The Mr B’s Team – where are they now?
To celebrate twenty years of Mr B’s, we’re taking a trip down memory lane – and popping in to say hi to some familiar faces along the way! Some of our former booksellers reflect on life at B’s, from funny memories and favourite experiences, to bizarre questions and brilliant encounters.
This time, we’re hearing from Naomi, who worked here from 2014 to 2016!
A funny memory from your time at Mr B’s?
I have so many wonderful memories of working at the shop. There were all the brilliant and inspiring book chats with Reading Spa customers, the fun connections made on the shop floor, the very intense but very fun whirl of the Christmas period, and then just all the wonderful times spent with lovely colleagues.
Trying to think of a specifically funny memory though, oddly the one that comes to mind was the time the Mr B’s mugs arrived in greasy cardboard boxes smelling strongly of fish, after some fish had leaked on the same delivery van. The slightly hysterical rush to clean off the mugs and then deal with the reeking cardboard without disrupting the shop floor was one of those absolutely bizarre starts to the day that, if managed alone, might have been stressful, but handled as part of the Mr B’s gang just became hilariously surreal.
What have you been doing since leaving Mr B’s?
I’m now a fiction author. You can, in fact, find my books on the Mr B’s shelves, and my new novel, The Rainshadow Orphans comes out in May 2026.
It’s the first in a fantasy trilogy about a group of marginalised young heroes standing up to oppression, and it’s filled with martial arts battles, bubble tea, fun snacks – and, of course, dragons!
What book did you love recommending the most to Mr B’s customers?
I don’t know if I had one book in particular I loved recommending, as the joy of bookselling is really more about trying to identify exactly what would be the most meaningful book for each particular customer. That said, I always liked recommending Horatio Clare’s stunning nature writing memoir Running for the Hills to people who love non-fiction nature writing. It was published just before the huge surge in nature writing’s popularity, so a lot of people otherwise very conversant in this genre hadn’t heard of it at all.
What 3 books are currently on your TBR pile?
I currently have Ella Frears’ poetry collection Shine Darling on my TBR, along with Tim Winton’s Juice and Deepa Anappara’s The Last of Earth. The first two I picked up while browsing in Mr B’s!
What was the most bizarre question you were ever asked by a customer?
It’s not exactly a question I was asked, but I do remember a customer coming in and trying to persuade me of the virtues of healing vinegars. He then proceeded to teach me how to do alternate nostril breathing, to calm the nervous system. This was actually surprisingly useful. I still use the alternate nostril breathing today, whenever I need to slow down a bit!
What was your favourite part about working at Mr B’s?
This is an almost impossible question to answer. I loved almost everything about the job. Every day brought unpredictable bookish conversations and adventures, with all sorts of things unfolding on the shop floor all the time. If pushed, I’d have to say the best thing about it all was working closely with the rest of the Mr B’s team, and getting to know the regular customers (some of whom are still close friends!). Getting to spend every day as part of such a vibrant bookish community was really such a privilege.
Pre-order Naomi’s new novel here!