Best books for a cosy Winter Lie-In and the loveliest bookshops in Bridport to get them in
- Outbuildings
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Let’s not rush into the new year with all guns blazing shall we? A little ‘you time’, in bed with a good book, is the best way to ease into 2026 - in our humble opinion.
Down here at Outbuildings we love helping you get the rest you need. In fact, our sensational rooms are made for sleeping late, as is our all-inclusive Winter Lie-In package. Here’s an idea: whilst you’re staying with us, why not visit our local market town of Bridport and pick yourself a new page-turner in one of Bridport’s bookshops?
To help, we’ve curated a bed-friendly reading pile of fiction and non-fiction for 2026, plus where to go book buying in Bridport.
New fiction that we’re excited to read this year
Although we don’t get a lot of time to read as hoteliers (sob), when we do we choose carefully and keep our eyes on upcoming launches and releases. These are some titles that we’re looking forward to reading from authors we love.
Departure(s) - Julian Barnes (released 22nd January)
Julian Barnes is one of Britain’s most respected living authors and his new novel, Departure(s), is definitely one to pick up when it lands in bookshops at the end of January. The novel follows a man called Stephen and a woman called Jean, who fall in love when they are young and again when they are old. It is also the story of an elderly Jack Russell called Jimmy, enviably oblivious to his own mortality. It is a story of love, chance encounters, and the tricky business of remembering what actually happened versus what we think happened - and doubles as a meditation on ageing, mortality, and the relationship between memory and identity. Savour it slowly, curled up under one of our duvets.
John of John - Douglas Stuart (released 26th May)
We loved Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart so are thrilled that his next book, John of John, is coming out this summer. The story centres on John ‘Cal’, an artist who returns home from art school to the windswept croft of the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. Caught between two defining forces in his life - his strict, churchgoing father and his flamboyant, profanity-loving Glasgow grandmother - Cal must navigate the lingering expectations of his upbringing, his own sexuality, and what it means to belong. Like Stuart’s other novels, we’re sure this one will also be a tender read and study of human relationships. Ideal for a stormy afternoon tucked up in a blanket by the log burner at Outbuildings.
Land - Maggie O’Farrell (released 26th June)
You may know Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet that opened in cinema screens this year. It is a real tear-jerker - not one to watch without tissues at hand! The author’s next novel, Land, is set shortly after the Irish Potato Famine - and we expect it will be equally as moving. The protagonist, Tomás, works for the Ordnance Survey, mapping the rugged landscape. But Tomás is unexpectedly sent off course by an unsettling encounter in a copse - and his life, and those of his family, will never be the same again. It promises to be historically evocative; the type of novel you’ll return to with anticipation tucked into your Outbuildings bed.
Buy in Waterstones, East Street, Bridport Head to East Street in Bridport and you’ll find our local Waterstones bookshop. Although it's not as big as Waterstones in other towns, it is still an ideal shop for snapping up the biggest 2026 hardbacks the moment they hit the tables.
Open 9:00am – 17:30pm (but check day-to-day variations).
Dorset-inspired reads to love all year round
The Jurassic Coast has inspired a wealth of stories and authors over the years. From Jane Austen, who set a key chapter of her novel Persuasion in Lyme Regis, to our very own local literary giant, Thomas Hardy, who was born and lived in nearby Dorchester. Bridport itself is home to the famous international writing competition, The Bridport Prize, as well as an annual literature festival.
When you stay with us, make sure to pick up a page-turner that comes straight from the heart of our region (either as a gift for someone you love or a souvenir for your own bookshelf). These are our local favourites:
Far From the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
Published in 1874, Far from the Madding Crowd is the novel that first made Thomas Hardy famous. It’s also the book where his deep love for Dorset truly comes into focus. The story follows Bathsheba Everdene, a fiercely independent young woman who inherits a farm and insists on running it herself. As she navigates rural life, she becomes entangled with three very different men, each representing a contrasting way of loving and living. Rooted in Dorset’s fields, farms, and changing seasons, the novel is just the thing to read when surrounded by the very countryside that inspired it!
Buy from Bridport Old Books, South Street, Bridport This atmospheric and quaint second-hand book shop sits adjacent to Bridport Arts Centre (which also hosts the town’s Literary Festival) by the curiously named Bucky Doo Square. The shop has a fabulous collection of antiquated and rare books as well as children’s illustrated books. Inside it’s a bookworm’s paradise with shelves and stacks of books everywhere and a warm, knowledgeable team who can help you hunt down the book you’re after.
Open 10am - 3pm, Tues, Weds, Frid and Sat.
On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan
Set on the Dorset coast in 1962, On Chesil Beach follows newlyweds Edward and Florence on their wedding night in a hotel overlooking the vast shingle sweep of Chesil Beach (near Weymouth). Beneath the calm surface, both are carrying deep anxieties and unspoken fears, shaped by the social restraints of the time.
As the evening unfolds, a single moment alters the course of their lives. Spare, intimate and deeply affecting, the novel uses the stark beauty of the Dorset coastline to explore love, misunderstanding, and how silence can change everything.
Walking the Jurassic Coast: Dorset and East Devon, Ron Turnbull
You can’t come to Outbuildings without a trip to the coast to see the beauty of our Jurassic geology. And this beautifully detailed guidebook will help you discover it all, step-by-step. It’s a wonderful book that takes you on 30 memorable walks along the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, covering the coast from Exmouth in East Devon to Bournemouth in Dorset. The routes vary from gentle 3-mile coastal strolls to more ambitious full-day hikes, so whether you’re planning relaxed fossil-hunting by the shore or a more energetic ramble over cliffs and downs, there’s something here for you.
Buy in The Book Shop, South Street, Bridport. The Book Shop is an independent bookshop that has stood in South Street for over 45 years. It has a brilliantly put-together selection of titles for adults and children. Even if you can’t find something in stock the friendly team can happily order it in for you within 24 hours.
Open 9.30am–5.00pm, Mon–Sat
Happy Reading!
The Outbuildings Team
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