PRESS From the GUARDIAN ONLINE’s list of the ‘World’s 10 Best Bookshops‘, with Scarthin Books at number six….

6) Scarthin’s in the Peak District – “Of course, others might prefer the altogether more earthy beauty of a shop like Scarthin Books in the Peak District. Scarthin’s has been selling new and second-hand books since the mid-1970s. It has rooms full of new and old books, a delightful café and what can best be described as a small exhibition of curiosities on the first floor. It is a bookshop so beloved, that it advertises local guest and farmhouses on its websites where devotees can stay overnight”. (© 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited).

XL Years of XLence

Quae quaeris tulisti – that which you seek you bear with you

Scarthin Books from across Cromford Pond

Image © Scarthin Books 2016

Café Philosophique

Around the year 1993 it became fashionable in Paris to hold semi-formal philosophical discussions in cafés and so the term Cafe Philosophique was born. At this time, Evan Rutherford, the Mad Potter of Wirksworth or Professor of Green Hill was giving a series of basic philosophy lessons to Scarthin Books’ Mitchell family and friends in their home. When we opened the Scarthin Books Café, we decided to follow the Parisian lead and to go public in the Café. Thus was born our own Scarthin Books Café Philosophique.

There’s a nominal charge to cover food and some advertising costs. The meetings are advertised by means of posters and the website in addition to a mailing list. We have never sought outside professional or paid speakers; it has been abundantly proved that many members of our own shifting group have at least one lecture to a very high standard inside them – perhaps based on revived university studies, on a dissertation or, more often, on an intense personal interest. Other speakers have been found through personal networks and recommendations. Over the years attendance has waxed and waned – from as few as six to as many as thirty six at Scarthin evenings; twelve to twenty is more normal and more comfortable.

To find out more, click HERE