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I was standing in Queen\u2019s Square the other day, reading Ruben Reyes Jr\u2019s excellent novel, Archive of Unknown Universes, when I noticed that I was getting a lot of stares.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reporting on the stories that matter to you. Only with your support.<\/p>\n It was Saturday afternoon, the second day of the incredible Idles\u2019 Block Party summer events, and I was by myself. I do enough solo cinema trips to know that it\u2019s ok to do things by yourself. However, I quickly found that standing by myself reading a book between sets was turning me into the oddball of the gig.\u00a0<\/p>\n People kept walking past me, trying to get my attention, limboing under my hands to read the cover. Others, including a couple sitting in front of me, were stealth-snapping photos of me. I don\u2019t think they realised that I could see their phone screens, their guffawing faces and the messages they were sending their friends. It was such a strange reaction to a guy reading a book.<\/p>\n And then someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDo you mind me asking\u2026 why are you reading?\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n I was taken aback. I had no good answer. Why was I reading?<\/p>\n Maybe I wouldn\u2019t have been the oddball if I\u2019d been reading the book on my phone<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It reminded me of an old Bill Hicks joke. He\u2019s talking about reading a book at a diner in Nashville. The waitress approaches him and asks, \u201cWhat are you reading for?\u201d Not \u201cWhat are you reading?\u201d but \u201cWhat are you reading for?\u201d I understand his frustration and confusion, though I\u2019m not sure I like the punchline, because in the joke, he says, \u201cI guess I read for a lot of reasons and the main one is so I don\u2019t end up being a fuckin\u2019 waffle waitress\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n The guy who approached me is still waiting patiently, and I don\u2019t know how to answer him. Eventually I say, \u201cI\u2019m here alone, and it\u2019s a good fucking book. Why not?\u201d He nods, unconvinced by my answer. I reassure him that I\u2019m not reading while there are bands on stage. I can tell he still doesn\u2019t get it, but he leaves me to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maybe I wouldn\u2019t have been the oddball if I\u2019d been reading the book on my phone. Or scrolling. But hey, I don\u2019t want to be judgmental about people who pass the time scrolling.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here I will segue into a couple of things. One, I want to talk about the moment Bristol is having in terms of its incredible indie bookshop scene. And two, I have some recommendations for you, dear Cable chums.<\/p>\n When I moved to Bristol in 2011, there were a couple of Waterstones, Foyles had just opened (as of this week, sadly closed), and that was about it. But in recent years, the independent bookshop scene has blossomed. We\u2019ve got Gloucester Road Books, serving up awesome curated translated fiction, non-fiction, fiction and kids\u2019 stuff. We have Storysmith Books in Southville, doing the same. Max Minervas in Henleaze has a great children\u2019s section. Small City Bookshop in Redfield has shelves curated by local authors. There\u2019s The Haunted Bookshop on Stokes Croft, East Bristol Books in Old Market, and Heron in Clifton. All of them do heaps of events.\u00a0<\/p>\n I also want to highlight Bookhaus in Wapping Wharf. It\u2019s a radical bookshop covering a bit of everything: politics, kids\u2019 stories, fiction and translated fiction, small presses and more. But it gets its reputation from highlighting Bristol\u2019s history of radical thinking and doing, so the politics, pamphlets and magazines sections are all brilliantly curated. I mention it because the owners are retiring and its manager, (nepo-friend-alert, a good pal) Darran is crowdfunding to keep the doors<\/a> open by buying the bookshop.\u00a0<\/p>\n So next time you\u2019re at a place alone and you want to read, buy a book from one of these places. Let\u2019s see more oddballs reading in public! And next time someone asks you, \u201cWhy are you reading?\u201d Just reply, \u201cCos it\u2019s a fucking good book\u201d.<\/p>\n Nikesh\u2019s autumn reading list<\/p>\n Year Of The Rat HOPE not hate\u2019s lead investigator spends a year undercover in different far-right movements to learn how they operate. It reads like a thriller and I learned so much about my enemy from it. <\/p>\n Small Boat A short novel fictionalising the real-life tragedy of a small boat that capsized in the channel in November 2021. It tries to get into the mind of one of the French authorities\u2019 employees who answered a distress call, and in the end, it becomes a book about humans, not stats or numbers or slogans. It\u2019s devastating. <\/p>\n Saraswati<\/strong> A polyphonic novel about contemporary India and the intersection of far-right politics and religion, all told through a rotating cast of characters, a magic river and marriage that reverberates through generations. It\u2019s a sumptuous, sweeping read. <\/p>\n We Are Not Numbers \u2013 The Voice Of Gaza\u2019s Youth A vital, visceral and heartbreaking collections of stories by the youth of Gaza, exploring their everyday lives before October 2023. It tells us about the hopes, dreams, realities, and despairs of young people deserve so much better. <\/p>\n Archive of Unknown Universes To those of you who were interested at that gig, this is about so many things, from the impact of the revolution in El Salvador to the generations now trawling through uncertain, unwritten and undocumented histories to find the people behind the stories. It\u2019s a curious blend of grounded sci-fi and social history. <\/p>\n Independent. Investigative. Indispensable.<\/p>\n Investigative journalism strengthens democracy \u2013 it\u2019s a necessity, not a luxury.<\/p>\n The Cable is Bristol\u2019s independent, investigative newsroom. Owned and steered by more than 2,500 members<\/b>, we produce award-winning journalism that digs deep into what\u2019s happening in Bristol.<\/p>\n We are on a mission to become sustainable, and to do that we need more members. <\/b>Will you help us get there?<\/b><\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.thebristolcable.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9781784746049-jacket-large-1.avif\")
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<\/strong>by Harry Shukman<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.thebristolcable.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/71YGIpJr3rL._UF10001000_QL80_.avif\")
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<\/strong>by Vincent Delacroix (translated by Helen Stephenson)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.thebristolcable.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/71niyVnGsXL._UF8941000_QL80_.avif\")
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by Gurnaik Johal<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.thebristolcable.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/71yCnl8ud4L-1080x1726.avif\")
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<\/strong>by Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.thebristolcable.org\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9781804442739.avif\")
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<\/strong>by Ruben Reyes Jr.<\/p>\n