The Gutter Bookshop takes its name and ethos from Oscar Wilde: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” As owner Bob Johnston explains: “It opened in 2009 in Dublin’s popular Temple Bar district, in the middle of a recession. A second shop followed in Dalkey, a small seaside town in south Dublin.” It won independent bookshop of the year (UK and Ireland) at the British Book awards 2017 and its busy events programme includes six different book clubs.

Top five sellers

•Skin Deep Liz Nugent
•The Woman in the Woods John Connolly
•The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers edited by Sinéad Gleeson
•Repeal the 8th edited by Una Mullally
•A Dublin Fairytale Nicola Colton

Five recommendations

•The Ruin Dervla McTiernan
“The best crime thriller I’ve read this year.”
•Tin Man Sarah Winman
“My favourite novel of 2017 has just been released in paperback.”
•Call Me By Your Name André Aciman. “The film is good but the book is brilliant.”
•Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward. “A powerful and painful exploration of black American history.”
•North and South Elizabeth Gaskell
“Our latest classics book club pick was loved by everyone who read it!”

The Gutter Bookshop, Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin 8. gutterbookshop.com