“We’re the oldest independent bookshop in the north-west, started in 1920 by Charles Broadhurst, and sell new books, rare books including first editions, and over 50,000 secondhand books,” says owner Laurie Hardman, who is celebrating his 50th year at the shop. “After university I worked in a bank to please my father but I knew I wasn’t cut out for it, so I joined the bookshop – I started right at the bottom, sweeping the floors and lighting the fire.” Broadhursts spans four storeys, including a thriving children’s department, and keeps some traditions alive: “We still wrap books in brown paper and string – the children are enthralled by that.”

Top five sellers

• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman
• Into the Water Paula Hawkins
• Last Stories William Trevor
• Notes on a Nervous Planet Matt Haig
• Fascism: A Warning Madeleine Albright

Five recommendations

• Dark Matter Michelle Paver
“Her first adult title is a chilling ghost story set in the Arctic.”

• This Is Going to Hurt Adam Kay
“Hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure – a wake-up call for everyone to value our NHS.”

• I Am Pilgrim Terry Hayes
“A really clever and compulsive thriller. A debut novel that’s definitely a page-turner.”

• Thérèse Raquin Émile Zola
“Through themes including adultery, murder and madness, Zola exposes the dark side of human existence – a terrifying yet terrific book.”

• Replay Ken Grimwood
“The novel asks: ‘What if you could live your life over and over again – what would you do differently?’ I’d do a lot differently – but I’d still be a bookseller!”

5-7 Market Street, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 1HD; ckbroadhurst.co.uk