Inside Wimbledon train station, sitting proudly in the corner of the waiting room on platforms 7/8, awaits the Wimbledon Station Bookswap. Comedies, dramas, horrors, romances, tragedies, fantasies and more are stacked up and line the wooden shelves. Are you ready to go on a journey? Because the books in the station bookswap are raring to go on one with you.
From re-read classics to colourful children’s stories, holiday fling paperbacks to aged hardbacks who’ve been sleeping on the shelves of the residents of Wimbledon – you’re going to find a book for you in this treasure trove. The choice is there! The books living on these shelves changes throughout the day as members of the community generously deliver, Wimbledon library kindly donate, commuters carefully choose. And like any good book club, you may end up being enthralled by something unexpected.
As daylight hours get shorter and platforms get colder, bring your cup of coffee and fold down your umbrella inside this cosy waiting room. Find escapism from rainy days with a new (well, most likely old) book from the Wimbledon Station Bookswap – the perfect combination to bring happiness and content to your autumnal commute.
As with any journey, whom you travel with can be more important than your destination. You may hurry through Wimbledon station every day, never having found this secretive shelf, which has been here since 2009, so I encourage you to visit it.
The community-focused initiative is overseen by Katherine Wood; a lovely lady whom when I met immediately exuded her appreciation of books and passion for doing something for our borrower-friendly borough. We met at her parent’s house, who like the bundles of books waiting by the door, are on their way to a new home. On our walk to the station with our bulging bags of books and as we stocked up the shelves, we chatted about the bookswap and Katherine shared the highs (watching enthused gatherings turning pages of books) and the lows (peeking through her train window to see a sausage roll plonked on the bookshelf) of caring for the bookswap. She hopes residents will donate their read and re-read books and encourages anyone to explore it and take one with them. I now, like Katherine, cannot resist checking on the bookswap as I pass through station!
Many of us treasure the feel of the paper, the smell, connecting with certain ones, getting gripped by page-turner stories and discovering handwritten notes from previous owners. Nothing takes you on a journey like a book can.
Written by Flora Firth
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About The Author
Flora Firth
Flora is on her wellness journey and hopes to encourage you to join her. She’s proud to be voicing the importance of mind health in a world where we’re striving for unrealistic perfection.