Caitlyn Payne on The Bookmonger: ‘It’s a book club brought to life’
Words, wine, charcuterie and chat: not just an ideal social combination but The Bookmonger’s modus operandi. Afreka Thomson drops in to experience a very different kind of book club
Winding down New Kirk Road in Bearsden, it’s hard not to notice The Bookmonger. Among the predictable pharmacies and coffee chains, it’s a delightful interruption: shelves of paperbacks and hardbacks beckoning from behind softly lit windows and a lovely blue doorframe. Step inside and it gets even better. Tables are piled high with cheese, fruit and charcuterie. Is that wine being poured, too? Yes, yes it is.
The Bookmonger is the area’s first dedicated bookshop and founder Caitlyn Payne knew she wanted to build something special. ‘As members of the community, it felt essential to bring something meaningful and new to the area,’ she says. The result is a curious, inviting hybrid of snacks, literature and conversation: part bookshop, part culinary experience, part your mate’s living room and, as Payne puts it, ‘a book club brought to life’. Reading was more than a passion for Payne; it became an important anchor through a difficult chapter. ‘I always knew I would open a bookshop. That became clear when books carried me through one of the hardest periods of my life,’ she says, reflecting on the inspiration that followed her breast cancer journey in 2022. Her route to The Bookmonger winds from a bookwormy childhood in Delaware, through a long career in fashion, to settling in Bearsden with her young family. Payne’s background in design and style is evident; nothing in the room is accidental.
And it’s not just locals taking notice. ‘People discovered us online and travelled from across the UK and internationally,’ Payne says. The Bookmonger’s reach is a reminder of how rare spaces like this still are, particularly outside the big cities. Need a recommendation from The Bookmonger to see you through these remaining winter nights? Payne’s ideal trio is a velvety red (Agricola Punica Montessu) paired with Snowdonia’s Bouncing Berry cheese and Florence Knapp’s The Names, a quietly compelling family saga, served on the comfiest sofa you can find.
The Bookmonger, 32 New Kirk Road, Bearsden.