Reading materials

We all value a bookseller’s recommendations but there’s not always one on hand. Many indie bookshops run their own subscription service, including

The Simple Things favourites Mr B’s Emporium in Bath, mrbsemporium.com (from £45 for 3 months). Imaginative categories from Norwich’s The

Book Hive, thebookhive.co.uk/ abook-hive-year (from £140 total, monthly), include women writers, fiction in translation and, possibly our favourite, although obviously very niche, ‘Very Flat!’ subscription, bringing a year’s worth of Norfolk-related books. There are even more choices online. The options from Willoughby Book Club, thewilloughbybookclub.co.uk, include kids, young adults and even natural history (monthly, £29.99), while Prudence and the

Crow, prudenceandthecrow.com (monthly, £15) only send out vintage books, accompanied by a handmade book bag. For bookish bonuses, Book and a

Brew, bookandabrew.com, offers the hard to beat combo of a pageturner and drinkable delight (monthly, £12.99); the newly launched Reading in Heels readinginheels.com includes lifestyle treats along with a contemporary title (monthly, £10, plus P&P). And * cough* it’d be remiss not to mention you can get The Simple Things direct to your door (£11 quarterly, published monthly) and * cough, cough* our sister magazine Oh Comely (£12 for 6 months, published bi-monthly); icebergpress.co.uk/ subscribe.