GET Free Books Bedworth

04/10/2026

📚 GO AND DISCOVER — GET FREE BOOKS BEDWORTH

A couple of weeks ago I shared a few posts about GET Free Books Bedworth, and Diane got in touch and invited me in for a proper look around.

So yesterday I went along, and do you know what… I’m really glad I did.

Diane gave me a proper tour and we had a really good natter about the shop, the books, the people who come through the doors and the volunteers who keep the whole thing ticking along.

And honestly, there’s a lovely buzz about the place.

People coming in and out, having a look around, volunteers sorting books, chatting away… it doesn’t feel like somewhere you just walk in, grab something and walk back out. There’s a real community feel to it.

And there are books everywhere! 😂

You can have a proper mooch around and you just don’t know what you’re going to find. Fiction, cookery, history, children’s books, educational stuff, old hardbacks, encyclopaedias… you could quite easily lose an hour in there without realising it.

And then there’s the bit that still makes people go…

“Really? They’re free?”

Yep.

They’re free.

You can walk in, find upto 5 books you fancy and take them home. There is a donation box if you’d like to leave a little something towards the electricity and running of the shop, but that’s completely optional. There’s no obligation at all.

I love that.

The whole point is that nobody should be put off taking a book because they can’t afford one.

Diane was telling me just how many books move through the shop. At one point, she said around 6,000 books were leaving in a month.

Six thousand!

Just think about that.

Six thousand books finding new homes. Books that might have been sitting forgotten somewhere suddenly being read again, passed around, enjoyed, used for school, used for revision or simply picked up because the cover caught someone’s eye.

I even found one for myself yesterday.

Obviously. 😂📖

But do you know what really struck me while I was there?

The people.

I met Keith, Reece and Joseph, John while I was there, and I also want to give a massive shout-out to Nigel, Dave, Margaret, Andrew, Anna, Marg, Sahil, Jill and Paul.

I didn’t get to meet everyone yesterday, but every one of those people gives their time to help keep the place going.

Diane was telling me about some of the volunteers who’ve come through the doors after being out of work, used volunteering to build their confidence back up and then gone on into employment. She’s even been able to provide references for some of them.

And I thought, that’s what community is about.

It’s not always some massive thing.

Sometimes it’s just people giving a bit of their time, helping somebody else and keeping something worthwhile going.

And the shop itself is lovely. It’s the old Thornton’s shop on the corner, with those big windows running around the front and side, so loads of natural light comes in. You can see the activity inside from the street and it just feels open, bright and welcoming.

There’s a sofa where you can sit down, have a look through a book and have a bit of a rest. You can find revision books for the kids, something for yourself, something you’ve never seen before… or you can just wander around because you’re passing through Bedworth.

And that’s perfectly alright too.

You don’t have to spend money.

You don’t even have to be looking for anything.

Just go in and discover.

And that’s exactly why I wanted to share this.

Because EasyHelpings isn’t about inventing things that aren’t already happening in our communities.

It’s about finding the people, places and things that are already here and helping people discover them.

Get Free Books is already doing it.

The volunteers are already doing it.

The people donating the books are already doing it.

We’re just joining a few more dots.

So if you’ve never been in, honestly, get yourself in there.

And if you’ve got boxes of books at home that you’ve finished with, don’t leave them gathering dust. Give them another life. Somebody else might be waiting to find that exact book.

And if you’ve got a bit of time to spare and love books, maybe volunteering is something for you too.

Big up Get Free Books Bedworth. 📚💚

Diane, thank you for inviting me in, showing me around and having a good old natter with me.

And a massive shout-out to everyone who gives their time to keep this wonderful place going.

I’ll definitely be back.

Oh… and Diane… 😂

I’m sorry. I completely forgot those cream cakes I promised you!

Next time I’m passing, I promise I’ll bring them in. 😂🍰

Right, everyone…

Go and discover. 📚💚

Helping is easy.

📍 GET Free Books Bedworth
1–3 All Saints Square, Bedworth, CV12 8LP

01/10/2026

Brilliant Harry Baker Wonderful poem for National Poetry Day.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

26/09/2026

Just like Dolly, we give away books for free, to everyone, not just children.
Everyone welcome to our bookshop in All Saints Square.

26/09/2026

26/09/2026

This is an unassuming and apparently unexciting photo! But....it contains 7 banana boxes full of local books that will be available in our new shop 😁
With enormous thanks to one of our sister shops GET Free Books Bedworth for sorting them out of a huge donation they received and to lead volunteer, Diane, for delivering them to us.
They will be very very popular here 🙂

18/09/2026

17/09/2026

📚 RECOMMEND A BOOK

Do you know what? We’re really good at recommending things to each other. “Did you watch that last night?” “Have you seen that new series?” “You’ve got to watch that box set, it’s brilliant.” And before you know it, you’re adding it to your list. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I love a bit of Netflix and Prime. Sometimes you just want to sit down, switch off and escape for a couple of hours.

But when was the last time you said to somebody, “You need to read this.”

I was talking to Diane from Free Books Bedworth the other day, and it got me thinking about books and just how powerful they actually are. I’ve always loved books. I’ve got my own little collection at home, books I’ve picked up over the years because something about them caught my attention. You see the cover and think, I’d like to read that, and you sort of bookmark it in your head. Then one day you pick it up and before you know it, you’re somewhere else.

You’re not really reading words anymore. You’re inside somebody else’s world. You’re imagining what they’re describing, seeing things through their eyes, experiencing their story, their knowledge, their imagination. And that’s what made me think about Andrew Carnegie.

We all know Carnegie Hall. I’ve heard the name all my life, but I’d never really stopped and thought about the man behind it. Carnegie came from Scotland and moved to America as a boy. He had very little formal education, but he discovered something incredibly important — access to books. He had access to a small private library for working boys, and that opportunity to read and learn stayed with him.

He eventually built an enormous fortune through the steel industry. But what did he do with it? He put a huge amount of his wealth into libraries, helping fund 2,509 public libraries and giving ordinary people the opportunity to learn, discover and educate themselves. He eventually gave away around 90% of his fortune. And there’s a line from Carnegie that really sticks with me: “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.”

When you think about that, it’s quite something. His legacy wasn’t simply the money. It was what that money could unlock for somebody else. A book. An idea. A bit of knowledge. A new interest. A different way of looking at the world. A chance.

And that’s why I think this conversation about books is still really relevant today. We’ve got libraries, little book projects, book clubs happening in cafés, reading groups and pop-up events. We’ve got people getting together because they love a particular type of book, or simply fancy meeting other people who enjoy reading. That’s pretty cool.

And maybe we should start using them a bit more.

We’re brilliant at saying, “Did you watch that?” Maybe we could start saying, “Have you read this?” “I think you’d love this book.” “Have you been to that book club?” “Come on, let’s go and have a look.”

Because a recommendation doesn’t have to come from an algorithm. It can come from a friend, a family member, a colleague, someone you meet in a café, someone sitting next to you with a book.

And that recommendation might lead somewhere. Another book. Another conversation. A new interest. A new place. Maybe even a new friendship.

That’s the bit I love.

One little discovery leading to another.

So perhaps the next time we’re talking about what to watch, let’s talk about what to read.

Recommend a book. Recommend a place. Recommend a book club. Get yourself out. Have a look around. Have a good old natter.

Go and discover.

You never know what you’ll find.

Helping is easy. 💚

17/09/2026

We never know what treasures kind people donate in the numerous boxes & bags that come through our doors. 📚🌟
We love receiving niche books & special interest magazines. Plus we have a plethora of adult & children's fiction & non-fiction.
However we are very short of baby, toddler & young readers books. If you have any spare, please help us refill those popular boxes. Thank you.

25/08/2026

What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. CARL SAGAN