6th March Newsletter

What’s On At Veranda

Welcome, welcome! Another busy week at Veranda Books, during which we celebrated World Book Day at our local primary school. It was great to see the enthusiasm with which the children approached the books we’d brought for them. Contrast this with a recent YouGov poll which revealed that 40% of Britons haven’t read or listened to a book in the last 12 months. Definitely food for thought, and we don’t have the answers, but this is something we’ll be thinking and talking about more – we’d love to hear your thoughts, in person or online!

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Shop News

By popular demand…

With Spring (almost) upon us, what better time to make some new reading resolutions?
Starting this April, we are delighted to announce In Translation: Veranda’s first-ever book club.
Rooted in our passion for translated fiction, the gatherings will introduce you to some of the most interesting and thought-stimulating books, from tried-and-tested classics to recent releases we feel you need to know about.
Led by Leo, we’ll meet every six weeks in our intimate downstairs space to discuss morally complex characters, twisting plot points, and differing global perspectives on writing. This is a chance to connect with like-minded readers (or to politely agree to disagree), and to make new book friends along the way.
First meeting will be held on the 15th April at 6.30 pm. Selected book is Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (tr. Daniel Bowles). Available at the shop – sign-up via link below
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Cafes, Convenience Stores and Cats, Cats, Cats

We’re celebrating Asian literature in translation this month, and with the cherry blossom out, what better place to start than Japan?
Japanese literature in translation has been booming for several years now, and in 2025, 1 in 4 translated books bought in the UK originated in Japan. In our experience, Japanese literature is frequently the gateway to reading translated fiction more broadly – and while there are reliable entry points (smash hit Butter, stalwart writers such as Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto), the number of writers and sub-genres has exploded in recent years. Notably, there are many more female writers on the bestseller lists, in large part due to the work of the translator-collective Strong Women, Soft Power (as mentioned in our newsletter of 13th Feb).
The true juggernaut of Japanese fiction in translation are the sentimental, ‘healing’ books – stories set in cosy cafés and bookshops, particularly those with cats curled up in the window. They may not be the coolest books around, but they provide a warmth and comfort (and are strangely addictive!)
  • Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (tr. Geoffrey Trousselot) A series of 5 books (with the 6th on the way) set in a Tokyo café, where customers have the option to time- travel
Elsewhere on the spectrum, for readers more comfortable with discomfort, we encounter misfits, the alienated and isolated. And novels exposing the stigma of divorce and single motherhood shine a light on feminist issues in contemporary Japanese society.
  • Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima (tr. Geraldine Harcourt)
  • The Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi (tr. Lucy North)
  • Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (tr. Ginny Tapley Takemori)
Fascination with the darker aspects of Japanese life continue apace – from true-life crime to haunting dystopia. Elements of surrealism are sometimes deployed to provide distortion or disguise – fans of Murakami quickly understand that the Wild Sheep Chases and Wind-Up Birds are not as cute as they may seem.
  • Kafka on the Shor by Haruki Murakami (tr. Philip Gabriel)
  • The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (tr. Stephen Snyder)
  • Hooked by Asako Yuzuki (tr. Polly Barton) – new novel by the author of Butter, out next week, and definitely one to watch
As for the prevalence of cats, you can find out more about this at a display in the Library of Japan House on High St Kensington entitled I am a Cat (Although, anecdotally, Alison is keen to report that on a recent trip to Tokyo, she didn’t see a single cat. Mysterious…)
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Now Booking

An evening with Hélène Giannechini

On the 26th March, we‘re bringing you a special event hosted in collaboration with brilliant Indy publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions to celebrate the release of An Army Of Lovers Cannot Fail by Hélène Giannechini.
On encountering a poem about love and friendship etched on the Homomonument in Amsterdam, Hélène was inspired to explore the evolving nature of love, friendship and ‘chosen family’.
Reflecting on her own unconventional family, she sets out to piece together an alternative perspective on the lives of those traditionally excluded from mainstream discourses, drawing on extensive archival fragments and highly personal oral histories.
Part memoir, part political manifesto, this is a book that offers new and fascinating perspectives on queer life in the 20th Century, and is a moving testament to the enduring power of friendship.
Hélène will be in conversation with Adam Zmith, co-author of The Log Books: Voices of Queer Britain and the Helpline That Listened. We hope you can join us – drinks from 6.30pm, spaces free but limited
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Our Recommended Reads

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Greedy by Callie Kazumi

Emily’s recommending Greedy this week – a deliciously dark thriller set in Japan following Englishman Ed as he tries to pay off his gambling debts to the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) by becoming a private chef for a reclusive client. “It had me hooked from the start with the stylish prose and playful cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. Kazumi has a brilliant ability to create an almost lightheartedness to this psychological horror-thriller, while managing to address social issues in Japan like single motherhood, poverty and wealth. A rollicking fun read!”

May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry

In conversation at the shop this week, Rebecca Perry spoke of the joy she felt when writing this, her debut novel – and as the Veranda team can attest, that joy is truly evident when reading it. Historical fiction of sorts, with two timelines running through – we follow a contemporary curator, and a reluctant king in an undefined era. With that structure in place, Perry‘s imagination runs wild, creating a richly-detailed tapestry of palace life – while leaving enough space for the reader‘s thoughts and speculation. A dazzlingly original novel.

What we’re loving this week…

The highlight of Emily’s week has been organising her son’s third birthday party! A train-tastic extravaganza involving taking over the function room of a pub and covering the whole floor in train tracks to allow toddlers to run riot with hundreds of electric Thomas the Tank Engines – to great success! It was a frenzied, sticky-floored, cake-filled joy of an afternoon.
Spurred on by the change in the weather, Leo has been getting up (a bit) earlier to walk/jog in Highgate Wood every morning, followed by coffee and an hour of reading at Queen’s Wood Cafe. Hidden away in the corner of the wood, this former woodkeeper’s lodge dates back to 1898, and is now run as an eco-project and community garden (and art gallery/occasional live music venue) tended by a team of local volunteers.
Alison went to the Barbican to see the Beatriz González exhibition which opened recently, just weeks after the artist, referred to as ‘La Maestra’ in her native Colombia, died at the age of 93. This is a major retrospective of a long, well-observed life – and a representation of the turbulent times she lived through. Bright and colourful as her works are, there is a darkness to them which is hard-hitting. Running til 10th May

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