Brendon Books

Brendon Books occupies a shopfront on Bath Place, a pedestrian court off Taunton's high street, and has traded as an independent bookshop since 1984. Jo and Lionel Ward have run the shop since 1989, stocking new titles alongside a substantial second-hand section across roughly 2,200 square feet of shelving. The stock leans towards local history, maps and West Country writing, and staff will track down out-of-print titles on request. Brendon Books organises the Taunton Literary Festival and hosts regular author talks in the shop itself, pulling chairs between the shelves for an audience of thirty or so. Online orders are routed through Bookshop.org so that a share of each sale still supports the physical shop rather than a warehouse elsewhere. The shop opens Tuesday to Saturday.