One of things I have been enjoying the most while spending so much time at home is reading. It’s proving to be the perfect form of escapism, which is what we all need at the moment! While it’s tempting to order lots of books from enormous corporations like Amazon, there are plenty of fantastic independent bookstores out there with lots of stock – so, why not support them instead? This is where Pigeon Books comes in. Located in Southsea, Portsmouth on the ever bustling Albert Road, Pigeon Books is a small independent bookshop run by Mel & Phil.
Pigeon Books originally started small, with Mel & Phil running a market stall regularly in Southsea. They now have their own shop on Albert Road, which is opening today after refurbishing. It’s a very exciting day for them!
I’m yet to visit the shop for a browse, but I’m very much looking forward to stopping by soon – I love their curated selection of books and the decor is fantastic.
Pigeon Books are proud of their inclusive range of books, stocking fiction, non-fiction, LGBT+ lit & a diverse selection of children’s books. There is plenty of inspiration for your next read on their website, and I enjoy exploring their carefully chosen books as a lot of them I haven’t come across before.
At the beginning of lockdown (which, unfortunately for Mel & Phil, coincided with their plans to open the new shop premises), Pigeon Books upped their online selection of books and started increasing their website sales, with both local delivery and postage options on offer. For many locals living in Southsea, books were being delivered by bike just hours after ordering – now that is an excellent service!
I placed an order for some books that I’d been wanting to read for a while, as well as one I’d never heard of before – which arrived very promptly the next day.
As my to be read stack of books is rather large at the moment, I haven’t yet managed to read these yet – but I’ve heard excellent things about all three books. Here are the titles I purchased:
Norse Mythology – Neil Gaiman
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
The Good People – Hannah Kent
Pigeon Books also stock an excellent selection of educational books, tackling issues surrounding racism – following on from the Black Lives Matter protests over the last few weeks. I’d recommend reading Queenie, and I also have Girl, Woman, Other and Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race waiting to be read. If you can’t find a specific title that you’re looking for, you are also able to request an order for that book via the website.
You might also like this post, 5 Book Reviews from April
If you’re looking for inspiration for your next reads and fancy supporting a fantastic local independent bookshop, I would absolutely recommend purchasing some books from Pigeon Books. Mel & Phil are lovely, and their business is already thriving despite opening a permanent store in the middle of a pandemic – a challenging time for businesses! Their customer service is fantastic and now that their shop is open, you can either browse in person or order online.
You can find Pigeon Books at 1 Albert Road, Southsea, PO5 2SE – or you can browse their website here.
You might also like this post, 16 Books on my Lockdown Reading List
Always good to use small independent shops and pigeon books sounds just great 👍