“Rossiter Books features signed editions and special copies!”

Rossiter Books - Ross on Wye

Rossiter Books in Ross-on-Wye is one of three Bookshops with the same name – the other two being situated in Monmouth and Leominster. This lovely independent bookshop in Ross-on-Wye sells new books and is proud to boast that they are one of a few selected shops authorised to sell Folio Society Books.

For younger readers, the shop also has a great children’s section where alongside the books filled with magic and vivid pictures the will see some much-loved literary characters – including Tracy Beaker, Alice and the White Rabbit, and Peter Rabbit – who have jumped from the pages and landed on top of the bookshelves. A child-sized Gruffalo also stood on the shop floor during my visit, holding the books and toys, and celebrating 15 years of The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson.

Best of all (in my opinion), is that Rossiter Books stock and sell some editions that are signed by the author. Indeed, it was in this bookstore, that I was lucky enough to pick up a signed copy of Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things – a book of short stories including ‘How to Talk to Girls at Parties’ which has recently been adapted into a film. As a fan of Neil Gaiman, I was very happy to find this book as I’d been wanting to read it before I watched the film.

I was even more excited, however, when Neil Gaiman himself replied to my tweet about the purchase. Having followed the author on Twitter for quite a while, I have been amused many times by Gaiman’s stealth signing of his books in shops. So I tagged the author in my tweet, curious about where the book had been signed – was it part of an event or another stealth signing? In fact, both of my ideas were wrong, the author informed me,

“That was signed in the Headline offices. I know because it is signed in not-fountain pen as I had forgotten to bring more ink.”

After my slightly over-exited tangent, I will bring this blog back to the bookshop itself. If you are looking to find a book signed by your favourite author, then it is worth taking a look at the bookshop’s website as there is a whole section dedicated to such books. The same can also be said for the latter mentioned Folio Society Books.

For local bookworms, the shop also hosts events with authors presenting their latest releases. Again, you can find out more about these on their website. Plus, if you visit the shop and they don’t have what you’re looking for, Rossiters offer the service of tracking down the book you’re looking for and (subject to availability) having them ready for collection the following day. They can even deliver the book (within 48 hours) to homes within a 5-mile radius of the Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth stores.

The final, and fairly small things I liked about this shop were; firstly that you could pick up a free bookmark with their logo on to use when you read the products you’ve bought from them, and secondly, that they use paper bags (again with their logo on), so if you happen to have forgotten a bag you won’t feel guilty about having to ask for one to carry your cherished reads home.

Thanks, Catherine (Books Bird)

Address:7 High St, Ross-on-Wye HR9 5HL

Hours:  9:30-5pm (Mon-Fri) 9-5:30pm (Sat) 10:30-4:30pm (Sun)

Telephone: 01989 564 464

Email: [email protected]

Website: rossiterbooks.co.uk