books every month for Booktrust and BBC Radio Lancashire. Through Storytellers, Inc., Katie produces an annual calendar of picture book illustration, and a companion KS1 project that is delivered to classrooms across the country in collaboration with other bookshops.
She is also a freelance copy-editor and proof-reader and much prefers working on children’s books to research papers about hip replacement surgery.
After spending three years working in editorial production for an orthopaedic research journal, Katie left London to do some soul searching on the Isle of Skye in the depths of winter. When she came back she opened a bookshop with her mum in her home town of Lytham St. Annes (Storytellers, Inc., December 2010). Named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2011 and Young Bookseller of the Year in 2012, Storytellers, Inc. has been nominated for Bookseller Industry Awards seven times over four years. Katie sits on the executive committees of the BA Children’s Book Group and for World Book Day, and reviews books every month for Booktrust and BBC Radio Lancashire. Through Storytellers, Inc., Katie produces an annual calendar of picture book illustration, and a companion KS1 project that is delivered to classrooms across the country in collaboration with other bookshops.
She is also a freelance copy-editor and proof-reader and much prefers working on children’s books to research papers about hip replacement surgery.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 17, 2026
Funny. Charming. Delightful. I read this in less than a day because every anecdote was better than the last. If you have worked in a bookstore, if you like shopping at bookstores, if you like books, if you like humor, then this book is for you.
If I’m ever feeling down, this is the book I will pick up and randomly open and know, without doubt, that it will make me feel better.
If I’m ever feeling down, this is the book I will pick up and randomly open and know, without doubt, that it will make me feel better.
June 9, 2026
Receipts from the Bookshop is a year in the life of Katie Clapham's real life actual bookshop in St Annes on Sea, which is in Lancashire and near Lytham and also the (probably) better known Blackpool. It's based on her Substack of the same name which I used to read faithfully until substack changed the way they send their emails (or I changed something in my settings on substack who can tell) and then got a bit behind. But that's ok because now there is a book! And the fact that I didn't remember reading much of it before suggests that that substack change happened longer ago than I thought - or that I was less faithful than I thought!
If you're a book person - and I assume from the fact that you're reading this that you are - then this is a wonderful insight into what it's like to own your own bookshop and as a bonus it will also give you plenty of ideas for books to read. I concluded (and told Him Indoors this) that I could not own a bookshop because I would buy myself too many books and/or crack the spines in the stock and turn them into secondhand books before they'd even been first hand. It's a delightful soothing read with plenty of regular characters popping in and out of the shop through the year. Personally I would like to emulate the person who has a list of their required books (new hardbacks) on a personalised piece of stationery. That's the sort of vibes that I would like to have. I mean I don't - because although I love hardbacks I am bad at reading them because they're not as portable as my other options.
Anyway, this is delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it on the commute and it would make a lovely gift for the bookish person in your life. And you can even buy it straight from Katie's shop Booksellers Inc via Bookshop.org or by emailing the shop direct if you want a signed one.
***Copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration. All opinions are my own.****
If you're a book person - and I assume from the fact that you're reading this that you are - then this is a wonderful insight into what it's like to own your own bookshop and as a bonus it will also give you plenty of ideas for books to read. I concluded (and told Him Indoors this) that I could not own a bookshop because I would buy myself too many books and/or crack the spines in the stock and turn them into secondhand books before they'd even been first hand. It's a delightful soothing read with plenty of regular characters popping in and out of the shop through the year. Personally I would like to emulate the person who has a list of their required books (new hardbacks) on a personalised piece of stationery. That's the sort of vibes that I would like to have. I mean I don't - because although I love hardbacks I am bad at reading them because they're not as portable as my other options.
Anyway, this is delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it on the commute and it would make a lovely gift for the bookish person in your life. And you can even buy it straight from Katie's shop Booksellers Inc via Bookshop.org or by emailing the shop direct if you want a signed one.
***Copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration. All opinions are my own.****
June 14, 2026
This book made me miss working in a bookshop
June 15, 2026
4,5 stars! A very wholesome, light read. Laughed out loud a few times as well. Perfect if you just want to relax with a cup of tea.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
There have been several books over the last few years, containing a year’s musings from booksellers. However, Katie Clapham’s new book, Receipts from the Bookshop: A Bookseller's Year, really resonated with me. There is, undoubtedly, something special about a bookshop. As the author states, “There is no shop I go to as regularly as some of my customers come to my bookshop” and she’s right. I visit my local independent bookshop even more than the local supermarket – and with much more joy. At least once a month, I call to pick up a book I’ve ordered. Once a week, I’ll go in to browse the latest stock, perhaps buying a newly published book on impulse. On other days, I will find myself passing the shop – and I’ll pop in, just to say hello.
Every page of this book echoed my experiences. Firstly, my local is staffed by ladies. Jane has taken over the management of it from her Mum, Anne, who is still heavily involved and seen behind the counter most weeks. Secondly, I often enter the bookshop to find boxes from the latest delivery stacked high with Jane or Deborah wondering how to delicately insert these books onto already groaning shelves and tables. Thirdly, I can sense the careful thought behind which books to order; and how many copies of each. You can empathise with Katie Clapham, when she has to tell a customer that she doesn’t have a book in stock today because she’s just sold the last copy and the customer says, “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll order it online and receive it tomorrow.” But an indie bookseller can also order a book for you today and have it waiting for you tomorrow. I know because my bookshop does it all the time.
Yes, of course, I could buy some books cheaper from that infamous omnipresent online retailer of everything, or even from a well-known high street stationery chain or supermarket. However, do note that it is **some** books, not **all** books. The smallest indie bookshop will typically offer a much wider selection than any of the above. There is one large UK high street bookshop chain where, again, you will find some books cheaper than a small indie bookshop. However, would you prefer the tiny profit made from the sale of a book to go to a local family with whom you or your children went to school and who support local schools, or to the American investment-management company that now own the large high street chain?
I’ve realised that I wrote “my bookshop” above – and I think that’s how all real book-lovers perceive their local bookshop. The shop is a friend and, like all friends, there should be reciprocal support. I buy books from my bookshop because I want to support them and to make sure they’ll still be around for me next year. In return, they order books that they think people like me will enjoy and want to take home. It would be easy to do as supermarkets do, to just stock 10-20 books by household names, regardless of literary merit, e.g. ghosted auto-biographies of people who are famous for being famous. However, you won’t find a well-researched book about your town in that supermarket; nor school textbooks; nor many, many, other books that prove to be hugely interesting when you pick them up and glance at a couple of pages. And that’s the huge disadvantage of that online retailer: you can’t pick up an unexpected book and admire the cover (both front and back); look at any bibliography or notes; and, bluntly, decide whether it will give you pleasure from a blind date. The online retailer sells you titles that you type into its search function. That is, it sells you books you already know you want. My bookshop offers me books I didn’t know I wanted until I picked them up.
Bookshops also used to get 30% of a book’s cover price (although I think that be less these days) but that online retailer demands 50-60%, thus leaving less for the publisher and far less for the author. A typical (non-household name) author works for far less than the minimum wage. That doesn’t encourage either authors or publishers to persist with what they do. If we want books in the future, we need to nurture all parts of the supply chain – and that means paying a fair price for books, not as little as we can get away with.
Katie Clapham captures the pain and the pleasure of that business beautifully in this book. The agony of committing scarce money by taking a risk and purchasing some copies of books by new, unknown authors; and the ecstasy of selling them, vindicating her decision. If you want to know what it’s really like to run a bookshop, buy this book – or take your local bookshop owner a bar of chocolate and talk to her. (Oh, and buy a book in return for her time!)
#ReceiptsFromtheBookshop #NetGalley
Every page of this book echoed my experiences. Firstly, my local is staffed by ladies. Jane has taken over the management of it from her Mum, Anne, who is still heavily involved and seen behind the counter most weeks. Secondly, I often enter the bookshop to find boxes from the latest delivery stacked high with Jane or Deborah wondering how to delicately insert these books onto already groaning shelves and tables. Thirdly, I can sense the careful thought behind which books to order; and how many copies of each. You can empathise with Katie Clapham, when she has to tell a customer that she doesn’t have a book in stock today because she’s just sold the last copy and the customer says, “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll order it online and receive it tomorrow.” But an indie bookseller can also order a book for you today and have it waiting for you tomorrow. I know because my bookshop does it all the time.
Yes, of course, I could buy some books cheaper from that infamous omnipresent online retailer of everything, or even from a well-known high street stationery chain or supermarket. However, do note that it is **some** books, not **all** books. The smallest indie bookshop will typically offer a much wider selection than any of the above. There is one large UK high street bookshop chain where, again, you will find some books cheaper than a small indie bookshop. However, would you prefer the tiny profit made from the sale of a book to go to a local family with whom you or your children went to school and who support local schools, or to the American investment-management company that now own the large high street chain?
I’ve realised that I wrote “my bookshop” above – and I think that’s how all real book-lovers perceive their local bookshop. The shop is a friend and, like all friends, there should be reciprocal support. I buy books from my bookshop because I want to support them and to make sure they’ll still be around for me next year. In return, they order books that they think people like me will enjoy and want to take home. It would be easy to do as supermarkets do, to just stock 10-20 books by household names, regardless of literary merit, e.g. ghosted auto-biographies of people who are famous for being famous. However, you won’t find a well-researched book about your town in that supermarket; nor school textbooks; nor many, many, other books that prove to be hugely interesting when you pick them up and glance at a couple of pages. And that’s the huge disadvantage of that online retailer: you can’t pick up an unexpected book and admire the cover (both front and back); look at any bibliography or notes; and, bluntly, decide whether it will give you pleasure from a blind date. The online retailer sells you titles that you type into its search function. That is, it sells you books you already know you want. My bookshop offers me books I didn’t know I wanted until I picked them up.
Bookshops also used to get 30% of a book’s cover price (although I think that be less these days) but that online retailer demands 50-60%, thus leaving less for the publisher and far less for the author. A typical (non-household name) author works for far less than the minimum wage. That doesn’t encourage either authors or publishers to persist with what they do. If we want books in the future, we need to nurture all parts of the supply chain – and that means paying a fair price for books, not as little as we can get away with.
Katie Clapham captures the pain and the pleasure of that business beautifully in this book. The agony of committing scarce money by taking a risk and purchasing some copies of books by new, unknown authors; and the ecstasy of selling them, vindicating her decision. If you want to know what it’s really like to run a bookshop, buy this book – or take your local bookshop owner a bar of chocolate and talk to her. (Oh, and buy a book in return for her time!)
#ReceiptsFromtheBookshop #NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was very kindly given an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group.
I wonder if we could get this book prescribed on the NHS. Or just shoved into the hands of people who say they buy all their books in the supermarket or on Amazon. Told in snippets from bookshop shifts over a year, 'Receipts From The Bookshop' is a charming memoir-of-sorts about bookseller Katie Clapham's time behind the counter at Storyteller's Inc. For book lovers, it will put you in mind of your local / favourite bookshop and the wonderful people you meet there. For everyone else, I hope it encourages you to seek out your local bookshops and make yourself a patron of them. They're an essential part of our high streets. It's a delightful book aided by Chapman's funny and accessible writing - I snort laughed on multiple occasions reading this.
If you've ever imagined yourself running a bookshop then 1) read this book and 2) look up the shop in Wigtown, Scotland, where you can ACTUALLY do that.
'Receipts From The Bookshop' is available from June 4th.
I wonder if we could get this book prescribed on the NHS. Or just shoved into the hands of people who say they buy all their books in the supermarket or on Amazon. Told in snippets from bookshop shifts over a year, 'Receipts From The Bookshop' is a charming memoir-of-sorts about bookseller Katie Clapham's time behind the counter at Storyteller's Inc. For book lovers, it will put you in mind of your local / favourite bookshop and the wonderful people you meet there. For everyone else, I hope it encourages you to seek out your local bookshops and make yourself a patron of them. They're an essential part of our high streets. It's a delightful book aided by Chapman's funny and accessible writing - I snort laughed on multiple occasions reading this.
If you've ever imagined yourself running a bookshop then 1) read this book and 2) look up the shop in Wigtown, Scotland, where you can ACTUALLY do that.
'Receipts From The Bookshop' is available from June 4th.
June 11, 2026
It's true - the world has some bad things in it right now.
But this book doesn't! It has none of those things! Literally none! It's filled with only the very best of the good stuff.
Over the course of a year of Fridays in an independent bookshop on the British coast, some things happen and the shop's owner tells us about them. That's about it. Are they big things? No. Are they dramatic things? Well, there's a bit where she's locked out for half an hour, but otherwise no. But are they funny things? Oh god yes. It's the funniest thing I've read in years. Plus there's just so much heart in it too. Bookselling is a noble and endangered tradition, and this book just shows how dearly it needs to be protected.
In these trying times, you owe it to yourself to read it.
And you owe it to the passionate independent bookseller that wrote it to read it too.
And if you've stolen this book, you DEFINITELY owe something to the shop you took it from. Come on now - you're better that that.
But this book doesn't! It has none of those things! Literally none! It's filled with only the very best of the good stuff.
Over the course of a year of Fridays in an independent bookshop on the British coast, some things happen and the shop's owner tells us about them. That's about it. Are they big things? No. Are they dramatic things? Well, there's a bit where she's locked out for half an hour, but otherwise no. But are they funny things? Oh god yes. It's the funniest thing I've read in years. Plus there's just so much heart in it too. Bookselling is a noble and endangered tradition, and this book just shows how dearly it needs to be protected.
In these trying times, you owe it to yourself to read it.
And you owe it to the passionate independent bookseller that wrote it to read it too.
And if you've stolen this book, you DEFINITELY owe something to the shop you took it from. Come on now - you're better that that.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I was very pleased to receive an advance review copy of Receipts From The Bookshop by Katie Clapham because who doesn't love a bookshop? Clapham shares the characters who come into her shop and gives a glimpse into the daily life of a bookseller.
I often laughed out loud, particularly at the random comments from passersby as well as those from customers. Alongside those, there are plenty of lovely book buyers too.
I appreciated the way the book is split into months, and I’m fairly sure I recognised every adult title mentioned. That said, I did find myself wanting a bit more; especially about the bookshop book club. I really wanted to know what they were reading and more about any other events happening there.
It definitely left me with a strong urge to visit an independent bookshop.
I often laughed out loud, particularly at the random comments from passersby as well as those from customers. Alongside those, there are plenty of lovely book buyers too.
I appreciated the way the book is split into months, and I’m fairly sure I recognised every adult title mentioned. That said, I did find myself wanting a bit more; especially about the bookshop book club. I really wanted to know what they were reading and more about any other events happening there.
It definitely left me with a strong urge to visit an independent bookshop.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I had been subscribing to the author's Substack for a while, so when I discovered that she had written a book about her time working in the bookshop, I was very keen to read it. It did not disappoint; I loved her astute observations, comments and hilarious dialogue. Wonderful.
I'll be buying this one as a gift; from my local bookshop, of course.
With grateful thanks to Orion Publishing Group, Katie Clapham and especially to NetGalley, for an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I'll be buying this one as a gift; from my local bookshop, of course.
With grateful thanks to Orion Publishing Group, Katie Clapham and especially to NetGalley, for an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What a charming book!
Katie shares the stories of her life running an independent bookshop - each month documented with books she recommends to her loyal customers, quips from passers-by and the bottom line - whether they end the month in the green or the red. These moments are sometimes poignant, often humorous, occasionally heartbreaking.
Anyone who loves books and bookshops will feel at home within the pages of Receipts from the Bookshop.
Katie shares the stories of her life running an independent bookshop - each month documented with books she recommends to her loyal customers, quips from passers-by and the bottom line - whether they end the month in the green or the red. These moments are sometimes poignant, often humorous, occasionally heartbreaking.
Anyone who loves books and bookshops will feel at home within the pages of Receipts from the Bookshop.
June 8, 2026
This book was cozy, easy, and felt like stepping into home; as all readers truly feel at home in a bookstore. While it was interesting to sit in a book sellers eyes to see how they see us customers, I couldn't help but yearn for a bit more information on the shop itself or the lovely family running it. Either way, a quick and easy read that celebrates all that bookstores have to give us.
Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this book!
Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this book!
June 14, 2026
If you’ve ever worked in a bookstore for many, many years like I have, you’ll see just how relatable this memoir is! I thought this was well written, the narrator was a joy to listen to and it was genuinely funny. The monologues and general day to day operations and interactions with customers were so accurate! Please read if you want an insight into the ins and outs of working in a small independent bookshop. I loved!
June 4, 2026
This book is a cozy read. It’s about the story of Katie’s journey as an owner at a bookstore. She started her story out from January to December. Also, she explained about the customers, books, and working with her mother. This book shows that there’s a sense of joy at a bookstore. It also shows the life inside a bookstore.
June 10, 2026
Fun, relaxing, interesting little book about the day to day (Fridays) life in a family run indie bookstore.
I’m surprised to see how many people saying they love the bookstore/must go in, then walk right pass the bookshop 😂
I’m surprised to see how many people saying they love the bookstore/must go in, then walk right pass the bookshop 😂
June 19, 2026
We all dream of owning a bookshop, don’t we?! Well now I dream of owning a bookshop AND being as funny as Katie Clapham. LOVED this - it made me laugh out loud A LOT and the end brought a little tear to my eye. RECOMMEND.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A delightful look at the day to day of running a bookshop.
This captures the highs, lows and weirdness in a very warm way.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
This captures the highs, lows and weirdness in a very warm way.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
June 6, 2026
Read this book as soon as you can get your hands on it. I ordered it from the UK so I wouldn’t have to wait! Loved.
June 11, 2026
Comfort read in a time of need. Light as a feather and warm as a duvet. Made me feel (rightly) guilty about buying from Waterstones, let alone Amazon.
June 20, 2026
Loved the audiobook and will need to get a shelf trophy.
Longer review to come.
Longer review to come.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews