Remember us?
We've been hiding behind the bookstacks! Newsletter 21: Nov
Hello, remember us? We know we’ve had a considerable hiatus from writing here, much longer than we had initially anticipated! We’re sorry it’s been so long, but we have some exciting stuff coming up over the next few months which will hopefully explain the lack of time to write. In the meantime, here’s somewhat of an update on what we’ve been up to over the last few months.
But first, a word about Black Friday…
Tomorrow (28th November) is Black Friday and there’s going to be lots of noise online from huge corporate retailers but we’d like to take a moment to urge you to think about the little guys. Millions of small businesses are fearing closure right now, and money is tight for everyone, but the small businesses that make your high street joyful need you more than those big corporates. They’re the people who smile and ask how you are when you pop in, the people who donate prizes to your community events, the ones who are always there for that last minute gift or when you’ve run out of something essential. You’d really miss them if they weren’t there, so even if it’s only something small, remember them this Christmas shopping season so that they will still be there for the next one. We really believe in using small local businesses and we love the Colour Friday campaign from Holly Tucker that has now been running for the past five years. Here are some brilliant graphics and stats from the campaign.
What’s Been Going On
Winter Hours
We’ve switched over to our winter trading hours so the shop is open from 10:30am – 4pm everyday now until April when we revert back to our summer hours.
Events
We’ve had some lovely events at the bookshop and beyond including Sharon Blackie, Jenn Ashworth and a night bookselling at The Brewery Art’s Centre in Kendal for Garth Marenghi’s This Bursted Earth tour. We have signed copies of Sharon and Jenn’s books still available. We also hosted a pop up bookshop at the Death in the Dales Crime Fiction festival weekend here in Sedbergh. We have some signed books left from some of those authors too – check out our signed books section on the website.
Author Visits
For the launch of her book Helm, Sarah Hall popped in to see us and the amazing artwork that we were lucky to have installed to go with it. Tom Philipson designed a stunning triptych of dust jacket designs which take aspects from the novel with the overall theme of ‘a relentless wind’. We have just a few signed copies of Helm left so do grab those quickly if you’d like one.
The amazingly talented Annie Booker has created a stunning wintery window for us to go with her book The Great Bear. Signed copies available, and it’s a perfect Christmas gift too.
Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen popped in after their gig in Kendal and Hollie kindly signed copies of her books. There are just a few left if you’re quick!
Book Club
Our book club has gone from strength to strength and we will be celebrating a whole year of book club meetings in December. These are the books that we’ve read this year;
Wednesday 8th January - Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Wednesday 12th February - The Echo Chamber by John Boyne
Wednesday 12th March - The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Wednesday 9th April - Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan
Wednesday 14th May - The Wall by Marlen Haushofer
Wednesday 11th June - Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
Wednesday 9th July - By The Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Wednesday 13th August - Fake Heroes by Otto English
Wednesday 10th September - You Are Here by David Nicholls
Wednesday 8th October - any book by an author attending Death in the Dales Crime Fiction festival
Wednesday 12th November - God’s of the Morning by John Lister-Kaye
Wednesday 10th December - Fifteen Wild December’s by Karen Powell
Book Club will continue in 2026, on the second Wednesday of every month at 7pm. Do come along and join us.
New stock
Our secondhand and new books have been pouring into the bookshop over the past few months! We are absolutely packed to the rafters with bookish goodness for you to peruse. Notable collections that have come into our secondhand stock are military history, historical fiction, green and orange Penguin paperbacks, macrame and decorative knots, and lots and lots of boxes of mixed subjects too.
What’s Coming Up…
Sedbergh Late Night Opening
We’re delighted to be joining in once again with Sedbergh’s Late Night opening on Wednesday 3rd December. We will be open from 10:30am right through until 8pm that day. Come and join us for some local Christmas shopping.
Twenty Years of Westwood Books!
2026 will be the twentieth year of Westwood Books trading in Sedbergh so we think that deserves a celebration. Plans are afoot so do keep your eyes peeled for more on that in the coming months…
Recently at Westwood Books…
New Arrivals
We have a large stock of boxed Christmas cards, plus Christmas roll wrap, traditional advent calendars and also 2026 diaries and calendars. Plus of course, lots and lots of beautiful books.
Christmas Gifting Suggestions
We’ve been posting our Christmas gifting suggestions on social media, but you can see some of our suggestions here.
All are available online and in the shop, however any signed books are pretty limited with some that we may have just one or two copies of, so do be quick if there’s something that catches your eye!
Offers and Deals
Sale
We have a small sale section that is added to every so often, so check out our ever-changing list online here to see if you can bag a bargain!
Preorders
The Book of Birds
We are now taking preorders for the new book from Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris - The Book of Birds. Publishing in May 2026, The Book of Birds is a compendium of forty-nine bird species, from Avocet to Yellowhammer, all of which are presently declining or endangered in Britain. Inspired by the classic bird-books with which the authors grew up, this is a field guide with a difference. It asks not ‘What is that bird?’, but ‘Who is that bird?’ It shows its readers how to identify birds, but also how to identify with them.
If you’d like to preorder a signed copy of the book, we have a limited number of copies available online here.
Until Next Time
That’s all for now from us. Thank you for reading as always, and for supporting us here at Westwood Books. Let us know your thoughts and recommendations, and don’t forget that we can order in any book you might want. If you are in the area, please do stop by for a chat and a browse!
Bye for now…
The Westwood Books Team