In a little town in Oxfordshire, just five minutes from our office lies The Wallingford Bookshop. It’s a pretty, jam-packed treasure trove of all the books you could ever read. Even if you aren’t sure what you want, that’s no problem for the friendly and uber-knowledgeable team here, who are primed ready to find you the perfect read.

As we stand here more boxes arrive with new books, including some top-secret proof copies, that we keenly eye up! I’m not entirely sure where they are all going to fit but I don’t get the impression that shifting stock is a problem. A gentleman buying for Mother’s Day hands over six books, which have just been lovingly chosen with the help of Helen Longworth, who works here part-time.

Helen said: “We are all readers so between us we read all the books we get in, even the children’s and YA (Young Adult) ones. Our owner Ali read the new Margaret Atwood novel The Testaments in a day to make sure she was ready for the queue of people ready to buy it the next day. Our customers expect us to know our books and to build a personal relationship with them - that is something Amazon can’t do.”

Shopping with an independent retailer is a special experience and something that the team at this shop doesn’t take for granted.

Fiona Coulson, who has worked here for ten years said: “We are working on a website but not having one until now hasn’t hindered us. We are all about the physical experience of choosing a book and visiting a bookshop. That’s why we don’t have a coffee shop or sell anything but books!”

Community outreach is crucial too and Ali regularly visits local schools to share her love of reading. She also offers a book subscription service, posting you a book a month, based on ones you’ve read previously and liked. They have next day delivery if they don’t have a particular book in and will even occasionally make local home visits with customer orders, making getting a new book quick and convenient. It’s fair to say – they’ve thought of everything!

There’s a reason why we at TAP love our local bookshop so much. It’s not just the smell (although there’s something about it right?!) but, whilst we don’t sell books, we are in the business of story-telling. We wholeheartedly believe that smaller, skilled and people-led businesses can offer a richer and more beneficial customer experience.