I’m Cat, founder of Good Book Club. I’m making it easier for book lovers to read the stories they want – and need – to hear. Here’s why.
Good Book Club exists to amplify under-represented voices in publishing. It was founded in 2022 – post-Covid, post-Brexit, but not quite post-apocalypse. Not as long as there are still books.
I’d always dreamed of living within walking distance from a bookshop – and not just any bookshop, but one where I could get my hands on small press reads from exciting new voices. When the story of the Good Book Club was still an idea, I was a 30 minute cycle from the nearest one.
Fitting an hour round trip around work and life is a big commitment for a regular book browser. So I opened Good Book Shop a 10-minute walk from my house. I figured there had to be more of us – book lovers who hate leaving the neighbourhood to shop. And I was right.
With Good Book Club, I wanted to make it easier for people all over the country to get their hands on the books they want to read. I know what it’s like to be so immersed in the day to day you get swept further from what you really care about – books.
Now, researching the best new fiction from writers from marginalised backgrounds is what I do every day, and I take great pleasure in curating a book a month to send to curious readers like you to help you discover the range of new and exciting books out there.
I love reading and selecting the books, and making sure you experience a range of stories, textures, tempos and cadences. Choices are never pedestrian, and are selected because they ignite something in me – a spark of curiosity, a new way of thinking – that I believe more people will enjoy experiencing.
Now, I share a space on the local high street with a fellow business owner. That’s how Good Book Shop was born – out of friendship, connection, and support. And those are the values I bring to every customer who walks through the door or joins Good Book Club.
Come and say hi at 264 Church Road in Bristol, or if you’re not local, experience the power of Good Book Club by joining online.