Clare’s Bookshelf

Hello there, I am the bookshop owner Clare, if you came to my home a stack of books would eventually build near where you sat, “one more you have to see”. Near almost every chair in my home, there’s a stack of some sort. There’s lots of Seamus Heaney, like many of course, I find his writing so intensely moving and relatable. I would recommend Death of a Naturalist firstly, although his Beowulf is also high on my list to share.

I only started reading seriously as an adult in my early thirties. I joined a book club through my children’s school, initially to meet other mums. I soon found myself depending on these welcoming monthly get-togethers’ and the important friendships that came with it. Even if we didn’t enjoy the books it didn’t matter one jot, sharing the experience was the objective. The routine of making time to read soon became part of life, and the desire to read more and learn more and share has never left. Here are a few books I would pull off my personal shelves at home to recommend. They are an eclectic mix, in no particular order, I would no doubt slip in Girl, Woman, Other, some Rachel Cusk and some translated works from Charco Press, some Austen, and almost definitely a cookery book.

Request any books below here.

The Half God of Rainfall by Inua Ellams

This book immediately pulls you under, before you know where you are you are invested in the mythological characters. It’s impossible not to give in to the journey, not questioning the narrative or turn of events. It’s storytelling at its best and you can read it in one sitting. Like me you may pause throughout, just to admire the skilfulness, of the structure and rhythm of the poem. It is so incredibly clever, and yet so beautiful, the flow is masterful. I understand it took Ellams 9 years to write. That makes me love this poem more. From the award-winning poet and playwright behind Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall is an epic story and a lyrical exploration of pride, power, and female revenge. There is something about Demi. When this boy is angry, rain clouds gather. When he cries, rivers burst their banks, and the first time he takes a shot on a basketball court, the deities of the land take note. His mother, Modupe, [] knows the Gods will one day tire of sports fans, their fickle allegiances, and misdirected prayers. When that moment comes, it won't matter how special he is. Only the women in Demi's life, the mothers, daughters, and Goddesses, will stand between him and a lightning bolt. You’ll want to read more of Inua Ellams work, listen to him via podcasts, or see him perform.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I always encourage friends to read or perhaps reread Dorian Gray. It’s such a powerful story. Easily frightened I found it so incredibly scary and ahead of its time. ‘When he wishes that a perfect portrait of himself would bear the signs of aging in his place, the picture becomes his hideous secret, as it follows Dorian's own downward spiral into cruelty and depravity. It’s one of my favourite books ever, and of course Wilde’s only novel. A masterpiece of historical fiction, of jealousy, debauchery, evil, cruelty, and scandal, all with of course incredible writing and as controversial and alluring as Wilde himself. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence. The novel was a succes de scandale and the book was later used as evidence against Wilde at the Old Bailey in 1895. It has lost none of its power to fascinate and disturb.

The Library : A World History by James W P Campbell and Will Pryce

This is not just a beautiful book you’ll want to casually display on the coffee table for visitors to discover, you’ll find yourself reaching for it because it’s just magnificent. Documenting seriously spectacular libraries we could never dream up, but these monumental building’s do actually exist. Just the architecture itself will floor you (did you see what I did there). Then you consider what they hold. All those words, those stories, the studies, the history, it’s phenomenal. These ambitious, mind-blowing epic structures are truly works of art in themselves. From the beginning of writing to the present day, documenting some eighty libraries from Rome to Paris, these photographs are spectacular. Will Pryce is one of the world's leading photographers of interiors and architecture. Arresting and technically flawless, his photographs are both lucid and deeply atmospheric. A terrific book indeed.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Maybe the best first paragraph ever written of any book. This short story has a Hitchcock feel to it. I bet it becomes one of those books you find yourself recommending. Shirley Jackson's masterpiece: the deliciously dark and funny story of Merricat, tomboy, teenager, beloved sister - and possible lunatic. The Blackwood family home with only her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian for company, Merricat just wants to preserve their delicate way of life. But ever since Constance was acquitted of murdering the rest of the family, the world isn't leaving the Blackwoods alone. And when Cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect the remaining family.

Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy

This is my second classic choice, it is of course considered epic, and it is, it is absolutely complicated, but that reputation may put some off and I strongly feel this title really should be considered. It’s an ambitious story about a beautiful and intelligent woman, of irrational love, who makes decisions that rips her life apart. Love... it means too much to me, far more than you can understand. At its simplest, Anna Karenina is a love story. One of the greatest novels ever written, Anna Karenina combines penetrating psychological insight with an encyclopedic depiction of Russian life in the 1870s. The novel takes us from high society St Petersburg to the threshing fields on Levin's estate, with unforgettable scenes at a Moscow ballroom, the skating rink, a racecourse, a railway station. It creates an intricate labyrinth of connections that is profoundly satisfying and deeply moving. Rosamund Bartlett's translation conveys Tolstoy's precision of meaning and emotional accuracy in an English version that is highly readable and stylistically faithful. Like her acclaimed biography of Tolstoy, it is vivid, nuanced, and compelling.

Baikonur: Vestiges of the Soviet Space Programme by Jonk

This is such a fascinating book. A real talking point. This is the first-time photographs of these locations have ever been published. Jonk traveled 20km through the Kazakh desert under cover of night, entered the hangars clandestinely, and spent three nights there under the radar of military security to produce a truly incredible photographic reportage of what is considered today the world's most important urban exploration site. Jonk reveals his excellent collection of photographs taken in the disused part of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was created by the Soviets in the 1950s. It was from Baikonur in 1988 that the first Soviet spaceplane, Buran, was launched in response to the United States Space Shuttle. The Buran program would officially end in 1993 during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, with only one Buran launch ever taking place, in 1998. Thereafter, parts of the Baikonur Cosmodrome fell into disuse, notably the sites connected with the launch of these Soviet crafts. The two shuttles that were completed remain abandoned there, laid to rest in this atmospheric place. Can you imagine there is a building with abandoned “spaceplanes”? Seriously – such a cool book.