Books in the Window: Summer 2025

A shop-front round-up of new book recommendations – with Lily Baron at Book Space Cardiff

At Book Space Cardiff we are constantly on the look out for new writing coming out of Wales, so I was thrilled when Kathryn asked me to do a round up to go alongside the latest issue of Folding Rock. As Folding Rock showcases, there is a lot of very good writing coming out of Wales. I have created a list here, where you can browse all the following titles and order them for home delivery wherever you are! There will also be a link with each title where you can find out more. The books on this list are from Welsh publishers, Welsh writers and writers who now call Wales home, or they are based on Welsh folklore or inspired in some way by this wonderful place!

A bit more about us before we get into the books. We are an independent bookshop in Cardiff, we have just celebrated our first birthday and we are passionate about nurturing a community with a love of stories. I, Lily, am the owner and I opened the shop for a few reasons: a love of books of course, the feeling that Cardiff deserves more bookshops, and perhaps the most obvious being that it has always been a dream of mine! I still remember the first book that I bought in a bookshop and the feeling that came with it. It was Heather the Violet Fairy from the Rainbow Magic series by Daisy Meadows. When I was 19 I stayed in Shakespeare and Company in Paris and fell in love with the art of bookselling there. I then had a Saturday job at Max Minerva’s in Bristol and learned a bit more about the business side of things. After that I veered from books almost completely and worked as a lighting technician in television. This was a lot of fun (I worked on things like Sex Education and even got to go back to Paris for six weeks to film there) but I wanted to get back to books. At the end of 2023 there was a gap between TV jobs so I thought I would look into whether it would be possible to open a bookshop… and it was!

Celebrating Book Space opening

I read a lot more fiction than non fiction. If I’m reading non fiction it’s probably nature writing or a biography. I also love a bit of poetry! For fiction I try to read a bit of everything but of course I have my preferences. I used to read a lot of science fiction; I grew up on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I really enjoy books about Paris, I think Veronica by Mary Gaitskill set me down the path to living there for a while. Just A Little Dinner by Cecile Tlili, translated by Katherine Gregor is one of my favourite recent reads and leads us on to what I read the most of; translated fiction. I think the reason I love it so much is because it introduces me to cultures that I am not familiar with. Stories connect us and connection is fundamental to community. It’s for a similar reason that I love retellings of myths (Circe by Madeline Miller). These connect us to people through time, translated fiction connects us through space. My favourite is Mammoth by Eva Baltasar translated by Julia Sanches. My favourite publisher is Foundry Editions – everything they do is phenomenal. Welsh publisher Parthian recently published This Room Is Impossible to Eat by Nicol Hochholczerová translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood which I loved!

Now on to the books!

Book Space Cardiff Spring highlights:

Before we talk about the newest releases, there were some brilliant books from spring I just had to give a shout-out to…

Scenes From a Tragedy by Carole Hailey (Atlantic)

Last year when my shop was still quite new Carole Hailey dropped off a proof copy of her upcoming novel. I finally got to it at the start of this year and I was hooked all the way through. It came out in March and I have been recommending it all over the place! A compulsive mystery with lots of family dynamics.

A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland (Granta)

What a beautiful book! A short and powerful, lyrical novel. I personally loved this one and it has been selling very well here. At the Folding Rock launch event [in March] Anthony told me this was the first place he had seen his book in the wild! That felt pretty special.

[NB: read the review we published of A Room Above a Shop by A. R. Darland here]

Look, Don’t Touch by layla-roxanne hill and Francesca Sobande (404 Ink)

Francesca Sobande is currently based in Cardiff and we actually had an event at Book Space Cardiff at the end of May with both authors to talk about this book. It is a part of the 404inklings series so it is a ‘big idea in a pocket-sized book’. We love the whole 404inklings series and this one is no different. It is an exploration of the freedom to feel. It covers so much from children’s TV to social media to the 2024 TV series Interview with a Vampire – to how dogs make us feel.

One Woman Walks Europe by Ursula Martin (Honno)

The follow up to Ursula Martin’s One Woman Walks Wales. Ursula Martin stopped in Book Space Cardiff on her walking book tour of Wales so we were lucky enough to hear her talk about her journey from Ukraine through Europe ending at the Camino in Spain. This book is about walking and the places she travels through as well as being about her journey.

This Room is Impossible to Eat by Nicol Hochholczerova (Parthian)

This short novel from Slovakian writer Nicol Hochholczerova is fantastic. Translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood and published by Welsh publisher Parthian. The author came to Book Space Cardiff while she was in the UK for a mini book tour and it was really interesting to hear her talk about her process and the reasoning behind the slightly unusual formatting of the book. This story explores power dynamics and obsession.

Crossing by Sabrin Hasbun (Footnote)

We were so lucky to host Sabrin for a launch event of this book in the shop and to be able to attend an event where she was interviewing Fady Joudah with a book stall. This book is a beautifully written account of her parents life told through the lens of her experiences. 

Book Space Cardiff June Highlight:

Long Going by Sophie Calon (Honno)

Long Going is an account of Sophie Calon’s experiences with her father and alcoholism in the family – full of love for her father while recounting his struggles. We hosted Sophie at Book Space Cardiff just this week to talk about this book.

Book Space Cardiff July & August Highlights:

Selfish Girls by Abigail Bergstrom (Hodder & Stoughton)

I have read a proof copy of this and absolutely love it! It takes place in a small Welsh town and tells the story of three sisters and their mother. It has surprising twists and turns, its characters are interesting and it will keep you hooked until the last page! It is a family drama that has you rooting for them all in their good and terrible moments.

My Year of Reading Welshly by Alex Johnson (Calon)

If there isn’t enough to keep you going on this list, or if you want to delve into what Wales already has to offer, then this is the book for you! Alex Johnson takes you on a journey through 52 books from and about Wales.

The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni (Harper Collins)

Cardiff-based debut author Anna Fiteni’s dark fae romantasy, inspired by Welsh mythology. The author dropped off a proof copy at the shop and I am excited to delve in!

Looking Ahead:

Queer Welsh Icons by Emily Garside (Calon)

The latest from Emily Garside coming in 2026! At Book Space Cardiff we love Emily’s 404 Inklings, Love That Journey for Me: The Queer Revolution of Schitt’s Creek.

Pulse: Stories by Cynan Jones (Granta)

Fear, vulnerability, tension and resolve course through these arresting and indelible stories from one of the finest British writers at work today.

I hope that you find something to dig your teeth into on this list. As I mentioned at the start, there is a lot of great writing coming out of Wales. There should be something for everyone here!

At Book Space Cardiff we have the privilege to host some of these authors at events in the shop. It is one of my favourite parts of running a bookshop, so do come along if you are in the area. My other favourite thing is recommendations: I love to chat with people in the shop about what they have loved and then finding a book that I hope they will enjoy. So come in, maybe ask me about translated fiction, tell me what books you are excited about and browse our shelves!

Summer is a great time for reading – I love to sit in the park when the sun is out with a good book. I am hoping to delve into some of these books as they come out. I think I will try to read some more non fiction books this summer and of course I will be reading lots of translated fiction. I’ve been meaning to read The Last Day by Owain Owain, translated from the Welsh by Emyr Wallace Humphreys. And of course, I have a pile of books I’ve owned forever to get through as well. I have a big summer of reading ahead of me, and I hope you do too!


A Little About Book Space Cardiff

Book Space Cardiff is an independent bookshop in the heart of Cathays which opened June 2024. We have something for everyone, with a wide array of fiction, non fiction and a large children’s and young adult section. Anything that we don’t have on the shelves we can usually order in quite quickly.

Let us help you discover your next favourite book!

You can support Book Space by checking out Lily’s list of featured Welsh titles here and ordering them for home delivery.

Lily Baron opened Book Space Cardiff because of her love of books and a feeling that Cardiff deserves more book shops. She lived in Shakespeare and Company in Paris when she was 19 and fell in love with the art of bookselling. Then she had a Saturday job at Max Minerva's in Bristol where she learnt a bit more about the business side of things. Outside of the shop she swing dances (Lindy Hop mostly), writes (more recently) and spends a lot of time with friends (the dream). She used to write loads and has been inspired to get back to it by being surrounded by stories all the time. She will happily chat about books with anyone, all day long!