Amazon has been my go-to for buying books, especially for the convenience of Kindle and Audible while travelling. However, I’ve recently been asking myself: is there an alternative to Amazon that aligns with ethical values, supports independents, and offers e-book freedom? Amazon dominates the global book market—up to 60% of U.S. book sales and roughly the same share in e-books.
This Christmas, I travelled home to find my parents had boxed up my books while they were having the windows done. They know I like my bookshelf styled how I like it, so they left me to do the organisation. But it got me thinking about how many different ways there are to display books. I’ve always wanted to experiment
Here’s why I need a reading journal: I love books, but I’m terrible at remembering what I’ve read, what happened in the plot, or even whether I liked it. I’d love to be able to give book recommendations or recall which books on my bookshelf I’ve read already, but my memory is just not up to the task. Can you
Updated October 2025 To represent the page travellers there, here are the best literary gifts for book lovers who travel, which are practical, cute and – most importantly – kind to your baggage allowance. I love receiving candles as gifts. But, as a candle-loving, book-consuming backpacker, books and candles are sadly not the most practical of gifts for readers who