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The Bookshop that Floated Away
The Bookshop that Floated Away | Sarah Henshaw
26 posts | 5 read | 68 to read
In early 2009 a strange sort of business plan landed on the desk of a pinstriped bank manager. It had pictures of rats and moles in rowing boats and archaic quotes about Cleopatra's barge. It asked for a 30,000 loan to buy a black-and-cream narrowboat and a small hoard of books. The manager said no. Nevertheless The Book Barge opened six months later and enjoyed the happy patronage of local readers, a growing number of eccentrics and the odd moorhen. Business wasn't always easy, so one May morning owner Sarah Henshaw set off for six months chugging the length and breadth of the country. Books were bartered for food, accommodation, bathroom facilities and cake. During the journey, the barge suffered a flooded engine, went out to sea, got banned from Bristol and, on several occasions, floated away altogether. This account follows the ebbs and flows of Sarah's journey as she sought to make her vision of a floating bookshop a reality.
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shawnmooney
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https://youtu.be/ZNNSRsNJoD0

The Bookshop That Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw

Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji

The Sea Change of Angela Lewes by Cynthia Propper Seton

The One Who Did Not Ask by Altaf Fatima
Rukhsana Ahmad (Translator)

The Paper House by Anna Spargo-Ryan

shawnmooney Father May Be an Elephant and Mother Only a Small Basket, But... by Gogu Shyamala
Diia Rajan, Sashi Kumar, A. Suneetha, N. Manohar Reddy, R. Srivatsan, Gita Ramaswamy, Uma Bhrugubanda, P. Pavana, Duggirila Vasanta (Translators)

Also mentioned:

The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler
13mo
Anna40 I loved your video! Fantastic recommendations. I‘ve not heard or ready any of the books. I love that you mentioned the translators as well! … I think you drive a boat but I‘m not sure either 🤓 13mo
32 likes2 comments
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ScorpioBookDreams
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I'd love to visit Word on the Water sometime! #floating #junebookbugs @RealLifeReading

Soubhiville How cool! Where's that? 7y
OffTheBeatenShelf.com @Soubhiville looks like London! (I can just barely make out the text on the bottom sign.) I want to see it too! 😍 7y
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julesG Ooooh, I should visit this in July. Do you know where in LON this is? 7y
julesG Thank you! 7y
elkeOriginal Oh, that's awesome! On my travel list for sure! 7y
129 likes8 comments
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shawnmooney
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Pickpick

I usually avoid memoir and books-about-books like the plague, but this memoir about a bookshop on a boat was wonderful. Sarah Henshaw's writing is by turns pee-my-pants funny, reflective, and moving. I loved this spunky young woman, her less-than-shipshape business and her personal foibles: I bet you will too. I could've done with a little less about the boating side of her adventure, but virtually all of this was engaging.

Reggie Do mine eyes deceive me? A pick and not a bail? Lol awesome man!!!! 7y
shawnmooney @Reggie Indeed - my second five-star review in the last few days! 7y
LeahBergen See? I will covert you into a "books about books" lover yet! ? 7y
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shawnmooney @LeahBergen Fine. Henceforth, my modus operandi shall be 'Leah's wish is my bibliographic command'! 😍😍 7y
BookHermit Heard you on @mtge @ReadingEnvy podcast today! You guys make such a great team. This book sounds like exactly what I need right now. And 👍👍 for the shout out to Sharon Butala! 7y
shawnmooney @BookHermit Thank you! I hope you enjoy this book! 😍😍 7y
shawnmooney This also must be a contender for #TheRiver #RockInMay @Cinfhen 😍😍 7y
Cinfhen My friend Randy loved this one too but she couldn't remember the title!!! Thanks 🙏🏻 7y
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shawnmooney
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LeahBergen "An indignation"! ❤️ 7y
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shawnmooney
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LeahBergen Have you bought a book barge yet? 7y
shawnmooney @LeahBergen Sure! How about I launch it on the Bow River and barge bibliomaniacally into CowTown? 😘 (edited) 7y
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shawnmooney
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❤❤

saresmoore Now that's just beautiful! And I've experienced a very similar scenario with a friend and a good book. ♥️ 7y
shawnmooney @saresmoore I love this passage soooo much! 💜 7y
LeahBergen This is fantastic. ❤️ 7y
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shawnmooney
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I can't believe I found a gif of the exact page! Oh, wait: not quite exactly what's described—no gentlemen in black suits—but otherwise!

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I really loved those little golden books as a kid! 7y
LeahBergen Yes, you did! They are the teeny little men on the lower left! 👏🏻👏🏻 7y
shawnmooney @LeahBergen Well, I'll be darned: you're right - I was right! :) 💜💜 7y
30 likes3 comments
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shawnmooney
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saresmoore !!! This would make for a fabulously ironic tattoo! Ahahaha! 7y
LeahBergen 😂 7y
ReadingEnvy I didn't care for Bath either. Jane insults it in one novel, maybe Sense and Sensibility 7y
28 likes3 comments
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shawnmooney
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22 likes1 stack add
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shawnmooney
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saresmoore Wow! This rings true to life. 7y
Zelma Great quote and something I think a lot of us can relate to. 7y
26 likes2 comments
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shawnmooney
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saresmoore LOL!! 7y
Suet624 What a riot!! 7y
DeborahSmall 😂😂 7y
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shawnmooney
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tpixie Is this nonfiction? ! 7y
shawnmooney @tpixie Yes - it's a memoir and am ever enjoying it so far! 7y
tpixie Sounds great! 7y
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Suet624 I've read two Kate Bush references this morning on Litsy. What are the chances? I think I have to find this book. I love her attitude. 7y
saresmoore 😆 Yep, I'm sold on this book for this section alone. 7y
tpixie @Suet624 karma! 7y
DeborahSmall @saresmoore me too another book added to my Amazon basket ❤️ 7y
shawnmooney @tpixie @Suet624 @saresmoore @DeborahSmall I'm enjoying it (so far) about a thousand times more than I expected I would! I am reading a print copy but see that it's dirt cheap on Kindle, at least on the Amazon.jp site. ❤ 7y
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shawnmooney
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Soubhiville That makes me sad. And hits me in the OCD- I feel the need to clean up now... 7y
37 likes1 comment
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shawnmooney
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tpixie Interesting!! 7y
LeahBergen I've found my new calling. 😉 7y
35 likes2 comments
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shawnmooney
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shawnmooney
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shawnmooney
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julesG LOL. 7y
PurpleyPumpkin Well, that's one way to get her attention!😂 7y
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shawnmooney
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa Interesting 7y
26 likes1 comment
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shawnmooney
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Drawing by Michael Baptist - http://michaelbaptist.com/blog/

LeahBergen 😂 7y
24 likes1 comment
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shawnmooney
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An intriguing opening paragraph to a memoir about a floating bookshop!

ReadingEnvy I'm the first kind! 7y
saresmoore @ReadingEnvy I feel like that comment needs an accompanying anecdote. 😏 7y
shawnmooney @ReadingEnvy @saresmoore So long as I'd be guaranteed some creative involvement in the guest selection process, I propose a video skinny-dipping episode of Reading Envy in the near future… :-) 7y
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ReadingEnvy @shawnmooney @saresmoore it feels better than it looks probably. For me it was broad daylight in the Atlantic Ocean with some female friends. The next day I was stung by a jellyfish, so I'm just glad those two things didn't happen the same day. 7y
LeahBergen Ooo, I have this one on my shelf! Let's buy a book barge. 7y
shawnmooney @LeahBergen It was your post at the end of 2016 that alerted me to this book! 😘 7y
saresmoore @shawnmooney Hahaha! I know of some great skinny dipping spots—namely private beaches on Palm Beach Island. We'd have to film under a full moon and rather stealthily since it's not strictly legal, but it'd be fun! @ReadingEnvy I'm really glad the events didn't coincide, too. Imagine asking a naked friend to pee on you to relieve the sting. Awkward! 7y
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Jhullie
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Absolutely the best description ever!

jessberk13 😂😂😂 7y
TheBookAddict 😳😳🤔🤔 is that supposed to be a compliment?!? 😅🤣🤣 7y
MyNamesParadise 😂😂😂 that sounds like something I'd say about someone if I really didn't like them!! 7y
Robothugs I agree with you! 7y
54 likes4 comments
review
Jhullie
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Pickpick

What can I say about this little gem? It made me laugh, it made me sigh, it wasn't a rollicking adventure but rather a comfortable slide into another life, a life I have wondered about myself at times. Excuse me while I run off to Google narrow boat prices.

Cortg Such a dainty, chabby chic photo...I ❤ it! 7y
Laura317 This is just the prettiest photo! 7y
Godmotherx5 Great photo! 7y
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christineandbooks Beautiful photo! And the book sounds right up my alley... 7y
Lacythebookworm Pretty! 😍 7y
rubyslippersreads Gorgeous photo and book! 😍 7y
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Jhullie
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A quirky read so far. 👍😊

Lynnsoprano On my #LitsyAtoZ list. 7y
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Jhullie
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Book Mail to brighten up my day 📚📦

LeahBergen Yes!! 7y
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Jhullie
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Showing off my #libraryladder thanks to @LeahBergen and her earlier post. It's not hugely tall and not on rollers but it does the trick for my 6ft bookcases.

the_alternate_ending_library I love it! ❤️ 7y
LeahBergen And now I want one!!! I love it 😍😍😍 7y
DebinHawaii Very cool! ❤️ 7y
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Zelma That is a beautiful and really useful piece! 😍 7y
Lizpixie Wow! Where did you get this from @Jhullie I'd love one for my library. 7y
Jhullie I bought it second-hand from a private home @Lizpixie it was just perfect for me. 7y
Lizpixie It's amazing @Jhullie I wonder if the hubby can make one like it? He's pretty good at woodwork, we built two of the bookcases in the lounge room out of pallets & an old wooden waterbed frame, and the entertainment unit as well, and they look beautiful. Stained them all mahogany, you'd swear they were a set bought from a store. 7y
Jhullie It sounds like he is the man for the job @Lizpixie, I'm sure he would do a wonderful job. 7y
60 likes8 comments
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LeahBergen
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Have you ever wanted to chuck it all, open your own floating bookshop and travel the rivers of England? Well, this author did and wrote a book about it! #SetinLibrariesBookstores #SeasonsReadings2016 #BooksAboutBooks

KarenUK Sounds lovely 💕 7y
Zelma Um...yes! 😂 I am no business woman but Mr. Z recently brought up the idea of opening a bookshop/coffee bar in our town. We've talked about it over the years and it is an idea that keeps coming up between us. 7y
LauraBrook Dang, that sounds like a great idea! Added into my enormous tbr. 😊 7y
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Lynnsoprano That reminds me of the beautiful barges we saw on canals while we were in England 😊 7y
Abailliekaras We have been to the book barge! It's very quaint. The books are a little old/dusty/not great but it's such a cool place I still buy something when I visit just to help them afloat (so to speak 😂) 7y
Jhullie Sounds perfect, I just ordered a copy. Thanks for the recommendation 😊📚 7y
shawnmooney I want! (The book....and the life!) 7y
RealLifeReading Oooh lovely 7y
LeahBergen @KarenUK Doesn't it?? I want a book barge! 7y
LeahBergen @Zelma That's awesome! Do it ... I want to come and shop at your bookstore! 😀 7y
LeahBergen @LauraBrook Doesn't it though? ❤️ 7y
LeahBergen @Lynnsoprano It must be the same sort of thing. 😀 7y
LeahBergen @Abailliekaras I would HAVE to buy a book, too, just because it's a book barge! 😂 7y
LeahBergen @Jhullie Oh, good! 👏🏻👏🏻 7y
LeahBergen @shawnmooney Well, I have the book ... I just need the barge (and to live in England 😂) 7y
LeahBergen @RealLifeReading Isn't it? Sigh. 7y
shawnmooney @LeahBergen One down ✔️...two to go! 7y
MrBook Neat!!! 7y
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