A second hand bookshop in Hockley is urging people to pick up a book or listen to music.
Bookwise, which is located in Goose Gate, Hockley is a bookshop that is run by volunteers and sells second hand books and music CDs that are brought in by members of the public.
Helen Cotterill has volunteered at the shop for the last three years and she explained how the opportunity came about and the uniqueness with the shop.
She said: “It is all ran by hard working volunteers mainly who are retired and we are really passionate about what we do.”
Reading can take many forms whether it be languages, sport or even 13th century history, it is solely down to the person’s interests.
The price is also much cheaper with books ranging from £!-£6 with many retailing at around £8-15
“the donations are the heart and soul of what we do.”
helen Cotterill
Helen said: “The range we offer is incredible there is so much choice and it is all thanks to those who donate stuff to us.”
The bookshop is still very popular within the community and Helen explained the number of people that come into the shop is still high.
She added: “Overall, we see a high number of people across the year of course it varies with the time of year like now as we move to Christmas we are seeing more people and donations.”
As well as selling books Bookwise also have a wide range of CDs on sale for people who love music.
Helen said: “They are surprisingly popular as they hold a legacy especially as we move more towards online music sites such as Spotify.”
These CDs also help out with a charity called Music for Everyone which encourages people to pick up instruments after years away and express their talent.
So why not take a trip to Bookwise now and get a book or CD to enjoy over the winter months.
People over 65 are more likely to have brought a book than any other age group.
But 40 per cent of Brits did not read a book over the last 12 months.
