Jan Smedh and Stina Björkelid, The English Bookshop, Uppsala, Sweden

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  0:00 

Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly, and I'm a bibliophile. Welcome to The Bookshop Podcast. Each week, I present interviews with independent bookshop owners from around the globe, authors, and specialists in subjects dear to my heart, the environment, and social justice. To help the show reach more people. Please share it with friends and family and on social media. And remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to this podcast. You're listening to Episode 194.

In 2018, The English Bookshop in Uppsala, Sweden was chosen by the London Book Fair as its international excellence bookstore of the year. Jan Smedh and his colleague Christer founded the bookshop in 1995 in the historic town of Uppsala. Since then, the bookshop has grown to two other locations. Hi, Jan and Stena. And welcome to the show. It's lovely to have you here.

Stina Björkelid  1:00 

Thank you.

Jan Smedh  1:01 

Thank you so much. It's so great to be here.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  1:04 

Let's begin with learning a little about you both. Jan what were you doing before opening The English Bookshop in Uppsala? And was there a defining moment when you realize you'd like to open an English bookshop?

Jan Smedh  1:17 

I've always been in love with books and reading and writing and, and the whole culture around books, you know, and whenever I go to a new city, I always go to the bookshops and libraries, and that's my first stop. And there's something magical about that environment. And from my early years, I'd always hang out in libraries, you know, on my own after school or with my grandmother when I went to visit her. Libraries and just rooms of books are ingrained in me as a magical safe good place to be. I was actually working in the movie industry, the Swedish movie industry as a sound recordist—as an editor, and working on documentaries, mainly. And then I found myself needing another job because it wasn't very lucrative. And there was a classic bookshop in Uppsala, and I went in and said, Do you need any help? You know, I like books, and I like people. And they said, Yeah, sure, sign up here and get started. And that's where I met my colleague, Christer. And this was something that we almost immediately started talking about was, what if you could take all the fun stuff from this bookshop, and put it in another shop and get all the English language books and just have that? Not the stuff you need to read, but the stuff you want to read, you know, not the stuff you have to read, rather. And so nine months after we first spoke about this, we opened the shop. And we didn't know each other before this. So the defining moment really was when I met my colleague, and we started talking about it.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  2:49 

I enjoyed that story. And let's face it, you have to be a book lover if you're going to open up a bookshop!

Jan Smedh  2:56 

It helps; it really helps them.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  2:58 

I think when we're reading, we build a relationship with that book, with the story, the characters, and the location. And that's actually how I see life. It is all about building relationships. And we'll get into this a little bit later. But there's something quite fascinating and wonderful about building a relationship with the reader.

Jan Smedh  3:19 

I agree. And I think I mean, that's always been the vision. And I think that's why we've done so well over the years, because we've always had a really strong vision of the bookshop as a very strong presence in the local community as being the little shop on the corner, in a sense, you know, with all the values that come with that, where you can walk in, and people will know you. When we have children who come in December and ask, 'You know what my dad likes to read, what should I buy him for Christmas,' that sort of relationship? You know, and I'll start off this talk with the story of when we moved the shop in 2010. Because it's such a great story.

Stina Björkelid  3:58 

Yes, it's the best.

Jan Smedh  3:59 

It's yeah, it's up there. We were in our second location in Uppsala. And we realized we needed a bigger space because you know, you tend to hoard over the years. The more books better, right?

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  4:14 

Yes, always.

Jan Smedh  4:16 

So we managed to convince another shop to swap premises, and they needed a smaller space and we a bigger one. So everything was set. And we started telling our customers that we're going to move and they were really worried, you know, where are you going to go? Where are you going to leave us? And we know that we're just going down to the corner over Midsummer's weekend because mid-summer is pretty much the only period where we closed three days in a row. And we thought, well, you know, we can probably do this with friends and family. And then our customers started asking beforehand. Can we help with the move? And we said, Yeah, sure. You know, when we didn't figure anyone would come because you have to realize that Midsummer's weekend is absolutely sacrosanct in Sweden people leave the city, go to their cabins hang out with their family, and a lot of traditions. It's like Christmas but in the summer? Yeah, I

Stina Björkelid  5:06 

I suppose it's like Thanksgiving in the US.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  5:09 

Yeah, time for families to be together.

Jan Smedh  5:12 

Yeah. So we didn't think anyone was going to show up. But more than 40 people showed up and spent the weekend with us painting walls and carrying boxes and building shelves. And so Monday morning, we opened up again. And we could never have done that without the community that we had built and are still around, you know. So that's, that's the power of community.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  5:34 

Yes, it is. And it sounds like you have a wonderful community.

Jan Smedh  5:37 

Yeah.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  5:38 

Stina. What is your position at the bookshop?

Stina Björkelid  5:40 

I am the events manager. I arrange reading groups and author visits and all sorts of fun things. The next big thing is a release party for actually a UK author living in Sweden, Nick Curran. So he's coming over to sort of having a release party for his latest book, which is absolutely amazing. This is huge for us. And also we're having a talk, which is sort of our specialty talks about slightly academic things. And then afterward, there's tea and cake, because I like tea and cake.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  6:23 

Now, that's my kind of book event.

Stina Björkelid  6:25 

Since I am the events manager, I make tea and bake cakes. And once when people to sort of mingle and have a chance to ask questions. One of our regulars is an author, and she has just written a book. It's actually not been released yet in Sweden, about classic crime queens. It's called Crime Queens and Pretenders. And it's about Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Marjorie Allingham, those sort of great queens of crime and the sort of modern followers, and she's giving a talk in that lecture, so to speak. We also have ongoing projects, what we call the Austin Year, where we have reading groups on all Jane Austen books, and in between the reading groups, we have all different sorts of events. We have a new professor of English literature at Uppsala University who happens to be an expert on Jane Austen.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  7:27 

Well, that's handy!

Stina Björkelid  7:28 

Yes, exactly, isn't that amazing? And one of my best friends, who's also one of our customers—best customers—she said, 'You know what? You should, you should contact Emma; she would love to do something.' So I sort of very shyly said, 'Would you? Would you mind coming down and we could maybe talk about it,' and she more or less rushed down. 'I'd love to do this. This is the best thing ever just meeting other Austinites This is. Wow.' So she has been part of our reading group so far. And she's given a lecture, which was absolutely brilliant. She's a joy.

Jan Smedh  8:07 

Yeah, can I butt in here and say that Stina came to us about 15 years ago now. I think it's been a long time; it calls for a celebration. As the business grew, and we had more and more things to do, we had to sort of specialize in different things because everyone was doing everything. So then Stina took the events, which she's wearing really well. I mean, we do storytelling for kids. And we do all our reading groups. We do six reading groups every month in different categories in the shop. We have different group leaders for different genres, but usually, they bake for the groups, and as Stina used to bake a themed cake depending on the book we're reading, so lots of little quirky things like that. I mean, Stina mans the team. She has an amazing rapport with the customers, and she knows them; and everybody comes in gets a really nice, friendly smile from Stina. And there's a comfort in that. So Stina is very much the first face you very often see.

Stina Björkelid  9:09 

Much like Jan, I also love people. I love people, I love books, and I love meeting people, and I love—

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  9:16 

Love baking, right?

Stina Björkelid  9:18 

 And I love, I love baking as well. Yes, of course.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  9:22 

Like you, I love baking, and I love sitting down with people and eating, drinking a cup of tea or coffee, and talking about books and authors and book shops. I mean, it's hard to beat unless you add a cat or a dog. Jan, why open an English bookshop in Sweden?

Jan Smedh  9:43 

Partly it's my interest from my years of living in English-speaking countries. I remember so many important things that happened to me when it comes to literature when I was in LA in the early 80s. There was a bookshop called the Midnight Express bookshop in Santa Monica, and my host family would take me down there. And it was just—I would walk out with authors who just really changed my life. And you know, the right book at the right moment. I mean, that's still my slogan, the right book in the right hand at the right moment is, is complete, utter magic. So I already had the love of English language fiction. And we didn't have an English language bookshop in Sweden, I mean down further down on the continent you would find them in Paris and in, in Spain, and in the Mediterranean countries. So now there are lots of them. But there wasn't one in Sweden. So we thought there's a niche, we could try that. And my colleague, he had the contacts as well with from working in the bookshop, the other books, the old bookshop for you in a few years. So we had this idea, and we sort of chiseled it out and decided on what to do, but the reason was it's something we loved, and we thought there was a niche for it.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  9:45 

Yeah, I've spoken with two other English bookshops, one in Spain and one in Lyon, France.

Jan Smedh  10:27 

Yeah, listen to that. The Spain Spanish one I listened to, yeah.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  10:34 

That's great, thanks. And they both said the same thing; there was a need for it, and it made perfect sense to open their bookshops. Now there are three locations of the English bookshop, Uppsala, Stockholm, and Gothenburg. Are they owned by other individuals? Or do you own and run all three?

Jan Smedh  11:23 

No, me and my colleague Christer own and run all three. And I think where Sweden, I wanted to say this as well, where Sweden differs a bit from continental English language book shops is that a lot of them have been ex-pat book shops. If you look at Southern France or the Mediterranean, they're bookshops for visiting English-speaking people. Whereas in Sweden, I mean, 95% of our customers are Swedes who read in English fluently and for pleasure. So that's, I think, quite a distinct difference in our market and who our customers are. So we opened the first shop 28 years ago, just a couple of blocks behind me. And after a few years of, you know, wrestling the beast into shape, we decided that, you know, maybe we should have one in Stockholm as well because this is going fairly well and we don't want anyone else to open one. So, you know, let's, let's do this. And so we did that in 2008, after the first 13 or 14 years, and then then the Gothenburg one we opened just for four or five months ago. Why we opened it in Gothenburg now was because the Stockholm shop has become very successful and very autonomous from us. And we figured we could add another shop without adding too much extra work. And then we found the right person, and we found the right location. And the timing was right. So we just looked at each other and said that let's do this by why not, you know? So we did.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  12:56 

And Stina, does this mean that when you run an event you can plan it for each of the bookshops in the different areas?

Jan Smedh  13:03 

Ah, that's so new. We haven't done that yet.

Stina Björkelid  13:06 

Exactly.

Jan Smedh  13:09 

But we have authors now talking to us about how they want to do the Swedish tour and do all three bookshops. So we've done a couple of Uppsala Stockholm ones in the past, but of course, now there's three so yeah!

Stina Björkelid  13:19 

Yeah, quite a few events have been sort of, 'yeah, I've been in the Stockholm shop or I'm going to the Stockholm shop. Would you mind if I come to the Uppsala one as well?'

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  13:27 

Yeah, I think it's great to have that continuity. And as you were saying Jan, authors may want to do the Swedish tours, so to speak, of your three book shops.

Jan Smedh  13:36 

Yeah, and one author said he wanted a tour t-shirt.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  13:39 

Yes, The English Bookshop swag. Now in 2021, the London Book Fair named The English Bookshop in Uppsala as its international excellence bookstore of the year. What do you think granted you this award? Is it your booksellers, the curation, relationships, or all three?

Jan Smedh  13:57 

I was there at the London Book Fair for the evening award ceremonies. It was such a magical night. And I think because the nominations were anonymous, and then there was a jury and our shortlist and all of that. What they mentioned is the relationship that we've been able to build with our customers, and as you say relationships. They even mentioned a quote from TripAdvisor that said that Stina can convince anyone to buy anything. I think that was pretty much it.

Stina Björkelid  14:31 

Yeah. Oh, yes.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  14:33 

What a wonderful compliment, Stina!

Jan Smedh  14:35 

Very well. That's just how we work. Exactly. So I think that no, absolutely, it's curation. I mean, for a long time, there was a decline, and as you know, in independent bookshops in the US and the UK, and over the last 10 years, they've grown back and stronger. I think it's a new generation of booksellers doing it. But for a long time, we'd have American and British tourists come and just walk around in awe saying, 'We don't have these where we live anymore—we used to have bookshops like this, but we don't anymore.' And, for instance, in Uppsala, we have, I think around 15,000 titles in stock. And the shop keep keeps expanding. We've added two new rooms in the last couple of years, by taking over premises next door,

Stina Björkelid  15:23 

We're slowly taking over the whole block.

Jan Smedh  15:24 

Yeah, so it's, you know, it's a lot of books. And people really, really enjoy the feel of going into a bookshop, and also a bookshop, which, where you can, you can see the spines, you know, and it's not all just prompted books, it's not just bestsellers, it's, its magic little displays, and it's things we recommend, and little sub sub categories that, you know, open your mind in a sense. Because you'll see things next to other things that you didn't know about. And I think that's, to me, as well over the years that's grown to become one of the most important things with a bookshop is that it's, it's a Democratic forum because you're exposed to voices that you aren't exposed to if you just buy online, or if you just talk to people who think like you think. But if you come into a bookshop, it's hard. And I always say that the best customer is someone who leaves with a book that did not intend to buy when they came in because that's the experience the serendipity of it. I actually wanted to name the bookshop Serendipity Bookshop, but I was overruled.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  16:27 

Jan, I agree with everything you've just said. Stina, you will relate to this, I research books and scheduled authors for an event at a hotel in Santa Barbara called El Encanto. The program is called Lunch with an Author. Of course, there is food involved, right? The thing I love about it is that for these two hours, two and a half hours, I'm in a room full of like-minded people. We are bipartisan. We are just talking about books. We're having stimulating conversations with the authors about the subject matter of their books. And this is what I love about being around other bookish people. Here in the United States, we are getting books banned every day. And for many people, libraries and independent bookshops are safe places where they can go and have discussions; conversations without fear.

Jan Smedh  17:24 

Exactly. And I think that's important. And I think Philip Pullman said that he said that independent booksellers are the lantern bearers of civilization. That's something to aim for, isn't it?

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  17:35 

Yes, it is.

Jan Smedh  17:36 

And also what you said about safe spaces.

Stina Björkelid  17:38 

We were actually discussing that just a couple of days ago. Quite a few people come into a bookshop and more or less say to us, 'This is my safe space.' When I used to come to the bookshop as a customer, if I'd had a bad day, I came in just to calm my nerves because there was a sort of exuded kindness. And now people come in, lots of LGBTQ+ people come in, and they see, we've marked sort of queer interest books with little rainbow tags. And they come in, and they feel welcome.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  18:17 

That's beautiful.

Stina Björkelid  18:18 

Yeah, you encouraged me to be myself. And this is where I can come to sort of find my space and know that I'm always welcome.

Jan Smedh  18:27 

Yeah, I was at a meeting, and there was a mother there, and she came up to me and said, 'I have a daughter, and she's high school age; she comes into the bookshop because, you know, messy day in high school, and you know, the vibes and the tensions and the everything, she goes to the bookshop after her day in school, because she can read kitty, she can relax, she feels safe.' And that makes me so proud that we have this space where people feel welcome and they feel safe.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  18:55 

Yeah, a few months ago, I interviewed TJ Klune, author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, and his latest novel, In The Lives of Puppets. He's such a wonderful, kind man and a fabulous writer. He's actually going to be in England soon, so I don't know; maybe you could entice him with a three-indie bookshop tour of Sweden. He can get some swag!

Stina Björkelid  19:19 

Oh, that would be a dream.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  19:22 

And he told a story about when he was growing up. He grew up in a very poor neighborhood in rural Oregon, probably very conservative, and the one place where he felt comfortable and safe was the library. He explained that librarians aren't there just to give books; they listen. But listen to him tell the story in our interview, I'll make sure to put the link in the show notes. Like I said, it's a powerful episode. I believe that reading fiction—most fiction—helps teach us empathy.

Jan Smedh  19:57 

That's something I say quite often. Fiction is an exercise in empathy. That's what it is. I mean, it's the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and see what that's like, you know? And I think that's, that's one of the most important things.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  20:12 

Yes, absolutely. What can you tell us about your customers and the diversity of Uppsala and how this affects your curation?

Jan Smedh  20:21 

I do all the buying for all three shops. So but I do it with an ear to my customers and to my staff and I and to what people are interested in and also into the sort of stock that I want to present. It's interesting because Stockholm and Gothenburg and Upsala shops, they're in different cities, and there's a different clientele, be a little bit anyway. So we sell a little bit different books. And the diversity of Uppsala, it's a big city, I mean, for Sweden. It's Sweden's fourth biggest city. It's a university town, with the university founded 15 years before Columbus stumbled upon what he called the West Indies. I think we have 50,000 university students in a city of 200,000. So you can see what that does to a town. It's also this center for the Swedish Church. So the Arch Bishop is here, and the cathedral and it's an intellectual city, in a sense, but it's also a working city. And with lots of people as well, from all over the world. Lots of nationalities and a really good city library just across the street here. It seems like people have an open mind. They're interested in other cultures, they're interested in learning. And they're interested in finding out more about other people and how other people function and think. Knowledge, I think is very highly valued in Uppsala. And in the shop, definitely. But we do our bit to sort of chip into this value.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  22:00 

I didn't realize you had so many university students in Uppsala.

Jan Smedh  22:04 

Yeah. Yeah, it's the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. So it was it's always; there are lots of universities now, but it's sort of the historic center of learning in Sweden. So yes, it also still there's a big agricultural university as well, just outside, so two universities.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  22:25 

And while we're on that subject, our listeners enjoy hearing about the areas where bookshops are located. So if one had a few days in Uppsala, what historic sites, hiking trails, museums, and restaurants would you suggest visiting?

Stina Björkelid  22:40 

I would suggest you go to old Uppsala. They have a wonderful museum there, a sort of Viking center. Old Uppsala is where the original sort of center for the church was when Sweden was first christened about 1000 years ago. And they have these seven little hills that are actually graves for kings and queens

Jan Smedh  23:04 

They are from the fourth and fifth centuries, so they're pre-Viking. And Uppsala, of course, was the sort of the historic center before Sweden was Sweden. So it's really a town steeped in history. And as you know, saying you can walk out to these burial mounds, and the museum is really fantastic. And you can walk even further out there all around this part of Sweden, their trails that you can walk that are really lovely.

Stina Björkelid  23:35 

Exactly and you can also walk along the river. So old Uppsala is sort of along the river, northwards, and you can also walk along the river southwards, where there is a nature reserve. There are lots of birds, and it's absolutely beautiful. I live not too far from there. So actually walk there quite often with my dog. And it's the joy of just walking through the old trees and seeing the river, and sometimes you see these sorts of rare birds popping up. It's stunning. I love it.

Jan Smedh  24:18 

They're also Linnaeus walks. Linnaeus was the father of classification, and he was a professor in Uppsala. He sent people all over the world to gather animals and plants, and he categorized everything, so he classified nature. But there are a lot of walks around Uppsala Mark, where he used to work with these students. So you can walk and read and learn more about that, and there are things you can listen to so you get the story along the way. Also, his botanical gardens and his museum is just down the street from here. So that's also really interesting. In the summertime, we have lots of good concerts here as well.

Stina Björkelid  24:52 

Yeah, and lots of museums. You don't have to sort of walk very far to get to it. You have a cathedral and a wonderful university library where we have quite a stunning exhibition of old books. And, as Jan said, steeped in history, it sounds

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  25:12 

Beautiful. Now, I would like to know a little about your climate; for example, how many months a year do you have snow?

Stina Björkelid  25:21 

Well, normally I'd say two or three.

Jan Smedh  25:24 

But not as many anymore. Stina's from the north of Sweden, and my background is from up there as well; the climate has changed. We used to have a lot, maybe get three or four months of snow in the winter, but now we get two measly sorts of months. We have lots of snow now. But it comes and goes much more than it used to.

Stina Björkelid  25:43 

We've actually had a blizzard today. So it's sort of, hang on!

Jan Smedh  25:48 

It’s been lovely, but it's, it's dark. I mean, a lot of international students who come here are just, you know, shocked by how dark it is. In the winter, we get, you know, a few hours of sunlight in December. And you get if you're not used to it, I mean, you get really, really tired. And you always recommend visitors from sunnier climates to take vitamin D in the wintertime. And the university has a student daylight room where you can go and sit, and they have special lights that so you can get all of that—the energy that you need from daylight because it gets really dark and bleak. And it's better when there's snow on the ground because that sort of brightens things up. But when it's just dark all the time, it's you know, we recommend a summer visit, the best place to be is in a bookshop,

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  26:36 

yes, that's always the best place to be right.

Stina Björkelid  26:39 

But if someone were to come to Sweden, I would say visit Sweden between the months of say late April to late September or mid-October, something because the weather is better in the summertime, there is so much light. And also people are much friendlier. You can see a marked difference in the number of smiles that you can see on people on the streets walking, looking like gloom and doom in the winters, and then 'oh, the sun, it's lovely.'

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  27:18 

Well, thanks for that, I'll keep it in mind. Now what about booksellers? I mean, you have three bookshops? That's a lot of booksellers that you need to train and hire.

Jan Smedh  27:27 

Yeah, well, you know, I always say that if you go to work for us, you need to love books, love people, and have a very wide, general knowledge. It doesn't have to be very deep, but it should be really wide, so you can help people out. And you know, if you're the kind of person who likes to tell people where to go to eat or what film to see, then you're perfect in this job as well. So love books, love people, and have a broad general base of knowledge. And I think almost everyone who works for us in all our shops has some sort of academic education that they never finished.

Stina Björkelid  28:06 

I finished mine.

Jan Smedh  28:07 

Well, good for you. I never really finished my master's, I still have a bit of work to do on that. But we don't really work in the field we were trained for. But we work. But I think basic academic training is very good because it helps. People ask for things, and you need some sort of to be able to help them find the best book on archery or something, you know, then you need some sort of general knowledge, and also, if you have been to university, you know how to do research. And that really helps as well.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  28:41 

I find it fascinating because I have interviewed a lot of booksellers who have PhDs; they are just happiest when they're in a bookshop being a bookseller.

Jan Smedh  28:50 

Yeah, because you can talk to people about all sorts of things, you know, and you get the most amazing conversations when they're in a bookshop, you know, with people who know so much about the, you know, what they're interested in, and you learn all that every day is it's like a university, you know, a bookshop, because working in a bookshop, you just learn so much all the time.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly  29:08 

And speaking of books, Stina What are you currently reading?

Stina Björkelid  29:12 

I'm currently reading. I have been since the pandemic, I have been reading a lot of romance. Partly because I like the sort of feel-good and romance and so on. And then customers came in, and they'd watched the Bridgerton TV series, and I realized that I had never read Bridgerton and not really that sort of historical romance. Sort of, I was slightly snooty about it. And so I thought, well, I should read this. And I devoured all of Julia Quinn’s books. It was a perfect pandemic read. So I do still read a lot of romance. And we also have a feel-good book of the month, and that's sort of my area of expertise. So I'm currently reading—actually, this is a sort of preview copy because it's publishing in May—it's called Best Men. It's an absolutely lovely, feel-good love story about two men living in New York, and his best friend is getting married, and he's the bride's best man. He's always been the bride's friend, and as it turns out, her husband-to-be has a gay brother. Before they know each other, they have a not very successful one night stand, and everything turns very awkward when they sort of need to come together and get to know each other party. They start by hating each other, and then they become friends. And it's, it's a lovely story. Some American romances have got a lot of sex scenes in them. That's okay. But this one really doesn't, it's more about the romance and the building of love and trust. And I love that. That's the best!

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

Well, I’m going to suggest a book to you, because you like romance. This book is written by a screenwriter, playwright, and novelist. He writes a lot of humor, and his name is Paul Rudnick. I think the book was published in 2016, it is called Gorgeous. My husband bought it for me and said, ‘I think you’re really going to love this book, and he was correct. It is kind of an adult fairy tale, but I think it’s just charming. So, look that one up.

Stina Björkelid 

Oh, that sounds lovely!

Jan Smedh 

I’ve read him. I read him back in the 90s I think.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

Well, that’s good to hear, and you may have read him in the New Yorker.

Jan Smedh 

Yeah, I have read him.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

He has a new book coming out in June, and it’s called Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style. Hilarious, heartbreaking, just a wonderful, wonderful book. I highly recommend it. And Jan, what are you currently reading?

Jan Smedh 

Well, I read different genres all the time. I just finished a book called The Impossible Us by Sarah Lotz, and it starts out as a relationship story where two people get in touch by mistake, and then they start sharing by email things about their life, and they really hit it off, they click. There’s something right about how they connect. Their lives are a little bit messy, and things are happening, and they help each other, and slowly they realize that they’ve fallen in love with each other, and should they meet? So about 105 pages into the book they decide to meet in London at Euston Station under a clock at a certain time. They’re both very nervous, he buys a new suit, and she buys the red coat, and they go to Euston Station. He comes by train from Leeds, and they meet under the clock, or do they? And what happens is he can’t see her in her red coat, and she can’t see him in his tweed suit.  And she becomes really upset because she thinks he’s just bluffing and has made a fool of herself. So she blocks him and goes back home, and then we realize on page 1106 that they are living in different timelines. They’re not in the same reality.  So it’s an impossible romance, or is it? I’m not going to say anymore because it’s a good book. But yeah, so I enjoyed that. I’m not if it’s published in the US; the copy I have is a UK copy. But I put that down and picked up a crime novel by Don Winslow, he’s a Southern California writer. He has a new book coming out next month which I have an advanced reading copy of, so I’m enjoying that. But I’m also doing a project. There’s an award called the World Fantasy Award, and me and some people have started a book group we’re trying to read all of the winners chronologically from 1975 to today. And we’re now up to 1996 so the next one is Rachel Pollack and I’m starting that after this one, I think.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

That’s a great idea, and speaking of fantasy, I’m a huge Michael Moorcock fan, and I actually got to interview him a couple of months ago. Such a wonderful man and a prolific writer. I am in awe of his writing, especially his novel Gloriana, Or The Unfulfil’d Queen.

Jan Smedh 

Yeah, I’ve not read that much, but I did read Gloriana when it came out, and it’s just amazing; the writing is just astounding. The first chapter is so cinematic—the way he moves through London at that time, it just completely drew me in. I mean I was quoting it left and right.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

Oh, we could have a whole conversation about that first page! Like I said, I’m in awe of his work. That makes me feel so good that you’ve read it because none of my bookish friends have read it, You know, for different reasons, whatever.

Jan Smedh 

But there’s one other chapter that I just want to mention that affected me in the same way, and that is Maggie O’Farrell’s previous book, Hamnet. Did you read that?

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

Oh, yes, I love Hamnet.

Jan Smedh 

But there’s one chapter when the virus travels from Alexandria to Stratford; that chapter is perfect. I mean just that one chapter, I was giving it to my sons, saying, ‘Just read this chapter; you don’t have to read the whole book. Just read this chapter because the writing is amazing.’

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

I get emotional just thinking about that book. And you see, here we are, we’re talking books, and we’re just so fired up about it. It’s fantastic, I love it! Stina, we need cake and tea!

Stina Björkelid 

We do!

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

Jan and Stina, thank you so much for being guests on The Bookshop Podcast; it’s just been a joy chatting with you both.

Stina Björkelid 

Thank you for having us.

Jan Smedh 

We enjoyed it. Thank you for having us. Thank you for reaching out and ah, best of luck with everything, and enjoy the weather.

Mandy Jackson-Beverly

You’ve been listening to my conversation with Jan Smedh and Stina Björkelid from The English Bookshop in Uppsala, Sweden. To find out more about The Bookshop Podcast go to thebookshoppodcast.com and make sure to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to the show. You can also follow me at mandyjacksonbeverly and the bookshoppodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and YouTube at the bookshop podcast. If you have a favorite indie that you’d like to suggest we have on the podcast we’d love to hear from you via the contact form at the bookshop podcast.com The bookshop podcast is written and produced by me, Mandy Jackson-Beverly, theme music provided by Brian Beverly, executive assistant to Mandy, Adrian Odtohan, and graphic design by Frances Faralla. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time!