Virtual Book Club
Sarah Skelton
Ayrshire Magazine, in partnership with The Book Stewarton, invites you to enjoy its March/April selections. And don’t forget to join the Facebook group (Ayrshire Magazine Virtual Book Club) to share your thoughts with other book lovers!
You Are Here by David Nicholls
You Are Here was a recent and much enjoyed BookNookers Club read. It fits nicely with the ‘Outdoor’ theme of this issue of Ayrshire Magazine and may even inspire you to follow the characters’ trail, or set off on one of your own, perhaps undertaking the Ayrshire Coastal Path.
You Are Here follows Marnie, a meticulous, slightly anxious copyeditor who has retreated into a life of careful routines, and Michael, a geography teacher whose marriage has recently unravelled. Both are stuck – emotionally, geographically, and in the stories they tell themselves about who they are.
When a mutual friend persuades them to join a multi-day coast‑to‑coast walking trip, the pair find themselves thrown together on a windswept path across northern England. What begins as an awkward, mismatched trek, slowly becomes something gentler and more hopeful. Along the way, the author explores loneliness, middle‑aged reinvention, the strange intimacy of shared journeys, and the small, surprising ways connection can take root.
With his trademark blend of humour, heartbreak, and beautifully observed detail, Nicholls offers a story that feels both comforting and sharply true. You Are Here is ideal for book‑club discussion: it raises questions about timing, vulnerability, second chances, and the courage it takes to step off the map you thought you were following.
The Offing by Benjamin Myers
Despite many people initially thinking it wouldn’t be ‘their type of book’, The Offing was also a book read and loved by our BookNookers Club.
This also aligns with this edition’s theme and beautifully demonstrates the transformative power of art and nature. The Offing is a life‑affirming novel about unexpected friendship and the awakening of the self.
Set in the quiet aftermath of the Second World War, 16‑year‑old Robert Appleyard leaves his Yorkshire mining village with nothing but a rucksack and a desire to see more of the world than the life laid out for him. His wandering brings him to Dulcie Piper, an eccentric, sharp‑witted older woman living alone on the coast.
What begins as a chance encounter becomes a profound connection. Dulcie introduces Robert to poetry, good food, wine, and the kind of expansive thinking he’s never encountered before. In return, Robert brings curiosity, honesty, and a fresh way of seeing. As the summer unfolds, the two uncover a hidden story from Dulcie’s past – one that deepens their bond and shapes Robert’s future.
Myers writes with a poet’s eye for landscape and a deep tenderness for human possibility. The Offing is a novel about stepping beyond the boundaries of class and expectation, about the courage to live widely, and about the people who change us simply by offering a different way of being.
Again, perfect for book‑club discussion, it invites conversation about mentorship, grief, chosen family, the solace of the natural world, and the moments that quietly alter the course of a life.
Remember, you can get free shipping when you order these books online from The Book Nook Stewarton (www.booknookstewarton.co.uk/shop/ayrshire-magazine-virtual-book-club)using the special discount code AMVBC.
Cultivating Joy
In Gardens, In Books, In Community
Sarah Skelton
I realised, as I was thinking about this issue of AM with its ‘outdoor’ theme, just how closely the enjoyment of outdoor pursuits is linked to the enjoyment of reading.
For many of us, the love of reading begins in the same place as our love of the outdoors: with a sense of wonder. Simply go for a walk and you have in front of you a world to explore and be amazed by. Open a book and the same wonder awaits. A written world, waiting for you to explore and enjoy. Both invite us to pause, to look closely, and to lose ourselves in something bigger than our daily routines.
Gardening teaches patience, curiosity, and the joy of tending to small things that grow into something beautiful. Reading does too. Whether we’re nurturing a vegetable patch or turning the pages of a favourite novel, we’re cultivating worlds – some with our hands, some with our imaginations. And in both spaces, we find solace, inspiration, and the quiet thrill of discovery.
This joy of discovery becomes even greater when we share it and pass it on. Anyone who has ever knelt beside a child to show them the first green shoot of spring or handed a friend a book with the words “you’ll love this”, experiences this. In the garden, we point out birdsong, the scent of flowers, the quiet miracle of a seed growing into a plant. In reading, we offer stories that have moved us or changed us, characters who feel like old friends, pages that once made us laugh or cry. Both acts are invitations: come and see what I see; come and feel what I felt.
When pondering these links between reading and nature, I remembered that I have a lot of customers who are also enthusiastic members of Stewarton Community Allotment Society and so I decided to chat to them about their pursuit of both interests. I was fascinated by the 10th anniversary booklet given to me by Steve, one of the founding members of Stewarton Community Allotments Society. By reading that and listening to Steve, I realised that the creation of the Allotments Society, much like the establishment and growth of my bookshop, The Book Nook Stewarton, was really about nurturing a community. One brings together growers, the other gathers readers, and both offer a deep sense of purpose and pleasure to everyone who takes part.
A sense of belonging is vital to us all and to our wellbeing. Both growers and readers find themselves part of something bigger. There’s comfort in knowing you’re surrounded by people who understand the thrill of a first tomato or the delight of a beautifully crafted sentence. These communities offer a place to feel seen, supported, and connected.
That connection comes from sharing knowledge and encouraging each other. Gardeners swap tips, seedlings, and the occasional surplus courgette. Readers trade recommendations, favourite passages, and the reassurance that yes, that ending made them cry too. Learning becomes communal, and everyone grows – plants, minds, and friendships alike.
Doing something purposeful that brings calm and focus has a powerful effect on our wellbeing, whether we’re tending a plot or losing ourselves in a book. But doing these things alongside others adds a deeper layer of fulfilment. There’s meaning in showing up, in contributing, in becoming part of a shared rhythm – whether it’s the turning of the seasons or the turning of the pages.
In the end, what links gardening and reading so strongly is the way both remind us of what it means to live attentively and generously. They ask us to slow down, to notice, to nurture, and to share.
Whether we’re offering a neighbour a handful of freshly picked beans or pressing a beloved novel into someone’s hands, we’re participating in the same loving act of passing on something that has brought us joy. And perhaps that is why these communities matter so much. They root us, they connect us, and they remind us that the things we love – stories, seasons, soil – are always richer when experienced together.
