‘It’s a great job to have as it’s lovely to have the human contact,” says Fiona Mozley, author of the Man Booker prize-shortlisted novel Elmet, who works part-time in the shop whose name is a play on the Big Apple of New York. “Sometimes people come in to buy Elmet, and don’t realise it’s me selling it to them!” she laughs.

“It’s a bookshop for everyone, so we have all genres. The owners, Tim and Philippa, are real book experts. I think conversations with customers are really important, and holding real books in the hand gives such pleasure.”

Top five sellers

•Horrible Histories Gruesome Guides: York Terry Deary
•23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism Ha-Joon Chang
•Things a Bright Girl Can Do Sally Nicholls
•Elmet Fiona Mozley
•Let the Good Times Roll Kenney Jones

Five recommendations

•The Murderer’s Ape Jakob Wegelius (Translated by Peter Graves)
“This book enchanted us all. Beautifully produced with wonderful illustrations. Narrated by a female ape, it’s an adventure, a love story and a globe-trotting treat. We learnt so much about accordion-making and Portuguese Fado music.”

•Homegoing Yaa Gyasi
“A story taking us from Ghana from the 18th century to the present day. It explores love, family, race and identity. A pleasure to read and a delight to discuss.”

• Swimming With Seals Victoria Whitworth
“It is so hot we all want to dive into water the whole time at the moment. So this is the perfect book.”

•Town Is By the Sea Joanne Schwartz, illustrated by Sydney Smith
“Totally charming children’s book, with exquisite illustrations. A day in the life of a miner’s son.”

•Sealed Naomi Booth
“A talented local author with a dark imagination. Sealed is set in Australia and imagines a dystopian future plagued by a skin disease.”

The Little Apple Bookshop, 13 High Petergate, York YO1 7EN @LittleAppleBook