The Fireside Book Shop in Stroud is a real treat for lovers of literature,

It is packed with reads from across the glob and if they haven't got your book in stock, the chances are they can order it in.

We took time out to chat to Ben Brockett about the business.

What is your full name?

Ben Brockett

What is the name of the business?

Fireside Bookshop

Are you the owner?

No my father in law Rob Sheppard is the owner. I work in the business with Rob, his wife Barb and my wife Martha.

What is the ethos of the business?

We aim to curate a wide selection of really good quality secondhand, academic and antiquarian books on a wide range of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. It’s important to us that we stock great books spanning a wide price range from just a couple of pounds all the way up to the more rare and unusual.

We sell books online at www.firesidebookshop.co.uk but it’s always been important to us to have a bricks and mortar shop, as meeting our customers is where so much of our enjoyment of the trade comes from.

What is your best selling item / most used service?

We have about 30,000 books in stock and they’re pretty much all different, so we don’t really have a bestseller. Having said that our gift vouchers are very popular, as people often have friends and family who love books but who can be quite hard to buy presents for!

What is the weirdest thing you have been asked for in business?

‘Do you have any books on freezing yourself?’

What is Stroud like as a town to operate in?

Stroud has been a wonderfully welcoming and interesting place to move our shop to. We love the wide variety of people who come into the shop and have loved finding out about the many many things that are going on culturally in the area.

There’s such a great selection of independent retailers, we hope we’ve been able to add something a little different to the mix!