Catching Lives Bookshop

Pass on your unwanted childrens' books to us please! We need bright and cheerful hardbacks for younger children, new and classic stories for older readers. And any Harry Potter books that you can spare. We can't get enough of Hogwarts....Please drop off at the shop or - Text 07709 556 343 if you need your donation collected. Many thanks.

Don't forget Catching Lives book shop is a great place to find unusual and vintage books too. This is the window display for the week with some examples of the interesting and collectable older books that we sell. All profits go to the Catching Lives.

Come to us for Literary Biographies! We have a great selection and most in excellent condition as you can see from the photo- and at bargain prices. They make great gifts and are wonderful summer reading.

I'm Barbara and I am a volunteer at Catching Lives book shop. I really enjoy meeting and chatting to the customers and other staff as we all share a love of books. Our customers are mainly local but many come from abroad, drawn in initially by the wonderful historic building. I have chosen The Orchard on Fire by Shena Mackay because it is set in Kent and evokes a1950s childhood, to which I can relate. It’s well written, funny and often sad.

We've wrapped some of our popular Blind Date with a Book in pretty Easter paper. There's a brief outline of the plot to give you a clue! Only £3.00 each. Makes a great surprise gift. On sale now.

We are in need of a strong trestle table with folding legs, to put sale books on outside the shop now the weather is better. Can anyone help us out? Text 07709 556 343 if you can or call by the shop. Many thanks!

We have been given 15 collectable and unusual vintage Agatha Christie books, many dating from the 1950s and are selling as a collection for £50. Interested? Message us or ring the shop 07899 458 961

We are in need of fiction so if you have any novels you don't want then please donate to the book shop. We especially need classics and modern fiction rather than crime and thrillers. Please help a good cause. We can collect your books locally too.

Ever meant to read A Dance to the Music of Time, the 12-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin and published between 1951 and 1975? Did you find you had some of the twelve but not all...? Well we have the lot in nice matching editions. A bargain at £12.00.

An appeal for help- Many of you will have heard the news that Kev (who used to often sit outside our bookshop on Palace St) sadly passed away last month. His dog Elvis is being cared for by two amazing charities Angels 4 Dogs Reg No: 1177918 and Flori's Friends Rescue - Reg Charity 1177365 however the bills still need covering (food, vet bills, kennel fees, etc). Therefore, if anyone who knew Kev and Elvis can kindly help in anyway, please contact us via penny@catchinglives.org. Thank you for taking the time to read.

This is Fatima, a new volunteer at the book shop from Cadiz, Spain who has a Masters in Fine Arts, Illustration and Conceptual Art. She is a professional illustrator and is going to publish her first childrens' book soon! Fatima says 'Book shops are like a refuge for me. The very first day when I just moved to Canterbury, I came across this book shop and I fell in love with it. I am so excited to be able to help the charity while doing what I like most, being surrounded by books’.
Fatima is being welcomed to the shop in her photo, by an enthusiastic Patters!

Mothers Day Coming Up Soon! Don't forget our beautiful Blind Date Mothers Day Books at £2.50 each.
Each one is carefully wrapped, with a lovely book inside and completed with a brief outline of the novel and a tag for your own Mothers Day message. Simple! -And supporting a great cause....

SLIDE COLLECTION We have been given an usual donation of several hundreds of professionally mounted coloured slides including one large bag and one large box of slides depicting many aspects of Canterbury Cathedral stained glass. There is also a large box of slides of Kent villages. If you are interested, do make us an offer.

This is Patters who sometimes visits the shop with Jane, the Thursday morning volunteer. He is very well-behaved and said to like books!

Here are two of our new displays that have gone up this week- which go show the wide variety of books that we have on offer. Whatever your interests we may have something for you! Come and see our two floors full of books.

We have the four volume set of these 1937 Routledge hardcover classic English translation of the magical 'The Thousand and One Nights', in hardback, dark blue covers with gilt titles to spine. Translated by Powys Mathers. Just the thing for bedtime reading while the nights are still long! Only £20 for all 4. You can find them near the till in the shop, on a display stand.

This is Sarah, a valuable member of the book shop team. Here is what she says about working with us:
I decided I needed to make a difference when I met a man about to sleep out in the freezing cold less than 100m from my front door. A dear friend told me that the Catching Lives Bookshop was looking for volunteers, so I went in to ask what I could do. It’s a perfect match: I love books, I love old buildings and now I spend a few hours a week in an iconic historic building in Canterbury on my laptop valuing the books people kindly donate to the bookshop. The money we raise really makes a difference to the services the charity can offer. '

We have 28 of of these THE MASTERS Knowledge Publication booklets (1966) all with excellent quality, full-page reproductions, many with gilt and all in colour. They'll be in the Shop by next weekend and selling at £5.00 each and measure 27x36 cms.