AS LAST WEEK’s bestsellers newsletter proved, diet books are big business. From Rosemary Conley and Dukan in the distant past to a Pinch of Nom, readers are usually on the lookout for the next trick to shed a few pounds. At Backstory, I’ve developed a diet of my own. I call it The Overstock Plan.
Let me explain. Most books sell maybe a copy a week, or sometimes just a copy a month. For these books, the restocking process is simple: once we sell a copy, we order another one from the publisher. Then we sell that one, and so on.
At any one time, though, there’s a handful of books that everyone seems to want all at once. This has been the summer of Butter and Kala, of Yellowface and Tom Lake. It wouldn’t do to use the regular system for these titles, because if we sold Butter at 10am, say, we’d miss out on a day’s worth of sales (at best) until the next delivery arrived. This is where “overstock” comes in.
When we first opened, we kept overstock in the large staff area downstairs. But then we realised we would all be much more likely to replenish the big sellers during each day if we didn’t have to “trek” downstairs each time we did it. So we squeezed just enough shelves into the tiny landing at the top of the stairs to accommodate the paperback overstock. But that’s just about all the landing can accommodate… and, at a push, a trim bookseller.
As all the best diet books tell you, if you want to get in shape it’s best to have strong motivation. So I (jokingly) told my colleagues I was going on The Overstock Plan. I’d know I’d hit the jackpot when I could replenish a Patchett without sucking in my stomach, when I could bend down to pick up a few more Yuzukis without groaning like my granddad.
Then came the spanner in the works… The Clink.
If you want to get a little slimmer, don’t work in a sweet shop. Nor should you work in a bookshop that decides to begin stocking baked goods that are not only delicious but worthy, too — since The Clink Bakery, like its sister restaurant, operates out of HMP Brixton, helping inmates gain their catering NVQs.
And just as I wouldn’t recommend a book without reading it, I could hardly stock nibbles without sampling them, could I? (True, I wouldn’t read the same book every week, to check the story hadn’t changed… but could you resist a fresh batch of maple and pecan flapjacks?)
But what has proved fatal to The Overstock Plan has gone down rather well with customers. You’ve gobbled down brownies and blondies, and munched your way through shortbread, cupcakes and all manner of cookies.
We’ve now had a weekly delivery from The Clink for just over a year, for which we’ve transferred more than £4,700 to the charity. Since there’s a fair bit of wastage involved, we barely make money doing this, but that’s beside the point: readers are at their happiest relaxing at our bar with a good book and a coffee or a glass of wine. Add a cookie into the equation and we know they’ll be back for more.
Best of all is the knowledge we’re contributing to a local charity with a great track record in boosting prisoners’ confidence and skills, helping them to get jobs in catering on their release and significantly reducing reoffending rates.
I went for lunch there last week and walked through the bakery. “Here’s Tom from the bookshop where we send our things every Thursday!” shouted Abbie, the pastry chef trainer. It was great to meet some of the bakers and pass on all the compliments we get for their efforts.
We’ve got plans to do more with The Clink in future, so watch this space. In the meantime, do think about taking someone for Sunday lunch or afternoon tea there as a really fun treat. Head here for more info. Just don’t offer me your leftovers!
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Event announcement
Freya Bromley at Backstory
Wednesday 2nd October, 7:30pm
We are so excited to welcome Freya Bromley to Backstory to talk about her debut book, The Tidal Year, exploring love, loss and the restorative power of nature and cold water swimming. She’s written for titles including Lonely Planet, Condé Nast Traveller, Financial Times and National Geographic Traveller. The Tidal Year is an exploration of grief in the modern age, it's also a tale of female rage, sisterhood and falling in love after loss.
Upcoming events
Join us from anywhere in the world: Subscribers to our Backstory magazine or our book subscriptions get free access to online livestreams of all author events, including those that are sold out. For more information, check out our subscriptions or email us at books@backstory.london
4 September, 7.30pm Michael Rosen, Rosen’s Almanac SOLD OUT
11 September, 7.30pm Tim Shipman, Out SOLD OUT
18 September, 7.30pm David Hepworth, Hope I Get Old Before I Die: Why Rock Stars Never Retire The music journalist charts the remarkable staying power of icons like Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. Why are they still playing to vast crowds, and what keeps them going?
25 September, 7.30pm Gabriel Gatehouse, The Coming Storm: A Journey Into the Heart of the Conspiracy Machine — With the US election on a knife-edge, the BBC foreign correspondent will guide us through what is at stake based on his deep reporting of the conspiracy theories tearing America apart
2nd October, 7:30pm Freya Bromley, The Tidal Year — A story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it's also a tale of female rage, sisterhood and falling in love after loss.
11 October, 6.30pm Poetry open mic night Free. No need to book a ticket, just turn up, whether you want to read or just hear some new poetry.
6 November, 7.30pm Andrew O’Hagan, Caledonian Road SOLD OUT
The Backstory chart
Click on the links to order any of these books from our website with free UK delivery
Hardback
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors The author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein returns with the tale of three siblings coping with their sister’s death.
A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike Our book of the month.
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. Now gracing the Booker Prize longlist, it was already a firm Backstory favourite.
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak She’s back! From the author of The Island of Missing Trees, this is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives — all connected by a single drop of water.
Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna I devoured this book, set over the course of one sweltering weekend in London, as the deeds and desires of several interconnected characters collide.
Paperback
Damascus Station by David McCloskey Sun, sex, spies — and Syria. I tore through this debut thriller from a former CIA operative.
Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang This novel about an ambitious novelist who steals her dying frenemy’s manuscript and attempts to pass it off as her own was a lot of fun to read.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey A luminous novel about six astronauts orbiting the Earth and observing its beauty and fragility.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano Denise loved this book, an homage to Little Women set in Chicago
Kala by Colin Walsh One of my favourite books of last year. A dark, twisty tale of friendship and suspicion set on the Irish coast, perfect for the beach.
Kids
Dog Man 12: The Scarlet Shredder by Dav Pilkey
Big by Vashti Harrison
The Super Sunny Murder Club edited by Serena Patel and Robin Stevens
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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Happy reading!
Tom