"Booklovers are celebrating Civilised Saturday and it's lovely," MetroUK reported as booksellers in the U.K. offered shoppers a day, "supported by the Booksellers Association, [that] is intended to be a 'restorative to Black Friday.' This translates to cocktails and cakes, crustless sandwiches and cups of tea, and of course, books." Among the highlights:
"Needed a reason to get involved in #civilisedsaturday? We've got 8 for you--& they're all spot on!" publisher Quercus noted in featuring a poster for the occasion.
"Busy busy busy. #civilisedsaturday. Not a fight anywhere in sight!" tweeted London's Drake--The Bookshop, which featured the 12 Teas of Christmas and blind date books, among other promotions. The bookseller later noted that "140 characters not usually enough to express my feelings. Certainly not today. Blown away by the support of our lovely customers! THANK U ALL."
Mr. B's Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath invited customers to "come and hear the beautiful music," as author Emma Hooper played violin and signed her new book. "Pop in to hear her beautiful music and browse in a very civilized fashion!"
Blackwell's in Oxford hosted David Mitchell for a Civilised Saturday event to end a day that also included "no fighting over HD televisions" and "bibliotherapy."
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| Actor Pierce Brosnan popped by Dulwich Books in London. | |
There was a Pierce Brosnan sighting at Dulwich Books: "Look who popped in.... Can you tell that Sheila was excited?"
"Our idea of #CivilisedSaturday was cucumber sandwiches & biccies, so quite in awe of superclassy customer @shazknit who brought us sloe gin," noted West End Lane Books in London.
Not everyone was thrilled about the concept, however. In the Bookseller, Nick Coveney of Kings Road Publishing wrote that the term "Civilised Saturday" itself prompted the question: "[A]re we in 2015 or extras in a Downton Abbey Christmas special?"
But Wenlock Books in Much Wenlock offered an alternative response: "What an INCREDIBLE Civilised Saturday! Thank you to all of our lovely customers for spending their Saturday shopping independently--we hope you enjoyed today as much as we did!"