July 2022
Bert’s Books Swindon.
It’s taken me a while to get to this – I’ve a long list. But at last, here I am with a few lines about Bert’s books Swindon. Bert’s Books, has morphed from an online bookstore – and that still exists here – to a physical store in Swindon’s Old Town.
Where is it?
That’s kind of important eh? You’ll find Bert’s Books Swindon at:
54 Godwin Court, Swindon SN1 4BB
Telephone: 07949 190977
About Bert
Bert, aka Alex Call, began his working life in the book world with WH Smith. Bert’s career there lasted for sixteen years. Three of them as a shop assistant in the Swindon branch, followed by thirteen years in head office as head of book marketing and promotion. Take a look at his Twitter feed and I think we can agree that experience stood him in good stead.
But then, in 2019 came redundancy. And that is when he set-up his Bert’s Books website – see the link above. His original plan with the website was to sell books he’d reviewed on his blog. He also set up a subscription service:
‘Subscribe to one of the monthly bundles or visit the shop and pick out some of the great books already selected. If you can’t find what you’re looking for then use the contact page to send your request.’ But then the pandemic happened and the subscription service took off.
Ambitions
So! The website was going well with the subscription service simply flying. But Bert’s ultimate ambition of opening his own book store remained unachieved – in no small measure thanks to the pandemic. Until earlier this year that is when the gorgeous shop you see above, opened its doors.
The focus of the shop reflects that of the website. There you’ll find a great mix of commercial books, non-fiction – and a lovely children’s section. Bert is also on a mission to uncover hidden gems from areas of the community that are less well-represented.
Plus ….. there’s good coffee to takeaway – and cake too. So, y’know, what’s not to love?
The personal touch
The Bert’s Books website declares: ‘Welcome to Bert’s Books, your online bookshop with the personal touch.’
And it does have that for sure. Order a book from the website and it arrives with a ribbon wrapped around it. This is now a legendary touch amongst Bert’s followers.
Bert is also super responsive. See a book you want and you can’t get to the shop? No problem. Message Bert and he’ll get it onto the website quicker than you can blink. It doesn’t get much more personal touch than that!
Bert’s social media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BertsBooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bertsbooks
Related – kinda …
