Since 2015, bookshops across the country have relished Civilised Saturday – the antidote to the madness of Black Friday. In the lead up to the busy Christmas period, people rush to stores to speed along their present buying. Black Friday represents a huge commercial drive to encourage and entice buyers.

Civilised Saturday, however, spreads a different message. It is a day to celebrate all the bookshops have to offer and their calm and peaceful atmosphere in our hectic daily lives. Whilst browsing and purchasing of books is obviously not turned away (and hardly possible to resist), it is a day to remind booklovers why they love books. Not only can you escape the mayhem in a good book, you can escape the mayhem by simply relishing the atmosphere of your local bookshop.

This year, BAMB have replaced Civilised Saturday with Saturday Sanctuary. Creating an atmosphere much like the trending Hygge books, bookshops aim to treat their customers – with cosy reading corners, herbal teas and other relaxing activities.

Some Hygge-Inspired books to encourage this frame of mind are:

The Little of Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

Hygge: The Danish Art of Happiness by Marie Tourell Soderberg

The Year of Cozy by Adrianna Adarme

The Art of Hygge by Jonny Jackson & Elias Larsen

Enjoy Sanctuary Saturday and best wishes for a peaceful, relaxed and bookish festive season!