Owner Helen Stanton says: “Corbridge is a picturesque village close to Hadrian’s Wall and not too far from Newcastle. The bookshop opened in the 1970s, but I took over at the height of the recession in 2011. We opened a separate children’s bookshop and earlier this year regrouped both in a listed chapel – we now have a pulpit as a reading den and for author events. We’re a general bookshop but focus on an eye-popping selection – handpicked, eclectic, beautiful, interesting. We have silent book discos at the weekend with playlists put together by us or authors visiting for events – Dave Haslam recently made a brilliant one.”

Top five sellers

•The Lost Mari Hannah
•The Debatable Land Graham Robb
•Don’t Skip Out on Me Willy Vlautin
•Notes on a Nervous Planet Matt Haig
•The Boy Who Hit Play Chloe Daykin

Five recommendations

•There There Tommy Orange
“A heart- and head-pounding, original debut novel. I’d love everyone to read it.”
•The Empathy Problem Gavin Extence
“A coruscating yet funny attack on those who caused the financial crisis. And a moving love story.”
•With the End in Mind Kathryn Mannix
“Reclaiming an understanding of dying and starting an often swerved conversation, Kathryn Mannix writes with a luminous clarity and compassion.”
•Poverty Safari Darren McGarvey
“Funny, down to earth, refreshing, human.”
•Little Black Book Otegha Uwagba
“A gorgeous ‘toolkit for working women’.”

Forum Books, The Chapel, Market Place, Corbridge, Northumberland, NE45 5AW; @forumbooks