Shadow Lines

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Synopsis

‘Shadow Lines very much celebrates the world of books’ —Telegraph

Nicholas Royle’s love of second-hand books and the ‘inclusions’ he finds inside them, their presence betrayed by ‘shadow lines’, is about making connections. Someone has scribbled a number in a book? He’ll text or call. An old address? He’ll return the book to where it used to live. Follow him as he walks between bookshops, reading as he goes, on the hunt for treasure, for ways to make us feel closer – to the books on our shelves, to each other and to our own lives.

Share in Royle’s enthusiasm for the Rev W Awdry’s Railway Series, Penguin Modern Stories and Paul Auster’s cult classic, The New York Trilogy, as well as books in art and film.

If you love books, bookshops and browsing, this is your perfect all-year gift – head to your happy place with a copy Shadow Lines today! (Note: ‘inclusions’ not supplied.)

Reviews of this Book

‘★★★★ If you're a book sort of person, you're going to enjoy this book, which is a book about books, by a book sort of person, and for book sort of people. Nicholas Royle is fast becoming the bibliophile's bibliophile.’ —Ian Sansom, The Telegraph

‘Royle invests more passion into his subject than EL James did in whips, and it’s all incredibly infectious. He leavens any perceived pedantry with droll self-deprecation and, personally, I haven’t laughed harder with a book for a long time.’ —Nick Duerden, Observer

‘This is a book about books and bookshops that will bring joy to every reader and collector, but it is also about the strangeness and sublimity of individuals, and our tender contacts with each other.’ —Mark Valentine, Wormwoodiana

‘Shadow Lines is all about the connections between humans and language and books and covers and art and walking and reading and collecting; the joy of tracking down titles and of lucky finds and random inclusions. It appears to be all about Nicholas Royle but actually it is about all of us who read.’ —Rupert Loydell, International Times

‘Nicholas Royle’s Shadow Lines is a bibliophile’s dream: a series of linked essays about his obsession for secondhand books. The attraction for Royle is not just the books themselves, but the detritus he finds inside them – old postcards, tickets, receipts, you name it. He observes his own mania with wit and wry self-deprecation.’ —Jonathan Coe, The Guardian

‘I absolutely loved reading Shadow Lines because that love comes across so strongly. If you solely love stories, just as happy to have them as ebooks as books, then this particular book probably isn’t for you. If you are a bibliophile in the purist sense of the word, then race towards Shadow Lines. And if you end up giving it away, make sure to leave the strangest possible inclusion inside it.’ —Simon Thomas, Stuckinabook

‘I recommended “White Spines” as the perfect read for any book lover, and I have to say the same about “Shadow Lines”. Published again by lovely Salt (in a very Picadorian design!), it’s a thoroughly entertaining and surprisingly thought-provoking book, taking in musings on mortality, why we collect the books we do and what they say about us, the kindness of strangers and much, much more. Both of Nicholas Royle’s books have a special place on my shelves, and I can only hope that he’ll go on to write another volume and give us a trilogy!’ —Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings

‘Nicholas Royle’s love of second-hand books and the ‘inclusions’ he finds inside them, their presence betrayed by ‘shadow lines’, is about making connections. Someone has scribbled a number in a book? He’ll text or call. An old address? He’ll return the book to where it used to live. Follow him as he walks between bookshops, reading as he goes, on the hunt for treasure, for ways to make us feel closer – to the books on our shelves, to each other and to our own lives.’ —Slightly Foxed

Praise for Previous Work

‘What keeps this assortment of reflections and reminiscences hanging together is Royle’s delightful accounts of his trips to charity and secondhand bookshops across the UK: Goldmark Books in Uppingham; George Kelsall Booksellers in Littleborough; Southend; Coventry; Wigtown in Scotland. Over the years, Royle has been everywhere. White Spines is a sort of Bill Bryson for book lovers, wry, cosy and full of amusing asides and lovely cameos.’ —Ian Sansom, The Spectator

‘This summer’s must-read for all book lovers.’ —The Irish Times

‘It is Royle’s knowledge and ability to write with enthusiasm that draws the reader in. An enjoyable window into the life of an unapologetic collector. A call to appreciate books for more than their words.’ —Jackie Law, neverimitate

‘Light, breezy, and impossible to put down. It’s a beautifully made book, replicating the classic Picador style (a brave move from Salt!). All of which makes it a book that’s well worth collecting.’ —Joe Darlington, Manchester Review of Books

‘This book is many things: a travelogue, a guide book, a history of a significant imprint, and a slender autobiography … The covers of his Knut Hamsun’s lead into reflections on art and publishing. He is as happy explaining how key figures, such as Sonny Mehta and Peter Straus worked with the Picador imprint, as finding a new bookshop or a book that he didn’t know was a white spine … As bookselling has become overshadowed by Waterstones, Nick reminds us that second hand bookshops are an important part of our literary culture and that an affordable library is not out of the reach of anyone. The last couple of pages include a defence of fiction that is as surprising as it is profound, worth the price of the book alone.’ —Richard Clegg, Bookmunch